The Head That Wears the Crown

Chapter Twenty-Two

Unity

"I want to apologize. For not coming sooner, I mean."

Elsa stood at her parents' gravestone, a bouquet of flowers in her hand. She shifted her weight from side to side, uncertain of what to say next.

She took a deep breath. "I guess what I want to say most of all is that I'm sorry. I'm sorry I held such anger toward you inside for all these years. I thought you hated me so much. Even as I grew older and realized you didn't, some part of me still thought you hid me away because you were ashamed of me. Because you thought I was a monster!"

Elsa glanced once more at the headstone. "It must have been so painful for you. I . . . I can't imagine the heartache you must have experienced. The sorrow. The guilt."

She gently placed the bouquet at the foot of the headstone. "I know now what it is to learn to love someone who may be . . . less than inviting when you first meet them. How to look beyond appearances to see who they truly are. So, I wanted to say 'thank you' for doing that with me. For not giving up on me. For believing I could be the daughter you always wanted.

"Arendelle is doing really, really well now. Our relations with our allies have never been better. And we are extending invitations to new partners all the time. We just established a relationship with a race that had been homeless for centuries. We've given them the land just outside the city. They're free to develop it any way they wish, as long as they promise to take good care of it, to work the soil, to share the fruit of their labors with everyone."

A single tear fought its way from her eye. "They're a good people, Father. They really are. Because of them, Arendelle is stronger. I am stronger. Their leader . . . Well, I suppose you probably already know who he was. What he meant to me. It's funny, though. I never stopped thinking of you as my father either, even when he and I became close. It's like . . . each of you had a different, yet equally important role to play in my life. I . . . I wanted to make sure you knew I still think of you as my father, too."

Elsa brushed aside the lock of hair that had fallen in her eyes. "I need to go now, Father, Mother. I have a trade minister who has just returned from a . . . surprisingly effective negotiation. He claims this is the most abundant nation we've ever formed an alliance with." She smiled. "And, of course, he alone is to be thanked for managing to create such a mutually-beneficial trade agreement. I suppose I'll have to throw him a dinner or something. I guess I owe him that much. I'm the one who sent him there in the first place."

She walked closer to the headstone, studying it, thinking. Summer and winter. Duality. Two sides of the same coin. She waved her hand, forming a second bouquet, this one composed of ice roses, each flower perfectly formed, far more detailed than any ice rose a man could have chiseled. "Thank you again," Elsa whispered. "For everything."

She walked up the path back to the top of the hill. Anna was there, smiling. "Hey."

Elsa smiled at her younger sister. "Hey."

"Everything all right?" Anna asked.

Elsa paused for a moment. For the first time in her life, she knew the answer. "Yes. Everything's fine."

"Great!" Anna said.

The two sisters walked next to each other, lost in their own thoughts.

Anna spoke next. "So, did you get a chance to say what you wanted to say?"

"I did. It was . . . liberating."

"I told you. You can't keep everything bottled up inside. It makes you very depressing to be around."

"Sorry," Elsa said. "I've gotten better, haven't I? I mean, we've gotten better, right?"

Anna stopped, turning to look at Elsa. "Yes. Yes, we have."

"Good," Elsa said. She looked at Anna's head. "What in the world are you wearing?"

Anna smiled. "Do you like it? It's called an 'ushanka.' Ingeborson says they're all the rage in Siberia!"

Elsa stared at the hat. "It looks like a raccoon crawled on your head and fell asleep."

"Hey! I'll have you know that this is imported merchandise! Very rare and expensive in these parts."

"It still looks like a sleeping raccoon."

"Elsa!"

"Well, okay. Not a raccoon. Maybe a ferret."

"Kristoff likes it! He says it makes me look stylish!"

Elsa smiled. "Kristoff thinks you look stylish any time you're wearing winter apparel."

"The man likes his ice, Elsa. I have to work with what I have."

"Understood." Elsa stopped, thinking.

"Elsa? Everything okay?"

Elsa shook her head, smiling. "I was just thinking . . . how nice this is. How I don't want this to end . . . ever."

Anna wrapped her arms around Elsa. "You don't have anything to worry about. I plan on bothering you for a very, very long time."

"Even after you and Kristoff get married?"

"Haven't you heard? We're living in the palace! Isn't that great?"

"What?! I never agreed to that!"

"Oh, Elsa!"

The queen and the princess walked hand in hand back to the palace, exchanging their lighthearted banter as they traveled. After all they had suffered, all they had endured, they were finally together. Tomorrow, the world could throw another series of challenges at them, but for today, they had each other. And after all they had experienced, that was a very, very promising start.

AN: Once again, thank you so much to everybody who has reviewed and provided feedback on this story. Special thanks to FlashFreeze0 and Loridhhp for diligently reviewing every chapter; you guys are the greatest! I don't know where I'll go from here, but I'm certain something will get inside my mind. This story became far more epic than I had initially planned, but I've loved every minute of writing it. Hopefully, you've enjoyed reading it as well! Thank you again, and goodbye . . . for now!