A/N
Well here we are, readers, the final chapter before the end. In the next few days, I will post the final chapter, and then shortly after that I will continue this story as a set of one-shots. ENJOY!
P.S. Of course I don't own Frozen ;)
~ANNA'S P.O.V.~
CHRISTMAS DAY
Even as a child, Anna's favorite holiday was Christmas. Not even her birthday could compare to the morning that she could wake up and be with her family, her whole family, while they opened gifts and ate some of the most delicious food she had ever had the pleasure to sample. She had hoped that after the Thaw, Christmas would go back to being one of her favorite days to spend with her new, more complete, family.
Now she wasn't sure if she could ever enjoy it again.
"RASMUS!" Elsa had screamed, waking everyone in that wing of the castle.
Though it was still early – early enough that the sky was not even awake that chilly Christmas morning – Anna was startled awake at the tone her sister's voice carried as she called out for her fiancé. Anna could not recall Elsa ever sounding so scared. 'A queen must be composed, Anna,' she would tell her young sister. 'She must never show any fear, no matter how dire the situation. It is crucial.'
Anything that had the much feared Ice Queen so obviously scared worried Anna in a way she couldn't name. She squeezed Kristoff's hand tight in her own as they made their way down the hall to Elsa's room as fast as her ever growing belly would allow. She waddled up to the double doors that were cracked minutely, and heard the unmistakable sound of her older sister sobbing loudly. Hands shaking, the young princess pushed the large door open and ducked inside the dimly lit room, taking in the scene before her.
Christmas was definitely no longer her favorite.
~ELSA'S P.O.V.~
Lily slept soundly in Elsa's arms while everyone finished eating their cake the previous evening. She had hoped beyond hope that the little girl would at least be awake long enough to open her birthday gifts and have a small break from the crippling sickness that had been plaguing her for months, but it was to no avail. The room had been filled with a somber tension as Lily drifted into unconsciousness, and no one could bare to make eye contact with Elsa while she shed silent tears over the girl. The Queen stood to take her daughter back to bed, when suddenly Anna's arms were around the both of them.
"It'll be okay, Elsa, I just know it," the Princess had assured her. Elsa could only nod, not trusting her voice.
She had tucked Lily into bed as the clock in her office down the hall sounded twelve midnight, the tones muted at a distance. Elsa stayed with Lily, lying next to her in the large bed that the child had refused to welcome her into until she got sick. She was exhausted, and rightfully so, but the young mother could not find any rest against the searing pain in her chest that told her something terrible was about to happen.
She hated being right.
It was only a few hours later, just before the sun thought of peeking out over the fjord and welcoming Christmas to Arendelle. Lily had stirred without warning, and abruptly turned to her mother who was also wide awake. She looked like death – they both did in that dark moment – but Lily held a sweet darkness in her eyes that chilled Elsa to her core like nothing else could.
"Mommy?" She had said, her voice stronger than Elsa had heard it in months.
"Kjæreste? Are you alright?" Lily sat up, her strength seemingly returning enough to pull herself erect, but Elsa could see the struggle.
"No, Mommy," she said simply, "I'm very tired." Elsa took Lily in her arms, the child's skin licking her own like an open flame.
"Then you should sleep, my love."
"I will. I just wanted to tell you something."
"Anything, dear."
The girl's dark hair fell about her eyes as she looked up at the Queen and smiled.
"I wanted you to know that I love you. I love you so much, Mommy."
Elsa's stomach sank.
Something was wrong. Something was very wrong, and the Queen could not let go of the feeling that there was nothing she could do about it. Lily had never called Elsa 'Mommy' before this moment, and she only ever reciprocated affection, never offering it preemptively. Elsa was not prepared for what was happening.
"I love you too, kjæreste," she said, cuddling Lily closer to her body until the girl was sleeping on Elsa instead of the bed. Lily's eyes closed and her breathing quickly turned rhythmic with sleep.
Minutes later, it stopped entirely.
Elsa waited. She paused for several long seconds, halting her own breathing so as not to miss another rise from Lily's chest. But it never came.
"Lily?" She asked in little more than a whisper, afraid that her daughter truly had been asleep and she was simply overreacting.
Nothing.
"Lily?" Elsa asked again, louder this time.
Nothing.
"Lily?!" Elsa repeated, pulling Lily away from her to get a better look.
Still, nothing.
Frantic, Elsa laid the girl flat on the sheets, and began pressing firmly against her sternum in rhythm. Calling her daughter's name with each powerful thrust of her hands, Elsa prayed that this would not last.
"Lily! Lily, please! Please wake up!" She called. Cold tears fell from her shining blue eyes as she pressed her mouth to Lily's dry lips and blew air into her unmoving lungs.
Nothing.
"LILY! NO! PLEASE, NO! PLEASE WAKE UP!" Elsa was shaking Lily now, willing to try anything as long as the girl woke, but it was useless.
"RASMUS! HELP, RASMUS!" Elsa wailed, pressing her face into the crook of Lily's neck, waiting to feel a pulse she knew was long gone.
It took less than a minute for Rasmus to find his future bride in her room, holding their daughter close and weeping openly into her unmoving body. He didn't have to ask at that point, and part of him didn't know if he could stomach the words anyway. Instead, he silently moved to sit on the bed with Elsa, and held both of his girls, falling into a fit of tears along with Elsa.
Anna and Kristoff stood at the door of the Queen's chamber, looking in on the private moment of grief. They too, held each other without words and began to cry quietly at the door. This was the moment they had all been hoping would not come, but now that it had, there was almost relief in the darkness. Lily was no longer in pain. She simply looked peacefully asleep in her mother's arms, leaving the rest of them to their mourning. It was finally over.
She was gone.
A/N
Wow . . . I'm sorry for that. Trust me, it was hard on me, too. But stick with me! We still have ONE MORE CHAPTER!
