Chapter 30:

December came by sooner than anyone could've imagined, which was good to enjoy the snow, the frozen fjord and hot chocolate… however, for an ice-cream shop it wasn't that god. Surprisingly enough, there was a little ice-cream business that managed to stay stable during the cold months, but only because it also sold impressive ice-sculptures, and strange hot beverages with ice-cream balls. Yes, you guessed right, it was Anna and Elsa's shop.

However, that day, December 21th, the shop didn't open. It's not because they were sick or something, nor because of the approaching snowstorm that had been announced earlier on the week. It was because Anna had something special planned.

It had been during a calm and cold night a month ago that, while they watched a romantic movie while cuddling in the sofa, Anna had asked Elsa when was her birthday, to which the girl responded she didn't quite remember, just that it was at winter. After that, Anna had made her mission to figure out the exact date so she could plan something with her girlfriend, and after some digging, she had finally come to know that it was the first day of winter, which in Anna's opinion made perfect sense.

However, she hadn't told Elsa about this, in order to surprise her when the day came.

"Good morning, beautiful." Anna said to Elsa as she slowly opened her eyes.

"Anna?" She answered with a sleepy voice, blinking in order to adjust to the light. "What are you doing awake so early?"

"You offend me. This is a perfectly normal hour to wake up." At this Elsa turned to check the clock realizing it was about half past nine.

"For me? Yes, but for you? You normally wake up after ten." Elsa said, smiling when the redhead pouted.

"There's something called alarm, you know? It serves to wake up people when they need to."

"Really?" Elsa asked with an amused smile. "And why did you need to wake up in this 'unholy hour of the morning'?" She mocked Anna's tone every time Elsa woke her up before ten, to which the redhead answered with a playful swat on her shoulder.

"Oh, you know, nothing special…" She said mysteriously. "I just… I kinda have a surprise for you." She admitted with a shy smile, waiting to see Elsa's reaction.

"A surprise? For me?" Elsa asked with childlike excitement, which made Anna chuckle. "Where is it?"

"Well, here's a clue." Anna said handing her a small gift box wrapped in blue paper. Elsa didn't waste time opening it, and there she found… a sparkler. She raised an eyebrow and looked at Anna questioningly. "That's obviously not a real gift. You have to figure it out during the course of the day."

"Okaaay?" Elsa answered unsurely. "But what about the shop?"

"Don't worry about it. I think we both deserve one day off."

"And what's the occasion?"

"That I'll tell you once you find your surprise." She answered with a mischievous smile. "I'll be giving you clues, in the form of gifts all day, and if at the end you've guessed correctly, then it'll be all yours."

"Well then, let's start." She answered with a determined expression.

The first place where Anna took her was a Christmas shop, and the first thing Elsa thought as she entered and saw the many decorations that were there, was "what the hell do they sell the rest of the year?". However, she didn't dwell much on it, and contented herself on watching amazed all the lights and Santa Clauses, as well as the many gifts that were on display. The interior of the shop was warm and inviting, making you feel like you were in front of the chimney singing Christmas carols along with your family. Elsa liked it very much.

"Well?" Anna asked. "Have you figure out which one of these Christmas gifts is for you?"

Elsa kept looking, undecided on which one she should pick. After all, she liked many of them, but didn't quite know what Anna would pick for her. She considered a small village filled with figurines of kids playing on the snow, since there was one redhead girl that looked like Anna, but she doubt her girlfriend would choose something that extravagant (there were at least ten detailed houses there!). Then she turned to the other thing that had caught her attention; a wooden reindeer. But, while it was pretty enough, it still looked a little too bulky to be something Anna would give to her, even if it seemed like the reindeer that used to be co-protagonist in her favorite cartoon.

She was about to give up and ask Anna to just tell her, when she saw them; small snow gloves at the back of the shop. Most where of people ice-skating around a tree, or simply tall mountains covered in white powder, but there was one that had two little girls making a snowman, and the smiles on their faces were so real that you could almost hear them laughing. There was no doubt; if Anna was going to give her something from that place, this was it.

"This one." She said proudly, handing the snow glove to Anna.

"Correct!" She answered with a big smile, taking it and going to pay for the object.

"So… I guess that means we're going to build a snowman?"

"Yeah, of course, if you want to." Anna answered shrugging." But that's not your real surprise." Now Elsa was more intrigued, after all, what do a sparkler and a snowman have in common?

As Anna said, they decided to make a snowman (without powers, of course) after leaving the shop, and to do that they went to the park. It was quite funny because Elsa had never tried to make one without using her powers and Anna didn't make a good job giving her precise instructions (and she couldn't touch the snow for as long as Elsa). At the end, the snowman looked more like a snow monster, even if Anna insisted it seemed like a marshmallow… well, an evil marshmallow, if such thing could even exist. Elsa found the thought amusing, and so she gave it a touch of magic (when Anna wasn't looking) and transformed it into a real evil-looking snowman that appeared to have the consistence of a marshmallow. Also, because it was made with magic, it probably wouldn't melt or crumble until the end of winter, something Elsa was grateful for, since it was the first snowman she had made with Anna.

However, then they went to the next place Anna had planned, a flower shop where it didn't take long for Elsa to figure out that the crown with white and red flowers had to be the one Anna had picked for her. She found it quite sweet when Anna said that the merge of those two colors of flowers symbolized the love they had for each other. She couldn't help kissing her lover then and there as passionately as ever.

After that, they went to a bookshop. Elsa guessed she should have expected that, since Anna knew she loved books, but she still was surprised seeing the great variety of titles in front of her. She almost couldn't decide which Anna would give her. Maybe another fantasy story, like the Harry Potter books she used to read? Or something more serious and mature that would help her improve her reading? Or maybe a romantic novel to celebrate love? No, it was none of them.

Elsa rolled her eyes when she saw, standing over a huge pile of books with blue cover and golden title, her present: "The Snow Queen".

"Really Anna?" She chuckled.

"What? It's the most popular book at the moment. At least here in Norway… well, I guess also in Arendelle. It's not the original story by Hans Christian Andersen; it's actually an historical novel describing the life of the legendary Snow Queen, who ruled over Arendelle and Norway at the time those two kingdoms were one. It's supposedly based on ancients texts, but apparently it's more imagination than anything. I mean, no one really knows what happened at that time, except that Europe had three hundred years of winter, starting at 1650, the day the Snow Queen was crowned."

"But… I doubt one person could live three hundred years." Elsa pointed out.

"It's only a legend!" Anna protested. "But yeah… many people thought that, and that's when the historians suggested, according with the climate described in text of those years, that there could have been three different snow queens, one at 1650, another at 1770 and the last one at 1850, each one being the granddaughter of the previous one. But of course, it's only speculation, since all the historical data of the kingdom were erased after the death of the last Arendelle and the two kingdoms were split. "

"The last Arendelle?"

"Yeah, that was supposedly the last name of the monarchs that ruled at that era. That's why Arendelle, the region they were from, was named after them." She recited, glad that she had put attention in that particular history lesson during high school.

"We… are Arendelle." Elsa noticed. "I'm Elsa Arendelle and you…"

"Yeah, I know. My friends used to tease me saying I was the lost princess or something like that, but the truth is, there's no proof we descend from the original Arendelles."

"Except my powers. I mean, if the Snow Queen… or snow queens really had the same abilities I have, and they were part of the royal family…"

"Yes, I thought about that too. That's why I thought you'd enjoy that book. Of course, what it says is not real, but it's supposed to have gotten many of the historical factors right, so…"

"Thanks. That was very thoughtful of you." Elsa hugged her tightly, truly grateful that Anna was trying to make her understand her magic better, even if it was trough a fantasy novel, that could not be truth at all. "I really liked this gift."

"Great!" Anna said smiling as she pulled away. "Because there are still other three to go!"

"What's that amazing smell?" Elsa asked, deeply inhaling the intoxicating aroma as Anna conducted her down a street.

"Our next stop, the chocolate shop!" Anna proudly announced as she guided her towards the entrance of a small, but quite welcoming, local.

"I thought you wouldn't never bring me here." Elsa answered, as they passed through the door. "I should warn you that I won't leave this place until my stomach is full of chocolates."

"Thought so." Anna giggled. "That's why my first present for you is this…" She paused, picking up a huge bag of chocolates. "Kilogram of chocolates." She put said present on Elsa's hands as the girl struggled not to drop it. They sure were a lot of chocolates. "However, this time the present is not the clue. That one you'd have to find it on your own."

"Interesting." Elsa said looking around. "But right now I can only think of how much I want to devour it all." She licked her lips and dangerously approached a pile of delicious looking threats.

"Nice try." Anna said pulling her arm. "But your bag has every kind of chocolate that there is to sale in this shop, so no distracting!" At this Elsa pouted, but decided it was better to obey. After all, it was obvious that Anna had put a lot of effort planning this.

"Alright." She sighed and start looking.

There was a vast variety of chocolate flavors, each one labeled respectively; ranging from strawberry passion to banana adventure or mintrose chill. There were also a lot of amazing chocolate sculptures that could almost compete with Elsa's icy ones, though these ones were made by hand instead magic (In that moment Elsa thought she'd gladly trade her ice powers for chocolate powers). Many sculptures were pretty amazing and catcher her eye instantly, like the scaly dragon fighting a brave knight, or the enormous sled with all those reindeer, but definitely the most wonderful o them all was the tall (around seven feet) chocolate cake in the middle of the shop that was decorated to seem like an ice castle (even the toppling was white to look like snow and the chocolates where blue like ice), and at the top was a womanly figure (also made of chocolate) dressed in blue. Elsa figured it had to be the snow queen. But why did that legendary woman seemed to be everywhere that day? She had no idea, but she didn't care because she was sure this had to be the clue, since, together with the book, it told her that the surprise had something to do with the snow queen.

"This is the clue, I found it!" She told Anna confidently.

"You're right." Anna answered hugging her from behind. "However, it couldn't be your present because it had already been sold." Elsa looked down at the sign below the cake and saw that it did say 'SOLD'. She shrugged; even she couldn't have eaten that huge cake alone.

"It's alright. I'm glad you brought me here though. I've never been in a chocolate shop before."

"I thought you'd like it." Anna answered smiling and giving her a little peck on her shoulder. "Now, come on, the day is far from over." She said as she practically dragged her out of the shop.

"The mall?" Elsa raised an eyebrow. After her past gifts she had been kinda expecting some place more original.

"Got a problem with that?" Anna said feigning to be offended.

"Not at all." Elsa assured her. "It's just… it'll be more difficult to find the clue in here."

"Yep, even more if you're blind." Saying this, Anna put a cloth over Elsa's eyes and tied it hard enough, grabbing her hands before she could put it off. "No, it's stay there until I say so. Don't worry, I'll guide you, but I can't have you figuring out the surprise before time."

"But Anna…" Elsa tried to protest.

"No buts. Follow me." Anna took her hand and dragged her through a series of stairwells, elevators and corridors until they came to a stop inside some kind of room. After that, Anna excused herself and left Elsa for a minute (she got quite anxious during that time, so much in fact that her hands were unconsciously freezing her jeans) before returning and closing a door. "You can remove it now."

Elsa obeyed her and, as she adjusted to the light, she was able to distinguish Anna's figure in front of her… holding a beautiful blue dress, one fit for a queen. It was long, a little below the knee, was of an icy blue, and had long sleeves almost transparent and a little lighter than the rest of the dress. The bodice also had scale-like pieces that shone in a variety of tones, and the rest of the dress also seemed to be made out of ice from how shiny it was.

"Wow." She said, almost out of breath because of how amazed she was by this beautiful garment.

"You like it?" Anna asked excited, to which Elsa could only nod. "Why don't you try it?"

Elsa, noticing they were indeed inside a fitting room, quickly undressed herself (despite how many times Ann had actually seen her naked, she still blushed at the sight and had to consciously advert her gaze in order not to ravish her then and there) grabbed the dress and put it on… except that she couldn't reach the zipper.

"Uh… Anna? Could you…?"

"Of course!" The redhead rushed to answer before approaching her from behind and quickly zipping the dress, procuring not to stare too much at those perfectly defined shoulder blades or the creamy skin that was in Elsa's back… Of course, Elsa's scars broke the spell and she soon found herself quickly averting her eyes. It was a good thing that the dress covered them completely. Not that she found them disgusting, not that's not what it was; they just were just a reminder of how much Elsa had suffered in the past and she always felt like crying when she saw them.

"Well, what do you think?" Elsa asked, nervously smiling as she looked herself at the mirror. Anna turned to look at her and almost had to physically hold her jaw to keep it from falling to the ground. She looked so beautiful! Much more than usual, and that was saying something. It hugged her hips so wonderfully! And the way it sparkled with the light! It made Elsa's blue eyes stand out even more than usual. In that moment, Elsa looked like a goddess who had fell from the sky.

"Wow, you look… different. A good different, definitely a good different. That dress is amazing, just like you! Well, less than you, but it's still beautiful." She rambled.

"Thanks." Elsa said blushing profusely, shyly looking down. The sight was so cute that Anna just had to take her shoulders and push her against the wall before starting kissing her passionately, to the point they both were left wanting for more. But of course, that was not the place to have sex, so they eventually had to pull away.

"Sorry about that." Anna said blushing. "I just find you irresistible."

"Don't worry about it." Elsa answered. "I did enjoy it quite a lot."

"Good, because as soon as we arrive home, I'm going to ravish you all night." Anna said seductively.

"I'll be looking forward to that."

After getting the dress, Anna practically dragged Elsa into a salon, where she chose complicated hairstyles for both of them. Honestly Elsa got desperate after only five minutes of waiting (they were waiting for over an hour) and, when it was finally her turn, didn't enjoyed at all a stranger pulling her hair and touching her head, so she was barely able to keep the ice to a minimal. The nails part was a little easier though, even if said stranger was touching her bare hands and kept saying they were too cold as she put snowflakes designs on her nails (Elsa thought it was dumb to do something like that, but didn't say it out loud). Then came the makeup, and while Elsa did mind people pulling her brow's hairs, the rest was somewhat bearable.

This was the only surprise she didn't like and didn't find any clues on, but she didn't dare tell that to Anna after she'd been so kind the rest of the day. It also helped that Anna seemed truly impressed with her new hairdo (a strange bun and fringes), even if it was very similar to her own, and also that she said she looked gorgeous wearing makeup.

Then they headed to their house to get into their dresses. Anna chose a green dress that looked very good in her and contrasted nicely with the red of her hair, but she still insisted Elsa was the one who looked more beautiful, and didn't give Elsa a chance to disagree. Either way, Anna had to cover herself from the cold with a thick coat, and she lost a little of her sexiness, but the cloned still thought she looked great wrapped in that fluffy thing.

They headed out again around sunset, and Elsa noticed the town seemed to be a little agitated, with lots of people dressed impressively, even little kids, and walking down the streets, apparently towards a point at the shore of the fjord. Probably the same place where they were going.

"Anna, where are we going?" Elsa asked curious.

"I was hoping you'd tell me. I gave you seven clues after all." Anna winked at her.

"But…"

"No buts, seven should be enough."

Elsa sighed at Anna's answer but tried to think about what she'd given her throughout the day. First a sparkler, then a snow glove, then a crown of blue and red flowers, a book about the snow queen, a cake with the snow queen on top, a dress that seemed to be made out of ice and… a complicated hairstyle, makeup and fingernail decorations of snowflakes. Obviously the first, the third and last gift were a little… odd, at least when compared to the others, which all pointed to one thing: snow and ice. But the other two, together with the dress to some extent, pointed towards a celebration of some kind. A party, maybe. She better ignored the flowers.

"A party of… snow? Ice?" She tried.

"Close enough." Anna smiled proudly. "Which date are we in?"

"Uhm… December 21th?" Elsa tried, wondering what did that have to do with anything.

"And what happens today?" She asked, making Elsa's eyes widen in understanding.

"Winter! It's winter's solstice! Right?"

"Yeah, and we are going to a party that is celebrated in this town each year to celebrate the coming of winter."

"And why would they do that?" Elsa asked as she eyed the many people wearing heavy clothes, some still shivering from the cold. She figured summer would be much more pleasant for them.

"Don't know." Anna shrugged. "Some tradition, I guess."

"Strange." She commented, but before she had time to ponder more about it, Anna tugged her arm as she started running towards some place, sometimes colliding with people and quickly apologizing. "Anna what…?" She didn't have time to finish her question because suddenly they were at a great square beside the lighthouse, where tons of tables and chairs had been installed, as well as a stage where a chore was currently singing Christmas carols. There was also a big artificial tree (about sixty feet tall) decorated with tons of lights and crystal spheres. It was truly beautiful. And, at the center of all the tables as the great cake she'd seen early at the chocolate shop, which made her smile, figuring it had specially been made for this celebration.

"Hello, will it be only the two of you?" Came to greet them a man dressed like a snowman. Elsa had to cover her mouth so stifle a giggle.

"Yes, actually." Anna answered as she hooked her arm around Elsa's waist.

"Welcome then, pass and take a sit. The celebration should begin soon enough."

"Thanks." She answered as they walked past him and took a sit in one of the many empty spaces, near the tree. "Quite beautiful, isn't it?" Anna asked as she eyed the decorations.

"It's nice." Elsa admitted. "But I still don't understand why you gave me all those gifts and brought me here today. Don't get me wrong, I liked it a lot, but…" Anna shushed her by putting a finger on her lips.

"I understand, and to answer your question… well, this our first real date, so I wanted to make it special, that's why I decided to bring you here. And about the gifts, well…" Anna searched in her purse and pulled out a little blue paper bag with a white ribbon on top, as well as a card. "Here, this has all the answers."

Elsa carefully took the cage and the card, looking the last one first. It said 'Happy birthday!'. She looked at it confused for a few seconds before understanding what this meant.

"B-birthday?!" She exclaimed, truly surprised.

"That's right. Today you turn twenty six!" Anna answered with a big smile.

"But… how…?"

"Look inside the bag." At Anna's words, Elsa quickly obeyed and pulled out a picture of a little white-haired baby with amazingly blue eyes. She seemed a lot like herself. "I remembered having seen a picture of you when you were born. Apparently the only one my father managed to save before your…" Anna hesitated before calling that man Elsa's father, because in her mind he had no right to be remember that way. "Uhm… before Agdar threw them away. And my father liked to always write things behind important photos, to remember those events, so…"

"December 21th." Elsa read out loud as she turned the picture. "My niece's birthday. We found out she died today at the tender age of five and I truly lament the loss of my brother. I just hope that, wherever she is, she's happy now." She felt herself starting to tear up, seeing the kind words of a man that she had never met, but that had mourned her 'death' anyways. She just wished she could tell him that yes, she was happy now, thanks to his daughter.

"I left it at my parents' old apartment, so I had to call a friend and ask her to send it to me." Anna continued explaining. "I hope you like it." But before Anna had time to say anything else, Elsa had already thrown herself at her arms, hugging her tightly as tears fell from her cheeks.

"I love it Anna." She assured her. "Thank you. I had never before seen a picture of me when I was a baby. And thank you for everything else you did for me."

"It was nothing." Anna giggled trying to brush it off.

"No, it wasn't nothing. Not for me. It was the kindest thing anyone has done for me. Thank you." And this time, Anna just could just accept the prizing.

"You're welcome." She said as she closed her eyes, enjoying Elsa's warm embrace.

It wasn't until the sky had darkened and all the tables were full, that the celebrations began. First the major gave a little speech about how this had been a good year and all that, before it was turn for the storyteller to narrate how this tradition had begun. That was when Elsa found out that, the legend said, it had first started as the snow queen's birthday party, and was celebrated throughout the entire kingdom. That is, until she had died and the territory was split. But the tradition still remained in that little town, even if they now celebrated winter instead of the Queen's birthday.

Then it was time to cut the cake. Of course, everyone got only a small amount of it, but Elsa was still able to tell it was delicious. Anna also liked it quite much and promised herself one day she'd go to that chocolate shop to buy one. There were also many people offering hot beverages, and of course, the two girls opted for chocolate. It was a very warm environment, despite the cold, and the many kids who played enthusiastically at the snow, only added to it. Soon Elsa joined them and the sight was so cute Anna couldn't resist taking tons of pictures with her cellphone.

However, Elsa's playing time was soon over, when the guy at the microphone said:

"Well, now the long awaited coronation time." Elsa raised an eyebrow at this but soon resume her making of a snowman with a little boy. "And the contestants this year are: Amelia, Gladys, Farja, Lilian and… Elsa." Elsa almost jumped in surprise when her name was called. "Please, come to the stage."

"W-what?" Was the only thing Elsa managed to say before Anna came and picked her up the ground, leading her towards the stage.

"I signed you up for the contest. I hope you don't mind." She said with a mischievous smile.

"But…" Before she could utter another word, Anna shoved her forward and three 'snowmen' lead her to the center of the stage, along with other four women, all dressed elegantly, though with much more thick clothes. One of them was even completely wrapped in white furs.

"And here they are, the contestants for this year's title of Snow Queen!" The guy at the microphone announced. "Now can you tell me a little about yourselves?"

Elsa tuned out the other women's answers, as she was too conscious of the multitude of people staring intently at her. She felt ice appearing on her palms and tried to calm down, but it wasn't working, and she was afraid she'd end up freezing everyone there… until she heard a beautiful voice above all, calling her name. She then turned to see Anna giving her a thumbs up, and instantly the ice melted and a smile appeared on her face. The redhead truly had a strong effect on her.

"And now, the last one: Elsa." The microphone man, that now was next to her, announced. "What can you tell us about yourself? Why do you want to be the Snow Queen?" Elsa turned to look at him and instantly got nervous again, so she decided to better look at Anna again and speak.

"Uhm… well… I-I didn't know anything of this celebration until today." She admitted.

"You're new here, I guess?" He asked, and Elsa nodded.

"My girlfriend and I just moved here and put an ice-cream shop. She's the one who signed me up for this." She said as she smiled down at her.

"Oh, yes, the ice-cream shop! I've heard of it, and of the amazing sculptures you make, is that right?" Elsa nodded again. "I take it you're used to cold then."

"It never bothered me." Elsa shrugged.

"I can see that." The man said. "It's a good thing too, since otherwise you couldn't be wearing this amazing dress!" At this, many people cheered and whistled and Elsa's cheeks burned red. "Very well, now let's wait for the judges to give the verdict."

At this, three old men dressed like Santa Claus (One red, another blue and the last one green) got up from the chairs at the back of the stage and got to the front. The red one spoke.

"We've pondered carefully and, after some struggling we've come to a decision."

"And the winner is…" Started the green one.

"Elsa!" Announced the blue Santa. Elsa's eyes widened. She never thought they'd pick her, after all, she hadn't even intended to become the snow queen.

"Come here, darling, come receive your crown." The red Santa said, and Elsa obediently stepped forward. "Bow your head please." Elsa hesitantly did as she was told and then the man kept talking. "I, Nicholas Bjamison, leader of the three judges, proclaim you The Snow Queen Elsa of Winter!"

The crown cheered as a little plastic silvery tiara was placed in Elsa's head, before she rose and smiled. She had never felt as appreciated for so many people. Even the other competitors were clapping as she also got a bouquet of blue flowers. Then she descended from the stage and quickly crushed Anna in a hug.

"Thanks." She said.

"Okay, now you have to stop thanking me for everything." Anna answered giggling.

"I can't." Elsa answered stubbornly.

"Well you should, because I only signed you on that because I wanted to be the snow princess." She snickered.

"Right." Elsa rolled her eyes before kissing her lips hungrily.

"Elsa, we're in public." Anna said trying to separate from her.

"I know." She shrugged and continued kissing her.

"But look! The fireworks!" Anna distracted her pointing to the sky, and this time she managed to separate slightly from the blonde, as she looked amazed at the explosions of colors that now adorned the sky, and the people that had gotten out their sparklers and were now agitating them so the sparks flew. "Aren't they beautiful?"

"Yes, of course." She answered, mouth agape, before returning her gaze to Anna. "Not as beautiful as you though." She smiled and leaned in before capturing Anna's lips with her own, and this time the shorter girl didn't put any resistance, letting herself enjoy the wonderful sensation of being kissed by her true love. And strangely enough, in that first night of winter, she thought she'd never felt warmer. At least in her heart.