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"Where are we going?"
Anna couldn't help but ask a little petulantly, still very much upset with Elsa. Her hand remained tucked into Elsa's, regardless.
Elsa had promised to see her the day after Christmas, and Anna had waited for 3 hours before Rapunzel found her, telling her that Aunt Gerda had called, and Elsa wasn't coming. Anna was devastated. Elsa had never broken a promise before. Anna followed her, despite this, trudging through thick snow.
"I have something to show you," Elsa whispered, eyes sparkling like she had a big secret. Anna brightened immediately. Maybe, just maybe, she could forget that she was mad at Elsa. The blonde continued to pull her along, soon under their still-bare tree.
Patience had never been one of Anna's strong suits.
"Well?" Anna urged expectantly, rocking on the soles of her shoes. She couldn't help but wonder if Elsa was cold as she rubbed her hands together, leaning close to her.
"Are you ready?" Elsa whispered, eyes bright and earnest, a tentative smile on her face.
"I was born ready!" Anna declared, jumping a little in her spot in excitement. What was Elsa going to show her. Maybe it was chocolate. Anna loved chocolate.
Pale hands separated slowly, and Anna watched, enraptured by the sudden display. Anna's jaw grew slack as she watched the snowflakes materialize from thin air, sparkling in the Arendellian sunlight.
"Wow.." She breathed as Elsa created snow from her bare hands, the blonde's eyes bluer than she'd ever seen.
Anna decided that she always wanted Elsa to be that happy.
"Do.. Do you forgive me?" Elsa had asked hesitantly, moments after Anna finally picked up her jaw. Anna nodded quickly, throwing her arms around the girl and promptly sending them both to the ground. "Oof.. I'll take that as a yes?"
"Duh, silly! I could never stay mad at you!" Anna kissed Elsa's cheek to further emphasize her statement. It was warm and messy and gross. Elsa found that she didn't care, cheeks blooming with crimson. "Now come on," Anna urged, pulling Elsa back up with her. "We gotta' build a snowman!"
"I don't know how to skate."
They stood before a frozen lake, courtesy of Elsa. Elsa had then looked at her in surprise, the hand around hers tightening. Anna's smile grew sheepish as she ducked her head. It wasn't as if she hadn't tried before - her and ice just didn't work out. (That, and Rapunzel hadn't been the best teacher.)
"I'll teach you," Elsa had promised, voice warm and smile even warmer. Anna grinned and wobbled when Elsa transformed her boots into perfectly good skates.
"That's so cool," Anna marveled and let Elsa guide her towards the ice. Her hands felt steady and safe and strong in Anna's. Anna decided that she didn't have to be afraid anymore.
They spent the better part of an hour stumbling over each other, laughing every time they landed on their bottoms. Elsa had brushed herself off every time, helping Anna up with a grace that Anna could only dream of. She supposed everything was perfect then, their little lake sheltered by budding trees, Winter beginning to fade into Spring.
Anna supposed that Elsa was perfect, too.
"Look, Elsa, I got it!" Anna exclaimed, gliding unsteadily away from Elsa, her arms outstretched by her sides. She gazed into Elsa's eyes delightedly, her cheeks hurting from smiling so much.
She had not understood the horror in Elsa's eyes.
She hadn't noticed the ice that gave away beneath her.
Anna realized, as she was plunged into suffocating darkness, that she hadn't told Elsa that she couldn't swim, either.
"Anna!"
It had all happened to fast.
With a wave of her hand, all ice disappeared, and she, too, was submerged in the dark waters. Elsa hadn't even noticed the chill. She swam, clumsily and half-blind, the sunlight barely breaking through the surface. She didn't care. She had to find Anna. She would never forgive herself if something happened to Anna, her best friend.
Her only friend.
Elsa's lungs had begun to burn when she caught a flash of red in the water. Anna, her body had practically sighed as her fingers curled into the sodden material of Anna's thick winter coat. It was too heavy. Elsa didn't give it a second look as it sunk to the bottom of the lake, her arm wound tightly around Anna as she kicked desperately to the surface. The brightness burned as she broke through the surface, bobbing helplessly as she tried to keep Anna afloat, too. Elsa had remembered calling for Gerda, had remembered being wrenched out of the water, had remembered the frantic look Kai had sent them as they entered the car. She hadn't noticed how fast they were driving, too focused on Anna and the shallow rise and fall of her chest.
"She's too cold," was the first thing Elsa had heard when the doctors began ushering Anna way, when the doctors ripped Anna away from her. She had remembered squirming in Gerda's hold, demanding that they let her go with Anna. What if Anna needed her? What if she didn't wake up?
It had been another hour before Elsa was allowed to see her, her clothes mostly dry, hair no longer plastered to her face. Anna looked really small on the too-big hospital bed in the too-clean hospital room. Elsa clambered up, regardless, holding Anna's hand, drinking her in. Elsa hadn't realized that she was crying until the big, fat tears dropped onto Anna's freckled cheeks.
"Oh Anna," Elsa whispered, hugging her slumbering companion. She sniffled and buried her face against fiery copper locks.
She was a monster.
Anna had trusted her, and Elsa had let her get hurt. Elsa hadn't been strong enough to protect Anna. Anna could have been lost, forever. 'I'm so sorry, Anna,' She whimpered. Elsa could feel Gerda's hands trying to pry her away, trying to reassure her. Gerda's words of comfort fell on deaf ears, Elsa clinging helplessly to Anna. How could she do anything to make Anna feel better? Anna.. Anna was warmth personified, from her fiery looks to her burning personality, and Elsa was the exact opposite in every sense of the word.
Too cold. Too dangerous.
Pressing a kiss to Anna's hair, Elsa released a shaky breath before letting Gerda peel her away. She tucked herself into her nanny's arms, muffling her cries against a rumpled uniform shirt. She didn't see Anna's fluttering eyelashes as the door clicked close behind them.
"You need to stay away from her, Elsa." Her mother's hands were tight on her upper arms, but they shook. Elsa could see the fear in her mother's eyes. Whether it was fear of her or something else, she couldn't tell. Her papa paced behind her mother's crouched figure, his concern etched clearly into his features. He joined her mother before her, eyes loving, but stern.
"These gloves will help," Her papa had told her, voice warm as he presented a pair of pristine white gloves. "You have to control it, Elsa," he continued as he tugged the gloves onto her small hands. "Conceal it, don't feel it." Elsa couldn't feel her papa's touch through the velvet. "Don't let it show."
Elsa, sitting stiffly before her parents, knew it was for the best.
