"Anna? But she froze your heart!"

"The only frozen heart around here is yours!"

Anna turned away, but it wasn't enough. Hans had toyed with her heart, tried to kill her, and tried to kill her sister. He had no business standing on the deck of that ship with the rest of them, and she wasn't going to let him off so easily. So she whirled back around and punched him in the nose.

Hans went overboard with a yell and made a most satisfying splash.

Feeling much better, Anna returned to Elsa's side. The sisters fell into each other's arms again, and Anna smiled at Kristoff.

After a few moments, the sisters pulled away from each other and held each other's arms, their foreheads resting gently against one another.

"I don't deserve a sister as wonderful as you," Elsa whispered.

"Of course you do," Anna said softly. "And I'll keep telling you that until you believe it."

Elsa looked into Anna's eyes. "I love you."

Anna held Elsa's face. "And I love you. Don't you ever forget that."

"I've missed you!" Elsa began to weep. "More than you know!"

Tears sprang to Anna's eyes. "And I've missed you! But we don't have to lead separate lives within the same castle!"

"I swear to you, Anna, I will never push you away again."

They held each other again for a long time. The ship rocked gently, and the sun warmed them all. They were only about 75 meters off shore, so they easily heard the cheers of a thousand people who had suddenly been given back their summer. Faintly, they could hear a member of the royal guard calling out orders in the distance. The tower bells echoed off the mountainside.

Elsa pulled away again and finally acknowledged the man and the reindeer patiently waiting nearby. She recognized the man as the one who had been with Anna at her ice palace the day before.

They approached. Olaf joined them, as well.

"Elsa, this is Kristoff, an ice man, and his reindeer Sven. Kristoff, this is my sister Elsa, Queen of Arendelle."

Kristoff bowed. "A pleasure to meet you properly, Your Majesty."

Elsa nodded.

"Kristoff helped me when I was in the mountains searching for you, and he brought me to safety. If it weren't for him, neither of us would be standing here. We owe him a great deal."

Elsa gave Kristoff a half bow. "For taking care of my sister and helping to protect the throne, I do indeed owe you a great deal. Thank you so very much."

Kristoff turned bright red. "Well...I...it was my pleasure, Your Majesty. I'm...I'm just happy that everything turned out well. And you don't owe me anything! We're...we're good."

Elsa just smiled.

Kristoff turned to Anna. "But I'm confused. What happened to Hans? He was supposed to kiss you."

Anna sighed. "I was mistaken." She motioned in the general direction of the place where she had hit Hans moments before. "Hans was just using me to get to the throne."

It took Kristoff a few seconds. "Wait...the guy you hit into the water is Hans?!"

"That's him."

"Hans told me you were dead," Elsa said. "He said I'd frozen your heart."

"He was only half lying. You had frozen my heart. Hans left me to die after gloating that he was going to kill you and rule Arendelle. But I had a little more fight left in me than he thought."

"Oh, Anna, I'm so sorry! Are...are you-"

"It's all right, Elsa! I'm fine now! In fact, I've never been better! I promise."

On the shore, a crowd was beginning to gather. Word was spreading that Queen Elsa was on a ship just off shore.

"So," Kristoff said. "Anyone know how to sail a ship?"

"Considering the fact that we're a seafaring nation, we should, but no," Anna said. The others shook their heads.

"Any idea whose ship we're on?" Elsa asked.

They looked around. "Well, it's called the Dauntless," Kristoff said, indicating a nearby plaque. "Does that help?"

Everyone shook their heads again. The blizzard had torn away the standard, so they had no immediate way to determine the ship's nationality.

"You could form an ice path across the water and we could just walk to shore," Anna said.

Elsa shook her head. "No."

"Why not?" Anna asked.

Before Elsa could answer, a squad of the royal guard came thundering down the pier. The visiting dignitaries, having witnessed events from the castle's balcony, had sent them to retrieve the queen and the princess. The guard captain called across to the ship. "Your Majesty! Princess! Are you all right?"

Elsa switched to full queen mode. She strode to the side of the ship and issued orders in a calm, loud, decisive voice.

"We are all doing very well, captain. Thank you. The emergency is over and all is well! The man in the water below us is Prince Hans of the Southern Isles. Your priority is to arrest him. He tried to kill Princess Anna, he tried to kill me, and he tried to seize the throne!"

"Your Majesty, there is no man in the water below you!" the guard captain called back. "But there is a man climbing a rope back onto the ship!"

Even as he spoke, Elsa heard the sounds of a man panting and shoes thudding against the side of the ship. Moments later, directly in front of her, a hand gripped the guard rail next to a rope which was tied to it, and with enormous difficulty, Hans slowly pulled himself up. His eyes were squeezed shut with the exertion. With his heavy clothing, treading water must have been exhausting, Elsa thought.

Hans got a better grip on the guard rail and hauled himself up a little further, and opened his eyes. He did a comical double-take when he saw that Elsa was just a foot away.

Elsa reared back her fist.

POW!

Splash!

The crowd on the shore clapped and cheered.

Elsa calmly called out again to the guard captain. "As I said, there is a man in the water directly below us. Arrest him, first. Also arrest the Duke of Weselton and his two assistants. They also tried to kill me. See to it at once!"

"The duke tried to kill you?!" Anna gasped, but Elsa ignored her for the moment.

"What about you?" the guard captain called back.

"We are in no immediate hurry. Eventually, we will need a boat capable of carrying three people, one reindeer, and one magical snowman."

The guard captain gave his queen a quizzical look.

"Arrest our enemies first," Elsa called. "Details later."

"Yes, Highness!" The captain saluted and ran off to find someone with a boat.

Anna joined her sister. "The duke tried to kill you?!"

Elsa sighed. "Details later."

"All right," Anna sighed also. "But what's wrong with an ice path?"

Elsa sat wearily on a bench next to the rail, facing away from the sea. The others sat next to her. Sven stood nearby.

Elsa said, "First, the people have just been scared witless the past three days, and the last thing I want to do right now is freeze the fjord again, even a little bit. It might alarm them. Second, I want our enemies arrested before I go ashore, although I admit that's not a big reason, as I have little to fear from them any more. But the most important reason is that I welcome the delay in going ashore. I need some time alone with you before I deal with everything else. We're isolated for the moment, and I'm not eager to change that."

"Oh, Elsa! We'll have all the time in the world to catch up!"

"I'm not talking about our relationship, I'm talking about debriefing you as your queen."

"Oh."

"There's far too much I don't know," Elsa said. "I need to know everything that happened, everything you did and witnessed, from the moment I ran away from my coronation."

Anna saw the tightness in Elsa's face as she spoke those last words, and she gripped her hand. "It'll be all right. The others understand! Really!"

Elsa gave a tight smile. "Just tell me. We don't have long."

Anna took a deep breath. "Well, moments after you ran off, I rode after you on my horse, and...I left Prince Hans in charge of our entire kingdom." This time it was Anna's turn to have tightness in her face as she spoke her own shame out loud.

Elsa squeezed her hand in return. "We both made some big mistakes in the past couple of days. We'll deal with that later. Right now I just need the facts."

Anna nodded. "I rode after you, but I didn't find you. I don't know why; you didn't have that much of a head start."

"I heard you calling for me, but I didn't want to be found."

"Oh. Well...okay, that explains that. Anyway, I searched the rest of the night and all the next day, and then I came to a trading post where I met Kristoff. He told me the winter was coming from the North Mountain, and he agreed to take me there."

"Why couldn't you ride there on your own?" Elsa asked.

"Oh – because my horse threw me and ran off."

Elsa sighed. "I'm so sorry, Anna."

"It's okay!" Anna said brightly. "All's well that ends well, as a famous playwright once said. Anyway, Kristoff took me in his sled to the North Mountain, and along the way, we met Olaf. He knew where you were, and he agreed to take us straight to you."

"You didn't have a sled when I met you," Olaf said. "You told me you wrecked it."

"Oh, uh..." Anna stammered, wishing the snowman had just kept his mouth shut. The last thing Elsa needed was more guilt heaped on her head, but that's exactly what would happen if she knew Anna had been in danger while searching for her. "Well...we kind of lost the sled down a ravine. It was just one of those things!"

Elsa raised an eyebrow.

"You guys told me it was wolves," Olaf said.

Kristoff coughed loudly, but the snowman wasn't getting it.

"Wolves?" Elsa asked, alarmed.

"Just...a few," Anna said dismissively.

"You said it was a whole pack," Olaf said helpfully.

Sven grunted loudly. The snowman still wasn't getting it.

"Chasing you at full speed," Olaf continued. "Gnashing their teeth...slavering jaws of terror...fangs...jumping up onto the sled to rip you to pieces. You told me all about it on the way to see Elsa."

The others were quiet for a moment.

"Anna," Elsa said, "tell me everything. Don't make me make it a royal command."

Anna let out a little groan. "Oooooohhhhh, all right. Yes. After we left the trading post, we were chased by a pack of wolves. They were hungry, and I think we were the only food for miles around. Annnnnnnd, then there was a ravine. We couldn't stop because the wolves would get us, so we jumped it."

"You jumped a ravine?!"

Kristoff pulled a face and Anna tilted her shoulders back and forth in an it-wasn't-that-bad kind of gesture. "We jumped...ish over the ravine."

Elsa stared hard at Anna.

"Okay, fine. Sven jumped while carrying me, Kristoff jumped from his sled. We made it across the ravine, and that saved us from the wolves. And we lost the sled. But, you know...it was good!"

Elsa sighed. "Oh, Anna! I am so, so sorry-"

"Don't you start!" Anna said. "We're fine. It's all okay."

Over the side of the ship came the sounds of grunting and heavy shoes banging against wood. They all turned and looked over their shoulders. Moments later, the face of Hans rose into view as he again struggled to climb aboard.

Sven jerked his head sideways. His antlers connected with Hans's nose.

"Aaaaargh!"

Splash!

They turned back around.

"So, anyway," Anna said. "We found you, you and I talked, you created a snow monster and threw us out."

"And we had to run from the snow monster because he tried to kill us!" Olaf piped up eagerly.

"What?!" Elsa shrieked. Anna buried her face in her hands.

Kristoff tried to help. "It's not as bad as Olaf makes it sound. Really."

Elsa was aghast. "I gave him strict orders to throw you out! I never told him to harm you!"

"And he didn't!" Anna said.

"Until you threw a snowball at him and made him angry," Olaf said. "Then he became a raging, killing force of destruction, a giant from a frozen hell with the single purpose of brutally tearing us-"

"Okay, you know what, Olaf?" Anna said. "You're not helping."

"But...but...why would he do that?!" Elsa asked, her jaw hanging open.

"It's like Olaf said, I made him angry," Anna said. "It was my fault."

"No it wasn't!" Elsa snapped. "That should never have happened!"

"I don't think you really had a say in it," Kristoff said.

"What does that mean?" Elsa asked.

"It means...that I think the snow creatures you create are alive and have free will."

Everyone was silent for a moment. Elsa stared at Kristoff.

"I mean, take Olaf," he continued. "You didn't even know he was alive until he told you. But he is. He doesn't carry out your will like a puppet, he makes his own choices. He has his own personality. And I think the snow guardian you created was the same. You may have given him instructions when you created him, but once he came to life, he made his own decisions, even though he was obviously emotionally tied to you."

Elsa sat back and thought about this for a few moments. Finally, she asked, "Are you sure you're just an ice man?"

"I have a lot of time to think up in the mountains."

"Evidently. So, Kristoff...what else do you think about my snow creatures?"

"Well..." Kristoff squirmed a bit. "Just remember, you asked. I have theories. They're only theories, mind you, but...I think your snow creatures are extensions of you. I think they represent parts of your personality. There's a bit of you in each of them...some part of you which you normally have to keep hidden, or which you can't express any other way. You created your snow guardian in a moment of stress, when you wanted to be alone, so it's a personification of your fear of others. You probably created Olaf in a moment when you were feeling happy, yet lonely at the same time. Am I right?"

Elsa thought for a moment, then nodded.

"So that's what he represents," Kristoff said. "As a queen, and as someone who grew up afraid of your powers, you have to keep up a facade, and you have to keep people at a distance. But underneath, there's another Elsa who desperately wants to tell the world that all she's ever really wanted is a warm hug and a chance to go play. So you created something which gives that part of you a voice. You created a happy, playful snowman so eager for affection that he even introduces himself that way: 'Hi, I'm Olaf, and I like warm hugs.' He's you, Elsa. He's the real you that you keep buried deep inside. And I think that's one reason he immediately felt so loyal to Anna. In a way, he recognized her."

Elsa's lower lip trembled. Two tears ran down her cheeks. She calmly wiped them away and turned to Anna. "We need to keep Kristoff."

"I plan to."

Kristoff blushed and scuffed the deck with his toe. "Like I said...it's just a theory."

Elsa and Olaf said in perfect unison, "It's a remarkably good one."

The queen and the snowman grinned at each other. "Hello, you," Elsa said softly.

"Hello, me," Olaf replied.

Elsa reached out and stroked his head for a long moment, feeling the texture of his snow. She gazed at him in wonder, lost in the magic of his creation.

"Someone gave you a nose," she finally said. Olaf put his hands together and giggled.

"That was me," Anna said softly. "My own little addition to your creation."

Elsa grinned and touched the end of Olaf's nose. "I love it."

"I'm kind of partial to it, too!" Olaf said.

Sven grunted softly.

From over the ship's side came the sounds of oars paddling through the water. "You!" a voice called. "You're under arrest! Get him in here! Hold his arms, he might have a weapon!"

Elsa sighed. "Time to put the facade back on." But there was a smile on her face, a gentle smile Anna had not seen in a long, long time.

Elsa stood and looked over the side. The others did the same. Below, a small boat with three guardsmen and the captain hauled Hans out of the water.

"I didn't get a chance to hit him!" Kristoff complained quietly.

Anna patted his hand sympathetically.

Seeing his queen, the captain called up to her. "Are you still all right, Your Majesty?" His eyes drifted to Olaf. Yes, it was a moving, living snowman which looked back at him. The captain blinked several times.

Elsa had her queen face firmly back in place. "We're still fine. Thank you for your swift response. What news?"

"The Duke of Weselton and his men have been arrested. They offered no resistance, but the duke claims his innocence. The other visiting dignitaries are mystified by his arrest, and they eagerly await your return."

Elsa nodded, making a mental note to commend the captain later. He had given a concise report which told her all she needed to know in as few words as possible.

"What is the general feeling of the people?" she asked.

"Everyone is in good spirits, Highness," he said with a smile. "Save for this poor fellow here."

Hans did not look up at them.

Elsa allowed herself a small smile. "Very well. I shall return to the castle as soon as you arrange transport for all of us."

"I don't know about all of you," the captain said. "I can easily return in this boat to take you and the princess to shore, but I have no idea what we're going to do with the reindeer. We need a larger vessel, but none are available. All the fishermen insist that they first inspect their boats to see what damage they suffered before they trust them enough to take them out, and some of them already claim their boats need repair. It will probably be easier just to return the Dauntless's crew, and then they can dock the ship."

"Very well," Elsa nodded. "You've done well. Carry on, and take that filth to the dungeon."

"Yes, Highness! All right men, you heard her! Let's get this trash to shore!"

The guards rowed away, and they all sat down on the bench again.

"Tell me what happened after you left me on the North Mountain."

"Well, Kristoff noticed that my hair was turning white, so he figured something was wrong with me."

"Because I struck you with my power."

Anna nodded awkwardly. "Yyyyyes...your magic froze my heart. That's what Grand Pabbie told me."

"Grand Pabbie?" Elsa asked.

"Oh, sorry. I'm getting ahead of myself. When Kristoff noticed my hair turning white, he took me to see the rock trolls, because he thought they could cure me."

Elsa turned to Kristoff. "You know of the rock trolls?"

"They're my adoptive family."

Elsa again raised an eyebrow. "You're just full of surprises, Kristoff."

"Wait 'til you hear him sing a duet with Sven," Anna said.

Elsa just blinked at her. Sven grunted softly, and Elsa could swear the animal was smiling.

"Yes...later," Kristoff said. "Anyway, yes, I was orphaned as a child, and the rock trolls adopted me. And I thought they could cure Anna, just like they did the first time."

Elsa turned the full queen stare on Kristoff. "How do you know about the first time?"

"I was there."

Elsa gaped at him. "Explain."

"Well, I mean, that was how I met the trolls in the first place, when I was a child. I was on an ice run one night when the king and queen and the two of you blew past me on a couple of horses leaving an ice trail on the ground. I had to see what that was about, so I followed it. It led me to the trolls, and they liked me enough to keep me. I watched from a distance while Grand Pabbie healed Anna."

Elsa stared open-mouthed at Kristoff for a long moment. Finally, she asked, "And you understood what you saw?"

"I understood enough."

"So you've always known about my power."

"Well, yeah, I guess. Is it important?"

Elsa just closed her eyes and shook her head. "The most well-guarded royal secret in the kingdom. Hidden for fifteen years behind a locked gate. And a common ice man knew about it all the time. The world is so very strange." She opened her eyes. "And you never told anyone?"

Kristoff shrugged. "Never thought about it. Never occurred to me. I heard the king say something about never telling anyone, and I guess I just figured that applied to me, too. So, no, I never said anything to anyone about it."

Elsa held Kristoff's hand. "I never could have imagined it. Throughout this entire ordeal, nothing has surprised me more than you."

Kristoff blushed. Elsa released his hand.

"So I imagine you told Anna about that night?" Elsa asked.

"On the way to see the trolls, she asked, so I felt I had to, yeah. I couldn't not tell her, really."

Elsa turned to Anna. "So now you know what happened when we were children."

"Not really, but I've been able to guess."

Elsa gave a sad smile. "All the years we were growing up, you were asking the wrong question. You kept asking why I shut you out. You should have been asking why our separation was so abrupt."

"Something happened, didn't it?" Anna asked.

Elsa glanced to the side of Anna's head, and for the first time noticed that it was different. "The white streak in your hair. Did you never wonder about it?"

"I was born with that white streak..." Anna's voice trailed off as the pieces slotted together. "I wasn't born with it," she whispered.

"No," Elsa said. "You were four, I was six. You loved my magic, and I loved using it to make you laugh. Hearing your giggle as I created a snowfall was the most precious sound in the world to me. I loved using my power to make my little sister happy. Then one day I accidentally struck you on the head with my power. Your little body spun in the air and fell to the floor, and you lay so still. I thought I'd killed you. I cradled your head in my arms, and that white streak appeared in your hair before my eyes.

"That was the night it all changed. Mama and Papa took us to see the rock trolls. Their leader, I guess the one called Grand Pabbie, saved you, but he also changed your memories so that you wouldn't know about my magic any more. It was his and Papa's decision to separate us, and to keep my power secret, to protect you."

"But why?!" Anna asked. "I can understand separating us, but why not at least tell me the reason?"

"If you had been told the reason, would you have accepted it quietly?"

"Absolutely not!" Anna snapped. "I would never have let Mama and Papa hear the end of it!"

"Exactly," Elsa said. "You would have insisted that my power was harmless and that we would never have another accident, and you would have pitched a fit for fifteen straight years. Also, telling a secret to a child is never a wise thing to do."

Anna thought about this for a moment, but she had no answer, and she knew it.

"But I wasn't a child forever, Elsa," she finally said. "When Mama and Papa died, I should have been let in on the family secret."

"With perfect hindsight, I now know that's true," Elsa said. "And I'm sorry. So sorry. I made a terrible mistake. All I can say in my defense is that I had been trained diligently to keep my power a secret for your own protection, and for mine. That was ingrained within me so deeply that it never occurred to me that I had the authority and the freedom to do otherwise. I'm so very sorry. If I had just told you, none of this would have happened."

Anna thought back to that moment on her horse. "Of course, none of this would have happened if she had just told me her secret. She's a stinker!"

Anna took Elsa's hands. "Yes, you made a mistake. But I made a mistake by agreeing to marry a man I'd just met, and then putting him in charge of our kingdom. And you know I'll always forgive you, Elsa. Always. Because I understand. Really, I do."

"And I forgive you, Anna. We all make mistakes. Life doesn't come with an instruction manual, especially when you're a child born with the power to level whole countrysides. We just...did the best we could with what we knew."

Anna pulled her right pigtail around so she could look at it, then gasped. "The white streak! It's gone!"

"It disappeared when you thawed," Elsa said.

Anna jutted out her lower lip in a pout. "But I loved my white streak! It was distinctively me!"

"I hated it!" Elsa said. "Every time I saw it, it stabbed me in the heart."

"In that case, I'm glad it's gone!" Anna said.

"So what did Grand Pabbie do?" Elsa asked. "Because he obviously didn't heal you."

"He couldn't," Anna said. "My heart was frozen, and only an act of true love could thaw it. Otherwise, I was doomed to freeze into solid ice. The moment we heard that, we raced back here like the wind, hoping that a kiss of true love from Hans," Anna spoke his name bitterly, "would heal me."

Elsa tightened her grip on Anna's hands and little snowflakes danced around her. "You know I never, ever meant to hurt you!"

"I know," Anna said. "I know. It's all right."

"But it could happen again!" Elsa said.

"It won't!" Anna argued.

"Saying it doesn't make it true!" Elsa said.

"Then we'll find a solution, somehow," Anna said. "Because I would rather risk being struck by you again than live one more day without you. That's my choice, Elsa. Mine." She looked earnestly into Elsa's eyes.

"And what about the guilt I'll feel when it happens?" Elsa asked quietly.

"Your guilt, my death. Both totally worth it. Both a tiny price to pay to spend a life together. Both of them nothing when compared to the living hell of never knowing my sister again."

Elsa and Anna looked into each other's eyes, and in that moment, Elsa knew that Anna genuinely meant every word. To her, the risk truly was the tiniest price to pay.

"If it was just us," Elsa said quietly, "I would agree with you, now and forevermore. But it isn't just us. I could accidentally hurt anyone around me: someone on the castle staff, one of my own generals, perhaps even your future child." Tears pricked Elsa's eyes. "What good would our love for each other be then? What consolation would it be to that other person?"

Anna gripped Elsa's hands fervently. "I swear by all good things on Earth and in Heaven, on the good names of our dear parents, that I will find a way to solve this problem. You just need to give me time."

Elsa gripped Anna's hands in return, and smiled. "Very well. I trust you, and I believe in you."

Anna smiled.

Elsa swallowed hard and wiped her tears away. "So what happened when you returned to the castle?"

"Kristoff handed me over to the castle staff and left. They brought me to Hans. Hans and I were alone, and that's when he revealed that he didn't love me, that he was just after the throne. He left me for dead and locked the door. I was too weak to do anything. Olaf found me and saved me at first by lighting a fire for me, at the risk of his own life. Then the weather went completely nuts. A blizzard out of nowhere. I guess that was you. Then Olaf saw that Kristoff was riding back across the fjord, and...well..."

Anna's face turned red.

"Well what?" Elsa asked.

Anna couldn't look anyone in the eye. Her voice squeaked a little and she rushed her words. "Olaf might have mentioned something about Kristoff loving me, so I figured that maybe Kristoff could save me with a kiss of true love."

Elsa glanced at the ice man and grinned. Kristoff was suddenly very interested in his feet.

Sven grunted.

"So, I walked out onto the fjord towards Kristoff," Anna said. "Then suddenly the blizzard was gone, and everything was still. And I saw Hans about to kill you. I didn't even know you were here; I thought you were still up on the North Mountain. I don't know how you got here. But I couldn't let Hans kill you. So I did the only thing I could."

"I have no words to tell you how truly special you are," Elsa said.

Anna smiled. "So now it's your turn. Tell us what happened to you."

"I don't have to tell you my story. I'm the queen."

"Don't make me stage a coup."

"All right," Elsa said with a smile. "When I ran, I headed to the North Mountain, because I figured that was as far from everyone else as I could get. For the first time in my life, I just let it all go and let my power run free. I discovered so much about myself. I built an ice palace by barely thinking about it. I resigned myself to living there for the rest of my life."

"About that," Anna said. "What were you going to do about food?"

"I hadn't actually figured that out, yet."

"Uh huh."

"But I thought I was free. I should have known that running from trouble never solves anything. You reminded me of that when you arrived and told me Arendelle was frozen. My life collapsed all over again. I..." Elsa looked down. "I almost wanted to die."

Anna squeezed her hands.

"Then a group of men arrived, led by Hans, just hours after you left. The men of Weselton tried to kill me. The duke wasn't there, but it was clear they were acting under orders. It was the first time I've ever actually used my power in self-defense. I almost killed them in retaliation. Hans stopped me just in time, and he also stopped them from killing me when they had me at their mercy. Hans took me prisoner and brought me back to the castle."

"How could Hans have taken you prisoner when you have the power of winter at your command?" Anna asked.

"During the fight, the chandelier fell and knocked me unconscious. I woke up in the dungeon, my hands covered and shackled."

"That monster!" Anna exclaimed. "I should have done more than just break his nose!"

"And I still didn't get to hit him," Kristoff complained.

Sven grunted.

"Hans has ruined his own life," Elsa said. "He will pay."

"Why didn't he let you kill the men of Weselton?" Kristoff asked. "Or why didn't he help them to kill you? If either had happened, taking your throne would have been easier."

"Hans needed me alive to thaw Arendelle, so he could look like a hero," Elsa said. "The moment I told him I couldn't, his plans changed. Only then did my death become his top priority. He returned about half an hour later, and I knew from his words that he was there to execute me. I froze the cell walls enough to shatter them and break free. I was on the run, hunted within my own kingdom, within sight of the castle in which I grew up. Everything was a disaster. I was so terrified that I created a blizzard. Hans found me, and I knew I couldn't run any more. I didn't even want to run any more."

Elsa sighed heavily. "Then he told me that you were dead, Anna. He told me I killed you. And in that moment, my heart froze. In that moment, all I wanted to do was die. Everything was gone. All that remained was misery. In death, I would be with you and Mama and Papa again. I just prayed it would be quick.

"Then I heard your voice. I turned around, and instead of Hans standing over me, I saw you. Frozen into a statue of ice."

"How long was I like that?"

Elsa shrugged. "I don't know. It felt like eternity."

"Maybe a minute," Kristoff said.

"But your sacrifice was the act of true love that thawed your frozen heart," Elsa said. "And mine."

The sisters smiled at each other.

"You know, it's funny how it all worked out," Kristoff said. "You say you could have prevented all this if you'd just told Anna your secret. But if you had, how many years would have passed before you knew what kind of man the Duke of Weselton really was? How many years would have passed before you realized Hans's true intentions? It would have been too late; Hans might have already taken the throne. The events of the past few days revealed everything very quickly. In a way, it's saved you a lot of trouble in the long run. Also, you no longer have to hide your power, or shut yourself away in fear."

"That's true!" Anna said.

Elsa said, "And if it wasn't for the events of the past few days, Anna would never have met such a wonderful man as you, Kristoff."

Anna and Kristoff both blushed and said nothing. Olaf giggled.

Sven grunted.

"All right." Elsa stood up with renewed energy and a bright smile on her face. "As Anna so accurately pointed out, all's well that ends well, so let's worry no more about it. It's time I returned to the castle. It's time I came home."

Anna stood up. "It's time to tell everyone that you're back!"

"We still have no boat," Olaf said.

"Hmmm," Elsa said, looking out over the water.

"If I may make a suggestion," Kristoff said. "You say you don't want to alarm everyone by creating an ice path across the fjord. But I think you've misread the people."

"It's possible," Elsa agreed. "Sometimes we royals lose touch with what the people feel and how they react, no matter how well-intentioned we are."

"Exactly," Kristoff said. "So let me be your guide where the common folk are concerned. They're made of sterner stuff than you give them credit for, and I think a demonstration of your control over your power is exactly the sort of thing that will fill them with confidence and pride that their queen is truly back and in charge."

Elsa looked at him for a moment, appraising his words, then again looked out over the water. No boat was coming for them yet.

She raised her hands. "Very well. Let's see what I can do."

Kristoff stood, and they all watched as blue energy streamed from Elsa's hands.

The crowd assembled on the shore gasped in wonder. Elsa could only hope they weren't also gasping in terror.

Within seconds, the ship's hull was encased in a small island of ice which stretched down to the sea bed. This held the ship in place so it wouldn't rock with the waves. Steps made of ice led neatly over the ship's rail and down onto a path of solid ice which led straight to shore. The steps and the path were about ten feet wide.

"Let's go," Elsa said and began to stride forward.

"Um, if I may?" Kristoff asked. "Might we have some handrails? Ice is slippery."

A flash of blue energy, and handrails lined the steps and the path.

"And make it look decorative," Anna suggested. "Don't just create any old ice path, let them know that a queen created this ice path!"

Elsa looked at Anna for a moment, then smiled. Blue energy raced along the ice, making the guardrails ornamental, decorating them in floral patterns. When she was finished, the result was not just a path, it was a work of polished art glinting in the summer sun. At the end of the path was an arch topped with the crest of Arendelle.

The crowd on the shore gasped in wonder, and hopped up and down with delight.

"Now may we go?" Elsa asked.

"Sven can't do ice steps," Kristoff said apologetically. "It's his hooves."

The left half of the steps transformed into a ramp covered in eight inches of snow. "I presume he has traction on snow?" Elsa asked.

"That should do nicely."

"Now may we go?" Elsa asked.

"We may," Anna said regally.

Elsa led, her gait stately, her hands clasped in front at her waist, her held high.

Kristoff bowed and gestured for Anna to precede him. She gave a polite bow in return and followed, every bit the princess to her queen. But at the top of the steps, Elsa had stopped to wait for her, her hand outstretched. Anna took it and they smiled at each other, and they descended the steps together. Hundreds of people gathered on the shore erupted in raucous cheers, hailing their queen and their princess.

Kristoff smiled and let the sisters proceed alone. This was their moment, bonding again with their people. He, Olaf, and Sven watched them wave to the crowd.

Anna's clear voice broke into song.

 

For the first time in forever, you don't have to run and hide!
And we're finally together! I will never leave your side!
The people of our kingdom love you, as you can plainly see!
And for the first time in forever, we'll be a family!

 

The others followed when the sisters were about halfway across. Olaf jumped onto Sven's back. Sven used the snow, and his hooves found the traction to make it up and then down to the path.

Everyone's cheers turned to gasps of wonder as they saw Olaf. The little snowman just beamed and waved to everyone. Everyone waved back with dazed expressions.

They joined the sisters on the shore, where a squad of guardsmen had just assembled before them. The townspeople gathered around.

"I return to the castle, triumphant," Elsa announced to them all. "Please do not be alarmed by the snowman, he is a product of my magic. I will give a speech within the castle courtyard at four o'clock tomorrow. Until then, I must rest and attend to urgent affairs of state. I look forward to seeing you all then."

To the guards, Elsa said, "This gentleman and the snowman are with me, and will be staying at the castle. Please instruct the stable hands to tend to the reindeer."

"Actually, I'd like to stable him myself, if you don't mind," Kristoff said.

"As you wish." With a wave of her hand, as if it were nothing more than a minor afterthought, Elsa melted the ice behind her, releasing it back to the sea. The crowd gasped again.

They set off, accompanied by the guardsmen. Enthusiastic shouts of support, and cries of gratitude that their queen was back, followed them.

Elsa fought back the tears, not entirely successfully. They loved her. They didn't fear her. It was more than she could ever have hoped for. Just an hour ago her world lay in shattered ruins around her, but by a miracle named Anna, it had all been restored.

It was a second chance.

She would not waste it. Not one single moment.

But as happy as she was, she knew an ordeal still lay before her.

Ships of Arendelle's fishermen had been damaged by her ice. Who knew how many people's lives and businesses had been affected. The visiting dignitaries would all want to speak with her immediately; some of their ships had been destroyed, and that could cause political damage with her allies. She hoped the treasury had the ability to fund all reparations. And she would somehow have to determine the difference between a true grievance and someone just making up a story to get some royal gold. She had a strange feeling she would be relying on Kristoff more in the days to come.

She needed to let the castle staff know about the danger of being close to her.

She needed to speak to Grand Pabbie, for her mind was boiling with questions to which she desperately needed answers, and she needed them fast.

She needed to reassure her subjects, and all the other kingdoms eyeing her suspiciously, that she was strong and in total control. And she had to make this impression as quickly and as powerfully as she could, while simultaneously making it clear that she was benevolent and no threat to anyone.

Yes. So much to be done. Such a huge mess to clean up.

As she passed through the castle gates and returned home, she was relieved beyond measure. But she was already steeling herself for the ordeal ahead.