Chapter 17.

"Elsa? Wake up, wake up, wake up!" I hear between dreams, as I feel someone sitting atop me and shaking my shoulder, obviously trying to wake me up. I crack open one eye, and see it's still dark, so I close it again, with no intention of waking up soon.

"Anna, it's still dark outside. Go back to sleep." I mumble angrily.

"But I can't!" Saying this, she rolls around, so now she's completely lying on top of me. "The sky's awake, so I'm awake, so we have to play!"

"Play? What are you talking about? It's the middle of the night." I ask, as I tiredly turn around and open my eyes, only to see a very naked Anna kneeling in front of me. The darkness in my room does little to conceal her body, and I can only blush and look away in order to not give in to my carnal impulses.

"I said wake up, Elsa."

I open my eyes as I feel someone tickling my sides, and I squirm and desperately try to get away from the attack, while the laughter makes me fully wake up in an instant. In an attempt to end the merciless tickling I'm being victimized by, I impulsively throw up my hands and conjure a blast of cold wind, effectively sending the attacker flying off my bed and landing on the floor. Finally, I'm able to breathe and relax.

Then, I hear a pained grunt and look to see who I just threw off the… sofa? Huh. I guess I wasn't sleeping on my bed. Or my room, for that matter. I'm in the queen's studio, and the one I just blasted away was the queen herself.

"Oh my god! Anna I'm so sorry!" I say, getting up and rushing to help her up. As I do so, I notice she's not wearing the same clothes as yesterday, unlike me, and that instead she's wearing traveling clothes; a simple green dress and a brown cape. I guess she won't be working with me today.

"Don't worry, it's my fault." She says as she dusts off her dress. "I should have known better than to tickle a powerful ice-wielder." She giggles, and I do so too, glad that I didn't hurt her.

"Are you going somewhere?" I ask curious, suppressing a yawn.

"Yes. And you're coming with me." She answers with a mischievous smile. "I think we both earned a little vacation."

"Vacation? Are you crazy?!" I exclaim horrified. "Tomorrow we'll meet with the council, and we both know convincing them to remove your parents outdated laws won't be easy. I need to be ready! What if I missed something, I need…"

"You need to rest." Anna cuts me off, crossing her arms over her chest. "You've been working nonstop for five days straight, and have found every scrap of information you could possibly need to know. Twice." She pauses, taking my shoulders and looking straight into my eyes, oddly making me forget how to breathe for a second. "You even ended up falling asleep here last night! You're too stressed, and I need you to be relaxed and well rested tomorrow." She continues, squishing my shoulders and looking at me with pleading eyes. "Please, Elsa? I promise it'll be fun."

I'd like to say that even Anna's beautiful eyes and inviting smile won't be able to make me forget about my responsibility to work for making a better world for ice-wielders to live in, but… I'm only human. And so, I end up giving in with little to no resistance.

After taking a bath, getting dressed and having a quick breakfast, I meet with Anna at the stables, where a carriage and four guards are waiting for us, including Kristoff unfortunately. Then, it only took a couple of hours to get to our destination; a spot in the forest next to the road in the middle of nowhere. There, Anna tells the guards to wait for us (except Kristoff), takes my hand and starts guiding me through the trees.

During the ride here I tried asking her where we're going, but she refused to tell me, and even now I can't seem to imagine what we are doing in the middle of the forest, where bandits and wolves could be hiding. But I appreciate that it's a secluded place where I can take off my wig as soon as we're away from the guards.

Finally, she comes to a stop and turns to me with excitement clear on her face.

"Close your eyes." She instructs.

"Why?" I ask raising an eyebrow.

"Because I want it to be a surprise." She answers and then proceeds to stare expectantly at me, making it clear she won't move one inch until I close my eyes. I decide to promptly obey, being now accustomed to the queen's sometimes childish behavior (and finding it endearing), and follow her as she takes both my hands and guides me through the forest.

"I'd be careful if I were you." Kristoff says in a teasing tone beside me. "The first time she guided me after putting a blindfold over my eyes, I ended up hitting a pole with my face." He laughs, but Anna tightens her hold on me, obviously not amused.

"I was like fourteen! Okay? And I had to hurry before my father found out we'd left the castle." She protests, and I can totally imagine her pouting at my guard. I smile at that cute image.

"It still doesn't change the fact that it's your fault I can't get a girlfriend. My face is ruined!" Kristoff continues to tease the monarch.

"Hey! Your face was already pretty ruined without my help, thank you very much." Anna retorts, and I can't help laughing at that. I mean, Kristoff isn't exactly ugly, I guess, but I wouldn't say he has a beautiful face. Though maybe that is because I prefer more feminine features. "And besides, the reason you can't get a girlfriend is because you smell like reindeer." Anna continues to tease him, and he only grunts in response.

"That… that still doesn't change the fact that you're terrible at guiding people." He finally decides to answer after a few seconds.

"What are you talking about? Of course I… Ooff." Before she can finish the phrase, she obviously hits something with her back, making me stumble and barely avoid crashing against her, only because she's firmly holding my hands.

"You were saying?" Kristoff says amused as he laughs loudly.

"S-shut up, you pungent reindeer king." Anna answers, embarrassed and amused at the same time. "Now, stay here. I want to be alone with Elsa." At her words, I can't stop a silly little smile from appearing in my lips, and the blood rushing to my cheeks. I know she didn't mean anything romantic by it, but… It doesn't hurt to dream.

After walking a few more feet, however, something changes. The sun hits my skin, and the light filters through my eyelids , and the smell passes from being just the acidic smell of pines to the sweet scent of flowers and herbs. I can also hear something like a river, or a waterfall, and I assume we just walked into a clearing.

That's where Anna stops and releases my hands. I instantly miss the contact, but I'm careful not to give anything away. Then, she steps aside and tells me to open my eyes. I do so, and see… something beautiful. Astounding, even.

It's a small waterfall that lands in a pond that then turns into a creek. The sun reflects on the clear water with such intensity my eyes hurt for a second and I have to squint a bit until I get used to the light. Around it, the clearing is surrounded by beautiful wild flowers of numerous colors and grass of the brightest green, and where the clearing ends, tall pines keep it hidden from the outside world.

For a few moments I don't say anything, just staring at it in awe. It's almost something out of a fairy tale. It's, perhaps, too romantic? I know this is probably just a little outing between friends, but the setting is something I'd consider very appropriate for a date. But… no, it can't be. I shouldn't get my hopes up if I don't want to get hurt.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Anna asks, wearing that characteristic carefree and joyful smile she has most of the time. Only one thought crosses my mind in that moment.

Not as beautiful as you.

"I have to admit, Anna, it really surprised me." I answer instead. "How did you find this place?"

"During one of my many escapes from the castle." She shrugs. "It's the perfect spot for a picnic, don't you think?"

On cue, Kristoff steps in carrying a basket he hadn't been carrying before (I guess he went back to the carriage to retrieve it) and gives it to Anna.

"Thank you, Kristoff." She answers, and then he nods and walks away, probably to hide between the trees again, not before giving me a warning glance that I respond to with an eye-roll.

After that, I help her set up the picnic next to the lake, which surprisingly doesn't take long. Then, we start eating and chatting about things. Well, Anna starts rambling about things, and I mostly listen and laugh at her silly comments. It's not like I have anything interesting to share, any memories I could tell her about. I wonder if I ever will.

Even if I regain my memory, will I have happy stories to share with her? Everything I've remembered so far has been bad or at least bittersweet. More so compared to Anna's funny and innocent tales about that time she fell into a pond trying to grab a duck, or when she'd go with her mother to the market and buy sweets while she wasn't watching (with money she'd stolen from her father). The stories I could tell her about would surely feature blood and suffering and injustice, all of which were at least partially her parents' fault.

No, I wouldn't want to tell her about those things. And I'd prefer not to ever get my memories back. Instead, I want to build new memories here with Anna. Happy and perfect moments just like this one; just the two of us laughing and talking, without a care in the world.

"Hey, Elsa." Anna says, interrupting my thoughts. "Do you know how to ice-skate?"

"Ice-skate?" I ask, intrigued at her sudden question. "I don't know. Maybe." I shrug. "Why?"

"Well, I always loved to skate in ice, even though the first few times I ended up falling on my butt." She answers giggling. "I was thinking that maybe you could use your super awesome ice powers to freeze the pond so we could skate?" At this, she looks up at me expectantly and battles her eyelashes, apparently trying to convince me solely through her charm. Unsurprisingly, it's working.

"What if someone sees?" I ask, trying to be the rational one here.

"No one ever comes here." She assures me. "And we have four loyal guards with us. Plus, it's not like you're exactly defenseless."

"But…"

"Please Elsa?" Anna insists, getting closer to me and softly touching my chest, her hand barely where it would be considered appropriate. I gulp, feeling a wave of excitement and nervousness pass trough my whole body as blood rushes to my cheeks. I then forget how to breathe when she gets even closer and whispers something in my ear. "Do it for me?"

"Uh… y-yes. Yes." I am barely able to answer. "I-I'll do it."

"Great!" She exclaims excitedly, letting go of me and getting up in one swift jump. "Come on, do the magic!" The smile she wears as she says this is so big and happy that I can't help thinking giving in is already worth it. So I just smile in return and shake my head in amusement.

"Okay, okay. I'll do it." I say as I get up and take a few steps towards the small pond.

I ready my power. Magic coming from positive emotions is much easier to control, I've found out lately, so if I focus on happy thoughts and let happiness itself fuel my magic it shouldn't get out of control. But I still have to be careful; one wrong thought could mean hurting someone. Even being too happy could make me lose control. And worst of all, the line between safe and not safe gets blurrier each day.

But I should not worry about it. Even the smallest bit of anxiety can be dangerous. So, instead, I close my eyes and take a deep breath, getting rid of all worries as I let the picture of Anna's cute face take over my thoughts. I let the memory of her laughter fill me with merriment and joy, and only when I'm sure I won't lose control, I let those emotions transform into magic. But I hold it inside, and direct it to my feet, before opening my eyes and stepping onto the pond, instantly freezing a small area below my foot. Then, I continue fueling that magic until the whole surface of the pond, as well as the waterfall, has turned into ice.

"Wow." Anna gasps, and I turn to look at her, trying to contain how pleased and proud I am that she likes my little demonstration of power. "Have I ever mentioned that I love your magic?"

"No, but you still made it pretty clear." I answer with a smile, remembering the utter look of wonder she had when I first made her a little demonstration of what I can do, and seeing that same look reflected on her face right now.

"Well, I love your magic." She states as she walks to stand at the side of the pond and looks down to inspect the clear blue ice.

"That makes you the first." I mumble, but she still hears.

"I know more people would love it if they saw the beauty in it, and not only the danger." She answers, as always trying to defend my magic when even I can see why people are scared of it. It still warms my heart to hear her say such things. "Now." She says loudly, deviating my attention when she looks down to her feet. "Skates. I guess they're necessary to skate, but I didn't bring mine." She gives me a sheepish smile. "Can't you make me a pair with magic?"

"Of course. Hold on." I say before concentrating again and very carefully releasing my magic. This one's trickier because I'm making a specific object with specific functionality materialize under Anna's shoes, and I have to put more attention to detail. However, I'm still able to do it with relative ease, and to repeat the process with my own shoes.

Once we're both wearing skates, we step into the frozen pond. Anna instantly stumbles and tries to regain her balance, but only succeeds when I grab her arm and stabilize her. That's when I notice that being on skates is actually pretty easy for me. Almost like walking. My equilibrium is perfect, and when I move forward I can do it with ease and elegance without a second thought. I can even spin and go backwards like it's no big deal, while Anna… she can skate relatively well, but her coordination isn't perfect and sometimes she struggles to avoid falling.

Weird. I thought it'd be the other way around. Oh, well, I better help her before she ends up falling. It's totally not just an excuse to get closer to her.

"I thought you said you knew how to skate." I say teasingly as I approach her skating backwards. She looks at me and her eyes widen when she notices how easily I'm able to change directions as I get close to the waterfall and avoid hitting it without even turning to look and see it. The perks of being able to sense my own ice.

"S-shut up." She blushes, struggling to keep up with my speed, even when I reduce it a little as I go to skate next to her instead (and turn around so she won't feel I'm making fun of her for not being able to do what I do). "I bet with your magic you were able to practice ice-skating without waiting for winter. That's cheating."

"That's probably true." I chuckle. "Do you want me to show you?" Saying this, I extend my hand for her to take, feeling confident probably due to the joy it brings me to have regained this important part of me that is ice-skating.

"To skate backwards? And make a fool of myself? No thank you." Anna shakes her head, but she's still smiling and eying my extended hand, so I assume she wouldn't be opposed. Again relying on the surge of confidence the exhilarating experience of gliding through smooth ice without anything to stop me, I take her hand and guide her to the center of the pond before positioning myself in front of her and taking her other hand. The Queen doesn't protest beyond letting out a little yelp of surprise, and instead firmly grips my hands, boosting my confidence even more.

"Come on, it's not really that hard." I say, letting go of Anna's hands only to do a little turn in my place and grab them again. "Easier than dancing, actually."

"You only say that because you don't know how to dance." Anna deadpans, and I can only blush and give her a sheepish smile.

"Maybe." I shrug. "But regardless, it's not that hard." At this, I grip her hands even tighter and cautiously move backwards, making her stumble forward a little before regaining her position by getting into a rigid and tense posture. I frown at this.

"You have to relax." I instruct. "If you fear you'll fall, you surely will. Just… let it go."

"Easier said than done." Anna mutters through her teeth as she tries to follow me unsuccessfully. She's still too rigid.

"You said that dancing was all about relaxing and having fun with your partner, right?" I ask, trying to get her to concentrate in something other than her fear.

"Yeah? What about it?" She asks, raising an eyebrow. But at least she stops looking at her feet.

"Well, ice-skating is also about relaxing and having fun, either alone or with someone else." At this, I move forward, making her lose her equilibrium and grip tightly my hands with an expression of pure terror. "Don't think about what could happen, after all, in the worst case scenario you'll just fall, get a little bruise and get up again."

"I know but…" I place a finger on her lips to silence her.

"Follow my lead okay? Concentrate on me, on my movements. And trust me; I won't let you fall." I give her a reassuring smile, hoping this will be enough to ease her mood. And apparently it is, because she's soon smiling too, now looking much more relaxed.

"Okay, I trust you."

After that, I teach her to skate backwards, always firmly gripping her hands, and not letting her go until I'm absolutely sure she won't fall (and even then, I stay close enough to catch her). At first she loses her equilibrium every two seconds, and in more than one instance I fear we'll both end up hitting the ground, but at least she seems to be having fun. Confident that I won't let anything happen to her, she laughs freely and relaxes, looking at me all the time and trying to imitate my movements. Sure, there are some moments when she gets tense and scared, thinking she'll fall, but an observation on my part is enough to make her relax again.

Once she's managed to skate backwards three feet without me holding her and without falling on the hard ice, she asks me to teach her how to spin. And of course I agree happily. It's easier actually; I just hold her hands and do all the work. She follows my movements and laughs with merriment beyond compare. I'm almost as happy as when we were dancing. Actually, I could safely say that this has to be one of the happiest moments of my life; skating and having fun without a care in the world, forgetting about all my problems, and spending time with the most important and loved person in my life.

It's… It's actually like that one time. When… when I was also skating with someone. But…

"Oh, Elsa! This is so much fun!" I hear her beautiful voice, usually quiet and shy, but loud and happy when she's with me. Her breath condenses on the cold air, making little clouds every time she opens her mouth. I look directly into her green eyes as we spin together, gliding through this little lake I found in a cave. I didn't even need to freeze it; this high up in the mountains everything is naturally frozen.

"You like it?" I ask, glad that my little idea worked out. Helen has been a little depressed as of late, worried because of her brother's nightly activities and sad because I won't spend as much time with her as before. And also because Hans and I keep fighting more and more, which of course results in me putting some distance between us and, therefore, between Helen and me as well.

"Of course! You know I love spending time with you." She answers sincerely, her eyes shining with affection. It actually makes me feel more than a little guilty for neglecting her so much as of late.

"It's getting late though." I say, looking to the entrance of the cave at the sun getting closer and closer to the horizon, painting the ice crystals on the walls and ceiling a variety of oranges and pinks. "We should go back soon." I really don't want to end the fun right now, since this is actually quite good for me too (I've been pretty stressed out as of late), but if we don't get back Hans will surely have yet another excuse to fight with me.

"I know." She sighs resigned, before letting go of my hands and going to sit at the shore of the lake with a saddened expression. Feeling bad, I quickly go to sit next to her and, after getting off my gloves, make our skates disappear with a wave of my hand (not without struggling quite a bit).

"You're still having problems with your magic?" She asks, when she notices I only managed to make three skates disappear and the fourth is giving me trouble.

"They get worse every day." I admit with a grimace. She's the only person I've told about this. I don't want to worry the others. Plus, I don't think they'd understand (which makes sense, I guess, because even when Helen doesn't have magic, she is my only female friend, and only one year younger than me).

"You're still growing. I think it's normal." She says, placing a hand on top of mine. I instantly recoil in fear, and in response to my emotions, a few snowflakes start falling. She only looks sadly at me, but doesn't say anything; she knows I'm afraid of touching any non-ice-wielders because I fear I'll hurt them.

"I'm sixteen!" I shout, desperate. The snow starts falling more heavily. "Don't you think their growth rate should have diminished by now?"

"You're still a teenager." She shrugs. "They'll probably keep growing until you're an adult."

At her words, I look down at my hands and pretty much glare at them before putting my gloves on (not that they are of much help now), and sigh in distress.

"That's what worries me." I answer.

She falls silent at that, and for a moment I fear I've killed the mood; that I've made her as stressed and unhappy as I normally am, but… suddenly she gets closer, gripping my gloved hands with hers. My heart skips a beat, in fear or excitement I don't know, but when she then lens in, clearly with the intention to kiss me, it starts thumping again faster than before.

Her lips land on my cheek, and my blood instantly rushes there, as if it wanted to be closer to Helen. A smile appears on my lips and I can only look at her with as much appreciation as I can muster. For a moment, she reminded me what warmth feels like. What love and friendship feels like. For a moment, I could forget about all my fears and distressful thoughts and just focus on her. For a moment, I was completely and truly happy.

"Elsa?" Anna's voice pulls me back into the present, and I realize we've stopped spinning and are instead standing still at the shore, with me probably spacing out as I recovered my memory. I blink a few times, to remind myself where I am and what am I doing, and discover I'm a little dizzy, and it's probably not just because of all the spinning we just did. "Is… something the matter?" She asks unsure.

"I-I…" I clear my throat, fighting to find an answer. I certainly don't want to go back to skating right away, but I don't want to ruin the mood either. At the end, I settle for "I'm a bit dizzy."

"Oh! Okay, let's sit down." She says, obviously concerned, as she pretty much forces me to sit on the grass as she does the same beside me. However, my head hurts a little bit, like more memories are fighting to get out but just can't seem to get to the surface just yet, and so I decide to lay down and put my arm over my eyes to block out the sunlight, keeping my breathing as even as possible.

"Better?" She asks gently after a few minutes have passed. At the sound of her sweet voice, I'm able to forget about my pain and open my eyes, smiling as I see her head next to mine on the ground, teal eyes looking at me with both concern and love.

"Yeah." I answer honestly. Being so close to Anna always makes things better.

However, when Anna sees my left arm, that was previously on top of my eyes, resting on the ground above her head, she apparently takes this as an invitation and goes to use it as a pillow and place her arm over my stomach, getting so close to me now that I could probably count all her little freckles. Of course, instantly my breath hitches and butterflies appear on my stomach, but she seems oblivious of this fact as she just keeps peering at me with a happy expression.

"You had another memory?" She asks, and my eyes widen at her question. She sure knows me well.

"Uh… yeah." I answer with a smile.

"A happy one?" She prods, obviously curious to know more, but I decide to just partially satisfy her curiosity; it just feels weird to talk about such an intimate moment when I don't truly know the context, or what it meant for me in that moment.

"Yes. I was skating with a friend." When she keeps looking at me, like she wants to know more, I give in and give her more details. "Her name was Helen. I saved her when we were little."

"Oh, that girl!" She exclaims, obviously remembering about the dream I had the night when I freaked out. "Were you close?"

"I… I actually think she was my best friend." I say confidently. The memory strongly suggested that after all.

"Was she better than me at ice-skating?" She then asks, frowning like a positive answer will make her pissed.

"No!" I assure her, even if I don't know if that's true. I just really don't want her to be mad at me. "S-she… you're better than her in every way."

At my words, Anna smiles like I just gave her the right answer, and before I know it, she gets even closer, nuzzling against my neck in a way that makes a pleasant tingle run through my whole body, leaving me both frozen in place and hotter than I thought possible at the same time. If I had been standing, my legs would have turned to jelly.

"You just say that to please me." She says in a playful tone, but I don't even have time to register her words because in that moment, her lips touch softly the sensitive skin of my neck, and all rational thoughts fly out of the window.

A/N: Hi there! So, I was able to update early this time, which is pretty much a miracle considering there was a pretty huge and very destructive earthquake in my city the other day :P.

But anyways, I hope you liked this little piece of fluff, because I sure loved writing it! And please, leave a review if you enjoyed this chapter, and check out a drawing I made, either in my DeviantArt or Tumblr (Tania Hylian).

As always, thanks for reading. And thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13 :)