"I will be right here"

Elsa growled in frustration. She couldn't find a single book in her library that would help Anna. (Not that she hadn't already checked a million times over the three years they'd been apart.)

She stretched and sighed heavily. This whole situation was killing her slowly, and yet she couldn't bring herself to regret a single moment of it. Anna was finally here with her, she was safe, and she was happy. Hopefully she's happy…please let her be happy.

The sun had set a few hours ago; the sky was aglow with the northern lights. Elsa chuckled as she watched the auroras dance on the canvas of inky blue. "The sky is awake tonight, isn't it my love?" she whispered quietly. Anna was supposedly sleeping, and Elsa didn't feel like she had the right to intrude.

The blonde turned back to the shelves of books and sighed again. There is one place that might hold the answers we seek…She shook her head. No, she had promised herself that she would never go back there again. Too many ghosts, too many nightmares...

She turned back to the lights in the sky and closed her eyes, as if she wanted to feel them instead of see them; to absorb their glow and draw strength from it, let them surround her ad give her comfort.

I will go tomorrow, Elsa concluded with silent determination, For Anna. Having made up her mind, Elsa needed to relax and clear her head. Tomorrow was going to be hell for her.

Anna couldn't sleep. The sky's awake.

She smiled as she watched the night light up in various shades of green, blue, and violet.

I wonder what Elsa's doing right now…The thought caused the smile to fall from her lips. Anna felt bad about her tantrum earlier that day. Elsa wasn't trying to hurt her feelings; Anna doubted that the blonde was even aware of them. And Kristoff was a nice enough guy, so…so there's that.

He…He would be good to Elsa. He'd take care of her.

Anna was trying to console herself, but in the end it only made her feel worse. With each passing image of Elsa and Kristoff together, Anna only grew more and more agitated.

What does she see in him anyway? He talks to a reindeer. And his feet are oddly shaped! His hands are big and rough. They'd probably feel like sandpaper on her beautiful skin. He probably doesn't even appreciate just how beautiful it is! I, on the other hand, would definitely- She stopped her internal rant as she noticed a figure departing from the ice palace. It was Elsa.

"Where is she going?" Anna wondered aloud, moving away from the window. Crazy images of Elsa sharing a nighttime tryst with Kristoff swirled in her mind.

Anna huffed, throwing on a winter cloak. She was going to get to the bottom of this.

Elsa made it to the clearing where a small frozen lake resided. It was only a short distance away from the ice palace, so Anna's health wasn't in danger of regressing. Elsa loved this place; it was where she taught Anna how to ice skate all those years ago. She chuckled bitterly to herself. I sound like an old woman.

Ice skates materialized over her heels, and Elsa sighed in satisfaction. It had been a while since she'd allowed herself to just relax and let it go.

She glided over the ice with such grace that it appeared like she was flying. She leapt and twirled and spun and swayed in a beautiful dance that only a being of ice and snow could exhibit. Elsa was in her element, this was who she truly was. Ice was a part of her, and she was a part of it.

It softly started to snow, the little flurries swirling around her movements as the flowing auroras reflected upon the ice beneath her feet, making it seem like she was dancing through the night sky. It certainly was a sight to behold.

Then it all came to an abrupt halt as Elsa spotted Anna at the edge of the lake, watching her.

"Anna? Why are you out here? Is everything alright?" the blonde questioned, gliding over to her.

Upon closer inspection, the redhead looked a little flushed. "I-I um, wow," Anna stuttered, "That was amazing! And beautiful! And, and, I don't even have words! You're a really good ice skater, like the best I've seen in my whole life!"

Elsa felt herself blush at the compliments Anna was giving her. "Thank you very much," she replied evenly, trying to hide her embarrassment, "Would you like to join me?"

Anna quickly shook her head, "Oh, uh, no thanks. I can't skate," she explained, waving her hands around for emphasis, "I never learned how."

The words cut deep into Elsa's futile heart, but the blonde smiled past it anyway. She allowed herself to take Anna's hand give it a reassuring squeeze. "I could teach you." She offered quietly, hopefully.

Anna blushed and stared at their joined hands. Elsa was beginning to think that she'd made a mistake in holding the girl's hand, but when she went to pull away, Anna tightened her grip. "I-I have to warn you in advance," Anna's voice was uncharacteristically quiet. "I am probably going to fall down a lot."

Elsa smiled, genuinely this time, and pulled the girl closer. "That is why I will be there to catch you." Always, she added mentally.

I can't believe she's this close to me! Anna's mind was racing while she tried not to stumble on their way out to the center of the frozen lake. She smells nice, it reminds me of winter. The thought caused the already present ache in her chest to increase its intensity.

"Alright," she heard Elsa's soft voice by her ear, "Lean into me, and we'll go slowly."

Anna nodded and obeyed, feeling Elsa all around her now, filling her senses. And then they were moving, gliding together along the ice. Anna couldn't shake the feeling that she'd done this before, as if her body remembered something her mind did not. Her legs seemed to be on autopilot as they moved along.

"You seem to have the hang of it already," Elsa commented, a smile playing at her lips. God those lips…

And then Anna was stumbling, just like she'd warned of before. But just like Elsa had promised, the blonde's slender arms steadied her and pulled her closer.

"Perhaps I spoke too soon," the taller girl chuckled.

Anna said nothing, her breath caught in her throat as she realized how close they were now. Elsa's face was only mere inches away…her heart ached painfully.

The blonde noticed Anna's strange expression and asked if she was alright.

Anna didn't answer, her mind shutting off as she brought a hand up to cup Elsa's cheek. Oh, wow…she's so soft…and surprisingly warm…

The older girl pulled back as if she'd been burned. "W-What are you doing, Anna?"

That snapped Anna out of it. She quickly backed away, almost stumbling again in the process. "I-I'm sorry," she brought her arms up to her chest, "I…I don't know where that came from…I…" she felt tears well up in her eyes.

Elsa quickly drew closer to wipe away the tears with a gentle thumb. "Anna…please, do not cry…Did I make you sad?"

Of course she blames herself for my problems. Anna quickly shook her head. "No! It's not your fault at all, Elsa." Anna assured her with a sniffle, "It's me. I just…I don't even know…" she brought her hands up over her heart, "My chest tightens and aches whenever I'm near you, and I can't explain why, but I…I feel like I've known you before…"

Elsa pulled away and said nothing. Her face remained a cold mask of neutrality for several moments before she spoke again. "That's because you do." She said finally, her voice a pained whisper.

"Wait, what? But I don't remember you. How is that possible?" Anna asked in shock. She knew that she'd never forget meeting someone as beautiful or unique as Elsa.

The blonde looked away. "It's all my fault, Anna. I shot you with my ice magic and froze your heart. The trolls were able to temporarily save you by erasing all your memories of me." As she spoke, Elsa's eyes began to fill with bitter tears, as if she hated herself for it. "I guess even now I'm still causing you pain, huh?"

Anna wanted to hug and comfort Elsa, who looked so very broken in that moment. "Elsa…" she breathed, realizing that she was also crying tears of her own, "You aren't hurting me…I don't think you would ever hurt me." Anna believed that with all her heart.

"Well, I did," Elsa replied, taking a shaky breath, "I did, and I'm sorry. I'm so sorry…I never wanted to hurt you, Anna, please believe me when I say that."

Anna nodded, taking a tentative step closer. "I know, Elsa. You're not a monster, as much as you'd like to believe you are sometimes. You don't have to protect me from you, I'm not afraid."

Elsa sniffled, which Anna found quite adorable. "You really think that?"

Anna nodded vigorously. "Of course! You're the nicest, prettiest, most amazing person I've ever met." Elsa blushed, but Anna continued on, "Which brings me to my next question: How did we meet? Was it a long time ago? Did you have ice magic back then too? Were we best friends?"

Elsa looked slightly overwhelmed for a moment before her face broke into a smile. "That was more than one question," she giggled, "But to briefly answer them: we met on this mountain one night while you were trying to have a picnic with a witch. It was about eight years ago, and yes, I've always had my ice magic. And as for our relationship…" Elsa's blush darkened as she looked skyward, "…We were very close."

Anna desperately wanted to ask how close, but Elsa was already escorting them back towards the palace.

Elsa's own words echoed back to her as she brought Anna back to the ice castle. "…We were very close." She smiled sadly, casting her eyes upwards to take in the dancing auroras once more. So close, indeed.

So here it is! Chapter 13. Originally, I was going to do something else for this chapter, but I kind of liked how it turned out. What did you all think?