protocol_02.05: bastion host

Anna will never claim to be particularly good at patience. Not as a kid, not as a teenager, and the last three years hadn't really changed that. And right now, with the stakes being so damn high, it's even harder. But the thing is, the stakes are really damn high, and now of all times she has to take a breath and wait. It's all she can do.

Even if it means every gun and knife in her apartment has been cleaned at least twice and every piece of armor and gear triple-checked in the last day. Hey, it keeps her hands busy. And it means that as soon as she gets news, she's ready to go.

But waiting also gives her time to think. And Anna realizes there she still has questions.

"So, I was thinking..." she starts as she's cleaning a pistol.

"Oh that's always dangerous," Elsa says dryly.

"You are the worst," she says, matter of fact. "Anyway. I was thinking, and I realized I don't remember why I didn't remember you had magic ice zappy powers."

"'Magic ice zappy powers?' Really?"

"Will you focus?" She really wishes she could throw a pillow at her. "It's just, that seems like a pretty big thing for me to, you know, not remember. And I know you weren't there, maybe, and it might be bad of me to ask, but, well, do you know why my memory there is like swiss cheese?"

The silence is heavy, before Elsa finally breaks it. "I hit you in the head."

That's not the answer she was expecting. She puts the disassembled gun and rag down on the table. "Wait, what?"

It feels like an admission, a confession. "During the crash. I...I think I hit you in the head. You weren't moving, and I couldn't move, and there was nothing else I could do. I wanted to get you out of that car. So used the ice to, well, push you out. Because I couldn't."

Anna's mouth feels dry, and she swallows a few times before she can get the words lodged in her throat unstuck. She doesn't know if she wants this answer. But she asks the question anyway. "Why? Why did you, why did you have to get me out? Why couldn't you?"

"I told you. There was fire." Her stomach drops. "You weren't moving, and the fire was spreading. And I was...I was stuck. So, I used the ice."

"And you think the ice did something? To my memory?"

"I don't actually know. I'm sorry, I never asked you about that time."

"It's hard to remember. I woke up in the hospital. Mama and Papa were there and, well, you weren't." Anna chews her lip. "Apparently, my memory was really bad for a while after that. I couldn't even remember my favorite movie. I had to work with a specialist until I was like 8."

"I'm sorry."

She shrugs. "Don't you dare. You saved my life, Elsa. Swiss-cheese memory for before I was five seems like a small price for, you know, being able to continue breathing. How many people remember stuff from before they were five anyway?"

"I don't know. And it was Princess Tattercloak."

"What?"

"Your favorite movie when you were five."

There's some part of her that's not surprised at all that of course Elsa somehow remembered that. Her chest feels warm and fuzzy, like a blanket wrapped around it. "Huh. Maybe I'll watch it again someday. You know, for the plot."

"Right." Elsa sounds exceedingly skeptical for some reason. "Anyway, that's my guess as to why."

"Sounds as good as anything." Anna picks up the rag and gun again to finish cleaning. "On a different note, how's the search going?"

"Same as when you asked me twenty minutes ago. I've got Olaf working out of the Helios network, and I'm jumping through — wait."

Her hands freeze. "Did you...?"

"I found it."

Anna springs up from the couch, dropping the rag again on the coffee table. "Where? Oh my god, where are you?"

"Eden."

"What? I, what is that? Where is that? Goddammit, what —"

"Anna. Breathe," Elsa says calmly. How can she be so goddamn calm? "Let me get Kristoff over here and we'll go over what I can get."

She wants to say no. She wants to know right now. But Elsa's already calling him, and even though she wants to burst, she'll wait. Thankfully, for her nerves, Kristoff must damn well sprint over, he gets there so fast. "Where?" he gasps as soon as she opens the door, panting for breath.

"That was fast," she says, closing the door after him and Sven. Not that she's actually complaining. "And we were apparently waiting for you. So. Any time now would be great, Elsa," she grits out.

"It's Eden. I'm in Eden."

Kristoff frowns. "I don't know that place."

"I'm not surprised. It's...well, a facility. Every reference I've found of them, even in blacksider circles, basically treats them like an urban legend. They're some cross between a skunkworks and an extra-military organization." Elsa sounds resigned.

"And how true is that?" Anna asks as she sits down on the couch.

"...fairly accurate."

"Well these just sound like wonderful people," Kristoff says as he props himself up on the couch back. Totally an understatement, considering.

Anna claps her hands once. "Okay. So. How do we do this?"

He bends down to look at her upside-down. "You did hear the part about 'extra-military organization', right?"

"Yeah. So? We knew that. Doesn't change anything."

"Just checking."

"Believe me," Elsa breaks in, "if there was a safe way, I'd be making you do that."

Kristoff sighs and slumps a little. "There isn't, is there?"

"I'm afraid not. It's likely just going to get harder if you wait too."

There's that invisible timer again. Anna's fingers dig into the fabric of the couch. "And I'm not going to wait any longer than I have to. You're coming home, Elsa."

There's no response to that. Not that there can be, not when it's all coming so close. She won't take no for an answer, not now. The couch creaks under her fingernails. Sven whines and then shoves his nose next to her hand, so Anna rubs his head instead.

Kristoff breaks the uneasy silence. "So. How are we doing this?" he echoes. She has to smile.

"Right. Here," Elsa says as she brings up a satellite map on the TV. It focuses on an area outside the city proper, still within the borders of the state. A spot in the mountains gets highlighted with a box. Anna frowns. No wonder blacksiders thought these were the boogeymen; they rarely had a reason to go out into the sticks.

"How the hell did you find this?," she asks, leaning in closer. Getting out there is going to be a pain.

"I said they're treated like an urban legend, not that they are one. And I had to follow shipment lines. I couldn't even work backwards and figure it out that way." Elsa sounds disgruntled, which is strangely soothing on Anna's nerves. Things might be bad, but her sister's annoyance at stupid network things will always be comforting.

"Hey Rime, can you zoom out a bit?" Kristoff asks as he walks around and takes a seat on the couch.

"Sure." Elsa does, slowly zooming out. Anna frowns at the image. She's not sure what she's supposed to be seeing.

"Wait, stop," he says. The image freezes. "I thought so."

"What is it?" Anna asks.

Kristoff points to an area in the mountains, at what looks to be a small valley a less than fifty kilometers from the box Elsa has highlighted. "There. I know this area." He startles a little when he realizes she's staring at him, and he rubs the back of his neck. "Uh, there's a ranch out here I've visited. My brother owns it. Foster brother."

"What."

"He raises goats," he says by way of non-explanation. "Sort of. Anyway. Depending on how we're going to do this, staging from there might be an option. I'd have to check."

"That could be useful," Elsa says slowly. "It's already a couple hundred kilometers from the city. I'd feel better about things if you had a place to sleep before you did this op. And did it at night."

"Great. It really shouldn't be a problem."

"Okay, assuming we have that, we still need to figure out how to get inside," Anna says, tapping out a beat on the fabric. She chews her lip. "Elsa, can we get a map?"

"I can get you a satellite map, but it's not hugely useful because the compound is built right into the mountains. And all I can get are very vague floorplans without alerting them to what I'm doing," she says, sounding apologetic.

Anna winces. Yeah, no. The last thing she wants is for whoever they're rescuing Elsa from to know they're coming. That would defeat this entire thing before it even started. "That's fine. We've worked with less, before."

"The stakes weren't this bad before. Look at what you're walking into."

A secret extra-military compound built into a mountain filled with people who were probably more than willing to shoot her dead. The compound her sister has been a prisoner in for the last thirteen years. Yeah, like she thought, the stakes haven't been this high before.

"Doesn't matter, we'll make it work."

There's a long pause, and she can imagine Elsa just sighing. "All right. Let me pull up what I've got so far."

It's not that much. Like she said, it's basically built right into the mountain. The "floorplans" are more the building shapes hollowed out and built around the rock. There are some places where the compound juts out of the mountainside, but that's only in relatively few places. It's almost built like a ring, only squared off and bisected with a T-shape.

"Okay. Two questions," Kristoff says, leaning forward. "One, do you know where you are? And two, where are our possible entrances?"

A spot on the map starts blinking in blue. "Here," she says, voice thin. "I'm somewhere in here." It's on the bottom level of the bisecting section. Of course it is. "There are...there are a few options for entrances. There's the front" one of the parts jutting out of the mountain highlights in red, "but I'd rather you not."

"Yeah, how about no?" he agrees. "What else?"

"Honestly, there aren't that many. Unsurprisingly. There's an entrance that opens onto a helipad." A part of the complex opposite the front, opening out onto a large overhang, also lights up red. "A better option, but not the best. However," she says slowly, "there's a mostly-abandoned service entrance, right underneath the landing pad. I think they were planning on an extension there, but never got around to it."

Kristoff frowns and taps his knee. "That does seem like the best option. What's the problem with it?"

"Location, mostly. Getting there...the entrance proper is on the cliff-face. It's a decent ledge, and more of a hike than a climb to get there in the first place. But it might be tricky."

Still, it sounds like the best option. "Think that's the one, guys," Anna says.

If anything, Kristoff's frown deepens, and a muscle in his jaw twitches. He doesn't say anything, though, just nods. Strange.

"Guys?"

That seems to break him out of whatever it was as he shakes his head quickly. "Yeah. Yeah, we can make that work," he says. Sven barks and wags his tail. "Sven agrees."

"Okay then. I can lead you guys in, but it's going to be trickier on the way out," Elsa cautions. "Let me work some more on it."

Anna nods. "Right. We've got enough that Kristoff and I can start working on our end."

"It's still early," he says, checking the time. "I can give my brother a call. It's gonna take us a few hours to drive out there anyways. You got your gear?"

She gives him a look. "What do you think?"

"Yeah, kinda figured." He rubs the back of his neck. "I'll be back in twenty."

There's a part of her that dislikes how little information they have. She wants this operation to be perfect, to have zero chance of failure. Because she can't afford to fail, not right now. But at the same time, she knows she can't wait. She doesn't even want to wait. So they're all going to have to take a leap of faith.

So. Same as always, then.

"Anna," Elsa says in the silence as Anna waits for Kristoff to come back. "I want you to promise me something."

"What?" she asks, distractedly fiddling with a loose strap on her vest.

"If things look bad," she says slowly, with a weight that makes Anna's fingers still, "if...if something goes wrong and you have the choice of getting out of there and getting me...I want, I need you to promise me that you'll get out."

"Wait, what...Elsa!" What the hell is she saying? She cannot possibly be saying what it sounds like she's saying.

"I need you to get out alive." Except she totally is.

"Elsa!"

"Promise me!" Elsa's voice is hard and cold, cold as the ice that Anna now remembers is a part of her. Unyielding as a glacier. But this time, this time, Anna will not yield.

"No! No, I won't promise you that! You're my sister. And I am not giving up on you." Her hands hurt, and she realizes her fingernails are biting deep into the palms of her hands, knuckles white.

"Anna — "

"I'm not giving up on you!" It comes out desperate, ragged. Not now, Elsa. Of all times, not now.

"I told you I can't lose you. I can hold on, as long as you're still there."

She squeezes her eyes tight, and tries to control her breathing. "Don't you trust me?"

"What? Anna, of course I, why would you even ask that?"

"Because it sure as hell doesn't seem like it right now," she says quietly. Elsa falls silent, and it carves away at her heart. "I can't — "

There's a knock on the door. The words get stuck in Anna's throat, and she swallows it down. If Elsa waited until Kristoff was gone to bring it up, she won't restart it with him here. So Anna grabs her gear and opens the door. "Let's go," she states, marching past him.

They're not dealing. She knows this. This is just going to be a disagreement between them, and apparently they're not going to deal with it until they don't have a choice. Because they certainly don't have the time, not right now.

And she can see where Elsa is coming from. Scratch, these men in black, they're scary. This isn't some game, and it really never was. Not since that night she fled the Upper City to come down here. These are probably the people who killed their parents, and Anna knows they'll have even less of a hard time killing her dead. She understands all of this.

But...for her sister to ask that, right now? She can't. It's the one thing Elsa could ever ask for that Anna just flat-out is unable to give. It hurts both ways, that her sister would ask and that she can't give her that. But she's come too far. Even if Anna wanted to do so, she's not sure she has it in her to drop Elsa and save her own neck, if it came down to it.

It's a dark cloud, the continued, unending argument between them that hangs over the start of this. Kristoff, bless him, doesn't say a word. He just drives. Sven pokes his head over the seat next to her face and presses his cold nose against her ear. She laughs and squawks; she can't help it. "You're a menace," she says.

Sven just looks unrepentant.

"So, Rime," Kristoff starts, "got anything else yet?"

"Not much more." Elsa sounds slightly uneasy. Maybe it's still from the argument. "I think one major problem is going to be getting out."

Okay, that's a big problem. "What do you mean?" Anna asks, sitting up a bit straighter from her slouch.

"Once you...once you get me, I'm not going to be able to lead you guys out or help like I normally do." Anna catches Kristoff frowning as Elsa continues. "I'll probably be able to get you, us, ten minutes. Maybe fifteen."

"We've had tighter escapes," she points out.

Elsa laughs a little. "Yeah. Yeah, you have."

Things feel a little lighter, and she and Kristoff manage to hash out the basics of a plan with input from Elsa here and there. It's looser than she'd like, but it's better than some other jobs she's done. It helps a lot that, by this point, she's starting to be able to read his style and body language, to make the on-the-fly adjustments that keep them all alive and get the job done. It's a kind of competence born of comfort and familiarity. And it makes her feel better, more confident than anything that they'll be able to pull this off.

The city bleeds away into farmland and finally into the desert scrubland. There's not many people who live outside. Most of the farms are run by robots and cyborgs, things that don't need to eat. The only people who live outside the city are the renegades, the crazies, the loners, and the ones who truly love the land. Part of her wonders which one Kristoff's brother is.

"So...your brother," she starts. "What's he like?"

Kristoff startles a bit and tosses her a look before concentrating on the road again. "Kocoum? He's...a guy."

"Thanks, that's extremely helpful."

He shrugs helplessly. "I don't know. We were foster kids, Mom's first batch. He's basically my big brother." He runs his fingers through his hair. "I dunno. He's a little like me? It was the two of us against the world for awhile there, growing up. I guess it makes you close."

Makes sense, although it makes her miss the lost years with her own sister even more. It'd have been nice to know someone had her back, when she was a kid. Even though Elsa's made up for that in spades as best she could. "Sounds like it. How'd he end up out here then?"

"He...he never quite fit right in the city. We got into so many fights, me and him against anybody looking to take a piece out of gutter rats." He shakes his head. "Mom must have been at her wits' end when she sent him out to a friend out here and me to Doc's for a summer."

"He found something," she says softly.

He nods. "Yeah. Took over the ranch when Mom's friend no longer could. I still see him sometimes, usually when our folks get everyone together. Dad still sends kids like us out for a summer when they, well, when they need out of the city." He frowns, looking off into the distance. "The city, it can choke something out of you, twist and turn you into something you don't want to be. Kocoum didn't like the person he was turning into. He's...one of the stronger people I know."

"You look up to him, don't you?"

Kristoff shrugs. "Hey, I said he's basically my big brother. I'm allowed."

Anna laughs softly. "Yeah, you are. Big sibs do that."

He gives her a crooked smile. "Well, that's the entire reason we're out here, right? Sometimes they need their annoying little siblings to pull them out of trouble."

"Ha! Right," she laughs, sinking back down into the seat.

He taps out a random beat on the steering wheel. "Say..." he starts slowly. "What's your plan for after all this?"

"What do you mean?"

Kristoff exhales loudly. "I mean, well..." He makes a frustrated sound. "They've had Rime for the last thirteen years, right? And these don't seem like the type of people who'll just, well, let her go if, when, we get her out."

He has a point, dammit. She chews her lip as she thinks. "We're gonna have to keep them away from her, obviously."

"Well, duh," he says, and she has to smile. Sven barks his agreement. "But, that's not going to be easy. We know Helios is involved, and apparently the kind of people who can pull military-spec for bodyguards. That's big-league stuff."

It is. It's not little gangs and small companies she's pissing off. They're going up against one of the major megacorps, people who have a real amount of power. The kind of power that can buy a lot of things. Everyone knows the feds are dogs of the megacorps, beholden to them no matter how much they tried to deny it. Mama fought that sort of thing as much as she could, earned herself a lot of respect and also a lot of enemies. Not everyone was upset when the Arendelles died, even if they hid it well.

But that means that hiding from Helios basically means hiding from the government as well. Something inside her spits at the thought. She's been running and hiding from them for the last three years. Anna wants a chance to live. More than that, she wants a chance for Elsa to live. Wants to be able to run through the streets, go shopping, teach her how to rappel down buildings because it's super-fun, seriously Elsa just try it. She wants to show her Sanctuary and meet Doc and T and Contessa face-to-face. Wants to see her sister punch Kristoff in the shoulder at a joke, ruffle Sven's fuzzy ears. Eat triple-fudge sundaes together.

So Kristoff's right. It's not going to be easy. But it's like Papa said: most things worth doing aren't. He probably didn't mean something like this. Although, considering everything, maybe he did.

"We'll...we'll come up with something," Elsa breaks in quietly.

Anna's face starts to hurt, she's smiling so widely. Because there it is. Something in her heart slotted back into place, because she asked for Elsa's trust, and now she's got it. She doesn't need to come up with a solution right now. They'll come up with something. They're good at that, right?

They drive for hours. The desert scrubland finally gives way to the mountains that form the border of the city-state. Kristoff takes the twists and turns of the mountain roads like he's done so hundreds of times before. He probably has, if he's that close to his brother.

The valley they drive into looks different than the maps, a little. She didn't realize most of the trees were evergreens, and she didn't notice the few piles of scrap metal and parts near the large, low ranch house. The fenced in area is large, though. Kristoff pulls the car up in-between another car and a utility vehicle, and Anna can see at least one dirtbike propped up next to a large barn.

The air smells funny. It takes her a second to realize it's the mountain air, cool and crisp with the hint of pine, free of the dust and smog of the city. Even the Upper City doesn't taste and smell this clean. It's strange, she thinks, breathing in, how someone could forget what air is like, or maybe never even know.

There's a rattle and a bang. Anna turns towards it, seeing the screen door of the ranch house has opened. There's a tall man, darker skinned and broad-shouldered, hair pulled back into a neat tail, standing in the doorway. The expression on his face is unreadable; his gaze lands on her, and she feels like she's being assessed.

Sven jumps out of the car and barks. The man, and this must be Kristoff's foster brother, turns and kneels down for the dog. Sven bounds over to him, tail wagging, and leaps at him, licking his face frantically. "Hey boy," he says, voice deep, "I haven't seen you in awhile."

"Sven, you are such a traitor," Kristoff says, laughing, from behind her.

"I can't help it if he likes me better than you," he says, standing up and dusting off his pants. Then he smiles slightly and Kristoff steps out from behind her to embrace him, complete with all the backslapping that she guesses all brothers do. Or something. Sven trots back over and flops at her feet with a woof. The man notices. "Kristoff, who is this?"

"Oh, right," he says, somewhat sheepishly as he steps back towards her. "Kocoum, this is...Arc," he hedges. "She's a friend. Arc, this is Kocoum, my foster brother."

This feels like another cliff. But this sort of thing calls for trust, so she's going take a leap again. She holds out her hand. "Anna, actually."

Kocoum takes her hand in a firm grip. There's something faintly approving in his eyes, maybe. She can't really tell. "I see," he rumbles. Then to Kristoff, he says, "A...friend?"

"I'm...helping her out with something."

Kocoum just gives Kristoff another unreadable look. "Right then."

"This is going well," Elsa mutters in her ear. Anna's lips twitch, fighting a smile at Elsa's droll sarcasm.

Kocoum either doesn't notice or just doesn't say anything. Honestly, either is possible. But he waves them in anyway to the house. It's. well, kind of surprisingly spacious and homey inside. The furniture looks like it's on the well-worn and comfy side, lots of wood and leather. A couple of blankets are piled up neatly next to the couch, next to the fireplace. Various carvings and artwork hang on the walls or sit on shelves. He gestures towards the couch, and both Anna and Kristoff take a seat while he disappears further into the house. Sven trots off after him like he knows the place, which he probably does.

Kocoum comes back with three glasses of water and passes them out before taking a seat in the chair opposite them. "So. Why are you here?"

"Straight to the point, of course." Kristoff glances at her, then back. "I, uh, don't suppose you've seen anything weird lately."

"Define 'weird'."

Kristoff opens his mouth, but Anna beats him to it. "Spooky men-in-black types. Or black helicopter-secret-military types. That kind of weird," she says, ignoring his skeptical look. What? Why beat around the bush?

"Actually," Kocoum says slowly, and Kristoff's gaze snaps back to him, "I have. There's something up further in the mountains." He frowns at Kristoff's disbelieving face. "Black helicopters are not actually that subtle."

"Okay, point."

"So you're going there?" he asks. He holds up a hand before Anna can do more than nod. "I'm not going to ask for details. I know better than to ask questions I don't want the answers to yet."

"We're just looking for a place to catch some sleep before we go out," Kristoff says, rubbing the back of his neck. "That's all."

"Sure. She can take one of the guest rooms. You know where you're at."

"Which one?"

Kocoum shrugs and gets up. "Take the one not currently half a workshop. And you're taking my truck up in the mountains. The roads are non-existent this time of year, and the hunk of junk you call a car is going to get stuck 3 kilometers from here."

Both of them get up as well. "Thanks. Come on, Anna. I'll show you where you can crash for a bit."

The room Kristoff leads her to is small, but cozy. There's a wooden chest of drawers that looks handmade in one corner and a twin-sized bed with a handwoven blanket against the wall. "You okay?" he asks.

"Hm? Yeah, I'm fine. I can totally see how he's your brother, by the way." Anna grins. "You're both about the same kind of smiley."

He opens and closes his mouth a few times, before giving up. "I have no idea how to respond to that." He sighs. "Get some sleep, if you can. We're gonna need it."

"Yeah, yeah," she says and he leaves her alone, walking off further down the hall. She closes the door, drops her bag, kicks off her boots, and then flops out on the bed.

Right. Sleep. That's easier said than done. She's a bundle of nerves; it feels like someone's replaced her spine with live electricity, she's so wired. This is really happening. Elsa's maybe fifty kilometers away for the first time in over thirteen years. Really, how can she sleep right now?

The bedroom has a window, overlooking the valley. When she gets up to look out, she can see the mountains rising above the evergreen forest. Her sister's somewhere up there, trapped among the rock and snow. The sun is high in the sky, but Anna knows she's only got a few hours until dark. Right. Tomorrow's the solstice. Longest night of the year. Really good day to choose if you have do a lot of nightwork. Lucky them.

Suddenly, Anna gasps. The solstice! "Elsa!" she whispers furiously.

"Hm?"

"Tomorrow's your birthday!"

"...huh. I guess it is."

Did she forget her birthday? Something heavy settles in Anna's gut, but she ignores it. It doesn't matter, not right now. Because right now, she's going to give her sister the best birthday gift ever. She absolutely can't fail now, not when the stars have practically aligned to make this work. "Oh man, we're getting you out for sure."

"Not if you don't get some sleep." Oh great, now it's both of them. "Go to bed."

"You are such a spoil-sport," she pouts.

"I'm not the one sneaking into a secret mountain base in a few hours." Why does Elsa always have to sound so damn reasonable?

"How the hell am I supposed to sleep in the middle of the day?"

"You'll figure it out. I suggest lying on the bed and closing your eyes."

"Thanks, that's super-helpful," she says, rolling her eyes. "Ugh, fine," she grunts and then moves towards the door. "Let me get a drink first."

The bathroom and a cup of water is right down the hall, and she finds it easily. On the way back, she slows down as she hears voices coming from another room not far from the one she's staying in.

"You remember John, right?" Kristoff asks.

"Hard to forget him, don't you think?" Kocoum says, sounding a little lighter than when he was talking to her. Huh.

"She was totally right to break your nose for that." Anna narrows her eyes, thinks back, and remembers that the man's nose did look a little crooked. Considering how big he is, she can't help but being a little impressed by whoever it was that did that.

"...yes, yes I know." He sighs. "Anyway, she broke up with him years ago. What does he matter?"

"Well, he's dead." Wow, Kristoff. Anna winces in sympathy. Way to be blunt about it.

"...blacksider business, I'm guessing," Kocoum says slowly, carefully. "Did you tell — "

"I told Mom."

"I'd call you a coward, but I really don't blame you."

"Yeah. And...not exactly blacksider business, not really." She appreciates the dancing around the topic that he's doing, really she does. Anna's still not quite ready to tell the world about Elsa, not until her sister is standing next to her, safe and sound.

"Then...whatever you're tangled up in now? Kristoff..." he trails off, sounding concerned.

"I know, I know. It's just...it's important. Trust me."

"All right."

"And...look, just in case, if...could — " What is he talking about?

"Yes."

"I didn't even ask." Kristoff sounds surprised.

"You're my brother. You don't have to."

She hears him exhale loudly. "Yeah, thanks. I'm just going to, I'm gonna get some sleep."

And that would be her cue to scoot back to her room, which she does, closing the door right as Kocoum exits the other room. She stretches, letting the joints in her spine pop, before flopping back down on the bed. It's kind of disgustingly comfortable, considering. And the blanket is warm and smells faintly of pine.

"...sorry," Elsa says suddenly. "I don't mean to nag. I'm just, well, nervous."

Anna's about to open her mouth when she stops and thinks back to the arguement they had earlier. She considers the men they've run into, first Scratch and his bodyguards at the museum, then the men who killed John. Who shot her. And she remembers the fear in Elsa's voice from the night of the press conference, all the information since then of what she's been hiding and trying to do. That her sister has one thing left in the world, and she now has to let her walk right into the lion's den.

If Elsa's just "nervous", she's got stronger nerves than Anna does.

And they're still not dealing, but this feels like a peace offering.

Because that's the thing. Even though she understands, Anna can't very well stop now, not when she's so damn close. She can't give up, no matter what. In the next few hours, she'll be able to see and touch the sister she's been missing for the last thirteen years. And with Mama and Papa gone, she's the only family she has left, the one she thought she'd lost for good.

As she curls up under the blanket, Anna tries to picture the sister she's been missing. She still remembers the eight-year-old, with bright blue eyes, almost-white blonde hair, and an impish grin. She remembers small hands, cool but solid, grasped securely around her even smaller ones. A sly look and ringing laughter. A shirt-sleeve clenched in her hand as she hid behind her. It's the memory of a child, a time from long ago.

When she tries to think of Elsa as she must be now, thirteen years on, it's hard to age up the child. The hair would be the same, maybe more wild than it used to be, tamed into a neat braid. She imagines a face somewhere between Mama's and Papa's, maybe with their father's jaw and their mother's nose. It doesn't look right; there's just something off about the look. Anna tries to imagine other combinations, something that'd fit her sister's face once the baby fat went away, and it's hard. Nothing ever quite seems right.

But the eyes, that brilliant shade of blue she's never seen anywhere else, those remain the same. That, she's sure is right.

Anna yawns, and snuggled deeper into the blanket. Belatedly, she realizes she never responded to Elsa's apology. "'s alright," she yawns again, before sliding fully into sleep.

Her dreams are confusing and terrifying. She sees the grey-eyed man, one time aiming a little higher, another at Kristoff. He chases her through a twisting maze of streets, always there every time she thinks she's safe. She stares down the barrel of his rifle, and closes her eyes against the shot, feels the bullet scream past her. His eyes are triumphant and she turns around, to see a small blonde child splayed out on the ground, hole in her chest and blood smeared like wings behind her.

She wakes up gasping, choking on a scream. Her chest aches from jackknifing upwards.

"Anna?"

Her heart stops racing at Elsa's voice. Just a dream. Stupid nerves. "Just a dream," she mumbles.

"Go back to sleep, Anna. You're going to need it."

Anna grunts and rolls over. It feels more like a premonition, she thinks as she drifts back to an uneasy sleep. "I'll see you soon," she slurs, voice thick with sleep.

"...yeah. See you soon."

It's just a dream.