A Day at the Zoo

It was a brand new day for the kingdom of Arendelle; a warm summer day with a subtle and soothing breeze- not a cloud in the sky. Where most would be out enjoying the beautiful weather, Queen Elsa has been struggling through an incredibly tiring week, having had to meet with seemingly endless numbers of painfully snobby and difficult dignitaries. Today, however, there was to finally be a break in the chaos, giving the weary Queen a chance to recoup.

Elsa's hectic and ever stressful schedule did not go unnoticed by a certain younger sister. Anna had been concerned for her sister's well-being the entire week. Not once did Elsa stop and take a moment for herself. Not once. When she wasn't in meetings, she was drafting contracts, writing letters, or attending to whatever other duties that needed tending. Anna was well aware that today would be her well-deserved day off, so while Elsa was busy being consumed by her queenly duties during the week, she was busy planning a very special surprise.

Inside of her chambers, behind the once foreboding snowflake decorated door, Elsa still lay sleeping atop her mattress under her plush purple comforter. The clock hand had just struck ten, but the Queen had yet to awaken. The exhausting week having caught up to her, she was taking this time to sleep in as long as necessary. Unbeknownst to her, her blissful dreaming was about to be abruptly interrupted.

*knock-knock-knock*

Huh… what? Is that… knocking? No… no… it's nothing. Sleep…

*knock-knock-knock-knock*

What? There it is again… Elsa, still not completely coherent, lifted her weary head off of her pillow. "Huh? Who… who is it?" she grumbled.

"It's Anna! Can I come in?"

There was just a bit too much peppiness to her tone. She didn't like it in the slightest. She responded with a faint "Come in" before forcefully planting her face back down into her pillow. She was not ready for this. Without a moment's hesitation, her door clicked open and she quickly found an expectant Anna hovering over her.

"Hey, sleepy head! You know it's ten o'clock, don't you?"

Elsa mumbled into her pillow, still not feeling ready to face the new day. "No, Anna, I didn't. But that's what a day off is…" she paused for a yawn, before completing her thought, "…for. Please, I want to rest a little longer." After a moment of sweet silence, Elsa naively believed Anna had actually respected her wishes. Perhaps it was the fatigue that resulted in Elsa's lapse of judgement. Out of seemingly nowhere, she felt a weight hit her in the back with such a force it slightly knocked the wind out of her. "Anna?!" she shouted, startled and annoyed.

"Aww, come on! Cheer up! Today's a good day!"

A chuckle slowly escaped her lips at her sister's remark as she jokingly responded, "Oh yeah? What part of me having over 100 pounds of you thrown onto my back is a good start to my day?"

"Well, see. You left me no choice!"

"Uh huh…" Elsa turned her head slightly, raising an eyebrow to Anna with growing suspicion.

"I'm kidnapping you."

"Kidnapping me?" She chuckled and looked to Anna, her expression painted with even further confusion.

"Yup! I'm stealing you away and taking you far, far away from this stressful place! So come!" Anna grabbed onto Elsa's unwilling arm, attempting to forcefully pull her from the bed.

Elsa, finally awake enough to become amused, laughed at her sister's antics. "I believe you are the only soul in Arendelle that would even think of attempting to kidnap me"

A smirk sprawled across Anna's deceivingly adorable face. "I'm not afraid of you," she stated in a tone laced with arrogance.

Elsa couldn't help but laugh at Anna's smugness, but this volley could continue for the remainder of the day if she wasn't careful. She replied, attempting to break the monotony, "Haha, I know you're not. And you shouldn't be. I would love to go on this little adventure, Anna, but I might still be needed at some point today."

Anna smiled and shook her head, already having considered this likely scenario, "Nope! It's all been cleared! Her Majesty is free to come and go as she pleases."

Elsa appeared to be impressed with the thoroughness of Anna's plan. Never before had she seen her sister put so much effort into a single task. "Ah, I see." Elsa smiled, "So, what exactly awaits me on this mysterious 'kidnapping', pray tell?"

"See, I can't tell you that... You are just going to have to trust me!"

"And who trusts their kidnapper?" Elsa asked in an amusingly heightened tone.

"Elsa…"

With all of the dramatics that the Queen could muster, she cast her hands out before her in a playful act of submission. "Alright, fine. I am at your mercy, Anna. Take me where you will."

A giggle slipped from Anna as she noticed that her sister was still dressed in her nighttime attire and sporting an impressive case of bedhead. "Your submission is admirable, my queen, but maybe you'll want to get dressed into something more appropriate and do something about that hair?"

Elsa's eyes shifted their gaze upwards in observance of the nest sitting atop her head. It was unusual for her to wake in such a state, typically braiding or pulling her hair back at night, but last night was an exception. After such a long and exhausting week, she hardly cared to do anything special before heading to her chambers the night prior. She did, however, became slightly embarrassed upon the realization that she had been in this condition throughout the entirety of their conversation. "Alright, I'll go take care of… this," she jokingly gestured to the mess atop her head, "and get ready to go to, well, wherever you're taking me. How should I dress?"

"Yay!" Anna screamed with excitement she could no longer contain, "It's going to be so much fun! And to wear? Um… wear something you won't mind getting a little dirty."

Elsa laughed. "Dirty? Where exactly are you taking me, Anna?"

"Uh uh uh, secret, remember? Anyway, be ready in an hour and come down by the gates when you're done. I will have a carriage and guards waiting to escort us on our journey."

It had been an hour since the two departed from the castle, making their way to whatever surprise Anna had in store. Elsa had pulled and pried with all of her might the entire way, but Anna was not divulging any information. She didn't put in all of this work for nothing, after all.

Their destination was now faintly visible in the distance. A large cobblestone gate could be seen towering over a long line of evergreens. Embedded in the giant wall were intricate sculptures of various animals hovering over a glorious archway. The pathway below was paved with bricks of crimson and was lined with thick beds of beautiful flowers. A welcome sign had just caught Elsa's eye as they inched closer to the structure. At last, Elsa had figured out just where her sister had brought her. She cast her glance to the side to find her sister barely able to contain the joy that was about to brim over from within her. "The zoo? You brought the Queen of Arendelle to the zoo?" she laughed, playfulness clearly ringing in her voice.

"Um… no, I brought my sister to the zoo. You deserve a fun day, Elsa, and I know you've never gotten a chance to go to the zoo before. I thought it might be fun. And I reserved the entire place just for us, so it's just you and me!"

Elsa grinned at her sister's thoughtfulness. "Well thank you, Anna. This does sound like fun. You're right… I never did have a chance to visit the zoo." Memories of her isolated past came flooding back to her, dampening her expression. Anna noticed this immediately and promptly placed her hand upon Elsa's shoulder.

"Hey, cheer up. The past is in the past, right? There is plenty of time to make up for it! Come on… it'll be so much fun. Come… frolic around the zoo with me," she said with a giggle.

Elsa's dampened mood immediately lifted in response to her sister's lighthearted nature. Never did Anna fail to bring a smile to her face, no matter how dark her mood may be. "Alright, Anna. I will frolic with you, as you so eloquently put it."

"Yay!" Anna threw herself onto Elsa, her arms tightly enveloping her into an embrace.

"Alright, alright," Elsa teased. "No need to get all mushy on me."

Finally pulling up to the gate, the two managed to put their antics on hold as they prepared to exit the carriage. After the horses had come to a halt, one of the guards carefully aided the sisters to the ground. Anna was brimming with excitement. "Eeee! We're finally here!" she shrilled as her fists danced in anticipation.

Elsa eyes were wide with wonder as they drank in the beauty of the well-groomed landscape. A pleasant calmness filled the air as the calls of various animals could be heard in the distance. Even the birds that flew overhead joined in on the chorus. Right away, she could feel herself at peace.

"You ready?" Anna beamed in Elsa's direction, gently tugging the cloth of her sleeve. Her voice was practically bubbling over in eagerness. Elsa, snapped out of her trance, turned to her as if she hadn't heard a word. "Come on, come on, come on!" Anna cried as if she hadn't aged a year since five.

"Alright, alright," she giggled. "Let's do this."

Without wasting another moment, they dashed their way towards the grand gate.

Following their kind escort in by the zoo staff, the sisters started their journey down the long brick path, the first of the exhibits now in view. Anna retrieved the map that was given to her from her pocket, curious as to what they were approaching. Anna had skimmed the map for all but a second before bursting with glee at what had caught her eye. "Oh, oh, Elsa! There are prairie dogs over there! Prairie dogs!"

Elsa's hand found her lips as she let loose the tiniest giggle. She might have found Anna amusing, but if she was to be honest, the excitement was growing within her, too. As queen, however, maintaining a certain level of poise was something that just came naturally. Elsa watched as Anna darted off in the direction of the exhibit, her legs carrying her goofy self as fast as they possibly could. "Anna, wait for me!" she shouted through her fits of laughter as she too took off running, though not quite as exuberantly, towards the exhibit.

Anna squealed in delight at just how many of them were housed there. The tiny, brown furry rodents scurried around their natural enclosure, one by one popping in and out of their burrows. She carefully leaned her elbows on the wooden guard rail, watching them in awe as the colony went about their business. Some were on the search for food. Some were on lookout. Some kept a very watchful eye on the young while others worked burrow maintenance. They functioned like a well organized unit, completely in sync with one another. Anna grinned in utter contentment before shifting her green-blue gaze to Elsa, whose eyes, she noticed, were also drawn to the small but very lively creatures. The small grin that had taken up residence upon Elsa's features filled Anna with a welcome, pleasant warmth. "Aren't they just sooo cute?" she asked in an attempt to engage her.

"They're certainly busy little guys," remarked Elsa. Cute? Eh. She was, though, really quite fond of them. It brought her a swell of satisfaction as she observed them playing out their morning, each assigned their very own tasks and duties. If there was anything Elsa admired, it was order, and these little creatures before her functioned like a well-oiled machine. She smiled. "They're very orderly."

Anna appeared completely flabbergasted. "THAT'S what you like about them? That they're orderly?"

"Yeah," Elsa responded in a puzzled tone of voice. "What's wrong with that?"

"Oh, nothing. Just something I've ever heard before..." She should have known that it'd be Elsa who would find that to be a charming quality. In an undoubtedly snarky tone, she quipped in response, "You couldn't have just said they were cute."

"Well, I don't know, Anna. They just look like fat, short-tailed rats to me. Not really my definition of 'cute.'"

"They do not look anything like rats," Anna combated, before throwing on a thick coat of her best baby talk. "They're just so adorable. How can you not love how they pop in and out and dig their tunnels with their teeny wittle hands?" Elsa still didn't appear all that love-struck. If anything, she appeared entirely unamused, and perhaps slightly concerned about her little sister's seemingly deteriorating mental state. With a heavy sigh and a swift roll of her eyes, Anna conceded defeat. "FINE, they're rats. Just come on..." Anna pouted as she dragged Elsa away from the exhibit, grumbling something incoherently. Elsa could only laugh.

An hour or so had passed when the sisters arrived at a park bench to rest, already having encountered quite the menagerie. On their way they encountered beavers, some moose, various species of bears, koalas, red pandas, and lemurs, which Elsa seemed to particularly enjoy. Something about them being 'crafty.' Their location was now somewhere around the middle of the zoo, central to everything it had to offer. Pulling out the map once again, Anna thoroughly scanned it to see what was in the surrounding area. After a moment longer, they were back on their feet and headed off to the left portion of the park.

They soon came to a replica of some sort of cavern. Anna knew very well what awaited them inside, but she dared not say a word to the ever-so-skittish Elsa, knowing that she would never dare go inside with the knowledge of the critters that lay within.

Elsa slowly entered the cave and was, at first glance, in awe of its tremendous beauty. The faint, splintering golden light that trickled through the darkness illuminated the many stalactites that hung from the ceiling above. The deep shadows and delicate light mingled together along the cavern walls in a playful dance. Sure, it was all merely a replica, but they had flawlessly captured the beauty of those in the natural world. Elsa continued to make her way through the cave, until a tiny sheet of glass along one of the cavern walls caught her curious eye. "What's this?" she questioned to no one in particular as she approached the enclosure. It took her a moment, but she soon discovered what it was that had been menacingly awaiting her inside. Elsa gasped, taking a small step back. "Anna, what… what is that?" Her words shook as they fought to escape her quivering lips.

Anna, rolling her eyes at her flustered sister, responded, "It's… a snake, Elsa."

"A snake? In here? Why?"

Anna answered, sending her sister a tiny smirk, "It's a ZOO, Elsa. There are snakes in here…"

Elsa's already fair skin suddenly became a few shades paler. "I… I don't like it. I want to leave. Now." She turned to head in the other direction, only to be greeted by yet another ominous sheet of glass. The pointed head of a small black snake stuck out of the damp soil of its enclosure, his devilish stare piercing her soul. Elsa let out a sudden shriek in terror. Why was it looking at her like that? What had she ever done to this lowly creature? No… she had to get out of there. She was utterly terrified of what else might await her, so she chose her path, clenched her eyes tighter than she ever had before, and ran as quickly as her long, thin legs could carry her.

In her panic, however, she hadn't noticed that she had slightly altered her path and came crashing face first into another not-so-pleasant surprise. The recoil from the impact knocked her back, causing her to fall onto the ground. Anna rushed to her sister's aid as she came to the realization of how big of a mistake this had been. She leaned down to help up her fallen and frightened sister, when Elsa, seemingly having forgotten why her eyes had been closed in the first place, looked up and was swiftly greeted by a horrid and grisly sight. Hundreds of horrifying cave spiders and crickets spanned the wall of the massive enclosure, the shadows of their unnaturally long legs eerily stretching as they cut through the dim light. Elsa felt a terror run through her unlike anything she had ever felt and set loose a blood curdling scream; the acoustics of the cave making it all the more unnerving. In a desperate attempt to defend herself from the offending creatures, Elsa slung both of her hands before her, releasing an icy blast that coated the exhibit in a thick, glistening coat of ice. Not a trace of the enclosure glass was left in sight. No. Her ice had done well, safely cutting off any trace of the disturbing display. She had never been so thankful for her icy magic.

Anna stared in disbelief, trying to gather everything that had just transpired. Her first course of action was to help her sister, who was still a pathetic heap upon the floor. Once she had helped her quivering sister get back on her feet, Anna finally attempted to calm her down, in as soft and comforting of a voice as she could muster in the hilarity of the moment. She struggled to conceal her laughter. "Elsa… it's okay. The scary bugs are all gone now, see?" Elsa remained silent and simply gazed into her sister's eyes, her own eyes wide with fear. She knew very well that the bugs weren't 'gone'. They were merely cloaked, and Elsa wasn't allowing herself to forget that for one instant. "Elsa… now, I know the bugs were scary and you did what you felt like you had to do, but… do you think that you could maybe," Anna paused, already anticipating the resistance she'd receive in response to her request, "thaw the display?" Elsa didn't respond verbally, but rather shook her head in refusal, her eyes still filled to the brim with terror. "Elsa… come on now. You know you can't leave them like this." Once more, the Queen shook her head. Anna was growing slightly worried, fearing the creatures inside were in danger from the intense cold that was without a doubt penetrating their exhibit. "Elsa, thaw it. Thaw it right now! You can't just freeze things!" Elsa redirected her frightened stare onto the thick sheet of ice that lay before them, but she still didn't say a word. Anna then noticed that her sister was shuddering uncontrollably and finally came to the realization that Elsa was just too scared to do much of anything, much less thaw out the exhibit. Hoping for the best, she lifted Elsa by her trembling hand and carefully led her out of the cave, being very mindful not to cross the paths of any more cave dwelling critters.

After having exited the dreadful cavern of horrors, Elsa shot her sister a glance that could cut clean through the largest of glaciers. "You..." She lifted an accusing finger to Anna. "You knew. You knew what was in there!"

Anna giggled nervously, halfheartedly attempting to feign innocence. "Heh.. What are you talking about, Els? I had no idea. I was just as surprised as you were. Honest!"

"Really?" Elsa raised an eyebrow. She wasn't buying it for a moment. "The girl, who has had her nose buried in the map all day, had absolutely no idea what was in there? Hmm?"

"It does seem that way, doesn't it?" Anna responded.

"Mhmm." So, she insisted on doing this the hard way? That was just fine. Elsa had ways of making her talk. She threw her arm around her sister's shoulders as she drew her in close to one side. "I guess I really shouldn't doubt you. I mean, if you knew about those foul creatures lurking in there, surely, you would have warned me."

"That's right," Anna nodded matter-of-factly.

Slowly, Elsa moved her hand to Anna's collar, pulling it back ever slightly. With her other hand, she conjured up a handful of ice. With one small flick of the wrist, the tiny frozen projectiles were sinking in on their target.

"ELSA!" Anna shouted in terror, squirming at the bite of the ice as it slid down into her blouse and clawed its way at her back. Presumably to keep the ice from falling through, Elsa had Anna's arms in a lock within her own as she kept herself firmly planted against Anna's back. Wow she's strong! "Ohhhh, that's cold. So... so cold." Anna attempted to struggle free, but between Elsa's strength and the incapacitating cold, it was proving to be a losing battle. "Elsa! Let. me. go."

"No! Admit it! Admit it was on purpose!"

"Never!"

"Really, Anna?! You realize there is PLENTY where this came from, don't you?"

"I don't care. I didn't do it!"

"Alright... I didn't want to have to do this." Elsa's hand wisped through the air as she conjured up fresh batch of frosty ammunition.

"Fine! I knew! Okay?! I didn't say anything because I knew you wouldn't go in there if you did!"

Releasing her grasp, Anna dropped to the ground like an anchor as the ice slid mercifully out from her blouse. "There, feel better?"

"NO!" Anna barked back.

"And.. how dare you, Anna," Elsa chuckled as her head swung from side to side in disapproval. "Deceiving your own sister like that. For shame!"

Betrayed even down to her own body heat, the fabric clung to Anna's back like glue from the residual water, causing the chill to linger. "Alright, alright. Are we even now?"

"I suppose so." Elsa grinned in satisfying victory as she lent a helping hand to her fallen sibling. "So, shall we continue?"

Anna threw a smug, playful sneer in her direction. "I suppose," she stated sarcastically before slipping her hand into her pocket to retrieve the park map.

Their next destination was the zoo's very popular camel ride attraction. Elsa thought the idea was absolutely absurd, but Anna tirelessly insisted that she would not regret it. The Queen, however, remained unconvinced. The attraction was currently unattended, but they approached regardless. The camels were kept behind a moderately sized wooden fenced enclosure, where inside lay a well-trampled dirt floor. Two camels were held within the enclosure, only one of which was prepped for riding. It stood tall and dignified at about 7 feet high, and sported a blue and gold throw blanket which had been flung over its impressively humped back. Surrounding the throw was a fairly large, cage-like contraption, allowing a safe ride for those curious enough to do so. A thick, woolly layer of mocha fur coated its sizable body, with a few clumps coming loose as they primed themselves to be shed. The creature flicked its fur-tufted ears, having detected the girls' presence. Curious, perhaps, it slowly began stepping towards the fence of the enclosure.

"Eeeee! Elsa! He's coming over to me!" Anna squealed as she pranced towards the wooden divide.

There was something about it, though, that didn't seem quite right to Elsa. The way it was moving... it was stiff and rigid-like. Not exactly what she would consider to be friendly behavior. "Eh.. I'd be careful if I were you, Anna."

"Why?" she questioned Elsa, puzzled to her reaction. Couldn't she see how excited he was to see her? Clearly this was not one of her sister's countless skills. By this point, the camel was at the border of the enclosure, holding still except for its long, bulky neck, which slowly guided its head over the top of the fence and to Anna's eye-level.

"Because he doesn't look like he's happy to see you," Elsa remarked with a rather large degree of certainty.

"Are you kidding? Look at him. He loves me!" Anna was now eye-to-eye with the beast, its face just inches away from her own. At this close proximity, she could make out each individual strand of fur along with the tiny flecks of dirt that coated them. She cooed gently at the creature and even held up a hand to softly stroke it between the ears, completely oblivious to the fact that her 'friend' was growing more and more agitated.

Elsa saw it coming, but at that point, there was no longer anything that could be done. One instant its lips curled back to expose its gaping, gurgling maul, and the next came a dripping wad of a thick, yet somewhat frothy mucus from the deep confines of its throat. The impact sent her backwards as she desperately tried to maintain her footing while simultaneously attempting to rid herself of the surprise substance. "Elsa! Help me!" she hollered as her fingers worked to pull the viscous goop from her eyes.

The queen couldn't help the inevitable laughter that proceeded such an incredible display. "No way! I warned you, Anna."

"Oh, come on, Elsa." Her expression twinged as gravity began pulling the substance farther down her face. "Ewwww! It's in my mouth! Gross, gross, gross!"

"Then perhaps you should stop talking," Elsa giggled as she looked around to see if she could find something to help aid her sister. She was willing to help, she supposed, but she was certainly not using her hands to do so. With her mind occupied with the task at hand, she hadn't realized she had stepped a bit too close to their furry friend's enclosure, and without a moment of hesitation, the beast sent another mucus wad rocketing in her direction. With movement as swift as lightning, the blonde shielded herself with her hand as her icy magic took prompt care of the rest. Now transformed into frozen, shiny mass, suddenly having lost all momentum, it dropped like a rock to the brick pavement below, shattering into an array of a million glittering shards. She thanked the heavens above that she had been gifted such agile, cat-like reflexes, unlike those of her poor uncoordinated sister. The magic didn't hurt, either.

"Oh, real nice, Elsa!" Anna protested, her voice playful and yet full of fire. "You just couldn't have done that for me!"

"Anna, I gave you plenty of warning. It's somehow not quite as urgent when you're not the one about to be hit." Elsa retrieved a stick from the ground and approached her sister to help assist, but was still unable to shake the persistent giggles that continued to multiply from within her.

"Ohhh, no you don't!"

"Don't what?" Elsa pinched a curious eyebrow.

Anna peeled a thick layer of slime from her face and dangled it out towards her mocking sibling. "You think it's SO funny? Then why don't YOU try wearing it!"

Elsa's hands raised up submissively as she carefully backed away from the dripping mass before her, "Anna... Let's be reasonable, now. Put the camel spit down." Her attacker took another bold step forward. "Um... then we can go get some ice cream! How about that? Hmm?"

"Oh, so now you want to be nice to me?"

"Anything, Anna. I will give you anything. Just do not wipe that thing on me! Don't get it anywhere near me!"

Anna smirked. "Well, I guess that depends, now, doesn't it?"

"On what?"

"If you can outrun me."

Pleasantly fatigued by their countless adventures and antics of the day, the sisters were just about ready to return home. Anna did, however, have one more surprise in store for her beloved sister. Ever since Elsa was a child, her favorite animal was none other but the penguin. Not only did they share the same passion for a snow-covered landscape, but she just adored the stark contrast of their markings and the way they so clumsily waddled. She also loved that they were a contradiction of sorts, being flightless birds and all. And since it would not be a trip to the zoo without seeing your favorite animal, Anna saved the best for last. What better way to finish the day?

After the two arrived at the exhibit, Elsa's frosty blue eyes grew wide with wonder at the icy display that sat before them. The enclosure was quite large with every square inch of it generously coated in a spectacular glaze of ice and snow, expertly designed to mimic the penguins' natural tundra habitat. It was an ideal home for its five waddling, tuxedo-wearing inhabitants. "Anna! You didn't tell me they had penguins here!" The childlike tone in Elsa's voice warmed Anna to the core.

Elsa approached the divide, and with all the grace of a determined Queen, hiked a limber leg over the chain-link fence.

"Elsa... what are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm going in," Elsa stated matter-of-factly. Wasn't it obvious?

"You can't do that!"

A confident smirk graced Elsa's features. "And who, pray tell, is going to tell the Queen of Arendelle that she cannot?"

"Um..."

"Precisely." Convinced that she had effectively defended her case, Elsa continued her determined climb over the fence of the enclosure.

"Oookay, then. I'll keep guard!" Anna announced rather gallantly.

Elsa chuckled under her breath. "Well, thank you, Anna. That's very noble of you."

Now hoisted over the fence, Elsa placed a careful step into the snow of the enclosure to ensure her footing. Her antics surely did not go unnoticed by the habitat's residents, who did not recognize this awkward human as one of their usual keepers. Even so, their keepers used the gate, so the manner Elsa had chosen to enter was alarming in their little penguin minds.

Elsa watched as five sets of beady eyes cautiously followed her. In an attempt to alleviate their suspicions, Elsa crouched down into the snow and placed a gentle hand before her, slowly waving her fingers in an effort to call them over to her. "Shhh, it's okay little ones. I'm not here to hurt you." The penguins stood as still as a set of antarctic garden gnomes, not moving a single feather. They continued to stare their confused, untrusting stare. It was then that Elsa had an idea.

Elsa slowly extended her hand once more, but this time, she summoned a small amount of wispy, icy magic in hopes of enticing the snow-dwellers. Sure enough, their curiosity was piqued. The penguins cocked their heads in both confusion and intrigue. With the understanding that they were likely still not feeling ready to venture over, Elsa carefully sent some of her magic in their direction, causing it to dance and whirl around them. The penguins waved their flippers in excitement. Elsa grinned, thoroughly enjoying their reaction. Anna, too, couldn't help but smile as she witnessed her sister in a very natural element.

Finally convinced that this stranger didn't pose a threat, the penguins slowly began to waddle in her direction. "Well, hello there," she cooed as she continued to allow the magic to flow from her palm. "You like that, huh? Watch this," she said as she cast a magic blast high into the air, creating a small flurry of snowflakes that showered down from above. The penguins were absolutely delighted, as was Elsa. She turned her attention back to her sister, her eyes soft with contentment.

"It looks like you've made some friends," Anna noted.

"Yes, I suppose I have." Elsa peered down at her flippered friends, "I guess I should get going, though. I promise I'll be back to visit you guys soon." Elsa gave one of the braver birds a soft scratch on his head before righting herself to exit the exhibit. Anna took her sister's hands to help her over the fence.

"So… fun day?" Anna inquired with a gentle smile.

"The best," Elsa declared, pulling Anna in for a hug brimming with gratitude. Despite the numerous attempts of torment by her endlessly rambunctious sister, her heart swelled with joy when thinking back on their adventures that they shared today. Their day now fulfilled, the two sisters strolled back towards the carriage, hand-in-hand, as the sun began to set on the park. What other sorts adventures would await them in the future? Elsa could only imagine.

A/N: Long time no see, everyone! I hope you guys enjoyed! This story has been a long time coming... 5 years, to be exact! I just could never seem to finish it, instead adding bit by bit, but finally, that day has come! So please excuse if there are any inconsistencies in the writing, as some lines were literally written years apart, haha. I combed over the story multiple times, editing as necessary, so everything should flow nicely! Please read and review! ^^