Exodus
The Rub' al Khali
"Woohoo!" Anna cried out as she sailed over the dune. For a few seconds, she felt as if she were flying as she waved her arms through the air before the buggy landed then bounced across the sand as it came to a rest. "Whoo! Again, Elsa. Take the next jump!"
Even Elsa, who's icy countenance was usually stoic, could hardly resist the smile that spread across her face. She shifted the gear of the buggy, floored the accelerator, and raced towards the top of the next dune.
They sped along the rise and crested over the top, soaring out over the desert as they came back to earth. Anna was cheering and laughing all the while. Her face was the picture of giddy delight and excitement, and to Elsa it was the most beautiful sight in the world; greater than any treasure they had ever found, and more breathtaking than any view on Earth.
After a short while, Elsa pulled up next to Kristoff where he was waiting for them. He was leaning against the hood of his own buggy, and had been watching the pair take turns as they drove and jumped over the dunes.
"You guys just about finished yet?" Kristoff asked amusedly. "Because it's not like we're up against the clock or anything."
They had spent the previous day flying from Germany to Yemen, a flight which had taken well over twelve hours. After landing, they rented a pair of dune buggies and stocked up on plenty of supplies for their journey into the desert. Each buggy was loaded with enough food and water to last the length of their trip, as well as a homing beacon they each carried on themselves that was linked to their GPS devices. Additionally, they came prepared with a pair of satellite phones so that they could communicate across the desert. Currently, they were at the halfway point between their two destinations before they would have to split up.
Elsa adjusted the sunglasses on her face and repositioned the dark blue shemagh she wore around her neck, then stepped out of the buggy. For their desert trek, she wore a white long sleeve Henley shirt over a pair of beige cargo pants and her usual boots. Anna on the other hand, opted to show off more skin and wore a light green tank top over a pair of khaki shorts along with her boots. She also wore a light brown shemagh over her head to shield it from the heat of the desert.
"Kristoff!" Anna hopped out of the buggy and bounced up to him in excitement. "You have got to try it, it is so much fun!"
"I was a fighter pilot in the RAF, Anna," Kristoff replied. "I've logged plenty of air-time."
"Lame," Anna stuck out her tongue, then hopped up and sat on the hood of Kristoff's buggy. As soon as her uncovered thighs touched the hot metal, she shrieked in pain and leapt off. "Ow! Ow, ow, ow, ow!"
As she bounced up and down, rubbing the back of her thighs to soothe the burn, Kristoff laughed and pointed at her. Once Anna had recovered, she came over and punched him in the arm.
"Haha h- ow! Okay," Kristoff rubbed his arm. "That hurt," he sighed as he wiped the sweat off his brow. "This heat is something else, isn't it? I'm sweating like a hooker in church over here."
Anna arched an eyebrow. "You brought a hooker to church?"
"Why not?" Kristoff shrugged.
Once again, Elsa observed the closeness of their friendship and felt that pang of jealousy tugging on her heart. She swallowed it down, then walked over to the two.
"Yeah, well you won't find it so funny when we find the grail and you don't!" Anna pointed in Kristoff's face. "Bet you'll feel really stupid then."
Kristoff held up his hands in surrender. "Why would I- we're on the same team here!"
Anna simply blew a raspberry then went over to join Elsa.
"Children," Elsa chided. "Can we behave?"
Both Anna and Kristoff simultaneously pointed at each other and said, "he/she started it!"
Elsa sighed in exasperation and shook her head.
After another second, Kristoff ducked his head inside his buggy and came back with a map, which he laid flat on the hood. "Alright, time to get serious," he gestured towards the map. "This is your heading, over a hundred klicks north of here. This is mine, to the northeast a little further a-ways. From here we go our separate ways."
Anna nodded. "We haven't seen any sign of Hans or Weselton yet, so hopefully we still have the lead on them," she said. "Then again, this is one big damn desert."
"Hope for the best, and prepare for the worst," Elsa said as she turned and rummaged through the back of their buggy until she retrieved her holster. After she donned it, she nodded to Kristoff and sat back in the driver's seat.
"Right, better keep your eyes peeled for trouble out here," Kristoff said as he folded up the map and climbed into his buggy. "Well, we should get a move on. I'll contact you if I see anything. You guys do the same, alright?" he said as he shifted his buggy into drive.
"And remember to check in every hour!" Anna called after him before he sped off.
Kristoff responded by giving a thumbs up out the side before he disappeared over a dune.
With a spare moment, Anna used the time to reapply her sunscreen. She squeezed a liberal amount of the creamy lotion to her hands before rubbing them over exposed parts of her skin, starting with her arms. As she worked her way down and spread the cream over her thighs, Elsa shifted on her feet and cleared her throat uncomfortably as she constantly looked back and forth between Anna and the sand dunes in front of her.
Once she was finished with her legs, Anna patted around awkwardly to reach her back and shoulders before frowning from the fruitless effort. "Um, Elsa… can you get my back?" she asked innocently.
"M- me?" Elsa stuttered.
"No, I was talking to the sand dune named Elsa," Anna teased. "Of course you, ya dingus."
Elsa swallowed a lump in her throat before taking the bottle of sunscreen and squeezing some into her palm. She worked it into Anna's skin underneath the straps of her tank top before massaging the center of her back just below her shoulders.
Anna sighed contentedly. "Hmm, that feels nice," she whispered.
"Pardon?" Elsa asked.
Crap, was that out loud? Anna thought.
When she asked Elsa to help her with her back, part of her had done it because she actually needed help with the areas she couldn't reach, while another part wanted to test a theory. She wanted to see if Elsa's hands provided a similar feeling to the one she had experienced when she imagined it back in Germany. To her surprise, or worrying lack thereof, Anna melted beneath her touch and noticed that Elsa's hands were starting to stray down her back and towards her front. Oddly, Anna didn't mind and even ached for more.
"Nothing," Anna hurriedly replied, though her voice was higher pitched than normal.
Is she enjoying this? Elsa thought. No, that can't be right. I must have misheard her.
"It's just... sunscreen is important, you know. Avoid skin cancer and all that," Anna rambled as a way to distract herself. "Nasty business, especially for us pasty folks. I mean, sunburn is one thing, melanoma on the other hand, oof."
"Well," Elsa's voice slightly shook. "You're all done."
In truth, Elsa had to stop herself when her hands started to wander lower down Anna's back and over her sides towards her front. She hoped Anna hadn't noticed, for if she had, she said nothing about it. Eager to be finished with the task, Elsa set to applying her own sunscreen over her arms, neck and face.
"I'd offer to help you but you're, uh… more covered than I am," Anna chuckled sheepishly.
"We should… um, we should get a move on," Elsa finished quickly and avoided Anna's gaze.
"Uh, yes!" Anna agreed emphatically. "Yes, we should."
They were both glad for the distraction to draw their thoughts away from sunscreen, wandering hands and slick skin.
Without further delay, Elsa climbed into the driver's seat of the buggy with Anna next to her, and then they set off into the desert in pursuit of their goal.
... ... ...
The midday sun had reached its peak, and the heat was now beating down on Elsa and Anna in blazing waves. The air whipping around them as they tore across the desert helped mitigate it somewhat, and they remained hydrated by drinking water at regular intervals. They had been driving for some time now, and with little else to do but talk and watch the sand dunes pass around them, Anna was bored out of her wits. She was slumped in her seat next to Elsa, busy with dialing Kristoff's satellite phone for their hourly check in.
After a few moments, Kristoff's voice from the other end crackled through. "What's up buttercup?" he asked.
"Checking in," Anna yawned. "Anything interesting happening?"
"Nope. Just sand, sand, and more sand. I did spot a few interesting rocks. Same on your end?"
"Yup, bored out of our minds here. Over and out."
"Talk to you in an hour," Kristoff said as he clicked off the line.
Anna groaned loudly and tossed the phone on the dashboard. She shifted around in her seat until she found a comfortable position, resting one leg on the floor and the other on the seat as she leaned back and shut her eyes against the harsh glare of the sunlight bouncing off the sand. She almost wished that someone would show up to shoot at her, anything to break up the monotony of their trek across the desert.
"We could play a game," Elsa suggested.
"Like what?" Anna asked tiredly, raising her sunglasses off her eyes to look at Elsa.
"I spy… something… yellow."
"Ah jeez. Not this again," Anna muttered and chuckled slightly. From the corner of her eye she could see Elsa smirking. "Hmm… I wonder what it could be…" she tapped a finger against her chin.
"Do you need a hint?"
"Do I need a hint," Anna parroted in sarcasm. "Is it the sand?"
"No."
"The sun?"
"Nope."
"A rock?"
"Wrong."
Anna sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "I give up. What is it?"
"This," Elsa said as she jangled the yellow tag on the keys in the ignition.
"Ugh. I hate this game," Anna muttered, turning away to regard the sand dunes again.
From over her shoulder, she could hear Elsa laughing quietly. It was soft and gentle and carried a musical note that Anna always found pleasing. She turned to look at Elsa, who remained focused on driving and did not notice Anna's gaze.
She had stopped laughing but the smile remained on her face. From her position, Anna could see Elsa's face in profile and noted the way her cheeks bunched up and settled near the corner of her eyes. There was a distant, almost dreamy look on her face that was unlike the looks that came before Elsa's strange mood shifts. However, where such looks often precipitated an icy change in her countenance, this moment was different as she appeared content, happy even, which was a refreshing change from the stoic demeanor she usually carried herself with. It warmed Anna's heart to see Elsa like this, but the moment didn't last long.
A shadow seemed to pass over her face and her smile faded. Elsa remained unaware that Anna was regarding her so closely, so she was uncertain what had changed her mood, or if smiles like that always faded so quickly for Elsa. The warmth she felt seconds ago died away, and Anna felt a sudden drop in her heart and an urge to embrace her sister, to squeeze and wring the sadness from her. It was times like this that she realized she was still unaware of the reason why Elsa carried around so much darkness in her heart, but she knew better than to bring it up with her. Every time she had tried, Elsa had shut it down and pushed her away. Whatever reasons they were, Elsa was unable to share them with Anna, a fact which frustrated and troubled her greatly.
If only she'd let me in, Anna thought. I could help her.
She turned back to the long dunes stretching away as far as the eye could see, trying to glean some wisdom to a question she herself could not answer.
They passed the next hour or so in silence as they neared their destination. Apart from the sand dunes and the occasional rock, there had been nothing else notable in their journey across the desert. That was at least, until they came upon an ancient and dried riverbed which they now used as a makeshift roadway. The sun had passed its peak in the sky and was now beginning its downward arc towards the horizon as the afternoon wore on.
They paused in the shade of a large boulder to eat a simple lunch of flatbread, hummus, and water. After lunch, they reapplied their sunscreen. While Anna wiped down her legs and arms, she took notice of how Elsa loosened the top three buttons of her Henley shirt and fanned herself. As she did, Anna caught a few glimpses of her sweaty neckline and collarbones, tracking a bead of sweat as it slowly crept down and disappeared underneath the fabric of her shirt. Briefly, Anna imagined the rest of its path as it doubtlessly trickled down her chest and in between her cleavage which remained hidden from sight.
Oh boy. Not this again. Anna thought. Snap out of it. That's your sister, you pervert.
Flushing red, she turned her body sidelong with Elsa's to avoid looking at her as she finished up. Without looking, Anna held out the bottle of sunscreen as Elsa took it.
"Are you alright, Anna? You're red," Elsa asked softly.
"Oh… uh, yeah, I'm fine. Fine," Anna gulped. "Just… the heat! You know, I might be getting sunburned after all. I mean, we did get the strongest stuff, but this sun... whoo!"
"Well, you are the one who insisted on shorts and a tank top," Elsa teased gently.
"Yeah," Anna chuckled. "Guess I'm paying for it."
Somewhere in the back of Elsa's mind, she pictured herself spreading cool soothing cream over Anna's body. She started innocently enough, on the places Anna herself couldn't reach like her back and shoulders. Slowly, she made her way down her exposed back, rubbing softly, patiently, and almost teasingly. Elsa then ran her hands down Anna's sides, fingers barely brushing against the side of her breasts. In her mind as this bizarre fantasy played out, Anna's breath hitched slightly, invitingly, and nearly pleadingly. Elsa continued downwards, fanning out down Anna's lower back and over her hips. There she hovered, running her hands in slow circles as she inched lower, and over the back of her thighs. Her own breathing matched Anna's now as her younger sister whimpered softly. Elsa continued to glide her hands down Anna's curves, slowly and achingly dipping her fingers down the inside of her thighs near the junction of her legs, drawing out a long and rapturous sigh from Anna.
Stop! Stop it, Elsa thought, as she regained control, mercifully and mercilessly snapping her out of her fantasy.
She snapped her eyes open, and hadn't realized they were closed as she lost herself in her lustful fantasy. She finished up applying the sunscreen, and her mind nearly ran away again imagining Anna's own hands doing the same before she stopped it dead in its tracks and reeled it back in.
Please, stop this, Elsa begged herself.
... ... ...
Anna took over driving, while Elsa assumed her position by her side in the passenger seat, content to let her sister take over. She had her feet kicked up casually on the dashboard and her chin resting on her palm as she intently gazed at the map on her lap, yet her mind was faraway somewhere else.
"Do you think it's out here?" Anna spoke, snapping Elsa out of her thoughts. "I mean, do you think we'll find it?"
"I know I've… doubted you in the past, but given everything we've seen I think you're right. You haven't been wrong so far, so… I trust you, Anna," Elsa said carefully.
"Oh, well I trust you too." Anna said, a bit surprised as she glanced over to Elsa. "I just hope we find it and not Kristoff. I can already see the stupid smug look on his face. At least we aren't far now," she grumbled.
Elsa turned away to look at the sweeping desert before them as she fretted with her braid. How can you trust me? I can't even trust myself, she thought darkly.
At that moment, a low and distant droning noise caught her ear. It originated from somewhere behind them, but whatever it was, it was gaining fast.
"Wait, do you hear that?" Elsa asked as she twisted and poked her head out the side of the buggy to survey the desert behind them.
"No," Anna shook her head. "What is it? What do you hear?" she shifted in her seat and slowed down somewhat.
"I'm not sure," Elsa frowned as she scanned the horizon line.
The low droning noise continued to press ever closer.
"Hold on, I hear it now too," Anna said, a touch worried as she examined her mirrors.
The noise was nearly upon them now as whatever was making it approached them. Elsa poked her head out the side of the buddy, blocking the sunlight with her hand as she cast her eyes to the skies above. She spotted an object flying towards them from behind and as it neared, the droning noise coalesced into a rhythmic beating of propeller blades.
"Oh no," Elsa muttered when she realized what it was. "Not good. Not good!"
Just then, the helicopter swooped low overhead and passed them as it flew off in the same direction they were headed.
"Crap!" Anna hissed and turned to Elsa. "Westguard goons?"
"Or Hans and Weselton," Elsa replied.
Anna shook her head from frustration and gripped the steering wheel more tightly. "Of fucking course," she floored the accelerator as they took off in pursuit of their new quarry.
