"Princess Anna of Arendelle!"

She ran towards the dais, holding up her dress so she wouldn't trip; the last thing Anna wanted to do was embarrass herself in front of all those people. All those people who were watching her...

Anna came to a halt and waved awkwardly, smiling at everyone, until Kai cleared his throat and gestured towards her sister. Anna's face fell. Did he mean they were supposed to stand next to each other? Did Kai not know that Elsa never wanted to even speak to her? He should know that; he was one of the castle's oldest servants, after all.

But he ushered Anna over towards Elsa.

"Here?" Anna asked, thinking Kai must have made a mistake. "Are you sure? Because I don't think I'm supposed to - Oh!" He grabbed her arms and positioned her right next to Elsa, then backed away, leaving them together.

"Okay..." Anna tried to look anywhere except at her sister, which was difficult, since they were now just inches apart. Too close! she thought, and glanced quickly at Elsa's face. She didn't look angry. But she did look beautiful...

Don't stare! Anna told herself, and lowered her eyes, which were quickly drawn to Elsa's rather large and shapely breasts. No! Don't stare at her boobs! Just step away and hope that she doesn't notice... Anna thought, taking a step to her right and fixing her eyes on the floor. She probably doesn't want me to be here.

Anna sneaked another quick look at Elsa, who hadn't moved. She's probably just going to ignore me, as usual, she thought, and focused on the applauding crowd.

Elsa could see Anna's nervous fidgeting out of the corner of her eye, but after thirteen years of separation, it wasn't exactly going to be easy to reconnect with her. But Elsa had to try. She owed it to her sister, considering she had barely even seen Anna since their childhood.

"Hi," Elsa said, quietly.

Anna jumped. Is she talking to me? Really? Anna thought, in disbelief. She hadn't expected that. She looked over at Elsa, who was looking right at her, with a small, shy smile.

"'Hi' me?" Anna asked, not sure how to react.

Elsa nodded.

"Oh." This was a pleasant surprise. "Um. Hi," Anna replied.

Elsa was glad that Anna had responded. So far, everything seemed to be going exactly as she had planned, from the important things like keeping her powers under control at the ceremony, right down to the finer details. Elsa had known the dress she had chosen for Anna would look good, but she hadn't expected it to look this good, nor Anna to be so beautiful. The way her freckled shoulders were displayed by the dress... Just beautiful... Tell her , Elsa thought. So she did.

"You look beautiful."

"Thank you," Anna said, feeling heat rise to her face at the unexpected compliment. "You look beautifuller!" she said, leaning closer, but then realised what she had said. "I mean, not fuller. You don't look fuller, but more beautiful..." Anna hoped she hadn't messed things up already. But it seemed to be all right.

"Thank you," Elsa replied, grinning at Anna's awkwardness. So adorable...

"So..." she continued, looking out at the Great Hall in front of them. "This is what a party looks like."

"It's warmer than I thought," Anna blurted out. Or maybe that's just me...

"And what is that amazing smell?"

The two of them caught a delicious scent coming from across the hall.

"Chocolate!" they exclaimed in unison, and started laughing. Just like old times...

Maybe things hadn't changed quite so much after all. Their eyes met after their laughter faded away, but Elsa quickly looked back out at the party.

Anna, however, kept her gaze fixed on Elsa's face as she thought of a way to continue their conversation. Then she had an idea for the perfect way to keep Elsa's attention. She took a deep breath, summoning the courage to ask her.

"I was wondering..." Anna began, pausing as Elsa's deep blue eyes met her own again. "Will you dance with me?"

A million thoughts rushed through Elsa's mind before she could answer. It was too dangerous, she couldn't risk physical contact...

She could see Anna's face falling after a couple of moments of silence. Elsa opened her mouth to decline, prepared to let her sister down for the latest time in the series of disappointments that made up their relationship.

Anna could sense that Elsa was going to say no, but she wasn't going to give up that easily; ever since she was little she could remember wanting to dance with Elsa at their first party, and she was not going to let the opportunity to do so pass her by.

"Please?" Anna said, holding out her hand and trying to renew her smile.

Elsa's will to resist dissolved. Every instinct in her soul was aching to be close to her sister like they used to be. And she realised that she was so relaxed that she couldn't even feel her powers trying to come to the surface. It's only for today, she thought to herself. And it would mean a lot to Anna. Just a few more hours until the gates close again and all this will be over. She, no, we both deserve to have a little fun.

"I'd love to," she replied, thrilling to see Anna's face light up and blush even deeper. Elsa signalled to Kai and undid the clasp of her cape. She had worn it partially as an excuse to avoid dancing with anyone, but for this one occasion, and for Anna, she was prepared to change her plans.

Kai took Elsa's cape from her and suppressed a smile as he watched her cautiously take hold of Anna's hand and walk onto the dance floor. He had hoped that this party would give the sisters a chance to bond, and it looked like he was going to see them share at least a little occasion of happiness for the first time in years.

Elsa could hear her heart beating loudly as she walked with Anna, lightly holding her sister's hand in her own gloved one. This contact had proven much easier than she had expected, so dancing with her sister wasn't going to be very difficult. Hopefully.

Despite intending to proclaim the contrary if asked, Elsa, in fact, could dance very well. At least, she had studied the theory in detail. And she could remember enough from her lessons as a young child to dance at least adequately. She hoped so, anyway...

The crowd parted in front of the Queen and the Princess and they came to the centre of the hall. As if on cue, the band began to play a waltz, and Elsa gently placed a hand on Anna's waist, forgetting her powers completely as she felt Anna's hand rest on her shoulder.

The sweet notes of the music resonated around them, and Elsa found that she got lost in the rhythm as she carefully led Anna in the steps of the dance, making sure sure not to hold her hand too tightly, only touching her lightly on her hand and her waist, leaving as large a gap between their bodies as possible, and taking care to avoid the other couples around them.

It wasn't what Anna had imagined her first dance at a ball would be like; mostly because it was with her sister rather than some handsome prince, but Anna wouldn't have changed it for the world. Even though Elsa didn't attempt any fancy manoeuvres like some of the other couples were doing, it was still fun. And it suddenly hit Anna that she was actually dancing with Elsa, the sister she had hardly seen for years.

Anna found herself examining her sister's face, while she was focusing on not getting too close to the other dancers.

Elsa had always been beautiful when they were younger, but Anna could see that her beauty had grown with her. Her pale skin was flawless, and she had a faint sprinkling of freckles across her cheeks, although not as many as Anna had. She was about to start counting them when Elsa's gaze returned to her.

Their eyes met again and Anna felt her heart jump. She giggled nervously and felt the need to break the silence that had grown between them.

"We always said we wanted to dance at the parties when we were little," she commented, remembering how much they had looked forward to growing up and being allowed to attend their parents' parties. Well, before everything else happened.

"Yeah..." Elsa replied, returning her smile, but feeling slightly sad as she remembered the fun they used to have trying to sneak into the parties that their parents held, and the plans they had made in their childish innocence before it had all been ruined, by her own failure to...

Elsa stiffened as she became aware of the familiar feeling of her magic rising to the surface in response to her emotions. She stopped dancing.

But luckily, at that moment the musicians finished playing and the crowd applauded around them.

Elsa immediately let go of Anna and took a small step away, smiling to avoid upsetting her.

"Thank you," Anna said. She could tell that Elsa had been somewhat reluctant to dance with her, but even though it had only been one short dance, it had been a lot of fun. She curtseyed, giggling playfully.

Elsa bowed, and found herself giggling, too. Glad that her powers seemed to have hidden themselves again, for the moment at least, she walked quickly but gracefully away from the dance floor before anyone else tried to ask her to dance.

Anna hurried along next to Elsa, not ready to stop spending time with her yet; they had a lot of catching up to do and they had only just started.

"Hey, let's go and investigate the food! Maybe we can find that chocolate," she suggested, putting her hand lightly on Elsa's arm.

Elsa tensed, but Anna didn't touch her for very long, so she almost immediately relaxed again.

"Sure!" she said, and led the way to the nearest food table.

As soon as they got to it, Anna picked up a slice of chocolate cake and took a huge bite. With all the excitement from the coronation and the party, she had forgotten that she hadn't eaten all day.

Elsa took a small chocolate from one of the displays and ate it delicately, watching with amusement as Anna continued to stuff her face.

"You're certainly hungry!" she commented, stifling a giggle.

Anna suddenly realised that she was eating like a pig in front of her sister, who wasn't just her sister anymore, she was also her Queen. She swallowed and grinned sheepishly at Elsa.

"Sorry! I didn't eat any breakfast," she explained. Luckily Elsa didn't seem to be annoyed with her lack of manners. Instead she looked concerned after hearing that Anna hadn't eaten for the whole day.

"Well, there's plenty of food here," she said. "I made sure to order all your favourites: sandwiches, krumkaker, and chocolate, of course."

Anna was touched that Elsa had remembered her favourite foods after all those years, and that she still cared enough to arrange for the cooks to prepare them.

"Chocolate was always our favourite," Anna said, and finished her cake, trying to eat more politely this time. Unfortunately, despite her efforts, she failed and managed to smear chocolate onto her face.

Elsa laughed, forgetting her powers momentarily, and instinctively reached over to wipe Anna's face with her gloved thumb.

"And you were always a messy eater," she said.

The two sisters shared a tender moment smiling at each other and silently reliving many precious memories in their minds.

"You haven't changed at all, Anna," Elsa said, fondly. She was glad to see that Anna was safe and happy. Before she had to shut her out again.

Anna was about to take this opportunity to ask Elsa whether things were going to change for both of them now that Elsa was in charge of the kingdom, and whether they could spend more time together like this. But just as she had opened her mouth, she was interrupted by Kai's voice coming from behind them.

"Your Majesty," he began. They turned around to see that he was presenting a small, grey-haired man to them. "The Duke of Weasel Town," he announced, with a bow.

"Weselton," the little man snapped, glaring at Kai. "The Duke of Weselton," he corrected, advancing towards the Queen and the Princess.

With his arrival, the mood of the party had changed slightly. This man had an undoubtedly creepy presence about him, and Elsa and Anna didn't quite know what to expect.

"Sorry I'm late, Your Majesty," the Duke said. "I definitely wasn't snooping around the castle trying to uncover your secrets... Ahem! As your closest partner in trade, it seems only fitting that I offer you your first dance as Queen."

Elsa didn't like the lecherous look he gave her, and she liked the absurd, flourishing bow he performed even less.

As the Duke bowed his head down, his toupee came unstuck and uncovered his bald head. He didn't seem to notice, but Elsa and Anna did. They both looked at each other and burst into muffled laughter. However, Elsa quickly composed herself.

"Thank you," she said, returning his bow. "Only I've already had my first dance." She looked proudly at Anna, who seemed like she was about to explode with laughter at any second, and now Elsa could feel her own laughter bursting to get out.

"Oh..." The Duke looked offended.

"Please excuse me," Elsa said, thinking it was best to avoid offending him even more by laughing at him to his face. "My sister and I have to be... somewhere else."

Anna quickly followed Elsa to a corner on the other side of the hall, where they dissolved into laughter.

"He was ridiculous!" Anna burst out, between giggles.

"The worst thing is I'll probably have to meet him for business, and now I won't be able to keep a straight face!" Elsa replied.

Their laughter soon subsided, and Anna was loving every moment of Elsa's undivided attention. They were so close, just like they used to be.

"This is so nice," Anna said, looking into Elsa's eyes. "I wish it could be like this all the time."

"Me too," Elsa said, returning Anna's smile for a couple of moments, before she caught herself. She had to as be honest with Anna as she could. Her face fell, and she turned away. "But it can't."

Anna was unsure how to react to this sudden change of mood between them. She refused to believe that the fun they had just had this evening had been a lie. She wanted an explanation. "Why not? I mean if we -"

"It just can't," Elsa said, firmly, avoiding Anna's attempts to touch her.

"But why?" Anna asked again, a firm note in her own voice. Her hands were clenched at her sides as she stared at Elsa's back. She could feel the past thirteen years of pain and confusion ready to break out unless Elsa gave her a proper reason for all of this.

Elsa could feel the tension rising between them. She had guessed that something like this would happen. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm herself before turning to her sister.

"Anna, don't make a scene. Promise me."

"I..." Anna thought a scene was just what was needed if it would make Elsa tell her the truth. But she could see a hint of desperation in Elsa's eyes, and she didn't want to ruin the party. "I promise."

"And I promise you, I'll explain everything when the party is over," Elsa said, grateful that she had avoided an argument. Once everyone had left and they were alone in the castle again, it would be safe reveal her secret to Anna. "Meet me in the library after my speech and then we can talk."

"O-okay," Anna said. She was excited that she was going to get some answers at last, even if she had to wait until midnight when the party would finish. But she still felt the issue of whatever it was that Elsa was hiding from her acting like a barrier between them.

Elsa smiled stiffly. "I should go and talk to the other guests," she said. She turned her back on Anna and walked towards her throne.

Anna watched her go and decided the best thing to do was to try and enjoy the rest of the party. Maybe it would make the time seem to go by faster. She made her way back to the food table although she saw that a crowd had now gathered in front of it and was blocking her way. She hoped there was still some of that chocolate cake, or some of her other favourite foods left.

Anna tapped the shoulder of the man in front of her to get him to move, but was surprised when he turned around.

"Hans!" she exclaimed, happily. He would be a perfect distraction.

"Princess Anna!" he bowed to her.

Anna curtseyed and giggled; she wasn't used to the company of men, not young, handsome ones, anyway.

"How are you enjoying the party?" he asked, giving her a dazzling smile.

"It's great!" Anna said, flattered that he was interested in her. "Although it's even better now you're here. But there's still one thing missing. Can you pass me a krumkake?"

His smile turned into one of confusion and amusement. "Sorry, a what?"

"Krumkake." Anna pushed past him to the table and took a couple of them from their tray. "Have you never eaten them before?"

"I'm afraid I've never had the opportunity," Hans replied.

"Here!" she handed a krumkake to him. "I'll teach you how to eat it," she said, seeing his confused expression. "Just bite it. Like this!" Anna ate her own, managing to avoid breaking it or getting any of the cream on her face.

Hans lifted it up to his mouth and attempted to copy Anna. He looked to her for reassurance.

"Yeah, the whole thing! You got it!" she grinned at him. Her grin soon turned into laughter as she watched the krumkake crumble all over Hans' face.

"You just need some more practice!" Anna said, and was about to fetch another krumkake or two when they heard the sound of the band tuning their instruments. She glanced at Hans, who seemed to have had the same thought as her.

"May I have this dance?" he asked, and offered his hand.

Anna blushed at his charming smile and took his hand. "You may!" she replied.

She let Hans lead her to the dance floor, gazing up at him the whole time, thinking that maybe this was going to be the start of something... No, that was too good to be true. Anna didn't want to jinx anything by getting her hopes up.

Anna saw annoyance suddenly flicker across Hans' face when the band started playing the tune of a popular folk dance, rather than something just for couples.

They got into position with the other pairs of dancers and soon had to change partners as the dance progressed.

Anna didn't entirely mind that she hadn't got to dance alone with Hans, it was still fun. At many points in her life, Anna had believed that she would never have so much fun in her own home. There were so many new faces, so many new people all enjoying themselves. Anna knew she would remember this day forever.

By the time the dance finished, Anna felt like she had danced with every nobleman in Arendelle. She curtseyed to the middle-aged man she had just been dancing with and went off to find Elsa.

Anna tried looking out the nearest window to see if it was nearly midnight, but was so focused on trying to get a view of the clock tower that she didn't notice she was about to bump into someone.

"Oh!" she exclaimed as she ran into the man's chest. "Sorry..." Anna muttered as the man steadied her. She looked up to see a familiar face smiling down at her. "Hans! Again...!"

She spent the next hour or so in polite conversation with Hans, although Anna would have enjoyed it more if she didn't want the party to hurry up and finish. She hoped she'd be able to see him some other time, when she wasn't so distracted.

Anna found herself glancing repeatedly out of the window at the clock tower while she automatically recited all the pleasantries and conversation techniques that her etiquette master had taught her.

Then the sound of music reached their ears when the musicians struck up again for another lively dance.

As people crowded towards the dance floor, Anna spotted Elsa on the other side of the hall. She was wearing her cape again, and currently appeared unoccupied. Anna wanted to tell her about Hans and all the fun she had been having. She wanted to know whether Elsa was having a good time, too. And maybe she could even convince her to end the party a little early...

Hans coughed slightly and repeated himself a little louder, getting Anna's attention. "Shall we dance?" he asked, managing to maintain his handsome smile.

"Actually, I'm kind of tired from the last dance, so maybe not this time," she said, walking away just as a large blonde woman who had been hovering around grabbed Hans and pulled him towards the dance floor.

Anna felt a little guilty for letting Hans down when he obviously wanted to dance with her, but she planned to ensure that she'd see Hans again, and that there'd be plenty more parties like this in the future, no matter what Elsa said. She would explain everything to Elsa, who was sure to change her mind about it when she knew how happy it made Anna.

The Princess started walking towards her sister, but was forced to stop when the Duke of Weselton appeared as if from nowhere and ambushed her.

"Aha! Princess Anna!" he exclaimed. "May I have the pleasure?" The Duke linked Anna's arm and yanked her onto the dance floor before she could protest.

Anna suddenly found herself standing in front of the Duke, who was at boob-height, but fortunately - or maybe unfortunately - he didn't spend much time standing and was soon leaping and flailing around her in some sort of bizarre improvised dance, completely at odds with the other dancers.

Anna did her best to dance along to the music, but she tried to move as little as possible since the Duke's moves were unpredictable. She watched him dance around her while his toupee flapped up and down, making a disgusting noise.

He suddenly sprang into the air, remarkably high for such a short man, and landed right on Anna's feet.

"Ow!" she yelped.

But the Duke either didn't hear her in his pomposity, or didn't care that he had hurt her because he immediately began to interrogate her.

"Nobody I've spoken to today, and believe me, I spoke to everyone: guards, servants, guests, but not a single one has told me why the gates were shut for so long. And all of us are dying to know." He leant up towards Anna and grabbed her hand. "Do you know the reason?"

"No..." Anna replied, leaning back as far as she was able.

She managed to endure more of the Duke's questions and questionable dance moves until the musicians finished playing, and the second the music stopped, Anna gratefully made her escape.

Ignoring the Duke's offer of another dance, Anna hurried towards Elsa as fast as her sore feet could carry her.

Elsa was just finishing talking to some nobles, so Anna watched them for a little while until they left her alone again.

Anna gazed at her sister as she returned their bows, and noted how graceful and refined Elsa was. She made it all look so effortless, unlike Anna, who had to work hard to avoid embarrassing herself in social situations, considering their infrequency in her life up until recently.

Anna approached Elsa, hoping that she still wanted to speak to her after their almost-argument. "Hi," she said, nervously.

Elsa turned, smiling warmly when she saw Anna. She was glad to see her sister again, and was still trying to get used to the reality of being able to actually speak to her. Anna was positively glowing with happiness and Elsa was pleased to have given her this experience before she had to close the gates again. But Anna would learn to understand and accept it once she heard the truth.

Anna could still feel the secret hanging between them and preventing her from connecting with Elsa, although now she felt excitement instead of anger; soon she was going to know what nobody else did! Elsa trusted her enough to let her know!

"How was dancing with the Duke of Weselton?" Elsa asked, an amused glint in her eyes. "I saw he managed to show you his unique... talents!"

Anna laughed weakly. "It could've been better," she replied. "How was, um, greeting people?"

"It looks like you're about to find out for yourself," Elsa said, and turned to a blond man in a blue uniform approaching them.

"Your Majesty, Your Highness," he said in a softly-accented voice as he bowed. "Congratulations on a beautiful coronation ceremony, and this wonderful party!"

"Thank you," Elsa replied. "We are glad you're enjoying the festivities."

"I'll tell everyone back in Ireland how lovely Arendelle and its ladies are!" the man continued.

While Elsa continued her conversation, or rather listening politely to the man as he talked to her, Anna noticed Hans walking up towards them.

Elsa could sense a change in Anna's manner and glanced over to see her blushing and giving a little wave to a young man.

Anna waited for the Irish dignitary to say goodbye and rushed over to Hans, taking his arm.

"Come and meet my sister!" she said, leading Hans towards Elsa with a huge grin on her face. "I present Prince Hans of the Southern Isles," Anna announced, proudly, hoping to get Elsa's approval. She hoped that seeing how happy she was with Hans would make Elsa change her mind about keeping the gates closed.

"Your Majesty." Hans bowed deeply.

Oh, a Southern Islander. Elsa thought she recognised his uniform; she wondered which one of the thirteen princes he was. She noticed Anna hadn't let go of his arm and grew slightly worried.

"This is a truly delightful party, and I've been fortunate to spend most of it with your charming sister." Hans looked down at Anna, who giggled.

Elsa decided she didn't like this man. There was something ... off about his eyes and his expression when Anna wasn't looking at him. She made a mental note to research him, as soon as she got the chance.

Luckily, Elsa was spared from having to make conversation with him by the bells of the clock tower striking midnight, which could be heard over Hans' voice as he attempted to ensure that he'd be able to return to the castle.

"... if I may have permission to - "

"Excuse me," Elsa cut him off mid-sentence and gave a polite but reserved bow before leaving them to speak to the Royal Handler.

Anna and Hans exchanged a glance.

Then Anna realised that it was the moment she had been waiting for.

The Royal Handler raised his voice above the murmur of the party and made the final announcement of the night.

"Your Royal Highnesses, Your Excellencies, my Lords, Ladies and Gentlemen, the party is over. Please make your way to the courtyard for Her Majesty's speech." He and the guards began to usher the guests out of the doors of the Great Hall.

Anna held on tightly to Hans' arm as they walked through the crowd towards the doors. Her heart was fluttering with excitement as she looked back over her shoulder at Elsa, and wondered what secrets her sister was going to reveal to her that night.

While watching Frozen for probably around the 60th time I found myself wondering what Anna was going to say to Elsa before the Duke turned up, and also what the party would have been like if it had gone more according to plan. And my wonderings evolved into this.

So, do you think I should continue writing it?