A/N: This one isn't like my other Angst/Hurt/Comfort fic (hence why it's rated T) but it does mention death. So I'd be careful if I were you.
The young woman sits beside the fire as her she warms herself up. She hugs her shawl tighter around her lithe body frame. She has just been helping the Royal Ice Master and Deliverer of Arendelle - her loving fiancé - go up to the very top of the North Mountain and harvest a few hundred ice blocks.
She ripped her gloves in the process and had to carry on with bare hands. And even with three layers of warm and insulating clothing, the chilled mist of the winter air hit her hard. She has been convinced that ice harvesting is not her slice of cake.
So she is told to sit on the sofa by the fire in Queen Elsa's study with a steaming mug of hot cocoa clutched in one hand. Taking a sip, she relishes in the warm and creamy chocolate taste that explodes in the inside of her mouth. She lets her gaze fall to the flames in front of her; and she watches them flicker red and orange.
The polar opposite of her sister's power... the flames remind her of so many different things, but one thing stands out to her the most.
When she went into the Ice Palace to try and get Elsa to come back to Arendelle and bring back summer. The emotions radiating off her sister as she was told that Arendelle was under an eternal winter: fear, anger, hurt. Those were the opposites of what Anna was feeling.
A knock on the study door brings Anna back out from her thoughts. Carefully, she places the half full mug on the footstool and she turns her body to face the door. The door opens to reveal Elsa. Anna feels that something isn't right with her sister; her normally calm and collected composure is gone, having been replaced by a slouch.
"Elsa?" She asks, as the blonde runs both hands over her hair, rubs them together and then starts pacing the room, "Elsa, are you OK?"
The older sister doesn't say anything. Instead, she braces her back against the wall and slides herself to the floor, resting her head in her hands. Anna raises an eyebrow, then, pushing her shawl off her shoulders, she goes over to Elsa and crouches down in front of her.
Anna gently pushes Elsa's hands away from her face and gasps as she sees that her eyes have gotten puffy and red. The makeup that her sister wears to meetings has smudged, leaving black lines where her tear stains are. "Elsa. Tell me what's going on. Now," Anna says. She doesn't mean to sound firm but Elsa is really worrying the heck out of her. Elsa shakes her head, making Anna roll her eyes. The strawberry blonde sighs as she holds Elsa's wrists, to stop her burying her face again.
"Please, Elsa. You're really worrying me," Anna pleads, trying not to sound too worried. She has to remain calm and collected when she is in this position. She has to.
"Anna," Elsa jerks her hands out of her sister's grip and glares hard, "I'm fine, Anna!" Anna jumps, Elsa has never been this rough with her, even when she was crying. Something terrible must have happened. And she is definitely determined to find out what that thing is.
"…OK…" she starts to say slowly, "well, if you're sure…" Anna waits to see if Elsa will spill, but when the older queen stays quiet and a sound doesn't come out of her, apart from sobs and sniffs, Anna continues, "I'm going to see if I can get Gerda to give me a re fill on my hot cocoa,"
Elsa still doesn't make a move to speak. She just nods slowly before another round of tears starts to fall down her cheeks, smudging her mascara even more. She watches discreetly as Anna leaves, making sure not to make it seem too obvious that her eyes are following the younger girl. As the door closes with a soft click, her mind starts whirring, making her despise herself.
Why can't she keep herself under control anymore? Why did she have to go and be a monster? She thought she had it under control when she used love to bring back summer. Well, she was wrong then, obviously. She wouldn't have done it if she could control the curse.
Kristoff is severely injured – and might be for the rest of his life – because of her ice. Anna probably never will forgive her – because of her ice. Elsa grits her teeth; that is the thing she fears most of all. If Anna doesn't want to forgive her, she will be alone. With no-one to go to or talk to if things turn rough.
Elsa shudders. That can't happen. Yet. Yes, she will have to know sooner or later. And for that question Elsa prefers the latter option – but she knows Anna will find out soon.
The door opens again and Anna enters with a steaming mug, which is probably full of hot cocoa – her favourite drink – clutched in a hand. She is muttering something about how maids tend to look at you curiously if you are ill.
I don't think it is because you are ill, Anna, the queen thinks bitterly.
"How are we feeling, then, Elsa?" Anna says, trying to appear cheery but there is a break in her voice that doesn't go unnoticed by Elsa. Elsa looks up at her and one look at the concerned face of the younger princess takes away all of her hopes of telling her sister what happened in an instant. But if she doesn't tell her, then Anna might hate her even more for keeping secrets again.
They always tell each other everything now. Never mind what it is, if something happens to one of them then the other has to know. It was a promise. So why does that promise have to be broken now, after all these years of building their sisterhood back to what it was like when they were younger?
As Anna takes her hot cocoa and settles herself back on the sofa, wrapping the shawl back around her, Elsa takes a deep breath, "Anna?" She whispers, wiping away the tears that fell down her cheeks beforehand.
Anna doesn't hear her; she spoke too quietly. So she clears her throat and tries again, "Anna?"
Anna turns to her, and Elsa swears she sees a glimmer of hope in the younger girl's eyes, "Yes, Elsa? She says eagerly, and Elsa's hopes drop once again.
She tries to swallow the lump in her throat while trying to figure out how to tell Anna what she had done, "I…" She begins.
The room's temperature starts to drop and small snowflakes start to fall, "Elsa, calm down," Anna says, walking over to her, "tell me what's bothering you. I can help you,"
The room gets even colder as Elsa thinks more and more about the situation, "Elsa, come on. We tell each other everything, remember?" Anna prompts her, "Even if it's the worst thing in the world," Ice creeps up the walls and along the floor, and Anna stands up to prevent herself from getting frozen.
"Fine. If… if you say so," Elsa says. Her voice is shaky, and as she stands up, the wall behind her freezes instantly,
Anna looks at her expectantly with a pointed stare and folded arms, "Well?"
"After you and Kristoff came back and I saw you were ill with a cold, I…" Elsa looks down to prevent herself from meeting Anna's eyes. The young redhead gets even more curious as to what happened when she hears her fiancé's name but she doesn't show it. Instead she waits for her older sister to continue, "I kind of blew up at him," she says meekly.
Anna finds it unusual for her sister to be so shy and worried; she hasn't been that way for a few years now, "what… what did you say?" she asks Elsa, trying not to show the concerned and worried side of her.
"I just said he should have looked after you better, and helped you when you started to feel a chill," Elsa pauses for a second, and begins clasping and unclasping his hands together, "and then I… lost control…" she runs a hand over her hair again.
"Lost control? What do you mean?" Anna has a pretty good idea about what she means but she wants to make sure.
"Of my ice. I struck him. And hard," Elsa turns away from Anna and faces the wall.
"Where… where did you hit him?" Anna asks nervously. Her voice is starting to tremble; and Elsa doesn't blame her. She had done something terrible. She clutches her midsection and bends her head.
"I… I'm not sure," she whispers, "I was too angry to notice. I'm sorry, Anna. I really am,"
Anna reaches up and puts a hand on the blonde queen's shoulder, walking up beside her, "It's OK, Elsa. I get that you worried about me and that you were scared," she whispers fondly.
Elsa turns round and looks at the princess with a shocked expression on her face, "you… you aren't mad?" She asks in an astonished tone, to which Anna grins sheepishly.
"Maybe I am. Just a teeny, tiny bit. But I can't be too mad at you because you owned up to it and told me now," Anna smiles brightly, "and I'm sure Kristoff will be fine,"
Elsa laughs bitterly, "Oh, I doubt that very mu-" she is cut off by a knock at the door. It opens to reveal a very distraught looking Gerda, "Gerda? Are you OK?" Elsa asks, though she has very good idea what is going on.
"Queen Elsa, Princess Anna, I have distressing news-" she begins.
"What?" Anna steps forward.
"We've lost Kristoff," she says forlornly, "I'm so sorry," she whispers quietly, though both the royals hear her as they are not making a sound whatsoever. Then Anna loses her control.
"Where is he?!" She thunders, and Gerda jumps, stepping backwards.
"He… he is in the castle infirmary, Your Highness," she stutters.
"Right!" Anna pushes past both the queen and the maid and runs out of the study, slamming the door again.
"I… I had better follow her," Elsa says, "I'm sorry for her actions," Elsa walks up to the door.
Elsa finds her way to the infirmary, looking down to avoid any of the pointed but somehow sympathetic looks she is getting from the maids – like it is her fault but they understand her.
Ann opens the door to the infirmary and runs inside. There, lying on the bed in front of her, is her sweet, beloved Kristoff.
His eyes are closed and there is no sign of life. He has gone incredibly pale and the rise and fall of his chest is missing. Tears well up in Anna's eyes as she runs and kneels down beside the bed. She takes her fiancé's lifeless hand in hers and starts crying and her sobs come out choked and jagged, "Kristoff," she whispers.
She is too distraught to notice the hand on her shoulder. Elsa kneels down beside her sister and slides an arm round both of her shoulders. Anna turns to her sister and starts crying on her shoulder.
Elsa is surprised, to say the least. She thought Anna will hate her guts for killing her fiancé, but she's crying on her shoulder. No, she tells herself, Anna needs her support and I will give it her like an older sister should, no matter what.
She strokes the redhead's hair and whisper's in her ear, "I'm so sorry, Anna," Anna looks up to Elsa and their eyes meet. Anna wipes her tears away.
"No, please don't be sorry," she whispers. She seems to know what her sister is saying sorry for, "you didn't do it on purpose, Elsa. You were scared," she says firmly.
"But how can you not hate me?! I killed your fiancé!" Elsa protests.
"And I'll never get over him," Anna says forlornly, turning her head to look at Kristoff. For a second, Elsa thinks she will start crying again, but after a while, Anna turns her focus back to her older sister, "but sisters can't hate each other. Sisters are meant to be filled with love, care and admiration. You can't have that with hate, can you?" She smiles weakly, causing Elsa to smile back fondly.
"No. You can't," Elsa hugs Anna again, "I love you, my wonderful little sister," she whispers.
"I love you, too, Elsa," Anna whispers back.