Chapter 14.
Anna woke up when the light passing through her eyelids was too much to continue sleeping. It was a warm summer day, and she probably would have been sweating if not for the cold presence at her side. She had taken Elsa to her room after waking her up from her nightmare, due to the state of Elsa's room that resembled more to an artic cave than a room.
Anna glanced down at Elsa who had her arms wrapped around her and her head resting on her right shoulder. She smiled, she always liked to see Elsa sleeping, she looked cute with her chest going up and down with the rhythm of her breathing, her normally pushed back platinum blond bangs falling freely over her face and moving slightly because of the air coming out of her nose, those little freckles which were invisible unless you were very close to her… all those things and more made her look as a cursed princess waiting for her knight in shining armor to rescue her. Seeing her so peacefully sleeping one would never imagine all the things that innocent girl had had to endure.
Anna couldn't resist it and planted a sweet kiss at her forehead, smiling when she felt the soft skin that was comfortingly fresh and smelled her natural essence. She definitely could get used to wake up like this every morning, and probably that would be the case since Elsa seemed not to have nightmares when she slept by her side.
The redhead looked at the clock to notice it was almost ten. She didn't really have anything planned at all for that day, but she felt the urge to wake up and do something productive. Maybe she could make breakfast; surely Elsa would be hungry after all those days without eating almost anything, and then she could plan on something to do with the girl. However, she didn't want to wake her up just yet, she knew she'd had a difficult night (or maybe difficult nights) so she was going to let her rest just a little more.
Anna got up from bed, careful of not disturbing the blonde and, after changing into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, she headed towards the kitchen. Once she was there, she started making breakfast; nothing too complicated, just eggs and jam with bread, some tea and fruit. Once she was done, she returned to the bedroom to find Elsa already awake, but still in bed.
"Hello, Snowflake." Anna said cheerfully while approaching to her. "Did you sleep well?"
Elsa stretched while nodding. Then she rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand yawning, a sight that Anna found simply adorable, and she had to use all of her will power to keep herself from saying 'Awwww' at it.
"Breakfast is ready. I'll wait for you at the table, OK? Go put some clothes… just take whatever you want." Anna said pointing to her wardrobe.
Not too minutes later, the stunning blonde appeared at the table wearing jeans and a white long sleeved t-shirt, with her hair completely braided, and her bangs pulled backwards. It was the first time in six days that Anna had seen her presentable and at the light of day, so she obviously couldn't help staring at her with a light blush at her cheeks. She would never get tired of such perfection.
They ate breakfast in entire silence, since, even if Elsa had spoken the previous night, she wasn't emitting any sound that day. Anna was disappointed; she really wanted to hear her voice again, but probably the best was not to pressure her and, instead, let her go at her own pace. "She'll speak when she is ready", Anna thought.
While they were eating, Anna tried to think about what they should do that day. She hadn't seen her Elsa in five days, so she wasn't planning on losing sight of her even for a second, but what could they do? Anna was sick of being inside that mansion the whole time, no matter how luxurious it was, but she couldn't get Elsa out; not after the last incident… Or could she?
The next day, they'd have to go out, since the doctor was going to make Elsa some tests, and Anna really didn't want to repeat the scene from last time, so maybe it would be better to get Elsa used to the outside world in the day they had left. Yes, she could take her somewhere lonely and where there was not risk of exposing her powers even if she lost control, but where? Anna tried to find somewhere ideal to go, but nothing was coming to her mind until her eyes landed on her camera.
"Hey, Elsa?" Once Anna had the other girl's attention, she proceeded to explain her, her plan. "Uhm… I was thinking, well, y'know I'm a photographer… wait you don't know because I never told you, how could you possibly know? I mean…" Anna saw Elsa staring at her with a confused gaze, and she realized she was rambling. She blushed, cleared her throat and continued speaking, trying to focus. "Since I arrived to this house I've been wanting to go to the North Mountain to take some pictures, since they say that view at the peak is simply amazing, so I was thinking that I'd like to go today." Anna inhaled trying to prepare for her next words, readying herself for witnessing the dining room becoming some sort of winter wonderland. "With you."
As expected, Elsa's eyes widened and the temperature dropped several degrees. Anna internally flinched at this, but tried not to show her uncertainty in front of Elsa, who was already scared and hesitant.
"I know you are afraid, Elsa, trust me. I know your phobia to the outside world isn't going away in just one night, but precisely because of this is that you have to face your fears. To overcome them. To be free. Elsa tell me, don't you want to be free?"
Elsa nodded but then looked at her gloved hands with sadness. Anna understood that Elsa thought that she was not going to be free as long as she had those powers.
"Elsa, your powers are something beautiful and special. Just like you. They are not a curse, they aren't a prison. You can be free even with them. You just have to accept them… let it go, let it all go; your fears, your past, your restrictions… all of it, and you will be free and you'll be able to live a normal life." Elsa looked at her still in fear, but also with hope. "I will help you with this, Elsa. I'll be at your side all the time." Anna gave her what she hoped was a reassuring smile. "The North Mountain is very lonely most of the year, and it's permanently covered with ice and snow, so your secret will be safe even if you lose control, and you won't have to worry about hurting someone. Please Elsa, let me do this for you."
Elsa hesitated before nodding slightly, and Anna almost jumped off the chair in excitement, quickly getting up and going to hug the other girl, who, even though her reluctance to this idea, eagerly returned the hug. Once Anna had calmed down from her little outburst of emotion and stopped holding Elsa, she started to prepare everything for their little trip. She placed inside a backpack various things, like her camera, a compass, a map, a bottle of water and several bars of chocolate together with some other snacks. She also went to her room to search for jackets, warm gloves and winter boots, but found none and almost cursed herself for forgetting those in her old apartment. Anyways, she'd have to buy them in a store on their way.
Once Anna decided they both were ready, she took Elsa by her wrist gently but firmly and led her to the door. Just as expected, the closer they were to the door, the most terrified Elsa was, and the most slow and reluctant were her steps. Just when Anna grabbed the doorknob, she tried to get free and run inside the house again, but Anna didn't let her. She hold her tightly and turned around to meet her panicked expression.
"Elsa, calm down. I know this must be very difficult for you, but I'll be here all the time. Trust me. Everything will be alright."
At her soothing words Elsa tried to relax a little by taking deep breaths, but wasn't able to do it and instead ended up shaking her head and saying:
"I-I n-never… went o-outside." The fear was clear on her voice, and although Anna was glad to hear her speaking again, she didn't miss the meaning of her words and the tone impregnated on them.
"I know you haven't gone outside in what for you seems like forever, but I'm sure you did as a little girl, and nothing bad happened! I've been in the outside world all my life and I can assure you it's a lovely place if you just give it one chance. Please Elsa, don't deny yourself this opportunity, don't lock yourself inside this house for fear to what you don't know. Promise me you will try and I'll promise you I'll protect you."
Elsa deviated her gaze towards the floor and bit her lower lip, clearly debating between her longing to know what was out of those walls, between which she had lived her whole life, and the fear of people hurting her, her powers being revealed or she hurting someone unintentionally… or all of them. She seemed so insecure that Anna feared her answer was going to be negative, but then Elsa looked at her and hugged her tightly as if she was her anchor to life.
"P-p-promise?" She asked.
"Yes, I promise I will protect you if you promise to let me get you outside."
"I… I promise." She whispered at her ear, and Anna felt and immense happiness and a sense of accomplishment.
"C'mon," Anna said as she ended the hug. "The mountain won't be waiting for us… well, actually it will, since it is a mountain and mountains doesn't move and…" Great. I'm rambling again. "Well, whatever. Let's go."
Anna opened the door and took a few steps out, breathing the fresh air on the morning and enjoying the felling of warmness produced by the sunlight touching her skin. Then she turned to Elsa who was still at the door frame.
"Come." She said gesturing to Elsa to go with her. "It's fine here, better than inside. Don't you feel trapped in that old mansion?"
Elsa reluctantly stepped forward until she was next to Anna. It wasn't that of a big accomplishment since she had been at the little garden before, but seeing the car parked there and knowing that she'd have to get in to go somewhere she hadn't ever been before made her feel unease.
Anna gave her a reassuring smile before taking her hand and interlacing their fingers to lead her towards the car. Once they were in front of it, Anna opened the passenger door and gestured to Elsa to get in. She could feel the slight trembling of the other girl and the sweating coating her hand; even her posture screamed nervous, so Anna gave her a little squish and whispered:
"I do know how to drive a car, y'know? There's no reason to be that anxious." Anna hoped that joking could alleviate the tension, on the other girl, so she smiled and giggled, feeling better when she saw Elsa giving her a shy and unsure grin. "Please trust me Snowflake, you're in good hands." Anna didn't know if she was still joking and referring to the driving, or being serious about taking care of Elsa. Maybe a little of both. What she knew is that it seemed to calm Elsa enough to get in.
Anna closed the door behind her, placed the backpack at the trunk and got into the driver's side, fastening her seat belt and telling Elsa how to fast hers too. Once she was sure they weren't forgetting anything and they were ready to go, she started the car and drove to the north mountain.
Elsa relaxed a little during the ride, enjoying with the wonder only a kid could have, everything that she was able to see from the window, from the trees which surrounded the road to the high and white pick of the North Mountain, as well as the few people they were able to see.
After no more than half an hour, they arrived to a small cabin at the limits of the woods with a parking lot outside where only was parked a white van. Anna accommodated the car next to the van and turned it off, proceeding then to get out of it and help Elsa out too. Both girls walked to the entrance of the cabin and Anna read out loud the sign that was hanging there.
"Wandering Oaken's trading post." Then she looked at the little sign hanging from the larger one. "Oh, and sauna!" Then, the other hanging from it. "And coffee? Ooooookeey. That's weird. Whatever." She shrugged and then turned to face Elsa. "I have to go inside to ask him if I can leave the car here, and to buy some things for our little excursion. Do you wanna stay outside or you wanna come with me?"
Elsa didn't answer with words, but instead she clutched Anna's arm tightly, making clear that she was not leaving her side. Anna was expecting this and smiled at the confirmation that her predictions were correct.
Both of them got into the trading post making a bell jingle slightly. The store was small and full of various items, and had two doors at the walls with signs above them that read "Sauna" and "Coffee" respectively.
A huge man with a wool striped sweater greeted them from the counter, waving his hand and saying:
"Woo hoo! Big summer blowout."
At the sight of the stranger who, even if he seemed kind, was still a little intimidating, Elsa ran to hide behind Anna taking a peak from behind her shoulder. Anna found this gesture cute, but yet embarrassing, and hoped the man wouldn't ask about the strange behavior of the blonde.
"About swimming suits, clogs, sun bomber my own invention, ya'?" Continued the man with that strange accent of his.
He knows that his trading post is at the North Mountain, right? Why would anyone need those things here? It's freezing! Even during summer!
However, Anna decided not to comment on it, so that the man wouldn't be offended.
"Oh. Great!" Anna did her best to sound exited. "How about boots? Winter boots, and jackets, and gloves."
"That would be on the winter department." He answered, pointing to one section on the store which was oddly empty save for two pairs of boots, two jackets, gloves and a rope.
"Oh."
Anna walked there with a little bit of struggling, since Elsa was like a statue and still holding her arm as if her life depended on it, but she managed to pick the two jackets, one blue and one pink, the boots and two pairs of gloves. Then she approached to the counter, practically dragging Elsa with her, given that she obviously didn't want to be near the huge man but didn't want to let go of Anna either. Anna paid for the items and then asked the man is she could leave the car at the parking lot while she was at the mountain. He said that there was no problem and both girls got out of the store after Anna had said goodbye to him.
Once they were outside Anna handed Elsa a jacket, boots and a pair of gloves telling her to put them on as she did the same, however she had to help her with the boots since obviously the blonde hadn't wear that type of footwear (or any other type of footwear, for that matter) in a long time. She then placed at the car trunk their tennis and got out the backpack, and, once they were both ready, they walked into the forest.
After one hour of walking Elsa was struggling to keep up with Anna's pace, it was pretty obvious, but she didn't complain, and when Anna asked her if she needed to slow down or rest for a little while, the girl simply shook her head and continued walking. At first Anna wondered how someone so poor nourished, and who hadn't go walking for years, as Elsa, could get the strength to keep going, but then she found the answer; Elsa was happy, really happy for being there and she wanted to see everything, to discover all the things that existed in that forest, from the small mosses that she observed closely (Seriously she stopped almost in every tree or rock that had moss to see if it was different from the previous one), to the birds singing at the trees to which she stared in awe.
Anna was taking photos of everything she considered was worth it, like the little mosses Elsa liked so much, the light filtering through the branches and leaves of the pines, the small birds, which were moving so much she had to be extremely patient to get just one single picture, the ferns, and of course, the gorgeous beauty at her side. There wasn't anything in that forest as breathtaking as Elsa, so flushed because of the effort to ascend trough the mountain, so alive and happy, so different than how she'd seen her before. Anna felt her heart melting at the sight, and she fell in love with the girl all over again.
She was just thinking of how was it possible to love someone so much when she suddenly saw a little squirrel. It was brown and gray and was ascending a tree trunk. She thought it could make Elsa even happier if she got it to come close to them, so she quickly searched at her backpack a package of peanuts that she had put in it. When she found it, she opened it and grabbed a peanut. In that moment Elsa came to her side and observed her with curiosity.
"It's for the squirrel." Anna explained. "I'll give it to it, so that we can observe it closely." Elsa nodded, understanding and Anna proceeded to approach to the tree. "Watch carefully, because you'll have to do it next."
Anna extended her arm to the trunk and started making squirrel-like noises, trying to catch the rodent's attention. Once she had it, the furry animal descended, eying with curiosity the peanut Anna had between her fingers, hesitating slightly before rapidly taking it with its incisors and retreating at its previous spot on a higher branch. They both looked with marvel how the squirrel took the seed between its forepaws and started eating it. Anna couldn't miss the chance to grab her camera and take a picture of it.
"Oh, Elsa look at it. Isn't it cute? Like the cutest thing you could ever see?" Asked Anna smiling widely. Elsa turned to her and nodded, and Anna noticed the most genuine smile she had ever seen in her complemented with a very tender gaze that literally made her melt.
You're way cuter, though.
Elsa's eyes widened in surprise and confusion and Anna realized she had said that out loud. She almost wanted to hit her forehead against the trunk, cursing herself for not being able to keep her not-so-cousinly feelings towards her at bay, but then Elsa pointed one finger towards herself and asked with hope:
"M-me?"
Anna almost sighed in relief that the older girl didn't noticed something strange on what she had said, and quickly went to answer:
"Yes, you, Elsa." Her voice sounded really happy and tender, truly expressing all the love she felt for the blonde. "You are like the most adorable human being that could ever exist."
After saying it, Anna realized how cheesy that had sounded, and blushed in embarrassment, diverting her gaze to the floor, but Elsa didn't seem to mind the cheesiness, since she crushed her in a very tight and very warm hug, which Anna gladly returned. To hug each other was starting to be very common between them. Anna didn't mind in the slightest, though.
The redhead then looked to where the squirrel was and realized it had already finished eating the peanut, so she separated from Elsa and asked her, holding the package of seeds between them:
"Hey, do you wanna try it now?"
Elsa eyed at the package and then back to Anna with uncertainty, but seeing the hopeful expression of the younger woman, she didn't have a choice but to agree and take one peanut. She then approached to the tree where the little animal was and, with a shaky arm, extended her hand to give it the aliment, just as he'd seen Anna do.
"That's right Elsa." Anna said quietly. "Just stay there until it decides to take it, and don't show fear, because if you do, it won't react nicely."
Soon Anna noticed it hadn't been a good thing to tell her that last part, since Elsa only became more anxious and her hand started trembling even more. The squirrel, however, hadn't notice it yet, and started approaching to Elsa's hand, trying to get the peanut, but once it was going to take it, Elsa's fears intensified too much and she tried to retire her hand before she could give it the seed, but the squirrel wasn't going to lost its lunch, so it grabbed Elsa's fingers with its forepaws, hurting Elsa with its claws, and took the peanut by force.
Elsa retracted her hand afraid and examined her sore fingers, where little red lines marked the places where the squirrel's forepaws had been. Elsa felt tears burning at her eyes and soon she began sobbing. Anna quickly approached to her, delicately touching her arm and asked:
"What happened, Elsa? Why are you crying?" As an answer, the girl showed her the little cuts at her fingers. "Oh, come on, I'm pretty sure you've endured worst injuries than those, why are you really crying?"
"I-I didn't o-obey you." She answered, almost whispering. "Y-you said I shall not b-be afraid, but I c-couldn't conceal my f-f-feelings. I… failed. "Her voice sounded really pained and regretful, as if she'd committed a crime and disappointed Anna."
"Oh, Elsa, you didn't fail. You were afraid, I get it, and I'm not mad at you because of it. We can't control what we feel, it's impossible. "Anna started rubbing Elsa's arm, trying to comfort her; she really didn't like to see her sad."
"B-but father said…"
"Yes, I know." Anna answered, remembering the scars at Elsa's arms. "He said many things, but he was wrong. He said you shouldn't feel, but you are human. It was very unfair from him to ask something impossible to you. If you couldn't obey him, it wasn't your fault, it was his, for not asking for something that was in your hands to do. That's why I'm not mad with you; if you couldn't control your fear and because of that you got some little scratches, it's okay. I know it wasn't because you didn't try to do it right, but because you couldn't. It was your first time after all, so, what if it wasn't ideal? You gave your best shot, and that's what matters."
"R-really?" Elsa asked smiling and wiping her tears.
"Yes, really." Anna wiped one of the little drops in Elsa's cheek with her thumb and smiled when she leaned at her touch. "C'mon, let's continue; it's a long day and a huge mountain, and we want to get to the peak before sundown."
Anna took Elsa's hand and led her towards the top of the imposing peak.
It had passed over one hour since they reached the level of the mountain where there almost weren't any trees and a thick layer of snow covered it all. At first Elsa had freaked out a little, because she'd associated for years ice with punishment, but Anna successfully convinced her that it was natural snow and that no one was going to hurt her because of it.
As they went higher, the air became colder and soon enough Anna was shivering despite the jacket she was wearing, however Elsa didn't seem to mind it at all; she was even a little red and sweaty because of the physical effort.
"A-are you cold?" She asked when she saw Anna trembling furiously and rubbing her arms, trying to get some warm from friction.
"I-I'm f-f-fine." She said, but her teeth were chattering.
"Here." Elsa said removing her jacket and placing it on Anna's shoulders.
"N-no. I… I-I can't acce- I can't accept… i-it." Anna tried to remove it, but Elsa hold it tightly against her.
"I'll be fine." Elsa answered, trying to give her a reassuring smile. "You need it. I… I want to help you. Besides, the cold never bothered me anyway."
"Y-you sure?" Anna asked, but she was already grapping the jacket around her body.
"I'm sure."
Anna smiled. She understood that Elsa was trying to do something for her, to return the favor somehow, since Anna had rescued her and taken care of her since the day they first met. She couldn't help a warm feeling starting in her chest, despite the cold of the outside. It was just a very good feeling to have Elsa trying to help her for a change. It also made their relationship more equilibrated.
They continued walking in silence for several minutes, but they were half way to the top, and Elsa was panting, clearly exhausted because all this draining activity to which she wasn't used to. Anna knew she wouldn't complain and that she'd keep going until Anna decided to stop to get some rest. It wasn't fair, and she knew it, and even if she really wanted to take a photo from the very peak, Elsa was more important, and she couldn't risk having her totally exhausted in the middle of the mountain with the night quickly approaching. Anna sighed; she didn't want to go back just yet, but it was for the best.
"Let's have some rest." She said placing the backpack at the snowy floor.
"I-I'm not t-tired." Elsa said almost out of breath.
"Well, I am." She answered and sat down on the snow, shivering because of the cold.
"Fine."
She sat next to the redhead who was currently searching for something at the backpack. When she found it, she got it out with child-like excitement; it was chocolate, several bars of chocolate of every flavor. Anna offered one to Elsa who didn't hesitate to take it and start devouring it as if she hadn't eaten anything in days. Anna did the same and soon they had run out of food, but Anna couldn't care less.
"Let's head back, it getting late." She said once they were done with all those little snacks.
"W-wait." Elsa said. "Look." She pointed to a little cave that Anna had totally missed when they arrived, even though it was just a few feet away from them.
"Do you wanna go see it more closely?" Anna asked and Elsa nodded. "Well, I suppose it's not going to hurt."
Both girls stood up and walked to the ice cave. It had stalactites hanging from the ceiling, and a thin layer of frost and snow covering the floor and the walls. The light of the outside was getting into the cave, reflecting on the ice and making it shine like diamonds. It was all blue, the exact color of Elsa's eyes, and Anna thought that maybe Elsa belong there, it suited her after all; she was just like that place. Cold but charming, pale but beautiful, perfect but not entirely flawless.
Anna turned to see Elsa only to be met with a pair of lost eyes. She was watching the ice with something like confusion and wonder.
"What is it Elsa? What are you thinking?"
"It-It's beautiful." She said in awe, but mostly surprise.
"Yeah… it certainly is.
"B-but how? Ice is… Ice is b-bad. It's dangerous. How…how can it be also so beautiful?" Anna chuckled.
"There are many things that can be deadly and beautiful at the same time, not only ice. What make them bad or good is the circumstances."
"How?"
"For example, if you… well, not you but any other person, came here after days of being at the mountains dying from cold, this ice cave wouldn't look beautiful to him. But since it is not the case we can just enjoy the view."
"I…I'm not sure I understand."
"I think you will if I show you around for a while. It's not that late after all."
The two of them entered the cave, walking while they admired all the different structures the ice had formed over the years. There were great columns and stalagmites making strange figures (One of those actually seemed like Olaf, the snowman from the cartoon both girls used to watch as kids), which Anna took several pictures of. Meanwhile Elsa stopped caring if the ice was dangerous or not and was just having fun trying to guess with Anna what was each one of the natural ice sculptures.
"I think that one seems like… a reindeer." Said Anna, looking thoughtfully at a large, odd shaped, bulge of ice.
"What's a reindeer?"
"Oh… you don't know?" Elsa shook her head. "Well, it like a… a horse, do you know horses?" Elsa nodded. "Well, it's a horse with antlers."
"But that doesn't have antlers."
"It doesn't?" Anna asked surprised and looked at it again, realizing Elsa was right. "Well, it can be a female reindeer; they don't have antlers."
"Horses are female reindeers then?" Elsa asked confused.
"No…" Anna tried to think in a way of explaining this to Elsa in a way she could understand, but it was very difficult since the girl hadn't seen anything outside her house. "Reindeers are more… furry than horses."
"Oh. So horses are hairless?"
"No. It's… ugh, how can I explain it?" She said frustrated.
Anna shut her eyes trying to find a way to make Elsa understand, but frowned when nothing came to her mind. She was about to sigh from exasperation when she heard her favorite sound; Elsa's giggles. She carefully opened her eyes to find her covering her mouth, trying to hide her laughter.
"Wha-… Why are you…?" Anna was confused for a second before understanding what was going on. "You were teasing me! "She exclaimed surprised, happy and a little bit upset at the same time. "You knew what a reindeer was, didn't you?" Elsa nodded, and Anna frowned trying to seem furious. "You little…" She was cut off when Elsa suddenly hugged her tightly.
"Don't be mad. I was just playing." Elsa said to her ear, still happy but with a little bit of fear in her voice. Anna sighed, how could she ever stay mad at Elsa for more than one second?
"It's okay, I'm not mad at all." She assured her. "But I have one question." She added braking the hug. "How do you know what reindeers are?" Elsa chuckled.
"Olaf's best friend." She answered with a smile. Anna stared at her confused for a while before she got it.
"Of course! He was reindeer… wait, does that means you used to watch Frozen?" Elsa nodded happily. "Well, that explains why you chose precisely that t-shirt on that day." Elsa nodded again. "Well, then how about you make this shapeless piece of solidified water a real reindeer? I know you could do it with your powers."
The smile in Elsa's face disappeared in one instant and Anna almost cursed herself for making such a question. She knew the girl feared her powers and saw them as a curse. Why she had to push her like that?
"Look Elsa, it's okay if you don't want to, I won't force you."
"T-thanks." She said. "I… I can't control it. I don't want to hurt you."
Anna stared at those beautiful blue eyes so full of concern and love for her, and she felt overwhelmed. And sad. It was funny (As an ironical kind of funny) how she had managed to make this girl love her so much in just a few days, but could never make her love her the way she wanted. It wasn't Elsa's fault of course. It was her fault. She wasn't supposed to feel that way towards the blonde, not when she was her cousin and had been locked into a room and mistreated her whole life. It was too much to ask her to love her… to love anyone as a lover. And it hurt. It hurt badly because Anna could have loved any other woman or man, but instead she decided to fall for someone who could never reciprocate her feelings.
"Anna?" Elsa called her after seeing her zoning out for several minutes.
"Y-yeah?" She said while blinking to clear her mind. "Uhm, sorry about that. It happens." She blushed and pulled a stand of her hair behind her ear. "We should get going, though. I don't want to be here at night."
When both girls got out the cave the sun was already setting in the horizon. A very beautiful sight, really, but not for Anna.
"Ugh. Really?!" She screamed frustrated. "How much have we been inside that stupid cave? Now we'll never make it out of this damn forest before midnight! Did you know that there are wolves at this mountain? They will eat us alive! We are going to die! We. Are. Going. To. Fucking. DIE!" She yelled loudly while kicking the walls of the ice cave.
Any other person would have tried to silence Anna, not only because she was being overly dramatic, but also because they were in a mountain, and avalanches were pretty common up there, but Elsa was just confused about Anna's behavior, since she thought the sundown was a very breathtaking view, and she didn't know a thing about avalanches.
Too bad.
Both girls were startled by a thundering sound up at the peak. They turned around to see what was going on and found a very scary sight: a huge mass of snow descending trough the slope, destroying everything that got in its way and quickly approaching to them.
"Run!" Anna shouted holding Elsa's wrist and dragging her towards the forest. For a moment she considered getting back into the cave, but the snow would block the entrance and she really didn't want to die from cold inside there. Better try to get away.
Anna and Elsa were running as fast as they could, trying not to fall in the slippery rocks or get trapped in the sections were snow was too thick to allow them to walk. At first it seemed they were going to make it, but they were both very tired, mostly Elsa, and the avalanche was much faster than them. Anna knew they were going to die, but she didn't want to. They were so young… if only there was a way to stop the snow…Suddenly Anna had an idea.
"Elsa. You have to use you powers!" She shouted trying to be listened over the noise of trees crushing under the snow.
"B-but…"
"No buts." She said firmly. "It's the only way, or else we are going to die. Do you want to die, Elsa?"
"N-no, but…"
"Then do it! NOW!"
Elsa was clearly surprised and afraid of Anna's tone of voice. She hadn't ever demanded something from her so desperately and harshly. Of course Elsa understood it was a matter of life or death, but she also knew she didn't have control over her powers and, even if she somehow managed to master them in a matter of seconds, she wasn't sure if she could be capable of stop such a great amount of snow. Anna perceived the hesitance on the older girl and recognized that she may have been too rude with her. She'll need to convince her with arguments.
"Elsa, you have to do this. It's the only way. It doesn't matter if your powers get out of control because we'll die anyways, unless you do something." Anna was panting and was barely able to keep speaking, but she knew their lives depended on it. "You don't have to control that snow. Just make a barrier to slow it down, so we can get somewhere safe."
Elsa thought about it for a moment. Anna was right; there was no other option. And an ice wall wasn't too complicated, maybe she could make it without losing control. She could afford dying but she wasn't going to let Anna die just because she wasn't too afraid to do something. She owed her that.
Elsa stopped and turned around taking one glove off and pointing to the avalanche. She started releasing her magic, making a thick ice wall as tall as the trees. Elsa could've smiled at her accomplishment if not for the avalanche crashing into it at that very moment. It was very strong and Elsa had to use all of her strength to keep it standing for several seconds, but it was too much for someone who hadn't used her powers intentionally for years, and when she felt it was going to be crushed down, she stopped trying to return running again.
To her surprise Anna hadn't run while she was trying to stop the avalanche, instead she had remained at her side. She must've really had faith in her.
They kept running, Anna slightly ahead, but now the avalanche was even closer than before, so they became desperate and less careful, which resulted on Anna's clumsiness showing at the worst moment. There was a rock there, standing just a little above the rest of the ground, but it was enough to make Anna trip and fall, hurting her ankle. Elsa stopped, grabbed her by the waist and left hand, and made her stand up, and then she tried to help her keep walking, but she could barely drag her feet against the snow.
"Run Elsa." She said. "Save yourself."
Elsa shook her head and tried to move faster, but the avalanche was just too close and Anna couldn't even walk. The redhead made a hard decision and let go of Elsa's hand, instantly falling to the ground.
"Run." She said with tears in her eyes.
However Elsa didn't listen her. She'd better die with Anna than to live without her. And she would certainly die. The avalanche was now just two feet away from them, and would be over both girls in less than a second. Elsa quickly did the only thing she could think of; embrace Anna trying to protect her with her body and close her eyes waiting for the snow to cover them.