A/N: As with other authors, reviews help me improve. Please let me know the good, the bad, the ugly, but no flames please.
As Anna passed her own room on the way to Elsa's, she could hear angry voices coming from her door. "Ugh, what now?"
Opening her bedroom door, Anna is shocked to see a ten foot tall ice version of herself shouting and somebody huddling behind a chair. Taking a closer look, Anna sees a three foot version of Elsa cowering away. With every word from the big Anna, Elsa curls further into her hiding spot. Guilt and humiliation are obvious on Elsa's features.
"And what the heck were you thinking anyway? You lock me out for thirteen years, and expect me to forgive you just like that? It was several YEARS before I heard anything other than 'go away'. You don't think I would resent that?"
"I'm Sorry," whimpers Elsa.
"Do you really think sorry cuts it after thirteen years? You've been a sorry excuse of a sister since the gates were originally closed. Even now, the best I could get for attention from you is one evening a week. I thought I had done something to drive you away until your coronation! I was guilt ridden for years, all because you felt sorry for yourself! You didn't trust me then, why should I trust you now?"
"I was scared I would hurt you again. I was trying to protect you from me."
"PROTECT ME? You almost killed me thirteen years ago, and then tried to kill me again less than a week after your coronation. I can't believe I was willing to sacrifice myself to save you from Hans! Protect me, HAH! You're deluding yourself. You're weak, spineless, disgusting, and rotten to the core! You're the DEFINITION of evil, and you don't even have the sense to know it!"
At this time, the real Anna sees an opening to step in. "Of course, if I didn't love you UNCONDITIONALLY, regardless of your actions or feelings, I would still be an ice statue right now. Trust what I say now. I believe you are a beautiful human being who has trouble trusting in her own abilities. Lean on me and we can be strong together."
"Although," chimes in the tall Anna, "I'm not sure why I would want to saddle myself with you. I don't want to carry your sorry butt for the rest of my life. I've sacrificed myself too much for you already. You're just too undependable."
"But" interrupts the real Anna, "I would willingly do so again in a heartbeat if it meant we could be together. I don't want to be alone again! I can't live like that anymore. I need you, whether you realize it or not. We are stronger together! Please, just trust me. Even if you can't trust yourself, put your faith in me. We can stand together, side by side."
Elsa looks up at Anna as she stops talking. A glimmer of hope shines in her eye, and she doesn't seem quite so small anymore. Shifting her gaze to the giant Anna, she seems to have shrunk to almost a normal size. Pressing her advantage, Anna walks over close to Elsa. Extending her hand, Anna continues to speak. "Please trust me now. I can't lose you again. I-I don't think my heart could take it. I don't want an empty heart, I don't want to be alone, and I REALLY don't want to lose you again. I couldn't bear it." Finishing her speech at barely louder than a whisper, Anna just stands there with her hand out. "Even if you won't trust yourself, trust me."
Elsa slowly reaches her hand out towards Anna's. Hesitating, Elsa looks at Anna face with uncertainty. Anna's smile and almost pleading eyes seem to have an effect on Elsa. Taking a deep breath, she places her shaking hand in Anna's. Gently, Anna pulls Elsa out from behind the chair and into a warm hug. Quietly, Anna keeps whispering a single phrase over and over again: "I love you." Glancing around, Anna can't see her icy self anywhere.
"Thank you," sobs the Icy Elsa, hugging her as if her life depended on it. "I'll never leave you again. I promise."
"I believe you. Thank you for believing in me."
"I always have," whispers Elsa.
"I have to check something. Is it alright if we go back to your room?" asks Anna.
At Elsa's nod, Anna leads her out of Anna's room, hand in hand. A guard posted in the hallway gives them a startled double-take, but Anna waves him to silence before he can speak. After a moment, he just nods mutely.
Upon reaching Elsa's room, Anna notes the temperature drops right outside the door. Alerted to something not completely right, Anna walks boldly into the room. Elsa follows her in and stays by the door.
Once she walks in, another icy Elsa is standing near the window, but the physician is nowhere to be seen. Idly, Anna notes the hair braid is over her right shoulder as she stares out the window. Glancing at the bed, Anna can see a woman's shape completely covered by the blankets.
"You're here too soon," says the new Elsa without turning around. "You need to go away. You shouldn't be here right now."
"What do you mean?"
"I don't want you to feel guilty for what needs to happen. You need to leave so I can complete my task."
"You're not making sense. Can you be more clear?"
"I don't want to have to hurt you. Not in the future, and not now." Anna gives the icy Elsa a startled glance before surveying the room again. This time Anna notes a blood trail from the bed to a changing screen.
"What have you done?" asks Anna as she walks to the screen.
"I'm saving everybody from me. I'm afraid I've had to make some sacrifices to complete my task. You don't know how sorry I am."
Anna gives a puzzled look to Elsa before looking behind the blind. There lies the missing physician, his open eyes gazing at the roof, the metal breathing tube projecting from his chest just to the right of his heart. Anna's eyes fixate on the breathing tube for a minute before her eyes go VERY wide. Jerking her eyes to the bed, Anna wonders how Elsa could possibly be alive without the breathing tube.
Quickly walking over to the bed, Anna pulls the covers back to the monarch's waist. Sweat is pouring off her body. Elsa was breathing on her own, but it was shallow and raspy. Other than slightly bluer lips than normal, her skin didn't show any signs of a lack of air. The breathing tube must have affected the swelling enough to keep the airway open without it.
Looking down to her shoulder, Elsa's skin was off color near the wound site, and was giving off a decidedly unpleasant odor. The bandages looked like they were long overdue for changing. As Anna reaches for the bandages, she hears the bitter, icy Elsa ask "What are you doing? Don't touch her body!"
"Stop! Don't touch Anna!" shouts the meek Elsa, surprising everyone. With quick strides, she puts herself between the bitter Elsa and Anna.
"She needs to leave the queen alone. It's for her safety!" retorted the bitter Elsa.
"Think about what happens when she dies! Anna will be alone again. Are you going to kill Anna in the name of keeping her safe? That doesn't make ANY sense!"
"It won't matter to us. You and I will be gone when the queen dies. While I wouldn't kill Anna, more sacrifices may be necessary. At least it would be the last time we hurt her, and then she would be safe from us!"
"And how will she feel afterwards, now that she knows what you are trying to do? She'll have nobody to help her with the loss of her sister. She has no other close family!"
"I-I have to stop her," the bitter Elsa says in an uncertain voice.
"No."
"Why not? What possible reason could you have to allow her to save us?"
"Because I trust her more than I trust us!" shouts the usually meek Elsa. The bitter Elsa takes half a step back in surprise and shock. The movement allows Anna to see around her protector to see the dagger in her hand.
Anna's face pales at the danger she was actually in. 'Well, that's a first. At least it has always been an accident up to now. I didn't think she could bring herself to hurt me. Guess I know better now.'
"Thank you for your trust, Elsa. I'm going to trust you BOTH to let me help her. Please," says Anna as she turns back to her sister on the bed. With deliberate effort, and no small amount of fear, Anna ignores both the icy Elsas in an attempt to prove her trust.
Hands trembling, Anna opens and removes the old dressing. 'I can't rebandage this! There is puss coming from the wound. I need to clean it first.' Glancing at the changing blind, Anna thinks to herself 'I'm no physician! I don't think Elsa would allow anybody else this close to her though, not without winding up like the physician. Gods, I hope I'm right about her."
Anna rises and goes to a water pitcher on Elsa's dresser. Retrieving a cloth and filling a bowl of water, she slowly returns to the bed. A quick glance to the icy Elsas tells her that the meek Elsa is standing ready to protect her as she works. The other Elsa is standing off to the side, looking confused and lost.
Returning her attention to the wound, Anna starts talking quietly to her sister. "I don't know if you can hear me, but please Elsa, don't give up. Don't die on me. I need you." begged Anna as she carefully attempts to clean the wounds. Tears fall as she speaks.
After about half an hour of careful cleaning, the job was complete. Elsa's head tossed and turned throughout the arduous process. Blood still seeped from the wounds, but the flow appeared to be minimal. Replacing the bandage, Anna did her best to avoid causing more pain to her sister.
Once Anna is done with her patient, she turns to speak to the bitter Elsa. "I need to move her to another room. We have to remove the physician's body and clean up the blood. We can't wait until staff returns to do this though. Can I trust that when the time comes, you'll allow me to have help moving her to my room?"
With a nod, the bitter Elsa slowly moves to a nearby table. Flashing the injured Elsa a weak, sad smile, she places the dagger on the table. Straightening up, her body starts to come apart in a small flurry of snow. Still weakly smiling, she just stands there until there is nothing left of her icy body. Anna could have sworn she heard her say "interesting" at the last second.
Turning to the meek Elsa, Anna haltingly asks "you - you're not going to leave me too, are you?"
Shaking her head, she replies with a smile. "No. My time here has actually been long over. I – I was supposed to go when you stopped my abuse. Because of the love and trust you've shown me, you have extended that time. I managed to stay BECAUSE you needed me, and my help. That and I have to prove to you and to myself that you really can trust me."
Anna, tearing up, races forward and envelopes her savior in a warm hug. "You can stay with me forever if you want. I couldn't do this without you."
After a few minutes, Kai finally returns to find the princess still hugging 'Elsa'. Anna turned to him after releasing her icy savior. "We need to move the queen to my room immediately. Set up a chair on one side of my bed. Put a cot on the other side, where the wound is, so I have a place to sleep. Nothing heavy, so we can move it to check the wound easily."
"Very good, my lady. If I may ask, where is the physician? Queen Elsa was not to be left alone for any reason."
Taking a deep breath, Anna reached down and pointed out the blood trail to Kai. His face paled as he realized the connection. "He is behind the blind. We found him there when we got here." Anna has to pause to take several deep breaths before she can continue, tears once again threatening to fall. "Elsa is losing her will to live. The physician was 'counterproductive' to that idea, and had to be 'sacrificed'. Because she still cares for me deep down in her heart, I am being allowed to do more things than anybody else, at least without coming to harm."
"Nobody is to interact with the living ice except me, or by my direction. Be sure the guards are informed. So far, Elsa's ice creations are still reacting to me in a good way. Elsa has even given me a protector, somehow. I have to return the favor by protecting her any way I can. Please get her one of Elsa's non-ice belts so I know whom I can trust. She has proven herself to me in multiple instances through words and deeds. I would trust her with my life, and I don't want her hurt for ANY reason." The icy Elsa and Anna trade shy smiles at this point.
After placing the belt on 'Elsa', Kai walks over to the bed and gently picks up the queen. The three of them walk quietly to Anna's room. While Kai places the queen in Anna's bed, Anna talks to the guards stationed in the hall. After being requested to remove the physician's body, he walks off with a pale face.
'If I have to see another pale face after I talk to somebody, I'm going to be sick,' thinks Anna sadly.
After ensuring the queen is resting comfortably, Anna turns to the icy Elsa. "I don't know how to say this, so I'm just going to be blunt. Please don't take any offence, as I really don't want to hurt your feelings. If I keep calling you Elsa, everybody will get very confused. I know I have trouble keeping everything straight as it is. Would you, I mean, if you don't mind, of course, c-could I give you a new name? I was thinking Hazel is a nice name. But if you have another preference, I would gladly use it instead, if you are willing to use another name, of course."
'Oh gods, do I sound pathetic, or what?' thinks Anna sarcastically. 'I haven't been this flustered in at least a few hours!'
"Hazel would be lovely, thank you. For a minute there, I thought you were going to ask me to leave forever."
"I'll never ask that. Should something change between us, I would never stop you from choosing to leave. I would miss you greatly if you did, though. I won't ever ask you to leave, except maybe for your safety. I – Hazel?
"Yes?"
"I-I don't know how much longer I can keep doing this. I'm not Elsa, and I don't think like her. Don't know how she keeps making these decisions so quickly or effortlessly. The physician died because I wasn't fast enough. Elsa would have been able to save him, if our positions were reversed."
"It's not as easy for her as it looks. Many times, she looks more confident than she really is," whispers Kai. "Often, she doesn't really know the consequences of her decisions as she makes them. I've overheard her talking to herself in the study on several occasions, trying to convince herself that she has made the correct decisions for the good of all.
Everybody turns to Elsa as her mumbling interrupts their conversation. "Do you want to… snowman?"
"Oh no! Elsa, please give me a break. Everybody be ready. Whatever she talks about could very easily become real, and possibly very deadly." Anna just watches Elsa, waiting for the guards to find something new. Elsa, for her part, just lies on the bed. Her eyes are open again, but glazed over. Unfortunately for Anna, she doesn't have to wait long.
"Miss Anna, there are more ice people that have been found. Two young girls made from ice are playing in the ballroom."
Giving Anna a sideways glance, Kai is the first one to respond. "I… really think we need to see this one."
Following the guard, Anna, Hazel and Kai quickly head for the ballroom. As she passes a group of four guards, she pauses to ask two of their number to post themselves beside the door INSIDE Anna's room. She is emphatic with the guards that they are not to be in the room alone for even a second, for their safety.