Okay... this first chapter isn't really Elsanna in my opinion, but I guess you could read it into it. I don't think that there is such a big gap between a strong yearning for a long estranged sibling like those two and romantic love. There will be Kristanna too, though - incest was even more of a taboo in their time than it is now, so I don't think the two sisters would just jump into a relationship like it was nothing. And Kristoff doesn't get enough love around here - he is a nice guy! Well, let's see how it goes, I have some chapters planned, but I'm not yet sure how it will end.

I don't own Disney or Frozen yet... but I'm waiting for my chance.

Another kind of magic

Beautiful.

Everything about Anna was beautiful.

Elsa had no idea why so many people – Anna herself first and foremost! – thought that she was more beautiful than her little sister. Sure, Anna did not possess Elsa's grace or composure – at least if her behavior at Elsa's coronation party was any indication – and there was no denying that the strawberry-haired girl was kinda naive about the world outside of their castle, most importantly about romance... but really, couldn't people see? Anna had qualities Elsa would maybe never possess, qualities that Elsa greatly admired... and sometimes craved. Anna was kindhearted, outgoing and genuinely funny, which would probably make the task of making friends in the outside world very easy for her, now that they were allowed to... and her little sister had tenacious willpower, bordering on stubbornness, something which Elsa, who would probably always be wary of her own decisions and her powers at least a bit, would never have.

Maybe it was these qualities which she admired so much that enveloped Anna in such an unearthly splendor right now... yes, that was probably a part of it. The other part were the sensations. In the last 13 years Elsa had barely ever seen her beloved sister while she grew up nearly as alone as Elsa, and she had forgotten how Anna's hair smelled or how her hugs felt like... the only thing that had remained in her life was Anna's voice, and after the death of their parents even that had become a rarity. And now she could hear her sister's adorable faint snores... she could inhale the scent of perfume and sweat, which somehow reminded her of a spring evening after a day full of fun... she had not been able to tear her eyes away from Anna's sleeping form, glowing in the moonlight.

And she could FEEL! She could FEEL Anna's face resting on her shoulder, FEEL Anna's warm body right next to her, like when they had been children, and her hands, now rid of her gloves, hopefully forever, sent pure delight through her body because of the unimaginable luxury of finally being allowed to embrace the most important person in her life again. All these things woven together... they felt like magic. Not her own cold, crude magic, but something mysterious and beautiful that seemed to transform the pretty, yet very human girl next to her into something greater... into a goddess.

Elsa caressed Anna's hair gently, causing the sleeping girl to snuggle up even closer to her older sister. The content smile, which had been present on Elsa's face since Anna had fallen asleep next to her, became a bit wider. She guessed that it had been an hour ago that she and Anna had stopped skating outside of the castle, both being thoroughly exhausted after the whole coronation and endless winter disaster... and Anna, not wanting to be separated from her older sister, insisted on sitting down with Elsa in her room to talk... and promptly fell asleep. Elsa didn't mind at all. Even now, with Anna asleep, Elsa's senses were nearly overwhelmed by simply being so close to her younger sister after such a long time apart... right now Elsa felt like anything more than that would make her explode by sheer joy.

The rational part of her registered that Anna was no goddess, even if the magic of closeness and sensation was fooling her eyes right now... but the bigger part of her didn't care. She would always view the younger girl as at least her guardian angel. Because today Anna had saved her not only from Hans' death blow, but from Elsa's own despair and loneliness. Elsa had shunned Anna, had nearly killed the only family she had left... and even when Elsa had completely lost the will to live, when she had WELCOMED death, Anna had still fought for her. For that Elsa would be eternally grateful... and from tomorrow on she would do everything in her power to make sure that Anna never was unhappy again because of her.

"I love you, Anna" she whispered, nearly inaudibly so that she would not wake her sleeping sibling. "More than my own life."

Well, that wasn't very impressive – for the last 13 years her life had not been worth very much, if anything. She could do better!

"More than Arendelle," she tried again. Well, yes, better. But she didn't really know Arendelle anymore... and although she was its queen and it was her duty to take care of the country, until she got to know it and her people again Arendelle was not even close to what she felt for Anna. She smiled and planted a soft kiss on Anna's hair.

"More than everyone and everything on this world combined."

And as frightening as that sounded, in this moment that was true. Tomorrow she would be a queen again, responsible for the welfare of her country, trying to make her parents proud by being a just ruler... but in this magical night, that belonged solely to her and Anna, if someone had made her choose between her baby sister and the whole world... well, Anna would have probably been bored out of her mind in the newly created void pretty soon.

Suddenly Anna stirred. Her lids fluttered and she yawned, looking adorable in the process. Elsa couldn't help it, she giggled.

"Elsa?" Anna mumbled sleepily. Then her eyes flew open. For a moment she looked at her older sister, astonished. Then her mouth formed a big grin. "Elsa! You're here! So it wasn't just a dream!"

Elsa giggled again and put her hand on Anna's cheek. She loved the feeling of Anna's warm, very much alive skin. A part of her wondered why she wasn't more shy and scared, considering she had actively avoided any contact with Anna for so very long, but since her whole body was currently filled with long suppressed love, boundless relief and deep thankfulness, there wasn't a place left in her body for fear to hide.

"No, it's not a dream, Anna," Elsa assured the younger girl, smiling tenderly. "I'm really here."

For one more moment Anna stared at her. Then the younger girl sighed, closed her eyes and put her head on Elsa's chest.

"I'm so glad," she murmured. "For a moment I thought..."

"That nothing had changed?" Elsa could feel Anna flinch slightly.

"... Yes," the younger girl whispered, pressing herself firmer against Elsa's body. "I thought that I woke up in my own bed... that none of the stuff with Hans, Kristoff and Olaf had happened..." She paused. When she spoke again, her voice sounded timid. "I thought that your door would be locked again."

Regret crept into Elsa's heart, causing very familiar pain. Fortunately enough there were still enough positive, warm feelings inside of her to do anything worse than cool down her temperature a tiny bit. She put her hands on Anna's head and back, hugging her dear sister gently, giving and taking comfort at the same time.

"I will never shut you out again, Anna," Elsa promised, her voice being a strange mixture of steady reassurance and fighting tears herself... tears of regret AND happiness to boot. "Never again. Pushing you away was the worst mistake I ever made."

"It's not your fault, Elsa..." Anna started, but Elsa interrupted her immediately.

"Some of it just IS, Anna," she replied. She swallowed when she remembered how many bad decisions, the trolls' to only tell riddles, her parents' to put their trust in control and suppression instead of love and training, the Duke of Weseltons to nearly push her to extremes, but also many of her own, had nearly caused a total catastrophe. "But it's not important anymore. You saved me... from everything." A short, thoroughly happy laugh escaped her throat. How long had it been since this had happened? "Oh, and all of Arendelle too."

She could practically FEEL Anna smile. "I was merely being selfish, Elsa," Anna countered, her voice soft and content. "I just wanted my big sister back. Everything else just... happened."

Now Elsa laughed out loud. How could she have forgotten how GOOD that felt? "I always knew that you were a bag of accidents just waiting to happen, dear sister," she snickered.

"Hey!" Anna sat up and pouted. Oh, how much Elsa had missed pouting Anna! "YOU just said that my accident saved us this time!"

Elsa put her arms around Anna's neck and pulled the other girl's head up against her chest again. It had only been seconds, but Elsa had already begun missing her little sister being so close to her. They had lost way too much time together already. "I never said that your naive spontaneity and stubbornness weren't good things," she breathed, trying to put all the adoration she felt for Anna into her voice. She smiled. "They are YOU... so of course they are."

"Thanks," Anna mumbled. "I guess."

Elsa chuckled. She really wished that this night could last forever, that she could stay this close to Anna forever... but tomorrow would come eventually. And then her duties awaited her. There would still be way more time to spend with Anna than she would have dreamed just a few days ago... but still, this very first night of being together again was special. And it would be over way too soon.

"I never thought I'd see this room again," Anna's words interrupted her melancholic thoughts. "It hasn't really changed much."

"No, it hasn't." And there was a reason for that. "Through all the time I spent in here... it has become my prison as well as my sanctuary." Elsa thought back... for so long the only things that this room invoked in her were fear, sadness and loathing... and now all of that was gone. "I didn't want to change this room, because it would still be my prison. Prettying it up wouldn't have changed that. And... somehow I had also convinced myself that this room was keeping everyone else safe from my powers. And with that came some strange superstition that if I changed something in the room, I would also change and completely lose control." She paused for a moment. "Things only changed when something became too small for me... and it was always the servants exchanging those. I didn't do anything." Often I didn't even WANT to do anything... but die.

"Oh Elsa." Anna's voice practically oozed compassion. Her baby sister had always been a very emotional being, had always worn her heart on her sleeve. Since the accident Elsa had always been envious about how easy it was for Anna to FEEL... and she would probably always be. "We don't have to talk about these things. I mean, we only just survived a magic winter, assassination attempts and you trying to teach me skating... it's totally okay if we focus on learning to live with each other again, before you tell me everything... and it's even okay if you never tell me everything, I completely understand if it's too painful..."

"Anna," Elsa laughed, putting her finger on the younger girl's lips. "You're rambling." She grinned. "Which I find pretty adorable, but as a princess you should try to avoid it."

"I'm sorry," Anna mumbled. Elsa imagined her blushing right now, even if she couldn't see the face pressed against her chest. "It's just... nobody should suffer as much as you have, Elsa. I wish I could take all this pain away."

"Silly Anna." Elsa gently forced Anna to look at her and kissed her sister's forehead. It was her first kiss since she had been five and it sent waves of fulfillment through her body. This was what she should have never stopped – loving and showing how much she cared about her baby sister. "You already are doing that... by just being here."

Anna pouted again. "You're mocking me," she complained.

"No, I'm not." Elsa's smile vanished. "I did everything – really EVERYTHING – I could to keep you away from me, Anna... and yet you never gave up on me. Even when I WANTED to die, after Hans lied to me... you still wanted to safe me." She stroked Anna's cheek. "You are amazing, Anna. Thank you."

Anna stared at her, clearly fighting tears now, then she leaped forward and threw her arms around Elsa's neck. Since their cheeks were pressed together firmly, Elsa could feel Anna's warm tears.

"I couldn't lose you again, Elsa," Anna whimpered. "Not again... not after everything finally made sense."

"Shhhh," Elsa made, softly stroking Anna's back. "I'm here, Anna. I'm not going anywhere." And why would she? Being accepted by their subjects... knowing how she could control her powers... being with the one she loved most... everything she ever really wanted – she had it now. "And I hope you won't leave me anytime soon to run away with this ice fellow..."

"Elsa!" Anna shrieked and sat up, blushing madly – even in the pale moonlight this was clearly visible. "There is NOTHING going on between me and Kristoff!"

Elsa was giggling now. It felt so GOOD to behave like a carefree teenager! "Oh, I don't know," she said. "On the ice rink you seemed to be pretty familiar with each other..."

"You're teasing me! Me, the little sister who selflessly protected and saved you!" She began to grin. Elsa felt uncomfortable suddenly. "You clearly are an evil witch... that means you need to be PUNISHED!"

And with that the younger girl pounced on Elsa and started to playfully wrestle with her older sibling. Elsa played along and for the next few minutes the two sisters continued their ludic struggle, both feeling like they were little kids again. Then Anna fell down next to her sister.

"I'm too exhausted for that," she said and yawned. "It was a long day. I'll have to punish you properly another time."

"Mmh, you really want to risk that?" Elsa asked and played with a curl of Anna's hair. She couldn't get enough of its softness on her skin. "I'm an evil witch, remember? I might throw you into a dungeon while you're asleep."

"I guess I'll just have to hope that you're an honorable villain then," Anna mumbled and snuggled closer to her sister. She paused for a moment, her eyes closed. "Elsa? Can I ask you one more question?"

"Of course you can, Anna," Elsa agreed, putting her arm around Anna's shoulder. "Anything."

"Back then, when you retreated into your room," Anna began, now sounding a little less sleepy. "When I started knocking on your door... begging you to come out... did that... hurt you?"

"Oh Anna!" A sad feeling crept into Elsa's heart. Already half-asleep, Anna still worried about her. "It wasn't..."

"Elsa!" Anna's hand grabbed Elsa's arm. Although her eyes were still closed, it was a tight grip. "Please – tell me the truth."

Elsa hesitated, but then she sighed. "Yes, Anna. It was very painful," she admitted. "But it wasn't YOU who caused this pain... it was the fact that I couldn't BE with you. You simply didn't know..." And in hindsight, I think we should have told you everything back then. She continued caressing Anna's hair. "Let me tell you something, Anna: Do you know what kept me sane in these long years, away from you, without any other friends, often even without our parents?"

"Hmmm?" Anna asked. It seemed sleep was finally catching up with her.

"It was three things," Elsa continued. "The first was my duty. I knew that one day I would have to rule Arendelle – and that I needed to gain control over my powers to be accepted. The second were our parents." Elsa smiled sadly. She could still remember their faces of course, it had only been three years... but she had long since forgotten how their mother's embrace of their father's kisses on her forehead had felt. "I wanted to make them proud of me... if not by controlling my magic, then by being the ruler they wanted me to be, just, competent, respected. Those two made me belief in a better future... and then there was you." Elsa looked down on her sibling softly. Anna was breathing slowly now. Maybe she was already asleep, but even if she was, Elsa needed to say this. "You never gave up on me. You continued to love me when you had no reason to. You gave me the strength to endure the bleak present back then."

And there was more to that. Elsa was pretty sure that Anna was asleep now. That was probably good... she wasn't sure if she was ready to tell her innocent little sister about the darker parts of their big adventure. Anna saw her as a completely good person, someone who had suffered a lot and deserved to be forgiven for anything she had done... but there was also darkness inside of her. She had felt it when the two... attendants of the Duke of Weselton had attacked her. For one terrible moment, when Hans had shouted that she shouldn't become the monster everyone thought she was... she had been tempted to do just that. To kill those two men, to unleash all the anger of thirteen lonely years and show everyone how serious she was in wanting to be left alone. This was when she would have abandoned her parents' legacy and wishes, her duties already having been left behind when she had fled Arendelle.

The only thing back then that had held her back had been Anna. She had thrown Anna out of the castle, but she had known that her younger sister still loved her and wanted her back. It had been a painful, yet also comforting feeling in her free, yet lonely situation. Had she become a cold-blooded killer... then she would even have lost Anna's loving memory. She would have been utterly alone... like on the frozen lake, when her little sister had transformed into a lifeless statue.

Elsa hadn't been able to think back then, she had been way too busy grieving, but had Anna's sacrifice not saved her from Elsa's magic, then Elsa could only imagine two outcomes: death or rage. The more likely thing to happen would have been suicide – the only sure way to escape her constantly growing pain. Back then she wouldn't even have cared if this would save Arendelle anymore. She would have cried all the tears she had to offer... and then she would have impaled herself on an ice spike. The second option would have been revenge... killing this manipulative bastard Hans for lying to her and causing Anna to run away from her True Love's kiss, into her icy death. And since there would have been nothing left in this world that Elsa cared for... the violence might not have stopped there.

Elsa shuddered. Anna was her conscience. She was warmhearted, optimistic, brave, feisty and loving... as long as she was alive, she would always be a reminder for Elsa that life had more to offer than pain. That all her sacrifices had not been in vain. She smiled while watching her sleeping sister's form lovingly.

"You are one who keeps my heart from freezing," she whispered. "I will need you in the future, Anna... please don't ever leave me."

She knew that this was a selfish wish... true, as long as Elsa did not have children, Anna was her heir, but maybe one day she would want to see the world. Maybe things with this blonde guy would not work out and she would marry a prince of a foreign country. Or – and she would do ANYTHING to prevent that from happening – one day Anna would simply die. But the little child inside of her cold soul, the one that had been forced to grow up too soon, hoped that Anna would at least WANT to stay close to Elsa as much as Elsa in return craved her little sister's company.

Now she was finally getting sleepy too. Well, it wasn't a bad thing... tomorrow she had many things to do, with all the damage she had unwittingly caused. She kissed Anna's forehead once more.

"I love you," she breathed. "Please still be here when I wake up."

And with that, the queen of Arendelle finally fell asleep. With a soft smile on her lips, something that her pillow had not seen for a very long time. A smile that, she hoped, Anna would conjure forth every day from now on. With her sister's own special kind of magic.

Please tell me how you like it!