Author Notes: I'll no longer be putting a warning at the top of chapters. By now, you should know that you're reading about lesbian incest. If chapters contain other things that should be warned about, I'll do so.

Chapter 9.

"Kristoff, can we make a quick detour?" Anna had been quiet since they left the castle, her mind a jumble of everything that had happened in the prior 24 hours. Kristoff gave her the kiss she'd been dreaming about, and she hated it, and then she unexpectedly kissed her sister — and loved it. She got Elsa to start speaking to her again, only to do something so stupid she was amazed she'd gotten two words at breakfast. She'd barely slept and wished she could just curl up and nap until they arrived.

Her companion glanced at her. Kristoff noticed how unusually subdued Anna was the second he picked her up and hadn't been able to draw much more than a "good morning," and "nice day" out of her since. Even Olaf couldn't get a reaction, which convinced him more was amiss than what happened the previous evening.

Elsa greeted him warmly — for her — but things were definitely awkward between her and her sister and everyone in the courtyard could see it. She and Anna quickly hugged before Anna got in the sleigh, a definite improvement over the last two weeks, though they both looked away when they did it.

"So, can we?" The idea came to her as they neared the cutoff to the Nygård's spa, and she didn't want to drive past it. "I'll make it quick."

"I guess so." Kristoff shrugged. "Where to?" When she pointed at the upcoming turn, he raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What do you need there?"

Anna pursed her lips. "I'd like to buy a present for Elsa. If it's going to be a bother—"

"No! No, not at all." Kristoff sensed her getting angry, another sign that something was wrong, and knew better than to contribute to the problem. He tugged lightly on the rein to show Sven the new road.

Blowing out her breath, Anna looked up to the sky. "I'm sorry I snapped; I had a hard time sleeping is all." It was an understatement; she slept because she dreamed of Elsa, which kept waking her up. The details of the dreams were lost, only that she and her sister were in them.

She'd seen the clock at least twice every hour, so those periods of unconsciousness didn't last long. Sometimes she woke up with a start, chest heaving to catch her breath for a reason that vanished the moment she opened her eyes. Sometimes she woke unwillingly, wanting to return to a place of warmth and happiness she could no longer picture. Either way, she was exhausted and out of sorts.

Kristoff was silent for a moment. He knew Anna well enough to tell something was weighing on her, and he suspected it wasn't him. "Is everything okay?"

"I'm not sure," Anna responded absently, sighing. "I did something stupid last night and I'm not sure I can make up for it." She realized what she said and gasped. "Nothing incredibly stupid. I mean, I didn't do anything to Elsa that I should apologize for. Well, I do owe her an apology, that's why I want to stop and Nygård's. She was trying really hard, and she even let me have the last tart — she managed to find lemons to make lemon meringue tarts, can you believe it? I know the kitchen was out of them because I heard Marta say it. Not that Elsa made the tarts herself! I wonder if she even knows how to cook; I can barely boil water and I wasn't locked in my rooms for 13 years. Of course, Elsa is a lot less clumsy than I am so maybe she—"

"Anna." Kristoff cleared his throat. "Whatever it is, I'm sure you'll sort it out. Things must've gone relatively well last night; otherwise, you wouldn't be hugging this morning. Elsa was even nice to me."

"Elsa didn't hug me!" Olaf, who had been humming to himself in the back the whole time, suddenly wandered forward. "I like Elsa's hugs. She gives warm hugs. Right Anna?"

Startled, Anna jumped. "What? Oh… Yes… She gives very warm hugs." And even warmer kisses. Anna blushed, afraid Kristoff's perceptiveness would hear the slight hesitation at the end of the sentence when she caught herself nearly speaking the last.

"She didn't hug me, though." Olaf jumped between the humans on the front bench. "She always hugs me. Why didn't she hug me? Did I do something wrong?"

"No, Olaf, you didn't. Elsa just … has a lot on her mind." Anna sighed and tried to smile at him. "We made up last night, at least."

Olaf grinned back. "So you told her you're in love with her?" A distinct choking sound came from the man holding the reins of the sleigh. Anna turned bright red and stared at the snowman in shock. Olaf returned the look innocently. "You are in love with Elsa, aren't you? I thought it was strange, since you're in love with Kristoff, too, but he says it's okay. I'm not in love with Elsa. Is it okay I'm not in love with her?"

"Olaf!" Kristoff turned an even brighter red than Anna. "I told you Anna's not in love with Elsa. I'm sorry, Anna, I tried to get him to understand the difference, but he doesn't seem able to."

"That's right," Anna stammered. "There's a difference between loving Kristoff and loving Elsa."

Cocking his head, Olaf looked confused. "Why?"

Anna's mouth moved silently for several seconds as she tried to formulate a response. "Well … there just is. The way you love your family is different from the way you love someone you're not related to. It's … complicated."

"Why?"

"Um … because … well … it's because of babies." Anna doubted Olaf would understand babies, either, but she tried.

"Why?"

"You can't … you can't make babies with someone you're related to. They'd be very sick and die."

Olaf pursed his lips and was silent for a moment. "Two girls can't make babies, can they? I don't know how you make them, but I'm pretty sure two girls can't do it. So it's OK for you and Elsa, right?"

Anna turned bright red. "No … they can't, but … two girls can't be in love with each other." Kristoff glanced at her with a raised eyebrow and she shrugged. She was running out of ideas; she'd never thought of the actual reasons for the things she was saying, she just knew they were true.

"Why?"

"Two girls can't get married. And two sisters definitely can't get married, so … it's different, see? You can really, really like another girl, but you can't be in love with one like you can a boy. It's the same with relatives." Saying the words felt empty — like she was responding automatically without believing what she was saying. Still, it was the truth. I can't be in love with a girl. I can't be in love with Elsa. It simply doesn't happen. Even if…. "Freya, save me," she muttered, hoping Olaf was finished with his questions.

Olaf scratched his chin. "If you marry Kristoff, he'll be family, right? So if you're in love with him now, and you get married, then you'll be in love with family. Since you're in love with him now, you must be in love with her since they'll be family when you get married."

"No, Olaf, it isn't the same thing, and even then it's not the same thing."

"Why?"

I'm getting a headache. Kristoff could tell that Anna was flustered, and he couldn't blame her. Olaf was too childlike to understand the difference between being related by marriage and related by blood. And Anna didn't look like she believed half of what she was saying in the first place, so her explanations weren't very convincing. Especially about two girls — That's just stupid, Bjorgman.

"Oh, hey, we're here." Gratefully, he drew back on the reins to stop Sven in front of the large building that served as the entry to Nygård's spa. "Why don't you wander around a bit, Olaf?" He winked at Anna. "We won't be stopping after this until we reach the Valley."

"Okay." Olaf hopped down and started toward the small garden at the end of the parking area.

"Thanks." Anna drew in a deep breath and let it out in a rush. "I'll buy something to distract him so he doesn't get back on that topic."

Kristoff laughed. "Anything would distract him, but if you can keep him busy, I'm all for it. Having him around is almost like having a child isn't it?" His eyes widened, and he turned bright red. "Not that I think of him as our child — I mean, I don't think about having children with you or anything. It's not that I wouldn't want to have children with you, but we'd have to be married first and that's a lot of responsibility, so we have to talk about it." He gulped when he saw the panic rising in his companion's face. "I'm sorry."

Smiling weakly, Anna nodded. Her mind went along almost exactly the same track, and it worried her he seemed to feel it was a topic to revisit in the future. "Why don't you come in? I've been wanting you to meet Gudrun."

It had never quite worked out for her to introduce the two, but she had a feeling they'd get along well. Gudrun wasn't as socially awkward as she and Kristoff were, and she had a good sense of humor. She was also an orphan. The Nygård's adopted her at six, around the same time Kristoff was taken in by the trolls.

He didn't remember her name from the orphanage and she always changed the subject for some reason; even so, Anna was sure they would know each other if they met. If not, they shared a common background, and she was certain they would enjoy each other's company.

"Nah, I'm going to water Sven and use the facilities. You should too; I really don't want to stop again before we get there." Anna rolled her eyes and started toward the main building. Kristoff watched her go and then leaned against Sven and sighed. "At least she's talking," he grumbled. "Why Olaf had to bring all that up…"

The reindeer turned his head and butted it against his human's. "He's right, though." His muzzle didn't move, but the point came across anyway.

Kristoff smacked him, not hard, but enough to indicate his irritation. "Anna is not in love with Elsa. They're really close, that's all. I mean, that hug this morning didn't look like they're more than sisters."

"They just made up." Sven tossed his head. "She'll figure it out soon, you watch."

Making a noise of dismissal, Kristoff took Sven's bridle and tugged. "Come on, let's take care of business while she's in there picking out smelly salts or whatever." He glanced at the building as he led Sven to the water trough. I hope Grand Pabbie can help me figure out what to do about this mess before all the smelly salts in Arendelle can't save my head.

The double doors on the building that fronted the Nygård spa opened onto a large open room where the family sold everything from towels to perfume. Anna was sometimes surprised by how many things a customer might use at a spa, but every product clearly had a purpose. One of Gudrun's sisters was at the counter, and when she saw Anna, she greeted her and quickly went to fetch her older sibling.

Anna took little time finding the soap and bath salts she thought Elsa would like. The Queen didn't soak the way most people did, because of the heat. When she did, she needed serious relaxation, so Anna chose scents she was sure Elsa liked. Hopefully, it would help with the apology she still didn't know how to make.

She was still perusing the selection of salts, wondering if she should get something for herself, when Gudrun Nygård came in. Gudrun was very tall, so she could see the top of Anna's red hair well before her friend could see her. Chuckling to herself, Gudrun slid around the side of the aisle but got only halfway down it before Anna sensed her movement and turned quickly.

"When are you going to learn you can't sneak up on me, Gudrun?" The redhead grinned at her. "I specialize in sneaking around."

"Which is definitely a skill a Princess should be proficient at." Gudrun laughed a little louder. "What brings you here? I thought you weren't accompanying Lady Aife's group today."

Anna sighed. "Buying an 'I'm sorry gift,' unfortunately." She took the bottle of salts she'd been looking at and added it to the basket before walking to the counter. "And I'm certain Lady Aife is thrilled that I'm not accompanying her today."

"So you're out with that boyfriend of yours again?" Gudrun met her on the other side of the checkout. "I heard a rumor about you two last night," she added with a twinkle in her eyes. "I heard you were snogging in the town square. Does Her Majesty know about that?"

"WHAT?" Anna almost dropped the basket; at the last moment, she spilled the contents across the counter instead. "Who told you that?"

Gudrun's eyebrows went up. "So it's true?" Her friend turned red and Gudrun rolled her eyes. "Seriously? Does the Queen know about it?"

"I need a bigger basket." Anna looked at the floor. "News travels faster than I'd hoped."

"Like there's been any rumor in Arendelle for the last century bigger than the Crown Princess kissing a commoner in the town square — other than wild ideas about why the castle was closed off, that is?"

With an angry growl, Anna met her friend's gaze. "His rank has nothing to do with it!" Gudrun looked at her steadily, and she deflated. "It just sort of happened. I gave him the new sleigh, and he was really excited and he said he wanted to kiss me and I said okay and…" she trailed off, unable to keep going.

Everybody knows I did it, and nobody knows I hated it. Arrrrgh! If Elsa does find out before I tell her … why did I have to be so stupid?

"Hmph." Stroking her chin Gudrun kept her attention on her friend's face and the emotions flash across it. Anna was a bit impulsive, but agreeing to something like that on the spur of the moment was probably the most impulsive she'd ever heard of.

For someone not in line for the throne, kissing in public would be startling. Anna was the Queen's heir, so a kiss with a commoner would be shocking beyond words for most people — at least until the rumors started flying. Then nobody would shut up. "I guess that's what the 'I'm sorry' is for, then?"

"Um… Well… Not exactly." Remembering the inner turmoil of the previous night, Anna lowered her gaze. With the difference in height, it put her eyes at just above the level of Gudrun's chest. She really is stacked. Is she wearing bindings? I can kinda see her nipples so—

Shocked at herself for noticing the small bumps that pushed against the simple dress her friend wore, Anna jerked her head up and met Gudrun's gaze again. A few seconds later, she glanced down once more. Elsa's are nicer. Gudrun's a close second, though. She turned red.

Gudrun was the only woman Anna had ever seen naked. They often soaked together in one of the smaller baths the spa offered. Gudrun tall and solidly built, with curves in all the right places — especially her breasts. They were big and seemed to defy gravity with their firmness. Anna knew, without a doubt, that Elsa's were firmer and perkier, though.

She'd never seen Elsa's breasts, but the Queen's ice dresses showcased them enough to convince her of their perfection. She'd never noticed in more than a passing way before — on either Gudrun or her sister; they were women after all. She thought of both as sisters though her feelings for Elsa were deeper.

Deep enough to kiss her? It wasn't about that. It was a mistake and I'll apologize and we'll get on with life. Right? Just because I keep thinking about her breasts…

Worse, she was noticing Gudrun's breasts more keenly than she ever had, and realizing that made her uncomfortable. She was more uncomfortable to be comparing them with Elsa's — as if the difference mattered. Worse than worse, she vaguely wished to see her sister's for herself.

Yet she was still looking, and she couldn't seem to stop. When she forced her attention up again, Gudrun gave her a confused look. She coughed and studied the wall behind the counter. "I hadn't planned on telling her yet, but maybe I better."

"You think?" If it were anyone else, Gudrun would assume they already knew what she'd been up to. The rumor was impossible to avoid if you spent any time at the market that morning.

Anna was lucky that her sister was the Queen of Arendelle, who rarely spoke to anybody other than a close circle of advisers. She doubted one of them would want to be the first to share that news with her.

"Um … yeah, I think. I was hoping to have some time to find the right words. Now I'll probably babble and that'll make her even angrier than she'll have started with." Anna stared at the ceiling wishing she could take the previous day back. I wouldn't have gotten to kiss Elsa though. Wait, why does that bother me? I shouldn't have done it, and I might have pissed her off … so why don't I want to erase it? It was really, really nice, but definitely not a good idea.

Gudrun rolled her eyes, waiting for her companion to finish the inner conversation she saw playing out on the Princess's face. "Well, if you need to apologize for that, too, I have a suggestion. We don't carry it in ready stock because it's expensive, but I have a blend of oils I think Her Majesty would love. I could make a special soap, or candles, if you prefer, and have it ready for you by the time you come back from the Valley. I doubt Father would mind a donation to the happiness of the Queen."

Anna nodded quickly. She was too tired to struggle with could-have-beens. "That would be great; she loves candles. If they're expensive, though, I won't ask you to give them to me. Abuse of power, and all that." Normally, she wouldn't make such a comment — because it was true — but she and Gudrun were friendly enough that she felt okay making a joke out of it.

Stifling outright laughter, Gudrun nodded quickly. "I'll make bath salts too, but she'll have to let them sit for a few days before they're good to use. You can argue with Father over payment; just remember he's even bigger than me." She gave in and let out a few hearty guffaws. "Leave the rest here; I'll make up a nice basket with everything."

"Thanks, Gudrun. I figured if anyone could help me out, it would be you."

"So… What did you need the 'I'm sorry' for in the first place?" Gudrun watched curiously as her friend's face turned red, and Anna's gaze darted around the room nervously. "Wait — did the Queen tell you what was wrong? Did you actually do something?" She had a dozen more questions, but unlike the Princess, she didn't talk much, and so she waited for the answer to the first two.

Shifting uncomfortably, Anna shook her head. "No. Well, she didn't like that I ki—" she cut off in time to change the line. "That I kept hogging the tarts at tea, but it was really because she—" she stopped again. Gudrun was a dear friend, but Anna wouldn't reveal the actual reason for her sister's behavior. "She just tried to do too much and got stressed out."

Gudrun cocked her head. Clearly, Anna wasn't telling her the truth, but she knew better than to prod her for answers. I doubt the Queen would ignore her for two weeks over tarts, that's for sure. They may be friends, but she had no right to know what went on in the Royal family and respected the difference in their stations enough to keep her peace. "Well, as long as you made up. I'm curious what you did do, if you need to apologize with gifts, though knowing you, it wasn't anything serious."

"Well… Yeah…" Anna managed to smile. "I'd better get going… Why don't you come out and meet Kristoff? I can't believe I haven't been able to introduce you two yet."

"Oh. Well … I don't have time… I'm going to be in trouble for coming up in the first place." When Anna pouted, Gudrun surrendered with a sigh. "I can't see him now, but I promise I'll come out tonight." She didn't want to admit that she tried to stay away from anything that reminded her of the orphanage. That included people.

Not that it was a bad place, but children were quick to single out those who were different, and she was definitely different. She dreaded coming face-to-face with one of those bullies as an adult; she would probably be taller than they were, and much more able to defend herself than in those days, but she wasn't sure she'd be able to take the high road and let bygones be bygones.

Kristoff wasn't an uncommon name in the orphanage—there were at least six Gudrun remembered, and every last one of them took pleasure in calling her names, at the least; a few were much worse. She doubted any of those boys could have grown up to be as gentle as Anna described her Kristoff to be, but she still didn't want to risk meeting him and finding out he was one of her tormentors. She'd have to be nice, but inside she'd want to pummel him into the dirt.

Anna nodded her head, smiling normally. "I'm keeping you to your promise! We should be back around dusk; Elsa's worried about wolves." When Gudrun looked baffled, she added, "I'm joking. She wants us home by dark."

"I have everything ready for you by then," Gudrun returned. "You'd better get going; I'm sure Kristoff is getting antsy, with you shopping so long. Men are like that."

"Oh! Olaf!" Anna remembered she was supposed to find something to distract him with. "Do you have something for a child that would keep him busy for a few hours?" Not that he's a child … though Elsa did make him, so technically he is … wait, if Elsa made him, that means he's her child. "Oh, wow," she muttered.

"What?" Gudrun glanced over her shoulder; they had a small selection of toys on the wall behind the counter, mostly to pacify children whose mothers spent too long shopping. "I have a couple of whirligigs."

"No, I don't think he could hold it right."

After a few more seconds, Gudrun found what she'd been looking for to start with. She took one of the toys from the box and turned to Anna. "Jacob's Ladder. That should keep him busy for a while. My father even plays with one of these now and then. Says it relaxes him."

It was a very simple toy; three rectangles of wood held together with ribbon. Anna lit up when she saw it. "I had this when I was little! Elsa could do tricks with hers, but I was happy watching it … I'd stare at it for hours. This is perfect." She hesitated. "I'd better take the whirligig, too. Just in case."

Chuckling, Gudrun gave the toys to her friend, waving away the offered money. "Those cost next to nothing, so don't worry about it."

"You're a lifesaver." Anna heaved a sigh of relief. "I'll see you tonight, then? Don't forget your promise!" She started to leave, turned when she reached the doorway and waved, and then vanished from sight.

Gudrun scratched her head and sighed. Anna seemed obsessed with introducing her to Kristoff. If she didn't know better, she'd think her friend was trying to set her up with him. She didn't talk about the ice cutter the way Gudrun would expect that was for sure. Other than wanting to introduce her, Anna rarely babbled about him, not the way she talked incessantly about her sister.

Even though the Princess talked about hugs and kisses, the way she did it wasn't genuine. She tried too hard to act like and want the things she thought a girl in love should. Kristoff was besotted or too naïve to recognize it for himself, apparently, given that when Anna did speak of him he was always doing something nice for her. It wasn't on purpose, that was clear, but somehow Gudrun felt Anna wasn't as in love as she seemed.

When Anna talked about their outings, it sounded like she was reading from a novel. She got dreamy-eyed, but it seemed more at the idea of romance instead of the experience. Picnics, rides through the countryside, picking berries — all things a couple who were courting should do, and all described in an oddly detached way. At first, Gudrun wrote it off as not knowing exactly how to behave around the opposite sex, but as time passed, she began to think it was more than that.

Anna seemed to be forcing herself when she talked about Kristoff as a boyfriend; she was more than eager to share their escapades, but when it came to being in love with him, she was a different person. She'd barely even described him. All Gudrun knew was that he was tall, broad, had a big nose and "girly blond hair" (what does that mean?) and that he held a lot of conversations with his reindeer.

When she spoke of the Queen, however, her eyes lit up and she was so animated Gudrun sometimes worried she'd knock something over. She went into detail about what Elsa was wearing, what perfume she'd chosen for the day, whether she'd had lemon in her evening tea and on and on. Even after their disagreement — or whatever it was — Anna still talked incessantly about her sister.

It was telling that the Princess didn't get more excited over her boyfriend than she did her sister. Telling, but not the only thing suggesting Anna wasn't really interested in him.

She'd been around Anna long enough to see how she looked at other women now and then. The redhead clearly had no clue she was doing it but was obvious to Gudrun. She'd seen Anna nearly walk into walls looking at an attractive female guest, but the only comment she made on the men was that they were handsome or cute.

Anna even stared at Gudrun's chest sometimes, like she did earlier. Her expression then was far more confused than Gudrun had seen in a long time, and with more recognition in her eyes of what she was staring at. Is she attracted to women?

Gudrun certainly wasn't going to ask her about it. She could be wrong after all; it really might be awkwardness around men. Anna stared at her chest sometimes, nothing more. For all I know she's just got a fixation on breasts.

It didn't bother her either way; more than a few couples who stayed at the spa were of the same sex. Such relationships weren't illegal, but generally not openly recognized. The spa offered a chance for more intimate interactions than a couple could normally express outside their lodgings, so she'd seen it before.

"Whatever it is, I hope she figures it out before someone gets hurt." Gudrun sighed heavily. If Anna wanted to talk to her about it, she would. If Anna didn't, it was none of her business, anyway. Suppositions were just that and she had work to do.

After Notes: Things have gotten weird around the homestead, so I've rethought my chapter structure. Expect shorter chapters with (hopefully) more frequent releases. I'd consider even going so far as releasing the story scene-by-scene, if that's how to maintain the best schedule. My scenes run between 1500-3000 words, so I'm not decided on it. The next chapter is in final revisions now, so there may be another release mid-week. I have a non-Crocus one-shot almost finished, too, so there may be a side release this week as well.

Thanks to IceWraith for the read-throughs and suggestions. Also, thanks everyone for the reviews and PMs. The thing with Freya was a total coincidence; I'm ashamed to say I've forgotten a lot of my Norse mythology and didn't brush up before picking her.