"As I've already stated, Commander, Arendelle's ships are under siege. If we could negotiate with Wes-"

"Why negotiate," the Commander spat, face flushed with anger, "When we have a Queen with magic at her disposal! Queen Elsa…"

The harsh words meshed into a hum of babbling, the voices indistinguishable; each one less distinct than the last as Elsa slipped farther from the meeting. A cough shook her frame, scattering snowflakes that went unnoticed. Blinking rapidly, the Queen gave her eyes a quick rub, fortunate the attention was elsewhere at the moment. Until her head fell with a bang against the table, drawing four sets of eyes to her. A bottle tipped, spilling murky ink over a small stack of papers.

The door creaked open and Elsa made a note to see about getting it greased later. Instantly recognizing the figure, Elsa beckoned her over.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Anna approached hesitantly, still unsure even after amends had been made. "The meeting went...it went. I thought the Commander was going to knock that poor man unconscious."

Laughing sent stabs through her side so Elsa bit her tongue to contain it.

"The Commander isn't wrong. We need more supplies," a pause at the thought of Arendelle's meager supply store, "..and if Weselton is unwilling to release our ships, we should take them back by force."

"Our Navy can do that." Anna said, "You're in no condition."

"Anna."

"No, don't 'Anna' me, Elsa! You collapsed during a meeting! You have no business fighting and...and dodging crossbow arrows when you're this tired!"

Elsa couldn't help but scoff at that, sensing ice form on her skin. "Dodging arrows? With a wave of my hand-"

Anna grabbed it before she could demonstrate, pressing it down against the sheets.

The Queen shot her a glare and turned her attention to the pages clutched in her sister's free hand.

"Is that my paperwork?"

"This?" Anna waved the ink-stained paper.

"Give it here." Elsa snapped, wanting to deal with it now so she could sleep. Her mind felt foggy and her head was so heavy..

"No." The younger sister got up, heading for the door. "You need to rest first. The Kingdom can wait. Arendelle can wait... I'll get you something to make you feel better."

The older one didn't reply, didn't even notice her leave as she had already fallen asleep.

The clinking of mugs alerted Elsa of her sister's presence before her voice did. She heard Anna mutter something. Then the heavy curtains were being pulled back to let in the afternoon light. The blankets tucked under the Queen's chin were hastily drawn up to block the sun, an arm shielding her eyes. Now securely hidden in a cocoon of lavender fabric, Elsa felt herself slip back into a restless slumber. As expected, Anna, unfortunately for the tired royalty, had other plans.

"Elsa?"

Sinking further into her pillows with a groan, Elsa turned on her side, shrugging her sister's hand away.

"Elsa!" Anna shook her again, insistent.

"Anna, please." The Queen muttered, escaping her hand once more.

"Elsaaa," Anna repeated, forming the name into a song. "C'mon, just look at me?"

The bed dipped at the added weight and the princess gently tugged the blankets toward herself.

Coming to the decision that this was a battle she would lose, the older sister rolled back around, propping herself up on her elbows in a very unqueenly way.

"What happened to 'go to bed, Elsa?'" Her tone was dry and thick with sleep.

"You've been sleeping for a while." Anna answered, scooting closer.

"Don't get so close," Elsa warned. "I'm-" A sneeze cut her off. "...sick."

Anna raised an eyebrow in a 'you don't say' look. She ignored the warning, despite the light dusting of snow currently settling on the pillows and Anna's dress, moving closer until their sides were touching. She gently ran a hand through Elsa's hair. Undoing the braid as she went, she teased out any tangles with her fingers. Coming to a stop at the base of Elsa's neck, she gave a light scratch before moving down to rub circles over the slowly relaxing shoulders.

"I have something for you. Well actually, it's for both of us, but mainly for you."

Elsa gave a sigh, eyes shut as some tension left her. "This is enough." She murmured, leaning into Anna's touch.

"Yes but," the bed shifted again as her sister reached for something. "You'll really like this. Keep your eyes closed."

"I'd like my paperwork, we're finally getting close to..less than hostile... negotiations with Weselton, and-"

Anna shushed her.

Recalling their earlier conversation, Elsa didn't bother arguing this time. Instead, she closed her eyes again, finding it difficult to stay awake.

A hand closed over hers, guiding it to a cup warm to the touch. The circles stopped as Anna got a secure grip on it, having Elsa hold it with her.

"Ready?" She whispered, clearly holding back excitement.

Ceramic pressed against her lips and Elsa let liquid touch them for a heartbeat before tasting it. Chocolate flowed onto her tongue, thin, sweet, and so rich it was impossible to drink more than a few sips at a time. The Queen sighed as the drink soothed her raw throat, warmth pooling in her stomach. Any tension left vanished and she sank back into her pillows with a smile.

"I'll take it it was to her majesty's liking, then?"

Anna leaned over her with a teasing grin, the cup sitting in her lap. Upon Elsa's sleepy 'mmhmm,' she giggled, placing it on the table next to her and snuggling close.

Elsa threw some of the purple blanket over her sister, quickly falling into a dream as Anna started to hum an old lullaby to her.

Moving her hand to the snowy hair, Anna tucked a strand behind a pale ear, pressing a light kiss to her sister's warm forehead and drifting into a dream of her own.