"Elsa! Finally, holy god, what the hell is wrong with you?"

Elsa rolled over in the bed of her hotel room as she struggled to keep her phone to her ear, instantly regretting her sleep-driven decision to pick up the call without first checking the caller ID.

"Anna is literally the best thing that's ever happened to you, and you're just going to throw her away?"

"Not now, Ariel," Elsa breathed, eyes still closed, bracing herself for the heartache to return.

"So help me, Elsa, I am going to pay the FBI or CIA or MI6 or whatever to find you and when I find you I am going to stand on my one good leg and beat whatever the hell is wrong with you right out of your thick skull!" When Elsa didn't respond, Ariel continued. "Whatever reason you might have, I know you did it because you love her, Elsa. Don't even try to deny it."

Elsa let out a soft sigh.

"You haven't been home in four days. You haven't been answering my calls; you haven't even come to see me. Do you know how close I am to calling the police? Do you have any idea how worried we've been?"

"I'm fine, Ariel. Now, please—"

"Yeah right, you're fine. What about Anna?"

Please, please don't talk about Anna.

Ariel's furious voice pressed on. "You know what your problem is? You always hide everything! Always! You never let anyone in! You can't solve everything by yourself, Elsa! Whatever problem you have, you need to deal with it by telling Anna! You need her! She needs you!"

Elsa took a deep breath. Control. "With all due respect, this is none of your business, Ariel. I appreciate your concern, but I'm fine and I have to go now. I have a conference." She only caught the beginning of Ariel's next outburst before she pressed the end call button.

She had literally not set foot outside of her hotel room for four consecutive days; she'd been having Mark drop off any documents that needed her signature at the front lobby and email her transcripts of all the meetings that she had missed because she knew if she returned to the office, Ariel would be camping outside, wheelchair or not.

Phone in hand, she rolled to her side, unable to resist the urge to scroll through the messages that Ariel had spammed over the course of four days.

Ariel: whats going on elsa?

Ariel: elsa respond

Ariel: elsa

Ariel: elsa

Ariel: elsa did you die where are you

Ariel: why is anna crying

She cringed. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.

Ariel: what did you do

Ariel: omg elsa please tell me you did not lie to her again

Ariel: elsa anna needs you

Okay, whose idea was it to look at these messages?

Ariel: i dont care if the queen of england banned you from returning my texts if you keep ignoring me i am going to march into your office and drag you out by the ear

Ariel: i have never been more serious in my life elsa

Ariel: elsa if you dont respond i am breaking out of the hospital tomorrow

Ariel: i cannot believe you arent even doing your crap at the office! are you that afraid of facing your problems?

Ariel: its been three days elsa just talk to me please

Ariel: why are you so selfish? dont you care how your little sister is doing?

Ariel: i am so done with picking up the scraps of your mess, elsa

Ariel: omfg elsa are you going to be a baby about this forever

Elsa's eyes widened at the next message. It was from Anna.

Anna: elsa? im sorry if i made you angry. could we just talk? i miss you. im sorry…

Elsa groaned as the ache in her chest swelled into a sharp stab.

Ariel: look if i hate seeing anna cry then god knows how much harder it is for you

Ariel: cmon elsa just let us in

Ariel: please

Ariel: youre going to have to go back to the office sometime and im going to wait at the front door for you all week if i have to

Ariel was right. She was going to have to go back to the office eventually. The transcripts that Mark had been sending her were enough to keep her up to speed, but they didn't make up for her absence at several conferences with the advisors and department heads. And she was going to have to meet with Hans, too, sooner or later, to persuade him into a merger.

Her phone buzzed.

Anna: im sorry if i got the wrong idea, elsa. please come home

No, no, no! This was all wrong. Anna had nothing to be sorry about. Absolutely nothing. None of this was Anna's fault. All the guilt and sorrow that she had buried over the past four days under her work resurfaced, and suddenly Elsa found it hard to breathe again. Anger and self-loathing were claws, gripping at her throat.

She was close to throwing her phone across the room when it buzzed again. Mark was calling her. She took a deep breath and scraped together her composure.

"Yes?"

"Ms. Elsa, Mr. Hans Falk is here to see you. Again. He seems rather… adamant about meeting with you."

Elsa was tempted to just hang up. But, she did need to arrange a meeting with him, so… "Put him on."

"Of course."

There was a shuffling sound. "Hi, Elsa." She would recognize that slimy voice anywhere.

"Hello, Hans. What do you want?"

"Ah, yes. I was wondering if you would like to have dinner with me sometime? To… discuss business matters."

Elsa bit her lip. She felt sick at the prospect of seeing his face, much less sharing a meal with him. But what had to be done had to be done. "I will meet you downtown at Le Crocodile tonight at seven o'clock. I presume you are familiar with the location." To be honest, she didn't think it mattered if she picked a posh French restaurant or McDonald's, simply because she did not intend to stay for dinner anyway.

"Excellent choice! I will see you at seven, Elsa."

"Please return the phone to Mark."

"Sure."

There was a shuffling sound again. "Ms. Elsa?"

"I trust you will continuing sending me the transcripts of the meetings I'm missing. In addition, I would also like to remind you of the consequences that will befall you should you disclose my current location to anyone."

"I will not tell a soul, Ms. Elsa. What about the President? If she asks?"

"She knows where I am." Of all the people who knew where she was, her mother was the least of her concerns. Evidently Alana didn't care about how Elsa was going about her responsibilities, as long as they were adequately completed. "Also, about the documents requiring my signature…"

"Oh, yes, I have already delivered them to the receptionist. Is there anything else I can do for you?"

She was impressed. "No, thank you. Goodbye."

"Ms. Elsa—"

She was about to end the call. "Yes?"

"Your sister insisted that I include a legal-sized envelope in the papers that I delivered this morning. I did not tell her your whereabouts, so I hope that is still satisfactory…"

Anna. Even after all the horrible things Elsa had said, Anna was still trying to reach out to her. Why? Why? How could Anna possibly still love her, after all she had done?

She suddenly realized Mark was still waiting for her answer. "Oh. Yes. Fine. Goodbye." She promptly hung up and got dressed, her curiosity piqued despite the guilt pooling in her gut.

She had Alistair retrieve the parcel Mark left for her at the front desk and sifted through it until she found the large envelope with her sister's handwriting. It was just her name written on it, but the mere sight of Anna's penmanship, endearingly nostalgic, reopened the wounds that had formed four days ago.

She opened the envelope, pulled out the first collection of paper, and almost gasped when she recognized her own words. Was this… was this the essay she wrote for Ms. Corona's accelerated English class so many years ago?

She flipped through the pages for confirmation. Yes, it was.

She remembered when she first unrolled the scrap piece of paper that held her essay topic. At first, she had been at a loss for what she would write about. She didn't have a hero. The only two role models that she wanted to look up to, well, she despised them. But then she realized this 'hero' didn't have to be an adult. Heroes saved people, period. And so she had written about how Anna had saved her.

In the dark childhood of her past, Anna was literally the only thing she lived for. Even though they didn't see each other very much, she enjoyed the sparse moments they had to themselves. She loved even looking out the window while she was supposed to be studying and watching her redhead sister rambunctiously causing mischief in the gardens, or accidentally breaking things and sheepishly pretending to look for the perpetrator. In the truest sense, Anna had been saving Elsa's life. Every day.

So when she was writing that essay, the classroom disappeared around her. It was as if she were standing in front of Anna, and she could finally express in words the gratitude she felt. After so many years of hiding, she was able to pour out everything: her appreciativeness, her regret, her love, with an undertone of sorrow and yearning, without having to mask it or push it away.

Ms. Corona had told her it was 'beautifully written', but she didn't understand what the teacher had meant. She was only being genuinely honest toward Anna, for the first time in her life.

She read her words again, and realized now she had so much more to add. Anna had saved her again and again, from herself, from the demons inside her, from the cruelty of this life. From defending her in front of Henry Falk to coaxing her out of catatonia after Ariel's accident. There was so much she owed Anna.

And so little she could give back.

Swallowing the lump in her throat, she pulled out the second collection of papers in the envelope. Her jaw almost dropped to the floor when she saw that Anna had gotten the exact same topic.

She looked away. No doubt Anna had written about their father.

Right?

But it was still possible. That Anna hadn't. That Anna for some unfathomable reason had written about Elsa.

Elsa was astonished at the how much she wanted to be the subject of Anna's essay. Curiosity getting the better of her, she forced herself to read it.

She was barely through the second line when tears sprang to her eyes. Anna had written about her. Anna had written about her. Anna had written about her.

She didn't deserve a speck of it.

She relished it anyway. She cherished every single word that Anna wrote about her, knowing she wasn't entitled to even a sliver of the kindness that was her younger sister.

The last line hit her like a bullet train. Elsa has never let me down, and I have the utmost faith that she never will, because I know that deep down, she loves me as much as I love her. She is my hero.

Why?

Why did Anna always see the best in her?

Why did Anna always believe in her?

What did Elsa do to even begin to warrant this kind of long-suffering love from her sister?

The words were like an icepack to the pain in her heart. Anna had sent this to her, even after she had said those horrible, horrible things. Even after she had broken Anna's heart.

Clenching her jaw, she threw down the envelope and the papers, and sank to the ground. The last words that Anna had written buried themselves in their heart, and she felt a warm pressure in her chest. A good pressure, growing so fast it threatened to combust at any moment. It was like she was falling in love with her sister all over again.

Even when she pushed Anna away, hurt her time and time again, her sister still believed. "Why?" Elsa choked, her words echoing emptily against the walls of the empty room. "Why do you still love me? How could you still love me? Haven't I hurt you enough?"

A folded piece of lined paper that fluttered out of the envelope caught her attention. She immediately recognized Anna's writing, again. Quickly wiping away the tears that had welled up in her eyes so that she could clearly make out the words, she reached over and grabbed it.

Elsa,

I don't know if you're even going to open this envelope, since it's from me, and I'm the last person you want to see right now, but I just want you to know that your essay has been an endless source of happiness and comfort to me, for the four years that I've had it. But now, I can tell you're the one who needs it more, so I hope my essay can do the same for you as yours did for me.

I really want to tell you I love you right now, but I think it'll only make things worse between us. So, I'll say I miss you instead. I miss you, Elsa. I don't know if it's something mom told you, or if it's something you're hiding from me to protect me, but if there's anything I've learned from eighteen years of being your sister, it's that you would never hurt me for the sake of hurting me.

I still hope you'll come to watch me play tomorrow. As my sister, or a friend, or whatever you're comfortable with.

Anna

A drop of water hit the paper, accompanied by noises of stifled sorrow that deflected off the unfeeling walls of the hollow hotel suite.

The restaurant was quiet and serene despite the bustling waiters and tables filled with conversing patrons. Soft violin music filled the air and the light from the small lamp in the center of the table hummed to the rhythm, casting dynamic shadows on the warm apricot walls.

Elsa's hand twisted impatiently in the white tablecloth, shifting in the soft cushion of the chair, as she watched Hans Falk seat himself across from her. He was wearing a white suit jacket, with a black dress shirt underneath, held together by a burgundy tie that matched the colour of his hair and sideburns. He produced a bouquet of red roses and offered them to her with a gentlemanly smile that made her want to puke.

Elsa was tempted to fling them back at him, but instead gave him a perfunctory smile as thanks and accepted them. As soon as they were out of his sight, she dropped them to the ground and kicked them under the table with her heels. She could say it was an accident if anyone asked.

A waiter approached them. "Good evening. My name is Jeff, and I will be your server tonight. Can I start you off with drinks?"

Hans smiled at the man. "Crack open a bottle of champagne for us, will you?"

"Chilled? Certainly, sir. Anything else?" Jeff glanced at Elsa.

"Water is fine for me, thank you," she responded evenly.

"I was told we should try the Chef's Tasting Menu," Hans said, when the waiter departed to fetch their champagne. "What do you think?"

Elsa almost wrinkled her nose at the idea of having to sit through five courses with him. "I think I'm going to go with the Salade Panachée," she replied blandly.

"Just a salad? I wouldn't want the waiters to think I'm being cheap, Elsa. I think you should try the Homard à la Vapeur." He rested his elbows on the table, the insidious way the French slipped off his tongue raising the goosebumps on her forearms.

"Buttering me up is not going to make me more agreeable to whatever it is you're trying to do, Hans. Especially not with one and a half pounds of lobster." Suddenly she noticed a man in a black tie who looked suspiciously like one of her mother's bodyguards watching them carefully. She wanted to scowl at the realization that her mother was observing her interaction with Hans. She added hastily, "Although, I will settle with the salmon." This meant she would probably not be able to skip out early as she'd hoped, either.

Her half-compliance seemed to placate Hans, who was beginning to take offense at her impassiveness. He smiled again. "Very well."

The waiter returned then, holding a bottle of champagne and two tulip glasses. He poured their drinks and asked, "May I take your order now?"

"Yes, the missus will have the Saumon du Pacifique Grillé, and I would like the Le Homard."

"Yes, sir. Would you like anything else, ma'am?"

Yes, I'd like to leave. But Elsa shook her head and smiled at the waiter. She was still trying to fight the rage that had sprouted when Hans called her missus, insinuating that they were a couple. She felt a burning need to punch his face in. She did not belong to him. She did not belong to anyone. Except…

Anna.

She gritted her teeth. Even now, she belonged to Anna.

She noticed the man who was watching her shift in her peripheral vision, and forced herself to focus on the reason she was suffering this indignation. "I'd like to discuss business now."

Hans gave her another courteous smile. "By all means."

"I'd like to propose a merger," she began cautiously. "The contract is proceeding smoothly, and I believe it would be to both our benefits if Falk Industries would consider an amalgamation with Arendelle Corp. We have the financial means and you have the material."

"This amalgamation," he echoed, "I would like to see a mockup of the conditions of agreement."

"Of course. I will have it ready by next week."

"Okay, that's settled then. Glad we got that out of the way. So, Elsa," Hans paused, sipping his champagne, green eyes still locked with hers. "How is your sister?"

Elsa froze, and eyed him suspiciously. "Why do you ask?"

He chuckled and put down his glass. "Just making casual conversation, now that we've gotten the business stuff out of the way."

"And the first topic that comes to mind is my sister."

"Well, it's difficult to forget the one who beat me in a drinking competition," he said lightly.

"I'm sure your brother knows the answer to that better than I," Elsa deadpanned, "seeing as they're in the same grade."

Hans' smile faded and his eyes narrowed. "My brother is—"

At that moment, their food arrived in two steaming plates. Jeff, the waiter, set down their respective dishes and smiled at them, "Is there anything else I can get you?"

Elsa waved him off and the waiter departed politely after refilling Hans' champagne glass.

"I'd like to toast," he said darkly, "to a beautiful partnership."

Aware that eyes were still on her, Elsa lifted her glass as well and touched it to his. After a sip, she started on her food, with the goal to finish as soon as possible so that she could leave.

She never found out what Hans was going to say about Henry Falk.

"Anna, she's not gonna show," Ariel rolled her wheelchair hurriedly toward the edge of the field where the younger girl stood, still peering hopefully into the parking lot. "She hasn't replied my texts, and she hung up on me diplomatically and professionally like she was some cold businesswoman late for a conference. You should go warm up."

Anna turned to face Ariel and tugged at her uniform nervously. Her eyes, however, were still sparkling and full of optimism. "She'll come. I know it." But the last line seemed to be more of a reassurance to herself than Ariel.

Ariel wondered how Anna could possibly be so optimistic. Only a few days ago, the girl had been so broken and depressed. The Anna five days ago was a shadow compared to the hopeful, animated girl standing before Ariel now.

Then Ariel knew. It was so obvious. It was because of Elsa. Anna was merely happy at the prospect that maybe Elsa will come. Did these two dorks know the strength they gave each other?

"Hey, who were you talking to?" Ariel shut the front door and threw her bag carelessly onto the floor. "I could hear talking through the door."

"My sister," Elsa laughed, shutting her laptop. "She got nominated to be captain of the soccer team after the coach saw her kick a soccer ball through some unfortunate small window. She broke the window," Elsa chortled again, "but the coach was impressed with her aim."

"You're not angry with your mom anymore, for forcing you to attend summer school?" Ariel eyed her dubiously.

"I guess I can think about it more clearly now," Elsa smiled. "Anna makes everything better."

Rapunzel ran up to them then, past the sea of Ariel's bodyguards, disturbing Ariel's flashback. "Hey, Anna! Coach wants to talk to you before the game starts!" She paused when she followed the direction of Anna's gaze. "Um. Anna, I don't want to be a pessimist here, but I don't think she's coming."

Anna chewed on her bottom lip. She cast another longing glance at the parking lot.

Ariel wheeled herself forward, nudging the forlorn girl with her good foot. "If she comes, I'll send all sixteen of my guys after her, and tie her down," she quipped.

That got Anna to smile again. "Please do," she whispered, and followed Rapunzel inside the school.

Elsa raked her hands to brush back her bangs as she watched, uninterested, the head of financial advising and the chief of R&D basically tearing each other's throats out. She came in to the office today, because she knew Ariel would be offering her support at Anna's soccer game, and therefore would not be camping the entrance to the building. Her gaze flicked to the clock. Anna's game was starting soon. If she left now, she could probably make it.

The question was, did she want to make it?

Her first instinct was yes, of course she did. She wanted to be there for Anna whenever her sister needed it. Even if she didn't know the faintest thing about soccer, she wanted to offer her support. Always. Because Anna always did.

Her second instinct was no. Would Anna seeing her make things more painful for both of them? Elsa didn't want to keep hurting her. Wouldn't it be better if she stayed away entirely?

I still hope you'll come to watch me play tomorrow. As my sister, or a friend, or whatever you're comfortable with.

God dammit.

But she couldn't leave the conference. She had already skipped four days' worth of meetings. All of her employees would begin to doubt her reliability as CEO if she retreated from this one.

"Please, Coach, can we wait a few more minutes?" Anna pleaded.

"I'm sorry, Anna, we've already been waiting for twenty minutes. People have other commitments; we need to start now. Get in the net."

Anna directed her gaze to the parking lot and then to the worried gazes of her friends in the bleachers. She met the concerned eyes of Ariel, who was seated in her wheelchair on the edge of the field.

She's not coming, Ariel's eyes told her.

Elsa glanced at the clock again. She would be late now. The financial advisor was prattling on, something about taxes.

Either she didn't care or she couldn't hear him over the screaming of her conscience.

'Elsa has never let me down, and I have the utmost faith that she never will, because I know that deep down, she loves me as much as I love her.'

She glared at the meeting itinerary in front of her and flicked her eyes to the clock again, her nails impatiently digging into her leg.

The crowd groaned in outrage as another ball whizzed past the goalie for Arendelle High and let in another point for the opposing team.

Anna's coach called a timeout. "Anna, what is going on with you? This is the most important match of the year! Get your head in the game!"

Anna's gaze was still fixated on the parking lot. She stared intently at the ground, and shut her eyes, trying to block out the ache that was radiating from the hole in her heart. "Yes, Coach."

"Is there somewhere else you need to be, Ms. Elsa?" someone muttered irritably.

Elsa looked up, meeting the quizzical gazes of everyone at the large conference table. Her fingers were white from being pressed so tightly against her leg. She glanced at the clock again. Dammit.

She's probably still waiting for you.

Before Elsa knew what she was doing, she was out the door, coat in hand, ignoring the protests and objections of all the men in the conference room.

"The school, miss?" Alistair was already in the front seat of her car, looking at her through the rearview mirror.

"Drive, Alistair." She tapped her foot impatiently. "Fast."

She didn't even wait until the car reached the entrance of the parking lot; as soon as Alistair slowed down to take a turn, she opened the door and jumped out onto the side walk, raced to the shadow of the bleachers, searching the field for Anna. She made out Ariel's seated shape in her wheelchair on the edge of the field (surrounded by black uniforms), and found Anna's form in the net.

Her heart throbbed painfully. She was too far to see Anna's eyes, but the way the girl's shoulders were slumped told Elsa that she had still not fully recovered from the vicious lie that Elsa told five days ago.

Elsa crouched and snuck closer, keeping to the shadow of the bleachers, so that she was only small distance from the edge of the field. She felt another pang of agony as she searched Anna's eyes and found the same despair that had haunted her for the past five days.

She checked the scoreboard. She didn't know soccer, but the opposing team having more points than the home team was always a bad thing, right?

The crowd groaned again as Anna made a feeble attempt to stop the ball from flying passed her and into the goal.

What were the Arendelle High players doing? Weren't they supposed to stop the ball from getting to the goal? Elsa gritted her teeth as she watched another ball fly at Anna. This one, the redhead caught and tossed back into play, and Elsa let out a breath of relief. She wasn't used to seeing projectiles being flung at her sister, sports match or not.

She watched Anna look away from the field and followed the redhead's gaze to the parking lot. Her heart gave a spasm again as she realized Anna was still waiting for her.

And here she was, hiding under the bleachers like the coward she was, too afraid to face her sister again. She was vaguely aware that Alistair and her other bodyguards had dispersed themselves inconspicuously amongst the large audience. She briefly wondered if they were judging her for her actions of late.

All of Elsa's mental functions were promptly aborted as she watched a soccer ball hit Anna on the side of the head.

"Hey! At least make this game an enjoyable one to play! You're making it too easy! How did a loser like you even make the team?" One of the players on the opposing team jeered, making it obvious that the trajectory of the ball was intended and not an accident.

Anna only stared blankly at the ground.

That was the last thing Elsa saw before her temper flared and her vision became tinted with a bloody red. With the hot midday sun only fueling her rage, she was storming halfway across the field toward the offending player before anyone else could react, and precipitously struck the offensive girl in the stomach, knocking her to the ground.

"Who gave you the right to insult my sister!" She heard herself roar.

The field erupted into a flurry of violence and shrieks. The teammates of the girl whom Elsa assaulted immediately ran up to retaliate, and Anna's teammates abruptly reciprocated. Elsa was hell bent on continuing her attack on her initial target until she felt warm arms wrap tightly around her, and a body press desperately against her back.

"You came," Anna whispered in a strangled voice, thick with tears. "You came."