PUNISHMENT
Some months after Arendelle was thawed from the eternal winter, Anna's childhood memories began returning to her. Or rather, correcting themselves.
At first, Anna found this to be a boon. Every new discovery about the past led to lengthy and fun conversations with Elsa. Anna was able to spend a lot more time than usual with her sister when they shared these little mementos of their past. That was until she recalled the night of the accident. Everything changed then.
"So, now you know…" Elsa said in a rather grim tone.
Anna saw the change in her sister's mood and immediately felt terrible about bringing it up. The past was supposed to be the past, especially between them, or so she thought. Were they not supposed to have a fresh start?
"Yes," Anna replied as she began wringing her hands nervously. "And I want to say that I'm very, very sorry about what happened."
"You're sorry?!" Elsa's voice was full of incredulity and anger. She suddenly walked toward her sister and came to stand mere inches away from her face.
Anna had not known what to expect from this exchange when she first came to talk with Elsa, but it certainly was not this. The intensity of the fire in her sister's eyes was in fact a bit terrifying.
"Do you have any notion of the appalling inadequacy of that statement, Anna?"
All the redhead could do was walk back and flinch every time some spittle landed on her face.
"I… umm… no?" she fumbled with the words, trying to come up with an answer. What did Elsa want her to say when she did not even know why the blonde was so angry in the first place?
"Of course you don't." The anger in Elsa's voice did not wane in the least as she carried on to explain. "Allow me to enlighten you, dearest Anna. Not only did you force upon me an isolation that lasted more than a decade, but in the process you rotted my heart! And all because you couldn't stop being an overeager and bumbling idiot with no regard for her own safety!"
Anna was staring at Elsa with wide eyes, completely dumbfounded. What in God's name was her sister talking about? What was…
Her thoughts were abruptly cut short when Elsa grabbed both her wrists forcefully.
"You poisoned my heart for years, until it became a shriveled black thing that now pumps a putrid black pitch into my head! Oh, you have no idea the thoughts your actions have planted in my mind, even if it was out of ignorance. An apology is not nearly enough, Anna. You will take responsibility for your actions as an adult and as a princess should!"
The iron grip on Anna's wrists was beginning to hurt , and that made her find her strength.
"Let me go!" She freed herself and turned around to run toward the door. The floor was practically covered in snow, which she had not noticed until now. There was just one thought in her mind as she ran out the door of Elsa's office. Her chambers. She had to get to her bedchambers.
Once inside the room, Anna locked the door without a glance back and flopped face-first on her bed. She had been feeling the sting of tears in her eyes for a while now, but only now was she able to let them go. How had that conversation gone so wrong so quickly?
The dark oranges of the evening sky gave way to the dark blues and black of night, but Anna did not have the will or the strength to move. She chose to just remain as she was, not bothering to change into her nightgown or even getting under the sheets. Lying haphazardly on the bed, she tried to relax and pursue the rest she direly needed.
Sleep did not come. Her mind was full of thoughts and her heart was heavy with a maelstrom of swirling emotions that she could not calm at all. Elsa, her beloved big sister, had revealed a side of herself that Anna had never even imagined existed. And yes, Elsa was right, it was Anna's recklessness that had caused their separation and subsequent isolation. But they were kids! It had been an accident! Could she not see that?
Anna did not know how to feel about Elsa's outburst. She wanted to be angry, but she also felt very sad. Anger aside, her big sister had also looked broken. It was as if her soul had been shattered in a thousand pieces years ago, and she had been barely holding the shards together until today. Today everything came undone, and Elsa's eyes had reflected that fact with uncanny accuracy. It was a look Anna had seen before and wished she could wipe away from her sister's life forever. For whatever reason, she had thought it was going to be easier than this. Apparently, the happy ever-after only happened in fairy tales.
Midnight came, heartily announced by the long-case clock in the gallery, and Anna was no closer to finding answers or any reprieve from her thoughts. It was then that she heard the faint knock on her door. Had she been asleep, she would surely have missed it.
When she rose from her bed, Anna was already planning what to say. She knew who was on the other side of the door. No one else would come to her room at this hour of the night. First things first, she was going to apologize for running away and shutting the door. Then, perhaps she and Elsa would be able to talk and figure things out with more composure than the previous evening.
However, Elsa was having none of that. The moment Anna opened the door, her older sister barged into the room. It really was not a forceful action, rather it had been done with poise and grace, just as everything she did, but it still angered Anna. How dare Elsa keep this attitude when all she wanted was to reconcile with her?
"Close the door," Elsa commanded once she was standing beside the bed.
Anna thought of demanding an explanation for all this mistreatment against her, but the tone of Elsa's voice left it quite clear that there would be no arguments. The redhead had never been on the receiving end of the Queen of Arendelle's commanding voice. After swallowing both her thoughts and the lump in her throat, Anna reluctantly did as she was instructed.
"Come closer," Elsa said without animosity, or really any other emotion at all. It was as if they were standing in court making negotiations.
This did not sit well with Anna at all. Still, after looking for a moment at the rug under her feet like it was the most interesting thing in the history of ever, she once again did as her sister told her.
"Disrobe."
"What?!" Anna replied, very obviously taken aback by the strange request.
Maybe Anna had not heard correctly, or perhaps she was already losing her mind. There was a very distinct possibility that the ice Elsa put in her head all those years ago had somehow managed to finally drive her mad after all this time.
"Remove your clothes, Anna."
"Oh, I heard you just fine! It's just… it's just that…" She just could not form a coherent sentence. Surprise, fear and anger were all pulling her tongue in different directions. What was she even supposed to say?!
"Fine," Elsa declared in her imperious tone, looking down her nose at Anna. "I can see that you are still unwilling to assume the responsibility for your past actions. For what you did to me and what you did to yourself, to the both of us. If you won't be an adult, and you won't behave in a manner that is befitting of a princess, then I suppose this conversation is over."
Without waiting for a response, Elsa walked toward the door and opened it, leaving a befuddled Anna behind. Before stepping through the threshold, the blonde looked over her shoulder.
"Good night, Anna."
After that night, Elsa did not exchange more than a few words with Anna for an entire week. They barely saw each other for what seemed like a few minutes at a time. Not even at breakfast, dinner or supper would Anna see her sister. Somehow, Elsa had managed to reschedule her meal-times and abscond herself to some secret place within the palace in order to eat them.
As the days went by, Anna felt a tad grateful for the time to organize her feelings, but mostly she was just hurt. Never before had she considered, even remotely, that her sister could be so mean and spiteful. Although one thought did bring Anna pause. Perhaps it was easier for her to accept that what happened in the ballroom had been an accident, simply because she had not been the one who was imprisoned in her own room for years.
When exactly seven days had elapsed, Elsa entered Anna's room without knocking on the door. It was the late evening and the redhead was sitting at her vanity, combing her hair, when she was startled by the sudden appearance of her sister in the mirror. Anna tried to stand up but Elsa stayed her by placing both hands on her shoulders. Unable to stand up from the cushioned stool or turn around, Anna simply stared into her sister's reflection, trying to glean the purpose of this visit by searching her sapphire eyes.
"Will you do it tonight?" Elsa asked in a soft, kind tone.
"Do what?" Anna replied too quickly. Now it was obvious that she already knew what her sister meant, so she mentally sighed.
Anna was surprised to see a gentle smile grace Elsa's lips.
"Disrobe for me."
"Elsa!" Anna exclaimed indignantly. Yes, she already knew this was coming since Elsa mentioned doing something for her, but hearing the shameless request spoken so openly was still quite appalling.
When Elsa removed her hands from Anna's shoulders, the redhead immediately felt like the room had cooled down. She felt somewhat alone and forsaken without her sister's touch. Elsa left the room just as quickly as she had come in. She was like the summer breeze that comes in unannounced through the window and then leaves without leaving behind a single trace of its passing.
After a few days went by, and Anna was treated to the same attitude from her sister as she had the week before, it dawned on her that there was a pattern to this. For every time she refused Elsa's request, she would rewarded with an entire week of isolation. There was only so much Kristoff, Sven and Olaf could do to keep Anna's mind occupied. At this point, she simply could not help her heart breaking because of this rift that her own sister was creating between them. This was unusual and cruel punishment! Or was it? Anna did not feel so sure about that anymore.
The obligatory seven days went by, and the next time Elsa came into Anna's room, the redhead was prepared. She had a full week to get into the right mindset. After all, what was so upsetting about Elsa's request? They had seen each other naked all the time when they were children. They were both girls. Neither had anything the other had not seen before. There was nothing wrong about it. Right?
Elsa did not even have to open her mouth. Before she even finished closing the door, Anna had already begun removing her nightgown. Just for good measure, she also removed her undergarments, leaving herself completely exposed to Elsa. And that, for some reason, seemed to startle the blonde.
Anna was sure that she was blushing profusely, but to see the same happen to her sister, not to mention the wide-eyed look she was receiving, was oddly comforting. Their separation was not as grave as she had assumed at first. There was still a connection between them, even if that link was a shared embarrassment of Anna's nakedness.
That said, Elsa still managed to keep her perfect queenly composure as she glided toward Anna.
There was no logic in Elsa thinking that her sister would just accept all of this with no issue whatsoever, but still, when Anna flinched involuntarily at her approaching hand, the blonde took a step back. The blonde reacted instantaneously by turning toward the door and walking away. However, Anna was faster and she grabbed her sister's wrist, effectively impeding her retreat.
"Don't. Please stay," she pleaded, looking into her sister's eyes. Those eyes that seemed to pin her on the spot by doing nothing at all except looking at her.
Elsa did not reply. She simply moved closer to Anna and smiled lovingly as she tucked one of the redhead's messy locks behind one ear. Then, she let that same hand slide down the side of Anna's face, caressing her cheek on the way down to a freckled shoulder.
This was weird, also embarrassing, and Anna could not help instinctively closing her eyes. She could feel her sister's cool fingertips gliding along her skin, tracing random patterns on her freckles as if trying to draw constellations with them.
Even though she was standing, after a few minutes Anna began feeling very relaxed, perhaps even sleepy. The thought that she might wobble and fall crossed her mind, but this felt too nice to care. Why had she been so reluctant? What dirty thoughts had corrupted her reasoning that she refused her sister the pleasure of this simple act. It was obvious that Elsa missed the touch of skin and that was all there was to this.
Or so she thought. At least up to the point when she was jolted to complete alertness by a smooth hand gently caressing her breast.
"Elsa!" Anna shouted, feeling somewhat horrified and outraged. She inexpertly covered her breasts and lady-parts with her arms, feeling true shame for the first time since this whole deal began.
Aghast and livid could barely begin to convey how Anna felt when she saw Elsa walk straight out the door, sparing only a glance back at her before giving a hasty farewell and good night.