A.N. First published November 1st on Tumblr.
It was hard to imagine one prettier late autumn day than that that lied upon Arendelle in these hours close to the first winter snow. The sun stretched its last rays of warm sunlight across the country, making the peaks of the mountains shine like diamonds and the deep valleys of forest wear robes of green, red, yellow and orange. The skies were blue and clear under which the farmers made their last preparations before the cold harshness of the upcoming months, and the fjords glittered and shone between the grey steep rocks.
Elsa was marvelling the sight she could see outside her study window as much as everybody else was, letting herself steel away a few moments in which the sun shone on her closed eyes. When she opened them again a pile of paperwork still lie before her, but a bit of light had managed to creep into her and gave her new strength she needed. She knew there would be no meetings held today, and still, with her thoughts swirling around, it was a day that was hard to bear.
She hadn´t seen Anna but short for lunch and even then her sister had not given away much of what her thoughts were on a day like this. Maybe later they could talk. Should they talk? Or was it better to leave it be? Elsa was still not sure five months after the Thaw.
When it was already late afternoon and Anna nowhere to be found, Elsa noticed herself being carried away by her feet outside the castle walls. Still only wearing her brown dress with flower and leaf emblems on the end, she walked along the small road to the hills above the town. It was not a long walk and when her steps became slower she knew she was there.
Three years ago she had thought it should have been her and not them. It all had felt so wrong. She had felt as alone as never before and too broken to even stand up in the mornings. For the first time she had felt anger. And then pain. When the day came, she had let Anna go on her own.
They had never talked about it since then. It hurt too much.
When she now stands here, soft wind carrying her hair, she does not feel anger. She wonders what she actually does feel when a hand suddenly takes hers and she notices her little sisters smile beside her.
"Hi."
"Hi."
"It seems we have been thinking the same thing."
"Like sisters do." answers Anna.
"Do… do you sometimes wonder how it would be with them still around?" she manages to ask. Anna is quiet for a moment or two before she can reply.
"I do. Often. But then, in my memories, they are always there. Sometimes I feel like I can even talk to them. I know, it sounds silly."
"No, it doesn´t. They would be so proud of you."
"And of you too. They loved us both so much. And in our memories they always will"
"… as long as we remember."
When she now stands here, soft wind carrying her hair, she does not feel anger. All she feels is love. As long as she remembers.