Heins didn't know it, but Elsa was not asleep when he got up. She wasn't sure why she pretended to be asleep. She supposed she was still probably at least a little drunk, either that or she had lost so much blood that morning that she was still woozy. Or maybe it was just that she had a lot on her mind.

The day had been eventful, that much was certain. The wound in her side had been all but forgotten by now with the horrible pain in her leg. She had not experienced agony like that since the nights in Hans's camp seven years ago. The feeling of her thigh being torn open, of her bone being ripped apart, would visit her nightmares for years to come. Then, while she was still delirious from pain and blood loss, Anna decided to blow up the camp and run away. Heins saved her, which she was grateful for, but at the same time, she wished that he hadn't. Given the choice between her being in pain, and him being in pain, she would pick herself, without hesitation, every single time.

The more pressing issue was what were they going to do about Anna? For the first time, she was faced with almost the exact inverse of her own situation. She had frozen her coronation and fled. Anna set fire to the camp and fled. Elsa had accidentally injured Anna. Anna had accidentally injured Heins. Anna had run after Elsa. And Elsa… was laying here, useless. Kristoff had gone after her, yes, and that was a good thing, but the fact that Elsa was not able to do for Anna what she had for her filled her with a guilt that was almost unbearable.

If it hadn't been for Anna, Elsa had no doubt that she would be dead, either by her own hand or the scared and desperate citizenry. It was possible that Arendelle would have thawed with her death. But somehow, Elsa didn't think it would have. It would have remained in that eternal winter forever, a cursed land, a desolate land, filled with the bones of those who had trusted her to lead them, the survivors spreading tales of the frozen wasteland once called Arendelle, and the evil sorceress queen who had made it that way. Elsa could live a thousand years and never earn the gift her sister had given her then, and now, when she had the chance to begin making it up to her for real, she wasn't able to. It was almost enough to make her scream with frustration.

For a time after Heins had moved away, Elsa lay there, her eyes closed, trying to quiet her mind, and perhaps get a bit more sleep. Kristoff had gone after Anna. There was nothing Elsa could do right now. She had to just relax, so that she could help support Anna when she came back. She listened to Baldur's almost completely made up stories of bravery with a small smile on her face, and was just about to drift into a (hopefully) restful sleep when she heard Cari cry out in surprise.

"Kristoff! Where's Anna?" Elsa did not open her eyes yet, but she perked up and listened hard.

"Nearby." Elsa smirked. Anna was indeed nearby, she was sure of it. Near enough to eavesdrop. "First things first, how's Elsa?" Any doubt that Elsa had, vanished. He was asking leading questions, to let Anna hear there was no permanent harm done.

"She's okay," Elsie said. "I've checked on her leg, the infection is going down. She'll be fine in a couple weeks." So whatever pain she had endured this morning was worth it, at least. She lost the thread of the conversation for a moment as she celebrated the news. She wasn't sure if she could take more pain like that. She listened carefully again as Kristoff asked about Elsie.

"Jaw's a little sore. She's got a hell of a swing, that one." Wait, what? Had Anna hit Elsie? What the hell had happened that morning?

"That she does. How are you, though?" Thank you, Kristoff, Elsa thought. Elsie's answer had been less than convincing.

"I'm fine," Elsie said. At first, Elsa thought the group would let that stand, but no one spoke, until Elsie continued, "Okay, I'm upset. Don't get me wrong, I know she didn't mean to do the fire thing. But she didn't hit me with fire. She hit me. That was her." Elsa lay there, stunned at what she was hearing. She knew Anna had been through more than any of them realized. But Elsa could not reconcile the sunny, bright, good-natured redhead with someone who would strike a young woman, especially one that had just saved Elsa's life, twice. Elsa's heart broke yet again. What could have brought Anna to this?

"Anna's convinced that the Anna that hit you and burned you guys is the real Anna now. That's just who she is- angry, violent, and dangerous." Kristoff was saying.

"Well that's stupid. Wait, you guys didn't think I meant I wouldn't forgive Anna, right?" Elsie said, and Elsa felt her respect of Elsie grow tenfold in that moment.

"I mean, I don't think any of us are thrilled exactly, but we understand," Baldur said. "Does she think we haven't all lashed out at one another over the past two years? I mean, yes, her lashing out does tend to be a little more hot tempered-" Elsa almost joined in the chorus of groans from around the campfire- "but the principle is the same."

"This whole thing is stupid, though," Ciri said, and Elsa felt a rush of affection for the girl. She had taken a great liking to Ciri, which she supposed was only natural, Ciri had saved her life, after all. But this felt different. Elsa felt a connection to her beyond what she would have expected. She sensed in Ciri a kindred spirit- an orphaned girl, in over her head, trying to do what was right, to honor what her father had believed in, despite the hardships life had thrown her way. "I mean- if the 'real' Anna were some heartless jerk, why would she run away after what happened? It's like- did anyone think Elsa was heartless for running away from her coronation? I was only a kid and even I knew she was trying to do the right thing." As if Ciri didn't do enough to endear herself to Elsa already.

"Exactly!" Kristoff said, so loudly that Elsa was sure he was really talking to Anna. "Thank you, Ciri."

Heins had realized too. "You can come out now, Anna," she heard him call.

Elsa waited with bated breath to see how Anna would be greeted. Turns out she needn't have worried. The only reactions she heard were those of enthusiastic and exuberant welcome, as well as some reassurances that Anna was not some sort of pariah now. Once Anna had gotten sat down at the fire, Elsa heard her speaking, but it was so quiet that Elsa couldn't quite make out what it was she was saying. Elsa couldn't stand it anymore.

"Anna…" she called, as loudly as she could manage. Granted, her throat was sore and raw from that morning, and "as loudly as she could" amounted to no more than what could be considered "slightly above polite", but it seemed to have been enough. She heard Anna cry out in response, then hurried footsteps coming towards her, and a moment later, Elsa looked up at the face of her sister, who knelt beside her. Her face was twisted in anguish, and her eyes were bloodshot and puffy.

"Anna."

"I-I'm so sorry, Elsa," Anna said, fighting to keep her voice level. "I… I never meant to…"

"Shh…" Elsa whispered, reaching up and wiping a tear from Anna's cheek. "Anna. You don't need to apologize to me. I do. I'm so sorry, Anna."

"Why are you sorry?" Anna's surprise was so great that her voice didn't even tremble.

"Because I've never been there for you when you needed me most."

"But-" Anna said, but Elsa cut her off with a raised hand. She fell silent, looking at her sister through glistening eyes.

"When we were young… I pushed you away, even though you had never done anything to deserve it." She closed her eyes, taking slow, deep breaths, trying to contain the surge of emotion rushing through her chest. "For thirteen years I shut you out, but you never stopped trying to be close to me. Every Christmas, you made me a gift. On my birthday, every year, you sang Happy Birthday to me from the hallway, and slid a handmade card under the door."

Elsa's eyes burned with fresh tears. She'd kept those cards, every single one, in the drawer of her nightstand. They were probably long gone by now. She swallowed hard, and continued. "On your birthday, instead of having a big party or anything like that, you sat outside my door and just talked to me, even though I never talked back. After our parents' funeral, you still didn't give a thought to yourself. You came to my door, and told me you were right there for me. And I still didn't open the door.

"Then the gates opened, and I promised you I'd never close them again. But I never opened my door, the door between us. Not really." Anna looked at Elsa. Her lip was quivering, her eyes watery. Elsa kept going. She had to get this out. "I acted like I had. I spent time with you again, time I enjoyed more than I could ever express. But I still never let you in. I never treated you as a sister should, I never shared with you my hopes, my dreams, my fears, my worries, my troubles." Elsa drew in a shuddering breath.

"When I was taken from the castle, you fought for me. You came for me, even though you were injured. You saved me. And I still didn't let you in. When Hans resurfaced, and the war began, I still didn't tell you how afraid I was. How incapable I felt. Not until it was far too late."

"Why?" Anna whispered. It was a simple enough question, but the fact that it had to be asked hurt Elsa deeper than she thought possible.

"Because I was selfish. I enjoyed how much you looked up to me, despite how little I deserved it."

"Th-that's not true!"

Elsa smiled sadly. "I'm afraid it is. When I first saw you practicing your magic in the woods, what did I do? I knew what you were going through. What you were trying to learn. I knew I could help. But I didn't. What did you do when you first saw me?" Elsa answered herself before Anna got a chance. "You were mad, yes, but only for a moment. And then, you comforted me. You comforted me. Even after all I'd done, all the pain I'd caused you, you never closed your door. But I never opened mine." Elsa met Anna's eyes, the blue and the teal both shining with tears. "You looked up to me for so long, but I never told you how much I look up to you. You are a far, far better person than I am, Anna."

"How can you say that after what I did this morning?" Anna mumbled, looking down at the ground. "I hit Elsie. For no reason! I burned your husband!"

"Anna, you lashed out under stress and hit someone. Heins won't even have permanent damage, according to Elsie. I froze the kingdom because I lost my glove." This was stretching the truth almost to a breaking point, but it was technically not a lie.

"Yeah, but-" she broke off. She looked afraid and upset. "I'm scared of myself, Elsa. Scared of what I've become. I don't… feel anything. It's all just surface level, I'll smile for a moment, then it disappears and I'm hollow again. I thought I was happy with Kristoff last night, then I woke up this morning and it felt so fake, like I was just going through the motions. I get so angry so quickly, then it just leaves. What's wrong with me?"

Elsa patted the ground next to her. "Come here, Anna." Anna hesitated, then moved closer and lay down next to Elsa. Elsa pulled Anna to her, so that Anna's head was resting on her shoulder, and Elsa wrapped both arms around her sister. "Nothing is wrong with you," Elsa whispered. She kissed the top of Anna's head and she felt Anna tremble, and knew she had begun crying. "You're not a bad person, Anna. It takes time for walls to come down, I'm afraid. You've been through so much. More than any of us here. And you've had to do it all alone, thanks to me. I can't change the past. I wish I could. There are so many things I would change. But I can't. All I can do is be here for you now. You're not alone anymore. I'm so sorry you ever were. I love you, Anna."

Anna sniffled. "I love you too, Elsa." And so they stayed until the sun rose, the distance between them shrinking, Elsa's door swinging open at long last.

Author note: Longer update today, but I wanted to finish up the Reunions section and get into the next- Hunting the Spirits. See you Thursday!