The next thing Anna knew, it was morning and the ground was shaking rhythmically as if with giant… footsteps. Marshmallow! Her eyes flew open and she looked over her sister's still-sleeping form to the doorway, where she found a jovial snow giant grinning through at her. He shifted to reveal, tightly clasped in his snowy hands, a much smaller snowman.

"Anna! Hey!" Olaf called. "This big guy says he likes you!" Anna laughed and gently shook Elsa awake.

"They're here," she murmured to her sleepy sister. Elsa's bleary eyes opened and with Anna's help she slowly rolled over to look through the doorway. Olaf managed to wriggle free from Marshmallow's fingers and dart through the doorway before he could be caught again. The giant growled in frustration and sat down with a thud. It didn't seem to be the first time this had happened to him.

"Sorry, Marshy. I wanted to see Elsa," Olaf called from the bedside, where he was very unsuccessfully trying to climb onto the bed.

"Olaf," Elsa called quietly. The little snowman stopped and peeked over the edge at her, suddenly serious.

"Yes?"

"Hold still, little guy," Elsa said and reached over to touch his head. Magic flowed from her hand and she suddenly went limp as Olaf stumbled backward in a puff of powdery snow.

"Elsa!" Anna cried, quickly turning her sister over. She was unconscious. Anna pulled Elsa into her arms and, amidst her panic, began the now-familiar process of trying to revive her. Olaf, meanwhile, looked up and gasped.

"Wowww," he exclaimed in awe. "My own personal flurry!" He giggled loudly and patted the little floating snow cloud with his stick arms. "I love it!" Elsa was semiconscious and heard his exclamation.

"Good. It… worked," she mumbled hazily, her head lolling to one side as she weakly tried to look over at the snowman.

"Stop, Elsa. Hold still," Anna scolded and pressed Elsa's head to her chest to keep her from moving. The queen winced as she became more aware of her current condition. It felt like there was a deep emptiness in her bones. The faintest tingling of magic remained, but it was so depleted that her entire body had begun to ache terribly. She cringed and leaned into Anna's body in a desperate attempt to escape the pain.

"Are you okay?" Olaf asked, cloud forgotten as he approached the bed once more.

"I'll be fine in a moment," Elsa replied through gritted teeth, doing her best to break out of her pain-induced mental fog. "Come closer, Olaf. There's… one more thing I ne… need to do."

"Not today, there isn't," Anna insisted, grabbing Elsa's hand before she could reach out and use more magic. "This is too much for you! You have to rest. You need to stop passing out on me like that! It's really frightening and I don't like it. I don't like it at all! You know better than that, Elsa."

"I know, and I'm sorry for… for worrying you," Elsa replied in a slurred voice, barely clinging to her senses. Her body was throbbing with pain. "I just… it's my fault that pieces of him are missing and… I want to make it better." Chunks of snow were indeed absent from the snowman's body, but he didn't seem too inconvenienced by it.

"It's not your fault," Olaf insisted. "It was really windy up on the mountain – especially after your palace disappeared. That's why parts of me were falling off while we were looking for you. The winds just blew them right off! Whoosh!" Elsa shook her head weakly in Anna's grasp, but didn't say anything as tears began to stream from her tightly closed eyes. Seeing that Elsa was fading fast, Anna spoke up.

"Marshmallow, Olaf, I'd like for you both to stay inside for now, please. At least until Elsa is well enough to get you out of trouble if something happens. Marshmallow, please go find Kai and introduce Olaf and yourself. Olaf, please tell him I need to speak with him. Marshmallow, do you remember Kai? From the court?"

"Ka-i," the giant mumbled uncertainly, but nodded nonetheless. He didn't feel as secure in his speech without a strong magical connection to Elsa, but he remembered the man.

"That's it," Anna replied absently. "Hurry." The snowmen wandered down the hallway, but Anna ignored their odd patting footsteps in favor of tending to Elsa.

"Elsa, I understand," she whispered, rocking her sister's helpless body back and forth. "He lost parts of his snow when you… when you were gone. But it's okay. He's fine. Don't feel guilty about it, please." She compassionately wiped away Elsa's tears. Anna couldn't tell if it was a shiver or a shudder that passed through her sister, but she knew she didn't like it. Elsa couldn't suppress a whine of pain that sent panic shooting down Anna's spine.

"Elsa, you're hurt! Oh, why did you do that?" Another little agonized whimper tore into Anna's heart. "Shh… it's going to be all right. Please… please just hold still. Maybe you'll feel better if you rest." She held tightly to Elsa and kissed her on her forehead and her cheek, and she nuzzled her face into Elsa's hair. Anna hummed soothingly until Elsa's tense, aching body relaxed in her embrace.

"There you go," she murmured, shifting to lie down with Elsa. She held her sister close and rubbed her back as the queen's tremors and chills ebbed away into an exhausted sleep.

"I don't care if it is an abuse of power. I'm not letting you do any work for the next three days," Anna firmly informed her unconscious sister. "You're going to stay here with me. We can take walks when you're feeling better, but no work and no using so much magic that you pass out and hurt like this. Elsa, every time you faint I'm afraid you won't wake up again." Tears made their way down Anna's cheeks as she pressed her lips to Elsa's forehead.

"I love you, Elsa. And I hate seeing you in so much pain. Please get better… I can't lose you." Elsa was asleep and didn't respond. Anna's weeping eventually subsided and she held her sister gently as the exhausted queen slept.

Anna's tears had dried by the time Kai appeared in the doorway. He looked away, embarrassed to intrude on an intimate moment between his charges, but Anna called him closer. Elsa was in a deep sleep, so she didn't stir when Anna leaned up on one arm to talk to Kai.

"I think she'll be okay," Anna answered the unspoken question on Kai's worried face. "But I don't want this to happen again. I need for you and the council to manage the country while she recovers. If any major decisions need to be made you can send word to us, but Elsa will not be holding formal audiences for the next three days at least. Nor will she be doing paper correspondence. No work for her. At all. None."

"Is this something she has decreed?" Kai asked, confused. His tone sounded somewhat challenging to Anna, so she fired right back.

"It doesn't matter," Anna said heatedly, putting a protective hand on the back of Elsa's head. "It is something I decree, and she is not allowed to overrule me on this." Kai's mouth twitched and he nodded, allowing a small smile to grow on his face. They are just like their parents.

"Very well, Princess Anna. All shall be taken care of." Anna nodded – stiffly at first, and then with great relief. She sank back onto the bed and cuddled Elsa's unconscious form close again.

"Thank you, Kai," she murmured quietly.

"At your service," he replied as he bowed and turned to the door.

"Kai?" Anna called again, lifting her head up. "One more thing. Please have the dungeon searched and the large steel shackles removed and destroyed. You know the ones I'm talking about." Kai nodded, his face very sad with the memory of Elsa's hardships.

"I do, Princess. And I will gladly do as you ask." Anna sighed in relief as he bowed again and closed the door behind him. Kai turned to move down the hallway and walked straight into a pillar of ice. He stumbled backward and peered up at the ice giant who was looking down at him in concern.

"An-na?" he rumbled.

"She's okay. They're both okay," Kai replied. "They're resting now. I… I suppose that means I'm in charge of looking after you two, then." Marshmallow nodded silently in response.

"I'm not worried about you," Kai informed the giant as they walked down the hall. "It's the little one I'm more worried about. Now where did he go…"

Anna held her sister close and furrowed her brow as she thought of all Elsa had been through in the past few days that had led to her present weakened condition. She runs herself into the ground. Why? Is it out of guilt? The princess shook her head regretfully. She knew she'd have to be more careful to keep Elsa from self-destructing. Elsa could watch over the kingdom with great success, but she clearly needed someone to watch over her.

A little whimper startled Anna from her thoughts. She suddenly realized that Elsa was quite tense, and though she was huddling against Anna's body it didn't seem to be helping this time.

"Elsa?" Anna asked quietly, running a hand through Elsa's hair. The older woman shuddered violently.

"No…" the breathless whisper fell from trembling lips. Elsa's eyes were squeezed tightly shut and she was holding desperately to Anna's dress in her sleep. Anna stared helplessly as her sister remained caught up in a nightmare.

"Elsa, wake up!"

"No. No! NO! ANNA!" Elsa's cries increased in volume and terror and she began struggling within Anna's grasp. She twisted around and apparently stretched her wounded side because she screamed in pain and curled in on herself. Anna gasped with worry and climbed on top of Elsa to keep her from injuring herself again. Elsa clearly felt trapped and her body became cold as her weakened powers reacted to her fear. Anna continued to call her sister's name frantically, pulling at her shoulders, shaking her in a desperate attempt to rescue her from the nightmare.

Anna had her head bent to Elsa's, tearfully calling her back to consciousness, when the queen suddenly woke and went completely limp. She was sobbing so hard and her body trembled so badly that Anna thought Elsa might fall apart.

"Anna," she groaned, and coughed raggedly as despair claimed her heart.

"Elsa! It's all right, I'm here," Anna insisted, still very close. Her sister's pain made Anna feel like her own heart was breaking. Elsa's eyes flew open and quickly focused on Anna's. The older girl gasped and tears sprang anew. She raised a shaking hand and stopped just before she could touch Anna's face. Memories of her nightmare filtered back into her mind and she drew her hand away quickly and looked warily at Anna.

"Are… are you hurt?" she asked dazedly, pain fogging her vision.

"No, Elsa. I'm not hurt. It was just a dream. Shh, it was just a dream," Anna tried to soothe Elsa and bring her into an embrace, but the queen was stiff in her arms.

"But… but I lost control! I… I hit you. In the heart," Elsa croaked, still caught somewhere between her dream and reality.

"No you didn't, Elsa. That didn't really happen. It was a nightmare – you're okay. I'm okay. Listen," she carefully pulled Elsa's head to her chest so Elsa could hear her pounding heartbeat. "You didn't hit me. Your powers can't hurt me, remember? Shh, please don't cry, Elsa. It's all right." Elsa had her hands fisted tightly in the fabric of Anna's dress. She was clinging to her sister as if her life depended on it. Gradually her tears slowed and eventually stopped as the steady heart under her ear soothed her with its gentle rhythm.

"A-Anna?" the small, trembling voice spoke into her chest.

"Oh Elsa," Anna sighed, gently caressing her sister's tear-stained, pained face. "I'm so sorry. I wish this didn't happen to you."

"Anna…" there was a miserable desperation in Elsa's voice that made Anna's heart ache. She frowned and held Elsa even closer, gently rocking side to side. She began to sing very quietly. Gradually, Elsa relaxed. She would twitch awake occasionally as if bothered by pain or afraid to sleep, but eventually her body overpowered her mind and she fell into a mercifully dreamless sleep.

Just as Elsa went completely limp in her arms, Anna was startled to hear a strange scratching sound at the door. It soon opened to reveal Olaf's misshapen frame. His body was cast into shadow by the looming presence of Marshmallow behind him.

"Anna! Hey!" Olaf greeted her with excitement but softened his voice at her insistent shushing. He lifted his head up above his shoulders and saw the back of his creator's head encased in Anna's arms and covered his mouth quickly. As a result, his head toppled to the ground.

"Oops, wait." He tripped in his pursuit of it and part of his body went rolling in a different direction. Marshmallow reached a massive arm through the door with a sigh and helped him reclaim his wayward segments.

"Thanks," Olaf whispered to the giant, who grunted in response and looked to Anna.

"Help you," Marshmallow uttered as softly as possible from outside the door. Her brow furrowed in confusion, but Olaf quickly explained.

"We figured out how to help Elsa," he said quietly. "We can feel her magic when we're near, and we can tell that something is wrong. So we decided to help! It was actually Marshy's idea, but you know him – he's never one to take credit." The snow giant looked bashfully at the ground. Is he actually blushing? Anna wondered.

"You can communicate with each other?" she asked in awe.

"Yeah!" Olaf giggled. "It's with our magic. All it takes is a spark!" A ray of blue traveled through the door and into the back of Olaf's head. He put a hand to his mouth as if thinking, and then he chuckled.

"I do too, big guy!" he responded. Then he turned to Anna. "He likes you. And we know you're worried about Elsa. We are too, so we found a way to help!"

"How is that?" Anna asked, still clutching Elsa tight. The older girl moaned and shifted in her sleep at the unfamiliar sounds around her.

"We're going to share her magic," Olaf said simply. "She gave it to us, and we've figured out how to give some of it back!"

"It won't hurt you, will it? You know she wouldn't want that," Anna objected.

"Oh no," Olaf reassured her. "We practiced. All that happens is that we get a bit tired, and that's fine because we are strong right now. Her magic says she's hurt, so we're going to let her borrow from us until she's better."

"Borrow," Marshmallow echoed in agreement, his excited booming voice rousing Elsa from her half-sleep. She groaned and trembled in response even as Anna rubbed her back. Olaf shushed his large friend frantically and led him to sit across the hall. Olaf stared intently into the blue eyes of the giant and nodded. A stream of power vaulted across the gap between them. When it ceased, Marshmallow sighed and leaned wearily against the wall. He closed his eyes and Anna was afraid for him for a moment, but then he opened them again and smiled reassuringly at his favorite princess. She gave a little smile back. The gentle giant watched as his smaller counterpart, literally vibrating with energy, hopped over to the bed.

"TURN HER OVER AND OPEN HER EYES!" Olaf shouted, though he clearly didn't mean to be so loud. His eyes were tinted blue and were bugging out of his head and his stick arms flailed wildly under the throes of the barely-contained power in his tiny body. His flurry was pouring snow onto him and his surroundings. Elsa's eyes snapped open at the loud voice. She gasped in surprise when Anna half-lifted her and flipped her over. Before she could make a sound, she was eye to eye with her little snowman. Power flooded from Olaf into the shocked queen's eyes, blinding her temporarily. When Elsa's vision cleared she saw Olaf toddling sleepily over to Marshmallow.

"Hope you feel better, Elsa," he murmured, before collapsing into Marshmallow's lap and quickly falling asleep.

Elsa whimpered, confused. She shivered at the foreign sensation of the power running through her body from an outside source. It was quenching her pain like cold water over a burn. She quickly felt herself lifted into familiar warm arms and she looked up. Anna was searching her face worriedly, but she seemed relieved when she saw Elsa's alert eyes looking back at her.

"Anna, what-" her words cut off as another spasm traveled down her spine. It wasn't painful, but it felt very strange and she shuddered.

"Are you okay?" Worried blue-green eyes examined Elsa's face closely. "They… I don't know exactly what they did, but it was supposed to help you feel better." Elsa nodded slowly, trying to ignore the buzzing of the magic in her head and ears.

"I feel… better, yes. What did they do?"

"They let you borrow their magic." Understanding mixed with panic grew in Elsa's eyes and Anna was quick to reassure her.

"They're fine, I promise. Look, they're both resting in the hall." She shifted Elsa in her arms so the older woman could look across the room and see the snowmen through the doorway. Both were fast asleep, breathing steadily.

"Aww, look at them. So peaceful," Anna murmured. "They love you, you know."

"I guess they do," Elsa responded in awe.

"They told me your magic says you are hurt. Is it your side? Or is it because you used so much magic recently?" Anna asked, drawing Elsa close again.

"I… don't know. My magic… it doesn't hurt as bad now that it's not so empty. As for my side, I guess I stretched it when… when I woke up. It's sore, but it feels no worse than before."

"It's supposed to be getting better, Elsa. You're not doing any work for the next three days. That's an order." Elsa's brow furrowed like she was going to argue, but then she saw the steel in her sister's eyes.

"Are you pulling rank on me, Anna?" Elsa asked in a low, warning tone even though she was, as always, at the mercy of the younger girl. Anna didn't even flinch. If anything, she glared down at her sister in greater certainty.

"Yes, I am. You can be upset about it if you want, but it doesn't change anything. You're not working for the next three days, and I'm not leaving your side. I'm going to make sure you heal if it's the last thing I do. I love you, Elsa. I'm going to take care of you, and I won't let you stop me." Elsa was captivated by the fire in Anna's eyes. While she kept her voice even and calm, the fervor in Anna's words was more than obvious. The fierce love evident on Anna's face pierced Elsa's heart and tears welled up in her eyes. She leaned into Anna's chest and fought back a sob.

"T-Thank you," she whimpered. Anna had been stiff, expecting a struggle, but she melted at the pitiful sound of her sister's cry. She gathered the trembling woman close and began rocking her again.

"You're so welcome," Anna whispered back after a moment. "Oh Elsa… I love you so much. Please rest now – I know you still feel terrible. Let your magic help you." Elsa sniffled in response but relaxed further when Anna laid her down and settled in beside her. Anna drew Elsa into her arms and gently rubbed her back. She leaned down to kiss the crown of Elsa's head and left her face there to breathe in her sister's scent as Elsa slowly went still and fell asleep.

Over the next three days Anna was true to her word and would not allow Elsa to do work or use her powers. This unfortunately left their two snowmen slumbering in the hallway. Once Anna reassured her that they would be okay and that she could revive them later, Elsa let them be. She dutifully spent most of her time in bed, and only rarely was she without Anna.

On the third day, when Elsa felt strong enough, Anna took her outside for a picnic. Elsa marveled at the sensations of grass and sun that she had been denied for such a long time. She could barely remember what the outside world was like. Her delighted, childlike reactions almost made Anna cry a time or two, but then the girl set about finding new textures to set upon Elsa's sensitive fingertips. She collected fresh flowers for her to smell and led her to places with new sounds like the peeping of ducklings and the rush of water over stones.

Anna had insisted upon dismissing any nearby guards; she jealously wanted to be the only person with Elsa as she experienced these forgotten things again. She came to find that it was a very good idea. With no other eyes on them, Elsa was able to relax and be informal. They were sprawled on soft grass, lying there hand in hand when Elsa suddenly laughed. It was a delightful, liberated sound and the fact that she hadn't heard Elsa laugh like that in thirteen years struck Anna's heart in an almost painful way. She turned her head and squeezed her sister's hand in an unspoken question.

"Anna," Elsa said in an amazed, breathless voice, "I'm not afraid any more, and I'm not sad. Nothing hurts in here or in here," she pointed to her heart and her head. "And most of all, you're here with me! Oh Anna, it's all so…" Anna had only a second to take a startled gasp of air before Elsa fell upon Anna's prone form in a full body hug. The queen was too slight to even press the breath out of Anna's lungs, though she stopped breathing anyway from the sheer spontaneity of the embrace. And because Elsa was laughing so hard!

"I can't even describe it!" Light hair filled Anna's vision as an ecstatic voice ticked her ear. Anna found her current situation equally indescribable. Elsa's body was warm from the sun and from her elation and she was so close and so happy it brought tears to Anna's eyes. Joy.

"Joy," Anna whispered, "And love." Then Elsa was beaming down at her with so much beauty Anna thought her sister must be divine. She realized that it was love that had cast out Elsa's fear. Love had saved Elsa's life and ended the curse. Love had always been there, all around them and between them. It had enabled this joy.

Anna looked up into eyes so full of love and let happy tears fall as she embraced her sister once more, rejoicing in the thought that this wonderful life was hers, was theirs. It was inexpressibly more than she had ever imagined.