"How do you not know how to do a braid?" Elsa laughed lightly as Anna looked miserably at her botched plaits. "I know how to do one, for your information, but I can't get the hang of this type. Can you do Dutch braids?" Her sister nodded and got to work. "You know, as fine as your hair is, it tangles really easily," she giggled, attempting to undo a tight knot. Anna winced as it tugged into a frizzy ball. Looking around the pale blue room, Elsa thought carefully.

It hadn't been long since Elsa had returned, thawed out Arendelle, and changed everything. What a relief, of course, to not have to hide her powers, but now she had become the face of the kingdom. Most people immediately associated the tiny country with her. It was nice to be recognized, she supposed, but any time she could step out of the spotlight, she'd take it.

Which made tonight a wonderful opportunity. The kingdom was abuzz with the latest gossip: their darling princess, with the official Ice Master of Arendelle! It was a daring match, they said, but perhaps it would work out. Elsa couldn't help but laugh when she heard that; it was obvious Anna and Kristoff were crazy for each other. Well, it was obvious to Elsa. Anna couldn't have been more oblivious.

Just as Elsa was thinking she should tell Anna what to expect (though she didn't think she was all too qualified to do that, anyway), her sister turned around, bunching up one of the braids. Elsa tutted softly, not really caring, just disappointed- it had been a good braid. She undid it while Anna twiddled her thumbs. Elsa knew she was trying to think of a way to bring something serious up. "Hey, Elsa… do you think… I mean, what I should say is…" Her pale cheeks were starting to heat up in discomfort. Whatever was bothering her was serious.

Finally she couldn't stand it anymore. "Is Kristoff gonna try to kiss me again?" Anna bit her lip, half smiling and half grimacing, like she couldn't believe it was even a possibility. Elsa, on the other side, was dumbstruck. How would she know? "Well, I guess that depends," she replied, pulling a light blonde piece of hair into the braid. "If you want to kiss him, don't wait for him to try. If you don't want to kiss him, let him know. It's in your hands, I think. In both your and Kristoff's hands, really, but- well, you know what I mean, right?" Anna nodded, tapping her foot thoughtfully.

"And is my dress alright?" As far as Elsa could tell, it was fantastic, one of the better ones the castle seamstress had made- rich khaki and tan skirt with periwinkle rosemaling, and a gorgeous green velvet bodice. The sleeves might prove to be difficult- they were very thin and they continually slid off Anna's freckled shoulders- but other than that, it was perfect. "I like it. It fits you well."

Anna grinned. "Good! I just wanted to make sure it wasn't, like. Like, I dunno, weird." Smiling slyly, Elsa tied off the last braid and leaned over to look at Anna's reflection in the mirror. "Brave Princess Anna, are you nervous?" Her sister shrugged demurely, sliding her eyes away from Elsa's and smiling slightly. "No. At least, I don't think so. Does feeling like you're going to throw up count as nervous?" Elsa shook her head. "Unfortunately, that's usually a sign, yeah." Standing up and shaking out her full skirt, Anna shrugged once more. "Welp, I'm nervous, then. See you later tonight?" Elsa looked her sister over. She was so much older-looking than Elsa had last remembered; so much more like an adult. It wasn't the sort of thing you admitted to people, but Elsa completely regretted being so paralyzed with fear for her entire life that she'd missed her sister grow up. She's here now, Elsa caught herself reasoning. That was true. No use crying over spilled milk or lost childhoods. "Yeah. Tell me all about it, Ann."

…

He looked dapper in a suit. Uncomfortable, yes. Awkward, sweaty, nervous, yes. But still- dapper. Anna giggled as she walked into the foyer, imagining she looked more like she was wobbling down the stairs than anything. How did Elsa function in these things? Shoes were meant to be comfortable, weren't they? Anna was developing a newfound respect for her sister as she quaked and stumbled her way down the steps. Just before she could reach the last one, her dress caught the back of her heel- down she went. And I was so close to the end, too, she thought sadly, not noticing how close to the ground she was.

The ground was rushing up quickly, and Anna noticed after a moment that she would be smashing her face off it any second- until she stopped just an inch from the marble floor. "Are you okay?" Kristoff looked at her with a concerned, soft face. "Er- yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry. Way to blow my entrance, right?" Anna laughed quickly and pulled herself up on his arms, patting his chest briefly in a thank-you. "So what were we doing tonight?" Kristoff asked, stepping away from her. For a moment Anna didn't even realize he'd talked; she was busy admiring his hair. It was blond, but not unmanly. Funny. Nice, too. "Anna? What's the plan?"

"Oh! Yeah, the plan. Sorry. Again! Hah, um. Well, the string quartet is practicing in the music observatory tonight, and you can hear it really well in the ballroom. I was thinking we could maybe dance a bit? I'm not the best dancer, but they play a lot of different kinds during practice." Kristoff's eyes widened in surprise. "I don't know, Anna, I really don't know any dances…"

"Pfft," Anna replied giddily. "I can teach you! Come on!" Grabbing his hand, Anna led him to the ballroom.

The scraping sounds of a tuning cello could be heard wafting from a gold-plated vent above one of the columns. "Ouch. I guess they're finishing tuning. They'll be set in a minute, I promise." Kristoff walked around the huge room, admiring the tapestries and touching the smooth walls. Suddenly the scrapes stopped and were replaced with a rolicking melody. "Hey, is that lute?" he asked. "I dunno. It sounds like it, doesn't it?" Anna replied. "You know, I bet you could learn this one."

"This what?"

"This dance! It's really easy! It's sort of a folk one. Just move your arms like this, and then you step here, then back, then over, and again." Anna demonstrated the movements while Kristoff watched. "Wow. Okay, I can try, but I really don't think I've got it." Tentatively, self-consciously, he repeated what Anna did, somewhat. Anna nodded encouragingly, adjusting his arms. "You're almost there! Hold on, just fix… there! Okay, yeah, you've got it! Now we do the same thing, but we join hands. Yeah, you're doing great!"

"Are you sure? I've never done this before."

"Could've fooled me! Really, you're fine!"

Kristoff stumbled on the floor and picked himself up in the same beat, bright red. "This floor's like ice, eh?" Grinning, Anna brushed off the leg of his pants. "Elsa likes to ice it over to skate. Ooh, the song's changing. It's a waltz, I think. You know how to waltz?"

"I don't know what a waltz is," Kristoff admitted, shifting his eyes away from Anna. She shrugged, unfazed. "Here, is it okay if I show you? Just put your right hand here," she instructed, moving it to her waist. "Now your left goes right around here." His left hand ended up on her shoulder, though she moved it after a moment to her own hand. "It's just step-turn-step, step-turn-step, step-turn-step… you're really good at this! Are you sure you've never done it?" Shrugging deprecatingly, Kristoff shook his head. "Not that I know of. I mean, Bulda taught me a few simple steps, but I can't imagine I ever learned anything this complicated."

"You must've learned something somewhere, because I've never seen somebody be so good at this naturally! Really, I'm impressed!" Anna grinned, blushing when she noticed Kristoff was smiling, too.

…

"I can't believe you snapped the heel off that!"

"Hey, it's ice. Elsa made it, you can't blame me! I swear the floor was going to burst into flames, it was so hot in there. It's a wonder it didn't melt right off!"

"Okay, alright, I'll give you that." Kristoff flung the watery bit of shoe out the window and walked with Anna to the door, helping her hobble her way down the hall. "Well, I can't believe I'm saying this, but I had a lot of fun tonight. Didn't expect to be much of a dancer, but you've converted me!"

Anna grinned shyly. "Please. You had such a natural talent for it, I'm surprised you weren't teaching me." Smiling, Kristoff put a hand on her shoulder. "Well, talent or not, I'm really, uh. I'm really happy we did this. I had fun." Anna nodded. "Yeah. Me too."

They stood there for a while, just smiling, and then Kristoff moved forward. Suddenly Anna's earlier conversation with Elsa ran through her head.

"Is Kristoff gonna try to kiss me again?"

"If you want to kiss him, don't wait for him to try."

Anna leaned closer. "May we?" Kristoff closed his eyes, grinning softly.

"Yes, Anna, we may."