If The Cold Can't Stop Her
By: SheAlwaysDies
*this story has content related to self harm and abuse*
Anna was on their mother's lap. She was sitting nicely and upright holding a miniature Olaf figurine in her hands. Elsa had made it under the promise that the little princess would sit still for her hair brushing. Iduna hummed softly as she ran the brush through true red hair. Elsa stayed close, envious of both her mother and her sister. The child wanted her mother's attention but she was also getting older, and learning to do her own hair was suddenly her responsibility.
Elsa also wanted to be her mother, and have Anna's weight on her legs. It wouldn't work right, she was still too small and wouldn't be able to get the brush through the hair in one even pass. Yet she knew her breath would be right in her sister's ear, and Elsa was very aware her sister liked that. It either made her laugh under the pricking cold or relax into her big sister's arm. Every time Elsa did it it was a toss up as to which reaction she would get and she was always pleasantly surprised no matter which occurred.
The King entered the room, and Elsa backed away because she knew he liked to kiss his wife every time he was reunited with her. "There are my girls," he said as he approached Elsa's girls. Anna got the first kiss on the temple and that allowed Iduna a breath to tilt her neck up and await her greeting. The little smacking sound their kiss made was always the same. Just a few hours ago Elsa had been able to duplicate that click when she kissed her sister in the courtyard.
The reason Elsa didn't get a kiss from the King was exactly that. Her muscles were still tender from when her father parted Elsa from Anna's lips. The many times Elsa would look back on this day she would remember it as the first time the King had put his hands on her in that way. He was angry but also a bit remorseful because when Elsa ever diligently poured him a glass of whiskey and took it to him where he lounged, he padded at his lap. Agnarr took the drink in one shot and then put his arms out for Elsa to come and sit.
She'd never yet been told to conceal her emotions so she lit up and hummed as she settled into his powerful arms. He'd pulled his wing-back chair closer to the hearth Elsa had been avoiding earlier. The flames were intense on Elsa's skin but so were the fingers that laced in her hair. She burrowed closer into her father because his heat was less than that of the roaring fire. Elsa focused on the cold inside her and told it to find a place to settle. She asked it to dim because she knew her father really didn't like the cold. If the chill hit him he would likely let her go.
"I love you, daddy," she said, and what she really meant was I'm sorry. He grunted a bit in response and if he was actually going to say anything back he was cut off by Iduna.
"You two are so cute," she said over her shoulder and gave Anna a little pat on the back. It signaled that the child was all done with her brushing and was free to burn the last of her energy before bed. Anna did a twirl as she got off her feet and immediately ran to Elsa and their father. She started to climb on top of them, and Agnarr shifted so that he wasn't holding Elsa as much and made space for his youngest. It pushed Elsa closer to the fire.
Her mother approached and she seemed relish in the sight of her children huddled into her husband's arms. She stopped for a moment to soak them in before knocking Elsa on the head with the brush.
"Your turn," she told Elsa and then replaced her on the King's lap. It felt lonely to stand on the outside of the embrace that occurred then. Every time Elsa had watched this memory she saw things she missed because of her covetousness. Her mother was likely pregnant again, another child that would never be. It made sense as to why Elsa was being pushed out. It had happened before Anna was to be born, and was more blatant when Elsa could more easily be steered deeper into independence. At least in retrospect, because Elsa saw no reason for it as she sat at the vanity alone, watching her family from the reflection of the mirror.
Elsa's arm hurt, where the King had grabbed her, as she used it to brush her own hair. She focused on that instead of the trio on the overstuffed wing-back chair. They were talking lowly and laughing. Anna was making Olaf attack her parents with hugs. Elsa thought she never wanted to make another snowman again, but she also conjured one so she could play along, on her own, but still included.
Elsa didn't know why she was letting herself stop to think about that. Maybe it was because that day was her life in a nutshell. It was the first time the sisters had made believe they would marry, just like they just had now in Elsa's bed. Maybe it was because as it stood, Elsa believed in herself and her power now, even if it was off lately. It was just as capable then. Certainly potent enough to save Anna as a newborn, so much so that perhaps she could have saved that unnamed child and maybe even baby Rallidae too. It was a strange thought to explore but it served its purpose as Elsa debated, even at a weakened state, if she could wield her cold enough to survive Tarik.
Yet there was something else sticking to her about that memory. It was the feeling of being pushed out. Elsa had been so eager to entrust Tarik with Arendelle because she wanted exactly that, to be forced out. She'd left a part of her in the mountains at the Reserves and that was all the Kingdom needed in terms of saving. She'd exposed her belly in the hopes that she and Anna could make it out in time, but that was over now. She had been on her back too long and was already bleeding out from Tarik's strike. Elsa was still duty bound to Arendelle, even if she could manage to escape with Anna, she couldn't leave the Kingdom to the New King any more. In an instant too much had changed.
Elsa's parents had locked their eldest away because they thought it was best for their unborn children and their one vulnerable child, but also for Arendelle. She was trained to rule from a distance. Power was taken from the Monarchy because she would not be trusted with both the power to wield ice and snow and the absolute power to rule. It was too much authority. Too much in her hands to destroy. Elsa could agree with that, maybe because it was just the hand dealt to her but probably also because it was pragmatic. Agnarr hadn't made the move lightly. It was a debauchery to the Kings before him. However, none of those men had to deal with what their last son did.
In Elsa's memory, she was in her father's arms a long time that night. But that was impossible. Anna couldn't sit still for that long. It was one of the few instance he initiated closeness. It had been easy for him to keep her at a distance when she lost control of her magic. Elsa didn't know why that was the part of her memory kept coming back to her as she came to terms that she could not run away from Arendelle anymore. Not in the way Elsa had promised she and Anna would run, and definitely not in the way Tarik was suggesting.
Maybe it was okay before, to leave a questionably decent man on the throne. Yet the New King said it himself, Elsa's betrayal was making a monster out of him. Arendelle could no longer be trusted in his hands. Maybe that's why Elsa was thinking of her father. Because Agnarr was not fit to rule, even if he only served for the good of his people. He was driven sinister in the name of the land he was born to serve. It was why Elsa was also unfit. Because she still agreed with every lash she ever received from her father.
The problem was that she was just as much a villain. Everything she had done since her coronation was to turn her back on the Kingdom she'd sacrificed her life for already. To stay and to battle Tarik and any other opposition would be far worse than leave it in his hands. But Elsa was still considering the fight, selfishly so. Since running away was no longer a valid option, she was considering flattening the Kingdom into a wasteland because her only other idea was so much worse for the one person that actually mattered to Elsa. The Queen knew there was no way she could decide between the two, not without seeing Anna first.
She'd done everything she needed in her bedroom. If she ever stepped foot in it again her bed would be waiting for a completely different person. And if she didn't, she hoped it brought Anna some comfort.
Meeting with Kristoff had also pushed her to this fork in the road. The Queen assured that he was up to the task, no matter which move Elsa made. Even before she asked him, she already had her affirmation. He was in mourning in the gardens. His loss wasn't of devotion, like it would be to any other person would do upon learning their love was unrequited. He was proud of his pledge to Elsa and that alone started to tip the scales in her decision making. The only thing left was to find her wife, if she could still call her that.
It wasn't hard to find her. If Anna had magic, it was that she could make even the dead walk. She spread life into everyone she came across. She was the nectar that attracted entire hives to flowers as simple as a dandelion. She was a piece of steak tossed out the butcher's window towards a pack of stray dogs. Anna was certainly that to Elsa, who had not been given enough time to become gluttonous over her kid sister, and she was certainly that to the buzzing bees at her ankle's now.
There was absolutely no room to dance in the ballroom created for that exact purpose due to the crowd surrounding Anna. Anna hadn't shone this brightly at the Coronation. There was something different about her presence now. It was satisfaction and the people gathered around her wanted to take a breath of it. Anna was happy. Elsa could see that from her distant vantage. The Queen had experienced that joy in tiny little bursts since the thaw. She'd pulled it out of her sister with her own lips. Anna had expelled it towards Elsa, in hopes that they might be able to find that joy together, at least once. This exuberance, however, didn't waiver, Anna was deeply set in her content.
If they hadn't been discovered, this would have been that moment, when they were both finally at enough peace to actually celebrate their love together instead of it being half strung up. When Anna sensed her sister, she dropped every word she was saying and replaced them with Wow. If this had actually been their moment then Elsa wouldn't have had to force a playful curtsy and she would have actually been able to enjoy Anna's laugh.
The Queen had to remind herself that this was it. No matter what happened, this was the last time they would ever have the illusion of freedom and of togetherness. So she took and grabbed onto that laughter and performed one of Anna's signature twirls for her sister to see that they had literally fucked their mother's dress up and Elsa had to resort to the next best thing. Anna understood all that, and she blushed so hard her face faded into her hair. Elsa let herself think back onto that memory, of Anna's freshly brushed hair, and the spin, and the short, short moment while on their father's lap, that Anna draped her legs over Elsa's.
Eyes were on them but Elsa didn't have to care about that anymore. Prying eyes couldn't hurt them, the damage had been done. Anna didn't know that so the wiggle of her eyebrows was meant solely for Elsa to receive. Pursed lips and a furrowed brow, that was the response Anna would expect, so the Queen shot it back at her.
Elsa hadn't noticed that she had been closing the distance between them this entire time. Her body was on autopilot while her mind is still running the pro and con list to each of the two solutions she had. They couldn't be called solutions because they fell short of fixing the impossible. Her magic was what was actually pushing her forward. It seemed affixed on reuniting with a part of Anna. Elsa could feel it but she ignored it because whatever, it was doing all the work to get her in her sister's vicinity.
It was leaving a trail of already fallen snow at the train of her ice gown and was blasting an icy chill, warding off the clan that gathered to suck on Anna's aura. They all fell out of line, bowing at Elsa like the Queen she was. They dropped whatever lightness they had taken from the Princess and fed it back to the blonde. It was Elsa's power that surged the muscles of her arm and offered a hand to the Princess. When Anna immediately accepted, Elsa realized that she had just asked her sister to dance.
The band caught on and went from playing in the background to swelling up. Elsa leaned down and placed a kiss on Anna's knuckles, because she was in concurrence with her magic now that she knew what it was up to. The music was lovely but it was not as sweet as the sound of Anna's beating heart. Elsa didn't know if she could actually heat it or if it was because the tips of Anna's fingers were pulsating in the blonde's hand.
Elsa barely knew what she was doing, and took a few steps backwards as she pulled Anna along. Green eyes were already dancing as they both gleaned in surprise and were still taking in Elsa's visage.
"You're okay?" Anna whispered as they both took a step in towards one another. Elsa felt the simplicity of the movement. It was a mirror image of what she had done with Kristoff and she felt better suited to this than she had been when following.
"I am," it wasn't a lie. Okay was the most she was, because she was starting to accept that her life was never going to be what she had wished it to be. It took her thirteen years, but there she was, with no other option but to accept that. So she stepped a foot forward, and Anna must have been eloquently versed in dance because she moved in perfect sync even with Elsa making the moves up as she went along.
They just sort of just clicked together, as if their entire bodies were an extension of their interlocked hands. Anna had placed her free hand on Elsa's neck, she intently grabbed a fistful of Elsa's hair, and tugged at it, because she'd already learned that Elsa liked a tinge of pain. It was like their little secret as they moved, that Anna was eliciting pleasure from her sister. Everyone oohed and awed as if the sisters had choreographed this entire thing. Elsa didn't know if she was doing well enough for this to look planned but her magic was making it look like a celebration as it popped little bursts of snow.
Elsa brought her sister in closer, it was the only way she could wordlessly tell Anna how much she enjoyed the pull. Their chest's came together, and Elsa imagined that's why people thought two women did not belong together. Because on the surface they didn't click. But those people have never been in her bedroom. They lack the imagination her sister had even as a preteen writing in her journal. Yes, two chests together did not fit, but it undoubtedly felt good. Maybe Elsa had made her ice garment too thin but she could feel the embroidery of Anna's gown rubbing against her nipples.
The Queen sunk into the feeling, because even if it wasn't purposeful, Elsa needed to grab at whatever good feelings she could get at this moment. She barely felt like she was moving, but when she looked down at Anna, she could also see the floor spinning below them. Her eyes couldn't focus on that, they found the pink of Anna's lips and a war broke out within Elsa.
What if she just leaned over and took Anna's mouth in hers? She'd kissed Tarik for all the world to see. They liked that show enough, and it was hollow, and deceptive. It was exactly that, a show even the New King was putting on. Somehow that was more acceptable than true love. Elsa had never called it that before even though Anna was breathing into her neck because of it.
"Can we dance like this in a tavern somewhere?" Anna whispered into Elsa's ear. She was looking at her sister so expectantly, and the answer was no, never but Anna's smiling eyes would never upturn again if Elsa answered that. So she let go of the death grip she had on the small of the redhead's back and gave her arm a pull across her own body, she barely remembered how Kristoff had managed to spin her in the cavern but Anna knew what she was doing and took a lead to step into an advanced spin.
Anna was laughing triumphantly as she bounced into her sister's chest with her back. Elsa couldn't deny that this was true love as she broke the traditional stance of this particular dance, rested her chin on her sister's shoulder and reached her hands around Anna's middle. They swayed back and forth for a moment. Elsa inhaled and on the exhale shuttered. She did refute that true love trumped everything. Life was so tragic, not just hers but living in general. Because even Tarik had lost true love with the passing of his father.
Elsa had no idea how to dance her way out of this position and Anna either knew that or had enjoyed guiding Elsa through the spin because she took the lead. When she spun around she placed her hand at Elsa's waist and the blonde passed the torch by putting her cold fingers on Anna's collar bone. She rubbed at the goosebumps there, and Elsa felt her power flow in from Anna's skin back inside her.
It was a peculiar feeling that had been coursing through her this entire dance. There was a connection that was flowing cold from Elsa's blood system into Anna's and back again, like if they were each on opposite ends of an infinity sign and her magic could flow freely between them through the knot in the middle.
Anna moved the sisters along much more boldly than Elsa had been capable off. There was a separate strain of cold present, that swirled outside of them and was pushing at Elsa's limps preemptively coaching her on how to move. Elsa didn't know this song, but she could sense in it's tempo that it was reaching a crescendo and would soon come to a tragic end. It was too close but Elsa didn't care, as she pushed herself into Anna so that she could burrow her head into her sister's shoulder and get as much of their bodies connected as she physically could.
Her eyes were drawn to her sister's jugular. The blood there was rushing hard from all the excitement. It would be so easy, exposed like that, for someone to come down on them. For someone to hurt Anna. She was just warm flesh. There was nothing to her human body that could protect her.
A hundred different pairs of eyes were on them now. Each one was as vulnerable as Elsa's baby sister. How much energy would it take Elsa to come down on them? How big of a blast would she have to push out of her to freeze them all solid? How long would they stay like that, frozen in time, with their last thoughts of admiration for the true love held between sisters? Couldn't she just freeze them all? Every last person, before their minds got tainted. Before they turned from admirers to adversaries.
Elsa was physically capable of doing one even better and just freezing every single one of their hearts. That strategy actually required less magic, less force and only just a bit more concentration and precision. They would all drop dead and she could continue to dance with her wife. With her sister in her arms the Queen felt boosted, and powerful. She was not only in control but in command. She could rain down on all of Arendelle, like the Kingdom's previous King and his whip.
Could Elsa kill them all for a kiss? For the lifetime she had promised herself she would get with the Princess? Yes. She had prepared to. But would Anna kiss her back if she saw Elsa degrade herself so horridly or would it eat at her like it had when she found out about Agnarr's abuse. Would they ever share a bed if neither sister could sleep anymore. Physically Elsa felt she could do it. As she brought teeth discreetly around the vein in Anna's neck and pressed down, she chose villainy. Anna controlled her purr. Agnarr would have been so displeased. Elsa shrugged at the thought. She could become her father and let the sister's rule in a world that would at best crumble their love into lust and at worst destroy their bond entirely.
The Ice Queen cloaked the room with a thick fog and let her lips descend on those of her little sister. Anna's body jumped in surprise, then melted. Elsa waited for the sound of Anna's hum. The Princess let out a deep and long mewl. They had never shared a kiss that didn't make her voice crack into Elsa's mouth. They hadn't shared many kisses, they weren't nearing enough. They had all felt so different yet they always fell in place. Elsa had just made up her mind, but this undid that plan. She would rather have this one ethereal kiss rather than feel them darken, or crumble, or even just end entirely.
This was their last kiss, but Anna wasn't kissing Elsa like it was the last. The Queen felt so sorry, that Anna wouldn't know until it was too late, that Elsa had chosen not to fight, not to kill. She had picked something much worse.
The Queen pulled away. Anna's cheeks were flushed and her eyes barely opened. The Princess had barely registered that Elsa pushed back the fog and made sure the fluffy substance put on a little show for their guests. They all rung out in applause, and when Anna took her hands back to join in making noise, she was so unaware that she had just pulled away from their last embrace.
Elsa saw Tarik exit the ballroom. He was moving quickly. The Crowned King of Arendelle was not pleased by the display. Elsa had just given away the first dance. It was meant for him. But Elsa didn't care. He was losing but he was also currently winning too. However, the Queen had picked a number, it was the lowest possible outcome of people lost. That number was two. It would only have to be she and Tarik that needed to cease existence.
Elsa took another look at her sister. She was already being approached, people were already gawking at her grace. Anna let herself lose focus of her sister because she thought they were at the start of their story and not at the end of it. People were complementing Elsa too but nothing in her peripheral existed. She was looking at Anna for the last time. As a child she hadn't been given the opportunity to say goodbye. After she slipped on the ice, things happened so quickly, and suddenly Anna was lost to her. The blonde had dreamed of having this exact chance. It was selfish of Elsa to take it while Anna was at her best. Their eyes caught, and Anna gave her wife a wink. Elsa sucked in her breath, and returned a nod. The Queen hesitated, but someone caught Anna's ear, and just like the goodbye was over.
Elsa turned away. Because she could not keep flip flopping. She needed to be steadfast to pull this off. Just taking a step away from Anna weakened her power. She needed to find the New King before he did something damning and before she was too depleted. Tarik was reentering the foyer as Elsa was just getting there. He'd come from the councilmen's studies. His long legs were making long strides, and when he saw the Queen he veered in her direction.
Elsa was not afraid. She had always, always been afraid. Her vision was blurred again, and she just came to the conclusion that it was indeed from her separation with the Princess. Elsa hated that she had no time to unpack that. She also had no time for fear and hesitation. The foyer was a good enough spot. She had hoped to lure Tarik to the gardens but that would put her too far away from Anna, and Elsa couldn't afford to get any weaker.
There were a few different groups of people lingering in the foyer. Some were Tarik's comrades and he ignored them all as they called out for him to join them for a drink. There was a faction of staff huddled closely, discussing the shift from dance to dinner and a group of older women, sat outside of the party, neatly in a row, who were exchanging back handed comments.
Gerda was coming down the rounded stairs with a tray in her hand and Elsa let herself fall into focus with the head maid. The woman smiled at her apologetically, but Elsa knew it was she that should be doing the sorries. There were lots of what ifs? in Elsa's mind and each what if? had a better outcome than this. However, Anna had touched Elsa so fervently that Elsa could still the different pressure points both on her skin and inside her which her sister had purposefully hit. If Elsa was lucky enough to still be sentient after this, she would get to have a taste of Anna with her for eternity. If that was the case, the what if I had listened to Gerda? was far less appealing.
The Queen had gambled that angering Tarik would have some benefit. They meet in the middle of the foyer. Tarik advanced so that he could show his teeth only half an inch from her face. He had a single piece of paper in his hand and Elsa recognized the off white colour of the paper. She had spent hours staring at the blanks pages in her journal daring herself to write what she was thinking. It was one of the advantages he had over Elsa. She knew she would never find out who had the other page but she had prepared to end Tarik in the least suspicions set of circumstances. That would have to be enough to make it so that the other sheet had no context, no use or purpose.
A nearby maid swooned when she saw Tarik wrap his fingers around Elsa's arm. It was best that they look intimate. So the unsolicited coo was welcomed by the Queen. Tarik's hand pushing aside her muscles and digging right into the bone, however, was not, but Elsa had no choice to leave his hand there. It felt too familiar. The only solidified memory Elsa had of her father's touch was on the same day. Sitting uncomfortably on his lap near the roaring flames of a fire, and his hand pressing into her, pulling her away from the girl she would one day almost marry.
Elsa took notice that there were only two people in his world that had ever really looked at her. She must not have been that hard to read, for all the acting she did was probably superficial. Just no one had given her a chance. No one had ever wanted to know more of her. Save for Anna. And save for Tarik. Anna had learned how Elsa liked to be touched, and Tarik had learned how to use touch against her. She had given it all away to him because she actually wasn't the best at masking herself, just no one had cared enough to really look. She had made this too easy for him.
"What was that supposed to be?" Tarik said. He was whispering but his voice was still able to command a scream. "That didn't look like saving face to me."
"Did you expect me to fold without arranging my affairs? You've asked me to take my own life." Elsa said casually. Internally she was begging her power to forget the fear of pain, but she was starting to feel that as long as Tarik's hands were on her, her magic couldn't rise up. Agnarr's touch had been too effective a teacher.
"I expected you to not make a fool of me," His voice was so close to breaking the quiet. Gerda was at the bottom of the stairs. She was flushed, and seemingly busy, but she was lingering.
"I don't care if you look like a fool or not. I haven't a care left for you." Elsa said. She wasn't sure if she should be pushing his buttons. She would probably be better off stroking him, but she refused to replace the fluttering of her sister, which still lingered on her skin, with his.
"Then you're the fool," He waved the journal's page in the air. He was starting to look mad to the small gathering of people. "Keep in mind I have power stronger than your snow right now."
He tucked the page into his suit jacket. It was now right where Elsa needed it to be. Out of sight. No one that would ever cast their eyes on him would ever know what was underneath all of Tarik's layers. They would see him as a star-crossed lover, wronged by fate, and not for the egregious miscreation he actually was. He would be stuck with a secret in his pocket he would never be able to exploit for his own gain.
"I'm the one who will be left with your sister in my charge. And you go and mock me, again?" the choler in his voice would have struck a chord, if it was true. But neither of them would ever get a step closer to Anna again.
Elsa had reached the point of no return. It wasn't a question of if Elsa could work up the courage. She had already made the decision. The rest she was putting in the hands of her Gods given power, and another gift from the Gods, her baby sister. If Elsa could find her power, the rest would all fall on Anna. It wasn't fair but fairness was more of an ideology. It would never exist. Anna was Elsa's only fighting chance, but the Queen couldn't pass the crown to her sister if she couldn't conjure enough ice.
"Are you in pain Tarik? Right now?" She asked him, and his rage faltered for a moment. He had no verbal response but the pressure on her arm lessened. It was such a minuscule release that Tarik likely didn't notice he faltered. Still, Elsa felt the smallest strain of her magic raise up from her stomach and into her throat.
"Which upsets you more, that it might look like I would rather be dead than share a life with you? Or that you are never going to get a chance to fuck me? Does this hurt your vanity more or your pride?" The line of questioning received a tighter squeeze but his knuckles had already turned white, he let go even more when he released a bit of tension.
"Will it help at the end of each night that you've had a taste of me? Or will it be impossible for you to get hard for anyone else?" This time her power was awake and it seeped out of her mouth.
"Are you begging for life," Tarik asked, "based on my desire for you?"
There it was, what Elsa was searching for. He let go, so he could take a step back and take a good look at her. As her magic rose up Elsa could feel some of it skirt away. She was fortunate that the amount that remained steadfast at her call was sweltering with ire.
"No," Elsa deadpanned. She left a pregnant pause, because she had just felt her magic reach Anna. She sensed it swirl around Anna's body until it found the first opening and dove down both of her ears. It was raising an alarm Elsa had not authorized it to, but it didn't matter how quickly Anna pieced it together. Elsa could feel the distance between them, her sister would never get to the foyer in time to interfere.
"I'm asking you why you aren't begging for yours." Elsa posed, but internally she wasn't having a conversation with the New King. She was doing the begging, as she pleaded for her magic to calm itself and run itself along Anna's lips, to twirl the white of her hair, to get as close as it could to her heart, or maybe just stay with Anna forever in Elsa's place. The magic there answered by sitting on her sister's heart beat. Elsa felt how a gentle heart fell into a panic as Anna learned that something was wrong. Elsa took a physical step forward and let her stance fall into place grazing her husband's body. She reached her hands up and put them on his neck. Both her thumbs could feel his heart rate. Tarik was as terrified as Anna was.
"What do you mean?" he stuttered. His surprise gave away how little he thought of her. Tarik must have seen her as so broken that she was incapable. Even when he was threatening her he had assumed there was no way she would actually kill him.
"That hell is ice cold." The fear in his eyes was sickeningly satisfying but if this couple was meant to become a monument, Elsa couldn't have him looking like the damnation that would resonate inside him eternally. It was simple enough to use her fingers to pulse compacted snow into his throat. She didn't want him making a sound as she used ice to contort his face into something resembling at least fondness. The New King was in shock. He tried to move away but Elsa had already locked his joints and tendons in place.
It twisted her up inside to see him try to convulse against the cold pressure on his skin. She didn't do a half bad job of eradicating the pain off his face and stance. The Queen knew she couldn't focus too much on the obscenity of her actions. It would only push Anna further out of her mind and she didn't want to suffer the same fate as Tarik. She didn't want to freeze wrapped up in how torturous it was to torture someone. She only had a moment to come to peace with this decision. Her magic was returning to her quickly. It meant Anna was steps away.
"You should have let us go," Elsa said as she eased herself into Tarik's chest. She could hear her ice creek as it forced his arms around her. She hadn't wanted to be this close to him, but she was trying to sell love, and from this position, with her ear over her husband's heart, she could see down the hallway. The clicking of her heels fell in rhythm to Tarik's heart. Anna was moving as hard as she could.
Elsa knew Anna was coming. She always did. She was the girl that knocked on her door every night, who braved the North Mountain. She was the hero that stepped in front of the finishing blow of a sword. She was the one that pulled Elsa out of darkness with laughter. Who guided them to open up to each other's touch. She was the same kid that took the hair brush out of her hands and gave her sister a signature warm hug. Anna was coming because she saw Elsa and was capable of saving her in tiny ways and in the most heroic.
Anna would feel like she failed when she reached the foyer. But Elsa knew that that was simply untrue. Elsa had been saved by Anna in all the ways one can be saved. Just like she had been loved by Anna in all the ways one could be loved. That this was the end of their story was pointless to Elsa now. It did not matter how many years they shared together or how many touches. There would never be enough of it.
Elsa could see Anna. She could feel her magic coursing alongside the girl. It moved her even faster down the hall. The Queen told the power that she was at peace simply by saying her sister's name, Anna.
At the same instant that the magic at Elsa's finger tips expelled an unearthly force of ice, it also curled itself over Anna's spent body as the Princess fell over herself. She'd just bore witness to a malevolent blast that enraptured the King and Queen of Arendelle into a locked embrace, immortally. Elsa's ice, in one fell swoop, coated every inch of them into a large ornate block. It rendered it impossible for Elsa to see the agony she had known would come as her sister stumbled forward and put her hands on the unbearable cold.
Elsa couldn't feel any of that anymore. She had done what she set out to do. She had preserved the love shared between two sisters by freezing it deep inside her, far from reach, where not a single person would ever be able to harvest her frozen heart.
The responses to your reviews will be posted in the final chapter. Thank you all.