This is an Anna-centric chapter.

Anna had been spacing out and working on autopilot ever since Elsa was called to the kitchen. She was in the living room with Alice, Rapunzel, and Kristoff because of the little girl's insistence, whereas Ariel, Marshall, and Olaf were outside, decorating the front porch.

Kristoff was helping his daughter put ornaments on the already-heavily decorated tree. "You okay there, Anna?"

"Me? Oh, yeah. Yeah, I'm... I'm fine."

Placing another bauble on one of the leaves, he grabbed a ribbon from one of the boxes. "You sure? You're spacing out."

Eyes momentarily flickering to the hallway, she sighed. "Is she going to be okay?"

Kristoff's silence did little to her growing anxiousness. She knew Gerda, Charlotte, and Senya were there with Elsa, but still...

"Alice, can you get the bells in our room?" Kristoff kindly asked and his daughter zoomed up the stairs. When they heard a door open, he asked, "You know about her fear of heights?"

"Yeah?"

He gestured to the mistletoe Anna hang minutes ago. "Why did I tell her to put that up?"

Despite not knowing why their conversation took this turn, Anna blushed when she remembered Rapunzel's earlier remark. "I thought you were only teasing her. That's what cousins do, right?"

Kristoff chuckled. "I guess. But it's more of... that height wouldn't kill anyone unless they fell on the head. With someone as careful as Elsa, that won't happen unless she's worried about little things."

"What do you mean?"

"She needs to face her fears because they're not going to disappear by simply being avoided."

Anna straightened her back and asked with a poorly concealed bite in her words, "So you force her? Even if she's having a hard time?"

"Elsa's my cousin, Anna. I was with her those years she was at her lowest. She's not as weak or fragile as she was then. She wouldn't last this long if she was."

Though his words were defensive, his tone was anything but. Kristoff showed no signs of offense, and Anna knew that he was right. Elsa was not weak. Lasting seventeen years with a wedge in her relationship with her parents couldn't be an easy feat.

"We forget it sometimes."

Anna jumped, forgetting about Rapunzel's presence because she had been silent the entire time. The brunette was holding a needle with a thread and a red stocking, determined to salvage what was left of the cloth. It was an image that Anna never pictured in her head, but Rapunzel had proven herself surprisingly nimble with her fingers ever since Elsa's birthday.

"Sometimes, I forget that she's older than me. Being there to see her get better and fall back down? I have to remind myself most of the time that she can decide for herself."

Anna wanted to believe them. They'd known Elsa longer than she had and better than she does. And yet...

What if Elsa was only agreeing to please people? It wouldn't be a stretch. Elsa once did it for her parents. Who was to say she wouldn't do it again? If Anna, who only knew her for less than a year, tried to encourage her to do things she was afraid to do, what would Elsa think?

"Now this is a gloomy holiday if I've ever seen one."

The new voice startled them, their heads snapping to the door to see two new faces—at least, to Anna. They were both brunettes, but the man's hair was darker. The lady had fairer skin and owned a pair of green eyes that Anna swore she had seen somewhere before, while that of the man's were dark blue.

"Mama! Papa!" Rapunzel squeaked. "Y-You're here!"

"Obviously," the man snorted.

"How come you didn't greet us out there? Olaf was kind enough to open the gates for us," the woman chided.

"Wha- I didn't know you were coming this early in the morning!"

"Senya didn't tell you?"

"No!"

"Now you know," her mother deadpanned before looking at the Christmas tree. Her eyebrows rose at the sight. "Lovely tree."

Curious at the reaction, Anna welcomed the change of atmosphere and looked at the tree—really looked at it for the first time since Elsa's disappearance—and nearly dropped her jaw. To put it nicely, it was different. Anna had no qualms when it came to new creative ideas, but she had to admit that this might have gone a little overboard.

The white Tannenbaum disappeared underneath what could only be described as a ball tree.

Anna had seen little versions pose as nice table tops before, but it was the first time she had seen one that was life-sized. For someone who had a huge aversion to little bumps clustered together, it was a terrifying experience and made her skin crawl.

"Thanks! It was designed by Alice!"

Ignoring Kristoff's proud statement, Anna rubbed her arms to flatten the tiny hairs starting to rise at the imprinted image of the conifer. Rapunzel saw the discreet movement and tilted her head, but Anna smiled as best as she could to hide her unease.

Rapunzel looked at her mother. "Charlotte's gonna be pissed."

"I can see it now," her mother agreed. Kristoff protested but was ignored in favor of an interrogation. "Who's your new friend?"

"Oh, right!" Rapunzel placed the needle and the stocking on the coffee table. "Anna, this is my mother, Arianna, and my father, Frederic. Ma, Pa, this is Anna, Elsa's girlfriend."

As soon as those two words were uttered, the goosebumps on Anna's arms settled and the crawling on the back of her neck stopped, the image of a bumpy tree completely forgotten.

Kristoff snickered.

"I-I'm not!" It took forever to answer and her denial was useless due to the reddening of her cheeks. Four pairs of eyebrows raised at her. "E-Elsa isn't m-my—"

Furious tiny footsteps were heard before Alice appeared with a bell on hand. "What's a 'girlfriend'?" Her big, curious eyes looked at each of them until they landed on the redhead. "Anya, what does she mean you are Elsie's girlfriend?"

Anna looked at Kristoff pleadingly. Shouldn't he be the one to explain? It was his daughter asking the question and he jumped in when Rapunzel was about to say something about the mistletoe. Why wasn't he coming to the rescue now and just standing there with a goofy grin?

Covering her nerves with a cough, she toyed with one of her braids. "It means that... when two people love each other, they... get together. Like your mama and papa."

"Mama and Papa are married. Are you and Elsie married too?"

"No, we're not. Before marrying, you become a c-couple."

Alice scratched the side of her head. "I don't get it. You and Elsie love each other, and that makes you her girlfriend?"

Anna's breath hitched.

Love.

It was the word she didn't dare acknowledge. She told Elsa she was falling but never explicitly mentioned that it was love. Now, it was being pointed out by someone else. It didn't matter that it came from a child. It was enough to make her face the truth.

If she had even a small portion of Elsa's strength, Anna would admit with absolute pride that she truly was in love. But regardless of how people often viewed her as arrogant or confident, she was far too inhibited to do it. No matter how badly she wished she could say her feelings out loud without any restrictions, that single word of confirmation could only come out as nothing but a whisper in the wind.

By the time Anna realized she actually voiced out a 'yes' while absorbed in her own thoughts, it was already too late to take it back. Everyone in the living room, except for the confused little girl, were blatantly exchanging meaningful glances in front of her.

"But I love Elsie too," Alice said."Does that mean I'm her girlfriend?"

Shaking his head in amusement, Kristoff finally stepped in. "Alice, baby, what do you think of Elsa? Is she like a sister to you?"

Face lighting up, Alice happily agreed. "Elsie is my big sister!"

"You see, Anna and Elsa's love is different. They love each other the same way your mother and I do."

The silence that ensued was deafening. The longer it took for Alice to process her father's words, the brighter Anna's cheeks glowed. She knew it was solely to explain the situation to a child, but hearing someone say it and remembering that a few nights back, Elsa had a discussion with Gerda about her own feelings, her self-control was beginning to wane.

"Oh! I get it!" Alice clapped her hands. "You are a prince and Elsie is the princess!"

"Y-Yes...?"

"Then that means you're going to be a part of our family." Her giddiness was replaced with an adorable frown. "Like how I'm stuck with Punzie!"

"Hey, I'll have you know I'm a cool sister!" The brunette said in defense.

"Big sister Senya is! You are stuck with charcoal!"

The two argued the same way they often did, dissolving the tension there was in the room in an instant. The constant bickering made them similar to sisters, if not for the huge differences in their appearances. Anna would've watched longer if Arianna and Frederic didn't grab her attention.

"It's nice to meet you, Anna," said Arianna.

"L- Likewise."

Arianna grinned, her eyes crinkling on the edges. "Rapunzel can be a handful at times, don't you think?"

Licking her dry lips, she stammered, "Uhm... Els- Elsa's not my girlfriend."

"Oh?" Her stiff nod was quickly answered, "But you like her. Otherwise, you wouldn't be blushing that hard when she was mentioned."

"Y-You don't mind?"

"Goodness, no!"

"I don't think you have to worry about that here," Frederic promised. "If there's one thing I love about Olaf's family, they're open-minded. It's easy to talk to them and it's never dull."

"Agreed." Arianna patted the redhead's shoulders. "And what year is it? No one cares about gender anymore... I think."

A hearty giggle fell out of the lady's lips before excusing herself to the kitchen. Frederic volunteered to help with decorating while Rapunzel and Alice played around. Kristoff, on the other hand, simply stood by Anna's side.

"Elsa's not my—"

"I heard," Kristoff confirmed. "Thanks for not being detailed about it. Rapunzel would always explain it directly to the point."

"Direct to the point can be nice too." Anna walked over to the tree, intent on removing unnecessary decorations to distract herself. "Sometimes."

Kristoff hummed. "Sometimes."

The next few minutes consisted of polishing up the tree. Anna wondered why Kristoff allowed her to redecorate the product of his daughter's artistic sensibilities when he was proud of it, but she guessed it had something to do with Charlotte's opinion.

"Alright, everyone! It's time to- What in the blazes?"

Dropping the ornament on hand, Kristoff gaped at his wife who was sporting the same expression, only towards the tree. "T-This—"

"None of your excuses," she quickly cut him off. "Alice, what did I tell you about Christmas balls?"

"But it looks pretty..."

"You don't need that many, honey. The tree is beautiful, but with these decorations, it can't be seen. Weren't you the one who wanted a white tree this year?"

"I... I..." Alice blinked. "I can't see the tree!"

A breath caught somewhere between relieved and amused left Kristoff, and he burst out a full-blown laugh which was later joined in by the others.

Tugging on her father's shirt, the girl said, "Papa, let's remove the balls! I can't see the tree!"

"Not now, honey," Charlotte intervened. "It's time for breakfast. Elsa cooked for us."

"Elsie?!"

"Aaaaand there she goes." Charlotte sighed as her daughter ran to the dining room and shifted her attention to the redhead, plastering on an apologetic smile. "I'm not expecting much from Toph, but don't be afraid to say no to her, okay, Anna? Toph's already spoiling her enough."

"Hey!"

"It's true." Olaf agreed as he entered the house with Marshall and Ariel, their faces flushed from the cold. "I can't blame Anna for not saying no. It's hard not to give in to that kind of face. I remember how Elsa used to be that way."

"Really?" Anna mentally took note of the information.

Rubbing his sleeved arms to keep warm, Marshall explained, "Remember when I told you about Elsa being boyish back then? She's also restless and always wanted to do something for the sake of doing something."

"Harsh, but true." Charlotte giggled. "Anyway, it's time for breakfast!"

Rapunzel jumped to her feet. "What did Elsa cook?"

"You'll know once you get there. Now, come! The food is waiting!" Charlotte skipped her way out, leaving the others sharing questioning glances.

"Well," Rapunzel was the first to speak. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm famished."

"Same. Let's go." Kristoff led the way.

No one else talked until the archway that led to the dining room appeared in view.

Anna swallowed repeatedly for various reasons. Charlotte said it was Elsa who cooked. If this sudden smell wafting through the air was any sort of clue as to what the meal was, her mouth watered in anticipation.

"Yummy," Alice's voice echoed from inside.

Beside the table was Elsa squirming as Charlotte, Senya, and Gerda surrounded her. "Elsa, you have to tell me your recipe," Charlotte whisper shouted.

"No, tell me!" Senya clasped Elsa's hands with hers. "I need that to make Olaf eat healthily."

"What did I do?"

Four heads turned to the entrance after hearing the photographer's voice. Anna's heart stopped when Elsa bit the side of her lower lip. Heat crept its way to her face and she let her eyes fall on the meal perched on the table.

"That!" Charlotte pointed to the piece Alice was happily nibbling on. "That's a radish. Alice is eating it like it's nothing!"

"Seriously?" Olaf grabbed a piece and took a bite. "Oh! Oh wow! Scrumptious! Elsha, zij chu jusht get better again?!"

"I'd appreciate it if you leave some for us." Kristoff took his usual seat beside his daughter. "Geeze, babe. You weren't kidding. There is a feast in here."

"Elsa couldn't stop."

Gerda laughed as she placed another bowl on the table. "Why don't we start eating, hm? Breakfast is the most important meal of the day!"

Everyone took their seats with minor adjustments, seeing that they had seven new people in the room. With every seat occupied, Anna finally understood why Gerda had a huge table despite there only being four of them in the house when they first arrived: Gerda, Kristoff, Charlotte, and Alice.

Anna blindly watched everyone fill their plates up with assorted Chinese food.

"Aren't you going to eat?"

A full minute passed before Anna realized that the question was directed at her. She blinked. Everyone had stopped eating sometime during her daze and were now watching her attentively, silently asking the same question that Gerda just did. After all, her plate was empty.

"Oh, I'm... I will."

"Not fond of Chinese food?" Arianna asked from the other end of the table.

"No, I'm fine with it," Anna hurriedly promised when she saw Elsa's face drop. "It's just... there are too many and I... I don't know what to take first."

"That's easy." Ariel took a piece of each food and placed them on Anna's plate. Anna was about to say something when she was silenced by a mischievous look from the older redhead. "You always take as many as you can on a menu when we eat in Chinese restaurants."

"Really?" Senya grinned. "Maybe I should fill my plate before you eat them all?"

"I—" Anna coughed, her face sporting the same color as her hair. "That was a long time ago. I can control my urges better now."

"There's more where that came from. No need to hold back," Gerda insisted and took a bite off a dumpling. Anna, feeling considerably relaxed when the lady didn't tease, obliged.

"You're lucky Elsa had the urge to go Chinese then," Rapunzel playfully commented. "What a coincidence."

"I'm curious." Olaf placed his now-empty glass of orange juice on the table. "Why all these?"

Elsa shyly twisted the fork she was holding. "We had the ingredients. And I... I wanted to make something everyone can enjoy. I heard that you can never go wrong with fried rice."

"You can if someone is allergic to an ingredient," Kristoff deadpanned.

Elsa's fingers stilled and a flash of uncertainty slipped across her face.

"I'm only allergic to cats," Anna assured.

"And I'm allergic to shrimps," Ariel added. "I guess I'm lucky too? Because it's a chicken fried rice."

Warmth had spread from Anna's chest when the color went back to Elsa's face after being drained by Kristoff's comment. Although the reasonable worry about allergy came late, it was sweet of her to consider cooking something everyone could eat.

It was a bonus for Anna as well because if Elsa preferred Italian, she was a sucker for Chinese.

"You almost made everything awkward," Olaf grumbled.

"Hey, it's a legitimate thought," Kristoff said. "It's better to be safe than sorry."

"It's fine," Elsa intervened. "Toph is right. I should've asked before making something. I wouldn't want to cause anyone an allergic reaction."

Ariel grinned and answered by putting a spoonful of fried rice into her mouth. Anna mirrored the action and savored the flavor and texture of the rice. It wasn't oily like the other versions she had eaten before and made the taste of the toppings ever more balanced and delectable.

"Allergy is bad, right?" Alice wondered.

"Yes, sweetie," Charlotte said. "Sometimes, a simple contact can cause serious harm. But sometimes, it takes a while before it affects someone."

"If Anya's going to be family, we can't have cats?"

Rice went down the wrong pipe and Anna choked pitifully. Ariel blinked rapidly, a spoon inside her mouth, along with nearly everyone in the room. Quickly grabbing a glass of water, Anna pushed back the food with the tasteless liquid and willed herself to breathe again.

"I'm sorry?" Charlotte glanced at her husband who was busy trying not to laugh.

"Anya is Elsie's girlfriend, right? Papa said that they're like you and Papa."

Charlotte's mouth was similar to a fish's while her eyes alternated between Kristoff, Anna, and Elsa. Anna could feel other pairs of eyes boring on the side of her head but did her best not to feed her curiosity as to who they belonged to. She already had an idea.

"Where did you learn that word?" Charlotte eventually asked, and then she narrowed her eyes at Kristoff. "Babe, what did I miss this time?"

"It wasn't me! You know how I feel about her reading romance."

"That might've been my fault," Rapunzel admitted.

"Rapz," Elsa hissed, her opinion about the topic shown for the first time.

"I'm sorry! I couldn't resist. I was only introducing Anna to my parents. I didn't know Alice was back from their room."

"Wait," a voice on the side joined in. Anna shuddered and nervously looked at her left. On the far end of the table was Elsa's mother and father, both looking around for a clear explanation. "Anna is—"

"—Elsie's girlfriend!"

"Alice," Charlotte warned. "It's not polite to cut people off, especially when an adult is talking."

The little girl deflated, a pout forming on her lips. "I'm sorry."

Mrs. Dalton smiled before studying the people around the table. "Uhm..."

"If that's true, then I'm glad I already met Anna before," Mr. Dalton said.

"I don't..." Anna couldn't finish her sentence because she didn't know what she was going to say. Or where to begin, for that matter.

"Maybe you will be a part of their family," Ariel chimed offhandedly. "With the way things are—"

Anna kicked her cousin's shin under the table, mildly sated when there was a disgruntled squeak. The glare the older redhead shot her didn't even make her feel sorry.

"I'm just saying, you're my cousin," Ariel irritably explained.

With the statement being unexpected, Anna furrowed her brows. Her cousin sighed and looked across the table where Marshall was. He blinked a couple of times before a blush appeared on both their cheeks. The exchange was unusual, which caused Anna and Elsa to look at each other, mutual confusion heavy on their faces.

Marshall cleared his throat. "Mom, Dad, remember when Anna and I told you about Ariel?" Their parents nodded. "She's... She's my girlfriend now."

The only sound that could be heard after the confession was the clanking of Alice's spoon and fork against the plate. She was already minding her own business after her mother reprimanded her, and Anna was irrationally jealous. It must be nice, being a child again and not worrying about complicated things.

"Oh my," Arianna cooed.

Elsa jolted and snapped her head forward, breaking her gaze from her brother and turning to Anna instead. Her thoughts didn't need voicing out as Anna instinctively answered, "I didn't know! Well, I know there was something between them because Marshall asked me for permission, but I didn't know they were already official."

Marshall gasped, "Anna!"

"He asked you?!" Charlotte gaped when Anna immediately stuttered out an affirmative. "Wow. He must be serious."

"Thanks a lot," he grumbled.

The table shook as everyone laughed.

While they were busy getting on the new couple's case, Anna gave her cousin a side glance. She could tell that Ariel was embarrassed for the attention being pinned on her and Marshall, but there was also a hidden sense of relief. The reason, other than to simply inform, behind the news was something the younger redhead highly appreciated and when their eyes met, she mouthed a 'thank you' which Ariel acknowledged with a thumbs up on her lap, hidden from anyone else's line of sight.

If some of you were confused or shocked about Ariel and Marshall's relationship (which I can't really blame you for, since I've been sporadic on my updates lately), there was a whole paragraph devoted to it in "Chapter 25: Ariel and Marshall" and a brief mention in "Chapter 26: Welcome to Corona".

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