Trigger warnings: violence, threats and graphic images (blood).
It was nice being back with Elsa, despite their little fight over Anna's arrival the previous night. Sure, they had their differences here and there but at the end of the day they ended in good terms. She was happy. It had been a long, tiresome day but she was happy. Being there for Elsa during her father's funeral made her feel a sense of accomplishment or usefulness.
Of course she didn't realize that the day would drag on after the funeral and she now understood what Elsa had gone through for the past days but at least she'd had a chance to go back to Elsa's place and change into something more comfortable.
"Did you get everything you needed?" Beatrice asked as she drove them back to the office.
"I think so and if I did well, it's too late now that we're almost here. Besides, it's not like we're spending the night at the office, right?"
"I certainly hope not… not that I mind or anything," the girl emitted a chuckle.
"I'm sure we'll get to go home soon. If that's not the case then I'll ask Elsa to excuse you for the night. I'm sure she won't mind." Anna checked her phone as they entered the parking garage.
"I hope you don't mind my intrusion but, are you and Miss Arendelle dating?"
There were so many ways to answer that question and Anna wasn't sure if a simple yes would suffice. "Technically, yes but we're past the dating phase, or at least I like to think so. We're much more settled now."
They both unbuckled their seatbelts and got out of the car. "I never got to know El- I mean Miss Arendelle much but I never thought she was the type to settle. No offence or anything."
Anna laughed. "None taken. You have no idea how hard it was for us to get settled though."
"Oh? Is she the not-romantic type?" Beatrice bit her lip. "I'm probably asking way too many questions, sorry."
"Hey no worries. I'm a lot like you actually but no, she's actually a huge softie on the inside it was actually me who was a bit reluctant."
"Well, you two do make a cute couple, if I do say so myself. It's rare to see that connection you two have nowadays. You don't need to make a statement to everyone to let them know that you're together, it just shows."
"Hey, thanks." It felt particularly satisfying to hear people refer to her and Elsa as a couple. They were no longer one or the other. They were one.
"I wonder where she went," Beatrice said as they both entered the conference room.
"You don't think she went to take a nap on someone's desk do you?" Anna joked. "Don't tell her I said that."
"If she did, it was well deserved." The short girl added.
"Unfair but true. I'll text her and ask where she is."
Beatrice didn't respond and instead just nodded and went back to work. Anna proceeded to contact Elsa and eventually got back to work as well.
"Tell me Beatrice, how long have you been working here?" She tried to distract herself and push away the sensation that something was off.
"Umm, around four years." The girl took a quick glance at Anna and then went back to the paperwork.
"Do you like it?"
"Well, it has its ups and downs just like any other place. I can't complain but it seems like things are changing within the company and hopefully that'll be for the better."
Anna's phone suddenly went off. "Well that's good. It's unfortunate that it was at Adgar's expense and oh, Elsa's getting food." She placed her phone back on the large glass table.
"Thank god because I'm starv-" They heard footsteps approaching the room. "Oh that must be her."
The door swung open. The urgency and force applied on it caused both girls to look at the entrance with surprise. They were taken aback when the security guard, who was supposed to be Elsa, barged in, catching his breath and running his eyes across the room. "Quick! There's been a security breach. You two need to get to a safe location."
Anna couldn't believe what was happening. Out of everything that was going on, that seemed the most surreal but something on the back of her head made her panic, as if warning her.
"What do we do? What do we do?" Beatrice seemed to be much worse than she was, probably experiencing a panic attack.
That was a good question, but what Anna really wanted to do was Elsa's location. Was she in danger?
"You need to follow me," the man said.
"There's no need for that." Another man's voice came from the entrance. Hans.
If Anna wasn't worried enough about the circumstances, she was now. What were the chances of Hans showing up and Elsa not being there? Questions began to race through her head. What if he'd taken Elsa? Why was he there and most importantly what were his intentions?
"Hans… there really is no need for this," Anna tried and was surprised when her voice wasn't at all shaky but deep inside she was scared.
"Oh but there is… Hmm, someone's missing here." He scanned the room and pointed the gun at everyone as he did. "Where's Elsa? Aw, has she abandoned you?"
Beatrice state only seemed to get worse and Anna noticed but wasn't sure on what to do next. What was anyone supposed to do in times like this anyway?
"Hans please, no." She stared at him tentively. He was being very observant and Anna only hoped that he wouldn't notice the guard reaching for his weapon.
But he did. "Hans!" Anna screamed but it was too late, he fired his gun in an instant. The guard lay motionless on the ground, blood spreading slowly on the carpeted area. The redhead tried not to look, she really did but she had to be reminded that it was real. That it was all really happening.
The scene must have been horrific for Beatrice because at that point the girl was completely unresponsive. Anna wondered whether she was hiding as a protective instinct of if she had fainted. She wanted to do something, help her but in that moment there were more pressing matters at hand.
"Well, well. Tell me, where's Elsa?" He asked, digging into his back pocket and pulling out a pair of handcuffs. He threw them at Anna and motioned for her to put them on Beatrice.
Anna did as he instructed, not wanting to make things worse and hoping that Elsa wouldn't dare show up in that instant. "What do you want Hans?"
"I want Elsa to do as I say, simple as that." Once he made sure that Beatrice was handcuffed to one of the chairs, he walked towards Anna, stood behind her and pointed the gun at her back while pushing her to step forward.
"She won't do what you say," she tried.
Hans laughed. "She'll do anything for you, don't you see that? That's why you're coming with me."
Out of all the things that were happening, nothing was ideal but Anna soon dreaded hearing Elsa's voice at the entrance. No.
"Leave her alone Hans." She stood at the doorway. There was something about her, perhaps adrenaline, worry, determination or the confirmation that she would do anything that was necessary to keep Anna safe and the redhead hated it because she didn't want to be the one to put Elsa in that position.
"Elsa, no! You need to leave!" Anna begged but she knew it was useless. Damn it, Elsa. Why do you have to be so stubborn and protective?
A chuckle erupted from Hans, "well look at you two. Isn't this romantic?" Anna was sure that there was a smirk on the man's face.
Elsa stared down at the floor and finally acknowledged the dead body right in front of her, right at her feet. That was only momentarily and soon enough her attention turned to the man standing a few yards infront of her.
"Hans, it's me you want, not her. She has nothing to do with this. I'll do whatever it takes just say it."
There was silence. Hans seemed to be thinking about it, shifting the gun on Anna's back. "You know? I didn't think it'd be this easy. What a shame," he pressed the gun harder into Anna's skin. "I always did admire you Elsa. We could have been great together. We could have shared a lot of success but you went for Anna instead. I don't really mind, honestly. It just makes it all that much easier for me. Shame about your father though. Besides, I never really did like sharing."
"Can you please let her go?"
He ignored her, "it's hard having to share everything with twelve other siblings. Of course, you wouldn't understand. You were born with a golden spoon-"
"Oh please Hans, I bet that story you fed me about your parents and your childhood was a lie."
"Indeed it was. It was a pathetic attempt for sympathy... But I digress, that doesn't change the facts. We're here, clearly I have the upper hand and you've just agreed to do whatever I say if Anna remains safe." He continued.
"It's a deal, let her go." Elsa slightly raised her arms as a sign of forfeit.
"Elsa, don't do this!" Anna screamed and Hans abruptly places his hand on top of her mouth to keep her from shouting.
The more Anna fought it, the more Elsa suffered and in the midst of all the chaos, the person everyone least expected to show up was Ygrette. Yet there she was.
"You have the wrong sister, Hans." She said calmly.
Hans clearly didn't expect Ygrette to show, neither did anyone else as they thought she was back home. He now pointed the gun at Elsa and held Anna's neck. "Wrong sister?" He asked.
Ygrette appeared unaffected. "Elsa has no power over anything that happens here. I do."
Silence again. Hans' plan seemed to have gone awry and the girls silently hoped that he'd give up or that someone else intervened now that there was time and he was a bit distracted. But Hans was a smart man, and a criminal so the situation didn't change much.
"Better yet then," he said. "You'll do what I say or I'll kill her." The gun was still pointed towards Elsa.
"You're not getting away with this," Anna almost spat.
"Oh but I already have," he laughed once again.
"Do you think I care if you kill my sister?" It was Ygrette, "if you get away with it, the better for me. We don't have the best track record after all."
Anna and Elsa looked at Ygrette, not believing what they were hearing.
"And you think I believe that? You'll need to prove it to me." Hans challenged and Elsa could have swore that for a second her sister hesitated. But soon enough the brunette was standing behind her and roughly held both her hands behind her back.
"What do you want me to do?"
"I need to believe that you're capable of hurting her." He insisted and it was evident that he was growing impatient and perhaps a bit tad unsure.
"Do you really think I care about what happens to her? Why do you think father and I were so adamant about having her work with you?"
"Do it!" He shouted and that caused Ygrette to act.
Elsa suddenly felt a force kick her in the back of her thigh, making her knees bend and eventually crash onto the floor. Although she managed to land on her palms, she was now mere inches away from the security guard, hovering over him. She was sure that she had blood all over herself at that point because she felt wetness seeping through her legs. Nothing was going right and she would have been more concerned about giving Hans what he deserved if it wasn't for the fact that he was holding Anna as a hostage.
Ygrette being there made things worse. How could she have believed anything she'd said before or the way she acted? For all she knew Hans and her sister had been working together all along but that didn't seem right. The more she thought about it the more confused she became. Hans clearly didn't know that Ygrette was in charge now and he obviously seemed surprised when she showed up. Maybe she had it all wrong. She did appear to be stalling him, was this another one of her acts?
Then it hit her. Thankfully (and purposely) Ygrette was talking to Hans, subtly trying to convince him, or distract him, Elsa wasn't sure but it worked because he didn't even notice when the blonde took the guard's gun and hid it behind her back as Ygrette forced her to get up once again. She tried to offer Ygrette the gun, after all it had been her intent to obtain the weapon when pushing Elsa, but as she discretely offered it to her,Ygrette pushed it up and insisted that Elsa keep it. The brunette clearly had a plan, unfortunately Elsa didn't know much about it.
"You do realize that regardless of what happens, I'm not doing anything you say. I'm not giving up my company even if you kill me," Ygrette said casually.
"There's always a plan B. If you die, they're always willing to put someone else in charge." Hans motioned for them to exit the room, clearly wanting Elsa and Ygrette to exit first.
"Then I don't see why you can't kill me right now." The brunette followed Hans' instructions and at the same time, tried to keep him talking. They made an effort to understand what he was trying to do by getting him to talk and if they were leaving the office, where was he taking them?
"I'm still hoping you will cooperate, that's all." He pushed Anna once again and the girl winced, causing Elsa to look back at the couple behind herself and Ygrette. Anna seemed to be in pain but she hadn't said much since she noticed the moment Elsa grabbed the gun. Oh how she wished she could put it to good use but Anna was the only reason she couldn't. Perhaps if they managed to keep Hans at a distance from the redhead... "We're not taking the elevator," Hans said as Ygrette, holding Elsa, approached the elevator doors. He pointed at the stairs.
"Where are you taking us?" Anna finally spoke.
"I'd rather not reveal that information. You'll know when we get there. In all honestly, I never expected to be welcomed by such a large party-"
"Don't get your hopes up," Ygrette murmured.
"You can always let her go," Elsa shouted but Hans didn't give her much attention.
"You know, Elsa? If you hadn't confronted me at dinner yesterday, things would have occurred much differently. So I guess it's really your fault all of this is happening." He took a rough grip of Anna's bicep, making her scream in pain.
"Don't listen to him," Anna tried to reassure her.
By the time they entered the door leading to the stair case, Hans had managed to catch up with them and decrease the distance between. Elsa knew her sister noticed and she felt the older girl's hand grip hers and the gun she was holding, letting her know that she would have to use it soon.
That gave her hope. Hope that soon they would be out of that mess and they would all be safe... But he was still holding Anna and she wasn't sure if she would be able to do anything if she was near him. What was Ygrette thinking?
"Move!" Hans voice startled her. "We don't have all day, we need to make it downstairs."
"Then we should have taken the elevator," Ygrette said sarcastically.
That seemed to annoy Hans more than it should have. "Listen, if any of you say another word or don't do as I say, I'll put a bullet through this one." He repositioned the gun on Anna's forehead.
The redhead closed her eyes and Elsa took that as a cue to proceed. "Okay, okay, hans. We'll do as you say just don't shoot."
He smiled. "Excellent. Down the stairs you go then."
It all happened too quickly and unexpectedly, for Elsa at least.
She was about to take her first step when Ygrette held her back. She looked back to seek an explanation from her sister but instead found the girl pulling Anna away from Hans. Clearly, Hans was stronger and in the middle of all the commotion, Anna forcefully managed to step away but Hans wasn't finished yet. He tried to grab her again but Ygrette was there and in an attempt to push her away he ended up pushing Anna down the stairs as well.
The girl fell down carelessly and Elsa almost ran down to help her. Unfortunately, Hans was now pointing the gun at her, with an evil smile on his face. "Nice try."
Elsa froze.
The moment she heard the gunshot she thought it was the end. But that thought quickly disappear as the scene developed before her eyes. Her sister had roughly attempted to kick the gun away from the man, and although she succeeded on sparing Elsa's life, the bullet managed to hit the top part of her left arm near her shoulder.
Elsa screamed in pain but was forced to ignore it as Ygrette spoke to her. Hans' gun was now halfway down the stairs as well. Ygrette must have somehow acted and managed to beat the man down to the floor.
"Take care of it, Elsa." She ordered, her voice was stern and bossy. "I'll take care of Anna."
Hans looked up at the blonde, there was amusement in his eyes. "What is it exactly that you plan to do, huh?"
Elsa bit her lip and noticed Hans' eyes on her bleeding shoulder. He had a look of satisfaction about him but that quickly changed as he saw Elsa pull the gun from behind her.
"What are you going to do, kill me?" He chuckled.
Elsa didn't say anything, she merely pointed the gun at him. Out of all the things she wished she could do, this wasn't one of them.
"You don't have it in you to do that, and we both know it." He began to get on his feet slowly.
"You're right," Elsa said but it sounded like a whisper. It was barely audible.
"See? Just hand me the gun." He insisted.
"No! I'm not letting you get away with this!"
Laughter erupted once again. "Then kill me!"
That seemed to have made it. "You deserve worse that that." She slightly lowered the gun and shot his knee, making him fall into the floor again.
Ygrette and Anna were there shortly after. The redhead, with her arm around Ygrette's shoulder, called Elsa's name as soon as she saw her.
"Call the police, we want him alive." Elsa ordered and then ran to hug her girlfriend. Ygrette nodded and pulled out her phone.
"Elsa... Your arm..." There was fear in Anna's voice.
"I'm fine. I'm lucky it was just that but," Elsa took a good look at her, "but are you okay? We need to go to the hospital." She rushed.
"I'll be fine, it's just my ankle." Anna offered her a small smile.
"They're on their way. Ambulances should be here soon as well, you two need to get yourselves checked out. In the meantime, we'll just have to watch him."
They all looked down at Hans, he was clearly in pain as he didn't even notice what was going on around him. "You're going to regret not killing me," he cursed and Ygrette kicked his wounded leg.
"You're going to regret messing with my family."
The ride to the hospital had been agonizingly slow, for Anna at least. She wanted Elsa to be treated as soon as possible. They had been kept in separate rooms and she hoped they would let her out soon enough so that she could go visit Elsa. Besides, wasn't an ankle injury much less serious that a gunshot?
After much insisting, the nurses brought in a wheelchair and with the help of Kristoff, who made himself available as soon as he heard the news, she was on her way to see Elsa.
Ygrette was in the room, talking to Elsa as both Kristoff and Anna came in. A sudden smile and happiness spread across Elsa's face. "Let me guess, you made the nurses let you go?" Elsa said from her bed.
"I'm surprised she didn't threaten them," Kristoff added and pushed Anna closer to the blonde then he and Ygrette stepped outside.
"How are you?" Elsa asked as soon as the couple left the room.
"Really Elsa? You're asking me how I am? I should be the one asking you."
"Good. I should be fine as long as the pain doesn't come back. How bad was your injury?" She glanced at Anna's cast.
"I've had worse."
"Somehow I believe that." Elsa frowned.
"What's wrong?"
"I suppose there's no reason from keeping this from you anymore but…"
"What? Elsa, what?" Anna asked worriedly.
"Anna," she laughed and shook her head. "It's nothing to worry about just that… my surprise will have to be delayed as neither of us apt for travel."
Anna sighed. "You scared me for a sec., but… so," she thought about it, "so when you almost said that we were going on vacation you were actually planning on saying that?"
"Yes, for your birthday."
Anna held Elsa's hand. "I've already received the best present. You're safe and that's all that matters. Besides, we can always postpone."
"That's true. Hey listen," Elsa began. "I'm sorry you had to go through that. I can't imagine how traumatizing that must have been for you-"
"Don't-" Anna interrupted, "don't applogize. It wasn't your fault. We're both okay. Well, I mean, it could have been worse."
"You're right. Ygrette tells me that Hans has been taken into custody. It doesn't look well for him at all."
"Good. He deserves it but what about Weselton?"
"He's been detained too. They'll be asking for statements and there's a good chance Hans will bring him down with him."
There was silence as they both took it all in. They night had dragged on longer than any of them intended but at the end of the day all that matter was that no one got severely injured, save for the security guard, much to his misfortune.
"So it's over?"
Elsa nodded. "It's over."
"I love you, Elsa."
"I love you too, Anna."
AN: So I had to rewrite half of this chapter as I forgot to save my progress, that explains the delay. There should be one or two more chapters and then an epilogue. I haven't made up my mind yet. Most likely it'll just be one more chapter and the epilogue though.
Enjoy!