It was a perfect day for a hike with Kristoff: spring flowers in full bloom, the sky clear, and bees busily buzzing about. Anna hurried through the main gates to greet her friend; the sudden wall of ice she ran into startled her. The redhead's jaw dropped at the sight of an arrow embedded in the barrier chest level before the ice melted and the arrow fell with a clatter.
"ELSA!" Kristoff sounded panicked and Anna whipped her head around to where she left her sister.
Time stopped.
"Nonononono," Anna rushed to her sister's side. Falling to her knees, she pressed her hands around the arrow's shaft embedded in Elsa's stomach, trying to stop the bleeding. She ignored the angry shouts and sounds of fighting, the Royal guards no doubt capturing the assassins. Blood seeped through her fingers. "Why didn't you stop your arrow?" Tears obscured her vision.
"N-n-not enough time," Elsa winced in pain, "I couldn't l-let you get hurt."
A thud next to her and Kristoff appeared in her peripheral vision. He handed over a sleeve torn from his shirt. Anna wrapped it around the base of the shaft and pressed down, flinching at her sister's cry of pain.
"They're getting the barracks doctor." His mind raced to find some way he could actually help.
"Anna." Tears filled Elsa's eyes and she gasped in pain. Dying before getting the chance to confess her feelings was not one of the many scenarios she planned for. Now that candlelit dinner tomorrow night would never happen. "I'm so sorry."
"Sshh," Anna soothed. She reached out to tuck a lock of blonde hair back, but stopped at the sight of blood on her fingers. "Save your strength."
"Princess Anna..." hands moved hers away from the arrow and the gray-haired doctor made a quick assessment. "We have to get her into surgery now." He signaled the stretcher bearers closer and put pressure on the wound.
"Anna," Kristoff wrapped his arms around his best friend and pulled her clear. They watched Elsa being rushed back through the gates, orders being shouted by the doctor the whole way.
Her unseeing gaze focused on the spot the redhead last saw her sister. They should be picking out food in town for their hike. Kristoff should be complaining that he was only there to carry the basket even though it was actually Sven doing the work. She should be ignoring her racing heart while holding Elsa's hand.
There should not have been blood.
"Sven, come here!" Kristoff shouted. "Anna, I'll go see Grand Pabbie. Maybe he has something that can help Elsa." If they rode hard, they could be back before nightfall. No matter how much Kristoff wanted to be with his best friend, he knew time was not on their side.
Anna nodded numbly.
Seeing Gerda hurrying over, Kristoff sprang to his feet and ran to Sven. He vaulted onto the galloping reindeer's back and they rode quickly out of town, praying the trolls could help.
"Princess," Gerda's voice shook. When she received no acknowledgment, she guided the redhead up off the ground and back into the castle. Shaken by the blood covering Anna's hands, she led her to the bathing room to wash up.
It wasn't until she felt the tug of someone taking off her jacket that Anna realized she was no longer outside but standing next to a tub of steaming water. Looking down, she saw the blood smeared on her clothes. Elsa's blood. She frantically took off her clothes and threw the soiled garments into the fireplace and watched them burn.
Gerda gently nudged Anna to the tub and helped her in. A new dress would be needed and she hurried out to fetch one.
The nightmare from earlier played out on repeat in her mind's eyes. The thought of any drop of Elsa's blood staining her skin repulsed her and she grabbed the cleaning cloth hanging on the side of the tub. Scrubbing roughly at her hands and arms, Anna ignored the pain, not stopping until every last speck washed away. She sat staring without seeing the far wall, hoping to wake and find Elsa safe.
A tugging at her arms brought Anna out of her fog. The once hot water had turned ice cold and she was shivering. Getting out of the tub, Gerda helped her dry off and dress.
"Doctor Hadwin is done and is waiting for you outside the Queen's chambers." Gerda couldn't meet the young woman's eyes, knowing the bad news waiting for her.
Anna ran out of the room at the words, eager to see her sister.
Gerda watched sadly. It struck her as incredibly unfair to have watched everything both women had gone through over the years and for them to finally find happiness as they fell in love, only to have it ripped away by an assassin's arrow. She instructed a passing maid to clean the tub and slowly followed after Anna.
The doctor stood dejectedly in front of Elsa's door when Anna rounded the corner in a run. Sad brown eyes met hers and she stopped breathing.
"I am sorry, Princess." Hadwin ran a hand through his gray hair and straightened his posture. "There is just too much damage."
"Is...is she..." her vision darkened and Anna fought the dizziness threatening to overwhelm her.
"The Queen is still alive," he swallowed thickly, "but I don't know for how long. I think that's her magic's doing."
"Can I see her?" This isn't happening this isn't happening this isn't happening...
"Yes, Princess. I will give you some privacy." He hurried down the hall. Giving family members bad news never got any easier, but seeing the devastation on Princess Anna's face broke him. Despite it being unprofessional to run away as he was doing, he needed to find a private corner to cry and mourn.
Utterly shattered, Anna stared ahead.
Her whole world lay on the other side of that painted door.
And she was dying.
Anna refused to fall apart and squander the last few hours she had with her sister. Entering Elsa's room, her breath caught. The blonde looked so small and pale in her bed. Tired blue eyes turned to her, and Elsa groggily beckoned her over and patted the bed next to her.
She sat down and smoothed a stray lock of blonde hair back.
"Hi," Elsa smiled, happy to be able to see the younger woman one last time. She knew she was dying, the magic that constantly hummed under her skin was starting to disappear, though her right hand itched with magic wanting to be released.
Holding her sister's abnormally cool left hand in both of hers, Anna could not get any words out past the lump in her throat. This was every nightmare she ever had times ten, because this one was true.
"Hey."
Anna felt trembling fingers wipe away tears she hadn't realized were falling. She closed her eyes and took a deep steadying breath. "It hasn't even been a year since I got you back."
"I know," Elsa dropped her hand weakly. All those years wasted being apart and now they were out of time. Her right hand pulsed with magic.
"You can't," Anna swallowed hard, "you can't leave me."
"I don't have much of a choice," tears filled her eyes. Seeing the despair on the younger woman's face broke the last piece of Elsa's heart; she was leaving Anna all alone. Again. This wasn't fair. The gates were open, they had reunited, and she was so deeply in love with the most beautiful woman in the world. The sealed letter, confessing everything to Anna, lay in the nightstand mocking her with all she could have had.
Anna leaned over to wipe away a falling tear off her sister's cheek.
A burst of magic from her right hand startled Elsa.
The freezing cold blast hit Anna square between her shoulders, sending her sprawling over the blonde.
Elsa grunted in pain but immediately wrapped her arms tightly around her sister. Ignoring the trickle of blood flowing down her side, she basked at having Anna in her arms one last time.
Worriedly, Anna moved to get off her sister.
"Please."
The softly spoken request stilled her.
"I'm not hurting you?"
"No," Elsa lied.
Anna relaxed and snuggled deeper into the blonde's embrace. Maybe for a little while she could pretend everything was fine. They were just sleeping in and would request breakfast to be brought up. The unsteady breathing under her ear broke the spell.
Exhaustion overtook her, and despite her efforts, Anna fell asleep.
Elsa lovingly stroked her sister's back as she slept. Not wanting to miss a single second of this almost perfect moment, she kept awake. Not even the sticky wetness from the blood pooled at her side bothered her enough to move. The sun traveled across the sky as hours passed and her magic continued to fade. The room darkened. She tightened her hold and placed a kiss on top of the head tucked under her chin. Her magic signaled it was time to wake Anna up for their last goodbyes.
"Anna." A gentle shake. "Anna, it's time to get up."
"Mmm, five more minutes, Els."
She felt a soft kiss on her collarbone and Anna snuggled closer.
Elsa closed her eyes. These moments of tenderness had given Elsa the courage to plan tomorrow's dinner and she wanted to just lay there and enjoy it. But time was running short.
"Anna." Another gentle shake.
Something was wrong. Her sister felt abnormally cold. Everything rushed back.
"Elsa!" Anna sat up quickly. Hope that it was all a horrible nightmare, gone.
"Hey, Sleepy Head," the blonde lifted a hand to caress Anna's cheek.
Tears filled her eyes, the sad look on Elsa's face telling her more than words could have.
"Wait for me," Anna commanded in a clear voice.
Elsa frowned in confusion. "What?"
"After you..."she swallowed down the bile threatening to come up. "Wait for me. I'll be right behind you."
Her eyes widened in alarm. "Anna, no!" Her heart knew the truth even while she refused it. "You have so many years ahead. There are things-"
"They're nothing without you," Anna interrupted. Her already broken heart would kill her, it whispered. She just needed to live long enough to contact her cousin Rapunzel, then she could lay down and join her sister.
Tears fell.
"Please," the redhead leaned down and pressed her forehead against Elsa's, "wait for me."
"O-okay." The resolve in Anna's voice told her there would be no changing her sister's mind. Tears fell unchecked.
Long silent minutes passed, neither wanting the first to say goodbye.
Loud hoofbeats from the hallway and then a crash when the door flew open. Kristoff and Sven, who had Olaf on his back, rushed in.
He had been terrified. While they were rushing back to the castle, Olaf, who had been visiting the trolls, said he felt light and floaty. Kristoff fished a glass bottle out from a bag on his side and held it out. "Elsa, drink this!"
Anna sat up and took the bottle from her best friend. "What is it?" She frowned. The liquid in the clear bottle glowed a bright blue with a swirl of pink running through it and looked nothing like any medicine she had seen before.
"Grand Pabbie gave it to me. He said it will help." What he actually said was that it might help, though he was doubtful. The Queen didn't look good. "Please, Elsa, drink it."
"Help me up, Anna." Her magic was barely a tickle under her skin. Leaning against the redhead, she took the open bottle and eyed it skeptically. The last time she had anything to do with Grand Pabbie's magic, her sister forgot most of their lives together. She sniffed at the open bottle, the overly sweet smell turned her stomach.
"Elsa, please?"
Looking over, the blonde saw the hopeful look on the younger woman's face. Even if Elsa forgot everything, it would be worth it for Anna to live.
"I love you." Elsa quickly brought the bottle to her lips and down it all in one quick gulp. Good thing she did, the vile liquid tasted as though someone mixed vinegar with dirt. It took all her concentration not to vomit.
From her stomach, a bright blue glow shined and Elsa felt her magic pause in its fading away.
"Anna," Kristoff spoke up, "you have to tell her."
The redhead looked over in confusion.
Kristoff locked eyes with her. "You have to confess your feelings."
"How..." Anna's eyes widened in alarm. How did he know? She told the painting of Joan of Arc everything and even she didn't know.
"Hurry." His gaze moved back to the Queen, uncertain how long they had before the magic medicine stopped working.
Anna turned to the shuddering blonde in her arms.
Elsa smiled weakly, already feeling the effects from the liquid begin to fade.
The practiced speeches and flowery words disappeared from her mind, inadequate to the depth of her feelings. She had always been more comfortable with actions anyway. Anna closed her eyes, leaned down, and pressed her lips to the blonde's.
Elsa's eyes widened. Those lips were softer than she had imagined. Once again her magic stilled. All too soon, Anna broke the kiss.
"Elsa, I-" the confession of love went unfinished. She felt two hands pull her forward by the collar of her dress and lips crash into hers. The gentle feelings from their first, almost chaste, kiss were eclipsed by the raging inferno from their second. Anna wrapped her arms around the blonde, pulling her close.
Her magic roared back. Elsa traced the seam of Anna's lips with her tongue, seeking entry, and deepened the kiss.
Kristoff jumped with a cheer when the glowing blue light changed to bright pink and flooded the room with light.
"I don't feel floaty!"
He grabbed the snowman off Sven's back and twirled Olaf around.
It worked!
There was Deep Love, there was True Love, and there was the most rare of all, Soulmates. Grand Pabbie had cautioned him against hope. His concoction would only work if they were truly Soulmates and in his long, ancient life he had only seen actual Soulmates twice. The chances for them had been almost nonexistent. Kristoff had been confident. He returned Olaf to Sven's back and hugged the reindeer's neck. He was going to get this wonderful creature two bushels of carrots for sprinting all the way here. It had worked!
In a daze, Anna pulled back slightly to catch her breath. Then leaned in eagerly for another kiss.
Elsa hummed in delight. Magic tickled under her skin, as strong as ever but that did nothing to distract her from the warm lips against hers and delicious tongue in her mouth. Finally though, the need for air had her pull back. Breathing hard, she finally remembered they weren't alone. The blonde blushed furiously and peeked around Anna.
At this, Anna turned to see what had stopped Elsa's kisses.
Kristoff stopped hugging Sven and grinned at them. "We'll go tell Kai you're all better, Elsa."
"What?" Anna's head whipped around to stare at her sister. Then tackled her in a hug at the nod.
"I'll tell you guys all about Grand Pabbie's medicine later!" Kristoff called over his shoulder and ushered Sven and Olaf out the door.
Pulling up, the redhead leveled a serious look at her sister. "Are you really okay?"
"Yes." Curious, Elsa pulled up the shirt she had been put into after surgery. A loud gasp came from Anna at the sight of soaked bandages and the pooling of blood on the bed. Peeling back the wrappings revealed a completely healed wound. A raised white scar was the only indication it had ever been there.
She shivered when Anna traced the scar with soft fingertips.
"It's gone," the redhead whispered, worried anything louder would cause it to come back.
Elsa placed a hand on Anna's cheek and lifted her head so she could look into those beautiful teal eyes. "It's gone." And because she now could, the blonde leaned in and kissed her again.
This was for the April prompt from the tumblr .com
Prompt: Stay
B-B-B-BONUS RESTRICTION: None of the characters are allowed to actually say the word 'stay.'
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