Chapter 21
A/N: I know I'm a jerkwad for taking so long to update. For anyone still interested. Stay thirsty, my friends. Cheers.
Anna's fingers pressed hard into Elsa's shoulders when she heard Kristoff's desperate cries for Elsa's assistance. The pressure hurt Elsa slightly, but knowing Anna was touching her again outweighed the (strangely pleasant) stinging in her muscles. Elsa sighed blissfully from the welcome sensation, and for a moment, had forgotten Kristoff was screaming his head off on the opposite side of the door.
"Elsa, who is that?" Anna whispered, a hint of jealousy in her voice. She continued to squeeze Elsa's sore shoulders nervously as she pressed her chest further against Elsa's slick back. Elsa heard Anna whimper behind her, clearly confused upon hearing a strange man's voice calling for her sister, but Elsa didn't have time to explain everything that happened when she was unconscious. Elsa's mind instead wandered far away into her own fantasy land as soon as she felt Anna's warm body slide against her.
The steam in the room continued to accumulate, building a sleepy haze which made Elsa's mind blurry with both lethargy and desire. She shut her eyes and inwardly cursed the strange events which would not stop plaguing them. Just one hour alone with, Anna. That is all I ask for. Elsa thought, mindlessly tuning out the obnoxious noises coming through the door.
Their wet bodies in unbearably close proximity with one another was distracting Elsa completely from Kristoff's cries for help. Elsa clenched her jaw and tried her best to calm down by breathing in deeply the aroma of fresh wood mingled with Anna's uniquely sweet scent – she nearly swooned from the mind-blowing combination, but Elsa knew she couldn't afford such a luxury. Her brain flooded with ideas she was ashamed to be formulating at such a time. She needed Anna so desperately. To spend time with her. Alone.
Another bout of clattering came from the front of Oaken's shop and made the entire foundation. Kristoff shouted, "Elsa, if you can hear me, now's the time to come out and help! We got a situation out here!"
"Elsa, what's going on?" Anna's voice rose a pitch higher as she shook Elsa out of her daydream.
Elsa was ripped off of cloud nine and thrown back down on the ground to face reality. She did her best to shake the haze of lust weighing down her head, but all she saw in her view was Anna's face – making the thoughts linger in her brain longer than they should have. The loud noises continued, Kristoff was yelling, and Anna was shaking and persistently questioning her. Elsa's muscles tensed and all she wanted to do was bury her head in the snow.
She wanted to resort back to hiding in a room and never coming out – to shut herself off from the world forever because there was just too much drama for her mellow soul to take. But Anna… Anna will always be her number one priority. The thought of Lady Alexandra snatching Anna away from her again made Elsa's skin crawl. Elsa stepped off the bench and mentally prepared herself for another encounter with the maniac.
"Stay here, Anna," Elsa commanded as she hurriedly wore the fluffy robe she pulled from the rack. "Don't come out unless I say so, okay?" Elsa said, as she tied the strings tightly around her waist, accentuating her curves.
Anna got up and stood in front of Elsa wearing only her underwear and bra – her sweat dripped ever so slowly down her abdomen and down below her bellybutton, making the fabric cling to her skin and outlined all the right places.
Elsa's mind stalled as she stared silently at the drips of sweat paving a trail down Anna's entire body, and Kristoff's shouts fell on deaf ears once again.
Anna's mouth was moving, but Elsa found it hard to focus on what she was saying. She mistakenly caught the last part as Anna sternly said, "I'll come with you." Anna folded her arms below her chest as she gazed challengingly at Elsa.
"W-What," Elsa sputtered. "No. No, you can't. I won't risk losing you again, especially when you've just woken up not five minutes ago."
Anna stuck out her bottom lip slightly. "I'm not a baby anymore, Elsa. I'm a grown woman now if you haven't noticed." Anna placed her hands on her hips and shifted her weight to her right leg, making her look mature and even more attractive.
"Uh…" Elsa's brain froze. "Stay, please," was her lame retort.
Without even responding, Anna moved past Elsa to grab her own fuzzy robe and proceeded to wrap her body with it. The end result: She resembled an adorable, cuddly bunny - especially when Anna braided her hair back into its usual style.
"Okay, I'm ready!" Anna said, cheerfully, and walked to the door even as the raucous noises on the other side continued.
Elsa sighed and knew she couldn't change Anna's mind. "Just let me take a quick look first," Elsa said, and moved in front of Anna to stop her from opening the door.
Anna giggled at how overprotective Elsa was and took the opportunity to wrap her arms around Elsa's waist. "Yes, ma'am," Anna playfully said.
"I'm serious, Anna," Elsa sighed, as she struggled to discreetly peek out the door while Anna's arms were distractingly wound around her, pulling her back. "It could be dangerous out there. If anything happens to you again…" Elsa hesitated and didn't want to explore the grim possibility any further.
Anna dropped her chin onto Elsa's shoulder and replied, "I know, Elsa, but you need to remember that I'm not a kid anymore. I'm tougher than I look, you know. Don't be fooled by the pigtails. " Anna then gave Elsa a quick peck on the cheek and said, "But," another light kiss, this time on Elsa's neck, "thank you for caring."
Elsa turned to look at Anna's smiling face and couldn't help but smile back as the usual fluttering in her stomach brought a warmth straight to her soul. The shine in Anna's eyes gave Elsa a sense of calm for a moment, and for that, she was grateful. Elsa always wondered how Anna could remain so positive no matter the situation – a trait Elsa wished she had.
A low rumbling caused the entire building to vibrate and Elsa heard Oaken cry out, "No, bad snow monster! Stay! I've got a shovel!"
After hearing such a threat, Elsa just knew she had to see what was going on. She thrust the door open and was greeted with a bizarre sight. Oaken was slapping Marshmallow back with a shovel as the giant snow-monster repeatedly tried to thrust his head through the door – snow chipping off his cheeks as he did so.
Kristoff turned and noticed Elsa automatically. "Finally!" He exclaimed. "Your… your snow monster, has been trying to squish his large head through Oaken's front door for about fifteen minutes now!" Kristoff struggled to explain the dilemma without making it sound too silly. "Do something about it, Elsa. He won't stop and he's making all this noise." Kristoff looked nervously around, clearly concerned about the possibility of Lady Alexandra picking up on the clamor.
Anna stood behind Elsa and observed Kristoff without saying a word – a rarity for Anna to be so quiet.
Elsa sighed and walked over to where Oaken was smacking Marshmallow back with his trusty shovel. "You. Cannot. Come. In!" Oaken emphasized each word with a slap of his shovel.
Marshmallow roared and continued to bang his head against the tiny entrance, as if he was a puppy in need of attention. Elsa was surprised that Oaken's entire building hadn't collapsed from such force. She approached closer and as soon as Marshmallow noticed her presence, he ceased his ramming. The snow monster groaned softly and was appeased with Elsa around him.
"Anna, this is Marshmallow," Elsa simply said, unsure of what else to add for such an introduction.
Anna looked at Elsa with a confused look and then said, "It seems there is a lot of catching up we need to do."
Elsa smirked bashfully, and Anna laughed lightly as she stepped forth to introduce herself to Marshmallow. "I'm Anna," she smiled and waved. "I'm Elsa's…" Anna looked away unsurely and wondered what the next word which should be said.
Elsa waited and watched as Anna's easy expression turned into one of confliction.
Sister? Elsa thought to herself as she continued to stare at Anna unable to finish her sentence. Girlfriend? Sister-girlfriend? She didn't know the answer herself, and it hurt her to think about it.
Anna opened her mouth to speak, but footfalls outside interrupted the moment. They collectively turned their heads to seek the source and Elsa instantaneously felt as if her heart sunk down to her gut when she saw three of her own guards marching towards the building with stern looks on their faces. Just her luck, one of the guards happened to be the one who had seen Anna and herself partaking in, let's just say, more than sisterly interaction.
Elsa had assumed he perished after coming into direct contact with the massive explosion caused by Lady Alexandra when she busted into their castle, but there he was with only a small white bandage on the tip of his nose.
Elsa would never wish death upon anyone – especially her own guard – but him knowing what he did, put Elsa at risk of a mutiny or at the very least, judgmental stares, and she wasn't in the mood for either.
Elsa took a step back and grabbed Anna's hand. Anna looked at her and Elsa wanted to just pull her away and run, but it was too late. The trio if of guards had reached the door and ignored Marshmallow as they walked past him – they were accustomed to seeing strange snow creations after serving under Elsa for so long.
Oaken went to greet them with a jolly smile. "Hello! Big Summer blowout!" He announced, his shovel still in his hand and dripping with some of the chipped snow from Marshmallow.
Elsa wanted to seize the opportunity of Oaken's distraction to run out the back with Anna, but the young guard who knew her secret was peering at her, not with menace, but keen interest.
The guard's piercing gaze stalled Elsa from fleeing and she was suddenly struck with a feeling of intense self-awareness – as if she was seeing herself from another's eyes. The guards entered the trading post after ignoring Oaken's over-enthusiastic welcome – their stares directed at Elsa and Anna instead of the smiling owner.
Kristoff didn't say anything. He seemed uncomfortable in their presence – his lack of human interaction, overwhelmed him when put amongst such a large crowd of people.
The group of guards stood before Elsa and she found it hard to read their expressions. The oldest guard with a grey goatee decorated on his elongated chin stepped forth to address her. "Queen Elsa, we are glad to see you are unharmed," The guard evenly said. "You as well, Princess Anna," the guard nodded his head courteously in Anna's direction.
Elsa saw Anna nod back in return and caught the knowing stare of the young guard looking back and forth at the two of them.
Elsa couldn't shake the feeling that at any moment, he would blurt out what he knew. Her heartbeat quickened and she could barely focus on what the oldest guard was saying. Things were not getting any easier for her. Give me a break. What could possibly happen next? She prayed fervently that he would not say a word about what he saw, but his frequent and darting looks made her a tad uneasy.
Elsa sighed and whispered to herself, "I'm in such deep shi—"
(To be continued)