"Anna is dead because of you."
That was the moment Elsa's world collapsed. The revelation struck her like a physical blow. Anna had frozen to death. Frozen to death because Elsa couldn't control her magic. Elsa fell to the ground, the frozen surface of the fjord. She wanted to cry, to scream, to weep. She wanted to feel anything. Anything at all. She knew she never would. Never again. The wind silenced. The blizzard swirled to nothingness. The snow hung motionless in the air. There was nothing. Nothing left for her.
There was muffled shouting in the distance, but Elsa couldn't make out what was being said. It might have been people calling out names. Maybe even her name. There was a sound, much closer. Metal scraping on metal. It came from behind her, Hans drawing his sword. Elsa didn't care. If Anna was dead because of her, she deserved to die. Footsteps echoed across the ice.
The sound of steel carving through flesh drowned everything else out. There was a crack of bone splintering. An inhuman scream echoed across the fjord. A scream that cut off far too quickly. A sudden crash of breaking steel, a scream of tortured metal. Fire burned across Elsa's back, and she felt something nick against her spine. Her back arched in pain. But she wasn't dead. A soft thud echoed across the ice.
Elsa dared to turn around. If she had not already been on the ground, Elsa would surely have fallen to her knees. Anna stood behind her, frozen. A perfect statue of her sister, rendered in the most heartbreakingly pure ice. But her arm. Her right arm. Elsa fought the urge to vomit. Hans's sword had torn through Anna's arm, starting between her middle finger and ring finger, and ending just past her elbow. Frozen, her arm was a perfect anatomical study.
Elsa stood, wanting to embrace her sister. Tried to stand. Fell over. Pushing herself up with her hands, Elsa realized she couldn't even get her knees under her. Realized she couldn't feel her legs at all. She crawled the few agonizingly short feet to Anna, and used her sister's frozen body to pull herself upright. As she held her sister in the warmest, tightest embrace she could manage, Elsa wept. The tears flowed without sound. There was a soft pat-pat-pat as they hit the ice.
Elsa looked into her sister's face, the pained scream frozen on her lips, the tears misting the ice under her eyes. There was a strange dribbling, and Elsa felt something warm and sticky running down the side of her dress. Anna screamed, falling to the ice, clutching at her ruined arm, dragging Elsa down with her. Elsa knew she had only a faint chance, the pool of blood already spreading over the ice. She pressed her hands to Anna's arm, let the magic flow.
Anna's scream subsided, replaced by slow and ragged breathing. Slowly, shakily, the redheaded Princess of Arendelle stood, her frozen arm hanging at her right side like a dead weight. Her sister still lay in the pool of blood. Anna did her best to ignore it. Ignore the fact it made her feel light-headed and slightly sick.
"Elsa, get up. I want to hug you so bad right now."
"I can't."
"You're still shutting me out?!"
"No, I–I can't stand up," Elsa's breathing became shallow as she realized the implications of what she'd just said. Her legs might have failed her before, but she simply couldn't feel them at all now. They wouldn't do her bidding. It seemed a small price to pay to have her sister back.
"Anna, you saved me," Elsa's voice was full of surprise and gratitude.
"I love you, Elsa. I never want to see you hurt."
"But your arm?"
Anna looked down at the ruin that was her right arm and shuddered. A complex flurry of emotions played across her face, ending with rage and acceptance.
"Is not your fault, Elsa. It's Hans's fault. It was his sword."
Anna stalked over to where Hans was finally regaining consciousness. She let her ruined, frozen arm hang limp, turned so it would be the first thing he saw when he opened his eyes. His eyes widened with shock as he rose, uncomprehending at first. When he saw the red hair, his expression changed to horror. When he saw the Queen dragging herself hands and knees over the ice towards him, that expression changed to terror. Without a word Hans, prince of the Southern Isles, turned, and ran.
Straight into Kristoff. The ice harvester floored him with a single blow, a beautiful haymaker. Anna tried to applaud, but found it impossible with only one arm working. She waved instead, beckoning him over. He looked down at Elsa, extending a hand to help her up.
"Talk about giving your sister the cold shoulder."
Anna couldn't help it. She giggled like a little girl. Somehow, those words broke the spell of darkness that seemed to be hanging over the ice. Even Olaf was back, stepping over melting ice.
"An act of true love will thaw a frozen a heart," the little snowman said softly. "Anna, that was so brave!"
"I love my sister. More than anything."
"Love will thaw…" Elsa repeated blankly, held up by Kristoff, finally comprehending. "Love."
Everything, all the good times, all the fun they'd had as children. Elsa let the happiness and joy of those times flow through her being. The ice began to melt faster and faster. The snow lifted to the sky. Elsa couldn't help herself, she made all of the snow and ice into a giant snowflake above the town of Arendelle. Then, with a thought, she let it go. She was surprised to be standing on the deck of a ship, Anna holding her up on one side, Kristoff on the other.
"Summer! This the best day of my life!" Olaf exclaimed, melting disturbingly quickly. "And quite possibly the last."
Elsa freed her left hand from Kristoff's shoulder and twirled it in the air, giving the brave little snowman a touch of her magic.
"My own personal flurry!" the joy in his words was infectious. Elsa couldn't help but smile. She saw Anna smiling too, then frowning as she saw Hans standing up. Anna stepped away from her sister, making sure Kristoff was keeping Elsa safe.
"But… your sister froze your heart!"
Anna stepped menacingly close. "You ruined my arm. You tried to kill Elsa. The only frozen heart around here is yours!" Even with her left arm, Anna's punch was powerful enough to send the supposed prince overboard. It helped that he was next to the edge of the deck anyway. Anna smiled, satisfied with her work. She looked back to Elsa, the way Kristoff had to hold her up, and her smile faded.
"Elsa, what are we going to do?"
"I don't know Anna. But I'm not going to shut you out this time. Never again."
"You were a right stinker. But you're back now. And I like the new you."
"Thank you. But what about your arm?" Elsa was very concerned for her sister's wellbeing. "I'm not sure anyone has that kind of magic anymore."
"They don't have to," Anna said softly, trying to hold back a laugh. "We have each other. It only cost us an arm and a leg."
"Anna, that's not funny," but Elsa was laughing too. That was the best thing about Anna, Elsa decided. She could always see the bright side. Always tried to make you laugh, even if you didn't feel like smiling. Elsa's tone became serious. "You might lose your arm. I don't think the castle physician can do anything with that kind of injury."
Anna looked straight at Elsa, as if the older woman was missing the point. "I know, Elsa, I know. When I felt Hans's blade hit my hand I knew I'd never be able to use my arm again. I was afraid he would kill me. Cut me in half."
Elsa shuddered, but said nothing. It was clear Anna hadn't finished speaking.
"But I wasn't afraid to die. I was afraid Hans was going to kill you Elsa. I couldn't let that happen. No matter how much it was going to cost me."
"You didn't know you'd freeze right then?"
"I was more afraid I'd freeze before I got to you. I was lucky, I guess."
"Hey Anna, Anna," Olaf reached around pulled one of his stick arms out, offering it to the Princess. "You can use my arm."
Anna knelt down before the snowman and hugged him. "Thank you Olaf, but it wouldn't work for me. I can't just put myself back together like that."
"Oh, okay," Olaf sounded disappointed, placing his arm back where it belonged. "I guess Elsa can't use my legs either then?"
Both Anna and Elsa laughed at the absurdity of the idea. Elsa, the snow Queen, riding around on Olaf's legs like they were some kind of sentient footstool. Kristoff helped Elsa to kneel next to her sister, hugging Olaf.
"You never have to do anything like that for us, Olaf," Elsa said softly. "But thank you."
Anna and Elsa looked around, Anna helping her sister to the side of the ship. The royal guard were just fishing Hans out of the fjord. A crowd was starting to gather at the gates of the castle.
"We should get back to the castle," Elsa looked pointedly at her sister. "The people of Arendelle need to know what happened here."
"I'll be there," Anna promised. "By your side. You know, you're getting kinda heavy."
"Did you just call me fat?!"
"Did I say that out loud?" Anna blushed a furious red.
Elsa sighed. "I'm sorry Anna. I know I'm a bit of a drag right now."
Anna laughed so hard she nearly dropped her sister. "I think we need Kristoff's help to move you around."
Later, speaking from the castle's balcony, Elsa finished her address to the people of Arendelle. "And so, for the attempted murder of my sister, Princess Anna of Arendelle, and for his attempt on my life as Queen, Hans, prince of the Southern Isles is charged with high treason in Arendelle. He is sentenced to exile, to be returned to his brothers by the king of France."
"You may have noticed that my sister, Anna, and the ever reliable Gerda, have not left my side for this entire speech. I would dismiss them so that I could stand upon my own two feet. It would be difficult, for I can no longer feel my feet, or my legs. When prince Hans's sword broke, part of it slashed across my back. That was after he all but sliced Anna's arm in half"—Elsa used her right hand to gesture towards Anna's arm, still frozen and encased in ice—"which is why her arm remains frozen. We fear she may lose it."
"This is not all I have to declare. While prince Hans's actions could be considered an act of war by the Southern Isles, I will not hold them responsible for his actions. His actions were his own. They would not be representative of any but the most atrocious of kingdoms. Thus, when the king of France delivers the traitor prince to his rightful home, I will ask for an envoy to be sent to us, one who better represents the people of the Southern Isles."
"I must also thank all of you, every citizen of Arendelle, for your patience, forbearance, and understanding. I hope the events of the past few days are never repeated. What was done, was done. We are all lucky it could be undone at all. I admit that for the longest time I was afraid of my powers. Afraid of hurting anyone. Everyone. I kept shutting people out. People who could have helped me control them. Explore what they could do."
As she spoke, Elsa was making subtle movements with each hand. Lines of ice began drawing graceful arches over walls and pillars of the castle. Fractal flowers bloomed at the peak of each arch. A massive snowflake decorated the flagpole atop the castle. Ice began to coat the courtyard. The intricacy of the patterns on the arches was breathtaking. The ice underfoot was entertaining.
"So now I will try and use them always as what they are: A Gift."
AN: This is currently a oneshot, but if people like it, I'm considering continuing it. (And in a late breaking edit, it has been considerably continued—those who binge read are hereby appropriately cautioned). I think it would make for a very interesting dynamic to see how the sisters support each other through their recovery, and how they adapt to the new challenges life throws at them.
