Chapter 28 / The Wages of Sin
"Alright, I think the coast is clear," Anna said as she glanced down either end of the hallway before entering their hotel room. They had returned to their lodging in Bavaria after an uneventful drive back which they were thankful for after their encounter with Hans's mercenaries.
Elsa and Kristoff shuffled past her, and Anna closed the door behind them with a soft click. She then strode through the room to the table where she had left her belongings, as well as several maps and charts pinned to a cork board.
As Anna busied herself with shuffling through her papers and muttering to herself, Kristoff raided the mini-bar and Elsa sat on her bed, pulling off her boots.
"I hope you plan on paying for those, because we aren't covering your tab again," Elsa chided as Kristoff twisted open a bottle of scotch.
He held up a single finger as he took a long swig, then reached into his pocket and tossed the gold bar to Elsa. "I'm good for it," Kristoff said as he set the bottle down and smirked.
Anna finished pinning her maps to the wall and stepped back to consider their new vector. "Okay… okay… okay… " she continued to mutter to herself.
"So," Kristoff took another sip. "What's our next move?"
Anna pinned two thumbtacks over the southern portion of the Arabian desert known as the Rub' al Khali, or the empty quarter. She threaded a red string between the two thumbtacks and stepped back again.
"Okay… so. The Nazis believed they narrowed down the city of Sarras to these two locations," Anna pointed to the thumbtacks connected by red string.
"Sarras was supposed to be a coastal city near Egypt, at least, according to the accounts of Joseph of Arimathea," Elsa said, as she walked over next to Anna and studied the maps. "How could it be so far inland?"
"Maybe he had it wrong?" Anna shrugged. "By some other accounts, Joseph of Arimathea never even accompanied Galahad and company to Sarras. His son did. And if that's true, it makes his version even less reliable."
"That's right… what was his son's name again… " Elsa paused then snapped her fingers when the answer came to her. "Josephus! That was his name."
"Joseph? Josephus? Alright this is getting too much for me," Kristoff waved his hands hurriedly. "Let's pretend I already know about all this stuff and cut to the case would ya?"
Anna sighed then chuckled. "A man only interested in the climax. You must be a real hit with the ladies," she said teasingly.
"No complaints so far," Kristoff held up his hands in defense.
Elsa rolled her eyes, and then frowned when an odd pang of jealousy struck her then. Anna and Kristoff's friendship was so easy and natural for them, and this brief moment of camaraderie provided a snapshot to the times they shared together when Elsa was not around. How many inside jokes did they share? How much did they know about each other? These doubts were enough to put Elsa at unease, and she felt ashamed again for not being better, for not being there.
"Alright, look. Forget all that crap about Joseph-whos-its because all that matters is that three of King Arthur's knights; Galahad, Percival and Bors set out to return the holy grail to Sarras. After they made it there, they stayed for about a year to reintroduce the locals to Christianity and Jesus and yadda yadda yadda," Anna explained. "After they spread the word of the good lord, God decided to thank them by allowing Galahad to witness the grail's ascension to heaven. Did I… miss anything?" she turned to Elsa.
"Galahad died shortly after witnessing the grail's ascension. Then, Percival died shortly after him. Bors was the only knight from the round table left and he returned to Britain to tell the king of the quest. But if it's true, and assuming that the grail didn't actually float up into the sky, then the remains of Galahad and Percival will be at Sarras, along with the grail," Elsa said.
"So… the only catch is that the grail might have actually just magically disappeared and we would be hauling our asses all the way out to the middle of the desert for nothing," Kristoff said and fixed Elsa and Anna with a pointed stare. Then, he suddenly grinned and crossed his arms confidently. "I'd say our chances are pretty good."
"Yup," Anna agreed. "The only problem is, these two places are almost five hundred kilometres apart."
"And we can't be in two places at once," Kristoff said.
Elsa frowned in thought, then spoke, "we have to split up."
"What?" Anna turned to Elsa. "No, there must be some way to-
"She's right," Kristoff said. "We've got competition now. Hans has a whole army at his disposal, chances are they're already heading to both of these locations now."
"What does he even want with the grail anyways?" Anna asked. "It's not like he needs the money or the prestige."
"I'm not sure," Elsa muttered. "I've done some digging on his operation. The Westguard family are business magnates and its large. They've got a hand in nearly every industry in Germany. Automotive, electronics, energy, you name it. Hans is the youngest of 13 other children, and they all command a piece of the family empire. Except for him."
"So, what?" Kristoff started. "He wants to carve out a little piece of the world for himself, is that it?"
"Maybe. His company shares the family name, but he runs it completely independent from their empire. Westguard Security Solutions was in some hot water a few years ago. Apparently, Hans backed a few wars and a revolution that didn't turn out in his favor," Elsa continued. "Perhaps this is his way of getting back back into the good graces of his family."
"Doesn't change the fact him and Weselton are still a couple of rich pricks looking to make a name for themselves," Anna scoffed. "You guys are right, we can't risk losing the grail to a 50/50 chance. We need to split up. How soon can you get us to Yemen?" she turned to Kristoff.
"About a day, I reckon," Kristoff said. "You guys better pack a lot of sunscreen."
... ... ...
Elsa closed the bathroom door behind her after Anna had finished. She stripped naked and entered the shower, standing halfway out as she turned on the water and waved her hand through until it was at a suitable temperature. Satisfied, she stepped fully in and allowed the water to cascade over her head and down her body.
She closed her eyes as she relaxed, gradually loosening the muscles in her body as her thoughts soon drifted to Anna. Ordinarily, Anna was never far from her mind, but as of late her thoughts had been taking on a more unsettling turn as she considered her younger sister in increasingly strange ways that she never had before. Elsa took more notice of Anna's appearance now; first she thought of her eyes. Anna's round, blue-green, perfect eyes that held a pool of emotion that drew from a deep reservoir of intense feeling. Next, thought of Anna's face; her soft and sloping jawline, her slender nose, her dusting of freckles that Elsa could map like the constellations, her smooth and supple lips that often widened into a grin or a smile or a smirk as bright as the sun. Then, she thought of Anna's body; the leanness of the muscles in her arms, the planes of her sculpted thighs. Elsa recalled the way her arm had brushed against Anna's soft breasts in the bunker, relishing the way the goosebumps spread like wildfire as they had then, and just as they were now. She pictured Anna in the shower when she had used it just before Elsa, imagining how he might soap and lather her body, running her hands over her breasts and down her sides, over her stomach.
Despite the warm water, Elsa felt an even warmer flush between her thighs as the unmistakable bud of arousal flowered within her core. First she thought of Anna running her hands over her own body, then Elsa pictured her own hands on Anna's body before her addled mind conjured the image of Anna running her hands on Elsa's body. She snapped out her thoughts then and opened her eyes. She hadn't even realized that she was mimicking Anna's imaginary movements in her mind.
Elsa was suddenly disgusted with herself, ashamed of her own thoughts and disturbed of where they had emerged from. She glanced out the glass doors of the shower towards the mirror and almost didn't recognize the lustful creature staring back at her. Elsa tore her eyes away, desperate to look at anything else when her eyes settled upon Anna's swimming goggles she had left by the sink. Even after all this time, Anna still lived with her fear.
Feeling intensely distressed, Elsa adjusted the temperature knob until the water was freezing cold. The sudden shock washed away her sinful arousal and her immoral thoughts. Elsa knelt until she sat on the floor of the shower, shaking not from the cold, but from the sobs that wracked her body.
I'm a monster.
Elsa felt unworthy of her Anna's love, unsuitable of her warmth and undeserving of the happiness she gave so selflessly to her.
This is what you deserve.
... ... ...
She's taking a while. I hope she's alright, Anna thought as she toweled her hair.
With the excitement of the bunker behind them, Anna had time to reflect upon everything they had discovered, as well as consider certain bodily responses she had in the face of imminent danger.
She replayed the moment when Elsa pulled her out of sight in time to avoid two of the gunmen, taking her by the shoulders and shielding her with an arm over her chest. Anna was breathing heavily, her chest was heaving up and down and for a small moment, Elsa's arm brushed against her breasts. She recalled seeing goosebumps on Elsa's arm, and more importantly, she recalled the peaks of her breast stiffening in response.
What the hell was that about? Anna frowned. Do I have a thing for danger? Wait, of course I do. But that's not it, this is Elsa we're talking about. Why did it feel good, and why would I have not minded if she kept her arm there? Ugh, I need some fresh air.
Anna stood up, striding towards the balcony then opened the sliding door to step out into the cool mountain air. She looked out over the city of Munich towards the mountains in the distance. The sun had set, and evening advanced as the first stars kindled out of darkness above her as she looked out towards the silent horizon.
A breeze blew gently past Anna, delighting her body with its cool and clean touch. Goosebumps appeared all over her arms and legs, and her nipples hardened in response to the cold sensation. Before she even knew what she was thinking, Anna pictured soft hands cupping her breasts and tweaking her stiff buds before lowering herself down and wrapping her lips around it. As they did, Anna ran her fingers through platinum blonde hair. She looked up, and Anna saw Elsa's face. Anna hummed in contentment, growing warm and moist between her thighs before her eyes shot open.
What… what the FUCK was THAT? Anna shouted internally. Nope, nuh uh. That did not just happen, Elsa is my sister!
She shivered in place as another, colder breeze blew past.
That's it, no more fresh air for me.
Anna turned and stepped back into the room, shutting the sliding door behind her.
I was just cold, that's what happened. It was cold out there. It was cold in the bunker too. That's all it was.
She couldn't wait to get to the desert, where she hoped the heat would dispel these alarming thoughts that had been clouding Anna's mind ever since Elsa returned to her life.