I'm not dead! Heh, my sincerest apologies to those who follow me but I was kinda very busy.

Things happened and life choices were made and yeah...it was stressful. But hopefully I'll be back now to write again. I've missed it. So much so i went back and reread some stories that I had started but never really finished. Here's one.

I hope you enjoy it :)

"Why is it that Arendelle is either frozen in place or melting from the Summer sun? What is this world coming to?!"

Anna trudged down the hall dressed in as short a dress as propriety demanded of a Princess, grumbling all the while. If it was up to the redhead, she would be confined to the cooling waters of Lake Freyja or gallivanting in the thinnest chemise she owned when she was not in said water. The only reason she was even within a castle - that seemed either to be an oven or an icebox - was because her twins had refused to go swimming if their Aunty Elsa wouldn't join them. And by refused, she means they threw a collective tantrum that would've put her younger feisty self to shame.

Being as hot as it was that normal brain functionality slowed down, Anna and Kristoff had decided that they would indulge their children's demands. But just this one time. And so, Anna made her way to her sister's study while Kristoff and the twins prepared the sled with everything that they would need for a day trip to the lake. By the time the Queen's study came into view at the end of the hall, she was sweaty, sticky, and irritable. Determined to put an end to her overheating body, Anna planned on barging into her sister's study and haul her out by her cape if she had to. In the past, Elsa had straight up refused to come with them whenever it had been suggested to swim. It's been seven years since the Thaw and she still didn't know how to convince her. It's not for lack of trying on Anna's part. Elsa could refuse just as stubbornly as Anders, her son, could. In fact she thinks that's where he learnt it in the first place. Anna was not stubborn at all and way too flexible to have taught him that, right? Right.

"She better not put up a fight…" Anna muttered before she threw open the doors with a loud bang.

A wall of cold air slammed straight into her and rushed down the hall behind her, making her shiver and cool her annoyance instantaneously.

"Hello to you too, dear sister." Elsa's smooth voice drifted with her breeze, right before Anna's annoyance flared to life again.

"Why didn't you tell me you made an ice locker?" she demanded, stepping all the way in to glare at her sister. "I've been practically melting my butt off the whole day, and it's not even 9 in the morning yet!"

Elsa cocked a perfect eyebrow in response.

Anna took a breath to calm herself, "Sorry…"

"It's alright. You do get irritable when it's so hot out." She smirked and put her quill in its holder, giving the redhead all her attention, "Was there something you wanted to tell me?"

Anna had to keep from blurting out that she needed Elsa to come swimming because Anders and Kristen refused to do so without her. She needed to play this right before she brought her kids out as a bargaining chip. It used to be that Elsa could never refuse her sister…but now she could not, for the life of her, refuse the twins one single thing, they had all but taken Anna's place in that category.

"Oh, yeah, uhm," she bit her lip, "we're going swimming and I thought you'd like to join us?"

"Is that so?" she cocked her eyebrow again.

"Yes. You need a break" she gestured to the stacks of paper on her desk.

"This is my normal work load – actually," she gazed at the papers with a casual air of indifference, "there isn't that much for me to do today, but I'd like to do as much as I can to free up other days where I know I will have too much to do then."

"That's reasonable…"Anna grumbled, remembering days when Elsa barely stayed afloat in all her work. "But it's sooooo hot out today. And…and only a dip in the lake will chase this heat away!"

"Am I not the Queen of the ice and snow?" she asked her sister with a slight head tilt, "so why, pray tell, would I leave my 'ice locker' to go to a lake to cool myself down and do something I cannot even do."

Ugh, she hated when Elsa used her logic against her.

"The offer still stands for me to teach you how to swim, you know." She crossed her arms, unwilling to let her sister slip out of her grasp. Anna needed to swim. She was going to go swimming, Odin help her.

"You didn't answer my question." Elsa mimicked her sister's determined body language and raised a smirk on her lips. There's no way on Earth that Anna was going to persuade her to –

"The children want you to." The Queen's smirk fell off her face only to appear on her sister's.

"That's a low blow."

"Oh come on, Elsa!" she stomped to her desk much like she was throwing a tantrum of her own. "They refuse to go anywhere without their Aunty."

"Y-you're their mother," she argued weakly; "you can make them do anything."

Anna heard the waver in her voice and she knew Elsa's determination was crumbling. All she had to do now is lay it on as thick as she could. And then they could go swimming. Whoop!

"I can, but I don't want to today. It's waaay too hot to even think straight." Anna anchored her hip on the side of her sister's desk, "Besides it would mean the world to Anders if his Aunty could see him swim." She beamed, an idea forming that will ensure that Elsa would come with them "They both took to the water so quickly, you should see them! Kristoff's already teaching Anders tricks."

"Tricks?"

"Yup, the newest one is teaching him how to do a backflip into the water and Kristen–"

"The newest…you mean there were others before…?" Elsa suddenly stood up from her desk, chair scraping in protest. "And you allow it for both of them? They're only five!"

"Why wouldn't I?" Anna asked as casually as she could, trying to hide her amusement. Elsa always got worked up about the various 'tricks' Kristoff teaches them. The twins are perfectly safe in their father's capable hands. Anna trusted him. Elsa did too, but sometimes she could be a tad overprotective.

"Kristen could jump into shallow water, that's why!" she moved passed her sister and started to pace. "And Anders…"

Anna was so used to her sister's protective behaviour, she only found it amusing. She knew Elsa meant no offence and didn't regard them as irresponsible parents. Elsa had actually told Anna not to fret so much when they were babies, but as soon as they could walk, something had flipped a switch in her big sister.

"He could break his little neck doing Odin knows what –" she paced in frantic worry " – or she could jump in when Kristoff or you aren't looking and be in too deep. A current can take them both out to the middle of – alright," she turned to face her sister, "I'm coming."

"Great!" She grabbed her sister by her elbow and dragged her out of the study, "Let's go!"

"Anna, wait!" Elsa had to grab her dress to keep from tripping on it in Anna's haste. "Wait!"

"What?!" the youngest called back but didn't stop running.

"I don't have a swimming suit!" Anna came to an abrupt halt, causing Elsa to swerve out of the way to avoid colliding with her.

"Oh." She thought a while and perked up again. "I have a plan, don't worry!"

Elsa groaned when Anna grabbed her hand and took off down the hall again, but she couldn't help the smile forming on her lips.

"This was your idea?"

"What? It's a great idea – genius if you ask me."

"Why can't I just make a swimming suit? You know, from my ice powers? I make dresses all the time I'm sure a thing to swim in won't be that different."

Anna rolled her eyes, tapping her foot as her sister tried on the swim suit behind a changing curtain. They were in one of Oaken's fast growing franchises. What once had been a cart named Oaken's Cloakens, was now a fully furbished shop called…by the same name. Oaken wasn't really that creative. But it was stocked with everything and anything the man could think of. Anna still had to try his homemade sun balm; maybe she could try it today? Work on her tan a little bit?

"You do realise," Anna called, when Elsa grunted behind the curtain, "that it will most probably melt in the water as soon as you go in?"

"I can just make it so that it doesn't melt."

"And risk freezing the water around you to do so?" Anna quirked an eyebrow at her sister's 'logic'.

"I-I'll make the ice warmer…?" Came Elsa's timid response.

Usually Elsa almost never acted irrationally. Anna had noticed over the years that she acts unreasonably when she's afraid of something. Could she be afraid of the water somehow?

"Els," Anna took a step closer to the curtain, "Are you worried…about swimming?"

"What?" she scoffed, but it sounded forced, "Noooo."

"You know, Kristoff and I are pretty good swimmers, even Sven will be swimming with us. You don't have to be afraid."

"I'm not afraid…where is Kristoff anyway? I don't want him to see me in this…"

"He took the sled with Sven and the twins to prepare the lake for our arrival." She crossed her arms and smirked, "You do realise that he is going to see you in that suit, right? He's family anyway. Besides Kristen and I even have our own that looks similar to yours, it's a green one for me and a purple one for her."

She didn't answer.

"It'll be just the six of us, including Sven. It's a pretty secluded and private lake." She leaned against a nearby wall and waited for her sister to finish getting dressed. "You need any help?"

"No, I'm-I'm alright…I guess…" after a moment's silence, Elsa asked, "It there anyone besides you out there?"

"Nope." Anna popped the 'p', "Just me."

"Okay…"

Elsa emerged wearing a blue one suit that reached her mid-thighs like shorts. The straps were large over her shoulders, decorated with a crocus and rosemaling pattern in horizontal stripes. The suit hugged her figure perfectly and didn't ride up when she took a few steps out from the changing curtain. She waited with baited breath at her sister's reaction while tugging the bottom part lower down her thighs.

"It's so small…" Elsa said, voice timid and uncertain, "Is it supposed to be like this?"

"Yes, yes it is – you look good Elsa." Anna beamed in approval, "You'd make anything look good."

"Thank you, Anna." Elsa blushed, and turned back to regard herself in the mirror that was placed next to the curtain. "Why is it so tight, though?"

"If it's not, the material can weigh you down when it gets wet." Anna stood next to her sister, she squealed suddenly. "We're all gonna match! Oh, this is gonna be so fun!"

"Speaking of…" Elsa turned to her bouncing sister, "Where's yours?"

"Already wearing it."

"Wait what? When did you put it on?"

"Before I came to fetch you."

"So you knew I'd come with you?" She quirked her eyebrow.

"I was planning on dragging you out by your cape if I had to." Anna answered easily, turning to walk to where Oaken sat, so that she could pay for their purchases. Maybe a little sun balm is exactly what the doctor ordered for today.

"Anna, wait!"

The redhead paused and looked at Elsa over her shoulder, "Hmm?"

"I can't go out looking like this!"

"Just remake what you wore on the way here." Anna turned back and continued on to her destination, "Actually, make it more comfy. We're gonna ride our horses."

"Of course we are…" Elsa rolled her eyes, and conjured another ice dress to cover herself up.

When the Queen walked out, fully dressed in a modified version of her favourite ice dressthat she had been wearing, this one had riding trousers, she saw that Anna was making small talk with Oaken while she payed, sniffing a bottle she had opened.

"It smells wonderful." Anna said when Elsa joined them.

"Ja, ja, eet's real good." the humongous man beamed, moustache lengthening with his smile when he placed her change on the counter. "Zat's ze crushed reinroze you are smelling, Princez."

"Can't wait to try it!" she corked the bottle and pocketed the change. "Thanks Oaken. See ya around!"

"Bye-bye! Enjoy ze swim, Majesty." He gave a friendly wave as they left.

The bell chimed and cut off when the door closed, bathing the sister's in the sounds and heat of a bustling port town. Merchants shouted their goods and wares; the harbour bell rang in the distance announcing another approaching ship. Children laughed and ran about with ice cream, waving at their royals. It was a beautiful - extremely hot - day. Elsa could understand why her sister wanted to go swimming so badly.

"I hope I don't regret this…" Elsa muttered through a smile at her people.

"It won't be so bad," Anna nudged her with her shoulder, "I'll bet you'll even enjoy this." she preened, challenging.

"Is that so?"

"Yup!" she bounced as they walked to the royal stables on the castle grounds, "I'll even put my secret chocolate stash on the line."

Elsa raised her eyebrow, a smirk tugging her lips "You're on.

The next installment will come up as soon as possible :3