Anna shivered as a chill bit deep into her bones. Whether it was from the shock or the suddenly overcast sky leeching the warmth from the earth, she didn't know. Perhaps the clouds had not come so suddenly, she considered as she stared listlessly at the ground. She wasn't actually sure how long she'd been sitting there.

At some point, Elsa found her. She stepped through the trees and stopped perhaps a foot from Anna. The redhead's eyes were still fixated downward. She hadn't even raised her head at the sound of the other girl's approach, and Elsa didn't attempt to coax her to do so now either. She just quietly stood there.

Somewhere in her mind, past the shock and despair, the rational part of Anna was telling her that she needed to take care of the dead, prepare them for their final passing. She was dishonoring them by letting them just lie there for the birds and the insects to feed on. But she just couldn't seem to make herself move. Collecting wood, creating pyres, and burning that many bodies just seemed to be an impossible task and the finality of it all was too agonizing to even contemplate.

Anna's people, the Veerle, were a unique type of gypsy. While they did maintain many of the same traditions as the Romani people they had originally branched from, there were a few that were unique to them, namely their funeral rituals. Whereas most Romani buried their dead and then burned their belongings, the Veerle burned everything.

For the Romani, the burning of the belongings was a superstitious ritual meant to keep the dead from attaching themselves to their possessions and returning from the afterlife to collect on old debts. For the Veerle, the burning of everything, body included, was still a way to keep the dead from rising again, but it was also a way to give the departed a loving send-off. When everything was burned, the rest of the clan would spread the ashes to the wind so that the dead could travel forever.

"I've collected wood for the pyres."

That caught Anna's attention. She raised her head and stared blankly at the other girl. "W-what?" she asked after a few beats.

"Wood," Elsa said. "I collected it for the pyres."

The amount of wood they would need for all of her clan… well, Anna just couldn't comprehend how Elsa had collected enough. She also couldn't quite process how Elsa knew… "How did you know?" Anna asked numbly. "To collect wood?"

Elsa blinked as if it hadn't occurred to her that perhaps she shouldn't know. "You are Veerle, yes?"

"Yes, but how…" Most people didn't really know that Veerle were different from most gypsies… or at least she thought most people didn't know? Anna closed her eyes. She couldn't think.

Elsa shifted her weight. It wasn't a move made of awkwardness or even discomfort. It seemed more… cautious. She glanced around the surrounding forest then up at the sky. "It's going rain soon," she said slowly. "With wet wood, it will be harder to–"

"Why are you still here?" Anna blurted out before she could think to stop herself. Elsa looked taken aback for a moment before she composed her features once more. Anna knew she should feel guilty about how she'd snapped out the question, especially after all Elsa had done for her, but right now she just couldn't. Right now, all she could feel was hollow and sick to her stomach.

Elsa seemed to be choosing her words carefully, but before she could utter them, a distant rumble of thunder vibrated the air. Anna looked up at the sky and Elsa's previous words seemed to finally push through the fog in her brain, coalescing into a jolt of understanding. If the wood got wet, it would not burn well. Her clan would be waiting even longer for their final departing and that would be on her.

Swallowing hard at the lump in her throat, she climbed unsteadily to her feet, but barely made it a step forward before she froze again. She stared past Elsa to where she knew her family lie just through the pines. Her hands shook. She had to. She had to.

She took another small step, then two. She paused again, this time at Elsa's side, though she didn't look at the taller girl. "I'm sorry," she whispered and then walked on before she could lose her nerve.

The moment she stepped back into the clearing, Anna's steps faltered a third time and she stopped cold. Some irrational part of her was hoping desperately that perhaps she had… well, hallucinated or had some sort of waking nightmare, that none of what she had experienced was real, but the bodies, the blood, the smoke – it all still remained.

The only difference to the agonizing scene was the rather enormous pile of wood that had been stacked at the edge of the camp. In that moment, Anna was infinitely grateful for Elsa once again and at the same time, even more perplexed. How had she done it and why? Why hadn't she left? Why help gather wood? Why save Anna in the first place?

Those questions and more raced through her mind and burned in her chest. She wanted to ask, she wanted to demand answers from the other girl, but she also knew that fervent desire stemmed less from the absolute need for truth from Elsa and more from wanting to avoid the anguish of having to prepare for her family's final goodbye.

As she stood in quiet, mournful reluctance, somewhere in the back of her mind she became abruptly aware of a whooshing sound heading toward her. She had no time to process it though before something yanked her by the collar down to the ground. She landed hard and the pain the impact sent spiking through her abused shoulder had her seeing stars.

"Stay down!" a voice hissed by her ear. Elsa. Only then did Anna force herself through her daze and notice the set of bolas that was now wrapped around the trunk of the pine she had been standing beside. The weapon had been meant for her. Her breath hitched in alarm. "What–" she started to ask, but Elsa cut her off by clamping her hand over her mouth.

Elsa grabbed Anna under her uninjured arm and pulled her upward and back until she was sitting flush up against her, Anna's back to Elsa's front, the blonde's arm wrapped securely around Anna's middle. "Listen to me very carefully," Elsa whispered, her breath hot against Anna's cheek. Anna nodded in understanding, though even when she did, Elsa still didn't remove her hand from across Anna's mouth. "The men who killed your family – they've come back. They're here for you."

Anna couldn't help the shiver of fear that suddenly shook her. Elsa's arm across her belly squeezed just a little bit tighter and Anna wasn't sure if it was meant to comfort her or compel her to get a hold of herself. Either way, she drew in a ragged breath through her nose and tried her very best not to panic.

Anna watched out of the corner of her eye as Elsa straightened her spine, lengthening her neck, and looked around, reminding Anna of a rabbit raised on its haunches looking for danger. A moment later, Elsa pressed her face close again and, with voice still hushed, said, "I'm going to take my hand off your mouth, but don't make a sound. Understand?" The redhead nodded. Elsa let her hand fall away from Anna's lips and used it to silently pull her sword free. "Alright, when I tell you to, you're going to follow me. Keep low, stay quiet." Anna nodded again.

A few beats passed. "Here we go," Elsa said before she let go of Anna and twisted around, fluidly rising and moving a few steps away.

Anna floundered slightly at the sudden loss of contact, but to her surprise, Elsa reached out and grasped her hand, steadying her. And she didn't let go. She steered Anna in close behind her and then lead her quietly along.

There was a shout from somewhere behind them and a branch snapped to their left. Elsa quickly pushed Anna up against a tree and pressed herself into the girl, mouthing "Shhhh." Anna was rather sure that if she wanted to make a sound, she would actually need to breathe… which she currently couldn't quite seem to remember how to do.

She watched Elsa watch their surroundings, the blonde's deep blue eyes sharp and alert. A moment later, she pushed Anna down into a crouched position and made several motions with her free hand. Anna squinted an eye as she tried to interpret them. She was pretty sure that the one finger held straight up meant "one." One man? One second? Finger to chest was indication that Elsa was talking about herself, and the two fingers doing the walking motion meant… "sneaking"? Maybe? And then there was the final flat palm facing Anna, all fingers to the sky thing which she was absolutely sure meant "stay".

…Or "five minutes"?

The gypsy girl didn't really have time to decide for sure what it all meant before Elsa made the "stay" and/or "five minutes" gesture a second time, then disappeared around the tree. Anna held her breath and did as she was (possibly) told – she stayed where she was. She felt sick to her stomach again and her hands wouldn't stop shaking. She counted off the time in her head (just in case) all while keeping a close eye and ear on the area around her.

One, two, three, four–

There was a slapping sound from the direction Elsa had gone followed by the very distinct thud of something solid hitting a fleshy mass.

Eight, nine, ten–

A grunt of pain.

Twelve, thirteen–

A soft hissing sound.

Anna frowned slightly, perplexed. She vaguely remembered that same sound from when she had first encountered Elsa, but she had no idea what it was.

Seventeen, eight–

Anna nearly squawked with fright when Elsa darted back around the tree, but apparently anticipating this, Elsa immediately clamped her hand over Anna's mouth again before she could make a sound. "It's just me," she assured the redhead, then removed her hand.

"You're bleeding," Anna said, immediately alarmed at the crimson droplet at the right corner of Elsa's lips. She reached for it without thinking and ran the pad of her thumb gently over the small cut there.

Elsa eyes widened slightly, as if startled by the touch, before she reached up and rather daintily dabbed the remainder of the blood away. She shook her head slightly. "It's nothing. A lucky shot, nothing more." She looked down at her hand for a moment and rubbed her fingers together almost like she was trying to warm them before she reached for Anna's hand once more. "Now, come on."

"Wait. A lucky shot from…?"

"Only one man. It's fine," Elsa said as she tugged at Anna's hand, trying to coax her back to her feet.

"One man? Did you…?"

The older girl's jaw suddenly tightened and she gave Anna a look, one that clearly relayed that she had done what she had needed to do. There was no glee in it, only anger and fact. Anna closed her mouth and allowed Elsa to pull her to her feet.

They made it several paces before Anna spoke again. "Where are we going?" she asked as quietly as possible as she followed after the other girl.

"Just over here," Elsa answered. "Shhh."

Anna frowned. Over where? And why? Was she planning on stopping? Shouldn't they be trying to escape? Where was Ma-

Her parading thoughts were knocked off course when Elsa stopped short and Anna walked right into the back of her. Elsa didn't offer her the expected bemused (or possibly irritated) glance, though Anna did notice the taller girl's brow furrow ever so slightly at the unexpected contact. She went to mumble a quick "Sorry", but then thought better of it. Elsa would probably appreciate her silence more over an apology in that moment, she decided.

Elsa glanced quickly around before she gave a slight nod, though Anna wasn't sure who it was actually meant for. "Here," the blonde said as she tugged Anna toward a copse of trees partially surrounded by a thicket. "Inside."

"Huh?" Anna frowned again.

Elsa let go of Anna's hand and used it to pull the branches back. "Crawl in, between the trees. The bushes should help to hide you." When Anna still hesitated, Elsa narrowed her eyes at her. "Do you trust me?"

Anna blinked. "What?"

Another shout echoed in the distance. Elsa tensed and glanced in the direction it had come from for just a moment before meeting Anna's eyes again. She asked the question slower this time. "Do you trust me?"

Swallowing, Anna nodded. "Y-yes." After everything, how could she not?

The slight softening between her eyebrows was the only indication of Elsa's relief that there was, but Anna noticed it. "Then I need you to trust me on this. Crawl in and stay down."

"Okay." Anna did as she was told, moving past Elsa and crawling hand-handedly into the tight grouping of trees, her injured arm pressed to her chest. She settled down as low as she could get, hugging her knees to her chest, before she lifted her eyes back up to look at Elsa.

After another quick glance around, Elsa crouched down so they were level with each other. "Whatever you do, do not come out until I come get you, understand?"

"Wait!" Anna exclaimed, concerned. "What are you going to do? You're not coming in too?"

Elsa gave her the faintest of smiles. "There isn't enough room," she said, "and besides, they will only continue to hunt us down. It needs to end now if we want to make a clean escape."

Anna could have sworn she saw something akin to regret flash across Elsa's cool features and her eyes inexplicably flooded with tears. "Elsa…" she croaked.

Elsa smiled at her again, a little bigger, but a little sadder as well. "I'll be back," she whispered, and then she lowered the thicket back into place.

Author's Notes: This wasn't actually where I meant to go with this chapter, buuut sometimes these things happen. I shake my fist, but my brain is just like, "I do what I want."

For those who have mentioned it, don't worry, Anna will only be pulling a Lois Lane for a couple more chapters. She WILL figure out who Elsa is soon, I promise.

And random note, if you're wondering, Veerle is pronounced "VEER-LUH". =D