By late afternoon they were through the trees and were almost to the edge of the natural snow line. Elsa didn't talk much, and Anna was unnaturally quiet as she focused on her sister. Olaf prattled on and the others were content to listen and occasionally smile at his yearning for summer.
"Have you told him?" Elsa murmured, surprising Anna. She looked over in shock and found a tiny smile on her sister's face. Anna laughed.
"No… I couldn't bring myself to tell him what happens to snow in summer." Elsa let out a breath that might have been a laugh if she hadn't been so exhausted. It made Anna smile. Her face fell momentarily at the sound of approaching footsteps. They stood still to listen. Kristoff and Sven had stopped as well, backing up to be closer to the sisters.
To their surprise, a dozen well-armed men came striding over the hill before them.
"Oh thank goodness," Anna gushed. "He sent people to help us! See, I told you Hans is a good man!" None of her companions seemed relieved. She turned to look at the approaching group and was surprised to find their weapons drawn. One man stepped forward, glowering piercingly at the two women.
"Princess Anna and Queen Elsa, I presume?" His voice was almost oily, and his tone made the hairs on the back of Kristoff's neck stand up.
"Who else would we be? Thank you for coming for us!" Anna clearly wasn't getting the same vibe as the ice harvester.
"Oh, I wouldn't thank us," he said with a wicked grin. "And I wouldn't call Hans a good man, either."
"What do you mean?" Anna was confused. Her elation died out as she began to notice how scared her companions looked. Elsa was tense at her side, holding on tighter than before despite her continuing fear of hurting her sister.
"Crafty and ambitious, sure. But definitely not good," the man concluded. "Hans did send us. He sent us to kill you both." Anna gasped.
"Hans… he what?" she whispered in horror.
"He wishes to be king, but how could he be king with two irritating women in the way? No, that just wouldn't do." The man took a menacing step forward.
"His orders are to kill the queen and the princess and to make it look like an accident. He already has control of Arendelle; you gave it to him yourself! All that remains is to rid this world of those who would take it from him, especially the fool of a girl who believed in his fake affections." Tears overflowed Anna's eyes. She was too shocked to respond.
"And what say you, Queen Elsa?" he sneered. "Shall we call it a tragic murder-suicide? The ice witch killed her own sister, and then offed herself in remorse?" Elsa did her best to remain standing, and Anna was still clinging to her arm. They weren't sure who was supporting whom anymore. Elsa was trembling badly. His words hit close to home for her, mere hours after her own attempt on her life and outlining her ever-present fear of harming Anna.
"Shall we start with the girl, for authenticity's sake?" he grinned evilly, eyeing the princess.
"You will not touch her," Elsa scowled, her voice suddenly strong. Her trembling had stopped. Anna's cape rustled from a slight cold wind that swept from Elsa's body, but she didn't step away.
"You'll not touch either of them," Kristoff spoke up as he strode in front of the women, brandishing his ice pick. Sven braced beside him, his neck rigid and his head held low, antlers aimed at the men. Even Olaf looked grim, wielding a short thorny branch. The man regarded them impassively.
"Then there will have to be another casualty along with the royal deaths - a peasant who died trying to protect the princess from the evil queen. How quaint." He motioned for the others to fan out beside him. Sven, Olaf and Kristoff did their best to surround the sisters, but it didn't seem to be enough. There were at least a dozen men in the company of mercenaries and they had their weapons drawn. At a nod from their leader, they attacked.
Sven bellowed and buffeted them with his antlers, aiming kicks left and right. Kristoff defended himself with his pick, though it wasn't an ideal weapon against steel swords. Olaf gave a war cry and tore after a crossbowman. A missile screamed toward him but he was unrelenting in his attack. He whacked the crossbowman across the shins with his spiky branch. The shout of pain caught the attention of the other shooters. Soon Olaf was a snowy pincushion with crossbow bolts shot into his body from all sides. Unfazed, he gathered more attention as he continued to belabor the man with his unconventional weapon.
Kristoff narrowly dodged a swipe from a mercenary sword. He brought the ice pick down hard on the man's helmet and shoved him to the side. Barely wrenching it free in time to block another attack, Kristoff struggled just to defend himself, never mind the royal sisters. Two men were fast approaching Elsa and Anna. A crossbowman behind the attackers leveled his bow and took a shot at the princess. Without thinking, Elsa raised her hands and a sheet of ice caught the bolt inches from Anna's face. Startled off balance, Anna fell to the ground. The second thug kicked the ice aside, looming over the girl. He raised his sword high over Anna's terrified frame and she screamed.
A rattling sound echoed around the clearing as ice enveloped the man within seconds. A booming crack tore through the air and the man, once frozen in place, shattered like glass. Blue pieces frozen straight through tumbled to the ground. Anna gasped as they rained down around her. Not even the man's sword was exempt from the transformation. Anna snapped her head up to find Elsa standing above her. Her hands were up and her shoulders were tense as she gaped in wide-eyed horror at what she had done and at the still-advancing mercenaries.
Though they seemed alarmed by the fate of their comrade, the mercenaries did not cease their attack. Three charged at once, weapons drawn. Elsa seemed afraid to retaliate, but they were showing no mercy. I can't let them hurt Anna. Ice spikes leapt from the ground at the last second and skewered them in place. Elsa saw another crossbowman aiming at them and she shot ice at his hands. He quickly froze over. A bolt whizzed by her head and ice quickly overcame the shooter before he could reload.
While Elsa was occupied with another attacker, Anna noticed one man approaching them from behind.
"Elsa, watch out!" she cried, as she threw a stone at the man as hard as she could. It bounced harmlessly off of his helmet. She began to scream in terror as he loomed over her with a raised axe, but then a blast of ice struck him so hard he flew backwards a few yards and lay still, the ice rapidly spreading over his body. Shortly thereafter, a few muffled cracks of splitting ice were all that echoed in the suddenly quiet area.
Kristoff wiped sweat from his brow. He dropped the sword he had taken from one of his foes at the sight of Olaf coming out from behind a tree. He more closely resembled a porcupine than a snowman with all the projectiles that were embedded in his midsection. Sven ambled from the woods as well. Kristoff rushed to his friend, checking him for injuries. His antlers were a little worse for wear, but the reindeer seemed okay. Finally, Kristoff turned to the epicenter of this disaster.
Elsa was on her knees, staring in horror at the carnage around her. Dead bodies in various stages of freezing were strewn all about. Some men were slumped over the ice spikes that had impaled them. Some were lying stiff and blue on the ground in grotesque contortions. Others were nothing more than piles of shattered ice. Anna scrambled to her feet behind her sister.
"Elsa…" she murmured, taking in the scene around them with a mixture of emotions. She was shocked by the sight, but also immensely grateful that Elsa had saved them both. She was proud of her sister and impressed by her strength, but she was also worried. Had Elsa been hurt? She had not moved. Anna shifted to see her sister more clearly and she was confused to find Elsa clutching something in her hands.
"Elsa?" her voice went unheard even as she moved to kneel in front of her sister. Suddenly the object in Elsa's hands manifested itself as a spike of ice. Still staring unseeingly at the ground before her, Elsa turned the sharp end toward her own chest.
"NO!" Anna shouted, a flailing hand knocking the icicle from Elsa's grasp. Her frame forced Elsa to the ground and they fell backwards onto crunching snow. Anna landed on top of Elsa and refused to move. Instead, she immobilized her sister as best as she could by covering Elsa's body with her own. Elsa fought weakly but soon went limp, giving up and breathing hard as she trembled. Anna lay sprawled on top of her sister, her hands pinning Elsa's on either side of her head, their faces inches apart. Anna shifted slightly and let her head sink beside Elsa's, her mouth hovering over the older girl's right ear.
"No. Elsa," Anna found her voice thick with tears, "don't. You can't do this to me! I won't let you." She interlocked their fingers much to Elsa's discomfort and let her knees fall to either side of her sister's body so she wasn't bearing down on her with so much weight. Elsa didn't say anything, but Anna could feel Elsa's heart beating fast under her chest. Elsa struggled once more and cried out in despair and pain before sinking back into the snow with a wince. Anna didn't loosen her grip on Elsa's cold hands. She nudged Elsa's cheek with her nose and spoke again.
"Please stop fighting and listen to me! I know you're in a bad place right now. I know that what just happened was awful. I know you didn't want to do it, but you had to. You had to. And it's okay. But this, this can't keep being your solution, Elsa. I don't want you to d-die!" Anna lifted her head to look her sister in the eyes and tried to pull herself together.
"I am not afraid of you; I know you won't hurt me. Not with your powers. But if you hurt yourself it hurts me too, Elsa. Worse than anything." Anna's tears dripped onto Elsa's face and their eyes stayed locked.
"I need you! I can't lose you again. Please don't leave me… not again," Anna said, tears finally overcoming her at the traumatizing thought that she could be holding Elsa's dead body again right now.
"I love you," she sobbed. "I really, really do." Anna released her sister's hands and clung to the fabric of Elsa's dress, pressing her ear to her sister's chest to hear the racing heartbeat. She pushed her head snugly under Elsa's chin, held her tight, and let her emotions go.
As much as Elsa was unused to letting herself feel, it was hard not to with her sister so desperately close. She could feel Anna take shallow gasping breaths as she sobbed. She… really meant that, the young queen realized. All of it. Finally starting to believe it brought tears to her eyes. When her hands were released Elsa slowly and carefully moved her arms to hold onto the shaking form lying on top of her and began to cry too. For the first time in over a decade, she was not afraid of hurting Anna.
Once she calmed down, Anna realized how cold it was lying in the snow. Her emotional trembling had dissolved into mere shivering. So she got up and pulled Elsa to her feet beside her. The older girl winced and bent double in pain for a moment, but she gradually stood upright. Anna kept an arm firmly around her sister both to hold her up as well as to keep her near. Anna wasn't sure she could handle any separation at this point. She smiled a little when Elsa's arm hesitantly wound around her back and held her close to her side, though her concern remained at how Elsa's legs trembled as they stood together.
They turned their attention to Kristoff who was kneeling in the snow, pulling crossbow bolts out of Olaf's middle while Sven amicably nipped at the snowman's carrot nose. Anna sighed in relief and carefully led Elsa toward them. Elsa, to her credit, did her best to ignore the new ice sculptures as they made their way unsteadily toward the unusual trio.
"Well that was… awful," Kristoff broke the silence, rising to his feet. Elsa just nodded as Anna turned an eye to her in concern.
"Did any of them escape?" Elsa asked, her voice low and weary. She leaned heavily on Anna.
"I don't think so," Kristoff said. "They didn't seem interested in retreat, even after…" he trailed off at Anna's warning glance. "I didn't see anyone leave. Did you, Sven?" The reindeer shook his head.
"Hey guys, look what I found!" Olaf's cheery voice came from behind them and they turned around. He was standing by one of the impaled corpses, holding a bloodied piece of paper. Elsa turned away from the grisly scene with a choked sound of pain. Anna held Elsa close, rubbing her back and whispering soothing words as she peeked over her sister's hunched shoulder. Kristoff approached the snowman and took the paper, reading it with a small frown.
"This is their orders to find and kill you both," he informed them grimly. "Signed by 'King Hans.'"
Anna's grip around Elsa tightened in rage.
"That… that monster!" she squeaked. But her anger was forgotten when Elsa tensed up and tried to pull away from her, despite how her knees began to buckle.
"What? Elsa, it's okay. What's wrong?"
"He's not the only monster in your life, Anna," she murmured, still weakly trying to move out of Anna's determined grasp even though the girl was all that was holding her up.
"Stop that!" Anna cried, frustration momentarily overcoming her gentleness. She caught herself before she started yelling in earnest. She wrapped Elsa firmly in her arms and looked her in the eyes. With all the conviction she could muster, she spoke.
"You are not a monster. You're my sister, and I love you."
"But I -" Elsa began as tears leaked from her eyes, but Anna just as quickly cut her off.
"But nothing. I forgive you for everything that happened. For shutting me out, for pushing me away, for not being there when I needed you. Everything! I understand now! And I forgive you." Rising on her tiptoes, Anna pressed her forehead to Elsa's. "I need you to believe that."
"I… I'll try," Elsa whispered after a tense silence. Anna stared into her eyes for a moment more, hoping to nonverbally convince Elsa of her sincerity. Then she pulled the taller woman into a softer embrace.
"I know I'm asking a lot from you," Anna said to the trembling figure. "Please understand. I love you, Elsa. I really, truly love you," Anna murmured into the velvet of her sister's dress. She heard Elsa's breath hitch as tears assaulted her traumatized sibling once again. So Anna just held her sister warm and close, hoping and praying for Elsa's pain to ease. She could feel Elsa putting more and more of her weight onto her again. Elsa's breathing was slowing and she seemed close to being asleep. Once again Kristoff broke the silence.
"It's getting late," he remarked quietly. "There is a trading post nearby where we can stay the night and decide what to do in the morning."
"Okay," Anna replied for the two of them, as Elsa had legitimately dropped off to sleep, her body limp in Anna's arms. "Will Sven carry us?" she asked reluctantly, too tired to carry Elsa any further and finally willing to accept help. The reindeer himself responded with a nod. He knelt beside the two sisters and Anna let Kristoff help her settle Elsa's limp form onto Sven's back. Anna got up and sat behind her sister, holding her securely to her chest as the reindeer stood. The small group moved slowly to keep from jarring the injured queen. Kristoff led the way on foot, and Olaf brought up the rear, fascinated by the thinning snow and the mountain flowers as they descended from the high altitude. He had to stay above the snowline to keep from melting, but Anna promised that they would return for him soon.
The sun was setting as they reached the trading post. Anna recognized it as the place where she and Kristoff first met. They were too tired to investigate the sauna, and instead went straight to the barn. Anna carefully transferred Elsa to a deep, soft pile of hay and knelt beside her. She wordlessly handed a small pouch of coins to Kristoff, who headed to the shop. Anna did her best to make a comfortable nest of hay around Elsa big enough for the both of them. She checked Elsa's wound, which had faded from vivid red to a milder pink but appeared otherwise unchanged. Anna knew better than to touch it now.
Kristoff returned with a warm blanket, two flasks of water, a loaf of bread, and some carrots. He handed over the blanket, broke a piece of bread from the loaf for himself and gave the rest of it to Anna along with one of the flasks. He and Sven settled down nearby and began to share the carrots.
"Elsa," Anna called, gently shaking her sister. She was concerned – Elsa had been unconscious for quite some time, and she probably hadn't had anything to eat or drink since she left the castle two nights ago.
"Mmh?" Elsa responded weakly, opening one eye.
"You have to eat," Anna responded. "I'm worried about you."
Elsa smiled a little and let Anna help her sit up against the wall, though she bit back a cry of pain and held her side when she moved. They shared the bread and water in silence. Anna made sure Elsa ate most of their bread. When they were done, she helped Elsa lie back down. Anna wrapped the two of them in the blanket and nestled into the hay beside Elsa. Not content with simply being side by side, Anna moved a little closer. She was pleasantly surprised when Elsa reached out toward her with trembling arms. She eagerly enveloped her sister in a soft embrace. The older girl shakily curled into her side, clearly in pain and afraid but still seeking warmth and comfort. As time passed and nothing bad happened, Elsa started to relax. A contented smile grew on Anna's face as she felt her sister begin to trust her bit by bit. She pressed her nose into Elsa's hair and sighed peacefully. She was almost startled to hear her sister's low voice murmur into her chest.
"I l-love you." The words were nearly inaudible, but Anna heard them. Her breath caught in her throat and she was nearly overcome with emotion. Elsa loves me, she thought in elation as she replied in a tear-choked whisper,
"I love you, too."
They sank into sleep, warm and secure in each other's arms.
The next morning, Anna awoke in the same position, curled up in the soft hay with her sister. Elsa was still deeply asleep pressed against Anna's side. The redhead smiled and nuzzled her face into her sister's hair. She basked in the warmth radiating from the body beside her, so grateful that Elsa was still alive after everything that had happened.
Elsa twitched and subconsciously shifted closer to Anna as she woke up. She opened her eyes to find Anna gazing down at her with an expression of love and wonder. Just being able to see Anna at all was an unbelievable gift for the queen, but to be loved by her, to be forgiven, to be looked at like that, was unimaginable. Joy flooded Anna's face as Elsa stared back at her because for once there was no fear in Elsa's eyes.
"Good morning," Elsa whispered, startling the redhead out of her reverie.
"Good… good morning," Anna replied, and her smile only got bigger. She pressed a warm hand to the back of Elsa's head and pulled the unresisting woman into a close embrace. Elsa sighed peacefully and would have been content to remain there forever, but Anna spoke again.
"How are you feeling?" Elsa shifted slightly in her grasp, testing out her limbs.
"I feel… okay, I guess," she replied. "I don't know how I'm supposed to feel after…" Anna clutched her tighter and spoke as Elsa's voice dropped off in shame.
"No, no… I didn't mean… it's okay. You're going to be okay. I just wanted to know… do you feel better than you did last night?" Anna's panicking voice gave way to a tentative curiosity and concern. Elsa relaxed again as Anna held her tight to her chest. She could hear Anna's heart speed up around the echoes of her words.
"I think so," she replied, sinking into the embrace. The rhythm of Anna's heartbeat was about to call her back to sleep when she heard a foreign sound.
"Anna?" It was a man's voice. Elsa's eyes sprang open in fear but and she tensed immediately, but she relaxed when Anna's soft voice whispered reassurances into her ear.
"It's just Kristoff. It's all right." Anna carefully pulled Elsa into a sitting position and wrapped the blanket around the slim woman. Elsa leaned sleepily into Anna's side, but her eyes were open. She looked up to see the mountain man sit down across from them, followed by his massive reindeer. Anna began chatting freely with them, so Elsa found no reason to be alarmed.
"Oaken had news from the city. The word is that the princess and the queen have not returned, and that Hans is taking over as regent until they do. Multiple witnesses recalling that the princess put him in charge when she left add to his claim." Anna scowled but let him continue.
"The consensus is that if neither royal has returned in a week and no search parties have been able to locate them, Hans will be crowned king of Arendelle." Kristoff rubbed his thumbs on his knees somewhat nervously at the growing expression of anger on Anna's face.
"I can't believe I trusted him! That lying scumbag! That… that…" she was temporarily lost for words in her fury, but quickly collected herself when she felt Elsa shift uneasily beside her.
"Whatever," Anna groused. "It was a terrible mistake leaving him in charge. You were right, Elsa. I should never marry a man I just met. I'm… I'm really sorry about what I said to you that night."
"No, Anna. You were right about most of it. Shutting people out is all I know." Anna turned to Elsa with regret and disagreement in her eyes, so the queen quickly continued. "But I'm learning now. With you."
"Oh Elsa, what am I going to do with you?" Anna whispered fondly, yet with a bit of frustration directed at her sister's continuing self-deprecation.
"Hopefully make her queen again," Kristoff supplied. "No good thing can come from foreign rule in Arendelle. The people won't like it - national loyalty is not easily bought."
"You think they'll accept a monst-" Elsa broke off at Anna's sharp glare, "a-accept me as queen now that they know what I can do?"
"They'd better!" Anna exclaimed. "Your gift is amazing and beautiful, and I know they'll come to see it that way too!"
"It's just a matter of removing Hans, then," Kristoff summarized. "It sounds like he sent more than one 'search party' after you. We'll have to be careful to keep from running into others on our way into the city."
"Do the citizens support him?" Elsa asked.
"I don't know," Kristoff replied. "If they do, they can probably be persuaded otherwise."
"We can contact the city council," Elsa murmured thoughtfully. "I have worked with them for three years, though I never met any of them face to face until the coronation. They hold some sway over popular opinion."
"We need to figure out what the situation is in Arendelle so we can strategize from there," Anna declared. "Kristoff, will you go into town and see what's going on? I promise you'll get a really nice new sled once everything gets fixed back the way it should be." The man nodded, his honest face calm as he gathered his equipment and prepared to set out.
"Kristoff," Elsa spoke up weakly from where she sat wrapped in the blanket and resting next to Anna. "Thank you for taking care of us. Your aid will not go unrewarded." Slightly embarrassed and unsure as to how to respond, Kristoff merely nodded once more and followed Sven out of the barn door.
Anna turned her attention to the bundle slumped against her side. She shifted to cradle Elsa in her arms again and held her sister's head close to her heart. Elsa sighed and closed her eyes.
"Are you feeling okay?" Anna asked worriedly, smoothing a hand across Elsa's face.
"Mmm, so tired," Elsa mumbled. "It… it hurts. And I'm kind of dizzy." Anna's forehead creased with concern. The adrenaline that had sustained Elsa during the attack the previous day had evidently worn off. Anna still wasn't sure how Elsa was alive, and she feared losing her sister all over again. Maybe using her magic in their defense against the mercenaries had weakened her even further. Anna found herself holding tighter to Elsa, afraid for her life. She has to live. She has to! We need to get help! She needs-
"Anna?" the small voice caught her attention and Anna looked down at her sister to find weary blue eyes watching her.
"Hm?"
"Are you all right?" Anna melted on the inside a bit at her sister's concern. Her eyes softened as she looked at Elsa, even though she frowned a little.
"I'm worried about you," she responded, bending down to rub her cheek against Elsa's. Anna allowed herself a moment to tremble in her fear and confusion, clutching Elsa tightly to her body. Elsa freed one arm from the blanket and, after a moment's hesitation, stroked her sister's hair the way Anna had done for her on the mountain slope.
"I'm here," Elsa whispered. It was all she knew to say. Anna nodded mutely against her head and did her best to pull herself together, though some tears still fell. She laid the both of them down in the soft hay again. After some time, Elsa's hand stilled in Anna's hair and the younger girl smiled as her sister slowly relaxed, starting to fall asleep again. She tucked Elsa's arm back under the blanket and moved the warm fabric to cover both of them again. She shifted so that she was lying beside Elsa, her front to Elsa's back, and pulled her close. She grimaced at the feeling of blood-stiffened fabric under her hand as she wrapped her arms around her sister's midsection, carefully avoiding the injury.
"You should rest," Anna murmured. "I've got you." She curled warmly around her sister's slim body. Elsa felt so safe being held that she dropped off right away, but Anna's lingering worry kept her alert. Elsa twitched occasionally as she dreamed, but no nightmares visited the battered queen as she lay asleep in a barn, cushioned on hay and comforted by the embrace of her loving sister.
Anna fell into a restless doze as Elsa slept soundly in her arms. She was glad Elsa was able to rest, but the same peace eluded her. Every sound had her on high alert. A protective mood had settled over her now that her sister was finally, finally back in her life. It all seemed so precarious. Elsa should be dead – her life was a miraculous gift and Anna was terrified that it could be taken back just as easily. But she could feel Elsa's chest expand and contract in her arms as she breathed in sleep and it calmed her significantly. Eventually she was able to drift off too, soothed by Elsa's warmth and the rhythm of her breathing.