Anna sat alone in the dining room, watching her sister grow further and further away from her. This was the extent of their interactions – her staring at Elsa as she ignored her – every single day. She couldn't bring herself to stop watching, nor could she bring herself to do anything else. Her life had never felt more empty. Every morning, she'd wake up, make her bed, clean her house, go to breakfast, stare at Elsa, do her daily duties, go to lunch, stare at Elsa, go back to her house, stare at Elsa, go down to dinner where she'd stare at Elsa some more, then retire to her bed and dream of her. It was a cycle from which she could find no escape.

After two years, she finally found a way to make Elsa return her stares. At lunch, someone sat down, obscuring her view of the silver hair.

"Hey there," the voice of the obstruction offered.

"Hi," Anna replied dully. She couldn't even think of the last time she'd actually exchanged words with someone. Her throat felt somewhat dry. She took a sip of her juice and examined the inmate. A tall blonde woman sat before her. She was every bit Elsa's inferior – her hair was darker, she was less fit, more broadly built, and her voice had a humdrum quality to it that was nothing compared to the vibrant vibrato of the woman she was obscuring. There were no other seats that would allow her to watch her sister. Anna was sorely tempted to tell the intruder to move.

"I'm new here, my name's Moira. Saw you sitting alone, thought I'd join you."

"Why?" Anna asked, sneering at her.

Moira blinked, looking hurt. "I don't know anyone here either, just thought that you'd like the company. I didn't mean any harm by it."

Anna tried to reign in her behavior some. She'd never been fond of hurting people, but she was forgetting how not to. "I'm not a safe person to be around. I'm sure you'll just make everyone else hate you if you're seen with me. You should go, for your own sake."

She offered a cocky grin in return. "I can look after myself, thank you. Besides, I've always had a thing for dangerous women."

It was then that the idea took root in Anna's brain. She knew how to get Elsa's attention. "Well when you put it that way..." she began.

Her eyes lit up as Moira burst into a grin. "Oh, thank goodness. I did read you right. A fellow tribade?"

Anna blinked. She hadn't heard the term before.

"Lesbian? Person who likes women?"
"Oh." Realization hit her. Elsa had been pretending to be a man their entire relationship, they'd never needed to seek out any like-minded people, and doing so would have only put them in great danger. She'd never actually even considered if she may be interested in women, it was always just Elsa. "Yes, I am." That would do for the moment.

"Good."

Anna found her hand in this new woman's. She was certainly quite forward. Was this the fashion now? It had only been two years, had the outside world already changed so much? She only smiled coyly, waiting to see what she did.

Elsa stood just as she started to reply, however, so Anna didn't hear a word of whatever line Moira was attempting. She avoided watching as Elsa and her prayer group walked outside, trying to focus on the eyes of the woman trying to woo her.

She seemed to be expecting some sort of response. Anna wondered if she'd just been asked out. "Finish eating and we can go outside, I know a nice secluded spot you can take me."

A blush erupted on Moira's face, coloring her cheeks. Anna assumed it was fairly cute. "You don't need to tell me twice."

Their food was gone in a matter of moments, and Anna led her outside. She could feel Elsa's eyes on her as she led the new blonde by the hand, to the spot that had been theirs a scant few years before. She pushed Moira up against the fence, not letting the corner of the building completely hide them as she kissed her.

She finally met Elsa's gaze, as she felt a hand move up her thigh. The hurt in her eyes gave Anna a hollow feeling of victory.

Anna left the bath to find Elsa waiting for her in the hallway. A faint smirk appeared as she watched the pain on her sister's face. It diminished somewhat when Elsa began to cry, but she forced what little anger she could muster into herself to avoid losing face.

"How could you?" Elsa asked, after what felt like forever, her words broken up by sobs. "All you had to do was act like you regretted our actions and we could have gone back to spending time together! But no, you're just too stubborn for that, and then you just had to sleep with that – that whore!"

Fire burning within her, Anna turned on her sister. "How could I? How could you?! You just renounced our love like it was nothing, no, like it was worse than nothing, like it was garbage. How was I supposed to feel? You told me our love was a sin! And you believed it, this wasn't just some act, no matter what you may claim, I know when you're acting, I had to see it every time you put on a suit, you think our love is wrong!" Tears fell from her own eyes, but she refused to give into the sadness, drawing further on her anger. It was the only feeling she could allow anymore. "You broke my heart!"

Elsa took a step back, her eyes widening. "Anna –"

"Save it," she spat. She turned for the door, her shoulders dropping as the tears began to fall in earnest. This was the most she'd felt in years and she was so very drained.

A hand landed on her shoulder, and after several tugs, she gave into its pull and turned to face Elsa. Both women's faces were covered in tears, though Anna could barely see Elsa's through her own. "What?" she asked. "What do you want from me?!"

She felt lips press against hers, arms wrap around her back, as she was pulled closer to a familiar warmth that she hadn't felt in far too long. "I love you," Elsa said simply, when their lips had once again parted.

Anna tried to resist returning those words. It didn't make a difference what she felt, neither one of them were willing to do what the other needed. The relationship had no hope to continue. "I love you too."

"I can't lose you. I can't. Please."

Anna looked up into those blue eyes that she had never been able to resist. "I'm not joining your prayer group."

Elsa swallowed, blinking back more tears. "Then steal away with me on our bath nights. Please, just give me that."

She didn't have it in her to refuse. She nodded.

That was enough. Elsa's face lit up and she pulled her into another kiss.

They were interrupted by a knocking at the door. Their time was up. They'd have to wait another three days until they could do this again. It was going to have to be enough for them. It was the only compromise they could find.

The next morning, Moira sat down for breakfast with Anna. She had not considered this. How had she not considered this? Blinking, she stared across the table, with a blank expression plastered on her face.

"Forget I existed?" she asked with a giggle.

Anna opened her mouth to reply, but nothing came out.

Her eyes grew serious. "Wait, did you really?"

She took in a deep breath. Better to just get it over with, like ripping off a Band-aid. "There's something you should know."

"What, that you're not the relationship kind of girl? I can work with that."

"No." She let out another shaky breath. She could do this. Why was it so much harder to hurt this total stranger than it was to hurt the woman she'd loved her entire life? "I just did that to make my girlfriend jealous. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have used you like that."

The cocky smile Moira had managed to keep fell. "You –"

"I'm sorry. I don't want to be with anyone else."

"Then where is she? I don't see her with you. Is she on the outside? You know there's no way she'll wait for you."

Anna shook her head. "It doesn't matter. I can't be with you." Her eyes fell on Elsa's. For the first time in what felt like forever, she was facing her as she ate. It was still on the other side of the room, but the occasional affectionate glance made her heart soar and she felt like a new woman.

Following her gaze, Moira caught sight of the blonde woman with the cross dangling from her neck, sitting amid a group of similarly clad women. "Her?!" Her voice was loud enough that a few women from nearby tables stared.

Anna turned her gaze back to her food, trying to ignore her increasingly enraged former lover.

"She won't even be seen with you and you're turning me down for –"

"Shut up." Anna's voice was harsh and cold, but barely more than a whisper.

Moira stopped mid tirade and glowered at the woman before her. "Oh, you don't want anyone to know. And what will you give me to keep your secret?"

The lascivious grin made Anna's stomach turn. "I won't bash your face in with this tray," she offered. The fight with Eleanor had not been her last, and she was expecting to have a few more in her time here. The downside of being open about your perversions. The Dark Room didn't even bother her anymore, though losing her nights with Elsa certainly would.

The color drained from her face as she met Anna's gaze and saw the truth in her words. Anna was far from a hardened warrior; it wasn't like she'd won too many of those fights, but she'd been through enough here that the only thing she was still afraid of was losing Elsa. "Fine. I'll leave you to your crazy stalking then."

Anna smiled as she watched the woman dump out her half-eaten food. No one else could understand their love, but that didn't bother her anymore.

Their routine was not a happy one. They were back to living lies, but that was something they were used to; it was only their empty beds at night that made this one torture. It was, however, a far happier time than they had experienced in the previous years. Their fleeting glances at meals and passionate kisses on bath nights, were enough to make things livable. They just had twelve more years to go.

The years seemed to simultaneously pass in a blink and drag by at the pace of molasses. One morning, while they were being given their chores, Matron Camilla gave Elsa what she expected to be good news. "You're being released next month."
Instead of excitement, Elsa answered with fear. "What? Why?"

The matron quirked her head at the strange response. "Good behavior. They took two years off of your sentence."

Elsa tried to blink back tears as she stared at the woman. "Oh. That's great," she replied in the closest tone to excited she could manage.

Camilla nodded in gradual understanding. "Worried about your sister in here alone?"

She didn't answer, instead watching Anna as she finished tidying up her cell.

"You'll still be able to visit, and it's only two more years. What's that compared to how long you've waited?"

Elsa nodded, glad to have a friend who understood. Camilla had sat in on a few of their prayer groups, and was the only person she'd ever known who hadn't judged her for her 'former ways.' She had always assumed it was only because Camilla thought that she'd put an end to them, but this conversation was making her doubt that. "You're right. I'll visit every day, it won't be that bad. I just wish it wasn't so long."

As she was pulled into a hug, Elsa realized that she had to tell Anna as soon as she could. Enough time had passed at this point that even her bible study group wouldn't give her a dirty look for talking to her, but she still desperately wanted to wait for the only time they could actually touch each other. Unfortunately, their bath night had been the previous night, so she'd either have to keep it a secret from her for two more days, or tell her in front of everyone. She wrapped her arms around the matron as she wrestled with her decision.

Anna threw herself from her tub, excited to talk to her darling sister. They had barely spoken a word the last several days. It wasn't enough to make her worry, it happened sometimes, and it wasn't like they'd been avoiding each other, but it had made her very eager to finally have the chance to have a proper conversation.

She waited in the hallway, pacing back and forth as her sister finished up. The door was locked, or else she'd have just busted in. She tried it one more time just to be sure. No luck. Cursing, she leaned against a wall and thumped her foot against the ground.

Finally, the door opened and Elsa looked out at her. "Sorry, you don't usually finish so early, or else I wouldn't have locked the door. I would have loved your company."

This image greatly reduced Anna's agitation. She pulled her wife into her arms. It had been too long. How had she ever managed to survive two years without her?

Elsa hugged back and cleared her throat. "Anna, there's something I need to tell you."

She looked up at her. "What?" she asked hesitantly. It was never good news in this place.

"I'm leaving in 28 days."

She blinked then stared at the older woman. That didn't make any sense. They weren't getting out for another two years. "We are?"

"No, Anna. I am. You kept getting yourself in trouble. I had gain time, I'd seen it a few times, but I never quite realized just how soon it was going to make things. Or maybe I just didn't want to realize it, since it meant that you'd be here alone."

"You can't just leave without me!" She was starting to panic. She couldn't handle two years without Elsa. What would she do? What could she do? "Please. Don't go. Go get in a fight, do something!"

"Why couldn't you have just not done something?!" Elsa screamed back, emotion finally getting the better of her. "We should both be being released soon, but instead you had to rebel. If you'd just listened to me, then this wouldn't be an issue. You'd be leaving just a few days after me. Instead, you're stuck here for at least another year."

"That's what it always comes back to, isn't it? 'Oh, Anna, why couldn't you have just repented for our wicked ways? Don't you know our love isn't worth this – that it's something to be ashamed of.'"

Elsa took a step back, her eyes narrowing as she looked down at her. "What are you talking about? I thought we'd moved past this."

"So did I! But you just can't, can you? You'd rather lecture me on this same thing all over again, rather than spend what little time we have left together." She spun on her heel to leave. She was so sick of having to sit through Elsa insulting their love.

Elsa stepped in front of Anna. "I won't let you just walk out on me. Anna, I don't want this any more than you do. I'm sorry, I understand how that would upset you. I love you, please, can we just enjoy the few minutes we get together? I promise, I'll visit every day. You'll probably see me even more once I'm released. And I'll find a place for when you get out. It'll be great."

Anna let out a shuddering breath, turning her tear-rimmed eyes to focus on the blue eyes mere inches from her own. Then her gaze dropped to Elsa's lips and she pulled her into a kiss.

Elsa held her and kissed back heatedly, her hand reaching under the prison dress. They seemed to have forgiven each other, and in the same instant, decided how to best spend the few days they had left together.

Anna knocked on the open door to her sister's house. She was back in her civilian clothes, if the dresses she'd been wearing for a single month twelve years before could even count as that compared to the men's clothes she'd been wearing for the previous twenty years, and taking one last look around her cell. She turned to face Anna and her face simultaneously lit up and looked even sadder as their eyes met. "Hey, honey," she choked out in a sob.

Biting her lip to keep from crying, Anna replied "I'm going to miss you so much."

"I told you, I'll see you every day," Elsa insisted, taking a nervous step toward her, glancing around for any observers.

Anna rolled her eyes and pinned her to the inside wall of the cell, kissing her passionately. When they finally broke the kiss, both of them had streams of tears running down their cheeks. "I know, but it won't be the same. Even if we couldn't always talk, I always knew you were there. Now, you could be anywhere."

Elsa cupped her cheek, wiping away a tear with her thumb. "I'll never be far. I promise, Anna. I'm not going anywhere. I'll see you tomorrow, and the day after, and the day after, and so on until you can be with me again."

Anna wanted so badly to believe her, but she knew that it wouldn't be true. Elsa would start working, she would have to miss a day due to her job, and then it would happen again, and eventually, maybe she'd see her once a week. It was how it always went. She hadn't ever been friends with the other prisoners, but she'd heard the story enough times, and she knew her sister too well. "I know."

Elsa looked visibly relieved by Anna believing her lie. At least she could do that for her. Their parting was already painful enough.

"I'll be good. I want to be out there with you."

"Thank you. I was hoping. No more fights, just keep your head down and we'll be together before we know it. It's just like the old days, we know how to avoid attracting attention."

Anna nodded, offering Elsa a pained smile. "You're right. I know you are. It won't be that bad. I'll see you tomorrow, you don't want to miss your bus out of here, do you?" She held back her tears, putting on as strong of a front as she could for the woman she loved. She wouldn't let her true feelings show. She wouldn't let her know that she was terrified this was the final nail in the coffin for their relationship. She'd let Elsa believe her own lie.

Elsa offered her another quick kiss and turned her back on her. Anna stood in the doorway to the newly empty cell as a matron led her wife away. Only when the door closed behind them did her tears finally resume.