"Anna, it's all right. You did the best you could," Kristoff tried to console her after the tryouts were over, but nothing could keep Anna from constantly reliving what felt like the most embarrassing thirty minutes of her life.

Anna ran her fingers through Dee's copper mane, as the untacked horse stood silently in her stall, content with the attention.

And Anna was content to say nothing, refusing to answer her friend.

"I'm going to wait outside. Come out when you're ready to go," Kristoff said finally.

Anna sighed. She had yet to take Dee's tack back up to the tack room.

And she had no excuse for being rude to Kristoff—snapping at him the entire time she had untacked Dee. It wasn't his fault. He was right. It was going to be all right. And she had done the best that she could.

Mentally berating herself for both her performance and her reaction, Anna juggled the saddle and the rest of Dee's tack and carried it upstairs.

As she was distracted, the redhead clumsily burst into the room, not looking where she was going, so it was no surprise when she (very ungracefully) walked right into a person who was walking towards the door.

And of course it was none other than the blonde rider she had seen in the arena before.

For the second time that day, she had walked into someone. That was a record, even for Anna.

"I'm so sorry," Anna's words were rushed, "I wasn't looking where I was going, and I was in a hurry because my friend is waiting to take me back to campus and I spent way too long untacking, and about before, with the martingale, I didn't see it and so I didn't realize that—"

"I'm around horses all the time. If I'm not getting kicked or stepped on or walked into then something would be wrong, wouldn't it?"

The words stopped Anna's own, halting her rambling mouth abruptly; something that she didn't know that anything, or anyone, was capable of. She'd talked right over Anna, which, in hind sight, Anna found herself grateful for because she probably would have just continued to make a fool out of herself—but still!

And Anna didn't know what to make of the tone the words held. Was she being sarcastic? Was she joking?

But before Anna could dwell on it further, the blonde had already begun talking again.

"And about the martingale, I actually just had to put it back in the right place. One of the freshmen must have misplaced it during the morning tryouts. I found it where Legacy's bridle is supposed be. Lower classmen can be so irresponsible."

Yeah, Anna thought. I'm a freshman. A very clumsy and crazy and nervous freshman, but I do my best to be responsible.

"But I need to get back downstairs. So if you don't mind…"

And Anna realized that the entire time, she had been standing in the doorway, completely blocking the blonde rider from leaving.

"Oh."

That was all that Anna could manage.

Stupid, stupid mouth.

Always blabbering nonstop until she needed it to work the most.

And who was this rider, anyway? Claiming that all lower classmen were irresponsible? Anna was in no way irresponsible. In fact, she was inanely responsible; so much so that she had practically helped run the barn where she'd leased Chip!

But a quick, "Sorry," was all she said, and she moved forward into the tack room so that the blonde would have room to leave.

"I am a complete mess. And awful at making first impressions," Anna muttered as soon as she was alone in the room, "But apparently not so bad as others."

She quickly put the saddle on its rack, and the bridle in its proper place.

She'd be lucky if she would even get to ride here at all, let alone make the team. As if her actual riding hadn't gone horribly enough, she already seemed to be making enemies.

Classes the next day were exhausting.

It was only Anna's third day, and so far, she and her roommate Rapunzel only had their pre-calculus class together.

Anna was pleased that she was getting along so well with the freshman, whose blonde hair was so long it reached the middle of her back, but she found that she didn't recognize many students from her building in any of her classes, and it was primarily the students in her co-ed dorm building who she knew the best.

Well…make that a select few of the students in her building who she knew the best. The list included Kristoff, of course, and Rapunzel, because they were roommates. It also included Olaf, an extremely enthusiastic freshman who threw himself into any and every conversation even if he didn't know who he was talking to; this antic was the only reason Anna could say that she knew a third person on campus.

And she knew Hans.

The thought made her smile.

But…other than that, I pretty much know no one, Anna sighed, walking to her first class of the day.

Chem lab.

At 9:05 in the morning.

How she despised morning classes!

What was this life anyway, forcing her to go to college in order to be successful, extracting all of the money from her bank account—in addition to the most expensive sport known to the world—and making classes start at ungodly hours that trudged on until sunset when she would drag herself over to the dining hall and eat food that tasted like it had been last week's left overs, spending her days running from building to building, only to find inside every single classroom the same chalkboards, strict professors, cramped desks, and—

Familiar blonde hair!?

Anna's eyes widened as she entered the chemistry lab.

What was that rider doing here? Anna had thought she was a trainer, maybe. Or a worker exercising the horses. Because she clearly hadn't been participating in the tryouts.

But regardless, here she was.

And she knew every humiliating little thing that had happened a mere twenty four hours ago.

The blonde hadn't seen her, so Anna took a seat at the opposite side of the room. She occupied herself with the lab manual until the professor came in and started talking about the course, and proper sanitation, and safety procedures—

"And I have already assigned lab partners, so please come look at the roster and see who you've been paired with for the semester."

Anna sighed. She hated assigned partners, but it looked like in the long run, it would be a good thing. She didn't know anyone in this class, and so the predetermined arrangement would save her some trouble, and of course, the embarrassment that seemed to follow her everywhere.

She waited in the line of students to find out who she had been paired with, but before she even made it to the paper, she heard her name.

"You're Anna Summers, right?"

She turned in the direction of the voice that belonged to none other than the blonde rider.

What had Anna done to deserve this? Life hated her.

And how had she already known Anna's name?

But Anna didn't dare ask. All she did was nod her head and follow the blonde over to the lab table where she had been sitting before.

"I already read through everything. Go get a graduated cylinder and a beaker. And make sure they're clean."

Yes ma'am, Anna rolled her eyes once she had turned her back to the blonde.

And while the entire lab followed accordingly—as horribly as it had begun—Anna couldn't deny that she was, ever so slightly, lucky in her lab partner assignment. She may not have a lab partner who was…how should she put it…nice.

But she certainly had a lab partner who knew exactly what she was doing.

And that, Anna knew as she watched the rest of the class working, was something she could be grateful for. Because after completing the lab with half an hour still left of the two-hour lab period, Anna realized that she might actually be able to take nap before her class at noon.

But first she needed to settle one thing.

"Who are you, anyway?" Anna demanded, turning towards the blonde the second they had left the classroom.

"My name is Elsa Arendelle."

And as if that explained everything, she walked out the door without looking back.

Exasperated, Anna made her way back to her dorm room, and was greeted by her roommate with the very uplifting question of: "So, are you going to have nightmares about it tonight?"

"Ugh, Rapunzel, it was awful!" Anna wailed as she collapsed face-first onto her pillow.

"Well, you know what they say. Chem lab is the stuff that horror movies are made of."

"The lab itself wasn't even that bad! It's who I have to work with for the entire semester!"

So much for her nap. She was going to have to vent about this for at least an hour.

"Well, who is it?" Rapunzel asked.

"Elsa Arendelle."

"Wait. Are we talking about the Elsa Arendelle?" Rapunzel asked.

Anna's head shot upright, "Do you know her?"

"Not personally, no. But I've heard everything about her. She's like the talk of the school. I know we've only been here for, what, three days now? Minus orientation. But please tell me that I'm not the only one who has been hearing about her nonstop."

"Uh, as far as I know, you're the only one. Please, enlighten me so I know what I'm going to be forced to deal with for two hours of every Wednesday of my life."

"She's the daughter of the ones who own Arendelle Riding Academy, hence the last name. They live there. I'm surprised you didn't notice it when you went for your tryout. I've heard the house is almost like a mansion. She's a senior, a business major, and manages all of the papers and financial stuff for the team and the barn. But everyone talks about her because she's never joined the riding team. And no one ever sees her ride. And not that I know anything about horses—because I don't, it's just not my thing—but I've heard that she'll only get on and warm up when other people are watching. She'll never actually ride in front of anyone, and she never jumps when anyone else is watching, either."

"Okay. So I'll admit I feel a little stupid for not realizing the connection," Anna grinned sheepishly, "But I still don't understand why it gives her the right to act like she's better than everyone else."

Rapunzel shrugged, "Does anyone? I mean, from what I've heard, she pretty much keeps to herself. So…good luck with all of that. This is why I try to stay out of the way of upperclassmen. Although that junior, Flynn, is extremely good-looking."

"Yeah, well, we all knew that you were after him the minute you saw he was our tour guide during orientation," Anna rolled her eyes, "Although…I can't quite say I agree with your opinion anymore after seeing a certain someone that I ran into. Like, I literally ran into him."

"Oh, Anna, details! Is he tall? Handsome? Is he an equestrian too?" Rapunzel fired off questions, completely ignoring Anna's mention of her clumsiness, which, if Anna were being honest, she was completely okay with.

"Yes, yes, and yes," Anna answered, the picture of Hans, with his red hair and, dare she admit it, dreamy eyes, coming to mind.

"What's his name?"

"Hans."

"Is he a freshman?"

"Actually," Anna frowned, "I'm not sure. But…he gave me his number yesterday, and I guess you could say we kind of have an unofficial date on Friday."

"And when were you going to tell me this!" Rapunzel grinned, "This is so exciting!"

"I was going to get around to it," Anna waved her hand as if to dismiss it all, "Clearly I've got plenty of other things on my mind."

"Have you talked to him about it yet?"

"No. I was going to text him tonight. He wants to meet me at the café, but I work in the morning. Good thing I don't have any classes on Fridays, huh?"

"Oh, don't rub it in!" Rapunzel exclaimed.

"I'd never," Anna grinned playfully, "I just think it would be the best thing in the world to have to wake up for an eight a.m. biology lab on Friday mornings."

"Well, you know what?" Rapunzel huffed, "Maybe Flynn will be in it."

"Flynn is a junior. Why would he be in an entry level biology course?" Anna laughed.

"Hey, wait a minute," Rapunzel stopped, growing serious, "That actually makes no sense. Elsa's a senior. Why is she in a freshman chemistry lab?"

Anna let the thought sink in.

"You know what, that is a very good question."

Thursday soon rolled around, and the team meeting came even more quickly than anticipated.

Anna was nervous as she made her way to the classroom where the meeting would be held, Kristoff walking by her side.

"Even if you don't make the team, you can still ride," he reminded her.

"I know," she said.

"Hey, if I made the team it'll be a miracle," Kristoff said, trying to lighten the mood, "Everyone else is so advanced."

"Right," Anna played along, "Because everyone else has grown up riding sophisticated horses, and you've been trying to train a reindeer how to jump."

It was a very long-standing joke that the two shared.

Sven, Kristoff's own horse, who he boarded and was currently leasing out to another rider while Kristoff spent the school year in college, would participate every winter in the annual holiday parade in their hometown. Sven would be dressed up as a reindeer with antlers and all, pulling a carriage, in order to defray the cost of boarding fees.

"You know, Anna, one day I'm going to enter him in a show and make him wear them," Kristoff said.

And at the thought of this, Anna actually laughed. Kristoff always knew how to bring her back down to earth; make her feel better no matter the circumstance.

Spending the entire rest of the walk debating on whether or not Sven would look ridiculous or endearing, Anna barely realized that they had reached their destination until they walked into the room that was filled with anxious faces that Anna either recognized vaguely, or didn't recognize at all.

"Good evening," Merida's voice filled the room at seven on the dot, not wasting a single second, "We have you here tonight to discuss many things—one of which being the team assignments. However, first, I want to talk to you about what your obligation to the team entails. I want to begin with lessons. If you are on the team, you are expected to lesson twice a week, with your team. If you miss more than two lesson, you will not be able to participate in the show team for the rest of the semester, which is why, as you will see on the assignment sheet, we have picked reserves.

"That being said, reserves also lesson twice a week, and it is critical that they attempt to make all of their lessons, because it isn't always known when they will be needed for shows. And for anyone who has not made the team, you are still allowed to ride, and will be considered part of our club. There is always room to improve and try out again next year to join the team.

"There is a complete show schedule, and all show team participants are expected to attend every show. Emails will be sent out to team members detailing the show schedule, the lesson schedule, and when lessons will begin. If there is a conflict Flynn, Mulan, or I need to be made aware of this as soon as possible. As far as dues go, there is a ten dollar fee per semester to be part of a club on campus, and the combined cost for membership and showing is a fifty dollar annual fee. Lessons are forty dollars each. If there is—"

Forty dollars!?

Anna didn't even think that with her job she'd be able to afford that when she was helping her parents pay the thousands of dollars for tuition, board, books, and her meal plan. What was she going to do—especially if she made the team? That would be forty dollars twice a week!

Anna sighed inwardly, and turned her attention back to Merida, who she realized she had been tuning out for the past few seconds.

"And now, before I release the team assignments, I would like to introduce you all to someone who some of you may already know, but most of you don't. This is Elsa Arendelle, and she will be the one dealing with all of the paperwork and finances for the team. And I believe that she also has some points to discuss with you."

Anna didn't even notice the blonde's presence in the room until she looked to the left of Merida, where none other than Elsa was sitting by the podium, next to Flynn and Mulan.

Elsa got up to speak, her hair in that perfect braid, not a crease in her clothing, and Anna didn't even hear a word she said. All she could think of was how quickly Elsa could silence the entire room.

While Merida had been talking, some students had been having side conversations, whispering or talking to one another—probably about the chances they had of making the team—or texting with their phones in their laps.

But when Elsa had stepped up to that podium to speak, the room had fallen silent, and the blonde's gaze, an almost icy one, had full command and attention.

Anna didn't register anything the blonde was saying until the very end.

"...And lastly, please do try to keep everything in order, and put anything that you use back where you found it. During the tryouts there was a misplaced bridle and martingale, which caused some…"

Anna waited for what Elsa was going to say: disorder, miscommunication, problems—

Elsa looked straight at Anna, and said, "Chaos."

A/n: Sorry for the cliffhanger :p The next chapter will pick up right where this one left off.

The only horse term I can think of in this chapter that might need to be addressed is probably tack, which I forgot to clarify in the first chapter (sorry!) even though most of you probably already know what it is. It's just one word that's used to refer to the saddle, the bridle, the girth, the saddle pad…even the martingale. Pretty much anything you're putting on the horse in preparation to ride is considered tack. Hence the terms 'tacking up' before a ride and 'untacking' after a ride.

Thanks for reading :)