A/N: Just wanted to say thanks for reading. :)
Chapter 4 – Unexpected Revelations
Elsa ducked unconcernedly as an errant snowball came flying at her head, and she returned fire without ever looking away from the snowman she was putting the finishing touches on. A loud splat sounded behind her after which Anna spat out a mouthful of snow and wiped her face, grinning. "That was a dumb idea, wasn't it?" she merrily admitted.
"Since I've controlled these powers since I was a toddler and you have the aim of an Apprentice Architect, yes, it wasn't your wisest move," Elsa agreed, smirking as she stepped back from their creation.
"Hey, you're an Architect, too," Anna pointed out, mildly offended at the assessment of her aiming skills.
"Yes, but I'm a Master Architect," Elsa countered, still smirking.
Anna looked at her wryly, debated about continuing the argument and decided she wanted to talk about something else instead. "So, speaking of those powers, how do they work?" she asked, unexpectedly capturing one of Elsa's hands at the wrist and staring at the fingertips interestedly.
"Give that back," Elsa ordered, trying to get her hand away.
Anna playfully held on for dear life. "Nope, not until you tell me how it works," she said jovially stubborn.
Elsa sighed in amused exasperation, feeling the unfamiliar emotion of happiness well up in her chest at Anna's antics. She could hardly believe that things were going so well; Anna, from the moment she had arrived, hadn't skipped a beat. There was no disbelief, no accusations, or fear on Anna's part, just her being her perky, hyperactive self. "Well, to be honest, I am not completely sure," Elsa admitted. "There is a genetic component of some sort, because it runs in the family, but we've all been sequenced and there is no one gene we can trace it to. It must have an epigenetic component as well."
"Thank you, Ms. Evasive, but I didn't ask where they came from. I asked how they work," Anna teased, tugging on Elsa's fingers.
"And again, I don't really know," Elsa answered, impressed that Anna had called her out on her non-answer. "It does have to do a bit with my emotions. If they are out of control for good or bad reasons, then my power can be unpredictable. If my emotions are all under control, then it is just a matter of me willing snow and ice to either come into existence or do what I want it to. I don't know what happens from my mind to my hands."
"Is that how you created everything here?" Anna asked, impressed. "You just thought of it, waved your hands, and boom?"
"Pretty much," Elsa confirmed.
"Wow," Anna said succinctly. She examined the hand some more, but she noticed Elsa getting more uncomfortable the closer her hand moved to certain areas of Anna. "Does something happen if you accidentally freeze parts of me?" Anna asked. "You seem nervous when I have your hand near certain spots."
Elsa nodded. "If I freeze here…" she began, laying two fingers on Anna's forehead, "…or here…" she continued, placing her hand over Anna's heart, "…then you would grow colder and colder until you froze completely from the inside out, turning into an incredibly detailed ice sculpture."
Anna's eyes grew wide. "Well, okay then. I will try to avoid that if possible," she decided. "It would be a horrible, yet beautiful way to die, though," she mused.
Elsa studied her, not knowing what that statement signified. She took a deep breath and asked the question she had wanted to since Anna crested the hill. "Are you really okay with all of this?" she asked tentatively.
Anna looked at her curiously. "All of what?" she questioned.
"This," Elsa replied, taking her hand back from Anna and gesturing to the frozen wonderland around them. "And this," she continued, flicking her wrists and making snow appear above her palms.
"Yes. Why wouldn't I be?" Anna asked, looking a bit puzzled by the question.
"Because of who it makes me?" Elsa offered.
Anna's brow contracted briefly in thought before relaxing, and her eyes visibly warmed when she looked at Elsa. "Your powers don't 'make' you anything different, at least not to me," she said, meaning it with all of her heart. "You are already so many different people. You're a Plebe, one of the most exceptional that ever lived, according to the State; you're a Master Architect, one of the most brilliant ever seen according to everyone in our Thread; you're the Untouchable that nobody is able to get close to, according to everyone on Campus. Now it seems I have to add your being an Extraordinary with ice powers and a Saboteur to the list. But all those titles don't mean a thing to me, because apart from all of that, you are Elsa, and Elsa is the only person that I care about."
"But how can you know who Elsa is when I'm not sure I know myself?" Elsa challenged quietly.
"Because I see her every day," Anna answered matter-of-factly. "I see her when she patiently explains something for the thousandth time. I see her when she throws a jingle ball into a pristine living space and laughs when her cat knocks something over, just because she loves him that much. I see her when even in the midst of a huge deadline, she manages to know my schedule better than I do myself and makes sure I can go to my Philosophy Club meetings. And I know I see her each and every time she calls me Anna, because Elsa is the only person who ever does that without me asking. She knows how much it means to me, and that's good enough for her." Anna reached out her hands and gently took Elsa's, trying to pick her words carefully for once. She needed to say one last thing, and she didn't want to mess it up. "I love you, Elsa, which I think you knew, but beyond that, I'm in love with you, too, which knowing how well you read me, you probably knew too, so I don't care if you become Patrician or obliterate the Oligarchy, I'm still going to see you as Elsa and I will still love you. Probably until the end of time, or something close, because I'm kind of stubborn when I need to be," Anna finished in a rush, hoping she hadn't just completely messed things up.
Elsa looked at Anna's expressive face, searching for any sign of deceit or trickery. There was nothing to be found except honesty, though, and Elsa let herself start believing that this might all be real. She opened her mouth to say something, thought better of it, and said something else instead. "Would you like to help me remove the snow?" she asked.
Anna blinked. Those weren't exactly the words she had been expecting to come out of Elsa's mouth. "Um, sure?" she replied, "but do we really have to destroy it? It's so pretty."
"We are both wearing our cuffs and the State will know we've been here," Elsa explained. "If we leave it, they'll find us both almost immediately."
Anna didn't like it, but she knew Elsa was right. "You're right," she said reluctantly. "How do we remove it?"
"There are a couple of ways," Elsa responded. "But with what you just told me, this is probably the fastest." She guided Anna's hands to the back of her neck and slipped her own around Anna's slender waist, drawing them closer than they had ever been. Before Anna could comment, Elsa closed the distance between them and brought her lips to Anna's, smirking slightly at Anna's squeak of surprise. As Anna melted into Elsa and the kiss deepened, the snow and ice all around them started to rise, travelling further up in the atmosphere and gathering itself into a large, embellished snowflake. Only when the last of the snow, frost and ice was gone did the snowflake dissipate, and only then did Elsa gently pull away from Anna.
As their kiss slowly ended and Anna came back to reality, a random question popped out of her mouth of its own accord. "Kissing makes the snow go away?" she asked incredulously, looking around at the now bare construction site in a bit of a kiss-induced haze.
"No. Love makes the snow go away," Elsa corrected. "Kissing is just the outward physical manifestation of it."
"Oh, I guess that makes sense," Anna responded, nodding, before really hearing what Elsa had said. "Wait…what?"
"Love makes the snow and ice go away," Elsa repeated softly, her eyes never leaving Anna's.
"Then that means…" Anna prompted with a small smile on her face.
"…that I am in love with you, too," Elsa confirmed, returning the smile, and blushing slightly.
They stood there for a few moments with their arms around each other, each of the women appreciating the moment for what it was and committing it to memory. After a minute or two, though, Anna grew restless, and her smile widened as the impish gleam Elsa knew so well appeared. "Oh, hey, look," Anna said, peering over Elsa's shoulder, "I think I still see some snow over there."
"There's no more snow," Elsa stated evenly, knowing where this was going.
"No, really, there is," Anna protested, even though she couldn't quite keep the smirk off her face.
"No, there's not," Elsa contradicted, shaking her head. "You're horrible at lying and I know when there's snow around. If you want to kiss me, just kiss me."
"Okay," Anna replied, using the hands she still had wrapped around the back of Elsa's neck to bring Elsa's mouth to her own.
With Anna no longer surprised and Elsa no longer using the kiss for snow removal, their second kiss became much more intense much more quickly than their first one had. All of the sensations that Elsa had experienced in her more erotic dreams about Anna were even more intense, and the unabashed lust for Elsa that Anna had reigned in due to their friendship was completely set free. Their bodies pressed closer and hands started to wander, but just as Elsa was about to see if reality was as good as her dreams, a large horn sounded from the direction of the Campus, freezing them both and breaking off their kiss.
"Shit," Anna cursed, trying to catch her breath.
"That's probably my doing," Elsa said, equally breathless and disappointed. "I destroyed the cameras and with the cameras out, they want the Campus on lockdown."
"We could just stay here," Anna offered.
"And get arrested for something as trivial as a lockdown violation?" Elsa asked. "No thanks. When I get arrested, it will be for something big."
Anna chuckled in spite of her annoyance. "No, Master, with who you are, that wouldn't suit you," she agreed. "Should we head back?"
"We have to," Elsa sighed.
They let go of each other, but as they turned to cross the construction site, Anna recaptured one of Elsa's hands and intertwined their fingers. Elsa looked at her curiously, but Anna just smiled broadly. Shaking her head, but smiling anyway, Elsa let Anna have possession and hand-in-hand they walked back towards the Campus.
The closer they got, though, the more the guilt began to weigh on Anna. Elsa had revealed a big part of herself tonight, and Anna knew that it was only because of the trust that they had built up over the last few months. Though they were not at quite the same level as being the Ice Queen, Anna did have secrets of her own and she had guarded them. Now, keeping her secrets seemed like a violation of that trust, and Anna decided that she wanted to keep the trust intact more than her secrets. Spilling her guts would be a risk, of course, but with whom she now knew Elsa to be, it might just be okay.
Elsa glanced at Anna in concern. Anna was being much too quiet and it worried her, especially after all that had happened between them that night. "Is everything okay, Apprentice?" she asked, switching back to their formal titles now that they were back on Campus.
"No, Master," Anna admitted.
"Then what can I do to help?" Elsa inquired.
"With everything that you've told me tonight, there are things I need to tell you," Anna said quietly. "Would you be willing to come over to my quarters and just listen to me talk for a while?"
"Sure, because that would be so different from what I usually do," Elsa said wryly, trying to use humor to cover up how apprehensive she was about how Anna was acting and what her open-book Apprentice could possibly be hiding.
"Thank you," Anna replied, before perking up. "Wait. Was that an actual joke?" she asked, her humor returning just a bit. Elsa just smiled and shrugged. "I love you, Master," Anna said gratefully, hugging her unexpectedly as they reached her building and turned toward her quarters. Elsa hugged her back, and the rest of the journey was made in silence.
Now seated comfortably on Anna's couch, Elsa waited patiently for the information that Anna was obviously terrified yet compelled to tell her. Anna looked at Elsa nervously and began. "I guess I could start with what happened before I met you tonight," Anna said. "You noticed all the messages from me, right?" Elsa nodded, wanting to let Anna keep speaking. "Well, when you didn't respond, I got worried and I went to your quarters to check on you. When you didn't answer and I could hear your cuff chiming through the door, I used my code to get in because I was sure that you were in trouble. That's when I saw your cuff lying on the dresser, which completely freaked me out. Then, I heard a noise in the ceiling and freaked out some more, so I ended up hiding in your closet. From that closet I saw everything that happened when you got home and that led me to the conclusion that you were the Ice Queen," she concluded.
Elsa looked at her, and if it had been anyone but Anna, the story would have been completely implausible and Elsa would have thought Anna was trying to invade her privacy. But, her Apprentice had just the right mix of good intentions, impulse control problems and general awkwardness for the scenario to have worked. "So you knew who I was when you came to the construction site?" she asked.
"I was pretty sure, yes," Anna admitted. "But I told you I was coming before I figured it out." She looked at the ground. "I'm sorry, Elsa; I was just worried about you. I never meant to invade your privacy and I really never meant to find out what you didn't want me to know," she said contritely.
"Except that I did want you to know, and I invited you to the construction site to tell you," Elsa pointed out. "So I can't really see why this is such a big deal. It might have been yesterday, but not tonight, not now. And what did I tell you about apologizing?" she chided.
"Learn from your mistakes, don't repeat them, but never ever apologize," Anna recited.
Elsa smiled. "Very nice," Elsa complimented her. "I do appreciate you telling me, though, Anna," she said.
That had gone much better than expected, Anna mused, but tonight's little escapade was not the main thing she had needed to tell Elsa about. "Um, it's no problem, Master, but there's something else," she said reluctantly.
"Okay," Elsa prompted, wondering what else Anna might be hiding.
Anna looked at her, took about thirty seconds to debate a thousand different ways to say what she needed to say before she just blurted it out as simply as she could. "Um, I'm a spy and I told my Leader that I knew who the Ice Queen was," she confessed, flopping down on the other end of the couch in relief now that she had confessed.
Elsa looked at her, processed the information and looked at her again, keeping her face expressionless. "Could you repeat that please?" she requested politely.
"I'm a spy and I told my Leader that I knew who the Ice Queen was?" Anna repeated.
"That's what I thought I heard," Elsa sighed, as the evening got even stranger. "Could you elaborate or is that all the information I get?"
"What do you want to know?" Anna asked, a little more cheerful now that Elsa just seemed interested, not mad or accusing.
"Well, who are you a spy for, for starters? What or whom are you spying on?" were the first questions. Elsa considered that last question and her eyes narrowed as she looked at Anna. "Me, since you've already told them about me?" she accused softly.
"No, no, no, no, no," Anna said emphatically. "I was never spying on you. Never. And I didn't tell her who you were, just that I knew who you were. I was never supposed to know anything about you. You actually kind of derailed my mission because I started spending so much time with you and I wasn't doing my spy stuff," she admitted sheepishly. "Leader was giving me a hard time about it at our last meeting, and the girls were teasing me because they knew it was because I had completely fallen for you."
"So who is 'Leader'? Who do you work for?" Elsa asked, still not sure how she felt about all this.
"Um, well, we don't have an official name, but I think you would call us 'the Rebellion' or 'the Resistance', or something like that," Anna answered. "Basically, we are a group of Plebes who detest the current State and want to do everything in our power to bring its downfall. We have infiltrated every single thread and are currently gathering information in preparation for the hopefully peaceful but probably not takeover of the government."
"And how do you fit into this?" Elsa asked, relieved that Anna wasn't a spy for the State. At least they were both on the same side.
"Well, after I took the test and passed, and Leader knew that I was going to remain Plebian, she made sure I would end up in Architecture because it was the one thread that we had no one assigned to. I had the drawing talents, but not the math, so she had Hacker break in to tweak the results. She also had me assigned to you, because you had such a reputation for working alone that she thought you would ignore me and I could gather the information I needed to," Anna explained.
"Which was?" Elsa questioned.
"Building blueprints and tech specs, mostly. Also anything else that would help us break into buildings," Anna responded. "But like I said, you were an awesome Master and wouldn't leave me alone, and I started liking Architecture and got distracted by all the pretty, so this whole thing hasn't quite worked out like Leader intended."
"Who is Leader, if you can tell me?" Elsa asked, mainly out of curiosity.
"She's the Master Librarian at the Campus library," Anna replied, figuring there was no point in keeping any secrets now.
"I know her," Elsa stated, after realizing who it had to be. "I've met her from time to time at State functions. She's a beauty but she's a funny girl. She's even odder than I am, if that's possible." She looked at Anna as a thought occurred to her. "Wait. Isn't she also Leader of the Philosophy Club?" she questioned.
"One and the same," Anna confirmed, blushing in embarrassment.
"Meaning this entire time I've been running myself ragged to make sure you could make it to your spy meetings," Elsa concluded.
"It's a social group, too!" Anna protested weakly.
Elsa shook her head in bemusement. "So you're a spy. The most honest, candid person that I have ever met in this fucked-up place is a spy," she said with a touch of resignation.
"I never lied to you," Anna countered quietly. "Like you said before, I'm a horrible liar, and you read me so well that it would have been pointless to try to lie to you anyway. Sure, I left a few things out, but then so did you. The woman that I thought was the model Plebe is an Extraordinary that goes around viciously destroying government property every chance she gets."
Elsa considered that and realized Anna had a point. "You're right," she admitted. "We've been keeping a lot of things from each other, including the fact that we're in love with each other. So, where do we go from here?"
"Well, as of right now, I don't have any more secrets to tell," Anna shrugged. "And all I really want to do is keep being your best friend and Apprentice." Anna tried to stop them, but her eyes filled up with tears anyway. "If that's not possible, though, I understand. I'm used to being alone," she mumbled.
Elsa hated to see Anna sad because it was so opposite to her true nature. She scooted over to Anna's side of the couch and wrapped her up in a hug. "Quit being stupid," she ordered gruffly, even as she felt Anna's tears soak through her shirt. "You couldn't stop being my Apprentice without a formal complaint and a hearing anyway," she pointed out dryly.
Hearing the implicit humor in her statement, Anna looked up. "Was that another joke?" she asked, sniffling as a watery smile came to her face.
"I don't know," Elsa admitted. "Was it actually funny?"
"It made me feel better," Anna answered.
"Then, yes, it was," Elsa decided, tightening her grip on Anna and kissing her forehead.
Anna returned the hug with fervor. "You're amazing," she mumbled into Elsa's chest.
"So are you," Elsa replied affectionately. Elsa really didn't know how, but Anna had become such a part of her life that, spy or no, Elsa couldn't even think of living without her. And when Anna had started crying at the thought of being alone again, well, the Ice Queen's frozen heart had melted into a puddle, and her decision was easy.
Elsa propped her back up against the couch arm and Anna snuggled into her, neither woman speaking, the both of them spent by the emotional upheaval of the evening. Anna's breathing began to even out, and within minutes, she had fallen asleep. Elsa looked at her. "A spy and a saboteur; what a pair we turned out to be," she whispered wryly, before kissing the top of Anna's head and falling asleep herself.
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
A darker-skinned woman stirred at the sound of the emergency alert from her cuff, blinking as she tried to wake up and focus. She peered sleepily at the cuff and sighed when she saw who it was. "Good morning, Leader," she drawled in an accent made thicker by sleep. "To what do we owe the pleasure of your company at such an early hour?"
"Voodoo Queen, good," Leader said over the speaker. "I'm glad that you answered. Ginger contacted me last night and said that she had managed to uncover the identity of the Ice Queen and that she was going to attempt communication with her. I haven't heard from her since, she's not answering my calls and her cuff tracks her to her quarters. Since you and Debutante are closest, I want you guys to go check up on her."
"Of course, Leader," the woman said, knowing it was important if Leader was this concerned. "We'll get going right away. Voodoo Queen out." She rolled over and kissed the smooth, creamy-white shoulder of the person lying beside her who was already awake and half-listening. "Come on, sugar. Leader says we have to go rescue Ginger," she nudged.
"What kind of trouble has that girl gotten herself into now?" the blonde mumbled.
"She's apparently found the Ice Queen," her bedmate informed her.
"Ginger found the Ice Queen? Our Ginger?" the blonde reiterated, incredulous.
"Yes, and apparently Leader hasn't heard from her in a while and she is afraid for her safety, so we have to go, Lottie," Tiana told her, rising from the bed in search of clothes.
"But Tia honey, I'm comfortable," Lottie protested, throwing the covers over her head petulantly.
Tiana sighed indulgently before peeling the sheet back. "I promise I'll make it up to you," she offered.
"I am only getting up if that promise involves you and a couple-dozen of your woman-catching beignets," Lottie informed her, a saucy grin coming to her face.
"Anything for my Debutante," Tiana assured her with a smile of her own.
"Then, my beloved Voodoo Queen, I am all yours. And Leader's and Ginger's, I guess," Lottie added after a moment's thought.
Tiana chuckled, dragging her out of bed. They gathered up their clothes and put them on, with Lottie stopping to admire herself before they went. "Do I look beautiful?" she asked playfully.
Tiana's eyes warmed looking at the woman whom she had loved before she even really knew what love was. "Gorgeous," she said truthfully.
"Psht, Big Daddy always said you were a charmer," Lottie said, duly charmed.
"And my Momma always said you were nothing but trouble," Tiana countered with a smirk.
"You know, I've always liked your Momma," Lottie said with a wink, and Tiana chuckled as they left their quarters.
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
Anna stirred a bit, waking slightly, and she shifted herself to get into a more comfortable position. The back of the couch prevented her, though, and she woke up a little more when she realized this wasn't her bed. A few more seconds of consciousness brought back memories of the evening before, and she realized who she might be sleeping on top of. That woke her up in a hurry, but when a quick inspection yielded nothing but the couch underneath her, she slumped back on the cushions, still a little disoriented by sleep and confused as to where Elsa was or why she might have left. Just then, though, the glorious smell of coffee, bacon and what could possibly be pancakes or waffles wafted in from the kitchen, and Anna's eyes popped open as she tumbled off the couch.
"Good morning, Anna," Elsa chuckled from her place at the stove.
"That smells wonderful," Anna said, taking in a noseful. She made a move towards the kitchen before realizing the bathroom might be a better destination. "Um, I'll be right back."
"Breakfast isn't for another 10 minutes or so," Elsa assured her. Anna nodded and dashed from the room.
As Elsa continued with her breakfast prep, a chime from the front door indicated that someone was there. She glanced at the bedroom, but figuring Anna might not be ready for company, she went to see who it was herself. She looked at the inside viewscreen and the two ladies on the other side looked harmless enough, so she pushed the button to open the door. "May I help you?" she asked evenly.
Tiana and Lottie looked at the striking woman who had opened the door and was casually inspecting them with piercing blue eyes. Tiana looked at Lottie and then up above the door. She was sure that they had the right unit number, but this obviously was not Ginger, and her bare feet and apron indicated the woman that had answered was supposed to be here. Tiana was also sure that she had seen the woman before. Nevertheless, thinking they had made a mistake, Tiana started to apologize. "I'm very sorry, ma'am," she apologized. "We thought that this was our friend's unit, and we were just stopping by to see her."
"It's okay; I don't really live here," Elsa said quickly, seeing the mortification on their faces at their supposed mistake. "This is my Apprentice's unit."
At the word "Apprentice", everything clicked for Tiana. "Of course. That's where I know you from; you're her Master, the Architect," she realized.
"That would be me, yes," Elsa confirmed. "My Apprentice is getting ready right now, but you two are welcome to come in and wait."
Tiana hesitated, but Lottie was not going anywhere without finding out all she could about this interesting situation. "Thank you, Master; that would be lovely," she said, speaking for the first time, careful to use the honorific of Master because she and Tiana were merely Thinkers and Elsa outranked them.
Elsa nodded and moved aside to let them in. "Please have a seat," she offered. "I'll go see if my Apprentice is ready," She went to the kitchen to briefly check on breakfast before heading to the bedroom. Tiana and Lottie looked at one another knowingly, shrugged and sat back to wait for Ginger.
As all this was going on, Anna freshened up a bit in her bathroom. She took care of the necessities before looking in the mirror and realizing her hair needed some work. She also wanted to kiss Elsa properly and there was no way Anna was going to subject her to her morning dog breath, so a teeth brushing soon followed. As Anna was brushing her teeth, she noticed her cuff blinking furiously, and after seeing who it was and spitting out her mouthful of toothpaste and water, she answered it.
"Good Morning, Leader!" she chirped, wiping off her mouth with her hand towel.
"Ginger! Where in the Pillars have you been? Why weren't you answering your cuff?" Leader demanded loudly.
"Um, I was in my quarters and I was asleep?" Anna offered meekly, hearing how upset Leader was.
Leader took a short, calming huff that was so loud Anna could hear it though the voice-only connection. "Are you okay?" Leader asked in a more normal tone of voice.
"I'm fine," Anna replied quickly.
"And what happened with the Ice Queen? Where is she?" Leader questioned.
"Um, she showed me her powers and they were spectacular," Anna answered. "And right now she is my kitchen making breakfast. I think she's making pancakes! Or waffles!" Anna finished excitedly.
There was a long pause at the other end of the line. "And why is she in your kitchen making breakfast?" Leader asked, knowing there was a vital piece of information she was missing here.
"Because she's amazing," Anna said with a love-struck grin that Leader couldn't see. "And she's an excellent cook."
"Who's an excellent cook?" Elsa asked as poked her head into the room. "Who are you talking to?" Anna pointed at her wrist, and Elsa nodded. "There are some friends of yours here to see you," she added in a low voice.
"Really?" Anna asked. Elsa nodded and headed back to the kitchen. "I've got to go, Leader. There are people here."
"I know; I asked them to check up on you because I couldn't get a hold of you," Leader replied curtly.
"Aw, you do care. I promise I'm all right," Anna promised her. "Anyway, breakfast is waiting. Talk to you later, Leader. Bye." She cut off the call, knowing she would get scolded for it later but not caring when she had a living room with actual, real live people and actual, real live breakfast. She exited her bedroom, glanced in the living room to see who was there and headed straight for the kitchen. Elsa turned towards her, her hands full of things to put on the table, when Anna surprised her by kissing her deeply. "I brushed my teeth, just for that," Anna murmured happily when they separated.
"Thank you for your courtesy," Elsa said wryly. "And thank you for the kiss. But, your friends are still on the couch and you need to take these to the table." She handed off a platter of bacon and pancakes to Anna who brought them to the table before going into the living room.
"Good morning!" she said perkily to her two friends sitting on the couch.
"So it would seem," Lottie said with a sly grin, and Tiana chuckled.
Anna blushed. "Um, yeah," she agreed, grinning self-effacingly even as she tried to stop blushing.
"Since my Apprentice seems to have forgotten her manners, would you two like to stay for breakfast?" Elsa inquired, as she put the coffee pot and juice pitcher on the table and came into the living room.
"I was getting to that, Master," Anna huffed. "Speaking of manners, have you guys been formally introduced?" she asked. At a round of head shakes, Anna did the honors. "Master, this is…" she began.
"Voodoo Queen and Debutante, unless I miss my guess," Elsa finished for her, a smile on her face at the all of the other ladies' surprise. "She talks a lot about Philosophy Club," she explained.
"She talks a lot period," Lottie teased. At Elsa's slight chuckle and Anna's glare, Lottie cleared her throat and moved on. "We are very pleased to make your acquaintance, Master, and we would love to stay for breakfast, but now that we know your Apprentice is in good hands, we have more pressing matters to attend to." She stood up and Tiana did the same. They headed towards the door and Anna gave each one of them a hug as the door opened.
"Thanks for coming, guys," Anna said sincerely. "It means a lot that you did that just for me."
"We love you, you know that, Ginger," Tiana said, hugging her back. She and Lottie stepped through the doorway and Anna smiled at them as the door slid shut.
"Well, it looks like Ginger finally got her wish," Lottie said gleefully.
"It does," Tiana agreed with a smile. "But Leader said she was with, you know," she said, not saying the name out loud for fear of surveillance, "and we find her this morning with her Master. Does that mean that her Master is, you know?"
Lottie's eyes widened at the possibility before chuckling. "Well if she is, and if she decides to join Philosophy Club, Leader will be singing hallelujah from the top of her lungs," Lottie predicted.
"That she will be," Tiana agreed. "Come on, sugar; we have to get to work," she reminded Lottie as they picked up their pace towards their quarters.
"So," Elsa began as they settled down to breakfast, "what was all that about?"
"Leader –who was the person I was bragging about your cooking to, by the way– was worried that I wasn't answering my cuff," Anna explained, piling bacon and pancakes onto her plate. "She sent them to make sure I was all right."
"Probably because you told her you knew who the Ice Queen was," Elsa pointed out. "She was worried about you."
"I know, I know, but with everything that happened last night, I forgot," Anna admitted.
"I can see it," Elsa said, before changing the subject. "Now eat your breakfast; we do have to get to work at some point today," she ordered good-naturedly.
Anna grinned. "Yes, Master," she said, squirting syrup on her pancakes and digging in. After a few bites, though, she paused. "Are we all right?" she asked plaintively. "I know I'm not who you thought I was, I know I've screwed up badly, and I know you have a lot reasons including your own safety to never trust me again. Are you really ok with all of this?"
Elsa smiled at the echo of her own words from the previous night. "I spent a lot of the night asking myself the same thing," she admitted. "But, when I asked you those words, you said yes without hesitation, and I know that you meant it. So, even though I have no idea what the future holds, and with everything that we both are, the future isn't bright, my answer is yes. If you are willing to love the Ice Queen when that could mean your death, then I am willing to love a spy when that could mean my own."
"I promise I won't keep anything more from you, Elsa," Anna swore, relieved. "And I will never, ever, betray you."
"I know, Anna, I know," Elsa assured her. "And I will do everything in my power to protect you." She got up from her side of the table and came around to Anna, reaching down to kiss her, to let her know that they truly were all right. When they parted, she kissed Anna's forehead and couldn't resist pointing out one thing. "You taste like syrup," she stated.
"And you taste like coffee," Anna rejoined giddily as she attacked her breakfast with vigor. Elsa picked up her own fork, leaving them in companionable silence until breakfast was finished.