A wedding. Any ordinary wedding would have Anna bouncing off the walls, but it was her wedding. To Kristoff. Elsa had mentally prepared herself for weeks, but her sister's reaction was beyond anything she could have predicted.

The sun had risen recently. She could not determine how recently, but she guessed it must have just peeked over the horizon. Either way, Anna burst into her room singing at the top of her lungs. For a moment, she pretended she could block it out by pulling a pillow over her head, but Anna picked that up and danced around the room with it a little bit before tossing it into a corner. Elsa groaned and sat up. She blinked and rubbed her eyes. Anna currently struggled with the latch on her window. Once it was open, a cool morning breeze rolled in.

"Anna?" Elsa asked. Her sister kept on singing. She pushed her blankets aside and moved to stand up, but Anna flopped on the bed before that could happen.

"Isn't it beautiful outside?" she asked. "The birds were singing extra pretty today."

"Today has hardly begun," Elsa said. She yawned and lay back down.

"I know! Isn't it cruel? I won't get to see Kristoff all day! Not until the feast tonight. His family won't let me." Anna leaned over her and pouted.

Elsa sighed and rested against the headboard of her bed. She would just have to accept that her job for the day would be keeping Anna occupied, a task she had thought she was done with for the past two years. At twenty years old, Anna should have been able to keep herself entertained. "How are you feeling?" she asked, as if no one had a clue.

"I'm so happy!" Anna exclaimed. "but also nervous. I mean, I have to meet a bunch of dignitaries tonight, and they'll all want to wish me good health, and then what if some other evil prince shows up and tries to seduce and kill you for the thrown? And then Arrendelle will be plunged into eternal winter again and Kristoff and I will have to postpone the wedding in order to-"

"Anna!" Her sister stopped talking, though she still looked tense. "Are you sure you not worried?"

Anna hesitated before admitting, "Maybe."

"What exactly about?"

Anna shrugged. "Well, it's a big deal to get married. I know Kristoff and I are ready, but there's always that fear of the unknown... you know?"

"He's courted you for the last two years. I doubt much mystery remains," Elsa answered with a roll of her eyes. Sometimes Anna worried for nothing. Well, most of the time, actually. Elsa stood up and smoothed out her nightgown. She'd have to decide on a dress for receiving visitors, and then set aside an evening gown for the welcome feast. Anna could help her decide.

Her sister remained on the bed, hands folded in her lap. "Yeah. About that..."

Elsa opened her dresser and began sorting through different gowns. Which one said 'dignified' the best? "About what?" she asked.

"I was wondering, you know, as one sister to another..." Elsa nodded when Anna's voice died. She tossed a gown on the bed. "I was wondering if you had advice concerning – um, concerning wedding nights."

Elsa stopped digging through the gowns. Anna seriously could not be asking her about that. "You mean the ceremony? I think you should ask the head of the church before me."

"That's not what I mean!" said Anna. She pushed off the bed and walked over to Elsa. "I need to know what I... what I should do when we're alone together."

Anna's face had turned crimson at the admission, and Elsa's face grew warm as well. She cleared her throat and went back to digging through her selection of clothing. "Why don't you just do what you two normally do? Not that I need to know what that is." She picked up a gown and held it to herself. "How does this look?"

Her sister frowned and picked up a long sleeve. "Too warm for summer," she answered. "And either way, Kristoff and I haven't really done anything, so we can't exactly do what we normally do."

Elsa dropped the dress she held. Of all the things she imagined her sister would barge into her room to tell her about this morning, a confession of chastity was not anywhere near the likely scenarios. She must have misunderstood. "Anna, you and Kristoff are both adults and have been together for two years. You have to have done something together... haven't you?"

Anna shook her head. "Oh Elsa, the Bishop said it would not be appropriate-"

"Well, the Bishop says dancing is not appropriate, but we do it anyways, don't we?"

"So have you done it?" Anna asked.

"Excuse me?" said Elsa. She walked over to the bed and began fussing with the first gown she picked out. Anna jumped onto the bed, purposefully pinning the dress under her foot. "Hey, you'll wrinkle it!"

"So you haven't done it either, then." She lifted her foot so that Elsa could tear away the dress.

Elsa smoothed out the wrinkles Anna's foot caused and walked over to the mirror. She held the dress up and studied her figure. At the age of twenty-three, she had done very little in the way of human interaction. "What did you expect?" she asked, glancing back toward Anna. "I lived my life in this room until recently." Until two years ago, she feared that touching a person might kill them. Even now, she worried about what might happen if she were intimate with one... not that she desired anyone to be intimate with.

"But no one ever tempted you, Elsa?" Anna jumped down from the bed. She walked over to the mirror. "You can't say you haven't fallen for someone ever."

Elsa met her sister's gaze in the reflection. "I haven't."

Anna frowned. "Well, that's disappointing."

"Not all of us need a lover to be happy," Elsa said. She turned from the mirror and went to her desk. She would have to decide on accompanying jewelry for the evening. "In my case, it might be an advantage to go without one." She picked up a silver necklace set with sapphires and held it up to her neck. Anna joined her and nodded.

"Wear that one. And you had better not be avoiding people because of your powers again."

Elsa tried to not look surprised, but she avoided Anna's gaze in favor of fastening the necklace. "Don't be silly. I just... haven't found anyone that interesting." And she really had not. Even though her fear of harming any potential lover still lingered, Elsa had not felt a pull of attraction to anyone.

"Well, there will be a lot of visitors for the wedding. Maybe you'll meet someone!"

Elsa rolled her eyes. "Yes, because we've had such success with suitors met at parties."

"Oh, they can't all be evil," Anna said. "Hey! Maybe Kristoff's family can find you someone nice! He's always going on about how they're the love experts." Before Elsa could protest the offer, Anna had opened her bedroom door. "I'll see you later today!" she called, then shut the door behind her, leaving Elsa alone with her thoughts.

With a heavy sigh, Elsa disrobed and brought the dress she had picked out back over to the mirror. It would be better to appear somewhat normal at the opening ceremonies. Not all of their visitors would be comfortable with the idea of Elsa's powers. The last thing she needed during her sister's wedding was a political incident. She held the dress up one more time and paused. The pastel blue complimented her natural skin color well, and the trim would hug her form nicely. She smiled as she slipped into the dress. Even if she was not interested in anything more, she did not mind the idea of turning a few heads that day.

Scene Break

"Don't slouch, Merida."

The young redhead rolled her eyes and readjusted her position in the carriage. She had wanted to ride a horse to the palace, but her mother insisted that they take a coach. A stuffy, overheated, noisy, crowded coach. "Yes, mother," Merida muttered. Even though she found herself mildly annoyed at the comment, she could see her mother's reasoning behind it. They were visiting a foreign land in the interest of establishing trade. To make matters more difficult, Arrendelle appeared far more civilized than any village in DunBroch.

"Thank you for accompanying me, lass. Your father would have been a might bit too rough for this kingdom."

Merida glanced out the window and observed yet another row of stone houses expertly built. "And so you decided I would fit in?"

Her mother smiled and shook her head. "You have more grace than you think. And besides, you are nearly the same age as the nation's queen. It would do you well to form a diplomatic relationship with her."

"Not another play date, mum," Merida said. Year after year, she found herself coaxed into attending the latest gathering of nobility, usually with plenty of people her age in attendance. Merida suspected her mother of attempting to play matchmaker the first two times when some princes followed her around like lost puppies.

"I just want you to be ready to take over, Merida, and the first step toward leading a kingdom well is talking with the neighboring rulers."

"Is that what I'm supposed to do at some lass's wedding?" Merida teased.

They both laughed softly. Despite the barbed nature of most of their conversations, Merida and her mother had reached an understanding over the years. "I promise, Merida, I did no such meddling this time. Whoever you decide to share your life with will have to be chosen by you."

Merida nodded and slouched back down in her seat. She could see the castle in the distance. "Thank you, mum." Her mother did not necessarily know exactly why Merida had avoided marriage like a plague. When she was a teenager, it was easy to say she was not ready for the commitment; but as an adult, there was the serious problem that she had yet to find a man of nobility attractive... or any man, for that matter. Merida did not plan to tell her mother about that, however. She had enough to worry about without reassessing her daughter's strangeness.

Scene Break

Elsa waited patiently alongside Anna and Kristoff as they greeted the arriving nobility. Thankfully, the castle was large enough to house all their visitors, but Elsa did not know if she would enjoy having an overcrowded palace filled with royalty. There was something attractive about seclusion.

She nodded politely and said, "Welcome to Arrendelle," every time her doorman introduced a king or duchess. The person would then bow and hand off a small present to Anna and Kristoff along with words of congratulations. Elsa was sure only half the people in attendance truly were thrilled to be in attendance of the wedding. The rest were there on business.

"Announcing from the northwestern kingdom of DunBroch, Queen Elinor and her daughter, Princess Merida."

Elsa bowed her head. "Welcome to Arrendelle," she said. When she looked up, her eyes lingered on the young woman with fiery red hair. Her gaze started at the curve of her hips, then up to her torso and slender neck before settling on her heart-shaped face. She blinked and then realized she still needed to formally greet the queen. "Your Majesty," she said, turning to the older woman.

Elinor smiled down at her. "Queen Elsa, it's an honor to meet you." She then turned to greet Anna, but the daughter's attention remained focused on Elsa. She offered a smile, not knowing what else to do.

Merida smiled back and ran a hand through the curly locks in an attempt to smooth them down, but it didn't help. "Your kingdom is lovely," she said, her voice steeped in an accent very different from the other dignitaries. "Me mum said it was something special, but I did not believe her until today."

"I am glad your trip has been pleasant thus far," Elsa said. She blinked and, for a moment, struggled to remember what she wanted to say. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Merida."

"Not half as pleasurable as meetin' you," said Merida. She offered another smile and her and her mother stepped inside the palace. Elsa had to force herself not to stare after the young woman. She still had guests to greet. Something about Merida had caught her eye, however. Perhaps it was the accent or her outgoing demeanor. Or perhaps Merida was simply an oddity out of most royalty she had met. Hailing from DunBroch, a place Elsa had never visited, made her immediately more interesting.

Yet, as Elsa continued to greet the arriving dignitaries, she focused more on recalling Merida's features rather than pertinent facts about the noble families standing in front of her.