This was inspired by the myth of Hero and Leander, in case you're not familiar with it.

On two sides of the fjord, in a northern land long ago, two souls dwelt like two stars, each shining as bright with love as her companion. Both had been chosen, determined by destiny, the Fates, and all the powers above, to join together in love. Each dwelt within the beautiful body of a young woman, equal in loveliness, almost equal in age, but not equal in their knowledge of the mysteries and wonders of the power of love; the force that was about to shape their lives forever.

Elsa had studied these mysteries all her life and knew the ways of love better than almost anyone; Elsa had learned of love, but she had never felt the stirrings of it once.

Anna was Elsa's opposite in experience, as she was her opposite in location. She had felt love many times, but Anna had never learned what it is to know True Love with the one your soul has been bound to for all eternity.

The day the two were destined to discover what they had been secretly wishing and seeking for the whole of their young lives was one sacred to the goddess of love and beauty, and her Divine influence had more than a small part to play in bringing Elsa and Anna together.

It was a fine day in early summer, the sky and the fjord rivalled each other with their intense shades of blue, cloudless and still, both deeply beautiful. And the citizens of the small village across the fjord from Arendelle had all turned their attentions to the goddess who brought such beauty into their lives. The land on which their village had been founded was sacred to the goddess of love and contained a shrine where they gathered every year on this day to celebrate the goddess and the wisdom and glory she brought to all with the gifts of beauty and love that she had given to humanity.

That morning, Elsa had walked to the shrine from her home in the tower by the shore where she lived to join the villagers and lead the celebrations. The shrine stood behind the village and was built around a section of coloured stone in the side of the cliff that shimmered with beautiful crystals. Wild roses grew throughout it, adding their deep red beauty to the spectrum of stunning colours that the supernatural place already contained. It was open to the sky and anyone who stepped into the sacred space was overcome by the feeling of holiness all around. Since time immemorial, the shrine had been decorated with statues of the goddess and other works of reverence dedicated to the Lady of Love, all arranged around the silver altar and maintained by Elsa each day since she had been sent to live here, the latest in a long line of priestesses and priests in charge of the shrine.

The sanctuary was currently filled with people, the busiest Elsa had ever seen it in the short time she had tended the sacred space. Faces turned to her when she entered, some Elsa knew from her infrequent visits to the village, others she recognised as priests and priestesses from her own order, visiting to attend this sacred ceremony, along with other pilgrims come to pay their respects to the goddess.

Elsa felt nervousness take hold of her and shake her limbs, but she took a breath to calm herself, stepped up to the altar and raised her clear, melodious voice to begin a hymn to the goddess. Elsa had learned to sing such hymns almost as soon as she could talk, though it was the first time she had led any festival, and since she was now the official priestess of this shrine, Elsa wanted to make her order and her goddess proud.

And Elsa did. The morning sun shone down into the shrine, making the crystals in the cliff glitter, and illuminating Elsa's radiant blonde hair. All were stunned as they joined her in song, thinking there could be no one more perfect to care for this sacred place.

Once the ceremony was over, the festival began. The village was small and quiet, but for this single day of the year, the main street was busy, echoing with voices and music. Along with pilgrims, the festival had attracted traders, musicians and street performers who had made the village their own for the day.

The new sights and sounds and people were exciting for Elsa, but she was somewhat shy, and did not consort with the crowd or take part in the feasting or dancing. She talked mostly to the other visiting priests and priestesses, since Elsa was unused to others outside the order, having lived with them all her life. Elsa told herself she would be more brave next year, once she was fully used to the place and had proven herself to be a dutiful priestess.

But Elsa was unknowingly attracting attention and word soon spread of the beautiful new priestess of the shrine, who had been so reclusive until now. She smiled politely when curious people came to her and blessed them when they asked, as was her duty, yet Elsa was stressed inside; she was not used to so many voices or so many people wanting to touch her. Though she kept calm; if she listened closely, Elsa could hear the sound of the sea behind everything else which reminded her of her home in the tower, the peacefulness of her books and studies that she could return to soon.

Despite the change in her routine, Elsa had enjoyed the experience of her first festival and felt her mood grow a little melancholy as the sky grew orange and the sun began to set. This meant that the celebration was over, the people started to trickle away and the traders dismantled their stalls to return to their homes in the nearby towns and cities.

It had been a busy day for Anna, too. She came to the festival every year from Arendelle to sell her family's ale and wine, and Anna loved the beautiful little village that was so different from the grey stone streets of the city. But this year was the first time she had come without her parents. Now she was almost nineteen, they had decided Anna was old enough to manage the stall herself, and she and her friend Kristoff had made a good profit; the village had no tavern of its own, so they always attracted a swarm of customers every year.

This year had been no different. There were only a few barrels left over when Anna and Kristoff began to pack up the stall into their wagon. But halfway through the process, Anna remembered another important thing she did here every year.

"I'm going to visit the shrine. I almost forgot!" Anna said when her friend asked why she was leaving.

"Oh. Of course," Kristoff replied. "I can finish up here." He worked at the tavern, too, and also came to the festival every year, so he knew what had to be done. Kristoff never bothered to visit the shrine, though; he considered himself something of a love expert already, even if his charms had failed to work on Anna.

She entered the familiar stillness of the shrine and smelled the cool scent of the stone, saw the shining silver of the altar. Anna loved this place; it was so natural and Anna felt closer to the goddess here than she did at the temple of the Divines in Arendelle. She knelt before the largest statue and lit a candle. Anna bowed her head in silent prayer, enjoying a few final moments of peace in this sacred place before she had to return to her normal life for another year.

Elsa stood beneath an oak tree, waiting until all the festival-goers had left so she could perform the evening rites at the shrine. The last one to leave was a young, red-haired woman; Elsa had seen so many people that day, but a feeling struck her when she looked at this particular girl. The priestess did not recognise the feeling, it was like a tugging in her chest and she couldn't make her eyes leave the redhead, even though she tried. Elsa watched the way her hips swayed beneath her dress and how her twin braids bobbed with each movement she made, finding this stranger the most pleasing sight she had seen in all her life.

Anna got the feeling that someone was watching her and obeyed the urge to look up, and when she did she found that her intuition had not lied, someone was watching her, someone with eyes more blue than any Anna had ever seen. And the face they belonged to possessed a loveliness of the kind that Anna had only glimpsed in paintings and statues that adorned temples and shrines like the one she had just left.

The woman had white-gold hair bound in a long braid, the lightest shade of blonde that Anna had ever beheld, and her beauty brought a smile to Anna's lips. The blonde smiled shyly in return, blushing and glancing down before meeting Anna's gaze again; an unspoken invitation to come closer.

Both knew at that moment that the woman they each saw before them was going to change their lives forever. They did not admit in their minds that it was love, but love it was indeed, since who ever loved that loved not at first sight?

Anna began to walk towards her, needing to close the distance between them now that their eyes had exchanged such intimacies that words could not convey. The redhead spent every day conversing with complete strangers, yet she felt nervousness twist within her and hoped that her rambling tongue would not make her regret her words before she summoned the courage to speak to the blonde.

"I've never seen you here before," Anna said, her heart pounding as the words left her mouth. "I would have noticed." She almost regretted the last few words, thinking she was being too forward, but the blonde didn't seem to mind and in the brief pause before she replied, Anna took in the full glory of her beauty now they stood facing each other.

She was truly beautiful, with that pale quality Anna admired the most because she did not have it herself, with her freckles and her tendency to blush easily; Anna both envied and desired this woman's good looks.

But it was not just her body that was beautiful, the clothes she wore enhanced her natural grace and complemented her in every way. She was clad in a loose blue dress with a belt around her elegant waist. The large pearl on a silver chain around her pure white neck marked her as a priestess of the goddess whose shrine this was, and the shawl draped over her slender shoulders was exquisite; green gauze with a design of pink flowers so vivid Anna thought for a moment that they were real blossoms woven into the fabric.

Though Anna decided the adornments that she naturally possessed surpassed even those. Her sapphirine eyes reminded Anna of cloudless skies, and her hair shone like both silver and gold in the day's fading light; her delicate fingers stroked the end of her braid while she responded to Anna.

"I'm the new priestess at this shrine," Elsa said, simply, thinking correctly that the other girl was definitely going to continue a conversation with her, despite Elsa's brief reply.

"I'm Anna, from Arendelle across the fjord."

Elsa thought the name suited her; there was something about it conveying positivity, happiness... "My name's Elsa," she said. "I live in that tower by the shore."

Anna's gaze followed where she pointed, which was towards a stone tower in the distance, outside the village, but not too far away. "So you're Elsa," she said, once she had turned her eyes back to meet those deep blue ones again. "Everyone was talking about you in the village today," Anna commented. "You have a beautiful name, it's as beautiful as you! Are you sure you're just a priestess and not the goddess herself?" She definitely regretted saying that; Anna hadn't even drunk any ale today, yet she couldn't stop herself, and she knew what she had said was probably the wrong thing to say to a priestess. But luckily Elsa did not seem to mind and laughed shyly, her soft voice stirring a spark of desire in Anna, and her blush inflaming it even more.

"I assure you, I'm just a priestess," Elsa said. "But thank you. You're beautiful, too, Anna." Elsa had never told anyone that before, since this was the first time she had met someone to whom those words truly applied. Whenever she looked at Anna she saw a new facet of her beauty. Elsa noticed the colour of her eyes for the first time: too green to be blue, too blue to be green... Pure perfection... Anna's eyes reminded her of the ocean, which Elsa loved especially because her goddess had been born from the waves, and just as the Divine bringer of love had emerged from those aquamarine depths, Elsa's love for Anna was rapidly growing each time she gazed into the depths of Anna's uniquely-coloured eyes.

"Thanks!" Anna felt her own cheeks burn bright with the compliment. "But you're beautifuller!" Elsa giggled in reaction to Anna's made-up word, yet she did not correct her or tease her like Kristoff would have done.

"Everything about you," Anna continued. "Your hair, your clothes... Those flowers look real!" Anna almost reached out to touch the fabric, but remembered that Elsa was a priestess and she didn't have permission to touch her, so Anna contented herself with asking a question instead. "Where did you get it?"

"I made it myself!" Elsa said, beaming with pride that Anna liked her work.

"That's amazing! I've never seen anything like it before!"

Elsa paused for a moment before following an instinct, she took off her shawl, folded it in her hands and held it out to Anna. "You can have it," she said. Spreading love and beauty was part of Elsa's duty as a priestess, and she knew that, sadly, it was unlikely the two of them would ever meet again, yet she felt she wanted Anna to remember her, wanted a part of herself in Anna's life.

"What? No, I can't accept that!" Anna protested, her eyes wide with wonder at Elsa's generosity.

"Please," she said, still offering it. "I want you to have it. I can make another for myself anytime."

Anna thought it through; she wanted the shawl, it would add a bit of beauty to her otherwise dull life, but she couldn't leave Elsa with nothing. The redhead bit her lip before she decided what to do. "Let me give you something in return! Wait here, don't move, I'll be back in a moment!"

Elsa smiled after her as she left, and waited, stroking the shawl in her hands, thinking that the next fingers to caress the fabric would be Anna's.

Anna came back a couple of minutes later carrying a small barrel at her chest, her arms encircling the wood in a way that made Elsa wonder what her embrace felt like. She placed the barrel at Elsa's feet.

"For you!" Anna declared, standing upright again. "In exchange for your shawl. My mother and I made this wine together and it's pretty good, if I do say so myself. So we're even!"

"Thank you," Elsa said as Anna took the garment from her.

"And thank you, Elsa." Anna smiled and took hold of her hand before she could stop herself, since it was an action Anna somehow felt she'd done thousands of times before.

The need for contact between them was innate, an instinct drawing them together. Elsa felt the power and her hand trembled at Anna's brief touch; when she let go, Elsa could feel the warmth of her skin lingering on her palm.

"I- I should stop distracting you from your duties," Anna said, the sensation of their contact awakening countless feelings in her, making the redhead aware of her own natural awkwardness compared to Elsa's grace. "The other priestesses are probably missing you in the tower," she added, to fill the silence.

"Actually, I live there alone," Elsa said. She didn't know why she felt the need to inform Anna of this fact, but she knew she was not ready to say goodbye just yet. Elsa had never enjoyed simply talking to another person so much before, let alone one she had known for mere minutes. Deep down, her soul was seeking for anything that would strengthen their new connection. "There are no other priestesses in the village, just me."

"That sounds like the opposite of my home!" said Anna, happy that Elsa wanted to keep talking to her, but Anna knew she had left Kristoff waiting and could not prolong their conversation for much longer. "I live above my parents' tavern so there's never a moment's peace. It must be nice and quiet for you, living there."

"Yes, it's peaceful," Elsa said, glad once again that she had not been sent to live in a city temple. "Some days I never see another person at all, between there and the shrine."

Anna's fingers toyed with the shawl she was holding. She saw a chance to keep Elsa in her life and decided to risk taking it. "Do you ever get lonely?" she asked.

"I do... Sometimes..." Elsa looked down at her hands and had never realised until that moment that she had been lonely all her life, before she had seen Anna's eyes and her smile. The realisation made her shiver, or maybe it was the cold night air since the sun had set now and Elsa no longer had her shawl, but she did not care; Elsa thought the garment suited Anna better, it brought out the green in her eyes.

"If you like, I could come and visit you." Anna hoped she would say yes, she knew that nobody wants to be alone and nobody should have to be, especially someone as beautiful and kind as Elsa, yet Anna kept her reasons to herself, not wanting to scare the fair priestess away with her passion.

"I'd like that very much, Anna," she said, giving her a stunning smile in return for her offer, showing that Elsa genuinely meant her words.

A matching smile formed on Anna's own lips. "Great! I'll visit you tomorrow night, after sunset," she said, beginning to form a plan of how she would reach Elsa's tower from her home in Arendelle. "Light a torch from your tower so I can find the way."

"I will!" Elsa agreed, feeling excitement stir already, since the few rare visitors she had were fellow priestesses or an old woman from the village who brought her supplies; she knew already that Anna would be able to give her a new sort of company that she had never known before.

"Goodbye, then, Elsa," she said, giving her a lopsided grin before reluctantly turning away.

"Goodbye, Anna!" Elsa called after her, and waved to the redhead when she looked back a moment later.

Anna left her there and raised her own hand in return before she continued down the hill to where Kristoff and the cart were waiting to take her home.

She wrapped the shawl around herself, noting the scent of the other woman was still on it, as sweet as the blossoms that were depicted on the fabric. Anna desperately wanted to see her again, to know everything about her. Anna could not say why, she had met so many people already in her young life, but there was something about Elsa...

Anna was glad beyond words that she had permission to visit, though she knew she would have to somehow obtain a boat before tomorrow night. She made sure to memorise the landmarks carefully before she left. The shore by Elsa's tower didn't seem too steep, Anna could see a pathway up to the top cut into the rocks; with the light from Arendelle's lighthouse, and if Elsa lit a light of her own it should be easy for her to find the way.

Both Kristoff and Sven the carthorse looked bored when Anna arrived.

"You took your time," Kristoff said from the driver's seat.

"I was busy," Anna replied briefly, climbing into the seat beside him.

"Where'd you get that shawl?" he asked, eyeing the expensive-looking fabric, much richer than the dull roughspun they were both wearing.

"That's none of your business," she said and stuck out her tongue. Anna wanted to keep Elsa a secret for now, since she still did not know where it would lead. "Let's go home."

"Fine by me," he said, shaking the reins to get Sven moving. "But we probably won't reach Arendelle until dawn, thanks to you, so you can take over driving when we get halfway."

"Yeah, sure," Anna agreed, before she curled up in her seat and covered herself with the shawl, which surrounded her in Elsa's scent. Anna wondered if embracing her would be similar... She wondered what she would be doing this time tomorrow night and let those thoughts carry her into a brief sleep on the journey home.

Elsa took the wine barrel to the shrine where she opened it and poured a libation, giving the first taste of her gift to the goddess in her gratitude. The candlelight shone on the shrine, making the silver altar shine and the wine look dark against it. Elsa felt close to her goddess and knew she was listening.

In her prayer, Elsa thanked the Divine bringer of love and beauty for the events of the day, and especially for her encounter with Anna. Elsa hoped she had made a friend, and the prospect of that stirred excitement within her, since she had never really known anyone who wasn't a priest or priestess before.

She could not wait for Anna's visit tomorrow, and for the rest of the night Elsa's mind often travelled over the fjord to the lights of the city on the horizon and the beautiful red-haired girl who dwelt there.

Anna awoke as usual in the afternoon when her parents opened the tavern and needed her help serving the customers and keeping the place clean. She went about her usual routine, but Anna found her feelings distracted her; she somehow felt she was wasting her time with the trivial tasks she had been doing every day in the tavern since she was a child. Now Anna knew that someone as amazing as Elsa existed in this world, and just across the fjord, she felt she was missing out on discovering all there was to know about the beautiful priestess, missing out on simply being with her. The day went slowly for Anna.

Over the fjord, Elsa passed the day with her priestess duties, losing herself in contemplation of love's mysteries until the sun had set, when her mind turned again to the mysteries of her own feelings, and the arrangement she had made with Anna yesterday.

Elsa climbed to the roof of her tower when the last red traces of the day were retreating to the west, and looked out towards the lights of the city in the distance. Hoping she was not doing this for nothing, Elsa set fire to the torch she had brought with her and held it high above her head.

She stood there while the stars came out and the moon began to rise in the ink-black sky, thinking of Anna, sensing that she was out there, thinking of Elsa, too.

A cold night breeze blew in off the sea and made the flame flicker, but Elsa sheltered it with her hand and kept it alight. Together burned the torch and her desire as Elsa remained looking out at the night, waiting.

Most people in Arendelle, save Anna, turned to their beds and to sleep when the sun went down. After her parents had closed the tavern and retired for the night, she silently crept out of the door and walked down to the docks to view the other side of the fjord.

Anna scanned the horizon yet saw only the darkness of the cliffs, dimly lit by Arendelle's lighthouse. But then she looked again and perceived a faint light, sometimes flickering, though shining brighter as she stared at it.

Elsa had remembered, and her heart thudded with the realisation, since Anna had almost doubted that she would. The redhead calmed her racing thoughts and considered that she had not actually planned this far. Now she had to find a way to reach the beautiful blonde priestess who was waiting for her across the water.

Anna couldn't afford to hire a boat, since she had no money of her own and did not know whether her parents would agree to let her travel to see a woman she had only met yesterday. And there was the fact that there would be no boats sailing that way this late... But even if she took a swift horse and followed the road around the fjord she wouldn't arrive there until sunrise... And she couldn't keep Elsa waiting.

There was only one thing to do: Anna would have to swim across the fjord. Swimming was the fastest way, and it was not exactly a long distance; Anna could see her destination and the light glowing there.

Now she knew what she had to do, Anna quietly returned to her room and changed her clothes as quickly as she could. She put on a blouse and a pair of breeches that would weigh her down less than a dress and left her shoes behind before stepping out again into the night, barefoot and full of excitement.

Elsa's light was still burning on the opposite shore when Anna reached the docks again, so she walked right up to the edge of the wooden pier, held her breath and dived into the dark water.

The fjord was cold, but love warmed Anna's heart. The water was calm and Anna was a strong swimmer, so soon she was gliding through the water smoothly and swiftly. She saw the light from the tower, getting closer with each stroke, like Anna's own star guiding her to her destination.

Around halfway, she paused to catch her breath, treading water and feeling conscious of the depth of the fjord beneath her. She questioned what she was doing in the middle of the fjord at night, swimming to see a woman she didn't really know... But Anna wanted to know her, wanted to know her more than anything, for reasons beyond her knowledge. What she did know was that Elsa was waiting for her, and it was too late to turn back, even if she wanted to, so she kept swimming.

Anna saw the land manifest clearly ahead of her, saw the way up to the tower that she had noticed yesterday, and quickened her pace now she knew Elsa was close. Shaking with both coldness and excitement, Anna left the water and climbed up the stone steps, taking care not to slip, but going as quickly as she could.

At the top of her tower, Elsa's arms were getting tired. She had seen no sign of Anna, though the night sky was beautiful, the stars shone brightly and Elsa was gazing at them when she heard five loud knocks on the door down below.

She dropped the torch in her haste to let Anna in and see her again, causing the fire to go out, but the fire in Elsa's heart burned stronger as it recognised that her soulmate was near.

Elsa rushed down the spiral steps and opened the door to see Anna's smiling face.

"Elsa!" she said, happily, unable to say much else for the moment, since she was stunned by how beautiful Elsa was, more beautiful than she remembered.

"Anna!" Elsa said in reply, her own face lighting up at the sight of her. "Come in!" She held the door open for her, noticing that Anna was barefoot, shivering and completely drenched, dripping water onto the floor. "You're soaking wet! What happened to you?" Elsa asked after she had closed the door.

"I just swam across the fjord," she replied.

Elsa's blue eyes widened. "You swam?"

"Yep!" Anna grinned with pride and adrenaline from her exercise.

Elsa pushed her questions aside and put Anna's wellbeing to the forefront of her mind. "Come on, let's get you dry before you catch a chill," she said and guided her up the stairs to her home.

Anna acknowledged that she had not thought this through at all. She hadn't meant to make Elsa concerned by arriving at her door completely wet from the fjord, but she loved the blonde's attention; her hand was on Anna's shoulder as they climbed and her eyes were full of concern.

"You don't have to worry, Elsa. I'm fine," Anna assured her, yet let herself be led up the stairs, though the large main room of Elsa's tower and into a side room that revealed itself to be Elsa's bedroom.

Anna looked around, shivering, with her arms wrapped around herself, while Elsa rummaged in a clothes chest.

"Here," Elsa said a few moments later and handed Anna a towel and a neatly-folded dress. "Dry yourself and put this on. I'll wait for you in the kitchen." She gave Anna a small smile before leaving and closing the door behind her.

While she lit the fire in her kitchen, it occurred to Elsa that there was a stranger in her house and she should be worried, yet she felt no such emotions, since the stranger was Anna. All Elsa felt was the need to look after her, to keep her warm. She fed the fire until it was blazing, then waited for Anna to appear, wondering what they were going to do when she did.

Anna was alone in Elsa's room, surrounded by Elsa's scent, the same as she had smelled on the shawl, but stronger and sweeter here. She could hear the sound of the sea in the distance but apart from that it was silent; Anna thought this must be a nice place to sleep, especially since Elsa's bed was much larger than her own and looked much softer, too.

Once she was dry, Anna put on the dress Elsa had given her. It was a little long and trailed on the floor, and it was slightly too loose around her chest, though the fabric was soft and Anna was thrilled to actually be wearing Elsa's clothes; she felt so close to Elsa already, but now she knew it was time to get to know her properly.

Anna wandered out of the bedroom and through the main room to the kitchen on the other side, carrying her wet clothes and not stopping to explore, since she saw Elsa ahead of her. She turned from the fire when Anna approached.

"Thanks for lending me your dress," Anna said. "I didn't realise how wet I got, I dripped water all over your house!"

"Don't worry about it," Elsa said kindly and took Anna's clothes from her before placing a hand on her lower back to guide her. "Please, go and stand by the fire."

Anna did so and held her hands out to warm them while Elsa wrung her wet clothes out of a nearby window, then laid them to dry in front of the fire.

"Thanks for letting me visit you," Anna said to break the silence. "You have a beautiful home."

"Thank you," Elsa replied, with a smile, before seeing the chance to ask one of the questions that she had thought of while she waited. "Why did you swim? It's a very... unusual way to travel here."

"Well, I don't own a boat," Anna began. "And going around the fjord would take too long." She then told Elsa about her daily life, working in her family's tavern from the afternoon until nightfall, then sleeping during the day before starting the whole routine again.

"Sorry!" Anna said once she had finished. "I'm used to talking so much... You probably don't want to hear about my dull life."

"It's not dull at all!" said Elsa. "I want to hear everything about you, Anna. But wait just a moment."

Elsa left her and went to the corner of the room, returning a moment later carrying two wineglasses filled with deep red liquid.

"I know it was your gift," she said. "But I can't drink it all myself, I need your help!"

"If you insist," Anna replied, with a playful glint in her eyes. She took a glass from Elsa and raised it in a toast. "Let's drink to us and to the start of a new friendship!"

They clinked their glasses together and shared a fond glance before sitting on the floor in front of the fire, the heat of the flames warming them from without, and the wine and their burgeoning love from within.

Anna's wine was sweet and like liquid velvet on Elsa's tongue. She was content in wordless companionship, but equally content when Anna began to speak again.

"Tell me about your life, Elsa," she said. "I've never really met a priestess before, except in the temple. What brought you to this beautiful tower? What do you do here?"

"There's not much to tell," Elsa replied. "I was raised by priestesses since I was a baby, no one knows who my parents were. They found me in the temple one winter's night."

"Maybe you're the daughter of the goddess herself!" Anna suggested, suddenly. "You're beautiful enough." Made bold by the wine, she took one of Elsa's elegant, pale hands in her own; Elsa did not flinch, so Anna didn't let go.

Elsa looked down shyly at their joined hands. She had never let anyone hold her hand like this. She had heard such words said to her before, yet they had never meant anything or made her heart beat so quickly. Elsa had never let anyone into her life like this, had never wanted to; others hadn't felt right, others hadn't been Anna.

"Thank you, Anna," she said, softly. "But if you think I'm beautiful, you should see yourself."

Anna's eyes looked green in the warm orange glow of the fire. Her red hair was drying and returning to its natural light colour, as bright as the flames. The pale blue dress she wore was loose and hung down a little, exposing her freckled cleavage. Elsa had never seen anyone who looked as beautiful as Anna did at that moment.

The redhead blushed and giggled at her sweet words; she had also heard such things before, but coming from Elsa they felt true, and that truth left her temporarily speechless.

"I mean it," Elsa continued when she didn't reply, and squeezed Anna's hand. "I've studied the lore of love and beauty all my life, I know true beauty when I see it and you are beautiful, Anna."

Elsa was looking at her with such intensity in her eyes that the only things Anna was conscious of were those deep blue orbs and the loud beating of her heart. "Elsa..."

Elsa felt unfamiliar sensations stir within her and looked away. "You asked what I do here, so I'll show you!" She smiled and pulled Anna to her feet, still holding her hand, and led her to the other room.

"When I came of age in December, I was sent to live here," Elsa explained. "The last priestess who lived here moved to the city and she left all these scrolls and books of lore." She showed Anna shelves full of documents, from floor to ceiling. "They're the goddess' teachings; I'm studying them," she added.

"Woah, there are more books here than I've ever seen in my life!" Anna exclaimed, and traced her fingertips over the covers closest to her. "Have you read all of them?"

"Not even half! I try to read as much as I can, but I have to tend the shrine, too. And when I'm not doing either of those things, I spend most of my time here." Elsa brought Anna to a loom on which there was a beautiful banner that she was in the middle of weaving.

"It's the goddess," Anna said, recognising the familiar scene depicted on the fabric.

"Being born from the sea," Elsa finished for her.

"It's amazing, Elsa!" she commented. "Is this where you made the shawl?"

"It is. And the dress you're wearing," Elsa said, proud of the beautiful things she had created.

Anna remained in awed silence for a few moments now she knew Elsa had woven the fabric she wore. She felt like she was surrounded by Elsa's touch; the fingers that held her hand had touched every thread of the dress that currently caressed her body.

The sensation Anna felt was intense, she was in awe of the amazing and beautiful woman who stood before her, almost otherworldly in her skills and grace. Anna thought herself unworthy for a moment, though she was in fact the only person worthy of Elsa in this entire world, and would come to learn it soon enough.

"Maybe I should go," Anna said. "You have so many things to do! I'm wasting your time, you should be sleeping instead of talking to me."

"No, Anna, I have plenty of time; you're not wasting it!" Elsa assured her. "I like having you here. But if you want to leave, I won't stop you."

Anna could feel Elsa needed her, she could see it in her eyes, and the emotions in them gave Anna the confidence to follow her matching wishes. "Of course I don't want to leave," she said, and lightly touched Elsa's shoulder, her touch and her words bringing a smile to Elsa's lips as if the sun had risen already.

And so Anna stayed. The two young women talked through the night and ate sweet cakes made by Elsa's own fair hands, the best that Anna had ever tasted.

Their wineglasses were empty, the fire had burned low, but their cheeks were flushed and their smiles bright.

By the time the dawn light appeared in the eastern sky, Anna knew she really had to leave.

"Can I come again tomorrow night?" Anna asked before she left the tower.

"Of course!" Elsa gladly replied. "But please be careful if you swim again, I'll worry about you."

"I'll be fine," Anna said, placing her hand over the one Elsa had rested on her shoulder. "It's not far from Arendelle, and these summer nights are warm!"

Indeed they were, and they soon grew warmer. Summer waxed, and Anna and Elsa's friendship waxed with it. The spark that had been kindled at their meeting soon flourished fully into the flame of love, and the confusion of feelings that accompanies it.

Every night, Elsa would light a torch at the top of the tower to guide Anna's way. Each night, she protected it from the wind and made sure it stayed alight, and soon her arms no longer began to ache as she held the light up high, strengthened by both practice and love.

Every night, Anna would swim to her, the distance across the fjord seeming shorter each time.

Neither ever tired during their duties of the day. Though they both slept less, they slept deeper and joined each other in their dreams. Anna wrapped herself in the shawl whenever she lay in her bed, the thin fabric the only covering she needed on the warm summer mornings when she slept, Elsa's scent bringing pleasant memories.

Both grew happier in their work. Anna found that she no longer felt boredom in her daily routine; the bliss that came from her nightly visits to Elsa lasted throughout the day.

Elsa brought her not only bliss, but also a stronger sense of faith. Anna began to visit the temple on the day of the week that bore the goddess' name, wearing the shawl when she did so. When she knelt before the shrine in the silent, pious atmosphere, Anna felt closer to Elsa, closer to the Divines and to the true joy she had been unwittingly seeking her whole life.

From her tower, in her quiet study of the goddess' teachings, Elsa would listen to the sound of the fjord and look out of her window to Arendelle across the water, thinking that Anna was somewhere within the grey stone shadow of the city she could see.

She thanked the goddess for guiding Anna into her life. Elsa had never been so happy and never before had the goddess' lore seemed so real and relevant. She understood the teachings truly for the first time; Elsa knew she was falling in love with Anna.

Everything about her made Elsa's heart race and her head fill with thoughts of love; Anna's beauty and her colour, her freckles and her red hair, so vivid and full of life, every gesture she made conveying the joy inside her and bringing joy to Elsa.

With her joy on each visit to Elsa, Anna brought tales of her life, of the tavern and the city and all the people she had met that entertained them both for hours. Elsa didn't have much to tell, but she had a lot to show, and the two of them spent some evenings at the loom, Elsa teaching Anna how to weave, or simply letting Anna watch her work.

As they became even closer, Anna and Elsa found they did not always need to talk and they sometimes sat on the roof in the warm air of the summer night, simply gazing at the stars.

It was on a night like this a little less than a month later, when Elsa and Anna shared their first kiss.

Summer had reached its apex, the days becoming as hot and as long as they would be this year. It was Midsummer, and also Anna's birthday.

She and Elsa were sitting together on the roof and had just finished drinking the last of the wine Anna had given Elsa as a gift when they first met.

They had learned almost everything about each other, but Elsa did not know it was Anna's birthday.

"I almost couldn't come tonight," Anna said, her voice breaking the silence of the night, the only other sound the lapping of the water in the distance. "I had to pretend to be ill so my parents would leave me alone and I could sneak out!"

"Why?" Elsa asked, wishing - not for the first time - that she and Anna did not lead such separate lives during the day.

"They wanted to hold a party," she explained. "It's my birthday today."

"Anna, you should have said something sooner! Happy birthday!" Elsa squeezed her hand and looked fondly into Anna's greenish-blue eyes. "You should have stayed, I could have spent one night alone if you were busy having fun with your family."

"No, I didn't want you to stress yourself. I prefer it here with you! My family are great and everything, but they're not you, Elsa," Anna said, leaning lightly against her shoulder. "And my family's parties aren't exactly fun, they're the same every year. I've seen eighteen of them, and this year I don't want all my friends and family, I only want you."

"But you should have told me. I'd have got you a present! Is there anything you'd like?" she asked, willing to give whatever Anna wanted.

Anna looked into Elsa's beautiful eyes and could see something in their blue depths, something that made Anna think she wouldn't refuse. "There is one thing..." Anna's eyes traced Elsa's face, the faint freckles across her perfect nose, her lips, naturally a shade of deep red and so inviting... Anna watched them while she spoke.

"What is it?"

Anna leaned closer, lifted her eyes up to Elsa's and lifted her hand to gently brush aside that adorable little strand of blonde hair that always fell from Elsa's braid onto her forehead. Then she cupped her cheek and slowly joined their mouths together in Elsa's very first kiss.

Elsa's lips were yielding and hesitant against her own, the softest touch Anna had ever felt, and they tasted sweet.

Elsa had not expected it to happen, but kissing Anna was the single most beautiful experience of her life so far; Anna's kiss was warm and tender, not insistent, and she soon pulled away.

The blonde felt a fervent blush heat her face and couldn't stop her freshly-kissed lips from smiling as Anna took her hand that was resting on her lap and lifted it to place another kiss on the soft white skin.

Once Anna had released her hand, Elsa caressed her face, brushing the redhead's freckles with her thumb and looking deep into her eyes.

"I love you," Elsa murmured.

Anna hadn't expected that to happen, but her heart soared when she heard Elsa say those words, though she suddenly feared it was too good to be true.

"Are you sure?" Anna asked. "We haven't known each other for long..." But even so, Anna was in no doubt that her own feelings were love.

"Anna, I've studied the ways of love my whole life," Elsa replied, still stroking her cheek. "And only now, when I'm with you, do I know what they really mean."

"But how do you know?" Anna asked, partly for reassurance, partly because Anna wanted to hear this beautiful woman say how she made her feel.

"I feel it here." Elsa removed her hand from Anna's face and pointed to her heart. "Whenever I look at you. And I think about you all the time; I want to spend every moment of my life with you, Anna, and I've never felt like that about anyone before."

Anna was speechless for a moment, in awe of the woman sitting next to her. To be loved by a priestess of the goddess of love... especially one so beautiful and kind, was truly an honour... And especially because it meant they both felt the same.

Anna felt what Elsa had just described, felt it within her chest as she looked into Elsa's eyes. "I love you, too!"

Elsa smiled. "I know. I have known since you first visited me."

"How?" Anna asked, smiling back at her.

"Love is putting someone else's needs before yours, and you swim across the fjord every night to see me when you could be sleeping or having fun after a day of working. But you sacrifice your time for me, and that's love, Anna," Elsa said, and laced the fingers of both their hands together.

"I've never thought about it like that, but you're right," Anna replied. "And I've loved you since the moment we met."

Elsa and Anna's hands and hearts were united, and their lips united again, softer and sweeter the second time. It was the best birthday present Anna had ever received.

But their newly-acknowledged love made it more difficult to part that morning. Yet absence makes the heart grow fonder, and Anna and Elsa's love soon progressed.

It had rained all day and did not stop when the sky darkened. The night was hot and humid, and the rain heavy and unceasing.

Instead of the torch, Elsa lit all the lamps she owned and placed them on the roof of her tower, but after she dried herself and sat waiting inside, Elsa had second thoughts about what she had done. Now she had given Anna the signal to visit her it meant that the one she loved would brave the weather and risk her own well-being to come across the fjord.

Worried thoughts filled Elsa's mind more than they usually did, as the rain lashed against the window and part of her hoped that Anna wouldn't come tonight, would stay safe and dry in her own home instead. But still she waited, trying to lose herself in a book, and still she worried.

When she heard the familiar, beloved knock on the door, Elsa discarded her book, dashed down the steps and pulled the door open to see Anna wetter than she had ever been before, water cascading off her braids and her clothes, pooling onto the floor at her feet.

"Anna!" Elsa exclaimed, placing an arm on her soaked sleeve to guide her inside. "Are you all right? You look terrible! You should have stayed at home... Even though I lit the light."

"I'm fine," Anna assured her. "The rain's heavy but the fjord was calm." She closed the door behind her to keep the rain out. "And water can't stop me from seeing you!"

Anna wrapped her wet arms around Elsa's waist in their first embrace, comforted by her warmth and softness. She snuggled against her when Elsa held her close, and Anna's hands moved lower, as if by their own volition, until they were cupping her perfect behind. They stayed like that for a couple of moments, forgetting everything else in the world except the touch of the one they loved, before Anna realised where she had put her hands, and remembered that she was still covered in water. "Sorry!" she said, and backed away.

"Don't apologise. Your hands are warm." Elsa took them in her own. "I like it when you touch me."

She kissed Anna's hands before the redhead softly stroked her face and lips with her fingertips. Elsa leaned in to kiss her, showing all her love, gladness and gratitude in that touch of her lips until Anna pulled back.

"I got you wet," Anna said, awkwardly. She glanced down briefly to see that the front of Elsa's white dress was wet and clinging to her. Anna could see her breasts and stiff pink nipples clearly under the, now transparent, cloth.

"Oh!" Elsa covered herself with her arms and blushed, but smiled at Anna when their eyes met. "It doesn't matter. Come on," she said, and led the way upstairs.

Elsa fed the fire, which began to burn brighter now that the rain had lessened a little, and she stood in front of it while waiting for Anna to finish drying and dressing herself. Yet the flames were still not hot enough for Elsa's own dress to dry, she knew she would have to change her own clothes, too.

She saw that her bedroom door was open, so Elsa guessed that Anna had done and stepped inside, though the sight that greeted her was one Elsa had not been expecting.

Anna was standing in her room, not dressed at all but completely naked. Her back was turned, Anna had not noticed Elsa was there, unknowingly showing her the full glory of her unclothed beauty.

And Elsa was stunned. She couldn't tear her eyes away from Anna's freckled, sun-kissed skin, still wet while she dried herself. Elsa had seen Anna's figure displayed by the breeches she wore each night that would cling to her curves when they were wet, but even they had managed to disguise how sensual Anna's form truly was. Elsa noticed she had dimples on her lower back, like the statues of the goddess...

She suddenly realised what she was doing, staring secretly at Anna while she was doing something private, and Elsa was surprised she had not been caught yet, so she began to back away slowly... Until she bumped into the door.

"Elsa?" Anna turned around, giving Elsa a perfect view of her pert round breasts and the coppery hair between her thighs.

"You can come in, you don't have to be shy," Anna said. She had been waiting for this sort of moment to happen and hoped it was a chance to deepen their relationship. Though Anna wasn't going to force anything, since she could tell that Elsa was nervous.

"I, uh, I just wanted to get something," the blonde said. "But I'll come back when you're ready."

Anna could see Elsa was trying to look anywhere but at her, even though she hadn't moved, and still stole brief glances at Anna's breasts and crotch.

"What's the matter, have you never seen anyone naked before?" Anna asked, smiling at her.

"No..." Elsa found her power of speech was disappearing as her embarrassment and arousal increased.

Anna put the dress on to make things less awkward for Elsa, but decided to maintain the awkwardness in another way by asking something she had always wondered about the blonde priestess, and was more curious about after hearing the answer to her last question. "Have you never made love with anyone?"

"I haven't..."

"Have you never even touched yourself?"

Elsa shook her head.

"But it's not forbidden," Anna continued. "Everyone says that the followers of the goddess know everything there is to know about love, in theory and practice."

Elsa knew she should not be embarrassed about this, yet she was. But Anna was so open, she found herself relaxing a little. "The teachings encourage us to practise," Elsa explained. "When I was a novice at the temple, all the others took lovers, but I never wanted to. I never felt anything like that, before..."

"Before?" Anna came closer, since Elsa wouldn't meet her gaze; she was toying with the pearl on her silver chain necklace.

"Before I met you," she finished. Elsa had been dreaming of Anna almost every night recently, and had woken with heat throbbing in between her legs. She knew what it meant, even though it was the first time she had really felt it.

Anna smiled gently when Elsa raised her eyes. "Do you want to make love with me?" Anna asked, taking the other woman into her arms. "Because I want to make love with you, Elsa," she whispered, before kissing the soft skin of her neck. "Very much."

Talking about this with Anna made her feel warm and conscious of herself, conscious of Anna and their bodies pressing together as she held her.

"I do... But not now." Elsa backed out of their embrace, yet her fingers lingered on Anna's waist.

"Why not?"

"I think I should pray first," Elsa replied. She had always been nervous of change, and she knew that she could not get her virginity back once it was gone...

"Well, it's between you and the goddess," Anna said, knowing how seriously Elsa took her duties as a priestess. "And me, too, technically," she added. "But we don't have to do anything if you don't want to."

Elsa smiled. "Thanks, Anna. It doesn't mean I love you any less!" she said, and quickly kissed her on the lips.

Anna left her alone to change and spread her own wet clothes in front of the fire. She added more wood until the flames were burning brightly and sat down to warm herself.

Elsa soon joined her, wearing a new dark blue dress, and sat down beside Anna, like they had done on their first night together.

"You know," Anna said as they watched the fire, and was trying her best not to seem persuasive. "I think the goddess would want you to follow her laws and practise her rites; only the priestesses for the goddess of wisdom have to stay celibate, so you're going against your goddess' teachings, she might not want a virgin to worship her. But I don't know, I'm not a priestess. And it's your decision, Elsa." Anna held her hand and leaned her head on Elsa's shoulder, watching the flames dancing in front of them.

"I've never considered that before." Elsa had not been expecting such a speech from Anna, though she was right. As Elsa was, she was somehow still uninitiated, preventing her from fully understanding the goddess' ways.

She clasped the pearl of her necklace until it was warm and invited the goddess to guide her. Elsa let her mind wander, and found that it was filled with thoughts of Anna, memories of her kisses, her beautiful naked body, the touch of her hand right now. Elsa interpreted these thoughts and the feelings that they stirred inside her as signs that her silent prayer was answered, and she was glad the answer matched her own wishes.

"I've decided."

"Hm?" Anna looked up. In the warm glow of the firelight and the comfortable silence, she had almost begun to fall asleep.

"I want to make love with you, Anna," Elsa said, with confidence and affection in her voice.

"Elsa..." Anna took her face in her hands, ready to pull her into a tender kiss and begin showing her the pleasures they could feel together.

"Tomorrow," Elsa added, seeing desire in Anna's eyes and taking Anna's hands in hers.

"Why wait?" she asked. "We could spend the rest of tonight in your bed together. There are still hours before I have to leave."

"I just need a little time to prepare and to read, to learn some... things."

"But I can teach you everything I know," Anna said in a sultry whisper, and placed passionate kisses on the soft skin of Elsa's neck, her jaw, and finally her mouth. She ran her tongue lightly over Elsa's lip before pulling away.

Elsa sighed after their mouths parted, Anna's touch felt so good and her heart was beating fast, but she was still not ready yet. "I don't want to disappoint you."

"You could never disappoint me," Anna assured her. "None of the people I've loved in the past were as beautiful or as kind or as... amazing as you, Elsa! You won't disappoint me."

Elsa felt strange knowing that she wasn't the first person to kiss Anna, that she would not be the first to love her physically, but she saw it as all the more reason to prepare. Elsa was jealous of Anna's past lovers, yet felt so glad that Anna was hers now. She pulled Anna close and kissed her, sweetly, chastely and tenderly.

They exchanged kisses and loving words, nothing more for that night. Anna left, as usual, in the early hours. She and Elsa said a sad farewell before Anna rushed to get home so sleep would help her spend the hours until they could meet again. Now the rain had stopped, when the sun began to rise over Arendelle, it was truly a glorious sight and made their parting slightly more bearable.

When Anna lay in her own bed, dry and dressed in her nightgown, her thoughts drifted back over the fjord to Elsa, the sight of her breasts, the kisses and embraces they had shared...

She found she was wet between her thighs when she slid a finger into herself. Anna hadn't touched herself or felt pleasure in a long time, and as she did so now, she imagined Elsa doing the same, lying naked in her own bed in her tower.

Anna stroked her wet folds, up to her most sensitive point, circling it before rubbing the swollen little nub, hard and fast, making herself writhe; she had to bite her lip to avoid waking her parents with her moans.

She thought of how Elsa would moan, how pink her lower lips would be, how she would be thinking of Anna and feeling pleasure for the first time.

Though Anna guessed Elsa's touch would be more nervous and hesitant, so she slowed her movements, gently sliding her fingers in and out of her core. She changed her imaginings to images of herself touching Elsa like this, tenderly, and Anna brought herself to her release, thinking of how she would hold Elsa and feel her shudder when she felt the same pleasure tomorrow.

Elsa, meanwhile, was also in bed, but she was reading, studying texts that only those in her order were privy to. Elsa hardly ever looked at them, since she had always been more interested in the romantic side of love, until she had met Anna.

She looked at the pictures and read the words, details of acts of love, ways to pleasure other women and to pleasure oneself, yet words and pictures were unable to convey the feelings. Elsa knew she would discover what it was really like soon, and thought of Anna and the things they'd do together tomorrow.

Elsa's palms were damp with sweat, and her centre was wet and tense inside; now she knew the method, Elsa was tempted to try and take care of her needs, but she wanted Anna to be the first to touch her, wanted to share that special moment with the one she loved.

She put the books away and let the feeling fade before she went to sleep, though Elsa's anticipation did not fade, even in her dreams.

Elsa awoke in the afternoon and went to tend the shrine and say her daily prayers, knowing that it was the final time she would do so as a virgin; the thought thrilled her and Elsa knew the goddess would guide her through this initiation into the practices of love.

She knew how to read the signs that the Divines send daily and saw good omens in the ones she witnessed; the candles did not flicker in the breeze but burned bright and strong as the flame of love for Anna in Elsa's heart; a dove - the goddess' bird - flew overhead, and a second soon after; Elsa knew she was meant to be with Anna tonight.

She passed the rest of the day with weaving, the routine activity calming her nerves, since Elsa was still anxious as night began to grow near; though she knew it would bring her what she wanted, Elsa also knew her life would change forever.

Just before the sun went down, Elsa began to fuss about what to wear, wanting to look her most beautiful for Anna, even if they would be unclothed for most of the night. She settled on a loose blue dress that showed her cleavage, with nothing underneath. Elsa undid her braid and brushed her blonde hair until it flowed smoothly down her back to her hips. Finally, she removed her silver necklace, for tonight Elsa would show her devotion to the goddess in her acts, rather than her dress.

Elsa lit candles in every room of her tower, and the fire in her kitchen, before climbing up to the roof and igniting the torch, holding it high above her. The night was clear and Elsa could see every star in the sky, and all the lights in Arendelle illuminating the other side of the fjord.

At last Elsa heard the long-awaited knock on her door and hurried down the steps to let Anna in.

"Anna!" Elsa took her hand and at their touch she was reminded of just how much she had missed her, even after only a day.

"Elsa!" Anna was ready to continue what they had started last night and couldn't wait. Anna had to kiss her, so she did, though she was wet from the fjord and only pressed her lips to Elsa's briefly, being careful not to dampen her dress.

"Come inside," Elsa said, and smiled at her, closing the door when they were both within the tower.

"I've been thinking about you all day," Anna said as they began to ascend the steps. "I couldn't wait for tonight!" She climbed quicker than usual, anticipation stirring her onwards.

Elsa looked more closely at Anna's body as they went and could see her nipples beneath the wet fabric, her breasts bouncing a little with her movements; Elsa knew what they looked like, and soon she would know how they felt, too. The thought sent a jolt of nervous excitement through her insides, but Elsa knew she was most definitely ready to join with Anna tonight.

The two young women arrived in the warm rooms of Elsa's home and the kitchen's fire enveloped them in its orange glow.

Anna peeled off her dripping blouse and breeches, and laid them out to dry in the heat of the fire, slowly revealing her unclothed beauty to Elsa.

Elsa came closer, her eyes admiring Anna's naked form and all her freckles. "You look beautiful," she said.

"So do you," Anna replied. She reached out to tuck a strand of Elsa's hair behind her ear, it was the first time Anna had seen her wearing it loose. "Your hair is like moonlight," she commented. "Only better; you can't touch moonlight."

Elsa replied by kissing her with smiling lips, hesitantly placing her hands on Anna's naked back, her fingertips stroking her spine.

Anna pulled away before she was compelled to deepen the kiss. "Do you still want to do this?" she asked. "Are you sure you haven't changed your mind?"

"I'm sure," Elsa murmured, pressing their foreheads together.

Anna stroked the elegant line of her lover's jaw and united their lips once more, smiling when they parted again, glad that Elsa wanted this as much as she did. She unfastened the clasps of Elsa's dress, letting it fall to the floor so Elsa was in nothing but her pale skin that almost seemed to glow in the firelight.

Anna's eyes were on her, tracing over the curves of her breasts, her waist, her hips, the golden hair between her legs; Elsa felt them almost as vividly as if Anna was caressing her with her hands.

"Elsa..." Anna whispered, stunned by her beauty. She stroked her lover's hips; Elsa did not flinch at her gentle touch, but placed her soft hands over the top of Anna's.

"Anna..." she said, with a smile on her face, taking Anna's hands in her own and leading her to the bedroom.

It was a little colder in Elsa's room, with no fire, only the candles to light it, but this bothered neither of them once they lay down in the bed together, side by side, facing each other.

Anna could smell the scent of Elsa on the pillows and the blanket covering them both, and she inhaled the scent of her skin when she leaned in to kiss her sweet lips and embrace her soft body.

Anna felt arousal stir within her already, though had to remind herself to take it slowly, to enjoy making love with Elsa more than with anyone else, because this time was special, and she knew Elsa was going to be the only one in her life from now on.

The warmth of their bodies was shared between them beneath the blanket, and soon their passion became more heated, too. When she felt Anna seeking to deepen their kiss, Elsa opened her lips to her and took Anna's tongue into her mouth. The sensation was so wonderful that Elsa couldn't restrain the soft moan that rose from within her. She stroked Anna's tongue with her own as their fingers interwove, until they had to break to breathe, the feelings swirling within making her feel light-headed.

While she caught her breath, Elsa held Anna close, the soft flesh of their breasts pressed against each other, and the hair of their womanhoods pressed together as Elsa nestled her face into Anna's neck, smelling the sweet scent of her skin. Elsa's hand wandered down to her lower back, her fingers tracing the dimples there. Their naked skin together felt wonderful; the heat of their bodies blending together in love was a sensation too beautiful for Elsa to describe.

Anna pulled off the blanket covering them to see the one she loved looking as warm and blushing as she felt herself. It struck her again just how beautiful Elsa was; her flawless form was made for love, made exclusively for Anna, but she had to be sure that this perfect woman would accept her love, since it would be sacrilege to go against her wishes.

"Can I touch you?" Anna asked, her voice breathy with her arousal.

Elsa took her hands and kissed them. "Yes," she said, her joy and anticipation visible in her heavy-lidded eyes and her smile.

Anna kissed her lips and her neck, leaning over her lover and moving downwards. She felt Elsa's breathing quicken when she placed her warm hands on her breasts. Anna leaned back to admire the soft, womanly flesh that she was caressing. She tenderly stroked Elsa's nipples and the soft pink skin around them, occasionally placing kisses on the yielding white flesh, that was gradually growing more flushed as Elsa's blush followed Anna's caresses.

Soft little moans escaped Elsa's lips unbidden, while Anna touched her nipples until they stiffened and began to ache, but it was a good ache, and Anna soothed it when she brought her lips to one and extended her hot, wet tongue to lick it.

Elsa felt heat radiating from her core, she was amazed by what Anna was doing to her body, she had never felt such pleasure before. Though Elsa found herself worrying, despite the pleasure she felt; she knew they were really about to do it, to join together in passion. She loved Anna so much, and wanted her love in return, yet still Elsa worried that Anna would compare her to her previous lovers, or that she would do something wrong, inexperienced as she was, though Elsa did not let it show, and knew that the goddess would guide her as she practised Her arts for the first time.

And Elsa need not have worried, Anna found every inch of the flawless white skin that she caressed with her lips more perfect than any she had ever beheld. She kept kissing downwards until she had positioned herself between Elsa's legs.

She could see the pinkness of Elsa's secret place, contrasting with the golden hair surrounding it. Anna's mouth watered at the sight, Elsa's sex looked delicious. Anna placed a kiss on her curling golden hair, but restrained the urge to lick, knowing she should start slowly since Elsa had never done this before.

Anna gently dipped her finger into the apex of Elsa's folds and found the sensitive bud within, circling it until she felt Elsa gasp and tense with the unfamiliar sensation.

"Are you all right?" Anna asked, concern in her voice.

"I feel... amazing!" Elsa replied, and met her gaze, desire darkening her deep blue eyes.

"We've not even started yet," Anna said, smiling and giving her hand a brief, reassuring squeeze. "Relax, you'll enjoy it."

Elsa let go of her concerns and gave in to the wonderful sensations that took over her body when she felt Anna's warm tongue enter her folds. She had never felt anything like it, so utterly amazing, and couldn't stop herself from crying out.

Anna felt Elsa's fingers brush her hair and laced them with her own again while she came up to kiss Elsa's cheek and see her face, wanting to watch the blonde's expression when she brought her to bliss for the first time.

She brushed a finger over Elsa's entrance before slowly sliding it inside; Elsa was wet, but Anna wanted her to get used to the feeling, since she had never even touched herself in this way. Anna was thrilled to think that she was the only one ever to have the privilege of entering her and showing her just how good it felt to join together in love.

She watched Elsa tenderly, checking she was all right, holding her hand. Elsa's eyes were closed and her lips parted with her panting breaths, but from her smile and her soft moans, Anna could tell that Elsa was enjoying herself.

Anna put a second finger into her, thrusting them slowly, easing them in a little deeper each time until she curled them to touch the part of her core that would give her the most pleasure.

At the contact of Anna's fingertips with the most sensitive spot inside her, Elsa felt complete; she had never realised just how much she had needed Anna until now, Elsa felt like she had always been waiting for her and for this precious moment.

Something was building, intense within her, but Elsa knew Anna would guide her to it, and held her hand tighter while she continued to stroke inside her, quickening her movements until the whole world seemed to contract and expand around her. Elsa couldn't help calling Anna's name when she felt pleasure wash over her.

Anna looked down at Elsa in awe of how beautiful she was. She felt proud to be Elsa's first and knew that no one else could ever love her as much as Anna did at that moment; if she had made an imprint on Elsa's pure body and soul, as pure as fresh snow, then Elsa had made an imprint on Anna's heart which meant that Elsa owned it forever.

Elsa tensed beneath her, wordless cries of pleasure crossed her lips, mingled with Anna's name, and her back arched. Anna held her close until her climax passed.

She felt Anna's fingers leave her. Elsa gained control of her breathing again and opened her eyes to see Anna gazing down at her.

"I'm so glad that the goddess gave us such a gift!" Elsa exclaimed. "That she gave me you! Thank you, Anna." The blonde's expression was beatific while she caressed Anna's cheek.

"You're very welcome, Elsa." Anna lay beside her and rested her head on Elsa's shoulder. Pleasuring Elsa had made her conscious of her own arousal, though Anna was not going to ask Elsa to do anything for her if she didn't want to; knowing she had brought Elsa to bliss was satisfaction enough and Anna could deal with her own needs herself, reliving memories of this later.

But Elsa knew the ways of love and could see the deep blush on Anna's face, her nipples stiff and reaching out to be touched as her own had done. "Should I do the same for you?" Elsa asked her.

"You don't have to, just do whatever you want to do," Anna replied, rambling in her agitation. "If you want to sleep, that's totally fine; if you want to do the same, that's more than fine! But you don't have to."

"I want to," Elsa said. "I want to know every part of you, Anna."

Before Anna could reply, Elsa had leaned over her to unite their lips and kissed her passionately.

Elsa cupped her breasts, felt the soft, freckled flesh and brushed her thumbs over Anna's hardened nipples, making Anna moan into her mouth as sparks of pleasure ignited within her. She released Anna's lips and felt her panting breaths on her face. Elsa glanced into her lover's teal eyes and saw them darkened with desire. They shared a smile of anticipation before the blonde returned to Anna's beautiful body.

Elsa briefly kissed each breast then moved down lower, past Anna's toned stomach, heaving with her breaths, and towards her womanhood.

Anna spread her legs and placed each one over Elsa's shoulders, showing Elsa her most intimate area, wet and waiting for her.

With a flattened tongue, as she had read in the books last night, Elsa licked her lover. Anna tasted like the sea only sweet, and it felt good to glide her tongue up the warm, wet flesh of her sex, and even better to know how much Anna enjoyed it. Elsa could feel the muscles of Anna's legs tensing on her shoulders and heard her gasps above while she explored her folds with her tongue and her fingers. Soon she found Anna's nub of pleasure, red, hardened and sensitive when she licked it.

"Elsa!" Anna gasped, and ran her fingers through her lover's silky blonde hair before gripping the bed sheets when Elsa continued to lick and suck her bundle of nerve endings.

She kept going, loving the taste and the feeling of Anna's sex on her tongue, but soon Elsa knew Anna must need to feel her inside, remembering how wonderful it had felt when Anna had done it for her. Elsa removed her mouth from Anna's folds, licking traces of her essence from her lips, then slid a finger into her core.

"Another... Please...!" Anna moaned, needing more of Elsa's touch within her.

Elsa gladly complied and a second slender finger joined the first, surrounded by Anna's heat and wetness.

She looked at Anna's flushed face, judging her reactions until she found the right spot; which had a slightly different texture, like the books had described. Elsa stroked and rubbed at the area with her fingers to give Anna as much bliss as she could. And Elsa saw that it was obviously working, the blush on Anna's cheeks had spread to her bosom and her panting breaths were interspersed with sensual moans. Elsa placed her free hand over Anna's and felt her grip it tightly as she continued towards her climax.

Anna didn't understand how Elsa made her feel so good, since this was the first time she had ever done this, but Anna didn't care; Elsa's touch was magical and they were clearly meant to be together. Elsa built the pleasure inside her so much that Anna reached her peak, unable to stop herself from crying out while she uncoiled and shuddered around her fingers.

Her cries of pleasure were like music to Elsa's ears, she heard her own name in such enraptured tones from Anna's lips while she watched a multitude of expressions flicker across her features, glad that she had brought Anna to each one. The way Anna's inner muscles squeezed her fingers felt so intimate, and Elsa was the happiest that she had ever been.

When Anna's bliss subsided, Elsa slid her soaked fingers out of her centre and kissed her sweat-dampened brow.

"I love you, Elsa," Anna said, stroking her hair.

"I love you, too, Anna," Elsa replied, and lay down beside her, enfolding Anna in her arms.

The two young women simply lay together, not needing more words to express their love; their embraces and touches were enough.

Soothed by the sounds of the sea in the distance, and the breathing and heartbeat of her beloved in her arms, Elsa and Anna may have even briefly fallen into a peaceful sleep, but the pre-dawn light soon shone through the window.

Anna wished the night would never end so she could spend the rest of her life here with Elsa in this blessed pleasure, but the night and the day were bound to their own duties, as were she and Elsa, yet Anna knew their next meeting would be even sweeter now they knew the things they could do together.

"I don't want to leave." Anna sighed and sat up, the blanket falling from her freckled figure.

"Then stay," Elsa said, rolling over and wrapping her arms around Anna's waist.

"My parents would worry," said Anna, stroking circles in Elsa's soft white arms with her thumbs.

"I worry." She leaned her head against Anna, who smoothed her hair.

"You don't have to worry. Nothing can keep me away from you for very long, Elsa. I'll see you after sunset and it'll seem like we were never even apart." She rose from the bed, but when Elsa rose too, Anna guided her back down.

"You stay here; you've earned a rest," she said, tucking the blanket around her. "Sleep well, Elsa." Anna kissed her cheek, but when she did, Elsa pulled her face close to kiss her lips.

"I'll miss you," Elsa said, her blue eyes full of love and wonder as they gazed into Anna's own, amazed by the emotions she both felt and inspired in the woman gazing back at her.

"I'll miss you, too," Anna replied, prolonging the moment until it almost became painful how much she loved her, then went to leave the room, looking back to see Elsa smiling sleepily at her, giving her a final loving glance before Anna went to collect her clothes and swim home, though she felt she had left home behind her.

When Elsa next prayed at the shrine, she felt closer than ever to the Divine source of the love and beauty she had experienced last night. The priestess felt the goddess' power surround her and gave offerings of thanks for bringing True Love into her life, physically, emotionally and spiritually.

Elsa spent the evening studying love poetry and thinking of Anna until the sun went down, covering the land in darkness and ushering in a still, calm night. That night, Elsa secured her torch to the stone of the tower, something she could not believe she hadn't thought to do before. But now she did not want to waste a single moment of her night with Anna, feeling the need for her touch stronger than anything, and she waited down in her doorway to take Anna into her arms as soon as she arrived.

Anna saw her standing in front of her tower, illuminated by the light from the open door behind, her long, loose blonde hair flowing around her as she ran to meet her; Elsa seemed even more beautiful than the last time Anna had seen her, if that was possible.

Their fervent kisses and embraces left them renewed; even just a day apart had felt like too long away from the other's arms.

When Anna pulled away, she saw she had got Elsa's thin white dress wet again, and that she was naked underneath.

She saw Anna's eyes on her and laced their fingers together. "Let's go to bed," Elsa said, her voice and her eyes unable to conceal the desire she had been feeling all day.

Anna pressed her lips to their joined fingers and followed Elsa up to her room and to another night of indescribable pleasures.

These trysts lasted all through the warm summer. Neither Anna nor Elsa knew how they had lived without their nightly meetings.

For Anna, the days were dull while she waited for nightfall. Distracted from her work, she somehow felt she did not belong in the tavern in which she had lived all her life when she knew that Elsa, the other half of Anna's soul, was separated from her by the fjord.

But Elsa performed her religious duties with an understanding she had never possessed before Anna came into her life; such a short time ago, though their connection was beyond all forms of measurement.

Anna helped Elsa to feel the goddess' gift, and though the priestess spent her days in solitary worship, it was not the same as being with Anna and sharing the pleasure of her company as they practised the arts of love.

Yet one night, the fading year brought an autumn storm, heralding that winter was coming, ready to change the lives of the two lovers forever.

The sailors in the tavern had told of rough weather out at sea that had sent them racing to the harbour in their ships, though when Anna looked out at the sky and the fjord they seemed dark, but not dangerous.

Elsa had seen these sights too, and wondered whether she should light the torch or lie without Anna that night. But the powers of fate and love combined and persuaded, so, desperate to see the one she loved, Elsa climbed to the top of her tower and lit her torch, holding it and guarding it from the rising wind.

All the people of Arendelle were inside their shuttered homes, except for Anna, who stood looking at the light in the distance. The water of the fjord was not too rough, though there were more waves than Anna had seen in a long time, and when she dived in the cold almost chilled her to the bones. But the fjord was only water, and in Anna's heart there was a fire that she could feel warming her and giving her strength as she swam, and that she could see made physical on the opposite shore in Elsa's light.

Once she had reached halfway, instead of the usual surge of strength she felt as she knew that she was close to Elsa, Anna began to falter. She had to fight against the rising waves to stay afloat and Anna held her breath as she was dragged under.

When she surfaced again, the sea and the sky had combined in matching shades of blackness and a heavy rain began to fall while Anna was blown by the wind and tossed by the waves as if she were a mere feather floating on the surface. But still Anna swam towards the light, using all the strength she had, while she could still see it.

Elsa watched the fjord grow wild and her worries grew wilder when a wind as cold as her fears blew out her torch.

The sky was lit a moment later by a flash of lightning, and the deafening rumble of thunder that followed it made Elsa drop the dampened torch before she ran back into her tower and down the spiral stairs, praying as she did for the goddess whom she served and who held this land sacred to intervene and spare the life of the one she loved.

Her heart was beating fast in her chest and her wet hair clung to her body as Elsa begged for the Divines to bring Anna to her, and by the time she had left her tower, Elsa could see that they seemed to have heard her and hope kindled in her heart when she saw the fjord had stilled.

But that hope flickered and grew faint as Elsa neared the shore and saw Anna lying in the shallows, the skin of her face and her limbs looking pale against the dark water.

"Anna!" Elsa cried, but her voice was drowned out by another peal of thunder from above. The rain still fell and the wind still blew so Elsa wasted no time and ran to Anna. She dragged the redhead's limp form from the water and lifted her.

Elsa's love gave her strength and she carried Anna. The weight of her soaked clothes made her heavy, yet Elsa carried her over the sand and stones, and climbed up the steps in the cliff, her feet not faltering on the wet ground, until she had brought Anna within the tower's hall.

She gently laid Anna on the floor and stroked the soaked strands of hair off her face, her heart jumping with gratitude when she felt Anna's breath now that they were out of the wind.

"Please wake up!" Elsa said, softly shaking her shoulder. Her tears fell onto Anna's already wet face when she leaned in to kiss her lips.

Elsa sat back and watched in wonder as Anna's eyelids flickered and she woke, coughing for a few moments before she regained her breath and opened her eyes.

"Anna, are you all right? Are you hurt?" Elsa asked anxiously, so relieved that she had been spared.

"I'm cold... and wet... and I feel like I swallowed half the fjord, but I'm fine. Because now you're here." Anna smiled and sat up; she felt a little dizzy but she was supported by Elsa's embrace.

"I thought I'd lost you!" Elsa clung to her tightly, tears of joy dripping onto Anna's wet shoulder.

"Elsa..." Anna's fingers gripped the fabric of her dress. "Nothing can keep me away from you."

They stayed wrapped in each other's arms while the thunder continued to sound outside and the wind howled against the tower. Now they were joined together, Elsa warmed Anna with her heart; with Elsa holding her, the storm would do her no harm.

Elsa supported her up the stairs and sat her by the fire, feeding the dying flames, which rekindled and burned brightly, despite the wind and the rain outside. She dressed Anna in dry clothes before she changed her own, then took the blanket from her own bed and wrapped it round her beloved to make sure any traces of the cold from the fjord were gone.

Anna watched, warm and comfortable in wordless companionship while Elsa boiled a kettle on the fire to brew tea from peppermint leaves she had grown and prepared herself.

When they sat side by side to drink it, Anna wrapped Elsa in the blanket too, and together they shared each other's warmth which surrounded them while the storm raged on outside.

"I'm glad there was a storm tonight," Elsa said. "Because now you have to stay here with me until tomorrow." She tweaked Anna's freckled nose and made her grin.

"Yeah, the journey's too dangerous now," Anna agreed. "But I'll always be safe as long as I'm with you, Elsa." She leaned her head on Elsa's shoulder; the storm had shaken Anna more than she would admit.

"Next time you cross the fjord, I'll be by your side," Elsa promised. "And we'll take the long way round."

Elsa drank the rest of her tea while she summoned the courage to say the words that she had wanted to for months, since she had first realised how much she loved Anna. "Marry me, Anna. Live here and stay with me forever."

Elsa's hair looked almost the same colour as Anna's own in the firelight, and the intense love in her deep blue eyes burned even brighter than the flames. "Please," she added, squeezing Anna's hand.

"Elsa, of course I will!" Anna replied and kissed her, unable to understand how she had ever left her side, but it had taken the lucky escape of that night to make Anna see that there was no sense in wasting any more time apart from the one she loved with all her heart.

The next day was still and calm, as if the storm had never been, though much had changed for Elsa and Anna.

They travelled to Arendelle, spending hours together on the road around the fjord admiring the views of the fjord and the forest, and each other, never ceasing to be amazed by the other's beauty.

Elsa obtained consent from Anna's parents and the two of them were married the next morning in the temple of the Divines.

Anna showed her beautiful bride the sights of the city, the places and the people she cared for the most, before she packed her possessions and left the home in which she had spent her whole life, ready to enter a new stage of life as Elsa's wife.

Elsa supported her through her goodbyes, ensuring that Anna's family would be welcome to visit whenever they wished. Then she and Anna went to live together in Elsa's tower and to worship the goddess of love and beauty in their own private way, True Love guiding their hearts and souls and blessing them with eternal happiness.