A Snowball's Chance in Hell
Chapter Four
Elsa kept her face carefully impassive when the throne room doors opened and Dagnar Petroff entered, followed shortly by a pair of armed guards. His hair and clothes were disheveled from a hasty ride to the castle, but he seemed nonplussed at being nearly dragged in front of the queen.
"Ah, Queen Elsa," he said, dropping into a flourishing bow. "It is always an honor to see you. To what do I owe the pleasure?"
Elsa eyed Dagnar coolly. He was extremely calm, as if they'd simply run into one another on the street rather than being summoned before his liege lady at a moment's notice. He could at least have the decency to look nervous, she thought. "I've no patience for games, Mister Petroff," she said, trying to keep the accusatory edge out of her voice. "I believe you know full well why you are here."
"I must confess, I do not," Dagnar replied, shrugging helplessly. "I cannot think of anything that would warrant such a… sudden audience with your majesty. Unless you've reconsidered my proposal of re-establishing trade with Weselton, that is."
Elsa arched an eyebrow at Dagnar's response. He's committed, I'll give him that much. "No," she replied. "As I stated in my declaration, Arendelle shall never do business with Weasel-town again." A tentative knock sounded at the door. "Come in," Elsa called.
A middle-aged man opened the door and stepped through. He wore a similar outfit to the rest of Arendelle's Royal Guard, though his uniform was a deep navy blue instead of the normal forest green. He stood at attention and snapped a salute. "You wished to see me, your majesty?" he asked, the words ruffling his bushy mustache.
"Ah, yes, Captain Lundqvist," Elsa said, smiling. She motioned toward Dagnar, who suddenly seemed a bit ill at ease. "Please take Mister Petroff here into custody."
"What?" Dagnar roared. He tried to take a step toward the queen, but the guards who had brought him in restrained him. They held his arms behind his back while Captain Lundqvist placed a pair of handcuffs around his wrists. "You can't do this! I've done nothing wrong! You have no right—" He fell silent when the queen gave him an ice-cold stare.
"As Queen, it is my right to do anything that I please," Elsa shot back, standing up and taking a few slow steps forward. She was tempted to try and slap some sense into Dagnar, but she knew it would be doomed to failure and only serve to start some juicy gossip amongst the castle staff. Instead, she drew up to her full height and fixed him with a cool stare. "You are hereby charged with fraud and embezzlement of funds."
"What?" Dagnar strained forward against the grip of the guards. "I didn't… I would never—"
Elsa silenced him again with another hard stare. "You will be held in the Royal Penitentiary until such time as a proper trial can be held to determine your guilt or innocence. Effective immediately, you are stripped of all your lands and titles, along with Petroff Shipping Industries. All of them will now be under the purview of the crown." Dagnar opened his mouth to protest, but Elsa held up a hand to forestall him. "Your family will be allowed to remain in your current home, and they will be taken care of."
Dagnar's mouth opened and closed like a landed fish struggling to breathe. After a few moments, he slumped down, hanging his head in resignation. "I'm sorry, my queen," he mumbled.
Sorry you got caught, perhaps, Elsa thought sourly. She turned to Captain Lundqvist and simply said, "Take him away."
"Of course, your majesty," Lundqvist replied, bowing. He led Dagnar out of the throne room, followed by the two guards who had brought him in. Once they were gone, Elsa leaned against the wall and let out a breath. Her stomach rumbled to remind her that she hadn't had a proper breakfast. She pulled the door open and started for the kitchens. There was still about an hour until lunch would be served, but she needed something to tide her over until then.
"Oh, Elsa! Wait up!"
Elsa stopped and turned to see Anna hurrying down the hall toward her. "Anna? What are you doing here?" she asked. Her question went unheeded as her sister finally caught her and pulled her into a tight hug. Elsa did her best to return it, but her arms were trapped by Anna's. Once they separated, she tried again. "Why are you back already? I thought you'd be out at least until lunch."
"Oh, well, I couldn't find Kristoff anywhere, so…" Anna trailed off, and her mood fell a little. She wrung her hands together for a bit before asking, "Hey, do you maybe wanna go for a ride?"
Elsa pursed her lips. Anna knew that she didn't particularly like horses, or rather that they didn't like her. Something about her magic spooked them, and she'd been bitten enough times when she was young to swear off the beasts forever. Only Anna's persistent enthusiasm about horseback riding had convinced Elsa to give it another try recently. That attempt had met with the same success the ones in the past had, but it had left her with an important insight: The only time her sister suggested an impromptu ride was when something was bothering her, something that she wanted to talk about. Elsa had no doubts about the subject of this ride would be. Brief consideration was given to accepting Anna's suggestion, she wanted the best for her sister after all, but she wasn't sure she could bear listening to her sister's woes and try to fix something she secretly wanted to see broken.
"I'm sorry, Anna," Elsa said, smiling apologetically, "but I've just had Dagnar taken into custody and seized his company, along with all his lands. I need to make sure that his family is taken care of, not to mention all of the paperwork that will be involved in appropriating Petroff Shipping Industries into use under royal jurisdiction." It broke her heart to watch Anna's face fall even further, and she laid a comforting hand on her sister's arm. "I promise I'll make it up to you. Perhaps we can eat some ice cream in front of the fireplace say… tomorrow evening?"
It was a stay of execution, at best. At some point she was going to have to hear her sister talk about her boyfriend, and like any good sister, help Anna out with her troubles and worries. The fact that it didn't have to happen today would have to be enough. Yes, she thought to herself, tomorrow I'll make sure at least one of us is having a good time.
Anna pouted for a second, but then it flipped up into a slight smile. "Okay, it's a date," she said. She stepped forward and gave her sister another hug, this one not as rib-crushingly tight as the first. "Thanks, Elsa." She gave her sister one last squeeze before turning and heading back down the hall. "Don't work too hard," she called back over her shoulder.
Elsa watched her sister go, the spring in her step from earlier noticeably gone. Part of her wanted to call Anna back and apologize, then listen to whatever problems she was still having with Kristoff, if only because it was what Anna wanted. The words stuck in her throat, and she stood rooted to the spot until her sister rounded a corner and disappeared. She sighed and headed for her room, her hunger gone despite her empty stomach.
Anna tried, and generally succeeded, to resist the urge to track her sister down the following day. She knew that Elsa's queenly duties were important, even if her sister did occasionally push herself a little too hard. However, she finally broke and went off in search of Elsa after the queen missed both lunch and dinner.
Anna found Elsa in their father's… she supposed it was Elsa's study, now. The Queen of Arendelle looked beyond exhausted, but she still managed a tired smile for her sister. "I'm sorry, Anna, but I don't think I could stay awake in front of the fireplace… or anywhere, for that matter," she said, fighting to stifle a yawn. "Would you mind if we rescheduled for tomorrow?" Of course, Anna hadn't minded. Elsa obviously had a lot to do after putting Dagnar into custody. She could wait a little longer.
When she'd finally seen Elsa the next day, the queen hadn't looked as exhausted, but she was in the middle of a meeting with her advisors on what sounded like an important trade delegation. Maybe she really is thinking about re-establishing trade with Weselton after all. Elsa merely smiled apologetically while one of her advisors droned on, and Anna nodded understandingly. Queens and princesses sometimes had to make sacrifices for the good of the kingdom.
Anna had hoped that the next day would work out better when she ran into her sister in the hallway. However, Elsa immediately started to leave after a brief greeting and a quick hug. "I'm sorry, Anna," she said. "I'm running very late for an important meeting. I'll try to see you at dinner." Anna pursed her lips while she watched her sister leave. The queen seemed a little disheveled to be heading to a meeting, especially a proclaimed 'important' one. Ultimately, Anna shrugged went about her business. Waiting until dinner couldn't hurt.
However, Elsa never showed up for dinner that night. Anna asked a few of the staff where the queen had gotten off to, but even Kai hadn't seen Elsa since shortly after lunch. Determined to get to the bottom of things, Anna made her way to Elsa's room once she was done with dinner. She knocked on the door with a little more force than necessary, calling out, "Elsa?" There was no answer, but she saw a shadow move through the gap along the floor. "Come on, Elsa. I know you're in there. Open up."
Nearly a minute passed before the door finally opened, and Anna was surprised by her sister's appearance. Despite the relatively early hour, Elsa was already wearing a nightgown, and her hair was loose about her shoulders instead of in its typical braid. "I'm sorry, Anna," she said. "But there are several delegations from the Far East arriving at dawn tomorrow morning, and I have to greet them personally so I need to get some sleep now." She held up a hand when Anna opened her mouth to respond. "I know. I know we still need to… talk, but I can't right now." She paused, took a deep breath, and fought for one last extension. "Tomorrow, I promise. I'll have Gerda pack us a lunch. We can take a ride and have a picnic down by the fjord."
Anna stared at her sister long and hard. She got the distinct feeling that Elsa was trying to avoid talking to her. She couldn't figure out why, but she knew that Elsa cared about her and had her best interests at heart. After a few moments of tense silence, Anna held out a hand, her pinkie extended.
Elsa looked at her sister's proffered hand warily and swallowed. The pinkie swear had been the most sacred and binding oath she and Anna had had as children. She knew that if she agreed to it now, there would be no backing out of it. That's well enough, she thought. This farce has gone on long enough. The queen reached out with her own hand, wrapping her pinkie around her sister's. They shook briefly before letting their hands fall back to their respective sides. Anna studied her for a few more seconds, then turned and left without another word. Elsa watched her sister go, her heart breaking a little more with each heavy, plodding step. She closed the door and pressed her forehead against the wood, silently cursing her own cowardice.
When she rounded a corner, Anna stopped and leaned back against the wall. Something was wrong, but her sister was stubbornly refusing to tell her what it was. Anna let her head rest against the wall and sighed. She loved Elsa to death, but her sister still refused to share anything that bothered her. She knew Elsa wasn't doing it on purpose, but the lack of trust it implied still stung.
Her eyes found the window, and she saw that the sun was still a good bit above the horizon. She chewed her lip for a bit, wondering if it was a good idea to try and go find Kristoff again. She'd checked his home every day, but still hadn't seen him in three days. She was starting to get worried. Casting one last look back at Elsa's door, Anna headed toward the front doors of the castle.
A few minutes of brisk walking found Anna in front of Kristoff's door for the third time in as many days. She knocked just as she had every other time, fully expecting only silence as her answer. However, a few seconds later, the door opened and her missing boyfriend poked his head out. "Oh, hey Anna," he said casually.
It took Anna a couple seconds to realize that Kristoff had actually answered the door. "And just where have you been?" she blurted out. It came out more accusatory than she had meant it to, but she couldn't bring herself to feel sorry for it. He disappears off of the face of the Earth for three days and all I get is a 'hey Anna'? She put her hands on her hips and glared at him, waiting for an answer.
"Hey, calm down," Kristoff replied, holding his hands up placatingly. He opened the door wider and stepped aside, motioning for Anna to come inside. She continued to glare at him for a bit before stomping into the house and flopping down in one of the kitchen chairs. "I went out to the Valley to see Grand Pabbie and the rest of the gang," he said. "While I was out there, one of the youngsters earned their Earth Crystal. There was a big celebration, and everyone wanted me to stay for it." He shrugged, as if it were a perfectly normal explanation for his absence.
That was one of the problems, though. For him, it might actually have been perfectly acceptable; growing up with the trolls might have turned out for the best for him, but it did make him somewhat… Anna struggled to find the word she was looking for. Eccentric? Quirky? Just plain weird? She settled for an amalgamation of the three and smiled at him. Despite his occasional weirdness, she did love him, didn't she?
"Still, you could have left a note or something," she eventually replied, standing up. "Three days and no one had any clue where you were. I was getting worried." She walked over to him and laid her hand on his chest, rising up on her toes for a quick kiss. Kristoff turned his head at the last moment, and she ended up planting the kiss on his cheek. She pulled back a bit and looked up at him curiously.
"Oh, sorry," Kristoff said, smiling sheepishly. He brought a hand up to cover a yawn, then ran it through his hair. "Listen, Anna, I missed you and all, but it was a long walk back from the Valley and I'm beat. Do you think we could hang out tomorrow, maybe after lunch?"
"Oh, um, yeah. Sure," Anna replied. She closed her eyes and leaned up for another kiss, this time stopping a little short to let him come down a bit. She waited for a couple seconds before finally cracking an eye open. Just as she did, Kristoff finally came down and gave her a light peck on the lips, then moved toward the door again. She followed him absently, a dozen questions whirling around her mind. He held the door open and she walked through, stopping and looking back over her shoulder once she was outside. "Well, I'll… see you tomorrow, then." He made a vague affirmative noise and shut the door.
Anna walked aimlessly through the streets, only vaguely aware of the people bowing or waving hello to her. She ran through everything that had happened in her head over and over. Something was off about Kristoff, but she couldn't figure out what. He'd always been a little odd, but something about his behavior just now was… distant. Bored, even.
Her mind fixated on the kiss. Kristoff's attitude made it seem like a chore, like something he was being forced to do rather than something he wanted to do. His kisses were normally a little rough and sloppy, but they were alive. They had passion and desire behind them. This one was brief, perfunctory; it was the kind of kiss teenage boys gave their mothers.
Anna looked up from her absentminded meandering to find herself back in front of the castle gates. She sighed and headed into the courtyard. The last vestiges of sunlight were still peeking over the horizon, but Anna was emotionally exhausted. Something's wrong with Elsa that she's hiding from me, and Kristoff is… I don't even know. She walked through the open massive front doors of the castle and angled toward the grand curved staircase that led up to her and Elsa's rooms. Once she finally reached her bedroom, she flopped down on the bed and stared at the ceiling.
At least everything will be better tomorrow.
When Anna finally dragged herself out of bed the following morning, she felt like she'd barely gotten any sleep, which she probably hadn't once she thought about it. She'd spent most of the night tossing and turning, her mind refusing to shut down. It had provided her with a number of possible scenarios for what could be bothering her sister. From more nastiness with the Duke of Weselton, to the issue with Dagnar being bigger than either of them had suspected. She thought she had even had a brief dream about Elsa revealing a secret pregnancy with a mysterious paramour, which had been both exciting and oddly terrifying.
But for all of her mind's wild fantasies about what could possibly be bothering her sister, it offered no speculations about what could be wrong with Kristoff. She'd simply never seen him be so… cold before. It was totally foreign, and she had no idea how to interpret it.
After a quick bath, Anna headed down to breakfast. Despite trying to prepare herself for it, she was slightly disappointed when Elsa never showed up. With how her sister had been acting the past few days, Anna doubted she'd see so much as a glimpse of Elsa before their planned horseback ride and picnic at lunch time.
Lunch time, Anna thought. She tapped her fork against her chin absently, forgetting about the chocolate-dipped strawberry that she had just speared as it smeared chocolate on her chin. Kristoff wanted to meet after lunch… but I don't want to rush things with Elsa. She pursed her lips for a bit, then finally remembered her strawberry and popped it in her mouth. I'm sure he wouldn't mind if I swung by before lunch, instead.
Anna hopped up out of her chair and headed for the door, but a servant coming in just ahead of her caught her attention by clearing his throat and motioning toward his chin. Anna wiped a finger along her own chin, and was surprised when it came away with a bit of chocolate on it. After wiping up as much as she could with her fingers—no sense letting it go to waste, after all—she finished cleaning up with a napkin, then resumed her journey out to the front gates.
It was still relatively early, so the streets were nearly empty, save for a few vendors already selling their wares in the market. As such, Anna found herself standing in front of Kristoff's door in nearly record time. She knocked on the door and waited for an answer, humming tunelessly to herself. Nearly a minute passed without any sign of life from the house, so she knocked again, a little louder this time. She stopped humming and peeked through a window that looked in on the kitchen. A pair of plates and accompanying silverware littered the table, but they were clearly from the previous day.
He's not even up yet, she thought wryly, rolling her eyes. She tried the doorknob, smirking when it turned and the door fell open a crack. For as much he makes fun of me for sleeping in, he'd sleep 'til noon if he didn't have to get up for work. She crept through the entryway and the living room, following one of the few clean paths through the house back to the bedroom. She eyed the clutter wearily; dirty clothes, used dishes, and damaged or broken ice harvesting equipment littered the small house. A single misstep would have sent some precariously stacked cup or plate tumbling down and given her away.
Skirting around one last pile of wrinkled clothes, Anna finally reached the door to Kristoff's bedroom. She grabbed the handle and pushed it open, going slowly to make sure that the hinges didn't creak. Once the opening was wide enough, she slipped through and tiptoed toward the bed. She was about to yank back the covers when something made her pause. The lump under the covers was big… too big, in fact. Her eyes roamed over the mountain of blankets from the headboard all the way down to the end of the bed where all three of Kristoff's feet were sticking out.
Wait, three?
Anna leaned over, peering closer at the foot of the bed. Sure enough, there were three feet sticking out. Two of them were obviously Kristoff's, but the third was smaller, more slender, and hooked around the ice harvester's ankle. Before she could investigate further, the lump under the covers shifted, exposing a delicate hand and a mop of brunette hair.
Anna froze, her mouth falling open slightly. Her hand came up to cover it, and she took a shaky step back. No. She shook her head slightly, unable to accept what she was seeing. No. It can't… He wouldn't… She took another step back and bumped into a pile of clutter. A shovel that had been leaning against the pile fell, clattering against the floor. The delicate hand poking out from the covers flinched, then grabbed the blankets and pulled them lower, revealing a woman's face. The mysterious woman cracked a sleepy eye open, only to have both of them fly open when she saw Anna.
For a few tense moments, they stared at one another. Silent. Unblinking. Anna would likely have silently left the scene of the second deepest betrayal of her life if it hadn't been for Kristoff himself draping an arm around the girl, leaning up to nibble along her neck. "Mornin', Liana. You up for another round before breakfast?" When she didn't answer, he pulled back a bit and looked at her. "What's the matter, babe?" he asked. He noticed her looking over his shoulder and followed her gaze, finally seeing Anna next to the bed.
"Shit," he blurted out. He looked back and forth between Anna and Liana for a second before saying, "This isn't what it looks like, I swear." Before he could say anything else, Anna turned and ran, throwing the bedroom door open and sending it colliding with the wall. A similar crash a few seconds later announced that she'd made it out the front door. Kristoff threw off the covers and hopped out of bed, chasing after her in only a pair of boxers.
"Anna, wa—ow!" He cursed under his breath when he stepped on a fork laying in the living room, but he kept after the fleeing princess. "Anna, wait!" he called. Despite her head start, he slowly caught up to her, and he finally managed to grab a hold of her arm just before she would have turned the corner to bring the castle into view. "Just let me—"
Anna spun around, swinging her right hand out wide to try and catch Kristoff off-guard. Unfortunately, he blocked the blow easily and grabbed onto her arm to keep her from trying again. "Anna, please," he said, trying to duck down and meet her gaze. "Just let me explain, I swear it's not—" The rest of his sentence went unsaid when Anna yanked her left arm free and brought her fist around in a strong hook that caught him square in the jaw. He tumbled to the ground, immediately pressing a hand to his cheek.
"Don't touch me!" Anna screamed, tears streaming down her face. "Just stay away from me! I don't ever want to see you again!" She stomped a foot, and Kristoff scurried backward a bit, afraid that she might try stomping on him next. He could only watch as she stormed away, one arm holding the other while a hand did its best to cover her sobs.
Elsa paced around her room, desperately wracking her brain for what she was going to say to her sister. Nothing she could come up with sounded appropriate, convincing, or even sane. The more she paced and the longer she thought about it, she became more and more convinced that Anna would have the Royal Council deem her 'Unfit to Rule,' remove her from the throne, and toss her in a mental institution.
She stopped her endless pacing before she could wear a hole in the carpet and closed her eyes. Moving a hand in and out in time with her breathing, she tried to soothe her frazzled nerves. Calm down, she told herself. Anna loves you, even if it's not in the same way that you do her. You just need to go out there and be honest with—
A knock at her door violently pulled her from her thoughts, leaving her standing in the middle of her room surrounded by a small ring of sharp icicles. "Elsa?" Anna's voice came from the other side and the handle jiggled, but the lock kept the door closed. "Elsa, please. I… I need to talk to you. Now."
Elsa glanced at the clock. Only half past eight. It's too early. She slowly walked to the door, leaving a small patch of frost with each step. Grasping the lock with a shaking hand, she took one final deep breath and twisted it. She pulled the door open a few inches and peeked through the crack at her sister.
The sight before Elsa broke her heart. Anna's beautiful eyes were red from crying, and her cheeks were still wet from where her tears had fallen. Anna looked up at her sadly, her hands gripping one of her twin braids as if it were a lifeline. "Hi," she said weakly. Her mouth twitched up toward a small smile before immediately falling back into a deep frown. "I know it's early, and you said you wanted to talk at lunch, but…" She trailed off and looked up at her sister, desperate for understanding. "Can I come in?" she asked in a small voice.
Elsa didn't know what could possibly have happened to make Anna cry, but she knew that Anna needed her to be a big sister right now. She needed Elsa to comfort her and tell her that everything was going to be okay. However, Elsa could already feel her self-control starting to fray, and she knew that if she slipped even a little bit, she could ruin her relationship with Anna beyond any hope of repair. I… I can't. I'm not ready. She shook her head and started to close the door. "I'm sorry, Anna," she said, averting her eyes from her sister's tear-stained gaze. "I… I just can't. Not right now."
"Elsa, wait," Anna pleaded. She reached out and put a hand on the door, pushing only just hard enough to keep it from closing further. "Please," she said, her voice breaking on the word.
Elsa pressed her free hand to the door and pushed it closed, heedless of the sharp ice that formed under her palm and stabbed into her hand. Just before the door slid shut again, however, she stopped. No. For once in your life, be there for her when she needs it. She took a breath and pulled the door open again, standing aside and motioning for Anna to come in. But instead of entering the room, her sister ran forward and wrapped her in a tight hug. Elsa returned the embrace, using a hand to rub small circles on Anna's back. "It's okay, Anna," she whispered, resting her cheek on the top of her sister's head. "It's okay."
She tried to take a step toward the bed, but Anna whimpered and squeezed her tighter, the first few tears beginning to break through. Soon, Anna was shaking while sobs wracked her small frame. Elsa's heart ached in her chest at seeing her sister so distraught. She felt useless, only able to stand there silent and nearly motionless while the woman she loved so dearly cried her eyes out. An idea struck her, and she began humming a lullaby that their mother had sung them when they were children. Anna's sobs slowed and eventually dried up until only the occasional sniffle came out.
"There we are," Elsa murmured, planting a soft kiss on the top of Anna's head. "Now, why don't we go sit on the bed and you can tell me what happened." Her sister nodded into her chest, but made no move to let her go. She was about to contemplate the logistics of moving over to the bed with Anna hanging onto her when her sister gave her one last extra-tight squeeze, then let her go.
Anna trudged over to the bed and flopped down, staring blankly at the ceiling. A few moments later, she felt the mattress shift as her sister sat down next to her. She knew that Elsa would be willing to wait as long as it took for her to be comfortable enough to speak, but she wasn't sure if she'd ever truly be comfortable talking about it. Might as well get it over with, she mused. "Kristoff cheated on me."
"What?" Elsa clenched her teeth so hard it hurt. "How dare he, even after everything that happened with... us." She wisely kept her mouth shut about Hans and the first betrayal. "Don't worry, Anna, I won't let this go unpunished." She got up from the bed and began to pace around the room clenching her hands into fists so tightly that her nails left marks on the skin. "I'll fire him from court. I'll make sure he never finds work in this kingdom again! I'll banish him! I'll... I'll..."
Anna got up and embraced her furious sister. "D-don't."
Just like that, the fiery embers of her anger died out, and Elsa was left with an uncomfortable void that filled only with concern for her younger sister. "Are you sure, Anna? At the very least, I am removing him from the position of Royal Ice Master and Deliverer. Did he even do anything with it?"
Anna rested her head against her sister, finding some small comfort in having her here, now. "Maybe it's my fault," she muttered despondently. "I just wasn't—" She got no further before Elsa silenced her with a finger pressed against her lips. Her sister looked angry again, perhaps even more so than before.
"Don't you dare finish that sentence, Anna. You did nothing wrong, do you hear me? Nothing." Elsa was balancing on the edge now, torn between her mind's desire to be a good sister and her heart's desire to be something more. Her mind won out this time, and she pressed a kiss to Anna's forehead. "You're my darling sister, the most wonderful person I know. If Kristoff can't see that, then he's not worth crying over."
"B-but what if I'm just not good enough?" Anna asked. "O-or, they all think I'm too awkward or clumsy or that I ramble too much or—"
A sleeve of Elsa's dress was demoted to tissue paper and used to gently wipe away Anna's tears before Elsa treated her to a small smile. "Anna, you're the most beautiful girl that I know, both in body and mind. Not only that, but you have the most infectious optimism and you can make other people smile." Her smile grew as her sister's pout slowly disappeared. "Any man would be lucky to have you, and when you find the one, you'll find that most every man wishes they could trade places with him." And they won't be the only ones. "Are you sure you don't want me to freeze his manhood off?" she asked softly.
Her suggestion got a tiny smile from Anna, which soon turned into a full blown giggle. "Thanks, Elsa," she said, pulling her sister into another hug and resting her head on Elsa's shoulder. "You're the best sister ever."
Elsa planted another kiss on top of her sister's head, then rested her cheek there. Even while her heart skipped a beat at the compliment, a small malicious voice in the back of her head reminded her of her hypocrisy. She'd never say that if she knew how you really felt about her, or if she knew what you were thinking about right now. It was true. Even with Anna's fragile state, nearly all she could think about was the soft warmth of her sister's body pressed up against hers, the feeling of Anna's warm breath ghosting over her neck, and how easy it would be to just tilt Anna's head up and take the kiss she'd been dreaming about for weeks. Yet through all of the temptation, she stood firm, but only barely.
After a few more moments of enjoying Elsa's comfort, Anna gave her sister one last squeeze and pulled away. "Thanks again for listening, Elsa," she said. She made her way over to the bed and sat down, wringing her hands together. "Would you… mind if we hung out today?" she asked meekly, her eyes trained on the floor. "I mean, it's okay if you can't. I'm sure you're super busy being Queen and all, it's just—"
Elsa chuckled and sat down on the bed, wrapping an arm around her sister's shoulders. "That sounds wonderful, Anna," she said, cutting off her sister's rambling. "So, what do you want to do first?" Unfortunately, her mind answered before her sister, giving her an extremely vivid mental image of just what she and Anna could be doing on her bed. Her sister merely shrugged, her gaze still downcast. Come on, Elsa. What does Anna love to do? A single answer leapt to the front of her mind. She stood up and grabbed Anna's hand to pull her along. "Come on. I have an idea."
"What?" Anna asked, her voice still lacking its usual energy. She stood up and followed her sister over to the door.
Elsa turned around and flashed her a playful smile. "We're going to go steal some chocolate." she replied.