Holding Elsa close, Anna couldn't see the look of desolation on her face, but she felt the chill rush through the room. She stepped back, and looked down at the snowflake pattern of frost that had shot out across the floor from where Elsa was standing. She cried "No!" as she grabbed Elsa in a bear-hug, squeezing tightly even as Elsa struggled half-heartedly. "No, it's okay, Elsa. It's okay."

"It's not okay. How could it be okay?" Defeated, Elsa stopped resisting and let her head sag against Anna's.

"It is, it is okay. I know you're blaming yourself, and you think you're a bad person, but you're not. You're a good person. I know you are."

Elsa breathed deeply, willing the tears not to come, hating how much she loved the warmth of Anna against her, the soft comfort of Anna stroking her hair.

"It's okay that you didn't love her, Elsa. I mean, I'm not saying you didn't care about her. She's obviously very special to you, and you're fond of her, and you've been through so much together. And all the bedroom stuff you did together, that's all right. You're good to her. She was happy, and she made you happy, and nobody was hurting anybody. You would never do anything to hurt anybody."

Elsa tried to push herself away. "Anna no, I – "

"Anna yes!" She stopped Elsa's mouth with a kiss. Elsa resisted for a moment, then melted into the embrace. Even as she felt the rush of love and passion flowing from Anna into her, tears trickled down her cheeks. She made a sad little moan, a downward glissando, helpless to resist her sister's love, helpless to change the past.

At last Elsa pulled away from the kiss and murmured in Anna's ear, "I'm not a good person, Anna. You don't know. And when you do, you'll never love me again."

"I don't care what you think you've done, Elsa. You loved me when I needed you to love me, and I'm gonna love you when you need me to love you, and nothing can stop me."

"You don't know, Anna."

"You think you were using her, but you weren't. And yeah, I kinda think she fell in love with you, and that's really sad, but still you made her happier than anything. And then you could be there for me. So all things considered, it's a good thing you didn't fall in love with her, right?"

The snowflake pattern on the floor grew more elaborate. "What if – what if – what if – what if – what if I did?" Anna let go of her. "What if I fell in love with her? What if she was there, always there for me, caring about me, never wanting anything for herself? What if I could feel peace when I was with her? What if I didn't mean to, what if slowly I opened my heart to her, and she was already inside it?" Elsa turned away, looking at the pattern on the floor, watching it spread and become more intricate. "I told you what happened in the ice house. But I didn't tell you what I felt. I held her in my arms, she was ice cold, pale as death, and I was thinking, 'Not again.' I couldn't bear to see the woman I love freeze to d-death, not again." Anna's jaw was slack, her eyes locked on Elsa. "And I told her I loved her. And I did. And I do."

Elsa turned to face her again, her eyes wild. "And I love you, too. I don't know if you believe me, but I do. And I can't. I... I don't know what to do."

"You were in love with her."

"Yes."

"When you came to me."

"Yes."

Anna was too stunned to be angry or hurt. "But…how? How could you do that?"

"She told me to!" Anna reached out a hand to comfort her sister, stopped herself. "She literally told me to. To forget about her, and do whatever it took to comfort you. And I saw you, feeling unloved, and you never deserve that, but…" She slumped as if the thread holding her up had been cut. "I should never have done it. Not to her. Not to you." She smiled bitterly. "They were right. I am a monster. Just not the kind that everyone thought."

"Elsa, no." Anna couldn't say what she was saying 'no' to: to Elsa being a monster, to Elsa having betrayed Ingrid, betrayed herself, to Elsa hating herself, to believing that it happened.

"Elsa yes," she said softly, and shook her head. "I'm as bad as Kristoff. Worse. You weren't even conniving with me. You, thank God, are still blameless."

"No, you're not like Kristoff. It's… It's different."

"How?"

"I don't know. It just is. You weren't lying – okay, you kind of were, by not telling me – but you weren't… You weren't being greedy. Selfish, I mean. You didn't do what you did because you wanted me, you did it because you loved me, and you were helping. Trying to help. I guess?"

Elsa nodded, shrugged.

Anna went on. "But Ingrid? When she came to get you? Was she…?"

"She was disappointed that I wasn't happier. Can you believe it? Sometimes I don't understand her. Or me. Or what I'm doing. God knows what you think of me now."

"I…" Anna was overwhelmed by her thoughts and feelings. "I don't know what I think."

"Times like these I wish we weren't Lutheran, because I'd really like to blame all this on Loki."

Anna managed a weak chuckle as Elsa smiled crookedly.

Elsa looked around. "And what you did for me here, this was the most beautiful, thoughtful, romantic thing… I was… I was weak and stupid." She gestured at the room. "I could never deserve this, deserve you. How could I even think that?"

Anna's confusion changed direction. "I did what here?"

Shuddering with the sobs she was holding in, Elsa gestured again at the music box, the room. "This. This beautiful moment. Finding the music box, setting up the room, inviting me here, dancing with me. It was more lovely and romantic than anything I could imagine, and I love you, and I wish I could deserve – "

"I didn't do this. I thought you did. You sent for me, right? You sent…"

"…Ingrid?"

They stared at each other in silence. Elsa's hands flew to her mouth, but a hysterical giggle burst through her fingers.. "Ingrid! Of course! Because this couldn't be insane enough!"

Anna put a hand on her arm. "Elsa. Elsa!" Her agitation faded at Anna's touch, but the hysteria didn't leave Elsa's eyes.

"Anna, just when I think I don't know anything, I find out I know even less."

"Listen, I'm worried about you, and furious, and hurt, and I'm baffled at you, and a bunch of other stuff I can't figure out yet. But I do love you. I always will. Just like I said."

"Why?"

"Because… I just do, okay?" Anna shrugged helplessly. She saw the hysteria rising in Elsa again and grabbed her arms. "Listen! I just – I – I'm very confused. Overwhelmed, I guess. And I don't think I can talk to you right now. But somehow or other we are going to figure this thing out. We will. I know it. So…" She took a deep breath and stood up straight. "I'm going to go away now. It's a couple of hours to dinner, and I expect to see you there. So don't… So just… So, take care of yourself and don't hurt yourself or anything. Okay?" Elsa nodded. "Promise?" Nod. "Okay. So I will see you at dinner. Right?" Nod. "Okay then. Well…" Anna waved, immediately felt like an idiot for doing so, and left the room.

Elsa stood in the centre of the room, the frost pattern growing more lacy as it crept towards the walls.