A/N: Oblivious Incest
Seated on the couch's edge, Elsa bit down on her little thumb as she kept a book propped open between her fingertips. Strewn about on her table laid textbooks: 'Doctrines in Realpolitik', 'State Policies - Junior Edition', 'Advanced Geometry'. She had earned her reading time, completing her homework studiously just so she could get lost in stories about fairies and dragons. Rain pattered against the window, and the rumbling thunder lent an otherworldly aura swirling around Elsa's mind as she read about a quest to recover hidden treasure.
In the corner of the living room, little Anna watched through the bars of her cot at the ever-present scenes of war playing on TV. Despite being engrossed with her book, Elsa kept one eye on her sister. Her mother had been on the edge recently and possessed neither mood nor energy to deal with a crying toddler and a daughter with questionable control over her powers.
Having learned to shut out the droning voice of the TV, Elsa's keen ears perked up when she heard a squeak from the cot. Anna was far from her first words, so when the squeak came again, Elsa threw down her book and raced to her side. She fetched a small stool and leaned over the edge, lifting Anna by the arms.
"I heard that," Elsa says, smiling at her sister's sheepish grin, "what did you just say?"
When she heard it again, Elsa burst into a heap of giggles. At once, Elsa carried her from the cot and scampered to her mother's room. As she stood at the foot of Idun's desk, Elsa held Anna to their mother, but the woman, with tousled hair and dark circles beneath her eyes, dismissed the two girls without so much as a glance at them.
"Please, I'm extremely busy now, this better not be something ridiculous, and I told you not to hold Anna, she'll catch a cold from your fingers."
"But Mommy!" Elsa insisted, shaking the little girl, "Anna just said her first word!"
Sitting upright, the fatigue on Idun's face gives way to amazement as she kneels to Elsa's height.
"Really?"
"C'mon, Anna," Elsa coaxed, "say it again!"
Anna smirked at her sister, before she turned to Idun and squeaked out a name.
"Elsa!"
"Thank you for the earth which borne the food before us, and for your two daughters you've so gracefully brought into our lives-"
Clasping Anna's hand, Elsa bows her head as she listens to Hansel say grace. Unaccustomed to the idea of religion, the thought of praying before each meal seems odd to her, but they were kind - and Anna gained more and more of her spirits back with every bite of the hearty farm food.
"We humbly seek your favor on this year's crop, that we may continue to be a blessing to our neighbours, amen."
At once, Anna picks up her knife and fork and goes for the food laid out in the table's center. Having eaten out of lunch trays or bare hands her entire life, she hesitates before remembering to ladle portions of roast pork and mash potatoes onto Hansel and Gretel's plates first. With the hosts served, Elsa and Anna take turns to spoon food on each other's plates.
"Such polite girls, aren't they?" Gretel says, "Your parents must've taught you well."
Anna freezes at Gretel's words, half a roast turnip still in her mouth.
"They were...they were very nice people," Anna answers, sticking to the cover story Elsa had fed her, "we miss them a lot."
"Well, I hope you'll find them again when all this is over," Hansel says.
Elsa's skin prickles with electricity; she looks over at Anna, who smirks at her with parsley stuck in between her teeth. Breathing a sigh of relief, Elsa resumes picking at her food, wondering how long she has to keep up this act, both to Anna and her hosts.
Lying upon the grass, Elsa stares at the moon with a million thoughts swirling through her mind. Just needing to feel something, she runs her fingers through one of her snow wolves' collars as it naps on the ground. An empty beer bottles lies beside her; she couldn't bear to take more than one from Hansel's stash, but at the same time, Elsa wishes there's something stronger to dull the sting of her memories. Perhaps he had some whiskey stashed away somewhere…
Shaking her head, Elsa tries to remember exactly what she was thinking about. She resumes staring at the moon and wonders whether anyone in Arendelle and Grimfold is worth going back to - either the resistance movement or Rapunzel, still languishing within Hans's grasp. A grimace spreads across her face as she realizes that apart from her powers, no one really cares for her, save for Anna. Anna was bright and cheery, and brought life to those around her, while she was cold, and so scary that people could feel her frost approaching from yards away.
Sometimes, she wonders why Anna even loves her.
The wolf beneath her fingertips stirs suddenly, and barks once. Elsa rouses from her position and turns around to see Gretel approaching. At once, Elsa hides the empty bottle behind her hip.
"Don't stay out too late, Elsa," Gretel says, her grey hair fluttering in the evening breeze, "night does strange things to people's minds."
"I-I'm alright, don't worry about me," Elsa says, before wondering if her eyes are still reddened from earlier, "did you happen to hear if Anna was done with her shower?"
"She should be anytime soon," Gretel answers, "Is everything alright? You seem to be afraid of being alone with her-"
"You know, s-sometimes, I-I think," Elsa says, searching her mind for an excuse, "sometimes I feel like Anna recalls all the bad things that happened when she sees me."
"Believe me, she needs you now, more than ever," Gretel says, kneeling beside Elsa, "in times like these, it's best to be around people who matter to you. It's the only thing which reminds us that life is still worth living."
Elsa mulls over Gretel's words, understanding that Anna really was the only reason she chose to keep on living. Waiting until Gretel disappears into the house, and her lights to go off, Elsa picks up the empty bottle and wanders back inside, leaving her wolves to guard the gate. With nothing but the wind whistling through the wooden paneling, Elsa shrugs and heads to her room. As she sits on her bed, Anna appears from the bathroom, drying her hair with a towel.
A flurry of emotions slam into Elsa's chest when her eyes drift to Anna's body: dressed in a red plaid shirt, unbuttoned all the way to the bottom where a pair of baby blue panties hugs her hips. The sparse light from the kerosene lamp falls upon Anna's body, revealing an unbroken chain of freckles scattered from her neck to her impossibly thin waist.
No bra.
Noticing Elsa's eyes glued to her body, Anna turns and bends over a dressing table, taking care to arch her butt. From the mirror's reflection, she spots Elsa's eyes going down to their intended location. Warmth floods Anna's skin when she sees Elsa swallowing the lump in her throat. Spinning around on her heels, Anna smirks when Elsa immediately averts her gaze to the floor.
"You've been so quiet lately," Anna mutters, approaching Elsa, "is everything alright?"
Elsa looks up at her sister and contemplates telling her everything. She tries to put a logical sequence of words together, that she really knew her from the cradle, that the state must've dumped her in Grimfold after their parents were murdered and she was taken away, that they really shouldn't be fucking because of the whole sister thing. Elsa's eyes rove once more up the tight skin wrapping Anna's lithe body, freckles spreading up the sides of her pert breasts.
The words Elsa had constructed in her head dissolve in a wave of desire sweeping through her head. Elsa's lips quiver at the conflict raging within her, intensifying with each step Anna takes towards her, intoxicating her with more and more of that sweet strawberry fragrance of hers.
"I have something to tell you," Elsa mutters with a trembling voice. Looking up, Elsa grips the bed when Anna's blue eyes come into view. Looming over hers, Anna's eyes sparkle with life, a life that would've been snuffed out if not for her.
"Tell me," Anna whispers, running a hand through Elsa's hair and pulling her closer.
Elsa tries to stem the tide of desire rising within her, but one touch of her lips on Anna's skin, and the soft moan that follows right after, turns her mind to jelly. Anna keeps a hand on Elsa's neck, sighing as she kisses up her body. The searing touch of Elsa's lips turns to ice as she jerks back, and Anna's heart falters at the hesitation she sees in her eyes.
"What's wrong?" Anna snarls, seething with frustration, "Is something wrong with me? Everyday you kiss me, you touch me, and then you turn ice-cold like I'm nobody to you-"
"No, Anna, listen-"
"Sometimes I feel like you're just being a goddamned tease," Anna snarls, "And why? Are you disgusted by me or what happened to me, or what?"
The accusation strikes Elsa cold. Standing up, she brushes aside Anna's hair, ice forming on her hands when she sees her eyes glistening.
"No, no, no," Elsa pleads, cupping her sister's face, "it's not like that-"
"You don't want me anymore, do you?" Anna whines, as a tear slides down her cheek.
Elsa runs her fingertips down the edges of Anna's shirt. The fabric feels warm to her, like everything Anna says or touches. With her sister's words tugging at her chest, Elsa's lips begin to tremble under the ambivalence straining on her heart. Whatever she wanted to say could wait, not when her sister's standing there with her heart ready to shatter into a million pieces.
"I do," Elsa whispers, tilting Anna's lips up to hers, "with everything in my heart."
The cold in Elsa's fingers fades at once, replaced by a stinging electricity Anna feels as she runs them up her torso. Gingerly, Elsa fondles her sister's breasts, cursing herself all the while for giving into her incestous afflictions. A tear drips from Anna's chin; she fastens a grip on Elsa's hair and pulls her closer, ravenous for the affirmation that Elsa still loved her.
Anna puts a foot behind Elsa's heel and tugs sharply, sending her tumbling on the bed and pulling her down. Lips crash into each other, each hungry kiss a testament to how much restraint Elsa had been exercising the whole time. Elsa pushes up against her sister's breasts, eliciting a moan from Anna against her lips. Reaching for the collar to undress, Anna gasps when Elsa yanks the shirt off her shoulders so hard that the fabric rends. Looking deep within Elsa's lust-filled expression, the anxiety from earlier begins to fade when she sees hunger swirling in those blue eyes of hers.
The shirt slips off Anna's shoulders, and she leans in for another kiss, only to recoil from the cold grazing against her bare chest. Elsa looks down, lips quivering at the sight of Anna's pert, freckled breasts. Leaning in, the scent of Anna's body drives Elsa mad with desire. Her hands begin to tremble as they bring her sister's breasts up to her lips, kissing and sucking each rosebud. A shiver breaks Elsa's chain of thought, she runs her hands down Anna's thighs, brushing against the goosebumps on her skin.
"Um, Elsa?" Anna gasps between moans, "It's cold."
With a mere thought, Elsa leans back and smiles at Anna as bits of her dress flake off into the air. Before Anna's able to utter a word, every inch of Elsa's creamy pale skin is laid bare beneath her hungry eyes to lap up. The sight of Elsa's milky breasts topped with rosy pink nipples sends Anna's brain into an overdrive. She leans in and takes a nipple between her lips, eliciting a raspy groan. Pulling her sister's head against her chest, electricity floods through Elsa's body as Anna ravishes her breasts.
Unfed, the kerosene lamp begins to dim, casting shadows on the calloused hands brushing against smooth skin, and pale fingers dancing across freckles. Anna shifts her weight, bringing her lips back up against Elsa's. The sudden pressure of Anna's thigh between her legs sends pleasure spreading through her lower body. Sensing this, Anna pulls her leg away and looks at it, liking the way that damp spot glistens on her knee.
Pleasure gives way to alarm as Elsa notices Anna kissing down her body, lips grazing her against her neck, then breasts, taking care to draw circles around her nipples with her tongue. Burying a hand into her damp hair, Elsa keeps her eyes fixed on Anna's lips as they go further and further south. The touch of her lips sends her entire body quivering in anticipation, but for what exactly, she doesn't know.
"Anna," Elsa gasps, as her sister's lips brush past her navel, heading straight for the tuft of golden hair adorning her sex, "w-what are you doing?"
"You're going to love this," Anna murmurs, pushing Elsa's legs apart.
"You're not thinking of kissing me there, are you?" Elsa asks, a second before Anna does exactly that. Her face burns with shame, pale skin turning a very visible scarlet. That girl between your legs is your sister, a voice in her head chides, before it dissolves into one long moan as Anna spreads her lips and presses a moist tongue to her insides. The heat from Elsa's sex radiates against Anna's face with ferocious intensity, encouraging her to continue.
Gripping the bed's sides, Elsa arches her back into her sister's tongue. The sensation is unfamiliar, yet exhilarating to her; Anna's tongue is smooth and moist, gliding over her clitoris like velvet. The feeling leaves her breathless, each time Anna pauses her licking, Elsa finds herself heaving with violent intensity until her lungs are ready to cave in. Anna pauses, placing two fingers into her mouth before pushing them into Elsa's core.
Biting down on a pillow, Elsa screams Anna's name over and over again with each thrust of her sister's fingers. The gentle ministrations of Anna's tongue continues, this time amplified with the blistering heat of her sister's fingers within her. Curling her fingers into the damp mess of Anna's hair, her hips buck involuntarily, loathing the way Anna made her feel but craving for her not to stop, not to let up even as liquid pleasure pooled in the pit of her loins.
With a sharp tug on Anna's hair, Elsa climaxes, trembling from the warmth rippling through her body and touching every nerve. As she comes down from the pleasure and surrenders to the warm afterglow, Anna's eyes appear over hers, and she tastes her own salty-sweet arousal on her sister's lips.
"Oh god," Elsa gasps, before Anna places two fingers into her mouth, allowing her to taste her own sex, "that was incredible."
"You taste amazing," Anna murmurs, "like the first time I had strawberries and cream."
Without an answer, Elsa slithers her hand down Anna's torso, slipping it beneath the hem of her sister's panties. Anna grips her hand and pushes them in, screwing her eyes shut and groaning as Elsa's fingers brush against her moist core. The heat burning against Elsa's finger when she slips it into Anna surprises her. Anna growls against Elsa's chin, teeth leaving little red marks on her pale skin.
The sensation sends Anna's mind into a tailspin, and before she knows it, the room appears smaller and smaller. The pleasure burning away into her core feels like pain for a split-second, before she's back in the room with Elsa's heaving body next to her's. I can't, I can't, Anna thinks, before her brain flashes back to the night before where she masturbated herself to sleep, frustrated at another occasion Elsa chose to sleep apart from her. With her thoughts swirling round and round, Anna pushes herself away from Elsa, who looks back at her with surprise in her eyes.
"What's wrong?" Elsa asks, her sister's arousal dripping down her hand.
Anna stares at the lust burning in Elsa's eyes. Yes, she thinks, feeling the room swirling back into existence, there's nothing else I'd rather have than you. You are the cure to my broken soul. Clutching at the sheets, Anna wills herself to believe that she is right here, and right now, where nothing could tear them apart.
"Nothing," Anna mutters, biting down on her lip, "wanna fuck?"
"Yes," Elsa replies, with the word 'How?' hanging off her lips.
Elsa watches with saliva pooling in her jaw as her sister stands up and peels her panties off, shuddering when the pale blue fabric hits the floor. Leaning back, Elsa allows her sister to straddle her, picking up a thigh and placing it over her hip. The position makes sense to Elsa a second before Anna leans in and kisses her, pushing her hands up against her breasts. Snaking a free hand around her sister's back, Elsa pulls her closer still. She looks down and gasps at the reddish hair above Anna's sex brushing against her own, and the searing hot pleasure spreading through her hips at that very touch.
"No, look at me," Anna pleads, lifting Elsa's face to hers, "I need you-."
Locking her eyes with Anna's, Elsa pulls her sister in and grinds against her hips. The air between them turns warm from the heavy breathing interspersed by moans and slick sounds of sex. Throwing her hair back, Anna braces herself on both her arms and grinds into Elsa with ever-increasing intensity. The fervor takes Elsa by surprise, but she supports Anna's hips and guides her gently, her own heart pounding at how out-of-control the pleasure within her is churning about.
Throwing herself forward, Anna presses her entire weight onto Elsa's hips as she grasps the bed's rail. Between the tendrils of red hair falling across her face, Elsa gasps at her sister's eyes, livid with desire and speaking of the untold hours she had spent desperately wanting her back. Pulling her in for a kiss, Elsa quickly surrenders to the pounding in her loins. Before long, the violent throbbing gives way to a wave of bliss cascading across her lower abdomen. She grasps hold of Anna's lower back and bucks into her wildly.
"Ah, fuck," Anna groans, biting into Elsa's shoulder as she comes. The sensation of her climax leaves her shuddering, her infinite strength clutching Elsa as waves of pleasure ripple through her every muscle.
As Elsa comes down from her climax, she finds her hands around Anna's hips, and her lips locked with her sister's. Gently laying her on her side, Elsa brushes her sister's matted red hair from her face, and runs a finger down the slick perspiration lining her chin.
"You're beautiful," Elsa says, wondering if there really was anything worth stopping her next words, "I love you so much."
"I love you too," Anna whispers. Bit by bit, Elsa notices the hurt from earlier fading from Anna's eyes. The girl runs a hand through Elsa's hair, taking in the glazed look of desire still eminent in her eyes. Without letting go of Elsa's hand, Anna leans over to the coffee table and retrieves a cigarette.
"Old habits die hard, huh?" Elsa mutters, watching her sister light up.
"Yes," Anna answers, offering Elsa a puff, "best thing in the world after coming."
Elsa glances at the trail of smoke dancing from its tip, before declining, opting to lie on her side and watch Anna finish her cigarette. The countryside tobacco fills the room with a different fragrance than those tar-lined Grimfold ones, and when Anna kisses her again, she tastes the slightest hint of blackberries on the edge of her lips.
"Hold me," Anna says, her voice vulnerable, like she's half-asking and half-pleading at the same time, "hold me to sleep."
Elsa complies. As she listens to her sister's heartbeat even out, and sleep to overcome her eyelids, she wonders about the words still left unsaid.
"Oh yea," Anna says, rousing Elsa from her half-sleep, "there was something you wanted to tell me?"
"No," Elsa answers, brushing her sister's hair, "it was nothing."
"You see, when the soil is loose like this, the potatoes grow fatter," Hansel explains to Anna, allowing the earth to fall through his fingers. With a steady eye, Anna watches him as he sinks a seed potato into the ground. Digging a hole of her own, she copies his every movement, working with the same delicate strength she used to fix engines or clean kitchens. Hansel moves to another lane to complete the seeding process, but a rumbling noise catches his attention. Standing up, he shields his eyes against the morning sun, watching the truck as it veers off the main road and makes its way through the field towards them.
"Anna," Hansel mutters, his voice too soft to reach her ears, "get up."
Oblivious, Anna continues planting her potatoes.
"Anna!" Hansel calls out again, the urgency in his voice sending Anna bolting upright.
"Cool, is that the mail truck?" Anna quips.
"No, it isn't," Hansel answers, staring dead ahead, "go inside and shut the door. Fetch Elsa from the barn too."
To Anna, the truck takes on a sudden ominous aura, the dirt spewing from its tires akin to a cloud of doom hanging over their farm. Anna allows her gaze to linger on its occupants, before picking up her shovel and running towards the barn. Elsa spots Anna running from far away; the urgency in her sister's eyes enough to send ice into her hands.
"What's the matter-"
"Hansel says to go inside," Anna mutters, bending over and heaving, "I think he isn't kidding around."
Looking over at the girls making it safely into the house, Hansel strolls over to his tractor and retrieves a double-barreled shotgun. He leaves the breech broken open with two shells inside, folding his arms and facing down the truck's impending approach. The truck grinds to a halt inches from his face, and no less than a half dozen armed men disembark, all sporting tattoos and leather jackets embroidered with silver skulls. Hansel glares at one of them, before spitting out a wad of chewing tobacco.
"I pay my dues like all the other farmers here," Hansel scowls, "and my books say you received your share a week ago."
The leader lets out a throaty laugh, before slinging his rifle.
"You know I don't interfere with your affairs, it's not in our practice, but word's been going around that you've been harboring a couple of unfamiliar faces-"
Despite the stench of alcohol inches from his face, Hansel keeps his feet rooted to the earth.
"Unfamiliar faces of the female variety," he continues. Hansel looks down, frowning when the man grabs his crotch.
"What does that have to do with me? They're refugees from Arendelle," Hansel answers, trying his best not to let his indignation give way to fear.
"We don't see many female faces here do we, lads? Not unless you count that hag wife of yours-"
"Fuck you!" Hansel spits, raising a chorus of chortles from the men.
"How about you introduce your new friends to us?" he continues, "I'm sure they'll find us to be much better company than whatever scum Arendelle produces-"
"Oh, I highly doubt it-"
"Especially that cute little redhead who's always working in the fields," he says, making a show out of licking his lips, "I fancy myself a fine-looking red-haired girl. For the rest of my boys, I'm sure they'll be more than content with the blonde one. She looks like she can handle a few of us at once-"
The indignation from earlier boils over into seething rage beneath Hansel's skin. Clenching his fists, he snarls, "I strongly suggest you leave those two girls alone."
"I don't think you're in a position to do anything about it, unfortunately. You see, we have more men than you have bullets; and more bullets than you have potatoes."
Looking over Hansel's shoulder, the man spots the slightest tinge of red peeking from a door held ajar. That mere sight causes his heart to accelerate; he pushes Hansel aside, yelling, "There they are, boys!"
Anna's eyes widen at the troop of men making a beeline towards them. She clutches the door's edge until the wood crumples beneath her fingertips, and her face begins to whiten at the sight of guns.
"Um, Anna, please calm down," Elsa says, jaw quivering at that glazed look on Anna's face she had feared for so long, "I'm sure there's a logical explanation for all this."
In the corner of the kitchen, Gretel peers from beneath the countertop. She's always let Hansel do the talking with these surly men, but this time, her heart genuinely fears for Elsa and Anna, having witnessed first-hand what the men are capable of doing to young girls.
"T-they're going to kill us all," Anna mutters, rocking on her heels. Her brain's instincts yell at her to flee, but try as she might, she's unable to force herself from this position.
With enormous strides, the men close the gap quickly, their leader jamming open the door and sending Anna staggering backwards. At once, Elsa leaps to Anna's side, pulling her away from the door. Every muscle in Anna's body freezes when confronted with his imposing presence, and the sight of his rifle twists her brain into knots.
"Hello, pretty face," he snarls, bucking his crotch at Anna, "I think I'll start with you first."
He reaches to grab Anna by the collar, before pulling back a bloody stump of his arm. Anna drops what's left of his torn hand to the floor, her teeth clattering at the sight of blood and bone. It takes a full second for him to comprehend what's happened, before the windowpanes rattle with his screams. A violent blast of ice from Elsa sends him flying twenty yards from the porch into the field, the frost so powerful that it rips a hole through his chest.
At once, the men flee from the bloody trail of blood. Elsa steps onto the porch, her face expressionless as they try in vain to start their truck with a frozen engine. They give up quickly, opting to flee into the woods. At the first sign of safety, Gretel emerges from the kitchen, running into Hansel's arms.
"We're sorry," Elsa mutters, clutching her shaking sister by her side.
"Fuck him," Hansel snarls, holding Gretel close to himself, "the crows can finish him off for all I care."
Noticing Anna's eyes fixed on the man's dead body, with blood still leaking from his arm, Elsa covers her eyes and tries to distract her.
"Look, Anna!" Elsa quips, pointing at the truck, "Look what they left behind! A truck!"
"No, no I can't," Anna mutters, "they're going to come back."
"Let's take a look, shall we?" Elsa says, pulling her sister by the arm. She swats away Anna's hand when she stuffs it in her mouth, and soothes her by rubbing her back.
The residual heat from the engine has half thawed Elsa's ice by the time they get there, leaving oil and water dripping from the bonnet. Anna's shaking calms somewhat when she's presented with an array of mechanical bits to look at, and Elsa finds her a tool bag stowed beneath a seat.
"I'll try to get this thing running again," Anna offers, earning a firm nod from Elsa. With a vigilant eye on Anna, Elsa rummages through the glove compartment. Apart from maps and empty magazines, the sight of a satellite phone piques her interest. All of a sudden, she recalls everyone they've left behind, and a tugging in her chest is all it takes for her to try the antenna. The military-grade hardware isn't alien to her, and she manages to work in Oaken's number.
Looking up from the bonnet, Anna notices Elsa talking on the phone through the windscreen. She bites down on her lip and continues working on the engine, waiting until Elsa finishes her conversation and walks over to her.
"Guess what," Elsa says.
The dazed look in Anna's eyes persists, but Elsa continues anyway.
"The rebels have managed to drive Arendelle's army from Grimfold," Elsa says, clutching the phone, "the soldiers are gone, and everyone is working to restore the city."
Anna looks up from the engine; in the corner of her eye, Elsa detects the faintest glimmer of hope.
"Wait, what? No more Arendelle? No more soldiers?"
"Yes, Oaken says that from now on, Grimfold will produce her own resources, manage her own affairs, decide her own future. This is great, Anna! We can go back and-"
"Stop, stop," Anna says, holding out a wrench, "what do you mean 'we'? Don't you come from Arendelle?"
"I do, b-but there's nothing for me there anymore," Elsa says, "there was never anything there for me anyway."
Taking Elsa's soft fingers in her greasy hands, Anna whispers beneath her breath, "So you'll go back with me?"
"Of course," Elsa says, embracing her sister, "but only if you're there with me."
The girls help Hansel and Gretel to plant the rest of their potato crop, before promising to come back to visit for the harvest. With heavy hearts, they thank them for their hospitality, and the couple thanks them for the joy they've added to their lives.
Sitting astride large snow birds, Elsa and Anna swoop down through the clouds towards Grimfold. Even from the skies, they detect a noticeable buzz of activities in the streets, more evident as they make their descent. The constant stench of neglect and unwashed streets has given way to the smell of fresh concrete and asphalt. Once slaves to the Arendelle war machine, the workers of Grimfold put their backs into repaving streets and renovating apartment blocks, ready to usher in a new era of prosperity for the once oppressed city.
Anna guides Elsa down towards the roof of her old apartment block. Her heart leaps when she spots Kristoff and her mother waiting there. The sight of Oaken without a gun calms Elsa somewhat, and she lands on the roof easily. At once, Anna throws herself in her mother's arms, the woman having put on enough weight to look healthy again. Ignoring Anna, Oaken approaches Elsa, shaking her hand warmly.
"I hate to say this, but we owe this to you," Oaken says, pointing at the enormous scaffolding surrounding the Grimfold city center, housing its to-be-built city capitol, "you gave us the momentum we needed to drive those bastards out."
"I didn't do it for any of you," Elsa says, pointing at Anna, "only for her."
"Whatever," Oaken snarls, "so I trust that you're back to help us?"
"You'll find that I don't take sides," Elsa snarls, "but for now, I'll help whatever furthers the cause of peace for everyone."
"I could deal with that," Oaken says, "but Hans is still out there, hiding in Arendelle."
Elsa's skin crawls with uneasiness, but deep down in her heart, she finds herself tired from all this fighting. The weeks resting on the farm did nothing to wean her off an entire lifetime of war.
"We'll deal with him when he comes around," Elsa says, pointing at Anna again, "but for now, I think I'd want to get started on a home for us. This is supposed to be a fresh start after all."
Oaken nods, before showing Elsa to the stairs. Turning to Anna, Elsa shudders when she sees her sister's eyes burning as red as the morning sun. Without a word, Anna marches right up to Elsa and punches her in the face. A scream pierces through the air as Elsa trips and falls over the building's edge.