Rifiuto: Non Mirena

A/N: Sorry, this chapter is long...

Written: 2019 - Licia

Iduna's thumb gently brushed the tears away. Now calm, Elsa sat before her parents, waiting for them to speak. Watching her, truly watching her, for the first time, Agnarr realized how sickly his daughter looked. Her normally pale complexion was a sickly shade of white tinged green, her cheeks splotchy and eyes deeply red-rimmed.

"Elisabeth."

Slowly, the Snow Queen's blue eyes rose to meet her father's. Rarely did she hear her first name, that she often didn't know how to respond to it. Though the name scrawled on the certificate of her birth was 'Elisabeth', she did not go by it; it, like the rest of her names, was merely a formality, a beautiful string of names to be read out when visiting other monarchies, more for official use than practicality. Elisabeth Astrid Birgitta Charlotte Tatiana Louise was a title, much like The Snow Queen or the Philosopher-Queen, something written following 'Sincerely,' on official notices or letters to other kingdoms, something official, to be printed in newspapers and commemoration brochures. As a child, she had often been referred to as 'Elisabeth Astrid Birgitta', for it was easier than all six of her names, and eventually, Gerda, Iduna's faithful handmaiden, had simply shortened it to 'Elisabeth Astrid'; Elsa had not been used regularly within the castle until Anna came along.

But before then, it had been strictly used between her parents, along with their respective nicknames solely for her- Lisbet, from Elisabeth by Agnarr, and Gitta, from Birgitta by Iduna- but 'Elsa' had been used collectively by the couple to reference their baby girl. And when Anna came along and had learned to talk, it had all changed. Though she had been 'Elsa'- solely by her parents- since she was born, Anna had started calling her such because she couldn't pronounce 'Elisabeth', and 'E'sa' was so much easier for a babbling two-year-old to fit her mouth around. To this day, Elsa wondered if Anna even knew her sister's true name.

"What?" Her voice was soft, void of emotion, and clearly tired, for she'd talked and cried herself near hoarse.

Iduna glanced at Agnarr, worry filling her gaze. "Agnarr-"

"We have to, Iduna. We need to fix this, we can't have our baby paying for our mistakes any longer. Lisbet needs to know the truth."

"What truth, Papa?" Elsa breathed as Agnarr reached up to cradle her cheek. Blue eyes- his eyes- darted between him and his wife, and he sighed.

"Everything you discovered about us is true, Lisbet. All of it. Our first meeting,"

"Our escape from the forest," Iduna added.

"Our marriage, your birth, your powers-"

"Who you really are." Iduna swallowed thickly. "Who Yelena really is to you." Tears choked her, and she reached up, wiping at the tears trailing down her cheeks. "I should have told you, all those years ago, about my past, about where I was from... you were old enough to hear it, at eighteen. I should have left you with something more than my shawl and promises of love," She cleared her throat. "I should have left you with the knowledge that your aunt was alive, and trapped in the forest with my tribe... then you wouldn't have been so alone..."

Elsa waited, silent. It struck her though, that her mother never mentioned Anna. She bit her lip, and decided she couldn't let it go. "You mean with Anna, right? Then it wouldn't have been just Anna and I?"

Iduna shook her head. "No. Not Anna." Iduna stopped, before waving it away. "That doesn't matter. Anna doesn't matter."

Despite the betrayal she felt at Anna's treatment of her, Elsa still flinched, unwilling to hear such callousness from her mother about the sister she still loved so. "She's my sister, Mama, of course she matters."

"Not in regards to this."

Elsa's brow furrowed, and she glanced at her father. "I don't understand. What's so wrong with Anna? I mean... other than the way she's treating me..."

Agnarr sighed, swallowing thickly as his daughter's gaze locked on his. "Elsa, you must understand that what we tell you now will affect your relationship with your sister-"

"Can't affect it any more than it already is, Papa." She tried to crack a smile, but it didn't reach her eyes, and it was evident that Anna's betrayal, the pain she was causing, hurt their older daughter deeply.

"Elsa... your sister-" He reached down and took her hand. How did he go about explaining this? How did he possibly begin to expose the secret they had tried so hard to cover up? Finally, an idea struck. "You've heard the legend of the tinderbox, haven't you, Elisabeth?"

Her brow furrowed; the small crease settled between them, and her lips tugged down at corners. She glanced between her parents, unsure of where this was going. "Ah... yes. Hans... Hans told it to me. The... story about the princess who drowned in the river and was forced to guard it... the diadem that would reveal who she really was... the... prince who became lost in the woods and can't get to her because the river keeps them apart. It's just a story, a fairy tale for children. What about it?"

Iduna sighed, glancing at her husband. "There's more to the legend, Gitta." Her daughter's frown deepened. "And it's not... it's not just a story. It's real. Very, very real." She swallowed. "Though there are... some key differences to the legend."

Elsa glanced between her parents, now utterly confused. "Oh... kay. Mama, you're scaring me."

But before she could say any more, Iduna had taken her face in her hands, locking their gazes. "You must listen to me, Elisabeth." Her mother's voice was firm, tight, and she tightened her grip on Elsa's cheeks, their noses brushing briefly before she pulled away, but never loosened her grip. "Do you understand me? You must promise not to speak until Papa and I have finished speaking, and remember that what we tell you is important. It will help you finish what you need to."

"Mama, I don't under-"

Iduna shook her daughter firmly. "Promise me, Elisabeth Astrid. Promise me."

A moment passed, before Elsa nodded, suddenly worried. Even in life, Iduna had rarely raised her voice as she was now. It set Elsa's teeth on edge. "I... I promise, Mama-"

"Do you? Elisabeth, do you?"

"Yes! Yes, Mama, I promise!" She winced; her voice came out small, frightened, and suddenly, she was that little girl again, sitting on the snow-covered floor of the ballroom, cradling her sister's head in her lap, having just struck her with her magic and so unbelievably frightened.

"Mama! Papa!"

"Promise me, Elisabeth! You must listen to me!"

"It's okay, Anna, I got you."

Elsa struggled to get away, but Iduna refused to release her. "I promise, Mama!"

"Elsa, what have you done?"

"I'm sorry! It was an accident!"

"This is getting out of hand!"

The ground beneath them began to crackle as frost swiftly appeared, stretching for miles around the three; ugly, dystopian shapes glittered within the ice, a sign that Elsa was quickly losing her control, that her emotions were starting to spiral. Thinking quickly, Agnarr wrapped his daughter in his arms, providing her the strength to fight the fear that was building in his daughter at her mother's urgency- but he knew it as important, so very important that Elsa understand the gravity of what she was going to learn, for they had kept this secret long enough, but it was only now, with their youngest daughter upon the throne of Arendelle and her beloved sister- the rightful heir of the throne- now having taken her place as the Fifth Spirit, that the truth- the whole truth, be told.

Because the tinderbox was no mere legend; it wasn't a fairy tale for children. It was so much darker than anyone could ever rightly assume, and so inexplicably tied to Elsa's fate that it could be denied no longer. She was more than just their precious daughter, more than just the rightful Queen of Arendelle, more than just the Fifth Spirit, the bridge that connected the worlds. In rewarding Iduna with Elsa, the Fates had ensured the legend of the tinderbox lived on; in rewarding Iduna's actions that day, the Fates- and the Spirits- made sure that the curse could be broken; not just the curse on the forest, but the curse placed on the princess. And everything had seemed to be going according to plan-

Until their second daughter had been born.

Agnarr swallowed, pressing a kiss to Elsa's head. At first, things had gone fine, but then, suddenly, something had changed. It was as though everything had gone topsy-turvy, as though the little redhead Iduna had given birth too had changed, and despite their forced separation, Elsa had become the unknowing target. Though they had no doubt that Anna did love her sister...

Something wasn't right. A sister's love shouldn't go beyond simple sibling love, but this... between his girls... it was... unheard of, disturbing, unnatural. And his suspicions had only been reinforced the night he'd caught Anna picking the lock on her sister's door. He'd scolded the girl severely, grounded her, barred her from going anywhere near her sister, but it had done no good. He'd gone to check on Elsa a week later, only to find the door to her room picked, and his younger daughter sitting on the window seat across from her sister's bed, ignoring the ice and cold, watching as she slept with a sick, demented look on her face, an almost... predatory gleam in her hazel gaze. It had scared him, and he'd quickly gone to the teenager, alerting her to his presence and waking his oldest daughter up in the process- who, due to the shock of having both her father and sister in her room, hadn't had time to react in fear, and so her powers had controlled themselves.

But even as Agnarr placed greater restrictions on Anna, enforced even more Elsa's separation from her sister, he never forgot the look on his younger daughter's face that night, when the thirteen-year-old had sat across from the bed, watching her sister sleep, as though she were some sort of... distant lover.

"Mama, you're hurting me!"

Elsa's words broke Agnarr from his thoughts, and he hurriedly reached over, taking Iduna's wrist and gently shaking to get her to loosen her grip. His wife shook him off. "No, Agnarr! She needs to understand the gravity this! How important this is! How much danger she's in!" She turned back to Elsa, choking on a sob. "Elisabeth, you listen to me, and you listen good and hard, you understand me?" Elsa nodded, frightened tears in her eyes. "We can't do anything to stop her because we have already passed on, but you can. You have to."

"Have to what, Mama? I don't understand."

Iduna released a sob, pressing her forehead to her daughter's and closing her eyes as she caught her breath. "You were to be our only child, Elisabeth. Anna was a mistake. Not unwanted, but not planned. After the accident," She choked on a sob, forcing herself to take a deep breath, before she met her daughter's eyes again. "After the accident, after we took her to the trolls, and moved her from your room... when we started keeping you apart... something happened. Anna began to change. She was still the sweet girl we all knew, but... but when it came to you..." She stopped; she could feel Agnarr reach up and squeeze her wrist in support. Taking a deep breath, she met her daughter's gaze and began again. "She became... fascinated by you, to the point of obsession, and then, just as quickly could turn cold and hurtful towards you. It was... almost as if she couldn't make up her mind, to love you or hate you. We were forced to tighten our restrictions, which unfortunately hurt you in the process."

"I don't understand, Mama. What... what does this have to do with the tinderbox?"

Her mother took a deep breath, swallowing her fear, for she had to push on. She had to make sure her daughter knew the truth. "The princess that was drowned in the river by the witch was not the only daughter of the King and Queen of the People of the Spring. There was another daughter, a younger daughter. She loved her sister dearly, and after her death was discovered, she tried everything in her power to exact not just vengeance, but bring her sister back. When her parents died, she was forced upon the throne, but never forgot her quest." Iduna swallowed thickly, forcing herself to calm down.

"She searched and searched for her sister, always finding her at the river, but always unable to get to her, for the river kept them separated, kept the elder as its prisoner, its keeper. The younger eventually lost herself to madness and grief, for in those fleeting moments with her sister at the river, she had grown to love her more and more, had cursed the prince for being her betrothed, and wished it had been her instead. She planned to steal the diadem and free her sister, confess her true feelings and be rid of the prince, but the tinderbox with the diadem vanished before she could get her hands on it. With the last hope of getting her sister back gone, she had no choice but rule the kingdom left to her; slipping more and more into madness as the years went by, until her son, seeing no other choice, took her out to the valley for a ride, and executed her himself. Her blood spilled upon the stones, her grief and madness tainted the moss, withering all it touched."

Elsa gasped, and Iduna tightened her hold. "How could he-"

"The son was wracked by grief for what he'd done; his son now sat upon the throne, and he himself saw no choice but to ask for forgiveness. But he turned to no church, no priest or saint to confess his sins. Instead, he turned his blade upon himself, and his blood soon joined his mother's. It mixed, together; her madness and grief, his mercy and love, and from those emotions, that act- an act of mercy on her son's part- came the valley of the trolls."

"The... trolls?" Elsa's question was soft, frightened. Her parents clutched tighter to her. Iduna nodded.

"Over time, the mad queen was forgotten, and the guardian of the river faded into fable, the diadem became nothing more than a sought after illusion, one of those stories unable to overcome because there was no kiss of true love." She sniffled.

"What.. does this have to do... with Anna?" Her voice was small, frightened, and Agnarr pulled her closer to him. Iduna met her husband's gaze; this would be the hardest thing she'd ever done, but she had to. Her daughter needed to know the threat she was facing.

"Anna..." She swallowed thickly, tears coming to her eyes. "Anna is not who she seems, Elisabeth. Since the time of the accident, she has been different. Still the same, but not. Deeply, deeply obsessed with you, to the point we would catch her picking the lock on your door at night to try to get to you." Elsa shuddered. "She would beg us to let you two be together-"

"Play together?"

"No, Lisbet." Agnarr whispered. "Be together."

"The way Papa and I have been." Her daughter's horrified gasp told her that the explanation had gotten through, as she'd hoped. "She would insist that you would be happy with her, that if we just let you be together, you would okay, that you didn't have to endure such isolation, because she would be there. And when she found out about the betrothal to the prince from the Southern Isles..." Her mother flinched, memories of that day still fresh in her mind as though it had happened days ago. "She lost it. Near destroyed the library, insisted the marriage would not work out, that he could not make you happy the same way she could. That we had set it up to keep you permanently apart, and that she did not want," Elsa waited for her mother to calm down. "that she did not want some... 'weak, pathetic little prince from a distant land touching you that way' that only she deserved to touch you that way."

Elsa moved to pull away, feeling sick to her stomach, but Iduna held strong. She wasn't done; she couldn't release her daughter until it was all revealed. Despite how uncomfortable it made Elsa, she had to know the truth. It was the only way she would be able to survive. "We forbid our restrictions, kept you even more separated; it started out for Anna's good, but then turned into being for your own good. It was safer for you to be away from her, because we didn't know what she'd do. We're so sorry, Elisabeth, but we couldn't take that chance." She choked on her tears, before continuing.

"The week before we left," She sighed, closing her eyes briefly. "we sought the help of a gypsy woman. She told us that Ahtohallan would be able to give us answers, to your magic, and possibly to Anna, but she wasn't entirely sure. She informed us that the legend was true, and would unfold before the tenth year of our deaths, that my daughters were cursed to play the legend out and that no matter how we tried, we could not change it; that it was not our place to stop what had been put into motion centuries before, and that now begged to be reversed."

"Mama-"

The tears glistening in Elsa's eyes mirrored the ones in Iduna's, and she gently stroked them away as they fell. "She told us that Anna- our Anna, the real Anna- was no longer within our realm. That she had been stolen by the trolls not long after we went to seek their help that night, and another had been put in her place. One that felt for you what the sister felt in the legend, that desired the body of her sibling, and would do all she could to get it. She told us that we could not stop her, that it had to be the one within the legend cruelly stolen by the river's greed." Elsa choked on a sob. "That the diadem of the legend was not only meant to show the princess her true self, but what her sister truly was- that it was the looking glass that would reveal the truth of the sister's origins and protect her from harm brought by her 'sister'."

Agnarr and Iduna shared a glance, and after a moment, Elsa choked out, "What are you saying, Mama? I don't... understand..." But in truth, Elsa did understand, as much as she could for the swirling emotions taking control, she just didn't want to hear it. She tried her hardest to ignore her mother's words, but knew it would be no use. It was important, and Elsa had promised to believe Iduna, no matter how far-fetched it seemed.

Her mother swallowed thickly, meeting her daughter's gaze as she pulled away to look into her eyes. In a voice choked with tears, she whispered,

"Elisabeth, your sister... Anna... this Anna, not our Anna... she is a changeling, replaced by the trolls after the accident, in hopes that the love of the mad queen would come true, simply to spite Papa and I-"

"But... why would they do that? They helped us- helped me when the spirits-"

It was Agnarr who spoke this time, and his words chilled her blood, as Iduna rested her forehead to her daughter's. "Because they wanted our child, Elisabeth. But not Anna. They took Anna because she was the one they could get to."

"Get to?"

"Elisabeth." She turned back to her mother, meeting Iduna's gaze. "Trolls love beauty. In all their ugliness, they crave something beautiful. You were truly beautiful when you were a baby."

"Mama, I don't understand."

Iduna pressed a kiss to her daughter's head. "Elisabeth... Gitta, my darling... don't you see now?" She choked on a sob. "They wanted you. And when they couldn't get you, they took our Anna instead." She swallowed thickly. "They left that... thing... in Anna's place..." Silence, followed by a soft breath. "Because they couldn't have the beautiful blonde babe born of the queen's womb, they settled for the second daughter. That's what they wanted, that's why they don't want the diadem to be found, because it would put a stop to that part of the legend. They want you, Elisabeth. And Papa and I... we've done all we could to keep them from taking you, even at the cost of our own lives. The trolls... they have always wanted you."