After slipping back into the castle, Elsa went into the kitchen, a small smile on her face, her heart full.
As she found something that would make do for a quick dinner, Anna walked in.
"Anna," she said, excitedly. Leaving her food on the table, she approached her sister. "Guess what just happened?"
Anna mirrored her sister's grin. "What?"
Kristoff also entered at that moment. Elsa spared him a glance before getting her attention back to Anna.
"She does! She likes me back!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around her sister in celebration.
"I knew she did. Oh, Elsa, that's wonderful!"
As Elsa stepped back, she said, "But as we try to work things out, we want to keep this on the down low for now. Do you think you can do that?" Elsa grimaced a little as she waited for her answer.
Seeing the worry etched in Elsa's features, Anna couldn't but to agree.
"Of course," Anna said finally, with a nod.
Elsa's relief was clear. "Thank you."
Kristoff, who had gone to get an apple, smiled and raised the fruit like one would raise a glass in celebration when Elsa looked his way. "Congratulations. She's a lucky girl."
Elsa became bashful at that, a grin stretching her lips as she looked down. "Thanks."
Elsa felt pretty damn lucky herself.
By the time Katherine had made it to the kitchen, Elsa had already left. So, it was only the next morning that they met again.
Rousing from a sleep that had been surprisingly peaceful considering the chaos in her emotions, Katherine stared up at the ceiling of her dark room. As the memories of the events from the previous night played out in her head, she still couldn't quite believe it had really happened.
She had kissed Elsa. And Elsa had kissed her back.
What the next few days would look like, she had no idea, but she was eager to find out.
She had daydreamed about what being with Elsa could resemble, but now that she was with her, a whole new world of possibilities had just opened up, and she was ready to go to take it all in stride, with an open mind and heart.
Katherine was much better at that than at projecting into the future, anyway.
So, she quickly got ready to leave her quarters just in time to realize how early it was.
Usually, she met the queen at breakfast. But as she glanced at Elsa's room just a few doors from hers down the corridor, Katherine decided it was probably better that they met right there instead, so that they could talk a bit before seeing everyone.
And maybe do other things, too.
She leaned back on the wall and waited, which gave her mind time to wander, making her second-guess herself. Should she be waiting around? Would she seem invasive? Would Elsa think she was being too much? Was she supposed to act more nonchalant than she felt?
The sound of a door opening snapped her out of her thoughts, making her scramble to stand upright. She was planning to seem like if she just happened to get out of her room at the same time as Elsa, but that didn't happen. As soon as they locked eyes, she was dumbstruck, her plan completely forgotten.
They stared at each other for a moment in wonder, almost afraid to ask if their memories from the previous night were more than just a blissful Christmas dream.
"Hi," Katherine said simply.
"Hi," Elsa replied with a coy smile.
"So, last night…" Katherine trailed off, rubbing the back of her neck.
"Yeah," Elsa nodded, her smile stretching wider. "Do you, uh," she said, pointing toward her room. "Want to come in?"
"Sure," Katherine said, walking in and closing the door behind her. "Um... full disclosure," Katherine continued as she looked earnestly at Elsa. "I don't really know what I'm doing here. But, I would love to keep doing it, if— if you want of course."
Elsa smiled and nodded. "Well, I don't really know what I'm doing either, so... I guess we'll have to figure this out together, how about that?"
"Okay, good, good. I can work with that. So... may I?" Katherine asked, leaning in slowly, temptingly.
Elsa responded enthusiastically by taking her into a deep kiss that had their hands roaming, Elsa's running through Kat's hair and Katherine's finding Elsa's hips, bringing her closer.
"And you say you don't know what you're doing," Elsa said, breathless, her eyes bright as they pulled apart. "Also... you don't have to ask for permission, you know. I'm all yours."
It made Katherine's heart soar to hear her say that, as if it had just sprouted wings and was fluttering all around in her ribcage. "I just can't believe I get to do this." She had dreamed about it for so long, it was hard to conceive the notion of this being real. "And, I just want to make sure. I don't want to do anything to make you uncomfortable."
"Tell you what," Elsa said, moving her arms to have them rest over Kat's shoulders. "Considering that we're still figuring this out, if I ever do something you don't like, tell me, and I'll do the same. Deal?"
Katherine gave her a half smile and nodded. "Deal."
As they remained close together, Elsa marveled at Katherine, the tremendous joy of having her close, at getting to kiss her, all new and pure and magical, felt massive in her chest.
And it was a relief that she got to do something with it other than repress it so much it manifested in a shimmering snowfall.
"God, you're beautiful," she whispered, the words escaping from her throat as if the universe commanded her to speak them, words that were such an evident truth that she couldn't but say them aloud.
Katherine felt herself blush, but she huffed out a laugh.
"I knew you only kept me around for my looks," she said, sighing dramatically, as if it was her ever burdensome cross to bear.
"That is not the only reason I keep you around," Elsa countered.
"Oh, yeah? Why else, then?" Katherine said, raising an eyebrow.
"Well… there was also your dancing skills."
That had Katherine laughing as she moved to take a seat on the edge of the bed.
"For real!" Elsa said, moving to sit beside her. "It was nice not having to lead in something for once," she shrugged.
Katherine carefully studied Elsa, who was looking straight in front of herself, wondering for a moment what was behind those words. "Well, I'd be glad to put my dancing skills at your disposal for whatever you may need."
Elsa's eyes widened, images filling her head as she nodded, before she threw Kat a tantalizing grin. "Tempting offer. I might take you up on that one."
Later that day, Katherine practically sauntered out into the courtyard, planning to spend some time training. She squinted as she found Alexander, Patrik and Robert challenging each other in bayonet target practice, her eyes adjusting to the bright sun bouncing off the fresh snow.
"Ready, set—" Alex counted down.
Just as they were about to take their shot, Katherine waited for the perfect time to distract them and said, "Hey guys," just as Alexander shouted, "Fire!"
They all hit their hay targets all the way at the opposite side of the courtyard, but none made it near the bullseye.
"Ha!" Robert threw triumphantly Patrik's way. His own arrow had hit closest to the bullseye, while Patrik's was the one furthest away from the center of the target. "Pay up, Hillesland."
"Dammit, Anderson," he muttered under his breath, rummaging through his pocket to find the change to cover their bet. It was a symbolic amount. What was costly was the shame that came with defeat.
"It's not my fault you can't focus," she shrugged, moving to get her own target. "Let me show you how it's done."
Alex threw her a sidelong glance as she did. It was not unusual for them to tease each other of the sort, but Katherine seemed particularly playful today.
Having stripped the boys of the coins they had mostly been passing around between each other, Katherine was left to pick up the equipment with Alex after they had gotten a few more rounds in and challenged each other in a race around the castle. It was just as well. They had some catching up to do.
"So how was Christmas at the Stenberg's?"
"You mean at the Halverson's," Alex corrected her. They had spent the holidays with his wife's family, his only living relatives several days of travel away.
"Ah, holidays at the in-laws'. How did that go?"
"Pretty good, actually. There are some perks to being related to the town's baker."
"I bet," Katherine nodded. "And how did Henry's first Christmas go?"
"Other than the fact that the kid's not even a year old yet and he already has more toys than I got my entire childhood?" he shrugged, his features lighting up. "It was magical."
"Now don't be spoiling my godson too much. I don't want to have to be the one to set him straight later. I want to be the cool godmother who he goes to talk to about the trouble he's causing you," Katherine said, throwing him a pointed look.
Alexander and Brigida had decided to give Henry one godparent each, and being the closest thing he had to a sister, he had chosen Katherine. It had been her greatest honor to be entrusted such an important role.
"We'll try," Alex said, rolling his eyes playfully.
As they got done with their chore, they walked side by side into the castle.
Alexander had noticed Katherine's mood had shifted since she had started working with the queen, but today she was especially radiant.
"What has you looking so happy today, anyway?" he asked.
She faced him, taken aback by the question. "I… My father's here," she said quickly, hoping that would sate him.
"I heard. Must have been nice to have had him around for Christmas," he nodded slowly as he scrutinized her, clearly unconvinced.
"What?"
"You telling me there's nothing else making you smile like that?" he asked, a corner of his mouth lifting in a smirk.
Now she was the one rolling her eyes, but she couldn't keep the smile off her face for long. "Fine. There might be... someone."
"Ooh," he said, his interest clearly piqued. "A guy worth fighting for, perhaps? Do I know him?"
The excitement that had been bubbling in Katherine's chest receded a little at that as she chewed on her bottom lip. That would be an interesting conversation. But with Elsa preferring to keep it under wraps, she decided to give as little away as possible.
"First of all, I fight for myself, thank you very much," she said. "And second… there might be someone. But look, it's really new, so I don't want to jinx it. Let's just say I am very happy about it."
"Oh, come on," Alexander insisted. "I need to make sure that this guy's treating you right."
Katherine couldn't help chuckling at the mere thought of Alex confronting the queen regarding such matters. "No need to worry about that."
"Is it someone important? Is that why you can't tell me? Is it that noble I heard you were dancing with at the queen's birthday ball?"
"Alex…" she sighed.
Katherine sighed, conflicted. She did want to tell him. Suddenly, it didn't seem fair that she had to keep this giant thing filling her heart to herself. To not be able to revel in the excitement of it all with him. Why couldn't she, again?
"Come on, I won't tell anyone. Promise," he said, throwing her his patented pleading look. The puppy dog eyes he was doing would seem out of place on any other man of his size, but somehow on him, they just worked.
And they were usually effective against her, but now, the only thing keeping her from telling him was that she had told Elsa she wouldn't, and she was a woman of her word.
"I can't just yet, okay?" she said finally, throwing him an apologetic look. "But I will tell you as soon as I can."
"Fine," he conceded finally, observing her for a moment before he decided to drop it.
Katherine had to wonder if she had hurt him. He would have every right to feel that way. They shared everything, from their greatest pain to their biggest joys. It was what connected them. Besides, secrets were not really her thing.
But why had Elsa asked her to keep it in the first place?
It was yet another brisk and sunny winter morning when Katherine was walking on the Bridge of Arches towards the castle. Everything was silent except for the sound of crunching snow under her boots.
Soon, she was at the large gates of the Arendelle castle. She stared for a moment at the triangular pattern of the wooden planks that alternated between brown and white in color. They were closed. That was odd.
She readied herself to pull with full force, expecting resistance from the heavy frame, but as soon as she pulled, the door swung easily on its hinges, the momentum making her almost hit herself in the face with it. Again, odd.
Now on high alert, placing a gloved hand on the sword that hung at her side, Katherine scanned her surroundings before starting toward the courtyard. She passed the first set of doors to find the second set. It was identical to the first, except for those gates were open.
As she continued slowly forward, she started hearing the bustle of the angry mob she now saw standing in front of the steps leading to the castle. Some of them carried lit torches, others had pitchforks — none of them seemed happy.
As she approached them tentatively, she heard a man yell, "We cannot allow this!" and another one declared, "We must overthrow her!" Then a woman chimed in. "What will this do to the kingdom?"
Katherine brows knit in confusion as she saw them lash out at the closed castle doors.
"It's all her fault!" Wael, the town's journalist, turned to look at the soldier, pointing an accusing ink-stained finger.
She stopped in her tracks, still a few feet from the crowd as they all turned to face her. She felt as if a ton of bricks had fallen on her as she realized what was happening.
Her eyes widened as panic settled in and the villagers directed their vitriol at her.
"She corrupted the queen!"
"It's all her fault!"
"Treason!"
"She's dangerous!"
The attacks and insults all melded together as they slowly advanced towards her. Katherine found herself barely able to breathe, incapable of moving. She was frozen. She broke into a cold sweat as her thoughts ran rampant, desperately trying to make her limbs respond, without success.
Two soldiers emerged from behind the group and approached her. She recognized them. They were her friends.
Alexander stood before her and shook his head in disappointment. "How could you do something like this?"
She tried to open her mouth, to speak, to defend Elsa's honor and her own, but again, her body wouldn't obey her.
Alex and Robert flanked Katherine and they each placed an arm under her own to lift her and carry her toward the castle like a common criminal.
She desperately wanted to scream, to fight, to find Elsa and take her far away from here. But she couldn't. She was a useless sack of flesh, letting them take her away in silence.
Katherine startled awake, her breathing was agitated, and she felt as if her heart was going to beat itself out of her chest.
It had been all a dream. No, not a dream. A nightmare.
She was drenched in sweat, so she pushed the covers away. The cool air hit her flushed skin, making her shiver.
Noticing the sun hadn't come up yet, she slowly regained control of her breathing as the images of the nightmare came back to her. She sighed, running her hands over her face.
Well, that was new.
Fear settled deep in her gut, her insecurities clear. Was what she was doing dangerous? Would Elsa pay the price? She wasn't sure she was ready to risk that.
She was a woman of action, and her job was to protect Elsa, no matter the cost for her. So that was what she was going to do.
In the few days after their first kiss, Elsa and Katherine had fallen into a routine in which the soldier would go to the queen's room first thing in the morning, where they would properly start their day together. It was usually done in a slew of giddy smiles, passionate kisses, and playful giggles.
But this morning, as Elsa opened the door with a radiant grin after hearing Katherine knocking, she was met with the soldier's somber expression. Elsa's smile immediately fell, her forehead creasing in concern.
"What's wrong?"
"We need to talk," Katherine simply said before Elsa stepped aside, letting her into the room.
They crossed the space silently towards the edge of her bed. The windows let the gray morning light into the room. The day was cloudy and thick snowflakes fell hard from the darkened sky.
They sat facing each other. Elsa waited patiently, hands tucked firmly on her lap, slightly on edge.
Katherine, whose troubled gaze had been downcast, now faced Elsa's kind eyes, and her heart broke for what she had to do.
"Elsa… What are we doing here?"
The queen's frown deepened, completely at a loss regarding where Katherine was coming from. "What— what do you mean?"
The soldier sighed. "This," she gestured between both of them. "Us. What is it?"
"I— What?" Was all Elsa could say.
Katherine saw the hurt in the other woman's eyes and felt as if her own heart was being crushed. This seemed almost too cruel. She had to stand up, she had to move.
Elsa watched her pace, puzzled, while Katherine was clearly lost in her thoughts.
"We can't do this. I mean, you're the queen. They could take your throne. They will never allow it."
Elsa felt relief wash over her. "That's what this is about? About what others might think about us?"
Katherine stopped and turned to face her. "It's more about what they might do."
"What are you— did something happen?"
The soldier looked away as her nightmare washed over her once again. The paralyzing feeling came rushing back, threatening to drown her. She had to keep moving.
Elsa studied Katherine for a moment. Her stance was stiff as she mechanically made her way from one side of the room to the other, her head bent downward and her hands firmly clasped behind her back.
Elsa rose and stood in Katherine's way, making her stop. She reluctantly met Elsa's eyes. They were filled with so much care and understanding that a lump formed in her throat, overcome with emotion. How could she let her go?
"Hey," Elsa said softly, her breath taken away by seeing the torment in the eyes of the woman who held her heart. "It's okay, love," she gently cupped the side of Katherine's face with her hand. "You can tell me anything."
Katherine's heart skipped a beat upon hearing the word love being dedicated at her with so much tenderness and, well, love. She closed her eyes, almost in defeat, as she pressed her face to Elsa's strong, cool touch.
She grabbed Elsa's hand and guided her back to the bed, where they sat again and Katherine finally explained what had happened, told her about her dream.
"And when you told me not to tell anyone, I thought that maybe you also thought that it could be dangerous. That you felt like you needed to hide this for you, for the kingdom… You have a lot of people to protect. Being with a low-ranking soldier, and a woman, at that, might not be the best way to do that."
"Oh, Kat…" Elsa said. "I am so sorry that I made you feel like that. That is not what I meant."
"Then why didn't you want us to tell anyone?" Katherine wondered, the reasons she could come up with not being much more reassuring.
Elsa sighed, the all-too-well known pang of guilt making her look away. "I think I'm just too used to hiding, to concealing parts of myself. I wanted to keep some semblance of control over all these feelings you stir up in me. Not that it actually helped, though," she smiled a little, looking at Katherine. "But the reflex is still there."
"I truly am sorry," Elsa continued, her features sober again. "Practically all the important people in my life already knew, so it was this selfish wish of keeping this special thing we have just between us. I didn't even give you the chance to weigh in."
Katherine's features relaxed as she considered it. "It's okay. I get that. But it did scare me. More than I thought possible."
Elsa motioned for Katherine to scoot closer to her. "Come here."
Katherine gladly leaned into Elsa's frame in a sideways embrace, Elsa's arm wrapping around her shoulders. Suddenly she felt grounded, the contact securing her, letting her know that even though she felt more vulnerable than she had ever felt, that it would be okay.
Elsa ran her free hand lazily up and down Katherine's arm as she placed a kiss on the top of Kat's head. "Have you guys been telling a lot of horror stories about angry mobs lately, by any chance?" she asked, referring to how some soldiers gathered at the end of their workday and entertained each other by spinning tales.
Katherine huffed out a laugh. "Maybe…" she said, getting lost in her thoughts until Elsa broke the silence.
"And believe me, I've thought a lot about this too. But, I mean, even after I froze the kingdom over, everyone in Arendelle accepted me as their queen, powers and all. I don't think this should be a problem."
Katherine nodded. She had a point. But her fears weren't quite quelled. She wriggled herself free from the embrace to be able to face Elsa. "But can we really do this? It would be practically unheard of."
Elsa shrugged. "It wouldn't be the first time I did something that was previously unheard of. You're pretty experienced at that yourself," she smirked at Katherine, who couldn't help to mirror it. "So what if stories like ours haven't been told before? We'll just have to write it ourselves. Didn't we agree that we would figure it out as we go, together?"
"We did," Katherine said before leaning in for a slow, deep, reassuring kiss.
Because that was the one thing neither of them had to figure out. The only thing that was clear is that they weren't willing to let each other go.
"Need I remind you, we have fought and defeated actual mercenaries together?" Elsa said once they pulled away. "I think we can take on whoever we need to."
"That is a very good point. You're right."
"And believe me, I will fight for us no matter what happens."
"And I'm not one to back down from a fight."
"Then don't scare me like this again, okay?" Elsa said, a hint of pleading in her eyes. It was terrifying how vulnerable her budding relationship made her feel, how little control she felt over what happened to her heart.
And it wasn't much different for Katherine.
"Sorry about that. That was my 'protect' reflex kicking in. I'll try not to go directly into war measures in the future."
"Good," Elsa said with a small smile as she rose to her feet, offering her hands to Katherine to help her stand too. "Now, let's go get some food."
"What, are you always hungry?" Kat smirked as Elsa pulled her to the door.
"Not always," Elsa narrowed her eyes at her. And that was the moment her stomach decided to help her out by growling. Loudly.
Katherine lifted an eyebrow in amusement.
"Shut up," Elsa said hearing Katherine's hearty laugh behind her as she followed her into the corridor, bringing a smile to her own lips.
AN: Apologies for the impromptu hiatus. I hope to be able to come back to a more regular posting schedule, around every 2 or 3 weeks. I hope you enjoy this second part of the story, and as always, thank you for your continued support!