She was really beginning to wonder if she should have come back at all.

She knew that even the thought of staying alone in her castle of ice forever was ridiculous. Still, she was getting very frustrated with the amount of work that was suddenly thrust upon her the very day she returned, increasing as the days and weeks and months went by.

That work included treaty agreements, trading requests, and marriage proposals, the last of which were all promptly thrown out. Elsa was happily single, and she planned on keeping herself that way for a while.

Elsa sat at a desk in her room, finally finishing up the last of that day's letters. It had taken hours to go through each of them, and even longer to reply. She folded the last envelope, sealing it before sitting back in her seat. Her posture wouldn't have been approved of were she at a dinner party or a meeting of the royals, but she was in her own room and she couldn't care less how she looked. No one was ever in her room besides herself, even after everything was resolved.

Her powers were accepted by her people, and most importantly her sister, but her feelings couldn't be healed so easily. While she was more confident, she was still slightly fearful of losing control of her temper and have another coronation incident on her hands, or worse. While she didn't spend her days locked up in there anymore, her room was still her only sanctuary.

Anna had been in a few times, but not for very long, just to see how her sister was doing when she was alone, or to talk about her time with Kristoff. Kristoff had come in only once, to get Elsa's blessing, which only after a long speech and series of questions did she give her word. Kai and Gerda usually stayed in the hallway, but instead of speaking through wood they were finally permitted to open the door.

Elsa's eyes found themselves directed to her bedroom window, showing the first act of a storm that had started only minutes before. If Elsa had the power to control all weather, then she would have assumed that the dark clouds outside were representing her mood. Besides the rain, though. She wasn't feeling very down at that moment. Lightning put on a show, and thunder clapped in applause.

"ELSAAAAAAAA!"

Elsa instantly stiffened when she heard a panicked yell coming from the hallway, but she didn't have time to really react, as the voice quickly grew louder and louder before the cause of the noise barged right into her room.

"Olaf?" Elsa stood up from her desk, watching the snowman with concern. Olaf was watching Elsa, looking very upset. He had something in his hands, but Elsa didn't pay that any mind. She took a step towards Olaf, but still stayed a good distance away. "What's wrong?"

"Okay, I was outside with Sven, and we were collecting some flowers for the wedding," Olaf began explaining rapidly, holding out a bouquet of dandelions. "And we ate some carrots, and then Anna and Kristoff came and said 'hi' before moving their fingers funny and talking about making their own snowmen-"

"Olaf, that is too much information," Elsa interrupted sternly, cringing slightly, before her features softened and she knelt in front of the snowman. "Why are you so upset?"

"Elsa," Olaf began, sounding very fearful. "The sky is yelling at me!"

Elsa stared for almost a minute before responding. "I'm sorry?"

"Don't be sorry, you didn't make the sky angry!" Olaf started, then he paused, staring at Elsa with suspicion. "Unless you did."

"No, I don't understand," Elsa corrected. She gave the snowman a confused look. "What do you mean?"

Olaf seemed to remember that he was upset, and he pointed at the window, towards the dark clouds that completely drowned out the moonlight. He stood up as high as he could, moving his head closer to Elsa so he could clearly be heard while he whispered, though he gave the clouds shifty eyes. "I think I might have offended the sky when I said that the rain was making me feel all sloshy."

A second after Olaf finished his sentence, another loud drum of thunder sounded from the outdoors.

Olaf screeched, running right up to Elsa and grabbing her leg. He looked up at her frantically. "It's doing it again!"

Elsa was completely silent for a long time. Then, she replied, sounding completely deadpan. "... That is thunder."

"Thunder?" Olaf tilted his head as if he recognized the word but didn't know why. He glanced back out the window warily, letting go of Elsa's leg as he took a few steps towards the glass. "Why is it so loud?"

Elsa remained kneeling on the carpet, watching the snowman slowly make his way up to the window, placing a stick hand on it in curiosity. Elsa didn't really know the answer to the question she was asked, so she gave the best answer she could. "It just is, Olaf."

Olaf experimentally tapped the glass with a finger, when there was a sudden flash of light that made him jump back a few feet in surprise. "What's that?!"

Elsa smiled slightly, relieved that nothing disastrous had caused the snowman's panic. She had thought that something terrible had happened. "That's lightning."

Olaf looked back to Elsa, his fears starting to fade at her calm demeanor. "Is it painful?"

Elsa shook her head, her smile growing, but at the snowman's innocence. "Only if you get hit."

Elsa quickly realized that she shouldn't have explained and wished she could have retracted her words when Olaf almost flew into another panic. "I don't want to get hit!"

Elsa tried to calm Olaf down, watching him with sincere concern as his breathing became labored, both of them momentarily forgetting that the snowman didn't have lungs. Elsa raised her hands towards him, but she pulled them back. She was hesitant to touch others, even though she had more control over her powers than ever before. The only thing she could do was use her words. "You won't, Olaf. I promise."

As if to make Elsa sound like a liar, the thunder boomed the loudest it ever had, causing the entire castle to shake slightly. Olaf screamed and jumped right into Elsa's arms as if he trusted her to protect him. His voice was muffled as his face pressed right into the fabric of her dress, though his tone was obviously desperate. "I need a warm hug!"

Elsa took only a moment to react, having almost been knocked over from the snowman thrusting all of his weight into her chest. She quickly put her arms under Olaf to keep him from falling onto the floor. She tried to shush him, whispering soothing words that didn't seem to have any effect.

"Can I stay here?" Olaf asked, sounding like a terrified child trying to seek comfort from a parent. "I don't want to go back out there. I might get hit by lightning."

Elsa hesitated again. After such a long time of keeping everyone away, out of her room, the only place that she could be without endangering others, she didn't know if she was ready to let anyone in. She remembered the years of locking everyone out, no matter how hard they tried to get in for her benefit, to see if there was something they could do for her. Olaf wasn't trying to give her unwanted help. He wasn't trying to get her out of her room. He needed her.

Elsa couldn't bring herself to send Olaf away as she did Anna.

"Of course."

Elsa stood, placing a hand behind Olaf to keep him steady as she walked over to her bed. She sat on the edge, placing the snowman on her lap. Olaf still hugged Elsa's waist while she gently rubbed Olaf's back to comfort him, the cold of his being not bothering her in the slightest.

The storm did not let up. If anything, it got worse. The sky did not lighten up at the snow queen's defrosting. Thunder roared and lightning snapped back. Elsa was calm, and Olaf was calming down.

Together, they watched the rain.