Chapter XII

It was the next day. Elsa had woken Anna up bright and early to drag her—almost quite literally—to the police station. The breakfast they had shared before leaving had been rushed and silent; the air heavy with underlying tension stemming from multiple sources. Elsa knew Anna was nervous about going to the police, but she also knew the tension had to do with their painfully awkward conversation before bed last night. Elsa knitted her brows together as they continued their walk to the station. Tonight, she decided; tonight, after their business with the police was done and settled, she'd talk to Anna about where they stood. They had been doing this silly dance for far too long now.

The pair came to a standstill upon approaching a set of glass double doors. Arendelle County Police Station printed on each door encircled the crest of the city. Elsa felt Anna take her hand as Elsa moved to open the doors.

The station was just as Elsa would imagine a police station to be. They walked into a large, lobby-type room, multiple desks with their own officer stationed throughout. Phones were ringing, people were sitting in chairs opposite the officers, and people were being led through to other rooms by officers in handcuffs.

"May I help you girls?" a voice called out to them.

Elsa looked to her right to see an elderly lady behind a glass window at a desk. Pulling Anna along, she walked up to the desk.

"Um, we were wondering if we could speak with an officer?" Elsa began. "We have…information on the Royals?"

At the mention of the gang, the lady's brows shot up to her hairline. "Oh!" she squeaked. "One moment, please."

As she picked up the phone, Elsa glanced behind her at Anna who was carefully eyeing each and every officer that got within a few steps of them. Smiling gently, she gave Anna's hand a reassuring squeeze.

"Everything's okay, Anna," she said.

Anna nodded in return. "Yeah," she breathed. "Everything's okay. Just…okay…"

Elsa just squeezed her hand again as the older lady got off the phone.

"If you all could sit over there," she pointed to some chairs lining the far wall, "Lieutenant Shang will be with you in a moment."

"Thank you," Elsa responded.

They took their seats in the chairs, hands never leaving the comfort of one another's. Elsa didn't try to initiate conversation this time, knowing how nervous Anna was and that the girl wasn't really able to hold a stable conversation at the moment.

So Elsa let her thoughts wander to how she was to bring up this thing called a "relationship" later tonight.

Should she just be simple and blunt about it? Hey, Anna; so we've kissed several times and I think, at least, that a couple of them meant something more than whatever the other kisses meant.

No, that wasn't good.

Anna, I know I've touched on the subject briefly before, but I can't even begin to express how much you mean to me. I can't imagine my life without you in it now. Please don't ever leave me.

Too cliché.

I love you, Anna.

Elsa's thoughts came to a screeching stop at that last one. Her stomach began to flutter furiously as she felt heat rush to her cheeks. She felt a tightening in her stomach before the feeling sank even lower. That was a new feeling. Elsa glanced to her right to see if Anna had caught on to her discomfort, but she was still darting her eyes around every which way, completely unaware.

Upon observing Anna's face, the heavy feeling in Elsa's core seemed to explode and make its way up her spine, resulting in a violet shiver from the blonde.

Anna noticed this time.

"Elsa?" she questioned. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah!" Elsa exclaimed, blinking rapidly to shoo away the feeling. "Just a bit cold."

Anna gave her an innocent smile. "It is kinda cold in here."

Elsa sighed as Anna's eyes glazed over once again to observe the men in uniform milling about. The elder ground her teeth.

Shit, this just got a lot harder, she grumbled.

She had never been in love before. She wasn't even sure if this was what love felt like, but she couldn't help thinking it was. After all, why would just thinking of Anna in that way elicit such a reaction if it weren't the case?

Maybe I'll talk to Kristoff first before I spill my poor, confused heart out.

Before she could delve any further into her thoughts and feelings, someone cleared their voice from above them, efficiently snapping both girls from their respective reveries.

Elsa looked up to see a Chinese man standing before them. He had piercing black eyes that had a hidden kindness in them as he observed the girls, and his slick black hair was pulled back into a ponytail.

"I'm Lieutenant Shang," he introduced. "I understand you all have information on the Royals gang?"

Elsa stood first, pulling Anna up with her.

"Yes, sir," the older girl answered.

He stepped backward towards the door he must have come out of. Opening it, he gestured through the doorway.

"We can talk in here," he said.

Elsa and Anna walked inside and he followed them before shutting the door. Elsa found themselves in an office of sorts. A large desk was situated before a window, one chair with its back towards it and two smaller chairs on the opposite side of the desk, facing out.

Lieutenant Shang circled the desk before sitting down in the large chair, gesturing again for the girls to sit in the remaining ones.

"Well?" he offered.

Elsa jerked Anna's hand a bit to get her attention.

"My friend has a…proposition…she'd like to make," Elsa started, looking to Anna who was now staring at the floor, her shoulders heaving with every breath she took.

"And does your friend talk?" he quipped in a teasing manner.

Elsa jerked the redhead's hand again. "Tell him, Anna."

Anna looked up at the police officer before she averted her gaze to Elsa. The blonde could detect the look of fear and anxiety in her teal eyes and Elsa gave her the most reassuring smile she could muster before nodding.

Anna took in a deep breath, swallowed, and looked back to Lieutenant Shang.

"I…" she gulped again. "I'm a member of the Royals."

Shang raised his eyebrows. "You are?" he sounded surprised.

"Well, not anymore!" Anna cried. "I quit! I mean, I left; well, not officially or anything, because you can't really just leave, but as far as I'm concerned, yeah, I quit."

She felt Elsa squeeze her knee to calm her down. Anna closed her eyes and tried to reign in her nerves. She needed to be coherent here. No rambling, no stuttering; no matter how terrified she was in this moment.

"I…I was hoping to make some sort of deal," she tried again. "The Royals' leader beat me up pretty bad because I returned the money we stole from a Starbucks. I ran away after that, but I know I'm not getting off the hook that easily. Elsa thought… Maybe if I help you all catch them that I could—that we could—be offered some kind of protection in exchange? I'd also be willing to do whatever it took to repay for the crimes I committed with the Royals, but I'd really…like to be kept out of jail."

Lieutenant Shang had been busy observing Anna during her explanation and had quickly noticed the still-healing injuries on her face. His eyes then landed on the cast on her hand and he had looked to Elsa for her to only acknowledge that, yes, that had been done by the Royals as well.

He rubbed his temple. He definitely hadn't been expecting this today.

"Okay," he began, "we're gonna need to open a case file for you…?"

"Anna," the redhead filled in.

"Anna," he finished. "Let me call my wife in and then I want you to tell me everything you know about the Royals while she records it. Everything you've done with them since day one, every crime you've committed, every crime you weren't apart of but knew of, and, most importantly, what happened when they assaulted you and where they are now."

"Am I going to have be…detained? Or arrested or anything?" Anna asked in a meek voice.

Shang actually smiled at that. "No," he said in a kind voice not really suiting his demeanor. "Since you came to us willingly, nothing like that will have to happen."

Anna breathed a great sigh of relief at that and Elsa quietly chuckled.

"Feeling a little better?" she asked the younger, rubbing her thumb up and down Anna's knuckles.

"Yeah," Anna breathed out, the first smile of the day lighting up her face.

"Assuming I have your full cooperation, Anna, we can begin," Shang said.

He pressed a button on the phone on his desk and spoke into it. "Mulan, come to my office please."

"One sec!" a cheerful voice chirped from the other line.

In seconds, an attractive woman—also Chinese—entered the office. She looked over to the girls, surprised, before looking to her husband and smiling.

"What's going on?"

"This is Anna," Shang introduced. "She's come to us with information on the Royals."

Mulan's face lit up similar to the elder lady's at the reception desk. "Oh, well great! Maybe we can finally nail them!"

Pulling a stool from the corner of the room, she wheeled it up beside her husband before looking to Elsa.

"And who are you?" she asked.

"I'm Elsa," the girl in question answered.

"I'm assuming you fit into this somehow as well?" Mulan asked.

Elsa just nodded, and the other woman pulled a legal pad from Shang's desk before dating it and writing a case number at its head.

"Okay, we're set," she announced.

Shang looked to Anna. "Okay Anna, just start from the beginning."

All eyes were on the redhead. Elsa took her hand again and she felt Anna squeeze it again before launching into her tale.

She told the officers about how she didn't have any parents and how she grew up in an orphanage simply to give them background. Then she told them about how she wound up in the city and went to the Royals seeking a place to belong. She recounted the initiation process to them and showed them the scar and tattoo when asked. Mulan snapped a few pictures of them both for documentation. Anna then moved on to the first act she had to commit by herself which was a simple home burglary where she took a box of jewelry and a small safe which had contained a stack of money and legal documents. When asked by Shang, Anna said that they money had been spent—but had been roughly five hundred dollars—and that the documents had been discarded. She was certain the jewelry was still at the hideout, however.

Elsa listened to Anna's story intently, having never heard of her gang life in such detail. She noticed that Anna refrained from looking at Elsa throughout her story, no doubt having her feelings of shame and self-doubt returning as she knew Elsa was listening. Her hand would grasp Elsa's tighter at each mention of a crime she committed, as if silently willing Elsa to stay by her side. Elsa knew she could never judge the girl for her actions; since day one she had placed the upmost faith in her, and through the retelling of her stories, Elsa knew that faith had been well deserved. Anna wasn't a bad kid—far from it, actually. She was just a girl who wanted to belong and find her place and had made some wrong decisions. They were decisions that could easily be fixed, and she was already on the road to a quick recovery and turnaround. Elsa smiled to herself, her heart swelling with pride for the girl beside her.

Finally, Anna reached the point where the Royals had held up the convenience store. She told Shang and Mulan about how they were only supposed to shoplift some alcohol and cigarettes, but one guy—Bryce, Elsa learned it had been his idea—suddenly pulled his gun out and demanded the money in the register. Anna told the officers how scared she had been, but she went along with the entire thing, pulling out her own gun to save face. Elsa found out then that Bryce had also been the one to fire the gun that night, but her assumption had been right that it had only be a warning shot, as the bullet had intentionally missed the store clerk and lodged in the wall behind him.

Then she moved on to how she escaped the store early in her panic and had run into Elsa. They had their brief stand off before Anna took off again.

"When I ran into her, I just…" Anna struggled for the first time here. "I don't know; it's like I suddenly realized what I was actually doing. I mean…I-I had a gun aimed at her face! You have to believe me that I never even thought about hurting her!" she added with a cry, and Elsa could tell she was on edge.

"Anna," Elsa spoke up, squeezing her hand yet again. "You're doing fine. They're not judging you, alright? They simply want to know what happened."

Anna squeezed her eyes shut and Elsa's heart shook as she saw a tear slide down the length of her face.

Mulan must have seen the tear too, because she soon spoke as well.

"Honey," she addressed Lieutenant Shang, "maybe we should give Anna a break. It can't be easy reliving all this at such a fast pace."

Shang looked on thoughtfully before nodding. "You're right," he agreed a moment later.

"Why don't you two go grab a bite to eat," he then addressed Elsa. "We can reconvene here in, say, an hour?"

Elsa nodded. "That'd be great, thank you."

The couple smiled at them—Mulan especially—as they left the girls alone in the office. Once on their own, Anna let out a breath that was released with a sob. Elsa didn't hesitate to pull Anna into her arms. She wasn't quite sure what to say to comfort the younger girl, so Elsa simply settled for resting her chin on Anna's shoulder as the younger girl cried into her chest.

"I'm s-sorry," Anna choked out. "It just…sounds s-so much worse now that I'm saying it o-out loud."

Elsa rubbed her back. "No one's judging you, Anna," she repeated. "They're here to help."

"I deserve to be in jail…" she heard Anna mumble into her shirt.

Something inside Elsa snapped at that and she yanked the girl back. Anna, of course, refused to meet her eyes, but Elsa just grabbed Anna's chin and directed her gaze to her eyes.

"No, you don't, Anna," Elsa stated firmly, glowering at the redhead. "I don't want to hear you say that again, alright? You know what you did was wrong; that's why we're here: to fix it. Lieutenant Shang himself said that he could keep you from jail. None of this is going to court; there is no chance you're going to end up where you don't belong."

Anna blinked, and another tear slid down her cheek. Elsa immediately swept her thumb across the girl's cheek, catching the tear halfway. The action caused Anna to blush and Elsa just smiled.

"Come on," she spoke, her voice softening, "let's go get some lunch. We have an hour; let's just calm down and get everything in perspective again."

Anna only nodded and Elsa made to stand. She hadn't even taken a step away before Anna had her hand back in her own again. Elsa's smile just turned into a dopey grin as she led the girl from the office and soon the police station itself.

They ended up in a corner café, seated at a table facing out the window towards the street, sub sandwiches before them. Elsa noticed Anna glancing out the window wearily, taking in every individual who passed by on their side of the street and opposite.

"Do you think the Royals would be around here?" Elsa asked, knowing it was why Anna was on edge.

Anna shrugged as she averted her gaze back to her lunch. "Maybe," she said quietly. "I mean, we're far from their hideout, but they have the freedom to go where they please." Looking to Elsa, the blonde was pleased to see a smirk cross the younger's face. "It's why I kept coming to your Starbucks, after all."

Elsa grinned and nudged Anna's knee playfully with her own. That brought a laugh out of Anna, and Elsa could see her beginning to relax again. She knew this was hard on her, but it really was for the best. The Royals would get caught and Anna wouldn't have to worry about them anymore. She'd be free to live again. She'd have a fresh start; one Elsa hoped started by her side.

In hopes of cheering Anna up further, Elsa returned to the counter and purchased a brownie for her. Upon seeing the treat, Anna's eyes lit up and she squealed, getting a laugh of her own out of Elsa.

She munched on her treat as they returned to the police station, offering a piece every now and then to Elsa. Elsa accepted the first piece, but told Anna the rest was hers. She needed the boost more than Elsa.

When they walked back into the station, Shang and Mulan were waiting for them. They smiled at the girls, Mulan letting out a laugh as she watched Anna contentedly eating her brownie.

"Feeling better, I hope?" she asked.

Anna looked up and smiled sheepishly, but nodded in response.

"Ready to continue?" Shang then asked.

Wrapping the remainder of her chocolate treat up—it had been a big brownie, Elsa grinned—she nodded again.

"Yeah, I am," Anna confirmed.

Walking back into the office, the four took their respective seats, Anna looking loads more comfortable than she had before. Easily enough, she launched back into her tale, picking up right where she left off.

She didn't even make to grab Elsa's hand this time.

Anna told Shang and Mulan how she saw Elsa another time on accident and she instantly felt some sort of connection with her. With a blush, she said how she felt Elsa was her anchor and she would be able to rescue Anna from the sea of her mistakes. Elsa had never heard this analogy from the girl and was overcome with her own blush, Shang and Mulan smirking at the girls' reactions.

She then told about how she introduced herself to Elsa finally and then tracked her down at school to make sure no one from the Royals had been following her since the convenience store. Anna told the authorities that she hadn't said anything to her gang members that night about running into Elsa, but she wouldn't have been surprised if they had somehow found out. Anyway, she began to spend a lot more time with Elsa than with the Royals and that let her transition into the day where she had pulled Elsa down the street to avoid being seen with her.

"Somewhere along the way though I must have tripped up or something, because Daniel knew I had been seeing her," Anna explained. "He said he wouldn't tell the King—Hans," she added for clarification, upon seeing Mulan and Shang's questioning looks at the title, "but somehow Hans found out."

Her eyebrows knit together as she thought. A look of realization flashed in her eyes and her eyes darkened.

"Bryce," she growled. "He told Hans. He was there when I was beat up. He just stood by and laughed, it had to have been him."

"Do you know any of these boy's last names?" Shang prodded.

Anna shook her head. "No, sorry."

"Well then just give us all the first names you know," he said next. "The more the better."

Anna looked up in thought. "Well, there's only like fifteen of us total." She began counting off on her fingers. "There's Hans, Daniel, Bryce, Nick… Um, Joe… Seth and Eli… Then, I mean, there was me, so that would have made eight." She closed her eyes as she continued to think, but upon opening them again, a look of defeat had filled them. "That's all I can remember."

Mulan just smile encouragingly. "That's great, Anna."

"I never really got to know everyone," she explained. "I mean, I was only part of them for two months and I really just hung out with Daniel mostly."

Another look Elsa couldn't identify then flashed in Anna's eyes.

"Daniel," she said. "He…" she trailed off.

Should she really defend him? Sure, he had been her only friend, but that didn't erase the fact that he had committed crimes too. He had been there much longer than Anna and they never really talked about what kind of stuff Daniel had maybe done before she came along. She knew he had never done any violent acts when she had been a member, but she was clueless to beforehand. For all she knew, he could have assaulted someone; he could have contributed to several of their arsons.

"Never mind," she finished, her eyes hardening. He's on his own.

"Okay then," Shang said, leaning forward in his chair, "can you tell us about the night you were assaulted?"

Anna cringed, but replied, "Elsa could probably tell that part better. All I remember is pain." She gave a dry chuckle.

Elsa smiled sympathetically, but then prepared to speak when she saw Shang turn his attention on her.

Elsa explained the condition she had found Anna in; how she had a black eye, cut lip, scraped knees, broken fingers and bloody knuckles. She recounted how she took Anna to her place and cleaned her up to the best of her ability. She took her to the hospital a day later and told them Dr Marmello said Anna had suffered four broken ribs and two broken fingers.

Mulan then asked Anna to stand as she took pictures of each of Anna's injuries. Even though her eye was just a lightly colored green now and her lip was nothing more than a scar, it was still documented. Mulan also photographed her casted hand and made sure to add the four broken ribs in herself.

Once finished, Anna and Mulan sat down again and Shang went over his own notes.

"Okay, so let me go over this to make sure I have it right," he started. "The Royals as a group have committed burglary, robbery, aggravated assault and arson, not to mention the use of illegal substances and underage drinking in public places."

Anna nodded and he continued.

"Then you alone have shoplifted, pickpocketed, committed two burglaries and one robbery."

"Can't the robbery of my Starbucks be counted as coercion?" Elsa jumped in. "I mean, they knew about her interacting with me by that time and carried out that part strictly to force her into that situation. Anna would have never done that on her own."

Shang simply smirked and mumbled, "I'll make note of that."

"You also have your own gun, don't you, Anna?" he then asked.

Anna nodded and pulled it from her hoodie pocket and placed it on the desk.

"Hans made sure all of the serial numbers were removed," she said. "I tried to ask where he managed to get all of the guns since every member has their own, but he just told me to shut up and don't lose it."

Shang picked the gun up and handed it off to Mulan. "That doesn't mean we still can't trace it," he said. "I'll make sure to return it to you before you all leave today. It might actually be best if you kept it on you for the time being."

"I don't have the license to carry it, though," Anna admitted, though she figured Shang had probably figured that already. "I mean, don't you have to be twenty-one or something? Or at least have some form?"

Shang smiled. "I can get you a temporary form if it will make you feel better."

Anna returned the smile and said that she would appreciate it. She never liked carrying it around anyway. At least now she would be legally allowed.

"Now," Shang's eyes glinted, "most importantly for our case, where is the Royals' hideout?"

Anna bit her lip as she tried to recall the street signs. She knew how to get there like the back of her hand, but she had never taken the time to actually observe where it was.

"Um, deep downtown," she started. "It's this big abandoned building across the street from some dingy park. Um, the street name? I wanna say Broadway?" she chuckled self-consciously. "I could show you a lot easier than tell you."

Shang only shook his head. "No," he said. "We don't want you going back anywhere near their hideout, okay? We can take it from here. I think I know which park you're talking about, anyway."

"Um," Anna spoke up again. "I know that everyone's usually there on weekend nights. That might be the best time to…ambush them or whatever. They usually all smoke and get high. I never did 'cause I couldn't stand the taste and smell, but I know everyone else always joined in."

"That's great, Anna," Shang said, trying to hide an obvious smile.

A silence settled across the room as Shang finished up his notes. Anna looked to Elsa who was smiling warmly at her. Anna shut her eyes and let out a great sigh which caused Elsa to laugh. Blushing, Anna giggled along with her.

Mulan reentered the room and it was only then that both Anna and Elsa realized she had even left in the first place. She had Anna's gun in her hands.

"I took a bullet to compare to some samples from previous cases," she told Shang. "Ling should be running it now. There were no prints besides Anna's and, like she said, the serial number had been scraped off."

Handing the gun back to Anna, she gave her a smile before she passed her a slip of paper as well.

"Your form to carry a concealed weapon," she said as Anna stared at it questioningly. The redhead's eyes lit up in recognition.

"Well," Shang sighed, "I do believe we're done here. Anything else to add, Anna?"

"Um…" she averted her gaze. "Am I gonna be punished?"

Mulan laughed and placed a hand on the girl's shoulder.

"You're a sweet girl, Anna," she told her. "I think I can speak for Shang as well when I say that you've punished yourself enough with the guilt you've carried around."

"Don't forget shame and self-doubt," Elsa added with a smirk, nudging Anna with her elbow and managing to get the girl to smile.

"So…" Anna continued, "No community service or anything? What about that R word? Re… Um, restitution!"

"Your restitution is what you have done today, Anna," Shang told her. "Once the Royals are captured and hauled off to court, the city shall know it was you who turned them in and made our streets safe again. I think the public will accept that as payment just as much as they would if you worked to pay back what they lost."

Anna actually beamed at that. What a stroke of luck! She began profusely thanking the lieutenant and his wife; so much so that Elsa had to clamp a hand over her mouth to keep her from thanking them until sundown. Once the redhead finally shut up, the officers led them out into the lobby, although they were both grinning madly themselves at the girl's antics.

Shang handed Elsa his card. His name, badge number, office number, and cell number were printed on it.

"Take this," he said. "If for some reason you all run into trouble, don't hesitate to call. Unless it's a dire emergency I want you to call me even before you call 911."

Mulan then handed Elsa her own card.

"Take mine too," she said. Smiling, she added, "Just in case."

"Thank you both," Elsa said, smiling gratefully at the pair.

"No, thank you both," Shang replied. "Especially you, Anna. We'll call with the good news, yeah?"

Anna snickered. "Please!"

As the two girls prepared to walk out, Mulan held Elsa back. Grinning, she whispered in the blonde's ear, "Take care of her, alright? You've got yourself a keeper."

Elsa could only blush in response as she nodded. Mulan's laughter followed her out of the building to where Anna was waiting on the street for her. Seeing Elsa's face, Anna chuckled.

"What's wrong with you?"

Elsa looked to her and smirked. "Remember when I said it was cold in there earlier? Well, I lied, it was hot instead."

Anna just rolled her eyes as she linked her arm with Elsa's.

"Home?" she inquired with a smile.

"Home," Elsa echoed.

Ah, well that turned out a lot better than chapter eleven in my opinion. This chapter may have been a bit boring—hopefully it wasn't entirely—but it filled in some gaps, brought some more Elsanna angst to the table and set the stage for the climax! Ba ba bum. But first, we have to have the "confession" of Anna and Elsa's unyielding love for each other. *wink wink* Ooh, and perhaps a bit of smut? Don't hold me to that though; I write what I write. ;)