Time passed and the fraught memories of attacks and fear slipped away, scabbing over and healing like Freya's damaged shoulder. By midwinter and Anna's birthday she was able to dance with Elsa during their private special party for the Princess. She even took part in the group dances at the public celebration and accepted a number of heartfelt thanks from the local dignitaries and invited townspeople.
The physician had said that very morning that she could return to careful use of her arm and shoulder, consigning the straps and bandages to the bin. All day she and Elsa had been discreetly pushing the boundaries on acceptable behaviour in public. When the party ended and Anna slipped away with Kristoff for her special birthday present, Elsa all but chased Freya to her room.
"Ice dresses are easier to remove." She complained, struggling with the series of knots on Freya's bodice. "I prefer your usual clothes." She grumbled.
"I thought it would be nicer to wear a dress to Anna's birthday party." Freya grinned, running a hand from Elsa's thigh to her chin. "Maybe you'll have to ask Kristoff how to pull a dress away quickly?" She teased, nibbling Elsa's ear to make it even harder for her to work.
Eventually they had disrobed and Freya found herself prone on the royal bed, Elsa looming above her in a most delectable manner. "I have wanted to thank you properly for saving my life, twice, for weeks now." Her voice was husky, her eyes were burning. As had become custom, she kissed the snowflake shaped mark on Freya's left shoulder first.
Much later in the night, curled up together and slowly winding down to sleep Freya breathed out another iced breath. "Remind me to save your life a few more times."
"Sure thing." Elsa mumbled snuggling in.
Breakfast conversation was polite and carefully skirted around any of the noises either party had heard the night before.
Slowly winter released its grip on Arendelle and spring began to push its way through the melting snow and into the chilled air.
Today was a big day. The physician had given his permission for Freya to try and use her tools at the forge. Elsa had cancelled her appointments for the day; she was going to be supportive to her partner, gossip be damned. They made their way to the stable yard and Freya opened up a leaf of the double doors.
She stood in near forge despite the hearth being unit. Elsa pressed against her back, loath to part from her at this vital moment. Fearfully the farrier approached her tools, still neatly placed on their racks as they had been the night she had put them away before supper and their dance... the arrow. She easily grasped one in her left hand, lifting it up. A large tongs for handling hot metal, one of her more vital tools for working. There was an iron bar on the bench; she manoeuvred the tongs to grip it, taking the metal and laying it on the anvil. Now for the moment she feared most. Elsa stood in silent support.
Freya's right arm lifted slowly; there was no pain, just the rightful concern for it. She carefully selected a hammer from the rack and pulled it free; it sat easily in her right hand. Exhaling slowly, inhaling again, Freya lifted the hammer.
Pain drove her to drop it with a clang, she curled in on herself a little. Her wounded shoulder, though healed, was too weak to lift the tools of her trade, a dull burn sat within. The doctors were right, there was too much damage.
Elsa had winced at the clang; her heart broke to feel Freya's shuddering effort to hold in sobs. She hugged the woman as tight as she could. "We'll figure something out."
"I can't do my work anymore Elsa... I can't work iron..." The hands around her waist unlocked the floodgates and Freya let herself cry.
"That's it, let it out, let it go." Elsa led Freya to a bench, the same bench she herself had sat upon long months before, when Freya was in her element and displaying her skills with pride.
"What am I going to do now?" Freya let her useless arm drop down on the wooden bench. Elsa quickly caught it up again, pressing fingers to her lips.
"These hands created, these hands healed and cared. These hands, this entire body, protected me from fatal harm." Elsa pushed the hand against her heart. "You are far from useless Freya, now and forever." Freya's eyes were tearful and the green had dulled beneath their sheen.
"That was before."
"It can still be." Elsa stood and pulled Freya up with her. "We still have an option to try."
The horses followed the reindeer through the steam that vented from the ground. They didn't flinch from the little bursts, their friend Sven was unbothered so they were too. "...Really heavy."
"I get the picture Kristoff. As long as you explain that my right arm is weak and I don't appreciate a tug on it I'll be fine." Freya tried to keep the anxiety from her tone. Elsa had hurried her to the man and demanded they visit the trolls immediately and Anna had invited herself along.
"It will be fine." Anna smiled. "They'll be too busy playing with me and Kristoff to bother you." She smiled to Freya.
After customary greetings and celebration at Anna and Kristoff's visit, let alone the Queen, the trolls settled. "I see you have brought us someone special." Grand Pabbie said to Elsa.
She smiled, there was no point or reason to conceal. "Yes Grand Pabbie. This is Freya." Elsa blushed. "She's my, Fixer Upper." The trolls halted their chatter to look at the woman.
"She's real pretty." One of the little trolls said.
"Good catch there your majesty." An older male winked, earning a slap from a female.
"Thank you." Elsa smiled, happy with just how free she could be among the magical creatures.
"I see a hurt there dear." Bulda said, leaving Kristoff and Anna a moment to approach Freya, the woman had been keeping close to Elsa.
"Oh, um, yes. My shoulder." Freya touched the location of her scar. Grand Pabbie came to take a look.
"May I?" He asked permission to move her jerkin.
"Oh, go ahead, enough doctors have had a good prod." Freya obliged. Stone fingers ran over the damaged flesh. At first Freya was hopeful; Elsa had spoken highly of troll magic and their healing skills. Grand Pabbie's tutting dashed her good mood.
"It is a nasty wound child, wrought by steel and hate..." He placed his palm over the scar. "It is not a hurt for our magic. I am sorry." The aged troll bowed his head.
"But... my chance, my work. My Future" Freya tried to keep her voice even but the tears that slipped from her eyes told their story.
"You have a future child. A bright one." Grand Pabbie assured her, he took her right hand and laid it over Elsa's, she had not left Freya's side for a moment. "Such a gleaming future." He smiled enigmaticly and left them.
"It will be ok Freya." Elsa said once again.
"I know." Freya laughed over a sob and laid her forehead against Elsa's. "But I want to still feel a little sad for a while, it was my entire life for quite a while."
"I understand." Elsa smiled through their mingled tears and kissed Freya gently. "We need to let ourselves feel."
The couple were left a while alone until they felt able to rejoin the group and hear embarrassing stories about a growing Kristoff that left the sisters laughing at his expense. They returned to the castle in time for supper and retired to bed without games or dancing. It had been a tiring day.
That night, Elsa insisted on sharing her bed with Freya again.
"I don't know how this is supposed to be more comfortable." Freya complained, her chin brushing against fine strands of hair as she spoke.
"It certainly is for me." Elsa replied, she was lying on Freya, toes to chin. Having a partner taller and a little broader than herself was certainly enjoyable, as was the generous natural "pillow" the woman under her had.
"I can feel everything going numb; you're cutting off the blood supply." Freya continued her grumble, she had a good thing going, but she wrapped her arms around Elsa to keep her in place. Having a warm, slender shape lying all along her was actually rather pleasant, bar the circulatory issues. Elsa insisted she was cold, Freya would always retort she was warm.
"Anna still jumps on me all the time." Elsa said, placing her hands over Freya's that had linked, resting on her midriff. "Well, a little less since I brought you in here." She snuggled her head a little. "Mmm, Freya, you are the best pillow."
"Good to know. I can get a new title now to replace Horse Steward. Freya Hanson: Royal Pillow, by appointment of her Majesty the Queen, Elsa Solveig Arendelle." Freya said it jauntily with light tickles to the flat stomach beneath her hands but she could feel Elsa's tensing at the mention of things Freya had lost.
Her hands freed from the warm grasp, Elsa reached one over to touch the shoulder behind her. She couldn't feel the ragged scar left from doctors digging out the barbed arrow head, she couldn't touch the muscles and tendons torn apart by the intrusion. She couldn't heal the damage, her physicians couldn't, and the trolls couldn't. "Sorry." Elsa whispered.
"Hey, I told you then, I'll tell you now and I will keep telling you forever. It was my choice to protect you; it wasn't even a choice I had to consider." Freya kissed the platinum hair below her chin, to protests she took Elsa's free hand and laid it on her other shoulder. "These shoulders will protect you, bear you, for as long as I live Elsa." Freya's voice caught in her throat, "I love you Elsa of Arendelle." She didn't know when she had started to cry, but tears were trailing from her eyes to drip into the platinum hair of her partner.
"Oh Freya… I love you. So, so much." Elsa slipped off the woman to better embrace her, pillowed on the shoulder that bore her snowflake she looked up at watery green eyes with tearful eyes of her own.
They slept wrapped up together as close as they could manage.
The words that Freya had spoken planted in Elsa's mind and an idea took root.
A little more my friends, I promise more happy feels to sad feels next chapter. I really do!