"The only frozen heart around here is yours!"
Anna turned away from her ex-fiancé, satisfied with her witty retort. Well, almost…
She spun back around quickly, grabbing the front of his cloak in one hand, the other swinging around to hit him square in the face. She smirked as she felt her fist connect with his nose, toppling him backwards and over the edge of the ship they were on.
The cheers of the nobles ringing in her ears, Anna peered over to the water, searching for him. He quickly resurfaced, gasping and spluttering from both the water and blood pouring down his throat. Spotting her gaze, he glared up at her, his face looking rather menacing smeared with so much blood, and called out:
"Never thought you'd be one to gloat, princess,"
Her hands balled into fists as she yelled back "Unlike some people, I don't just leave others todie! I was making sure you weren't drowning!"
"Your concern is touching, but I'd be a rather poor naval officer if I didn't know how to swim,"
She rolled her eyes and turned back to the group, her scowl softening as she drank in the face of her smiling sister. She had rarely ever seen Elsa before the coronation, let alone seen her so happy, that the mere sight of her made her heart swell. Kristoff bounded towards her, mouth agape.
"Anna! That was – that was, well, amazing!"
"Eh, it was nothing," she waved her hand. "He got what was coming to him,"
"But Anna – you punched him clean off the boat!"
"Yeah, so?" she looked up at him quizzically. "Weren't you just about to do the same?"
"Well yeah, but…" he grinned. "I don't have scrawny princess arms like you!" He held his arm up against hers to demonstrate. His bicep was at least 3 times bigger than hers.
"You shouldn't be so surprised, you did see me knock out a wolf with a lute," she laughed, before turning back to Elsa, who was watching her, hands clasped.
"Are you – alright? I mean, I know I didn't approve, but-" she glanced towards where Hans had been standing. "You said you thought it was true love,"
"Yeah," Anna's shoulders slumped a little. "I thought it was true love. Guess I was wrong…"
"Oh, Anna…" she whispered, holding her arms open hesitantly. She was obviously still wary about hurting her, though Anna could hardly blame her, considering everything that had happened in the last few days. Had it only been that long, she wondered as she stepped into her sister's arms. She felt as if she had aged years, not days.
She heard Kristoff awkwardly clear his throat, and opened her eyes to see him shepherding Sven and Olaf to the other side of the deck.
"I think they might want some time alone, guys,"
Olaf didn't seem to mind, humming happily to himself as he skipped away, face turned up towards the sun and his new snow flurry. Kristoff chuckled as he watched him go, settling himself on the side of the ship to watch the fjord, absent-mindedly stroking Sven as he did so.
Anna followed the direction of his gaze, her eyes landing on Hans, who was swimming to shore, his progress somewhat slowed by his waterlogged winter coat. She felt her breath catch – what if he escaped? – but she was immediately put at ease when she noticed some of the guards who had been watching them make their way towards the docks for him.
"His love may not have been true," Elsa's words brought Anna back to the moment, her cool hand stroking her copper hair soothingly. "But yours was. Try to focus on that. You savedyourself. I'm so proud of you!" She drew back and gave Anna's shoulders a reassuring squeeze, flashing her a watery smile.
This moment was everything she had dreamed of for the past decade – her sister smiling, smiling at her. No more closed doors, but acceptance instead. Of course, Anna hadn't been expecting her sister to be wearing a dress made out of ice, but who cared about details anyway? The only unwelcome thing she didn't foresee was the pain of betrayal still needling away at her heart. Punching Hans had been satisfying – perhaps a little too satisfying for a princess – but it didn't erase what he had done or the sick feeling that had been eating away at her insides since that ugly confession had poured forth from such beautiful lips.
No, she wouldn't let him poison the moment she had waited practically her whole life for. Pushing aside all thoughts of Hans, she focused on the dear sibling in front of her, her face alight with joy for the first time in years.
"I'm proud of you, too! You managed to thaw everything, just like I knew you would!" Her beam faltered for a moment, as she considered something. "Now that – now that everyone knows…does this mean that the gates can stay open?"
Anna saw fear flicker in her sister's eyes, watched as she tensed and almost automatically folded her hands close to her body, still trying to keep them away from the world.
"I…I don't know. Maybe?" She bit her lip, brows creasing. "I don't want anyone else to get hurt, Anna. I think I've finally found a way to help control it, but that doesn't mean I can't still hurt people…"
Seeing Anna's devastated expression, Elsa took a deep breath before hesitantly reaching for her sister's hands. "I can't learn how to stop myself from freezing things accidentally overnight, you understand that, don't you?" Elsa squeezed her hands reassuringly. "But…that doesn't mean we have to keep ourselves locked away, either. I don't know that I'm ready for the gates to be fully open….but I'm sure we can work something out."
"Really?" Anna could feel her eyes start to swim with tears at the prospect of finally ending the terrible loneliness of the past decade. "You promise?"
Instead of turning away, Elsa smiled – a full, genuine smile that brightened her whole face and made her eyes sparkle.
"I promise. It's time to stop hurting us both – and the kingdom – because I'm scared that I mighthurt someone with my powers. But, listen Anna –" She bit her lip again, her constant worrying at the skin wearing away her lipstick. "I want you to be happy, but things like this can't happen overnight. All I'm asking is for you to wait, just a little while longer. Okay?"
"Okay? I've been waiting my whole life for this to happen!" She gave a choked laugh before continuing. "I think I can wait a little while longer,"
Anna had meant to reassure her sister, but she could see that her words had only caused yet more guilt to flare in her eyes.
"I'm sorry, Anna." She slipped her hands from her sister's, using them to cradle herself instead. "I was so terrified of hurting you with my powers, that I didn't realise the loneliness could hurt you just as badly. I should have known…the same thing happened to me over the years…"
"It's okay, Elsa. I understand. If I'd known sooner, then I wouldn't have pushed you so hard at…at the ball," She winced, remembering just what – or rather whom – had been at the root of the argument. "You've spent so many years locked away – we both have – but things are different now. People know, and…they don't mind. You don't have to shut yourself away anymore. Now that you've figured out the key, you can work on your powers, we can open the gates… and neither of us will have to be lonely ever again."
Elsa still looked wary; after living behind closed gates for most her life, the idea of opening them must surely be terrifying.
"Now that you don't have to hide anymore, things can only get better, right?"
"I think… a lot of my fear came from wondering what people would think if they found out, but now I can see that I have people's support," She nodded over to the townspeople at the docks, who were waving and smiling. "It'll be a little easier. At least I won't have to hide when practicing how to control it. Maybe if we hadn't been so concerned about trying to keep it hidden then maybe things wouldn't have gone as far as they did…"
Anna saw a shadow cross her sister's face and quickly stepped in before it could settle. "Don't worry about that now. The past is in the past, and there's nothing we can do to change it. But we're both ready to start things fresh, right?"
"Right. I suppose the first thing to do is let everyone know what's happened, they'll be wanting an explanation."
"I'm just glad that at least a few people saw what happened, we don't need the duke trying to say you're still dangerous."
Anna would have liked to give him a smack in the face too, but she wasn't really sure if it was fair to pick on someone half her size, no matter how rotten they were.
"Is that what he's been doing?" Elsa frowned, looking towards his ship. "He was supposed to be here on trade negotiations, you'd think he'd have a little more tact."
"Well, he was when I left, but I'm not sure what he's been up to since I came after you. I suppose the one who'd know is…"
Anna looked back out at the fjord to see Hans further downstream, hauling himself out of the water, only to be met by the Arendelle guards, all of whom looked ready to throw him back in. Instead, they dragged him to his feet, frog-marching him towards the palace and, hopefully, the dungeons.
Kristoff seemed to share this sentiment, laughing quietly to himself as he watched the sopping wet prince stumble over a loose cobblestone.
"Ugh, looks like I've got some serious damage control to take care of," Elsa wearily rubbed at her forehead. "We need to get back as soon as we can."
Taking a deep breath in through her nose, Anna turned back to the others; forcing a smile onto her face, she gestured to the ship they were on, currently afloat in the middle of the fjord.
"So… any of you know how to steer a boat?"
–
A few days later found Anna and Elsa engaged in a rather heated game of chess; both had only learned the rules in the past few days, resulting in many disagreements over which moves were legal or not. Anna nervously glanced over to Elsa's side of the table, where a small heap of black pieces were piled on top of the rule book. Anna's own collection of taken pieces was noticeably smaller, but she was sure she'd spotted a chink in Elsa's defence; Anna moved her piece, triumphantly snatching up one of Elsa's castles.
"Anna," hearing Elsa's voice, she paused, just about to break into a victory dance. "We've been through this. Bishops can't jump over other pieces. None of them can. Except for the knights. Put it back and make a proper move,"
"They can too go over pieces! As long as they're pawns – I'm certain!"
"They can't!" Elsa sat back, a small smile playing on her lips. "Just admit that you can't beat me without cheating,"
"No, look!" Anna grabbed the book, knocking all the taken pieces to the floor in the process. "I'll prove that they can!" She muttered, flipping through the pages, a grumpy pout forming as she glanced between the book and her amused sister.
They were interrupted by a knock on the door.
"Come in!" called Elsa, laughing at the increasingly irritated expression on Anna's face.
The door opened to reveal Kai, an unusually anxious expression on his face. Elsa frowned; he was a difficult man to fluster, so any news he came bearing would certainly not be good.
"Sorry to interrupt, your Majesty, but a situation has arisen at the docks."
"The docks?" Elsa asked, starting to understand his expression. Today was the day visitors from the coronation were supposed to be leaving, including…
"Yes, your majesty, the docks. It seems that there's a rather serious storm on the horizon, meaning it's not safe for any of the ships to leave today. Unfortunately, this means that the departure of certain…undesirables will be delayed for a few days,"
Elsa reached for her gloves, twisting them between her hands, and chanced a look at her sister. The book lay forgotten in her lap, and she was regarding Kai with an unusually hard expression.
"You mean…?" Anna's voice cracked a little, and she hurried to cover it with a cough.
"I'm afraid so, your highness. The prince of the Southern Isles will be in Arendelle for longer than planned." He made a face. "The Duke of Weasel-town, too,"
Elsa's lip twitched at Kai's deliberate mis-pronunciation; he was surely trying to cheer the sisters up a little. What would she do without him? Following his lead, she summoned the most indignant voice she could muster. "It's Weselton!"
Anna snorted quietly, and covered her mouth with her hand. Elsa breathed a silent sigh of relief at the reaction. She had naturally been worried about her younger sister for the past few days; obviously she didn't really know what counted as normal for Anna (a fact that continued to pain her), but she definitely seemed to be lacking the usual spring in her step that Elsa would often still manage to witness when they used to take dinner together. The prince had really done a number on her sister, but Elsa was certain that if she could still laugh, she could heal. It would just take time.
Looking back at Kai, she smiled gratefully. "Thank you for telling me, Kai. I suppose I need to go sort this out," She stood, pulling her gloves on as she rose. "As much as I loathe to bring him closer to the palace, I'd feel much safer if he were in our dungeons. I'm not sure I trust him on that ship without fathoms of water between us."
"But what about our game?" Anna asked, face falling again.
"I'm sorry Anna, but this is important." She gave a tight smile. "We can finish another time, okay?"
"Okay," She sighed, getting up to put the book away. "Not as if I have much of a choice anyway," She muttered as she bent to retrieve the chess pieces that had fallen to the floor.
Elsa couldn't help the grimace that twisted her features as the door clicked shut behind her.
–
"You're certain about this?" the Queen asked, looking from one grave face to the other.
Prince Hans had only been in the dungeon for a few days, but apparently he was already causing trouble. An urgent summons from the palace guard had left Elsa almost running to the throne room, fearful that he'd somehow managed to escape. The news awaiting her was not quite as threatening, but was worrisome all the same.
"Yes, your majesty," One of the royal guards replied. "A streak of white, just like Princess Anna used to have,"
Elsa frowned, worrying at her bottom lip. "This doesn't make any sense. Why now?" She paused, the lines on her forehead growing deeper. "Is there any way he could be faking this? How carefully did you check?"
"We thought perhaps he'd rubbed chalk in his hair," the other guard spoke this time. "But we couldn't find any residue. " He hesitated, selecting his next words carefully. "Of course what the prisoner says isn't to be taken at face value…but he kept insisting that he was fine. He seemed to even be attempting to conceal it,"
"Just what game is he playing…?" she spoke softly, almost to herself. Rubbing at her forehead, she gave a resigned sigh. "I suppose I should go see for myself….he is in our care, after all. I don't think the Southern Isles would be very pleased if he mysteriously died in our dungeons…"
"We'll escort you there now, if you'd like, your Majesty,"
The queen nodded, following the guards as they turned on their heel. As the guards escorted her through the castle, she couldn't help but keep glancing round anxiously, worried that they would bump into Anna at any moment. Elsa didn't want to treat her sister as fragile, but she didn't think hearing about the treacherous prince would do her any good. They were almost there, and Elsa was ready to breathe a sigh of relief – until Anna came barrelling out of nowhere, knocking straight into the guards.
"Sorry, sorry!" Anna brushed herself off, hurriedly apologising to the men she had just winded. She started when she noticed the uniforms, slightly different to the standard guard that patrolled the palace. "What are you doing up here?" She asked, her voice strained. "Is something the matter?"
Elsa tried to smile reassuringly, but she felt it falter as soon as her sister's eyes met her own. "Don't worry Anna, just boring queen stuff," She could see Anna looked sceptical. "Once I'm finished we can go ice-skating, if you want?"
Anna wouldn't let herself be distracted, however. "Don't lie to me, Elsa. It's – it's him, isn't it?"
Elsa exhaled sharply, realising that Anna wasn't going to be fooled by her – rather poor – façade. "Please Anna, I've got everything under control. You don't have any reason to worry,"
"Then why are you all the way down here, near the dungeons? You're going to see him, aren't you? That's what you're doing, isn't it? You wouldn't be here if it wasn't serious!"
"I don't know anything for certain, yet. That's what I'm doing – checking if it's serious or not,"
"Checking whether what's serious? What could possibly have gone wrong in three days-?" Anna cut herself off, remembering just how much things could change in such a short space of time.
The queen remained silent, trying to decide which course of action to take.
"Elsa, please," Anna's voice was soft, her eyes pleading. "After everything that's happened…I have a right to know,"
"Fine!" Elsa threw her hands up in defeat. She couldn't protect Anna forever – besides, she'd probably sneak down to the dungeons in the middle of the night or something equally foolhardy if she was left in the dark. Again. No, Elsa was done lying to her sister for "her own good". She was mature enough to cope with unpleasant truths – the prince in question had made sure of that.
"I've just been informed that there's white in his hair. Like yours – after I struck you. I don't remember hitting him with my magic at any point, but I have to at least check it out. I mean – it's probably another trick!" She added hastily when she saw Anna's eyes widen with – was that shock or concern? "But I have to be sure. We can't put him on a boat with a frozen heart…"
"You think his heart might be frozen? Like mine was?"
"I honestly don't know. I can't think of any other reason for his hair to be white…"
Anna rounded on the guards "When did this happen? When did you first notice it?"
"Earlier this afternoon, your highness. But he seemed to be trying to hide it – we don't know how long it's been there,"
"Assuming it's genuine," The other guard piped up.
"I wouldn't put it past him to fake something like this," Anna snorted, folding her arms.
"You said you'd checked it!" Elsa turned to the guards too, her temper flaring.
"We did, your majesty!" The guard worriedly glanced down at Elsa's gloved hands before flicking back up to her face. "It seemed real, but we don't know much about it. We just thought that you'd know for certain,"
"Well the sooner we know, the better," She nodded her head in the direction they'd been heading. "So, if you please…?"
"Yes, of course, your majesty," the guards gave a slight bow before starting forwards again.
She followed them, Anna falling into step beside her.
"Wait," she said, stopping dead in her tracks. "Anna, no. Stay here. Please,"
"What, why? I want to come too!"
"Do you think it's really a good idea for you to see him again? He's already hurt you enough as it is,"
Anna took a deep breath before visibly squaring her shoulders, adopting a commanding tone that didn't quite seem to fit her. "Elsa…I need you to stop babying me. For years you shut me out to protect me – and that did nothing but hurt us both. I know you're older, but just because you're my big sister doesn't mean you always know what's best for me."
Elsa scrutinised her sister, noting the determined set of her jaw and the fire in her eyes. She sighed, defeated. "You not going to back down on this, are you?"
"Nope. I'm coming down there with you." Her expression shifted slightly, looking once again more pleading than commanding. "I have a right to know what's going on, I'm owed that much,"
"As much as I wish you weren't…you're right. It's not fair to keep this from you. But Anna, if things get too much for you, if he gets under your skin…please promise me you'll leave,"
"You don't have to worry, Elsa. He caught me off guard before, but I'm ready for him this time. I know what to expect,"
"Anna, promise me. I don't want you getting hurt again,"
"There's not really that much more he could say to hurt me, he put everything he had into his dumb villain speech back in the study. But," She caught her sister's eye, noticing its steely glint. "If it'll make you feel any better, then I promise."
"Okay. So," Elsa held out her hand. "Together?"
Anna smiled and took her sister's hand. "Together."