There was a quiet tap at the door. Anna took a lunging step towards it, stopped herself, and resumed pacing. "C'mon in."

Ingrid entered, curtseyed, and closed the door behind her. "Ma'am." Hands clasped in front of her, she looked like a child waiting for the teacher's strap.

"Sit down, sit down," Anna said, waving at the divan. Ingrid sat at one end, hands clasped again in her lap, watching Anna fidget, then stop herself. "So," she blurted, too loud. Seeing Ingrid wince, she tried again, softer. "So." Anna looked around herself, pulled the chair from the vanity, and sat facing Ingrid. "So, Ingrid."

"Ma'am."

Anna cleared her throat. "We, um, we had a good talk, didn't we? Earlier?" Ingrid nodded. "You, me, Elsa, all that stuff. Me and Elsa. You and Elsa. Right?" Another nod. Anna crossed her legs, her foot jiggling. "Was there anything…" She looked at the ceiling. "Anything you might've left out?"

"I suppose I might have, ma'am…Anna."

"Something…important?"

"Important? I don't know. I suppose." Ingrid's shoulders moved just enough to shrug.

Anna looked at her, smiling, trying not to look intimidating. "Anything in particular? You want to talk about?" Her foot twitched like a metronome.

"I, um…" Ingrid blinked. "I can't think of anything I want to talk about, but I'll answer any questions you have, ma'am."

Anna clasped her hands on her knee, looked down, then up again. "Ingrid, you, um… Elsa…" Her voice grew gentle. "Elsa loves you, doesn't she."

Ingrid's eyes were wide and shining, her mouth tight. She was torn between grinning and crying, and trying to stop both. She nodded.

Anna's expression was part frown, part gentle smile. "I mean she's in love. With you. And was, and has been for…how long?"

"I couldn't say, ma'am. It's only been a couple of days since she said so. I don't know how long before that." Ingrid didn't move, but her knuckles were white. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry?" Anna leaned forward, head tilted, eyes pleading for an explanation. "And you love her – I mean you're in love with her – since…?"

"I couldn't say for sure, ma'am. Since well before she – before I kissed her. The mistletoe. Quite a while. Maybe since the second time we spoke."

Anna sat back, shook her head. "Oh. The second time. Of course. Can't fall in love with someone you just met, after all."

"The first time I was…mostly terrified, ma'am."

"I see," said Anna, and rested her face in her hands. She looked up in time to see a ripple of tension leave Ingrid's body as she sat relaxed but erect. Sit like a cat. Learned that from Elsa. Anna considered ringing for some drinks, maybe some white wine. No. Too soon. "Ingrid. I'm not mad at you. Okay, maybe I am a little mad at you. Not for being in love with Elsa. I mean I was the one who…and you…and she… Anyway. But how could you let her do that? How could you let me do that? How…?" Anna ended with a helpless shrug.

Ingrid gripped the fingers of one hand with the other. She looked down, to either side, then back at Anna. "I didn't mean for it to happen this way."

"Of course not, Ingrid. I know. But that's not an answer."

Anna waited patiently as Ingrid stared at the floor again. "She wanted to comfort you. You mean the world to her. I was afraid thinking of me might…get in the way."

"And just now, with the room and the music box. Do you want her to cheat on you?"

"I want her to be happy. I want the two of you to be happy."

Anna scoffed in frustration. "Do you love her or not?"

Ingrid nodded.

"Don't you want to be with her?"

"Do you, ma'am?"

"Ingrid, please, answer the question. I just want to understand. I mean, in like two days I was in love with Kristoff, and it's great, then Kristoff cheats on me, I'm sad and angry and devastated, Elsa comes home early, I run to her for comfort, I kind of fall in love with her, and it's beautiful and exciting and scary and I'm happier than – I don't know – ever, and we're dancing and I'm so in love my heart is going to explode, but then Elsa's cheating on you and I'm the slut in the closet!" Anna paused to get her breath back. "So you can understand if I'm a little mixed up."

Ingrid's lip quivered, but she couldn't respond.

"Is this some…weird game to you?"

Ingrid shook her head no.

"Then what do you want? Really? And don't say 'I want her to be happy.' Give me a real answer."

Anna stared at her, waiting for an answer. At last Ingrid replied, "Please love her." Anna watched her swallow and blink away tears, and waited for her to continue. "You are her first and greatest love. I do love her, and want to serve her and be with her, and…in every way. It makes me happier than anything in the world. And she loves me. Or did."

"She does. She said so."

"But if I were to stand in the way of a greater love, my happiness…I would be stealing it from her. How could my happiness be worth the difference between her love for you and for me?" She stopped, shook her head.

Anna sighed. "Ingrid, love isn't supposed to be a formula. 'If X is greater than Y, then Z equals Elsa plus Anna.' It's not like that."

Ingrid stared blankly.

"Algebra? Mathematics?" Anna wiped a hand over her face. Remember, she's self-taught. "Okay, love is…it isn't like doing sums. Or counting coins to see if this is worth more than that. It's… You don't think it through. You feel it." Anna scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Like I know anything about love."

Ingrid leaned forward. "You do. You love her. She loves you. When you're with her, when you danced with her, when you…were with her. How did it feel?"

"It felt…good. Great. Wonderful." Anna gazed into the distance, recalling the feelings. "I felt safe, and loved. And free. We could be playful again. It was…like having my sister back. And more. Exotic, dangerous. But in a good way. And just being being able to open up to that love she's had for me, that I couldn't feel before, and feel her excitement and – and relief. No, more than that. Like a burden was lifted off of her, and she was light as a feather, and I was too. And also, you know, the bedroom stuff was amazing. But then I asked her about you, and that was pretty devastating, and I didn't know what I thought except that it changed everything, and – "

"Please love her." Ingrid's eyes were wide, frantic.

"What do you mean – "

"Please, Your Highness. If I was wrong, if she's not happier with you, if I made things worse, then I've spoiled everything. I've thrown away…lost…her… I tried to fix things with the music, and the dancing – I hoped for dancing – but it wasn't enough, and… Please love her, and make her love you. Fix things. Make it worthwhile. Make it be for a reason."

Anna paused, then stood and rang for a servant. Not too soon for a drink after all.

Solvej was in the wine cellar, retrieving a bottle of Riesling. She didn't know that there was a hidden chamber next to it. If she had, she wouldn't have known which wall had the concealed doorway. But if she did, and if it had occurred to her to press her ear against the wall, she might've heard a conversation:

"I love Anna. I love Ingrid. I can't love both of them"

"Evidently you can."

"You know what I mean. It's not fair to either of them."

"So what's fair to you?"

The tap-tap of shoes pacing back and forth. "What does it matter? I'm a monster."

"What's a 'monster'? Something strange and different. Why is that a bad thing?"

"Stop playing with words. I love them. And I've hurt both of them. What am I going to do? How can I fix this? What's wrong with me?"

"What are you going to do? Whatever you want. Between your crown and your gifts you are the most powerful figure in Europa. Probably the world. Who can stop you from doing anything?"

"That's not the point."

"Given… Given that you can do whatever you want to do, what do you want to do?"

A sigh. "I want to do the right thing."

"Right, wrong. You don't have to follow the rules. You make the rules. The constitution says you can't be censured or accused. Right and wrong are what you say they are."

"No! It's because no one can stop me that I have to stop myself. I have to care about right and wrong. And this isn't about laws, this is about love."

"So?"

A long pause. "This is about love. Anna loves me. Ingrid loves me. I can't… I'm responsible for them, their feelings, for how I treat them. That's the biggest responsibility of all. And I've been…toying with them. Using them. I've been selfish."

"Good! Best thing for you."

"What the hell do you mean?"

"Anna loves you unconditionally. She sacrificed herself for you once, and she's do it again in an instant. And Ingrid? She loves to serve you. She hungers for it."

"You are not making me feel better."

"Here's my point. They want to give. They want to be used. They crave it. It's how they show their love. For you to turn that down? Well, If they love to give, it's pretty selfish not to take."

"So, it's selfish not to be selfish?"

"All I'm saying is, stop being so guarded. Relax. Accept their love and forgiveness. Don't worry about protecting them from yourself. Make love to Anna. Make love to Ingrid. If they like it, where's the harm in taking what you want?"

"I can't do that! Anna's been through…well, the whole Kristoff thing. She needs my love, and it hurts her if I'm cheating on Ingrid."

"Does she have to know?"

"Of course! I can't lie to her."

"Then keep Anna and get rid of Ingrid. Simple."

"No, it's not simple. I love Ingrid, and it would crush her if I rejected her. I can't hurt her like that."

"Who do you love more?"

Pacing footsteps. "I don't – They're so different, I wouldn't know how to compare. And it's not the point."

"I'm just playing Devil's Advocate here. Giving you a different perspective. Up to you if you take it. So, Elsa, where do you go from here?"

A mirthless chuckle. "Ingrid said I'd follow my heart, anywhere it may lead. But it's pulling me in two directions."

"So. Your heart. How's that working out so far?"

A long silence.