Elsa's Day

"And there, eight."

Elsa rolled over, groaning in annoyance. She recognized the voice as her sister's, very far away but still close enough to wake her up. She opened one eye and looked at the window to get an idea of what time it was. The sun was barely peaking over the eastern horizon.

She sighed. It's time for me to get up, anyway. She stretched her arms and forced herself to sit up. It was almost painful to do; the mattress felt especially soft right now, as did her blankets, her pillows, her sheets…

Anna's voice woke her up once more. She jerked her head back up; she had fallen back asleep. She now had to stand up to ensure she would stay awake—again, it was a painful process.

"Toss me number nine!" Anna's voice sounded from the other side of her door. Elsa surmised that Anna, as usual, had been unable to stay asleep on such an important day, and was thus passing the time while waiting for Elsa to emerge from her bedroom.

Elsa drug herself to her wardrobe, begrudgingly ready to start the day. She hummed to herself, both to help settle her nerves and to help keep herself awake, as she scanned her clothes for the perfect outfit.

It had to be the perfect outfit. Everything today had to be perfect. The captain of Corona, a far-off country, was coming to Arendelle for a visit, and if he was impressed enough, he would sign a treaty unifying the two countries' armies. Since both were quite peaceful, and war had not come in several hundred years, Elsa hoped that such a treaty would never have to be enforced, but Arendelle's army was small, and she needed help from Corona, just in case.

"Are you sure you're ready?"

That wasn't Anna's voice. Elsa looked over to her door, imagining Kristoff and Anna standing just outside. She was tempted to smile at the thought, but then the reality of their conversation hit her.

"Sure I'm ready," Anna replied, though with some hesitancy. "I've been practicing for this, remember?"

Kristoff sighed. "Okay," he lamented. "But if you break another window, it's not my fault."

Elsa quickly realized what was happening. She started running to the door, before remembering she was still in her nightgown. With great urgency, she rushed back to her wardrobe, ready to settle for anything decent—but if she had to change now, she might as well change into something she would wear for the rest of the day.

Suddenly, she heard Anna yell in fright, and almost immediately after, the sound of glass shattering. Just as suddenly, Elsa decided that her nightgown wasn't too indecent, and ran to her bedroom door.

As she threw it open, she was met with Kristoff, standing a few feet to the right. He did not seem the least bit concerned; in fact, his expression indicated that he knew exactly what was happening, and had known it would happen for some time. He glanced over at Elsa, chuckled, and leaned his head to point down the hall.

Anna, still in her own nightgown, was lying on the floor. Several rubber balls lay on the floor around her, and a few were still bouncing. The window beside her had a very round hole in it.

Anna noticed Elsa and quickly stood up. She did not seem embarrassed or sorry at all; in fact, it was all she could do to stifle a laugh. "Good morning, Elsa," she mumbled, hiding her mouth behind her hand. "I didn't wake you, did I?"

Elsa looked from Anna to the window, then back to Anna. Then she carefully counted the number of rubber balls strewn on the floor. Then, with a sigh, she walked over to the window and placed a hand over the hole.

"You have to stop doing this," she sighed. Using her magical powers, she created ice just large enough to cover the hole, with six snowy points extending over and past it. It was a temporary fix, but it would do for now. She turned back to Anna, who was still fighting to suppress a laugh. "These windows aren't cheap, you know. And if I have to keep repairing them as often as you break them, I'll end up freezing Arendelle. Again."

Finally, Anna couldn't contain herself. She put her hands on her knees and laughed. And kept laughing. In fact, it was only when Kristoff walked over and cleared his throat that she managed to stop. "Sorry, Elsa," she managed to get out. "I have just been practicing my juggling, and I thought, well, maybe, I could try juggling ten balls tonight to impress the captain of Corona. I mean, after all, who wouldn't want to see a juggling act? That has to be something everyone expects when they visit a castle, and since we don't know anyone else who juggles—"

It was Elsa's turn to clear her throat. She loved her sister, but sometimes Anna just would not stop talking. "Just be more careful next time," she warned, but flashed a quick smile to assure Anna that she wasn't angry. "I'm sure the captain will be impressed enough with just eight balls." She turned around and began walking back to her room. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to find something appropriate to wear for the day."

A tug from behind, however, stopped her, and it was soon apparent that Anna had other plans. "You need to loosen up!" her sister encouraged, pulling Elsa backwards down the hallway. Elsa tried to fight Anna, but no matter how hard she fought, Anna kept pulling her. Elsa could only look on helplessly as the hallway slid away from her; at the end of it, Kristoff slowly waved good-bye, realizing he was just as helpless to stop the situation as Elsa.

"I am the queen, Anna," Elsa stated, trying to reason with her sister. "I have duties, and those duties require I get dressed." She was already embarrassed from having Kristoff see her in her nightgown, and didn't want anyone else to.

"Pfft." Anna continued to drag Elsa down the hall. "You may be the queen, but you are also my sister, and I say you need to relax and have fun." By now they reached the stairs, and Anna finally stopped dragging Elsa. She forced her sister to look her in the eye. "Just. Have. Fun," she insisted.

Elsa quickly nodded. "And I will," she agreed, before turning back around. "After I make sure this treaty is signed." She raised her foot to begin walking back to her room, finally free of Anna's clutches, but her foot caught the edge of her nightgown.

She barely had time to say "Uh-oh," before she began falling down the stairs. In desperation, she reached out to grab something, anything, to stop her fall, but only succeeded in grabbing Anna's arm. The two sisters fell down the stairs together, tumbling over themselves and each other, before finally stopping at the bottom.

Elsa, on her back, looked over at Anna, whose legs were pointed to the sky. Now, for the first time all morning, Anna showed concern. Afraid she had gone too far, she quickly righted herself and stood up, bowing her head in apology. "I'm sorry, Elsa," she quickly jabbered. "I didn't mean to embarrass you. I just wanted you to have fun, and now look at you. You're…"

Elsa cracked a smile.

Anna raised an eyebrow. "You're…" she tried to continue.

Then Elsa, unable to stop herself, closed her eyes and began to laugh. Despite her best intentions, Anna had succeeded: Elsa was having fun, and the stress of the day was going away.

Anna, to her amazement, did not join in with her laughing. She cleared her throat softly, then whispered, "Um, Elsa…"

Elsa stopped her laughing long enough to open her eyes, before her breath caught. Standing above her, having seen the whole thing, was the captain of Corona, along with three other men who had accompanied him.

Elsa jumped to her feet, suddenly embarrassed and tensed. The captain had not only seen her fall down the stairs, in her nightgown, he had just seen her laughing and playing with her sister as if she was a child.

Her cheeks had never felt so red. "Captain," she quickly choked out.

The captain raised an eyebrow, obviously unimpressed with her childish display. "Queen Elsa," he replied. He glanced over at Anna. "Princess Anna," he added. The tip of his mustache twitched as he stared at Elsa. "Does this happen… all the time?"

Before Elsa could reply, Anna spoke up. "Oh, all the time," she responded. "You would not believe all the stuff we do! There's so much fun that we can…" She slowed to a stop when she realized that the stares in her direction were not as enthusiastic as she. She apologetically took a step back.

The captain returned his attention to Elsa. "My lady," he said, his voice full of impatience, "I believe I came here to meet with you on a very important political matter. Do you intend to negotiate in your night clothes?"

Her cheeks flustering even redder, Elsa slowly gulped and turned to Anna. "Anna, please entertain our guests while I change into something a bit more appropriate." Then she turned around and ran back up the stairs, as hurriedly as possible.

It took Anna several seconds to register what Elsa just said. She looked back up to the balcony and called, "What am I supposed to do?"

Kristoff was walking down the hall, eight balls in hand, as Elsa rushed to reach her room. "Anna needs those," she announced as she ran past him. "And maybe a change of clothes." Without waiting for a reply, Elsa ran into her room and shut the door behind her.

She allowed herself a moment to catch her breath. She might have been embarrassed, but she was the queen, and she must not show any weakness. She breathed deeply a few times, then straightened her composure and approached her wardrobe. Now, what to wear…

Elsa spent the rest of the morning with the captain and his men. She gave them a tour of the castle—being very careful to bring attention to the many frozen windows that Anna had broken over the past few weeks—before giving them a brief walkthrough of the town.

By the time they returned to the castle, it was lunchtime. Elsa was starving; she had to skip out on breakfast thanks to her sister's antics, and now that she had an hour to herself, she was excited to find something to devour. She left her visitors in the dining room and requested the castle's chef to make whatever they asked for, before rushing into the kitchen to grab a bite for herself.

Anna was waiting for her, impatiently pacing around the room. "It's about time you got here," she exclaimed. "Are you hungry?"

Elsa, not interested in any more of her sister's chaos, had to bite her tongue, despite how much she wanted to ask why else she would be in the kitchen. "Yes, and you're in the way of the cupboard," she quietly replied.

Anna quickly jumped out of the way, allowing Elsa full access to the pantry. "Oh, sorry. Be my guest! Have as much as you want." But just as Elsa reached to open the door, she added, "Or…"

Now afraid that Anna had done something to the food, Elsa froze stiff. "Or what?" she asked, fearing the answer.

Anna reached into her dress pocket and pulled out a blindfold. Sheepishly smiling, she continued, "Or you can let me take you to a surprise meal!"

Elsa's fear didn't go away. "A surprise meal?" she repeated. When Anna's smile didn't disappear, she hesitantly let go of her fear. "Well, I suppose."

Anna squealed in delight, and then tied the blindfold around Elsa's head. "Come with me." She grabbed her sister's hand and began leading her through the castle.

At first, Elsa had an easy time figuring out where they were. A turn around the corner led to the main hallway, and then up the stairs they went out onto the balcony. However, after Anna pushed Elsa onto the roof, and then they carefully made their way back in through a different window, Elsa lost all sense of direction.

"Where are you taking me?" she asked, excited and worried at the same time.

Anna just chuckled. "If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise."

Anna continued leading her sister through various parts of the castle. Every now and then, Elsa thought she figured out where they were, but then they took a turn into what should have been a wall, but was really another hallway, and she lost all sense of direction again.

However, after about 10 minutes, Anna finally stopped Elsa and announced, "We're here! Do you like it?" Elsa, with her blindfold still on, cleared her throat. "Oh, sorry," Anna apologized, reaching behind Elsa's head and untying the blindfold.

They were right back where they started: outside the kitchen. At first, Elsa was upset; once again, Anna had wasted precious time, and now she had even less time to eat lunch. But before she could complain, she heard singing coming from inside the kitchen. She slowly walked inside to investigate, Anna close behind with a smile on her face.

Olaf was inside, dancing around and singing a merry tune. Several dishes were on the stove, and at that very moment, he was sticking another one in the oven. His personal snow cloud was fighting to keep up with him as he crossed from one side of the room to the other, flicking utensils around and tasting different dishes.

Elsa chuckled at the sight of it all, and Olaf turned to greet her. "Hello!" he merrily exclaimed, before grabbing a spoon and sampling from the pot on the stove. "Elsa, when you and Anna were young, did you both have a favorite dish?"

The question confused Elsa—not because she wondered why Olaf was asking; it was obvious he wished to make their favorite meal for her as the "surprise". Her confusion was the result of one thing: "Olaf, do you even know how to cook?"

Olaf happily shook his head. "How hard can it be? Everything I've tasted so far is great."

But when the next thing he sampled, and proclaimed "exquisite," was an entire jar of salt, Anna quickly asked, "Do you even have a sense of taste?"

Olaf fought to swallow the salt, but somehow it did not mix well with his snowy mouth. "Oh yeah, I never thought of that."

Before anyone could say or do anything else, the oven began to emit an ominous sound. Olaf quickly ran over to check on it, before turning back to face Elsa and Anna. "Hey, do you two know if cooking flour in the oven is a good thing?"

Anna sighed in relief. "Yes, that's a good thing."

But Elsa was still skeptical. "What did you add with it?" she asked.

Olaf looked back inside. "A few dozen eggs." Before the two sisters could once again sigh, he added, "Was I supposed to crack them first?"

The noise grew louder, and the three of them froze in terror as they realized what was about to happen. Not having time to think, Elsa reached for Olaf, threw him away from the oven, and raised her hands in an attempt to freeze it.

The combination of extreme heat with extreme cold caused the oven to crack in several places, and when her ice reached the food inside, the eggs exploded through the cracks and splattered all over Elsa. Then the flour followed immediately after, caking her head to toe.

The only thing Elsa could be optimistic about was that she managed to cool it down before it hit her.

She slowly turned around and left the kitchen. Anna and Olaf's jaws were dropped at the sight of her, turned completely white with egg dripping down her dress. She walked to her room, leaving a trail of white shoeprints along the way, along with a trail of several curious eyes—including those of the captain.

When she finally reached her room, she dared to look in the mirror before starting the undoubtedly long process of cleaning up. If she were to be honest with herself, her appearance was actually quite amusing. The eggs had acted as an adhesive, so there was not a single place on her entire front that was free of the flour. Even her dress, which was a mixture of red and black, was white as snow.

She allowed herself a giggle, despite the fact that practically everyone in the palace—including her most distinguished visitors—had seen her. Her giggle disappeared as she realized the repercussions this could have on her treaty.

Knowing that lunchtime was almost up—and she had yet to eat—she decided to grab a quick bath before returning to the kitchen. Not knowing what the flour would do to the new pipes that had just been installed in the palace, she washed as much of the flour off as possible before submerging herself, still in her clothes, into the bathtub.

She tried to relax in the nice, cool water, but the more she tried, the more her mind wandered. Elsa was suddenly afraid that the captain of Corona would refuse to sign the treaty—or worse, would refuse to see her as a worthy queen.

What if it gets out that I've acted so childish? She gripped the sides of the bathtub in fear. What if nobody takes me seriously? How can I maintain control of Arendelle if my subjects see me as no better than a common peasant? Her breath caught in her throat. What if I'm mocked everywhere I go? What if people don't remember me as the Snow Queen, but the Flour and Eggs Queen?

She realized the tub was getting colder and colder under her grip. Her mind jerked back to the present, and she realized in horror that she had completely frozen the tub, along with the water inside.

Elsa forced herself to calm down. Fear is your enemy, she reminded herself. Even though she had learned how to control her powers, she still slipped up every once in a while when she got too afraid of something. Calmly, she focused her powers into the ice and drew it out of the water, then out of the tub itself.

She decided she was clean enough, so she stood up, removed her wet garments, wrapped herself up in a towel, and returned to her room to pick another outfit. But once again, Anna was waiting for her. Her face was very solemn, and it was clear she was sorry for what happened in the kitchen.

"Is everyone making fun of me?" Elsa asked, walking to her wardrobe to get a new outfit.

Anna shrugged. "I made it clear, if anyone spoke of this, you'd make them into an ice cube." She stood beside her sister and reached into the wardrobe, retrieving a blue dress. "Try this one."

Elsa smiled in gratitude, before disappearing behind a folding screen to change. "So much for getting something to eat," she sighed.

Anna was silent for a minute, but eventually responded, "Actually, that's the reason I'm here."

"Oh? Why's that?" Elsa re-appeared, now wearing her blue dress, and looked at Anna with a raised eyebrow. "Please don't tell me you have another surprise."

Anna chuckled, hands behind her back. "Actually, I do. But this one I know you'll like."

She revealed her hands, and Elsa was delighted to see a box of chocolates in them. "Wow!" she exclaimed.

Anna pressed them into Elsa's hands. "I've been saving it for a rainy day, and…" She glanced out the window. "Well, it's not raining, but you sure did look like you could use some cheering up, and I know how much you like chocolate, so I thought—"

Elsa grabbed a chocolate piece and popped it into her mouth. "Anna," she interrupted, "it's wonderful. Thank you!" She gave her sister a quick hug, before grabbing a few more chocolate pieces and leaving the box on her dresser. "I have to get going, but thanks again!" she called behind her back.

Anna smiled, happy to cheer her sister up. However, her smile only lasted a brief moment, as she once again heard an ominous sound. But this was not like the one the oven made earlier; it was a low-pitched, rumbling sound. And it seemed to come from outside.

Anna slowly walked to the window, cautiously making sure the sound was not something that would harm her. She opened the window and looked outside.

Kristoff and Sven were walking up to the castle, sleigh in tow, munching on a carrot. The rumbling seemed to have caught their attention too; their walk was very slow and deliberate, and they kept looking to their left. Toward the fountain.

Then, quite suddenly, the water in the fountain disappeared, sucked into the pipes down below. Just as suddenly, the rumbling increased. Kristoff and Sven, not knowing what to do, froze stiff.

From her viewpoint, Anna could see more of the fountain than they could, and as she stared, she saw the faintest traces of ice begin to creep into the fountain from the pipes. She raised an eyebrow. "Ice?" she murmured. Then, as the rumbling increased all the more, she realized what was happening. She yelled at the top of her lungs, "Kristoff, Sven, get out of there!"

Kristoff and Sven, who didn't notice her before, spent a few seconds looking around trying to find the source of the voice. By the time they saw her, she had yelled at them again, but it was too late.

The pipes inside the fountain, ruptured by the ice inside them, burst. The water, now unhindered, sprayed in every direction—but mostly at Kristoff and Sven.

Anna could only watch helplessly as Kristoff and Sven became drenched, head to toe, in water from the fountain. They didn't even bother moving; they could not get any wetter.

Elsa appeared in the doorway behind Anna. "What's wrong?" she asked. "I heard your screams and I…" She approached Anna and looked out the window. Her face turned pale—even whiter than it normally was. "Was it the pipes?"

Anna slowly nodded, but then her nodding stopped and she stared at her sister. "How could you know that?" she asked.

Elsa's face turned from white to crimson. "Uh…" She sighed. "I have some explaining to do…"

Elsa spent the rest of the day locked inside her bedroom—something she had not done in several months. Before, when she locked herself away from the world, it was out of fear; she could only imagine what horrible things she would do if her magical snow powers were set free. Now, however, she was locked away for a different reason entirely: she was too embarrassed to show her face to the world.

The captain of Corona, thankfully, had not witnessed the mishap with Kristoff and the fountain—but that did not stop Kristoff from explaining the situation when he walked into the palace soaking wet. Elsa and Anna had tried to rush downstairs and stop him, but by the time they arrived, he had told the whole story to the captain and other guests.

At that moment, the only one who wasn't completely frozen in speechlessness was Sven, who was too busy shaking the water off his fur. This, in turn, soaked the captain, who silently glared at first the reindeer, then Kristoff, and finally Elsa.

The glare stayed in Elsa's mind as she silently excused herself and rushed to her room. She could still hear the echoing of the sound her door made when it slammed shut, and the subsequent sounds of her quiet crying.

She was embarrassed, scared, and helpless. It seemed nothing had gone right today, and now she would lose a valuable alliance in the process—and perhaps even her dignity as queen.

When word of this gets out, she horrifically realized, nobody will accept me.

The sun set outside her window and nighttime came, but Elsa did not leave. She curled up in a huddle in the corner, frightened at how the people outside would treat her. The sounds of crickets came and went, and before she knew it, it was time for the ball.

Her breath caught. "The ball," she whispered out loud. She firmly planted her palm on her forehead. "I completely forgot about the ball." She let out a heavy sigh. "Well, the day can't get any worse, can it?"

She forced herself onto her feet, reluctantly walking to her wardrobe to pick out an outfit. She was in the middle of changing when a knock came from the door.

"Elsa?" Anna called. "Please open the door. It's not that big of a deal. Nobody hates you or anything."

Elsa slowly finished dressing, pondering Anna's words. She didn't believe her sister; even if nobody blamed her for the water fountain incident, she had still made a fool of herself all day long, in front of all the people of the palace, as well as the most prestigious visitors.

"Please let me in," Anna pleaded. Her tone of voice changed to indicate she was smiling. "I have a present for you to help cheer you up."

Elsa considered remaining silent; after all, she had done that for years, even during times when Anna's pleas were more convincing. However, she also knew how much it hurt both of them when she kept silent, so she decided it would be for the better to open the door.

Anna had her hands behind her back. Her smile spread from one ear to the other as she walked inside. "So," she said in an attempt to make small talk, "nice to see no snow in here." When Elsa raised her eyebrow, Anna's smile instantly disappeared, replaced with a look of dread. "Oh, I didn't mean it that way!" she instantly apologized.

Unable to help herself, Elsa let out a chuckle. "It's okay," she insisted, quieting Anna. "You seem a bit nervous right now."

Anna shrugged. "I'm sure I'm no more nervous than you are. I mean, you did let the captain of Corona see you in your pajamas this morning."

Elsa's chuckle faded abruptly. "Anna…"

"And he saw you covered head to toe in flour," Anna continued, not hearing her sister's pleas to quiet down. "And then he found out about what you did to Kristoff, and—"

"I get it," Elsa snapped, forcing Anna to finally fall silent. She slowly rubbed her forehead. "I'd love nothing more than to forget about this day, but unfortunately, this day isn't over yet. The ball is in a few minutes, and if I'm lucky, I may be able to convince the captain that I am a competent queen, and a worthy adversary." She let out a slow, helpless sigh. "And if he isn't convinced, then I don't know what I'm going to do."

Anna patted her sister's shoulder. "It will be okay," she assured her.

Elsa looked into Anna's eyes, but even after seeing hope in them, she remained unconvinced. "How can you be so sure?" she asked.

Anna revealed her other hand, which she had managed to keep behind her back the whole time. It held the box of chocolates from earlier. Anna's smile returned. "Because I had a lot of chocolate, and chocolate seems to have a way with making people optimistic." She pulled a chocolate square out and popped it into her mouth with a wink. "And cheering them up," she added.

She pulled out another chocolate square and offered it to Elsa, who happily took it and ate it. She smiled. "I guess it does," she agreed. Her smile slowly faded. "But the captain still sees me as a fool, and a failure."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Anna responded. "I overheard him telling his friends that you were the funniest royalty he's met in years." When Elsa's face turned pale, she quickly added, "He was laughing, really! He said…" She adopted a tone of voice that mimicked the captain's, and stood at attention, before continuing, "She must be a great queen, indeed, if she is able to maintain such dignity and poise in such situations. No wonder Arendelle is so peaceful and welcoming; their queen has set such a great example!"

Elsa blinked. All of her fear drained away, replaced by a sense of utter happiness. "He really said that?" she asked.

Anna chuckled. "Well…maybe not word for word," she admitted. Before Elsa could ask for clarification, she hurriedly pushed her sister toward the door. "Come on, your highness," she insisted. "The whole palace is waiting for you."

Elsa barely had time to drop the box of chocolates by her dresser—she saw it bounce off and land upright on the floor—before Anna led her out the bedroom and down the hall. She let out a sigh of relief; even if Anna was exaggerating a little bit, it was a huge load off her chest to know that the captain still accepted her as a competent ruler.

"Thank you," she whispered to Anna as they approached the balcony overlooking the ballroom.

Anna only silently smiled in return.

The ballroom was filled with people, all conversing with each other while they waited for Elsa's arrival. They were silenced when the head of the palace guard called for their attention. "Her Majesty, Queen Elsa of Arendelle, and Her Royal Highness, Princess Anna of Arendelle."

The two sisters waved as the crowd clapped in greeting. "Well," Anna whispered, "guess it's time to go meet everyone."

Elsa began to nod in agreement, but was brought up short by the sight of the captain of Corona. Despite Anna's words from earlier, she could still feel his gaze penetrating her, as if he was reading her every move.

But this time, she would not allow fear to take over. She smiled slyly, and turned to Anna. "Hold that thought," she whispered.

Anna raised an eyebrow, surprised at Elsa's unusual response. Usually Elsa was quick to join the floor, always eager to make conversation with the crowd.

Elsa, however, had other plans for tonight. She placed both hands on the railing, instantly freezing it, before lifting them abruptly. Within seconds, two beams of ice spread from the balcony to the floor below, sloping away the farther they went. With a flick of the wrist, a thin layer of ice bridged the gap between them.

Anna gasped in amazement. "It's like a slide!" she exclaimed.

"That's because it is a slide," Elsa responded. She slowly put her arm behind her sister, her smile expanding every second.

"That's amazing!" Anna stared at the slide. "But why did you…"

All of a sudden, Anna realized what the slide was for—but unfortunately for her, she realized the exact same moment Elsa pushed. Anna fell onto the slide head-first and slid all the way down on her stomach. The ballroom fell silent as everyone watched in confusion—a silence only broken by Anna's startled scream at the initial push.

Her ride was short and quick, however, as she came to a gentle stop in the middle of the room. Kristoff, dressed in his best attire, rushed over from the side and helped her up. "What was that about?" he whispered.

Anna let out a laugh as she brushed the snow off the front of her dress. She looked back up to the balcony, where Elsa was getting ready to follow in her steps. "Oh, you know," she replied with a satisfied smile. "Just Elsa being Elsa."

Elsa threw her legs in front and slid down the slide on her back, laughing the whole way down. The crowd continued to remain silent, seeming confused and embarrassed at the two sisters' actions. As Elsa stood up at the end of her ride, the captain approached her sternly.

"Your majesty," he stiffly stated, "do you realize what you are doing?' Before he could allow Elsa to reply, he continued, "You are acting no better than a commoner. Do you feel your actions are appropriate for someone in your position?"

All eyes turned to Elsa, who had mentally been preparing for this moment all evening. Before her talk with Anna, however, her reply would have been much more different than now. Before, she would have apologized profusely, begging the captain's forgiveness and promising it would never happen again.

Now, however, she had the perfect response. "Captain of Corona," she calmly replied, "my people look to me not only as their queen, but as their friend. I am just as flawed as they are. I can, when the time comes, stand my ground, but when it comes down to it, I am of Arendelle, and I will act as such."

The captain's eyes widened. It was obvious he had not expected such an answer, and it was several seconds before he could respond. "Queen Elsa…"

Elsa was prepared for the captain to leave Arendelle immediately and abandon their treaty. But the captain's mouth twitched, and a smile formed. He let out a loud, long laugh, before bowing. "Your majesty," he finished, "you have my respect, and my alliance."

The relief was so great, Elsa had to close her eyes to fight back tears of joy. Suddenly, her knees felt weak; she quickly excused herself and made her way over to her throne. By the time she sat down, the orchestra began to play a soft ballad and everyone had begun to dance.

She let out a sigh and smiled, realizing everything had been okay. She even let out a laugh; maybe today wasn't so bad after all.

As her guests danced around the room, she decided that the setting wasn't quite as perfect as it could be. She reached up to the sky, motioned toward the candles around the room, and summoned snow to cover them. The result bathed the room in a subdued tint of purple—in Elsa's opinion, the best color to match the song. The crowd murmured in awe, and clapped at Elsa's achievement.

Elsa smiled, and motioned for everyone to continue with the dance. Yes, she decided. Today wasn't so bad after—

"Sven, what did you find?" Elsa's thoughts were interrupted by Olaf's voice from upstairs. "You shouldn't go into people's rooms without permission, Sven. It's rude."

Elsa strained to hear over the sound of music, but chuckled when she heard the next words loud and clear.

"So this is chocolate! Sven, I think I've fallen in love!"