A/N: As if you couldn't tell from the title, this chapter is a little darker than the last one. Thanks for reading!
Chapter 5 – Bitter Realities
After Elsa left, Anna went running for her shower, knowing she had to hurry or she was going to be late. Breakfast had been wonderful, but for Anna, the best part had been the cleanup. They had cleared the table, washed dishes and chatted all the while, and the atmosphere was so warm, familiar and familial that Anna had wanted it to last forever. The kitchen was clean eventually, though, and Elsa needed to leave to get ready for work and to feed Olaf, so Anna had reluctantly let her go. She had tried one last time to convince Elsa to stay, rightly pointing out that the uniforms were all the same, that she and Elsa were about the same size, and that she had a spare, but Elsa had just smirked, kissed her, and told her "nice try, but if I do that, I have a feeling we would never get to work" before leaving.
Anna smiled to herself as she stepped into the shower. So, perhaps, her intentions were not the purest for trying to get Elsa to stay, but for the most part, Anna wasn't actually trying to seduce Elsa. She wanted to and planned to seduce Elsa, of course, but this morning, Anna had really just wanted Elsa to stay. Elsa wouldn't be late to work unless she was dead or dying, though, because according to the State, those were the only two legitimate reasons for missing or being late to work. Anna chuckled as she turned off the water and stepped from the shower. She had always thought that Elsa was so particular about the rules because she was just that much of a fine, upstanding Plebian. Now, however, Anna knew Elsa followed the stupid trivial rules so she wouldn't be under suspicion when she broke the stupid important ones.
Anna finished getting ready and checked her cuff for the time. They had already had coffee this morning, but Anna was in a particularly good mood, and she wanted to get her Master a surprise. Deciding she had enough time to at least swing by and see what the line looked like, Anna left her quarters and the door slid shut behind her. She exited her building and made her way towards the coffee shop, unable to keep an enormous, goofy grin off of her face. Her resting face was always cheerful, but this morning, it was unmistakably happy because Anna herself was happier than she had ever been. She had approached this level of happiness after figuring out Elsa was the Ice Queen, knowing that her perfect woman was even more perfect if she hated the State as much as Anna did. She had also come close to it walking into the gorgeous frozen spectacle that Elsa had created just for her, and then had come even closer when they had spent the time playing in the snow, kissing and declaring their love for each other. Now, though, Anna was happiest. There were no more secrets between them and their relationship had survived all confessions, so now they just had to navigate their uncertain future together. True, they were navigating through a world out to kill them both, but today, Anna refused to think about that. Today, she mused as she hopped into the manageably short line for coffee, today she just wanted to be happy.
Elsa strode into the Architecture building promptly at her usual time, her uniform crisp and her hair immaculate, exuding the cold authority that usually sent people scurrying the other way. She passed through the security scanner and gave the guard a curt nod before taking the elevator to her office suite. Once the elevator doors closed, Elsa breathed a sigh of relief and, hoping the cameras were still out, allowed the radiant smile she had been fighting all morning to finally emerge. Ice Queens, literal and figurative, weren't supposed to smile, so she had tried to tamp it down, but her euphoria had finally gotten the better of her and once alone, the smile had emerged unbidden. Watching the floors tick away and knowing she would scare her Office Assistant if she emerged from the elevator smiling, she carefully composed her face back into its stoic mask as the doors opened.
Her Office Assistant looked up nervously from his screen as she entered, and Elsa was instantly on alert. There was real fear in his jet black eyes, along with sympathy and worry that surprisingly seemed to be directed towards her. They had never been all that friendly; he was an Assistant, Elsa was a Master, and the difference in their ranks dictated that their relationship was one of strict, efficient professionalism and nothing more. Besides the requisite "Good Morning" and "Good Evening", every word that Elsa had ever spoken to him had been about work. Seeing him worried, and worried about her, made Elsa realize that something was very wrong.
"Good Morning, Assistant," she said.
"Good Morning, Master," he answered in a subdued tone.
"What do I not know?" Elsa asked simply.
He looked at her sadly. "There are a Master and a Thinker from the IRB in your office," he replied. "They wish to speak with you and the Apprentice."
With that answer, Elsa felt her happiness melt and evaporate like a snowflake on a warm spring day. Officers of the Interface Review Board, IRB for short, were sent to question any Plebe who, based on information received at the Interface, was thought to be out of compliance with State rules. If, after aggressively questioning said Plebian, they determined said Plebian was out of compliance, then said Plebian would be subject to Censure, which resulted in one or several of myriad punishments. The IRB was for investigating irregularities and minor offenses, however, which was the only good thing about them being here in Elsa's view. If this were about the Ice Queen, it would have been Enforcers in her office, not IRB lackeys. Having the IRB visiting, as well as them wanting to speak to Anna, meant the Ice Queen, and Elsa's life, were safe for the moment. It was the Master Architect and her Apprentice that were in trouble somehow.
Elsa sighed. "Thank you for telling me, Assistant," she said gratefully. "Please tell the Apprentice when she arrives."
"You're welcome, Master," he said sincerely. "And of course, I'll tell the Apprentice. Good luck." Elsa gave him a nod, turned herself into the ice-cold Master Architect and walked to her office door. After it slid open, she walked through, refusing to acknowledge the black-uniformed visitors in her office chairs until she was seated behind her desk. Even then, she didn't speak, content to appraise them and watch one of them grow uncomfortable under her unrelenting gaze. One of them didn't wilt, however, and Elsa surmised this was the Master. She was a taller woman, taller than Elsa herself, with curly ringlets of graying black hair that had been gathered into a loose ponytail down her back. Her thin, pointed nose and sharp, gray eyes coupled with a glowering expression radiated the clear message that not only was she was going to do her job, she was probably hoping it would end in Censure.
The androgynous IRB Thinker was not nearly as menacing, but instead seemed quiet and contemplative. It look Elsa a brief second, but she finally figured out the quiet person was a woman. She too had black hair, but it was straight and smooth, and her beautiful dark brown eyes indicated that her ancestors had come from the Asian continent. Those eyes looked at Elsa, and a spark of recognition flashed in them, surprising the Architect, who was sure she had never met the woman before. Elsa turned her gaze back towards the other woman and waited, knowing only a fellow Master could question her.
"Good Morning, Plebian," the IRB Master said. "As you may have surmised, I am a Master Detective for the Interface Review Board, and accompanying me is a Thinker Detective. We are here to ask you about some irregularities in your Interface data as of late."
"Very well," Elsa replied calmly, as there was little else she could say.
"We wish to speak with your Apprentice, too," the Master Detective informed her. "Where is she?"
"If she is not here by now, she is getting us coffee," Elsa stated confidently, glancing at the clock. "In fact, she's probably there now, if you ladies would like anything." When the Master offered no reply, Elsa turned to the Thinker. "Would you like anything, Thinker Detective?" she asked politely, continuing to act as if these two people who could haul her off to prison at any moment were mere clients.
"Green tea would be lovely, thank you, Master," the Thinker replied with a small smirk at the woman's cool chutzpah. So this was Ginger's Master, she thought. Between the beauty and the attitude, it was very easy to see why the feisty Ginger had fallen so hard for her. Elsa nodded, activated her cuff and typed a short message, before looking at the Master Detective again.
The Master Detective frowned, not liking the coolly confident attitude she was getting from her fellow Master, mainly because the Detective wasn't used to it. People were afraid of the IRB, and finding someone who wasn't was a rarity. "What is your designation, Plebian?" she asked, getting the questioning underway.
"And here we go," Elsa thought. Out loud, she began her formal recitation. "I am an Architect," she began, "in the Thread of Architecture in Pillar of Mathematics. I have achieved the Designation of Master within my Thread, and I have held this Designation for a period of 1.5 years. I am currently 21.3 years old, and my Plebian identification number is 256."
The Master Detective typed in all of this information into her tablet, her eyes narrowing as she processed the information internally. "That's extraordinarily young to achieve Master," she concluded.
"I am extraordinarily talented," Elsa replied matter-of-factly, and the Thinker's eyebrow rose in surprise and admiration at the immodesty.
The Master Detective coughed. "Are you now? I'll take that into consideration," she replied sourly. She consulted the tablet for the information she needed to formulate her next question. "The Interface indicates that you left your quarters at 22:00 hours last night and arrived at a restricted off-Campus location at 22:15. At approximately 22:40, your Apprentice joined you in this location and you both spent 43 additional minutes at the site. What was your purpose for leaving Campus and visiting a restricted site during Quiet Hours?" she inquired.
"The site is open to me at all times as I am the lead Architect on the project," Elsa answered, relieved that this seemed to be issue that IRB was investigating. She had chosen that location specifically because she and Anna had a reason for being there. "I wanted to visit the site when I knew it would be uninhabited so that I could visualize where to place all of the building components," she explained.
"And why did this require a visit during Quiet Hours?" the Master Detective persisted. "Surely construction does not go that late into the night."
"It doesn't," Elsa readily agreed. "But I wanted my Apprentice to accompany me, and she was otherwise engaged from the time she left work until 22:00 hours."
"Doing what?" came the next question
"I didn't accompany her, so I can't say for certain, but to my knowledge she always attends Philosophy Club meetings on that day during that time," Elsa replied.
"Hm. It's interesting that you know your Apprentice's schedule that well," the Detective commented.
Elsa shrugged. "I'm her Master, and she talks a lot. I know everything about her," she said truthfully.
"I see," the Detective said noncommittally. She consulted her tablet again. "So you wanted to look at the building layout. How would that be possible when it was dark outside?" she asked reasonably.
"The security system recognizes my cuff signature and I can access the electrical and lighting systems," Elsa replied. "I turned on the flood lights." Granted, she had turned them on so that the light would magically sparkle off all of her exquisite ice sculptures, not to actually see anything, but the Detective didn't need to know that. She also didn't need to know how the sight of Anna's enchanted face as she saw Elsa's ice for the first time was quickly becoming one of Elsa's most cherished memories.
The Detective opened her mouth to comment, but was interrupted by the sound of the door opening. "Good Morning, Master," Anna said, her voice subdued but still cheerful as she came into the room and set the tray of coffees and tea on Elsa's desk. She gave Elsa a quick glance to let her know that the Assistant had informed her of the situation before turning towards her side of the office.
"Good Morning, Apprentice," Elsa replied, as Anna went to put the rest of her things over on her own desk.
Anna returned to Elsa's desk, rolling her office chair in front of her and placing it just behind and to the left of Elsa's chair. She then came around to pull drinks out of the coffee tray, handing Elsa her coffee. After a quick appraisal of their guests, she handed the black coffee to the Master Detective and the green tea to the Thinker Detective. "Good Morning, Master; Good Morning, Thinker," she said, as she handed each one of them their drinks. The Thinker inclined her head in thanks, and Elsa saw a brief flash of affection in those dark brown eyes directed squarely at her Apprentice.
It was only the years of practice in concealing her emotions that allowed Elsa to hide the seething, irrational jealousy that sprung up alarmingly fast. Just as quickly, though, her rational mind took over to put together the few observations she had made about the Thinker, and she realized who the Thinker might be. A little ashamed, she took a sip of her coffee, pausing when she realized what Anna had gotten her. Now really ashamed at her jealous thoughts with the proof of Anna's sweetness in her hand, Elsa took another sip to hide her discomfort before doing what she always did when Anna brought coffee. "Thank you, Apprentice," she said sincerely.
"You're welcome, Master," Anna replied happily before turning to the Master Detective who was staring at her coffee cup balefully. "Is your coffee not to your liking, Master?' Anna asked.
"It's fine, but I didn't order this," the Master Detective stated, annoyed.
"Yes, I know, Master, but my Master said that we had two guests and I didn't want anyone to be left out," Anna explained, settling into her seat beside Elsa and placing her coffee on the desk.
"Do you often ignore basic directions?" the Master Detective asked tartly.
Anna considered the question, blithely ignoring the pointed tone. "I am getting much better at not ignoring them than I used to be," she decided after a moment's thought. "My Master tells me that I still have a long way to go, however."
The Master Detective looked at her in slight bewilderment, as if she couldn't believe someone would be that candid with the IRB. Anna merely smiled back, so the Master Detective pressed on. "Uh, yes, thank you for your answer," the Detective said slowly. "I am still in the process of questioning your Master, though, so you will need to return to your own office."
"This is her office," Elsa interjected. "Her desk is right over there."
"You share your office with a mere Apprentice?" the Master Detective questioned dubiously.
"I share my office because she is an Apprentice," Elsa countered in an even tone. "I can't very well teach her Architecture if she is always down the hall from me."
The Master Detective sighed in frustration. "Do you have a conference room?" she inquired, irritated.
"Of course," Elsa answered.
"Good," the Detective said. "Thinker, please take the Architecture Apprentice to this conference room to question her about yesterday evening."
"Yes, Master," the Thinker said promptly. "Will you please show me where it is?" she asked Anna as they both rose from their chairs, taking their drinks with them.
"I'd be happy to," Anna replied. "Please follow me." She gestured towards the door, and after it had opened, the two of them exited and turned left down the hallway.
When they were gone, the Master Detective resumed her questioning. "So, Architect, let me summarize. You decided to assess the building layout of a construction site in practically the middle of the night because you wanted your Apprentice to be present, but she had a prior engagement. This in turn caused you to be off-Campus during Quiet Hours. Would that be a fair summary?" she inquired.
"It seems accurate, yes," Elsa confirmed.
"Very well," the Detective commented. "So why didn't you ask her before she went to her meeting so that you could observe at a more reasonable time? She's your Apprentice; she would have to say yes."
"True," Elsa allowed. "But she looks forward to Philosophy Club all week, and I wouldn't want to take that from her, and anyway, the decision to go was fairly spontaneous, so I didn't think about asking her while she was still at work."
"Spontaneous," the Detective echoed. "That is very interesting coming from you. Answer me this, extraordinarily-talented Master Architect," the Detective needled, "Why would a Plebian who has never, ever done anything out of compliance with the rules, and who never, ever deviates from her schedule suddenly decide to be spontaneous?" When Elsa didn't answer, the Detective continued. "It wouldn't be because she is in an unsanctioned relationship with her pretty, free-spirited Apprentice, now would it?" she asked rhetorically, a smug look on her face.
Elsa looked at her, her face turning cold and expressionless. This IRB visit made so much more sense now. It wasn't really about the late-night visit to the construction site; true, it was a bit unusual, but Elsa did have permission to be there, and she and Anna had come back when the lockdown horn had sounded. The IRB had nothing to charge them with for last night. No, this was about the pattern that the Interface had calculated, a pattern that indicated two Plebes were defying the State by spending too much time with each other, a pattern that the IRB had decided was confirmed by Elsa's actions last night. "I'm not in that type of relationship with my Apprentice," Elsa stated coldly.
"Sure you're not," the Detective mocked her. "For three years, you associated with absolutely no one outside of work. If it hadn't been for the beautiful buildings and the fawning praise from the Patricians and everyone else, the IRB would barely have known you existed. Then about three months ago, you finally get an Apprentice. And suddenly, the woman whom everybody knew but nobody knew anything about starts spending an inordinate amount of time with this Apprentice, culminating in a highly-suspect off-Campus trip and an overnight stay at her quarters. You know, for someone who is known for being so very, very smart, you were very, very stupid about this."
"And I think you are giving the Interface a little too much credit," Elsa snapped. "Yes, we have grown close and we spend a lot of time together. I will fully admit that we are friends. That does not mean that we are in any kind of a long-term, unsanctioned relationship. Besides, I would never pursue that kind of a relationship with her. It would be an unethical exploitation of the unequal power dynamic that exists between a Master and an Apprentice, and even though many Masters on Campus gladly exploit this inequality for their own pleasure, I am not one of those Masters. I outrank her and I hold the rest of her career in my hands; there is no way such a relationship would ever be equal, and that type of relationship wouldn't be fair to either of us."
The Detective looked at her, her smug smile still in place. "All that may very well be, Architect, and from the vehemence of your response, I am inclined to believe you, but the Interface is rarely wrong," she stated. "So, even if you two aren't in a relationship, there is no doubt based on your increased heart rates, your body temperature variations and the hormonal releases that happen every single time you two are in the same room together that you two are not only attracted to one another, you are dangerously close to falling in love."
"It doesn't matter if we are in love; it doesn't even matter if we are having sex; the only thing that the State cares about is that we don't care more about each other than we do about the State," Elsa countered frigidly, her hatred for the State growing deeper with every word. "And, Master Detective, in spite of all of your technology, you have no proof that our friendship is doing anything thing to undermine the State, so you have no charges against us."
"True," The Detective admitted, "And, based on your previous statements, it seems like you have some sort of weird moral code preventing you from pursuing anything long-lasting, which just might keep you out of trouble. But, extraordinarily-talented Master Architect, just be aware that we know everything about you, and we are tracking you, and if you want us to be the bad guy, then fine, we will be more than happy to be the bad guy. We especially love bringing down arrogant –sorry, "extraordinarily-talented"– Plebes like yourself."
Elsa folded her arms across her chest, carefully tucking her hands under her arms to serve the dual purposes of looking intimidating and counteracting the deep desire to freeze this woman solid. "I will keep that under advisement," she said dismissively, refusing to be intimidated by this bureaucratic thug.
"See that you do," the Detective replied ominously, rising from her chair. She pushed a button on her cuff. "Thinker, we are done here. Meet me by the elevator," she ordered before leaving Elsa's office without another word.
Elsa glared at the Detective's departing form until the door shut behind her, at which point her hands dropped into her lap and she released the breath that she had been holding. "Fuck," she cursed.
After a few moments, the door slid open, and Anna entered, saying nothing but going immediately to her seat by Elsa. Looking more closely at her Master's face, Anna's heart dropped and she instinctively reached out for Elsa's hand. "It's bad, isn't it?" she asked softly, noting the chill in the fingers laced with her own and taking it as a bad sign.
"Not as bad as it could be," Elsa replied truthfully. With her free hand, she reached for the notepad and pen on her desk. She scribbled something down and handed it to Anna. "We can't talk about it in here," the note read. Anna nodded. Elsa squeezed her hand and let it go. "Well, we are behind schedule now, Apprentice, so we need to get to work," she declared.
"Yes, Master," Anna said automatically, getting up and returning her chair and herself to her own desk.
The morning and the afternoon passed without much conversation. Elsa didn't feel like talking, and everything Anna wanted to talk about she couldn't, so it was easier to remain in silence. Finally, right about the time Anna usually left, Elsa spoke. "Olaf is missing you, Apprentice," she said, as Anna looked up. "You should come by tonight and see him. I'll make us something for dinner."
"I would love to," Anna answered with her usual smile. "But, no, you already cook for me way too much. I'll bring the food."
Elsa winced before she could help it. "Uh, thank you, but no thank you, Apprentice. You know I cook because you can't, right? " she asked bluntly.
"Yes, I am well aware of that, Master," Anna retorted wryly, happy that their conversation felt normal again. "But I never said I would cook. I said I would bring food."
"As long as I can be assured that you are not cooking it, then yes, you can bring the food," Elsa stated with a wry smirk. "Is six o'clock okay?"
"It sounds wonderful," Anna replied. She glanced at the clock. "May I have permission to leave, Master?" she asked.
"Yes. I'll see you at six," Elsa said, anticipation warring with dread.
Anna nodded and gathered up her things. "Good evening, Master," she said, moving to and standing by the door as it opened. Elsa smiled and nodded, giving her tacit permission to leave, and Anna left.
Elsa had just gotten home and changed out of her work clothes when her door chimed promptly at six. She hurried into the living room to answer it, reaching out to help Anna with her bags when the door slid open. "I've got it, Master," Anna assured her as she walked through the living room to get to the kitchen. Anna set the bags on the counter and turned to go back into the living room, but as she turned, she bumped into Elsa who had been standing quietly behind her. Before Anna could say anything, Elsa put her arms around Anna and kissed her passionately.
The ferocity of the kiss surprised Anna more than the kiss itself. Excepting their second kiss in the snow, Elsa had seemed to be holding herself back somehow. She wasn't holding back now, though, and Anna couldn't help the aroused whimper that escaped her throat. That only seemed to encourage Elsa further, and she deepened the kiss, leaving Anna's head spinning from the taste of her.
Eventually, the need for oxygen caused the kiss to slowly dissipate, and Anna collected herself with a small smile as they drew apart. "I'm not complaining, mind you, but why do I have the feeling that kiss was a direct result of today?" she asked.
"Probably because it was," Elsa murmured into Anna's neck, still holding on to her.
"What happened today with the Master Detective? Why couldn't we talk about it in the office?" Anna asked.
"You don't know?" Elsa said incredulously. "The Thinker didn't ask you about us?"
"No," Anna replied. "She asked about the off-Campus construction site visit, but that was it."
Elsa sighed and led both of them to the couch to sit down. "I don't know if the Thinker wasn't privy to it, or if she was purposefully not telling you, but we weren't being investigated by the IRB for last night. We were being investigated for having an unsanctioned relationship," she explained.
Anna looked at her with a for-once unreadable expression as Olaf noticed she was there and happily jumped into her lap. "I just got you to kiss me yesterday," she said in disbelief, stroking his fur absentmindedly.
"I know," Elsa replied.
"We've been together less than a day," Anna continued, moving her hand to scratch Olaf's ears.
"I know," Elsa repeated.
"I know couples who have been together for years, and they've never been investigated," Anna stated, her fingers moving to Olaf's chin.
"All true," Elsa confirmed.
"Then why us?" Anna asked plaintively, gathering up the purring Persian into a hug before replacing him on her lap.
"Well, the Master Detective said something about "bringing down" arrogant Plebes," Elsa offered. "It's either that or simple bad luck."
"So now what do we do?" Anna asked apprehensively, knowing they were caught in a winless situation.
"I don't know," Elsa confessed reluctantly. "A small part of me wants to go outside, shout 'fuck you!' to the heavens and kiss you on the front steps of the Great Hall. Most of me just wants things to stay as they are, where we are best friends turning into lovers turning into whatever the future holds for us. But then I'm reminded of our reality, and that if we do either of those things we are going to end up arrested, and that if we end up arrested, there's a really good possibility that our other secrets will be revealed, and that if our other secrets are revealed, we will be executed."
"There's another option," Anna stated, even though staying away from Elsa wasn't something she wanted to do or even to think about.
Elsa shook her head. "There is no other option," she said firmly.
Anna looked at her sadly. "You know there is another option," she said.
"No, there's not," Elsa reiterated vehemently. "I know this is going to sound terrible, but the truth of my situation is that I am going to be executed. Just by being who I am I should be in prison, but since I've used my powers against the State, when they find out, they will kill me. Since I'm going to die anyway, I would rather die knowing I didn't squander one of my few chances for happiness." Elsa sighed, looking down before looking back up at Anna. "You've become my family, Anna. I tried not to have one again, because I knew it would be taken away from me, again, but you were a force of nature and I just couldn't resist you. Now that you are my family, I am not going to lose you."
Anna gently wiped away the single tear that had slid down Elsa's cheek. "You're my family, too, Elsa," she said softly. "As a Plebian kid, a family was all I ever wanted, and I've finally found it with you. But, if we have to keep our family intact by not being a family for a while, then that is better than losing our family entirely. I am not going to lose you either, Elsa, and I'm certainly not going to lose you because you have a death wish."
Elsa sighed. "I don't want to die, Anna; it's just reality," she countered.
"It doesn't have to be," Anna disagreed. "You have been incredibly good at hiding your extracurricular activities; otherwise you would already be dead. I don't see that changing, and if you never get caught, you never get executed. As far as our relationship, let's just back off for a while. It will suck, but we both know how to be alone and at least we will see each other every day at work. Then, when things have calmed down, you can start making me pancakes again."
"Or maybe I can just teach you how to make your own," Elsa offered, her spirits perking up just a bit. She studied Anna critically. "How do you have such a positive outlook on things?" she asked finally. "You have every right to be cynical and bitter. How do you always think that things will turn out for the best?"
Anna shrugged. "Because even when things don't turn out for the best, they sometimes do," she said cryptically.
"That was not helpful," Elsa retorted. "But I hope that you're right." She kissed Anna on the forehead. "You do know that even if I get caught, I'll never implicate you, right? I'll die protecting you from them," Elsa promised.
"I know," Anna assured her. "But I don't want to live without you, so that would be pretty pointless anyway." Her stomach picked that moment to growl, so she put Olaf down, got up from the couch and pulled Elsa with her. "I think it's time for dinner," she said, purposefully changing the subject. "I brought chocolate cake."
"Did you bring any real food?" Elsa asked, as she followed Anna into the kitchen.
"Cake is real food," Anna protested, "but yes, I also brought some salad and pasta." She started unpacking the bags as Elsa got out the plates, glasses and a bottle of wine. The food was still reasonably warm, so they dished out what they wanted and took it into the dining room without bothering to heat it up. As they ate, they lingered over their food, wine and cake, but eventually time ticked away and Anna knew that she had to go.
As they stood near the door, Anna put her arms around Elsa. "Promise me that you won't do something stupid because you are pissed and you think you're going to die," she pleaded.
"The only stupid thing I have ever done in my entire life is to tell you my real name," Elsa reassured her, reciprocating Anna's hug.
"And why was that stupid?" Anna inquired, curious.
"Because it destroyed the Ice Queen and made me become Elsa again. The Ice Queen had a much better chance of survival," Elsa said bluntly.
"But Elsa's the one I love," Anna countered, earning a smile from Elsa. She kissed Elsa deeply before reluctantly drawing away and heading towards the door. "Good night, Master," she said formally when the door opened. "I will see you tomorrow at work."
"Good night, Apprentice," Elsa replied sadly, but resignedly. Anna nodded, turned and left.