Archive of Our Own ^beta

Rapunzel had lived in the tower her whole life, which was horrible as it did little to satisfy her insatiable desire to explore. She had looked though every cupboard, climbed every wall, opened every door, and there was nothing more within that small world for her to explore. Even the few books her Mother kept on the shelves were tapped out. She could recite them by rote, read them in less than an hour as she got bored with stories and facts she already knew.

The walls and doors and cupboards and beds and stairs were covered in paintings and she had taken a kitchen knife and one of the logs in the fireplace to try her hand at carving. She could bake and sew and sing and play instruments. In her nearly eighteen years of life, she was sure she had adopted every hobby in the world trying to stave off her boredom. In all this, a chameleon she called Pascal was her constant companion and the only thing keeping her sane on her Mother's long jaunts from home.

A buzz of irritation hummed through her. Her Mother could leave the tower. She left it every day to gather food and other things. Just once, Rapunzel wanted to be able to go out and get her own paints. Or even just bring in the fire wood. She didn't think it was too much to ask.

But Mother was insistent that she remain in the tower. Where it was safe.

With a sigh of frustration, she lay back on her bed, recounting the stars she had painted on the ceiling. It wasn't like she had anything else to do.

Elsa stamped down her panic as she reached for another handhold, hoping that this one wouldn't crumble under her fingers this time. She could have been climbing the wall with ice spikes, but she didn't want to leave such obvious evidence that she had been here. With luck, the theft would be blamed on someone else.

It was hard to imagine that only a few years ago she was the crown princess of Arendelle. This wasn't where she was supposed to be, but she wasn't given a lot of choice. She didn't want to stay somewhere when everyone looked at her as if she was going to explode and destroy everything. Even her parents. For all the support they claimed to give, she could see they were afraid of her. After she had accidentally hit Anna with a blast of ice, it had taken months for her to get her powers back under control.

Anna. She hoped her sister was doing better since her absent older sister was gone. Maybe her parents would open the castle again because they weren't trying to contain their oldest daughter like a dirty secret. She hoped that Anna would take to the life of crown princess better than Elsa herself had. If nothing else, Anna was far more social and attentive than she was, and she would go out of her way to spend time with people in the town.

Elsa paused. She hoped that Anna wouldn't hate her if she ever went back.

Becoming a thief was not part of her plan, but again her parents had robbed her of options. There were posters up across the kingdoms with her adolescent face on them, and no one trusted a person who would not show their face as anything but a thief or a spy. She had originally intended to use her powers to support herself, but ice magic was too distinctive to use. She would be found out almost immediately and taken back to Arendelle.

There was a reward offered for her return, a not insubstantial reward that promised to make nobles out of beggars. It was merely another reason to hide her face. More than once, she had considered turning herself in for the reward if she had a guaranteed way to get out again, but that would require an accomplice.

That was one thing Elsa couldn't get anymore. It was too much of a risk to trust someone else. It was far easier working on her own. And it wasn't as though she didn't want to work with someone, to have someone watching her back. Especially for a job like this.

The crown of the Lost Princess of Corona. It was considered one of the most difficult standing contracts because the people who had tried it ended up in Corona's dungeons. Elsa hadn't even intended to go after it, not until Flynn Rider started bragging about getting it. She wasn't sure what it was about the man, but he annoyed her. There was something disingenuous about him, and it drove her to do things she normally wouldn't do just to get a glimpse of what he was under the smugness that radiated off him.

As soon as he said he was going after the crown, Elsa was determined to get it first.

That was why she was climbing the castle wall.

"It's a good score," she whispered to herself, trying to rationalize the madness that had brought her here. "If you get the crown, you don't have to steal any more. You can set yourself up in a little hut here in Corona and stop running."

The skeptical little voice in her head pointed out that she was living a pipe dream if she thought she could stop running. She ignored it.

Finally, she pulled herself up onto the wall and walked along the narrow ledge until she came to one of the arrow slits. She slipped through easily.

If nothing else, she thought ruefully, there's one benefit to not getting a lot to eat. I can get into places I normally shouldn't.

From her scouting mission earlier that week, she knew that the crown was sitting on a pedestal in the throne room under guard when the room is unoccupied. However, the guards faced the doors and they didn't bother to look back or up unless they heard something suspicious. And she had no intention of making any noise.

Elsa made her way through the rafters inside, sneaking through the castle until she was behind one of the banners hanging on the walls of the throne room. Pulling on a pair of worn leather gloves and setting the hook for her rope securely in the beam, she slowly made her way to the ground behind the thrones. The throne room was empty except for the guards and it was the perfect time to steal the crown.

She took a moment to center herself and check her surroundings after her feet hit the floor. There was no sound of the guards being alerted to her presence. Carefully, she slipped out from behind the banner and closer to the pedestal with the crown. She froze when one of the guards yawned, leaning towards the marginal cover of the thrones. But neither turned around.

She didn't even dare breathe as she lifted the crown from its velvet pillow, not until she was behind the banner once again. Even then, it was a quiet sigh as she slipped her prize into her satchel and began climbing the rope. She was almost away when there was a sudden shout of alarm, and she almost lost her grip on the rope. Elsa stilled, her heart hammering in her chest at the near failure. Armor clattered below, but the sounds were moving away from her. She resumed her climb until she was back on the rafter.

The alarm bells began to ring and Elsa had to remind herself that she hadn't yet been seen, that they didn't know who or what they were looking for.

And she certainly wasn't going to give them any clues.

She coiled the rope and slung it over her shoulder again, knowing she wouldn't be able to use it on her way out. Making a narrow bridge of ice, she crossed from one of the high windows to the castle wall, then she vanished the ice. On the ground on the far side of the wall, she created a large pile of snow and jumped. It was a trick she had learned long ago from Anna when they still played together: snow is a great thing to break a fall.

Like the bridge, Elsa melted the snow and let it seep into the ground. Then she vanished into the streets, heading for the thieves' route out of town.

Rapunzel wasn't sure if she would ever get tired of hide and seek with Pascal. The little chameleon was a true companion, better than anything she had read in any of her books. The only trouble with the game was that the tower only had so many places to hide.

Glancing under one of the pots in the kitchen, she hummed in disappointment when she found he wasn't there.

Pascal had been hurt when she found him, bleeding and breathing heavily. He'd latched onto her hair when she'd let it down for Mother to leave. She hadn't known what to do because this was a piece of the outside, something she had never been allowed to have on her own.

She had wrapped him up carefully, heedless of the blood that was getting on her hair, and healed him. When Mother came back that evening, Rapunzel didn't say a word about the little lizard. She had him tucked away behind her pillow, where he was currently sleeping.

Pascal was her first act of defiance.

She still hid him from Mother. She couldn't be sure that she wouldn't do something, and she didn't want to know what that might be.

Rapunzel swooped down next to the window, having spotted a little flash of green.

She opened the shutters quickly. Nothing.

"Well," she said loudly. "I guess Pascal isn't hiding out here."

She started to make as if she were walking away when she heard a quiet hiss. The little chameleon thought he had tricked her. With one tendril of hair, she lassoed his tail.

"Gotcha!" she cried triumphantly, hanging upside down from her hair. Pascal let out a surprised shriek before she lowered him to the windowsill. "Now what should we do? I'm getting a bit tired of hide and seek."

Pascal perked up and pointed outside with his tail.

"We can't. You know we can't. Or at least I can't. What would Mother say?"

Pascal let out a little groan. Clearly, he didn't like the idea of staying inside any more than he liked it any other day.

"Not today, Pascal. Soon maybe, but not today."

She started going about her regular routine: cleaning, reading, painting, practicing her favorite hobbies, and making sure her hair was clean. Maybe it was a part of the magic, but it never gathered dirt or anything, no matter how much she used it or dragged it around.

As she finished brushing it, she turned to Pascal. "I'm going to ask her today. I have to. This is my last chance."

She glanced up at the painting she had finished, an image of her sitting up in a tree and watching the floating lights. There was no tower to be seen. Mother wasn't there either, but Mother didn't feature in many of her pictures. Deep down, Rapunzel was sure this was because she was afraid of what Mother might say about the depiction.

"Rapunzel!" She suddenly heard her Mother's sing-song voice outside. "Let down your hair!"

For a moment, Rapunzel's heart stopped. No, she thought frantically. I'm not ready yet.

"Don't let her see you," she whispered, placing Pascal on the newest painting and launching herself towards the window.

"I'm not getting any younger down here!"

"Coming, Mother!" Rapunzel called back. She flung a large strand of hair over the hook above the window and lowered it within reach of her Mother. Then she smoothly pulled her up. Flashing a smile, she said, "Welcome home, Mother."

"Rapunzel, how you manage to do that every day without fail! It looks exhausting, darling."

"Oh, it's nothing." Privately, she was glad that her Mother had noticed the effort she put into making the ride easy. She had figured out the basics of mechanical physics from one of the books Mother brought for her. But although the hook made lifting objects or people a little easier, it still took a lot of strength and effort on Rapunzel's part to make them move.

"Then I don't know why it takes so long." Mother laughed, and Rapunzel felt a stab of betrayal in her gut. "I'm just teasing," she added as an afterthought.

It did little to make the sick feeling in Rapunzel's gut go away. She pushed it aside as she always did, offering a half-hearted chuckle of her own. "Alright, so, Mother, as you know, tomorrow is a very special day..."

"Rapunzel, look in that mirror. What do you see?" Without waiting for an answer, Mother replied, "I see a strong, confident, beautiful young lady."

Rapunzel had only a moment to take in her gold hair and green eyes before Mother added, "Oh, look, you're here too."

It was a deeper cut than before, leaving Rapunzel reeling.

"I'm just teasing," Mother repeated. "Stop taking everything so seriously." She laughed off the incident.

Again, Rapunzel pushed the slight aside, pressing for the heart of the matter. "Okay, so, Mother, as I was saying..."

Mother cut her off. "Rapunzel, dear, Mother's feeling a little run down. Would you sing for me? That'll do."

Clearly the conversation wasn't going to go anywhere until Mother had everything she needed. Eager to get to her own business, Rapunzel hurried to set everything up. Besides, the flash of confused panic on her Mother's face at the speed at which she took the song was a little bit of revenge for the teasing comments.

"So, Mother, earlier I was saying tomorrow's a pretty big day and you didn't really respond so I'm just going to tell you. It's my birthday!"

"No, no, no, can't be," Mother said with a smile. "I distinctly remember: your birthday was last year."

Rapunzel allowed herself to relax. This was more normal joking. She hadn't really forgotten. She never did.

"That's the thing about birthdays," Rapunzel chuckled. "They're kind of an annual thing." A thrill of panic fluttered through her as she pressed on. "So, uh, I'm turning eighteen this year and I wanted to ask...what I really want for this birthday..." Her voice dropped. "What I've wanted for quite a few birthdays actually..."

"Rapunzel, stop with the mumbling. You know I hate mumbling—blah, blah, blah, it's very annoying." Mother changed tracks as suddenly as if someone had flipped a switch. "I'm just teasing, you're adorable. I love you so much!"

Rapunzel paused, taken aback by the abrupt change in her Mother's demeanor. She glanced over at Pascal, cowering behind a curtain. He nodded at her.

"I want to see the floating lights!" she blurted, pushing all of her nervous energy into the admission.

"What?"

Suddenly cowed by her Mother's response, she backtracked. "Well, I was hoping you would take me to see the floating lights."

"Oh. You mean the stars."

Rapunzel winced. "That's the thing. I've charted stars and they're always constant. But these...they appear every year on my birthday, ONLY on my birthday, and I can't help but feel that they're meant for me..."

She gazed up at her painting, at the little Rapunzel watching the floating lights from the top of a tree. "I need to see them, Mother, and not just from my window. In person." She paused realization settling on her soul. "I have to know what they are."

"You want to go outside? I've told you what's out there. It's a dangerous place, full of ruffians and thugs. You wouldn't survive a day There are thieves and cutthroats out there, people who wouldn't care about another person unless there was something in it for them. I can't even bear to tell you all of the horrible things that exist beyond this tower; it's too much!"

"But I've been in this tower my whole life. I can't remember ever going outside, not even to the ground surrounding the tower. You go out there all the time! Why can't I?"

"You know why! They would try to use you for your gift. They would lock you away in a dungeon somewhere where I couldn't find you, they'd feed you only enough to keep you alive!" Mother suddenly burst into tears. "I wouldn't be able find you. I can't handle not knowing that you're safe!"

"But Mother—"

"NO! Promise me!" Mother demanded suddenly, still managing to look beautiful with tear streaks down her face. "Promise me you won't ever ask to leave the tower again!"

Rapunzel froze, something at the very core of her being rebelling against the thought of never leaving the tower. But her Mother was upset, was afraid for her. Perhaps it would be better.

Besides, she only asked her to promise that she wouldn't ask to leave the tower again.

"I promise, Mother."

Her Mother relaxed, pulling her into a hug and placing a kiss in her hair. "I love you very much, my dear."

Rapunzel sighed, easily falling into their pattern. "I love you more."

"I love you most."

After that, Rapunzel sat off to the side, watching as her Mother gathered money from the pot in the pantry and checked their stores. She'd been gone for a couple of days and they needed a few supplies in the tower. Within an hour, she was back at the window and Rapunzel was lowering her down again.

"I'll see you in a bit, my flower!" Mother called up to her.

"I'll be here," Rapunzel replied, barely managing to stifle the disappointment in her tone. Fortunately, Mother was already too far away to hear. Once she was out of the hidden valley, Rapunzel slumped on the windowsill, idly petting Pascal to stifle the overwhelming fatigue that settled in her bones.

Finally, she turned away from the window, placing Pascal on her shoulder. "Let's go have some of those cookies I made."

Elsa wanted to kill Flynn Rider. She knew she would never actually do it, but she wanted to at that moment.

She could trip him, let the guards chasing them have him. It would serve him right, and someone might take pity on pretty-boy and spring him before the palace guard got around to executing him. It was his fault they were chasing them anyway.

She'd made a clean break from the castle. No one had seen her. No one even knew that she had been there but for the missing crown.

And then Rider spotted her on the road out of town, freshly glutted on the news that the crown had already been stolen. He'd opened his big mouth, and now they were both running.

It would be easy to lose him. Far too easy. A little bit of ice under his boot and the guards galloping behind them would come upon him and his fast fingers first.

For the fourth time in the last ten minutes, she checked to make sure that the satchel with the crown was still at her side and the crown was still in it. Rider had started out as a pickpocket first, and she couldn't afford to underestimate his light fingers. He displayed the skill often enough in the Snuggly Duckling, making a game of pickpocketing the largest and scariest person in the room. He usually gave the stuff back, but she wasn't in the tavern at the moment, and she didn't trust him around a bounty as big as the crown of the Lost Princess of Corona.

She suppressed the overwhelming desire to curse as she skidded to a halt at the edge of a cliff. Flynn, only steps behind her, curved to the right and began making his way along the edge of the cliff away from the guards.

Elsa allowed herself only a moment's hesitation before leaping off the cliff, praying that her powers would be quick enough to save her life. She applied a thick layer of ice to the side of the cliff as it angled towards her. She hit the ice and slid, taking the momentary reprieve from certain death to create a snowbank at the bottom, full of the soft powdery snow that would halt her progress without pain. She hit with an explosion of white and lay there for a moment to let her body rediscover solid ground.

Above, she heard the echo of a shout, but there was a layer of fog between the top of the cliff and her. Taking in a steadying breath, she vanished the snow and started into the forest anew, knowing that the guards would be looking for her body at the bottom of the cliff.

She checked her satchel again.

"Good," she muttered aloud. "It's still there."

The crown sparkled in the dim light and Elsa frowned at it. Going after it was a bad idea all around. Yes, she had it now, and she could probably collect on the contract, but a crown was a reminder of the things she left behind, of the people she had abandoned, of Anna. She closed the satchel, a slight dizzy spell coming over her. She tried to brace herself against an ivy-covered rock, but her hand went through the ivy and into open air.

Curious, she pushed through it and into a hidden valley with a tower standing in the middle of it.

It's like a secret home, she thought. With a sudden rush of longing, she walked towards the tower, circling it. There appeared to be no entrance to the building other than the open window at the top. Elsa sighed and began to climb. Anna would love something like this.

It was surprisingly easy to climb the tower, though she imagined few would do so. The climb was a bit trickier near the top, where the tower bloomed out like a rose. For that, she created a thin platform of ice, just enough to support her weight as she pulled herself up onto the windowsill.

She climbed inside and vanished the ice. She was just turning around when she felt a sharp pain in the side of her head, followed by blackness.

Rapunzel let out a little shriek of fear when the person crumpled to the ground. She was still brandishing the frying pan, clutching it like her life depended on it. This was the second time the outside had come in and Rapunzel had nothing to do with this one.

She thought it was a person, anyway. It was person-shaped, and she could clearly see people hands and boot-clad feet. But they were wearing something on their head that hid their face. She couldn't even tell if it was a man or a woman. Not, she mentally noted, that she had ever seen a man.

With one trembling hand as the other was still holding the frying pan just in case, Rapunzel peeled back the concealing headscarf.

White hair. That's what she saw first. She didn't know hair could be white, but this person's hair was definitely white like snow. They also had pale skin and dark lashes and brows. The person had a soft face, a bit like her own, but thinner. It was definitely a woman.

Rapunzel immediately felt bad for hitting her with a frying pan, though a flash of defiance shot through her.

"You shouldn't be climbing through people's windows!" she scolded the unconscious woman. The woman didn't stir. Rapunzel turned to Pascal. "What should we do with her?"

Pascal gave her a reptile shrug before pointing his tail in the direction of the closet.

"Good idea." Setting down the frying pan, she bent to pick the strange woman up. She was surprisingly light, much lighter than Mother, though she looked about the same size. Rapunzel wondered if her Mother would look as small as this woman in Rapunzel's arms.

She set her down in the closet, folded up against the back. Pascal brought the headscarf over and she tossed it inside before closing the door and shoving a chair under the handles.

"I have a person in my closet," she whispered, turning over the phrase in her head. "I have a person in my closet. A person from outside is trapped in my closet." She glanced at Pascal, then to the satchel on the floor.

Curious, she padded over to it. There wasn't much inside. A rope with a hook attached to one end. She set that to the side. It was easy enough to tell that it was for climbing. No mystery there. There was a pair of soft leather gloves as well. Rapunzel tried one on. It fit well enough, neither too tight nor too loose. She and her mysterious invader had similarly sized hands. The glove had a light chill that sent a shiver up her spine. She took it off again and set it to the side with the rope.

In the bottom of the satchel was something unlike anything she had ever seen before. It was a circle of metal with bits of colored glass or crystal. It was far too big to be a bracelet, and the large crystals didn't really do much in their configuration. She glanced at her reflection. The circle was, after all, just the right size for a hat.

It was odd. The strange hat thing had weight to it and it was unlike any hat she had ever made and worn. But there was an odd sense of familiarity to the situation, a rightness as she looked at the strange metal circle sitting on her hair.

"Rapunzel!"

Rapunzel startled, whipping the strange hat off her head and shoving it, the satchel, the rope, and the gloves into a nearby vase.

"Let down your hair!"

"One moment, Mother." She glanced around, frantically trying to make sure that the evidence of their strange visitor was gone. Other than the chair in front of the closet, nothing was out of place.

"I have a big surprise," Mother called.

Glancing back at the closet, she shouted back, "I do, too."

"I bet my surprise is bigger!"

Under her breath, Rapunzel whispered, "I seriously doubt that."

As soon as Mother appeared over the windowsill, she brandished the basket. "I brought back parsnips. I'm making hazelnut soup for dinner. Your favorite! Surprise!"

With another quick glance at the closet, Rapunzel steeled her resolve. "Well, Mother, there's something I want to tell you..."

As if she hadn't heard her, her Mother went on, "Oh, Rapunzel, you know I hate leaving you after a fight, especially when I've done absolutely nothing wrong."

Rapunzel winced. "Okay, but I've been thinking a lot about what you said earlier and—"

"I hope this isn't about the stars."

"Floating lights," she corrected automatically. "And, yes, I'm leading up to that, and—"

"Because I really thought we dropped the issue," Mother cut in with a slight sing-song tone.

"No, Mother, I'm just saying you think I'm not strong enough to handle myself out there—"

"Oh, I know you're not strong enough to handle yourself out there." Her Mother's tone was low and... not exactly menacing, but dismissive. The sick feeling in Rapunzel's gut returned.

"But if you just—"

"Rapunzel, we are done talking about this."

"Trust me!" She pleaded.

"Rapunzel."

"I know what I'm saying—" She reached for the chair, ready to pull it away and show her Mother the outsider that had come into the tower.

"Rapunzel."

"Come on!"

Mother suddenly exploded. "Enough with the lights, Rapunzel! You are not leaving this tower! Ever!"

Rapunzel froze, her hand slipping from the chair to curl up defensively under her chin. So this was the kind of woman her Mother was when pressed. She didn't like this person. She didn't trust this person. And she didn't trust this person with the person in the closet.

Mother sighed, massaging her head. "Great. Now I'm the bad guy." She said it as if that constituted an apology. Or she wanted an apology from Rapunzel. The ache in her gut deepened.

"All I was going to say, Mother, is that I know what I want for my birthday."

"And what is that?" Mother asked, a tinge of frustration still edging into her voice.

"New paint. Made from the white shells you once brought me."

Mother sighed again. "Well that is a very long trip, Rapunzel. Almost three days' time."

The clenching in her gut tightened as she replied, "I just thought it was a better idea than the...stars."

Almost immediately, the tension bled out of the room. "You're sure you'll be alright on your own?"

Rapunzel let a weak smile slip onto her face. "I know I'm safe as long as I'm here."

She packed a basket with food for a three-day journey quietly and carefully. Then she handed it to her Mother after she had fastened on her cloak.

"I'll be back in three days' time," Mother said softly. "I love you very much, dear."

"I love you more."

"I love you most."

Rapunzel stayed at the window until her Mother was out of sight before rushing back to the closet. She pulled the chair away and opened it, looking down at the still unconscious woman.

"I think I need her help, Pascal," she whispered. "I want to see those floating lights."

Rapunzel set to work tying the strange woman to a chair and pulling her in the middle of the main room. Then she hid while Pascal crawled up the woman's arm, using his tail whipping against her cheek to wake her up.

Elsa woke abruptly to the feel of something leathery slapping against her face. She wanted to be cautious, to take stock of the situation and approach it rationally, but the first thing her senses latched on was the fact that she was tied down and couldn't see anything beyond the large circle of light she was sitting in.

She panicked.

From back in Arendelle, she knew that her control of her powers slipped when she was afraid, but she had never experienced a full-blown panic attack before. The cold radiated off her in waves, sending little bits of snow and frost spiraling out from the chair she was tied to.

Somewhere out in the darkness, there was a sharp intake of breath and she glanced up, trying to see who had trapped her.

"Are... are you okay?" a voice asked. A quiet feminine voice. Just one.

It did little to calm her, visions of Anna flitting through her head. Suddenly, Anna was the only thing she could see out in the darkness.

"No, please," she pleaded. "Stay away! I don't want to hurt you again!"

"What?" The figure stepped out into the light and the image of Anna melted away. This girl was clearly not Anna. They looked nothing alike, though in the few words this girl had said she could see they had similar personalities. But this girl was blond with hair so long it disappeared back into the darkness and looped back into the light again several times. The girl was brandishing a frying pan of all things, though her grip on it was loose. The threat of the weapon was clear, and probably accounted for the throbbing headache at the edge of her skull.

Briefly, Elsa's panic stopped and found herself blurting out, "Just how long is your hair?"

"Oh, um..." The girl backed away. "You can't have it!"

"Why would I want your hair?" Elsa could feel her control slipping back into place, though it didn't help the chair she was tied to, as it only held together by the ice at this point. She blinked as a small green chameleon climbed up the girl's hair and perched on her shoulder. She decided she might not want all the answers. "Never mind. Would you please untie me?"

"Um. Not yet?" The girl said it as a question, but Elsa knew that she wouldn't budge on the matter until pressed. Anna was the same way, cautious until she saw if the person was angry, but she would dig in her heels and stand by her decision come whatever.

Elsa sighed. "Okay, fine. Is this still the tower?"

"Yes?"

"Then I know why you tied me up. I thought the place was abandoned. Clearly, I was wrong. I was just looking for some place to lie low while the guards are out looking for me."

"Why would guards be looking for you?" The little chameleon on the girl's shoulder fixed her with a reproachful look.

A small bark of laughter escaped Elsa's lips before she could stop it. "Oh, for several reasons, but most recently because I stole a crown."

The girl glanced furtively at something beyond the circle of light. "Is that what a crown is? I thought it was some special kind of hat or something. Wait, you're a thief?" The girl scrambled away back into the darkness.

"Not by choice," Elsa replied automatically. "Look, if you'll just untie me, I'll leave and you'll never have to see me again."

"No!" The girl scrambled back into view. "I— I need you help!"

She tossed a long strand of hair, catching some kind of lever in the darkness and pulled. Suddenly the interior of the tower lit up and Elsa could see her surroundings.

She noticed the hair first, now that she had a better view. It trailed from one end of the room to the other, zig-zagging and folding over on itself. Part of it was keeping her tied to the chair. The strange girl hopped across the room, swinging from one strand of that hair until she was standing on the mantle and pulling back a curtain hanging there, setting down the frying pan with the chameleon sitting in it.

"Do you know what these are?" she asked, pointing to the yellow circles painted in a night sky.

"It looks like that lantern festival they do in Corona for the Lost Princess. Why?"

The girl muttered something excitedly to herself. "I want to see them. Up close and in person. But I don't know how to get there on my own, and it's happening tomorrow."

"You need a guide."

The girl nodded vigorously, a hopeful look on her face.

Do you want to build a snowman?

Elsa was caught off-guard by the sudden reminder of Anna, by the sound of her voice on the other side of the door asking Elsa to come out and play, even though their parents stressed it was too dangerous for Anna to play with her anymore.

It wasn't Anna—Anna should be back in Arendelle—but this was someone who needed her help, who needed her companionship. And this girl was so sheltered, she didn't even know what a crown was.

"You realize you'll have to untie me before I can take you anywhere."

"So you will?"

"Sure. I don't really have anything else planned and I..." Elsa caught sight of her headscarf laying on the ground near a small wardrobe and time seemed to grind to a halt. "Oh."

The girl tensed. "What?"

"It's just... I didn't realize... you took off my scarf."

"Oh. Is that a problem?"

Elsa considered this, trying to gather her thoughts which had fallen to pieces the moment she recognized the scarf. She glanced up at the strange girl, searching for some spark of recognition or something to indicate that Elsa should run. But there was nothing there. Her face was open, and there was nothing in it to say that she knew Elsa was on the run any more than she had told her, and she hoped that, if this girl ever found out about it, she wouldn't try to collect the reward from Arendelle.

"No," Elsa said finally, trying to bring herself back under control again. "It's just... It's been years since I took it off around anyone else. I didn't even realize it was gone..."

"Are you okay?"

"Yes." The question allowed Elsa to gain the focus she needed to center herself again. "Yes, I'm fine. And I will take you to Corona to see the lanterns."

"Great!" the girl squealed, clapping her hands excitedly. A flash of green appeared on the table beside her and she scooped it up, dancing around.

"Um, could you untie me?"

The girl paused, sheepishly turning back to her and unwinding the hair. "Sorry about that. I'm Rapunzel, by the way." She held up the chameleon in one hand. "And this is Pascal."

"My name is Elsa." She offered Rapunzel a small curtsy, which was enthusiastically returned. "Do you have my satchel around here somewhere? I'll need to make a stop along the way to collect on the contract for the crown, but I can't do that if I don't have it."

"Oh, of course!" She pulled the satchel and crown out of a large vase on the floor near the table and handed them to Elsa. "Sorry about hitting you."

Elsa gingerly touched the lump on her head, applying a little bit of a chill to the area to ease the swelling. "At least you know how to protect yourself. It's not going to be an easy journey for us, not with that stop we need to make. Get what you need for a couple days travel and we can get moving."

Without further prompting, Rapunzel raced up the stairs and through a curtained doorway.

Rapunzel wanted to dance with glee, and she was practically doing that already. She was going to see the floating lights, the lanterns. She would be in Corona when she saw them this time. And she knew what they meant!

A Lost Princess. It sounded like one of the stories in her book, like a fairy tale. She had been dreaming her whole life about those lights and now her dream was coming true.

She glanced back down the stairs at Elsa. The woman was strange, a mystery beyond what she had already told Rapunzel, and there was something weird going on with that ice.

Pascal looked up at her from his place on her bed.

"I won't ask about it," she told him. "I mean, we have secrets too, and she probably wouldn't want to tell a stranger about something like that. It could be personal."

Pascal waggled his head back and forth, then nodded to indicate his agreement with her chosen course of action.

"Good," she replied. "Good."

She glanced around the room blankly. With a sigh, she went back out onto the stairs.

"I've never gone on a trip," she confessed to Elsa. "What should I bring?"

Elsa blinked at her. "Oh. Well, since it's going to be at least a day, a change of clothes would probably be good. Even without the contract for the crown, I think I can handle food for both of us in the city, so we don't need that. Maybe a brush, I suppose? In fact, it would probably be easier to put your hair up so it doesn't drag on the ground."

"Put it up?" Rapunzel had read the phrase before, but she never understood what it meant.

"Style it." Elsa frowned at the look of unrecognition on Rapunzel's face. "Like my hair." She lifted the thick, neatly twisted hair. "This is a braid. It keeps my hair contained and out of my face. You have a lot more hair, so it would be more difficult, but I don't think it would be impossible."

"But how would we get down?" Rapunzel asked.

"There has to be a door on this tower somewhere. It doesn't make sense to build a tower without a door," Elsa reasoned, beginning to pace. "At worst, I have a rope. Why would you ever need to use your hair for that?"

"Mother does."

Again, Elsa frowned, causing Rapunzel to flinch. She had never questioned when Mother insisted that her hair could be used to get in and out of the tower. At the time, Mother had said it was more secure that way, that Rapunzel would be safer if no one could find the door. The door...

"There is a door," she said, venturing back down the stairs. "Before my hair was long enough to reach the bottom of the tower, that's how she used to get in and out. But she hid it. I don't even really remember where it is, just that it's under one of the floor stones."

"I can probably find it. You can go gather a change of clothes and then we'll see what we can do about your hair."

Rapunzel paused on the last stair. "Oh. Okay."

Turning, she went back up to her room, listening to the rhythmic tapping as she grabbed a dress and stuffed it into a bag she had made. After a moment, she grabbed another dress, this one in blue, for Elsa.

"We look about the same size," she told Pascal, shrugging as she slung the bag over her shoulder. "And it doesn't look like she has a change of clothes. It only makes sense to do or have something to pay her back for taking me."

Pascal shrugged back, then crawled across the blankets to her. She picked him up and set him on her shoulder.

"Found it," Elsa called from below.

"Coming!"

Rapunzel raced down the stairs. She noticed the hole in the floor immediately.

"I don't blame you for forgetting about it," Elsa was saying. "It was sealed pretty tight. I had to use a knife to get it out." She looked up at Rapunzel. "But before we should see to your hair first. You wouldn't want to trip on it in the dark."

She nodded, crossing to the table and picking up a brush. She held it out to Elsa, who set down her satchel and took it.

"So," Elsa said slowly. "How do you want me to do this? Most of what I know how to do are braids and braided crowns, although I don't really have any pins for that with me. I could do one thick braid or I could do more than one, but that would take a bit of work."

Rapunzel glanced up into Elsa's eyes and said something she couldn't recall ever saying in her life. "I trust you." Then she sat down on a stool, putting Pascal down on the table where he could watch.

Elsa's eyes widened, but she nodded, slipping around behind her to get to work. As the brush pulled gently through her hair, Rapunzel had to stop herself from singing. She couldn't recall a time when Mother just brushed her hair to brush it, not to take advantage of its magical properties. Still, silence felt wrong to her when someone was brushing her hair.

"So," she said quietly. "You're a thief?"

"Not by choice. I didn't have a lot of options when I left home, and those I had didn't bear thinking about," Elsa replied. "It wasn't easy—it still isn't—but I'm getting by. Things can get a bit tight, but I have a moderate amount of success with this. And I never take from someone who can't afford to replace what I take. I usually don't take sentimental items either but..."

Rapunzel could imagine Elsa biting her lip. She could almost feel the glance at the satchel. "But?" she prompted.

"It's silly. And more than a little petty. There's this other thief. Flynn Rider." Behind her, Elsa let out a heavy sigh. "He thinks he's charming and debonair and everything, but it just feels wrong to me. As if there is something he's lying to everyone about. Maybe it's just that his charms don't work on me. I don't know. But he said that he was going after the crown and I just... I didn't want him to have it. He has no idea what a crown means, not only to the people but to the king and queen. I feel terrible for taking it because it means that I took the hope they have that their daughter will come back."

Elsa stilled. "I almost want to take it back, just so they would have it. It's not right to give it up to someone who just wants to sell it for the gold and jewels. It's a crown."

"What does a crown mean exactly?" Rapunzel asked.

"Oh, well, it's a visual symbol of power, but also of servitude. Rulers have a duty to serve their people as much as they have the right to command them. The Lost Princess, if they ever find her, is Corona's heir. They don't have another one who can rule after they die, and countries left without a proper heir often fall into chaos and civil war. It's part of why finding her is so important. You see, the crown isn't nearly as important as the person wearing it."

"If it bothers you so much, maybe you could give it back."

"Maybe." Elsa went quiet, still working on Rapunzel's hair. Before she could start up a new conversation, however, Elsa stood and said, "There. That should do for a while anyway. What do you think?"

Rapunzel reached back to feel the thick rope of hair hanging down her back. She stood and crossed to the mirror, feeling that it was somehow easier to walk with it since it was so contained. She pulled the braid in front of her so she could look at it. It was no thicker than her wrist. That was the first thing she noticed. For all the hair woven into it, it was remarkably thin and compact. She flicked her wrist out, catching the chair exactly as she would have with her hair loose.

"We can wind it up," Elsa said, coming up behind her. "Then you can carry it over your shoulder or around your waist. That should take some of the weight off of your neck. And it looks like you can still use it the way you have been."

Rapunzel began winding the braid up. "I'll carry it over my shoulder. I want to be able to use it if I need it."

Once the braid was in place on her shoulder, Rapunzel slipped the frying pan into her bag, picked Pascal up off the table again, and nodded to Elsa.

"I'm ready to go," she declared, unable to suppress an excited shiver.

"Then let's go!"

Elsa had found a lantern in the tower and lit it so they would be able to see in the dark on their way down the ladder. The room at the bottom of the tower was cold and eerie in the green light from the lantern, but there was a doorway built into the wall and filled with stone.

"Stay back a minute," Elsa said, handing Rapunzel the lantern. "I can take care of this."

As Rapunzel watched, she began pushing the stones out of the doorway, letting in the light from outside. Soon, they all began to tumble away. She gasped as she caught sight of the outside, so much closer than from her window.

Elsa watched as Rapunzel raced out into the sunshine, marveling at everything. She didn't know what it why everything seemed so marvelous to her, but it reminded Elsa of when she left home. After years of living inside, it was almost a shock to see that the world looked so similar and so different to how she remembered.

Given some things Rapunzel had said, Elsa wondered if the girl had ever been outside. Her reaction indicated that she hadn't.

Her excitement dimmed as they got further from the tower. She kept casting furtive glances back the way they had come, at times pausing with a look of guilt on her face. There were several moments when Rapunzel opened her mouth, looking as though she was going to demand they go back, but remained silent. She looked so despondent at one point that Elsa was determined to discover the heart of the matter.

"What's wrong?" she asked, sidling up beside her.

"It's just... I've never left the tower before. Ever. Mother always said it wasn't safe and I just... I'm ashamed of the fact that I've left it against her express wishes."

Elsa blinked. The girl may have reminded her of Anna, but the circumstances were very like her own. She inhaled a deep breath and tugged on the end of her braid. "I understand. It can be hard leaving home, especially when you know that it will hurt someone you love. But sometimes you have to go because you don't know what kind of person you would be if you stayed. I was..." She paused, unsure how much of her background she wanted to go into.

"You were...?" Rapunzel prompted.

"At home, I was in a similar situation. I couldn't go anywhere and I was told it was for my safety and the safety of others, but it got to a point that my parents were smothering me in the pursuit of keeping everyone safe. And the isolation was, to me, worse than the uncertainty that running away would cause. As I've said, I didn't mean to become a thief, but it was one of my only options without the support of my parents. I know they're still out looking for me, but I can't go back. Not now anyway."

She glanced over at Rapunzel to see the kind of effect her words were having. Rapunzel looked thoughtful, not entirely convinced that everything was alright, but hopeful that things would be okay in the end.

"So where are you from?" Rapunzel asked. "Originally, I mean."

"Originally, Arendelle. Lately, I come from wherever I think people aren't from. If anyone asks you where you're from, you tell them somewhere that is too big for you to know everyone. Around here, that would be the main city of Corona, Isleport." Elsa paused, thinking of something else she needed to mention. "And when we make the stop at the Snuggly Duckling, the people there know me as Maya, not Elsa. So whenever I have the scarf on, refer to me as Maya unless I say otherwise."

"The Snuggly Duckling?" Rapunzel was clearly stifling a giggle.

"It's a bit of misdirection on the part of the owner. The usual clientele is anything but snuggly, but they shouldn't bother you since you're with me. Just make sure you have access to your frying pan at all times."

They broke through the trees and out onto the road less than a mile from the thieves' inn, and Elsa checked to make sure her head scarf was on correctly, tucked into place and firmly secured. They took the path in silence, completely focused on the task ahead, getting the crown to the buyer and continuing on to the heart of Corona for the lantern festival. The day was quiet and the sun was high, filtering through the trees to make interesting patterns of light on the ground.

Almost too soon, Elsa caught sight of the sign of the Snuggly Duckling ahead and pointed it out to Rapunzel. As she pushed open the door of the inn itself, all activity slowed.

"Maya!" Someone called from the back of the dimly lit room. "Long time no see. Where have you been?"

"Here and there," Elsa replied. "Stealing here and fencing there. I'm here on a bit of business though. Is Alden around?"

A voice from the top of the stairs answered. "Right here, although I don't know why you would need me. I haven't sent you on any errands recently."

Elsa could feel every eye in the room on her, but she stood tall in spite of it. "You have an outstanding contract, I understand. The Crown of the Lost Princess."

Alden came down into the dim light. He was a lean man, all arms and legs and he reminded Elsa quite severely of a spider. This was not someone she wanted to cross. He drew himself to his full height, which was more than a head and shoulders taller than her, and looked down his nose at her. "Rider has already stated his intention to get the Crown. He set out for it just this morning."

"He came a bit late. I met him on the way out." With a flourish, Elsa produced the crown from her bag and held it up in the light for Alden to inspect. She knew better than to let go of it in present company, though it was undoubtedly her prize. Alden was the only fence in the area willing to touch the thing and, even if someone stole it, she would still get a sizable finders' fee for bringing it before him.

He let out a dry chuckle that sounded more like hissing than laughter. The sound made Elsa's skin crawl. "I always knew your talents were wasted with petty thefts, Maya. It takes one thief in a thousand to successfully pull off that job on their own. Even Rider set out with people to help him."

He drew a large sack of coins from an inner pocket, larger than any Elsa had seen. Not even nobles would carry around that amount of coin for fear of being robbed. A ghost of suspicion passed through her at the thought of carrying it with her for any distance. Alden could very easily have accomplices to take back the money once she was gone, and no one would wonder why Maya the thief suddenly disappeared with a large sack of gold.

Still, she took the sack and nodded her head in thanks for it. It was enough to see to her wellbeing for quite some time, and she intended to take advantage of it. She turned away, glancing around the room for Rapunzel. She was a bit surprised to see the girl taking to Wallace, the hook-handed man.

"Can I hear?" she was saying. "I would love to hear you play."

Wallace looked down at her in surprise. "I think that's the first time someone has actually asked me to play for them." His face lit up and he moved over to the piano. "Any requests?"

Rapunzel looked suddenly flustered. "I don't know that many songs. How about you play me your favorite?"

Wallace nodded to himself, then fixed the room with a threatening glare. "The first one who laughs is a dead man!" Then he sat at the piano and began to play.

The soft, sweet melody was in conflict with his rough appearance, but Rapunzel seemed not to notice that, so engrossed was she in the music. Then, in a rough voice, Wallace began to sing.

"Here we are again, my friend.
Still chasing dreams down that horizon
I thought we knew where we would be
And how our stories would end.

"Yet here we are
Still fighting monsters in our minds
Here we are
Still so afraid
Here we are
Still watching clouds stuck on the ground
With wooden swords, we're still afraid to dream

"Full of grand old plans were we
We had the world set out before us
It seems we're stuck back at the start
And nothing's changed for far too long.

"And here we are
Still fighting monsters in our minds
Here we are
Still so afraid
Here we are
Still watching clouds stuck on the ground
With wooden swords, we're still afraid to dream.

"We spent the years playing at being heroes
We wasted time trying to be the best
We never talked of what we really wanted in our lives
We didn't think we'd end up right where we began
But here we are

"Yes, here we are
Still fighting monsters in our minds
Here we are
Still so afraid
Here we are
Still watching clouds stuck on the ground
With wooden swords, we're still afraid to dream.

"Here we are
Can we fight monsters for a while?
Here we are
We're not afraid
Here we are
We're in the clouds and flying high
When we let go, then we can dare to dream."

The room was silent. As threatened, no one laughed, but for a room of thieves and cut-throats, there were remarkably few dry eyes. Wallace didn't look up from the piano, though he did cast a small glance in Rapunzel's direction.

For her part, Rapunzel was sitting in her chair with her eyes sparkling.

The spell was broken, however, when the door opened quickly and slammed shut.

"Guards!" The man at the door said, huffing to catch his breath. "Royal guards coming here!"

Elsa startled and looked around for Alden. He had disappeared. Cursing, she shoved the bag of coins into her satchel and moved quickly over to Rapunzel. "Wallace," she said quickly. "We need to use the back door."

Rapunzel looked around the room, seeing only the main door, and turned to Elsa with a look of confusion.

Wallace stood, closing the piano and ushering them behind the counter. Shifting the lever with the duck icon, a hidden trapdoor opened, leading into a network of caves beneath the inn. Grabbing a torch from a pile just inside, she lit it and led Rapunzel deeper into the caves as the trapdoor shut.

"And that," she said, once they had taken one of the winding turns in the tunnel, "is why you should never trust a fence with an outstanding contract." She grimaced. "At least he paid up."

"What's going to happen to the other people back there?"

Elsa turned to Rapunzel. "They're not going to get arrested. None of them are wanted like I am. Or, at the very least, they aren't wanted by the Royal guards at this time. There were no crimes taking place up there. They should be left to their own devices."

"Good. I would hate for any of them to get taken away because of us."

'Us'. The word made Elsa stop short. She hadn't been part of an 'us' for a long time and it was odd how natural it felt. Suddenly, she was dreading what would happen when they inevitably parted. She didn't dare ask if Rapunzel would stay with her, no matter how much she realized she wanted to.

She started walking again. It seemed Rapunzel hadn't noticed her stop. The little chameleon on her shoulder had, however, and he was giving Elsa a strange look. She ignored the look, not entirely sure how she would explain to a chameleon that she had been alone for years and finally felt like letting someone in. And she couldn't explain it with Rapunzel right there.

Rapunzel was still buzzing with excitement. She had been a little bit afraid of what would happen at the Snuggly Duckling—Elsa's description of the place didn't inspire a lot of confidence in their ability to stay out of danger—but it was nice. She had never seen so many people in the same place before, and they seemed to know Elsa fairly well. Or rather, they knew her as Maya.

She wondered why Elsa needed to go by a different name around them. Maybe they wouldn't be able to trust her if they knew her as Elsa, but that didn't make sense. Rapunzel decided not to press the issue. Elsa hadn't asked why her hair was so long, so she could respect Elsa's own privacy.

"This way," Elsa said, turning back to look at her. "It will take us out at the closest point to Isleport. We should get there early enough to find a room in an inn or something. There are lots of people who come to the capital for the festival, so space may be a little tight." She paused. "Would you mind sharing a room?"

"I don't know," Rapunzel admitted. "I never have before, but I'm not against the idea. That is, so long as you don't mind Pascal."

"The chameleon?" Rapunzel nodded. "No. It should be fine. He may not like me much as I'm not a particularly warm person." She seemed to realize what she had said. "I meant temperature wise."

"Oh. Okay. Is that why you still need the scarf?"

Elsa reached up to touch the head scarf. Her expression shifted under it before she pulled it off. "No, but I can't wear it around the kingdom. It's far too noticeable, especially since the Royal guards are looking for me. I just..." She shrugged. "I forget I'm wearing it. I've been wearing it for almost five years now."

"Why would you need to wear it for that long?" Rapunzel immediately regretted asking the question when she caught sight of the stricken look on Elsa's face. "You don't have to answer that!" she said quickly. "I'm sorry!"

"No, it's..." Elsa cut herself off. She sighed and looked away and, for a moment, Rapunzel was afraid that she was going to run away and leave her.

She twisted the scarf between her hands. "You remember what I said about my parents?"

Rapunzel nodded, not sure what that conversation had to do with this one. The caves were suddenly colder and she shivered.

"My parents," Elsa began, "are still looking for me. I left home because they were suffocating me, and I don't want to go back to that. I have worn the scarf to avoid people recognizing me from the posters they have sent out with my face on them. There's a sizable reward on them, one that would severely tempt the people you've seen I work with. It's even higher than the contract on the crown."

"Really?" Rapunzel had no concept of money really. Mother had never talked about it other than the arbitrary amount they had in a jar in the kitchen. She had read some things about it in her books, but it never seemed to be an issue for the people in the stories to find or get. But she had seen the bag that Elsa had put in her satchel, and she didn't think that amount was easy to get.

Elsa nodded. "They have access to enough wealth to make it well worth anyone's effort to bring me back to them. And as much as I don't want to be suppressed, I have to admire the fact that they're still looking for me. I just— I don't know if they have the right reasons for wanting me home or if I have the right reasons for staying away. I know that someday I may have to face that, but I don't want to know if I'm the one who made the wrong decision just yet."

Rapunzel frowned. Elsa had been able to give her advice because they had been in similar situations. Would she want to go back to the tower at the end of this trip? After meeting Elsa and Wallace and seeing the floating lights—the lanterns—for herself, would she be content to go back to the tower and never leave again? That was what her Mother would ask of her. The uncertainty frightened her, and she shoved it to the back of her mind. She couldn't afford to think about that now. It was a problem for later.

On her shoulder, Pascal nuzzled her neck as he seemed to sense her turbulent thoughts. She rubbed his head gently in response.

"So," she asked, desperate to change the subject. "How long should it take up to get to Isleport?"

"Not long. After we get out of this tunnel, only an hour or two of walking should get us to the city. The launching of the lanterns is part of the larger Summer Solstice celebrations, another reason why people trek to the city every year."

Elsa continued to tell her about life in Corona as they walked, sharing little things that she had done in previous years and mentioning that there were several places throughout the city where people could make their own paper lanterns for the festival rather than buying them from a vendor.

They came, almost abruptly, on a dead end to the tunnel, with hand and footholds carved into the wall leading up to a trapdoor. Handing the torch to Rapunzel, Elsa climbed up to the exit and pushed against the dark wood. Rapunzel was about to offer her help when the door popped open, letting dim sunlight filter through the canopy of leaves and shine on them.

"Just leave the torch in the wall hanging," Elsa suggested. "It'll burn itself out eventually, and it's there in case anyone needs it."

Rapunzel did as she was told and climbed out, stumbling into Elsa on the last step. She blushed at her clumsiness, cursing the fact that she was proving one of her Mother's assertions true in front of someone else. Elsa, it seemed, didn't mind, as she pretended not to notice the moment. If anything, there was a look of fond familiarity on her face, and Rapunzel wondered if Elsa knew someone who was as clumsy as she was. She passed back Pascal, who had tumbled off her shoulder when she tripped.

"It's about three miles to the city, but I want to make a quick stop at my hiding place," she explained, leading Rapunzel down the road. "It's not safe to carry this much money around with me, and I can't trust Alden not to have someone lying in wait for me so he can get his gold back. If you or Pascal think we're being followed, don't hesitate to tell me. I don't want to have to deal with other thieves attacking us on this journey. Hopefully they won't recognize me without the scarf, but you can never be too careful."

Rapunzel nodded. Mother had said that the world was a dangerous place. Her solution had been to insist that Rapunzel stay in the tower where it was safe, but Elsa was giving her information on how to recognize and deal with the dangers as they met them. She preferred Elsa's method, as it didn't confine her to a tower for the rest of her life.

She wondered if her Mother would offer a reward for her if she didn't return home. But she didn't want to have the same problem Elsa had, wondering if she made the right decision to stay away from home in spite of what her Mother wanted for her.

They walked in silence for a while and Rapunzel thought it was odd that she was content with that. She spent so much time in the tower trying to fill up the silence with sound that she never thought she would be able to be with another person and stay silent.

It's not exactly quiet though, she thought, listening to the buzz of the forest around them. There were birds singing, and a gentle breeze rustled the leaves. The very air seemed to vibrate with the constant drone of insects that always filled the summer hours. Pascal, sprawled on her shoulder, was enjoying the heat from the sun. It seemed he got what he wanted after all out of today: a chance to go outside.

He was fiercely loyal to her for reasons she couldn't understand. After she had healed him, he never left the tower, staying with her in her parental enforced exile. She was glad that he was finally getting something out of it.

Elsa led her into a ravine with caves dug into the walls. It reminded her of a wheel of cheese Mother liked to bring home, in which strange bubbles had formed while the cheese was setting. Rapunzel liked making a game of trying to find a piece with the most holes and the least cheese.

Elsa slipped into a narrow cave Rapunzel almost missed. It appeared to be no more than another rock jutting out of a wall but, on closer inspection, she noticed the narrow opening, just barely wide enough for them to slip through.

It was cold inside the cave, far colder than she expected it would be in the middle of summer. The deeper she walked in the cave, the colder it got until Rapunzel realized that she was walking on ice instead of stone. Pascal made a little squawk of indignation at the sudden change in temperature and curled closer to her neck.

"Who's that?" asked a squeaky voice.

Rapunzel started and looked up to see a small white something standing beside Elsa.

"That's Rapunzel," Elsa replied. Then, she added, "She's a friend."

"A friend?" The little white being look up at Elsa, then at Rapunzel, and back. "You found a friend?"

Elsa glanced up into Rapunzel's eyes. "I think so."

"That's wonderful!" he—Rapunzel was absolutely certain the being was a he—declared, clapping his stick hands together. He waddled over to her. "Hi! My name is Olaf and I like warm hugs!" He embraced her as best he could, and Rapunzel realized that this little being was cold and a little wet.

"I'm Rapunzel," she replied, unsure what else to say. Her tongue got the better of her and she asked, "What are you?"

Olaf giggled. "Haven't you ever seen a snowman before?"

"No. I haven't even heard of a snowman before. I didn't know people could be made of snow."

"Olaf's unique," Elsa cut in. "He's the only one like him. Well, aside from Marshmallow."

"Marshmallow?"

"Marshmallow!" Olaf called. "Come meet Elsa's new friend!"

There was a heavy sound, as though a giant had been roused and was stalking towards them. Rapunzel stumbled back a few steps, reaching for her frying pan.

"Please don't be alarmed," Elsa pleaded, raising her hands in a calming gesture. "He won't hurt you. I wouldn't let him. He just protects my cache from those who would want to steal from me."

From around a bend deeper in the ice cave came a large white behemoth. He was made of snow and ice and easily towered over Rapunzel. Her hand dropped away from the handle of her frying pan as she gaped up at him. Unlike Olaf, whose eyes were a couple of black rocks, Marshmallow had deep pits where eyes should be which glowed with an inner light. At the ends of his arms were large balls of snow with ice finger claws. It was very hard to believe that this creature wouldn't hurt her, despite Elsa's promise.

Marshmallow stopped and looked at her, standing just out of her reach. On her shoulder, Pascal shivered and hissed at him, drawing the creature's attention to him. With a frightened squeak, Pascal disappeared into her hair as Marshmallow reached out one of his sharp ice fingers.

Rapunzel remained still, even as Elsa firmly admonished, "Marshmallow."

He stopped and turned to look at her before drawing back his hand and stepping away.

"Does he talk too?" Rapunzel asked quietly, somehow finding her voice again.

"He can," Elsa replied, moving to pat Marshmallow's hand lightly. "He just doesn't often. I don't think he likes talking."

"It's fine," Olaf assured her. "I do enough talking for both of us. Marshmallow is a very good listener!"

Rapunzel dared to look up at the large snow beast. "I'm sure he is." Now that the initial shock was wearing off, she leaned toward him, curious about how he come into being. "So, there are snow people too?" she asked. "Like regular people?"

Elsa blinked. "No. I think Olaf and Marshmallow are the only ones."

"Elsa made us!" Olaf declared.

"Olaf!"

A look Rapunzel knew well settled on Elsa's face: fear. She didn't know why Elsa was afraid about her knowing that she had made Olaf and Marshmallow.

"I—" she began, trying to think of a way to make the situation better. Her books weren't helpful for stories like that. "I can forget that if you want me to."

"No," Elsa moaned, leaning against the wall. "I should have known there was a possibility of this happening when I brought you here." A sort of smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. "Thank you for offering though. I'm sure you have been wondering about some of the things you've seen."

Rapunzel shrugged and nodded minutely.

"I have magic. Ice magic," Elsa clarified. "I can create and control ice to some extent. I haven't really experimented too much with it, but it seems I can also imbue ice and snow with life." She nodded at Olaf and Marshmallow. "I found this cave shortly after I arrived in Corona and I turned it into a home. Because of the magic, cold really doesn't affect me like it does other people."

Rapunzel nodded along. The ice under her feet didn't feel as cold as it should anyway, or she would have been having trouble standing. From her books, she knew it wasn't safe to be in cold for very long without some kind of protection, but her feet were just fine as they were, bare against the ice floor.

"I know a bit about magic," she admitted. "Some of it from books."

They lapsed into silence again, which Olaf broke by asking, "So why are you here, Elsa? Is everything okay out there?"

"Everything's fine," Elsa assured him. "I'm just taking Rapunzel to Isleport. She wants to see the lanterns."

Olaf waddled over to Rapunzel's side. "You're lucky!" he declared. "I want to see them too, but Elsa thinks people would be scared of me and Marshmallow. But it might be safe someday! And then we could go too!"

"I'll just go put this away," Elsa said, lifting the heavy satchel at her side. "And then we can go."

Rapunzel nodded and watched as Marshmallow stepped to the side before following Elsa deeper into the cave. "Are you going to go too?" she asked of Olaf.

"No. Elsa says it's rude to leave guests alone. But she's never had guests before and I want to do this right." His face took on a more serious look. "Can I get anything for you?"

She giggled. "No, thank you. I'm fine."

Olaf nodded. Then, in a loud whisper, he asked, "Am I doing this right?"

"I think so," she replied, also in a whisper. "I've never done this before either."

"Well," he said a little louder. "If neither of us knows what we're doing wrong, we must be doing everything right!"

There was a snort of laughter from beyond them and they looked up to see Elsa returning. She had traded her shirt, vest, and pants for a simple light green peasant dress. It was a little loose on her, and a little worn, but she looked comfortable in it. Gone was the head scarf. Instead, half of her hair was pulled up into a ribbon at the crown of her head while the rest hung loose around her shoulders in loosely spiraled curls. The only thing that connected Elsa to the thief known as Maya were her eyes, lightly touched with stress wrinkles in the corners.

She still had the satchel slung over one shoulder, but it looked lighter than before. She had obviously left the large bag of coins back in the deeper part of the cave.

"I see you want more comportment lessons, Olaf," she said, smiling. "I'll try to bring more guests along at some point."

"Can Rapunzel join?" he asked, reaching up to grab Rapunzel's flesh hand with his twig one.

"Well," Elsa said softly, glancing up at Rapunzel. "That would be up to her."

Rapunzel held the gaze for as long as she could before she looked away. "I don't know," she admitted. "I'll have to think about it."

In truth, she wasn't sure what she was going to do after the lantern festival. She'd had so much to think about on this journey, and she had been gone less than a day. She didn't know if she was going to go back to the tower, or if she would follow Elsa's example and run away. She didn't know if she wanted to know what would happen to her after the festival. It had always been something in her distant future, but now the future had arrived and she didn't know if she was ready for it.

"Ready to go?" Elsa asked, stepping up beside her.

"Yes," she said. Even though she wanted to say no.

Elsa always forgot how pleasant her ice cave was until she stepped out into open air and the heat became oppressive. She turned back to look at Rapunzel, who seemed to enjoy the return of heat.

She winced internally for wasting so much time. A little voice inside her told her that her parents would be ashamed at her lack of manners. The louder voice, the one that sounded like her thirteen-year-old self running away from home, said that she had the best manners of any thief she had ever met. Elsa herself ignored both, turning back to Rapunzel.

"We're only a couple hours out now. We'll reach Isleport before twilight, and I can find us a room for the night."

"Sounds good," Rapunzel replied.

They walked in silence for a while. Elsa wanted to fill that silence, but she was not her sister and the words didn't come as easily to her. Finally, they crested the hill overlooking Isleport.

Elsa smiled at the sudden intake of breath beside her. "Beautiful, isn't it?"

Rapunzel nodded, a look of awe and glee mixed with trepidation written on her face. She took off at a run down to the bridge, and Elsa followed behind at a more leisurely pace. Halfway across the bridge, she spied an old poster with her face on it. It was faded and had been covered with other posters that had been torn away. Near it was a torn poster of "Maya", with her head scarf wrapped around and obscuring her face.

With a deep breath, she walked away, holding her breath and hoping that no one would recognize her from either of them.

No one gave her a second glance.

Rapunzel was standing just inside the gates, eagerly watching as people were putting up decorations and preparing garlands and pennants for the festival the next day.

"Shall we go find an inn?" Elsa asked once she had caught up with her. "People will still be arriving for tomorrow, and there isn't likely to be a lot of room. If we wait much longer, there won't be any room."

"Right," Rapunzel nodded. She fidgeted with the tail of her braid. The braid had drawn a few odd looks as had the chameleon, but most people were minding their own business. It wouldn't be the first time someone strange came to town for the festival, and it certainly wouldn't be the last. "Where do we go?"

Taking her hand, Elsa led Rapunzel through the streets to the housing quarter. They had to stop at three inns before they found one with any rooms available.

"I only have the one," the matron said. "We've gotten a lot more people than normal this year because it's... well... I'm sure you know what I mean."

Elsa nodded. This year marked the missing princess's eighteenth birthday. She would have been of age that day, and announced as the proper crown princess. "That should be fine."

"Then it'll be six coronae for the room for tonight and tomorrow," the woman said, handing Elsa a key. "Fourth room on the left at the top of the stairs."

Elsa counted out six gold coins from her money pouch before leading Rapunzel up the stairs. The room was on the third floor of the inn. It didn't have a particularly interesting view from the window as it looked most directly on another building, but it was large enough for them to share easily.

"This is amazing," Rapunzel gushed, seizing Elsa's hand in her own. "I can't tell you how grateful I am that you've brought me here. I've wanted to see the lanterns up close my whole life, and now I will!"

Elsa smiled. She still remembered what it felt like the first time she did something for herself after she ran away. Even knowing that she couldn't be as open with her magic, it was still amazing to know that she wouldn't have to worry about her parents finding out about her using her powers. The freedom she'd felt in that moment made her feel more alive than she ever had. Now she had someone she could share it with.

I'll have to tell her about where I truly come from at some point. I wouldn't want her to find out from some old poster.

In the quiet, Elsa's stomach rumbled, causing her to blush. She hadn't eaten since earlier that morning, and apparently her body wasn't happy with that.

"Perhaps," she said sheepishly, "we should go out while there are still vendors and find food."

Rapunzel smiled. "Yeah, probably."

It was only then that Elsa realized they were still holding hands. She froze, unsure if she should pull away or if Rapunzel wanted to remain as they were. Resolving not to worry about it unless Rapunzel commented on it, she led her out of the room and back down the stairs after locking the door.

Along the street, food vendors stood with their carts, calling out their specialty and silently begging for business. Rapunzel was practically vibrating at her side looking at everything they had to offer. They bought a few pieces of fruit for Pascal first so he would have his dinner before they became engrossed in their own.

"So," Elsa asked, "does anything look good to you?"

"It all does," the girl moaned.

"It'll still be here tomorrow for us to try. Is there anything you want to try right now?"

Rapunzel straightened and looked around appraisingly. Her eyes passed over carts displaying pastries and sweets, searching for something savory and, hopefully, filling. Her head whipped around as a smell reached Elsa's nose—the smell of grilling meat.

"Can we try that?" Rapunzel asked, pulling her toward the cart of an older woman. The cart had Greek letters across the front, with a translation underneath it, though the word meant little to Elsa. She had to agree with Rapunzel though. Whatever souvlaki was, it looked and smelled delicious.

"Hello," the woman greeted. There was only a slight accent to her voice, but Elsa recognized it as the same sort of accent that the Greek ambassador to Arendelle had. "What can I get for you?"

"That!" Rapunzel said, pointing to the meat on a spit over a small fire.

Elsa could feel the blush in her cheeks as the woman chuckled.

"Would you like it prepared first?" the woman asked. "Or do you just want it right off the spit?"

Rapunzel winced slightly, visibly curbing her enthusiasm, and backed up. "Prepared, of course. Sorry, we're just hungry, and I've never had whatever this is before." She flashed the woman a smile. "It smells delicious."

"I hope so. I let the smell do the talking for me and it brings more than enough customers like yourselves." As she spoke, she prepared the souvlaki, taking the meat off the spit and putting it into a couple pieces of flatbread with tomatoes and onions. "I'm Magda. Are the two of you here for the festival?"

"Yes," Elsa replied, covering the sound of her moaning stomach with shuffled feet. "Rapunzel has been wanting to see the lanterns up close for some time now, so I brought her."

"Have you taken part in the festival before?"

"No." Elsa shrugged at the woman's scandalized look. "I haven't really had the time. I had enough trouble trying to keep myself fed. It just sort of fell by the wayside."

She would not mention the fact that she was also technically a wanted thief and it was easy to take advantage of the distraction of the festival to steal a few valuable but largely meaningless trinkets. She felt bad for the people that would come home from the festival to find they had been robbed, and she tried to take things that were mostly inconsequential.

"Well, it's good you have time now," Magda said. "Festivals should be enjoyed by the young."

She handed them each one of the flatbread wraps. "That will be eight coppers."

Elsa had Rapunzel hold her wrap as she retrieved the proper amount and passed it to Magda.

"Now," Magda said with a broad smile. "I suggest the two of you go and enjoy your food by the fountain in the square. It should be less crowded at this time of day, and there are usually a couple performers and musicians playing for passers-by. If you see Angelos—the tall skinny boy with the mandolin—tell him I want him to play you a song."

Elsa nodded, wondering why he would do that because Magda asked, but perhaps they were friends or something.

As Magda had said, the square wasn't very busy. People were wandering through and vendors were packing up their carts or shops, but it was pleasant. There was a relaxing ambiance in the atmosphere, and Elsa found herself enjoying it rather than stressing as she normally would have. Rapunzel was sitting on the edge of the fountain with her feet tucked up beneath her as she watched people go by. Pascal was set up beside her, munching on his fruit where he sat on Elsa's satchel.

"You know," she said after a while. "My Mother used to tell me that there were people—men, usually—with pointy teeth."

Elsa frowned. The more she learned about this woman, the less she liked her. She hoped it was just her bad experiences with controlling adults and not something that was actually wrong, as she didn't know how to deal with that. "Really? Why?"

"She wanted me to stay in the tower where it was safe from everything outside." Rapunzel shrugged. "I guess she thought scaring me was the best way. She would go on and on about the things that could go wrong. Ruffians, thugs, poison ivy, quicksand, the plague."

"There hasn't been a plague for several years in Corona. Not for about eighteen years. The queen got sick last time and almost lost the unborn princess as a result." Elsa had heard the stories from her parents, how the king sent his subjects in search of an old magic, something so old no one really knew what it was or where it came from. King Frederic had merely called it a miracle in his letters. And then, a little more than a year later, the infant princess was taken. In Corona, it was a subject most people didn't want to touch on, lest they upset the king and queen.

"Oh. Well, she never mentioned that. She always made it sound like it was just a sneeze away." Rapunzel leaned back to wash her hands in the fountain water since she had finished eating, the paper had been wrapped in tucked into a pocket in her dress. "I just... I wanted this. To see people. To be able to walk around with them and talk to them. To not be afraid of what might happen if..."

"If what?"

The younger girl shook her head. "Not out here. Back in the room. It's not something I want to mention out in the open."

"Okay."

Across the square, a mandolin player appeared, opening his case and setting it out in front of him. He was tall and thin, with long fingers and darker skin. Dark hair curled into ringlets around his ears and dark eyes peered out at the people in the square.

"I suppose that would be Angelos," Elsa mused idly. "Though he hardly looks like a boy."

Rapunzel looked up and caught sight of the man. "Shall we go ask him about that song Magda mentioned?"

"In a minute. I want to hear what he normally plays."

As if on cue, Angelos began playing, softly at first, then louder as the tune became more complicated. It was a sweet, almost mournful melody, and everyone who heard it seemed to be affected by it, even Angelos himself. Beside her, Rapunzel was on the verge of tears, her eyes glittering in the light of the setting sun.

Love songs, Elsa thought, pulling a handkerchief from her pocket and handing it to the girl. That's what he plays. Especially tragic love songs.

At the end of the song, Angelos discreetly took out a handkerchief of his own to wipe his eyes and forehead before tucking it back into his breast pocket. Elsa took the opportunity to stand up and approach him, Rapunzel right on her heels. Pascal was left behind to guard the satchel.

"That was a lovely song," she said. "You are Angelos, right?"

"Yes. And thank you," he replied, a similar accent to Magda's coloring his voice. "It is always nice to have someone who voices their appreciation of one's chosen path in life." He smiled and tilted his head. "I don't think I've seen you here before. You've heard of me?"

Elsa nodded. "From Magda."

"She told us to ask for a song," Rapunzel added. She was still holding Elsa's handkerchief.

"Ah. Of course. Anything for the woman who feeds me when I cannot do that for myself." He flashed them a dashing smile. "She was a friend of my Mother's and has taken it upon herself to see that I am well looked after on the roads. I would be a cad to ignore the woman who took to the roads to help me. Do you have any requests?"

Elsa glanced at Rapunzel, who shrugged. It seemed neither had the kind of musical background to suggest anything. Elsa knew an odd assortment of lullabies and bawdy tavern songs, neither of which were really suited for the atmosphere they were currently enjoying. Rapunzel, having grown up in a tower and secluded from society at large wouldn't know many songs either. Except perhaps one of her own invention. Elsa recalled seeing a Spanish guitar in the tower.

"No," she finally replied. "Play whatever you think would be best."

Angelos' grin was blinding. "Bless you. I live for the days I meet people such as yourselves, who allow me to play what I wish."

He gestured for them to sit again and they returned to the fountain. Rapunzel, seeming to realize that she still had Elsa's handkerchief, moved to hand it back to her.

"No. Go ahead and keep it. I have a couple more, and you need one."

"Thank you."

Angelos plucked the first few notes of a sweet song before he started to sing, his accent virtually disappearing.

"The first time that I saw you, the air had left the room
I stared and swore my heart was beating its impending doom
I used to think that love was just a fairy tale
And those who fell in love were doomed to fail

"But when you looked my way I couldn't see
Why you would want to waste your time on me
And yet with that one glance, my heart belonged to you
And you were changing everything I knew.

"I love you, my moonlight,
And I say my fondest prayer,
That we could be together
And good would find us there.
I cannot know if Fate or Love
Will make us ever true
But I know in this moment
That I belong to you.

"I was made of sunlight, you were of the moon
Lost in silver palaces that fade before the noon
Reaching out to touch you when you're too far away
Waiting for your eyes to look my way

"We're caught on the edges of something we could almost be
I hold my breath and hope you feel the same as me
Standing here besides you feels like all my dreams come true
So tell me if you love me too.

"I love you, my moonlight,
And I say my fondest prayer,
That we could be together
And good would find us there.
I cannot know if Fate or Love
Will make us ever true
But I know in this moment
That I belong to you.

"You've broken down the walls I put around me
You've held my hand through darkness and through light
You helped me fight my demons and you've given me new life.
I cannot understand why you would go this far for me
But since you stayed, I simply have to say

"I love you, my moonlight,
And I say my fondest prayer,
That we could be together
And good would find us there.
I cannot know if Fate or Love
Will make us ever true
But I know in this moment
That I belong to you.

"I cannot know if Fate or Love
Will make us ever true
But I know in this moment
That I belong to you."

The square erupted in applause, startling both Angelos and Elsa, who had been gazing fixedly at the man as he sang. She got the impression that it was an old song, as it poked at something in her memory, of a time when she was young and she saw her parents dancing in the ballroom. Her Father, King Agnarr, didn't have a voice as melodic as Angelos' but Queen Iduna seemed to like it anyway. It was a very old memory, as Anna hadn't been born yet when she'd seen them in the ballroom. With a blush, she realized that may have been the night Anna was conceived.

Around them, people were approaching the hat Angelos had place on the ground in front of him, tossing in coins as they went on their ways smiling. Rapunzel was still clapping beside her.

"Have I done well?" Angelos asked when they approached after the small crowd had thinned.

"That was amazing!" Rapunzel gushed. "I've never heard anything like it!"

Angelos smiled at her. "Well, it was a pleasure to play for you. And it was profitable for me as well." He nudged his hat with a toe and it jingled.

"I'm glad," Elsa said. She had discreetly slipped a gold coronae into the hat when he was distracted by others. "But I, for one, have had a rather long day, and I would welcome rest before the festival tomorrow."

"I am sure many are of the same mind," Angelos assured her. "I only just set up, so I shall be here a while. I hope to run into the two of you tomorrow, perhaps when the Main Square is filled with dancers."

Elsa nodded, and she and Rapunzel retrieved Pascal and the satchel and made their way back to the inn, sated and, at least in Elsa's case, ready to sleep.

"I hope you don't mind," Elsa said as soon as they were in the room. "Today has been a very long day. For both of us, I think."

"It's fine," Rapunzel assured her. "It really has been a long day. It feels like it's been longer than a day, but it was only this morning that we met."

"Yeah." Now that it had been said aloud, Elsa felt even more tired. She had stolen a crown, run from the guards, found Rapunzel's tower, agreed to bring her to the lantern festival, collected on the crown contract, visited with Olaf and Marshmallow, and arrived with Rapunzel in Isleport. It was the most exhausting day she'd had in years. She yawned. At least the day was over now.

Rapunzel opened the window, and the sounds of a strummed mandolin filtered into the room. As the room had only the one bed, Elsa curled up as tight as she could against the wall to give Rapunzel as much room as she needed when she decided to go to sleep. Then, for the first time in years, she fell asleep without worrying what the next day would bring.

Rapunzel woke at dawn to the sensation of something shifting beside her. As she opened her eyes, she was momentarily startled by the lack of paintings on the walls. Before it could become true panic, she remembered the events of the day before, meeting Elsa and leaving the tower to see the lanterns in person. She sat up, glancing down beside her to look at Elsa.

Asleep, the woman looked a lot younger—not that she looked old to begin with, but there was a severity and maturity about her face that disappeared as she slept. Her white blond hair was splayed out against the pillow beneath her head, and it gave her a looser, less serious look.

Elsa, Rapunzel reflected, was a bit concerned with appearances. Not to the same degree as Mother, but to a certain extent. And it made sense. Elsa had told her up front that she was a thief and that her parents were probably still looking for her since she ran away from home, so controlling and hiding her appearance was important. But underneath the headscarf and the carefully controlled expressions, Elsa was really quite pretty. Mother was her only basis for comparison when it came to beauty, but there was something about Elsa that seemed purer, effortless. Rapunzel well knew how often Mother had her sing to make her look and feel younger, and there were many remarks about Rapunzel's own subpar appearance, but Elsa didn't even try to look beautiful, she just was.

A single thought sizzled through her mind.

"Today's my birthday," she whispered to Pascal, who had crawled into her lap. "My eighteenth birthday."

The little chameleon nuzzled her hand and smiled his little chameleon smile. Whenever he was happy, he always seemed a brighter shade of green to her. Picking him up, she placed him on one of the bedposts.

She slipped carefully out from under the covers and dressed in the extra set of clothes she had brought with her, a lavender dress embroidered with purple flowers. Then, she sat in the chair by the window, wrapping her braided hair up again. It was unusual how natural it felt wrapped over her shoulder, and Elsa had shown her how to make it loose enough that she could still use it to climb around and grapple things. Not that she'd had too many opportunities to try that while they were making their way to the capital of Corona. But Mother had never shown her how to do anything with her hair, not like Elsa had. Mother never did anything with her hair either, but her books had mentioned hairstyles. She just hadn't known what they looked like or how to do them until Elsa had shown her how to braid.

Outside on the street, people were starting to trickle out. They were wearing brightly colored clothes and one woman had a garland of flowers woven into her hair. She was leading along a small child who clung to her fingers. A summer morning breeze blew in through the window, filling Rapunzel with energy. She wanted to get out there and be among people.

The bed creaked behind her and she looked back to see Elsa stretching and yawning.

"Good morning, Rapunzel," she said, spinning on the bed to place her feet on the floor. She pushed herself to her feet, obviously still a little sleep-heavy as she held out her arms to steady herself.

"Morning," Rapunzel called. "I have another dress if you want to borrow it. I noticed you only brought the one you're wearing."

Elsa rubbed her eyes. "Another dress?"

"Yeah." Rapunzel pulled her bag over to her and pulled the dress out. "You said bring extra clothes, and you didn't look like you had many, and I have a lot of extra ones because I make them to pass the time and I thought you would look good in blue because you have such pretty eyes..." Her voice petered out as she realized what she was saying, then she winced, expecting a reprimand for mumbling.

"Oh. Thank you."

Rapunzel blinked, then a smile spread across her face. "You're welcome." She passed the dress to Elsa, who looked at it appraisingly.

"You made this? It's very good." She looked up and smiled at Rapunzel. "The only things I can make are made of ice. And they all end up having snowflake designs, which is not exactly seasonally appropriate for the summer solstice."

Rapunzel giggled. "No, I guess not."

Politely, she turned away and closed the shutters so Elsa could change. A small part of her wondered what Elsa looked like without clothes. She knew what her own body looked like, as she had spent hours studying her naked body in the mirror to get a better idea of proportions and how she moved for her artwork, but that only gave her intimate knowledge of her own body. She had never seen Mother without her clothes, as she would only dress in her room, behind the only door in the tower.

The artist in her came to life and demanded that she pay attention to how different people moved today. It might be the only chance she had.

"It's safe to look again," Elsa said, drawing her attention.

She turned around. I chose well was the first thought cross her mind. The blue dress was a few shades darker than Elsa's eyes, but it served to make them stand out the brighter for it. There were snowdrops embroidered around the hem and, while they weren't exactly spring or summer flowers, they didn't immediately evoke the image of winter as snowflakes would.

Elsa was braiding her hair and putting it up with a couple of pins so it was off the back of her neck.

"I'm sorry we can't do this with your hair," she said as she patted the hair she had just pinned. "But I'm sure it would get rather heavy after a while."

"This is fine," Rapunzel assured her, patting the braid on her shoulder. "It's off the ground, so no one's going to trip over it or step on it."

Elsa paused, then rubbed her head. "There was something you were going to tell me yesterday when we got back to the room."

"What?" Rapunzel cast her mind back to the day before, trying to remember what they had talked about. She remembered Magda and Angelos and... oh. She had talked about Mother and about why she didn't want Rapunzel to leave. Or rather, they had started talking about that. "Right."

As if sensing her reluctance, Elsa waved her hand dismissively. "You don't have tell me if you don't want to. I wouldn't want to press. It just seemed important yesterday."

Rapunzel sighed. "It is kind of important." She sighed again. How am I supposed to even approach this topic? "I... Well, you have ice magic and powers that can do amazing things. I... have something similar."

"You have powers?"

"Sort of. My hair has powers."

"That actually makes sense." Seeing the confused look Rapunzel suddenly had, she went on. "Hair doesn't normally grow fast enough to be as long as yours is. I figured magic was involved in some way, but I didn't know how."

"I don't know everything about it, except that it stays really clean when it shouldn't, it moves in ways I want it to move, and it has healing properties when I sing. But if it ever gets cut, it loses its power and turns brown."

"Healing properties when you sing?"

"I don't want to do it here," Rapunzel whispered. "It makes my hair glow. I've only ever done it at the tower, and neither of us really have anything that needs healed. But Mother would have me sing for her and it would make her younger."

Elsa frowned, but didn't say anything. Rapunzel was comforted by the fact that the older woman wasn't immediately asking the extent of the powers and ways to exploit them. Finally, Elsa said, "I can see why your Mother wouldn't want you to leave the tower. Perhaps it's just because of my profession, but I know several people who wouldn't think twice about turning you into a prisoner so they could use that for their own gain."

"That's why I never left. Mother told me about the worst kinds of people, but she never told me that there were good people out in the world too. Someone tried to cut it once, which is how we knew what would happen."

"I thought I saw a lock of brown hair while I was braiding." Elsa paused. "My younger sister has a similar kind of streak in her hair."

"You have a sister?"

Elsa nodded. "She's four years younger than me. I accidentally hit her with my magic when we were playing." Rapunzel watched as her face fell. "My parents, they took us to people who managed to save her life, but she couldn't remember my magic. They had to take all memory of it away to help her. If she still remembered the magic, the ice might have come back and killed her. After that, my parents never looked at me the same way."

Rapunzel cringed. Her hair had never hurt anyone, she wasn't sure if even could, but she would hate to know that she had caused someone pain. She imagined it had to be worse for Elsa, as she had accidentally hurt her own sister. It made far more sense now why Elsa would want to leave home, even if she knew her family loved her. Rapunzel didn't know much about love, but she knew from her books that fear wasn't beneficial to love at all.

"But now you're here," Rapunzel said quietly. "I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't agreed to bring me here. I would probably still be in the tower."

She saw Elsa straighten out of the corner of her eye.

"Well," the woman began, "it doesn't really matter now because we're here to enjoy the festival. There's time enough for that sort of reflection when we're not celebrating."

Celebrating. The word made Rapunzel perk up instantly. It was her birthday, and she would see the floating lanterns tonight from the city where they were launched. Hopping to her feet, she nodded vigorously. "Yes, let's go! I want to see everything."

She let Pascal run up her arm to sit on her shoulder, grabbed Elsa's hand and raced out of the room.

The streets were filled with people—not so many as to make Rapunzel feel claustrophobic—but she could barely move without brushing against someone. Elsa led her to a fruit seller and had her choose something to eat while they walked through and looked at the stalls and murals on display throughout the city. With the strange reddish yellow fruit in hand, she took the lead and brought them back to the square, which was quite a bit busier than it had been the day before. However, it seemed someone had brought in more benches and had placed them around the edges of the square.

Again, Rapunzel began studying people, watching as lovers kissed or walked holding one another's hands. Children raced around the legs of adults, chasing each other for some unknown reason, while their parents called after them to behave themselves. A small group of musicians had taken over a corner of the square and was playing a merry tune that encouraged several of the people nearby to sway with the music. A few of the children had stopped near the musicians to dance. It was only then Rapunzel realized her own toes were tapping the cobblestones in time with the music.

She glanced over at Elsa to see if the music had affected her. Elsa's eyes were slightly glazed and, if it had not been for the slight smile on her face, Rapunzel would have thought she was still tired. Turning to see what Elsa was looking at, she caught sight of two women talking animatedly. Or rather, one woman talking animatedly to the other, who was more reserved but smiling. From the similar facial structures of the women, she guessed they must be sisters.

Rapunzel promised herself she wouldn't ask Elsa, but she wondered how long it had been since she had seen her sister and what exactly had happened between them. She could guess from what Elsa had said that they were quite close before the accident. What had happened after? Had her sister rejected her, or had something else happened? She could understand why Elsa wouldn't want to be with her parents if they approached her with caution as if she was going to destroy everything, but had her sister done the same?

She wondered what sort of a person Elsa's sister was. Elsa spoke of her fondly, but all she really knew was that she had a streak of different colored hair and that she didn't remember Elsa's powers. Privately, Rapunzel thought whatever Elsa's sister was like, she would have liked what Elsa could do with her powers. It wasn't fair that she couldn't remember, and perhaps Rapunzel could heal her better than whoever their parents had taken them to. She did have magic hair that healed people. But from what Elsa had said, that would be a lot longer journey, one that couldn't be solved by distracting her Mother with a long trip of her own. Wherever Arendelle was, it was not in Corona.

Deciding to leave that as a later problem, she stood, placing Pascal in a nearby window box where he could watch, and grabbed Elsa's hand. "Let's go and dance!"

As if they were only waiting for someone else to begin it, many of the people standing around the area began to join the dance as well. Soon, the center of the square was filled with dancers. Rapunzel lost herself to the music in a way she had never been able to before. In the tower, she had to make her own music, so if she lost her focus on creating the music, there was nothing to dance to. But dancing came naturally to her. She easily fell into the steps and styles of the native people twirling around one another.

Elsa, it seemed, wasn't a dancer. She was moving, trying to follow the steps with everyone else, but her movements were stiff and stilted. Rapunzel danced her way over to her where she had migrated to the edge of the group. Grabbing her hands, Rapunzel pulled Elsa deeper into the group. Elsa's hands had become quite cold, and she held them tighter, willing some of her own warmth into them.

"Like this," Rapunzel whispered, moving a little bit faster than the other dancers to pull Elsa into the rhythm of it. As if the dancers around them could feel Elsa's discomfort, a small area opened around them, allowing more space for movement.

Slowly, Elsa began to relax, and Rapunzel loosened her grip. Although the older woman was by no stretch of the imagination comfortable, she looked far less like she was going to run for her ice cave. Rapunzel decided to take the small victory, especially as the ghost of a smile appeared at the corners of Elsa's lips. Suddenly, there was a peculiar glint in Elsa's eye, and that was the only warning Rapunzel got before she was spun around in dizzying circles.

Unwinding a few coils of her long braid, Rapunzel flicked the end of it towards her partner and managed to snag Elsa's waist. With a smirk, she tugged her closer, making sure to add a bit of a twirl of her own. Elsa's natural grace kept her from stumbling as Rapunzel gripped her arms and swung them both around in circles that got faster with the music. Then, as the music stopped, so did they, panting a little bit from the exertion.

Applause erupted around them and Elsa started, glancing up at the crowd that had circled around them. Her cheeks turned slightly pink and she ducked her head at the attention.

"That was fun," Rapunzel said, hoping to distract her from her obvious embarrassment. She shrugged, placing Pascal on her shoulder again after wrapping her braid up again. "At least I had fun."

Elsa's hand appeared, as if by magic, in her own. "I had fun, too," she whispered.

"Shall we explore? I'm sure there's lots to see here."

"Yes, there is."

Elsa knew how to handle the cold. Ice and snow had been a part of her throughout her life. But she had no idea what to do about the flame in her cheeks or the strange warmth in her gut. So, she elected to ignore it for the time being.

Instead, she and Rapunzel strolled down the main thoroughfare of the city. People had set up various booths, many of them boasting homemade articles of one type or another. She'd seen jewelry and shawls and hats, small stuffed creatures and little wooden carvings. A particularly skilled glassblower made Elsa wish she could make her ice creations last in heat. If she could do that, she wouldn't need to steal to make a living, and no one need know they weren't made of glass.

Rapunzel's eyes were sparkling no matter what she was looking at, and it made sense. Having never left her tower, she hadn't seen anything that her Mother hadn't brought or she hadn't made herself. Distantly, Elsa remembered the first time her parents took her through the street market in Arendelle and how she had marveled at everything, demanding to know how they had made them. It had been the closest thing to what she would have called a religious experience.

Resolve solidified within her like the strongest ice. Today was special to Rapunzel, she had wanted to see the lantern festival for a reason, and Elsa was going to make sure that today was the best day she'd ever had. It wasn't, she realized, because Rapunzel reminded her of her sister. No, the more time she spent with the girl, the more she saw how different the two of them were. And Anna would be far different from the girl she remembered. It had been almost six years since they had seen one another, and more than ten since they were really close. The Anna she knew was a memory, beautiful though it was, but Rapunzel was here and she was real. That was what truly mattered.

Tapping Rapunzel on the arm, she pointed to a shop on the corner of the square. "Do you want to go look at books?" Elsa asked, hoping she'd remembered right about the well-worn books sitting on a shelf back at the tower.

From the grin that blossomed across Rapunzel's face, she had.

It was a quaint little shop. Elsa had seen more books in the library in Arendelle castle, but there were a remarkable number for such a small shop. The shopkeeper, an older man who introduced himself as Haziel, eagerly showed them books of stories, books of craft, books of histories, and books of noble lines. Selecting one of the last variety, Elsa turned to the section on Arendelle nobility.

It was obviously a newer book, as it listed her as lost and named Anna crown princess in Elsa's absence. It was precisely what she had expected when she left, though there was a note that made it clear that Elsa could take up her crown again if she returned. The portrait of her was old, with the chubbiness of youth still in her cheeks and the seriousness of her powers sitting in her eyes. Anna's portrait, however, was clearly recent, as she didn't look much like the child Elsa remembered.

The white streak caused by Elsa's magic was quite striking in her copper hair, weaving through the braid sitting on her right shoulder. She had an open and welcoming smile, but the artist had captured a hint of sadness in her eyes. She was dressed in a deep burgundy gown embroidered with the symbols of the house of Arendelle in gold thread throughout the bodice, and her clear blue eyes stood out the more for it. The artist had made Anna's skin clear, but Elsa knew there was a dusting of freckles across the bridge of Anna's nose. As children, she used to call them Anna's spots, proclaiming to anyone that would listen that they were proof that Anna was an animal. Anna had been the one most amused by the declaration, and followed up by saying that she was a jungle cat stalking her prey. This, right before she would pounce on Elsa, sending them both to the floor giggling.

She turned over the page, finding the section on Corona's noble families. Corona had always been quite close with Arendelle. Often, they attended functions in one another's kingdoms, especially weddings and coronations. There was a family portrait on the page, with King Frederic, Queen Arianna, and the lost Princess Elidi. The infant in the picture was beautiful, with gold hair, very unlike her dark-haired parents, and vibrant green eyes that matched Queen Arianna's.

A light blush warmed Elsa's cheek as she realized her thoughts turned to Rapunzel, who also had golden hair and green eyes. It had to be a coincidence, and no one really knew what the princess would look like now, almost seventeen years after her disappearance. It was shortly after her first birthday that the princess was taken and people were known to change in that time. Elsa need only look back at her own portrait to see how the years can shape a person into a different form. For Elidi, there could be no certainty regarding her appearance or, morbidly, her continued existence.

Elsa closed the book and placed it back on the shelf. She didn't want to consider that possibility, as it was something that could be applied to her own situation. She knew that she was alive and doing fairly well for herself away from Arendelle, but her parent didn't and couldn't know that. For them, she might be dead or imprisoned or lost in far lands. To the throne of Arendelle, Elsa might well have ceased to exist.

Looking up, Elsa smiled to see Rapunzel trapped in the thrall of a history book. Rapunzel was biting her lip gently, swaying on her feet as she devoured whatever story had captured her attention. There was a slight flush in her cheeks, which Elsa guessed was excitement. It hadn't dimmed since they entered the shop. This was probably the first time Rapunzel had seen so many books in one place, as there had only been three in her tower. Elsa guessed they had probably arrived one by one, so perhaps she didn't know that books could be acquired in quantity. Whatever the case, Rapunzel would be leaving with more books; Elsa would insist on it if nothing else.

Crossing the shop to stand by the younger girl, Elsa smiled. "Find something interesting."

Rapunzel startled slightly before glancing up, then around them at the shelves upon shelves of books. "Everything," she whispered in reverence. "I didn't know there were so many books in the world."

"There's a lot more," Elsa told her. "And this shop has several copies of the same books. There are libraries larger than this that don't have a duplicate copy anywhere in their shelves."

"Really? Where?"

"Mostly in castles and nobles' houses." Elsa traced the binding of one of the books near her that she remembered reading back in Arendelle. The Tales Fantastic. It was a collection of stories for children, filled with some facts and some fables. "Books are seen as a status symbol, so the owner may or may not read them all. But they have them. Some are collected by families over many years."

"I would love to collect books," Rapunzel gushed, clutching the book she was holding close. "I only ever had the ones Mother brought."

"We can get a few today, if you like," Elsa offered. "You could start your own collection."

Rapunzel's eyes cast around the shop rapidly. "How many should I choose?"

A small laugh bubbled out of Elsa before she could hold it back. Not that she really tried to. "How about you start with four? I don't know that we would want to carry too many if we're going to be walking around all day."

"Right." She looked at the book in her hand, clearly trying to decide if it was one of the ones she wanted to leave with. After a moment's consideration, she placed it back on the shelf.

She went about carefully, examining the books as if it was her last chance to ever see them. And perhaps it would be, if she decided to return to the tower. Elsa hated the thought of the girl wasting away there but knew that it was ultimately her decision whether or not to go back. As she watched, Rapunzel picked up a book on Corona's history and tucked it into the crook of her arm. It was only natural, Elsa supposed, to want to know about the country she lived in. Rapunzel completely passed over the books on various crafts. From what Elsa had observed, Rapunzel much preferred figuring things out on her own, and had spent much of her life doing crafts. She had made the dresses they were wearing, many of the clay pots back at the tower were handmade, to say nothing of the paintings running up and down the walls.

Rapunzel paused again in the section with fairy tales and stories, picking up The Tales Fantastic. She weighed it in her hand and Elsa barely caught the glance in her direction before it was added to the collection she had begun at her side. Running her fingers lightly across the spines of the books, she selected another one titled The Crimson Word. Then, turning decisively on her heel, Rapunzel returned to the history section and grabbed a book detailing Arendelle's history. Elsa had nearly forgotten that she told her about where she came from, but it was almost gratifying to see Rapunzel take an interest in her homeland, whether or not either of them ever ended up there in the future.

There was a small stab of fear in her gut, though, as she considered that some mention might be made in the book to the lost Princess Elsa. She resolved once more to tell the girl about her parentage before she discovered it through a history text. When she next looked up, the chameleon was looking at her oddly, and she had to remind herself that he was merely a chameleon and likely didn't know what was bothering her. At the very least, she knew he wouldn't be able to ask her about it directly.

"These ones, I think," Rapunzel said, her tone forceful, as if she were attempting to convince herself.

"Of course." Elsa glanced over the titles again. "They will all be interesting, I'm sure."

Together, they walked over to the counter where Haziel was waiting.

"Find everything you were looking for?" he asked kindly.

"I think so," Rapunzel replied as she set the books down on the table in front of him. "We didn't want to get too many when we're going to be walking around most of the day."

"Of course not." The old man wrapped them in brown paper and string. "You wouldn't want to lose them, I'm sure. It may be good for my business, but it would be bad for your purse if you had to buy them again. That will be eight coronae and six silver."

Elsa handed him the coins, which he spirited away into his money box.

As they were leaving, he called out, "Enjoy the festival!"

The streets seemed busier and more crowded now that they were out of the shop, and Elsa put the package with Rapunzel's books in her satchel so it wouldn't get lost before they continued through the town.

"How about lunch?" Rapunzel suggested. "I didn't realize it, but we were in there for a while."

"Okay. Is there anything in particular you want to try?"

"No. Why don't you choose? You know more about the food around here than I do."

Elsa glanced around the courtyard they found themselves in, looking for the carts where people were selling street fare. There were many things being offered, but not everything was entirely portable, which was preferred so they could spend more time exploring. Finally, she settled on a stand that was selling a kind of flatbread wrap. It was stuffed with glazed pork, spinach, and tomatoes. Gesturing for Rapunzel to wait where she was, Elsa waited in the line to buy one for each of them. She returned with the two wraps, four copper lighter.

Their pace was slow and their path winding as they took turns on a whim, searching for something new around the city. What they found, after they had finished eating, was a square where children were drawing with chalk on the cobbles.

Elsa could feel the intense desire to join them rolling off of Rapunzel.

"Here," she said, passing a few silvers to the girl. When Rapunzel looked up at her confused, she pointed to the vendor selling the chalk. "You can't join them if you don't have any materials, can you?"

A beaming smile lit up Rapunzel's face. "Thank you," she cried before racing across the square.

Elsa found a place to watch on the edge of the square, where many of the Mothers were watching over their children.

One of the women leaned over. "She's quite energetic, your friend," she said.

"So she is," Elsa agreed. "She loves painting. I suppose this was just a natural progression to that."

"Painting? That must get expensive."

Elsa frowned. "I don't know about that. I think she might make her own." She knew that Rapunzel wasn't going anywhere to get paint, and it was difficult to get paint, especially if it was already mixed. She somehow doubted that Rapunzel's Mother would tolerate that expense. None of the thoughts she had about Rapunzel's Mother were particularly charitable, but she hadn't earned any respect in Elsa's eyes since most of her visible actions were smothering her daughter, locking her away in a tower away from everyone else. She knew she was biased in this, but she couldn't shake the feeling that there was something wrong with that sort of relationship.

As she watched, Rapunzel marked out a large area in the shape of Corona's symbol, the sun. She outlined it in purple before filling in the sun with gold colored chalk. Elsa quickly lost track of how long she had been sitting there as the young woman began adding painstaking detail to the image. Within the sun itself, there were swirls of yellow, red, and orange which offset the gold nicely and gave the appearance that the sun was burning in the center of the square. Then she began to work around the image of the sun, working only in shades of purple and pink. Elsa couldn't help but stare at the incredible level of detail she managed to get out of the limited color palate. Families of various kinds sprang into being around the tendrils of the sun, some young, some old, some just getting started, some long established, and all of them happy.

A thought struck Elsa. These were all images of families, of people they had seen in the city today, and it had to be something Rapunzel desperately wanted to fixate on the idea like that. Elsa knew that when she was on her own, the one thing she had wanted most was a friend. And she had, albeit accidentally, made friends for herself with the gift of ice she'd been born with. Something within her had taken that need and given it form. Perhaps something similar was happening with Rapunzel. She had a distinct gift for art, clearly regardless of the medium, and she had consciously or unconsciously revealed that desire through her art.

Finally, she sat back rubbing the sweat from her forehead and leaving behind a purple streak from the chalk on her hands. She turned towards Elsa and grinned, either unaware or uncaring that she had colored herself as well as the cobbles. Elsa returned the smile, more determined than ever for the girl to have a good day in the town. Rapunzel wanted a loving family and though Elsa didn't think she could give her that, it was well within her power to be a friend.

"Do you like it?" Rapunzel asked. "I've never worked with chalk before, but it was close enough to charcoal I think."

"It's beautiful. I don't know how you managed that level of detail." Elsa glanced around the square, gauging the reactions of the people around them. "I think the locals will be sad to see this go when the fall rains come."

"I don't know about that."

"No, look." Elsa gestured around them. "No one is stepping on it because that would smudge it, even the children are careful not to let their own projects spill over into yours."

A touch of pink appeared in Rapunzel's cheeks and it blended nicely with the purple streaked across her face. She crossed to a basin of water, the contents of which were already grey from several people washing off the chalk. The color came off her hands easily enough, and Elsa held out a handkerchief.

At Rapunzel's confused look, she explained, "You have a bit on your face. And I don't think you want to stick your head in that."

"No," Rapunzel replied, eyeing the grey water distastefully. Though now it had taken on a purple tinge. She took the handkerchief and dipped a corner of it into the water before scrubbing at her face. "Is that it?"

"There's just a little bit more."

"Here." Rapunzel handed it back to her. "You get it. I can't see it to take care of it myself."

It was only after all traces of purple chalk were gone that Elsa realized how close they were and froze, unsure what to do without making the situation awkward. They stepped apart almost simultaneously.

"Thanks," Rapunzel said, brushing an imaginary lock of hair back behind her ear.

"You're welcome." Elsa tried to hand back the handkerchief.

"I thought that was yours?"

"Oh." Sheepishly, Elsa tucked it in back in the bag.

They continued walking through the town, down the street where resident artisans showed off their work. Unlike the market street vendors, there were more elaborate pieces in that section of town, pieces that would not have made any sort of journey easily. Rapunzel oohed and aahed over the paintings and sculptures, the fine jewelry and the delicate pieces of pottery. Elsa stopped in front of one shop, her eyes caught on a beautiful jeweled rose. She didn't want it, not exactly, but she thought it looked like something that should have been for Princess Elidi, a present upon reaching her majority.

Elsa had been young, but she remembered when news of the princess's abduction reached Arendelle, and how her parents cried for their friends. Later, when she had begun her lessons on politics and the crown's duty to the people, she also learned that Princess Elidi was the product of a difficult birth, and Corona had no heir without her as King Frederic and Queen Arianna couldn't have any more children. The first time the King and Queen of Corona visited Arendelle, she had learned enough tact not to ask about it. Living in Corona though, she felt the absence of the Crown Princess as acutely as any other resident.

Rapunzel drew her attention again, the sunshine flashing off her hair as she bent to examine an intricately carved chair. Rapunzel hadn't known about the Lost Princess. Elsa was certain it was because of her Mother's intent to keep the girl isolated in a tower. Supposedly for her protection. The more Elsa thought about the woman, the less she liked her. She knew that protection wasn't always the best thing for a person, something which her own background reinforced. She shuddered to think what it would have been like if she hadn't realized she could get her powers back under control. The strange trolls in the mountain had told her that fear would be her enemy and it was only when people were afraid of her power that she felt unstable in her abilities. Since leaving, she hadn't had any problems at all.

Elsa knew that Rapunzel could take care of herself if it came to that. The girl was a bit naïve, but it was more from lack of experience than simplicity of the mind. And she could listen and learn the things Elsa was teaching about the world. Being a thief, Elsa was uniquely qualified to identify the worst humanity had to offer and what to watch out for. It was easy enough to teach Rapunzel everything she knew about life outside the tower and how to adapt to the streets from a pampered and protected lifestyle. A small part of her dared to believe that she could leave her thieving behind. With the money for the crown, she had more than enough to buy a small house and live there for a long time to come.

Her thoughts spun away, piecing together something and slotting Rapunzel into place within the idea. They could live in a small shop where Rapunzel could sell her art. Elsa could manage it so nothing would interrupt the girl and perhaps she could set herself up as an ice sculptor. If they stayed here in Isleport, Rapunzel could go to the Solstice festival every year and see the lanterns.

She sighed. It was a dream. One she would have to consider more, but a dream all the same. She looked at Rapunzel, wondering how much longer it would last, feeling not for the first time the inevitability of their parting. It didn't matter where or when, but someday they would have to go their separate ways, and Elsa knew wishing would not stop that day from coming.

Rapunzel looked up, locking eyes with her and suddenly Elsa was drowning in summer green, warm enough to keep the perpetual chill of winter in her veins away.

"Can we go back to the square with the dancers?" she asked.

"Of course," Elsa replied, glad that years of training to be a ruler made her good at concealing her emotions. She didn't know exactly what she wanted, but she didn't want to put that deep longing on display for all to see. And certainly not in front of Rapunzel.

They veered down the streets where the bakeries and confectioners had their shops and Elsa stopped to purchase a small frosted cake for each of them and a small piece of candied fruit for Pascal the chameleon. He'd spent most of the day hiding in Rapunzel's hair or in Elsa's satchel and he deserved something for being so nice for them.

Back in the dance square, people were just finishing a slower song for couples.

"Look, there's Angelos," Rapunzel said, pointing to the man where he sat with the other musicians. Clearly, he had come out for the later part of the festival. She waved to him and he waved back after a moment before leaning over to talk to his fellows. One of the musicians grinned and began playing a fast-paced energetic song.

Almost immediately, Rapunzel was out in the middle of the square, pulling more people in to dance with her. Elsa stood back, simply watching the joyous display of life and vitality opening up before her. The sun, it seemed, was at Rapunzel's command as the square seemed instantly brighter and warmer than it had been only moments before. In that moment, Elsa was sure there was something more to the girl's magic than just healing hair. It was in her body, in everything she did, in every look she gave people. Rapunzel, without lessons and without prior exposure to large crowds, knew how to work a room. Or a square, as the case may be. She was everywhere at once, pulling in one person here, another four over there, and spinning in the midst of everything.

Elsa felt Pascal creep up to her shoulder from the satchel. Glancing at him, he too was transfixed at the sight of Rapunzel looking so free. Here was a creature who had known Rapunzel for a long time. He had to know her better than anyone.

"Is she like this often?" Elsa asked quietly.

The chameleon gave her a searching look before shaking his head.

"Is it because of her Mother?"

After a pause, he nodded.

"You don't want her to go back." She didn't need to ask it, she could see it in his eyes.

Still, he shook his head in answer.

"I don't want her to go back either," Elsa admitted. "I don't know if it's safe for her there. What would her Mother do if she found out that Rapunzel had come here?"

Pascal shivered, and Elsa didn't think it was because of the aura of winter she exuded.

"Does Rapunzel's Mother know about you? I can't imagine she'd approve."

Another shake of the head.

"Is there some way to convince Rapunzel to stay here? I could buy her a house. She could be an artist and sell her work."

He shrugged and pointed his tail at the dancing girl.

"Of course. At the end of the day, it will always be her decision." Elsa saw a lantern vendor nearby and crossed over to it to buy a couple lanterns. "But I think she'll enjoy being part of the lantern festival this time, no matter what she decides."

She tried not to blush as the chameleon nuzzled against her cheek. But she was glad he approved.

Before long, a call went up that halted the music. "TO THE BOATS!"

Rapunzel rushed up to her, bouncing on the ends of her feet, a golden ball of nervous energy. "I can't believe we did this!" she gushed, far too excited to feel anything else.

"Come on. Let's find a small rowboat. Something tells me that out on the water is the best place to view this." Elsa led her down to a small pier, where a few boats were waiting for passengers. She paid the few silvers for using the boat to view the lantern. Others seemed to be paying to ride on the larger ships out into the harbor, where they wouldn't have to do any of the work getting there. She was sure that neither of them was afraid of the work it would take to get out to a good vantage place to see the lanterns.

Setting her satchel, the two paper lanterns, and Pascal down on one of the benches in the boat, she helped Rapunzel into it and picked up the oars. With the subtle assistance of ice on the hull, it wasn't long before they were out in the middle of the harbor between the city and the mainland.

Suddenly, rising out of the city like dust on the wind were the first of the lanterns. Elsa sneaked a glance at Rapunzel and smiled to herself at the look of pure awe on the girl's face. Looking back towards the city, she too was amazed by the beauty of a thousand and more paper lanterns rising into the sky. It was a different kind of magic than the two of them were used to, one that was wholly ordinary and marvelous at the same time.

Elsa drew her satchel closer to her and dug out a candle and a small flint lighter. It took a couple of tries, but she lit the candle, and then the lanterns she had bought. Blowing out the candle and setting it to the side, she reached over and patted Rapunzel's arm.

"Part of the fun, I think, is sending up your own lantern," Elsa said, holding out one lantern towards Rapunzel.

The girl took it reverently, her eyes shining in the flickering light. "What do I do?"

"Just let it go. It will float all on its own." Elsa released her own lantern with a gentle lift towards the sky in demonstration.

Rapunzel copied her movements and soon the two lanterns were floating in spiraling circle up into the night, twirling around one another like dancers. She leaned back and watched them. Elsa couldn't look away from the small smile of contentment slowing creeping in at the corners of the girl's mouth.

Elsa was comfortable here, as if the rest of the world and all of its worries had fallen away and it was just the two of them in existence. There was no country she had abandoned, no posters demanding her capture, no expectations of being anything more than she was. There was just Rapunzel and her sitting in a boat and watching lanterns float across a star-strewn backdrop. Elsa knew that everything was still there, but it didn't matter right here and right now, and she felt for the first time in a long time like she had found a safe place to rest.

"I don't want this to end," Rapunzel whispered. "I don't think I could ever have a better birthday than this."

Slowly, her words filtered through Elsa's thoughts and the final piece of a puzzle she didn't know she was solving fell into place.

"Today's your birthday?" Elsa asked, trying to slow the avalanche in her mind.

Rapunzel nodded. "That's why I had to see the lanterns for myself. They always appeared on my birthday and I felt like they meant something, as if there was something about them I was supposed to figure out. Like a message, and I just had to know what it was because I was turning eighteen. I needed to see them, you know?"

"I know." Everything Elsa knew about Princess Elidi was flying through her thoughts. Golden hair? Yes. Green eyes? Yes. Eighteen years old? That was just confirmed. And Rapunzel looked so much like Queen Arianna she didn't know why she hadn't realized it before.

But Rapunzel had a Mother, someone who had cared for her throughout her life. By keeping her locked in a tower and never letting her out. Didn't the stories say that some old woman had stolen the princess? And the desperate controlling need to keep Rapunzel out of sight made so much more sense if Rapunzel was truly Princess Elidi.

The world outside was flooding back in rapidly and Elsa didn't have the energy to hold it back. Rapunzel, the girl she had brought to the heart of Corona, was almost certainly the kingdom's lost princess. Elsa straightened her spine, royal duties and moral imperatives reasserting themselves after spending so long buried beneath the persona of a thief.

"We have one more thing to do before we call it a day," Elsa told Rapunzel, reaching for the oars to row them back to shore. "Just trust me."

"Of course."

Rapunzel didn't doubt Elsa's word, but there was clearly something bothering her as they walked up the streets that were now almost empty. There were a few spots of life around them, a building every here and there with lights lit and the sound of singing and laughter echoing from within. Fortunately, there were street lamps by which they could see the streets themselves and Elsa seemed to know exactly where they were going.

"Is something wrong?" Rapunzel finally asked, unable to take the unnatural silence between them anymore. Pascal could sense it too and squeaked quietly in her ear in comfort.

"No," Elsa replied quickly. A little too quickly to her mind. "Not really." She paused and turned to Rapunzel. "I have a suspicion. It may or may not be true, but we need to go to the palace to find out if I'm correct."

"About what?"

"Rapunzel, I think you might be the Lost Princess."

Rapunzel blinked. She didn't know what she had expected to hear, but that was not it. "Why?"

Elsa tugged on the end of her hair which had come loose from the pins. "It's the combination of a lot of things, I think. I don't know if I completely understand it all myself, which is why we need to go to the palace." She took in a deep breath. "Because if you are the Lost Princess, then your parents would know."

Rapunzel swayed on her feet, suddenly unsteady. She was grateful when Elsa pulled her close as it kept her upright. Together, they started moving again.

"I'm sorry," Elsa whispered. "But Corona needs their princess, and I thought you would want to know. I know King Frederic and Queen Arianna would want to know as well. I just wish you didn't have to find out like this."

"Why was the Lost Princess lost?" Rapunzel burrowed deeper into Elsa's arms desperate for the stark chill radiating off her and the odd comfort it gave by being there.

"She was taken as a baby, shortly after her first birthday. No one really knows why she was taken and there were no demands made to ensure her safe return. Corona doesn't really have any enemies, none that would do something so heinous as take the Crown Princess, and I think many were fearing the worst as there was no news and no sightings of anyone with a small blonde infant."

Rapunzel's breath caught in her throat. "Elsa," she whimpered. "My hair."

Elsa faltered as they walked. "I don't think anyone knew about that at the time. They would have been discreet about that if they did, but it would have given them a better idea of what to look for if they knew. So, who did know?"

A sick feeling settled in Rapunzel's stomach, and it didn't feel like it was going to dissipate anytime soon. "Mother," she breathed. "Mother's always known about it. It's her song that activates my hair."

Elsa hugged her closer, but Rapunzel's thoughts were reeling, wondering how many lies she had been told over the years by the woman she called Mother. Mother had used her hair almost every day. For energy, for looking younger, for anything and everything that benefitted her. Rarely did Rapunzel use the magic for anything herself. She would swing around with her hair, use it to grab things, but she only ever used her magic to heal herself and others when it was a serious injury.

Suddenly they were standing in front of the palace and Rapunzel took in a deep shuddering breath. She was scared, terrified of what it would mean if Elsa was right. That Mother had used her for years, had taken her from her real home and her real parents. She was afraid of what the king and queen might say, if she was their daughter and she had let herself be used and lied to and only bothered to leave because she wanted to see the lantern festival. Would they be disappointed with her?

And what if Elsa was wrong? Rapunzel couldn't ignore the fact that her Mother was using her for her hair. Her mind was flashing back through every encounter they had ever had and it was clear that her Mother cared more for her hair than she cared for the girl attached to it.

She heard Elsa saying something to one of the guards at the gate but she was too distracted to comprehend the words. They were ushered inside to a sitting room that looked both expensive and homey, the way she had always wanted the tower to feel. In a daze, she glanced around eyeing the highly detailed paintings with interest. She was still clinging to Elsa for dear life and didn't want to examine the paintings any closer if it meant she had to leave where she felt safe.

Mother never made me feel like this, she thought distantly. I never felt safe when she was holding me.

The sound of doors opening sounded behind her and Elsa stood, turned around, and knelt before the man and woman who entered the room. The king and queen.

Rapunzel was frozen in place, stuck examining these people who could be part of her past and her future. King Frederic was tall and broad of chest and shoulders, like the laborers she'd seen in town. There was something about him, about the way he carried himself that she realized was distinctly regal. It slotted into place with all the descriptions of monarchs she'd read about in her books. Beside him, Queen Arianna looked almost frail with her short stature and her thin build. It took her a moment to realize that neither were wearing their crowns. They looked almost ordinary without them.

She winced at the sharp gasp from Queen Arianna, who slowly edged forward and placed a hand on Rapunzel's cheek, drawing their eyes to meet.

It was almost like looking in a mirror. Green eyes stared back into her own, brown hair the exact shade of her shorn lock hung around cheeks that her Mother had often called chubby, but were simply full with health. A tear slipped down the queen's cheek as her other arm came up and she embraced Rapunzel.

"Elidi, my daughter, you've come home!"

A small squeak burst out of Rapunzel as she was held in a hug tighter and warmer than any she could remember receiving. The warmth surrounded her as the king moved around to embrace her between the two of them. She started crying, unable to contain herself as the feelings filled her. This was home, and it was far deeper and far greater than anything she had read about in her books. It was something she never realized was missing from her life until the void was filled, and it scared her to feel something as powerful as this for the first time.

She didn't know how long she clung to them and they clung to her, but it didn't feel like enough. Still, the king and queen—her Mother and Father—kept their hands on some part of her, as if she might disappear. Her Father held her shoulder with the reassuring pressure she needed to stand up straight, and her Mother clutched one of her arms to her chest. Then they turned to look at Elsa.

"Rise," King Frederic said, offering a hand to help her up. "Someone who brings our daughter back to us has earned the right to stand in our presence."

"Thank you, your Highness." She curtsied, but remained standing. "May I have permission to hug the princess?"

The king's only response was a short bark of laughter and a gesture that could clearly be interpreted as 'feel free'. Elsa didn't rush forward as Rapunzel expected but her hug was as tight and as wet as the hug with her parents had been. She was slightly alarmed to feel Elsa's tears on her shoulder.

"Don't go!" Rapunzel begged. "I don't know what I would do if you left."

"You're welcome to stay here with us," King Frederic offered. "For the night at the very least. I want to know how you came to find Elidi."

"We had a room at an inn..."

"I can send one of the guards to gather your things." Before she could protest, the king cut her off. "It's no trouble, I assure you. Not for someone who has returned our happiness to us. I would give you anything you asked for."

Queen Arianna, who had been quiet for some time, suddenly gasped. "Elsa?"

Elsa winced but nodded, and Rapunzel wondered if she might lose her after all.

"Elsa, you've been here all this time?"

"How do you know Elsa?" Rapunzel asked. Elsa had told her that she had run away from home and that her parents were still looking for her, but it didn't seem like the sort of thing the king and queen of a different country would be concerned about.

"You must stay with us," King Frederic told Elsa. "We insist."

"Elsa is the crown princess of Arendelle," Queen Arianna explained. "She's been missing for almost six years now."

At this, Elsa visibly wilted and Rapunzel reached out, catching one of her hands in her own.

"You're still my friend," she told her. "I don't care about that. I care about you." She turned to her parents. "She told me that they were afraid of her powers. She has them under control, but they were still afraid, and she didn't feel as if she belonged there because of her powers."

"Powers?" Queen Arianna wondered aloud.

Letting go of Rapunzel's hand, Elsa twirled one hand above the palm of her other hand. A small cloud popped into existence above her palm and began snowing lightly. When a significant amount of snow accumulated in her hand, she cupped both hands together and pulled them apart slowly. Something was forming out of ice between her fingers, and suddenly there was a delicate crown of ice sitting in her hands. She then offered the crown to Rapunzel.

"Powers," Elsa confirmed unnecessarily. "And I do have them under control, but they've gotten a lot stronger than they were when I was a girl and because I made a mistake then, they don't really trust me not to do it again. To save Anna's life, they had to make her forget about my powers, and I was isolated so she wouldn't see one of my outbursts and remember, which would put her in danger again."

"Please let her stay here?" Rapunzel begged. "I won't ask for anything else."

"We have to tell them," Queen Arianna insisted. "I'm sure they've been afraid for you ever since you left home." She leaned in closer to Rapunzel, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Frederic and I know what that's like. But..." She paused, and a conversation occurred between the king and queen with a look. "The soonest we would be able to get a message to Arendelle would be a month, if it left by the morning tide. Which means that the soonest an envoy can arrive from Arendelle is two months from tomorrow. It's not a lot of time, but I think that's the best we can do."

"But until then, please, stay with us. I think Elidi's heart if you left." King Frederic patted Elsa's shoulder and smiled at her through his beard.

"Yes, please do," Rapunzel begged. "If nothing else, then to help me get used to the name Elidi."

"What name have you been going by?" The king and queen both looked confused at her declaration, as confused as she had been when they referred to her as Elidi the first time.

"Rapunzel. That's what Mo—the woman who took me said my name was. I didn't know any better."

She was suddenly enveloped in a hug again and the feeling burnt away the residual doubts that they might reject her for being blind to how she had been used. When the doubt was gone, she was just angry that she had been used and told them about her and what she had done. They sat on the couches in the sitting room and she told them everything she knew about the woman she had called Mother, all of the things she had learned to do while alone in the tower. She introduced them to Pascal, who turned red under the scrutiny. Eventually, she fell asleep tucked between her parents, a sensation of utter contentment settling in her chest.

Rapunzel woke up in a large bed with the sun creeping through a large window. She didn't remember going to this room, but it was comfortable and cool. The events of the day before caught up and it felt like a dream even though she knew it couldn't be.

She sat up in the bed, spying Pascal curled up on a small pillow on a nearby table.

"I'm the Lost Princess," she whispered, hoping that saying it out loud would make it sound more real. "My parents are the king and queen and my real name is Elidi."

On his pillow, Pascal yawned and stretched, blinking up at her as reality began to settle back in place.

"I am the Lost Princess."

Her hair had been unbraided, and there was a brush sitting on the table. It had been almost two days since she brushed her hair and though it was still clean, it did feel like there were a few tangles in it. She remembered explaining about her hair to her parents, about what happened if it was ever cut, but it was a chore to take care of it. There were some benefits to it, like the fact that it seemed almost prehensile with her ability to grip and pull, to swing and snap. She just wished it could be shorter.

After she had finished brushing her hair, she ventured out into the hall. There were guards standing at either side of her door.

"Good morning, princess," one said with a deep bow. "Would you like us to escort you to the dining hall?"

"Oh. Yes, please." She gathered up her hair, looping it loosely around her arm and walking slightly behind the two guards. They led her through the halls, which didn't wind as much as the storybooks led her to believe, until they reached a set of double doors with another couple of guards stationed beside them.

The new guards opened the doors for her while hers began marching off. She assumed they had other duties to attend to when they weren't escorting her.

King Frederic and Queen Arianna were already seated in the dining hall and there was a place set between them for her. Smiling brightly, she skipped over to them, hugging each tightly and relishing the warm feeling of completeness that suffused her. She couldn't doubt that she was home now, and she didn't want to leave ever again. She glanced over to where a place was set for Elsa.

"Is she not awake yet?"

"Apparently not," the queen replied. "But after yesterday, I would be inclined to let her lie in. Although I do hope she'll be there later when we announce your return to the people."

"What?" A sliver of trepidation slipped into Rapunzel's sense of ease.

"You are the crown princess. The people will want to know that you've returned." No doubt reading the fear in Rapunzel's eyes, the queen smiled reassuringly. "They will love you. It doesn't matter where you have been or what you have done or has been done to you. They'll want to know their princess, and I think they'll be pleased that it's you."

They were distracted as the door opened and Elsa appeared. She curtsied to the king and queen before crossing to the place set aside for her. Her hair was hanging loose around her shoulders. There was a delicate wave to it that brushed against her high cheekbones and the white blonde color accentuated the pale rosiness in her cheeks.

"Good morning, Elsa," King Frederic greeted her. "I trust you slept well."

"Yes, your Highness." Rapunzel watched as she carefully folded her napkin into her lap. "Have you already sent the message to Arendelle?"

"Not yet," Queen Arianna admitted. "We wanted to be sure you would be okay with it."

Elsa paused, frozen in her seat like she had been caught out in something. She sighed. "I suppose I knew this was inevitable, but I had hoped I would never encounter this situation." Their eyes met briefly before Elsa looked away. "If it happened any other way, I would still be running, but I don't think I can do that now."

"You will still have time to decide what you want to do. We won't stop you. Perhaps Agnarr and Iduna would let you stay here."

"Perhaps." Elsa reached for one of the buttered rolls on a platter in the center of the table. "I suppose we shall see."

Silence fell, and Rapunzel desperately wanted it to end.

"They're going to announce my return later today." Rapunzel pushed a few pieces of fruit around her plate. She didn't want to admit how nervous the thought of doing that made her, especially after her Mother—her real Mother—had assured her that everything would be fine. "I hope you'll be there with me." She ducked her head as a realization came over her. "I don't think I could do this without you."

It was a strange thing to articulate for her, as she had always been content to survive on her own. Whenever moth—that woman left, she had only herself and her books to keep her entertained. After a while, she had Pascal, but theirs was a friendship built on years of mutual need and companionship. Elsa had appeared in her life only a couple days ago, and it was odd that Rapunzel so easily accepted her as a fixture in her life. Stranger still that she would rely so heavily on her. She found herself dreading Arendelle's response as much as she imagined Elsa was.

Elsa set down her silverware. "Of course I'll be there," she replied. "I have never abandoned you when you needed me, have I?"

"Of course not." Rapunzel released the tension she hadn't realized was building in her body. She hadn't really thought that Elsa would leave her, but some part of her had still been afraid of that happening.

"Although if you are to be presented as a princess, I think you'll want to dress for the occasion." She turned her attention to the queen. "Your Highness, are there some garments that we might modify for Rapunzel's, I mean, Elidi's use? I'm sure that between the two of us, we can have something suitable ready by this afternoon. She is quite skilled, as she made her dress and the one I was wearing last night."

"I think we can find something," Queen Arianna answered thoughtfully. "We'll see to that after breakfast."

Elsa released a deep breath when she was alone after selecting and modifying gowns for the announcement. The gown that had been altered for her was hanging over her arm as she returned to the suite of rooms she had been given.

It was more difficult than she thought it would be suppress the desire to run. Only when she focused on Rapunz—Elidi did the feeling of being trapped melt away. And Elidi had asked her to stay. If she still wanted her there, Elsa would be at Elidi's side when the envoy from Arendelle arrived in two months' time.

A shiver went through her as she realized what she was willing sacrifice her freedom for Rap—Elidi's happiness.

Although, she realized, running away from Arendelle had never really been about freedom in the traditional sense. No, she had wanted the freedom to be herself, and Elidi was more than willing to let her have exactly that. They were two of a kind, possessed of a magic of a magic they would never fully understand and trapped by the expectations of that power. In a way, they had both faced one of their worst fears regarding their powers. R—Elidi had been used while Elsa had lost control and hurt someone she loved.

The memory of her nine-year-old self hitting Anna with a blast of ice assaulted her mind and she firmly clamped down on her fear.

"Your power will only grow," the troll said. "There is beauty in it, but also great danger. You must learn to control it." She had watched the pictures he made in the air. "Fear will be your enemy." She gasped as the beautiful snowflake turned red and malicious, and the figures of people around her turned red as well and attacked the figure of her.

She sighed. Her Father had said she could learn to control it, but in the very next breath, he had let his own fear dictate how she should proceed and nothing good had truly come of it. She hadn't liked being afraid of her own powers, especially when she knew that she'd had them under control before that point. If nothing else, she wanted her Father to admit that he was wrong to teach her that she was so out of control that she couldn't be trusted to be around most people. She had tried his way for five years and nothing was getting any better. But in the five years since she had left Arendelle, she hadn't frozen anyone, and she had learned the hard and soft limits of her power. Her way had worked.

Shaking her head to dislodge the doubts attempting to settle there, she stripped out of the plain dress she had put on that morning. The new dress, an old gown from the queen's wardrobe, was a pale green that bordered on blue and so set off her blue eyes and pale skin rather well. Elidi had pulled in the waist and the bust so it would hug Elsa's figure better, the way the dress was intended to. As royal gowns went, it was fairly common and unadorned, with small clusters of ivy embroidered around the hem, the bodice, and the ends of the sleeves.

Once she was dressed, she gazed at herself in the mirror, trying to remember the last time she had dressed in such a fine gown. It had to have been before the incident with Anna, as the castle was closed to the public and the Arendelle court no longer held any balls. All in the name of protecting her. But here she was, halfway to her twentieth birthday and dressing for a celebration she had accidentally brought about.

She wondered what Anna would have said.

Having no wish to upstage Elidi or draw undeserved attention to herself, Elsa twisted her hair into a simple braid, creating a small vine of ivy out of ice to hold the braid in place. When she was satisfied she looked properly forgettable, she made her way down the hall to Elidi's rooms.

The guards at the door nodded respectfully to Elsa, and a small tendril of guilt bloomed in her gut remembering how she had stolen Ra—Elidi's crown only a few days ago. Although she assumed they would forgive her since she brought the princess herself back, it did nothing to prevent the sick realization that she had technically stolen from Elidi. From Rapunzel, which was something she wished she would never do.

She knocked gently on the door.

"Come in!" Elidi called.

Elsa slipped inside and immediately stopped at the sight. Rapunzel was wearing purple, which suited her coloring quite well in addition to being one of Corona's royal colors. It was a richer and deeper purple than the lavender dress she had been wearing, and had small accents of gold embroidery throughout. The sleeves were a bit longer than those on her lavender dress, but they didn't reach past her elbows. The skirt had been pinned up so it was off the ground and wouldn't interfere with her movement. On her feet were a pair of soft brown slippers.

Rapunzel's—Elidi's hair was by far the most striking feature however. A section at the top had been separated and braided, then twisted around until it looked like there was a large golden rosette attached to her head. The rest of her hair had been looped back on itself and pinned until it appeared as though her hair was only waist length. Clearly this was not the case with the sheer volume of hair, but the loops were firmly secured around and beneath the braided rosette.

"Are you okay?" Elidi asked hesitantly, reaching out towards Elsa.

"You're beautiful," Elsa whispered, unable to string any more coherent thoughts together. In that moment, Rapunzel had transformed into the princess she should have always been, beautiful and pure.

Elidi tugged lightly on one of the loops of hair, blushing slightly. "Thank you."

"Elidi? Oh, good, you're both here." The queen entered the room, interrupting any other thoughts that might have come about. "Everything is ready, and we are just waiting on the two of you." She considered her daughter for a moment before walking over to a series of boxes set out on a table. She opened one seemingly at random and removed a delicate tiara that glittered in the sunlight.

The tiara wasn't like the crown Elsa had taken. This one was made of silver and was set with pearls and small emeralds which brought out the green in Elidi's eyes. Once it was settled on her head, she looked like a proper princess, though it was clear from the way she was standing that she didn't feel like one.

Elsa stepped up beside her. "Don't worry," she said quietly. "You are a princess, even if you don't feel comfortable in all this. And you are beautiful, no matter what anyone else says."

Still there was an uncertain look on Rap—Elidi's face and Elsa had a guess as to why.

"Don't think about her." When Elidi glanced at Elsa's reflection in surprised, she knew she had guessed correctly. "She was a liar, and you know this now. But I will do my best to never lie to you."

And to her knowledge, she hadn't once lied to Elidi. Or to Rapunzel. There were times she didn't mention everything, like the fact that she was the Crown Princess of Arendelle, but she had told as much of the truth as she could and left the rest unsaid.

There was a sudden trumpeting echoing through the castle and Queen Arianna glanced up and out in the direction it had come from. "Oh dear. We need to be going now. It wouldn't do to be late for our own announcement."

They moved swiftly through the halls with the guards on either side of them towards the balcony overlooking the palace courtyard. The doors were open and King Frederic was there waiting for them. Elsa hung back, as was proper, and let the royals step out as a family, with Elidi tucked protectively between them. She stepped out and to the side, looking out over the crowd of people.

She smiled to herself at the sight of so many people there to welcome Elidi back to her rightful place. She could pick out faces in the crowd of people they had met. Angelos was there, standing near Magda with his mandolin slung over his shoulder. Even Wallace was there, a wistful smile on his face.

The blur of motion nearby was her only warning as a woman in a black cloak and a red dress rushed past her, heading for the royal family. The glint of silver in her hand forced Elsa to act and she placed herself between them and the strange woman brandishing a dagger.

It almost didn't hurt as the dagger slipped between her ribs because her power exploded out of her, blasting the woman back and into the castle wall.

Elsa's breath was coming in shallow breaths and she felt the ice creeping in at her fear threatened to consume her. She stumbled and fell to the ground, unable to soften the landing but unaware of the blow in the pain that was getting steadily worse. Still, something deep within her was calm knowing that Rapunzel was safe. She knew everything would be fine because Rapunzel was with her real family.

Someone lifted her head and set it on something softer, but she had her eyes closed and couldn't see anything. She didn't dare open them; she didn't want to see what pain she might be causing Rapunzel.

"Flower, gleam and glow," a quiet voice sang. "Let your power shine. Make the clock reverse, bring back what once was mine. Heal what has been hurt, change the Fates' design. Save what has been lost, bring back what once was mine, what once was mine."

The pain had slowly ebbed as the voice sang and peace had settled in Elsa's soul. She felt safe and her powers had stopped lashing out. She felt a hand cup her cheek.

"Elsa, open your eyes. Please."

She obeyed and found herself staring into Rapunzel's bright green eye. Her hair had been torn loose from its careful styling and now lay pooled on Elsa's chest. There were tears running down Rapunzel's cheeks and Elsa reached up to brush them away. She suddenly remembered a conversation they'd had the day before.

"Healing hair?"

A small laugh burst out of Rapunzel as she nodded. "Healing hair."

Slowly, Elsa sat up, still expecting pain but feeling none. She looked around, searching for the woman who had attacked and found her crumpled on the ground by the castle wall with royal guards standing over her. She was not moving. On the ground beside Elsa was the dagger, still covered in her blood which the blast of power had frozen to the blade.

Gradually, she became aware of the people in the courtyard murmuring with one another and pointing to her and Rapunzel. She let King Frederic help her to stand as Queen Arianna moved to help Rapunzel up.

"This is the second time you have saved my family," King Frederic intoned.

"I was just—"

He smiled. "No matter what happens, you will always be considered a member of our family. I cannot do any less than this knowing what you have done for us and for this kingdom. I am sorry that you were hurt."

"I didn't want anything to happen to her," Elsa whispered, nodding at Rapunzel. "She's too special to me."

"She is that." He turned to the assembled people. "Before this unfortunate matter happened, we arranged this meeting to announce the return of our daughter, the Princess Elidi." He held out a hand for Rapunzel—Elidi and drew her forward for the crowd to see. Her hair was still disheveled and the dress she wore rumpled. The tiara was sitting in her Mother's hands, utterly forgotten. "She was brought back by this woman, Princess Elsa of Arendelle." He rested a hand on Elsa's shoulder and she was glad of the comfort his touch radiated. "But for her bravery, her selflessness, and her care, I hereby give her the title of Lady Elsa of Corona that she be recognized as noble for her actions here as well as her lineage in Arendelle."

The crowd began to cheer and Elsa felt her cheeks heat under the praise. Blindly, she reached for Rapunzel and her warm presence. Rapunzel, it seemed, wanted her presence as well, as their hands met when the crowd began shouting, "Long live Princess Elidi!"

Together, flanked on either side by a few guards, the descended the steps into the crowd itself and were met by the jubilant people. They greeted Elidi and offered their thanks and congratulations to Elsa for everything she had done and received. Before long, they found themselves standing before Angelos and Magda.

"Now this is a surprise," Angelos commented. "I thought you looked familiar, Lady Elsa, but I didn't expect that your wonderful companion was the Lost Princess."

"I didn't know either," Elsa admitted. "Not until last evening."

"I obviously didn't know," Rapunzel put in. "I didn't even know about the story of the Lost Princess until Elsa told me."

"Well, you know now." Magda smiled and clutched her hands. "That is all that matters." She cast a sly glance Elsa's way. "Or most of the important things, anyway."

Continuing through the crowd, they ran into Wallace.

"Hey, kid," he greeted Rapunzel. "Good to see you found what you were looking for." He turned to Elsa. "A princess, huh? I don't think anyone guessed that that's what you were hiding. Of course, I don't blame you for doing that." He laughed. "But two lost princesses walked into the Snuggly Duckling. That's got to be a good story for slow nights."

"Don't forget to keep playing, Wallace," Rapunzel reminded him. "I'd like to hear you again sometime."

A look of pure joy bloomed on Wallace's face. "And I'll have to come up with a song fit for a princess." With a wide grin on his face, he offered her a deep bow and a quiet, "Thank you, your Highness."

Later that evening, Elsa looked at the slit torn in the dress by the dagger and the bloodstains around it. It didn't feel quite real, but she knew she had come incredible close to death. The dagger was sitting on a table near her bed because she had asked to keep it. She didn't know why she had wanted it. It wasn't nice or particularly well crafted. She had cleaned her blood off of it and it looked perfectly normal, but some instinct had told her to keep it, that she didn't want a weapon that had been used against her to remain out in the world.

The woman was dead. It was as much a relief as it was heavy on her soul. She knew that Rap—Elidi would be having trouble dealing with that knowledge because, liar or not, that was the woman who had raised her. And she hadn't gone to heal her after she had been hurt.

In fact, now that she thought about it, Elsa realized that the choice had been her or the woman and El—Rapunzel had chosen her. No matter her birth name, in that moment, she was Rapunzel and she had saved Elsa's life over the life of the woman she had called Mother. She was simultaneously honored Rapunzel had chosen her and horrified that she'd been put in that situation in the first place.

There was a knock on her door.

"Come in."

The door opened and there was the subject of her thoughts, standing barefoot and in her simple purple dress. She suddenly launched herself at Elsa and hugged her tightly.

"I was so scared," she whimpered.

"It's fine. Everything's okay. It's over now." Elsa hugged her back, laying her head on Rapunzel's and stroking her arms gently. "She can't hurt you now."

"Are you okay?"

Elsa blinked, caught slightly off guard by the question. "You're asking me that?"

"You were the one who got hurt."

"I'm fine. You do good work." She sighed. "I'm sorry I made you choose between us."

"I'm not." Rapunzel released the hug and sat on the end of Elsa's bed. "Since you broke me out of that tower, I've been thinking a lot about, well, her, and I realized that part of me, a big part of me, didn't want to go back. I don't know if I would have even though I intended to when we first left. But traveling with you, I got to see so much I had only read about, I got to learn things I had never even dreamed of, and by the end of the day I was looking for an excuse that would keep us together."

"I know what you mean." Elsa sat down beside her. "I had been alone for a long time, not really daring to let anyone get too close. I told myself it was too dangerous, that getting involved with someone else was the quick way to be discovered and sent home, and I didn't want that. But then I found you up in that tower. Or you found me. And I found it so easy to talk to you that I began hoping it never had to end." She rubbed her hands together. "I had never shown anyone my ice cave or Olaf and Marshmallow. Not even my parents know I can do that."

"What are you going to do? When the envoy from Arendelle comes."

"I don't yet. I suppose it will depend on who comes and what they say. Right now, I just want to stay here. You're here and I don't want to go anywhere else."

"Elsa?" Rapunzel bit her lip and glanced away. "Can you stay with me tonight? I need to know that you're safe and that nothing is going to happen."

"She is dead."

"I know, but I don't want anything to happen to you. And I don't think I could sleep if you're on the other side of the castle. I... missed you last night."

Elsa didn't know if she should mention that she missed sleeping next to her as well. "Of course. Just let me change into something else." She didn't think trekking across the palace in her torn and bloodstained gown would go over well with the king and queen, and it was likely to be a juicy bit of gossip for the servants.

Although if she was going to sleep in Rapunzel's room, she supposed the servants would have gossip either way.

She found a pale grey sleeping gown in the wardrobe and changed into that behind the privacy screen. As she was dressing, she took a moment to run a hand over the smooth skin where the dagger had pierced her. It seemed almost wrong that she was whole and unblemished after the ordeal, but there was little she could do about it. The gown was loose and flowing, a welcome change from the fitted gown and far more familiar to her after years of common clothes.

"Shall we go?" she asked, stepping out from behind the screen again and putting on a pair of day slippers.

As they stepped out into the hall, the guards at the doors moved up to escort them. Clearly, they were taking no chances with the safety of the princess, especially after the woman's attack earlier that day. Though they were fairly certain she was working alone, there could be no accounting for others. The princess had revealed a rare and valuable power in front of a crowd of people after all. Elsa was sure that if her own powers were more useful to others, someone would attempt to steal her as well. But ice was not a particularly marketable or useable talent for anything outside of making war, and the extent of what she could do was largely unknown, except that it would act in defense of her life.

There was another set of guards standing at the entrance to Elidi's suite of rooms. They opened the doors for the two of them as their escorts broke off.

Once inside and the doors were closed, Elsa took a moment to look around the main room. It was fairly simple, though it seemed that the king and queen—or the queen at the very least—had been listening to every word their daughter had said the night before. There were paints with canvases and smooth pieces of wood and other mediums. There was a pile of fabrics in a neat pile in one corner with a sewing basket nestled primly on top. In another corner there was a pottery wheel with and apron folded and sitting on the stool. A basin for hand-washing was sitting on a small stand nearby with a larger basin for mixing the clay itself sitting on the floor, which was stripped to bare stone. Likely to reduce the wear on carpets. One of the open doors led to a music room and Elsa could see a piano and a guitar sitting inside.

There was also, in a corner near the window, a small bowl of leafy vegetables and a large flat rock. Even if Pascal was not spread out on the rock, it would have been obvious what it was there for. The chameleon looked up at her and nodded, giving Elsa the distinct impression that he knew exactly what had happened earlier. She didn't know how she felt about that, but she hoped he considered it a good thing.

After taking another look around the room, Elsa smiled to herself. King Frederic and Queen Arianna were giving Elidi everything they hadn't been able to give her when she was missing, providing for her every need or want. As only a day had passed, she hadn't been able to see or use everything yet. Those the canvases and paints were disorganized enough that she guessed Rapunzel had already looked through them at the very least.

"You know," Elsa said quietly. "Before I realized you were the princess, I thought we might be able to make a little shop for you to sell your paintings. I saw everything you had done in the tower, and I was amazed by what you could do with chalk." She laughed. "Now that they realize you were the one to make it, they might try everything they can to preserve your drawing in the square."

"Really?" Rapunzel asked. "It was just a test for myself. To see what I could do if I limited myself to only a few colors."

"Well, if my opinion means anything, I think you passed the test. I've never seen so much detail put into a chalk drawing. And I know you can do a lot more with paints." She nodded in the direction of the art tools. "I'm sure your parents will enjoy anything you make for them."

Blushing as she crawled into the large bed, Rapunzel patted the place beside her. "I'll have to make something for you, too. Maybe a portrait. I want to try something like the pictures I saw on the walls in the dining hall."

Laying down beside her, Elsa wondered how a bed she'd never slept in could feel so much like home. "Then I'll gladly be your subject."

Before long, Rapunzel was asleep. The even sounds of her breath seemed to fill the room and all the tension that had built up in Elsa's body throughout the day simply melted away with every soft exhale.

As she lay there, the odd look Magda had given her floated back to the forefront of her mind. It was as though the older woman knew something that neither Elsa nor Rapunzel had yet figured out. Whatever it was, she was sure it had something to do with both of them and it wasn't malicious. Magda struck Elsa as the sort of woman who would speak up if there was a potential problem.

Rapunzel snuggled into her side, cutting off any further thoughts. If it was important, they would figure it out later.

Elsa fell asleep with a smile on her face, unconsciously clutching Rapunzel's hand.

Two months later...

Anna breathed in the chilly October morning air from the deck of the Swift Swan. When the letter had come that Elsa had been found, she had begged her parents to allow her to go even though she was only just sixteen. It had been years since she had seen her sister, longer even than when she had run away.

She shivered at the memory. Anna had been the one to discover that she was gone, as Elsa would usually respond to Anna knocking on her door. She would never answer it, but she always responded. So, when the day came that there was silence on the other side of the door, Anna had tried opening the door and found, alarmingly, that it was unlocked. The door had never been unlocked, not for her.

It had been too clean inside the room. The bed was made, the books on the shelf were perfectly even, and there didn't appear to be a smudge or track of dirt anywhere, though the latter could be explained by the fact that Elsa never went outside anymore. But Elsa wasn't in her room.

Anna remembered the frantic search of the palace, how for the first time in years every door had been opened and every curtain pulled back. And the only thing they found was a letter sitting under Elsa's pillow. A letter addressed to her.

Anna, it had said. I know it hasn't been easy for you these past few years. I know it seems like I abandoned you without explanation, and I'm sorry. I can't explain why I've done that or why I've gone even further away now, but I want you to know that I do love you. I love you far more than you know, and yes, I would love to make a snowman with you. I know it won't make sense now, but there are things I have to do, things I must do alone. I hope I will be able to come back someday and explain everything in person, and I'm sorry I'm not there to tell you goodbye to your face. Just know that no matter where I go, I will always think of you. Your sister, Elsa.

But Elsa had been missing for five years, and they hadn't heard another word about her in spite of the rewards their parents offered for her safe return and the people they sent out after her. It had seemed like Elsa of Arendelle had ceased to exist until a letter arrived from the king and queen of Corona, revealing that Elsa had returned their daughter to them on the night of her eighteenth birthday. It seemed so much like one of the stories in her books that Anna had to read the letter several times before she believed it.

The only way she had managed to convince Mother and Father to let her go in their place was using the argument that the rulers could not simply abandon their throne, and it would take far longer to prepare an expedition for them than to send her. Especially since it would be necessary to wait out the early winter storms before making their way back to Arendelle. Secretly, she was surprised that it had worked.

But here she was in Corona. Being further south than Arendelle, the kingdom was warmer than it would be if she were home. And, as it was only just turning to autumn, her cloak was slung over her arm rather than around her shoulders. It had been necessary and comfortable back in Arendelle, but it was merely a hassle in Corona.

Part of her was afraid that Elsa had disappeared again. It took a month for the letter from King Frederic and Queen Arianna to arrive and another month for her to make her way from Arendelle to Corona. A lot could happen in two months. Elsa had disappeared in only a day.

There were so many things Anna wanted to ask her. Why had she run away? Why had she suddenly closed herself off when they were kids? What couldn't she explain in her letter? And why had their parents looked so guilty when she showed it to them? When she thought about it, a lot of things had changed when Anna disappeared. They opened up the palace again and hired on more people. She actually had a lady in waiting who was currently in their shared cabin trying not to think about the fact that they were at sea. Elsa never had a lady in waiting, even though Mother had said it was something normal for princesses to have.

Anna had learned to stop asking question about Elsa around their parents because she kept getting increasingly curt responses. She couldn't shake the feeling that something about Elsa had been behind the isolation of the palace, something which had been practically confirmed with the reopening of it. Since she couldn't get answers out of her parents, she hoped Elsa could give them.

The ship glided slowly into the pier and Anna tore her eyes away from the city to watch the sailors go about their work. The royal flag of Arendelle, however, remained up, announcing her presence on the ship. With a sigh, she made her way to her cabin to tell Maja that they had rediscovered dry land.

When she reemerged, the pale Maja standing the requisite distance behind her, Anna saw that people had arrived on the pier while she had been away. People, being a sizeable contingent of royal guards with golden suns glittering on their breastplates. The air seemed to chill as they stepped aside revealing two blond women, one of whom was achingly familiar.

Anna drank in the sight of her older sister like a man in the desert. Elsa was taller and thinner than she remembered, and her hair was mostly hanging loose of any ties or ribbons with a delicate wave to it. She was dressed in a simple silver gown that shimmered slightly where it was embroidered with silver thread. Her eyes were wide and her hands trembling, and when Anna took a step forward, she took half a step back.

"Elsa," the other woman said, reaching out to touch her arm. "You're icing over the pier."

Anna blinked and saw that a thin layer of frost was spreading out from where Elsa was standing. Alarmed, she glanced back up into her sister's eyes. "Are you okay?"

Elsa stopped and it seemed like she only just realized that Anna was there despite having been staring at her since the guards stepped away. "Uh, yes. I think so."

The woman beside her huffed a little and stepped forward. "Hello, and welcome to Corona. I'm Princess Elidi, though you may hear me called Rapunzel. Adjusting to a new name after seventeen years is a little difficult, especially when you don't remember your original name to start with."

Anna's attention shifted to her. Unlike Elsa, whose hair was so blonde it was almost white, Princess Elidi's hair was a rich gold color. She wore it to her waist, and there were a couple small braids on either side pulled into an elaborately large rosette at the back of her head. Her lavender gown was also simple, but it was embroidered with snow-bells along the hem. She wore a jewel encrusted crown with three large teardrop shaped diamonds larger than any Anna had ever seen. She was sun-kissed and smiling, and there was an amused sparkle in her grass green eyes as they shifted between Anna and Elsa.

"Pleased to meet you, your Highness," Anna replied with a curtsy. "I and my parents were pleased to hear that you had been found."

"But more that Elsa had emerged from hiding." She tittered at Anna's guilty flush. "No, I understand. Finding out that someone you thought was lost forever is safe holds far more importance than the return of a lost royal of another kingdom." Princess Elidi glanced back at Elsa, who was still standing frozen and silent at the center of a circle of ice. "But I am merely here to support Lady Elsa and to offer you the hospitality of the palace for the matters that must be discussed." She smiled. "I can assure you that it will be a nicer than standing out on the pier. And will appear less like we are trying to rid ourselves of you."

Anna had to cover a snort of laughter before applying her lessons in etiquette. "Of course, your Highness. Thank you for your offer. We accept." She nodded a farewell to the sailors and walked down the gangplank and onto the pier.

The guards formed up around them again and Anna gazed longingly at Elsa. She was right there, but she seemed as far away as ever. Princess Elidi seemed nice, but she hoped that Elsa would finally talk to her. Seeing her didn't mean anything if everything was going to go back to the way they were before she had disappeared.

It didn't take long for them to get back to the palace. A guard escorted Maja to the suite where they would be staying for the duration of their visit while Anna followed Elidi and Elsa to a parlor. As soon as the door closed behind them, Anna took a few steps toward her sister, reaching out but stopping short before she touched her.

"Shall we sit down?" Princess Elidi suggested. "I think this will take a while, and it's not a conversation that needs to happen standing."

Anna took one of the couches near the fireplace. She was surprised when Elsa sat across from her.

"I'm..." Elsa bit her lip, then looked up to meet Anna's eyes. "I'm sure you have a lot of questions."

"Why did you leave?" Anna started as the words fell from her mouth without tact. She had wanted to be better about this, but it seemed that she wanted answers more than her self-control would allow her to curb her tongue.

"Before she answers that," Princess Elidi cut in, "I want to try something. And I'd like to think I'm a little better at this than a bunch of trolls."

"Trolls?" Neither woman answered her as Elidi unpinned a loop of hair that was far longer than Anna expected it to be, then wrapped it around Anna's head. "What are you doing?"

"You'll see in a minute." The princess began to sing. "Flower, gleam and glow. Let your power shine. Make the clock reverse, bring back what once was mine. Heal what has been hurt, change the fates' design. Save what has been lost, bring back what once was mine. What once was mine."

Anna had watched in fascination as Elidi's hair glowed and enjoyed the pleasant warmth that radiated from the loop wrapped around her head. As the glow faded, Anna felt slightly light-headed but better than she could ever remember feeling. It was like she'd been wearing boots that were too tight for so long that she had forgotten what it felt like to wear properly fitted shoes.

"Huh," Elidi said as she stepped back. "Looks like that fixed the white streak too. That's a shame; I thought it looked good."

"What?" Anna raced over to a mirror hanging on the wall, clutching at a braid that was now all copper. "What did—? How did you do that?"

"I can heal things with my hair. But that's not the important bit." Elidi dragged her back over to the couch and sat her down facing Elsa. "Now, talk."

Elsa sighed, but it seemed more amused than anything else. She smiled at Elidi before turning back to Anna. "You wanted to know why I left?"

Anna nodded.

"To explain that, I need to go back a bit further. Do you remember when we were kids? We used to play in the snow a lot."

"Of course I remember. Every time it snowed, I went and asked you if you wanted to build a snowman." Anna felt a bit of the pang of loneliness from all those years playing by herself.

"Yes, well, we didn't always wait to see if it snowed. Anna, I have some special powers. I can make ice and snow. I can freeze things and, if I put enough effort into it, I can create a blizzard. And when we were kids, I used to ice over the grand ballroom like a frozen pond and create large drifts of snow on the edges that we could fall into."

"But we skated on the pond in the gardens," Anna protested. "I remember you teaching me how to balance on the ice."

"No, I taught you in the ballroom."

"Then why don't I remember it like that?"

"Because I made a terrible mistake." Despite the heat of the day, Elsa was shivering. Little whorls of ice appeared and melted beneath her feet as Anna watched. "We were playing late one night and you were jumping on snow drifts that I created. But they were getting higher and higher and I couldn't keep up with you. I slipped and there was nothing to catch you. I tried to stop it and accidentally hit you with a blast of my power. Father said he knew what to do, so we rode off into the night and found the trolls. Their leader removed the magic from your head, and decided that it would be safer if you didn't know about my powers."

"Is that when I got the white streak in my hair?"

Elsa nodded.

"But why did you run away?"

"Father decided to essentially shut down the palace until I learned to control my powers. I was isolated to reduce any incidents with my powers. But even when I got them back under control, they were still afraid that I would slip again. Mother and Father, they never said it out loud, but I could see it in their eyes every time they looked at me, every time I begged for things to go back to normal." Elsa began rubbing her arms as if to warm them. "So I stopped asking, and I started thinking about how much better things would be for them and for you if I wasn't there."

"But it wasn't better," Anna shouted, rushing to her feet. "You were gone and all I had was a note that didn't explain anything about what was going on. Mother and Father didn't say anything, neither did anyone else. I didn't know where you had gone. Yes, they opened up the palace again, but they had to. Do you know how empty it is when you're not there?"

"No, but I know how lonely it is when I can't open my door and talk to my sister because everyone is afraid that I'll lose control and kill her this time." Elsa's words silenced her. "I know how it is to feel eyes on me every moment of every day waiting for me to mess up again." The ice vanished suddenly and she suddenly looked less uneasy and more blank. "I had hoped you would understand that I couldn't live like that. What control I had was constantly tested by Mother and Father's lack of faith in me. In the end, running away was the only option I had left."

Anna dropped back onto the couch. "Then why couldn't you explain this before?"

"That white streak in your hair? It was evidence that you were still touched by my power. The trolls didn't have a perfect fix. They removed the magic, even your memories of my magic, but there was always the possibility that you could relapse if you remembered my magic. If that happened, we didn't know if the same methods would work. That's why we were separated."

"But now you're healed," Elidi jumped in. "You can't relapse if you're completely healed, and that's what I do." She turned to Elsa. "Do you want to take her downstairs to meet the boys? Olaf has been wanting to meet her for a while now."

"I suppose." Elsa stood and Elidi immediately attached herself to her arm.

"Wait, who's Olaf?" Anna demanded. "And why is that name familiar?"

"I think it will be easier to remember when you see him." Elsa reached out and clasped Anna's hand. It was chill to the touch but it sent a sensation of pure warmth through her to hold onto her sister again.

Elsa and Elidi led her through the castle and down a stone staircase leading below the castle. It became steadily colder with every step they took.

"Are you doing that?" Anna asked. "Or is it just because we're underground that it's getting so cold?"

"A combination of the two, really. You'll see why in a minute."

They stepped out into a room with a generous layer of ice on all the walls.

"Elsa!" A squeaky voice shouted excitedly. A small white blur came out from behind a corner and Anna stumbled back when she realized it was a talking snowman.

"Hello, Olaf. How are you and Marshmallow doing down here?" Elsa knelt down and embraced the little snowman, who didn't even quite come to her hip.

"Great! Marshmallow wishes there was a bit more room, but you said you'd figure something out, and we trust you." The snowman—Olaf—looked past Elsa and caught sight of Elidi and Anna. "You brought Rapunzel too! And who's that?"

"That's my sister, Anna."

"That's Anna?" Olaf smiled at her and waddled forward. "Hi, my name is Olaf and I like warm hugs! It's nice to meet you. Elsa has told me a lot about you."

Anna looked up at Elsa first. "From when we were kids?" At the answering nod, she returned her attention to the talking snowman. "Nice to meet you too, Olaf. I hope what she told you were good things."

"They were." In a stage whisper, he added, "She really missed you."

"So, who's Marshmallow? I don't remember any Marshmallow when Elsa and I were kids."

"Oh, I'll introduce you!" Olaf cried, waddling back the way he had come. "Marshmallow! Elsa brought Anna to meet us! Come out and see her!"

There was a heavy sound and Anna immediately wondered if she was going to regret asking about Marshmallow. A large white head appeared around the corner, with sunken eyes and a jutting chin. As the rest of Marshmallow appeared, Anna thought that he would be terrifying if he didn't look so... shy.

"Marshmallow doesn't talk much," Elidi announced. "But he's a sweetheart." She walked over and hugged one of his arms.

"What...? How did...? Elsa?" Considering they were standing right in front of her and clearly understood every word she was saying, Anna didn't know how to ask what they were without being impolite.

"I made them," Elsa replied. "I still don't know exactly how it works or why, but I made them when I was alone and needed a friend. They're both made of ice and snow, but they're still people like anyone else."

"Okay." Anna pretended that her voice wasn't slightly shaky and hoped the other princesses in the room would ignore it.

They didn't stay down there long as the chill was getting to Elidi, but it was long enough for Anna to realize that Olaf and Marshmallow were just like people. Olaf was by far the more social of the two, and spent almost the entire time asking her about Arendelle and what it was like. And about summer. For a snowman, he seemed extremely interested in summer and Anna didn't have the heart to tell him that he would probably melt if actually went out into the summer heat. From the guilty look on Elidi's face when the topic came up, neither did she.

After they returned to the main part of the palace, Anna was escorted to her room to change for dinner with the king and queen. Maja had selected a deep forest green gown for her which set off her copper hair nicely. Once she was dressed, she was led through the halls by another guard to the private dining hall.

"Welcome to Corona," Queen Arianna greeted as Anna slid into place. "It's been wonderful having Lady Elsa stay with us these past few months, and I hope you will enjoy your time here."

"'Lady' Elsa?"

"Oh." The queen's hand fluttered to her lips. "Has she not told you? I had assumed she would."

"We talked about a lot of things, but why is she not going by her title?" Anna was glad Elsa wasn't there yet. She remembered Princess Elidi referring to her as Lady Elsa as well, but she'd been distracted by other matters then.

"Lady Elsa was granted a title for services rendered to the crown," King Frederic answered. "Services far exceeding the expectations for any citizen, much less a foreign royal."

"For bringing back the princess?"

The king shook his head. "For protecting the crown, almost to the cost of her own life. If Elidi had not possessed healing magic, she would have died, and both kingdoms would have mourned her passing."

"What? Why?"

"She placed herself between the blade of Elidi's kidnapper and the princess herself. To say nothing of the fact that Arianna and I were standing on either side of Elidi at the time." The king smiled. "That, perhaps, should have been the first indication."

"For you, maybe." Queen Arianna giggled. "I knew the moment Elsa made the ice tiara for Elidi."

"Knew what?" Anna was certain that she had missed something in that conversation.

"Elsa and Elidi are in love," the queen explained. "I don't think either of them realized it at the time, but they're quite aware of it now."

As she thought about it, she had seen how comfortable they were together, how Elidi seemed to know exactly when to cut in to ease the tension on Elsa. Tension that she, Anna, had caused.

Her first thought was selfish. She wanted Elsa to come home, to be there this time and not hiding behind closed doors that she couldn't access. She wanted to get to know her sister again without all of the barriers that had been put up. She wanted to have their family healed of the years of absence. But then she would be no better than their parents, who decided what was best for them without asking and without rethinking those decisions. There would be no one else to blame this time; Anna would be the one making Elsa miserable by demanding she come home. She didn't want that for her sister. Above all, Anna wanted her to be happy, even if that meant she would never come back to Arendelle.

The doors opened and admitted Elsa and Elidi, arm in arm. Elsa was paler than she had been, and Anna couldn't help but think that it was all her fault. She hadn't exactly been particularly open about what was going to happen or whether that had already been decided, nor had she been very understanding. She only hoped that she hadn't burned the bridges before she had crossed them.

The first part of the meal was quiet, with small talk and ambling conversation. No one was inclined to discuss anything of consequence in the name of propriety and being good hosts. But before long, there was a break between the meal and the arrival of dessert. Anna, being a straightforward person by nature, decided that she needed an answer to her question.

"Elsa, will you be returning with me to Arendelle?"

Elsa paused and their eyes met. "I have been wondering the answer to that myself for the past two months. Things aren't the same as they were when we were kids, and they can't go back to that. But I would like to see Arendelle again, if only for a little while." She sighed. "A lot of my decision in the long term depends on Mother and Father. I don't want to commit to coming home to stay to find that nothing has changed. It's said that home is where the heart is. By that definition, Arendelle is no longer my home."

"And will Princess Elidi be coming with us?" Anna was glad that the king and queen had mentioned the budding relationship between Princess Elidi and her sister. That statement would have hurt more if they had not.

"I will be right by her side as long as she wants me there," Elidi answered clutching one of Elsa's hands with one of her own.

"Then that's all I need to know." Anna reached across the table to lay her hand gently on top of Elsa's other hand. "I insisted on going on this journey because I missed my sister. I wouldn't want to do anything to jeopardize what little relationship I have left with her."

Elsa smiled. "Then I suppose we can spend the rest of your stay rebuilding that relationship."

Anna felt her face light up. It wasn't going to be an easy road, there was too much lost time for it to be simple. Neither of them knew what the future held or what their parents would say, but Anna refused to worry about it. She knew that her time in Corona was bound to be magical, and she wouldn't have it any other way.