A/N: Just a little thing I wrote on Tumblr from two different asks and didn't want to lose, so I thought I'd put it here. The first part is when they're younger, before everything starts going wrong, and then after the cut is when they're older, after the coronation and pretty much the entire movie, when everything is fixed.
To say the least, Elsa was confused when she was awakened by her sister crawling under her covers in the middle of the night. Usually, if she wanted to wake her up, Anna would just pounce right on top of her. This, however… this was new.
"Anna? What are you…" Her sleepy voice trailed off, rubbing at tired eyes as she looked down to the mound of covers beside her. Her brows furrowed in confusion and now concern as she felt her sister's form shaking. It was then that she heard a crack of thunder— which made Anna jump— and a flash of lightning lit up their bedroom.
Thunderstorm, Elsa vaguely thought. She must have slept through the beginning of it, but Anna had been woken up, explaining why she was here rather than in her own bed on the other side of the room.
The young princess gently pried the blankets away to reveal her baby sister's flushed face, teary eyed and absolutely terrified. Immediately, Elsa gathered Anna into her arms, cradling her sibling protectively and making sure they were both swaddled. She whispered soft words of comfort to the younger of the two royals, and sang to her quietly. Promising her that she would stay by her side all night and protect her, the elder girl waited until the shaking form in her arms had relaxed, quieted, and was sound asleep before letting herself drift off to dreamland to join her.
Elsa never even noticed that not once did her powers even make an appearance the entire night.
Elsa vaguely remembered that Anna had been afraid of thunder when they were younger. She would always find her way over to her older sister's bed and burrow herself beneath the blankets against Elsa's side.
These particular memories sprang to mind when she saw Anna jump out of the corner of her eye when the first crack of thunder sounded and rain began pelting against the window.
Quickly, with an air of grace as well as sisterly concern, the queen took those few steps closer to Anna in the space that separated and enveloped her hand in one of her own, giving her a small smile when her sibling shot her a slightly puzzled look, which quickly turned thankful as another rumble of thunder followed and then a flash of lightning.
"I'm here." Elsa had told her in a quiet tone.
She'd always be there.