Kristoff's prayers were answered, and he survived the ceremony without either of his arms breaking off. The archbishop finished his long-winded sermon and baby Elsie was christened over the basin, stirring awake only after the holy waters were poured over her sleeping head.

"I baptize you, Elsa Argos Bjorgman of Arendelle," the archbishop uttered somberly as he raised his arm and began to trace a shape of the cross in the air. "In the name of the father, the son, and the holy spirit."

Little Elsie blinked her eyes open as she gave her father a dopey and perplexed stare before she broke into a loud cry. Her shriek resonated through the large halls, bouncing off the walls, and echoing thunderously. Kristoff pressed her against his chest and kissed her reddening forehead, her cries growing louder even as he gently rocked her. This seemed to jar Anna from her stupor, and she pried Elsie from Kristoff's arms and cradled her against her chest, her husband looking on helplessly. The infant quieted in the comforting embrace of her mother, her tiny fingers clasping possessively over the bodice of Anna's gown.

Grand Pabbie stepped forward, each footstep clanking on the marble floors, and he slowly climbed the altar, his short legs struggling with every step.

"I wish to offer my blessing to this child," he proclaimed as he faced the crown princess. "May I?"

A soft murmur passed through the hall, and Anna surmised that blessings from trolls were rare in any kingdom. She nodded, smiling softly, casting a brief searching glance into the crowd of faces from the rows of pews. Anna bent down on one knee, permitting Grand Pabbie a better look at little Elsie.

"Such a lovely child," he whispered to Anna as he gently stroked his stony hand over the child's silvery blonde wisps of hair. "I see your mother in her. Consider it a blessing that she doesn't take after my boy, over there." The old rock troll looked over at Kristoff with a playful twinkle in his eye. Kristoff glared back. And although the exchange was funny and endearing, Anna could not bring herself to react beyond an obligatory smile.

Turning his attention back to Elsie, Grand Pabbie cleared his throat and raised his voice for all to hear as he offered his blessing, "May this child be blessed and guarded from harm, and graced with all the gifts and virtues passed on from her parents and grandparents before her." He pulled open a leather pouch and took a pinch of blue powder, smudging it over Elsie's forehead. She gawped up at him.

"Grant this child strength, wisdom, and nobility for the roles that she must play." Then he leaned over and whispered into the infant's ear, his words too softly spoken for Anna to listen in.

When he came back up, he offered a simple blessing for the parents and godparents, and the ceremony ended shortly after.

"What did he say to her?" Kristoff asked Anna as guests took their time milling out of the cathedral, many lingering near their seats, making conversation.

"I don't know. I couldn't hear him." The look on his face was clearly eager to learn what his grandfather had whispered to his child, and while Anna suspected that it would remain a secret between Grand Pabbie and Elsie, she was far more distracted searching her eyes through the crowd once more.

"Are you looking for someone?" Kristoff followed her gaze through the countless faces in the church. Embarrassed, Anna tore her eyes away and mumbled a barely audible excuse that sounded more like gibberish than intelligible conversation.

A few of the guests approached Anna and Kristoff to get a closer look at little Elsie. The infant stared curiously at her admirers, her mouth open and leaking drool. It was the first time she had been in the presence of so many people, and she was surprisingly serene and sociable.

In many ways, Elsie's temperament was much like Anna's, outgoing and eager to please. Most of the guests were able to elicit toothless smiles and laughter from the infant. She seemed especially delighted with one of the delegates from Andalasia, a man in his forties with a large quaff of hair billowing over his forehead. Anyone with eyes could tell that his hair was a toupee, and apparently Elsie could too. Kristoff nearly choked on his laughter when she latched on to the delegate's toupee and tore it off his shiny head. Even Anna looked amused for that split second.

To Kristoff's relief, his wife seemed a little more like herself again. The tension in her eyes had dispelled and she reached for his arm for few instances during conversation. It had been a habit of hers, one that had lessened over the last few months. For a little while it made him forget about her swollen lips and his tenuous doubts, especially when Felicity Malachi approached them on the arm of the crown prince of the Southern Isles.

The girl that made her way toward them was hardly the same girl Kristoff had last seen over a year ago. She moved with a confidence that struck him as alien to her countenance. She stood taller, with an elegance that easily rivaled the queen of Arendelle. Her mousy features had done away with the nervous ticks and were replaced with a haughty grace.

"Your Royal Highness," Felicity politely greeted with a small curtsy. Her voice was firm, but soft and assured. Anyone looking on could easily assume that she was the crown princess' equal in every way.

"L-Lady Malachi."

Anna was more surprised by the change. She'd been there when Augustus broke it off with Felicity Malachi, along with several dozen spectators from the royal court. The heartbreak been plain on her face, her cheeks flushed with tears. It was the first time Anna had truly felt bad for ever calling Felicity the Marquis' Shadow.

I'd been jealous, she realized, just as Augustus and Elsa caught her eyes from across the room. He was telling her something, his arms spread out and wildly animated, and Elsa was laughing even as she pulled back a strand of hair over her ear. Anna clenched her jaw.

All this time, I'd been jealous of the wrong person.

How could I not have seen it? Looking back at the woman before her, Anna wondered if maybe Felicity had seen it. Anna had never really understood what had transpired between those two, and she knew even less of the thing between Augustus and her own sister. But seeing the way Augustus looked at Elsa, the way he clung to her every word and kept at her side, never more than an arm's reach away, Anna wondered how long he'd been in love with her.

It's never gonna be me, is it? Something bitter and familiar welled up inside her, and the throbbing in her swollen lips felt more pronounced. The painful kiss had been her proof.

You weren't wrong about me. Back then…I wanted you too.

With another glance at her sister, Anna's entire body tensed, and a question that she dared not dwell on began to form in the back of her mind.

"Anna?" An elbow pressed against her side, and Anna turned to Kristoff, his large brown eyes gaping her at.

"Is everything okay with you?"

She nodded, returning her attention to Felicity and the crown prince of the Southern Isles, who looked upon her with curiosity. For the first time since they'd approached, Anna wondered why those two people, of all people, were standing together with their arms interlocked.

"Just a slight headache," she told them, which wasn't very far from the truth.

He resembles him, Anna thought, and she wondered if the other eleven princes of the Southern Isles shared the uncanny resemblance between Hans and the crown prince.

God, I can't even remember his name. Bastian? Baltasar?

"Perhaps we could leave introductions for another time," the crown prince finally spoke, as if he'd read her mind, though he hadn't of course. He bowed his head, preparing to leave, but Anna quickly stopped them.

"There's really no need for that. I'm fine. Really." She forced a smile, and the crown prince stood more visibly at ease.

"I want to express how grateful I am for your invitation," the prince said humbly. "After what my youngest brother did, you and your sister had every right to cut off all ties with our country."

"He was just one man. We couldn't extend the blame to everyone."

"But even one man can do a lot of harm," he answered somberly, and Anna caught a glimpse of Augustus from the corner of her sight.

"Yes," she agreed, her lips pursed tightly.

"But that's not what we wanted to talk about," Felicity interjected. Anna still couldn't get over how forward and confident Lady Malachi appeared to be. "We'll be making a formal announcement once we return to Crestmark."

Anna's eyes darted between the two. "Wait, are you two—?"

"We are," they both replied in unison.

"Engaged?"

"Engaged," this time it was only Felicity who answered.

"Congratulations!" Kristoff beamed widely as he shook the crown prince's hand, then gave him a playful slap on the shoulder.

Anna wavered a little, searching Felicity's eyes even as Elsie squirmed and tugged at the green silk chiffon shawl that draped over her shoulders. What about Augustus? She wanted to ask. Weren't you crazy in love with him not that long ago?

It seemed so completely backwards, Felicity with whatever-his-name-is, and Augustus with Elsa. And god-only-knows what his question was, or what her answer would be.

"I'm sorry," Anna interjected. "I'm not feeling very well, after all. I need to step out for some fresh air." Holding Elsie over to Kristoff, she added, "Can you please take her for a bit?"

She didn't wait for his reply, it wasn't really a request. Elsie was already in his arms before Kristoff could think to respond. Then Anna turned to Felicity and gave her an apologetic look, mumbling a quick congratulations before she hurried out the chapel, rushing past Elsa and Augustus without a second glance. She nearly crashed into her uncle when she darted past the large double-doors, grazing his shoulder without uttering more than a soft grunt.

"It's like Déjà vu," King Claudius said to his wife as he watched her go.

Kristoff stared after her as well and wondered when Anna behaving strangely had become the new normal.

~X~

"Pirates?"

"Yes, real pirates," Augustus grinned and laughed as Elsa's eyes went wide.

"And you weren't scared?"

"I was terrified. They had our ship boarded, then the pirate king walked right up to Captain Amelia and threatened to hook her face with his hand. She didn't flinch once, but I was ready to soil my pants."

Elsa laughed. "Wait, his hand?"

"He had a metal hook where his hand should have been," he explained. "Legend has it that a crocodile bit it off."

Despite the earnest look in his eyes, Elsa peered dubiously at him.

"Sometimes I wonder about these grand 'stories' of yours," she told him, poking him playfully in the chest with her fingers. "They sound too fantastical to be true."

"You doubt my sincerity?"

She cocked her head at him and gave him a knowing look. "Oh please, stories about giant whales and pirate kings?"

Augustus had a look of protest on his face. "I'll have you know that the whale had teeth this big," he said, extending his arms out wide.

"Such tall tales too."

"Tall tales? Are you implying that I speak lies?" He replied feigning outrage.

"I think I actually said as much."

Looking over his shoulder, she could see Anna standing next to Kristoff, holding Elsie in her arms as they spoke with woman and a man that Elsa did not recognize from behind. For a fraction of a moment it had seemed like Anna had been looking her way. She looked distracted, her smile pursed and tight, and not quite reaching her eyes. Yet, her lips were redder and fuller than they'd been when she last saw her in the walk-in closet. The memory of it lingered somewhere between a dream and a nightmare. Casting a vacant gaze back at Augustus, Elsa couldn't help but feel guilty and ashamed.

"It finally happened? Didn't it?" Augustus took her hand and gave it a firm but gentle squeeze. The fact that he was one of just a handful of people who did not fear touching her in that way, did not escape her notice. It always left her feeling startled and elated. And a little breathless. But, in a moment of confusion, she imagined that he had read her thoughts. A notion that left her frozen in place, with her breath hitched in her throat.

"It has?" She uttered meekly, wishing she hadn't been so weak to her own nature. You kissed her, you kissed her, the little voice inside her head taunted. You wanted to kiss her.

"Quite awful of you. You've finally grown bored and tired of me," Augustus chided flirtatiously.

Elsa blinked back, and before she could reply, she saw Anna blow past her, the color drained from her cheeks.

"Anna…" The name trailed from her lips but her voice had not reached Anna's ears, in fact her voice had barely resonated louder than a soft hum.

Is something wrong? She wanted to call out but just the sight of her left Elsa feeling tongue-tied and stupid.

She turned toward Kristoff. He stood firmly planted, holding onto the infant, with no apparent inclination to go after Anna. There was something in his eyes that she couldn't quite read. It was the look he got after he and Anna argued; never angry or indignant, just resigned.

Clenching a tight fist, she fought the instinct to go after her.

I'm probably the last person she wants to see right now, Elsa realized, as she forced her attentions back to Augustus, offering him an inviting smile. But even as she tried to focus on him, her thoughts kept taking her back into that closet, under the mountain of dresses and to those swollen lips that consumed her like wildfire from the inside out.

"Your Majesty. Lord Hawkins. It's been ages."

Elsa heard her before she saw her. Felicity Malachi stood behind Augustus, looking like a commissioned portrait. Her raven locks tumbled over her shoulders in perfect curls, yet Felicity made it look effortless. Elsa had expected the mousy invisible girl with the big eyes and the nervous smiles, but the girl standing before her was none of those things. On the other hand, Augustus couldn't have been more startled had she slapped him in the face.

The smile had frozen on his face, mirroring her own inward horror.

The last time Elsa had seen the heir of Crestmark, it had ended very badly. That's putting it mildly. After more than a year, she had not expected the guilt to resurface, yet it had returned like an old friend.

"Felicity," Elsa forced herself to say. "It's...great to see you again. You look so well."

Felicity responded with a nonchalant chuckle.

"You mean compared to the last time we met?"

"I didn't really mean-"

"It's fine. I'm well aware how much of a disaster I was," Felicity assured her. "In fact, I'm embarrassed about how I reacted back then. About who I was."

Elsa wanted to find comfort in Felicity's words, as calm and detached as they were, but there was something unnerving in how perfectly calm she was. I'm not sure I could be so calm in her place. But then she remembered Kristoff and Anna's wedding and the year that followed after. Her line of reasoning suddenly seemed quite silly.

There was still the matter of Augustus, who had yet to move.

"No words for me, James?" Felicity said softly. And that's when he turned around, the stiffened dread on his face gradually dissolving. "Or was our fallout so irreparable that you can barely dare to look me in the eyes now?"

"You know that's not true," Augustus answered bitter-sweetly, slipping back into that boyish surrogate older brother that Felicity remembered.

"He speaks."

"I do."

Looking between the two, Elsa prepared to excuse herself and perhaps give them some time to catch up and mend fences. Although if she was honest with herself, the tension was more than she could bare. She opened her mouth, ready with her excuse, but Felicity stopped her.

"Actually, I wanted to be the first to tell you about my engagement," she turned and waved at someone across the room. Elsa and Augustus exchanged a look of surprise as the crown prince of the Southern Isles made his way toward them.

Even as the handsome and brash prince approached, Elsa mentally recited through each letter of the alphabet, trying her best to remember what his name might be. But all she could hear was Anna in her head. She remembered the musicality in Anna's voice as they had half-drunkenly clung to each other, laughing and whispering loudly not two years ago as they recited names.

"Bernard? Billy? Bram?" Anna had said loud enough to garner looks from a group of waiters.

But it hadn't sounded right to Elsa, who could barely keep her thoughts straight. "No, no, no," she'd slurred back. "Maybe Bernard? Or Bram?"

Anna laughed and snorted, then her eyes went wide as a light bulb went off in her head.

"B-Babu!"

"Anna, the son of Estonia is not named Babu," but Elsa couldn't help herself from smiling.

"Broderic?" Augustus whispered loud enough for Elsa alone to hear.

She stared back at him with a startled brow, once again rescued from her own wandering thoughts.

"I don't think so," Elsa mumbled back just at the crown prince joined them. The nameless prince took Felicity's hand and the couple beamed brightly. People do move on, Elsa thought as she watched them and exchanged yet another glance with Augustus. They move on and find someone new.

And the sound of Anna's soft laughter slowly died out from her thoughts.

~X~

Yanking the chiffon shawl from her shoulder, Anna exploded into a low glottal scream. She threw the garment, relegating all of her frustrations into her arm, but the fabric was sheer and lightweight, and landed with the delicacy of a falling feather just inches from her own feet.

Another grunt, this time at her own dramatic failings. It wasn't enough to satisfy her bubbling frustrations. Slipping off the braided sterling silver bracelet from her wrist, Anna wound her arm once more and flung the piece of jewelry over the rows of yellow roses in the gardens. She didn't see it, but she heard it clink loudly on the bronze statue right at the center of the garden, near the long walkway.

It was certainly more dramatic, but it had changed nothing. Inside she was still the same. Still heavy of heart, her stomach knotted and clenching, fighting against the eggs and toast she had for breakfast.

She remembered the way Elsa smiled at Augustus, girlish and flirtatious. Elsa hadn't been a queen in the presence of a marquis, she'd been a girl, a young woman being courted by a dashing suitor. And Anna had no right to stand between that.

You can't lose something you never had, she cynically reminded herself, but the contents of that stupid letter came back her. Then gracelessly, she leaned over and retched all over a cluster of orange and yellow tulips.

...to be continued...

Author's Note: Chapter 11 was getting much longer than I intended, so I've opted to split it in half. This chapter has not been edited. Currently working on chapter 12.