The date of their first weekly check-in loomed closer. Anna was instructed to drive Elsa back to Fort Meade for a battery of medical tests and psychological evaluations to determine how well she was fitting in. Anna herself was due for another panel interview on the effectiveness of her integration plan. It would be the first extended period of time in a week where she had to let Elsa out of her sight for more than an hour. The prospect dug a thorn in her chest, even as she spoke at length about what Elsa could expect during one of their daily walks through the forest.

"...but I don't think there's anything to worry about, I mean - they've invested too much into bringing you back to do any harm to you. Our only concern would be the NSA's motivations. Still one big question mark."

"So you don't know," Elsa clasped her fingers together, "exactly how or why this programme works."

"I'm as much in the dark as you are."

"If I'm to be terribly honest, Anna," Elsa gave one of her far-off gazes as they approached a brook, "I'm still slightly bothered that you've spent so much time listening to me and studying my life. While here I am, hardly knowing a thing about yours."

Anna turned to her.

"There frankly isn't much to know. I wasn't born a Princess or lived in a castle," Anna stuck hands into her pockets, "I'm just an ordinary DC girl with Government parents and a fairly sheltered upbringing. Hmm - a bit like yours, actually. Just substitute Air Force General and CIA Department Chief for King and Queen and you're all set."

"What were they like?" Elsa asked, "Your parents?"

Anna fell silent. The fall air was getting chilly and they reached the turn-around point where they'd normally make for home. Silence between them easily filled by the breeze and the chirping of woodland thrushes. This time, the space wound tight like a coiled spring. Until Anna finally unlocked the memory from a dark prison she'd long thrown away the keys to.

"My parents weren't exactly the loving types. It wasn't something I knew or wanted growing up - until I went to friends' houses and felt the warmth towards their children, extended towards myself. What can you put together from memories of an empty house? They were always working and I made better friends with the housekeeper. I left for college after I turned 18 and they never called or asked me back for Christmas. It felt like they raised me on a one-track railroad that led to a destination and got off once I reached there."

"You must've been terribly lonely."

"In some ways, I wished I had a sister - or at least some pictures on the wall to talk to," Anna fought off that ache in her chest and turned to Elsa, "at least you had Princess Anna with you."

Elsa shook her head, "No, I - I lost her when she was little. She wasn't even five."

"Oh - I swear I must've misread my notes," Anna tried to recollect exactly where she read that Princess Anna ascended the throne after Elsa's death, "how exactly did she pass?"

Elsa appeared to seize up for a moment - before she continued, "She was always a curious kid. Making up games every time our parents were away. There was an accident in the castle and she fell from a great height. Hurt her head and we couldn't bring her back. I grew up alone after that."

"That's terrible," Anna whispered, "I'm so sorry for your loss."

They left the forest path and faced the main street back towards their house.

"In a certain way, besides having the same name. Red hair and green eyes," Elsa sighed, "you remind me of her. Or at least the woman she would've become, had she lived."

Anna giggled, "What? Angry and sarcastic and full of bitter resentment?"

"Who knows? Maybe she would've ended up like that," Elsa shrugged, soft eyes meeting Anna's, "and I still would've loved her all the same."

They walked the rest of the way in silence. Anna's heart swelled with the indescribable joy of Elsa's love ascribed to another fictional human being. She's talking about her dead sister, dumbass. Yet there was nothing stopping that silly grin on her face. Even when Hans tripled-texted her about returning Elsa on time for the check-in later that morning. Or the half-dozen amendments on her reports he'd requested to make. It all paled in comparison to the woman beside her. Hair crowned gold in the sunbeam. A loose autumn maple leaf caught in her locks and her chest clenched at her sight. Just a few days ago Anna would've pushed this feeling away. Told herself to act professional. She's a science experiment for god's sake. Hide behind that hardened wall she'd built around her heart with the slew of suffering Ukrainians. Each devastated house and broken story like a brick. Why should she let her guard down now?

But Elsa was going away for the rest of the day and for the first time in a week, she'd be deprived of her company.

So Anna allowed this feeling to take root in her heart. Letting Elsa shower before her. Her ears perked at the lightness of Elsa's voice blooming from within the bathroom. Singing a Danish song about far-off spirits that existed in another world. Unreachable by mortals and indescribable by verse. The melody echoed in fluttery notes amidst the shower's hiss. She pressed her cheek against the coolness of the wooden door. Smudged with tears she'd forgotten how to shed and wondered if she should include this in one of her daily reports. Or talk to the NSA-appointed counsellor and try to unravel this knot in her chest. She knew she should. But she wasn't going to.

She'd have better luck just locking this memory away like every short-lived joy in her life.

Nagging doubt followed Anna throughout the entire drive to Fort Meade and that heart-stopping elevator ride into its depths. She felt Elsa's eyes on her as the suits led her away on a different floor. Pleading for some reassurance. A goodbye. Just a gentle look back telling her she was going to be alright. Anna kept her eyes down and hardened her jaw until she met with the panel.

She noticed the list of questions under Ruth Ginsburg's wrinkled hands as she walked in. A video recorder had already been set up. Single chair with no desk. Maybe they'd take out the car batteries and crocodile clamps if she acted up. Her heart froze in terror as she imagined Elsa upstairs facing the same interrogation.

"Afternoon, Anna," Hans started, "How was your week?"

"Dry as an Afghan desert with none of the IEDs to keep it interesting."

"Cut the smartassery," Hans scowled, "tell us how Elsa is getting along."

Anna sighed.

"As anticipated by the integration framework, she's behaving exactly like how anyone in her position would. Disoriented by her surroundings, peeling away slowly to reveal endless curiosity about modern life and all its associated conveniences."

The quiet anticipation and craned-in necks encouraged her to continue.

"For example, she appears skittish around the walls. Probably because she still doesn't understand electricity. I told her it was magic and sticking her hands in the socket would kill her."

"Any luck with her memories?"

"Bits and pieces. Despite our progress with the interviews Elsa still holds remarkable skepticism towards the nature of politics and governance in the 21st century. As though all of our advancement away from feudalism and Aristocracy towards democracy hasn't counted for anything in her world as long as people still die from war."

"Careful - you're straying close to discussing topics that're off limits."

Anna shot a glare at Hans, "Excuse me? We're dealing with a well-educated Queen here. She developed her own foreign policy during her reign - it's inevitable she'll one day ask about everything that's transpired in Europe between her death and today. What should I say?"

"You're supposed to stick to the plan that you wrote."

The entire panel debrief went on like this for an hour. Each one of Anna's responses dissected and analysed in minute detail. Down to her choice of clothing and the foods they've cooked for each other. Elsa's recollection of her last memories posed a particular source of interest. Each maneuver and charge into the fray that Anna couldn't pry out of her foggy memories. The temptation to straight up lie through her teeth just to appease the NSA's myriad of questions took hold. But Anna knew their conversations within the living room had probably been recorded and transcribed a million times over. She was fine playing the snarky sarcastic bitch, but she wouldn't lose this job on the reputation of being untrustworthy.

Just when her nerves frayed and she contemplated hurling a chair at Hans. The conversation turned towards activities for next week. She'd already skipped a few days ahead and brought Elsa to a local cafe when she had mentioned a craving for some good coffee. But the team had lined up more trips to the mall. Paper money of her own. A movie or two on their television; titles vetted by NSA committee. Real benign, boring shit: Singin' in the rain, Sleepless in Seattle. Anna pondered whether it'd be a good idea to expose Elsa to Mad Max: Fury Road. They'd also failed to pick up on the Ride-or-Die Bitch saga and requested to expose Elsa to jazz music. Promising a violin if Elsa showed any inclination towards regaining her former classical training.

The clock ticked closer to 3pm. Excitement burned within her. She was going to make it. See Elsa again and return to their idyllic, domesticated life in suburban Maryland and that easy company the blonde provided. Not feeling like an ant beneath the microscope of the NSA's all-seeing eye.

"One more thing, Anna," Hans piped in.

Shit.

"We'd like to start monitoring Elsa's body temperature."

The request drew a blank stare from Anna.

"Her what?"

"You heard me," Hans held out a thermal scanner. She'd recognised those yellow, handheld devices at airports during the Pandemic years. The days when running a fever made a worse villain than Hannibal Lecter.

"You want me to use that," Anna pointed, "on her."

"Yes - it's connected to the cloud so one or two readings a day would be fine. We need to know how warm or cold her body temperature is when she's at rest."

Anna suddenly remembered the omitted observations about Elsa's immunity to heat and her propensity for ice-cold showers. She kept it to herself.

"Um, wouldn't it make more sense to give her, I-don't-know, a thermometer?"

"We have to do it when she isn't expecting - there's a possibility she might manipulate the results."

"How on earth could she do that-" Anna started, "wait, I don't think she'd like having this device pointed at her. For all we know, she could see this as a threat. Some kind of futuristic energy weapon that'd vaporise her. Then I'd lose all the trust I built up over a week-"

"Then point it at her when she's not looking, duh-"

"Seriously?" Anna threw up her hands.

"If it's that much of an issue for you, just touch her," Hans cut in, dumping the scanner on Anna's lap, "hot or cold. Just give us an indication. Jesus Christ, it's not that hard and we're paying you to do a simple job."

Anna folded her arms. Not one of her interrogators raised a question about Elsa's alarming signs of alcoholism. It's like none of them actually cared a thimble about her mental well-being.

"Touch her," Anna shook her head, "three billion dollars of NSA budget and you're asking me to touch your subject."

"We placed you in close proximity to Elsa for a reason - knowledge of her temperature is vital for our assurance of her well-being."

"Her well-being?" Anna replied with a sarcastic bite, "Like how she's been waking from her nightmares screaming and apparently that isn't enough of a concern-"

"You appear to be on top of things," Hans sneered, pointing at the door, "they're releasing Elsa from her evaluations now. Just do what we ask and we won't ask you to do it again. I'm known for following orders and keeping my promises, unlike you."

The word stung like a slap, but all she gave away was a roll of her eyes. Anna left the room with her career's many fuck ups weighing down on her head. She wanted so badly to dump the Thermal Scanner's carrying case into the nearest bin, but couldn't find any in the NSA's austere, concrete corridors. Her heart leapt from her chest when Elsa met her in the lobby. Looking paler than before but with a beaming smile on her face. A band-aid lined the crook of her elbow. They'd taken her blood.

"A-are you alright?" Anna gasped, resisting the urge to touch her arm, "Did they hurt you?"

"I've been shot twice and pierced through the lungs by shrapnel," Elsa grumbled, "a little needle will not make me faint."

"Did they, um, do anything else? To you?"

"All manner of marvellous machinery designed to take images of the human body," Elsa handed over a folder full of scans, "I was certain they'd be able to read my thoughts about how bothersome this entire ordeal was."

Anna flipped through the pages. CAT scans. MRI. X-rays. EEGs and ECGs and EKGs. Ultrasound. They'd thermal-imaged every single square inch of Elsa's body in grotesque, multi-coloured detail. Microscopic photographs of her fingers like a goddamned criminal investigation while all she could think about was lacing her fingers through them. She shoved the images back into the folder and blushed.

"I hope your superiors didn't give you too hard of a bollocking on my account," Elsa looked down as she muttered.

The thermal scanner weighed down on her shoulders. She ached and shifted it slightly out of view.

"They wouldn't be my superiors if they didn't find fault with everything I did," Anna smiled as they strolled into the parking lot, "you've been Queen before - so I'm sure you know what I mean."

Elsa huffed a laugh, "For starters, I always ensured that the most capable of my cabinet and advisors always received the credit they deserved."

Elsa still had her head craned over when they got into the car. Waiting for a reply. She hesitated starting the engine - not wanting to let go of the gentle sound of Elsa's breathing. Or the way this silence tangled between them. Filled with the comfortable glow of finding each other again after a cold day of sterile probing.

"You must've been a good Queen then - or at least that's what the annals of history described you as," Anna ventured.

"What would you describe me as?"

She found it hard not to grin at the bluntness of Elsa's question.

"I think," Anna mused, before flicking her head over and meeting her eyes, "I would've very much liked to work for you."