Eternity.

That's what it felt like to Anna as she waited in the royal garden for midnight to come around. It was certainly taking its damn sweet time, purposely dragging just to irritate her, she was sure. And it was working.

Tense and restless, she tried to occupy as much of her time as possible during the dreadfully painful wait, but there wasn't all that much to do that would take up so many hours in the garden. She'd counted every single flower, dipped her legs in the fountain more than once, climbed up the tree about five times, nearly falling off on her last climb which made her not risk another attempt. It wouldn't do her any good if she broke a bone in her body on what was probably one of the most important moments in her life…

Anna was going to finally come out to Elsa.

As the deadline neared she tried to imagine how the whole thing would unfold, or rather, how she wanted it to unfold. She leaned against the tree and closed her eyes and envisioned it in her head...

Elsa sashayed confidently towards her, her smooth pale legs revealing themselves tantalizingly through a very generous slit in her dress as she walked. Her braided white-blond hair was draped over her left shoulder, resting upon a voluptuous breast. Anna would have given anything to be that hair, jealous of its close proximity to such a treasure. How lucky it was to lay so carelessly there.

"Hello, beautiful," Anna greeted endearingly, dipping into a respectful curtsy.

When she straightened up, Elsa was directly in front of her, eyes twinkling with laughter and delicious promises. "Hello." Her hands found Anna's hips and brought their bodies close together. "I wonder who my secret admirer could be," she murmured seductively in her ear, brushing her lips along the edge of Anna's ear before nipping playfully on her earlobe. Keeping one hand on the younger girl's slim waist, Elsa brought the fingers of her other hand up to tickle along Anna's collarbone teasingly. Her fingers slid up, caressing a slender throat that was just waiting to be claimed by eager lips, and continued their journey until the tips touched the very bottom of the mask that was covering a large portion of Anna's face. With an elegant flick of her hand the mask was whipped off, banished from its perch forever, unveiling Anna's face.

Chuckling, Elsa smiled grandly as if she'd just won a fabulous prize and revealed, "I knew it was you all along." She captured Anna's mouth hungrily-

Before she could get too carried away and end up distracting herself and missing Elsa's entry if she were to show, Anna snapped herself back to attention, releasing the breath she was holding in with an audible whoosh of air. Oh, but if the meeting went in that direction or anywhere even close to it, she would be very, very pleased. She crossed her fingers and hoped with all her might for a pleasant end to a nerve-racking night.

"Okay, Anna. You can do this," Anna coached herself aloud, hopping from one foot to the other, rubbing her hands together, pumping herself up. Dressed in her masquerade outfit, hairpiece and all, she looked like an awkwardly dancing chicken. "You were born to do this! Erm, well, maybe not specifically for this but…" She snorted out an awkward laugh. "You can do it!" she cheered.

She stopped her movements, the tiny workout making her hot, and her face contorted at how absolutely disgusting she felt. Anna had never thought it was physically possible for a person to sweat so profusely but she was perspiring so heavily, mostly from nervousness, that her underarms were drenched. She felt like a walking water fountain. Oh god, did she remember to put on perfume? What if she smelled horribly and the stench drove Elsa away?

Anna lifted her arm and risked a quick sniff at her armpit to test her stench and stiffened when her ears picked up the unmistakable sound of quiet footsteps approaching, heading her way. Her arm dropped fast, slapping against her side as she took a step backwards, the heel of her shoe catching in the dirt and causing her to trip and bump against the tree, her legs twitching with a sudden, uncontrollable urge to bolt. She remained rooted in place, her heart thudding in her chest as she watched a shadowy figure slowly approach.

Was it her? Was she here? Oh, don't faint, Anna screamed internally at herself, feeling the beginnings of lightheadedness. If she fainted now it would ruin everything. She gulped air furiously into her lungs and hid the shakiness of her hands by holding them tightly in front of her.

You can do this, Anna reminded herself. Keep calm. Be cool.

Elsa stepped into the light and came to an abrupt halt seeing Anna's form, and her shoulders lifted and fell noticeably as she summoned up the courage to confront her. She continued forward rigidly, her movements slow and cautious, finally stopping once she was a few feet away.

She actually showed, Anna thought as she smiled warmly, her nervousness vanishing magically, replaced with a surge of confidence that filled her completely. She silently took in her sister's condition, noting that Elsa appeared slightly calmer than when Anna had last seen her, but anxiety still glinted in her eyes. Her hair was thrown up into a bun haphazardly and the dark blue dress she wore was wrinkled more than usual, as if she'd been moving nonstop the whole day, likely trying to decipher the culprit behind the letter, Anna realized guiltily. Despite her disheveled appearance, to Anna she looked beautiful as ever.

It was time. The truth was about to be revealed and Anna was confident it would turn out perfectly fine.

Clearing her throat, Anna broke the silence by speaking first, making her voice sound soft and dainty and un-Anna like as possible to prolong the mysteriousness, "Your Majesty." She curtsied gracefully and said, "It is an honor to be graced with your presence once again." Anna was proud of how sophisticated she sounded and how her voice didn't waver one bit.

Elsa remained quiet as she studied her, as if calculating whether she was a threat, Anna guessed. Anna waited patiently, trying to appear as unthreatening as possible. Then, fidgeting, Elsa finally spoke. "You wrote me the letter."

"Yes," Anna confirmed. She hesitated and added, "I hope it didn't offend you."

There was a long pause, followed by a giant, slow exhale of breath. "No, it was… lovely. Really. I just… it was a bit unexpected," Elsa admitted. One arm settled across her stomach and her hand gripped her side tightly, as if she were giving herself a half hug.

Anna found the nervous gesture adorable and sad at the same time. "Well, I am truly sorry if my letter made you uncomfortable in any way. I only wished to see you again." Anna stepped forward and Elsa backed away, lifting a hand to stop her from coming closer, keeping a safe distance between them.

"No, no! There's no need to apologize. If anything, I should be the one apologizing to you." Squaring her shoulders, Elsa said, "Please accept my sincere apology for my improper behavior that night. I will compensate you in some way. I- I will grant you anything you need or want."

"No, please don't feel sorry," Anna said almost desperately.

"I was out of line," Elsa insisted. "You were my guest and I took advantage of you, and for that I must apologize."

Anna inched forward. "You didn't do anything I wasn't wanting," she assured. She reached out slowly and touched Elsa's upper arm, and when Elsa stiffened but didn't pull away she squeezed it reassuringly and crowded closer to her. "But if you insist on compensating me, I will take you up on that offer," she said sweetly.

She wasn't at all comfortable with the touch but Elsa found she couldn't avoid it. She couldn't run from this. Nodding wearily, Elsa asked resignedly, "What do you want?"

"Something worth more than anything all the money in the world can buy."

Elsa shifted nervously in place and said, "Before you say anything else, I need to know… How- How did you discover it was me?"

Anna smiled pleasantly. "Your beauty, my Queen, is one of a kind. It's not something that can be hidden so easily. I will admit that it took me a while to see the truth, but when I think back on it, I don't know how I missed it," she answered. She slid her hand down Elsa's arm till her hand rested on top of Elsa's hand. Elsa's fingers were stiff and enclosed into a fist and Anna gently pried them open and apart.

Embarrassed by her compliment, Elsa blushed and watched as Anna, whom she thought was a stranger, unwrapped her fist with puzzlement, slightly perturbed and unsure of what she was doing.

"For my compensation," Anna said, tickling her palm before letting her fingers intertwine with Elsa's, uniting their hands, "I would like a kiss."

"You want… what?" Elsa said, taken aback by the unexpected request, blinking in confusion. "A… kiss?" She'd been expecting a demand for a ridiculous amount of money or something of extreme value, but a kiss? It wouldn't have crossed her mind. She swallowed audibly as Anna's other hand came up and petted her cheek before drawing Elsa's face closer until their breaths mingled, their lips almost touching. The closeness caused Elsa's breath to hitch raggedly, her body trembling with eagerness. "Who are you?" Elsa whispered wonderingly, her eyes darting from the dangerously close lips to the eyes concealed behind the mask.

Anna's tongue flicked out and moistened her own lips, readying them. She enjoyed how Elsa's eyes fixated on her mouth. She parted her lips and said suavely, "The girl of your dreams." Then she closed the gap and their lips met softly.

This is wrong. This shouldn't be happening, Elsa thought. A kiss was hardly adequate compensation, not to mention it was severely aggravating the situation. She knew this when her body reacted automatically as the kiss was initiated and she instinctively pressed into the warm figure before her, seeking more contact. As soon as she realized what her traitorous body was doing, she weakly tried to break free from the embrace. But the girl would not release her, determinedly tightening the strong hold she had on her, so Elsa stopped fighting it and prepared herself for the inevitable.

It would be different this time, Elsa told herself as the kiss went on, her hands escaping from the girl's grasp and attaching to her waist as she pinned her against the same tree from the night of the masquerade ball. The girl sighed into her mouth and hooked a leg behind the back of Elsa's knee, bringing her closer, and one hand deftly glided along Elsa's arm and up her back, her fingers crawling up the nape of her neck before sinking into pale hair.

Yes, it would be different. Because this time Elsa wouldn't let Anna invade her mind, this time she would see this woman's face as she satisfied her.

As the kiss magnified and the girl's sighs of pleasure swiftly shifted to quiet moans, Elsa raised her hand to the mask covering the face she was currently engaged with, needing to see who was hiding under it. Her hand tentatively removed the mask and she allowed it to fall with a plop at their feet. Breaking the kiss reluctantly, she pulled her head back far enough to meet the unmasked face for the first time ever… and all the air in her lungs escaped violently, as if someone had punched her full force in her gut.

"Anna?!" Elsa screamed shrilly, her eyeballs practically exploding from their sockets, and the entire grounds of the garden froze instantaneously. She flung herself backwards hastily and managed somehow to remain standing on the newly formed ice, covering her mouth with her clenched fist and biting into her knuckles as her eyes stared disbelievingly at her sister. Anna, her little sister, whom she had been kissing, whom she had very nearly… "Oh, no. Oh, no, no, no, no, no" she gasped out, numb with paralyzing fear as the truth sank in, as her eyes took in Anna's outfit, the exact same one from the masquerade ball. She wanted desperately to believe it was a sick joke or that she was having a bizarre dream and would be waking up any second.

But it was terrifyingly real.

An isolated blizzard kicked up in the garden. Heavy snow and sleet pummeled them as an icy wind whipped with unchecked fury, creating a wall of sheer whiteness that cut the two off from each other's view. Elsa could hear over the roaring wind Anna calling out to her, fear and desperation in her voice, and Elsa tried to retreat back, needing to get away, to hide from what she'd done. But her legs would not obey her, would not let her flee.

It was all too much for her to handle. Elsa's vision blurred and she sank to the ground weightlessly, the snow cushioning her fall.

Anna raised her arms to shield her eyes from the sharp shards of icy sleet assaulting her body while trying not to lose sight of her sister, which was impossible with the absolute whiteout the storm caused.

But as sudden as the snowstorm appeared, it diminished and disappeared altogether soon after, just in time for Anna to witness Elsa's collapse. "Elsa!" Anna cried, yanking her hair piece out and rushing towards her sister. "Elsa- Whoooa!" She steadied herself on the slippery ice. "Shit!" There wasn't as much snow near her, most of it centered around Elsa, so the ice was more slippery by her and less so by her sister. Anna skated across the ice until she could safely walk up to her sister's crumpled form and slid to her knees, gathering Elsa into her arms, resting her on her lap, dusting the snow that nested in her sister's hair and on her pale face off. "Oh, no. Elsa! Wake up!"

Elsa didn't respond and lay motionless, looking fragile and broken.

Anna frantically looked around for anything to snap her sister awake and spotted the water fountain. It was still spewing out water, surprisingly, though not as abundantly as before. Climbing wobbly to her feet and holding Elsa under her armpits, Anna dragged her over to the fountain. She set her down and scooped water from the fountain pool into her cupped hands and splashed Elsa's face with the cold water until she heard Elsa groan and scrunch up her face, wriggling her nose in annoyance. "Elsa?" She crouched beside her and held her face between her hands. "Wake up, Elsa!"

Elsa's eyes fluttered open.

"Hey." Anna caressed her cheek and coaxed her back to consciousness. "You're okay."

Elsa blinked repeatedly at Anna, feeling her warm hand petting her cheek and she leaned into the soothing warmth. Her mind was blank, she couldn't remember what happened, where she was. She tried lifting her head but Anna kept her down and told her to move slowly. It was cold and icy, that much she could tell. Were they at her ice castle? Had they taken another trip up to see it? "What…?"

"Hey," Anna repeated, smiling faintly. "I got you."

"Anna…" Everything flooded back to her all at once and Elsa wrenched away from Anna's touch as overwhelming fear consumed her. She tried to roll away but Anna prevented her from escaping, keeping her down on the ice, her hands pushing against Elsa's shoulders.

"No! Elsa, stop! Don't run, please!" Anna begged.

"Don't touch me, Anna! Stay away!"

"No, listen to me! It's okay! There's no need to panic! I'm okay with it, Elsa!"

The Queen stopped struggling and gaped at the Princess. "Are you insane?" she asked incredulously.

"Um…"

Chest heaving, hyperventilating, her face growing redder by the second, Elsa gasped out, "Do you know what you're saying?" She used all her remaining strength to shrug out of Anna's vice-like grasp and sat up shakily. "I forced myself on you! It's NOT okay, it can never be okay!" she said vehemently.

"You didn't force yourself on me!" Anna yelled. "Will you stop pushing me away and listen to me for once, please?" she pleaded. She had to calm her down, get her to understand. "I wanted it, okay? I want you as much as you want me. I know you might find that hard to believe, but it's true! Look at me, Elsa. Do I look traumatized to you? No, because I'm not! Because I love you and I know you feel the same way!"

Elsa laughed bitterly. "Listen to yourself, Anna. We're sisters! Sisters, Anna! Things like this," she said, gesturing at the two of them, "aren't meant to happen between sisters! It's not right."

Her sister's last sentence burned, and Anna winced before she snapped, "I don't believe that! I don't see how something so wrong could feel so right. Whenever I'm in your presence, whenever I so much as think of you, imagine being with you, I can't help but feel absolute joy. How can you say that's wrong?"

"Because I put that into your head when I defiled you!"

"Elsa!" Anna fumed. She was so ready to wrap her hands around Elsa's neck and strangle some sense into her, not that she would ever literally do such a thing to her sister but the temptation was very strong. "You may have woken me up to those feelings but they were buried inside me all along. They would have surfaced eventually," she said feverishly. "You know that letter? I wrote it, and I meant every word in it and it doesn't even contain all of how I feel about you! But those words belong to me, and they are one hundred percent real. They are my true feelings. They came from my heart." She pounded her fist against the area of her heart for emphasis.

"That I froze," Elsa pointed out sullenly, "and corrupted."

That, Anna felt, warranted a slap and she didn't restrain herself from letting it loose, her growing anger putting more force behind it than she intended. Her hand cracked loudly against her sister's cheek, the blow stunning Elsa and twisting her entire body sideways.

Elsa's jaw flapped open soundlessly in shock. Her cheek stung and a hand imprint blazed an angry red on her pale skin, marring it. Tears welled in her eyes and one dripped out, crystallizing the instant it touched the snow.

Anna recoiled and covered her mouth in horror, instantly regretting her action. "Elsa, god, I'm sorry." To bring physical harm to her sister, who was only scared and confused, was wrong. "I shouldn't have done that."

Elsa sniffled and kept her eyes downcast. "I deserved it."

"No, you didn't. You don't. Elsa, look at me." Anna touched her arm carefully, expecting Elsa to freak out on her again, but the slap seemed to have subdued her to a manageable state. "Elsa, I know you're scared and you feel guilty and ashamed."

"As I should…"

She went on as if she didn't hear her. "But what you feel, what I feel, what we did… it's not a bad thing. It's a beautiful thing and it can be so much more beautiful if you stop beating yourself up over it." Emotion clogging her throat, Anna proclaimed, "I love you, Elsa. I love you. And I want you to answer me truthfully. Do you love me?"

"Yes, of course. You know I do," Elsa answered caringly, without hesitation. "But-"

Anna grabbed Elsa's chin with a strong grip and forced her to stare her in the eyes. "Do you want me?"

Elsa flinched. "Anna…" she said warningly.

"I need to hear you say it."

"No…"

"Elsa…"

"Please, Anna. Leave me alone," Elsa beseeched, trying to pull away.

"No, I won't leave you alone. I'm not going anywhere and I won't allow you to shut me out again," Anna said heatedly. "We've both endured enough loneliness in our lives and there's no need for that. No more. Not ever again! Now answer me. Do. You. Want. Me?"

Elsa's jaw worked under Anna's grasp and she released a shuddering breath. "Yes," she hissed through clenched teeth.

Anna exhaled deeply with happy relief. She didn't weaken her hold on Elsa's chin, refusing to let her go just yet. She inched her face closer to Elsa's, watching as Elsa's cold breath puffed noticeably from her trembling lips thanks to the frigid air. "Then kiss me," she whispered.

"No," Elsa said, her tone frosty at first, then more softly, "I can't." But even before the words left her mouth, her shoulders slumped as her body became listless, weak from all her pent up emotion. She didn't have any strength left to fight, so when Anna's lips conquered hers with a gentle but passionate kiss that conveyed all the love Anna felt for her sister, all Elsa could do was cry pathetically.

Anna cut the kiss short and observed her sister's tears as they flowed from her eyes and down her cheeks. She enfolded Elsa into her arms to comfort her. "Oh, don't do that, please. There's no need for that." Anna kissed away Elsa's salty tears and murmured soothingly, "It's alright. We've found each other. Don't cry, Elsa." She shivered, her body feeling the chill of the snow and ice around them now that the burning heat of her anger had dissipated. "Listen," she said, reluctantly pulling back from the hug, "I know it's a lot to take in and we definitely need to talk about this more, obviously, but let's go inside and talk it over somewhere more comfortable, okay?"

Elsa hiccupped and nodded blearily, wiping her tear-stained face. "Anna, can… May I have a few minutes alone first, please? To think?"

Anna palmed her cheek, the one she'd dared to harm, still glowing red. "I… Yeah, sure. I understand you need some time to adjust to this. I mean, I kind of thrust it all on you out of nowhere and I… I'll give you thirty minutes, but after that we'll meet in your room and discuss this further. And don't you even think about hiding from me because I will find you. I won't let you hide from this," she warned. She helped Elsa up into a standing position and squeezed her hands comfortingly before she threw her arms around her and pulled her into a bone crushing hug. "It'll be okay," she said resolutely, placing a chaste kiss against Elsa's lips. "You'll see."

"Sure it will," Elsa said unconvincingly, not believing it for a second. Because she knew Anna had no clue what she was saying or feeling. Anna was too young, too vulnerable and too easily manipulated and Elsa's actions, unknowingly, had twisted her innocent sister's mind. But what could she do about it? The damage was already done and therefore irreparable… She couldn't undo it.

Or could she?

Huddled by the fountain, which was now frozen over entirely and completely ceased spouting out any liquid remnants of water, Elsa's head flew up as an idea came to her. As she watched Anna shuffle out of the winter wonderland the garden had become thanks to her out of control emotions, the younger girl casting a worried glance her way, Elsa knew what she had to do to make everything right again.

AN: And here it is... I'm uploading this sooner than I wanted only because I know how eager you guys are to see how the meeting went. The next two chapters coming up will be great, don't you worry. ;D I'm insanely (pleasantly) surprised about all the reviews from the last chapter! Wasn't expecting so many but I seriously appreciate them all so much, you have no idea! I love you all! :D