Chapter 1
"Fuck, not again!" Anna screamed at her steering wheel, as white smoke plumed out of the hood of her car. She groaned, thumping her hands on the steering wheel, as multiple lights flashed on her dashboard.
"This can't be happening..." Anna grumbled, as her engine, which had been clanking loudly, suddenly sputtered and banged, until shutting down completely.
She was in the middle of nowhere. Mountains surrounded her, snow blanketed the ground. Other than the quiet clanking of her engine, the only sound she heard was wind rustling through the tall pine trees, and her own frustrated breathing. Begrudgingly, she reached over to the passenger seat, and into her purse, pulling out her phone.
"Thank god." She said quietly, as she still had cell service, albeit only two bars. She looked over the dashboard, for any signs as to where she might be. The winding mountain road was bare of nearly any signs of civilization. No power cables, no cell towers, not even a single road sign.
She opened up the maps app on her iPhone, and waited. And waited. And waited. After what felt like a century, the map finally opened up, with a small pin indicating her location.
"Shit..." she grumbled. Just like she had though. The middle of nowhere. Litterally, nothing around her. She groaned, as she panned the map out, then in, searching for any sign of civilization.
And just as she was about to give up hope, as she zoomed in further on the map, a single word came up.
"Arendelle..." Anna softly said, zooming in even further. The town was so small, it didn't even fully register on her app. It took a few more minutes of loading, before a single street, Main Street, loaded on her map. Scrolling over the town only took a couple minutes, it was so small it would've only taken her 30 seconds to drive through. She searched, frantically, for a garage, a shop, anything that could help her situation.
Nothing. A diner, a hotel, a grocery store, and an ice cream shop. That's all the lined Main Street. And at the end of the street, sat city hall. On the map, it looked no bigger than any other building.
Anna tapped on her screen, and opened up the city hall info. No website, just a phone number.
She quickly tapped on the number, and the other end started to ring.
Riiiiiing
Riiiiiing
Riiiiing
Just as anna was about to give up, she hear a click, and voice come on the other end.
"He...hello?" The voice said slolwy, sounding almost surprised.
"Hi, is this, um, is this Arendelle City Hall?"
"Y-yes, it is!" The voice on the other end sounded more excited than Anna expected. For a moment, she questioned if she was the first person to call all day.
Or even all week.
"How can I help you miss?"
"My, uh, my car broke down, and I'm kinda stranded out here." Anna said, rather embarrassed of her current situation.
"Is there, like, a tow truck, or something, that can come get me?"
"Oh I'm sorry ma'am, but we don't have any garage here." The voice on the other end of the phone said. Anna sighed in disappointment, while she heard murrmers on the other end of the phone.
"You think...she has off today?...could you...she picked up?..." Anna heard on the other end of the call.
"Miss?" Asked the voice, and anna, on the verge of tears, answered quietly.
"Yes?"
"We don't have a local tow truck. But I know someone who can come get you."
"R-really?" Anna asked, wiping the wetness from the corners of her eyes.
"How far you're the road are you?" The voice asked, Anna now identified the voice as a man.
"I...I don't know..." Anna said softly, pulling the phone away from her ear, and looking down at her map. She had no point of reference, with so little service there was no way to track the route. "My map isn't that great."
"How many bends are in the road until the town?"
"L-like...eight?" Anna said.
"We can get you out of there, don't you worry." The man said, and a wave of relief washed over Anna's body, as she let out a sigh of relief.
"Just give us about half an hour, and we'll get you back on the road in a jiffy."
"Thank you, so so much." Anna smiles into the phone, again on the verge of tears, though the were happy tears this time.
"No problem." The man said. "Just try to stay warm, someone is on their way."
Anna thanked the man again, before ending the phone call.
She placed her phone back in her purse, and looked over her dashboard. Her engine was still smoking, though much less now than it had been. She reached into the backseat of the car, and zipped open one of her suitcases. She pulled a fluffy zip up hoodie out of the mess of clothes, and opened her car door to step outside.
Cold air rushed over her body, as she pulled the jacket over her arms, zipping it all the way up to her neck. Her legs were freezing cold, as she only wore black leggings and Ugg boots, but she didn't want to rummage through her multiple suitcases to find her jeans. She folded her arms across her chest, and leaned back into the door of her car.
Had her situation been different, Anna would've been much more happy about where she was.
The tall pine trees around her were dusted in a light coating of pure white snow. The white powder gave way beneath her feet, in a satisfying crunching sound. It was so quiet, the only sound was wind rustling in the long branches of the pines, and Anna's soft breathing, a pale fog floated past her lips with every breath.
It was so peaceful. Serene. Quiet
As Anna waited for her tow to arrive, she stood outside her car, shivering as her legs grew colder and colder. But she hardly noticed, as she basked in the beauty of the nature around her. To one side of the road, was a steep hill upwards, littered with small patches of snow. On the other side, Anna stared down into a small, shallow valley.
Anna gasped quietly, as a deer emerged from behind a tree. She remained as still as she could manage, aside from her shivering legs, as the male deer walked into the clearing. Each antler was at least three feet across, with ten or more points on either side. Anna listened, as the deer ever so quietly walked through the small valley, less than a hundred feet from Anna.
For nearly twenty minutes, Anna stood leaning in her car, watching as the buck slowly walked across the small valley, occasionally bending its long neck down to graze on the frozen grass.
Then, it's head shot upwards, surprising Anna. With black beady eyes, it scanned over the valley, it's ears turning speedster directions, listening for a sound that Anna couldn't hear.
"No, don't go..." Anna whispered ever so quietly, as the buck turned quickly, darting out of the valley.
Then, after another moment of silence, Anna heard what had started the deer. Off in the distance, ever so faint, Anna could hear it. The grumbling of an engine. Her spirits quickly rose, as after a moment, another vehicle came into view. Her heart beat fast, she hadn't seen another human for the last couple hundred miles. And now, in an old, beat up rusty truck, rode her savior.
She walked to the front of her car, which thankfully had stopped smoking, and stood in front of the hood, as the old rusty truck drove around the corner. Anna smiled and waved to the driver, though she couldn't see their face as their windshield was foggy. She was a hand stick out fo the window, and wave back.
But to her surprise, it wasn't a large, calloused hand that waved back.
'Are those...painted nails?' Anna thought to herself, as she saw the slender hand, with fingernails painted a pale blue. As the truck drove forward, Anna got a cleared view of the driver. But the surprise didn't fully hit her until the truck shut off, and the drivers side door opened up.
"Heard you were having some car trouble." Said the feminine voice, as the drivers side door closed.
Standing in front of Anna, in the freezing cold, stood a tall, slender woman. She had long blonde hair, plaited in a thick braid that hung all the way down to the small of her back. Atop her head, she had a blue bandana, tied up in a very retro style. Despite the freezing cold, the woman wore only a thin, black, long sleeve t-shirt, and dark blue skinny jeans. The snow crunched underneath the woman's clunky work boots, as she stepped towards Anna's car.
"Y-Yea..." Anna shivered, as the blonde approached closer. "I don't know what happened."
"Let's have a look then." The blonde smiled, as Anna scooted out from the front of her hood.
The blonde opened up the hood of Anna's car, and another whole puff of smoke escaped from the engine compartment, causing Anna to jump back.
"Oh my god..." Anna said, startled, as the blonde just chuckled, the smoke dissipating around her face. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." Chuckled the woman, without bringing her eyes up from the engine. Anna watched for a moment, as the blonde rummaged around the engine, Anna clueless as to what could possible be wrong.
"Well..." said the blonde, standing back up from the engine, and pulling a rag out of her back pocket to wipe the grease from her hands. "It looks like you've got a blown piston, and your fuel line severed."
"Can...can you fix it?" Anna asked, feeling stupid as the woman just chuckled.
"No, not here at least. You're going to need some parts, and I don't have them.
"Oh..." Anna said quietly, feeling once again defeated. The blonde noticed Anna's mood, and smiled, trying to lighten the redhead's spirit.
"But..." the blonde said, Anna brought her gaze up to meet the woman's pale, icy blue eyes. "...I might be able to fix it, I've got loads of parts in my garage."
"I...I though there was no shop in town?" Anna asked, the blonde just chuckled.
"There isn't. I mean in my garage, at home." The blonde chuckled. "Come on, ill get you hooked up."
Anna just stood back, as the blonde got back in her truck, and turned to have the bed towards Anna's car. The blonde hopped out, and reached into the bed of her truck, grabbing a few chains. After a few moments, the front chassis of Anna car was chained up to the rear of the blondes car.
"You ready to go?" The blonde asked, again wiping the grease from her hands. Surprisingly, her pale blue painted nails were not chipped in any way, still glittery and beautiful. "Do you wanna grab some of your bags out of the car?" The blonde asked, pointing to the backseat of Anna's broken vehicle.
"Oh, no, that's okay." Anna blushed, walking around her car to the passenger seat of the blonde's truck. "I can get them later."
The blonde just smiled, and sat down in the drivers seat. Anna say herself down on the bench style seat of the truck, and closed the door beside her. The truck slowly pulled forward, the chains rattling behind them, as they and Anna's car slowly lurched forward.
"Thank you so much...I don't think I ever got your name?" Anna said. The blonde just chuckled, taking her right hand off the steering wheel, and reached over the seat.
"Elsa." The blonde smiled. Anna smiled back, and took the blonde's hand in hers. Although her skin was tough and calloused, it was also surprisingly soft.
"I'm Anna." The redhead said softly, her cheeks flushing pink.
"Nice to meet you Anna." Elsa said, shaking the redhead's hand, before reaching down to the gear lever, the truck lurched as she shifted to a higher gear.
"Let's get you into town, you look freezing." Elsa chuckled, glancing down at Anna's shivering legs. Though the truck heater was on, a welcome warmth to Anna's slender legs, she has still been standing out in the cold for nearly half an hour. Elsa reached down underneath the bench seat, and pulled out a large, dented thermos.
"Do you want some hot chocolate?" Elsa asked, and Anna perked you. "It'll do you some good."
"Yes please." Anna said, louder than she would've liked. Elsa just chuckled, handing the thermos to the redhead. "I love hot chocolate."
"Me too." Elsa smiled. "Perfect for warming you up on a cold winter day like today."
Anna graciously took the thermos, and drank a small swing of the hot chocolate. The warm, thick, delicious liquid ran down her throat, tickling her tongue and warming her whole body. She let out a small groan, as she felt some feeling returning to her legs.
"Good right?" Elsa chuckled, as she shifted another gear, the truck again lurched forward, faster down the mountainside road.
"It's perfect." Anna smiled, screwing the cap back on the thermos. "Thank you."
After almost an hour (driving slowly due to towing the car behind them), the road started to straighten out, and after a bit more, the road got smoother. Paved road, Anna hadn't seen concrete for miles and miles.
"Here we are..." Elsa smiled, nodding her head forward, as they slowly drove up to a large wooden sign.
"...Arendelle."
The whole town looked like something out of a hallmark movie. Maine Street was just like Anna had imagined while looking at the map. Only a few buildings lined the street, a diner, a grocery store, an ice cream shop. And to Anna's surprise, a movie theatre, though it looked like it hadn't been updated for years, with only two movies playing. And, towards the end of the road, was the hotel. More like a bed and breakfast, it looked like an old Victorian mansion.
Elsa pulled the truck over in front of the hotel, and shut off the engine.
"Let's try and find you a place for the night." Elsa said, and it wasn't until now that Anna noticed that the sun was beginning to set. Some of the clouds had parted, leaving the sky a pale orange.
Anna hoped out of the truck, and waited for Elsa to round the front of the truck. As the walked up to the door of the b&b, Anna couldnt help but ask:
"Aren't you cold?" Anna said, with Elsa only wearing a thin t-shirt and skinny jeans.
"Nah." Elsa chuckled. "Cold never bothered me."
Anna just smiled, as they walked up to the front door. But then, as Elsa spoke, her smile dropped away from her lips.
"Shit..." Elsa mumbled, looking at a sign on the door.
Closed for renovations
Sorry for the inconvenience
-Greg
"Is everything okay?" Anna asked, not having read the sign yet.
"He's been saying he's gonna fix this old dump for years..." Elsa mumbled under her breath, looking frustrated. "...and he never does."
"It's...closed?" Anna asked, her heart sinking. Elsa turned to face the redhead, who looked like she was about to cry. Elsa took a deep breath, and put a smile across her lips.
"Hey..." Elsa said softly, placing a hand on Anna's shoulder. "...you...you can spend the night at my place."
"I...I can't ask you to do that." Anna mumbled, trying not to show the fact she desperately wanted a warm place to stay. Sleeping in her broken car, in this cold, wouldn't be an option.
"Please, it's no trouble." Elsa smiled, reassuring Anna. "My house is...well it's a bit out of town. If we go now, we can make it there before it gets dark."
"What happens when it gets dark?" Anna asked.
"The headlights on my truck aren't great." Elsa chuckled. "Surprised that bucket of bolts works at all."
"Well, you saved me, right?" Anna smiled. Elsa cheeks turned a rosy pink, as she smiled back.
"Guess I did." Elsa chuckled. She turned around, and started walking back towards the truck. "Come on, let's get you someplace warm..." Elsa chuckled "...and into some warmer clothes."
Elsa and Anna stepped back into the old truck, with the sky turning a pale purplish blue as the began to drive down the road. At the end of Main Street, Elsa took a right left turn, and almost immediately, the road went from paved, back to gravel. Even with her seatbelt on, Anna still bounced around, the bumpy gravel road was causing the whole truck to rock side to side.
After another few minutes of driving, and the sky now a dark pale blue, the drove into a clearing, and Anna's jaw dropped.
"That's...your house?" Anna asked, as she stared over the dashboard. Elsa just chuckled.
"It's more like a cabin." Elsa smiled, as the pulled closer to her home. "But yea, that's mine."
The log cabin looking home looked like something out of a painting. White snow blanketed the roof, and a plume of white smoke escaped from the red-brick chimney. As they pulled around the house, Anna's jaw fell to the floor. Across from Elsa's cabin, was a large frozen lake, at least ten times the size of a swimming pool. Elsa just chuckled at Anna's amazement, as she pulled the truck around to the other side of the cabin, towards a large barn. With the barn doors open, Elsa pulled the truck, towing Anna's car, into the wooden building.
"Well, here we are." Elsa smiled, turning the key to the ignition, the truck sputtering off. Anna slowly opened the passenger side door, and her nose was immediately flooded with smells. The dry mustyness of hay, the strong smell of damp old wood, and from the open barn door, pine trees and fresh fallen snow.
"I'm not gonna be able to do anything with your car tonight..." Elsa said, as she unhooked the chains from Anna's chassis. "...I can start tomorrow, see where the real trouble is."
"That's...fine..." Anna mumbled, as she stepped towards the barn door, staring out into the winter wonderland in front of her.
"This...this is where you live?" Anna asked, her eyes wide as dinner plates. "It's so...beautiful."
"It is isn't it." Elsa chuckled, as she tossed the chains back into the bed of her truck. Elsa reached towards Anna's door handle, attempting to retrieve one of the redhead's multiple suitcases. But the handle wouldn't budge. Elsa pulled harder, but still the door remained shut.
"Oh..." Anna said, turning to see the blonde struggling with her door. "...it does that sometimes."
"I can probably fix that." Elsa chuckled, pulling away from the door. "But I don't have any lights in here, and it's starting to get dark."
"That's okay." Anna said, her arms folded across her chest, again her body temperature dropping. "I can just wear this."
"Nonsense." Elsa chuckled, as she and Anna stared walking towards the cabin. "I've probably got something you could wear."
"You don't have to-" Ann started to speak, but Elsa interrupted.
"Please, you look freezing, and I don't want you to catch a cold." Elsa said, as snow crunched beneath their feet.
The closer they got to the cabin, Anna could practically feel the warmth radiating from the cozy looking cabin.
"Home sweet home..." Elsa smiled, opening up the large wooden door. Anna smiled, and stepped inside, a wave of heat immediately rushed over her chilled body.
As the door closed behind them, Elsa stomped her feet on a rug, knocking the snow from her boots, and Anna looked around the cabin interior.
Anna felt like she had stepped into a catalog for mountain living. The couch, the table, almost all the furniture was made of a dark wood, even the cushions were a deep red to match the brick fireplace at the end of the living room. There was a open concept style kitchen, with a large stove/oven combo, and an antique looking refrigerator. On one side of the fireplace was a hallway that led down to a large bathroom, on the other side lead down to a master bedroom, complete with its own small bathroom.
"Elsa..." Anna mumbled. "...this place is beautiful."
"Thanks." Elsa chuckled, as she placed her boots next to the mat by the door. Anna followed suit, taking off her uggs and putting them next to Elsas clunky boots. Anna's bare feet immediately warmed on the wood floor, and her legs slowly stopped shivering.
"Let me get you something dry to change into." Elsa said, walking across the living room towards the hall. Anna, now knowing it was useless to argue, just nodded. As Elsa rummaged around in the bedroom, Anna stepped further into the living room towards the fireplace. Anna sighed as she got closer to the fire, her legs warming. She pulled her winter coat off of her torso, and lay it down on the couch, leaving her in a plain pink t-shirt.
"I got some sweats and-" Elsa started to say, but when she brought her gaze up from the pile of clothes, and over to Anna's petite frame, she drew silent.
"What?" Anna asked, noticing Elsa's stare. The redhead looked down her body, searching for what could've caused Elsa to draw speechless. "Did I track any snow inside?"
"N-no..." Elsa stuttered, her cheeks flushed bright red. After a moment, she shook her head, and stepped towards Anna.
"I, I got you some of my old clothes." Elsa said quietly, handing the bundle of clothes to Anna. The redhead smiled, and graciously accepted.
"It's just some old sweats, some wool socks, and a t-shirt."
Anna thanked the blonde, still not noticing just how red Elsa's cheeks were.
"I'll...I'll let you change." Elsa stuttered, walking down the hall to her bedroom, and shutting the door.
Anna pulled her t-shirt over her head, and tossed it onto the couch. Then, she grabbed her yoga pants by the waist, and pulled them down her legs, also tossing them onto the couch, leaving her in her matching pink bra and panties. Anna picked up the sweatpants from the couch, and pulled them up her legs. Warm, soft and fuzzy, Anna welcomed the blonde's old clothes, much better than her damp, thing leggings. Then she pulled the shirt over her head, it must've been the right size for Elsa, but on Anna it was slightly too big, a bit baggy. But Anna welcomed the cozy, oversized shirt.
"You can come out now." Anna giggled, as she sat on the couch, pulling the wool socks onto her cold feet. Elsa slowly opened her bedroom door, and stepped out. She too had changed out of her clothes, though instead of sweatpants, Elsa wore short gym shorts, that ended just above her mid thigh, and a tight short sleeve t-shirt.
It was then that Anna noticed two things.
One, Elsa had quite large breasts, at least double the size of Anna's. In the tight t-shirt, her chest was like two large mounds, nearly stretching the fabric of Elsa's shirt.
And two, Elsa's arms and legs were covered in tattoos. Up and down her arms, the blonde was covered in various art pieces. On one arm, around her wrists, she had a silhouette of a tree line, leading up to her forearm, with a night sky with a large moon just above her elbow. On her other arm, she had what looked like snowflakes on a breeze, wind gusts trailed up her forearm and over her elbow, up her bicep. Both Elsa's legs were covered in various tats, some Native American tribal pieces, some more snowflakes on one of her thighs. Both her feet had tattoos as well. On one foot, she had a small snowman, with stick arms and a carrot nose. On the other, a large reindeer.
"Wow..." Anna mumbled, looking over Elsa's body. "...you're tattoos..."
"I know..." Elsa blushed. "...it's a lot, right?"
"No, they're beautiful." Anna smiled, and Elsa blushed harder. "It must've taken a long time to get all that work done."
"Yea, it took a while." Elsa smiled, as she walked into the kitchen. "Do you, Uh, do you want something to drink?"
"More hot chocolate would be amazing." Anna smiled, and Elsa chuckled.
"So..." Elsa said, as she stared to fill a kettle full of water from the sink. "...why does it look like you have your whole life packed up in the backseat of your car?" Elsa asked, and Anna's smile dropped slightly.
"That's...it's a long story." Anna said quietly.
"Well, we've got time." Elsa smiled.