Chapter Seventeen: Sooner or Later
"Anna, please."
All the feelings of betrayal and confusion that had been building inside of Anna since this beautiful stranger had appeared on the scene came to a head as Elsa practically begged for Anna's silence. There was so much emotion in Elsa's eyes, much more than Anna had ever seen before. Each one conflicted with another equal but opposite emotion, making it difficult to isolate one in the fray.
A thousand questions fought for supremacy in Anna's mind, but she couldn't seem to overcome the knot welling in her throat to voice any of them. Everything about Elsa's demeanor since this woman arrived seemed wrong. Her actions, her tone, it wasn't the Elsa that Anna knew at all.
The silence hung heavily between them as Anna tried to assemble her thoughts. Had Elsa known this woman before? Had Elsa met her here and somehow fallen under a spell? Who was this woman, and why did seeing Elsa act this way with her get under Anna's skin?
"Fields, watch this crazy lady while I call for backup." Kris grunted, waving the satellite phone in Anna's direction to draw her attention.
Did he not see...
No, he had to have seen that woman. There was no way that he hadn't seen her, she had to have run right by him to get to Elsa. Kris simply trusted Elsa, so much more than Anna it seemed. Guilt twisted in her chest as she realized that Elsa had rarely shown herself to be untrustworthy, yet Anna couldn't seem to agree to what was being asked of her.
Elsa is one of the best agents that S.N.O. has though. Anna reminded herself, Why would she want to hide anything from them?
"Fields!" Kris called again, agitation seeping into his tone as he urged "Come on!"
"Okay." Anna shouted to Kris, biting her lip pensively as she studied Elsa's face again. She repeated the word a second time, quietly enough that Elsa would understand that it was meant for her. "Okay."
The relief in Elsa's eyes felt like a slap in the face. Why does she care so much about this stranger? For a second it looked like Elsa might reach out to Anna, but when she didn't Anna felt an unexpected surge of disappointment. Anna bit her tongue as she turned her back on Elsa, pushing away the surprising mix of unease and hurt that settled inside of her as she stood by Ingris' side.
Waiting for backup to arrive seemed much more awkward than Anna had expected. Kris and Elsa were patrolling the boundaries of the area, keeping everyone corralled to the center. Anna was accosted by the cultists in small groups, all thanking her for freeing them from the spell they were under. Not a one seemed to care that without Elsa or Kris none of this would have been possible.
At long last though S.N.O.'s forces arrived in a stunning display of military-like power. A helicopter clearly designed to carry soldiers came roaring in, breaking the silence of the forest with the steady thrum of blades slicing through the air. Agents slid skillfully down ropes, guiding a ladder down to the ground since they were unable to land among the thick trees. The whole evacuation took less time than it had for them to arrive in the first place, and by the time they were flying away the sun had begun to break over the horizon.
Kris approached with the hazy, yellow-gold glow at his back. He smiled lazily, then clapped a hand against Anna's back. "Looks like your hunch was right after all. And to think you ever doubted yourself!"
"I guess it was." Anna admitted, though any joy she felt at being right drained out of her again as Elsa's conspicuous absence brought memories of that Aurora woman back into her mind.
"Thank you."
Anna looked sideways up at Kris, confused by the sentiment. "What for?"
"After what you said about reporting back on everything I wasn't sure..." Kris said simply, shrugging almost uncertainly.
"So you know what's going on then?" Anna almost felt ashamed at how eager her tone was, but something in her just had to know who Aurora was. "You know who that woman was?"
And why she was so comfortable with Elsa? The third question went unasked, save in the confines of Anna's own mind, but the implication was heavy in her tone.
Kris' expression fell though and he shook his head with another shrug. "She must've been Elsa's guard before she was dropped off. Knowing Elsa she probably charmed her and-"
A frustrated growl escaped Anna as she raked a hand down her face, then began gesturing wildly as she vented. "So this woman ties Elsa up, holds her prisoner, is ready to sacrifice her on a literal burning pyre, and Elsa still lets the woman touch her?"
The audible sound of her thoughts translating to speech jarred Anna, she hadn't meant them to sound so angry, so possessive. Had she? To cover for what she perceived to be the strangeness of her earlier questions Anna added "She just put herself on the line, all of us on the line, for some stranger?"
Kris sighed, "Elsa's not the type to..."
"To what?" Anna snapped, surprised again by her own ferocity. Calm down, Anna. She cleared her throat, then repeated herself "To what?"
"She wouldn't leave someone in a bad situation if she could help it. I'm sure there's a good reason for it."
It was a dodgy explanation at best, and Anna was pretty sure that he had intended to say something else, but her chance to press him for information disappeared as Elsa came jogging up to them with bags in tow.
"Shall we?" Elsa asked as she tossed Kris his bag, but she held onto Anna's. "The sooner we leave, the sooner I can get back to my own bed."
"I can get that, you know." Anna called after Elsa as she began marching toward the tree line, but Elsa either didn't hear her or didn't care to respond.
XXX
Elsa had hoped that their long night would have sapped at least some of the energy from Kris and Anna, but that wasn't the case. Dread nipped at her heels as they walked back toward camp, reminding her of the conversation that would have to happen soon, but Kris seemed oblivious to her plight as he rained praise endlessly on Anna.
"Really, I mean it Anna! I'm truly impressed! I was worried you would break, but man that was a great act!"
It was almost as if he was making up for Elsa's silence with his own incessant chatter. There were only so many ways to say that Anna had done a good job, and yet somehow he was exhausting every option and then some. How could he be so energetic when Elsa felt so utterly drained?
"Nothing like being held captive to serve as inspiration, huh?" Elsa huffed from in front of them, hoping to dampen his spirits just enough to silence him for a moment or two. "Or the threat of being set on fire."
While the words had achieved the desired effect with Kris, they spurred Anna to jog and catch up to Elsa. Elsa exhaled, tensing her grip on the straps of Anna's bag as she prepared for the questions she assumed were about to come.
Who was that? What's going on? Elsa mocked Anna's voice in her mind, rolling her eyes in response to her own imagined questions.
"You know I didn't mean that stuff I said for those people, right? Werewolves are awesome and-"
"So you've said." Elsa responded shortly.
Anna began again, "And about that bite, I-"
Panic lanced through her and Elsa immediately interrupted Anna "It's fine."
Elsa cleared her throat and and stared straight ahead, but the actions did little to fend off the tingling in her cheeks that the words had ignited.
Does she really have to do this now?
"Wait, bite?" Kris asked from behind them, "Are you telling me that you actually bit Elsa?"
"I...I mean I had to, didn't I?" Anna slowed her pace to fall in line behind Elsa again, for which Elsa was eternally grateful.
Kris didn't even try to hide his laughter. "Why, exactly? I mean I can't complain since they bought it, but couldn't you have just pretended?"
"I..." Anna hesitated, "I don't know! I just was caught up in the act and I just..."
Kris' teasing of Anna was relentless, Elsa didn't even have to glance over her shoulder to know that Anna's face was likely flushed. Right about now it was probably that familiar shade, just between pink and red. Anytime someone poked fun at Anna, or said anything mildly suggestive, the color took over Anna's face. Sometimes it even spread so far as to the tips of her ears. Elsa had almost started to wonder how she had known the shade in such detail when their arrival back at camp derailed her train of thought.
In a flurry of activity they had broken camp down and re-packed the bags that remained, one of which Elsa took and one of which Kris took. Anna had protested, of course, but in truth Elsa was happy to carry the weight. It gave her something to focus on, something that wasn't how to tell her team what she had seen in the forest.
"I lied." Elsa blurted the words out the moment they arrived back to their car, unable to contain herself any longer. "I...I lied to you."
Kris passed Elsa, popping the trunk to load supplies in the back. He shared a brief, confused look with Anna before repeating Elsa. "You lied?"
"That night I fell into the chasm I didn't" Elsa paused, taking a breath to steady herself and slow her speech down a little. "I didn't find a cave to sleep in. After the Crocotta I met...someone."
"That girl? Aurora?" Anna was at her side in an instant, now that the floodgates were open all formalities seemed to be off.
"That woman." Kris corrected with a nod, making grabby hands at Elsa for her bag.
"Please." Elsa tossed her bag to Kris reflexively, "This is difficult enough to say as it is, can I just finish?"
"Sorry." Anna and Kris said in unison, Anna lowered her gaze and Kris busied himself with packing the trunk.
The memory of Maleficent danced in her mind, feeling just as intangible as it had when it was unfolding before her. She struggled with the words to describe her, but was as open as she could be with them. The further she made it into her story though, the more difficult she found it to even periodically make eye contact with her team. Words flowed freely as she tried to recall every detail of her experience for them.
Elsa pressed her eyes closed as she finally finished, but she hardly had time to exhale the tension in her body before someone's hand had grasped her own. She swallowed, expecting to see Kris smiling sadly at her when she opened her eyes. Instead she found Anna there, looking irritated.
"I'm not crazy." Elsa assured her, or perhaps she was reassuring herself aloud.
Again panic began to rise inside of Elsa as she tightened her grip on Anna's hand, as if doing so would delay the reaction she dreaded. Elsa opened her mouth to continue, but Anna cut in before she could speak.
"You should have just told us all of this in the first place." Though Anna appeared frustrated, she held tight to Elsa's hand all the same. "Why all the secrecy about her? And Aurora?"
Elsa looked to the ground as she processed what she was about to say, and searched for a tactful way to say it. Anna was kind, too kind, but still very much in the dark. It didn't seem wise to come flying off the handle with her own suspicions, not when Anna seemed the type to go all vigilante justice if given even a single sign that she could.
"There wasn't really a good time to explain everything after the original omission, was there?" Kris stared openly at their entwined hands, a brow raised, but even so he was still committed to assisting Elsa as much as he could. "That and, well..."
"I'm sorry, Anna." Elsa attempted to resume Kris' explanation as he fell silent, but the words were difficult to find, and oddly painful to say aloud. "I wasn't sure I could trust you. To not tell S.N.O. I mean."
Pain or hurt, or maybe confusion,glazed Anna's eyes over until her expression morphed into something altogether stoic. It was a look Elsa had ever seen on Anna's face. Anna slipped her hand from Elsa's, leaving a cold, unsettling feeling in its' wake, one that made Elsa squirm uncomfortably on her feet.
"I see." Anna muttered quietly.
Her response had only been two words, but Elsa could feel the weight behind them. Anna had trusted Elsa so many times when she had no reason to, and here Elsa was refusing to do the same with yet another important thing. Resentment seemed to wash off of Anna in waves as stayed silent, her lips pursed almost angrily.
"Anna it's not-"
"No, no." Anna blinked rapidly and shook her head a few times, "I get it."
Equal parts relief and confusion washed over Elsa. She 'gets it?' Stupidly, Elsa breathed "What?"
"You guys are closer than I'll ever be to either of you." Anna sounded a little irritated at that, "I'm still new, you don't know if my ethics line up with yours."
"It's not a matter of ethics, Anna. It's a matter of-"
Elsa cut Kris off before he could finish his statement, giving him a little glare. "I should have trusted you. You...well, you deserve more than I've given you."
Anna glanced briefly up at Elsa, and Elsa swore that for half an instant there was a small smile threatening to overtake Anna's mouth.
"Can we go home now?" Anna sighed. "I never want to see this stupid forest again."
The Following Day...
"I imagined something so much cooler than this." Anna whined, rifling her through her report again. "So we just turn them in and-"
"And then we get paid and have a feast!" Kris interjected, cutting Anna off from repeating herself yet again.
"Bureaucracy, Anna." Elsa hummed, chancing a sideways smile at her. "It makes the S.N.O. world go 'round."
Things with Anna still seemed a little rocky today, but at least Anna didn't completely ignore Elsa's comment. Elsa held the door open for both Anna and Kris as they bypassed her on their way into headquarters. The trio barely had time to hear the door behind them close before Felix appeared out of nowhere with that ever present smile on his face.
"This way, Agent."
Anna glanced over her shoulder, making eye contact with Elsa who could only shrug in response. How should she know what Felix wanted with them so shortly after the end of their mission? Elsa stepped forward, falling in line beside Anna only to be greeted with an annoying series of 'tut' sounds from Felix.
"Just Agent Fields." Felix said firmly, waving a dismissive hand at Elsa and then Kris in turn.
Elsa glanced to Kris, her mouth slightly ajar at the rudeness of the gesture. Indignant, Elsa exhaled a disbelieving breath and shook her head. "This is highly irregular, Felix. I think-"
"Agent West." Despite the height difference Felix had never been one to back down under Elsa's gaze, and now was no different than any other time they had gone toe to toe. "Is there some news that you would like to enlighten me about? Perhaps something that happened on this mission that's brought you all a little closer together?"
Elsa's jaw set in a hard line at the implication. Had he even bothered to consider that Elsa may not have mentioned his crude little idea to her team yet? She didn't bother to hide her distasteful expression as she crossed her arms over her chest and firmly shook her head, a sneer threatening to take over her face.
"Then I see no reason that Agent Fields can't come with me." Felix sounded giddy, yet another victory under his belt. "This way please."
Even with Kris tugging Elsa along toward the reception desk, Elsa couldn't help herself. It was distressing to see one of her team being led away from the others, and Anna glancing back over her shoulders ever few feet didn't help. It was only when Anna and Felix disappeared from her sight line that Elsa begrudgingly threw her report to the receptionist and stormed out of the building, readying herself for a long wait back at their pod.
"You know," Kris glanced up from his book to look at Elsa, who had been pacing for the better part of an hour. "walking back and forth like that isn't going to get her here any faster."
"I don't understand why Felix would pull her aside like that." Elsa grumbled, "It just doesn't make sense. Has that ever happened?"
"It's probably just because she picked this mission, she did a good job." Kris licked his thumb to turn the page, "Not that you ever told her that."
That tone in his voice told Elsa that she was in for something, she just wasn't sure what it was yet. She narrowed her eyes and took in his relaxed posture. He didn't seem to be plotting anything, but something about the way he spoke didn't sit right with her.
"I'm quite sure I did." Elsa sighed, knowingly putting herself more accurately into his cross-hairs.
"When you fell in that chasm I think we both were blaming ourselves, but Anna..." Kris paused and shut his book, looking as if he felt he shouldn't be telling Elsa whatever he was about to say. "She was really concerned for you Els. She was really, really kicking herself for ever coming out there. But here we are, on the right side of a successful evac with a dangerous woman in custody. All thanks to Anna."
Elsa made a sharp u-turn to pace away from Kris as she tried to tamp down the memory of what Anna had said, and done, the night of Elsa's return to make her concern perfectly clear to Elsa. With all that had happened since then those moments felt like a lifetime ago, but they burned like a fresh brand in Elsa's mind.
"You should tell her how well she did. I think she'd like to hear it more from you than me. And I think maybe you want to give her a little praise."
Why would he say something like that? "Oh?"
Kris hummed his assent in response, but didn't say anything more. Instead he did something that he knew would spur Elsa into action, he smiled. It was a cheshire grin reserved for situations when he absolutely knew that he was right, and the very sight of it made Elsa inadvertently square her shoulders as she faced him.
"Oh just spit it out already, you're liable to explode if you don't say whatever it is you're dying to say."
"It just seems like you two are getting close. Plus, the way you were looking at her when she was bossing you around." Kris shrugged, as if it meant nothing, but that damned smile still lingered.
Elsa defensively hugged her midsection and swallowed past the lump in her throat. "How do you mean?"
"You were looking at her like, well..." Kris stroked his chin, choosing his words carefully. "I mean, I feel like if I were in your shoes I probably would have been at least a little hot and bothered."
"What the hell are you talking about?" Elsa half squeaked, flustered by the not quite accusation. She tried to stay calm but the words tumbled out like an avalanche, only growing faster and more insistent the longer she spoke. "What was I supposed to look like while she was trying to look powerful? Was I supposed to buck her act in front of all those people? Just y-yank my face out of her hand and undermine her? What else was I supposed to-"
"Elsa." Kris soothed, making a calming motion with his hands. Then, he quirked a single brow up. "You know, Merida wouldn't have wanted you to be alone forever-"
"Fuck you." The response was guttural and immediate, Elsa growled the words and shot him a glare icy enough to freeze him mid sentence. "Don't even. Don't."
Tears began to sting at Elsa's eyes in spite of herself. Instinctively she looked toward her room, then toward the front door, frantically trying to decide which route was more advantageous to hide herself away before the sob that threatened to escape her came in full force. Kris tried to rise from the couch, but in that instant Elsa bolted for the front door. She wasn't sure where she was headed, but as long as it wasn't here she was certain she would be fine.
XXX
Whatever Anna had expected to happen after this mission, it hadn't been that. Felix had pulled her from her group just to lay on the praise away from their ears, to encourage her to keep up the great work. Apparently the captives, as well as the agents that had assisted, had spoken highly of her. Highly enough that Felix had even mentioned a special project in the future if she was able to maintain her progress! Still, it struck Anna as odd that he hadn't wanted to tell her all of that in front of Elsa or Kris.
Anna sighed loudly to herself as she ruminated on all that Felix had said, becoming so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn't register another person approaching on the path until it was too late. The collision wasn't all that bad, but it still put Anna far too close to a stranger.
Anna pushed herself back from the figure and frantically began to apologize. "I'm so sorry, I wasn't...Elsa?"
"Anna." Elsa sounded distant, maybe distracted. "What are you doing out here?"
Anna looked Elsa over and concern began to bloom as she realized that Elsa's eyes were rimmed in an all too familiar shade of red. Has she been crying?
"Thinking. Processing." Anna's response was choppy, but it was all she could manage given her shock.
"Right, your meeting." Elsa snuffled quietly, then stepped further away from Anna as she wiped her face. "How did that go?"
Anna's brows came together at the sight. If Elsa had legitimately been crying she wasn't bothering to hide it at all. Which was definitely out of the norm for Elsa. Though the events of her meeting had seemed important a moment ago, seeing Elsa like this put all that on the back burner.
"Are you, are you alright Elsa?" Anna stepped toward Elsa, reaching out to touch her arm.
"No, not really." Elsa laughed, blinking rapidly as she briefly looked up to the sky and took a breath, "But that isn't important. Your meeting? Was everything alright?"
Anna exhaled a frustrated breath as anger at the source of Elsa's tears stewed within her. Elsa was behaving as if it was no big deal that her face was stained with tears, as if anything that happened in that meeting could be more important than something making her upset enough to cry. Not just to cry, but to not even care that anyone might see her crying.
"You first?" Anna meant the words to be a demand, to be strong so Elsa wouldn't argue, but she had barely managed to make them sound like a suggestion.
"Really, it's not anything you'd be interested in anyway." Elsa sounded dismissive, but not entirely so.
Anna didn't even bother to fortify herself for a harsh response, something told her that if she pushed just a little bit that Elsa might let her in. Whatever this was had already torn down Elsa's walls and boundaries so completely, even if only temporarily, that Elsa didn't seem to have even a hint of her usual desire to be secretive.
"Come on, let's sit and talk." Anna gestured to a nearby bench along the path and Elsa made her way there almost mechanically. Anna kept close behind, sitting only when Elsa had seated herself. "Now, what happened?"
Elsa laughed again, the kind of self depreciating laugh that only someone who was really hurt could make, but then she muttered something under her breath that Anna didn't quite catch. Elsa put a hand briefly over her mouth before shaking her head and dropping her hand back to her lap. There was a quiet rustling as Elsa reached into her pocket and pulled out her wallet, and from that a well worn photo.
"This isn't how I imagined doing this, but here we are I guess." Elsa said, her voice a little watery as she stared down at the photo in her hand before passing it carefully to Anna. "Merida wasn't just our teammate, she was, well..."
Anna's throat went dry at the sight of the image in front of her. A young Elsa had the camera extended with one arm and was snapping a photo of herself and Merida, both smiling as they kissed. Anna hadn't ever seen Elsa look so happy or so content, and quite suddenly Anna realized how uncomfortable it was to be looking at a relic of what Elsa had lost.
All this time. How could I not have seen this?
"Your girlfriend." Once Anna realized that Elsa was struggling with the word, and that she herself was having difficulty figuring out what to say, Anna finished Elsa's sentence. "I'm so sorry, Elsa I-"
"No, no. That's not why I'm, well. That's not it." Elsa sidestepped admitting that she had been crying, and Anna smiled a little to herself at the fact that the Elsa she knew seemed to be coming back little by little.
"Then what is it?" Anna asked, passing the photo back to Elsa as if it were made of glass.
At that, Elsa hesitated again. She took the photo and replaced it, but she stayed silent for a while before answering Anna. "I had a fight with Kris."
"What?" Anna feigned shock. She shook her head exaggeratedly for emphasis, leaning forward on the bench and angling her head so she could still see Elsa. "Are you telling me that the dynamic duo has somehow had a disagreement? Being in close quarters twenty four seven has somehow broken down the walls of your indestructible friendship?"
A small smirk began at the corner of Elsa's mouth and she rolled her eyes at Anna before leveling her with an only semi-serious gaze. "I get it, Anna. People are bound to fight, but this was...well, this was different. That's all."
"Was it about Merida? About you still working on her murder?"
The words were out of Anna's mouth before she could stop herself, before she could second guess whether or not Elsa would answer her. Elsa leaned forward, placing her elbows on her knees and burying her face in her hands, but rose back up quickly as if she had forced herself to regain composure.
"No." Elsa cleared her throat, her face a little flushed. "No, that wasn't it at all."
Anna could have continued the prodding and pushing for information, but as she readied another question a thought dawned on her. Elsa was much more vulnerable than Anna had seen her up to this point, even with a gaping wound in her stomach Elsa had been more put together than she was now.
Is it right to keep pushing when she's clearly not herself?
Sighing, Anna brought her hands to her lap and pondered what she could possibly do to help someone like Elsa rise out of this strange state. Like lightning an idea struck, sending Anna clambering off the bench and onto her knees in front of Elsa.
With a brow raised and a playful grin on her lips Anna placed her hands on Elsa's knees and asked, "Do you want to plot some revenge?"
"A woman after my heart." Another watery laugh, but Elsa still had a hint of that same sadness in her eyes. "Nice try, but you're ahead of yourself. Your meeting?"
"Oh, right." Disappointed Anna got to her feet, brushing the dirt from the knees of her pants. "Just a lot of praise, Felix did mention a potential new position for me here if I keep up the good work though! A special project!"
Instantaneously Elsa's expression went neutral. Anna had surmised that Elsa used this expression when she was thinking hard about something, or trying not to give away her opinion on a subject. Elsa's hands gripped the edge of the bench tightly for a second, almost imperceptible. If Anna hadn't been standing she might not have seen it at all.
"Sounds like you're moving up in the world." Elsa barely mumbled the words.
"I feel like they've been speaking highly of me since I got here, but I'm still not really sure why." Anna admitted. "I'm still a little worried this has all been an elaborate dream and I'm going to wake up to my alarm for a shift at the coffee shop any minute now."
That seemed to amuse Elsa, she smirked briefly before pushing herself off the bench and to her feet. "I'm sure you'll get that assignment sooner than you think. I'll be sad to lose you though."
Sad to lose me?
Anna's breath caught at the praise, she was barely able to suppress her grin. "Don't worry, I'll make sure you get brought along with me."
"Is that so?"
"Of course." Anna quipped, making finger guns briefly at Elsa, "I could always use a subordinate to do my bidding."
That comment seemed to rouse something in Elsa, awaken the part of her that Anna was most familiar with. Elsa raised a brow, an easy smile on her lips as she stepped toward Anna. There was an almost threatening chill in Elsa's stare as she stood all too close to Anna and smoothed out the collar of Anna's shirt. Anna's heart hammered in her chest as she stood there, bearing the scrutiny in Elsa's gaze as calmly as she could.
"How cute. You actually think you could boss me around." Elsa scoffed, then tapped Anna's nose and turned to walk away. "You're pretty good for a newbie, but you'll have to be a lot better to give me orders Fields."
Anna couldn't even be mad at the use of her last name, she was too busy trying not to combust. The proximity, the words, the look, it had almost been too much to handle. Had her face flushed before or after Elsa had turned her back? And how the hell was Elsa so good at getting under her skin? Frustrated yet again by her seeming inability to cope with Elsa's teasing, Anna kicked at the leg of the bench they had just been on before following after Elsa.
a/n: Hey all! I hope you're still enjoying, I know I've been having some fun with the planning of the next few chapters. I have begun posting the illustrations on my tumblr (only one, the Crocotta, has been posted), but I haven't yet decided on a clever hashtag to search them by - I'm happily taking suggestions for that! See you all in about a month!
