A/N - Another one-shot. By all means comment prompts or suggestions! Hopefully this will tide you over until the next update for Bring Her Home.

Thank you queenfixerupper for this prompt : Anna has a dream about Olaf flurrying away.

I don't think Elsa's okay.

I think she may have gone too far.

You're gonna have to do this next part on your own.

Warm hugs, that was all she had to offer. She hugged him until he was completely gone, until all she could do was hug herself. He wasn't here. She was alone. Obstacle after obstacle, she was thrown into suffering. I could really use a bright side, Olaf. In return for the sacrifice of her sister and her kingdom, the universe robbed all her world of any existing light. She couldn't find any in herself, nor in this cave or future. There wasn't any bright sides, and the universe seemed set on hammering home that message. It had already stolen her spirit, why did it have to steal her family?

She was brought here. Elsa was summoned by a voice to save this forest - one that they barely knew the existence of. Was this their fate? Was this meant to have always happened? Why did they bring her here just to let everything around her die? Why did they - no - how dare they.

I just don't want you dying. Trying to be everything for everyone else too. Don't do this alone, let me help you please.

I can't lose you, Elsa.

I can't lose you either, Anna.

Pain shot through her again, her chest seizing robbing her of her next breath. Her last memory of Elsa would always be being shut out, again. Her last memory of her older sister was being pushed away. She should have seen through it, she should have done something differently. If only, if only she had gone with her. Elsa would be here. Olaf would be here. They would be alive, they would be safe and she wouldn't be alone. They could go home together. Home. Where was that? Arendelle would have to fall for all of this to be over. Kristoff would be there, maybe. He might be dead too. She didn't want to find out. She couldn't take any more loss.

And she hated her. She risked her life on countless occasions so recklessly and nonchalantly. They had gone through it over and over. Yet she did it again. How could she? She did the exact thing Anna had warned against. She knew going too far would get her killed. She knew that it hurt her. Hot tears streamed down her face, unable to stop.

How dare she think she could leave Anna alone?

How could she think that Anna could make it without her?

She didn't want to think about it. The future just seemed to be filled with an abundance of solitude. She wouldn't have anyone to ride bikes down the halls with, there would be no more snowmen, a whole season tainted with hurtful memories. So many months, and she was so young. A lifetime ahead of what-ifs and remember-whens. Years of unprompted tears and empty chairs. No more games nights, no more laughter. Her sister, and childhood best friend. So cruelly ripped from her in a matter of minutes. She didn't get to say goodbye to Elsa. It suffocated her.

The sister who built herself on love was now heartbroken. Her light used to shine so brightly, her sunny personality radiated in rainbows, welcoming everyone to be her friend. The colour from the world was ripped right before her eyes - now tears clouded her view and she couldn't see beyond a step ahead of her.

The sister who so valiantly and confidently climbed the north mountain, inexperienced and revelling in hope now struggled to lift herself off the cave floor. Her heart weighed her down; carrying years of grief, bruised from everything the universe had so brutally thrown at her. It hurt to breathe. It hurt to live.

Every second passing a second further from her time with them. Soon it would turn into months, years. Soon her grief would outweigh their lives.

It took everything in her to make it out of that cave. Anna was barely a shell of who she was when she had entered. Holding on tightly to her bag, tucked neatly were the remains of her best friend. Olaf. It felt the closer she held people they would undoubtedly leave. One way or another, the universe was punishing her. She had kept her promise. She was still holding his hand. She would do so until she could lay him to rest.

The light ripped through the entrance of the cave, the glare piercing her eyes harshly. It was mostly quiet. A bird's song travelled through the light breezes that drifted through her. Time was still moving. Somehow the world hadn't stopped when hers had. With tears prickling in her eyes, Anna tried to bury the rising anger in her. She longed for everything to stop, to pause and realise what she had lost. She wanted a break, not to be reminded of what she needed to do next. It felt too much like a to-do list. A list she had so painfully gone through before. Lose her sister, and somehow muddle through it alone? Check.

It was unfair, and her grief was unrelenting. Another blow. The dam was right there standing unbroken, a slap in the face. They could have made it. They were so close. It taunted her, the reason her friends had died so unkindly greeting her as she survived each step forward. What she was supposed to do now? The pain in her chest reverberated throughout her body, she wasn't sure she could even keep steady on her feet.

She was alone. They were dead.

Elsa

Her baby sister was restless, twisting and turning in her bed and sobbing. Walking towards the large window, Elsa cracked the curtains open. Letting the dawn flood the room with warm oranges. Tentatively, she sat on the edge of Anna's bed. Ever so carefully, she reached out to Anna's shoulder, hoping to lightly shake her from her bad dream. It was becoming routine now, and it worried her that it did so. She shouldn't be spending morning after morning coming to check on Anna. It shouldn't be routine for Elsa to get a glass of cold water because she knows Anna needs it after a bad dream. There shouldn't be a toolkit for this.

"Anna, it's just a bad dream - you're okay." She continued to coax Anna, shifting the sweaty strands of hair that lined her face. "You're safe, I'm here.". It was pressure on her shoulder that triggered it.

Anna shot up, near falling off the bed. She put a hand to her chest, trying to steady her heavy breathing. The thick volume of air she was inhaling quickly drying her throat. Her eyes searched the room rapidly, trying to settle into her new surroundings. "Here." Elsa handed her the glass of water. "What was it this time?" She asked, watching Anna guzzle the water quickly. It was dripping onto her pyjamas.

"The Cave." Anna breathed out, wiping the water from her chin and throwing the covers off her. the dream didn't need to be spelled out. She sank back into the bed, burying her head into her palms.

"Oh." Her heart dropped. It was said so matter-of-factly - truthfully - Elsa found that in itself quite haunting. The Cave. An event so horrific that it could be referenced through location only. But more than anything, The Cave would always be because she had gone too far, because she had shoved them into a boat and pushed them away after Anna had pleaded her not to.

"Yeah." Anna mumbled.

Elsa perused over her sister, she was so fragile. More vulnerable than she let on, and more hurt than she would ever admit. It was a month or so after the dam broke that Anna admitted what happened in the cave. They had been showering her with praise for her determination and dependability. It provoked something in her, and soon they were being swamped in how Anna was not in fact determined - it was instead that she was left no other choice. She had choked through sobs that she hated every minute of it, that she wasn't sure she'd endure it. Eventually it was pulled out of her that she hated them for leaving her, for putting her in that situation.

Then another word wasn't spoken about it. They settled back into their old routine of avoiding hard conversations. For Anna, she more than anything wanted to celebrate the life they still had. She had convinced herself that the pain she felt would dissipate soon, she just needed her mind to catch up with her body and realise that she had survived, that the cave was a thing of the past.

"Tell me about it." Elsa said quietly. She watched as Anna shifted in her seat, her narrowed eyes scouring her.

"Huh?" Usually, Elsa would just comfort Anna in these situations. She never probed. She had assumed, wrongly that if Anna wanted to talk about it - then she would. Usually, Anna felt pretty distant throughout this routine, she would calm and Elsa would leave her to it after being assured that it was okay.

"It might help." Elsa suggested timidly. "You can talk to me, Anna." She shuffled closer to Anna on the bed, still leaving some distance between them. This was fragile territory, memories of Anna breaking down in front of her was circling in her mind. She wasn't sure she wanted to be at the receiving end of her venom again. Equally, this couldn't go on any longer. Her sisters wellbeing outweighed her pride.

"I don't think..." Anna trailed off, she bit her lip and her eyes landed on her duvet that lay beside her. She ran her fingers through the fabric, rolling the threads in between her fingers. She couldn't say it. I don't think I can tell you how Olaf died because you left me, because you went too far.

"You have to." Elsa wrapped Anna's hands her own, pulling her away from the duvet. She saw Anna wavering in her stare. "You need to."

Drawing her hands back, Anna took a deep shaky breath. "I just don't want to ruin things between us, Elsa.". It was as if she could see Anna shrinking into herself, and with it her worry took lead, beckoning Anna back to her.

"Impossible. " Elsa assured, Anna was still frowning, an expression that used to be foreign to her. Nowadays, Elsa could categorise her memories into old Anna and the one that was sitting before her. The traits she had fallen in love with were disposed of in The Cave; her love of adventure, her childish sense of humour, her extraversion, and most of all, her hope. She once knew Anna to be carefree, the definition of vivacious and epitome of soul and fun. "You would never let that happen." Elsa lightly joked, hoping to earn a smile from Anna. It fell flat.

"What did we do to deserve this Elsa?" Anna said solemnly, she looked to be deep in thought. "Because I know for a fact Olaf didn't deserve it." She stood now, her thoughts lifting her from the ground, she needed to move. Pacing, Anna continued. "He was just trying to help.. that's all he ever did..." She furrowed her brows, turning to Elsa purposefully "You know he spent his last moments comforting me, he showed me a way out.". She could still see them the snowflakes that circled her, she was forced to watch him die slowly. "He was innocent, Elsa."

She blinked away her tears, she didn't have any words. She wanted to say something, desperately. Anna stared at her piercingly, the anger spurring her on. "We were all innocent, Elsa. "You had to die to find the truth!" She continued pacing, flailing her arms in exasperation. "If I hadn't been there then that dam would still be standing and you'd be -" The sadness that had washed over Elsa's face flooded her heart. Quietly, Anna concluded. "Whatever higher power there is - if there is - fuck them. How dare they ask me to do that."

"I'm alive, Anna. Olaf's alive." Elsa stood, running her thumb along Anna's cheek to wipe away her tears. "You were there, the dam is broken and Arendelle is safe. You saved us." Elsa pleaded.

"You carted us off, Elsa. We landed in that cave because of you." Anna spat, she span harshly away from Elsa. Heading towards the window. " How could you think we'd be okay without you? How could you just leave me all by myself!?"

"I know-" Elsa started. It unnerved her, because of you. She had heard that one before, Hans had said it. Led to believe she had killed Anna, she had been destroyed. It was one of the lowest memories she had, and now it was at the forefront of her mind.

"No, you have no idea." Anna whispered vindictively. "You have no idea what it was like! I didn't know where Kristoff was and you pushed us away." Anna shouted furiously. She was growing more and more irritable now, unable to keep in one place. Coldly, Anna fixed her eyes dead onto Elsa's. "You abandoned me and Olaf... and he died in my arms, Elsa." Tears were spilling from her face once more, she was beginning to lose control of herself. "He died." She held her arms out just as she did when she cradled Olaf, reliving it all. "I was holding him." She choked out, her eyes not leaving the memory playing out in front of her.

"Anna I'm so sorry." Elsa spoke softly. She saw confusion wash over Anna's face. Pulled out of her memory, she could see what Elsa saw. Nobody in her arms. Just as she experienced when it was over.

"Then he disappeared." Anna blinked at Elsa, her eyes turned back to her lap. "He flurried away and I was alone." Earnestly, Anna took a deep breath and looked back to the window. "I didn't think I'd see the light of day after that."

The room grew quiet, filled with heartache, you could hear a pin drop. "I shouldn't have put you through that, I'm so so sorry." Elsa's eyes grew sadder, she felt stupid. "I couldn't lose you." She said quietly.

"I did lose you." Anna mumbled. A beat passed before Anna continued, realising Elsa had no leg to stand on. She was speechless. "If you had taken me with you, if something had happened I at least could have tried to help... I could have known...but in that cave - I-.. I was left in the dark, literally." She breathed.

"We did it together, Anna. It's hard to believe I know, but.." Elsa was backtracking, repeating what she had said all those months ago.

"A bridge has two sides?" Anna looked questionably at Elsa, finishing her sentence. With a light nod from Elsa, who looked somewhat hopeful, Anna shook her head. "Bridges break" Rolling her eyes. "I would know because I almost died on one."

Elsa's breath caught in her throat, she was stumped. "I wish you hadn't done that, Anna." The thought of Anna standing on that dam as it collapsed horrified her. Anna didn't have powers to protect her. If Mattias hadn't been there...

"That makes two of us." Anna crossed her arms. "I wish you hadn't gone to Ahtohallan alone, but this is where we're at." She searched Elsa for any sign of regret, but she didn't see it. She saw pain, she could see that Elsa was struggling with finding the right thing to say. Just say you won't do it again. The dreams repeated over and over, deep down she knew Elsa would most likely throw them in a situation like this again, and she needed to prepare herself for it. Protecting her apparently meant keeping her distance. "I went on that bridge to not let your death be in vain." She spoke pointedly, hoping to draw out Elsa's guilt.

"It wasn't." Elsa replied, it was truthful at least. Anna saved her.

a/n This is getting long so I shall extend this to two chapters, will update tomorrow :)