The look of absolute wonder on Anna's face was like a beam of pure sunlight piercing the storm of Elsa's day. Her eyes were wide with amazement rather than fear as they soared south over the ocean towards Weselton. She kissed Elsa on the cheek before trying to talk. Even shouting could barely be heard over the wind. She pulled herself as close as she could, her lips grazing the blonde's ear before she tried speaking again.

"No matter what happens… thank you. Thank you for this. For everything. For being you."

The wind was making Elsa's eyes water something fierce. It must be the wind. It couldn't have been anything else. The warmth of Anna's cheek did feel incredible against her own though.

"Anna," the younger girl shifted closer in response. Good, she could hear, "Today has been the scariest day of my life. I've thought I might lose my kingdom, my people, and for a minute when I returned to Arendelle, I thought I had lost you. I even scared myself. There was something inside me when I attacked the fleet. Something… angry. I don't know if it was me, or an overdeveloped protective instinct, or maybe my bottling up my emotions for so long finally snapped. Whatever it was... when I saw what was happening to our city… that something took over. It felt like I was watching myself destroy that army. I knew that it had to happen. That it was the only way. But it still made me sick. And I couldn't stop it. Something… something else called me back. She's… ah I have so much to tell you, Anna. What I'm trying to say is that I'm here now. And I know that I'm broken, but you've given me the strength to face what I am. I'm ready to face this thing together, my love. This, and everything that the future can throw at us. Together."

Her throat was dry and aching after so much talking. She hadn't intended to pour her heart out like that. Once it started, she hadn't been able to stop it. Anna clung to her now tighter than she ever had. A single word was the only response needed.

"Together," the Princess said.

The rest of their flight passed in silence. Well, relative silence, the gale required to keep them aloft was practically deafening. Occasionally, she could hear Anna gasp or giggle in her ear at some marvelous sight far below. That girl could find joy in any situation. Elsa had no doubt that there was nothing more beautiful than her Princess.

If the Duke wasn't at home, then this was going to be quite an interesting trip. Although, she supposed that leveling his palace would be a good way to turn his attention back to Weselton. Hopefully, it wouldn't come to that. It would be ideal to just flatten the place and call it a day, but she knew that was just the anger talking. There were too many things wrong with that plan to even give it a second thought. Subtlety was not a virtue of anger, and the anger had already played its part today.

Her boots, like the rest of her armor, were pure white as they touched down in the courtyard of Weselton's palace. For the first time in hours, the wind stopped. It felt nice. She set her sister down gently, and took a look around while the Princess dropped her pile of coats and blankets.

The elitist perfectionism with which the garden was decorated was a stark contrast to the utter destruction that now adorned Arendelle. The anger tried to rise once more, but earlier events had left it deflated. Elsa just felt cold. This man had done such unspeakable things, but presented himself as an upstanding member of the gentry. It made her feel bad for the citizens of his duchy. They probably had no idea what sort of person was ruling them.

"I was wondering when you would show your face."

Well, that voice was familiar… but…

"Hans?"

"Nice to see you too, Anna. I should have known your sister would bring her lapdog," he spat. "Come here now to work your evil magic? Torturing your own people with it got old that quickly, huh?"

Elsa wasn't sure how to even respond to that. Thanks to Anna, she didn't have to. "What are you talking about? Are you insane? Arendelle loves Elsa. She has literally just finished saving them from Weselton and you and your stupid brothers!"

"Oh, Anna. You think I don't know? Did you think that the holes in my memory would just go unnoticed, and I would go home thinking everything was just fine?" He shook his head. "Your sister is going to pay for what she did to me. All of Arendelle will pay. Including you."

"Okay, seriously? No idea what you're talking about. And… I mean… how exactly are you going to make anyone pay? Typically you'd need an army to make threats like that and… last I checked, you're fresh out of those. Sure did have a fancy fleet though. Lots of pretty ships."

His eyes narrowed. "What?! What happened to the fleet? Where is Lars?!"

"Who?"

"I found your brother in his cabin aboard his ship. He was… I don't know how to describe it. He was in some kind of pain, fighting something inside. I wanted to help him, but there was nothing I could do."

"You killed him?! You evil bitch!"

"Are you even freaking listening?" Anna shouted. "She said it wasn't her, so it wasn't her."

He drew his sword. "Like I would believe the bitch who twisted my mind, stole my memories, forced me to do… who knows what kinds of sick things I did under her control! I'm done with this. You're done." He ran at them.

Anna whispered in awe, "He's insane. Like actually insane." Then she raised her shield.

Elsa's armor pulsed, white to gold to white to gold, back and forth. She was ready to help Anna, but something told her that Anna didn't need her help. And she was right. Watching her sister fight was beautiful. Even filthy and bruised as she was, it looked almost effortless the way she turned aside blow after blow. It was over so quickly that Elsa barely had time to register the thud of the shield against the thick skull of the youngest Isles Prince.

"...ever call my sister a bitch," Elsa heard her mutter. Anna stared down at the unconscious man with a confused look on her face. "Do you have any idea what he was talking about, Elsa? Memories and all that?"

"No. When I met Lars, he had some sort of… I don't know… energy? wrapped around him. I don't feel that here with Hans. That's gotta mean something, right?"

"I'm going to go out on a limb here, and say that there's probably someone inside who might have some answers." The Princess lifted her arm as if to escort a date to a ball, "Shall we, Your Majesty?"

Elsa raised a gauntleted hand towards the palace door. Anna quickly pushed it down. "Hold your horses there, Miss Ice Cannons. We can at least try and leave some of this place intact," she grinned and turned the knob. The huge door swung open easily. "See?"

The blonde stuck her tongue out briefly, "My way would have been cooler."

"Cooler! Hah! Because…" Elsa rolled her eyes, "Oh shut up, that was funny!"

It was good that someone in this relationship understood humor. Elsa was gorgeous, and smart, and wise, and loving, and… okay fine she was funny too. The Queen was perfect. Anna couldn't deny her that just because she didn't seem to understand the delight of a simple pun. It was a good thing that she had their whole lives ahead to educate the woman on the subject.

"You!"

"Little Hans told us you'd show up."

Two absurdly-sideburned men had just rounded the corner. How many of them did he say there were? Twelve? "Ugh. More of you?"

"Where's Hans?"

"Fried his brain again, did you?"

"We don't have time for this," Elsa said. Ice lanced down the hall and swept the men from their feet. Their heads smacked the stone hard, and they were out. "Don't worry… they're probably-"

A man loomed from an open door next to the Queen, a sword already thrusting at her. "No!"

It was as if time slowed to a crawl. Elsa's eyes were still widening as her sister shoved her out of the way. Anna felt a tug near her stomach as the man's arm extended. The clattering of metal accompanied her to the floor. Time righted itself.

The man looked stunned. Clearly, he hadn't expected to miss. Did he miss? Why didn't it hurt? Without looking, Elsa blasted him back into the room he had come from, and knelt over Anna.

"Please, please, please…" she muttered over and over again, "I can't lose you… not-" Anna saw her practically collapse with relief. "You," she wiped tears from her eyes, "Oh my gosh. I thought I was the luckiest woman alive for having you, but you are just the luckiest damn woman alive."

Anna's brow furrowed as she looked down. The sword must have pulled her jerkin just enough that it passed through the front and back while only grazing her side. "Huh… I guess it wasn't too tight after all." She tossed the blade aside.

Elsa laughed and hugged her tight. "No more close calls, okay? I don't know if I can handle it."

Anna grunted as she stood, "No promises. I seem to be making it a habit today."

It was surprising how few guards there were in the palace. Anna thought it would be crawling with them, but they had only had to incapacitate a few during their search. Although, Arendelle was crawling with Weselton's guards not too long ago, so maybe that's why this place was so empty. Didn't seem like a very good plan to her. Using even your own defenses for attacking. You could easily end up with the enemy right in your house. Like… well, like right now.

"It's a shame that the layouts of rulers' palaces aren't common knowledge along with the maps and charts I've been forced to learn."

"Really? That's what you want? People like Hans with intimate knowledge of what rooms we might be sleeping in-"

"Okay, wow, no. I didn't think that through before I said it."

"Which is odd, because usually not thinking before speaking is my department."

"And you do it so well!"

Anna gave her sister a sarcastic smirk as if to say, "Yes, now shut up."

Conveniently, the next turn they took led to an enormous set of double doors. The Princess wagged a finger. "Ah-ah-ah. Before you even think about it…" and she reached for the handle. The door opened with only the slightest of creaks.

"Shouldn't there have been guards out there to stop exactly this?"

Another man sighed, "Yes, probably. I told you we should have left more out there."

A third spoke, "I don't think it would have helped. This is the same girl who futzed with

Hans's head when he went to congratulate her on her coronation."

Anna was getting really tired of that. "Okay, seriously, what the Hel are you people talking

about?"

The semi-circle of Southern Isles royalty was split in the middle by the infamous Duke of Weselton himself. The brothers seemed surprised at her outburst, but didn't take long to respond.

"If you're in here, you have obviously already encountered Hans."

"He said he would be waiting for you in the courtyard."

"Or did you decide to skip the chit-chat and mind-meddling and just kill him this time?"

Elsa spoke, her voice was like ice, cold and clear, "We met him and two more. They each talked of the same things you do. I also met Lars, who seemed to have a much more… intimate knowledge of the subject."

"Lies!"

"Lars isn't even here!"

"I know he isn't here. I met him on his ship while I ravaged your armada. He was fighting whatever was controlling him, but he lost before I could help him."

"Nobody is controlling anyone!"

"Except you, you evil-"

"Don't finish that sentence," Anna cut in. "Really. Don't."

The Prince looked shocked at being interrupted. But before he could continue, the others kept talking.

"So you killed Lars then? And probably Hans too?"

"And two more, she said!"

The Queen sighed, "Enough!" The air crackled as frost coated the walls of the council chambers. The Duke looked annoyed. Anna didn't like the way he was staring at Elsa. "I didn't kill any of your brothers. Hans and the other two are fine. Lars was killed, but not by me. Whoever is doing all this… what did you call it? mind-meddling that you keep talking about, that's who killed your brother. If I was everything you all seem to think I am, wouldn't I have befuddled all of you as soon as I entered the room?"

The Princes were grumbling to each other now. It seemed like they had actually heard the merit of Elsa's argument.

"There have been a lot of accusations flying around since I arrived. The one thing there hasn't been is any talk of evidence. Nor has there been a single mention of our most gracious host." She looked straight at the Duke, "And you haven't said a word."

His eyes never left Elsa, becoming even more intense than before. Why was he so angry? What had they ever done to him?

"Okay. You got me." His voice was deeper than she remembered. Less frail. "I killed Lars. But I wouldn't have had to if it weren't for you."

The Princes were each aghast. Several of them stood and began drawing their swords. The Duke didn't even look at them before shouting, "Oh… just... sit down!" And they did. Their heads turning in unsettling unison back towards the girls. "Anyway. This is your fault, Queen Elsa. That stubborn Lars… he refused to sail without proof of your wickedness, you know! Him and that stupid mercenary both. They died because of you."

Anna wasn't sure what exactly he was talking about, but she did not like the way that nobody except she and Elsa seemed to be blinking anymore. Everyone seated around the table was fixed on them, and the Duke was as intent as ever on her sister.

"I never would have killed them."

"But they didn't know that. That's why they talked. Or at least, why they tried to talk. But I couldn't allow that, could I?" He cackled. "No no no! Do you have any idea how much easier this would have been if I could have just gotten to either one of you? Ah! It's absurd to think how many lives have been lost over true love. Ugh. It's sickening. Without that nonsense protecting you, this would have been over before war was even necessary!"

For a second, Anna was actually glad that he wasn't paying attention to her. He might have noticed her surprise when she saw that Elsa had slowly frozen each Prince to his chair. The men themselves might have noticed if they were still in control of their bodies, but clearly they weren't.

"You did all of this," Elsa seemed lost for words, "all this… fighting, murdering, kidnapping, war, just to get to us? Why?!"

"No no, stupid girl. Just to get you."

"What? Me?"

"You," he growled. "You were born with all this disgusting sorcery," he made the word sound like a curse, "in your blood, and you didn't even have the decency to destroy yourself. Probably didn't even try to get rid of it. You wicked bitch, you probably revel in your filthy magic!"

"But… you're using magic right now!" Anna cried.

His gaze didn't leave Elsa, "I am cursed with these abilities. My blood does not carry the taint as your sister's does. I learned at an early age that it was my purpose to cleanse the world of the evils of sorcery. I would use this curse to make that possible, and by all that is good and holy I am going to succeed!" For the first time since they entered the room, the Duke smiled. "And now… I have."

Elsa gasped and slumped to the floor. Anna turned to help her, but stopped when she saw a third woman in the room. The similarity she bore to the Queen was remarkable. Her hair wasn't blonde but snow-white, and the sides of her head had been shaved. She wore armor identical to Elsa's, but carried no sword. And she looked terrified.

"W- What? Where- How?" the newcomer stammered.

The Duke laughed maniacally. "Oh ho ho! You foolish Queen, thought you were all-powerful with your demonic magic. I've put an end to your evil once and for all!"

Elsa's hands raised towards him… and nothing happened. She hurled her arms forward,

and still nothing. The lost look of confusion and hurt on her face when she stared at her hands was painful for Anna to watch.

Anna brought her shield to bear and took a step forward, "What have you done to my sister?"

"I've freed her. I knew, I just knew that there was something wrong with her when I first met her. I almost had her after the coronation, which would have saved us all a lot of time by the way. Manipulating that idiot Hans was so easy, and he came so close to doing it all for me. But no, your true love had to get in the way. You disgust me. How could you love that monster?" Anna could not believe what she was hearing. He continued before she could respond, "I can't believe I danced with you… if I had known then just how revolting you are… yuck." He shuddered. "Anyway, I noticed when you two came in here that the sorcery wasn't as untouchable as she was. So I simply removed it." He giggled and clapped his hands.

Anna looked again at the other woman. She was… Elsa's magic? But how? "Hey!" The woman jumped and turned dazed eyes towards her. "If you are magic, then just blast this jerk so this can all be over!"

The woman gave her a pleading look, but said nothing. "Don't be silly. It wouldn't do me any good to extricate her if I couldn't keep her docile afterwards, would it?"

"You are sick. Do you have any idea what you've put thousands of people through? All for your misguided crusade against magic!"

"No no no! You don't know what I've been through! Do you know how difficult it is to control someone's actions from across an ocean? Especially someone who doesn't know you're doing it? Just getting that fool Guard Captain to screw up the shift roster the night you were taken was hard enough. Thank goodness it gets easier each time. Making him overlook the defense of a shoreline was simple once the time came." His smile widened as he saw her putting the pieces together. "Oh, yes. It's true. And…" he looked at the Princes flanking him, "it's over."

As one, they rose. Or tried to, but were still frozen solid from the waist down. A few succeeded in toppling themselves, but that was the best any were able to do. The Duke screamed in frustration.

"That is it! I'll do it myself!" He drew a saber and leapt over the table. She had forgotten how agile he was.

Anna pressed her lips together and planted her feet firmly on the floor. Her shield raised to defend herself and her sister. For once in her life, she was done talking.

Elsa's head was finally starting to clear when the little man jumped the table and charged her. An angel with red-gold hair and a bright blue shield stepped between them with a vicious growl. She was beautiful… oh, that was her sister! Her Anna! She had to save Anna!

The Queen poured all the willpower she had left into her hands, desperate to throw any kind of power at all at the man attacking her sister. Nothing happened. Nothing at all. The power was gone. The hands she had cursed for years because she had blamed them for keeping her from her sister. The time when she needed them the most, they were useless.

She looked up at the dream-woman who had come to life. She seemed as confused as Elsa was. How had any of this happened? Just ten minutes ago, she had been in control. She had been beyond powerful. Now… she was exhausted, unable to stand, and forced to watch as her sister fought alone for their lives.

The ringing of sword on shield filled the chamber. The Duke's cackles complemented the sound in an eerie way, one with which Elsa could have easily done without. "Please," she croaked, her voice weak, "please help her."

The woman looked like she wanted to speak, but didn't. She just stood there. Every bit as helpless as Elsa herself. The Queen tried to stand again and again but failed. There was just no energy left in her.

The Princess and her shield were a crimson-sapphire blur. Elsa had never seen anything like it. The Duke was so fast, but nothing could get through. Everywhere he went, the shield was there to stop him, and then it was there chasing him, forcing him to parry or be knocked to the ground.

Elsa thought the ringing would never stop, but she dreaded what it would mean when it did. Part of her strained to look away, and another didn't dare to blink. Suddenly, it stopped.

For the second time that the Queen had seen that day, Anna lay gasping on the ground. Terror like none she had ever felt howled through Elsa. It ripped at her heart and darkened her vision. It took an extreme effort to force her eyes to focus on anything again. It happened just in time to watch the Duke smile and thrust his saber down.

Anna's entire body twisted, and her legs spun in a way that Elsa wasn't sure she would have understood even if she had been clear-headed when it happened. The old man's spindly legs were jerked from under him, and there was a thud as he hit the floor followed by the clattering of his sword sliding across the stones.

The Princess, still gasping a little, rose and stood over him. She placed her foot on his throat. "I want you to know something, Duke. You are wrong about Elsa. You're wrong about magic." She paused, looking so sad, "I'm so sorry." Was that a tear on her cheek? "I'm so, so sorry. Whatever happened to you, that made you like this. So full of anger… hatred… jealousy... It must have been awful. I can't even imagine. I'm just… I'm so sorry." She set her foot back down on the ground, and walked over to crouch down in front of Elsa. "Can we go home now?"

"What…" Wow talking was hard, "What did I tell you about… close… calls?" The Princess responded with a heart-stopping grin. How could she still be so stunning when covered in all that filth? Astonishing.

A flicker of movement behind the Princess. The Duke had a knife, and his arm was already swinging to throw. There was no time. Anna hadn't even noticed yet. No!

A brilliant golden icicle crashed through the old man's chest, hurling him across the chamber and into the wall. Elsa's mouth hung open and she looked at her hands. "How?"

Anna was staring at the dream-woman… no… the magic. Oh. The woman looked furious. Elsa had never seen her angry before. This explained a lot.

"I'm sorry," she said. Her voice was exactly the same as it was in the dreams. "This… I had no idea this was even possible. Princess Anna, thank you for freeing me."

"Um… me?"

"As soon as he fell, I had an opening and I took it. My hopes rode with you that he would see the love in your words and accept your second chance. But as is so often the case," she waved a hand at the mangled Duke, "he did not want that chance."

"This," Elsa coughed, "this whole time. You never told me what you were. Sorry, who you were."

"I was afraid it would distract you, thinking that you had an extra personality or something silly like that. You had to see for yourself that I am you just as much as you are me. Although, we are evidently just separate enough for someone to bring me into this plane like this… It is exhausting, by the way, being here. I don't know how you do it."

Elsa still couldn't move. "You're tellin' me. At least you can stand up."

The magic chuckled, "It's funny, when I'm in my forest, my energy is boundless. This is the very first time since we were born that I have felt tired." She leaned towards the sisters conspiratorially, "And do you want to know something?"

They each nodded.

"I don't like it one bit."

Anna laughed. "You can go back now, right? Now that he's gone, his hold on everything should be broken… right?"

The woman nodded, and looked down at Elsa. "As long as that is what you want. I'm out here. If there was ever a time to be rid of me, it's right now." She paused, letting that sink in. "What is your wish, Elsa?"

"Are you kidding me? You get home to your forest right now!"

A genuinely relieved smile washed over her face. She closed her eyes, and was gone. There was a sudden pressure inside of Elsa. Not unpleasant, but definitely palpable. Then it was over. She could feel the strength coming from within now. Groaning, she forced herself to her feet.

Anna looked so happy. She also looked speechless for the first time Elsa could remember. Over her shoulder, the Queen could see the Princes coming to from their traumatic experience. Each one looked scared, confused, and maybe even a little haunted. That was probably for the best. At least she knew that they wouldn't have any room to blame Arendelle for what had happened now. They had all seen for themselves the monster they had been following.

"Okay, Anna. Now we can go home."

Author's Note: Hey everyone! I hope you enjoyed these last two chapters as much as I did =) I just wanted to throw this in here in case anyone was wondering. In the movie, Elsa's ice castle changes colors depending on her mood. Blue/happy, purple/sad, red/afraid, yellow/angry. But they didn't have or need a color for peace. I chose to make it a solid white. I thought it fit the purity that should come along with acceptance of who you are and what you're about.

Anyway, we're pretty nearly done now. Maybe about three or four more chapters before the end =)