SUPRISE! Just when you thought we were done, here's a bonus chapter for you! I don't know when I got the idea to write an epilogue to this series, but it was some time before the final entries. It was only after that that I started getting numerous requests from readers for an epilogue where Anna finally reads all of Elsa's responses to her letters. So, indulging my original idea (and maybe some of you readers), here is THE FINAL chapter where Anna reads Elsa's responses.

Epilogue

One week later…..

Elsa sat at her desk in her bedroom, poring over the many missives and documents strewn across the surface. It was another fine summer day, the morning's clouds and shrouds of mist having given way to bright, clear sunshine. It was one of the things that Elsa disliked about being queen, having to stay inside even on the nicest of days. But after her disastrous coronation ball the week before and the treacherous few days that followed, culminating in her almost being killed and Anna freezing to death because of her, there were many things that she had to smooth over, mostly with the half-dozen foreign dignitaries who had been visiting at the time. Just after the Great Thaw, she had wondered vaguely why the citizens of Arendelle hadn't just deposed her on the spot, but she supposed that they had been so happy that she had been able to reverse the weather herself that they now praised and adored her as their queen. But after what she did, she felt she didn't deserve their love and respect.

Feeling the beginnings of a headache, she lay her pen down on the desktop and, closing her eyes and resting her elbows on the desk, began massaging her temples. After a few minutes, she was starting to feel better, but her relief was short-lived when the door banged open and a certain redhead came bouncing in.

"Hey, Elsa! I was wondering where you were!" said Anna, coming over to her.

"Anna, don't bang the door open whenever you come into a room," said Elsa wearily, opening her eyes. She was still getting used to her new "open door" policy. "And please don't shout."

"I'm not shouting, I'm just talking in my normal tone of voice," said Anna, a puzzled expression coming over her face.

"Well, your normal tone of voice is loud," Elsa stated matter-of-factly, pushing her chair back and standing up.

"Well, that's because you're just starting to get used to it again," said Anna, shrugging. But then she saw Elsa's somewhat stern expression and said, "I'm sorry, Elsa, I'll try to be quieter around you."

Elsa's expression softened and she smiled. "That's okay, Anna," she said, waving a hand dismissively. "It's like you said, I'm just starting to get used to it again."

"Okay, but in all seriousness, though, I will try to keep it down, especially when you're working," said Anna.

"That would be very helpful, thank you," said Elsa, smiling again. "So, did you have any plans today?"

Anna shrugged. "Not really," she answered, walking over to Elsa's bed and plopping down on it. "Like you, Kristoff is working and Olaf is off somewhere exploring, so I'm on my own for a little while. Unless you take the afternoon off to spend with me?"

Elsa's smile faltered. "I'm sorry, Anna, I can't today. I have so much work to do. I still have to smooth over the events after my disastrous coronation."

"Oh, well, that's okay, I was just hoping….." Anna just let her voice trail off into silence. She flopped her head back on the pillows but immediately jerked back up again when she felt something hard. "Elsa, your pillows are really hard," she said.

"Funny," said Elsa in a teasing voice from the other side of the room. "I find them to be quite soft, actually."

"Maybe to you they are," said Anna, teasing back as she felt around underneath the pillow, searching for whatever might be the source of the "hardness". "But to me, they're….." Her voice trailed off again when she pulled out a small, blue, leather-bound book.

"They're what, Anna?" Elsa asked distractedly, once again absorbed in her work.

Anna didn't answer at first. She opened the book and immediately, hundreds of sheets of paper fell out and fluttered to the floor. "Elsa, what is this?" she asked, starting to page through the book.

"Hmm?" said Elsa, looking around at her. "Oh, it's just a journal." But then she took a closer look and saw that it wasn't just any journal, but the one she had used to answer all of Anna's letters, which were the sheets of paper now strewn across the floor. She stood up, her eyes widening and her heart quickening as she watched Anna pick up the letters and start reading them.

"Looks like these are letters," Anna was saying. "Wait a second….." She looked closer at them. "That's my handwriting. They're my letters. The ones I wrote to you during our isolation." She looked up at Elsa, and Elsa was prepared for the worst, but instead of an angry outburst, or even tears, Anna just said in a quiet voice, "You kept them? All of them?"

Elsa's throat constricted as tears welled up in her eyes. She nodded. She unstuck her throat enough to say, "They were my most prized possessions during my isolation, and my only contact with the outside world. Those letters were the closest I could get to you. I cherish each and every one of them."

"And…..this journal….." Anna began.

"Contains all my responses," Elsa finished. "I'm sorry I never sent any back to you. It was hard enough just to write them in my journal."

Anna was silent for a moment, looking down at the journal, then she asked in a quiet voice, "Could I…..I mean, would it…..be okay…..if I read them now?"

Elsa smiled through her tears, even though Anna couldn't see her. "Of course," she said. "You deserve to, Anna. I have another meeting with the council this afternoon, but you're welcome to stay in here and read if you want. I'll make sure you're not disturbed."

"Okay," said Anna quietly. She flopped onto her stomach on the bed, opened the journal again, and began to read. She became so absorbed that she didn't even notice when Elsa quietly left the room and closed the door with a soft click behind her.

Anna spent the rest of the afternoon and a good part of the evening reading every single letter that Elsa had written but never gave her. True to Elsa's word, no one disturbed her while she read, not even to announce dinner. The sky slowly darkened outside the window and still Anna read on, not seeming to notice or even care how late the hour was getting.

Finally, when it was so dark in the room that she could barely see the pages in front of her, she came to the last entry, dated the day before Elsa's coronation. When she finished, she closed the journal again and held it to her chest, her head bowed and her shoulders shaking with silent sobs. When she felt she could cry no more, she put the journal back where she had found it, got up, and left the room to find Elsa.

After only a few minutes of searching, she found her sister in the library, where she was lounging on the sofa reading a book. Upon hearing Anna's soft footsteps, she looked up, set aside her book, and stood up, an expectant look on her face.

There was a moment of silence between the two royal sisters, neither knowing what to say to the other. Then finally, Anna ran to Elsa and enveloped her in the tightest hug. Elsa was startled but pleased, and immediately hugged her back.

"Thank you," Anna whispered.

She needn't have said any more, for Elsa knew exactly what those words meant, and how much they meant to her.

Well, there you go. Hope this satisfies your requests. :)

Note: In terms of future stories, I do have plans for another one after this, a one-shot featuring all our main characters going on a summer picnic. Before you start pestering me, I do not know when I'll have it up. This series took up so much of my time that I need an extended break before beginning anything new. I might have it up by the end of the summer, but it's not a guarantee. Also, to my older, more dedicated readers, I have another sequel of my "extended family series" in the works. Once again, I do not know when I'll be posting this, but I do have a prologue and a good portion of the first chapter written. This will be the ABSOLUTE FINAL installment in this series and I will not be adding any more after that.

Thank you so much for your dedication to this series! Hope to "see" you again soon! :)