A/N: Hello! I have one announcement about chapter 9. I've been very busy, so it will most likely be a 3 week wait for chapter 9, as I haven't been able to begin on it. I really do apologize in advance and I hope this chapter is good enough to hold you over :P

Enjoy!

As soon as she was able, Elsa fumbled to her phone and called Rapunzel. Anna was still in her room with Hans, and Elsa knew that her girlfriend was near her phone because they had just been texting. That is, until Elsa began eavesdropping on her sister.

It didn't even finish the second ring. "Elsa, hey," came the convivial greeting.

"R-Rapunzel, I- I need you," the white-blonde haired girl gasped through a wet throat. She wanted to pull out the figurative knife that Anna had sunk into her back and through her heart, but it was punishing. The pain was already unbearable, so why agitate the wound? The malady born of Anna's actions necrosed a once filled and loving heart.

"Elsa, what happened? Are you okay?"

Only a pittance of thought was needed to answer that question. "No," she whined through bridled outcries of pain. She didn't want Anna to hear. For the first time in her life, Elsa didn't want Anna near her. And if Anna heard her cries, she'd definitely come. Her eyes burned and chest ached from the heaving.

Rapunzel didn't need any more information, that one simple word was enough for her to drop whatever she was doing. "Elsa, I'm on my way over, okay? You're gonna be okay."

She's been nothing but perfect to me. Elsa had an emptiness in her being that had to be filled by someone. Maybe now I can return the favor. Still, even after being betrayed as she had been, Elsa felt the lingering sting of loss when she imagined life without Anna. But the stunt that had been pulled on her felt far worse. "Okay," she sobbed and sniffled.

"Do you want me to stay on the line?"

"Y-yes."

"Okay, I'm leaving now, I'll be there soon. It'll be okay, Elsa."

Elsa's face was becoming sore from contorting in despair. Her nose was running, and her lungs felt like they were teetering on the edge of collapsing. Rapunzel's voice reminded Elsa of when Anna would comfort her. But Anna was lying all those times! Elsa began to fall the wrong way on her balance beam and her thoughts were harder to keep in order. But as her girlfriend kept repeating comforts, Elsa began to believe them more and more, and eventually, even began to calm down. Rapunzel wasn't leading Elsa astray, she didn't even know what happened, she was just making sure that her girlfriend didn't shut down completely. Elsa knew that, and she needed that. But she also needed the truth. "Thank you," she shuddered.

"Of course," the older woman fondly assured.

Over the next stretch of time, which, to Elsa felt like nearly an hour, not much was said. Rapunzel was simply there for Elsa, and Elsa writhed in pain and just appreciated the safety net she had. Every couple minutes, Rapunzel would say something to the effect of "hang in there, Elsa," or "I'm almost there."

Then, finally, came a string of words that Elsa had been dying to hear. "I'm here, Elsa, are you okay?"

Elsa ignored the question because no, she wasn't okay, and she wasn't quite sure how to say that again. She looked at her door, thinking of going down and opening the front door for Rapunzel, but even her bedroom door was so daunting, so intimidating that it felt like she was staring into the eyes of Medusa. She was petrified in stone. If she left her room, she might run into Hans, or worse, Anna. Defeatedly, she cried a little into the phone and wiped her eyes. "J-just come in. I'm- I'm in my room."

"Okay," Rapunzel said as Elsa heard the muffled slam of a car door in the background. A door sounded and some footsteps, and Rapunzel poked her head into Elsa's room. She must have seen what a sniveling mess the younger was, because she gasped "Elsa!" and rocketed inside the bedroom.

"Rapunzel," Elsa gasped and clutched on to the woman. The hug was warm and tight, it was affectionate. But it didn't feel safe. It didn't help Elsa's open wound, it didn't calm her down, or get her mind off of what Anna said. It still didn't feel like Anna's hugs used to. Still, maybe talking would help.

"Elsa, are you okay? What in the world happened? What can I do?"

The younger woman's heart stopped momentarily. She looked at the shared wall. "It's A-Anna,"

she said in a hushed voice, making it clear that she didn't want them to be heard.

Rapunzel's eyes were so stressed that they looked like they were going to pop a vessel if she didn't figure out what was going on soon. She outwardly tried to look calm, probably in order to make Elsa feel safer, but it was clear looking through her eyes that she was panicking on the inside and was struggling with her veneer. "What happened? Is Anna all right?" She asked quietly but earnestly.

Elsa's heart pounded into her throat, and her breaths were too hard to take, so she didn't. She didn't want to keep Rapunzel guessing any longer. "S-she's been l-lying to me."

Rapunzel's brow furrowed. She looked like she couldn't decide how to react, as her facial features became incongruous. Evidently, she could tell that it was not a small lie, but then again, even an emotional dunce could tell that by how Elsa was behaving. "What? What'd she lie about?" Her hands gently enclosed Elsa's, and she held them tightly.

"About-" The blue-eyed girl had to stop, close her eyes, and take a few breaths. The crying of the infantile memory was still loud in her ears. "About me," she looked down shamefully, humiliated by ever thinking that she was healing, that she would improve. "G-getting better."

Her girlfriend looked intensely sympathetic, like hearing that broke her heart a little, too. She was silent for a moment, and Elsa could almost see the scales weighing options over her head. "Did she tell you that she was lying?"

Not wanting to continue looking up, Elsa shook her head.

Treading carefully, Rapunzel pressed on. "Then how do you know?"

With remorse hanging from her features like lead, the platinum blonde remained silent, but looked over to the shared wall. In the creeping silence, she could still hear the muffled voices of Hans and Anna. Then she just breathed "I overheard her talking to H-Hans."

Rapunzel looked at the wall, too. After a short time, she turned to Elsa, a blank thought bubble hovering about her head. Finally, she just sighed and with one hand grabbed the back of Elsa's head gently, and with the other pulled her into a hug.

With this, Elsa's tears were refreshed, and she found the fabric of her girlfriend's shirt to be the best tissue in reach. From Rapunzel's actions, Elsa knew she could talk more, she knew she wanted to. Her voice was broken with her sobs, and a little rushed between her breaths. "And-and I don't know what else she w-was lying about. W-what if she thinks I'm a f-failure?" Elsa's eyes felt like they were resting on sandpaper, it stung. Her nails were digging into Rapunzel's back, but she didn't seem to care.

"Oh, Elsa," she said in an elegiac voice. "She loves you," and hand began to rub her back up and down. "Of course she doesn't think that. I'm sure she was just encouraging you, she just wanted to help."

Elsa's heart floundered for oxygen. "L-lying doesn't help! She toldme that I was making progress!" She flinched at how loud her voice had gotten, she had to keep it in check, lest Anna hear.

"Elsa-"

"I j-just wanted the truth."

This seemed to stop Rapunzel from farther insistence as she considered it. Elsa found herself looking into deep, malachite eyes. Thick lips were kept in a diligent line. Her voice didn't push, but certainly asserted its position. "It was wrong for her to lie to you, but she didn't do it to hurt you. I think she thought it was the right thing to do."

Elsa saw her girlfriend's point, she really did. But it was hard to look at at the moment. On top of that, Anna had said that she was telling the truth many times before. So, with to the myriad of doubts the whole situation left in Elsa's mind, Rapunzel's point produced one question. "W-when would lying to me be the right thing to do?"

Rapunzel just looked upon her with a sympathetic and pained expression. She simply shrugged her shoulders and said "I don't know. I think you need to talk to her about that."

Elsa didn't respond to that, really. She didn't want to talk to Anna, she didn't want to face any of her demons, and now that was one of them. So, instead of answering, she just buried her face in the crook of Rapunzel's neck and shuddered.

Expertly, the older woman gleaned Elsa into a comforting embrace. The fingers lightly trailing through her hair slowed down the platinum blonde girl's breathing, and the arm wrapped around her back kept her heart in place. "It's okay, Elsa."

Having gotten everything off her chest, Elsa was content to just stay silent in their embrace, and that's exactly what she did. Rapunzel apparently understood, because she didn't make a move to leave, she kept holding her, kept carrying the weight for her girlfriend.

Soon enough, it was time for bed. Elsa wasn't exactly tired, but she knew she had to sleep. She pulled away from Rapunzel. A little more even now, but still not better, she said "I, um, I think I need to go to bed now."

With a miniature smile, the older woman nodded. "Sure, it's getting a little late, so I should be going- that is, if you're okay?"

With a gentle surge in her heart, Elsa actually smiled a little bit. Just a pinch at the corners of her mouth, but it was still a smile. "Y-yeah. I feel a lot better now." The initial shock had passed, and though Elsa was still sore from the blow, she at least wasn't crying her eyes out.

Still halfway in the hug, Rapunzel rubbed Elsa's arm and sent a caring grin back. "I'm here for you, Elsa, anything you need."

They shared an intense eye contact, standing in the middle of Elsa's room, and she didn't feel like verbally responding. Instead, she leaned in and pressed her lips against Rapunzel's slowly, who reciprocated with equal intensity. Elsa thought for a moment, then parted her lips as her heart beat faster and faster. There was about a second of hesitation, but then a tongue found it's way into Elsa's mouth. An electric bolt ran down her spine, arching her back and pushing out a tiny, almost imperceptible moan. She felt her womanhood grow needy and heated as they continued. She didn't really know how to do this, so she just used her own tongue rub against Rapunzel's, a sort of mirror in the actions. A pair of hands started exploring her back, lighting up each and every spot they touched. There were so many sensations running through her body that Elsa couldn't even keep up with them, she had to focus on just one at time. She tried to learn quickly and largely copied Rapunzel's hand motions, as jerky and unpracticed as her imitations may be.

Every taste, every smell, every feeling, every short, rushing breath etched itself into Elsa's memory to be remembered and cherished forever. The room was growing humid, and it was making it harder to breathe. They kissed like this for several minutes, because Elsa knew that the next step to getting over Anna was moving farther with Rapunzel. She had to push her dear sister away, and right now, that didn't hurt all that much.

Eventually, Rapunzel left, and Elsa luckily did not run in to Anna whilst showing her girlfriend out. She was soon in her nightgown, underneath a blanket and sheet, listening to the footsteps of Anna and Hans going downstairs. He was leaving.

Her heart stopped when a lone pair of footsteps came back up the stairs and paused in front of her door. Then, there was a knock that for some reason made Elsa jump out of her skin. "Elsa," Anna's voice questioned. "Elsa, are you awake?"

There was silence for a few moments. Elsa flip flopped between yelling back that she was and staying silent. She felt terrible for ignoring Anna, but she still wasn't ready to talk to her. Plus, if I stay quiet, she'll just think I'm asleep, right? That was beside the point. Elsa was purposefully ignoring her sister, but then again, maybe after what she found out earlier that night she was justified. Choking on a lump in her throat, the platinum blonde kept her lips sealed.

"Okay," Anna relented mostly to herself, "I guess you're not." Then, she spoke through the door again, like she expected her elder to hear. It kind of scared Elsa, it kind of felt like Anna knew she was awake, but there was no way that she did. "Goodnight, Blondie, I love you!"

Blondie!? Elsa didn't know what to make of such a phrase. It sounded playful, it even sounded a tiny bit intimate. The ensuing confusion just added to Elsa's state of disarray, and as the footsteps receded, Elsa felt another piece of her heart die.

The next morning, Elsa felt groggy when she woke up. She blinked her tired eyes as she looked around, giving them a few moments to gain focus. She had tossed and turned all night, unable to get any real rest. She checked the time on her phone. It was nearly time to wake Anna up. Elsa groaned. She didn't want to wake her sister up, she didn't feel up to it, she was actually a little scared of Anna.

But I can't just let her sleep through her classes! Of course she could, but wouldn't that be taking it a little bit too far? After all, this was still Anna, right? Sure, she had been deceptive, but for some reason, Elsa still wanted to wake her up. As perplexing as it was to Elsa, she still wanted to look out for Anna.

With a weighty sigh, the platinum blonde stood up. She practically tip-toed into the hallway with nerves rattling like coins in a washing machine. She had to take a moment to steel herself in front of Anna's foreboding door. She swallowed her heart and knocked on the door, mildly at first. Her voice took a moment to summon. "A-Anna," the name seemed to browbeat her, it felt like nails coming out of her throat. "Time to get u-up."

There was stirring from the other side of the door as Elsa walked away, unwilling or unable to wait for a proper confirmation, she wasn't sure which. Still, following the rustling of bedsheets came the familiar and still sing song voice. Even then, it reminded Elsa of the pleasant singing of birds in the early Spring. It didn't assuage the hole in her heart, and it nearly made her cry. It made her think about the Anna she knew before last night. "Huh? I- I've been up for hours... I'll- I'll be out soon!" It was sleepy yet cheerful. Elsa wiped a tear off of her cheek and went back into her room.

From there, she heard Anna's door open and shut, she heard the faint hum of the shower being turned on, and finally, heard her sister head downstairs after changing. For the entire time, Elsa was just trying to not shiver. "So," she heard her sister prompt before she was even down the stairs, "what's for breakfast?" The voice was muted, but she could still hear it.

Then, softer and farther away, "Elsa? Elsa, where are you?" Anna was probably moving around down stairs looking for her. Elsa just bit her lip and tried not to cry.

The footfalls came back upstairs, followed by some gentle knocks at her door. The platinum blonde froze in place like an ice sculpture. "Elsa, I know you're in there." A few moments of silence. "Elsa, answer me, what's going on? Aren't you gonna come eat breakfast?"

Elsa took a moment to process her options. I should answer her, it's Anna. Anna, the one who mislead her, the one Elsa was angry with. Her time to think was cut off when she heard the doorknob begin to turn. With haste, the older sister stuttered "I- I need to r-rest."

Anna sounded like she was caught off guard. "Oh, um, do you- do you need anything before I go?"

"N-no thanks." A little spite was attached to the words, as they came out more sharply than Elsa intended.

Her sister seemed reluctant to go just yet. "Okay, well, um, I've gotta go to class, I'll be back right after, okay?"

Elsa felt terrible, she was worrying Anna. "Okay."

Bitter with herself, Elsa tried to escape into a book, but it didn't work. Reading was an escape from reality, but with everything that had been happening lately, Elsa didn't feel like she was in reality. So, she pulled out her phone and texted her girlfriend a good morning message, then opened up her computer and tried her level best to read through some PowerPoint slides.

Rapunzel made sure to keep messaging Elsa throughout the day, even over texts it was easy to tell that she was still worried for her blue-eyed girlfriend and wanted to be sure that she was okay.

As the day progressed, Elsa's anger didn't. She stayed exasperated at her sister, but the memories of how Anna had helped her through the years swirled through her mind and powered the regret culminating in her.

I shouldn't have worried her like that. But I can't confront her about it! Elsa had an imbroglio on her hands. She wasn't brave enough to bring the lies up to Anna, but ignoring her sister would break Elsa's heart.

From this, Elsa could only really see one option. She had to lie to Anna, or at least not tell the whole truth. She already knew that the normally bubbly younger girl would again demand to know what was going on. All Elsa had to do was give an answer that was good enough, one that would at least buy her time until she was able to confront Anna.

Elsa squeezed her eyes shut and sighed. Then I'll be doing to Anna exactly what she did to me. But it's necessary, right? After all, it's just until I can come clean and tell the truth. Just temporary. Yes, temporary.

Her heart beat in self loathing as she repeated it once more to try and make herself feel better. Temporary.

When Anna did get home, Elsa was still hiding in her room. Her stomach knotted. She knew what was coming as she heard the anxiety embroidered voice holler "Elsa? I'm home. Where are you?"

Yes, Elsa predicted the knocks that shortly thereafter sounded at her door. "Elsa, are you there?"

She faintly heard over the baleful thuds of her heart. She could barely catch enough breath to rasp in response in a voice that was much weaker and more sickly sounding than she expected. She felt light headed. "Yes."

"You worried me this morning, are you okay? Can I come in?"

Elsa winced as a pin of regret slid into her heart. She sucked in the pasty air and stood. Her knees were weak. It felt funny to walk towards the door. Every step she took seemed to move her farther away. She felt torque on the knife in her back, and wished she could remove it, but she couldn't reach.

"Elsa, hello? Elsa?"

The platinum blonde shut her eyes like a scared child and creaked the door open. She knew that when she opened her eyes, she'd see the most painful face she could imagine.

She was right. She opened her eyes and in a fraction of a second, everything came rushing into her with such force that it nearly knocked her over. The teal eyes, burdened with worry, widened in relief, the gentle freckles shifting as pink lips opened to make a noise. There was Anna. The same Anna, but in a different light. Elsa's heart forgot how to beat for a moment as the pit of her stomach crawled with eight legs and her eyes were sauteed in tears. When loving memories clashed with painful ones, the result was indescribable.

But wait, the hair was wrong. It was pulled back, and though Elsa was directly in front of her, she could tell that it was in a pony tail. It was an odd look on her sister, and the older girl found herself missing the braids. Maybe she could use that to postpone the subject she knew was coming.

Anna took a few steps into the room and gently cupped a warm hand onto Elsa's cheek, so caring, so confusing. Elsa moved away from the touch as Anna spouted "Elsa! What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"W-where are your b-braids?" Elsa knew the question was random, but she was using it to stall. Plus, she really was curious. She liked the braids.

Anna furrowed her brow, probably at Elsa's avoidance to her touch. When she answered, it sounded like she just wanted to make sure Elsa was okay, not like she was annoyed at the dodge. "Hans doesn't like them," she explained simply, practically shrugging off the question. The name once again made Elsa uncomfortable. "Now, what's going on?"

Now crying a small amount, the older sister spoke in an asperous voice. "N-nothing." She hoped Anna could just believe her and leave it alone. Fat chance.

"Something's wrong. What is it?"

"R-really Anna, it's- it's nothing." Elsa's world began to tunnel. She wasn't strong enough for any more of this conversation. She wanted it to end here, for once she wanted Anna to not be so persistent, to give up. If she hasn't given up on me already... She didn't want to lie to her sister, and if their talk ended now, she wouldn't have to.

Anna, unfortunately, had other plans. "It's something. You went to bed early last night and you didn't come to breakfast this morning. I missed you."

God, why did Anna have to be so caring!? It didn't quite make sense to Elsa, but the fact that Anna clearly did care for her made the way she had been mislead sting even more. She just had to say something to make Anna give up. "I- I just- I- I'm not feeling well."

Anna didn't look completely convinced, though Elsa could tell that she did take into account what was surely a very sickly looking visage of the platinum blonde. "Elsa," she gently scolded. The rest was implied.

Elsa felt a little defensive, even though she knew she shouldn't. "I am," she insisted. After all, she truly wasn't feeling well, she hadn't caught something, but that didn't mean she didn't feel sick. Because of this, her tone began to appear more forthcoming.

Anna took a long, careful look directly into her sister's eyes. Consideration was written all over her face as Elsa felt like her sister wasn't looking at her, but in her. Like her mind was being probed, like everything inside was being consumed and analyzed. For a moment, Elsa was legitimately worried that Anna would suddenly, somehow know the full reason for her behavior.

The wild relief that followed was almost refreshing. Anna nodded, pursing her lips in concern. "Is there anything I can do? Anything at all?" She didn't look completely convinced, but she was dropping the subject, at least. But was that really a good thing? Did that mean that Anna just didn't care enough? It was contradictory to Elsa's impression from when she opened the door. Yet another thing around her that just didn't make any sense. She looked into now shinier aquamarine eyes. Deep within them, she thought she saw a flicker of hurt.

That was the worst feeling yet. Elsa battled away tears, a few of the sneakier ones getting by and rising to her eyes. Does Anna know I'm lying? If she does, did I just torment her the same way she did me? Elsa's shoulders slumped, she felt like a monster. She felt like she didn't deserve any care, like maybe she deserved for everyone to give up on her. She wanted to fix it, she didn't want to repay such a deleterious act in kind. She didn't want to harm Anna. She tried to say what she needed to, tried to make herself tell the truth, but she couldn't. Her throat caught on a fishing hook and her lungs spasmed. Her fear made the act ineffable. All that she managed was "I..."

Anna looked back expectantly, but underneath that look, Elsa noticed contrived explanations for her bizarre behavior. Each one made Anna look a little more anxious.

Elsa looked down, for she didn't feel deserving of anything else. "No, thank you."

She didn't see anything, but the elder did hear the quiet gulp, the rigid and shallow inhale, the almost inaudible sigh that followed. "Are you sure?"

Elsa was being handed a second chance, all she had to do was take it. When she tried to, however, she fumbled and simply nodded her head.

The room was quiet for a long time. It was almost like Anna was just waiting for her sister to crack under the pressure, like she knew that that was what she had to do to pull out the truth. After a few moments of sucking thick air, the red head finally said something. "Okay. Well, um, do you feel well enough to do the goggles? I know it's bad timing and I know you hate it, but it's that time of the week."

Elsa gulped. Anna was right, it was. She looked up, but still was unable to meet Anna's eyes, so her eyes roamed everywhere else. Outside, a gust of wind carried away some dried leaves. Outwardly, it may have appeared like she was being brave, when in reality, Elsa was fairly certain she was purposefully punishing herself with her answer. "Y-yes."

Anna reached over and rubbed the platinum blonde's arm reassuringly. Elsa flinched a little, but managed not to yank away from the contact, because if she did, Anna would possibly start questioning again. "Okay, let's get it over with, then you can rest, alright?"

Only a nod was needed to answer. They went downstairs, and when Elsa just saw the goggles she started to panic. Just the thought of having to look at a fake world had her feeling like she was drowning, and all she could do was watch and tremble in apprehension as her sibling hooked up the display and prepared the simulation.

And when a warm hand rubbed her back, Elsa wanted to step away from it, but she was too paralyzed by fear to do so. "It's okay, Elsa," a tender voice told her. "It'll be over before you know it."

It was time to enter the virtual reality. Breathing faster than a panting, tired dog, the platinum blonde picked up her terrorizers. She closed her eyes and slowly put them on, shaking from her distress.

As usual, when she opened her eyes, she found herself in a city of empty streets and simplistic buildings. Elsa froze. She couldn't even move a step, she couldn't bring herself to look around, to examine the sparse scenery. There didn't have to be noise to inundate her mind with ghastly pulses of the world, with a scene of her mother's crash. Her ears began to ring just like that fateful night.

Elsa couldn't breathe, she was becoming dizzy, she tried to fight it, but it felt like she had a rock lodged in her throat and she just couldn't get it out. She couldn't save herself, she couldn't keep standing, her mind started to go bank from lack of oxygen. She wasn't going to be able to do this.

"It's okay, Elsa," came her sister's voice in an attempt to encourage her, "you're doing great."

There was the lie again. Her blood scorched, her temper fractured and irascible. She didn't want to be lied to, especially not now. She knew she was doing terribly, she knew she was failing, but here Anna was, spoon feeding her the same lie she had apparently been poisoning Elsa's mind with for the passed five years. The mixing of anger and anxiety with her adrenaline pushed Elsa into a full-fledged panic attack, crippling her and making her heartbeat and oxygen intake erratic.

"Elsa!" The goggles were discarded from her, but Elsa hardly noticed, she was just focused on breathing, on not dying, not drowning on the oppressive air around her. "Elsa, it's okay, it's okay, I'm here, I'm right here." Anna nestled her sister in her arms and attempted to comfort her.

But she had just lied again, and Elsa didn't want any of it. As soon as she regained any autonomy of her body, she ripped out of the hug. It felt like ripping off a band-aid, but at a certain point, it was better to let the wound get some air.

"Elsa, what in the world?"

The platinum blonde tried to think, her mind was so jumbled. But one seemed to stick. Rapunzel. She'd felt safe with Rapunzel, she knew having her girlfriend there would help. "I want Rapunzel."

Ache. That's all Elsa saw in her sister's eyes. That's all she found under the tenor of a poor guise on Anna's voice. How many times am I going to do that to Anna today? Though Elsa did momentarily want to retract her statement, she ignored the urge. The younger girl nodded and displayed what looked like a forced smile. "Of course, I think she'd be a lot of help."

Elsa didn't really know how to respond so she simply called and invited Rapunzel over. After that point, her sister seemed a little more than tense and uncharacteristically reserved. That's because I've been avoiding her today. But there was definitely something else going on in Anna's mind. She was acting territorial, like Rapunzel was stepping on her turf. She's jealous that I want Rapunzel to help me with the goggles instead of her. Maybe she should have thought about that before she lied to me! No, stop, that's no way to think. Either way, it's another tally to the number of times I've hurt Anna today.

When Rapunzel did arrive, the platinum blonde looked at her sister pleadingly. Anna nodded with a look of consideration on her face, automatically knowing what was being requested. The atmosphere around them was a little awkward, which was something new between the sisters. Elsa didn't like it. It was definitely a negative change. It settled in her stomach about as well as fizz.

When the green eyed woman entered, she cheerily said "hey" to Anna, who greeted back politely. Politely, Elsa noticed, not friendly.

She then said hello to her girlfriend with a snug hug and a quick kiss on the lips. It only lasted for a second, but Elsa managed to focus her attention on Anna during it. She expected to find a transient hint of jealousy or pain, but what she did see was worse that either of the two. Ann's arms were crossed over her chest and her face was largely blank. She was withdrawn. This was going too far, and Elsa was suddenly choking into her kiss.

She wished she hadn't invited Rapunzel over.

It wasn't long before the three were in the living room. Anna set up the simulation like before, but this time, when someone tried to placate the platinum blonde, it wasn't Anna's voice. "You're gonna be alright, okay, Elsa? Remember, it's not real, it can't hurt you."

That was true, but it felt real. The hand on Elsa's back wasn't her sister's, either. Rapunzel rubbed little circles, and although they made her feel a little better, it was nothing compared to just days ago when she would be in Anna's consummate hands, the ones that would melt Elsa like ice in the sun and render her state of hysteria quiescent.

Elsa gulped and nodded, shoving the goggles on with the same struggle as before. She looked around at the barren display and took a step. She moved, she moved. Already, this was going better than last time. She felt a surge of confidence and kept walking.

But quickly, even as she still felt the presence of Rapunzel's hand on her back warding off her demons, the sky loomed over Elsa's head. Her lungs once again began to struggle as her feet became sticky. She tried to tunnel her vision, tried to focus on one thing, but in that little pinhole of sight, she saw everything.

"You can do this," she heard from Rapunzel.

I can do it. I want to get better. I can do it. She pressed on, feeling like an arctic adventurer braving a storm.

"Okay, Elsa, I'm gonna turn on noises, some birds, okay? Only birds, don't worry." Anna's voice still had a trace of that almost motherly protectiveness in it. She didn't want to frighten Elsa, but there was also some semblance of bitterness in her words.

"Hang in there, Elsa."

She tried to, but the birds started chirping in the background, quickly giving way to another bout of tinnitus. It was too real now, too much like the environment she feared so much. She felt like she was actually outside and quickly succumbed to yet another panic attack.

Swiftly, the goggles were removed, and she was being held tightly in Rapunzel's arms. Before the woman could even speak, Elsa heard the distant echo of Anna's almost domineering voice. "She's my sister!"

Then, Elsa found herself hanging off of Anna while the red head cradled her and gently wiped moon-kissed strands of hair away from lachrymose eyes. "It's okay, Elsa, you're okay." Henceforth during the next few minutes came iterations of the sentiment with slight variations, but always gently delivered.

Normally, that would have worked. Normally, Elsa would be calming down, be able to breathe. But not now. Because, what if Anna was still lying? Elsa was still resentful about the previous night. She gasped out "R-Rapunzel," and lunged at the older woman. She was caught and comforted in a similar way as before.

And Elsa didn't look up, she kept her face buried in Rapunzel's shoulder, because when she heard Anna speak, she knew if she looked up she'd see what kind of damage she had just done to her sister. "I," Anna started with a mix of vindication, jealousy, and suffering, "think I'm going to go see Hans."

Elsa regretted her actions, yes, but anything Anna said to her that evening felt like like a stab in the heart. Even the caring words stung because they just confused Elsa. So she stayed where she was and let her heart wilt when she heard the door slam.

Anna still wasn't back. It wasn't particularly late, but Elsa was trying to fall asleep. Rapunzel had taken a while, but eventually satiated her girlfriend's panic attack and had stayed until she was sure Elsa was okay. She was perfect: caring, selfless, gorgeous, smart, and a little awkward. So, Elsa wondered, why had she preformed so poorly even with Rapunzel there for her? Why had it taken so long to stop her panic attack?

But most of all, why didn't Elsa feel happy with Rapunzel?

Elsa thought back to when it was just her and Anna, and Anna would be the one to hold her and guide her through the simulation. She did better back then, she felt safer back then. Yes, Rapunzel had helped, but it didn't compare to how much Anna bolstered Elsa.

Maybe that was it. Rapunzel, though a wonderful person, simply didn't compare to Anna in Elsa's mind. If anything Elsa had read in books or watched in movies was accurate, she should feel stronger feelings for her girlfriend by now, but she simply didn't.

Elsa wasn't falling in love with Rapunzel.

Elsa was still in love with Anna, even if she couldn't trust her.

On that night, Elsa seriously started doubting that Rapunzel could help her forge a makeshift key. She was pretty damned sure that her and Rapunzel just simply wouldn't work. Maybe she could give them one last shot.

The only problem was, she didn't want to lead Rapunzel on.