Disclaimer: I do not own Frozen.
A/N: Thanks to catsmelt who proof read this. All mistakes are still mine, I suppose.
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Elsa patted down the clumps of hay into a makeshift bed and motioned Kristoff to set Anna down. They were now in a stable owned by Oaken, the owner of Wandering Oaken's Trading Post and Sauna, a place where Kristoff had remembered coming across while he was in the mountains.
After Pabbie had healed Anna, he urged the group to find a place where Anna could rest for the remaining day; the quicker the better, so they didn't opt to go back to the castle.
The walk with Kristoff was dreadful, but Olaf was there to brighten up the mood. At least he made an effort to do so… During their walk she could feel Kristoff staring at her back while she trailed behind Olaf, listening to his yearning for summer. She knew that Kristoff didn't trust her enough to feel comfortable walking in front of her. Of course he doesn't…you hurt his sister.
Sometimes she would glance over her shoulder to look at Anna, who was asleep on Sven's back, to remind herself that she was okay. While glancing at her, Elsa would catch Kristoff glaring at her with menacing eyes. He seemed to love his sister more than he feared Elsa, and Elsa saw that as good sign.
When they finally reached Oaken's trading post, the jolly man was kind enough and allowed them to rest in his stable and so they settled in.
Though she longed to sit beside Anna, Elsa decided to sit a distance away from her to let Kristoff know that she wouldn't harm her in anyway. She let her eyes trace along the profile of Anna's face, wanting to stroke her strawberry blonde hair, to her fingers brush along that defined jawline, to hold her hand and whisper in her ear that everything was going to be okay...but she knew that it wasn't.
Her eyes stopped at Anna's shoulder, the place she had wounded her, for a few solid minutes. All she ever did was hurt Anna, yet Anna said she wanted to be with her always, no matter what happened.
All along she had sunk too deep in her own pain and chose to ignore Anna's, childishly thinking that she was the only one suffering but in reality everyone around her must have been suffering from her actions towards them.
She thought about how Gerda spent many years trying to reach out to her, heartbroken every time Elsa shut her out. She thought about the women she had bedded, some of them who actually had romantic feelings towards her but hated her when they realized it was just a physical relationship. The platinum blonde realized that she solved her problems by running away or shutting everyone out. You selfish jerk, not everything can be done your way…look what happened.
Elsa rubbed her forehead and sighed to herself. The more she thought about it the more things there were that she needed to fix. Really, there were far too many things that needed to be mended and it was just a headache to think about right now.
"Elsa…"
Elsa's heart fluttered when she heard Anna calling out her name. Both Kristoff and her watched as Anna slowly opened her eyes. She moved cautiously towards Anna, waiting to see if Kristoff would attempt to stop her. He looked like he wanted to but he didn't, so she came closer until she was sitting next to Anna. She reached out her left hand and hesitated for a few seconds before gently squeezing Anna's hand, smiling when Anna returned the gesture.
"Elsa...you're okay..." Anna mumbled. Elsa realized that she was only half awake, but she was glad because it meant that Anna was slowly recovering.
"Silly girl...it's not me you should be worried about..." she replied softly while raising her free hand to cup Anna's cheek lovingly, letting her thumb stroke her fair skin. Elsa thought it was adorable when Anna nuzzled into (or against?) her hand.
She was startled when the strawberry blonde reached out to cup the back of her neck and pull her down for a kiss. It was only a light peck on the lips and Anna probably didn't know what she was doing. Even so, Elsa felt the blood rush to her cheeks instantly. Her hand left Anna's cheek as she rushed to press it against her own, hoping that it would soothe the heat and calm herself down.
There was a light thud as Anna released her hold on Elsa, letting her arm fall back to her side. Elsa chuckled when she heard the younger woman begin to snore lightly.
"You are too good for me, Anna..." she sighed.
"You're damn right she is," Kristoff interjected with an angry tone. "she should have never come to Arendelle in the first place."
Elsa jumped a bit and felt ashamed because she almost forgot that Anna's brother was also here. She took a deep breath before turning to face him. He deserved to know the truth, not only because he was Anna's brother but also because he cared for her, deeply. "Yes...that was what I had thought, too, Prince Kristoff."
She kept her gaze on Kristoff as she continued to speak. "Three years ago I secretly went to Romsdal to see Anna. Of course in the beginning it was just because I had to see with my own eyes how Anna was doing, to confirm that she was okay, but something unexpected happened...I fell for her. I fell in love with Anna."
Elsa swallowed thickly when Kristoff stayed silent. She took it as a sign to resume speaking. "Months ago when Romsdal came to negotiate...I caved in to my own desires. I wanted Anna to be in Arendelle with me, I ordered her to be here, to be mine...but after a few days I realized that I had made a mistake. Yes, she should have never come, so I formulated a plan to solve the problem...but things got out of hand, as you can see."
"I…I really never meant for any of this to happen." Elsa continued. "My original plan was to bring two of my trust worthy servants and Anna to the trolls. There Anna and I would have our memories of each other erased, or locked away, as King Pabbie put it. Anna's would be locked away first and one of my servants would escort her back to Romsdal, and then mine would be done and I would go back to being that wicked witch everyone thought I was."
She glanced at Anna and smiled sadly before casting her eyes to the ground. "I even thought about an excuse to send her back to Romsdal and all, the letter still ready in my desk waiting to be sent. I thought that if I carried out the plan perfectly everything would be fine…but I was too selfish and ignored what Anna felt about this whole situation. I had selfishly requested her to come, and apparently I was sending her mixed signals, treating her like a toy or so I've heard."
Elsa felt tears threatening to fall but held it in. "When...when I wanted to tell her about the plan, we got into an argument. Suddenly it was like the accident from years ago was re-occurring in front of my eyes, and I watched as I repeated the same mistake...except that this time I had not only hurt Anna but also the citizens of Arendelle as well, by creating this unwanted winter."
There was a moment of silence as they listened to the wind howling outside, harshly beating against the wooden doors, until Kristoff spoke up.
"Anna, she..." He paused and searched for better words. "I don't care if you claim to love her or not, but does she love you?"
Elsa was taken aback by his question. "I am not sure if she does," she answered hesitantly. "The most I can say is, well, I believe she has an interest in me…" she trailed off when she thought about the heated session they had in the ballroom. Her face flushed when she remembered that side of Anna that nobody has ever seen before…the feverish heat of her skin, the soft moan coming out of her lips and the enticing scent of—No! Now is not the time to be thinking about this Elsa!
"...if I wanted to take Anna back with me to Romsdal after she recovers, would you let me?"
"Whatever Anna wants, is what I will give her." Elsa replied instantly. "However, if she chooses to go back...can you promise that she will be free without restrictions? Can you make sure King Kasper willstop treating her like she's delicate glass and let her enjoy life for once?"
Kristoff said nothing in response, his eyes said it all. There was no way he could order his own father to stop 'protecting' Anna, especially after this second incident.
"At least you stand on her side…" Elsa muttered quietly.
She was content about the silence that followed shortly, but after a few minutes she was aware that Kristoff and the reindeer, Sven, were communicating with each other, just like they did at the valley. Elsa wondered if he was an animal whisperer of some sort. She glanced at the duo at realized that Kristoff could understand Sven by just looking at him, along with listening to that sounds he made. Elsa found it oddly fascinating.
It was obvious that Kristoff didn't want her to listen in their conversation…or at least his part of the conversation. He responded to Sven with a series of 'no' or 'not now'. It's not like I can understand the whole conversation by listening to you…Elsa thought dryly, though she was interested in knowing what Sven thought.
She decided to go outside and give them the privacy that they needed. Elsa gently pried Anna's hand away from her own and stood slowly. "I'll go check up on Olaf."
The platinum blonde opened the door and quickly stepped outside before gently closing the door behind her. She sighed when Olaf was nowhere to be seen. Earlier, she hadn't tried to stop him when he said he was going to look for snowmen of his kind. Elsa didn't know if he was referring to animated snowmen or regularly built snowmen, but she was sure his search would be futile in the mountains.
Elsa flexed her hands and looked at them. It seems that I'm more powerful than I thought…Her brows knit together whenever she thought of the happy snowman. How exactly did Olaf come to life? The last time she built Olaf was the day Anna arrived, in her old room, and she had kept him there since.
She tried not to get overly attached to Olaf, but considering he was the symbol of her and Anna's early friendship, and that she had built him with her own hands…it was like he was family. You shouldn't have gotten too attached to him, Elsa. He's bound to melt someday.
Elsa shook her head and sighed. What she did couldn't be undone, and Olaf was the least of her problems. She had to go back to Arendelle as soon as possible and think of a way to reverse the storm she made. She would have to go over many issues with the council and hold meetings with the representatives of the other kingdoms to discuss their future relations. She would also have to restore faith into her people, to let them know that everything would be fine.
If only I could run away and be free...forget it, there's no use! Where else could I go?
The platinum blonde closed her eyes and concentrated on the snow surrounding was not before long that she felt tired, feeling her power being drained away as she tried to melt the snow. She opened her eyes and was disappointed in herself. Though she managed to melt a large area of snow, it was measly compared to the size of Arendelle.
She pondered over the years why creating things were always a simple task but melting them was so difficult…of course there was no handbook for her to follow, so it took her years of practicing to get the hang of her powers. After her little practice she was now sure that she didn't have the strength or ability to thaw every inch of the land she had frozen. I'm not strong enough...it could to take me forever to thaw the land...
Elsa turned and faced the direction where Arendelle was. She blinked when she saw the flags of Arendelle from a distance, slowly marching towards her direction. Had the council decided to send out a search party for her? She scoffed at the thought, fully knowing that many of the councilmen disliked her but were too afraid to do anything. They must have come for Anna.
During her meeting with the council prior to Anna's arrival, she had repeatedly stressed the fact that Anna's safety was to always be before her own, and if something happened to her she would make their lives a living hell. It must be karma...I'm in a living hell right now.
She turned and knocked on the stable doors before entering. "Prince Kristoff? It seems that a search party has been sent—Prince Kristoff?"
When she entered she saw Anna and Sven sleeping but Kristoff was nowhere to be seen. If she had kept her guard up she would have realized that he was hiding just behind the doors, but all was too late when something hard made contact with the back of her head.
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Kristoff sat in the throne room, waiting. Earlier he had taken Anna back to her room and let a doctor check up on her. He didn't know what that troll did, but it did a fine job in healing his sister. The doctor said that the wound had healed nicely and that Anna was expected to wake up no later than tomorrow.
The man let out a frustrated sigh as he held his head between his hands. I'm doing the right thing, right? He was warned to not believe in a word the Queen said, but he knew there was some truth behind the Queen's loving tone in her voice, the way her face lit up unconsciously when she talked about Anna, the tender look in her eyes...
Don't, Kristoff. Don't you believe in her. She's just tricking you...she hurt Anna remember? Just remember that and nothing else.
Ever since he was a child, he loved his sister dearly and it broke his heart when Father no longer allowed him to play with her. Their family had already fallen into pieces when their mother had passed, but it shattered completely after Anna's accident. He understood that Father did not want to lose Anna, but...
If only Anna hadn't gone with Father...if only she didn't meet that witch! It's all her fault!
Kristoff looked up when he heard the doors swing open.
"You've done Arendelle well, Kristoff. Finally we have that wretched Queen locked up in the dungeons."
He stared hard into the other man's eyes, grimacing at the fake smile that was plastered on his face.
"Don't talk like you own the place, Hans."
Kristoff watched as Hans strolled into the room and stopped near the throne. He placed one hand on the crest rail of the chair as he admired the throne, letting his fingers trace the intricate carvings until he reached the arm rest. Hans turned and smirked at Kristoff before sitting down comfortably on the throne with his legs crossed and arms splayed wide, gesturing to the whole castle.
"Oh, but it's already mine."
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A/N: Reviews are appreciated.
