Meltdown

by Concolor44

Author's Note: I'm trying to get one of these published per week. It's not as easy as it looks. Also, I know that I'd mentioned to a few readers via PM that Hans would be showing up in this chapter … but as it turned out, other people had an awful lot to say. Next time, for sure.

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Chapter 33: Combination

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Monday 02 August 1841, 4:30pm

A colossal, translucent-blue, multi-legged fabrication stepped methodically through the boreal forest on the way back north to Arendelle. Seven much smaller conveyances, six of them holding a kidnapper, one holding a corpse, skittered along in front of it.

Elsa and Anna sat on a pair of slightly-reclined chairs of molded ice that perched center-top of the huge spidery thing, the older sister examining the younger one's hand, her expression phasing from clinical to panicked every few seconds. "I'm so sorry! I know that hurts."

"Well, no. Not since a couple minutes ago," Anna answered quietly.

The scab had formed while Elsa was interrogating the men (which didn't take long, as they were tremblingly eager to spill their guts about 'Jan'). As soon as she noticed the blood that had dripped onto Anna's dress, though, she had all but come undone, and insisted on healing the wound.

"But that isn't necessary. It'll be fine in a few minutes, remember?"

"… What?"

"It'll heal."

"Well, eventually, but …"

"No! In another minute or two."

Elsa glanced twice between the scabbed-over fingers and Anna' sea-storm eyes. Then she seemed to come to herself. "You regenerate!"

Her sister's shock surprised Anna. "Hey, you were the one who figured out I could heal myself!"

"Oh. Um … right." She concentrated, her brow drawing into lines, and then relaxed and smiled. "Of course."

This weird behavior freaked Anna out. On top of what Elsa had done to her kidnapper, this just multiplied the redhead's worries. That was nearly three minutes ago, and those had been the last words they'd spoken to each other. Staring at her older sister's profile, she noticed subtle changes in her expression and emotional state. It was downright disturbing, and to Anna, the silence was deafening. "Elsa?"

The older girl seemed very distracted. "Hmm?" She noted that Anna was scooted about as far away from her as she could get and still be on her chair.

"Why didn't Kristoff come with you?"

Elsa's face registered confusion and then obvious shock for a couple of seconds, but then smoothed out. "Oh, he wanted to. But I told him I'd handle it. It could have been, ah, dangerous. For him. You understand."

There was something very odd in Elsa's undertone. Anna filed it for later examination. "Oh. Okay." She nibbled her lip. "But he's all right, then? Those guys wouldn't tell me anything."

"He's fine."

"I didn't see anything after that jerk put that smelly rag over my …"

"He's fine. Don't worry."

The older girl fell silent again, and went back to that … that weird thing she was doing with her face. Definitely creepy. Just like …

"Elsa?"

A couple of blinks and quick frowns crossed her face before she turned to Anna. "Yes?"

"Is that … that guy really gonna die … like what you said? 'cause that's kinda …" Her voice got really quiet. "… kinda … horrible."

The Queen regarded her keenly for a moment, then gave her a wide smile. Their transport stopped. "I think we've probably gotten enough from each other for one day."

"… Huh?"

"We'll let those guys get out of sight." And she sat calmly for half a minute while the mobile cages moved northward until they could no longer be seen or heard. Then Elsa stood. "To answer your question, no."

Anna brightened. "No? Really? But …"

"It wasn't because he didn't deserve it, though. It's because your sister is something of a wuss."

"… I … my sister? But you … wait, what?" Anna stared at the older girl in confusion … then in sudden fear as Elsa's eyes turned a deep, limitless, empty black.

There was a momentary wavering of reality, and then two Elsa's stood there. One gripped the sides of her head and grimaced. The other grinned slyly and leaned against the back of the ice chair. "Hey. Don't think we've been introduced. I'm Morana." Her hair flashed once, then returned to its longer, black, natural state (insofar as the word 'natural' may be used with one of the Fey) along with a generous increase in her basic hourglass shape. Her dress shifted to a sleeveless, white tunic thing that stopped mid-thigh, showing off her flawless limbs to good effect.

That was one of the few times in her life that Anna was left completely speechless.

Elsa turned to the Fey with a withering look. "What the devil was all that nonsense about?"

"Reputation."

"I'm … how … excuse me, what?"

"Okay, here's how this is going to play out, and keep in mind that I'm mainly doing this for my own entertainment, but there will be some benefits to you, so if you just happened to want to look at it as a favor …"

"I promised you no such thing!"

"This I know, little Queen. I'm only pointing out that your earlier assessment of my motives was less than flattering."

"My assessm- … oh." Elsa dropped her eyes and blushed slightly. "Um … sorry about that."

Earlier

Elsa had found that switching her focus between each of her falcons every few seconds worked better than trying to see through all of them at once. It helped her to concentrate on trying to locate Anna's form. It gave her a continual, sweeping view of her kingdom. It allowed her to cover leagues in all directions.

But it wasn't showing her where her sister was. Instead, minutes kept slipping past.

The panic was there, lurking around the corners of her mind, turning things dark, clouding her reason, and she pushed it down, but it would only appear in a different form, a different place, and she was running out of time, and she couldn't let them get too far away or she'd never find them, and what am I doing I can't let anything happen to Anna and what if they've done something to her already and don't think about it and why did they take her, what possible reason could there be and don't think about it, because if something horrible happens to her I'll never forgive myself and don't think about it because if you dwell on it you won't be any use to her so don't think about it, don't think about it, DON'T THINK ABOUT IT!

"You're working yourself into a lather."

Elsa shrieked and spun around, lighting and then dousing the magical glow around her hands in the same small fraction of a second. "Would you PLEASE not DO THAT!?"

Morana merely grinned.

Elsa took two quick deep breaths and asked, "What may I do for you, My Lady?"

"Dear me, so formal." She took a step closer, her bare feet every bit as comfortable standing on ice as Elsa's. "I'd actually prefer it if you called me Grandmama."

That extracted a series of confused blinks from the Queen. "Would you really?"

"No, on second thought, that makes me sound old, and I never was fond of my Crone avatar, even if I am a couple hundred times your age. No, 'My Lady' is fine. Or you can just call me 'Morana'. I'm not picky."

"Very well. Morana. Is there something I can do for you?"

"Yes. Find your sister."

Elsa fought down her temper. Breathe. Pause. Breathe. "That's good advice. I think I'll try that."

"I like the falcons. Nice touch." She waved vaguely at the sky. "How's that working for you?"

Of course she knew about the falcons. Why wouldn't she know about the falcons? "The kidnappers seem to have traveled farther than I'd anticipated. But I will find her."

A small sigh escaped the Fey's perfect lips. "I'd like to think that, too. But the truth is, you're not just going up against regular humans."

"… What?"

"They've got help."

"What does that mean?" Elsa asked, trying to keep the exasperation out of her tone, and reflecting that she voiced that phrase all too frequently when dealing with Morana.

"They're cloaked. Hidden. In truth, they aren't really very far from here yet. But even so, you won't be able to see them with regular eyes, not from a distance."

The panic was coming back. "But if," she whispered, "if I ask for your help … I'd be putting my kingdom in danger."

The Fey rolled her eyes. "Yes, that whole 'boon' thing." A careless wave dismissed the notion. "Don't worry about that. Old news."

"Then what is it you want?"

"I want you to do ME a favor."

It was a struggle to keep up with the conversation. "… What could I possibly do for you," Elsa wanted to know, "that you can't already do yourself, a hundred times better?"

"You can be human."

Elsa had no ready answer to that.

Morana continued casually, "You see – and this is something your man pointed out at least once – the Fey don't think like humans."

"Oooooooo…kay. So?"

"Well, we don't FEEL like humans, either."

"You mean emotionally?"

"Right."

"Um … I suppose that makes sense."

"I'd like to change that, in my particular case."

"… I don't understand."

Giving her lower lip a brief workout, and looking anywhere but at Elsa, Morana finally said, "I've been watching you and Carlos."

"So I'd gathered."

"The two of you are very much in love."

"Correct."

"And your sister and her new husband are just as … infatuated with each other."

"It's more than simple infat-"

"I know that. I know it's more than that. It's more than friendship, for both of you, more than lust, more than a desire for companionship or familiarity … more, even, than a need for stability or a longing for adventure."

"Well … yes."

"The Fey do not have that."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Is that a request for a boon?"

Elsa shook her head. "No, I mean how can you not know of love?"

"Oh, we know of it. We even pretend to it, sometimes. But usually it's little more than an unstable mixture of lust and jealousy. That's why I killed my husband so many times." She poked Elsa's chest. "With you, though … you actively put the other person's welfare ahead of your own, and that is something that the Fey just DON'T do, not even with family."

"It looked to me as if Litania felt affection for you. And she said she was your cousin. And she sounded as if she understood love when she …"

"Litania is something of an exception, but even then she was only using emotional arguments to get me to bend to Oberon's will. As I said, we can act like we love. But it isn't the same as it is with you. Trust me."

A long pause and a keen stare preceded Elsa's answer. "I can accept that."

"So what I need from you … what I would appreciate … is for you to allow me to Blend with you."

"… I don't follow."

"There is a way of sharing spirits. Blending our essences."

"Blending … how?"

"Magic."

"Yes, well," was her dry rejoinder, "that does seem to answer for most situations with the Fey."

"This is a different magic."

"In what way?"

"Normally we just take what we want. We manipulate humans into doing things for our entertainment."

"I'd noticed."

"But I can't do that with Blending."

"… Oh?"

"It has to be completely voluntary on your part."

"Voluntary."

"Really, more than that. You have to … want it. You have to be glad of it, with no false notes, nothing held in reservation."

"And then what?"

"Then I would join with you."

That sounded vaguely sexual to Elsa, and she pursed her lips in sudden alarm. "Um …"

"No, not that! I can get that anytime I want, and besides I don't swing that way." She considered that statement and shrugged. "Much."

"Well, then, what …"

"We would share space in your physical form and our spirits would combine for a time. Then I would be able to experience what you experience, and you would be able to feel a little bit of my mind."

Elsa temporized. "Say I allow this …"

"Not just allow. Encourage."

"Okay. Say I do. Then what? What do you expect to get out of it?"

The Fey stared off at the horizon, silent for several breaths. "My husband."

Her mouth opening and shutting a few times, Elsa finally managed, "How will that … how would you even …"

"My husband," answered Morana, turning back to the Queen and meeting her gaze, "is sort of like you. Jarilo's Fey-touched, not full Fey. Well, his father was half-breed. His mother is full Fey."

"Oh." It was all Elsa could think of to say.

"So because of his human heritage, he has the capacity to love … even if he doesn't often exercise it."

"Wait … you said you killed him?"

"Yes. Several times."

"But … but …"

"What? I always bring him back."

Elsa huffed a sigh and decided to just go with the flow. "Whatever."

"Well, anyway. Yes, I killed him. He's a cheat. He has a roving eye. But … but I think that, maybe, part of that might possibly be, um … partly my fault."

"… Why?"

"Because while I desire him and I enjoy our times together and I get really jealous of him, I don't love him. And he knows it."

"Wait … wait, wait." Elsa held up a hand, staring at the icy surface where they stood. "But you took Nicolai."

"Yes? So?"

"You were … you'd said you were going to … um …"'

"Screw his joints loose?"

"Whew." Color crept up her cheeks. "Yeah, that."

"Right. He's good. Lots of repressed, aggressive lust in there. Loads of fun."

"But you killed your husband for doing the same thing?"

"It wasn't the same thing. Not the same thing at all." Morana frowned, trying to come up with descriptions that would mean something to Elsa. "The Fey aren't capable of deep emotional attachments, but humans are. So are the Fey-touched. Jarilo would get … tired. Tired of me … no, that's not right … tired of what I did. He went looking for emotional support. He kept his love from me, gave his love to another. I couldn't stand that."

Elsa grasped for words herself, trying to put together a thought that wouldn't risk Morana's wrath. "Does that not seem, ah, perhaps just a bit … unfair?"

"How so?"

"You expect better of him than you are willing to give."

"Not at all. I told you, the Fey can't love. As in, are not capable of it. But Jarilo is. He's supposed to love me."

"But love can't survive in a vacuum! If you don't love him …" She caught her breath, put a hand to her throat, and stared at Morana. "Wait. That's it, isn't it? Is that what you want? You want to learn how to love? The way humans do?"

"No, not the way humans do. The way YOU do. I wouldn't ask this of any other human."

Meeting Morana's frank gaze, Elsa began to formulate a question, but the Fey cut her off. "You, little Queen, have several attributes – and having been alive this time around for the better part of five millennia, I can promise you that I've met a lot of people – that I haven't found present in this combination in any other human I've met personally."

"I find that hard to believe."

"You will believe what you are able to. But I've been watching you closely, and looking into your past. I don't know of anyone else who could have experienced the childhood you did and come out even mostly sane, much less as balanced and focused and selfless as you did."

Elsa fought down a blush. "Anna could have."

"Perhaps. She had her own demons to battle. But yours were monumental. I'd say insurmountable for anyone else. Some might say that the only reason you DIDN'T go over the falls was your Fey blood, but since a goodly portion of us aren't wrapped too tightly either, that probably isn't it." Her intense gaze hardened. "And you nearly died protecting your kingdom from that storm."

"But I had no choice!"

"Of course you did. And practically anyone else would have made a different one."

"But my people could have died!"

"Thus my position. You had 'no choice' because of your love, not for any practical reason. Do you not recall what your man told you about other rulers? How they feel about their subjects? And I believe your response was, 'That's sick.' Or do I exaggerate?"

"That's not the point!" Elsa objected, her face burning.

"I think it is. And then … aside from that, in addition to your love for your kingdom, and the really amazing love you hold for your sister, there is the question of your faith."

"My faith?"

"You follow the White Christ."

"You mean I'm a Christian. Yes, I am."

"Then there you go."

"I don't understand."

"How many other Christians do you know?"

"Why … hundreds, I suppose. Most of Arendelle, I'd think."

"And how many of them would have made the sacrifices you have? How many would have held onto their faith in the face of the adversity you experienced?"

Elsa raised her chin. "I've read the Book of Martyrs. There have been thousands down through the years. Tens of thousands! I'm hardly unique."

"And how many of them," asked Morana very slowly, "were royalty?"

"Ah … well. A few."

"And how many of those … were Fey-touched?"

"…"

"There is my point. You see, my several-great-granddaughter, you ARE unique. You are a follower of the White Christ with a Faerie heritage, in a powerful and temporally privileged position, who consistently puts others ahead of herself. You live out your faith the way your God intended you to, when there is no external pressure on you to do so … from anywhere or anyone. You have no concept of how rare that is."

"I am hardly perfect!"

"So then you understand your Creator's rules about that, too. You're only reinforcing my opinion."

Elsa considered the other for a moment, conscious of time slipping away. "So you want to do this for love?"

"Eh, to compress the argument until it screams for mercy, yes."

"And this is a favor to you?"

"It is. Just consequentially it will allow you to rescue your sister in a timely manner, but you might be able to do that anyway."

"But you just said …"

"I've learned not to discount your success in any endeavor. That it's barely possible doesn't mean it's a sure thing, as it will be when we Blend, but I wouldn't lay any money down against you." She jabbed a finger at the Queen. "You're a stubborn one."

Elsa heaved a long sigh. "Does conversing with you always have to be such an emotionally draining experience?"

"You wouldn't learn anything otherwise … and I wouldn't have nearly as much fun."

Ticking off her limited pool of options, Elsa finally nodded. "Very well. I am agreeable to your proposal."

"Oh, dear, and I didn't even bring a ring with me!"

Elsa's eyes clenched almost as hard as her teeth.

"Sorry, sometimes I can't help myself. You are a wealth of straight lines."

"Can we please just do this?"

"Of course." She grinned, her eyes sparkling. "But before we start, how do you feel about spiders?"

That just got a silent series of blinks in answer.

"I mean, are you afraid of spiders?"

"Oh. Well … no. I had several that lived in my room with me over the years. They ate the bugs and made pretty webs in the window. I mainly just watched them because I didn't want to make them leave by messing with them." One eyebrow climbed slightly. "Why is that important?"

"I just had the most delicious idea for rescuing your sister. Oh, this will be fun!"

Back to 4:32pm

Morana waved off Elsa's apology. "Water under the bridge. I had enough of holding grudges over the last millennium and a half. Time for some other kind of entertainment. Let's trundle." The enormous spidery thing got underway again. She rubbed her hands together. "Anyway, here's what will happen. We'll all get back to your castle and you'll hold a quick general court. You'll explain to whoever shows up that these are the men who kidnapped your Little Sis and tried to kill her Prince, and that you-"

"What?!" screeched Anna. "What'd you say?"

"Oh, that's right." She gave Elsa a slightly apologetic look. "Oops. Spilled the beans."

Elsa caught Anna's arms and held her gaze. "Kristoff is alive and safe. Okay?"

Anna was adamant. "Tell. Me. What. Happened."

"Is it really …"

"NOW!"

Closing her eyes, Elsa gave a long sigh. "When you were kidnapped, Kristoff tried to fight them. He got stabbed, but I was able to heal him, and he's resting and he will be fine. Understand?"

"Stabbed."

"Yes. He really did want to come with me, but … um, he … um …"

"What are you not telling me?"

"… He lost kind of a lot of blood, and he didn't, um, have the, uh, energy."

"You said he was fine!"

"Anna …"

"What part of losing a lot of blood do you consider FINE?!"

"Anna … please. I will take you to him first. That was my idea all along. But I didn't want you …"

"To worry? You mean like the way I might WORRY about my family lying to me about, oh, I don't know, maybe why my sister wouldn't open her door for THIRTEEN YEARS!? You think I don't have what it takes to handle that kind of news?"

Bowing her head, Elsa whispered, "I'm sorry. There was just a lot to think about and I didn't want you to freak out."

"I'M NOT FREAKING OUT!"

Elsa gave her a lost look. Morana observed them closely.

With some effort, the redhead controlled her temper, rubbing furiously at her smarting eyes. "We said, 'No more lies.' You promised."

"I didn't lie. He's safe and he's resting and …"

"You didn't tell me!" Her lower lip quivered. She bit it. "I'm not stupid! I'm not some dumb little girl who … who …"

And then Elsa was holding her close and tight and safe while she cried. "I know. There is no one I know who is braver or more capable than you. But you'll be back with him soon. Just think of that. He's safe and he loves you and you'll be together and everything will be put to rights."

Morana stated, "You two really are amazing."

Two pairs of blue eyes turned her way.

"Even when you're beyond furious, it never crosses your mind to kill each other."

Two mouths dropped open in shock. Anna said, "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard!"

"Eh. What some might consider stupidity – or blackest treachery – might be looked on in the Fey realm as wisdom."

Elsa murmured in Anna's ear. "The Fey don't think like humans."

Nodding, Morana added, "Some humans. Maybe not so much others."

Anna's hands cupped her sister's face, spearing her with that watery look. "You promise he's okay?"

"Yes. All he needs is rest and a lot of good meals."

"Well then." She turned to Morana. "You were saying?"

"Right. Okay, so you caught them red-handed and subdued them. Then you'll say that the penalty for such crap is death and that all but one of them is going to die."

A frown marred Elsa's brow. "Why leave one alive? I'm not in favor of torture, but I'm even less in favor of a miscarriage of justice. I learned my lesson with Hans. If I had hanged him when I had the chance instead of leaving him in the dungeon …"

Morana held up a hand. "Stop. I'm getting there. The only one that will actually die is the one that tried to backstab you, because he's already dead."

"… Huh?"

Chuckling at Elsa's extreme confusion, the Fey continued, "Once everybody hears the verdict, and all those lowlifes know that only one of them is going to be left alive, you trot them off to the dungeon, stick 'em in solitary. Then you take them out one at a time, isolate them, and tell each one that he's the one you've decided to let live."

Elsa thought she could see where that was going, but had an objection. "Very well, so you have a group of men who all think they are the sole survivor of the Ice Queen's Wrath or something. Then what? If we let them go to spread the tale, they will run into each other sooner or later and …"

"Ah-ah-ah! You didn't let me finish. Once you tell each man that he's going to live, you will turn his mind off for a while. One of them will wake up in London, one in Copenhagen, one in Paris, one in St. Petersburg, one in …"

"Oh!" Anna blurted out. "I get it! Then they won't ever see each other again, and the story … but wait. How are they gonna get there?"

Morana eyed Elsa and grinned. "You did say she was sharp." Turning that megawatt-level smile on the younger girl, Morana answered, "I'll put them there. It will be just another demonstration of the Ice Queen's might. Ol' Bengt won't have the vaguest idea how he managed to wake up in Venice the day after conking out in Arendelle. But he will know magic was responsible. And he will blab his head off."

"Um … but if he does that … I mean, yeah, a lot of people know about Elsa, but most of 'em think the stories were blown way out of proportion. Is it really a good idea? I mean, what if, say, the Duke of St. Petersburg hears about it and has him brought in for questioning or something?"

"That's what I'm counting on."

Anna stared at her and flopped back against her seat, her mouth slowly dropping open. "… You want other countries to be afraid of Elsa."

"I want them to respect her power."

"Well … yeah, okay. But …" Anna squeezed her eyes closed and shook her head. "Hold on." She looked back and forth between her sister and the Fey. "Were you … the two of you … inside one body?"

"It's called Blending."

"Blending." She turned to Elsa. "What the hell?!"

The Queen was still rubbing her temples. "Mph. It's getting worse. You didn't tell me about the headache," she complained to Morana.

"I didn't know. I've never done it before. As far as I know it hasn't been done in over a thousand years." She stepped up and caught Elsa in a tight hug. "Thank you!"

"Well, I suppose you're welcome."

Anna goggled at them. "Hold on a minute! How do you even …"

Elsa mumbled, "Magic." The same instant Morana chortled, "Magic!"

"Uh-huh. That's the easy answer. What did you really do? Why'd you do it? What happened to that guy to make him hurt so bad if he's not gonna die. How do you …"

Morana leaned her forehead against Elsa's. "She's like that all the time, isn't she?"

"Yes."

"Hey! Those are valid questions!" Anna crossed her arms and grumped.

A slight blue glow outlined the Queen and Morana pulled away. "Good idea. You'll think better without the headache."

"Mmph."

"Well," stated the Fey, rubbing her hands together, "I've got some assimilation to do."

Anna gave her a look. "Assimiwhich?"

Elsa patted her arm as the glow died out. "I'll explain later. It's okay, though." Casting a sidelong glance at their progenitor, she added, "I did a favor for Morana."

"… You did her a favor?"

"I know, crazy, right?"

"All right, you kids, just ride this contraption back to the castle and stuff those jerks into prison. I'll …"

There was a deafening crack and the sisters yelped. A fourth figure, a diminutive boy, stood among them. Facing Morana, he said, "Oberon would like a quick chat with you." His voice was light, silky, almost birdlike.

Morana's face pinched into a sour expression. "Puck."

"Hey, Mo. How's tricks?"

"You'd know all about tricks, wouldn't you?"

Elsa could tell there was no love lost between the pair. She quickly put a warning hand on Anna's shoulder and gave her head a tiny shake when the younger girl glanced up at her.

"Don't be like that, Mo. I'm just doin' my job."

"Sure."

"Hey, Oby said go, so I went."

"Like you went when you gave Dolotria that message?"

"Damn, girl, you sure know how to hold a grudge."

"You're one to talk."

"Well if you're gonna be all stuffy, I'll go elsewhere. I've delivered my message. It's on you now." And he vanished.

After a couple of breaths, Elsa asked, "Is everything okay?"

"Who the Hell ever knows with Oberon." She sighed. "Guess I better go see what he wants." Her form faded out.

"Elsa?"

The Queen sank down and took her sister's hands. "Yes?"

"Life has gotten very, very weird of late."

"I doubt you could utter a statement that contained more truth." She patted the wounded hand and stood. "Let's catch up to the prisoners." The giant spider's legs jumped to double-time.

"This is lots faster than a horse."

"It was Morana's idea, but yes, you're right. More comfortable, too."

"Say, where's Carlos?"

A thick cloud of sadness, worry, and discontent settled around them.

Anna checked her tongue, thinking, Uh-oh. After a half-minute of silence, she ventured, "Elsa? Is … is Carlos all right?"

It was another half-minute before Elsa felt she had achieved sufficient control to speak. "We were attacked the same time you were. He was shot. A poisoned crossbow bolt."

Her eyes absolutely huge, Anna pressed her knuckles to her mouth.

"I've … I've got him in … well, I'd already worked on him for most of an hour. I was pulling the poisons out. It was evil poison. Magically evil. Then Morana …" She gulped several large breaths and steadied herself. Some moments later she continued, "Morana showed me how to put him into a state of stasis."

"… Sorry?"

"He's in a bubble where … where time doesn't move. He's frozen. In time, not ice."

Soft arms slipped around Elsa's shoulders, and the Queen's fingers wrapped them tightly. "Elsa … I am so sorry. For yelling at you. I'm sorry. You had all that to deal with and I …"

"Shhhhhh. Sh. It's … okay. I'll deal with it. I'll heal him. But I didn't know what I was doing, and I really need some more information on that … poison, and I have to do some research before … before I …" The hiccup surprised them both.

Anna nuzzled her cheek, then drew Elsa's head and shoulders into her lap. "Your turn."

Elsa's eyes were dry (more or less) by the time they got back to the castle.

. . .

. . .