exclaimed.

Anna pressed them into Elsa’s hands. “I’ve been saving it for a rainy day, and…” She glanced out the window. “Well, it’s not raining, but you sure did look like you could use some cheering up, and I know how much you like chocolate, so I thought—” 

Elsa grabbed a chocolate piece and popped it into her mouth. “Anna,” she interrupted, “it’s wonderful. Thank you!” She gave her sister a quick hug, before grabbing a few more chocolate pieces and leaving the box on her dresser. “I have to get going, but thanks again!” she called behind her back.

Anna smiled, happy to cheer her sister up. However, her smile only lasted a brief moment, as she once again heard an ominous sound. But this was not like the one the oven made earlier; it was a low-pitched, rumbling sound. And it seemed to come from outside.

Anna slowly walked to the window, cautiously making sure the sound was not something that would harm her. She opened the window and looked outside.

Kristoff and Sven were walking up to the castle, sleigh in tow, munching on a carrot. The rumbling seemed to have caught their attention too; their walk was very slow and deliberate, and they kept looking to their left. Toward the fountain.

Then, quite suddenly, the water in the fountain disappeared, sucked into the pipes down below. Just as suddenly, the rumbling increased. Kristoff and Sven, not knowing what to do, froze stiff.

From her viewpoint, Anna could see more of the fountain than they could, and as she stared, she saw the faintest traces of ice begin to creep into the fountain from the pipes. She raised an eyebrow. “Ice?” she murmured. Then, as the rumbling increased all the more, she realized what was happening. She yelled at the top of her lungs, “Kristoff, Sven, get out of there!”

Kristoff and Sven, who didn’t notice her before, spent a few seconds looking around trying to find the source of the voice. By the time they saw her, she had yelled at them again, but it was too late.

The pipes inside the fountain, ruptured by the ice inside them, burst. The water, now unhindered, sprayed in every direction—but mostly at Kristoff and Sven.

Anna could only watch helplessly as Kristoff and Sven became drenched, head to toe, in water from the fountain. They didn’t even bother moving; they could not get any wetter.

Elsa appeared in the doorway behind Anna. “What’s wrong?” she asked. “I heard your screams and I…” She approached Anna and looked out the window. Her face turned pale—even whiter than it normally was. “Was it the pipes?”

Anna slowly nodded, but then her nodding stopped and she stared at her sister. “How could you know that?” she asked.

Elsa’s face turned from white to crimson. “Uh…” She sighed. “I have some explaining to do…” 

Elsa spent the rest of the day locked inside her bedroom—something she had not done in several months. Before, when she locked herself away from the world, it was out of fear; she could only imagine what horrible things she would do if her magical snow powers were set free.  Now, however, she was locked away for a different reason entirely: she was too embarrassed to show her face to the world.

The captain of Corona, thankfully, had not witnessed the mishap with Kristoff and the fountain—but that did not stop Kristoff from explaining the situation when he walked into the palace soaking wet. Elsa and Anna had tried to rush downstairs and stop him, but by the time they arrived, he had told the whole story to the captain and other guests. 

At that moment, the only one who wasn’t completely frozen in speechlessness was Sven, who was too busy shaking the water off his fur. This, in turn, soaked the captain, who silently glared at first the reindeer, then Kristoff, and finally Elsa.

The glare stayed in Elsa’s mind as she silently excused herself and rushed to her room. She could still hear the echoing of the sound her door made when it slammed shut, and the subsequent sounds of her quiet crying. 

She was embarrassed, scared, and helpless. It seemed nothing had gone right today, and now she would lose a valuable alliance in the process—and perhaps even her dignity as queen.

When word of this gets out, she horrifically realized, nobody will accept me.

The sun set outside her window and nighttime came, but Elsa did not leave. She curled up in a huddle in the corner, frightened at how the people outside would treat her. The sounds of crickets came and went, and before she knew it, it was time for the ball.

Her breath caught. “The ball,” she whispered out loud. She firmly planted her palm on her forehead. “I completely forgot about the ball.” She let out a heavy sigh. “Well, the day can’t get any worse, can it?”

She forced herself onto her feet, reluctantly walking to her wardrobe to pick out an outfit. She was in the middle of changing when a knock came from the door.

“Elsa?” Anna called. “Please open the door. It’s not that big of a deal. Nobody hates you or anything.”

Elsa slowly finished dressing, pondering Anna’s words. She didn’t believe her sister; even if nobody blamed her for the water fountain incident, she had still made a fool of herself all day long, in front of all the people of the palace, as well as the most prestigious visitors. 

“Please let me in,” Anna pleaded.  Her tone of voice changed to indicate she was smiling. “I have a present for you to help cheer you up.”

Elsa considered remaining silent; after all, she had done that for years, even during times when Anna’s pleas were more convincing. However, she also knew how much it hurt both of them when she kept silent, so she decided it would be for the better to open the door.

Anna had her hands behind her back. Her smile spread from one ear to the other as she walked inside. “So,” she said in an attempt to make small talk, “nice to see no snow in here.” When Elsa raised her eyebrow, Anna’s smile instantly disappeared, replaced with a look of dread. “Oh, I didn’t mean it that way!” she instantly apologized.

Unable to help herself, Elsa let out a chuckle. “It’s okay,” she insisted, quieting Anna. “You seem a bit nervous right now.”

Anna shrugged. “I’m sure I’m no more nervous than you are. I mean, you did let the captain of Corona see you in your pajamas this morning.”

Elsa’s chuckle faded abruptly. “Anna…”

“And he saw you covered head to toe in flour,” Anna continued, not hearing her sister’s pleas to quiet down. “And then he found out about what you did to Kristoff, and—”

“I get it,” Elsa snapped, forcing Anna to finally fall silent. She slowly rubbed her forehead. “I’d love nothing more than to forget about this day, but unfortunately, this day isn’t over yet. The ball is in a few minutes, and if I’m lucky, I may be able to convince the captain that I am a competent queen, and a worthy adversary.” She let out a slow, helpless sigh. “And if he isn’t convinced, then I don’t know what I’m going to do.” 

Anna patted her sister’s shoulder. “It will be okay,” she assured her.

Elsa looked into Anna’s eyes, but even after seeing hope in them, she remained unconvinced. “How can you be so sure?” she asked.

Anna revealed her other hand, which she had managed to keep behind her back the whole time. It held the box of chocolates from earlier. Anna’s smile returned. “Because I had a lot of chocolate, and chocolate seems to have a way with making people optimistic.” She pulled a chocolate square out and popped it into her mouth with a wink. “And cheering them up,” she added. 

She pulled out another chocolate square and offered it to Elsa, who happily took it and ate it. She smiled. “I guess it does,” she agreed. Her smile slowly faded. “But the captain still sees me as a fool, and a failure.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure,” Anna responded. “I overheard him telling his friends that you were the funniest royalty he’s met in years.” When Elsa’s face turned pale, she quickly added, “He was laughing, really! He said…” She adopted a tone of voice that mimicked the captain’s, and stood at attention, before continuing, “She must be a great queen, indeed, if she is able to maintain such dignity and poise in such situations. No wonder Arendelle is so peaceful and welcoming; their queen has set such a great example!”

Elsa blinked. All of her fear drained away, replaced by a sense of utter happiness. “He really said that?” she asked.

Anna chuckled. “Well…maybe not word for word,” she admitted. Before Elsa could ask for clarification, she hurriedly pushed her sister toward the door. “Come on, your highness,” she insisted. “The whole palace is waiting for you.”

Elsa barely had time to drop the box of chocolates by her dresser—she saw it bounce off and land upright on the floor—before Anna led her out the bedroom and down the hall. She let out a sigh of relief; even if Anna was exaggerating a little bit, it was a huge load off her chest to know that the captain still accepted her as a competent ruler.

“Thank you,” she whispered to Anna as they approached the balcony overlooking the