After years of coming back to this story, I am ready to begin posting its sequel. The following is a recap of If The Cold Can't Stop Her, in preparation for what's next. It's been so long that I thought anyone wanting to read the new chapters might benefit from this. Someone asked me if they should reread the whole story. I say if you have time please do. This story was always meant to have this sequel and it has bits and pieces laying the foundation to the continuation peppered here and there. If only have a little time, read through this and the final chapter of the fic (30)
I hope to have some of you old readers join me on this journey. I'll be excited to hear from you. Follow my profile and look for a story named: If the Sky Won't Wake Her.
Cheers and enjoy!
Kristoff's journey:
It had been easy to fall in love with the Princess of Arendelle, not only was she charming but Kristoff had spent a lifetime being told that his future was to be by her side. His chosen family had regaled him with stories of his destiny to marry Anna since the night he first met them. The best day of his life was the start of the worst of Anna's. The Princess he met out on the mountain was quite broken by the seclusion she'd suffered since then.
His family's visions came to a head the night Arendelle froze over. However skeptical Kristoff was, he played his part and supported Anna on her journey to find her sister in any way he could. It has been foretold that he would fall in love but he had no idea that he would be changed. Gone was the recluse as well as the guard over his heart.
Kristoff finally had a purpose, it was to adore and protect Anna. With that, he accepted his new role as Ice Master and came to Castle any time he was called. He was prepared to play his part. The negatives would never outweigh getting to be at Anna's side, although they were heavy. Kristoff thought he could handle Council politics, and even with his distrust of the Queen, he was prepared to give Elsa a chance. That was until the two things came at him at once in the form of a sly councilman. Lord Tarik burdened Kristoff with a secret in an attempt to bend Kristoff's favour.
It was amazing how vile ink to page could be, even more so how much power it could hold. These pages were written in the Queen of Arendelle's hand, accounts damning to the entire royal family. It painted the King and Queen as monsters with harsh depictions of abuse towards their eldest child. It was heart-wrenching to read. It might have softened Kristoff to Elsa had there not been something darker within the pages, something that triggered Kristoff's new purpose into action.
He vowed to protect Anna from Elsa. Elsa, who was in love with her own sister. Not infatuated, not even only lustful. Elsa was obsessed, desperate, and dangerous. Kristoff knew he was destined to save Anna from the Queen. For a while, Kristoff thought he was winning. Anna was warm to him, she exchanged kisses and connected to him in a way he knew no one else would ever be able to. But winning Anna's heart was only half the battle, he still had to beat Elsa.
His chance came halfway up the North Mountain in a carven system that would become Arendelle's Ice Reserves. Alone and at Elsa's service, he was at a disadvantage. But he knew he carried Anna's heart. Elsa's power was monstrous as she lined the walls of the cavern with block after block of ice marked with Arendelle's crest, the Kingdom's new trade endeavour. The feat of cold had both Elsa and Kristoff on their knees. Each of them even lost consciousness. He could see through her, she was pushing herself to leave Arendelle set, something was coming. When Kristoff came too, Elsa was weak, coming back from deep with the tunnel system. Kristoff took that moment to press Elsa.
The Queen did not even care to hide her intentions. She freely put a claim on Anna, as hers. Kristoff was too weak to go into a rage. He chose to laugh at Elsa instead. Because the trolls had told him that Anna's hand was his. No matter what Elsa did she would never be able to influence her sister. Elsa's love, if Kristoff could call it that, was useless.
He never imagined how writing off Elsa's affections would play into shaping his future with Anna. He could have never foreseen he'd be a passive influence on what would break her heart. No, Kristoff failed to see the big picture. His destiny by Anna's side was not meant to be in love but in devotion. In the culmination of everyone's mistakes, Kristoff became the only person Anna had left. He had been too late in learning about the different forms true love could take. His love was forced to change. Kristoff made a vow to Anna, just not in the way he thought the trolls had meant for him. It was to make it up to Anna and to support her. It was to be whatever the new Queen needed him to be.
Elsa's Journey
Elsa had been told to reject fear. She had anxiety and she had doubts. She even had panic. But Elsa did not have fear. Her father's strong arm stroked the fear out of Elsa. Never in all of her lashings did Elsa fear the King of Arendelle. The beatings were a means to an end. They were the only thing keeping Elsa's heart safe. She could survive the pain but she would crumble if she ever caused her little sister any harm. That wasn't fear. That was love. Agnarr's whip was love.
Elsa had lots of love for Anna. It started as playful, the love shared by sisters who could build worlds together and fulfill each other without needing the outside world. Elsa wrote about that love in her journal. She wrote about how the void Anna left inside her had mutated into longing, and as Elsa grew and Anna matured, it became something more sinister. Elsa was in love with Anna.
The King became a great punisher using the lash to curve Elsa back to the path of the eventual Queen, reminding her that his wrath was a better alternative than the pain her deviance and magic could cause. There were so many things the King denied Elsa. She was kept from her mother every so often. Any time Iduna was carrying a child, Elsa was isolated from her. Yet, she'd get Iduna back when the Royal Family ultimately failed to produce a Heir to replace Elsa. A brief reprieve of Elsa's solitude came from sharing a garden with her mother. Elsa honed a tender touch to care for a rose bush – planted in memory of a lost child – that brought Elsa and Iduna back together. The white roses flourished under Elsa's touch. She kept the frost at bay for her mother's sake.
Her parents' passing left Elsa to her own devices. She doubled down, vowing to still be what they made of her. Even in death, the King's heavy hand guided the young Queen. She locked the roses away in a heavy protective block of ice. Where they would be forever stowed in perfection and protected from the pain that was life.
Elsa visited the roses and used them to remind herself that Anna was not hers. She did not deserve such beauty. She channeled her father as she pushed her sister away. But holding back her need for Anna left the door open for her power to seep out and respond in the way it so longed to. This power was always alive inside Elsa. Whether it was a separate entity or as much a system within Elsa as the running currents of blood in and out of her heart, it didn't matter. It had its own bidding, and while it could be suppressed, Elsa did not know how to control it.
Elsa's power consumed all of Arendelle. It was the cold that forced the sisters face to face on top of the North Mountain. Being in Anna's presence wasn't painful enough. Her words were an acceptance Elsa never knew was possible. When Anna said they could move forward together, Elsa lost it. It felt too good. Goodness, relief, love, those were the things Elsa had been trained to fear. Both her power and she couldn't accept it. I can't, Elsa screamed because it went against everything the King had beaten into her.
Everything Agnarr and Elsa had devoted their lives to fell apart. Just the taste of Anna and the Kingdom was doomed. The Princess lost. The Great Thaw occurred only when Elsa realized that Anna had power too. She could wield love and if Elsa opened herself up to it, that love could thaw the power within Elsa too. The storm Elsa constantly felt brewing within her settled when life returned to Anna's veins. That sensation followed Elsa around as she tried to navigate the backlash of her powers being exposed. Elsa not only had to battle her lust for Anna but she had to navigate her new role as Ice Queen.
She had to make peace with everyone she had locked out. Arendelle was ready to hold her accountable. The Council was like hot breath at Elsa's neck, it taxed her to deal with it and its most pompous member Lod Tarik. Yet the more she paraded her powers to the men, the more secure her seat at the table was. Elsa grew to enjoy sparring with Lord Tarik. Her relationship with him became her first friendship. Cautiously, Elsa opened up to the councilman. It gave her confidence within the council and even in respect to her sister.
While Elsa knew her love was dangerous, Anna's was the opposite of that. Its tenderness soothed Elsa, in the quietude she had control. The more she fought her father's expectations the stronger Elsa felt. Elsa hadn't expected what an open door meant. Anna walked through it determined to get what she'd been denied all these years. It was terrifying and electric to feel just how much Anna wanted to take back. Elsa had thought she would have to continue to suppress her desire for her little sister, but the Princess pressed for any and all types of connection.
It went against all of Elsa's instincts, but tucked away in Elsa's suites together, the Queen fell into her sister's touch. Outside of her room, Elsa moved forward, coaxing a more stable life for Anna, trying to find a way to have each other without upsetting the Crown. That part Elsa, still encouraged distance from Anna. It set up a life where Anna could flourish that did not include the touches they shared. It gave Elsa a chance at a normal life too. Lord Tarik, with a passion for Arendelle and Agnarr's choice to wed Elsa, seemed a solid choice in life. Elsa enjoyed his company. She enjoyed seeing her reflection in his eyes, it painted love void of any of the disgust her father showed her. The Queen was prepared to be his wife.
Elsa intended to give Anna a choice between a happy life with Kristoff, as Princess of Arendelle and sisters reigning together each with a good kind mate, or a twisted life as lovers, where they hid or ran when they needed to, just to have another. Elsa laid the foundation for each option, giving Kristoff a title, accepting Tarik's proposal, and going as far as making amendments to the Law of Lineage. The change would prop Lord Tarik as King of Arendelle so Elsa and Anna could escape together. Elsa had even gone as far as to leave Arendelle with everything it needed to prosper by lining an entire carven system with blocks of ice, that would revolutionize the transport industry with their ability to stay cold indefinitely.
Everything was set. Win or lose, the sisters were going to be alright. The only risk to their future would be the love being found out. Elsa was careful, but Anna was not. The first person to find out was Lord Tarik. The exact person Elsa was priming to take over their land. Elsa had to course correct, and ensure that the volatility of her lust for Anna came off as something that could be smoldered by man. Elsa had to impress her affection on him. Having to give her body away reminded Elsa so much of her father's lash. It reminded Elsa how much she liked pain, and how much easier it was to succumb to it over constantly putting herself out on the line. It felt like such a sick relief to be under the control of something that was not her power. Elsa wouldn't be able to do it. She wouldn't be able to fight for Anna if the truth were to surface. The mere act of giving herself to Tarik broke something within Elsa. It untethered her magic and weakened it. Elsa felt it come and go in waves. It waned.
When Elsa finally offered Anna a version of life where they were able to be together, the ultimatum left no room for Anna's desire to take Arendelle on as wives and rule it together as Queens. That version of life would be far too taxing on Elsa. The only way she knew to live that life would be to whip any of her foes into submission just as her father had done to her. It was not an option for Elsa. Anna refused any other path. The Queen resigned to her fate and hoped that as Tarik's wife, she'd at least be able to relish in the familiarity of pain. In anticipation of it, Elsa lashed herself.
Tarik was made the New King. Elsa let herself be swept up by it. She played her role. But the Princess found her and pulled her away from it all and rushed her into Elsa's suite. Before Tarik could make a real wife out of Elsa, Anna took Elsa's hand. The sisters consummated their love in the bed where Tarik would do the same. Elsa felt like she won. She was permitted to call Anna her wife. The Queen was, for a moment, fully free to love. She was at peace with her magic, she was at peace with her feelings. Elsa was at peace with true love.
Tarik took it away as he watched the sisters. His worst fear was realized. The woman he loved was sacrilegious. She was a danger to Arendelle as she poisoned the Kingdom's only Princess. Not only had he seen it with his own eyes but he had proof of it written in Elsa's hand. The New King was poised to see Elsa punished for her reprehensible inclinations. The only options he presented her were that she vanish, or she lay both her and her sister's life down.
Elsa's instincts kicked in. Her entire life was built around one thing, to keep Anna safe. Elsa wanted to protect her sister but she also yearned to preserve the love they shared. Her power was at odds with Elsa. A great deal of it rushed to be at Anna's side. The Ice Queen harnessed what was left of it. Just like she had immortalized her mother's white rose bush, Elsa locked up the pure love she had for Anna deep within her heart. Along with the man who threatened their love, Elsa encased them with ice.
Anna's Journey
The first five years of Anna's life were perfect. Each and every moment of her existence served her with an abundance of love. Anna wanted for nothing. It wasn't because she was a Princess, with a whole kingdom offering her up all of her whims. It was because she had a loving family. Anna believed they could be peasants and still, she'd be fulfilled.
Maybe there was only a certain amount of love a person was allowed in a lifetime. Anna used hers up playing in the snow with her sister well past their bedtime. That was the last robust, hearty, and joyous memory Anna had. From then on, Anna had to squeeze the good out of her newly mundane and solitary life. No one ever told her why things had so abruptly changed. She was left feeling like her memories were a dream and grew to obsessively catalouge the few sweet things that happened to her. There was only one thing she idolized more than her memories.
In her younger days, the greatest source of Anna's joy was always her big sister. She knew she could have everything back if she could just be with Elsa again. Her sister's Coronation was the only chance to have Elsa. It was her only chance at a lot of things. One cold shoulder from Elsa was enough to deject her, Anna focused on the other parts of love she wanted to explore while the gates were open. For a moment, Anna thought she had a new answer to life. Her want to connect and love led her to a man offering her everything she'd had before Elsa locked her out. She used her voice for once, she stood up for herself. She finally let herself fight Elsa for an answer.
Arendelle froze as a result. As Anna climbed up the North Mountain she laughed at the fates. Anna could bear the cold. The higher she climbed the more she realized it couldn't stop her. Being struck in the heart was a strange feeling. As harsh as the temperature felt, as heavy as it was, there was something familiar to it. Anna wasn't afraid. The cold had always been a part of Anna's solitude. She braced herself but let go deeper inside. She didn't fight it. She battled everything outside of it. Anna finally had the answer to what kept her apart from her sister. She had just enough strength left in her to put that wisdom into use. The Princess defeated everything that had held her back for thirteen years. She handed Elsa the same lesson. With true love, her sister bested the storm.
The End. Or so Anna thought. The ending of one thing was the start of something else entirely. It budded on the other side of an open door, inside Elsa's room. Anna wanted to reconnect with her sister. The Princess listened to her body. She followed her instincts. It led her deep into her sister's arms. It felt like such a relief to have Elsa. That relief evolved into something that could not be satiated. Enough didn't seem possible as Anna coaxed Elsa to stop fighting and hold nothing back. Elsa opened up in such an erotic way. Anna was easy with this definition of true love. It brought her no angst to be mad about Elsa.
What rocked Anna was that the more she got of Elsa's present the more she learned about her sister's past. The closed door between them had held more than one secret. Elsa's room was covered in dents and cracks. They were proof of years of distress. But the further Anna looked the more the darkness was unveiled. Everything Anna knew to be true, the five years' worth of memories she held on so tightly to were destroyed as she learned that Elsa had been beaten.
Anna sought out answers with trolls. Gran Pappie could not rebuild the memories she lost. He warned what he sealed away from her was for her own good. Behind what was once a white strand of hair something potentially dangerous was being held back. To call on it would certainly put the origins of Elsa's magic to the test. Ice was power was frigid. The trolls warned it could not be trusted. However, that magic felt invigorating as it flowed through Anna during her explorations of Elsa's body. She could feel it and it could stroke her in return. It guided the sisters together and burst when they reached the peaks of pleasure. Anna was not afraid of magic. What twisted her up was what the fear of such a power had done to her family. Mostly how it had damaged Elsa so deeply that the Queen still tried to seek out pain just to get a handle on it.
It was all done in Anna's name. This new burden and guilt was impossible for Anna to bear. She felt herself drowning it. She wished she could take out on her father. Drunk and In his study, Anna cast her anger at his portrait as she shamed herself for her inaction. Her tantrum there unearthed a copy of what she thought was her childhood journal but within its pages, she found out more of her family's transgression. The King knew of Elsa's longings. He broke Elsa over it. It hurt Anna to even look at the words. By the time she left the study, she was still drunk. She wouldn't have made it back to Elsa if Lord Tarik had not helped her back to her sister's room.
It was there that Anna exacted her revenge on her father. She made love to Elsa despite him. She hoped to the Gods he turned in his grave and she plunged her fingers inside of her sister. Anna was sick the next morning. Elsa played the role of big sister well as she nursed Anna. The Queen played lover exquisitely too. But Anna ruined all that. She misplaced the journal and began a manic search to find the blasted thing before it fell into the wrong hands. The search took days. It consumed her, leaving little room for her sister, whom she'd promised to be available for. In the fray, Anna was constantly feeling contrasting emotions and contradictory wants. The mess of her head and heart led her to become intimate with Kristoff. It had made her feel small to be under his touch. She multiplied her efforts to put a real stake in her relationship with Elsa. With Kristoff's help, Anna found the journal in Lord Tarik's office. He immediately became a threat to Anna's relationship with Elsa. Before she could surmount a plan she learned he was set to marry the Queen.
The Princess was only just starting to regain her memories of Elsa, she was just beginning to see how true love had shaped the sisters even then. She was not prepared to lose that to anybody. Anna fought hard with Elsa. She knew together they could best anything thrown their way. They had proven that to each other out on the frozen fjord. But Elsa was relentless. She held zero hope for a future in Arendelle. When Anna asked her sister to marry her, Elsa refused.
Anna vowed to ruin everything and reveal their love. Still, Elsa held her ground. Elsa's words were hot, they were meant to sting as she pushed Anna away. Anna was defeated. The door slammed on Anna's dreams for the future. But Elsa didn't lock her door anymore. The Princess made her choice. Elsa was the only one she wanted. Anna would pack everything else she owned and loved into her memories. She was prepared to go. Even with another warning from the trolls, Anna refused to suppress any more of her memories and desires.
The Princess let Lord Tarik win. His prize was Arendelle but Anna's was Elsa. Anna said her vows to her sister. She sealed them with her touch. Just as Anna went from heartbreak to elation she was given no warning when she was suddenly widowed. Elsa left Anna. Only the cold remained. Layers and layers of ice were the new barrier between them. Anna lost everything all over again.
The End or so the Princess thought. For Anna, Elsa left quite a few things behind. Not just a penned token of her love and the role of Queen. Elsa left Anna her trust. That was more than confirmed when Anna found herself in the garden staring at a flourishing rose bush and watching it once again able to bend towards the sunlight. It had been thawed, freed from the prison that kept it perfect but also incapable of growth. The budding roses gave Anna hope. She knew what to do with that feeling. Elsa was gone but the cold remained. It was as alive as it was when Anna touched her sister. Elsa's plight was the start of something else. Anna's journey was only truly about to start.