Chapter XV
The peace lasted only a day.
Elsa and Anna had been curled up on the couch together engrossed in a movie the next night when Elsa's phone rang. Somewhat groggily, as it was nearing midnight, Elsa pulled the phone from her pocket and answered it without paying the ID any attention again.
"Kristoff, for god's sake it's midnight…"
"Elsa?" and extremely feminine, non-Kristoff voice answered.
Blinking, Elsa composed herself and looked to the caller ID, realizing it in fact wasn't her friend.
"Yes, who is this?" she asked.
"It's Mulan; from the precinct."
Quickly pausing the movie and jarring Anna from her state of slumber, Elsa sat forward on the couch.
"What is it? Did something happen?" She noted Anna looking at her, worry in her teal eyes.
Elsa heard Mulan sigh on the other end and the blonde's gut clenched. This couldn't be good.
"Unfortunately, something did," the woman answered. "Hans broke out of lockup."
"What?!"
Anna was shaking her shoulder. "What, Elsa? What happened?!"
Elsa could only grasp the younger girl's hand as she tried to listen to what Mulan was saying on the other line.
"Just a few hours ago," she explained. "Somehow, he got the keys off one of the guards and freed two other members before jumping out the second story window. Rest assured we're in the process of hunting them down now, but I wanted you all to know as soon as possible."
"Because Anna's no longer safe," Elsa added bitterly, an unbidden sob catching in her throat.
She watched Anna visibly pale as she took in Elsa's words. The blonde flinched from the vice grip her hand was now in.
"You aren't safe either, Elsa," Mulan said. "As far as Hans may be concerned, you played just as big a part in this as she did. Plus, you've been housing her."
"What do you suggest we do?" Elsa asked, the fear being replaced by anger. She wasn't angry at Mulan but rather their situation. Despite it, Mulan was here and thus Elsa's anger started to take itself out on the poor police woman. "We can't just very well sit here and cower! Who knows how long it will take you all to hunt them down! I mean, your incompetence led to them escaping, should we even trust you all anymore?!"
"Elsa…"
She angrily snapped her head to the side to see Anna shaking her head.
"It's not their fault," she said tearfully.
Sighing and realizing her outburst was uncalled for, Elsa apologized. "I'm sorry, Mulan; you didn't deserve that."
"You're scared, Elsa," the woman only replied. "I understand; if I was in your place I probably would have done the same."
"What do you recommend we do?" Elsa asked, her voice considerably lower now.
"Most importantly, keep Anna safe. We don't know the Royals' intentions for sure, but they may very well be seeking revenge. Or, preferably for you both, they're just fleeing the city. Whatever the case, you both need to be on high alert."
Elsa nodded. "Right. We'll be careful."
"I've got to go," she heard Mulan say over a voice in the background. "Shang's calling me. Be careful, Elsa."
Elsa hung up and just stared at her phone. Her stare turned into a glare and soon she was silently seething, her iPhone the unfortunate victim in her death grip. Anna noticed and tentatively placed a hand on the elder's shoulder.
At the touch, Elsa's phone was launched across the room with a hoarse, "Damn it!" before it collided with the wall and fell to the floor with a thud.
"Elsa…?" Anna called softly realizing Elsa wasn't completely here at the moment, her grip on the blonde's shoulder tightening ever so slightly.
This wasn't fair, Elsa thought bitterly. This wasn't fair in the slightest. Just earlier today they had been happy and perfectly content. They had thought this was over; they had been sure it was over; they had been assured it was over, and now suddenly it wasn't? What kind of cruel twist of fate was that? They weren't deserving of this stab in the back; Anna wasn't deserving of it. A sob broke through Elsa's barrier at the thought of the redhead. The poor girl deserved a break; she deserved her happy ending. What more did she have to do to attain it?
Granted, like Mulan said, the Royals may not have escaped just to come after Anna, but Elsa had the sinking feeling they weren't going to move on that easily. Hans wasn't going to move on that easy. Hell, the guy had beaten Anna up just because she returned some money! Now she had turned him in and gotten him arrested. Elsa swallowed a large knot in her throat. No, he wasn't going down that easily.
"Elsa?"
Turning her head slightly, she saw Anna beside her, tear tracks on her cheeks but a smile on her face as she rubbed Elsa's shoulder comfortingly.
"I'm sorry," Elsa mumbled, wiping at her eyes.
Anna's hand came up to Elsa's face to aid in clearing her face of tears.
"They escaped, didn't they?" the redhead asked. She had only picked up on bits and pieces of what Mulan had been saying on the other line, but from Elsa's reactions, Anna had a feeling she knew what was going on.
Her heart sank to her stomach when Elsa confirmed her fears with a nod. Curling into the older girl's side, she whispered, "What do we do?"
Elsa wrapped her in a protective embrace. "Survive," she answered.
Anna wanted to chuckle at such a cut and dry answer, but she couldn't deny that it was true.
"Do you think Hans will really try and get revenge?" Anna asked.
She felt Elsa shake her head more than she saw it.
"I don't know, honestly," the blonde replied. "It wouldn't be the smartest idea, but he seems like the kind of guy who's fueled by revenge."
Feeling Anna shiver against her, Elsa bent down to capture the redhead's lips in a kiss, tasting the salt of her tears.
"I do know one thing," Elsa continued, "and that is that you're safe here. They don't know where I live."
Anna decided leaving out the part where they could easily find that out was for the best at the moment. Instead, she just smiled at her girlfriend's comfort and snuggled back against her. They sat like that in a silence laden with thinking before Elsa heard Anna let out a yawn. Smiling softly, the blonde made to pick the girl up.
"Elsa, w-what are you doing?"
Elsa smiled before responding, "You're sleeping with me tonight. I think we're both going to need someone by our side."
"You're okay with that?" Anna asked.
As they entered Elsa's bedroom, the blonde planted a kiss on her forehead and said, "Now more than ever."
Anna just smiled tenderly as she was placed on the bed, Elsa quickly crawling up next to her. Elsa couldn't fight the blush as Anna draped an arm across Elsa, one of her legs tangling itself with her own, but was pleasantly surprised that she wasn't feeling any kind of anxiety. Smiling widely, both at her own accomplishment and Anna's pleasant sigh, Elsa turned to her side and pulled the girl against her chest acting as a protective cocoon. Anna cuddled as close as humanly possible to Elsa before her eyes drifted shut, a blissful smile on her face.
And, despite the lingering fear in the pit of both girls' stomachs, each slept peacefully for probably the last time in a long time to come.
XxXxX
The following morning passed by in an apprehensive silence. Elsa had her—now cracked—phone clutched tightly in her hand the entire time, desperately hoping for a call from Mulan or Shang saying they had brought the Royals back in or that last night had simply been an incredibly lucid nightmare.
Of course, luck seemed to want to abandon Anna and Elsa in their time of need, and the phone call never came.
Four o' clock rolled around and Elsa had work.
"Can't you call in sick or something?" Anna asked for the umpteenth time as she watched Elsa get ready. "The Royals know where you work; what if they come after you?"
Elsa had of course been thinking the same thing and thus had been weighing the pros and cons of what staying home versus going into work would bring. The pros of going in were that Elsa would be found instead of Anna, meaning Anna would stay safe. The cons, of course, being that Elsa would now be facing the greatest threat of danger. Also, Anna would be at her apartment alone should the Royals somehow find out where the blonde lived. Granted, Anna had her gun, but she would be outnumbered three-to-one.
"I have to go, Anna," Elsa finally said with a sigh. "I'd rather them find me than you."
Before she could say anything else, Anna had grabbed her in a fierce hug.
"Why do you have to play the damn hero?" the redhead mumbled into Elsa's shirt.
Swallowing her fear, Elsa managed to grin and retort, "Because I'm your knight in shining armor, silly; it's my job."
Capturing the blonde's lips, Anna kissed Elsa hard.
"Be careful," she whispered upon breaking away.
Kissing Anna again briefly, Elsa replied with a simple "I will."
Making sure Anna had her gun on her, Elsa left Kristoff's number on the table should she need his help for whatever reason while she was gone, and told Anna she would let him know what was happening, knowing he'd be grateful to help in any way.
Then, Elsa left and Anna had to beat down the rising thoughts that things were about to go horribly awry.
XxXxX
Her shift went by without a hitch and Elsa couldn't help but be slightly relieved when she clocked out. That wasn't to say her guard had lowered in the slightest, but it did allow to her to think the Royals had really just fled the city. Were they really willing to risk their freedom just to get revenge on an ex-member?
Elsa tried to recall her studies as she exited the Starbucks to try and determine the motives for a gang to seek out one of their own. Her thoughts immediately dropped when she noticed the hooded figure leaning against a lamppost a ways down the sidewalk. Stopping in her steps, Elsa eyed the figure, her hand slowly reaching into her back pocket where she had stashed a pocketknife earlier.
Suddenly, the figure started to advance her way and Elsa made to step back. Turning around to get back to the safety of her Starbucks, her heart shot to her throat when she saw another hooded figure coming up from behind her.
She was cornered.
Fuck.
Keeping a careful eye trained on her two pursuers, her hand wrapped around the knife in her pocket.
"Take another step and I'll scream," Elsa warned, fighting to keep her voice from wavering.
"That might not be the best idea, girly," one of the figures chuckled.
Another step.
Her grip on the pocketknife tensed even more.
"Try me," she bit back.
This time both figures laughed as they continued their advance.
Before Elsa could move to pull out the pocketknife, however, there was a sharp pain in the back of her neck and she crumpled to the ground.
She saw stars as she shook her head, her neck twinging in pain with the shake. She was on her hands and knees, yet pushed herself to stand. She may very well be fighting for her life; she couldn't give up this easily.
Elsa was almost back on her feet when one figure delivered a powerful punch to her stomach. Doubling over, Elsa let out a strangled cry.
Then there was a blow to her head—courtesy of a third individual who had been hiding in an alleyway—and everything went black as she slumped back to the sidewalk.
The last thing she heard was a mumbled "bitch" and the last thing she thought was a cry for help.
Anna…
Two chapters left, guys! Prepare yourselves for action, angst and fluff galore from here on out! Oh, and more lengthy chapters. ;)