Captain Reiner raised his arm and the company of soldiers stopped at the staircase that led up to the Ice Palace. Anna pressed forward on her horse, tired and soar from the four hour long trek to get there, and brought her horse next to Reiner's. She looked back to Captain Gunnar, who was riding in the back of the troop, before speaking.

"Captain Reiner, I must take you into my confidence."

The Captain nodded before gently spurring his horse in line with Anna's. "Yes, Your Highness?"

Anna dismounted and motioned for the Captain to do the same. Together they walked to the foot of the staircase. "Captain, I do not trust Captain Gunnar. Now, before you say anything please keep in mind that he personally had Master Kai arrested for no good reason."

Reiner glanced back at Gunnar, who just seemed to notice that Anna was not in her horse. "Are you telling me he had the castle keeper arrested without the Queen's permission?"

"That is exactly what I'm saying, Captain." Anna noticed that Gunnar had steered his horse in her direction.

"What would you like me to do with him, Your Highness?"

"For now, keep him from following me into the ice palace." Anna strode over to her horse and retrieved a large bag from it. "We'll discuss further action once I'm back." She proceeded to walk up the stairs and turned her head slightly when she heard quarreling behind her.

Reiner was subduing Gunnar, and preventing him from following Anna.

One of the first things Anna noticed at the top of the staircase was what looked to be blood, frozen on the door in the form of a handprint. She set all of her reticence aside and hurriedly opened the door and stood aghast, as Elsa was laid out naked on the ice floor, her body looking bruised. Stifling the urge to scream, she rushed to her sister's side.

"Elsa…good, God…please don't be dead!" Anna's eyes raked over her sister's naked form. "Please."

Elsa was lying on her right side, amidst a collection of bloody bones. There was an extremely large bruise on her left side, at her rib cage, plus numerous cuts and scratches all along her body and wings. Her mouth was seeping blood. But it was clear that she wasn't dead, as she appeared to be moaning in a fevered sleep.

Anna tentatively reached out and placed her hand on one of Elsa's. "Can you hear me, Elsa?"

An ice-cold had grasped hers and Elsa's eyes flew open. She bolted upright to a sitting position, then turned her body and vomited on the ice. A hand reflexively reached up to cradle her cracked ribs, and she was shaking in pain. She moved to her hands and knees and her body heaved again, relieving itself of everything vile. Anna was at her side, supporting her body as she continued to heave, and finally the spasms stopped.

Anna gently laid Elsa on her right side again and wiped her mouth clean of the vomit and blood. Even though Elsa's eyes were open, her gaze was fixed, and she didn't appear to be cognizant. Anna opened the large bag she brought with her and pulled out Elsa's clothes, and then she grabbed the flask of water and tried to pour a little bit into Elsa's mouth.

The blonde lifted her head and roared, her voice barely recognizable, and swatted away the flask. She was on Anna in an instant, sniffing at her body as if she was still part creature. Anna tried to push Elsa off but the blonde had a tremendous strength that she was no match for. "Elsa, please listen to me. It's Anna—your sister."

Elsa blinked, but then continued to sniff at the young woman below her. She growled, and then became impatient with the cloth separating her from the female in her grasp. Her hands tore at Anna's clothes, but she was still off kilter, and Anna was able to slip from beneath her to roll away.

Anna stood up and backed away. "You have to listen to me, Elsa! This is not you! Please come back to me…"

Elsa used the power of her wings to easily glide to her feet. She stretched out her wings a full seven feet and lifted her head to roar into the daylight.

Anna looked down and cringed; Elsa was obviously ready to mate. "Oh, no…"

The creature that was Elsa took a step forward, but then quickly cringed at the pain in her ribs; and for a brief moment it was Elsa who was staring back at Anna, a confused look on her face. But with the next step the creature was back, advancing on Anna with its intention made perfectly clear. But then it did something extraordinary.

Anna watched as Elsa lifted her left hand and struck her own side, where she was bruised. She fell to her knees, her breath knocked out of her by the impact of sensitive skin on cold ice. Elsa's eyes cleared again as the pain became almost unbearable, and she held out her hand to Anna, who quickly rushed to take it. This time the human contact grounded Elsa to the present, and the creature slithered away back to the recesses from which it came.

The blonde sank to the floor. "Anna…?"

Anna cried out, and cradled Elsa in her arms. "Yes, Elsa? You're back…oh thank goodness…" Her tears fell on her sister's face, and Elsa raised a shaky hand to wipe them away.

The blonde blinked several times. "Aw… snowflake, please don't cry." She was shaking, her body at its limit. "Cold… I'm oh so cold."

After laying Elsa gently on her back, Anna retrieved the clothes she brought and then began to dress Elsa, starting with her pants. After struggling with them for several minutes she managed to get them on Elsa, and clasped them even though Elsa still had a partial erection. But this simple action took a tremendous toll on Elsa, and she nearly blacked out with the effort to remain herself. After the pants were on, Anna helped her sister to sit up, and with the blonde's help, managed to get her shirt on her as well.

Anna sat back on her heels, completely exhausted. "How are you feeling?"

Elsa struggled to keep her wings flattened, and she had to lean on Anna to prevent from toppling over. "Like a herd of reindeer has trampled me."

Anna flitted with the idea for just a second, and wondered if they really had. "You look terrible, Elsa."

The blonde glanced at her sister. "I feel terrible, Anna." She settled into Anna's embrace, and looked around. "We're in my Ice Palace?"

Anna caressed Elsa's cheek. "Yes, I kind of figured you would end up here."

Elsa licked her dry lips. "How… how did you know?"

"I know you, Elsa." Anna leaned down and placed a kiss on the blonde's forehead. "I am so happy to see you alive."

Elsa closed her eyes and moaned in pain. "Can we go home now?"

"Do you think we need to go Valley of the Living Rock?" Anna looked to the bag she brought. "How are we going to get you outside?"

"Whoa, Anna. First things first, can you help me to stand?"

Anna took hold of Elsa's right arm and slowly Elsa made it to her feet. But then Anna's eyes went wide and she stood back, staring at Elsa unbelievably. "Oh, my… Elsa, you… you…"

"What?" Elsa looked down at herself, trying to see what had startled Anna so much. But nothing stood out to her. She looked down to Anna and then realized… "Anna, have you shrunk a bit?"

Anna shook her head, and then stepped up to the blonde. "Elsa, you have grown." She reached up to touch the top of Elsa's head, and realized that her sister was more than half a head taller than she was before. "This is incredible."

Elsa swallowed the lump in her throat. "How are we going to explain this?"

"Elsa, I think we need to go to the Valley. The magic there is—real, I know it."

Elsa nodded, and then she turned and hobbled over to the bag that Anna brought. "Is there any food in this thing?"

Anna looked over to the pile of bloody bones on the ice and then had to resist the urge to vomit. "Are you sure you're hungry?"

Elsa turned to where Anna's eyes had wandered and her heart sank. "What in the world…" She turned back to Anna and sank down to the ice floor. "I see what you mean."

Anna was at her side and dropped down to sit next to her. "I'm sorry, Elsa."

"What has happened, Anna?"

Anna was torn, not sure what to reveal with Elsa in such a vulnerable position. "We can always talk later if you're not feeling up to it."

Elsa glanced at Anna before dropping her gaze to the floor. "There is something you're not telling me."

"I'm not sure if now is right time to tell you, Elsa. We need to get out of here first."

"What does it matter where we are?"

Flustered, Anna spoke a little too harshly. "Because I want us both to be completely safe, Elsa!"

Elsa wiped at her mouth with the back of her hand. "Alright. You think we ought to go to the Valley of the Living Rock?"

"I think it's the best decision for now. But there is something that needs your immediate attention, Elsa."

Elsa's eyes narrowed. "What is it?"

"Captain Gunnar had Master Kai arrested."

"What, on whose authority? Certainly not mine!"

Anna cowered at the look in Elsa's eyes. "It's something he did on his own, I just found out this morning."

"Anna, you are the Princess of Arendelle, with an authority almost equal to my own. How did you let this happen?"

"We can talk about how it happened later, which I will gladly explain. But he's outside right now and Captain Reiner has him subdued."

Elsa gritted her teeth and stood her tallest. Then she straightened out her clothes. "Did you bring my officer's coat?"

Anna reached into the bag and then handed to coat to Elsa. "Yes, I did."

"Follow me."

Elsa opened the doors to her ice palace and looked out at the soldiers gathered at the bottom of the staircase below. They immediately stood at attention when they saw her; so did Captains Reiner and Gunnar. The latter took a step back at seeing Elsa, as if he wasn't expecting her to be there.

Anna stood at Elsa's side, and occasionally glanced at her sister, to get non-verbal clues as how to act in this situation, which the Queen gladly gave.

The Queen walked down the stairs and glared at the Captains. "Captain Gunnar!"

Gunnar stepped forward, and swallowed most audibly. "At your service, Queen Elsa."

Elsa reached the bottom stair and stopped, giving herself a noticeable height difference with the Captain. "You overreached your authority, Captain, in arresting Master Kai."

"But, Your Majesty—"

"Do not question my authority, Captain! Or do you fancy a demotion for your insolence?" The effort to stay upright was excruciating for Elsa, and she could feel the sweat pour down her back and irritate her wings. "You are to report back to Arendelle immediately and release Master Kai from prison. If you refuse to do your Sovereign's bidding you will regret it. Are we clear, Captain Gunnar?"

Gunnar's face went red, from embarrassment and anger, but he held it in check. "Yes, we are, Your Majesty."

Elsa realized she wasn't through with this man, but there were more important things to done right now, and she trusted Captain Reiner to do her will. "Captain Reiner, you and your soldiers go with the Captain to make sure my will is done."

Reiner smirked slightly. "Of course, Your Majesty."

At this point Anna stepped forward. "We will require the use of the wagon, so leave it with us."

Elsa motioned for Captain Reiner to step forward, and then she stepped off the stairs. When the man was close she lowered her voice. "When Maser Kai is released have him enact General Order number five. Can you remember that, Captain?"

"Yes, Your Majesty—general order five."

"Good. Now go and escort that miscreant back to Arendelle, Captain—and if he causes trouble have Master Kai arrest him."

Captain Reiner saluted then walked away to do his Sovereign's bidding.

Anna walked down the staircase and stood by Elsa. "I don't trust Gunnar, Elsa."

Elsa didn't speak for a long time, and then finally turned to her sister. "What does he know that I don't?"

"Please, Elsa, we can talk about—"

The Queen watched as the soldiers finally disappeared from view, and then bent over in pain. She hobbled away from Anna towards the carriage. "Why can't you answer a simple question, Anna?"

Anna's eyes widened. "I promise to tell you everything, Elsa, once we are in the Valley."

The blonde leaned against the wagon and let out a ragged breath. "I'm counting on you to do so, Anna—please don't disappoint me. Now, come here."

Anna timidly moved to Elsa's side. "Yes, Elsa?"

Elsa leaned on Anna. "Please help me into the wagon, Anna."

Anna, reins in hand, sat in the front of the wagon and guided the horses through the grove of trees on the way to the Valley of the Living Rock. She carefully followed Elsa's directions as the Queen seemed to know by instinct which paths to take to get there. What Elsa didn't tell Anna was that she was feeling a pull—a certain tugging—from Yggdrasil itself, and was following it as they went. The closer to the Valley they drew, the stronger the pull was on Elsa, and so was the calling of the dragon. She could feel it deep within her, struggling to break to free, and she had to use all of her reserves not to succumb to it.

The dragon was beckoning to her, and so were its desires. Elsa looked up from where she was sitting in the back of the wagon and watched Anna, her hunger growing. She squeezed her eyes shut, in the hopes of quelling her instincts, but it was in vain.

Anna jumped slightly when she felt Elsa embrace her from behind, and rest her head on her shoulder. "Are you okay, Elsa?"

The blonde whimpered, but tried to cover it up with a cough. "Yes, ahem…I'll be alright."

Anna felt Elsa squirm behind her, and soon felt the reason why. "Elsa…" Anna responded immediately to Elsa's heated body; her own desires strong—the calling of Fimbulvetr clear.

The blonde groaned in Anna's ear. "I… can't believe this, Anna. But, I need you."

Anna maneuvered the wagon over to a nearby copse of trees, partially hiding it, and then turned in Elsa's arms. Their lips met in a heated kiss, and Elsa wrapped her arms around Anna's waist. But she drew her in too quickly, and her cracked ribs protested, causing her to abruptly release the princess. Anna fell to her butt on the wagon seat.

Elsa was horrified. "I'm sorry, so sorry." She tried to bend down, but ended up clutching her side and falling to her knees. Alarmed, Anna got down from the bench and then spread out several blankets on the floor of the wagon. Then she helped Elsa to lie down on them.

"Maybe you need to get some rest, Elsa." Anna folded up another blanket and made a pillow for her sister. "Here, rest you head on this."

The Queen rolled onto her side, her eyes drooping, and pain overriding pleasure. "Maybe some more rest, yes." She was asleep within minutes, and her dreams were filled with an image of a giant white tree, with a dragon in its branches.

As Yggdrasil tugged at Elsa's inner self, so did Elsa's psyche heave at Anna's—such was the way of the dragon.

Anna awoke just as the sun was sinking below the western mountains, and noticed that Elsa was sleeping behind her, arm wrapped around her waist. Anna sighed, and snuggled back into Elsa's warm embrace. She wasn't afraid of the coming night, as they were so close to the Valley, and its magical properties. Elsa stirred behind her and mumbled something in her sleep, and pressed her hips into Anna's bottom. Anna's breath caught, as the blonde began to move, pressing herself into Anna.

Elsa's eyes slowly opened, and the first thing see became aware of was the warm body of her sister in her arms, and her growing arousal. "Anna?"

"Hmm, yes?"

"Where are we?" Elsa felt her wings flutter a bit, and her flesh began to lengthen, so she reached between their bodies in an attempt to coax herself to stop.

Anna reached behind her and stopped Elsa's hand, her own needs surfacing. "No, I need this, Elsa. How can I ever deny you when you make me feel so good—and right now I just want to feel good." She managed to wiggle out of her jacket without getting up and Elsa tossed it aside.

Elsa blinked a few times, and she unclasped her pants without saying a word. After gently pushing Anna onto her back she carefully crawled between her legs and slowly pushed up her skirt to her waist. She whispered, "Anna, I thought I'd never see you again…ugh…"

Anna's back arched, and she inhaled sharply at the penetration, but Elsa didn't move at first. "What is it?"

Their voices didn't rise above a whisper. Every word—sound—like a softly spoken prayer.

"Our unions—what they mean to me—it's almost too much to bear." Elsa pressed in as far as she could go, and then tensed her buttock muscles in the slowest rhythm possible, causing Anna to tingle all over. "You are everything to me, Anna."

"Oh, yes… oh, Elsa…" Anna wrapped herself around her sister and held on tightly, enjoying the slow and easy pace. "You are so wonderful."

Elsa buried her face in Anna's neck, and gently ran her hands along her arms with the barest of touches. She moaned, thrusting her hips very slowly before winding her arms under Anna's shoulders. "I…love being in you like this…ah…ugh…"

Anna's thighs squeezed Elsa's hips and she groaned, feeling overwhelmed by the sweet pleasure. "That's it, just like that…yes…"

Their lovemaking was unhurried, bodies and souls joined—tethered as one, soft touches—nimble fingers seeming to know just where to caress, and how.

"Anna…" The tempo of Elsa's thrusts increased, and she clutched at the blankets to anchor herself to the moment.

Anna whimpered in her need, feeling her heart reach out to her older sister, and her body's excitement heightened. She began to buck her hips in time with Elsa's thrusts into her, and it wasn't long before she felt that familiar tugging at her center, her inner walls contracting around the hardened flesh. "Elsa…" The waves of her pleasure crested, and she spilled over the precipice of desire, gripping tightly onto Elsa as she rode out her release.

The Queen continued to thrust, and she raised on her elbows as she felt Anna's orgasm wash over her. Her stomach muscles clenched tight, and her length hardened even more, which caused her to writhe uncontrollably—and she pounded into her sister below as her body coiled in anticipation. When Anna reached under her trousers and grabbed her bottom she exploded, and a million tiny stars flooded her vision and twinkled out as she pumped her seed again and again.

They panted together as the aftershocks of release gripped them both—bodies tingling, hearts soaring to that place that existed only for them.

Anna sighed in utter contentment and pulled at Elsa's shirt, attempting to take it off her, but Elsa took hold of her hands and stopped her. Anna looked at her quizzically. "You don't want to be naked?"

"Not right now—I'm enjoying this too much."

Anna's smile slowly grew. "Yes, you do, don't you? You love it when we make love with some of your clothes still on. Why?"

Elsa blushed and buried her face in the crook of Anna's neck. "I don't know," she mumbled.

Anna chuckled. "I guess we all have our secret desires, don't we?"

Elsa turned her head and kissed Anna's neck, just under her earlobe, and the princess shivered. "We all do." Her flesh hardened again, and Anna squealed in delight.

The trolls were scattered about the base of Yggdrasil, on the flat circular stone, cocooned in their "rock" states of being. Kristoff walked among them, an ancient scroll in his hand, and wearing an even older waistcoat of chainmail over his battle shirt. Gone were his provincial iceman clothes, as he now outfitted himself accordingly as a knight ready for battle. The shaman, Hølje, helped him in reading and interpreting the ancient writing, and he now perused the scroll while keeping watch over his kinsmen.

Kristoff looked up as Hølje approached him. "I thought you were meditating, Master Hølje."

The young shaman wore a pained expression. "I thought you'd like to know that Jörmungandr approaches Yggdrasil, seeking answers, once again."

"A dragon is coming?" Kristoff threw down the scroll and reached for the sword at his side, but Hølje held up his hand to stop his action.

"Remember, Kristoff, that Queen Elsa is Jörmungandr."

Kristoff looked embarrassed for a quick moment. "I'm sorry—I forgot. The Queen is coming? Is she bringing Anna with her?"

Hølje saw the hopeful look on Kristoff's face and realized that the former iceman still had yet to understand the prophecies. "Yes, Kristoff, the princess is with the Queen."

"How far away are they, do you know?"

The sun never set in the usual way in the Valley, and time was relative. "They will arrive with the coming morning, as time goes outside of Yggdrasil."

Kristoff picked up the scroll he dropped. "I wish I knew if she was alright." He straightened out the chainmail. "Do you know, Hølje?"

The young shaman's eyes locked with Kristoff's, and he kept his knowledge to himself. "I don't know."

Kristoff watched Sven graze in the distance, his eyes looking beyond Yggdrasil, in a vain attempt to understand everything going around him. "Oh, Anna, what are you doing?"

The morning was just set to break over the mountains when Elsa awoke to an unfamiliar sound. She immediately rose and clasped her trousers and then saw Anna leaning over the wagon's side, apparently vomiting.

Elsa immediately went over to Anna's side. "Anna, you're sick." She reached behind her for a cloth and gave it to her sister.

Anna's face was white. When she was done she sat back on her heels. "Can I have some water?"

"I should have left you with Captain Reiner; you could be in your warm bed in the castle."

The princess drank from the flask Elsa handed her. "I'm not sick, Elsa, I'm pregnant."

Elsa's cheeks flushed, and she had to stop herself from grinning like a fool. "Are you sure you're not sick?"

"I read about this, Elsa, after you told me—and I asked the royal physician."

"My physician knows you're with child?" Elsa was startled.

"No, Elsa." Anna sat back in the wagon. "When I was dating Kristoff—when I thought I was going to marry him—I asked him about what having a baby would be like."

"Oh." Elsa scooted back into the wagon. "I guess I never realized that you were once that seriously involved with him."

"Stop brooding." Anna drank more water, then wiped her mouth with the cloth.

Elsa opened one the baskets and found some food. "I'm not brooding." She glanced back at Anna. "I assume you're not hungry?"

"I'm actually quite famished. What have you found?" Anna looked down, and her eyes went wide in utter surprise.

"What?" Elsa followed Anna's line of sight and looked down to the blanket that her head was resting on; and she saw her horns lying on it. "What on earth…" She reached up and touched the top of her head, to where the horns once were, and found a small amount of blood. Her eyes locked with Anna's—both were startled and a little frightened by the incident.

Anna, her mouth hanging open a little, spoke first. "What does this mean, Elsa?"

But the Queen didn't answer, as her mind was pondering over her situation very carefully. A particular thought occurred to her so she quickly unbuttoned her shirt and took it off. She tried to flex her wings but couldn't "Anna, pull on one of my wings."

"But I don't want to hurt—"

"Do it!" Elsa breathed in deeply to calm herself. "Please, Anna, do it for me."

Anna took hold of Elsa's wing and tugged on it; it didn't budge. "Elsa, nothing is happening…"

"Harder." Elsa braced herself.

Anna yanked on the wing again, and it popped out of Elsa's back with a squish; the remaining slit immediately began to bleed.

Elsa fell onto her stomach and clutched at the blankets. "The other one—now!"

Anna grabbed at the remaining wing and it popped out just like the first one. She brought a cloth over to Elsa's back and dabbed at the bleeding slits. "Oh, god, Elsa—what is the meaning of all of this?"

Elsa panted from the pain, and glanced back at Anna. "Get me to Yggdrasil, Anna, please… I need to be in the Valley."

Anna swallowed her own discomfort, and immediately went sit on the bench. She gently roused the horses into moving. They, too, were drawn to the Valley of the Living Rock, and needed no further coaxing to move in the right direction.

Elsa closed her eyes, and groaned when the wagon began to move. One thought percolated into her consciousness. The time of your infancy is over…

As always, your thoughts, and feedback, are most welcome...