AUTHOR'S NOTE: This story is (or will hopefully become) a slow-burning, romantic tale about Arendelle's Queen and Princess rediscovering the love they once shared and finding, much to their mutual surprise, that this love runs much deeper than either thought. While the focus of this story is on the developing relationship between Elsa and Anna, it is an ELSANNA pairing and yes, I intend things to get a little blue in later chapters. If you are personally offended by this then, by all means, don't read it.

Chapter 1

"Your highness?"

Without her noticing, the door to Queen Elsa of Arendelle's study had opened and the plump face of her lady-in-waiting had appeared in the gap. In the darkened room beyond, Queen Elsa put down the book she had been pretending to read and looked up.

"Yes Gerda, what is it?" she said.

"The chief surgeon is here to see you, m'lady."

Elsa sighed. "I'm fine. Please tell him that is it much more important that he see to my sister immediately."

"But my lady, he says that he already has. Seen Anna, I mean. She is –" at this the face disappeared from the door for a moment to confer with someone on the other side "– yes; your sister is perfectly well. Now, please, we must see to your health as well. Particularly after such a… trial, as these last days have been."

Elsa knew there was no point arguing, especially with the ever-inscrutable Gerda.

"Very well, send him in."

The door closed for a moment and Elsa could hear muted voices and the shuffling of footsteps. She took a deep breath and cast her gaze to the guttering embers in the hearth to her side. Everything seemed so unreal now, so distant as fatigue wracked her slender frame. Had it only been that morning when her sister had come back to life, that the curse had been lifted?

It all felt life a lifetime ago. She remembered holding Anna in her arms as the boat carried them back to the castle. Anna was full of life, but still so cold to the touch. A residual effect, no doubt, though Elsa refused to let her go. Gerda and Kai had to both practically pry Elsa's arms off the younger woman once she was safely asleep in her chambers. After, she recalled stumbling into this anteroom and collapsing into a seat by the fire. It has been roaring then.

"Your majesty."

An older man, dressed in black, with spectacles giving him an owl-like appearance was bowing to her at a respectful distance. As the royal family's personal physician, she had seen the man a handful of times in her life for brief checkups and so forth, but always under the watchful eyes of her mother and father.

"Doctor Magnussen. Thank you for visiting the princess first. I trust she is well?" Elsa said, the strain in her voice clearly evident.

"Yes ma'am," he said, "princess Anna is very tired after her ordeal but, apart from a few scrapes and bruises, she appears none the worse for wear. In fact, she seems more spirited then ever, demanding that I conclude my meeting with you in all haste so she may check upon you herself, despite my cautioning her to rest."

The queen smiled at this news, recalling the precocious, impatient girl she knew in their youth. The girl she had now been gifted the chance of getting to know again.

"Well, I shall try not to keep you then, Doctor. But," here the Queen's smile faded, "do you think there will be any… lasting effects from, uh, what I did to her?"

Dr. Magnussen's shoulders sagged in sympathy.

"I shouldn't think so, ma'am," he said, "her temperature is normal. She shows no signs of illness to my physician's eyes. But perhaps my eyes are not trained in matters of this sort. Might I suggest, ma'am, that if your sister's wellbeing is of particular concern to you that a consultation with an expert in the field of, ahem, magic, may be in order?"

Elsa was initially confused by this suggestion until she remembered part of Anna's rambling recount, during their trip back to the castle, of her own adventures over the last several days. It was the trolls, she recalled, who had discovered her frozen heart and revealed its cure. They seemed to know far more about Elsa's magic than even she did. Perhaps a visit to Grand Pabbie wasn't such a bad idea after all.

"My sister has been talking to you about trolls, has she?" She said.

"Quite." The man said with an uncomfortable chuckle. "Now, ma'am, I hate to keep a lady waiting, so if I may?" The Chief Surgeon continued, referring to Elsa's overdue checkup.

"Yes, of course." She said.

Anna came racing into the room, wearing only the loose chemise she had been sleeping in, her auburn hair sill in plaits from coronation day.

"Elsa! They wouldn't let me in until the doctor had seen you. Are you okay?" She began, breathless.

"Anna." The Queen said, reaching out and embracing the younger woman tightly. How long had it been since she had even touched another human being before this day? Now she couldn't get enough of it – her sister's warmth. The feel of her skin. Yet Elsa still reflexively checked her hands for gloves before remembering – yet another habit she would have to break.

"Anna, it's so good to see you. It sounds silly, I know, it's only been a few hours and–"

"No, I know," said Anna, tears welling in her eyes, "we don't have to be apart anymore, Elsa. I just want to be here with you. I just want to have a sister again."

And with that Elsa noticed that she too was crying, great tears of joy mingling with Anna's own where their cheeks were pressed together. They held each other like this for some time before Anna finally pushed them apart in order to sit them both down, unsticking a chair from the frost that had gathered on the floor and scootching it over just to be closer to her sister as they sat.

"Now, the doctor?" Anna said, sniffling away the last of the tears.

"Oh, he says I'm fine. He was more worried about the bump on my head than anything else." Elsa said, reaching to rub her temple where she had struck the floor of her ice palace when the chandelier fell.

"Oh Elsa." Anna said, reaching to place her hand over her sister's.

"I just need rest, that's all. It's you I'm worried about Anna." The Queen said, taking her sister's hand in her own, enjoying the once-forbidden contact.

"The doctor suggested that we visit your friends the trolls," she went on, "to make sure being, uh, frozen hasn't caused any damage or anything like that."

Elsa could see that Anna was unconvinced. "And I'm hoping they might have some answers for me, too. About my powers. And, maybe on the way you could properly introduce me to your… friend?"

Anna brightened at this.

"My friend? You mean Kristoff? Oh, I forget that you guys have only just met! I accidentally trashed his sled, though, you know, so I don't think he could give us a ride… Oh wait, there's no more snow! We could take horses! Does he ride a horse? Oh, maybe he could just ride Sven, although–"

"Anna!" Elsa interjected with a broad grin, "I'm sure we can sort out the details later. I'm just glad you think it's a good idea. Right now, though, there's too much to do here. I have to ensure all the guests depart safely, and make reparations for the damaged ships. And you were telling me before about Prince Hans –"

"Ooh, don't even mention his name! I'm too furious to even think about that man!"

Anna's face flushed red at the thought and she made to stand.

"It's okay Anna," Elsa replied quickly, reaching for her sister once more, "he's under guard in the west tower. We can work out what to do with him tomorrow."

"I'm so sorry Elsa. If I hadn't stupidly rushed off with the first guy I'd met, none of this would have happened."

"It's not your fault Anna. Manipulation was his game all along. How were you to know?"

"I should have known! I was just so desperate to meet someone, someone special and I only had like a day to find them. One day! If it hadn't been him it would have been someone else. I feel like such an idiot."

"No, it's my fault," Elsa rose to look her sister in the eyes, "you said it yourself – I've been the one keeping you prisoner here, and then to let you out only for a day – to tease you like that, then snatch it away from you? Of course you'd try to reach out to people, that's who you are Anna. You're the most generous, kind-hearted person I've ever known and I've just been selfish this whole time. I've been so preoccupied with keeping myself locked away from the world it didn't even occur to me that you were locked in here with me. I treated you like a stranger and, and…"

Anna head crackling at the corners of the room, ice spikes reaching towards them, the cold of the air pinching at her cheeks.

"Elsa, please, it doesn't matter any more. The doors are open now, not just for one day. And like I told you before, I'm not going anywhere. Because for the first time in forever I have found someone special. I found my sister, Elsa. I found you."

Elsa awoke with a start, terrifying nightmares of swords and ice still playing across the insides of her eyeballs. It was late morning judging from the sun streaming in through her bedroom window. She looked over at the tangle of red hair and bedsheets lying in the crook of her left elbow and allowed herself to relax, hoping that the sudden movement hadn't woken her sleeping sister.

Both women had been utterly exhausted following their emotional conversation the previous night and had barely managed to drag themselves into Elsa's bed – Anna flat-out refusing to be separated from her sister, despite Elsa's weak protests.

Elsa wondered that Gerda or Kai or even Earl Lonning hadn't tried to wake them before now. There was certain to be so much work to do today for Arendelle's Queen. Lonning especially, she thought, would be desperate to speak with her.

Earl Lonning had been Elsa and Anna's Father's closest confidant and was acting as Arendelle's regent during these last the three years, while Elsa came of age. It had fortunately been a quiet time for Arendelle, and the old country gentleman's rather limited grasp of politics had not been sorely tested. Not like it is going be over the next few days, at any rate.

No, Elsa thought, no more hiding. It would be all up to her to set things right with both Weselton and the Southern Isles. And with her own people, for that matter.

The years since her parents' death had been an especially difficult time for Elsa, leaving her utterly alone and cutting short any preparation she may have had for ruling the kingdom. Her input had still been required on important matters of state, of course, but usually that just meant tediously relaying messages to Lonning through Gerda; who was the only attendant permitted to see the then-princess Elsa on a daily basis. Fortunately Gerda, being Elsa's aunt on her mother's side, had sufficient standing in court that this arrangement was never questioned.

And there was another thing, Elsa reflected. It simply wouldn't do to have old Gerda and Kai as her only retainers now that she was Queen. She didn't need an army of servants, but she'd need people she could trust to help organise things. She'd need someone close, someone like…

"Huh, yeah, I'll be there in a mmm…."

Elsa felt a stirring to her side, and couldn't resist cuddling up to the prone figure of Anna just a little tighter.

"Oh, well, maybe just one." The voice continued to mumble.

"Anna?" Elsa whispered in her ear.

"Hmm? Ugh, what time is it?"

"I don't know, no one woke us."

"Elsa? Oh, wow, I'd forgotten."

Anna groggily sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"I haven't seen this room in so long. Hey, maybe I can move my bed back in here, like old times?"

Elsa smiled.

"I'd like that." she said, still lying down, as she looked up at her sister's face haloed against the bright window beyond.

Anna had finally taken her hair out of its braids last night and Elsa was already drifting off to sleep by the time she was done. It was only the brushing of her sister's frazzled hair against her nose as she climbed into bed next to her that caused Elsa to half wake her up.

She remembered in that dozy, unreal state, Anna blowing out the candle and saying goodnight to her. She remembered something else too – a kiss. It was a small gesture, Anna had leaned over and planted a simple peck on Elsa's lips, lingering for just a moment. "I love you" she'd said.

The memory hit Elsa like a slap. She reached a hand to her lips, touching them without thinking, as if for the first time. The kiss had been so soft and warm. The tenderness of it made Elsa's heart want to melt. As she looked at her beautiful sister, bathed in sunlight, all thoughts of politics fled her mind.

"Hey Anna?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you wanna build a snowman?"