Coming clean

The silence between the two of them made Elsa feel worse than she had that morning. There were few things that could make Anna speechless, and being the reason she was now in that state only proved what Elsa already knew: What she had done was bad. The truth was out there and not even Anna knew what to do about it.

Anna was the person who always knew what to say. She always knew how to fix things; and if she didn't, at least she usually had an idea where to begin. Except now. She had put two and two faster than Elsa had imagined. Her face had changed from worry to consternation too fast to pretend it hadn't. Anna understood, as well as she did, how bad what she had done was.

Feeling it was best to fill the gaps, now that the truth was out there, Elsa continued, "I froze his arm."

"You froze—" Anna stuttered. "You froze his arm." Elsa noticed the look of concern furrow her brows. It almost seemed possible to see the gears turning in her head, trying in vain to find something to say that could help Elsa out of her problems. "Some frost, right? Nothing serious."

Shaking her head, Elsa turned her eyes to the sea. "He cried in pain."

At that, Anna's eyes told Elsa more than she needed to know. What have you done? It was the underlying question that Anna didn't ask, but Elsa knew had crossed her mind. Her eyes were a mirror that showed exactly what she was thinking.

Anna knew what Marshall meant to her. He was the only person outside the family circle who had ever given her a second glance. He was the only one crazy enough to reach out to her and become friends with her when he had no reason to. And the only thing Elsa had done in return was lie to him and then hurt him. She hadn't even stopped to look at his hand for more than a few seconds before leaving him on his own. She knew he had an ice burn, but in the middle of the night, she hadn't been able to see how badly she had hurt him. Her ice usually continued burning until she calmed herself down, so she was certain he had been in a lot more pain than he had let on. And even if things weren't as serious, the idea of her powers coming into light was serious on itself. Hurting someone she loved was bad. But exposing her powers was life-changing. Even if Marshall didn't say anything, there existed the possibility of him needing medical help. And there weren't many ways he could explain the accident without more about Elsa coming into light. The mere thought made Elsa's worries return and she couldn't stop the tears from falling. Running into Idunn and feeling awful about herself had been just a distraction from her real problem, and now that she was facing the music, there was little she could do to stop the anguish and self-loathing.

"Is he okay? Where is he?"

Anna's voice felt distant and soft, as if she was metres away from her. But Elsa knew it was just her loud and guilty conscience not letting her listen to Anna. She took a few deep breaths and hid her hands under her armpits. She wasn't sure if giving herself a hug could actually help keeping the ice at bay, but she had to try.

Looking up, she noticed it had started to drizzle at some point, and she couldn't be more thankful for it. At least she was sure the beach would stay deserted and any undesired snow would melt with the water.

"Elsa, where is he?" repeated Anna, shaking her arm slightly.

"I'm not sure," Elsa said, once she was able to calm herself down enough to talk. "At the mountain, I guess…"

"Did he go to the hospital? Did he talk to someone?"

Now that she thought about it, Elsa hadn't really said or asked anything about the injury on that call, much less on the message she left him. She had been so concerned about herself and the way she was feeling, she hadn't given Marshall's injury much thought. The realisation only made her feel worse about herself. How could she have been so insensitive and careless? Why hadn't she thought about Marshall needing medical help until now that she told Anna the truth?

She felt hot and sick all of a sudden. Marshall had been injured but he had been worried about her, not himself. He'd been worried enough to look for her and help her. She, on the other hand, had only tried to escape.

She hugged herself tighter, trying to keep her guilt and sadness from manifesting in the form of snow. The tears she had been barely able to contain resurfaced and she began to sob, unable to control herself. She couldn't stand it anymore. She wanted things to be okay again. She wanted to go back in time and make sure this never happened. Or better yet, she wanted to go back in time and tell herself to give up when she had the chance as a child. It would have been so easy to just let herself go at the time. She would have spared so many people the pain of having met her.

She felt like drowning once again and she wasn't sure what to do. She wasn't inside her parents' house where she could hide, or in the middle of the mountain. She had to keep herself under control, but she felt her breathing coming out in short painful breaths. She was hyperventilating, and that was bad. She couldn't control her body when she was in that state.

Before she could come up with a solution — or an escape route; she felt Anna's arms around her, hugging her tightly. At first, the human contact only made her worry more. The last thing she needed was to hurt another person she loved. But for some reason, Anna's tight embrace made her body feel warmer and her mind clearer. For a short moment she didn't feel like a dangerous, uncontrollable monster, but like a person. And it made her feel better. Only slightly. But at least she didn't feel the world collapsing around her. If she thought about it, something similar had happened with Marshall the night of the accident. She couldn't remember much, but she had come back to her senses and Marshall had been there by her side. His soft voice had felt like an anchor and it had helped her. Only a moment later she had felt his arm around her and things hadn't seemed so bad.


Anna kept her arms around Elsa, afraid of letting go. She had seen Elsa overcome panic attacks on her own before, but this time she didn't want to let her face it alone. She had no idea if she was doing the right thing or not. At this point, she was willing to try anything to make Elsa's burden a bit lighter. Ever since her sister had been born, she had faced the world alone. The last thing she needed was to continue doing it when she was surrounded by people who loved her.

In her opinion, what Elsa needed desperately was some comfort and guidance. And she was glad to see her sister accept her presence. She was glad the hug hadn't made her run away and, instead, it was helping her breathe more or less normally again.

The panic attack hadn't struck Elsa full force, but that didn't mean she wasn't a crying mess. For that reason, Anna allowed her sister to cry for as long as she needed. And for the first time since she had met Elsa, Anna made a conscious effort to keep her mouth shut and let her control the situation. She'd find the time to ask any questions later. Now, the only thing she cared about was making sure her sister felt better.

After several minutes, when Elsa finally seemed more calm and collected, Anna let her go slowly and dared say, "It's okay, Els. Everything will be okay."

"No, it won't…"

Anna wasn't sure if she was trying to organise her thoughts or she was trying to control her breathing, but Elsa took another minute or so to continue speaking.

"I hurt Marshall. And I didn't even ask him if he was okay."

It was clear the guilt was eating Elsa up. The anger and sadness in her voice said a lot more than her words.

"Maybe, if he didn't say anything, it meant he was okay." Not even Anna herself believed what she was saying. She had seen the blast of ice that almost hit her mother. Anyone on its firing line would end up seriously injured.

"I should've said something to him. Anything. I don't want to lose him." Elsa said, as she dried the tears that were still rolling down her cheeks.

"You won't lose him, Els." Even the nickname Anna was using at that moment was courtesy of Marshall's love for Elsa. Kristoff had adopted it after hearing Marshall use it several times, and Anna had followed suit. Elsa seemed to be the only one blind enough not to see how much Marshall adored her. Romantic love or not, the mountaineer loved her to pieces. Tired of it, Anna decided it was time she heard it. "He loves you."

But the truth fell on deaf ears.

"I'm such an idiot. I should've stayed and talked to him that night."

Anna sighed and tried not to insist on it. "What do you mean stay and talk?" she said instead. "Didn't you talk to him?"

"I couldn't do it."

"You didn't explain anything to him?" Anna asked in disbelief.

"I wanted to," Elsa said, looking at Anna for the first time since her breakdown.

The pain in her eyes made Anna want to hug her again and reassure her things would be fine. But her sister needed someone to listen to her, not to hear the same empty promises time and time again.

"I didn't want to hurt him a second time, so I pushed him away…"

"You pushed—" Anna had to repeat what she was listening to try to understand Elsa's train of thought at the time; but the more she tried to comprehend what Elsa had done, the less sense it made. "Did he even understand what was going on?"

"No, I don't think he did."

Two sides of Anna were fighting inside of her. On one hand, she wanted to protect Elsa from her self-deprecating thoughts and do everything in her power to make sure she was okay. On the other hand, the most sensible side, wanted to agree with her and show her how extremely idiotic her choices had been — she guessed she could help her right her wrongs in the process. But Anna ignored the latter and she remained silent for a while, trying to find some middle ground.

"Elsa, have you called Marshall? You need to talk to him." The question was meant to help Elsa see the big mistake she'd made, but her tone of voice remained calm and sympathetic.

"I called him yesterday." A shaky breath stopped her for a moment. "He's mad at me. He said I shouldn't have lied. I shouldn't have kept something like this from him."

Anna could understand Marshall, she'd be lying if she said something similar hadn't crossed her mind at the time.

"When I tried to apologise, he hung up on me."

Anna felt awful. She knew how much this was affecting Elsa, yet she could sympathise with Marshall. She had been on the other side. Finding out about Elsa's powers hadn't had such a big effect on her only because her parents had dropped a bigger bomb mere minutes after it happened. She wasn't sure what she would have thought, hadn't Elsa been her sister. She was certain she would have loved and respected Elsa just the same, but the journey would certainly have been different.

"So… Do you think he understands that you can do what you do?"

"I don't know. I think he's afraid of me. He was mad that I hadn't warned him."

Warned? Anna thought, not really following everything her sister was saying. "Afraid of you… No." Marshall would never. He could be mad, of course. But not afraid. Marshall loved Elsa, of that she was sure. He wouldn't let something he didn't even understand change that. Would he?

"Elsa, are you sure he was afraid of you?"

"He said he was scared. He wouldn't stop shaking."

Once again, Elsa's look got lost in the sea in front of her, and Anna did the same. She looked at the sea for the first time since they sat down to talk. Her eyes had always stayed focused on Elsa and the way she reacted. But now that the truth was out there, and Elsa was more calm, Anna could take a moment to look around. The horizon line could no longer be seen due the drizzle that kept falling and to their good luck, the beach was deserted. The weather had clearly been on their side, allowing them to have the conversation in private, even though they were by the fjord.

"What happened between you two that night? Why did you lose control?" Anna asked after a few minutes in silence. It was best to have the complete story before she tried to help her sister find a solution to her problems.

Not taking her eyes off the sea, Elsa raised her bandaged hand for her to see. "This happened."

"Did he hurt you?" It seemed improbable, but Marshall had proven to be dangerous when mad.

"What?" said Elsa, suddenly turning to her in anger. "No! Marshall's not like that."

It was a relief to know he had been treating her well, and that Elsa's adoration for Marshall was still intact. "Then what happened?"

With a sigh, she began telling the whole story. "He came home on Saturday after you left…"


Kristoff parked his truck in front of his apartment building and smiled as he turned the radio off. It had been a long time since he had felt so content. Even if there were a few things still lingering in his mind, it was the first time in several months that he could see a bright future.

Adding to his good mood, he had gotten off from work earlier than usual that day, which was a pleasant surprise. He had taken the opportunity to stop by a newsagent on the way home, and he had bought three different newspaper issues. He wanted to see every real estate listing available and find a home for Anna and himself as soon as possible. He was happy Anna had agreed to spend a couple of days with him that week, but he was certain he'd miss her as soon as she needed to go back home — even if it was only to pick clean clothes.

Grabbing the newspapers, he closed the door of his truck and crossed the street. As he got closer to the main door, he noticed there was a man sitting there, resting his head against the glass door. He thought it was one of his neighbours but as soon as the man looked in his direction, he realised it was Marshall.

"Marshall?" he asked, making sure he wasn't hallucinating all of a sudden. "What are you doing here?"

It surprised him that the mountaineer knew where he lived; but then again, he supposed Elsa had told him the day she gave him his phone number. After all, they had needed to stay in contact while she healed from her fracture.

"Is Elsa here?" Marshall asked, not paying Kristoff much attention.

Marshall was usually all business and no talk, and Kristoff knew that. Yet, it felt incredibly disrespectful to demand an answer without even greeting him first.

"No," he answered, trying not to take offence in Marshall's sudden lack of manners.

He searched for his keys in his pocket and opened the front door while he waited for Marshall to say something else or leave. He wasn't even sure what the man was doing there.

"Can you tell me where she is?"

"Didn't she call you yesterday?" He remembered giving Elsa a few minutes so she could call the guy the previous evening. "I'm sure she told you where she was."

"No."

"No?" Kristoff asked, as he turned to look at Marshal over his shoulder. Only now he realised there was something odd about the whole situation. It wasn't usual for Marshall to call him in the early morning to ask about Elsa's whereabouts. It was even more unusual for Elsa to suddenly visit and stay with their parents for no reason whatsoever. "Why not?"

"I don't know," Marshall said, finally standing up. "But I need to talk to her."

Kristoff looked at the man for a few seconds, taking in his appearance. He hadn't slept much, his eyes betrayed him. His hair and beard were messy, and he seemed angry. What was intriguing, it wasn't in the usual way. It was completely different from that night in Hans' house. This time he looked cross, but sad at the same time. It wasn't a good look if he wanted to sweep someone off their feet. So, clearly, Marshall wasn't there to suddenly confess his love for Elsa.

Despite his confusion, Kristoff decided it was best not to tell the man anything. "I'm sure she had a good reason to leave the mountain and not tell you where she was going."

"Kristoff, please…" he said, sighing tiredly.

It was clear he had either been waiting for a long time, or he was getting tired of not being able to find Elsa. Perhaps both.

"Look, I'm not going to change my mind about this. You called me yesterday. I let Elsa know you were looking for her and she called you. That's it." He turned his back to him and entered the building.

"You don't understand," Marshall said, stopping the glass door from closing.

"There's nothing to understand." Kristoff held the door open for him, and silently asked him to let go of the door with one look. "Give my sister some space."

"Could you at least give me a phone number?" insisted Marshall.

"You had a fight, didn't you?"

"It doesn't concern you."

"Did you?" Kristoff repeated, knowing too well that something had in fact happened between them.

"No, we did not."

Something in his tone of voice told Kristoff he wasn't lying; but that left him on square one once again. If it hadn't been a fight about the business or their stubbornness combined, then what happened? "Elsa must have her reasons not to see you," said Kristoff, tired of the conversation. "Either she's too busy and she can't or won't talk to you. Have a good day, Marshall."

"But I—" Marshall tried to say, as he pushed the glass door once again.

This made Kristoff lose the little patience he had left. "Elsa called you yesterday. Whatever it was you two needed to say to each other, I'm sure you already did."

"She only left a message."

"Then that's all you're getting until she feels like talking to you. Now excuse me." Pointing to the door with his head again, he said, "I've got some things to do."

"Kristoff—" Marshall said in a small voice, not before letting go of the door to show him he wouldn't insist if he said no. "Wait."

Pinching the bridge of his nose, he let out an exasperated sigh. "What do you want?"

"Can I talk to you?"

The angry expression on Marshall's face disappeared and it was soon replaced by the face of a hurt person. Someone who was trying his best but couldn't find his way. And Kristoff felt bad for him. Who knew how long he had stayed out there, waiting for him. How long he had waited for Elsa's call only for it to be a short voice message. Who knew what had exactly happened to make him seek Elsa, or his help now, so desperately.

"Marshall…" Kristoff began, but couldn't find a good enough reason to deny his request.

"I can't talk to anyone else. I'm not even sure if I should talk to you, but I don't know what else to do," Marshall said as he rolled up his sleeve, showing his hand and half his arm covered by bandages. "Please?"

Kristoff wasn't sure what he was looking at, but something inside told him he needed to listen. Whatever had happened was serious, and he could only hope it wasn't what he was thinking.


By the time Elsa finished telling her story, the rain had stopped falling. The afternoon was still grey and the breeze, combined with the cold air that surrounded Elsa, made the day colder than it was supposed to be at that time of the year. But to the girls' good luck, there was no way the people in Trolheim would consider the temperature changes something strange, the rain the previous days could easily justify them.

"What am I going to do now?" Elsa asked, once she told Anna what had happened. "I'm so tired of being this monster who constantly hurts those around me. I can't keep going on like this… I don't know what to do anymore."

Anna's heart broke listening to Elsa. She could see that her sister actually felt that way about herself. It was a serious concern of hers and she desperately needed an answer. An answer Anna wasn't sure she could give.

Not knowing what else to say, she started by making sure her sister stopped seeing herself as someone dangerous. "You're not a monster."

"I hurt a person."

"You were afraid," Anna said, still convinced Elsa wasn't dangerous; at least not the way she believed.

She wasn't any more dangerous than Anna herself when she was cooking with a knife. It all depended on her self-control. And Elsa had proven she could live surrounded by people. All people had to do was respect her boundaries.

"You were asking him to let you go. You were trying to protect him."

"I'm the one who almost struck him with a blast of ice."

The mere thought of Elsa blasting Marshall made Anna's blood run cold.

"I'm the one who froze his arm."

"After you asked him repeatedly to leave the house. To leave you alone." Noticing her words weren't convincing Elsa, Anna insisted. "You're not a monster, Elsa."

"I shouldn't have lost control," she continued, unaware of Anna's words. "I'm the one who should keep myself under control. I'm the one to blame. Me."

Her insistence and the way she pointed at herself, almost beating her chest repeatedly as she talked, told Anna Elsa was not okay. She wasn't coping with the situation at all.

"Okay…" Anna stopped her hand and held it in hers. The ice cold of Elsa's hand wasn't natural, but she still tried to warm it. "Okay. Calm down. I— I understand." At this point, Anna would agree with anything as long as Elsa stopped her self-deprecating ramble. "I don't agree. But I do understand."

To Anna's peace of mind, Elsa did stop beating herself up and allowed her to hold her hand for a while. It didn't take long for Elsa to start talking again though, but Anna let her. Who knew how long she had been keeping those things inside of her and maybe letting them go could help.

"I couldn't stop myself from hurting him. I couldn't talk to him after it happened. I couldn't even explain things to him over the phone either. All I did was leave a stupid message saying I was sorry." A few silent tears rolled down her face again. "But being sorry doesn't fix the shit I've done. It doesn't heal his arm." She took a few deep breaths before she claimed, "I'm a worthless idiot."

At that, Anna tightened her hold on Elsa's hand. She was certain it hurt, but she needed her sister to listen. "You're not, Elsa. Do you understand? You're not. This is hard for you to talk about. It doesn't make you worthless nor an idiot."

All Anna got out of Elsa was an unconvinced, painful look. And she couldn't help comparing getting into her sister's head with trying to break into a wall with bare hands. She was running out of things to say to help her see herself differently, and part of her was convinced her sister needed more than what family and friends could give her. At this point, Anna was certain what she needed was professional help, but that on itself was risky. Even mentioning it could make her sister retreat once again.

Anna gave Elsa some time to calm down before she said something that was in her mind and couldn't be ignored. "It would be wise to explain things to him, Els. It's difficult to be on his side, not understanding what's going on…"

"Look at me, Anna. I'm a mess." Elsa said, pointing at herself. "I can't even talk to you without breaking down nor keeping the ice at bay. There's no way I can face Marshall if he's afraid of me."

"I'm sure he isn't afraid of you." she wouldn't believe it, not even for a second, until she saw it.

Elsa shook her head, convinced of what she had seen in his eyes that night.

Trying to come up with a different solution, Anna asked, "Can't Kai or Gerda talk to him?"

She shook her head once again. "They don't know. I don't want my family finding out about this."

"What?" Only then, Elsa's excessive guilt and self-loathing made sense. She had been dealing with things on her own and hadn't even let Gerda in to help her. "Elsa, that's ridiculous. You need to tell them."

"I can't tell them. I can't keep disappointing them."

"Kai and Gerda need to know," insisted Anna, suddenly letting her sensible side take over. "Kai's the one capable of keeping you safe in case things… things get more complicated." She didn't want to say in case everyone finds out about your powers, the last thing Elsa needed was another reason to try to run away from her problems.

"I've been nothing but trouble for Kai and Gerda all these years," she said in a low voice. It was clear she was ashamed of herself. "They saved my life. They made me part of their family. They gave me the chance to live a life outside those damn hospital walls. They gave me everything I ever needed…"

"Exactly. They gave you all of that because they love you and they want to make sure you're happy and safe."

"Don't you see, Anna?" Elsa asked, looking at her with tears brimming her eyes once again. "I'll be forever in debt with them. And I can't do the only thing I'm supposed to do. The only thing they asked of me."

"And what's that?"

"To keep my powers under control."

"Well, it's not like they asked for the simplest thing either." Anna muttered. The memory of Elsa explaining the way her powers made her feel came back to Anna, and she was disturbed by Kai and Gerda's request. To expect Elsa to hold her breath at all times was lunatic. No-one could tolerate that torture forever.

"What if they get sick of me? What then?" Elsa asked, unaware of Anna's turbulent mind. "I can count with one hand the people who honestly care about me. I'm pretty sure I lost one of them already. I can't lose Kai and Gerda."

"You won't," Anna said calmly. She could only wish Elsa realised how ridiculous her words sound.

Elsa's fear of abandonment was stopping her from coming clean about her problems and worries. She was isolating herself from her own family out of fear of losing them. Once again, she was letting her fears control her and she was pushing those who could help her away. And Anna couldn't stand it.

"You'll need to talk to them sooner or later. And you need to talk to Marshall too, you didn't lose him. If there's someone out there who won't give up on you so easily, that's Marshall. Trust me on this one, Els, please."

"I can't face him yet. I'm so ashamed of who I am and what I did."

"What about Kristoff?" Her brother was the right person for it. There wasn't a thing he wouldn't do for her. "I remember Kristoff going to my house first thing in the morning after the incident at home. Maybe he can— " Noticing the way Elsa kept shaking her head no, Anna stopped mid sentence. "What?"

"Kristoff doesn't like Marshall. It'll be a disaster."

"Of course he does." Kristoff could be protective at times, but he liked Marshall just fine. Did he?

"I think he only tolerates him now… I can't ask my family to talk to Marshall. Kristoff will blame him and so will Kai."

"Then it's either you or me." She was still unconvinced her family would act that way, but talking to Marshall was a lot more urgent than changing Elsa's mind. "Someone needs to talk to him. And it'd be right for you to do it. I know you know I'm right."

"I know."

At least she was still listening to reason. "Alright…" Anna watched Elsa for a moment, trying to make sure she wasn't going to break down any minute. It wasn't easy for Anna to leave Elsa on her own after everything she had said, and she wanted to make sure she was okay to go back home now that the evening was falling. "Are you feeling better?"

"Kind of."

"That's good," Anna sighed in relief and gave her sister a side hug. "Next time, don't listen to the stupid voices in your head, okay? Promise me you'll start calling me when you feel this way."

But Elsa only lowered her head in shame.

"It's okay, Els. We all need help sometimes."

She nodded, but stayed silent.

"Look, I don't mean anything by this but…" Wondering if it was right to excuse herself at that moment, Anna looked at her watch and decided it was indeed time she went home and took a warm bath. "I'm freezing. The drizzle soaked my clothes."

Elsa opened her eyes in surprise and looked at her. "I'm sorry, I don't feel the cold, I didn't realise—"

"It's okay. I just mean I need to get going. I'm staying at Kristoff's tonight."

Anna got up and offered Elsa her hand to help her stand up as well. "We could walk together."

Elsa accepted her offer and the two began walking back to the main street. When they got there, they realised they had to part ways earlier than they anticipated. After all, the Bjorgmans' house and Kristoff's flat were in opposite directions. Anna tried to bid her goodbyes but Elsa stopped her.

"Can I stay with you for an hour or two?"

Anna understood Elsa better now, and she knew she was trying to hide from her problems for a bit longer. "You're avoiding Kai and Gerda, aren't you?"

"Kai said he wanted to discuss something with me today." Avoiding Anna's eyes she confessed, "I'm not sure I want to talk yet. Nothing goes past him."

Unsure of what was best to do, and afraid of leaving her sister on her own, Anna agreed. "Fine. Come on." She took her sister's cold hand in her and began walking. "Kristoff might notice something's off, though. Don't blame that on me."

A weak smile drew on Elsa's face and she said, "I won't. Thanks Anna."


As soon as Marshall had set foot inside Kristoff's apartment, he noticed an attitude change in Kristoff that had felt surreal. One moment he didn't want anything to do with him; and the next, he opened his door, invited him in and even offered him something to drink. Marshall hadn't had the chance to even say what he wanted to say, but Kristoff had known.

It began like an interrogation, in which Marshall had felt in Kai's presence once again; but unlike his father, Kristoff hadn't accused him of anything. He had simply asked everything he needed to know before he began explaining what he knew about Elsa.

Kristoff's protective side had come to light at some point during their conversation. He had asked Marshall several times to explain what had happened between them, as if making sure Marshall wasn't deliberately omitting information. But Marshall had stayed true to the facts and he retold the events of their catastrophic night as many times as Kristoff needed.

It was clear Kristoff had trusted Marshall's word about the events that night, and for that reason, he didn't show any reservations telling him everything he needed to know about Elsa and her condition. It felt strange and almost improper to be talking about Elsa and her peculiar ability. But both of them had found themselves unable to stop once the truth had come to light between them.

On one hand, Marshall's curious side made him ask as many questions as possible, trying in vain to find some reason behind Elsa's capabilities — his medical side couldn't comprehend the extent of Elsa's powers. On the other hand, Kristoff didn't seem to be able to stop explaining things and justifying Elsa's actions. He even seemed scared for his sister and that prompted him to continue talking and explaining everything he could. He seemed ready to say anything as long as he avoided Marshall trying to find answers somewhere else.

"She's terrified of people finding out about this," Kristoff said after both men seemed to have run out of words. Their conversation had stretched for several minutes and, at that point, they seemed to have tackled almost every major point they needed to discuss.

"No wonder she was so scared," Marshall said as he lay the bottle of beer Kristoff had offered him on the table. "She didn't even recognise me during her panic attack. All she wanted to do was get as far away from me as possible."

"Panic attack?" Kristoff asked, unaware things had escalated to the point Elsa had one of those. "Let me get this straight. Elsa lost control, she froze your arm, she left the cabin, and then… What happened, exactly?"

"She ran." It didn't feel right to describe it that way, but there wasn't more to say. Elsa had run as far as her body had allowed her at that moment. "I had to go after her. The cold temperature helped me find her in the woods."

Kristoff grimaced. "Was there a snowfall?"

He nodded. "It wasn't strong. But I used the snow path to find her."

"How did you manage to calm her down?" Looking down in shame, he confessed, "I've been in your shoes before. I know it isn't easy. More than once I had to—" he cleared his throat. "Use some sedatives."

"I saw them," Marshall said, understanding Kristoff's apprehension. He took a small ampoule out of the pocket of his jacket and placed it on top of the wooden table. "I took one with me. I didn't use it, though. I didn't want to put Elsa through that."

He then looked at Kristoff and noticed he was scratching his neck and looking down. And Marshall understood his shame, he'd have been acting the same way if he had let his impulses take over. It was only after he stopped to think that he realised sedating Elsa was going to do more damage than good.

"Thank you," Kristoff said sincerely. "Any other person would have done whatever was simpler. And thank you for not leaving her alone."

"I guess she wanted to be left alone though." Now it was Marshall who was looking down. "She pushed me away as soon as she came back to her senses. I watched her walk back home… and that's the last time I saw her."

Both men stayed silent, thinking about everything that had happened.

Marshall on his part couldn't believe that Elsa could control ice and snow at will. Absolutely nothing he had learnt could justify how and why she was able to do it. But at that moment, he didn't care too much about it. The only thing left for him to do was accept it. What truly concerned him was knowing Elsa didn't trust him enough to tell him. And she didn't care enough to explain things to him either.

Kristoff, on the other hand, had his eyes fixed on Marshall's bandages. He hadn't taken his eyes off of them for most of their conversation, and it didn't surprise Marshall when he asked, "Are you okay?"

Looking at his injured arm, he nodded. "Yes, I am." The burn had hurt a lot more than Marshall expected that night. But after properly healing it, it had gotten better.

"Are you sure?" Kristoff asked in all seriousness. It was clear he was being honest about his concern. "My mother can help you. I know Elsa's ice burns are painful. The ice… It penetrates the skin. It continues burning until she manages to calm down."

Opening his eyes in surprise, Marshall raised his hand and looked at it, as if he was trying to analyse his injury through the bandages. "That explains a lot."

"Is it bad?" Kristoff insisted.

"A second-degree burn, I think." Marshall saw no reason in lying. "It'll leave a scar."

"I'm sorry." Kristoff stood up and picked the empty bottles from the table. He was feeling bad for everything that had happened, and needed to do something to feel useful. "Trust me when I say she didn't mean any of it. Half the time the ice reacts on its own. It's hard to explain… Not even she understands it."

Marshall nodded, knowing well Elsa hadn't meant any of it. She had been pushing him and begging for him to leave. Thinking about Elsa once again, he thought it was time he tried his luck one last time. He missed Elsa and needed to see her. He needed to make sure she was okay; and now, more than ever, he needed to talk to her and let her know he didn't mind. He cared about her and he only wanted to learn more about her and earn her trust.

"Could you please tell me where Elsa is?" Marshall asked, hoping Kristoff wouldn't take it the wrong way. "I just need to talk to her, let her know I'm alright. Make sure she's okay too." He confessed. It wasn't usual for him to let down his guard and show how much he cared for Elsa in front of other people. But he guessed it was okay to show some vulnerability in front of Kristoff. He had let him in after all. "Last time I saw her she was crying and her hand was bleeding… I was afraid something had happened to her."

Kristoff sat down and sighed, unsure of what to say. After a few seconds wondering what was best to do, he nodded. "Sure," he said, surprising Marshall. "She's at my parents' house. I'll write the address down for you. But, please, promise me you won't do anything stupid."

He found a piece of paper and wrote the address down, as well as a phone number for him to keep.

"My father looks like a happy chubby guy, but he won't hesitate to call the station and have you detained if you do something to Elsa. Is that clear?" He waited for Marshall to nod before he clarified, "You don't want to be the target of his partners when they find you did anything to Elsa."

"Noted," Marshall said, taking the paper from his hand.

He looked at the address written on it and tried to picture what part of town it was. He decided it was best to check on the map once he got back to the car. He put away the piece of paper, and only then he looked at Kristoff and dared to ask, "Do you really think I'm capable of doing something to her?"

It was a recurrent question he had. He didn't care too much what other people thought of him, he had learnt to let people talk and move on, but it was different when Elsa's family doubted him. He liked Elsa. More than he was willing to admit out loud. Even if things with her never developed into something deeper than friendship, he still wanted to have her around. And that included her family.

"No." Kristoff shook his head. "Not anymore, at least."

"But you used to." He had to know. Maybe it was the last time he'd get the chance to find out what Kristoff truly thought of him.

"I did think you were a dirtbag the first time I met you, yes."

"That's reassuring," Marshall laughed, pretending it didn't hurt.

"I'm sorry," Kristoff laughed too. "But it's the truth. I don't think so anymore, though. You've earned Elsa's trust. And believe me, that's all the approval you need. She doesn't trust easily."

"I'm not so sure she trusts me."

Kristoff was about to say something when a knock on the door interrupted him.

"That must be Anna…" he said and stood up.

Not knowing what to do, Marshall got up as well, ready to leave.

"I may need to tell her what you were doing here; and once she knows what happened, it won't take long for her to go make sure Elsa's okay. So you'd better go fix things with Elsa before then, alright?"

"I will. Thank you, Kristoff."


I've been trying to finish this chapter the last 3 days and I couldn't find the time! I am so glad I finally did! I was dying to share it with you.

As always, thank you all for your amazing words and comments. They mean the world! I'll try to answer all the messages that I haven't had the chance to read these last few days and catch up!

I hope you enjoy reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. It was quite challenging but super fun at the same time!

Don't forget to share your thoughts! Hope to read you soon! Take care.