Anna had been all too accepting of the fact that Elsa had been unable to tell Áno of their childhood. Just like she always is, Elsa had thought to herself. When it came time to introduce her to the man, she had had her hands full persuading Anna that he didn't need any extravagant gifts, or that the pair didn't need to dress in their most elegant attire. At least she hadn't complained when she insisted on sneaking out of the castle, as had become her habit - her sister was fond of anything out of the ordinary, even leaving her home through a different door.

She had remained her usual bubbly self when Elsa knocked on Áno's door. When she burst inside and shook his hand vigorously, Elsa couldn't help but feel sorry for him, despite fighting the urge to laugh at the bewildered expression affixed to his face. Anna hadn't wasted any time in being her own awkward self either.

"So, Áno, can I ask you something?"

"Uh, of course. Ask away Princess -"

"Just Anna is fine. Don't tell me you call Elsa Queen when it's just the two of you!"

"Um... no?" He smiled sheepishly. Anna gave an impromptu squeal of delight as she dragged her chair directly in front of his, complete with an ear-splitting creak, before leaning forward.

"Elsa? Leave the room."

"What?!"

"Don't argue. Just do it!"

Anna hadn't even bothered to look at her when she made the request, still invading Áno's privacy. Elsa couldn't help but feel sorry for whatever interrogation he was about to endure. He himself seemed terrified, unable to shake the Princess' face as his hand blindly reached out to his side, fumbling before seizing a bag and holding it in the air. Elsa thought she would be surprised to see a bead of sweat escape his brow, but found that she wasn't.

"If you wouldn't mind feeding Copper Elsa? That - that would be great."

Elsa had had a peaceful few minutes with the young cub once she'd convinced herself that Anna would not drive Áno to insanity. Her patience was rewarded with the sound of heavy footsteps and she turned to see both her sister and unlikely friend walking across the grass towards her, surprise failing to reach her yet again when she saw her furious and him utterly confused. A small part of her wondered who she should be feeling sorry for before her sister locked eyes with her, then beaming and running in her direction.

...Or towards something directly behind her.

Elsa turned as Anna shot past her towards a large tree before clutching the trunk and trying to lift a foot onto it. Elsa sighed, pinching her nose before calling out to her. "Anna, what are you doing?"

"Climbing this tree!"

"I can see that." Elsa walked towards her. Anna had managed to lift herself into a small crevice, where the tree's trunk split in two. Fortunately, despite her efforts Anna had gained very little altitude. If she fell, she may feel sore, but wouldn't break anything. "Why are you doing this?"

"Áno promised to teach me!"

Elsa whipped around as he approached, scratching his head with a bemused smile. "I - err, it slipped, I guess. I'm not quite sure how. Sorry."

Elsa was about to tell him not to worry about failing to maintain his composure in Anna's presence, but the redhead spoke first. Or rather yelled. "He was bragging about it Elsa!"

"I've never bragged in my life!"

Anna made a few more efforts and even managed to reach a low, yet sturdy branch (with Áno's help, of course) before she chose to "rest", claiming she was content simply being above her sister and new friend. She had then begun pelting Áno with questions about his powers, what he could and couldn't do and about his past. Elsa noticed the brutal honesty he used for some answers and perfect deflections he used for others.

Wait, then what were they talking about before?

Her thoughts were interrupted when Áno turned to her. "Enough about me Elsa, what about you?"

"Me?"

"Yeah, how have you been with... you know."

"Oh." She brought her hands together, threading the fingers of one hand through those of the other. She'd been expecting the question. Áno was always asking it and she always replied with... "The usual. Every day I'm getting reports of vandalism or hearing people jeering at me. I wasn't expecting it to die down any time soon, so I can cope."

Áno crossed his arms and sunk his head, resting his chin on his sternum, thinking. Anna pivoted from her branch, adopting a "side saddle" position as opposed to her original horse riding pose. "I know you showed me some letters before Elsa," she began softly, "but... is there anything else to this besides mail and people yelling in the courtyard?"

Elsa looked at her for a moment before replying. "If I told you, I'd have to lock you in at night and assign guards to you during the day."

"What? Why?!"

"Because you'll charge off and hurt yourself."

"Then you've been hiding something important, haven't you?" She promptly slid off the branch. Elsa yelped and ran for her but Áno got there first, hands catching her foot as her hand grabbed his scalp. She landed and quickly thanked him before advancing on her sister. Behind her shoulder, Elsa could see Áno clutching his hand, breathing warm air over his palm as he whimpered loudly ("Heels! She was wearing heels!"). Anna didn't notice, choosing to poke a finger into Elsa's collarbone. "Talk. Now."

"Only if you promise to not do anything."

"...Fine."

Elsa sighed before looking away for a moment as she collected her thoughts. When she faced Anna again, she saw that Áno had also recovered and was listening closely, although he was still rubbing circles into his palm with his right thumb. She took a deep breath.

"There's nothing much to say, to be honest - Anna, I'm being serious, don't give me that look. I've been getting those letters for a long time. I think the first came fairly soon after the, uh... well the people have taken to calling it the Great Thaw. Even then, I'm not fully sure. I only read one much later."

"Why?"

"Because Kai was intercepting them at first. One day the postman arrived while I was in the room, so the maid had no choice but to pass them directly to me. I guess I was lucky that day, because the author referred to my not responding to his earlier messages 'out of cowardice'. It wasn't too hard to figure out where those letters had gone."

Anna pondered for a moment. Now that she thought about it, there had been that sudden argument between the Royal Handler and her sister a while ago. Neither had been willing to discuss it and had resumed their typical working relationship soon after. Thinking further, she realized with a jolt that that was about the same time Elsa begun receiving her mail directly from the woman who collected it. It was also the time she began her strange custom of reading letters in private - not even in front of her advisers.

"So... you must have known they would start protesting then, right? You told me Raphael and that bunch were the ones sending the letters."

"No. I only learned that the morning before the first rally." She licked her lips before continuing, all too aware that her audience was hanging onto her every word.

"The letters all had a unique seal. Anna's seen it Áno, but I think I may have described it to you too. A flaming sun?" Áno nodded and she continued. "Olaf and I met Raphael and his daughter during my break. He must have been scoping out the grounds, or getting information from the little guy I guess. Anyway, he spoke to me briefly before he left, and he..." she turned up an imaginary collar over her neck "he had the same symbol. I couldn't see if it was a badge or if it was sewn on, but it was there, on his collar."

"A flaming sun?"

"Yes. I believe another kingdom uses a similar insignia, but I can't remember the name right now."

Áno sunk his head again and Anna spoke up. "So, letters and shouting. What else have they been doing?"

Elsa thought for a moment. She'd already told her so much...

"Anna, before the protests began, would you say attendance at my skating sessions was stable, or good?" Anna bit her lip before shaking her head. "Because there were speeches in the taverns - still are, in fact - where Raphael and Carsten and the rest have been recruiting dissenters. I'm sorry to say most of the people who usually chose to skate went there instead. That was something they did mention in the letters. They seemed quite proud of themselves."

"And you never thought to sneak in and see what they were doing?"

Elsa observed her sister, leaning forward slightly with her hands on her hips, pouting. The thought had occurred to her, many times. It had been Kai, sometimes Gerda, who had talked her into seeing sense when they found her dressed in cloaks or the clothing of commoners, telling her she knew she wouldn't like what was being said, so why bother putting herself under duress? Why put herself at risk from them?

Or them from me.

She shook her head slightly. "Anna, I told you this because I owed you an explanation and because I trust you to not do something rash. Please?"

"I'm not happy, you know."

"I know." They smiled sadly at one another, completely caught off guard when Áno finally spoke.

"Does the group have any distinct leaders?"

"Yes. Three."

"And is any one of them louder than the rest?"

Elsa's eyes narrowed as her mind raced, looking at the man still shaking his hand, a red rectangular imprint still present on his palm. "...Yes. Áno, what are you - ?"

"Just freeze him." It took him a few seconds to realize neither sister had responded. He looked up to see both staring at him, wide eyed and open mouthed. "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong with you?!" Anna took a step forward as she spoke. "Why on earth would she do that?!"

"Wait, hold on - I didn't mean freeze him completely, I just meant freeze his foot or something! It won't be permanent or anything, will it?"

"I'm not hurting anyone Áno."

"It won't hurt him badly. I just thought you could try shutting them up for a bit. You know, get some room to breathe?" Elsa said nothing, opting to simply glare at him. "Elsa please, you can't expect everyone to be as patient or accepting as you two. Trust me..."

The conversation only deteriorated from there. Elsa knew it was all down to a misunderstanding, but she couldn't think logically and listening to Anna yell at a defiant Áno was too much for her to handle and it wasn't long before she pulled her sister away. It was only when they reached the main streets of Arendelle that Anna sighed.

"That didn't go well, did it?"

"No, it didn't."

"But still, he went way outta line."

"Perhaps." Elsa brushed a loose strand of hair from in front of her eyes. "But he meant well."

"I guess." There was a long pause. Elsa admired a mother handing sandwiches to her daughter before Anna brought her back to attention. "I was a bit out of order as well, wasn't I?"

Elsa said nothing, but when Anna glared at her she acquiesced with a nod. Anna groaned, pinching her nose. "He seemed like a nice guy too. He needs a lot of work though."

There was something in the way she said it that caught Elsa's attention. "You're not still talking about the argument, are you?"

The pout was back on Anna's face when she looked up at her. "Nope. I still don't like him though."

"Why not?"

"Because he doesn't know a thing about you!"

Her sister couldn't help but chuckle. "What do you mean by that?"

"For starters, he thinks your surname is 'Of Arendelle'!"

"Arguably, it is."

"Oh. Well he told me he didn't know what your favorite food was, and when I told him it was chocolate, he said snacks don't count!"

"But they don't, do they? I told him so myself."

"Really? Oh, well, uh - "

There was a brief pause. Anna finally opened her mouth but Elsa beat her to resuming the discussion.

"How about you tell me what he does know about me?"

"Sure! He knows you have blue eyes, but that doesn't really count, does it? You know, because of the ice and stuff? Anyway, he likes the way you eat - "

"What?"

" - and he doesn't think you pick your nose - "

"Anna!"

" - and he knows you have small feet." Anna looked down at them while their owner recovered.

"So... what did he get wrong? My best friend's name?"

"Yeah! He said it was me! I mean, how crazy is that, right? It's obviously Kristoff or Olaf or Kai or something."

"Anna?"

"Yeah?"

"He was right."

"What - oh."

She blushed and they settled into silence for a few moments as they climbed a few steps separating them from a new street. The castle was in sight.

"We should apologize to him, shouldn't we Elsa?"

"We should."

Anna took a few steps further before she realized Elsa was no longer at her side. She turned to see her sister standing still.

"Elsa? What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Just, go on without me."

"Why?"

"Go to the castle and cover for me if you can." She began to walk backwards.

"Where are you going?" Elsa turned and began to pick up her pace, turning her head as she replied.

"I have an apology to make! I'll be back soon!"

"Soon" turned out to be upwards of an hour later. Anna had begun to panic when she heard the protests begin anew and was contemplating forming a one-man (or girl) search party when she saw Elsa walk in slowly from the kitchens, cheeks slightly flushed as she attempted to smooth out the wrinkles in her dress.

"Elsa! What took you so long?" She ran to her. "What did he say? Was he, you know, satisfied?"

Elsa blushed even more brightly. "I should hope so."

"Should I go and see him next?"

Her sister inexplicably spluttered. "What?! No! I mean - he was happy with just me, thank you for asking."

Satisfied with the state of her torso, Elsa ran her hands down her thighs before shaking the remaining wrinkles from her skirt while Anna sniffed the air.

"What's that smell? And why are you waddling? Were you crawling around somewhere?"

"Something like that."

They could hear the angry sounds of the townsfolk now. Elsa gently pushed her sister away, thanking her, but letting her know she was perfectly capable of standing by herself. "Elsa, you don't have to sneak through the gardens or something to get away from them you know. But, what flowers did you go through? I've never smelt them before..." She took another whiff. Elsa looked at the guard who had been watching this exchange with a slack jaw before his Queen's eyes meeting his jerked him into action.

"Your Majesty?"

"Yes?"

"I believe you were interested in the whereabouts of Soren Magnar?"

She frowned. That was true, but only out of curiosity. She had explicitly stated this to Kai but she supposed he had arranged a manhunt for the silkweaver regardless. She decided to respond in the positive, for his sake.

"Indeed I am. Do you know where he is?"

"Yes Queen Elsa. A fisherman brought him in from the fjord a few hours ago. Princess Anna asked me to wait for you to arrive."

Realization dawned on her with a jolt but Elsa was still glad for Anna asking the question. "What do you mean, 'brought him in from the fjord'?"

"That's where they found him, Your Highness." He took a deep breath.

"The man's dead."