They arrived at the castle around noon the next day, and everyone was happy to see them return. Elsa and Anna both bathed (without heat this time), braided each other's hair for the first time in over a week, then spent the afternoon in Elsa's study, taking care of all the business that had piled up in their absence.

Elsa's first official action was to declare the Lake of Fire off limits to everyone because it was dangerous. She didn't say why it was dangerous, but since the people who lived near it knew it was magical, she didn't feel she needed to.

Once all the urgent matters had been attended to, Anna said, "So let's return to my question from yesterday. What's the next big problem we need to address?"

"I need to pay official state visits to all of our neighbors," Elsa said. "By now, they will all have heard that Arendelle is ruled by a sorceress, and I am sure there are many horrible rumors flying around. Some of our neighbors will no doubt be afraid, while others may see our recent troubles as a chance for conquest. The dignitaries who attended my coronation will alleviate matters somewhat by reporting the truth, but even so, that will not be enough.

"I must now walk a tightrope. I must show the world that Arendelle is strong despite what just happened, and at the same time, I must show the world that I am good and kind, and have no intention of using my magic to harm anyone." She sighed. "And I must educate people, or as sure as kittens are cute, they'll all blame me when the harsh winter hits!" She scowled at the thought. "It would be nice to live in a world populated by rational people who don't jump to conclusions, but sadly, we live in this one.

"Our people had a chance to reject me, but they didn't, mostly because I went to see them in person, and I went to see them quickly. I think the answer to my international concerns is the same. If I visit my fellow rulers in person, it will accomplish far more than a letter, and it will ease their troubled minds. I must do it quickly. This is a crucial time during which opinions will take root. My actions in the next few months may prevent years of mistrust."

Elsa softly hit her fist on the desk. "Curse me!" she exclaimed. "I just realized! If I had sent letters of intent to visit a week ago, they could have been in transit while we toured the kingdom! Ah, I'm such a fool!"

"It's just one mistake, and you're not perfect."

"A mistake which cost a week of precious time, which becomes even more lost time later, in a cascading effect. I must be better! I must notify our neighbors of my intent to visit at once!"

Anna wanted to tell her not to be so hard on herself, but she sensed now wasn't the time. She let it pass for the moment. "Will you visit Weselton or the Southern Isles?"

"I will not visit Weselton under the current state of affairs. As for the Southern Isles...perhaps."

"Shall I accompany you on this journey?"

"No. I'll be gone for several weeks, and I need you to stay here to take care of the kingdom."

It was the answer Anna had expected, and the only real practical one. "I agree," she said, rising from her seat. "I'll assemble the scribes. They'll be waiting in the hall when you're ready."

"Find Admiral Salomon and send him to me, also."

Anna was alarmed. "Are we going to war?"

"These messages are too important to send via commercial ships. Speed is vital, so the navy will have to arrange their delivery."

Anna curtsied and left.

 

Anna directed a servant to send word to Admiral Salomon, and instructed two of the royal councilors to wait outside Elsa's study. She then went to the house of a nearby scholar and asked him to come quickly, which he did. Anna figured they would need at least a dozen copies of Elsa's letter, and due to the urgency, they needed them as soon as possible, and she felt three scribes ought to be enough.

As Anna walked with the scholar to Elsa's study she met Kristoff, and smiled. He had bathed and dressed in finer clothes, and he looked very nice.

"I was hoping I could talk to you for a little while," he said.

"Give me a few moments," she said. "I'll come to you if the queen can spare me."

He nodded.

Anna told a servant to bring a chair and follow her, because the scholar was elderly and Anna didn't want to leave him standing. They reached Elsa's study, outside which the councilors were waiting. The servant set the chair down in the corridor and the scholar sat down gratefully.

Admiral Salomon came out of Elsa's study, and bowed to Anna. "My Lady," he greeted her.

"Admiral," Anna said, inclining her head.

He walked on, and Anna went into the study. Elsa was still at her desk, writing on a parchment, sometimes crossing out words. Anna watched as she angrily crossed out an entire paragraph and began writing furiously.

"Your Majesty," Anna said politely.

Without looking up, Elsa said, "When we're alone, you may just call me Elsa."

"Elsa, I have assembled three scribes. They wait in the corridor. Do you need me for anything else at the moment?"

Elsa stopped writing and gave Anna a curious look, then said, "Stay. There is something else I want to discuss. I won't be but a moment longer."

Anna curtsied and sat down. For the next five minutes, the only sounds were the ticking of the clock and the scratching of the quill. Then Elsa read and re-read the letter silently. Anna waited patiently. She wanted to return to Kristoff, but her first duty was to her elder sister and queen, and she knew how important this was.

Elsa finally said, "Tell me what you think." She read the letter aloud.

Anna listened carefully. Like Elsa, she knew how powerful words were. Their father had taught them that. "All of international politics, whole alliances, can turn on a courteous phrase or a well-written missive," he had often said. "And likewise, poorly chosen words can start a war."

Elsa finished reading the letter aloud. Anna joined her and scrutinized her words intently. The letter was simple and extremely courteous, notifying the recipient of Elsa's intent to visit, and requesting a time frame during which she would be welcome, preferably before the beginning of autumn.

Anna made a couple of suggestions, and they discussed some of the finer nuances in the second paragraph. Most people would have thought they were spending a great deal of time on things which were ridiculously trivial, but they were in deadly earnest.

Half an hour actually passed before they were both satisfied with the final result. Anna called the men in the corridor into the study. Elsa handed them the letter and instructed them to make fifteen copies.

"Fifteen?" Anna asked.

"I want some extra, just in case. And we need at least one for the archives."

The men bowed and went off to fulfill their duty.

Elsa heaved a huge sigh of relief, and Anna thought she looked at peace for the first time that afternoon.

Elsa poured herself a glass of water from the pitcher on her desk, poured one for Anna, and motioned for her to sit in one of the two chairs by the window. They turned the chairs to face each other and sat down. Each took a sip of her water and set it on the small table which stood directly beneath the window. Elsa gazed out at the Atlantic Ocean for a moment.

"We've come a long way in the past couple of weeks," Elsa said quietly.

"We have indeed."

Elsa looked at Anna and let out a long, slow sigh, then she looked down, avoiding Anna's gaze, as if she didn't know how to proceed. "Anna, I have a request," she finally said.

"You have but to name it. You know I await your command."

Elsa smiled. "This isn't the command of a queen, it is the request of a sister."

Anna was astonished to see that Elsa's hands were trembling. She leant forward and gently took them in her own. "My answer is the same," she said. "You have but to name it."

Elsa's mouth quivered a bit. She licked her lips and said, "The night you saved my life, when we spoke in the bath, I told you that we missed a special bonding period in our lives and that that weighs heavily on my heart."

"On mine, as well."

"In my mind, I can see so clearly what we should have had." A tear rolled down Elsa's face. "Two girls, eight and six years old, lying in bed late at night after we should have gone to sleep, watching the Northern Lights. Two girls, ten and eight years old, huddled under the covers late at night after we should have gone to sleep, reading adventure stories and giggling. Two girls, twelve and ten years old, sitting in bed late at night next to an open window, after we should have gone to sleep, watching a storm roll in off the ocean. Two girls, fourteen and twelve years old, lying in bed late at night after we should have gone to sleep, talking about our futures one moment, talking about clothes the next. Two girls, fifteen and thirteen years old, lying in bed late at night after we should have gone to sleep, looking up at the moon and talking about the people we have crushes on." Tears streamed down Elsa's face, and Anna's eyes began to mist up, also. "And on every one of those nights, and on a thousand others just like them, we fall asleep next to each other, possibly in each other's arms, and awake in the morning sun. Can you see it, Anna? Can you see what I see?"

"I can see it," Anna whispered.

"The bracers work," Elsa said. "For the first time in forever, I can sleep in a real bed, in a real bedroom, with a window, with no fear of harming anyone or anything. And my request is a sleepover." She smiled through her tears. "Would you like to come sleep in my bedroom tonight? Because my most intense desire is to lie in bed with my only sister, just talking long into the night, and to hold her as she goes to sleep, and to wake with her in my arms."

Anna was speechless for several seconds. She finally swallowed hard and said, "Yes. Yes! Of course! It sounds wonderful! But only if we can have all the chocolate we want."

Elsa laughed, and Anna smiled. "I assure you, there will be chocolate," Elsa said.

Anna shook her head in amazement. "Why would you be so afraid to make such a request?"

"Because we're grown women now, and grown women need space and don't do the things little girls do, so I was afraid you would think my request was too uncomfortable. I can't really see us having a sleepover every night, or making a habit of this."

Anna shook her head. "I love it. And we can have sleepovers as often as you wish!"

Elsa's face turned red. "Well, if things keep going the way they are, I suspect your sleepovers will be with Kristoff soon, which won't leave much room for me."

Anna blushed.

"And that's why I wanted to make this request now, because once things get really serious between you and Kristoff, it would be awkward for you, a grown woman, to leave him and tell him you're going to spend the night with your sister."

Anna nodded. "That's true," she conceded.

"So, we may only do this the once," Elsa said. "So let's make it count."

Anna kissed Elsa's hands and said, "I'll be there. We'll never be able to pack fifteen years of what-should-have-been into a single night. We each must grieve that loss. But I swear to you, I will be there."

"Thank you, Anna. And now, I think you should run off. Kristoff is waiting for you."

"Yes, he- wait a minute, I didn't tell you Kristoff was waiting for me. How did you know that?"

"One must know these things if one is to be queen."

 

Anna found Kristoff waiting alone in the parlor.

"Are you free from your royal duties?" he asked.

"For the moment."

He took her in his arms. "I was hoping that we could spend the day together tomorrow. The whole day, free of any burdens. Beginning with breakfast."

"I'll have to ask Elsa."

"Elsa's already said yes."

He smiled at her enigmatically, and she looked at him through narrowed eyes. "I see," she said carefully. "Well in that case, Kristoff, I am all yours. Tomorrow."

They kissed.

"But for today, I have to run. I have some things I need to do before tonight, then Elsa and I are going to spend some time together."

He let out a frustrated sigh, but it was in jest. "Must I always come second to the queen?"

"No," she said with a smile. "Someday you might come third or fourth."

He scrunched his eyes at her in a mock glare.

They kissed again, and she said, "Breakfast tomorrow. See you there."

She ran off.

 

Carrying a box of her belongings, Anna approached Elsa's closed bedroom door and was overcome by emotion. How many times had she knocked on this door and received no answer, or been told to go away? Hundreds, at least. This closed door represented fifteen years of separation.

Shaking a little, Anna raised her fist. A memory of knocking on the ice palace door flashed through her mind.

She knocked.

And the door opened.

Elsa stood there, smiling. She reached out, grabbed Anna, and pulled her inside. "Come on!" Elsa said playfully, just like she had that day when they'd gone ice skating in the courtyard.

Anna was all smiles, then she gasped. On a table along one wall was an assortment of chocolate treats.

"Where did all this come from?" Anna asked, setting her box on the dresser.

"Technically, the dark chocolate and mint delights are from Paris, and the chocolate-covered cherries and the milk chocolate bars are from Switzerland. Less technically, they're left over from my coronation."

Anna giggled and nibbled on some dark chocolate. "Ohh," she groaned. "This is so good!"

"I thought milk chocolate was your favorite."

"It is. I'll save that for later."

Anna looked around approvingly. The bedroom was immaculate. The bed was near the window. Outside, the sun drifted toward the horizon.

"This is nice," Anna said. "You've already moved your bed in here."

"Yes. It was the first order I gave the servants when we returned."

Anna saw a closed door on one side of the room. "Is that your old sleeping room?"

"It is."

Anna thought for a moment, then asked, "May I?"

Elsa gestured at the door. "If you wish. It's nothing special."

With her heart pounding, Anna slowly opened the door, and her breath was taken away. Despite Elsa's description, it was still a shock to see it in person. A dark empty room, lined with steel plates on the walls and ceiling, etched with thousands of marks.

"Oh, Elsa," Anna whispered, walking into the room and looking around. "It...it looks like a prison. And all these marks look like a prisoner scratching out the days."

"Yes, it's a depressing place," Elsa said, joining her. "Luckily, I was never awake in here very much."

Anna wept. "All those years."

Elsa held her hand. "As hard as it may be to believe, sleeping in this room isn't as bad as it sounds. Not having a life, being separated from you – that was infinitely worse." She smiled. "But I have thrown away the past, and I have been blessed with wonderful gifts." She indicated the bracers she wore. "And this room means nothing to me any more."

Anna smiled at her. "May you never sleep in here again."

"Absolutely!" Elsa led Anna out of the horrible room and deliberately shut the door. "And that's all we're going to talk about that. Tonight is a good night, and we're going to celebrate what we have, not what we didn't get. We're going to celebrate love, and the future."

Anna hugged her. "And I am so happy you can sleep in a normal bed, with a window."

"And a sister."

They held each other for a moment, then Elsa kissed Anna on the cheek.

"What did you bring?" Elsa asked, indicating the box Anna had brought with her.

Anna pulled things out of the box one at a time. "My nightgown. My slippers. My own secret stash of chocolate." She held out a box of truffles.

"Ooh!" Elsa's face lit up.

"Help yourself," Anna continued. "My chocolate is your chocolate, and we can add that to the pile. I brought barrettes, in case we feel like messing with our hair. And – ooh!" She grinned at Elsa and held up a book.

"What is that?"

"My diary!"

Elsa gave her a quizzical look.

Anna looked half-embarrassed. "I tried to keep a diary when I was fifteen, but I wasn't very good about keeping it current. Sometimes I wrote about you and how much I missed you, and I figure we can skip those parts, because we both know that's over with. But I think I wrote about some other stuff that was going on in the castle, and a boy I had a crush on."

Elsa's eyes sparkled. "You had a crush on a boy?"

Anna blushed. "Yes. He was a stablehand. I never had the courage to tell him, but it wouldn't have worked, anyway."

"Why not?"

"He was infatuated with all the sailors who came through port."

Elsa stifled a laugh. Anna grinned.

"I haven't opened this since I last wrote in it, which I think was four years ago," Anna said. "Now I'm afraid to, because I know I'll just cringe at all the goofy things I wrote."

"Then why did you bring it?"

"Because I figured we could read it and have a good laugh."

 

Elsa had a servant bring in coffee, and they lounged on the bed in the most un-regal way, munching on chocolate and watching the sun set over the Atlantic. The window was open, and the wind, carrying the smell of the sea, was refreshing. Lanterns began to light up the town below.

"Do you sleep with your hair braided?" Elsa asked.

Anna shrugged. "Depends on what I feel like. Usually I'll go for a few days before undoing it."

"I do the same. Although sometimes I wonder what it would be like just to cut my hair short."

"Really?" Anna asked. "Hmm. I've never thought about it. Why don't you?"

Elsa shrugged. "It would be so unladylike, I'm not sure I have the courage."

"Isn't it strange how, even though you're the ruler, you still don't feel like you can do whatever you want?"

"Oh, believe me. That thought crosses my mind every day."

They watched the sun set. Although neither of them said it out loud, they were thinking the same thing, and they knew they were thinking the same thing: this sunset on the ocean was the perfect counterpoint to the sunset several days earlier in the mountains, viewed from the ice palace. Two sunsets: one at sea level, the other at the top of the sky.

The sounds of the town drifted up from below: the faint sounds of horses' hooves; the occasional shouts of the longshoremen; the laughter of people greeting one another in the pub after a hard day's work.

After the final bit of the sun's glowing disc disappeared, Elsa lay her head on her arms. "So, you have a secret chocolate stash," she said.

Anna let out a brief, mock-evil laugh. "Just enough to get me by."

"As queen, I should know all the secrets of my castle. So what's in this stash? And more importantly, where do you keep it?"

"Why do you need to know where I keep my secret stash?"

"In case the castle ever comes under siege. I need to know where all emergency rations are located."

"Uh huh," Anna said skeptically. "Well, Your Majesty, I keep my secret stash in my dressing bureau, buried beneath ladies' undergarments. So if you ever believe that you are about to starve, you may go there at any time and help yourself. Although you won't find anything there at the moment, because I brought the whole thing. The truffles are all I had." She gave Elsa a sidelong long. "But I would wager that you have a secret stash, too."

"Perhaps. I wouldn't call it a stash, more a pile of chocolate close to my bed so I don't have to raid the kitchen."

"That's the definition of a stash."

Elsa started to speak, thought for a second, then said, "Yes, so it is."

"And where do you keep your chocolate stash?"

"Is this when I pull rank and say I don't have to tell you?"

"Nope! I'm not gonna let you get away with that!"

Elsa grinned at her for a second, then said, "I keep it in the same place you do!"

They cackled with laughter.

The next thing Anna knew, Elsa hit her on the back with a pillow.

Anna squealed and dove for the other pillow. Elsa hit her again on the way by. Anna grabbed the other pillow and came up swinging.

They shrieked and laughed like little girls, wailing away. The fight lasted several minutes as they maneuvered around the bed.

Gerda frantically knocked on the door. "Your Majesty! Princess! Are you all right?"

Elsa held up her hand to Anna and walked to the door. She opened it, still red-faced and giggling, a couple of feathers clinging to her hair. "Yes, we're quite all right, Gerda. We're just having fun."

"Very well, Your Majesty," Gerda said. She curtsied and left.

Anna hit Elsa in the back while Elsa closed the door.

"Hey!" Elsa cried. "I called time out!"

"You didn't say it out loud!"

"That's not fair!"

The shrieking and hitting resumed, and they chased each other around the room. A minute later, Anna's pillow knocked one of the empty coffee mugs off the bedside table. It shattered on the floor.

They came to a sudden stop, both looking at the broken dish and each other with simultaneous looks of amusement and horror. Then they burst out laughing again.

 

"Thank you, Gerda," Elsa said, as Gerda swept the shattered coffee mug into a dust pan. Elsa stood near Gerda while Anna sat on the bed. The sisters still felt the adrenaline from the pillow fight flowing through them. Their faces glowed red and were full of mirth.

"That's quite all right, Your Highness," Gerda said cheerfully. "But I'll just take these dishes downstairs so you don't break any more."

"Anna's actually the one who broke it."

Anna's jaw dropped open, stunned that Elsa had actually said that. She raised the pillow menacingly. Elsa, holding back laughter, just gave her a triumphant grin.

"Oh, I imagine you both had something to do with it," Gerda said.

Anna nodded. She pointed at Gerda and gave Elsa a she-knows-what-she's-talking-about kind of look.

Gerda left and Elsa closed the door behind her. She turned to face Anna. Both still held their pillows.

"Truce?" Elsa asked.

Anna glared at Elsa, pretending to think about it. "Truce," she said. "But you lay down your pillow first."

"Why should I be first?"

"You were the initial aggressor."

Elsa thought about this. "True. But since then, the war has claimed casualties on both sides. So we lay down our arms together."

"Okay," Anna said after a moment.

Elsa walked to the bed as they eyed each other warily. They laid their pillows on the bed and let them go.

"There," Elsa said. "Peace once more!"

Anna grinned.

 

They lay under the covers in their night gowns, browsing Anna's diary.

"Oh, my gosh!" Anna exclaimed. "I'd forgotten that!"

"What?"

"The cook and the stablemaster were having an affair!"

"Seriously?"

"Yes! I wrote all about it. I'd completely forgotten!"

"Is it wrong that I want to read every glorious detail?"

"Not unless I'm wrong, too."

They eagerly read the scandalous story, as told by a younger Anna. It was all good fun until they came to the part where the spouses found out, then it was just sad.

As they went through the diary, Anna cringed at some things, and they laughed at others. Anna blithely skipped passages which spoke about Elsa shutting her out, but Elsa couldn't help noticing them as they went past.

Hours flew by as they alternated reading parts of the diary and just lying there, talking and laughing. It was exactly as Elsa had always wished. But even though they were having so much fun, they finally reached a point when they could hardly keep their eyes open.

Elsa set the book on the bedside table, blew out the lamp, and cuddled with Anna.

"This has been the most wonderful night of my whole life," Anna murmured.

"Me too," Elsa whispered, and kissed the top of her head.

They settled down to sleep. Elsa wept silently, not wanting to disturb Anna, as a lifelong dream was finally fulfilled, and her sister fell asleep in her arms, her head lying on Elsa's chest. Elsa struggled to stay awake as long as she could, to preserve this moment in her memory forever. She knew it would never happen again.

They were still lying in each other's arms when they awoke in the mid-morning sun.

 

"How much sleep did you actually get last night?" Kristoff asked as he and the sisters finished breakfast.

"A few hours," Anna said, stifling a yawn. "But don't worry. I'm awake enough to do whatever you want to do today."

"I sure hope so."

Servants cleared away the dishes.

"So, what do you have planned for me?" Anna asked.

"First, I thought we'd spend a few hours shoveling out the stables," Kristoff said. "After lunch, we'll scrub the deck of one of the navy's larger ships. Then we'll finish the day hauling fish in barrels onto the loading dock."

"I'll bet you talk to all the ladies that way," Anna said.

"Only you."

Anna turned to Elsa. "Is this what passes for romance in our modern age?"

"I wouldn't know," she said with a smile. "But it sounds like love to me."

Anna turned back to Kristoff. "So what are we really going to do?"

"Shovel stables, swab decks-"

Anna gave him the Princess Stare.

Kristoff smiled. "It's a surprise." He looked out the doorway and motioned for someone to come in.

Olaf entered carrying a bouquet of flowers. He set them in front of Anna.

"But it starts with flowers," Kristoff said.

"Oh my gosh!" Anna exclaimed. "These are beautiful!"

Elsa nodded.

"Lovely flowers for a lovely lady," Kristoff said.

Anna and Elsa looked at each other, clearly impressed. "He's such a gentleman!" Elsa said.

"He is!" Anna said. "Who knew?" She grinned at Kristoff and said, "They're lovely."

She looked down at Olaf and said, "I like your new nose. I see you stuck with carrots."

"I'm a traditionalist at heart," Olaf said.

Kristoff stood up and made ready to pull back Anna's chair for her. "So if you will come with me, Your Highness, your perfect day awaits."

"My perfect day?" Anna asked with a smile, standing up.

Kristoff offered his arm. "That's my goal, making today a perfect day."

Anna curtsied to Elsa and said, "If you will excuse us."

"But of course!"

Anna and Kristoff walked off, arm in arm.

"Making today a perfect day," Elsa muttered. "That phrase has a ring to it. I'll have to remember that for Anna's birthday."

 

They rode into the hills in a surrey pulled by Sven. Kristoff sang a number of songs on his lute, and Anna laughed at all of them. Some were a little more ribald than a princess would normally hear, causing Anna to blush and put her hand over her open mouth, but she still laughed.

They stopped and walked through the forest for a while. At one point they removed their shoes and waded in a creek, laughing and splashing each other a little.

Then they returned to the surrey and rode around until they found a nice meadow on a hillside overlooking the ocean. Kristoff spread a blanket on the grass, then pulled out a bottle of wine and two wine glasses, along with a basket containing bread, ham, cheese and grapes. They sat and had a marvelous picnic. Afterwards, Kristoff pulled out his lute and sang some more. Anna just gazed at him and smiled, and knew that she was hopelessly in love.

"Don't you know any love songs?" she finally asked.

"Me? Nah. I can sing you a song about a barmaid named Rosie and how she had a fling with a different guy every day of the week, but that's about as close as I can get."

She playfully slapped his shoulder and lay on her back, looking at the sky. "Hey, that cloud looks like Olaf!"

He lay next to her, and for the next few hours, they just talked about the future, and about the shapes they saw in the clouds. At one point, they dozed for a bit.

As the sun began to fall towards the horizon, they packed everything away and headed back to the castle. "We have one more stop to make," Kristoff said with a grin.

He asked a servant to stable Sven, then led Anna over the bridge towards the waterfall. And that's when his plan hit a snag. He felt Anna pull back a little.

He looked at her. She was tense.

"Hey," he said. "What's wrong?"

She was silent for a moment and licked her lips. "You're taking me up to Waterfall Point, aren't you?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah!" he said. "It's beautiful up there."

Anna looked awkward. She clearly did not want to upset him, but at the same time, she clearly did not want to proceed. "Hans proposed to me on Waterfall Point," she whispered.

"Oh," Kristoff said, his plans crashing down around him.

"I'm sorry, Kristoff, I really am. It's not you. It's just that that's such a bad memory for me. I haven't been up there since..."

Kristoff held her hands. "How many times throughout your life have you stood on Waterfall Point?"

"Hundreds."

"Were all those other times good memories?"

"Yes, but that's not the point. This particular memory is a really, really bad one." She looked down.

"Listen, Hans broke your heart, and he left you feeling humiliated. But he's a monster; he also hurt the rest of us; and most of all, he's not here. And I am here." He put a hand beneath her chin and gently raised her face. "He took enough, so don't give him any more. Waterfall Point is a distinctive part of this castle, and this town. It's yours and mine and Elsa's. And if you trust me, let me take you up there and give you a good memory of that place again. And the memory of you and me on Waterfall Point will replace any memory you have of him. Your memory of him will uproot and blow away like ashes on the wind."

Anna swallowed hard. Her entire world in that moment was Kristoff's kind and understanding face, made golden by the rays of the setting sun.

"I will never ask for anything again," she whispered. "How could I? I'm already the luckiest girl in the whole world."

Kristoff smiled. Together, hand in hand, they climbed to Waterfall Point. Anna stepped onto it with Kristoff, reclaiming it.

They looked out at the view all around them, with the water cascading on either side. Kristoff looked at Anna, and he knew that any thoughts of Hans had been completely banished from her mind.

They gazed at the sun sinking in the west. It was partially obscured by clouds, causing sunbeams to shine through the gaps. The undersides of the clouds were bathed in a deep, rich red.

"This is my second perfect sunset in a row," she said softly.

"Well, allow me to make it even more perfect." Still holding her hand, he knelt on one knee and looked up at her. "My dearest Anna, will you do me the honor and privilege of marrying me?"

Anna wept. "Yes," she said through her tears. "The honor and privilege would be all mine."

Kristoff stood and took her in his arms. They kissed for a long time, lost in each other.

They sat on Waterfall Point, holding and nuzzling each other, watching the sun set, watching the stars come out. They began kissing each other more urgently, and even more urgently. Then their passion took over, and they made the best memory they possibly could on Waterfall Point.