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That perfect girl is gone.

Anna knew that her sister had changed after coronation day. Elsa was no longer the girl who would lock her door and isolate herself from the world—reality could not be ignored anymore. Her sister found no more use for her cage; she despised the feeling of being trapped. 

There were moments when Elsa thought that nobody was looking. Moments when she would glance longingly out the window towards the North Mountain where her palace of ice was, the first place she had been able to let it go for a long time. It was glaringly obvious that her sister wanted freedom but Anna knew she was content for now.

Anna also noticed then that Elsa had developed an artistic flare. Years of being locked in her room and with all her free time, she had taken to practicing art. It was hypnotizing to watch her when she painted, or sketched or even sculpted ice statues that Anna knew she could make with a flick of her hand.  Her eyebrows scrunched up and her eyes would sometimes take a look of fiery determination when she concentrated her all on it.

Then there was her magic. Magic was a part of what Elsa was; she wouldn’t be her without it. When she was angry or distressed the skies of Arendelle turned a gloomy gray. At extremities, it would begin flurrying and sometimes hailing but only rarely. When her sister was happy, though, the clearest skies would be seen.

And Anna loved it. She had always loved her sister but it was the first time in 13 years that she hadn’t felt like she loved a shadow. She was thrilled for what Elsa was and she adored what Elsa was then.

There were certain aspects of her sister that would always stay the same, though.

Elsa still loved chocolate though she indulged in it sparingly. Anna had also found out one busy day that chocolate was one of her sister’s ‘coping foods’. Since then, she had made sure to inform the kitchen staff to make fondue whenever the weather turned particularly stormy.

Elsa was still better at playing the piano than she was, though that was no big surprise. Anna briefly remembered biting her instructor for comparing her with Elsa when they were younger. She had been going through a phase then, trying to be as perfect as her sister was. Anna went as far as to lock herself up in her room.

That phase hadn’t lasted long.

There were the little things too, of course. Elsa’s favorite color was still green (though the whole kingdom believed it was blue). Elsa still didn’t know how to ride a bike (Anna would remedy that one day). Elsa was still allergic to caviar (which was why they never had the dish). Elsa loved her.

The thought used to always bring a smile to Anna’s face. Elsa loved her. Though her sister wasn’t as openly affectionate as she was, she showed it in the way she laughed more when Anna was around. She showed it in the brief kisses pressed on her forehead every night before going to sleep. She showed it in the hesitant embraces, always waiting for Anna’s permission before enrapturing her in a hug. She showed it by whispering the three beautiful words in Anna’s ear whenever she was having a bad day.

There were the musings like these that made her miss Elsa even more. She looked out the window towards the ice palace where her sister, her best friend throughout her whole life, lay.

Not long now… she thought, a smile on her wizened face. I’m going to see my sister.