Chapter 28

The snow crunched beneath Elsa's boots as she walked along the edge of the cliff. Down below the frozen water of the fjord lay still. The trail wove and winded its way down the crag, dropping them lower and lower until they would eventually reach the base of the sound. There their path would lead them alongside the water until they rounded the hill and arrived in Arendelle. The city had long since disappeared when they dropped down into the fjord, obstructed by the mountain it huddled against, but it was still there. Getting closer with every step.

All the while the storm clouds continued to swirl overhead, darkening the skies as they clawed at the far horizon. Though no snow had started to fall yet she could feel the frost building in the air as the storm prepared to assault the valley. A fell wind tore through the fjord, whistling off the rocks and trees, before it stopped. Silence would prevail for a moment until the wind returned stronger than before. Even worse was the occasional strike of lightning, stabbing into the mountainside and sending thunder echoing throughout the fjord.

Up ahead of her Anna and Kristoff walked side by side, chatting animatedly as they trod along. Sven followed close behind with Olaf sitting on his back, occasionally interjecting into the conversation. However, she didn't hear a word any of them said. She was barely aware of Aaron, who was walking right beside her.

Instead, all she noticed was a cloying anxiety was starting to worm its way through her. It had first formed when she'd laid eyes on Arendelle for the first time in days. Seeing the city locked in a frozen slumber stripped away her courage and left her shaken, allowing the fear to seep back in. It had since only grown stronger with every step. The closer she came to Arendelle, to her fate, the greater the dread became.

But it wasn't a dread of what she had to do. The events at the river had shown her one thing. That she had full control over her powers. That they listened to her now and she could do whatever she wished with them. Even though an entire sea had been frozen by her hand, it was going to be her hand that thawed it. For now, her fear was directed elsewhere. Not at the world around them, but at the man who now walked beside her.

She gave a start when Aaron reached over and caught her hand, his fingers interlacing with hers. His thumb slowly rubbed the back of her hand as he softly asked, "Are you okay? You seem a little uneasy."

He was giving her a concerned expression when she glanced over at him, his amber eyes watching her closely. Normally his gaze clamed or even excited her, freezing her heart or sending it into a frenzy, but right then it did nothing to aid the clawing fear in her belly. Elsa tried to give him a tepid smile but her lips wouldn't cooperate so she let her eyes drop to the ground. When she did finally speak her voice was little more than a whisper. "I'm terrified."

Aaron remained silent at first, still giving her a cautious look, before he gave her hand a gentle squeeze and in said in a comforting tone, "Don't worry, you can do this. I believe in you. And I won't let anything happen to you."

Unable to look at him, she turned her head to gaze out over the frozen fjord. Her eyes roamed aimlessly until they settled on a lone hawk gliding over the ice. It soared through the air, occasionally flapping its wings to battle the mounting wind, while scanning the landscape for something, anything to eat. As she watched it she replied, "I know. But that's not what I'm afraid of."

Again he didn't respond right away, letting the breeze do the talking as they walked. When he did speak it was slowly and patiently as he coaxed her to continue. "Then what are you afraid of?"

Another clash of thunder roared across the sky and the hawk suddenly banked away to the south. Beating its wings furiously, it rose over the far ridge and flashed out of sight. Watching it go, she let out a sigh and returned her gaze to the ground. Come on, Elsa. If you can't tell him, who can you tell? Looking back at Aaron, she saw that he was giving her a beckoning smile, silently urging her to speak, so she pushed aside her fears and simply said, "Losing you."

Letting out a brief chuckle, he gave her an appreciative grin before saying, "Don't worry about me. I can take care of myself."

"Yes, but I don't know what's going to happen once we get there," she replied, looking at the hill that hid Arendelle. "I doubt Hans is just going to relinquish control of the city."

Aaron shook his head, following her stare as his voice turned hard. "No, he won't. Even if he puts up a fight I defeated Hans once before and I'll do it again."

"I know you will," she replied quietly, shooting him a glance. His face now looked confident and determined without a trace of fear. Aaron was fully prepared to do whatever he had to. If only I could say the same, she thought, letting herself come to a halt. When he also stopped she added, "He isn't the only thing that could take you away from me, though."

"Elsa? What is it?" Concern rippled across his face when he looked back at her and tried to suss out what was upsetting her.

Drawing in a deep breath, she closed her eyes and tried to steady herself. It's now or never. Either I ask him now or turn around and never look back. Reopening her eyes, Elsa turned so that she faced him directly and reached out so that she was holding both his hands. When she'd done so she raised her eyes and peered deeply into his tawny ones. They stared back, continuing to shimmer as they always did while scrutinizing hers closely.

She continued to look into those smoldering spheres as she quietly said, "The moment I set foot in that city I'll be the queen again. That means everything's going to change. I'll have thousands of people depending on me to run the kingdom and responsibilities that may push my own personal wishes aside. Maybe even our relationship. Can you live with that?"

While she spoke every trace of emotion fled Aaron's face until he wore a guarded expression and his eyes became unfathomable. He didn't speak for several seconds, his expression giving nothing away, until he measuredly replied, "You'll still be the woman I fell in love with."

That managed to lure a smile out of her and she glanced away. But the smile quickly faded before she took a step back, withdrawing her hands from his. He continued to give her a penetrating stare as she slowly shook her head. "No, I won't. Aaron, you fell in love with a girl who was alone and free in the mountains. She didn't have worries or concerns to distract her. She was able to do what she pleased and love who she wished. And she loves you with all her heart. But as soon as I enter Arendelle that girl will be gone. What I'm asking is can you look past her?" Letting her face grow serious, she drew herself up into a dignified stance and gave him a piercing look. "Can you fall in love with a queen?"

Whereas the rest of his face remained emotionless, whatever he was feeling continued to pool into his eyes until his gaze became so intense it felt as though it would begin to burn through her. Slowly, deliberately, he stepped forward and gently took her face in his hands. Holding her only an inch away, he whispered in a deep voice, "Elsa, I am yours and you are mine. Now and forever, no matter what happens. Even if you're the queen or a lowly peasant I'll be yours as long as you shall have me."

His words helped to quell her turbulent thoughts, especially when alongside with the strident heat radiating from him that urged her to close the gap between her and him, but she still wasn't quite satisfied. "That's easy to say now, but what about when I'm sitting on that throne?"

Aaron's brows knitted together into a heady glare and he let out a shaky breath. Though a vortex of emotions seemed to be coursing through him his voice remained steady as he said, "Then I shall love the new you just as fiercely as I fell in love with the old one." His face then gradually softened again and he gave her a minute smile, his tone dropping to where she could barely hear him. "And who knows. Maybe, when we're alone with only each other, I'll see her again."

Only after he was done talking did she finally allow herself a genuine smile. He always did have a way of using his words to both allay her fears and also stoke her desire. His eyes continued to bore into hers as he slowly leaned in, his lips reaching towards hers. Elsa let her eyes close as she reveled his arousing scent and lavished in the calming warmth of his hands…

"Everything okay back there?!"

After a brief pause they both turned to see the others looking back at them with concerned expressions. All except Anna, who had been the one to interrupt and now wore a devilish grin as she watched them. A flash of vexation passed through her as she gave her sister a glare. Anna!

Even Aaron, who was normally so good at concealing his emotions, let anger seep into his voice, replying sternly, "We're fine, thank you! Just having a private conversation!" He then gave a small sigh, letting his hands fall to his sides before asking, "Kristoff! How much farther?!"

Elsa was barely able to suppress a groan as the moment slipped away fruitlessly while Kristoff answered, "Not far! The city should be just around that bend up ahead!"

"Then it's time," Aaron muttered, taking her hand back in his and walking forward. "Gather round, all of you. I want to fill you in on the plan."

"Finally," Kristoff breathed, heading back towards them. To Anna he said, "I told you he had a plan."

"Waited a little late to tell us," she replied, also walking but she hesitated when she saw the vicious scowl Elsa was giving her. Pull a stunt like that again, Anna, and I'll freeze you like an ice cube. Watching her warily, Anna put on a sheepish smile and looked at Aaron. "And, um, what exactly is the plan?"

He didn't seem to notice their brief exchange as he calmly replied, "We need to get Elsa into the city where all the people can see her. Once there, she will lift the winter in front of all of them and reclaim the crown."

Turning to her, Kristoff asked, "Are you sure you can end the winter? I mean, you froze the entire ocean."

She continued to give Anna a warning look for a moment before turning to him and nodding. "I can do it." If I did it I can undo it, right?

Aaron gave her another squeeze coupled with a warm smile, saying, "Of course you can." He then turned back to the other two and asked, "Is there a place we can go where lots of people can see her clearly?"

"Yeah," Anna replied with a nod. "The main courtyard. It's in front of the bridge to the castle."

"Then that's where we're going. The hard part is going to be getting Elsa through the city unnoticed."

Whatever resentment Elsa was still harboring for her sister vanished beneath a wave of confusion at his words and she shot him a puzzled glance. Wait, what? Unnoticed? Kristoff appeared to have the exact same thoughts she did, protesting, "Wait, no one said anything about sneaking her in."

Aaron nodded patiently, unphased by their bafflement as he said, "The moment Hans learns she's returned he'll move against her, and the last time he saw her he tried to kill her. I'm not about to give him a second chance so the less time he has to react the better. We don't have to get her all the way to the plaza undetected, but the farther the better."

Still extremely befuddled, Elsa asked, "So how are we going to do that? Sneak in around the back?"

Shaking his head, he gave her an amused smile and replied, "No. We're going to hide you in plain sight. He turned to her sister and said, "Anna, no one in Arendelle has seen you in days. Once someone sees you word of your return is sure to travel fast and before long I'm sure a crowd will gather, which is perfect. We want a crowd for when the show starts. Hopefully they'll be too distracted by you to pay any attention to the rest of us."

"And what will we be doing?" interjected Kristoff.

"You and I will be trying to make sure that no one can get a good look at Elsa. Kristoff, you'll walk alongside Anna and be guiding Sven. The two of you should be able to prevent anyone from seeing her from that side. Elsa, you'll be between me and Sven where it will be hard for people to get a good look at you."

That's it? Elsa thought as she listened. That's the plan? Just walk in and hope that no one looks directly at me? Once again she and Kristoff seemed to be on the same wavelength as he folded his arms and gave Aaron a nonplused look. "I'm starting to smell a lot of ifs coming off this plan."

A twinge of irritation entered Aaron's face though he kept his voice calm. "It's the best I can do with what we have. The alternative is I can go down the street juggling fire, but this seems a little less conspicuous." He paused for a moment and gave each of them a hard look, as though challenging them to come up with a new plan. When no one spoke he continued. "Remember, we want to attract attention, just so long as it's the right kind of attention. So that means that Elsa, you need to keep your hood up and don't talk to anyone. And Kristoff, unless someone talks to you directly, let Anna do the talking. She's the focus of attention and we're just her escort."

Shaking his head, Kristoff frowned and said, "This is not going to work."

"Do you have a better plan?" Aaron asked, giving him a cool stare.

Not intimidated by his gaze, Kristoff shrugged. "No, but that doesn't mean that this is a good one."

"Your concern is noted," Aaron replied brusquely before turning to the rest of them. "Does anyone have any questions?"

At first no one spoke. Then Olaf piped up. "Yeah. What about me?"

"Oh. You, Olaf?" Aaron turned to give the little snowman a befuddled look, having obviously completely forgotten to incorporate him in some way. After some quick thought he said, "Tell you what, do me a favor and stay out of sight. The last thing we need is for people to start panicking about a walking, talking snowman."

Olaf's broad smile quickly faded and he gave Aaron a crestfallen look. "Aw! I want to help too!"

When Aaron remained silent Anna knelt down beside him and gave him a smile. "You can," she said warmly. "Just sneak around the back and meet us at the castle. But stay out of sight."

That seemed to satisfy Olaf as his smile returned enthusiastically and he gave her a salute. "No problem. I'm good at sneaking. See you guys there." With that he turned and ran up the slope, weaving through the trees. With every step his feet gave off a loud squelch as they rubbed against the snow.

After waiting until he was out of sight Anna turned back to them and frowned. "He's not going to stay out of sight, is he?"

Shaking his head yet again, Aaron gave a shrug and replied, "Probably not. But as long as he's not drawing attention to us or getting himself killed I don't care. So is everyone set on the plan?"

Anna didn't hesitate to nod enthusiastically, apparently having no qualms about the plan Aaron had laid out, while Kristoff hesitated for a few seconds before giving a single nod. Seeing them both agree, though, gave Elsa a twinge of doubt and she felt as though she had to say something. "Wait. Anna, Kristoff. You don't have to do this."

Everyone was silent as they both gave her confused looks until Anna quietly asked, "What do you mean?"

Giving them a frown, Elsa said, "You don't have to go in with us. The last thing Hans wants is for me to return and he already knows Aaron's face, so he'll be watching for us. He may even try to kill us. But there's no reason for him to harm the two of you. Not unless you give him a reason by helping me. If you want, you can wait here until it's all over. I'll understand if-"

"No, Elsa," Anna replied, cutting her off. She adopted a fierce stare and squared her shoulders. "You're my sister and I love you. That means your battles are my battles and I'll stand by your side no matter what happens."

Elsa couldn't help but smile at her sister's loyalty as she spoke. It was heartwarming to know that Anna was willing to do whatever it took to help her restore the balance of Arendelle. Turning to Kristoff, she saw that he was giving her a measured look. After a moment he stepped alongside Anna and placed an arm around her shoulders, hugging her close. "Wherever Anna goes, I go. And I've come with you this far. Might as well see this through to the end." He then paused and smiled, bowing his head slightly before adding, "Your majesty."

She didn't respond right away, instead watching the two of them as they looked at each other and smiled. In that moment she saw how happy her sister was, and not like the supposed love she'd felt for Hans. This looked like a deep rapture that radiated through her entire body as she gazed up at Kristoff while he looked more than content just to hold her. Maybe he did deserve her sister.

When they both looked back at her she gave them a gracious smile and quietly said, "Thank you. Both of you."

Aaron had watched the entire exchange in silence, wearing a neutral expression while he watched them all. But when they both gave her another smile she felt him give her hand another squeeze, drawing her attention back to him. His eyes were once more smoldering intensely as he quietly asked, "Are you ready, Elsa?"

Drawing in a deep breath, she paused before answering. Seeing Anna so happy and hearing Aaron reaffirm his love for her had assailed the doubt within her to the point that, while some still remained, it only dwelled in the far corners of her mind. So, feeding off the encouragement she felt at that moment, she nodded. "As ready as I'll ever be."

He gave her a smile and turned to continue down the trail but she tightened her grip on his hand, holding him in place. When he turned back to give her a quizzical look, she also smiled and said, "But first, one last thing."

Hesitating, he took a step closer to her and his expression became concerned. "What?"

Finally seeing him so tantalizingly close again stoked a desire within her so strong that she decided to respond as intensely as possible. Rather than answering with words, though, she pressed her body against his and gave him a feverish kiss. As her arms quickly wrapped around him and she felt his hands embrace her she blocked out the world, pouring every emotion she'd felt that day into that one kiss. Every hope, every fear, and every little nuance in between. But most importantly she let her deep and ardent love bleed through as she channeled her entire being through her lips into him.

His lips embraced hers with an insatiable hunger, with no hesitation or uncertainty as they voraciously demanded more. They began to burn with a scalding heat that built in waves of warmth and eventually reached a blistering temperature but the slight pain she felt only caused her own lust to grow. Her fingers raked through his hair, clutching to him desperately, while his arms enfolded her and held her against him. All the while her heart hammered away in her chest and every breath came in the form of a ragged gasp.

In fact, he held her so strongly that she nearly had to forcefully pry herself when she finally pulled away. When she opened her eyes and looked into Aaron's she was pleased to see that whatever yearning she was feeling paled in comparison to what was now writhing in him. It almost looked as though she'd awoken a ravenous desire within him that he was now fighting to keep at bay. His breath was heavy and his body trembled slightly but he kept his eyes locked onto hers as he slowly regained control of himself.

Eventually both their breathing returned to their normal rates and she felt her heart gradually return to its normal pace. Only then did she extract herself from his embrace. Now she ready for whatever awaited them. Let Hans throw everything he had at them. At least she'd been able to kiss Aaron one more time.

Taking a step back, she slowly raised her hood and gave him a feisty grin. "Okay. Now I'm ready."

At first he didn't respond, taking several steadying breaths while fighting the urge to kiss her again. Eventually, though, he appeared to calm himself to the point where he could talk again and turned to look at Anna, who was giving him an amused look. Speaking in a husky voice, he said, "Anna. Lead on."