First came sensation. The luxurious heaviness of rising out of sleep. A feeling of thorough contentment and relaxation. The gratification of having done something wonderful and satisfying. The delicious tension and release of stretching and yawning. It felt delicious.

Then came awareness. She was Elsa. She was in her bed. Early morning light streamed through the window and painted a brilliant diagonal across her bed and her room. Her nightdress was in a crumpled band around her waist, pulled up from below and down from above. Her blankets were curled at her feet like a faithful pet. A pillow gently cradled her head, another was tucked between her arms and between her thighs, still pressed against her mound. There was a dried stain on it, and glued to it were a few short platinum curls.

Then came memory. The desire she had tried to tame had overwhelmed her. She had rutted with a fantasy of Anna, a fantasy fed by Ingrid's gift of souvenirs. So Ingrid knew something, possibly everything. Elsa could no longer pretend that she could ignore her craving for Anna. Elsa would have to wake up and face Anna, and Ingrid, and herself, plus God knows what other horrors the day may bring. It felt dismal.

She sat up, then stood, rearranging her nightdress and smoothing some of the wrinkles out of it. She picked up one of the pillows, not the one she had marked, and with a feeling of self-disappointment brought it to her face and inhaled. She smelled her own dried sweat, and under that still traces of Anna. She hated how wonderful it felt, the surge of energy running through her core. It was madness. She tossed the pillow aside.

But not very hard.

Anna was still blinking the sleep from her eyes as she went in to breakfast. Elsa surprised her by taking her hands and saying, "Anna. Good morning. Always so good to see you." Elsa's expression would've been hard to read even if Anna had been fully awake. It seemed to be a blend of fondness, wistfulness, nervousness, and…hunger?

She and Elsa sat at their places. "Nils, a good strong cup of tea, please."

"Very good, Your Highness."

"So, Anna, do you have any plans for the day?"

Oh damn. She still didn't know where they stood after yesterday. "I don't know. Was I supposed to?"

Elsa laughed lightly. "No, I just had some things in mind."

Thank God, she's taking some initiative again.

"What was that, Anna?"

Oh, that was out loud. "I'm…" What the hell. "Initiative. Good." She drank her hot tea as fast as she could, forcing herself awake.

"Yes. This morning I was thinking of playing some hnefatafl with Ingrid. It's been a while. I miss…hnefatafl. I hope it goes well."

That's what she did when we were fighting. Is everything okay? "Did you want us to get together today?"

"Yes. I'd like to talk about…well, let's talk. After lunch?"

"Sure." That'll give me a couple of hours to psych myself up. Or psych myself out. "I'll see you in your study?"

"My rooms." Elsa glanced up at her. "If you don't mind."

"No, that's pretty much what I was thinking." Anna worried that Elsa could see how self-conscious and anxious she was. She had no idea that Elsa was thinking the same thing about her.

Ingrid was smiling hopefully, if anxiously, as she entered Elsa's study. "Good morning, Your Majesty. I wasn't expecting this." The smile faded when she saw Elsa pacing, and when she saw that the game board wasn't out. "I hope nothing's the matter."

"I hope so too, Ingrid. Sit down." She sat, but Elsa remained standing. That was against protocol. "I received your notes and…the other things."

"I only wanted to make you happy. I was very discreet. I made sure no one noticed when I switched the…" She saw Elsa's agitation and tried not to make it worse. "…the items on their way to the laundry. Honestly, no one knows."

"Yes. Your note said. But what do you know, Ingrid?"

"Me?" Elsa raised an eyebrow at her. "Yes, of course, me." Ingrid began to squirm in her chair as Elsa resumed pacing. She hadn't been this scared since the first time she came to Elsa's study. "What I know, what I know for certain, is that since you reconciled with Anna you turn your head away when you hug her. I'm sure no one else noticed. No one's mentioned it. They weren't paying attention."

Elsa finally sat down, behind the desk. "My servants don't pay attention to their queen and mistress?"

"Not in the same way, no, ma'am." She realized she'd used a title again. "Sorry."

Elsa waved it away. "Never mind that. Call me ma'am if you want to. Go on."

"They pay attention to what you want done, or whether you're pleased with our work, or what sort of mood you're in. Or whether you're going to be busy and won't be able to check up on us. Some of the girls, like Lissi, pay attention to what you're wearing, and to your hair."

"And what do you pay attention to?"

"You, ma'am."

"Tell me exactly what you know. Why you sent me the…"

Ingrid took a deep breath. "As I said, you face away from Anna when you hug her now. It's not because you don't love her anymore, because you do. It's not that you don't like her fragrance, because she hasn't changed her routines or toiletries. So it must be that you do like her fragrance, but you choose not to, um, detect it. So I thought you might like a chance to experience it in the privacy of your rooms. I wanted you to be happy."

"And that's everything."

Despite herself, Ingrid fidgeted. She crossed her legs, dropped her shoulders and looked at the floor, and twisted her handkerchief in her hands. Almost too quiet to be heard, she said, "That, and you're romantically attracted to your sister. I'm sorry, ma'am. No one suspects." She curled smaller and braced herself.

"That's quite a thing to say."

"Yes, ma'am. I know, ma'am. I would never repeat it, ma'am. Not ever. Not to anyone."

"And you're certain you're right."

"What I said before, it's the only way that would make sense, ma'am. You wouldn't have needed to turn away from her otherwise."

Elsa could see from the tension in Ingrid's body that there was more. "Is that all?"

Still facing the floor, Ingrid shook her head.

"Go on."

"I, um, I took your bedding to the laundry this morning, ma'am. I took it straight there and put it directly in the wash. Directly. No one else saw it. I made sure."

The pillowcase. There was no use pretending. "Ingrid. Look at me."

Still hunched over, she lifted her head to face Elsa. Her eyes were wide with terror.

"Do you have any plans for this information?"

"I just wanted you to be happy, ma'am. I apologize for over-reaching myself, for having thoughts above my station. I apologize for making you uncomfortable. I'm very sorry, ma'am."

"Ingrid, I need to know. Do you have any thoughts of using this information to your own advantage?"

For a moment Ingrid's fear was pushed aside by outrage. "I would never do such a thing, ma'am! Never!" She stopped, halted by a realization. "But you couldn't know that, ma'am. Not for certain. It would never occur to me to do such a thing, so I never thought it would occur to anyone to think I could. But of course you could. How could you not? I've been an idiot. I was stupid. I'm so sorry."

Elsa was taken aback. "Now Ingrid — "

Ingrid sprang from her chair, almost knocking it over, and ran around the desk so she could kneel at Elsa's feet. Head bowed, on one knee, she spoke clearly and with strong belief. "I, Ingrid Hanna Andersen, do solemnly swear my allegiance to Her Righteous Majesty Queen Elsa of Arendelle, Ruler of Arendelle, its Territories, Assigns, and Satellites, and to her heirs and successors; to be loyal in all things, faithful in all things, obedient to her laws and dictates, and to have no earthly allegiance before this; to defend her person, her dignity, and her honour. This do I swear without evasion or mental reservation, so help me God."

Elsa was astonished, even overwhelmed. "Ingrid, I have heard the Vow of Allegiance a hundred times by now, and I have never heard it said with that much conviction before."

"Thank you, ma'am." Ingrid remained kneeling.

Elsa realized that Ingrid was waiting for permission to stand. She almost said Get up, for heaven's sake, but Ingrid was so serious Elsa couldn't bear to be flippant. "Arise, Ingrid Hanna Andersen."

Ingrid stood obediently in front of Elsa, hands clasped behind her. "Yes, ma'am. Thank you, ma'am."

"You memorized the Vow?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Why?"

"I believe it, ma'am."

Elsa sighed, and smiled crookedly. "Oh, Ingrid, what am I going to do with you?"

For some reason the question made Ingrid flinch. She paused, then said, "I assume that's a rhetorical question, ma'am?"

"Yes, of course." Ingrid's reaction made Elsa curious. "What if it wasn't? What do you think I should do with you?"

"Ma'am?"

"What would you do in my position? Hypothetically."

Ingrid thought hard, choosing her words carefully. It reminded Elsa of the first time Ingrid came to her. Ingrid said, "That depends on how much you trust me, ma'am."

That morning Elsa had been terrified that her shameful secret was out. As she looked at this girl and her obvious devotion Elsa still felt concern, but not panic. Not now. "Assume I trust you completely. What would I do then?"

"Let me live."

"What?" Elsa sat up in her chair.

Ingrid bowed her head. "I made a mistake. I hadn't realized that I had made myself a threat. Unless Your Majesty does trust me completely, the right course of action would be to have me quietly executed. I apologize for putting you in this position. It must be very disturbing."

Elsa's brows furrowed. "You see yourself facing execution, and you're worried about my feelings?"

"Yes, ma'am." Even though she was trembling, Ingrid kept her voice steady. "I know that you're kind, and it would hurt you terribly to give that order. But I've seen that you will do the right thing for Arendelle, no matter how painful. If I thought it would make a difference I would beg for my life. You're a woman of conviction, so it wouldn't change anything. It would only make things harder for you. That wouldn't be fair. I apologize."

Elsa felt the mild stinging of tears starting to form. She looked away, breathed deeply, settled herself. "Ingrid, your life is safe. Please relax. I do trust you, enough to believe my secret's safe. And even if it wasn't, you're not a threat to Arendelle, only to me. If worse comes to worst Anna would make an excellent queen, even if she doesn't believe it yet. Arendelle might even be better off."

Ingrid said, "No, ma'am," before she could stop herself.

Elsa's head jerked up. "You don't think Anna could be queen?"

"She would be an excellent queen, ma'am, as you said. But Arendelle wouldn't be better off without you. None of us would."

"Do sit down, Ingrid." Elsa sighed heavily. Without turning to face Ingrid she went on. "This isn't the first big secret I've had to keep, you know. Not the first one that threatened to hurt Anna, either. What no one tells you about secrets is how exhausting they are."

They sat in silence for a while, Ingrid staring at the desktop, Elsa staring off into space. Finally Ingrid said, "You don't have to worry about your secret when it's just me, ma'am. You can relax. I already know it, and it's no concern of mine."

"It doesn't disturb you at all?"

"I've been given to understand that it's a sin and a scandal, ma'am, but personally I don't see the harm."

"I see." Elsa went to the bookshelf where she kept the hnefatafl game. "We'd better play at least one round or people will wonder what we've been up to."

"I'd like that, ma'am."

"So would I." Elsa set up the board. "And you can stop calling me ma'am now."

Elsa sat at the vanity in her dressing room, fiddling with toiletry bottles and drumming her fingers on the countertop. She's imagined dozens of ways to start the conversation with Anna, but none of them felt right. Elsa needed her to know that she'd always be safe, but that Elsa's feelings for her were strong and real, and they needed some way to live with them. Elsa couldn't bear to live this way, but she couldn't bear to lose her sister again.

There was a brisk knock at the door. It's her. Now or never. Elsa opened the door. It was her. Anna's hair was down and her cheeks were flushed.

"Anna, there's someth— "

Anna kissed her passionately on the mouth.