Tiny ribbons of sunlight started to filter into the bedroom and danced its way across the room to touch the two figures sound asleep in the bed. Elsa woke to the soft light starting to peak in only to first notice the feeling of being suffocated under a burning hot boulder that was keeping her pinned down. She tried to move panicked that she had made a new power mistake and had finally trapped herself somehow, but then she heard the boulder moan in protest and move above her. The previous day came back to her and a small smile crept softly onto Elsa's face. She managed to free her arms to wrap them around Anna and to hold her as close as she possibly should. She no longer cared that she was crushed under her sister's weight or that she was overly warm. She was overjoyed that she was able to actually feel Anna's body heat and that Anna was really here. Part of her worried that yesterday was all a dream and wasn't real. Elsa laid there holding Anna and marveled at the sensation of warmth. The sensation was still so novel to her Elsa just wanted to stay in this moment as long as she could.
Unfortunately, Elsa knew that the moment had to end. The sun was moving higher in the sky and illuminating more of the room. She knew she had to wake Anna to ensure that she left before she got caught braking the rules. Elsa didn't mind if she got in trouble, but she was going to make sure that Anna didn't.
"Anna… Sunshine it's time to get up."
Elsa stroked Anna's head and brushed her crazed hair back. Anna snorted and buried her face into Elsa's neck. This made Elsa giggle and making the gentle smile that graced her face seem like it was almost a permanent fixture. She tried once again to gently wake her sister.
"Sunshine… Sunshine… You have to wake up…. Sunshine…"
"Just a few more minutes so comfy… Cozy and smells nice."
Elsa's cheeks flushed red at Anna's half asleep mumblings and was about to try for the third time to wake Anna up when Anna shot upright and knocked the wind out of her.
"OH! Sorry Elsa!"
Anna quickly scrambled off of Elsa once she realized where she was perched. Elsa slowly sat up against the headboard to be seated across from her sister as she rambled and fussed about her realization that yesterday wasn't a dream. It seemed that Anna was just as elated from this epiphany as Elsa was when she woke up.
"…Elsa are you listening to me? I asked if you were okay! Your cheeks look so red… Hold on let me see if you have a temperature."
Before Elsa could even respond to Anna, she had crossed over and sat in Elsa's lap to feel her sister's forehead. Not being used to people being this close to her or touching her Elsa flinched and went ridged from the contact causing Anna to pause and give a gentle smile of understanding to Elsa. She waited until she felt Elsa relax a bit and give out a shuddering breath as her panic lessened of Anna being so close with the knowledge that her powers were still under her control. Anna gently pressed the back of her hand to Elsa's forehead and quickly pulled it back.
"ELSA! You are WARM… Like TOO warm. Are you okay? No obviously you're not… I need to find Garda… no I need to find Dr. Nilsen! He'll know what to do. Don't move! I will be right back!"
Elsa quickly grabbed Anna's arm and kept her from leaping from the bed to cause unnecessary panic over her well being.
"Anna I am fine! Nothing is wrong! I felt overly warm from being encased in your body heat and the blanket that trapped it." Elsa then grinned "I retained the warmth! I didn't make everything else cooler, I became WARM."
Elsa couldn't keep the grin from her face from this revelation, but Anna was still worried.
"But that can't be good for you either! You should have shoved me off of you if I was making you too warm! You don't need to be over heated now! I get it you are happy and excited to get warmth back, but did you ever stop to think that maybe, just maybe your powers keep you safe and regulate your body temperature so you don't get sick or hurt from becoming too warm?"
This made Elsa pause and think for a moment. This is something she never considered before. That her powers actually helped her. It was a foreign concept to her, the possibility that her powers could be beneficial.
"I never though of these powers as beneficial to me before. I always saw them as a curse really. Something that existed that did more harm then good… Maybe I was wrong to think that?"
"Well I wouldn't say wrong per say just misinformed or misguided. Now come over to the window so I can make sure you cool off."
Anna dragged Elsa over to the windows seat and shoved her down before she opened the window. Elsa watched Anna fuss over her and make sure she was settled before going back to the bed and grabbing a blanket to wrap around herself before joining Elsa on the window seat. The two girls sat in silence as they watched the sun rise above the horizon while the cool winter air helped to cool Elsa back down to her normal temperature.
The peace the two of them had settled into a peaceful silence. Elsa was touched while simultaneously miffed because Anna wouldn't stop glancing and staring at her every few minutes like she was going to randomly combust or something. It was a strange feeling. She had almost forgotten what it was like to be under someone's watchful eye because they cared and worried for her instead of her. She was used to the looks of condescension and fear not this, whatever it was, look from her sister.
"Anna I'm fine… I'm not going to randomly combust you know."
"I know that, but I'm just worried okay? I just got you back… I don't want anything to happen to you if I could have prevented it alright? So I apologize for staring but I love you and don't want anything bad to ever happen to you. It's the two of us now okay? We are gonna figure out how to do this together… Just… just humor me please."
Elsa finally recognized the look in Anna's eyes just then. It was love… for her. Elsa almost bursted out in tears hearing Anna's explanation and confession of her own concerns, need, and hope of how they were going to be a team from now on. Elsa leaned forward and kissed Anna on her forehead.
"Okay. You can fret over me, seems only fair since I'm always going to be fussing over your wants, needs, and safety. We are team from here on out. I won't make any major decisions without your input from now on. Well I will try to at least. If I need to make a snap decision to keep you safe I will and apologize for not talking to you first if you want. I think it is about time that I started working with my right hand."
Elsa gave a soft smile to Anna as she watched Anna realize what she just said.
"You… you remembered…"
Tears gathered in the corners of Anna's eyes giving them a glossy look as she held back her tears.
"I could never forget that Sunshine."
"Really?"
"What is a Queen without her right hand? It is time that I allowed my right hand to actually fill her position."
Anna lunged forward and wrapped Elsa in a crushing hug.
"Well it is about time! I mean I have to be the one to take all the notes in front of everyone so they don't know their Queen is left handed, which I still find stupid. Who cares what hand someone writes with but whatever."
"Old traditions and superstition about demonic possession and evil lurking in those who are left handed. And it doesn't help that I have these powers either… maybe there is some merit to it. But I don't really need you to do that anymore. I can write just as well with my right as I can with my left now even though it feels more natural to use my left. I need you for a more important job than that though. You're the other half of the equation… I'm not… I need you by my side to help me where I'm not strongest."
"Well I'm glad that you still like to have me around, but you do know that you don't really need me like I need you. You're more than amazing on your own. I mean how did you learn to write with BOTH hands!?! I have tried for years to write with my left like you do, but it never comes out right!"
Elsa giggled remembering how when they were younger when Elsa was scolded by their tutor whenever she went to do anything left handed Anna was right there next to her trying to copy Elsa and do everything with her left and getting frustrated when she couldn't do it right.
"You still try to do that?"
Anna blushed when she realized she admitted to still trying to copy her older sister.
"Well… I mean… Oh shut it. Yes I still try to so that!" Then she mumbled, "Not like I can do it still though."
Elsa cautiously wrapped her arms around Anna and pulled her closer while she made sure that her powers stayed concentrated in her chest and as far from her hands as she could.
"I'm just glad that's somethings never change."
Anna snuggled in as close to her sister as she could trying to soak up the feel of her favorite person in the whole world holding her close once again. She never wanted to lose this ever again. She made a promise to herself right then and there that she was going to do whatever she could to help Elsa figure out how to manage her powers so she could finally be free of this stupid room. She was never going to let Elsa disappear from her life ever again. It was them against the world now. She was determined that they were going to stand shoulder to shoulder, back to back, as the supporting pillars to each other.
"You are never going to be alone again if I have any say of anything. We are going to figure this out alright? Now let me check your temperature again."
Elsa felt her heart expand at Anna's declaration. Her voice left no room for argument like it was a simple statement of fact like the sun always returns after it disappears. Elsa let Anna shift out of her embrace as she resituated herself in Elsa's lap to feel for her temperature again. It seemed that Anna need to have some sort of contact with Elsa to ensure she was really there or to catch up on the years that they went without. Elsa was more than willing to oblige Anna in this as long as her powers were going to listen to her. If Elsa was truly honest with herself she would allow and give Anna anything she wanted and asked for if she could. She was completely wrapped around that girl's finger.
"Oh thank Freya! You seemed to have cooled back down."
Anna had jolted Elsa out of her inner musings, and she was caught in the stern look Anna was giving her, "And next time you will speak up, move me, yell at me, whatever you need to so you do not over heat like this again alright? Don't make yourself sick just for my sake! You matter too, got it?"
Elsa nodded her head slightly taken aback from hearing her sister use this commanding tone. She wasn't quiet sure she ever heard that come out of Anna ever before. Then she had to grin at what Anna said next.
"Your right hand commands this", as she flashed the goofiest grin she had at her sister at the mention of her reappointed position in her sister's life.
"Well I can't argue a command like that. I mean it must be law if it came from my right hand." She teased back.
Anna laughed, "You betcha it is!"
The girls were still giggling when a section of the wall moved to reveal Gerda in the secret passage. The giggles stopped and the grins reduced on both of the girl's faces. As much as they both loved Gerda and normally enjoyed her presence when she entered a room, they didn't quiet like what it meant this time.
Their time was up.
It was time for Anna to leave and go back to acting like this never happened. That things were back to normal. Anna grabbed Elsa's forearms knowing Elsa wasn't one hundred percent comfortable with her touching her hands, they were going to work on that later.
"I'll be back later, you understand me? It is just a short period without me."
She then flashed a smug grin, "You can't get rid of me now."
Elsa nodded and managed a small smile in return and kept the crushing feeling and rising anxiety of being left completely alone once again.
Anna noticed that Elsa was hiding her true panic and fear of Anna leaving. It was all in her doe like sapphire eyes. While she had a small smile on her face her true feelings resided in her eyes.
She leaned forward, "Don't hide you feelings from me, ever. I don't want to leave either. Quiet honestly I have no idea how I am going to act normal around mom and dad now that I know everything. I'm so angry with them, but I know it will make things so much worse for us if I go after them right now. With that said I will keep this secret alright? I WILL be back later tonight. I mean it when I said you can't get rid of me now. You might get sick of me actually."
Elsa viciously shook her head in a vicious and panicked motion.
"I could never get sick of you." Then Elsa glanced down at her lap and asked softly, "You promise I'll see you again?"
Anna felt her heart clench in her chest as she saw Elsa so unsure and so honestly terrified. It felt like someone was ripping her heart out. How could her parents look at Elsa and not see what leaving her locked up in here was doing to her? How could they think this was okay? She didn't know what she needed to do to fix this, but she knew that she had to change this for Elsa's sake. Somehow Anna was going to fix all of this. Now she just needed to make a plan.
She slightly squeezed her hands where they held their grip on Elsa's forearms and angled her head to force eye contact with her sister. She could see all of Elsa's pain, fear, and uncertainty. She really was afraid that once Anna disappeared that it was going to be the last time she would see her. That she would be alone once again. Anna gave Elsa a soft smile.
"I promise… I'm going to be here again tonight alright? Just a few hours apart. I'll terrorize the castle and you'll find something to enjoy until I can return here safely without being caught. I'm going to learn and memorize these secret passages and then show them to you too. That way you can get to me anytime those bad and scary thoughts tell you untruthful things. Like I said, you're stuck with me forever now."
Elsa nodded and then leaned forward and set a gentle kiss on Anna's forehead.
"Okay… I'll be okay, I promise. Please for the sake of poor Gerda and Kai don't terrorize the castle too much if at all if you can somehow manage it. Now go before you get caught here."
Anna nodded and gave a quick hug to Elsa before she went over to Gerda at the secret passage entrance. Elsa watched her disappear into the passage, and before Gerda slide the passage closed again to lead Anna back she softly called out to Gerda.
"Wait Gerda…" Gerda stoped and looked at one of her beloved princesses, "Thank you for this. I… I never dreamed that… Just thank you."
Gerda smiled and nodded and promised the princess she would be back with her breakfast after she ensured Anna got back without an incident before she closed back up the secret passage which once again left Elsa all alone in her room, only this time it didn't feel so suffocating. The air was slightly lighter than it usually was. It was like the air still had traces of Anna's laugh still floating up and lifting it. Elsa turned and looked at the sunrise and a small smile graced her lips.