ARIZONA TERRITORY, 1880
Anna sighed in boredom as she took apart and reloaded her gun for the fifth time in an hour. Shiny and red-tipped, the pistol was a prize from their first hold-up and happened to be her favorite possession. She lay on her back on the sun-baked dirt, prostrated in the scrub at the side of the road. Her hair was in braids, peeking out from beneath her hat, framing her sun-darkened, freckled face. Adeptly, she slid the bullets into her pistol and shut it with a loud click.
"Will you quit that?" came the annoyed voice of her partner from the other side of the road.
"We've been here for ages," Anna whined, rolling onto her stomach to peer at the fair head tucked into the shadows of brush five yards away.
"Yes," was the only reply. Anna waited a few seconds for more before changing tact and trying again.
"Shouldn't it have come by now?"
"I don't know, Anna. Maybe they stopped for supplies."
Anna huffed out a breath, rising up on her hands and knees to get a better view of her partner, disregarding sight lines.
"But it's hot."
"Anna," said the blonde, also rolling over onto hands and knees and fixing the redhead with an icy glare. "I'm the one wearing a dress. So no more complaining." And with that, plopped back down into the dirt, raising a miniature cloud of dust that settled as Anna watched.
"But, Elsa-"
A rock thrown from the other side of the road hit Anna square in the forehead. "Hey!" she said, immediately dropping back into her hiding spot.
"Stay down, I hear it coming," Elsa hissed, coming up into a crouch.
Exhilaration pumped through her veins as she grinned, tightening her grip on the pistol in preparation. She willed herself to become one with her environment, straining to hear any sounds.
After a few suspended seconds of silence, Anna's ears trained on the distant pounding of hooves - a team of horses pulling a stagecoach. The redhead suppressed a squeal of excitement, squirming to situate herself deeper into the scrub around her and lowering her head. From under her hat's brim, she could just see Elsa crouched in shadow, watching intently. The sight had Anna grinning more broadly as the sounds grew louder.
Then she saw Elsa take a breath and stumble out onto the road, screaming for help. She heard the coach driver yelling at his horses to stop for the woman who had suddenly thrown herself into his path.
"Whoa!" Eight pairs of hooves stomped and slipped as the hulking beasts were brought to a halt, snorting and panting. Anna heard rather than saw this; her limited field of vision obscured all but Elsa's pointed boots beneath the ragged hem of the faded violet dress she wore.
Rocks and dirt were thrown up as the horses came to a definitive stop, manes tossing and feet stomping. Elsa fell to the ground, crying out in gratitude and Anna heard a thump as the coach driver hopped down from his perch and crunched over to the blonde.
"Are you all right?" the man asked. Elsa brought a hand to her face to hide the fact that her wild sobs were devoid of tears. The driver reached her and stood for a moment, unsure of how to help.
"What's the matter?" he tried again, placing a tentative hand on her shoulder.
From beneath the hand on her brow, Elsa's eyes locked on Anna, still hidden in the brush. With an almost imperceptible smile, she winked at the redhead. That was the signal - silently, Anna pushed herself up and moved stealthily over to the driver, whose back was to her as he awkwardly patted Elsa's shaking shoulders.
In a few steps, the red tip of Anna's pistol was pressing into the driver's back, and she was cheerfully commanding him not to do anything rash. Elsa stood, smirking and letting her hand drop. "Sorry," she said remorselessly and pulled her dress up the length of her leg, revealing the pale skin inch-by-inch to get to the gun holstered on her thigh. Anna averted her gaze and blushed as though she hadn't seen her partner do this fifty times before. Secretly, this was the reason Anna usually insisted on the blonde playing the damsel in distress.
Elsa daintily let the fabric drop back down and flicked her gun at the driver. "Go and empty your cab."
The man, wide eyes flickering between the two guns trained on him, made his way slowly back to the coach, skirting carefully around Anna as he passed her. The redhead fell in line beside her partner, bumping her hip to Elsa's playfully.
"So easy," Anna said, smirking.
"It's not over yet," Elsa muttered, resigned, but smiled slightly despite herself.
The driver patted the restless horses as he passed, shooting furtive glances over his shoulder at the armed women. He reached the door and turned the handle, unlatching it and swinging it open. He leaned in and the women exchanged excited looks. After a minute, the driver removed himself from the interior and was immediately followed out by a suited man with hard eyes and thick sideburns.
The passenger fearlessly approached the women with quick, sure steps. Anna saw he held a cane in a gloved hand but his strong gait indicated it was merely for show. The driver cautiously shut the coach door as he watched the proceedings.
"You don't seem to understand," the passenger said conversationally, stopping a yard away from the gun tips and removing his top hat with ironic reverence. "You see," he said, eyes bouncing between the robbers, "There is a place I need to be, and you are rendering me tardy."
"This is a hold-up!" Anna said, skipping forward and waving her pistol ostentatiously into the passenger's chest. He did not flinch, so Anna cocked the gun for effect and narrowed her eyes. "Let's see those belongings."
The man sighed in exasperation but turned nonetheless to allow Anna to lead him back to the coach, pistol pressed into his back. They passed the driver and Anna heard Elsa ordering him to the ground. At the tail end of the coach, the passenger replaced his hat and after a prod with the red-tipped pistol, he opened the trunk tied there. Excited, Anna shoved him away, using one hand to rummage through the chest and the other to keep the gun aimed at the well-dressed man.
"Hurry up, Anna," Elsa's voice drifted from the side of the coach.
"Anna?" the passenger repeated. The utterance of the name made the owner's head snap to him. "Beautiful name. Mine is Hans."
She nodded shortly and returned to her search of the trunk. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the passenger inching away from her. Distracted once again from the belongings and needing control of the situation, she snapped: "Don't move!"
"Or what?" Hans said, eyes suddenly glinting with mischief. Disarmed, Anna turned completely to face him. He seemed to be goading her on and Anna knew that two could play that game.
Without a second thought, she aimed her pistol at the ground before him and pulled the trigger, sending a bullet into the dirt at his feet.
"Anna!" Elsa said in frustration. Her partner was always reprimanding her for something.
"Ah," was Hans' only reaction, not even recoiling in surprise. "And here I was thinking it wasn't loaded."
Becoming increasingly annoyed by the man's running commentary, Anna said hotly, "What kind of stagecoach robbers do you think we are?"
"Anna!" said Elsa again, appearing around the corner of the coach toting the driver at gunpoint with her. Unexpectedly, there was alarm in her eyes and this confused Anna. "Grab the gold and let's go, we've spent too much time here."
Anna shot Hans a quick look of irritation and quickened her pace in searching. Finally, she came upon a coin purse and grabbed it, not bothering to open and spill its contents.
"Got it! Let's go!"
Elsa exhaled in relief and released the driver. For good measure, Anna stomped on Hans' polished toes, but this proved to be a mistake. Dropping his cool demeanor, the man retaliated in rage, raising a hand and backhanding Anna across the cheek before she could react. She fell to the dirt, cheek stinging, as the red-tipped pistol flew from her grip and skittered across the road to rest at the edge of the brush.
From the ground, Anna heard a shot and felt warm blood splatter her face - she looked up to see the outraged passenger holding an arm that was bleeding freely. Then, soft hands were on her, trying to tug her to her feet.
"Anna, are you all right?" she heard Elsa murmuring, panicked, in her ear. "We need to get out of here."
Anna got her balance, though she was still dizzy from the blow. Despite the dangers, a thrill of excitement shot through her - never did they get to experience so much action.
"Can you stand?"
"I think so…"
Occupied with Anna's condition, neither woman noticed the passenger stumble over to the discarded gun and pick it up, a malevolent glint in his eye.
"No!" came a shout from behind them - the driver lunged at Hans, but not before the man pulled the trigger, lodging an unforgiving bullet into Elsa's side.
Anna froze as the shot echoed around them. Several things registered at once: Hans' smirk of triumph, the driver tackling his passenger to the ground a second too late, Elsa's gasp of pain, and most alarming, the strong hands slipping from their protective grip on her.
Any sort of enjoyment she had felt at the danger was resolutely ripped from her.
For a few seconds she stood watching the driver pummel Hans, tearing the gun away. Then, the horror set in and she dropped to her knees at Elsa's side. The blonde was writhing in pain but made no sound. Anna's hands ghosted over her torso, unsure of how to help - dark liquid was staining the dress and spread over the shaky fingers that clutched at the wound.
Without a thought, Anna reached into a pocket of her trousers and pulled out the flowered handkerchief that was the only memento she had from her deceased parents. She made to press the cloth against Elsa's wound, but the older woman hissed, "no!" through gritted teeth; Elsa knew what the handkerchief meant to Anna.
"You are more important than any family relic," Anna assured her stubbornly. Displacing Elsa's hand, she pressed the cloth to the injury, eliciting a sharp cry of pain that tore through Anna as though she herself had been shot.
"Here, use this to hold it in place."
Anna had forgotten about the driver; he was now bent over the pair, watching intently and holding out a strip of cloth. She took it wordlessly. Carefully propping up her partner with another pained noise, Anna tied the strip clumsily around her blood-drenched waist.
"Get in the coach, I'll drive you to the nearest town."
Anna looked at him in disbelief, arms still cradling a barely conscious Elsa.
"But… we're robbers… we held you at gunpoint…"
"Yes, but you weren't trying to rob me, now were you?" he said, indicating the unconscious passenger behind him. "Do you want your friend to live or not?"
Anna nodded immediately and began to rise. The driver hastened to assist in getting the blonde into the cab. They soon had her loaded in - she was laid as flat as possible on the cushioned seat.
Anna stopped the driver before he hopped up onto his perch to secure the reigns - the gunshots had startled the horses and they shifted uneasily.
"Thank you," she said earnestly, but paused because she did not know his name.
"Kristoff," he supplied. Then he urged, "hurry!"
She threw herself into the cab, settling on the floor because Elsa took up the whole seat. She heard Kristoff shout and the coach began to advance. The movement jostled Elsa and made her groan, so Anna reached out and took her hand, squeezing it affectionately.
"I'm sorry," was all she could say. Elsa cracked open an eye and fixed it on the redhead, whose face was level with hers.
"Anna…" she said and smiled the tiniest and most reassuring smile she could muster.
It was this smile that caused the reaction Anna had been holding back to break forth. She took Elsa's hand in both of hers and pressed the cold fingers to her lips as she began to weep with reckless abandon.
A/N: This thing had to earn its T-rating sooner or later. I think the stories that feature the girls in a pre-established relationship are the best received. Although, I hope this ending wasn't AS gut-wrenching as the Paris one (I had a lot of complaints about that guy haha) Don't worry, only two more originals, then I'll start wrapping the stories up one by one :) Also, I hit 100 followers and I want to thank every one of you! I can now die happy.