Anna had only come to Ahtohallan once, a few months after the fog had lifted from the Forest. It had been such a beautiful experience. She remembered the way the ice glittered and sparkled, and how strange it had felt. Welcoming, like the arms of her mother wrapped tight around her. Ahtohallan wasn't just Elsa's, it was Anna's, too, though she wasn't quite sure she was ready to understand.

But she hadn't come back since and couldn't really put into words why. If Elsa hadn't practically pleaded with her, she might still be in Arendelle right now, where a new library had just opened.

While her stomach was doing flip-flops, her sister looked determined in a way that was endearing but also a little concerning.

"Why does it feel like we're marching off to war," Anna said, reaching out to take Elsa's hand and force her to slow down.

"There are…. There are memories here. Memories I've avoided, memories we never really saw as children," Elsa said, chewing on her lip. She turned to face Anna, taking her other hand, "Memories that I think we both need to see."

"What do you mean?"

"I promised Cass that I wouldn't just let things sit and fester, that I'd seek the truth here. Try to seek answers about why our mother and father acted the way they did."

Anna frowned, squeezing Elsa's hands, "They were trying to protect us and Arendelle."

Elsa sighed, "We were children, Anna. Barely old enough to be responsible for our own actions let alone events and powers out of our control. I blamed myself for hurting you, and they let me. I pushed you away and hurt you so badly and they let me. They let the trolls take your memory away!"

Tears pricked at the corner of Anna's eyes, the conversation one she'd never really wanted to have and one she'd always kind of tried to ignore, "Elsa…"

"Did your memory ever return?" Elsa asked, voice as quiet as the wind.

Anna stared at her for a long moment, the tension in her stomach making her feel nauseous, "Not the real ones. Not even after I learned the truth. Not until we came here that last time and even then it's like looking at them through a foggy window."

"Our parents aren't here to ask. They can't defend themselves or offer context for their actions." Elsa let go of one of Anna's hands but kept her grip on the other, "I think that's all I really want. Enough context to find closure. To understand. To finally close that chapter of my life."

"This has… really been bothering you, hasn't it." Anna let herself be pulled along, studying her sister more than their surroundings, "And I'll bet you never said anything because you were afraid of ruining my good memories of them."

"Yes." Elsa nodded, looking a little pensive, "but you need to know that I don't hate them. I just… I just want to know. Does that make any sense?"

"Yes." Anna squeezed Elsa's hand, "You need closure and as much as I don't want to admit it, so do I."

"Thank you," Elsa said. "I love you."

"I love you too."

And then, voices, "Well, maybe it's time for the truth. I'm not ashamed of who I am. Maybe it's time I come clean. Let them judge me as they will."

Anna realized she was holding her breath as figures formed out of ice and snow. She recognized their mother, and there was another man; Lord Peterssen, though much younger than she remembered. He'd been one of their father's advisers and had acted as Elsa's regent.

"That's noble," he was saying. "And under other circumstances, I'd agree.. Unfortunately, in this case, you're not the only one who could lose everything. It won't take them long to realize my involvement in the matter. They will strip me of my title and begin a challenge to Agnarr's claim to the throne. How can he effectively rule a kingdom, they'll ask, if he is in love with their number one enemy?"

"That's ridiculous," Anna said, her voice an echo to her mother's response.

"That's Grandfather's doing, and others like him," Elsa said, her tone like the edge of a knife and so icy that Anna looked at her in concern.

"The Northuldra are still trapped, we visit the mist twice each year. They can't be responsible for the attacks."

Attacks? Anna mouthed, making a note to check the records when she got back.

"I know that, but it makes little difference. Fear makes people act without reason. If Agnarr is found unfit to rule, there will be more chaos. With me gone as well, there would be no one to step in to lead. Our neighbors would see... opportunity."

Anna grit her teeth, understanding the political implications but also loathing the entire conversation that her mother had been forced to endure.

"You should have left me in that orphanage, or simply arrested me that first day and tried me as a traitor."

"I refuse to regret my decision to save an innocent child! You've been a gift to this kingdom, the work with the farmers and the windmills? I couldn't be more proud. I just wish things were different..." His voice trailed off as they melted away.

Elsa folded her arms, her face twisted up in the same sort of conflict and confusion that Anna felt.

"He... was trying to protect her? I think?"

"'I just wish things were different,'" Elsa repeated. "It just sounds like an excuse to me." She unfolded her arms, rubbing her palm with her thumb, "I know change takes time, I just ... why did it have to fall to us?"

"People needed to see that there was nothing to be afraid of. And maybe we're lacking some context, like these attacks mother mentioned."

"It was Vassar," Elsa said absently. "They were trying to make Arendelle feel weak and thus pressure father into marrying their princess, so they framed the Northuldra."

Anna opened her mouth, then shrugged, "Well, that saves me the trouble of looking it up."

"I once spent three weeks poring over every record from our father's reign," Elsa admitted. "Hoping maybe he could give me some insight from beyond the grave."

They walked forward, through other memories, until they saw their parents and a baby.

Agnarr held Elsa up for the crowd to see their new Crown Princess, so tiny, seeing the world for the first time. Iduna took Elsa from Agnarr as the cheering startled the baby and Elsa followed her mother, Anna besides her.

She watched as Elsa was placed into a crib, a mobile of stars above her, the spinning calming her. When the mobile began to slow, Elsa became upset, flailing her hands towards it as if trying to make it spin.

Anna gasped as ice streaked from the baby's fingers, coating the mobile and freezing it and making it spin again. The baby giggled happily.

She watched as Iduna showed her father, slowing the mobile until Elsa became upset and used her powers again.

Agnarr was frozen in place until Iduna picked the baby up and brought her to him, "Look at her, Agnarr. Our daughter, created out of our love. Whatever powers she might possess, they were born out of love. Which makes them a gift, not a curse."

"I know that. But the people out there. What will they say if they learn of her power? They haven't been taught by you the way I have, that we shouldn't be afraid of what we don't know. We shouldn't be scared of magic." Her father's voice was shaking, though he couldn't tear his eyes from his daughter.

"They will say she is amazing. Maybe she will help them finally get over their fears. Maybe if they see their beautiful little princess using her magic for good, they can finally stop being afraid."

The scene faded into the snow and ice again, leaving Elsa's eyes watering as Anna slowly rubbed circles on her back.

"Mom was right, you know. Once everyone saw your powers, once everyone saw you, they weren't afraid." Wrapping her arms around Elsa from behind, Anna continued, "All I know for sure is that you are amazing, you always have been. The people loved you as Queen."

"They love you more."

"They love me differently," Anna corrected.

"But they do love you." Elsa closed her eyes, and nodded.

If nothing else, at least they knew that their father had accepted her magic at first. Anna sighed, "Lets... see if there's any more."

She heard their parents' voices as their forms crystalized before them.

"Sir JörgenBjörgen got me through some tough times."

Beside Anna, Elsa blanched, "This was... this was the night I..."

"It's okay."

"I didn't want to be alone," Elsa explained. "Sir JörgenBjörgen was father's stuffed penguin, and he gave him to me."

Anna smiled.

Iduna stood, her shoulders slumped as Agnar pulled her into his arms, "I hope he can help Elsa too. Do you think we're doing the right thing? They're so close? They're sisters!"

"That's part of the problem. Joy brings out the powers as much as fear, and that makes it dangerous for them to be together for now."

Their mother could only nod reluctantly.

"It won't be forever. We'll figure out a way to control her power, and once she does there won't be any reason to keep them apart."

This whole time, Elsa had blamed herself, had felt like she'd chosen to stay away from Anna. It made Anna's heart ache, and the worst part of it was she could see why this decision had been made. They didn't have the knowledge that she and Elsa knew now. That it was that joy and love and happiness that enabled her to control her power. That separating them had done far more damage than anything else could have.

They melted away, Agnarr's voice echoing "... they learned what her magic did to Anna, they'd think her a monster. They'd never allow her to become queen. We can't let that happen. We must protect Elsa and her right to the throne..."

There were other images after that, like ghosts haunting the memories of the past. Elsa withdrawing more and more into herself as the guilt slowly crushed her, refusing to let anyone within a few feet of her. Anna alone, Agnarr all but giving up and throwing himself into affairs of state to cope. And their mother, poring over books and documents and old legends, the only one still willing and able to find a solution.

And even she had her breaking points, alone, where no one else could see or hear her.

"Why did you do this to her? Why must she suffer so? If this is a gift, let her use it! And if it is a curse, take it away!"

Anna glanced at her sister, and squeezed her hands.

"Conceal, don't feel, don't let it show."

"...squashing down your emotions can only work for so long. Before you feel like a powder keg. Ready to ..."

"Explode," Elsa whispered.

She waved her hand, making her mother disappear. For a moment, it looked like she would remain silent, but then she spoke, "She was right. I eventually exploded. Father ... father was wrong."

"He was," Anna whispered, disquieted. "But he didn't know what we know now."

"Does it make any of it better?" Elsa turned and glanced at Anna. To Anna's relief, she wasn't crying, though there was sadness etched into her face.

"No. But ... they were human. Like us." Anna poked Elsa in the ribs, "They ... made mistakes. And you don't have to forgive them for that."

Elsa simply shrugged.

"Our girls, what will they do?"

"What they have to. At least they have each other."

The voices drew Anna's attention again. Their parents, sitting in a bed that heaved to and fro. "Oh no," She whispered, and Elsa stiffened next to her.

Anger in her mother's voice, "But they don't! They barely know each other! Maybe we made a mistake separating them, maybe..."

"What other choice did we have? Only time will tell if it was right or wrong but I have faith in them. They're strong and if anyone can hep Elsa, it's Anna. There's not much that girl can't do."

"Her love could hold up the world."

"They'll do the right thing, for each other."

And then the were gone, washed away almost as though by the wave, only a faint echo that sounded like her mother singing. Anna slipped to her knees, and slowly, gently, Elsa joined her, folding her into her arms as they both cried.

Elsa rested her cheek on Anna's head, her body warm and comforting against her. Eventually, Anna's sobbing tapered off, and Elsa whispered, "You love really can hold up the whole world."

There was an old Arendellan saying; Good intentions never put an onion in the soup.. Or maybe it was Russian. It didn't matter. Intentions were one thing, actions another. Anna lifted her head, wiping at her eyes, "I just wish it had been enough."

"Oh Anna, it was enough." Elsa pressed her forehead against Anna's, "More than enough. I was just too scared to see it. In trying to protect us, they made it worse … and they could have acted sooner, maybe. But they acted and seeing that…" Elsa closed her eyes, "I can't tell you how many times mother reached out to me only for me to pull away. Or the tiredness in father's eyes. Things that I didn't really register or understand at the time but I can see now."

"I can't not love them." The words caught in Anna's throat, but she forced them out, "They were as much my world as you were. Ahtohallan can keep showing us these memories, these moments, but it can never replace what we never had. It can't give us our family back!"

Elsa pulled her head back, staring at her sister, "I never said I didn't love them. Only that… that with the benefit of hindsight I'm finally understanding how much everything hurt us."

Anna felt a strange sort of disquiet, like an uncomfortable understanding. She was so tired of secrets in her life and yet, in her mother's place, what would she have done differently? "I don't think I have any more insight right now than before we walked in here."

"We know why mama kept her secret so long. We know that they felt as trapped and helpless as we did."

"We know they were just human." Humans that Anna had placed on a pedestal most of her life. Maybe that was why all this hurt as much as it did; the higher the pedestal, the longer the fall. Anna whispered, "I forgive them for my part in all of this. But I understand it if you can't for yours."

The way Elsa smiled set Anna's heart at ease, "I understand better now. And with understanding maybe I can forgive too. Besides, I'd be a hypocrite if I couldn't find that in me after the things I've told Cassandra."

She got to her feet, helping Anna up. Anna looked around, shivering, "You know, some people might not understand that."

"That's the thing about forgiveness," Elsa told her. "It's not so much for them but for yourself. For yourself to forgive or even for yourself not to. Someone else might not be able to forgive their parents' poor choices or how they might have hurt them, and that's okay too."

Anna frowned, hugging herself as she thought about what she'd seen, and what they were talking about. Elsa had a point, but there was something else at the back of her mind, "What if I make bad choices too, Elsa? When I'm a mother, I mean."

"Is there something you need to tell me?" Elsa teased.

"Wait, what?" Anna blinked, then laughed, "Oh, no! Not yet anyway. I'm not actually in any hurry no matter how many advisers keep dropping hints."

Elsa grimaced, "I remember some of those hints."

"Boy were they barking up the wrong tree."

Anna leaned against her, "But, yeah, someday I'm going to have kids and not because I need heirs or whatever. I want them. Like fifty but two or three is fine. Maybe six. But … I could mess it up. I could mess them up. Just repeat the cycle."

"First of all," Elsa said, taking her by the shoulders and squeezing them. "You're going to be an amazing mother. Do you hear me? All that love in your heart is overflowing and you'll fill those children up with that light every day of their lives. And secondly, you'll make mistakes and that's normal. You'll make mistakes, you'll hurt them, they'll hurt you, that's just… that's just being human and having a family. That's life. You just have to understand and accept that it doesn't change that you love them and they love you."

Anna took a breath, and nodded her head, smiling at Elsa through watery vision, "I guess you're right. I'll have to remember that there are good days and bad days, just like any other day."

"And you'll have Kristoff and Olaf. Yelana and the Northuldra. All of Arendelle!" Elsa said. "And … you'll have me."

"And Cassandra."

Elsa flushed, "I desperately hope so."

"Do you want to know something?" Anna started to walk, taking Elsa's hand as she did so, letting the ghosts of the past fade into memory behind them.

"What is it?"

"Your love can hold up the world, too."