CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Elsa rolled over and groaned the next morning, later than she should have awoken. Not only because it had been so hard to get back to sleep after getting back to the campgrounds, but even once they were in bed, she couldn't drift off. She felt too guilty. She knew she shouldn't, not with the way Aurora had tried to screw them over, but it still felt wrong to stoop to their level. Not that she blamed Anna. It was either that, or keep letting them run their lives that way; there wasn't really any choice when the choices were "bad" or "much worse". Her sister had only done what was strictly necessary to prevent any further nastiness.
Sliding into Anna's bed, she traced a hand over her forehead and whispered, "Good morning, Moondrop."
Anna let out a groan and opened red-rimmed eyes, blinking up at Elsa. "Morning already?" She protested, "Do we have to get up?"
"Not yet, if you don't want to," she breathed softly, just before leaving a small kiss on her cheek. "Do you want to spend a little while in bed with me?"
The redhead's cheeks turned a cute shade of pink as she nodded and opened her arms, smiling at her. "Yes, please." So Elsa slid forward and wrapped her arms tightly around her, nuzzling into her neck. Anna snuggled back, letting out a soft sigh of contentment and pressing her lips against Elsa's soft hair.
"So… last night." They might as well talk about it. Neither of them had felt much like discussing it by the time they got back, and Elsa wasn't inclined to push matters. But she also wasn't inclined to let things lie forever.
Anna's grip on Elsa tightened and her voice had an edge to it when she murmured, "Can we… not think about that right now?"
"No, I think we should get it out of the way. Then we can just… enjoy the rest of today." Rubbing Anna's back, she whispered, "I'm proud of you for the way you handled them. It was… a little scary, sure, but you really took control of the situation."
"B-But I feel so terrible about it," Anna confessed, gritting her teeth. "I threatened them… I'm no better than them for it..."
Frowning, Elsa tried to think of a way she could put this that would make Anna feel less awful. Maybe it wasn't possible, but she had to try. "Of course you are. You didn't start this; they made it impossible for us to keep living like that. You saw how smug and entitled they were, ordering us around." Then she added in an undertone, "Or at least, Aurora was. But they were all going along with her."
The redhead buried her face into Elsa's hair. "You heard Belle, too, right? How they wanted to 'teach us a lesson'... they thought they were doing us a favour…"
"Probably did. That they wanted to show us the error of our godless ways." Though at saying that, Elsa felt a fresh wave of guilt. She still couldn't shake the idea that God might really disapprove of their love — if not because they were both women, then because they were related. Knowing they were both mature adults who could choose who they wanted to love didn't settle any of her fears about what the Bible would say about them.
"If I had just been careful and less pushy, they wouldn't have been able to do this to us in the first place." Anna bit her lip and started to run her hands through Elsa's sleep-mussed hair.
"Mmm," she sighed pleasantly. Then she opened her eyes again to look into her sister's. "We both should have been more careful. Not just you. But… well, I don't think it's very Christian to blackmail anyone; Aurora should be ashamed of herself! We were merely settling the score. Besides, we both know you were never going to show anyone those pictures, right?"
"I planned on deleting them the second we leave camp." Anna glanced over at her phone. "As long as Aurora and the others don't tattle on us, then yeah. I have no plans on showing anyone."
Nodding as if she had expected that answer all along, Elsa pressed a kiss to her temple. "Of course. Especially those of Snow." She shivered to think of what the girl must have gone through. "Poor decisions… they all made a lot of poor decisions."
"I feel the worst about Snow," she confessed with a nod of agreement. As if they were sharing thoughts. "I- I really wish I could take it back just to erase the way she looked at me."
"Why? You didn't make her go to a party she's clearly too young to attend and make her accept offers she… is also clearly too young to accept. If anything…" Elsa hesitated, but she knew she was right, even if it also had the side effect of justifying their actions. "This might teach her the kind of lesson Aurora thought she was teaching us. That she's not ready to be that 'wild', and that it has consequences."
"I keep forgetting she's only seventeen." Anna flinched. "I literally blackmailed a minor!"
"She shouldn't be doing that, anyway!" Elsa whispered, as if it were a secret. Truly, in her mind, Snow was better off waiting another year — or longer, until she was married, or at least in a more serious relationship than hooking up with a random guy she would never see again.
"Do you think she actually consented to it? Or was she too drunk to say no?" Anna asked, looking even more horrified.
"Honestly? I'd rather not know. It's none of our business. But Snow had three other friends who were actually there and did nothing to help her; I… feel sorry for her, but I don't feel any personal guilt. God will deal with her and with her friends, and with whoever she hooked up with."
"I'm sorry," Anna murmured, "I- I really shouldn't feel as bad about this as I do."
Wrapping her arms tightly around Anna's body, she simply held her there for a moment. Then she whispered, "We'll get over it. And so will they, probably."
Anna hugged her back, snuggling into her sister's side and letting out a hum. "Okay." She nuzzled Elsa's ear, then spoke up to lighten the mood, "What shall we do for our day off?"
"Anything you want. Definitely get away from the campgrounds, but… we could take a hike, have a picnic. Just go see a movie. You name it." She meant every word; her only desire was to turn Anna's frown upside-down.
"There was a cute coffee shop in town that I spotted when we were shopping last weekend," Anna suggested. "I was going to point it out but we were both pretty deadset on getting ice cream instead, so I didn't bother."
That got Elsa humming as she sat up, petting up and down Anna's thigh and hip. "Well… yes, I think that might sound nice. We could take books and just sip coffee and chat for a while. Then if we think of something else to do, we can always leave."
Gloomy expression melting like ice in the sun, Anna smiled and said, "I would really like that! I saw a bookshop close by, too, if you want to take a look."
"Perfect!" Elsa said immediately, leaning in to kiss her forehead. "Shall we get ready and hit the bookshop first? Find reading material for the café?"
"Yeah!" Anna returned the kiss, only hers landed on right on the curve of Elsa's lips. Than she gently pulled herself out of Elsa's embrace so they could start getting ready.
~ o ~
The rest of the morning slipped by into afternoon with as much pleasantness as they could expect. Sitting around and people-watching in the coffee shop was both relaxing and enjoyable. Elsa made her way through one chapter of her book, but that was as far as she could get with Anna to chat with — and cuddle with, when they were feeling a bit braver. Curled up together on the loveseat in the corner, it was easy to do without a lot of guilt.
Besides, as long as they didn't let themselves start making out, it didn't look that much out of the ordinary. Also, no one else from camp wandered in at any point, so there was no reason to care about being seen.
Once it got closer to dinnertime, they found a little Italian place and ate, talking of small things and discussing college plans and camp. Now and then, they would swap food, trying to out-seduce the other one with the way they would lick the other's fork clean. This came to a head when Anna accidentally stabbed her tongue while doing so, and Elsa had to fight to keep from bursting out laughing and interrupting everyone else's meal.
On their way back, they held hands the entire while. The longer they enjoyed each other after having confronted the true nature of their feelings, the more bold Elsa felt. She was in love with Anna, and though it still worried her what other people would think about them being together, she had decided at last that she couldn't truly feel guilty about it when her love was so real, and pure, and enduring. She would die a hundred deaths rather than be denied the precious sister that had been gone from her life for so long.
"Guess we have to stop now," she sighed when the campgrounds came into view, regretfully pulling her fingers away from Anna's. A look of disappointment crossed the redhead's face but it was brief and soon Anna was smiling brightly again.
"I had a really good time. Thank you so much, Snowflake." Before they exited the car, Anna took Elsa's hand back and lay a kiss on the knuckle. She shivered, closing her eyes and sighing at the contact of the sweet lips she had come to cherish so much.
"You… really have to stop," she wound up laughing breathlessly. The redhead simply beamed up at her, leaning forward to kiss her cheek instead.
"But I love kissing you," she cooed, giving the spot she kissed a small nuzzle. Which made Elsa smile even more bashfully. She simply couldn't seem to resist Anna no matter how hard she tried. Anna finally finished spoiling Elsa with affection, pulling away reluctantly before climbing out of the car and taking in a deep breath.
"I know," the elder sister sighed. "But we'll be okay. I've got my sister, my best friend, and my… m-my girlfriend by my side."
Her heart seized at using that last word. It was true, wasn't it? They really were that to each other, even if it was a new term to use. Anna looked at her, briefly surprised, before a brilliant smile lit up her face. It was so wide that she had to close her eyes to make room for it. She looked so happy.
"Yeah! I'll always by your side, just like you'll always be by mine!" she chirped. She reached out to grab Elsa's hand without a care of who saw them. "I have the best girlfriend in the world in my life. I can take on everything that life throws at me!"
Feeling her heart pound in her throat, Elsa squeezed the hand back as they strolled away from the parking lot. Though when they started to get closer to the grounds, she released her hand; there was being brave, and then there was inviting trouble.
"Oh, great," she sighed as they approached the cabins. "Look who's waiting for us."
Aurora and Belle were leaning against the side of Anna and Elsa's cabin. Aurora in particular zeroed in on the two once they breached the treeline, before slumping against the wall once again upon noticing the fair bit of distance Anna and Elsa had hastily put between one another. As they drew close enough to be within speaking distance, the blonde cleared her throat.
"Took you two long enough to get back." There was no true bite to her words.
"We were enjoying an off-day," Elsa told her, and there was a bit more acidity to hers. "We really needed it, after the day we had yesterday. Looking after all your campers, driving into town in the dead of night to pick up drunk girls from a party we weren't interested in…"
With a sigh, Belle hissed, "Alright, alright, we get it. You're pissed."
Anna squared her shoulders. "Of course we're pissed. If the only reason you two came here was to antagonise or threaten us, then you can save it and move on!"
Aurora glared between the two of them for a second before the fight left her. "That's not why we're here," she ground out reluctantly. "We need to talk. Privately."
"Why should we want to give you that privilege?" Elsa snapped. "Do you have any idea how you've made us feel these past few days?"
"Can we not talk about this out in the open where others can hear us, please?!" Aurora looked around nervously as though Father Frollo would walk out of the trees. "At least let's take this to me and Belle's cabin if we must."
When neither of the sisters responded right away, Belle added, "Please? We promise, we're not trying to… retaliate, or anything. Just talk."
Anna looked hesitant before she let out a heavy breath through her nose. "Elsa and I are going inside to drop our stuff inside the cabin," she finally said after a few tense seconds. "We'll talk about it. In five minutes, we'll let you know what we decide to do. And you will respect our choice. Whether we want to talk to you or not. Understand?"
Aurora looked like she wanted to protest but she nodded. "Five minutes," she agreed before leaning against the wall again.
"Alright," Elsa told them curtly. Not heatedly, but definitely with no large amount of love. Nodding to the two fellow counselors, she steered Anna inside.
Once in there, she brought her sister several feet away from the door before whispering, "You sent all those pictures and video to me, right? And backed them up on the cloud?"
Anna nodded. "Even if they somehow snatch my phone, I backed everything up and made copies on my laptop. If we do talk to them, I'd rather have it done in their cabin so they can't mess with anything." She bit her lip. "Plus… as a precaution, I backed up and deleted most of the pictures I had of us on my phone too. Included the background picture of me and you as kids."
Elsa knew that was one of her favourites. "Oh, Anna…" Then she sighed, taking out her phone and putting it under her pillow. "Well, you can put it back once this is all over. Let's… let's go and face the music. I want you to keep your phone with you, just in case we need to call for help. I can't believe I'm saying any of this, but I'd rather be safe than sorry."
Anna gave her phone a squeeze before putting it as deeply into her back pocket as she could before giving Elsa a very swift kiss on the cheek. "For good luck," she murmured quietly. Thankful they had forgotten to open the blinds since their last intimate moment. "Let's go and get this over with."
"Wait." Then Elsa pulled Anna in for a deeper kiss. If this was going to be for luck, she wanted a lot of it. Anna let out a surprised noise before returning the kiss eagerly, closing her eyes and taking Elsa's face between her hands. Just when she began to feel a tongue poking at her lips, she drew back, panting slightly. "O-okay, that's… that's probably getting close to five minutes."
She giggled softly and nodded, placing one last kiss on Elsa's nose before walking towards the door and opening it. Belle and Aurora were right where they left them and both counsellors turned to the pair at the emergence.
"So? Are you going to talk to us?"
"Very well," Elsa sighed, gesturing in front of them. "Lead the way."
As they walked, Belle glanced at the two of them suspiciously a few times. Elsa tried not to think about it too much; if she did, her cheeks might get even rosier than they probably already were.
Anna, however, was less subtle about it. "Is there something on my face, Belle?" she asked the brunette. "I would appreciate if you would tell me so I can get it off."
"You sure you two haven't been getting off already?" Belle muttered.
"Excuse you!" Elsa hissed sharply. Aurora frowned and nudged Belle with her elbow, leaning in to whisper something that neither sister could catch. Anna moved a little closer to Elsa in response, not liking that move at all if her expression had anything to say about it. It only took a second for Aurora to move away from the brunette and keep walking.
Soon enough, they were at their cabin, walking inside. The minute the door was shut, Elsa folded her arms across her chest.
"So? What do you want?"
Aurora leaned against the door. "We need to talk, that's all. About last night."
"What is there to talk about?" Anna shot back. "We did all the talking last night."
"I don't care what you say about the rest of us," Belle began, overriding whatever Aurora had been going to say next. "But… Snow didn't deserve this. We dragged her along; she wasn't really into the whole idea."
"Yeah. It took poor Snow hours to calm down last night." Aurora tapped her foot. "She's convinced that you'll tattle and ruin her. Anna, she's been kind enough to offer her bed to you when you two had your little 'lovers' spat'. It's cruel to hold this over her head."
Anna bit her lip and looked torn all over again. Elsa remembered it in a flash; the night they had been at odds, Snow was over at the other cabin and Anna had bunked with Rapunzel. She couldn't help feeling a little guilty… but at the same time, Snow had chosen her alliance to be with three other girls who felt right at home blackmailing lesbians into doing their chores.
"We're not holding anything over your head," Elsa snapped, voice far colder than Aurora's. "You wanted to out us. Get us thrown out of camp if we didn't do every stupid thing you asked of us. It's just a disgusting thing to do to other people, and definitely not Christian. We're only using the pics and video as insurance that you won't do that." A little nastier, she added, "Unlike you."
Aurora instantly turned on Elsa. "Out you!?" She hissed, "So you admit it, then! We were trying to teach you a lesson for choosing such a sinful path, and this is how you repay us?!"
Anna instantly flared up, "I'm sorry that Snow was upset, but if this is your version of 'teaching us a lesson', then it's a stupid one and I'm not going to go back on anything I did to ensure you two don't pull this bullshit again!"
"Wait, wait," Belle tried to interject, obviously looking terrified that thing were falling apart. "This wasn't what we called you down here for." Teeth gritted, she hissed, "Aurora…"
"What, Belle? Do you want them to get away with what they are doing?! Not just to Snow, but to themselves?"
Rolling her eyes, she snapped, "You really think blackmailing them into doing our chores is going to make them stop sinning? Please."
"Who died and made you our mother, anyway?" Elsa said with the world's greatest "resting bitch face".
In the wake of what was going on, Aurora forced herself to relax. She took several deep breaths and turned her back on the two girls. Once she was significantly calmed, she turned back to them once more. "I'll let Belle talk for now since I'm having such a hard time with this," she said coolly. "At least until I'm not ready to snap at the sight of you two..."
"Seems smart to me," Elsa muttered.
"Alright," Belle began, looking a little nervous now that she was "in charge" of this strange little meeting. "Well… personally, I do think the Bible says… what Aurora says she saw you doing…" She took a deep breath to calm herself, but in her case it was only from being flustered. "It does go against God's word, but on the other hand, it's between you and God. I feel bad that she tried to blackmail you for it; what she said made sense at the time, but now it doesn't. I feel… dirty."
"I feel the same way," Anna confessed. "About the pictures and video, I mean. Look — we don't want to hurt any of you, but you have to understand that you are the ones who forced us into this. And because of that, I'm not willing to let go of our only defence against you until me and Elsa are far away from here. I feel bad for taking these pictures and I feel even worse for finding it necessary to hold onto them but when it comes to Elsa's safety, I'm going to take any measures necessary. Even if this measure is below my own morals."
The room was quiet for a few seconds. Elsa didn't bother to add anything to that; she was too busy trying not to feel sick at the situation, or to feel a rush of affection for her sister.
"Okay… okay, I definitely see where you're coming from." Glancing at Aurora's stubbornly-turned back, Belle went on, "I mean… to me, you're straying from God, but I suppose… if you were threatening my boyfriend, Adam, I'd be furious with you. And I'd be trying to do anything I could to protect his best interests."
"I just want to know… why you would do any of this." The question wasn't aimed at Belle but at Aurora, who stiffened. "Why would you do this to us, to Elsa, in the first place? Why the slavery? That's not a very Christian way of doing things."
The blonde let out a snort. "You're one to talk," she said, but the words were half-hearted. "I told you why. It was to straighten you up. Girls don't love other girls. It's lust, it's a carnal thing. A little bit of discipline and prayer, and hard work is all you need to get it out of your system."
"Is that what your parents told you?" Anna asked quietly.
The room was quiet for a few seconds. "What's that supposed to mean?" Belle asked, brow furrowing.
"I think," Elsa said in a bewildered voice, "she's hinting that… Anna and I are not Aurora's first brush with homosexuality."
Aurora reached around to hug herself, digging her nails into her arm. "I don't know what you are talking about," she growled. "You shouldn't talk about things you don't even understand."
Anna blinked and bowed her head. "You're right," she said, "it's not really my business, is it?"
"Aurora, wait… really?" Nobody spoke, and Belle pushed a hand into her face. "Great. I'm the only straight person in this room."
Approaching Aurora, Elsa made sure to speak softly. "If it helps you at all… I was where you were when I first realised. I thought God would only punish me, that the feelings couldn't be real because they were 'sin'. I still worry about it, but… how can they be? How can love ever be wrong if God is love?"
"Shut up!" Aurora snapped. "What do you idiots know?! I'm not gay! I'm perfectly straight! I simply expressed a wrong opinion, a-and my parents corrected me the best way they knew how, that's it! You know nothing about me, don't try to pretend you do." She abruptly walked past Elsa and towards her bed, refusing to make eye contact with any of them. "Whatever, it doesn't matter. We talked about what we wanted to talk about, you two can leave."
Belle seemed too thunderstruck to say anything at all. Anna took a step forward but no more, looking concerned but also wary of the older counsellor. But Elsa was ready to dive in head-first. She took a seat on the edge of the bed, a couple of feet away from the other blonde.
"I'm pretty angry with you right now. But we're also fellow Peterhouse Counsellors. I…" Swallowing hard, she whispered, "I know you think I'm a disgusting sinner. But think about it; if that's true, what room would I have to judge you right now?"
Aurora glared at her but her brown eyes were glazed with tears. "I don't need to be judged," she said stiffly. "The only sin I did was trying to blackmail you, and I will pray to God tonight to forgive me, but I'm not afraid to be judged by you or anyone otherwise. His opinion is the only one that matters."
A pained look flashed through Elsa's features. "I didn't say I was going to judge you. I was trying to say the opposite." Sighing, she looked over at Belle and Anna for help. Belle shrugged as if to say, "Who, me?!" Anna looked lost, staring at Aurora as though she was seeing her for the first time. Her head was cocked like she was a puppy. Finally, she sighed and started walking over to the bed, too.
"You know Aurora… ou- my mom…" Elsa winced at the near-slip, but didn't interrupt Anna. "She wouldn't let me see my sister for five years after I told her I kissed my first girl. She totally shut me out of her life. I sent gifts, called, sent letters… Mom didn't let her have any of it. To her, having my sister think I hated her and didn't want anything to do with her anymore… was the better alternative to knowing a sister that loves her but is gay. She no longer treated me like her kid. She treated me like a disease… a parasite that would corrupt my sister. I had no idea any of this was going on until a few weeks ago. It hurt. It hurt so badly that even now, thinking about it makes me want to curl up and cry."
She paused and wiped away at the tears that were starting to build up in her eyes. Aurora was looking at her now and, similarly to Anna, seemed close to tears. There was a frown on her face but her angry eyes had softened as she listened. She looked like she was seeing the redhead in a new light.
"But….in the end, it was worth it. Because my sister knows the real me now, and she still loves me despite it all. You must feel lonely… it must be suffocating to hate something you can't control. But we're trying to say that if you want us to, we can help you."
"Who says I need help?!" Aurora snapped. But it was so feeble neither of them paid it much attention.
"Not 'help' as in to fix you," Elsa clarified. "Just… we'll listen. That's all we meant."
Finally, Belle shook herself from her shock at listening to Anna's confessions. "I'm pretty sure they mean it," she said as she rounded the two on the bed and sat down on Aurora's far side. "And… I'm here for you, too, if you ever need to talk. Now, or whenever."
Aurora glanced between all three of them, looking at her so earnestly and suddenly she couldn't hold it anymore. The anger, confusion and, admittedly, the warmth of their support caused the dam to break and Aurora began to sob, shaking her head desperately to stop the tears that refused to stop. Anna reached out and ran a hand gently up and down her back.
"It's alright," Elsa breathed, not trusting herself to say much more. Belle took up one of her hands to squeeze it as Anna petted her. She wasn't quite as good with touchy-feely things, so she didn't attempt the same. "You'll be alright."
It took several minutes for Aurora to finally calm down and she shrugged Anna's hand away from her. "What are you two even trying to accomplish?" she asked tiredly as she rubbed at her red eyes.
"We just want to help you understand, and to understand you. Isn't that what friendship is all about?" After a few breaths, Elsa finally did hesitantly put a hand on her shoulder. "And I'd really much rather have you as a friend than… than keep hurting each other."
Aurora regarded Elsa and crossed her arms. "While I agree that getting along is preferable at this point, you're not going to get me to change my mind," she said. "I still think it's sinful and wrong."
Grudgingly, she managed to say through gritted teeth, "That's… understandable. Before this year at camp, I would have agreed with you."
"What did you say to your parents?" Belle asked, hoping to shift the topic. "I can't imagine you saying anything to them that would make them snap like that."
"I simply asked if it was weird that I found a girl in my class cute," Aurora said in soft, bitter voice. "My nannies, who were cleaning at the time, got excited and got me to elaborate and I said things that were too much for my parents. So I was punished."
Elsa looked behind Aurora to Anna with a small smile of bemusement. Anna frowned in sympathy. Aurora rolled her eyes.
"I wasn't hit. I was just made to do all the chores in the house and listen to Father's lectures every night for two months. 'Work the sin out of my system,' as he put it. All in all, I got off easy and I'm better for it." The blonde tucked a strand of hair over her ear. "Either way, it's getting late. You ladies should be heading off back to your cabins." Anna looked like she wanted to protest, shuffling her feet, before Aurora mentioned, "I'll… think about what you both said and get back to you on it. But don't expect me to turn into some liberal weirdo."
"Alright," Elsa said as she stood. She hesitated. Then she added quietly, "I know this won't mean a lot coming from 'sinners', but I think your parents overreacted. It's not necessarily 'gay' just to remark on the beauty of another girl."
Nodding along, Belle echoed, "Exactly. I mean, I think women are beautiful all the time, but I don't want to date any of them." Then she scoffed and muttered, "Well, except Kristen Stewart. But I think she's every girl's exception."
"It wasn't that I thought the girl was cute that got me into trouble, it was the fact that I had said 'if I were a guy, I'd date her' that did." Aurora offered that nonchalantly before waving a hand in Anna and Elsa's direction. "Now off with you two before you get in trouble."
Anna looked ready to protest before she simply nodded and grabbed Elsa's arm, despite the worried glance she cast in the oldest blonde's direction. "Come on, we overstayed our welcome for now," she said quietly to her sister.
"Goodnight," Belle offered, though her eyebrows were raised at the other two as she pushed the door closed. Clearly, they were all thinking the same thing, but it wouldn't be wise for them to discuss it at the moment.
As they walked back to their own cabin, Elsa let out a long, shaky sigh of relief. "WHEW."
Anna giggled softly and took Elsa's hand in her own. "That was stressful, wasn't it? But at least it didn't go as badly as we feared."
"No, you're right. It went far better than I expected. Poor Aurora… I mean, not in terms of money, or of being a colossal bitch, but because her parents came down on her for something so innocent…"
"I feel sorry for her, too," Anna admitted. "And the fact that… she took it to heart so seriously… it's really sad." She frowned and her shoulders fell dejectedly. "She not so bad under that 'Mean Girls' exterior, but all that prejudice is in the way of her being our friend… not to mention she must hate that part of herself so much because of what her parents practically beat into her."
Reaching for the door to their cabin, Elsa said, "She must. I know that it was hard for me after Mom said that… that we…"
But they were not alone. Waiting on Anna's bed was someone that should not have been there.
"H-hey, Anna. Can we talk?"
To Be Continued…