A/N: After this chapter this fic will go on hiatus.

Every time I try to work on it just seems to come out as complete shit, so I'm going to distance myself from it for awhile. I'M SORRRRRYYYYY!

Elsa bit her lip nervously as she sat across the dinning table from her sister. The surface of the table was a translucent blue with snowflake patterns carved delicately across it. Just enough detail to be interesting, but not enough to be arbitrary. She was precise and conscious of everything she did, even making a table.

Interior decoration was much easier than dealing with Anna.

Slowly her walls were beginning to crack and thaw the more time she spent around her, or the more time she spent watching Anna more like. It was rare they had direct contact. She would only catch the sight of Anna running down a hall or around the courtyard playing some game with the snowman or overhear her chatting it up with the trolls. Sometimes she would watch from the balcony as Anna threw breadcrumbs to the birds and smaller creatures of the woods like squirrels and deer. Before Anna, the courtyard had been sparse in life. The girl seemed to brighten every corner, even held captive she made the best of it.

She looks for the good around her, while I can only wallow in misery. Elsa smiled bitterly down at her plate.

This was the first time they had shared a meal together. Elsa had taken all her meals in her study so that Anna could dine without the discomfort of her presence, but earlier that day Olaf had come to the queen with a request from Anna that Elsa join her tonight.

"So you don't chew on icicles then." Anna said jokingly from across the table, fork and knife in her hand, elbows against the table.

The queen stifled a chuckle by biting the inside of her cheek, "No, I eat food just like you." Elsa said smoothly. She was losing the gruff tone she had used with Anna weeks ago. Softening.

Anna took a bite of fish from her fork, chewing it thoughtfully and tapping the end against her lips, and then pointed the utensil at Elsa, swallowing, "Well I was afraid that's what you were gonna make me eat at first."

The elder cut into her own meal and raised a humored eyebrow, her lips pulling back into the tiniest of smirks. Anna was a talker, and it was a relief not to have to come up with things to say, she wasn't accustomed to small talk, but Anna could easily fill the space between them with words.

"Which you have to understand, really freaked me out. Because I really like food. Like really REALLY like food. Especially chocolate, I would take a bath in chocolate."

Elsa paused in cutting her food, as she couldn't help but chuckle at the girl's silliness.

Anna beamed at her from across the table.

"I could…always ask the trolls to make that bath for you. Perhaps the addition of sprinkles would be to your liking?" Elsa jested, giving her a small smile.

Anna stared at her and the words hung there in the air and Elsa was just beginning to despair that she had said something horribly wrong when the younger girl fell back against her chair and let out a giggle.

Once they had both finished eating and Anna began to rub her eyes, Elsa suggested they retire for the night.

"This…this was nice." Anna said, pushing back a stay strand of hair from her face as the two walked up the staircase together.

Elsa nodded, "Yes, it was, wasn't it." Thinking about it, she realized she hadn't stopped smiling since the chocolate joke.

They reached the top of the staircase where the east and west wing of the palace split. Elsa had placed Anna's room as far from herself and her heart as possible, on the other side of the palace.

"Goodnight." Anna gave her a last smile and a little wave before turning towards the east wing.

"Anna wait." The queen called.

And then turquoise eyes were on her face, looking back at her in surprise, in curiosity.

Elsa opened her mouth to speak, but hesitated, unsure of the answer she would receive, and afraid of the answer whether it be in agreement or rejection. She brought her arms to her chest instinctively, "Would you…like to continue sharing meals?"

The queen watched as Anna took a deep breath, let it out and smile, "Sure thing, your majesty."

Anna cleared her throat and set down her half eaten piece of jam lathered bread, "So I have something I've been meaning to ask you."

Elsa stiffened in her seat, waiting for the rest to come.

She's going to ask to leave.

I can't let her leave.

I don't want her to leave.

Her heart began to pound against her chest, beating insistently. Vaguely, in the back of her mind, she realized that this was the first time she remembered her heart beating so hard in a long time. So loud that she nearly missed the words that tumbled out of Anna's mouth next.

"…kind of bored sometimes, so do you have any books?"

For a moment, Elsa could only stare as she processed the question, it not being at all what she had expected. Quite the opposite, a happy opposite. She nearly laughed.

"Yes, oh yes."

Just as Elsa reached the door she paused, "Wait," she turned to Anna, "Can you…would you mind closing your eyes?" she smiled shyly.

Anna jumped a little and clapped her hands together excitedly, "Yes yes, I love surprised!" she closed her eyes immediately, placing one hand over them just in case she should be tempted to let them open, and stretched her other hand out for Elsa to lead her.

This she had not planned though, the thought had come out of nowhere, suddenly wanting Anna to enjoy herself to the fullest, and yet not expecting such immediate trust.

"Are you sure it's okay?" she asked, staring at Anna's outstretched fingers.

"Is what okay?" Anna replied, eyes still closed.

"Me touching you."

Human contact. That was new. Well old actually, very old. Not since she had been a small girl had anyone hugged her, or even held her hand. She had forgotten what skin other than her own felt like. A faded, broken memory of warmth.

"Of course, silly!" she waved her fingers, beckoning Elsa to take hold.

Slowly, the Ice Queen reached for Anna's hand, it was warm and soft, and she grasped Elsa's own hand confidently, without fear or hesitation.

"Oh, Elsa." Anna breathed, attempting to look everywhere at once, up rows of books that reached nearly to the impossibly high ceiling of stained glass –or probably ice. She ran from bookshelf to bookshelf, running her hands along the leather bindings, pulling out a volume or two, putting it back, racing over to the next shelf, doing the same, running down a hall.

"It's HUGE!" she yelled from several shelves down from the center of the library, the inner sanctum, where Elsa stood.

"You should be near the poetry!" the queen called to her sister.

The clacks of Anna's shoes against the stone-like floor caused Elsa to turn towards the sound to find the strawberry blond racing towards her with a dark green book with gold detailing it's front and back cover, the edges of the pages were gilded in gold as well. Stopping suddenly in front of her, Anna thrust it forward, "I didn't even think there were any copies of this left! How in the world, Elsa!"

She smiled awkwardly and gave a small shrug, "Some kingdoms send letters asking me not to freeze their lands, and so I ask for books in return, or the trolls will bring me what they've been brought or found."

Anna lowered the book, looking at her sadly now, "Why would you freeze other lands? Why would you freeze this land?"

"I…" a breeze of snowflakes began to encircle Elsa, and the queen began to back away, "I don't. I can't. Anna I…it's not my fault."

Before, she hadn't cared. For years, she had tried to explain, tried to justify why she couldn't control this curse. After so long though, it had ceased to matter, it was just there and nothing was to be done about it as long as she kept away from everyone, hurt no one. When the letters came, something had occurred to her, to use it. They thought she was an all powerful, decisive queen? So be it. Let the world think she was a monster, as long as she could hide away. Now though, now she couldn't bare to have Anna think of her that way. The frigid, cruel Ice Queen.

"Okay," Anna took a step towards her.

"No, don't touch me. You should have never come here, why did it have to be you?" Elsa ran a hand through her hair, "I didn't mean to Anna, I didn't mean to, I don't want you to leave."

Anna took another step she didn't really understand what was going on but Elsa seemed genuinely distressed, drawing closer as the air thickened with snow, air billowing around, "I believe you. Come on Elsa, let's just sit down with a book okay? I'm not going to leave if you don't want me to."

Taking a shaky breath Elsa nodded and as Anna drew closer, she slipped her hand into the Queen's and led her to the sofa, where they sat side by side.

Anna held out the book and smiled, "Will you read it to me?"

What she had confused as disdain, Anna now recognized as shyness, which is what Elsa was full of as she took the book from Anna and began to read aloud.