There she sat, the Queen of Arendelle, by the bedroom window. She looked out at her kingdom - still faintly illuminated by the sun, even at such a late hour - and in her eyes there was a great sadness.
Her wish would be the most challenging to grant. It would not require a simple change of form. The fabric of time and space would have to be unpicked, rearranged and rewoven to bring her happiness. But with this final act, there would be nothing more to fix and joy would be brought to Arendelle at last, after all the sorrow the kingdom had seen throughout its long years. It was worth it.
'Are you coming to bed?' Anna asked, already under the covers. Since they had started sharing the same room again, Anna would always sneak into Elsa's bed during the night to cuddle with her. So, recently, Anna had stopped bothering with her own bed at all and went straight to Elsa's every night.
As much as Elsa loved her sister, oh how she loved her, she would have preferred it if Anna let her sleep alone; sharing Anna's heat and scent was intoxicating. Elsa was glad that they were close again, but it wasn't in the way Elsa wanted, and she hated herself for that. Especially after she was just learning to accept herself, magic and all, to discover that she had these feelings for Anna that went further than sisterly affection was something about herself that she would refuse to embrace.
Yet she would never push Anna away from her again, not even to make things easier for herself. Elsa was no novice at concealment, that was for sure.
Ice had stiffened the sleeves of Elsa's nightgown where she had been folding her arms, she hoped Anna hadn't noticed. She knew she should go to bed; they had just got back from visiting the trolls with Kristoff, and the Midsummer Festival was tomorrow.
Elsa sighed. She never liked summer anyway, and had not actually attended the festival herself for the past fourteen years. But Anna was so excited. She'd do it for Anna. And for her people. But most of all for Anna.
She left the chair by the window and got into the bed.
It would be easier if we weren't sisters, Elsa thought, as Anna wrapped her arms around her, oblivious to her sister's inner struggle against simply turning her head to unite their mouths, an act that Elsa knew would both release and condemn her. I wish everything was easier, she thought, before sleep took her.
So the night passed, and by the time the sun had fully risen, the wish-granting spirit had used up all its power. Its work was done, and and it had dissolved with a gleam that was imperceptible to the human eye in the golden light.
Elsa felt a pair of warm, soft lips on hers. This was a good dream.
'Elsa, it's time to wake up,' Anna said from somewhere close by.
She groaned. 'Not yet, Anna.' Elsa tried to fall back into the dream once more. She felt herself being kissed again, and this time she kissed back, hungrily. She heard a soft voice moan and felt someone climb on top of her. Wait, this was real! Elsa opened her eyes.
She saw freckled skin and ginger eyelashes. Anna was kissing her! She pulled away.
'Anna, what are you doing?'
Anna looked confused. 'What do you mean?' she asked, and leaned in to kiss Elsa again.
Elsa leaned away from her. 'Look, Anna. As much as I want to do this with you, we just can't. I'm the Queen. If...'
She was cut off by a knock at the door. A plump, grey-haired woman entered the room. The servant blushed, seeing their position.
'Oh,' she smiled, 'Sorry to disturb the Royal Couple! I'll just leave this here.' She quickly set a silver covered tray on a nearby table, backed out and closed the door.
Elsa pushed Anna off her.
'What did she mean, "Royal Couple"? We're sisters!'
'Wait, what?' Anna exclaimed. 'I'm not your sister, I'm your wife!'
Elsa's heart skipped a beat.
Panicking, she looked around her and realised they were in their parents' room, in their parents' bed. She could think of only one explanation for this. Someone must have somehow found out about her incestuous desires and enrolled Anna and the servant to play this cruel trick and humiliate her.
'Stop it, Anna. This isn't funny,' she said, hurt that Anna would be so mean to her.
'Have you taken stupid pills or something?' Anna asked, then paused, waiting for Elsa to snap out of this strange mood. She didn't. Elsa continued to scowl at Anna, her icy blue eyes were as cold as the temperature in the room had become because of her powers.
'What's wrong with you? You can't play this game all day,' Anna continued. 'Today's Midsummer and we have to go to the festival in the town. You're Queen Elsa of Arendelle and I'm your wife, Queen Consort Anna of Arendelle, remember?' she smiled and reached out for Elsa's hand.
Elsa pulled it away and narrowed her eyes. 'If you're not my sister, then who are your parents?' she asked. She'd be able to spot Anna's lies. Anna was a terrible liar and always managed to give herself away.
Anna sighed. 'Kai and Gerda, of course. They were the head servants here in the castle. When we were both little, we were best friends. But then you couldn't control your magic so your parents locked you away and kept us apart for years and years. And then, when you became Queen, you went all ice-crazy at your coronation and you ran away.
Then I had to go on a big adventure to bring you back and I nearly died, but I didn't because of our True Love. And then we got married and now we're living happily ever after. Are you satisfied? It's me, Anna. I'm not your sister. You don't have a sister!'
She wasn't lying.
And she was undeniably Anna. She was absolutely unchanged, not a freckle was out of place.
Elsa looked at the room. The view from the floor-length glass doors, and everything else was the same as last time she had been here. So what had happened? She distinctly remembered going to sleep in her own bed the night before...
'Hellooo?' Anna waved her hand in front of Elsa's face. She had been staring blankly ahead of her, lost in her thoughts.
But this is what you wanted, Elsa realised. Now you don't have to hold back! She decided to try and go along with this situation, whatever it was.
'I-I'm sorry, Anna, I just had a really vivid ... dream,' she said, even though it was a lie, there wasn't really another way to explain it for now. 'And you were my sister, but now you're...'
'You had a dream that I was your sister? Okay... that's kind of weird...'
'Yes, it was. But it doesn't matter now,' Elsa smiled, and tentatively leaned over and took Anna's face in her hands. She had been too scared of rejection to try it before, but now, if this was a dream - which she was happily beginning to doubt - it didn't matter, and if they were married then it didn't matter either. Slowly, shyly, she brought their lips together again, savouring the feeling and the taste and the warmth of Anna.
As the kiss deepened, Elsa cast aside all doubts that this was real. She felt her heartbeat speeding up, heat rising in her face and hands. Anna's mouth opened against hers and Elsa knew from the passion and the intensity she could sense in this kiss that Anna wanted her as much as she wanted Anna. There was no way it was a lie. With this realisation, Elsa lost control. Her tongue found its way into Anna's mouth and was met with equal fervour by Anna's. She let her hand move slowly down from Anna's cheek, over the soft skin of her neck and the firmness of her collarbone. Elsa could feel Anna's rapid heartbeat through the fabric of her nightgown as she cupped her breast and squeezed ever so gently. Anna moaned in response, but broke the kiss and placed her hands over Elsa's. She took them in her own.
'There's no time! We have to get ready!' she said, trying to catch her breath. She dropped Elsa's hands and went over to the tray that the servant had left.
Elsa sat back and attempted to regain control over her thoughts and her breathing. She looked down at her hands, which were shaking slightly, and could still feel Anna's warmth lingering on them. She fought back the smile tugging at the corners of her mouth, knowing that if she started smiling now, she wouldn't be able to stop. It was all so sudden and strange, but so perfect. Elsa had so many questions about this situation. Was her relationship with Anna the only thing that had changed? She was interested to see if the town and the citizens were the same as yesterday. But she concluded that it would be best to just follow Anna's lead and act as if everything was normal.
'Hurry up and eat this,' Anna said, holding out a slice of buttered bread for her. This she did, and then watched as Anna opened the doors to the walk-in closet. Inside it, close to the front, were two mannequins displaying the dresses they would be wearing that day.
Elsa's eyes widened as she watched Anna peel off her nightgown. She could feel her cheeks reddening as she took in the curves of Anna's naked body. A small part of her mind was telling her to look away, that she shouldn't be ogling her own sister. But she ignored it, because Anna wasn't her sister anymore, she was her wife. Elsa felt a jolt of excitement in her stomach when she realised that, since they were married, she would be able to do more than just look at Anna, more than just kiss her...
Anna bent down to retrieve her undergarments from the small table on which they had been laid. She stood up, ready to put them on, and she must have felt Elsa staring at her because she met her gaze over her shoulder and smiled saucily.
'So you plan on going to the festival as you are, then?' Anna asked, and carried on getting dressed.
'What? Oh. No, of course not,' Elsa replied, snapping back into reality. She quickly got down from the bed and went over to the closet. It was easier for her to concentrate now that Anna was at least partially clothed.
Elsa reached out to pick up her own underwear and noticed that she was wearing a wedding ring. She paused to examine it. It looked like gold, but it had a certain quality to it... She touched it and discovered it was made of ice, unmelting and not cold. Elsa had no idea how she had made something like this. Anyway, that could wait.
She looked over at Anna, who was fixing her hair into a braided bun. She looked breathtakingly beautiful. Elsa had never seen the dress she was wearing before. It had evidently been designed to compliment Elsa's dress, which was the one she had crafted last year with her magic. However, unlike hers, Anna's dress was faintly green like the Northern Lights shining onto snow. The neckline was cut lower and the skirt was fuller, without the opening in the side.
Once Elsa was dressed, Anna shut the closet doors so they could see their reflections in the mirrors. While Elsa finished braiding her hair, Anna went to an enormous dressing table adjacent to the closet and picked up two crowns. The one she placed on her own head was very similar to the one their - or rather, Elsa's - mother had worn as Queen Consort; it was a silver tiara with green jewels embedded into its decorative motif. It, along with the dress, suited Anna very well and brought out the green in her eyes, which were normally a confusing colour, somewhere in between blue and green, depending on her surroundings.
Anna stood in front of Elsa and reached up to place her crown on her head, having to stand on tiptoe to adjust it since, unlike Anna, Elsa was wearing heels, making her even taller than usual. As she did this, Elsa struggled to avoid looking at her cleavage and had to stop herself from leaning in to kiss her when their gazes met. Elsa tore her eyes away from Anna's and instead looked at her own reflection. The crown she was wearing was not unlike her father's, being a full crown rather than a tiara, except the design was altogether more delicate and feminine, incorporating elements from the crown Elsa had worn at her coronation.
Anna took Elsa's hand and they admired themselves in the mirror. Both of them looked very regal; pictures of sophisticated grace.
'You look beautiful,' Elsa couldn't help telling Anna.
'You look beautifuller,' Anna replied, and stuck out her tongue. 'Let's go, we're already late!'
The two Queens walked quickly through the castle. On the way, they passed a painting which Elsa knew very well, but something was wrong. She stopped abruptly to study it. It was a portrait of the Royal Family, only Elsa noticed that the main feature was missing. Instead of an infant Anna sitting on her mother's lap, the former queen simply had her hands clasped there. It looked empty without her little sister's bright ginger hair and innocent young grin. Elsa scrutinised the rest of the picture and found that to be the only difference. More evidence that she and Anna were now truly unrelated.
'Are you thinking about your parents?' Anna asked. She squeezed Elsa's hand. 'I know you miss them, but my parents will be at the festival, and you know they love you as if you were their own daughter.'
Which would make me your sister again, Elsa thought. 'I know,' she said, and continued to walk on with Anna.
It was strange to hear Anna referring to her own parents, and it made Elsa wonder how Kai and Gerda had changed since yesterday, if they had changed at all.
However, Elsa was distracted from this thought when she caught sight of something white out of the corner of her eye as they passed the open door of the library.
She turned back, dragging Anna with her.
'What is it now?' Anna asked.
Elsa didn't reply, she was too stunned to speak. In front of her was the most glorious painting she had ever seen. Elsa saw herself, resplendent in a magnificent white dress. Anna was by her side, wearing an equally dazzling dress, and their arms were linked. But what struck her the most was not the exquisite dresses, nor even Anna's beauty, stunning though she was. It was her own face that moved Elsa the most; she looked so happy. The expression on her face conveyed sheer ecstasy, which Elsa did not think she had ever experienced before, and she was almost heartbroken that she had no memory of the occasion depicted in the portrait.
'Our wedding painting,' she breathed. That was the only thing it could be.
'Yeah,' Anna sighed happily and leaned her head on Elsa's shoulder. 'I still think the painter got the dresses wrong,' she commented after a moment. 'But I guess it's hard to show how amazing magic ice dresses look if you can only use ordinary paint.'
So apparently Elsa had made those dresses, as well as their rings. She could only guess that in this world, or timeline, or whatever it was, she had practised more with her powers, because she knew of only one item of clothing she had made - the dress she was currently wearing - and she was still not entirely sure how she had done it, assuming it to have been a spur-of-the-moment action done when she was celebrating her newfound freedom.
But, there was something else that Elsa wanted to know about the matter of their marriage.
'And nobody objected to us getting married, even though we're both women?' she asked Anna. She had always thought the Arendelle she knew would disapprove of something like that.
'Of course not! It's True Love!'
Well, Elsa certainly knew how powerful True Love was, having experienced its effects herself. Maybe if she had known that a relationship between two women could be accepted because of it she would have done something when she and Anna were still sisters. Even so, it was easier now that they weren't.
'Anyway, why are you asking me? You were there yourself!' Anna said, turning to look Elsa in the eyes.
Elsa didn't want to ruin anything by telling Anna the truth, that the world had somehow changed overnight and yesterday they had been sisters. That would probably make Anna think she was crazy. There was nothing wrong telling white lies, since Elsa didn't understand the truth of the whole matter, anyway.
'I know. But I just -'
Elsa was interrupted when a lanky, brown-haired man with a moustache stepped into the room. He was wearing the head butler's uniform she had last seen on Kai, which had, of course, been tailored to fit him.
'Your Majesties,' he said, 'the festival is all ready. Your public awaits!' He held the door open.
'Yes, Nils, we're on our way!' Anna replied. She grabbed Elsa's hand and hurried through the door with her. They rushed down the stairs, through the main hallway and out of the front doors, which the guards opened for them.
Outside they were greeted by the bright glare of the Midsummer sun. There was colour everywhere in the form of flowers and flags, which reminded Elsa of the decorations that she had seen from the castle on the day of her coronation. It suddenly struck her that she was actually excited about the festival, whereas yesterday she had been ambivalent. She wondered if the events were going to be the same as what she and Anna had been organising for the past few days; Elsa didn't want to check with Anna, since she was aware that her behaviour was already making her somewhat suspicious.
They walked through the castle grounds, hand in hand, and the few people who were there waved and shouted 'Long live the Queens!'. When they reached the causeway, Elsa could see that the town seemed to have been arranged according to their plans. In the town square, a large dancing-area had been separated off, with a maypole at its centre. At the end closest to them was a platform where Elsa knew she and Anna would sit to watch the festivities after officially beginning them. Elsa was relieved; this meant she knew exactly what she had to do, and now she could relax with Anna as the festival progressed.
It looked like the entire kingdom's population had gathered in the square. Everyone made way for Anna and Elsa as they walked towards their thrones. The crowd was full of smiling faces and those who were lucky enough to meet the Queens' gazes waved gleefully, if they weren't too stunned by their beauty.
Conversation murmured all around them. Elsa was glad to hear that it was all good things; her fear of judgement would never fully dissipate. But everyone was so pleased to see them that she was proud to be joint centre of attention with Anna.
'It's the Queens!'
'Aren't they beautiful?'
'Even more lovely than on their wedding day!'
A group of little girls with flowers in their hair, getting ready for the dance around the maypole, watched in awe as Elsa and Anna passed by them and waved.
'Which one's your favourite? My favourite's Queen Elsa, but Queen Anna is beautiful, too!' one said.
'They're both my favourite!' said another. 'Two Queens are so much better than one!'
Together Anna and Elsa ascended the platform and looked down at the sea of faces.
Elsa stood there and she was happier than she had ever been. Anna was at her side, their hands entwined. Her wife, her Queen. And her kingdom loved her, loved them.
Within her heart was something she had never felt before: pure joy. It was swirling inside her and it was almost overwhelming. She stepped away from Anna and faced the crowd.
'I declare the Midsummer Festival open!' Elsa announced, her face beaming. She raised her hands and from them brilliant sparks, like diamonds and fireworks and the Northern Lights, shot up into the sky where they formed wonderful shapes and patterns. The kingdom watched in amazement.
Then Elsa turned to Anna. She was looking at Elsa the way she had done after she thawed last year, with complete and utter adoration. Elsa had wanted to kiss her so much on that day, when Anna had told her she loved her. And now there was nothing stopping her from doing just that.
Elsa took Anna in her arms and kissed her. Elsa's heart was beating so hard she thought it might burst with love, she was light-headed and her legs felt slightly weak, but she just held Anna tighter. That kiss erased all the sorrow from the two decades of Elsa's life - the early trauma of accidentally hurting Anna, the years of isolation, the despair she had felt when she thought Anna was dead, the torment of concealing her forbidden feelings, even the recent sadness of having no recollection of her wedding, all of it disappeared - it had no hold over her anymore because it had led her here to Anna, and Anna was everything; her past, present and future.
However, Elsa was reminded that they weren't alone when a thundering cheer rose from the crowd. She tried her best to rein herself in and keep the kiss suitable for the public. The applause had brought Elsa back to reality, and she was aware of wetness on her cheeks, and something falling around her. Surely she wasn't making it snow...
Reluctantly, Elsa pulled her face from Anna's and opened her eyes. She looked up and saw that the crowd was showering them with flowers.
Elsa turned back to Anna, who cradled her face in her hands and wiped away the tears she didn't realise she had shed.
'Why are you crying?' she asked, concern showing in her otherwise radiant expression.
'I love you,' Elsa replied, taking Anna's hands in hers. They looked into each other's eyes for a long moment.
'I love you, too!' Anna said, before Elsa kissed her again, renewing the cheer around them.
But alas, there was a festival to get on with, so Elsa forced her lips away from her wife's, and, after standing for a short while with their foreheads pressed together, turned back to the crowd. They sat down in their thrones, which was the signal for the dances to begin.
The large ensemble of musicians started to play, and the kingdom's children paraded into the arena and began their well-rehearsed maypole dance. The children had clearly worked hard to impress their Queens, which was very cute to watch.
They were followed by a succession of many other dance groups, from different regions of the country, along with some who were visiting from abroad, who were all wearing traditional costumes, and they performed various folk dances. Elsa and Anna had an excellent view, and it was all very entertaining, but after a couple of hours had gone past and the dancers still continued, Anna started to get restless.
Anna drummed her fingers on the armrest of the throne and kept glancing at the clock tower. Elsa could tell she was waiting for something, but she didn't know what was planned after the dancing. As far as she could remember from a few days ago, the festival would basically end after this, maybe descend into a bawdy drinking session for the townsfolk.
At last, the final dancers finished and bowed to everyone's applause. When they had left, Anna sprang to her feet and pulled Elsa to hers. Anna dragged her down the steps of the platform and into the centre of the arena where they stopped. Elsa waited for a few moments, worried that she and Anna were supposed to dance themselves. Anna knew she couldn't dance, unless her parallel self - or whatever it was, she still had no idea - had learned how to, which would be a problem.
Anna looked expectantly at Elsa with an excited grin on her face.
'Do the magic!' she said, and Elsa was reminded of happy times in her childhood. However, she was confused.
'But this is supposed to be a summer festival,' Elsa said. 'Ice isn't very appropriate for celebrating the hottest time of the year.'
'But it's what we arranged!' Anna insisted. 'Everyone's ready!'
Elsa looked around her and saw that many of the citizens had joined them in the arena, and they appeared to be wearing ice skates.
So Elsa decided to give Anna what she wanted and used her powers to coat the cobblestones with a layer of ice. She then did what she had done before and magicked skates onto the bottom of their shoes.
The people around them cheered and began skating about. The Queens joined in and glided along elegantly, even though Anna was clinging tightly to Elsa's arm.
'You're better at this than last time,' Elsa commented, smiling at her.
'Thanks! But it's only because I have the best teacher,' Anna replied.
Elsa assumed Anna was referring to her, but chose not to lie about remembering.
It seemed as though Elsa spoke too soon about Anna's ice-skating skills because just then, Anna lost her balance.
'It's fine, I've got it!' she reassured Elsa, and partly herself. She stood still, holding Elsa's hands at arm's length. She was ready to carry on when a man skated up to Anna and nudged her closer to Elsa.
'Hey guys! You two are just so cute!'
'Olaf!' they exclaimed in unison.
He seemed to have got the hang of ice-skating rather quickly, considering he had only been human for a couple of days. He giggled and pirouetted around them. Olaf looked in his element, which he kind of was, in a way, even if he wasn't a snowman anymore.
Inspired by the speed with which Olaf was going, Elsa pulled Anna along with her and they skated faster than what Anna was used to. Hearing her squeals of nervousness, Elsa turned to check that she was all right.
'Look out!' a familiar voice called. They had nearly bumped into Kristoff, who had his arms wrapped tightly around Svea. The two of them looked like they were having fun as they skated off together.
The Queens carried on with their lap around the town square and Elsa thought about all the strange events of the last few days. She remembered what Grand Pabbie had said about Sven's transformation not being the last of the magic. Maybe what had happened to her was what he meant. She was considering going to visit him again, but Anna brought her out of her contemplations.
'Mama! Papa!' she shouted, and let go of Elsa's arm to skate into the embrace of a willowy grey-haired woman and portly red-headed man. It took a moment for Elsa to realise that they were Gerda and Kai; she had never seen them out of their uniforms before. They looked relaxed, and very proud as they bowed to Elsa. She returned their bow and studied them. The couple hadn't changed at all since yesterday, apart from their clothing and manner. They still bore no resemblance to Anna, even though she was supposed to be their daughter.
'Go back to your wife,' Gerda said, guiding Anna to Elsa, who gladly took her hand and wrapped an arm around her waist.
'Goodbye, Your Majesties,' said Kai as he and Gerda bowed again.
'Come on, you don't have to be like that,' Anna said to them, even though it was clear from their grins that they weren't being serious. 'We'll see you both later!' she added as she continued skating with Elsa.
'I can tell they're really proud of you,' Elsa remarked.
'They're proud of us! You're almost like a daughter to them, they watched you grow up!'
So we are still practically sisters, Elsa thought, which made her happy. This third transformation was different to the others she had witnessed. It seemed to have been a change of memory and history instead of physical form. Elsa wondered what had caused it and was thankful.
'Let's go faster!' Anna said.
'Are you sure?' Elsa asked.
Anna nodded and the two of them sped up until they could feel the wind in their hair.
The townsfolk moved out of their way until the Queens were the only ones on the ice. They were going so fast it almost felt like they were flying. Elsa was in control and steered them round the arena. She felt free, and indeed she was; free to use her magic without consequences, free to rule her kingdom, and free to love Anna.
She let them glide to a halt and looked at Anna. Her cheeks were flushed and her hair was dishevelled. A ginger strand from the part that had once been white had freed itself and Elsa tucked it behind Anna's ear, and let her hand linger on her cheek. She could happily have stood there forever just gazing at Anna. Elsa hoped with all her might that this perfect situation she had found herself in would be permanent and not just a fleeting enchantment. She knew that now she had experienced this, had tasted joy, had tasted Anna, if things went back to the way they had been before, she would not be able to cope.
Elsa shook off this heart-rending thought when the new butler, Nils, skated into her peripheral vision. She pulled her hand away from Anna's face and linked her arm as they both turned to see what he wanted.
'Your Majesties, the banquet is now ready and your royal presence is eagerly awaited. If you would kindly follow me.'
'It's about time!' Anna said, and pulled Elsa with her, her anxiety about skating seemingly forgotten.
Elsa removed the skates from their shoes once they had exited the arena, but she left the ice for the townsfolk to enjoy.
Nils led them to the wooden marquee that usually housed the marketplace. Today, however, it had been converted into a sort of dining hall, with a large table around which the nobility of Arendelle was seated, including Kai and Gerda with their elevated positions as royal parents-in-law. Servants were bringing in a vast array of food, and at the head of the table stood Elsa and Anna's thrones, which had been removed from the platform earlier.
Elsa held Anna's hand a little tighter. The last time she had been at any sort of large social gathering was at her coronation last year, and, like then, she was not particularly eager to make small talk, and do all the other things one was supposed to do at a party. But now it would be easier, she remembered, trying to be optimistic like Anna; now she had nothing to hide - apart from the fact that she had woken up that morning to find she was married to her sister - and Anna would be with her throughout the entire affair. Actually, Anna being with her wasn't entirely a positive thing. They were both socially awkward, only Anna had the habit of blurting out whatever was on her mind, which often made conversation interesting, to say the least.
Elsa decided to let go of her self-consciousness and to have a good time with her wife and her subjects. Of course, there was chocolate on the menu, which always made everything better.
They feasted until the sky began to darken slightly. It was as dark as it would get that night, and it was still light enough to see by, despite the late hour. Anna and Elsa bid farewell to the lords and ladies of the banquet and went down to the rocks on the shore to see the huge bonfire the townspeople had made, as was the annual tradition.
Even during her time hiding in the castle, Elsa had been able to see the bonfires they made every Midsummer and had always been interested in visiting them, since fire was the complete opposite of her magic. She watched the fire flickering and hoped once more that this situation would not be transient like the flames and the smoke. Elsa hoped that nothing would change for her and that she and Anna would never be apart. She didn't want the day to end.
Anna wrapped her arms around Elsa's waist from behind and rested her chin on Elsa's shoulder.
'Let's go to bed,' she whispered and kissed her lightly on the neck.
Elsa shivered, not with the cold from her powers, or the heat from the fire, but with anticipation.
Back in their bedchamber, Elsa and Anna were alone again, and now nothing would disturb them. The moment the door closed, Anna grabbed Elsa by the shoulders and pulled her down until their mouths collided. There was a hunger in this kiss that they had been holding back all day.
The orange light of the sun was shining into the room, as it could only at this time of the year, which imbued it with a dreamlike haze. However, Elsa had long since accepted that the events of the day were real, and the evidence from her senses only convinced her even more.
Anna tasted of the chocolate from the banquet; her mouth was so warm, her tongue so eager.
Elsa could have gladly kept kissing Anna like that forever, but Anna seemed to have other ideas. She guided Elsa until she was sitting on the bed, then reluctantly pulled herself away to close the curtains over the many large doors that led to the balcony.
Elsa brought her hand to her lips, which were slightly numb from their recent exertions. She wondered what would happen now. Kissing was fine, kissing was easy, but even though Elsa had dreamed many times of more than just kissing Anna, now that she actually could, she was nervous. It would change everything. But she was as ready as she'd ever be. She quickly undressed and sat waiting under the covers.
Once Anna had drawn the curtains, the room grew darker, but it was still light enough to see, and Elsa watched with thinly-veiled lust as Anna began to disrobe. She slowly undid the back of her dress, shrugged off the short sleeves and let it drop to the floor.
Elsa couldn't help but mentally frown at Anna's treatment of such a nice dress, she had folded her own and placed it on the bedside table. But then she realised that by focusing on this, she was just distracting herself from worrying about what to do now. She didn't have to do anything. Anna, now completely naked, threw the covers off Elsa and straddled her.
All Elsa could feel was heat, concentrated in Anna's hands on her cheeks, Anna's tongue in her mouth, and Anna's slit pressing against her stomach.
Elsa had always imagined she would be the one to initiate this kind of intimacy with Anna, and was somewhat taken aback by how passionate Anna was being. She could feel how much Anna loved her, how much she wanted her.
Anna took Elsa's hands and brought them to her pert breasts.
'Ooh, your hands are cold!'
'Sorry, I...' Elsa tried to say, whilst also trying gain control of her breathing.
'Relax! You're acting as if we've never done this before!' Anna grinned and tweaked Elsa's nose before kissing her again, and pushing her back onto the pillows.
Of course, Elsa never had done it before, other than in her mind. She didn't know what Anna liked, or expected her to do, so she closed her eyes and let Anna take control.
Anna kissed and licked her way down Elsa's body, pausing at her breasts to clamp her hot mouth over the nipples and tease them with her tongue in response to Elsa's gasps.
Anna kept going, brushing her tongue over Elsa's stomach, briefly circling her navel before continuing down to settle between her legs, where she lapped and licked, making Elsa lose her last vestige of control.
Elsa heard loud moans escape unbidden from her own lips. She was aware of sweat forming on her brow, something she hadn't felt before, but that was nothing compared to the tension building deep within her. And it kept building until she felt it release itself in a way she could only compare to using her powers, except this was better, because Anna had made it happen.
Elsa was lost in her own ecstasy, until she felt Anna snuggle up beside her, pulling the covers over them both.
'Goodnight,' she breathed into Elsa's hair.
'Goodnight,' Elsa replied. She had relaxed into Anna's embrace and felt herself drifting off to sleep when a thought suddenly struck her. Her eyes snapped open. What if I wake up tomorrow and everything's back to the way it was?
Elsa got up, leaving Anna asleep in the bed. She went to the nearest curtain and yanked it open, letting sunlight spill into the room.
She heard Anna stir.
'What are you doing?' Anna asked, her voice heavy with tiredness.
'I can't sleep.'
'Of course you can! It's been a long day, just lie down and don't worry about things.' Anna yawned and turned her back to the light.
Elsa didn't bother to explain what she had meant. Ultimately, the situation was out of her control, whether she slept or not. And it wasn't fair to disturb Anna. So Elsa closed the curtain and climbed back into bed.
Still she tried to stay awake, shifting position whenever she felt her eyes begin to close. Finally, Elsa was lying on her back, fighting to keep her eyes open, when Anna rolled over in her sleep and draped her arm over her. Elsa succumbed to her needs and joined Anna in her slumber.
But it was not a dream. Elsa woke up with Anna in her arms the next day, and every day after that. And even though the sun began to set again as winter drew ever closer, the sun in Elsa's heart never went down. At last, she was truly happy, and the whole of Arendelle was happy, too.