A/N: Damn...here we are, you guys. The end of Frozen Fractals. What a rollercoaster.

Thank you so much to everyone who read this story, and special thanks to those of you who took the time to write to me expressing your undying love or burning hatred for some of the directions it went in. You've made me feel like a special part of the Frozen fandom, and I wouldn't be able to leave it even if I wanted to. I'll be writing Elsanna until I have one foot in the grave.

As always, I hope you enjoy the chapter.

Ride that wincest express!

Anna sat at the giant desk in the study of the royal chambers, poring over a trade agreement. The Duke of Weselton had heard of Prince Karl's siege on Arendelle, and despite adamantly maintaining at the time that Elsa had tried to kill him, the story of her selfless actions – a story that seemed to currently be making its way around every kingdom in the vicinity – had made him change his tune. He had extended very generous terms in his proposal for trade between Arendelle and Weselton, and as acting monarch, Anna was now responsible for approving it on behalf of her kingdom.

But god it was boring. She had no idea how Elsa had done it. The pile of papers were at least an inch thick, and she'd only made it through a quarter at most. Losing focus once again, she stared out of the large window overlooking the port, watching fishing ships sail along the glittering water, herring spilling onto their decks from overflowing nets.

Her stomach rumbled. She'd been making a habit of skipping meals, reluctant to spend any more time in the dining room than she had to. It reminded her too much of her sister. Anna hadn't entered the library in weeks, and the door to Elsa's chambers remained resolutely closed.

Her stomach rumbled again. Rolling her eyes, Anna stood up from the desk, deciding she was too distracted to make it through the agreement anyway, and moved to the door, intent on heading down to the kitchens to get something to eat.

Something in her peripheral vision stopped her.

A Southern Isles flag, flying from a large mast.

Heart leaping into her throat, she dashed to the window, hoping against all hope that Karl hadn't returned to demolish Arendelle again. She peered down at the deck of the huge ship underneath the flag, and almost cried with relief.

It was covered in ice, and there, at the helm, blasting icy wind into the sails, stood Elsa.

Her sprint down to the docks was a blur. All Anna remembered was crashing into Kai in the hallway, stammering her sister's name over and over as she ran around him, racing for the entrance hall. It felt like seconds, but also an eternity before she made it to the farthest pier, Elsa only just disembarking from the vessel, looking a little worse for wear.

Elsa met her gaze, and Anna found she couldn't move. The older girl's eyes moved rapidly over her face, trying to read her emotions. Slowly approaching her sister, Elsa swirled her fingers, creating a delicate bunch of crocuses from crystal clear ice. She held them out nervously as she stood in front of Anna, a small grin on her face.

"I thought it polite to bring a gift for Arendelle's leader, but I didn't get a chance to pick a real bouquet on my travels," she joked, softly, "so I hope these are satisfactory."

Anna's voice was caught in her throat. Tears blurred her eyes, as the hundreds of things she wanted to say and do now that her sister was in front of her churned in her mind, making it near impossible to decide on just one. She felt an all-encompassing desire to touch the older girl. Make sure she was real.

So she did.

Crack

Elsa recoiled at the slap Anna had just given her, unhurt but utterly bewildered. Staring wide-eyed at the girl, she was even more stunned when her younger sister pulled her in to a fiery kiss, arms around her neck and body pressed tightly against her own.

Anna pulled back, placing her hands on Elsa's cheeks, staring so deeply into her eyes that Elsa felt her soul might be crushed under the gaze.

"Hi," Elsa said, softly. Then, smiling. "I feel like I've only been here five seconds and I've already done something to make you mad."

Anna laughed through a sob, having the good grace to look a little sheepish. "I'm sorry," she chuckled. "You were just, gone for so long, and I was so scared that you might be…" she trailed off, unwilling to finish the thought. Running a thumb over Elsa's lips, her face fell. "I was almost starting to forget the way you smelled, and the way your eyes crinkle when you smile, so seeing you here, in front of me…" she blushed, "I guess I just lost it a little."

Elsa grinned down at her. "A little, huh?"

Anna just smiled, burying her face in the older girl's neck, inhaling deeply, feeling a powerful swell of love rising inside her. She was helpless to stop the tears of happiness as Elsa instinctively rubbed the spot between her shoulderblades that helped to calm her down – the gesture a reminder that the older girl knew her better than Anna knew herself.

She whispered in Anna's ear. "I made you a promise, remember? There was no way I wasn't coming back to you."

And then Elsa was kissing her again, and every doubt Anna had felt over her sister's return vanished. Breaking the kiss, Elsa gave her a suggestive grin, winking. "I think you should take me back to the castle. I want to see what havoc you've wrought with the place."

Elsa woke, frowning. The room was dark, and something wasn't quite right. Realising her arms were empty, and Anna's side of the bed was cold, she sat up, sheets pooling around her naked waist. "Anna?" she whispered.

There was no response.

She peered into the blackness. Her sister was no longer here. Racking her brain for where the younger girl could have gone, she slid out of the bed to throw a dress over her head, intent on finding her. She didn't want to spend another second away from the girl if she could help it.

Upon Elsa's return, the girls had ended up in her chambers in a tangle of limbs, stealing kisses between discarding clothes, speaking in a language of soft moans and sweet cries only they could understand. Illuminated by the faint silver moonlight, lips danced over scars and hands splayed over pale skin as two souls found home in each other.

When Anna was sated, she'd curled into the older girl, seeking the warmth and safety that she'd been sorely craving during her sister's absence. Elsa had gladly given it, feeling as if her heart might burst with the sheer amount of love she had for Anna as they drifted into the first peaceful sleep either of them had seen in weeks.

Now, having checked Anna's chambers, the library and the kitchens, Elsa stood in the middle of the entrance hall by the stairs, unsure of where to look next. She gazed aimlessly at the door to the throne room, reminded of the unpleasant sinking sensation in her stomach she'd felt as she'd prepared to surrender to Karl-

Oh no.

She knew where Anna was.

Spinning on her heel, Elsa raced towards the corridor that led to the dungeons.

As Anna had dragged her sister through the entrance hall earlier, she'd run into Kai a second time. He embraced the older girl after a long moment of staring at her, astounded, and Elsa had joked about leaving a gift for him and Halvor on the deck of her new ship down at the docks. Before her younger sister had tugged her away, she'd asked Kai to give the gift a suitable spot, her eyes firmly telling him that she wanted her prisoner left alive.

Anna had frowned slightly at the exchange, and once again Elsa was reminded that her sister was perceptive beyond her years. No doubt she'd immediately understood who the 'gift' was, and where he was going to be held. Now, in the dead of night, she'd slipped off to get answers from the one man that could give them. Karl himself.

She heard Anna's shrill voice as she raced down the corridor, and as she pushed open the door to the dungeon, she caught the end of Karl's reply.

"-because it was simply just amusing for me, my dear." He was smirking at Anna, chained to the wall inside the first cell, but still managing to look like he was in control of the situation. The younger girl was inside, standing over him, shaking with rage, a small letter opener glinting in her hand. "Besides, it's not like his life was of any value-"

"You heartless son of a bitch!" Anna lunged towards him, cutting off his callous words, blade poised to hit him in the throat.

"Anna! No!" Elsa shouted, panicked. She swept towards the cell, grabbing her sister around the waist bare seconds before she stabbed the man.

The sudden disruption forced the gravity of the situation to come crashing down upon Anna. She stared, horrified, at the knife in her hand, before throwing it to the side, like it would separate her from the harsh reality of what she had almost done. It skittered across the stone floor.

Karl just laughed, but Elsa noted – with a hint of satisfaction – that the man was cowering from her slightly. "Oh, you're spoiling all my fun, Elsa! Your dear sister here only wanted an answer as to why I killed that boy who followed her around like a lost pup." He grinned wickedly. "I just wanted to see how far she would go to get it. Could you imagine, all that time you spent trying to keep her safe, trying not to hurt her, and in the end, she would destroy her own innocence, along with your ridiculous morals, in one fell swoop!" He closed his eyes, lost in his fantasy. "It would have been utterly extraordinary to watch."

Elsa growled at him, pushing Anna out of the cell and into the corridor leading back to the castle. Her heart broke at the look of hopelessness on her sister's face.

"Oh god," she breathed, dropping her head into her hands. "I tried to- I almost-" She choked back a sob. "I'm so sorry, Elsa. I only brought it with me for protection. But then he was leering at me and saying awful things about Kristoff… I just wanted to know why!" she said, begging the older girl to understand. "It was such a senseless death…" she murmured, voice breaking. Elsa pulled her into an embrace, trying to calm her down with soft words.

"Shhh, Anna. It's okay," she whispered, holding the girl against her tightly. "I don't hate you. I could never feel anything but love for you." Speaking more firmly, "And Karl can get under anyone's skin with just a few well-chosen words." She inhaled deeply, trying to find the right thing to say. "But Kristoff's death wasn't senseless, Anna. He saved your life. He's a hero, and I don't have words for how grateful I am to him." Pausing, she pulled back to look her sister in the eyes. "But he would have been devastated to learn you killed someone out of anger." Wiping the younger girl's tears away, she continued. "Kristoff told me about Karl in the first place to save you from having to feel any guilt, because he wanted to protect the goodness inside of you. Because he knew the world needs more people like you."

Anna gave her a pained look, struck by Elsa's words. "Karl doesn't deserve to live when Kristoff can't," she said, angrily.

"Maybe not," Elsa replied. "But I'm not going to let you taint that beautiful spirit of yours by taking his life. He's not worth that."

Mercifully, Anna nodded her understanding, but Elsa knew that for as long as Karl was still breathing, her sister would be weighed down by his existence.

Elsa closed her eyes briefly. "Anna," she said, "Do you trust me to take care of this?" The younger girl squinted slightly, searching her sister's face for something. When she found what she was looking for, she spoke.

"Yes. I do," she affirmed.

Elsa kissed her quickly. "Then will you go back to our chambers and wait for me?" The use of the possessive pronoun didn't go unnoticed by either girl, and Anna stared at her for a long moment before nodding again, turning to make her way down the corridor.

Satisfied, Elsa re-entered the dungeon. Karl had dropped his cocky demeanour, and eyed her carefully as she picked the blade up from where Anna had thrown it to the floor.

Advancing on him, she spoke. "You think you can hide it from me, Karl, but I already know. You want to die, don't you?" She asked. Karl didn't respond. "I can see it in your face…the way you were pushing Anna." Her eyes darkened. "You know you've lost, and you're desperate to escape that feeling."

He spat at her feet. "I haven't lost," he barked. "My father will send his armies to retrieve me, and I will watch as he burns your city to the ground."

Elsa chuckled. "That line is getting so old, Karl." She twirled the blade in her fingers. "And you and I are both smart enough to know that your father isn't sending anyone. Because he's just as selfish and spineless as you are." She crouched in front of him, mirroring the stance he had taken so many times before when talking to her. "He would rather desert his son than risk his true pride and joy; the armada of the Southern Isles." She stood again glaring down at him. "He's going to leave you here to rot, Karl. No one is coming for you now."

She threw the blade at his feet, watching as he picked it up apprehensively. "I'm going to show you one act of mercy," she growled, "even though man as worthless as you doesn't deserve it." She exited the cell, locking the gate behind her. "You can accept your retribution and die here a withering and decrepit old man, the years of captivity and isolation slowly driving you mad," she peered through the bars at him, "or you can take the coward's way out, and save yourself the suffering."

Karl glared at her with a mixture of blind hatred and crippling terror in his eyes. Elsa simply turned her back on him, striding to the dungeon's exit. Pausing at the door, she glanced at him one last time, eyes glinting, and repeated a line she'd heard from the man once before. "I should hope you're smart enough to recognise a way out when you see one, Karl."

With that, she swept out of the room and into the corridor, stopping only briefly in the dim passageway when she heard the unmistakable thud of Karl's body slumping against the stone floor of his cell.