A/N: Well, at least the wait wasn't so long this time. Thank you for reading!
Chapter 6 – The Bittersweet Reunion
Anna shifted slightly as Peanut stretched and kicked, waking her mother from an already fitful sleep. The pressure both above and below Peanut was causing Anna to have to deal with both acid reflux and a compact bladder; consequently, between the burn of the acid and the almost-constant urge to pee, Anna wasn't sleeping all that well. The stretch and the kick woke her up completely, and Anna sighed, knowing her discomfort meant sleep wouldn't return for a while. In response to Anna's sigh, Elsa's arms tightened around her, and the blonde murmured something Anna knew was supposed to be comforting even if her sleepy slurring wasn't intelligible. Elsa's sweetness made Anna smile in spite of her mood, and the redhead tenderly kissed her sleeping protector on the head after she had wiggled free from their embrace.
The loss of Anna's warmth and the gentle kiss was enough to wake Elsa a bit. "Anna?" she questioned sleepily.
"Go back to sleep, love," Anna whispered lovingly. "I'm right here. I am just trying to get more comfortable."
"Okay," Elsa mumbled in agreement, and she turned onto her stomach, her face sinking into Anna's abandoned pillow as she fell back to sleep. Anna chuckled softly, glad to see that her ever-vigilant Intended was relaxed for once. Anna carefully hoisted herself off the edge of the bed, and after another fond look towards the woman she loved with all her heart, Anna quietly opened their bedroom door and slipped out in the hallway, closing it silently behind her.
Even with as quiet as she was being, she roused the sentinel that was always posted at her door, and within seconds, Marshmallow rose and sat by her side. Knowing he only obeyed Elsa when it came to her protection and that telling him to stay at the door would be pointless, Anna rubbed his head and encouraged him to follow her as she started to explore. A glance down the hall revealed that the parlor door was ajar and the lights were on, so now curious, Anna went down the hall to see who else in the house wasn't sleeping.
When the door opened, Laura looked up from the tablet she was reading, and a smile came to her face when she saw Anna. Anna smiled back, and together with Marshmallow, she crossed the room and joined Laura on the couch. One of the Goshen-Possibles had thoughtfully lit the fireplace, and the crackling, smoky warmth gave the whole room a coziness that Anna loved immediately. "So why are you up so late, Laura?" she asked with friendly curiosity.
"I was reading, and I lost track of the time," Laura replied with a self-conscious blush, and Anna smiled. She so was looking forward to tomorrow, when Belle would meet her young, blue-eyed doppelganger. Laura glanced at Anna, and even the child could see how tired she was. "Why are you up?" Laura asked curiously. "You seem really tired."
"I am," Anna freely admitted. "But the little miss in my womb decided she isn't, so she is playing. Peanut moves a lot when she plays, so I can't really sleep with her poking and kicking me. She's also playing with her powers, so right now, my chest is really cold. I can't complain too much about that, though, because it's helping my heartburn," Anna joked.
"The baby is Extraordinary?" Laura asked quizzically.
"Yup, just like her Mama," Anna confirmed with a smile.
Laura glanced down at her tablet at the mention of Elsa, and Anna looked too, seeing a State story about the Ice Queen. "Is Miss Elsa really the Ice Queen?" Laura asked doubtfully. "She doesn't seem anything like what the State says she is."
"She's not," Anna assured her. "But, yes, she is the Ice Queen, and she has been for a long time. She was the Ice Queen even before we met."
Laura brightened, eager to put some of her newly-acquired knowledge to use. "You were her Apprentice, right?" she questioned eagerly. "That's how you two met?"
"Yes," Anna answered with a fond smile. "She was a brilliant and gorgeous Master, and I was madly in love with her within seconds. After she fell in love with me, she showed me that she was an Extraordinary, which made me love her even more. Then we got arrested, I got sentenced to die, and she rescued me. With our friends' help, we escaped to a place where the State couldn't find us."
"I saw the video on that," Laura said, nodding.
"But did you see the real video?" Anna inquired with a smirk.
"I saw the one from the State site," Laura offered.
"No, no, no," Anna said with a smile. "That's not the real video. This is the real video," she declared, accessing a file on the tablet.
Laura watched in rapt attention until the video was finished. "That was way different than what I saw on the State site," she admitted, putting the tablet down.
"And Elsa is very different from what the State makes her out to be, too," Anna said.
"From the way she was so nice to me, I knew that she had to be," Laura said with conviction. Anna smiled, and Laura smiled back briefly before she launched into another round of questioning. "So, now that you're free, are you two married?" she asked.
"Not yet, but we will be," Anna said confidently. "Elsa would like us to be, but I want to wait until the State is gone, and we are really free." Laura's forehead scrunched up, and she looked at Anna thoughtfully. "What?" Anna questioned.
"You and Miss Elsa hate the State, right?" Laura asked. Anna nodded. "And they pretty much hate you back?" Laura continued. Anna nodded again. "So how come they helped you two have a baby?" she asked in puzzlement.
"Oh, they didn't," Anna explained, seeing the confusion. "She was conceived, um, kind of naturally."
"But you said the baby had powers like Miss Elsa," Laura pointed out. "How can that be possible if Miss Elsa isn't her other parent?"
"Elsa is her other parent," Anna contradicted. Laura looked really confused, so Anna searched for a way to explain. "Um, you know how she made Flit, your hummingbird?" Anna began, and Laura nodded. "Well, it means her powers can create life, and somehow, because she loves me, or I love her, or we love each other so much, her powers created life in me, and I became pregnant. We still don't really know how it works, but we really don't care, because we already know we love Peanut with all our hearts," Anna concluded.
Laura pondered that before asking another question. "Are you really going to call her Peanut when she's born?" she asked in childish dismay.
Anna laughed, expecting a completely different response. "It might be her nickname for a while, but no. She'll have a proper name," Anna assured her. "'Peanut' was the name Franny gave her the first time we saw her on the screen. I've known far too many people who were forced to grow up without a name, and my baby girl will not be one of them."
"You are going to be a great Mommy," Laura decided suddenly with a child's absolute confidence.
"Well, Elsa and I are going to try our very best," Anna responded with a chuckle. "But, if we are talking about good mommies, yours is one of the best. She's the reason that being free from the State is even possible."
"Because she's Leader?" Laura asked unexpectedly.
Anna blinked in surprise, not quite knowing how Laura had figured it out. If anyone could figure out who Belle was without being told, though, it would be Belle's obviously-smart daughter. "Yes, Belle is the Leader of the Rebellion," Anna confirmed.
"She's super smart, isn't she?" Laura asked quietly.
"She has to be," Anna replied. "She has a lot of people and things that she is responsible for."
"What if I'm not good enough for her?" Laura asked in a sad almost-whisper, revealing the real reason the worried young girl was up so late. "I've waited so long to meet her, but what if I'm not smart enough? What if she doesn't love or want me because of who I am?"
Anna didn't say anything immediately; instead, she got up from her end of the couch and went to Laura's. She enveloped the young girl in one of her most comforting warm hugs, and Laura burst into tears. Anna rocked her a bit, and when the crying slowed, Anna spoke. "I know why you are asking that, because when I was your age, all I ever wanted was to find my parents and be part of a family. But I was always scared that if I found them, they wouldn't like the hyperactive, clumsy person I was," Anna confessed. "But sweetie, you have absolutely nothing to worry about. Your mom loves you, so much, and she has spent years looking for you. The State hid you away from her at that facility, but she never stopped looking. How old are you?" Anna asked unexpectedly.
"Ten," Laura choked out, sniffling.
Anna smiled tenderly and gently put an errant strand of chocolate-brown hair back in its place. "The Rebellion grew out of a group called the Philosophy Club, and do you know how long ago your Mom founded that group?" she asked rhetorically. "Ten years. She started fighting back the moment the State took you away from her."
Laura looked up. "Really?" she asked.
"Really," Anna confirmed. "Your mom loved you enough to start a revolution for you."
"And Peanut's mommies love her enough to fight in it," Laura realized. Anna smiled and nodded. Laura took a deep breath, and her young face grew peaceful. "Thank you, Miss Anna," she said sincerely, snuggling into Anna's side. "Like I said before, you are going to make a great mommy."
"And you are going to make a great daughter," Anna responded with an affectionate squeeze. They sat quietly for a few minutes until their mutual fatigue caught up with them, and before either of them knew it, they were fast asleep.
EEEEEEEEEEEEE
Elsa took in a sharp breath as she awoke unexpectedly, and the intake of air filled her nostrils with the scent of Anna. The scent brought her temporary comfort, but her anxiety returned when Elsa realized that she was smelling Anna only because she was on Anna's side of the bed, not because Anna was there. Elsa bolted upright, springing into battle mode instantly, until her memory reminded her of the gentle kiss and Anna's words about getting more comfortable. Memory also reminded her that they were deep in a Rebellion-controlled territory in a well-built house that had seven Extraordinary women within its walls. Elsa took a deep breath and calmed down, but she still slipped out of bed to go look for her Apprentice. There was no Marshmallow stationed outside the door, and Elsa calmed down further knowing her lynx was with Anna. A light down the hall caught her attention, so Elsa went to investigate, cautiously and quietly opening the door. When she saw the couch, Elsa couldn't help the loving smile that came to her face as she took in the sight of Anna, Laura and Marshmallow.
Anna had managed to fall asleep sitting up, even though her head was at an uncomfortable angle. Laura was snuggled into her side, also fast asleep, and right beside her, guarding all three of them, was Marshmallow. Marshmallow had his eyes closed, but his ears were still actively searching, and when Elsa stepped closer, he opened his eyes and lifted his head. Seeing who it was, he put his head back down on his paws and closed them again. They all looked so peaceful that Elsa didn't want to disturb them, but she knew Anna would wake up in pain if she kept her neck bent like that.
"Apprentice," Elsa whispered, slipping in beside Anna and putting her head on Anna's shoulder.
"Hm?" Anna murmured, instinctively leaning into Elsa.
"You need to move, Apprentice," Elsa coaxed. "You'll hurt yourself if you keep sleeping like this."
"S'okay," Anna mumbled. "Babies are sleeping," she explained, making a sleepy, uncoordinated gesture towards Peanut, Laura and Marshmallow with the arm that wasn't wrapped around Laura.
Elsa sighed in sentimental exasperation. She could see Anna's point, and she sympathized, but Anna looked too uncomfortable for Elsa to leave things be. After a moment's consideration, Elsa slipped out from beside Anna and positioned herself on the couch so that she could cradle and support both Anna and Laura's weight. Then, with the gentlest, warmest wind an Ice Queen could manage, she lifted them from the couch, directed the wind to guide them into a reclining position, and lowered them back down to the couch. Elsa's arms went around Anna, and the redhead sighed happily. "Still so amazing," Anna murmured, before sleep claimed her once again.
"So are you, my love; so are you," Elsa whispered, kissing her softly before leaning back on the couch.
EEEEEEEEEE
"Migo?" Franny questioned as she poked her head into her sister's bedroom. "Have you seen Freckles and the Ice Queen?"
Mim shook her head. "No, I haven't, Kigo," she said, as she put her hair up for the day.
Franny moved down the hall. "Shego? Have you seen our guests?" she asked Lilly, coming into the next room.
"Can't say that I have, Kigo," Lilly responded.
Franny frowned. It was incredibly unlike the Ice Queen to be late for anything, but it was time to go, and neither she nor Freckles were downstairs. They weren't in their bedroom either, and Laura was also missing. Still moving down the hall, Franny came to the last place she hadn't looked, and when she opened the parlor door, she figured out why Frosty Pants wasn't awake yet. "Well, that's so damn sweet I am going to need insulin," Franny muttered, seeing the cuddle-fest that was happening on the couch. She surreptitiously took a picture with her communications device before she crossed over to the couch and gently shook Elsa's shoulder. "I hate to wake you, Frosty Pants, but we need to leave for the meeting with Belle," Franny said, and Elsa snapped awake.
"Shi…oot," Elsa said, realizing how late it had gotten but unwillingly to swear in front of children. She kissed Anna awake, who in turn roused Laura. All three of them quickly retreated to their rooms and got ready in record time, grabbing some portable breakfast Ronni had thoughtfully left out for them as they rushed out the door to Franny's waiting van. After a few minutes and a couple of miles, they were at the Middleton Municipal Administration building, and they all went upstairs to the conference room.
General Kim and Governor Ronni were sitting in their usual places at the conference table, and they had put chairs in Elsa and Anna's usual places in anticipation of their arrival. When projected, Anna and Elsa would be in the same place they always were when there was an administrative meeting. They had also pulled up a visitor's chair for the newly-liberated Rapunzel, who was cheerfully sitting while waiting for the meeting. Not wanting to distress Belle by giving her no notice of the girl's existence, Laura and Franny sat just outside, waiting for someone's signal to come in. The four women in the Middleton conference room waited, and soon all of the other Governors and Generals started to file in. When everyone was present and the table was full, Elsa stood up, alerting everyone to the fact she wanted to speak. Though it was a deviation from the usual protocol where Belle spoke first, no one really minded the change, and everyone gave her their full attention.
"Good morning, everyone," Elsa said, and everyone returned her greeting. "I know it is typical for Leader to start our meeting, and I know with the rescue yesterday we have much to talk about, but we have something, someone actually, that needs to be introduced." She looked at Belle, and Belle spontaneously shivered, uneasy with the inscrutable expression on Elsa's face. Elsa continued. "When Goshen and I went to the facility yesterday, we only intended to rescue Blondie. But, after seeing the conditions of the facility, we decided to rescue everyone. One of the prisoners was a young girl, and it turns out she is very special beyond being an Extraordinary," Elsa said, going over to the door when she stopped speaking. It opened, and Laura and Franny walked in. Seeing all of the new faces, the girl grew shy, and she grabbed Elsa's hand for comfort. "Everyone, this is Laura," Elsa stated, squeezing the trembling hand she held in hers.
The room fell silent as everyone looked at Laura, looked at Belle, looked back at Laura, and then finally looked back at Belle. All of them saw what Elsa and Franny had seen, namely the girl's uncanny resemblance to Belle, which was even more obvious now they were virtually in the same room. Belle slowly rose from her chair, and her projection gradually worked its way from the head of the table to the spot where Elsa and Laura stood. The hologram stopped in front of them and knelt, bringing Belle to Laura's eyelevel. Brown eyes looked into blue, and seeing Adam's blue eyes in a younger version of her own face was all it took. The Leader façade cracked, and the mother who had searched years for her child emerged. The tears started to fall, and there was very little Belle could do to stop them. Everyone in the room except for Laura disappeared from Belle's vision, and when she found her voice, she spoke.
"Hello, Laura," Belle said, her voice cracking slightly. "I'm Belle, and I have been waiting so long to meet you."
"I've been waiting a long time for you too," Laura answered shyly.
"I'm so sorry I couldn't find you sooner," Belle apologized, her anguish evident on her tear-streaked face.
"It's ok," Laura said, and the honest, non-reproachful tone to her voice told everyone in the room she was sincere. "You found me eventually. You sent Miss Elsa and Miss Franny, and they found me. And Miss Elsa destroyed my cuff to let me be Extraordinary again."
Belle smiled at the joy on her daughter's face. "And how are you Extraordinary, Laura?" she prompted, her smile widening at her happiness and excitement at talking with her daughter.
"Um, I bring inanimate things to life," Laura answered.
"Really? Can you show me?" Belle asked interestedly, standing up beside Laura. Laura looked around, trying to find something that was actually in Middleton and not a hologram. Governor Ronni helpfully held out a pencil, and Laura quickly retrieved it from her. Laura wrapped her hand around it and concentrated, and very quickly, the pencil stretched and shuddered, opening its new eyes. Wings sprouted from its back, and it used them, taking off from Laura's hand and buzzing around the room. Belle watched it in joyful fascination before turning back to Laura. "That's a wonderful power, darling, and you control it so well," Belle said admiringly.
"Thanks, Mama," Laura said bashfully, the endearment coming so naturally that it took Laura a moment to realize she'd said it. Looking at Belle's shocked face, Laura cringed and tried to apologize. "I'm sorry, Miss Belle; I should have asked. I mean, I've only just met you, and…"
"…I think you have just made me the happiest person alive," Belle interrupted, causing Laura to halt her rambling.
"Really?" Laura asked. Belle nodded, and Laura smiled wider. "So I can keep calling you Mama?" she clarified.
"Every second of every day," Belle confirmed.
Laura laughed, ecstatic at finally having her Mama with her, until something occurred to her. Her smile faded, and her voice grew soft. "So you are okay having me as your daughter? Even though I'm not as smart as you, and I'm an Extraordinary?" she asked hesitantly.
"How do you know you are not as smart as me?" Belle questioned with an affectionate smile.
"You're Leader. You have to be one of the smartest people ever," Laura pointed out.
"It's true; I'm very smart, but I'm very old. You are young; I'm sure you can become smarter than me if you try," Belle assured her.
Laura giggled at Belle calling herself old. "Ok, so I can work on the smart thing. But what about my powers?" she prompted, still slightly fearful of Belle's disapproval.
"What about them?" Belle replied. "The Rebellion wouldn't exist without the Extraordinaries that have chosen to fight for it. Most of them are right in this room, and they are already a part of our family."
Laura looked around the table. By this time, Elsa had left mother and daughter to their conversation and had taken her place beside Anna. At Laura's glance, she raised her hands, and snowflakes started dancing between them. Laura's eyes moved to Franny, and the Physician dutifully lit up her plasma. Right beside her, her mother Kim unexpectedly did the same, and Laura's eyes widened at the dueling green glow. With a shrug, Elinor thought that she might as well join in the demonstration, and soon a large brown bear sat in the conference room. Taking her cue, Fa Zhu transformed as well, and a red dragon joined the brown bear. Rapunzel started singing softly, and her hair turned blond and started to glow. She reached over to Franny, healing a pronounced scar earned from long-ago rowdy play with her two sisters. Laura took it all in, and her eyes circled the table. When she got to Eudora, the older lady smiled and shook her head. "Sorry, sugar," she said with a twinkle in her eye. "No powers here. My daughter is the one that can move things with her mind."
Laura smiled back at Eudora before looking once more at Belle. "I like our family, Mama," she said simply.
"So do I, darling; so do I," Belle agreed, looking at her high command with love and affection. They all smiled back, and after a moment to soak it all in, Belle returned to being Leader, eager to share the happy, significant news she had found. "All right, everyone. It's been a lovely morning, but we really need to get to work," she said crisply, returning to her seat. Laura followed her and sat down in a nearby chair. Belle clicked something, and an image popped up on the screen beside her head. "First off, let me give my thanks to Elsa, Franny, and Kim for their skill in this mission," Belle began. "It was a very successful. They not only retrieved our stolen comrade, but they liberated everyone else, and we have at least 50 new Extraordinary recruits who have asked to join. I will scatter them throughout the territories, but if they have a preference, I'll send them where they choose. For instance, Eudora, Eli, you will be receiving a young lady who can manipulate wind and air currents, or 'painting with the colors of the wind', as she calls it. Her family are originally from the South, and she wanted to go back there."
"The more the merrier," Eli said with a smile.
Belle nodded. "I will let the rest of you know who will be joining you when I learn if they have a preference," she stated, before continuing on with the next matter. "In addition to the people, this mission also allowed us to uncover some other secrets, thanks to Jane Porter, the former Enforcer. Jane was second-in-command for the entire Extraordinary incarceration program, so she had access to years' worth of information. The files she gave us allowed us to learn the location of some other Extraordinary prison facilities, so in the near future, we might want to think about liberation operation for those sites as well. Besides this though, she gave us some information that may allow us to finally turn the tide of the war," Belle revealed.
"Which is?" Elinor prompted.
"She provided real evidence for what some of us have suspected for a long time," Belle answered. "The Extraordinaries were not responsible for the Great Destruction. The government at the time, the one the State ultimately grew out of, caused it by trying to destroy the Extraordinaries at all costs, and instead they caused their own destruction and that of their people. The few Extraordinaries that were left after the slaughter were blamed for something that they never did."
The room fell silent as everyone absorbed that information and tried to process it. Even though every Extraordinary in the room was proud of his or her powers, living in a society that declared you to be an inhuman blight of nature had taken its toll on every single one of them, whether they admitted it to themselves or not. With just a few sentences, Belle had exonerated every one of them, and now, at last, there was proof that they were just human beings with special abilities. They weren't monsters or murderers; they were just people. It was an absolution that most of them never thought they wanted or needed, but it freed them all just the same.
Anna looked down at Peanut and placed her hand on her stomach. For a person who did a lot of talking, it was odd, but for once Anna simply didn't have any words. The knowledge that her baby girl would grow up in a world where maybe, just maybe, people wouldn't despise her, was the greatest gift Anna could have been given, and she was speechless. A cold hand covered her own, and Anna looked over to Elsa. Anna could see the same joy in Elsa's face, joy most likely intensified by Elsa's own liberation. They smiled at one another, and Elsa intertwined their fingers before letting their hands fall back to cover Peanut.
Belle smiled at all of the happy faces around her table. She had been ecstatic to find that information, and now that she had shared it, she let everyone else in on the rest of her plans. "With the Rebellion, public opinion has been turning positive towards Extraordinaries, especially because of how much the people love the Ice Queen," Belle said. Elsa grimaced slightly, but said nothing, and Belle continued. "But, the old prejudices still remain. Cornelius and I are putting together a broadcast compilation that contains information from Jane, shots of Extraordinaries doing good for the people and me talking, with the hope of doing two things: one, to get the People to rethink their prejudices against Extraordinaries, and two, to spur any remaining Extraordinaries to come out of hiding to join our cause. After its release, we will gauge its effectiveness, and if it is successful, it might be time to think about our ending strategy," Belle told them.
"Meaning if we recruit enough Extraordinaries and damage the State's reputation enough, we will finally attack Campus in an attempt to end this war and gain our freedom?" Fergus clarified, his excitement about this prospect obvious in his tone.
"Yes," Belle stated firmly. "Are there any concerns or objections?"
Everyone sat back in their chairs, all of them thinking about the possibility of that final battle. There were mixed emotions all around, but most, even the most reluctant like Elsa, longed to finish what they had started. The stalemate was getting to everyone, and with this last piece, it seemed like the time was finally right to make the last, final push for freedom. "No, Leader, at least not for the South," Eudora said. "We are behind this plan, and you, one hundred percent."
Belle looked from Governor to Governor, and all verbally gave their consent. The last Governor she queried was Anna, and the redhead smiled. "Arendelle supports you, too, Leader," Anna assured Belle, and Elsa nodded her agreement. "It's time for us to do something. And, truthfully, though I know I'm probably being selfish because there are so many other people involved, I would really love for Peanut to come into a world where she is free," Anna said.
Belle nodded, understanding completely. "Good. Then we are all agreed," Belle stated. "Does anyone have anything else they would like to discuss?" Just off to her right, a timid hand rose into the air, and everyone turned their attention to Laura. "Yes, Laura, what would you like to talk about?" Belle asked.
"Now that I'm not at the facility anymore, where am I going to live?" Laura asked hesitantly.
Belle considered that question before she answered. Her first impulse was to answer "With me, of course" but her relationship with Laura was brand new. Her daughter might not feel comfortable living her yet. "Well," Belle finally said. "You have some choices. I know that anyone of the four ladies you have already met would be glad to have you live with them, so you could stay with Goshen's family, you could go to Arendelle with the Ice Queen and Anna, or you could go to the South with Rapunzel. You could also come up to Dunbroch and live with me."
Elsa kept her face carefully composed, but inside, she was panicking. She felt ill-prepared for taking care of a newborn, and she was fairly certain that she would be even less prepared for an older girl on the edge of adolescence. Besides that, where Franny and Rapunzel had other people to help, but she and Anna lived alone in their house. Unless Elsa enlisted her parents or some of her soldiers, there would be no one extra to help with her care.
Anna felt the cold hand on her stomach grow even colder, and she realized that Elsa was stressing out about the prospect of Laura choosing them. It would be an adjustment, sure, but Anna was confident they could handle it. They could handle practically anything when they were together. She lifted up their still-entwined hands and kissed Elsa's, and almost instantly, the hand started to warm.
Laura looked at all of the four prospects before turning back to her mother. "If it's all right with you, Mama, I want to live with you," she admitted.
Belle smiled, her thoughts on that decision showing in her beaming smile. "Of course that's all right with me, darling," she said happily. "I just thought that you might be more comfortable with someone that you know a little better."
"But you are my mother," Laura pointed out. "I want to get to know you."
"Fair enough," Belle answered, her smile growing wider.
"I would like it if Miss Elsa, Miss Franny, Miss Anna and Miss Rapunzel could come with me, though," Laura admitted with a sheepish blush.
Franny shrugged. "I have to take Freckles, Frosty Pants and Peanut home anyway. If Blondie wants to join us, we can just go up to Dunbroch first before I drop everyone else off," she offered. Everyone nodded and smiled, and the plan was set.
"Meeting adjourned," Belle declared, and people started to file out. "I'll see you soon, darling," she promised Laura before her hologram faded out.
"Well, let's get back to the Mansion and get everyone all packed up," Ronni decided, and the Middleton contingent followed her out of the room and into their transports.
EEEEEEEE
After packing up, saying their goodbyes and receiving a basket of "snacks" from Ronni that could have fed one of Elsa's battalions, the five women took off for Dunbroch. While Franny flew, Anna and Rapunzel kept Laura busy and entertained by sharing stories about their lives as Plebes and as Rebels. Franny and Elsa would chime in from time to time if Laura asked a particular question, and by the time they landed, Laura had a good working knowledge about the Rebellion and how everything had come to be as it was in the State.
Franny landed in the woods relatively close to the Woodcarver's hut, but since she didn't remember exactly where it was, their landing spot was simply her best guess. After they bundled up against the winter cold, the hatch opened, and they all disembarked into the snowy wilderness of the northern woods. Laura looked around, fascinated by seeing snow for the first time, while Marshmallow paced in his impatience to be out in his beloved woods once again. "Be back by sundown, sweet boy," Elsa told him, stroking his head briefly before giving him a sharp whistle that signified he was free to go. Marshmallow rubbed against her in thanks before rubbing against Anna, and she rubbed his head before he took off for his native woods.
Once the craft was carefully camouflaged, Elsa took the lead, guiding them all through the wintery woods to the dilapidated cabin that served as the disguised outside of the cottage. A brown bear sat patiently waiting with a key to the outer door, and Elsa smiled as she took the key from Elinor's teeth. The bear sat on her haunches and extended her paw, and Elsa willingly went into her embrace. When Elsa was done, it was Anna's turn, and the redhead hugged Elinor for a long time. After gently moving back, the bear snuffled Anna's stomach and put her massive paw on it, huffing with laughter when Peanut moved. Anna gave her one more hug before Elinor decided it was time to leave, lifting a friendly paw to the rest of them before she ambled out of the clearing.
"Was that the lady at the table?" Laura asked as Elsa started unlocking the outer door.
"Yes," Anna confirmed as the lock clicked and the door swung open.
They all came in, and Elsa carefully locked the door behind them. Anna led the way to the inner door, and she put her hand on the panel to unlock it. Her print was still recognized, so the door slid open. All of them walked into the living room area to find Belle waiting for them. Laura hesitated briefly before going over to Belle, and with a sob, Belle sank to her knees to take Laura into her arms. The two of them cried together for a while, and the others just let them be.
Franny, in particular, passed the time by going to greet Cornelius. It had been a long time since she had seen her spiky-haired best friend, and she had missed him terribly. He had obviously missed her too, and the two of them got lost in their own little world for a while. Anna noticed and pointed it out to Elsa and Rapunzel, both of whom smiled knowingly. One way or another, they were going to have to convince those two oblivious idiot geniuses that they had been in love with each other for years.
With about half of their party engaged in emotional reunions, the other three went to the couch to sit down and wait. Nieve noticed that her original mistresses were there, so she came over at once, and Anna and Elsa happily played with the little snow cat. Rapunzel got in a few tickles too, and the kitty was the perfect distraction to keep them occupied until everyone else had joined them on the living room couches and chairs. Belle sat on the couch with Laura snuggled up against her, and she looked around gratefully at the women in the room. "Thank you," she said simply.
"You're welcome," Elsa replied sincerely.
Belle looked at Anna for a long time, as if she were making up her mind about something. Finally, she spoke. "There was more information on the drive," Belle said. "Namely, the former Citizen numbers and profiles of everyone who has ever been confirmed to be an Extraordinary." Belle took one more look at Anna and let out a breath. "Knowing that many of our number were Plebes, I ran a cross-check with the data, looking to see if I could find anyone's unknown relatives. Several familial relationships to people in the Rebellion came up, meaning there are or were Extraordinaries related to our people, but most of the relationships were fairly distant. There was only one close match," Belle explained.
"Which was?" Franny prompted.
"One of the DNA profiles was a maternal match to someone in the Philosophy Club," Belle revealed. "According to the DNA and my search, Anna's mother is an Extraordinary."
Anna's eyes grew wide, and she stared at Belle. "My mother?" Anna sputtered incredulously. "You found my mother?"
"Yes, from the DNA it would appear so," Belle confirmed.
"Where…where is she?" Anna asked hesitantly, hoping she was still alive. Elsa automatically put her arms around her Intended at the troubled tone in Anna's voice.
"There is an operational Extraordinary facility in the mountains near Campus," Belle answered. "She is being held there."
Anna took that information in, letting the knowledge that her mother was alive sink in. She started crying, putting her face against Elsa's shoulder. Elsa knew how much Anna had longed to know her mother, even though she now had several surrogate mothers scattered across the State. Elsa cradled Anna, soothing her before turning her attention to Belle. "Do you have her coordinates?" Elsa asked, her voice even.
"I do," Belle confirmed.
Elsa kissed Anna on the forehead, causing the redhead to look up. "I'll go get her for you, my love," Elsa offered.
"I can't ask you to put yourself in danger like that, Elsa, not when Peanut is so close to being born," Anna protested, even though she badly wanted to accept the offer.
"What about if I went with her?" Franny proposed.
"And me too?" Rapunzel added.
Anna looked around at her friends. "You would do that?" she asked.
"Of course we would, Freckles," Franny said with affectionate exasperation.
Anna looked hopeful for a few seconds, but then her face grew stoic. "No," she decided. "I can't endanger you all like that."
"They got me out without a problem," Laura piped up suddenly.
Franny grinned. "Kid's got a point," she pointed out with a smirk.
Anna looked around once more. "Okay," she agreed at last. "But only if you promise to abandon the mission at the first sign of any kind of danger for any of you."
"Sounds like a reasonable compromise," Elsa said. With that, the matter seemed settled, and the conversation turned to planning and general gossip until it was time for bed. Elsa let Marshmallow in, Belle showed Laura to her new room, Franny and Rapunzel took the bedrooms they had used before, and Elsa and Anna went to their bedroom. As they were undressing, Elsa saw Anna's doubt and hesitance were still there, so she went over to her Apprentice. "I promise to come back to you as always, my love. You have done so much for me; please let me do this for you," Elsa pleaded.
"I don't want to lose you because you went chasing after one of my childish dreams, Elsa," Anna stated. "I don't want to lose you because of someone I don't even know."
"You won't lose me," Elsa swore, taking Anna into her arms. "At the first sign of danger, we will be back on the transport and back to Dunbroch."
"Promise?" Anna asked, clutching her shirt.
"With all of my heart," Elsa promised.
Anna smiled and kissed her lover. "Thank you," Anna said softly. "For everything."
"Anything for you, my love," Elsa said warmly, kissing Anna deeply. When the kiss finally broke, they resumed undressing and got into their pajamas. After another quick kiss and the extinguishing of the lights, they both fell asleep. The next morning, Elsa, Franny and Rapunzel left for their mission, and Elsa promised once again to be safe. After they were out of sight, Anna, Laura and Belle went back into the cottage to wait to see what the day would bring.
EEEEEEEE
The Patricians sat in their throne room, the eight of them waiting on the news that the Major would bring. At last he came through the door, and he bowed to them as protocol demanded. "I have news, your Excellencies," he said.
"Well, what is it?" Patrician Scientist asked impatiently.
"The operation was successful, Your Excellencies," he replied. "The Traitors uploaded the information that was planted in the computer systems and were able to locate their comrade and the Extraordinary facility with it. As you predicted, the rescue party did not limit themselves to their one Traitor comrade and instead liberated everyone. The tracking device implanted in the Librarian Traitor's daughter is working, and after a brief stop in Middleton, the device now tracks her to the forest outside of Dunbroch."
"Do you have coordinates?" Patrician Philosopher asked.
"Yes, Your Excellency," the man replied.
Patrician Philosopher chuckled. "Then we put a stop to this nonsense once and for all. Send in the invasion force," he growled, and the man saluted and left.