Second to last chapter, my lovelies. These last two will be nothing but full of adorable fluffiness of our cute now-human Elsa. How will she adapt to the human world?
I'm really excited for the new fic. Some of my readers have asked about it and I'm willing to send you the full summary if you PM me about it! I'm happy to promote the next Elsanna fic!
Disclaimer: Disclaimer: Disney owns FROZEN, Secretly Geek owns "Shore," and ASAMESHI (find 'em on Deviantart and Tumblr) owns the cover photo.
With the craziness over and after thanking the Bjorgmans for all they have done for us, my parents took Elsa and I home. I didn't feel endangered anymore, I didn't expect Duke to show up on my doorstep anymore. I was going home with the great relief of being free. It was one of the best feelings in the world.
The car ride was long as we passed through the country, nearing the cozy village of Arendelle Cove. Elsa and I were sitting in the back seat of the car, me behind the driver's side and her behind the passenger's side. She was leaning her head on the cool glass of the window and watching the road go by. Her hand was lying limply beside her and my fingers were brushing hers lightly.
A worrying thought plunged into my head and I glanced at my Mom, who was sitting shotgun. With a hard swallow, I voiced the question that was weighing me down.
"Mom… are we going to move away from Arendelle Cove and start traveling again?" I asked her. "I really don't want to leave."
"We've made a life here," Mom said. "Your father and I have been working things out with the science institute ever since the, ah, incident and we have taken up good paying jobs there." She shifted in her seat. The sunroof was open and the quarter moon was pouring its light into the car. "And I don't think your friends would be very happy with us if we dragged you along regardless."
Dad chuckled. "It would be a tragedy to leave such a quaint little town. I rather like it here. It's peaceful, we live right on the beach… and I think Elsa would enjoy staying close to home, hm?"
"I'm living with you?" Elsa said, scrunching her brows.
"Of course, silly!" I laughed. "What, did you think we would leave you in some apartment all by yourself?"
Elsa smiled sheepishly. "I don't know what to say…"
"No need to say anything, sweetheart," Mom assured her. "Anna's a big girl and she can share a bed."
Dad coughed. "Faye… do you really think that's appropriate?"
Mom rolled her eyes. "Anna's eighteen and very smart about the time and place in which to do such things. Elsa, how old are you?"
"Eighteen."
"They're both legally adults and if they feel—"
"All right!" Dad flushed, waving her off. "I understand. I suppose it's all right since we've no room extra…"
"Dad, Elsa doesn't even know about sex," I told him flatly.
"What?" Elsa questioned, blinking.
"See?" I grinned.
"Hm. Well, good luck with giving her the talk without me," Dad said, sending me a wink through the rearview mirror.
I grimaced. "Gee thanks."
"Give her a break, David," Mom scolded him.
He started to laugh. "Sorry, kiddo."
I rolled my eyes and slumped in my seat. I couldn't believe that I had just blurted that out in front of my parents. Oh, god, I'm such a socially awkward weirdo. With a groan, I dropped my head in my hands.
A poke was planted in my cheek and I peered out between my fingers to look at the girl who occupied the seat beside me. She was smiling brightly at me, her icy eyes wide and just as beautiful as ever.
"I have a question for you," I said to her.
"What's that?" she responded, cocking her head to one side.
"Your parents… aren't they worried that you've been, pfft, I dunno— missing," I said.
She blinked. "Oh yeah… I should probably contact them." She mumbled something under her breath that I couldn't understand. Then she met my eyes again and said, "I suppose I can do it tomorrow morning. You can come if you'd like."
"We can do… whatever you gotta do at our cove," I suggested, lowering my voice. "I should clean up the mess that those idiots left there when they captured you."
"Good idea," she agreed.
We reached our beach house thirty minutes later and got out of the car. Once we got inside, I showed Elsa around the house and compared things to what she saw at the Bjorgman residence. She took everything in, nodding and asking questions that either my father, my mother, or I answered.
I led her upstairs, pointed out the bathroom and the room where she and I would be residing for as long as I lived with my parents. She sat on the bed and gazed around, chewing on her lip with fascination.
"Tomorrow," I began as I opened my closet, "after you do your thing, you and I are going to go shopping. Get you a set of new clothes, bras, underwear… the works." I grabbed two pairs of pajamas. I tossed Elsa a T-shirt, cotton sleeping shorts, and new underwear. "It gets warmer up here than it does at Kristoff's so I usually wear shorts. Ugh, it'll be so nice to change into something that I haven't been wearing for four-some-odd days." I took off my clothes and changed into my pjs. "You can remove your bra, if you want. Sleeping without it is far more comfortable than with."
Elsa nodded slowly and stripped to her underwear. I averted my eyes politely and headed to the computer, looking up several things that involved the birds and the bees talk. I wanted to find a way to explain it to Elsa without any awkwardness… what am I thinking, of course there was going to be awkwardness.
I suppose I would just recite whatever I could find.
"I'm done," Elsa announced. I glanced over my shoulder to find her holding up Agnes's clothes. "Where should I put these?"
"We'll wash them before we return them to Kristoff," I said. I pointed towards my hamper in the corner. "Toss 'em in there, Baby."
She obliged, humming the tune of our personal song cheerfully. I shut the computer off and stretched with a yawn.
"Mmm, I'm exhausted," I sniffed. "It's been a rough couple of days."
"I'm tired, too," she said.
"Let's get to bed before I fall over," I giggled. "You take the right side." I wagged my finger at it sleepily. "I like the left."
"Fine," Elsa said placidly. She peeled back the covers and sank underneath them, nuzzling her face in the pillow. "Ooh, this bed is much softer than the basement one."
I giggled, pulling the blankets up to my chin. "Yeah, Mom is a master at softener or whatever she does. She washed these when we first moved in and they've remained super cozy for this long. I dunno where she got the talent but, damn, she's perfect."
"I like it," Elsa said simply.
"Me too," I said, sliding my eyes shut. I reached for her hand beneath the sheets. "G'night, Elsa. I love you."
"I love you, too, Anna," she replied sleepily, intertwining her fingers with mine.
"Holy… they left more than I thought!" I gasped.
Elsa and I were making our way down to our private cove the next morning. We had yet to hit the shore but I could see the sand and the mess the scientists abandoned along the beach. I gripped the trash bag in my fist with disgust. Things ranging from chip bags to paperwork littered the area, bottles stuck out of the ground, and a few small pieces of equipment were lying around.
"They tarnished it! But there was hardly anything when I woke up that day!" I whined.
"They must have come back to gather information," Elsa pointed out. "See if anything of value that could take them to my world was here."
"Yeah… but still! Clean up after yourself, y'know?" I crossed my arms. "But that's beside the point. I'll clean up while you talk to your parents. How are you gonna do that, by the way? Shell-phone?"
Elsa shot me a look and I grinned at her.
"Sorry. I couldn't resist," I laughed.
She rolled her eyes at me. "Whatever."
We reached the sand but before we could set foot upon it completely, I threw my hand out in front of her. She halted, her brow creasing.
"Anna, what are—?" she began.
"Hold on. Take your sandals off," I instructed.
When she didn't get the hint, I beamed at her, my eyes sparkling.
"You wanna go step in that sand?" I pointed down to it, raising my eyebrows expectantly.
Then it dawned on her.
Her grin couldn't have gotten bigger. "Yes!"
I laughed as she kicked off the shoes like a little kid. I drew back my arm and she took a tentative step into the soft sand of the cove. She giggled and wiggled her toes, burying them underneath.
"Whoa," she breathed. "This is amazing."
I kissed her cheek. "Welcome to my world. All right," I drew back and continued on into the shore, "you contact the folks. I'll clean up."
"Right."
Elsa approached the line where the water just met the sand. She took in a deep breath before dropping to her knees, and thrusted her hands in the water. Then she fell still and silent, her eyes shut tight. I had no idea what she was doing— some kind of unexplainable mermaid magic or something. So I plodded around the cove and picked up the garbage left over by Duke's team of jackasses.
My garbage bag was about half-full when Elsa took a shuddering breath from her spot on the tide. I looked over at her and saw her stand up. She brushed off her knees and stood back, hands folded behind her back.
"What's wrong?" I said.
She shook her head at me but didn't really respond. I stared at her for a few short seconds before I returned to my trash pickup. As I reached for an empty can of Coke, the ground beneath my feet gave the tiniest tremor.
Earthquake? was my first fleeting thought. We were in California after all.
But when I whipped my head towards Elsa to see if she had reacted, my jaw dropped to the floor. In the water before my girlfriend were two beings that were pretty damn impressive. Both of them slightly larger in build than my parents so, to me, they looked like giants. There was a man with wavy silver hair, sea green eyes, and a neatly cropped beard. His muscles were so awesome that I almost turned straight for half a second— I mean, holy hell was it possible to be that ripped? He was good-looking, too… like, damn.
The woman beside him was also very attractive. Her platinum hair was flowing down her back in a French braid like Elsa's, her icy eyes powerful. Over her chest was seashell bra just like Elsa had (and was now on my desk while I figured out what to do with it). Her body was that perfect hourglass figure and I knew exactly where Elsa got her good looks.
Were all mermaids this hot!? I wanna be one!
"Elsa," the man said, his voice a low— yet somehow kind— growl. "You had us worried sick."
"Hello, Papa," Elsa said, bowing her head. "I'm sorry."
"Child… you've legs," the woman said. Her silky voice was like siren's and I had to fight the urge to drop my bag and bow down to her.
"I do… I have gained them by an act of true love." Elsa placed a hand over her heart. The way she was speaking was so formal and respectable. It made me feel guilty for ever swearing in front of my parents. "Just as legend says, Mama." The woman gave her the shadow of a smile. "But I don't think it's possible for me to change back and return home with you."
"No. It's impossible," the man said. "You've chosen a path that only some wish to tread. This is an irreversible spell that is bestowed upon those who honor the code of true love. The will to belong with the one you hold most dear. It is the way of our kind."
"Yes, Papa," Elsa nodded gently. "I understand."
"You do realize, Elsa, that you will be banished from our land. Humans are not allowed to be within our limits if they ever find a way to reach us," the man continued. "You are aware of our whereabouts and are human, therefore you cannot come back." The way he was speaking to her was so serious but I caught a hint of solemness in his tone. "You must also keep our race a secret from here on out. Because you are my daughter, I am being lenient and allowing you to maintain your memories."
"Yes, Papa," Elsa repeated. "Thank you."
I had frozen solid as I gaped at the two mermaids. Suddenly the icy eyes of Elsa's mother slid over to me and I drew in a sharp breath. If I wasn't already frozen, I sure was now. She was oozing power and I felt as if I was in the presence of a goddess.
"Elsa…" she said, not taking her eyes off of me. "Who is the human accompanying you?"
The man spotted me finally and blinked slowly. I swallowed hard and dropped my trash bag. He wasn't holding a trident or whatever but that stare could have struck me down no problem. Elsa turned around and smiled gently at me.
"This is Anna," she said, beckoning me to come forward. With shaky steps I did so before I fell in line beside her. She took my hand and, never taking her eyes off me, addressed her parents. "She is the human that I have fallen in love with. The human that led me to this life I have only dreamed of living. Her world understands our affections more so than mine. She has done nothing but protect me and love me for who I am."
My trembling halted and I grinned at her, feeling safe under her watchful gaze. I gave her hand a squeeze, which she returned.
"This human is aware of what you once were," the man said, lifting a heavy eyebrow.
"She loved me anyway," was Elsa's response, nudging her nose against mine. I giggled under my breath. "And no matter what I will love her, too. Her friends, her parents, and so many others have taken care of me in my time of need. I am forever in their debt." She looked back at her parents and lifted her chin, her shoulders back. "I accept exile for I have no need to return home. This is where I belong and this is where I shall stay."
"Elsa, are you sure you want to stay here?" I said. "You don't have to."
"As Papa said, it is an irreversible spell therefore I have no choice… however, as long as I'm with you, I want to remain here. I love you, Anna. No force on earth can change that… remember?"
The two mermaids glanced at each other and fell silent. Their eye contact was hard, as if they were communicating telepathically. Then they looked back at us. The woman nodded.
"This is what you want, Elsa, and we've no right to take it from you," she said. "Your happiness is more important to us."
Elsa's eyes were glistening. "Thank you, Mama."
The man finally smiled, his eyes crinkling jovially. He opened his arms towards Elsa.
"We're going to miss you, my daughter," he said.
Elsa let go of my hand and treaded through the water as fast as she could, falling into her father's embrace. Her mother joined quickly, the two mermaids bidding their daughter goodbye for the final time. I teared up and averted my eyes, pressing my lips together. I didn't want to intrude on their family moment any longer. I was about to move back to my trash pickup but Elsa detached herself from her parents and was placed back onto shore by her father.
"We love you very much, Elsa," he said.
"Be safe, okay?" her mother added.
"I will," Elsa sniffed, wiping under her eyes. "I promise."
"And you, Anna," boomed her father. I felt goosebumps shoot up my arms and I blinked stupidly at him. He grinned at me. "Take care of my daughter."
I grinned back. "You bet! She'll be safe with me." I crossed my heart. "I swear."
Both of her folks bowed their heads in our direction before gliding flawlessly backwards and sinking into the water. Elsa and I watched their tails get smaller and smaller before the flicked them on the horizon in farewell, slipping into the big blue.
"Bye," Elsa whispered, waving her fingers after them.
I wrapped by arm around her waist. She responded by resting her head on top of mine with a soft sigh, two tears rolling down her cheeks. I held her closer and kissed her jawline, the summer breeze flowing around us peacefully.
"This is an iPod," I told her one afternoon in early August. I held up my shiny green iPod and shook it gently. "It plays all kinds of music with just a press of a button."
Elsa and I were in my room, the sky outside a pearly grey with summer rain coming down from the heavens. We decided to hole ourselves in my room for the day until my parents came home and we went out to the Bjorgman's for dinner. It was nice— cozy— with just the two of us hanging out.
This was the day I had explained to her how humans mated with the help of the trusty Internet. She seemed really engrossed and fascinated with it, commenting on how weird sex was, which only made me laugh so hard my stomach hurt. Then I showed her a website explaining how most girls do it with each other and her cheeks were burning by the time she finished reading the article.
"Oh," was all she said.
"What?" I had responded, trying to contain my laughter.
"Nothing… it just seems easier than male-female," she had said, cracking a grin.
"I wouldn't know about that but…" I trailed off.
We exchanged looks before we began to laugh together.
So it wasn't as awkward as I had made it out to be. Elsa and I both agreed to hold off on whatever intimate relationship we planned on having until we saw fit. Which was nice because it no longer seemed pushed to, ah, perform a field experimentation…
Cough.
Anyway— Elsa was seated on my bed and getting a lecture on several things in my world. I told her about ceiling fans, the different places that were stamped across the chests of my T-shirts, and I showed her some pictures on the Internet of some animals (which ended up with us gushing over how cute kittens were on my Tumblr). Now I was showing her my beloved iPod that got me through years and years of traveling. She was staring at intently, chewing on her bottom lip.
"How?" she finally spoke.
"Like this… hold on—" I handed her the earbuds. "Put them in your ears, Elsa."
She narrowed her eyes at me and slowly tucked them in place. I gave her a goofy grin and pressed play on whatever song was playing. Elsa jumped, her eyes wide and darting all around the room, looking for the source of the music. She looked at me for help and I laughed, pointing to one of my ears in example.
Elsa reached up and removed one bud and her face lit up with understanding. She shoved the bud back into her ear and a grin gutted across her lips. Her foot started tapping to the rhythm and her head bobbed lightly.
"Wow," she said a little louder than she needed. "This is cool!"
"Welcome to my world, Baby!" I laughed.
"This music… it's really… uh…!"
"Catchy?"
"Sure! That sounds right!"
I sat beside her and removed a bud. "You like it?"
"I do," she said. "What's this called again? An iPod?"
"Uh-huh," I said. "A lot of humans own one. We get music from there—" I pointed to my laptop that was resting on my desk. "Then we put them on here." I held up the iPod. "It's really great to listen to music to on long trips and whatever."
And so Elsa sat with the iPod in her ears, gawking at each new song that played. I had to step outside for a brief moment because I was laughing so hard at her adorable reactions.
Around midnight one night, Elsa and I were out on the beach. Not in our cove but out in the open. Our house was yards behind us and we were sitting on a blanket near the ocean. Close enough to feel the brisk spray but far enough from the tide so we wouldn't get wet. The stars were scattered across the sky, the moon wasn't hanging amongst them for it was a new one.
The night was so black that everything seemed to hold no color at all. The ocean was inky and I couldn't tell where it met with the sky. The noise the sea made was roaring in my ears as it swallowed the sand spread out before it. The sand was soft and dark, the houses far behind us without light for almost everyone was in bed by now.
I was seated between Elsa's legs, her arms wrapped around my waist. A few books and a flashlight were beside us, our sweatshirts keeping us warm in the cold coastal air, and chocolate bars in our respective hands. I was pointing out different constellations to her and the planets we could just barely see from here.
"That one is the Big Dipper," I said, moving my finger across the sky. "And across there—" I dragged my finger along. "—is the Little Dipper with the North Star on the tip of the handle… Over there is Jupiter— one of our planets. The biggest in the Solar System." I leaned my back into her chest and nibbled on my chocolate. Elsa tightened her grip on me, her breath tickling my ear. "Am I boring you, yet?" I quipped.
She chuckled. "No. I find all this rather fascinating. In my world, we use stars to predict happenings. The North Star, however, we are aware of. We followed it home if we got lost."
"Are you going to miss it?" I asked. "Home, I mean."
"A little," she said. "But I never really fit in back there. So being up here is much better than living down there." I heard her bite into her chocolate bar. She chewed slowly before speaking up again. "It's nice…"
"I'm glad," I said.
"Anna… will I ever see snow here?" she questioned.
"Not in Arendelle Cove, no, but I'm sure I can persuade my parents to take us up north over winter. Go to Big Bear or something," I mused, shoving my last square of chocolate in my mouth. "I promise, Elsa, I'll show you all the wonderful things my world has to offer."
"I know," she said, pressing a kiss against my head. "And I'm looking forward to all of it."
I reached behind me and took her cheek in my hand. I titled my head back a little and guided her face to mine. She responded at once, kissing me hard. My eyes fluttered shut with bliss. I twisted my body so I could get a better angle in our kiss. My arms snaked around her neck and I smiled against her lips. Her hand cupped the back of my head and she drew me closer.
For a moment, I forgot myself. All I knew was Elsa, and I was perfectly content with that.
The ocean continued to roar with might, biting down on the shells and sand crabs. The stars were winking down upon us and the breeze had stilled itself. The air smelled of salt, Elsa's lips tasted of it.
I was happy. I was home along the sandy shore.
One more chapter. This one is technically the end/wrap up of all the craziness. The next one will be fluffier and involve some fun with the gang and (snow).
I've been to the beach at night and it's really cool, which is where I drew the inspiration for the ending to this chapter. One more chapter and then Sun Kissed will be out for your enjoyment.
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