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Switching Places

Summary:

Queen Elsa of Arendelle has it all: a stable home, magical powers, a strong relationship with her sister. Then in a split second, she finds herself 177 years and an entire world away. [COMPLETED]

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Chapter 1: The Red Aurora

Chapter Text

Chapter 1: The Red Aurora

Arendelle, 1845

Auroras in the northern climates are fairly common affairs; the beautiful blue and green lights in the sky have decorated the north since time immemorial. Queen Elsa of Arendelle stood on the balcony of the royal palace in her maroon night robe, her hands resting on the smooth wooden railing as she watched the northern lights dance across the sky like ribbons attached to an invisible dancer.

The auroras were her oldest friend, of sorts. She and her sister would stare at them as children, and then for thirteen long years, they were one of her few companions. She told them her secrets, her fears, her desires to live a normal life and to see her family again. They never answered, but at least they always appeared to listen, soothing her loneliness at least a little.

In the far distance, just above the rocky bluffs that made up the hills around the royal palace, she spotted something unusual. Nestled in the blue and green lights was a ribbon of vivid red light, looking almost like a knife had cut open the aurora itself. It moved and swayed with the rest of the aurora, high up in the sky.

Soft footsteps came up behind her. “Watching the skies awaken, sis?” came Anna’s voice. Her sister Anna, Crown Princess of Arendelle, was dressed in her mossy green night robe as she padded beside her sister. Despite a difficult childhood filled with tragedy and separation, they’d reconciled two years ago after Elsa’s disastrous coronation. Once Arendelle had thawed out, they’d worked hard to be sisters again, getting to know each other after more than a decade apart. Now, two years later, they were the closest of friends and sisters.

“That’s usually your line, Anna,” Elsa smiled. “The sky’s awake, so I’m awake,” she said, dramatically posing with the back of her hand resting against her forehead in imitation of her little sister.

Anna laughed and gently clapped her sister’s upper arm before turning to admire the radiant skies, resting her elbows on the wooden railing. “Yeah, I suppose it is. What’s got you so fascinated out here?”

Elsa pointed in the direction of the red aurora streak in the distance. “I’ve never seen quite that vivid a color in the sky before. It almost doesn’t look natural.” Something about the aurora unsettled her physically, made her feel the slightest bit nauseated and dizzy.

“Maybe it isn’t? Maybe it’s magic or something? I suppose we could always send word to Grand Pabbie and ask if he’s ever seen something like that.” Anna’s brow furrowed. “It almost looks like it’s slowly moving this way, doesn’t it?”

Elsa inclined her head briefly. “Perhaps I’ll send for Master Hansteen tomorrow. I would imagine our Royal Astronomer would have some insight into this unusual phenomenon.”

Anna smiled softly. “Perhaps. But for now, we should probably turn in. You have open court in the morning, Your Majesty,” she giggled, overemphasizing her sister’s formal title. They held hands, walking back inside the palace and down the long, candlelit halls. “Good night, Elsa,” she murmured in front of her door, holding her arms out.

Elsa hugged her sister before shooing Anna into her bedroom, then walked the rest of the way down the hall to her chambers. She smiled to herself the entire way, thankful and grateful that after all they’d been through, she and her sister finally had everything they could ever want together. After a bath, she lay in bed, looking out the lattice window at the northern lights. The red streak wasn’t visible from her window, and the soft pulsing of the northern lights eased her to sleep.


Almost a full week passed as the sisters kept occupied with matters of state. A vigorous debate about waterway usage rights had come up in open court, with several neighbors needing to be restrained by Royal guards for a moment until tempers cooled. That debate had spilled over into arguments about goat grazing near the western edge of Arendelle’s territory, with Elsa having to mediate days of recriminations in open court.

Open court was always challenging for her, especially when tempers were high. She had to play the role not only of monarch, but of judge and sometimes even barrister, depending on the case. Arendelle was such a small principality that there weren’t more than a handful of barristers for the entire population, and less well-off citizens who needed to petition the Crown often had to rely on her counsel in the absence of their own.

“Thank goodness this week is over with,” Elsa breathed as she sat down to dinner with Anna, the staff laying out a light repast of herring and potatoes on fine porcelain china. “I’m not sure I could deal with another day of the Jansens sniping at each other without having the lot of them put in the dungeon to cool off.”

Anna giggled at the thought. “It wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world for them to have a little space. Or maybe you could cast some magical ice hats on them
 to help cooler heads prevail,” she guffawed, accidentally sending a piece of potato flying across the table.

Elsa cast a long look at her sister. “That’s
 almost funny, Anna. Almost. You know I try not to use my powers in public except on special occasions.”

“I know. But sometimes I swear people could use a bit of literal cooling off before their tempers get the best of them. It’s hard to have a heated argument when you’re shivering!” Anna chewed a forkful of potatoes before continuing, the gold-trimmed silverware glinting in the candlelight. “Oh, we got a messenger from Pabbie. He said he’s been watching the skies and hasn’t ever heard of this phenomenon either.”

Elsa turned her head to look out the dining room windows. Eerie red light filtered in from the evening skies, light that should have faded with the sunset almost an hour ago. “I had a feeling that would be his answer. It’s starting to alarm some of the townspeople.”

The conversation moved onto other mundane matters until after they finished eating and retired to the sitting room. Elsa cast open the glass doors to the balcony and slowly wandered out, a silver-trimmed china teacup in her hand and Anna at her side.

“It’s so much bigger now,” Anna said, staring upwards. The red aurora was almost directly overhead, looking like an angry wound. She lost her train of thought, mesmerized by the swirling clouds that floated beneath the crimson skies, looking almost like drops of blood diffusing into a puddle.

“Does that
 Anna, does that look like lightning to you? Inside it?”

Anna turned, craning her neck and squinting. “Yeah
 yeah, it does. Like a thunderstorm inside it. Elsa, what kind of aurora has storms inside it?”

“I don’t know but
 I don’t like the look of it. Would you go downstairs and send for the Royal Astronomer, please?”

“Sure thing,” her sister affirmed with a soft smile before heading back inside.

Elsa placed her hands on the wooden railing as she stared up into the scarlet storms. Her stomach began to churn, and as she angled her head to take in the vastness of the aurora, dizziness washed over her. In another split second, a ruby bolt of lightning reached out from the storm and struck the entire balcony. The last thing Elsa heard was the shattering of wood around and beneath her, and then everything went black.

Author’s Notes

All credit for the general concept for this story goes to AOS_Skimmons and their story Another Life. I read through that fic (it’s a short one in the Agents of SHIELD fandom) and the general idea of taking a character and moving them to an AU through some mystical means, where they find themselves in an unexpected relationship change.

For reference, this story starts out post-Frozen canon, 2 years after Frozen and 1 year before Frozen 2.

Join The Party

Enjoyed this story? Want to meet fellow readers and discuss? Join the Elsanna Shenanigans community on Discord at discord.gg/TU9NpnH (copy and paste that URL for AO3 friends, go to discord dot gg slash TU9NpnH for FFN friends).

As always, please review, kudos, comment, like, follow, all that good stuff. I appreciate it.

Chapter 2: Awakening

Summary:

Elsa gripped the dresser's surface once more, feeling the slightest chill in her fingertips. The mantra she chanted for almost a decade and a half came back to her, unbidden. Conceal, don't feel. Don't let it show... yet.

Chapter Text

Chapter 2: Awakening

Elsa turned over in bed, enjoying the warmth of the morning sun on her. As she began to wake, her mind noticed things amiss. Why does the bed feel so much softer this morning? And the sheets
 the sheets feel as smooth as ice? She was still in her maroon evening robe, which made no sense to her as she normally removed it before sleep.

Then she noticed the smell, or rather, the absence of it. Her mattress, like many wealthy Scandinavian homes, was stuffed with wool, and always had the softest hint of lanolin wafting from it. Her bed smelled like
 nothing. She opened her eyes, sat up



 and shrieked.

Her room - the royal chambers - was gone. Her four-poster bed, the tall, vaulted ceilings
 all gone. In its place, she woke to a gigantic bed in a mostly white room. A heavy white duvet lay on top of her, white dressers and bureaus lined one wall, and pale blue and white painted walls replaced the ornate patterns of her room. A white cylindrical object sat on the end of one of the dressers, some kind of rope running from its base into the wall.

Panic surged in her stomach as her throat tightened, her eyes watering as fright began to squeeze her chest. What happened to her? Where was she? As the initial shock subsided, a dull cacophony began to filter into her senses. She turned her head to see a small square window - much smaller than the usual diamond-shaped lattice windows in the palace - and what sounded like herds of animals braying outside.

She lay back down and squeezed her eyes closed. It’s just a dream, it’s just a dream, she chanted to herself, pulling the duvet over her head to shut out the light and noise. Her voice followed her thoughts as she repeated her mantra to herself, louder and louder, but nothing changed.

And then she heard a muffled voice next to her. “Elsaaaaaa
 shut up! I’m trying to sleep!”

Joy shoved panic aside bodily as Elsa pulled the covers down from her head, finding the buried body-sized lump next to her. “Anna! Anna, wake up! Something’s happened!” She tugged at the covers gently next to her, unearthing a bright auburn mane of hair.

“Oh my god, Elsa
 come on, it’s Sunday morning, please! It’s the one day of the week we don’t have to get up,” Anna grumbled before pulling a pillow over her head.

“Anna, please! This is imp-” she urged before stopping. “Wait, why are you in my bed, Anna? Shouldn’t you be in your bed?”

Anna rolled over, tossing the pillow aside with a confused look on her face. “What do you mean ‘my bed’, Elsa? This is our bed - it always has been. Also
” she scrubbed her face with her palms, rubbing away the sleepiness, “Why are you saying my name like that?”

“Saying your name like what, Anna?”

“Like that. Like Ah-na, instead of Anna. That’s so weird. Did you have, like, a really weird nightmare or something?”

Elsa shook her head. “What- what are you talking about? That’s your name!”

Anna sat up, her hair a massive explosion of copper, as the bedsheet fell off her naked breasts. “What’s going on with you, Elsa? Last night you were so exhausted from having to work late and today you’re acting like
 I don’t know, really weird.”

The blonde shot out of the bed as though electrically shocked, practically slamming into the dresser as she wrung her hands. “Anna! You- you’re naked! In my bed! What- why? What is happening?”

“You tell me, Elsa,” Anna scowled, before her face relaxed into a soft smile. “Besides, you know I always sleep naked. Anyway, what’s up? You can tell me anything. You know that, right? You’re my-”

“-Sister, I know. I know, Anna. It’s
 I don’t even know how to explain
 why are you looking at me like that?”

Anna’s mouth hung open. “Sister? What are you talking about, Elsa? I’m your WIFE. How
 how do you
 what is wrong with you this morning?” She held up her left hand for emphasis, a gold wedding band on the third finger. No answer was forthcoming from the blonde, however, because she fainted on the spot.


Elsa woke again to find herself back in the same bed, with a cold compress on her head. Her stomach lurched once more; whatever dream she was having wasn’t over. She slowly sat up and found a note on the nightstand, left with a fountain pen the likes of which she’d never seen before. The handwriting, however, was unmistakably her sister’s.

Ran out to the store to get you some medicine. Back soon. Love you, A

She slowly stood and examined her surroundings, the shock having worn off. Despite the odd furnishings, it was still clearly a bedroom. A large black mirror hung on one wall, while a regular mirror was affixed to another. A small box glowed on one of the nightstands, somehow showing the time. She scratched her head, staring for a long moment at the little box, but eventually moved past it to the dresser.

With a gasp, she picked up a rectangular painting off the surface before realizing it wasn’t a painting at all. It was some kind of daguerreotype, but in color and clearer than any she’d ever seen brought to the Royal Court. The contents of the image were even more startling; her in a gorgeous white dress with blue diamond patterns on the frills and exposed shoulders, and Anna in a rich green dress with a gold undershirt, standing under a green arch covered in lilies



 exchanging rings in front of a priest. She was holding a wedding image - her wedding image - and nearly dropped it in shock. Across the top of the image, engraved carefully in the metal frame, was a small inscription.

Anna and Elsa June 21, 2016

Elsa gasped. Surely this must be some kind of cruel joke, she thought, disbelieving that she was somehow 171 years in the future, with her sister who was pretending to be her wife. And yet the strange devices around the room and Anna’s reaction shattered that comfortable explanation easily and quickly.

Carefully placing the glass and metal image back down on the dresser, she shed her maroon evening robe and rummaged through the drawers to find a hooded garment of some kind and trousers made of some bizarre, slippery fabric. After pulling them on, she marveled at their comfort; they appeared skin-tight, but somehow expanded and contracted with her movements.

Elsa tiptoed to the bedroom door and nudged it open with one hand. Her breath caught in her throat as she looked around the main room. The date on the portrait was no lie; she was clearly in the future somehow. Familiar objects like chairs and couches were intermingled with some of the most foreign objects she’d ever seen in her life. At a small desk near a window, a silver hinged rectangular box with what looked like letters all over one part was glowing. There were no candles of any kind; instead, glowing balls of glass hung from the walls and ceiling. In another part of the room, some kind of kitchen area, massive silver metal boxes lined the walls, making dull humming noises. Near the couch, another giant black mirror hung on the wall.

Elsa sat down on the couch gingerly, unsure what was even safe to be near. At least she recognized the couch and coffee table; she looked at the papers scattered across it and picked one up. The writing on it was astonishing calligraphy, so finely detailed, better than the penmanship of even the Royal Secretary.

Her hand flew to her mouth as she examined one of the letters. The correspondence- oddly crinkly in her fingers - was addressed to Elsa and Anna Beck, on a street named Commonwealth Avenue in Boston, Massachusetts. America? she said to herself. How in the world did I end up thousands of landmiil away from home?

She mentally thanked her royal tutors for teaching her fluency in English (along with many other languages), else she’d be in even more trouble at the moment. Who was she supposed to be? Who was her sister in this crazy, mixed up place far in the future? Another thought struck her like a blow from behind. Anna had been speaking English when she awoke, not Danish. Her sister, though more lax in her studies than Elsa, was still fluent enough in the required languages of the court.

Elsa finished making a circuit of the small dwelling’s main area and found herself in the last room she hadn’t explored, the bathroom. She breathed a sigh of relief; this was one room that her adventure hadn’t completely obscured; the chamber pot, sink, and bathtub were all obvious, even if they were connected to the wall in unusual ways. She stifled a giggle; who in their right mind would affix a chamber pot to the wall instead of having it be something easily wheeled in and out?

An unfamiliar sound came from the main room, like pieces of metal impacting each other. Elsa tiptoed out of the bathroom to investigate; her hands tingled as she readied her powers. Thank goodness that hasn’t changed, she thought to herself. The noise abated as Anna opened the door to the dwelling, carrying some kind of paper bags.

“Anna?”

Anna rolled her eyes as she brushed dust off her green flannel shirt and jeans. “Hey, Elsa. I guess you’re still on this whole pronounce-my-name-weird thing? Are you still feeling
 uh, faint?”

Elsa shook her head as she tamped down on her magic. “No, I’m
 I’m feeling better. Thank you for taking care of me.” She shuffled into the room and sat down at the end of the couch, watching the redhead carefully as she unpacked strange boxes and jars from the paper sacks. “So
 what did you get at the
 the store?”

“Oh, I figured you must have been really sick from something this morning, so I got some oatmeal, milk, a small jar of Pepto, and your favorite, Ghirardelli!” Items practically flew out of the bags as Anna tossed them on the countertop.

“My favorite
” Elsa murmured before looking carefully at the box in Anna’s hands. The name was unfamiliar to her (clearly Sardinian), but the contents were anything but. “Chocolate! Oh Anna, thank you!” Her shoulders let go of the tension she’d been holding. No matter what this bizarre future was, it still had chocolate in some form.

“So
” Anna said, plopping gracelessly down on the couch next to her, “Be honest with me. Are you really feeling better? You were pretty out of it this morning.”

Elsa carefully looked over this woman who claimed she was her wife, yet was also her sister. This was unquestionably Anna, but not exactly the same person. The woman in front of her was decidedly older; tiny wrinkles near the corners of her mouth and eyes hinted that she was easily Elsa’s age, if not older. Her sister’s hands were soft and smooth, the hands of someone who’d grown up in the luxurious life of a royal family member. This Anna’s hands were rougher, calloused in places, with short, bluntly cut nails. Her sister wore beautiful, complementary outfits befitting a royal princess. This Anna wore fluffy hooded garments and trousers made of some kind of rough blue cloth. Close up, she could spot a few grey hairs interwoven in Anna’s auburn mane.

“I
 um
 I’m still not feeling like myself. To be honest, I’m not myself at all, Anna,” she said, pronouncing the name as she’d once heard the American ambassador once say it before both sisters sternly corrected him. Her mouth soured at the flat, nasal intonation. “Can
 can I ask you some questions, and promise me you’ll be honest with me no matter how unusual the questions are?”

Anna smiled and laid her head down in Elsa’s lap, clearly startling the woman momentarily. “Sure, anything you want, baby,” she grinned with a broad smile.

Elsa swallowed, her throat bobbing as the words fought their way out of her throat. “What
 what’s the date, today?”

Anna arched an eyebrow at her before answering. “April 22.”

“And the year?”

“Elsa
”

“Please, Anna. Please indulge me?”

A short sigh. “2022.”

Elsa’s breath caught in her throat. One hundred and seventy seven years. “And
 we’re in Boston, Massachusetts?”

“Yeah, like we have been since college! Elsa, what’s go-”

Elsa held her hand up close to Anna’s cheek, still in her line of sight. “Please
 just let me finish. You said college
 where are we from? Originally, before college?”

“All right, I’m going to play along, though if you have amnesia or something, I swear I’m taking you to urgent care. Yes, we met my freshman year of college. I’m originally from Eagle Valley, Indiana, and you’re from Minneapolis, though your family’s originally from Norway.” Anna sat up, twisting and contorting herself into a cross-legged seat on the couch as her gaze bore down on Elsa. “Do you
 do you really have amnesia or something, Elsa? Did you hit your head?”

Elsa considered the question, pursing her lips gently. Amnesia would be a lot easier to explain than
 whatever had happened to her with the red aurora in the skies over the palace. “I
 I don’t know? I’m not sure I would remember if I had hit my head if I had amnesia afterwards, Anna,” she smiled faintly.

“Uh
 yeah, I guess that was a silly question,” Anna answered, running a hand down her face. “So you really don’t remember
 what, any of this? Any of us?” Her cheek twitched and her lip trembled as she considered what her wife was saying.

“I- I’m sorry, Anna. This is all so new to me. I’m trying to figure out what’s happened to me, I swear. I just
 don’t know.” Her voice broke as she sunk her face into her hands, hot tears beginning to flow. “I’m so sorry, Anna. I
 I don’t know what’s happened.”

Anna stood up from the couch and gently lifted Elsa with her, tears of her own gathering. “It’s okay, Elsa. Let’s
 let’s get you to MGH. Someone in urgent care can probably help us. I’ll get an Uber.”

“An
 Uber?” She was puzzled at the German expression.

“A car? Wow, you really don’t remember anything.” Anna pulled out her iPhone, grinned like an idiot for the facial recognition, and opened up the Uber app as Elsa stood wide-eyed in shock, seeing this black piece of glass light up so magically. A few minutes later, Anna put on her shoes, reminded Elsa to do the same (who marveled at the softness and comfort of her modern sneakers), and walked out the front door of their apartment building.

And Elsa promptly came to a stop, frozen in shock at the sight of the road with so many carriages driving on it at unimaginable speeds. She stared at the multitude of colors, each blazing by at what was easily twice the speed of Arendelle’s fastest horsemen. In front of their apartment building was a grey carriage
 with no horses at all. Swallowing the words that would have indicated something far more than memory loss, she laced her fingers together with Anna’s, caught her breath, and walked towards the carriage.


“I’m afraid I can’t find anything obviously wrong,” the nurse practitioner said after she finished examining Elsa, who was getting dressed in the examination room. “We’ve ruled out substantial blunt trauma, and I don’t see any signs of stroke or other neurological illnesses. You said she’s not been using any kind of drugs or substantial alcohol?”

Anna shook her head, looking around the bleak waiting room of Massachusetts General Hospital’s Urgent Care walk-in clinic. “Not to my knowledge. We have the occasional wine cooler here and there, but our days of going out and getting blitzed have been over for a while. Are you sure there’s nothing else wrong?”

The nurse looked at the diagnostic data on her iPad. “There’s one minor detail, but I don’t see how it could be related. How old did you say she was?”

“She’s three years older than me, so she’s 34.”

“She doesn’t appear to be much more than in her early 20s, Mrs. Beck. As I said, that wouldn’t in any way explain the retrograde amnesia, but it is unusual.”

Anna thought carefully. Elsa had always been beautiful, a sort of timeless beauty that would be equally elegant at 20 or 60 years old. From the time she’d met her, those first few days on Boston University’s harsh urban campus, she just knew Elsa would be the kind of person who would be gorgeous no matter what age she was. She opened up her phone and scrolled through her recent photos, pulling up a photo of the two of them having lunch at Samurai Express, their favorite local Japanese food place. They were both making ridiculous faces for the photo, with Elsa holding up a little piece of the plastic grass on the sushi tray like a mustache in front of Anna’s face.

She pinched the screen and zoomed in on her wife, but didn’t see anything grossly out of the ordinary. The woman in the photos seemed like the same woman she’d brought to the clinic.

The door to the examination room quietly clicked open and Elsa shuffled out, eyes still wide at the incredible array of medical devices and technology around her. For someone who had never seen light switches just a day ago, the world was a bewildering place. Elsa trembled slightly as she found Anna, clinging to her arm.

“So that said, Mrs. Beck, the challenge with unexplained retrograde amnesia is that because we don’t have a cause, we don’t have a remedy either. Many patients do recover their memories over time; taking them to familiar places and exposing them to strong memories may help speed the process along a little,” the nurse smiled. “Otherwise, your wife is a healthy young woman, but I do feel it’s important to mention that there’s a chance she may not recover her memories, so be prepared for that possibility. Let’s plan to have Elsa come back in a couple of days for a checkup, all right?”

Anna nodded, shook the nurse practitioner’s hand, and ushered her wife out of the clinic. “Well, that was a $50 co-pay we won’t get back. I guess at least there’s nothing horrendously wrong, since our insurance isn’t exactly Gold tier,” she sighed before noticing the blank look in Elsa’s expression. “I’ll explain later. Let’s
 well, let’s go home for now, and I guess we’ll figure things out from there?”


“We’ve been married
 six years?” Elsa asked tentatively, holding the picture frame in her hands as Anna changed into a t-shirt and sweatpants after another Uber ride back home. The horseless carriage coachman on the way back was a talkative one, but she could barely understand him. She tensed up immediately when she felt Anna’s arms around her, hot breath tickling her right ear.

“Yep. Happiest day of my life, marrying you,” Anna smiled, kissing Elsa’s earlobe and sending the woman into rigid shock for a moment. “Granted, it did take you almost half a decade to ask me, but you were worth the wait.”

Elsa cleared her throat. “How
 how long have we been together?”

Anna sighed, hugging Elsa tight. “Almost 13 years. We met when I was 18 and a freshman at BU - Boston University.”

“We waited quite a while to get married, then. Not to be crass or improper, but we were quite old when we married, weren’t we?”

“Elsa, what are you talking about? Both our parents gave us shit for getting married so damn young. Don’t you rem
” Anna stopped herself as her face flushed. “I- I’m sorry. It’s
 I’m sorry. I know you don’t remember.” She took a deep breath and sat down on the bed. “My mother was livid that I was getting married at 23 to someone who wasn’t even out of law school then.”

Elsa imperceptibly shook her head. A woman marrying at 23 was practically an irredeemable spinster in her time; she herself had faced intense scrutiny from the Royal Court for not choosing a husband and king to rule at her side. At 23, she was already past what was considered her prime and had she not been Queen, she would have had no chance to settle down and start a family. No man wanted to marry a woman that old, not when the life expectancy was around 45 years old.

“I see. I, uh
 I’m a lawyer?”

“You are, and a damn good one too. You’re probably only a few years away from making partner. That’s
 that’s part of the reason why I said what I did about money earlier at the clinic,” Anna offered with a tight smile. “We’ve been saving up like crazy so you can buy your partnership when the time comes.”

Elsa tried not to look more bewildered, nodding as though she understood. “And
 what do you do for work, Anna?”

Anna’s smile grew. “Gosh, this is so weird. It’s almost like a first date again. In fact
” she stood up, grabbing her phone and scrolling through nearby restaurants. “Let’s do that, Elsa!”

“Do what?”

“Let’s go on a dinner date, so we can get to know each other again! How about
 the nurse said someplace familiar. How about Samurai Express, tomorrow night after work?” Anna practically salivated at the idea; Samurai Express was their go-to when they wanted a fix of something Asian but not at Boylston Street’s usually crazy prices, and it wasn’t too long a subway ride to get there.

Elsa gripped the dresser’s surface once more, feeling the slightest chill in her fingertips. The mantra she chanted for almost a decade and a half came back to her, unbidden. Conceal, don’t feel. Don’t let it show
 yet. “I
 that sounds nice, Anna. I’d like that. But
”

Anna put her phone down to look at her wife, forgetting for a moment that she’d lost her memories. “But what, Elsa? You love going there with me. Well, mostly.”

“Oh, it wasn’t
 umm, it wasn’t the restaurant that put me off, Anna. It’s
 work. I don’t remember the first thing about being a lawyer. What am I going to do?” she cried plaintively, looking into the mirror at her reflection and seeing Anna over her shoulder.

“Don’t worry about it,” Anna smiled. “We have our receipt from the doctor’s office today, so we’ll just call you in sick tomorrow, and maybe Tuesday too. That way it’ll give you time to rest, and hopefully start to remember things.”

Elsa breathed a sigh of relief, her shoulders releasing the tension she’d been storing in them. “That
 that sounds wonderful, Anna.” She yawned and looked at the bed, practically hearing it calling her name. “I know it’s probably early for you yet, but do you mind if I try to get some rest? This has been
 quite a day.”

“Of course, go ahead.” Anna began to gather up a blanket and a pillow in her arms.

“What are you doing?”

“I uh, I figured with you not being able to remember anything, maybe I should sleep on the couch?” Anna turned to look at Elsa, reading her face for a reaction of some kind to guide her decision.

Elsa walked over to her and put her hand on Anna’s bicep. “Don’t be silly. This is your
 our bed, and while the couch was quite comfortable earlier, it’s not a substitute for the bed. It’s fine, I’ll be fine.” She smiled to herself; she and her Anna had many sleepovers in the last couple of years, making up for lost time when they were growing up.

Anna’s lower lip trembled. “That’s
 thank you. That means a lot. I haven’t had to sleep alone in a really long time, except for the occasional business trip.” Given her wife’s amnesia, she decided to keep her clothes on as she crawled under the covers and waited for Elsa to join her.

Moments later, with the lights off, Elsa wrapped an arm around Anna’s middle, only to hear her murmur, half-asleep, “Hey
 usually I’m the big spoon.”

Author’s Notes

One of the most fun things - and challenging things about a story like this is the time changes. Elsa is from canon 1842, so a lot of things we take for granted didn’t exist or were different. Italy, for example, was not a unified nation, something that will come up time and again. Germany and Bavaria were separate. Norwegian as a language wasn’t in use at that time.

There will be a much bigger author’s note about a funny part of history in chapter 4. Stay tuned.

Join The Party

Enjoyed this story? Want to meet fellow readers and discuss? Join the Elsanna Shenanigans community on Discord at discord.gg/TU9NpnH (copy and paste that URL for AO3 friends, go to discord dot gg slash TU9NpnH for FFN friends).

As always, please review, kudos, comment, like, follow, all that good stuff. I appreciate it.

Chapter 3: Truth Hurts

Summary:

"You're not Elsa, not my wife. I don't know what kind of sick joke this is, but you're not her." She stabbed a finger into the blonde's chest. "Who. Are. You."

Chapter Text

Chapter 3: Truth Hurts

By the time Elsa woke in the morning, the apartment was empty. Anna had left a note in the kitchen area for her.

Called into work for you, you’re off until Wednesday. Breakfast in the fridge. Back around 5 PM. Love u

She smiled, the handwriting just as playful and elegant as her sister’s. Despite her assurances before bed, Elsa had still been nervous to sleep with her sister’s doppelganger, knowing that this Anna was romantically attached to her. Her nervousness was unfounded; Anna had been snuggly, but not inappropriate in any way, something she was grateful for. Having Anna sleeping next to her felt like home.

After putting on the same clothes she’d worn the previous day, she looked around the apartment, wondering where all the clocks were, then finally noticed that many of the small metal boxes throughout had the time in numeric format, a far cry from the usual clocks in the palace. It was already almost 11 AM; she never slept that late at home. Usually Kai or Gerda would be rousing her just before dawn to begin her days.

Elsa wandered into the bathroom to wash, looking in the mirror. Despite all the change around her, nothing looked amiss at the woman in the mirror. If this were all a dream, it was at least a dream that hadn’t changed her. Her vision blurred as pangs of longing for her home clenched at her heart. The modern world was astonishing, to be sure, but home was home. As she scrubbed her face, she wondered what was happening with her Anna. Was time moving at the same pace in the castle? Was she missing, Anna searching frantically for her?

She dared not go outside alone into a world that was dizzying, that she didn’t understand, so she made do looking around the apartment for the day, reading books and maps, trying to orient herself as best as she could. Anna would be home in a few hours, they’d go to dinner together, and perhaps she could get some more answers.


The two women walked hand in hand into Samurai Express, a small cafe on Boylston Street. Floor-to-ceiling glass windows let diners watch passersby as they ate sushi off of pale wooden planks, on plastic-coated placemats covered in photos of individual pieces of sushi. At each slightly wobbly table, tall cups were filled with paper-wrapped chopsticks and bottles of soy sauce. Music in an unrecognizable foreign language played in the background; Elsa only caught a few letters of English here and there, mostly something called “BTS”.

Anna led them to a table in the far corner of the restaurant, gallantly pulling out the laminated wood cafeteria-style chair for Elsa, who exaggerated a bow as she sat. “Thank you, milady,” Elsa grinned, unfolding the flimsy paper napkin across the magical fabric of her trousers. The decor in the shop was so foreign, she had no idea what class of establishment she was in. Was it formal? Informal? Peasant? “Are
 are we dressed appropriately for this place?”

Anna snorted as she unwrapped a pair of chopsticks and broke them apart. “Elsa, this is a fast food joint. As long as you’re wearing clothes, you’re fine. I see you found my yoga pants, though.”

“I
 did, yes. I guess I did? Is that what these are called?” Elsa said, looking down as she gently pinched the stretchy fabric. “They’re so comfortable! Much more comfortable than
”

“Than what?”

“Than
 umm
 other clothes that I saw in the drawers.” Elsa looked around at the table, everything unfamiliar. Though she’d learned of Japan’s existence from her tutors, she’d never seen anything Japanese outside of a book in her life. “I’ve never had
 I mean
 I don’t remember having this before. What
 what should I request? What did I have
 the last time I was here?”

Anna reached a hand across the table, her brow furrowed in concern. “Hey
 is this too much for you? Is this too overwhelming? We can always get something to go.”

Elsa tilted her head. “To go
 where?”

“To go. Takeout. You know, food to take home.” Anna’s head matched Elsa’s tilt, as she stared at her wife, biting the very edge of her lip with her teeth. Something felt more off to her than normal. On the way home from the clinic yesterday, she’d read up about retrograde amnesia and learned that episodic memory - specific events in the past - were most likely to be affected, but basic semantic memory - how to communicate, the basics of life - usually was not. Elsa not recognizing something as simple as takeout worried Anna.

“Ah. No, no, this is fine. I’m just
 I’m not sure what to do, Anna.” She took the proffered hand and held it in her own, feeling the soft, smooth, warm skin. This Anna’s fragrance was different than her sister, but no better or worse. It still boggled her mind that this Anna was slightly more than a decade older than her sister and almost a decade older than herself.

Anna smiled softly and clasped Elsa’s hand in both of hers. “Well
 don’t you worry, Elsa, don’t you worry one little bit. I’m here to take care of you for once instead of you taking care of me. As for the food, don’t worry about it, either.” Anna turned to the server already carrying food to their table. “Hey Jenny!”

The server, a slightly built Japanese woman, smiled as she plopped down a tray already piled high with a variety of small dishes. “Hey you two. Haven’t seen you in
 a couple of days,” she smiled more broadly. The Becks were quite regular visitors, and almost always ordered the same thing. “Here’s the seaweed salad, one order of pork gyoza for you, Elsa, one order of shrimp shumai for you, Anna, and your usual maki combo. Anything else?”

“No thanks, Jenny. I think we’re all set,” grinned Anna as she practically drooled over the food, chopsticks hovering over her favorite pieces.

Elsa sat stunned, not sure what to even do with the foreign foods all over the table. After watching Anna pick up a piece of a tuna roll, dip it just slightly in the soy sauce dish, and plop it in her mouth, she made her best effort to copy the motions, but struggled to even get the chopsticks into her hands.

Anna frowned as she watched Elsa’s clumsy movements. Motor skill degradation was extremely rare in retrograde amnesia, as Elsa struggled with the same eating implements that, two days ago, she operated with the grace of an orchestra conductor. Not that she was any kind of doctor, but none of Elsa’s symptoms matched up with retrograde amnesia, at least from the way WebMD described it.

After a few more moments of struggling, Elsa looked around carefully to make sure no one was watching in disdain or scorn and simply picked up the maki roll, dipped it, and ate it. Moments later, an explosion of flavor in her mouth made her eyes bulge. After swallowing, she gasped, “What
 what IS this, Anna? It’s so good! I’ve never had anything like this in my life!”

“Are you sure you want to know?”

Elsa nodded vigorously as she took another piece and ate it voraciously.

“That’s toro, fatty tuna. You- do you actually like it?” Anna asked, staring at her wife, her lips slightly parted and eyes wide.

“Oh spirits, yes! It’s amazing, Anna,” she gushed as she ate another piece, oblivious to Anna’s reaction. “Thank you so much for bringing me here.”

Anna’s smile didn’t reach her eyes as she ate a couple of pieces of the sushi, watching her wife’s eating. Amnesia or not, one’s general tastes weren’t supposed to change a whole lot
 and her wife hated raw fish. Elsa would always get the California rolls with the fake crab meat inside, and usually a couple of cucumber rolls; sometimes, Elsa couldn’t even manage that and ordered the fried udon noodles instead.

She mulled over the facts she’d gathered thus far. The person in front of her was younger than her wife, based on her physical appearance - something she’d noticed only after the nurse practitioner had mentioned it. Elsa’s hair was more blonde; her wife’s hair had strands of white that had lightened it considerably over the years. She definitely had some kind of memory loss, but it wasn’t normal. Her preferences were different, especially around foods. Normal things in daily life confused her.

Nothing explained what was happening. The only possibilities she could think of were outlandish - an imposter masquerading as her wife? Alien kidnapping? Anna shook her head, before noticing that Elsa had spoken to her.

“I- I’m sorry, Elsa. What did you say?”

“Oh, I was apologizing for being a bad date, eating so quickly. So
 you said I’m a lawyer, but you never said what you do for work,” she said, wiping her soy sauce covered fingers on her napkin.

Anna shrugged. “Well, I’m not nearly as exciting as you are, honey. I work at a local ad agency.”

Elsa blinked, the words meaning nothing to her. “What
 does that entail?”

“Well, for the most part, people hire us to create ads for them. See over across the street?” Anna pointed at a fashion boutique, the windows filled with mannequins showing off a variety of black knee-high leather boots. “When a company wants to advertise what it’s selling, we help them.”

“Ah! So you hire people like
 like merchants do, barkers to let people know something’s available?” Elsa thought of the barkers in the city square in Arendelle, shouting out the day’s specials. Anna had one of her guards stationed near the square, waiting for the confectioner to announce his wares that day. If her favorite, chocolate truffles from Geneva, were available, the guard was to relay that information back to the palace immediately.

Anna set her iPhone on the table, staring at Elsa once more, as though she were an alien who had just arrived on the planet. “Not
 quite. We run mostly digital ads these days - ads on things like phones and tablets. Here, let me show you.” She opened her phone’s browser to a news page and in seconds, an ad for the boutique across the street popped up, the exact boots in the window on the screen. “See? That way anyone eating in this restaurant, if they hadn’t already noticed the shop across the street, would get the same ad on their phones, too.”

Elsa nodded, feigning understanding as she wrung her hands together under the table. Whatever a phone was, it was apparently the name of the black glass mirror Anna carried around that lit up and suddenly turned into a small book. At every turn, this world grew more foreign to her. She popped the last piece of tuna in her mouth and chewed silently as Anna just
 watched her. “Aren’t you hungry, Anna?”

“Hmm? Oh
 you know, I’m suddenly not feeling all that hungry. I think I’ll get mine to go after all.” She bit into a California roll, her eyes staring off into the distance for a few moments before looking back at her wife, her eyebrows knitting together as she arrived at a decision in her mind. “Hey Jenny! Can I get the check please?” she half-shouted, raising her arm in the air.


After dinner, the two headed back to their apartment. As soon as Anna locked the front door, she pulled Elsa into an intimate embrace, pressing her body against the blonde, firmly kissing her on the lips as she threaded her fingers through Elsa’s hair. For her part, Elsa stiffened, unsure what to do with a hug that was clearly more than sororal. Anna’s hands started to roam down her lower back, and Elsa squeaked, her body as rigid as rock.

“A-Anna
 I don’t
 um, I don’t remember
” Elsa stuttered as Anna hiked the hem of the hoodie up off her waist, cool air caressing her skin. Before she could do anything else, Anna spun her around, her warm fingers tracing lines over Elsa’s skin, the fingertips feather-light touch walking a path across her lower back.

And then just as soon as Anna’s fierce embrace began, it vanished. Elsa turned around and opened the eyes she’d been squeezing closed under Anna’s advances, only to confront something even worse.

Anna leaned against the wall, her arms crossed, her brow creased, and her eyes blazing.

“Who are you?”

Elsa gasped, her hand flying to her mouth as her stomach did a backflip. She couldn’t put her finger on what specifically just happened, but she knew without a shadow of a doubt that Anna knew she was lying about the amnesia. “W-what do you mean? Anna, it’s
 it’s me, Elsa. Who else would I be?” she murmured, wringing her hands.

Anna growled as she pushed herself off the wall, encroaching on Elsa’s space. “You’re not Elsa, not my wife. I don’t know what kind of sick joke this is, but you’re not her.” She stabbed a finger into the blonde’s chest. “Who. Are. You.”

“You- you wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” she breathed, her hands ice cold and clammy. She backed into the kitchen and found herself pressed against the refrigerator door. “H-how did you know?”

Anna smirked, the lopsided smile still not reaching her eyes. “Elsa- my Elsa, hates fish. With a passion. Won’t eat it at all, can barely stand the smell of it. She only goes to Samurai Express with me out of pure devotion.”

Anna slowly walked away from Elsa, into the kitchenette area. “My Elsa knows what a smartphone is, and amnesia wouldn’t take away the basic motor skills needed to operate one, even if you had no idea what you were looking at. Your language skills and motor skills appear fine.”

Anna picked up a piece of mail from the counter idly, twisting it in her hands until the paper gave way, tearing. “My Elsa knows how to use chopsticks. She spent a year in Korea as an exchange student, using those super slippery metal chopsticks. Again, amnesia wouldn’t disrupt motor skills without other serious, obvious issues - issues you don’t have.”

Anna whirled, suddenly closing the distance between the two, her breath hot on Elsa’s cheeks. “My Elsa has a tattoo of a snowflake on her lower back. And there’s nothing on yours. So I will ask you one more time: who. are. you?”

Elsa bowed her head. “You’re right. I’m
 not her. But I am Elsa, and you are Anna, and I know you
 but not as my wife. As my sister.” She held her hands up in surrender. “I
 I can try to explain everything that I know, but you may not believe it.” She slowly moved from the kitchen to the sitting area, and eased herself onto the couch, squeezing herself into one corner of it. Anna sat down at the other end of the couch, eyes laser focused on the blonde.

“This is going to sound crazy, but please let me finish, and then you can ask questions. I’m Elsa, daughter of Agnarr, Queen of the kingdom of Arendelle. I am 23 years of age, born in the year 1819, the eldest of two
”

Author’s Notes

Japan didn’t establish diplomatic relations with Norway until 1905 when Norway dissolved its union with Sweden. Prior to that, however, Japan and Sweden didn’t sign a diplomatic treaty of any kind until 1868, so it’s unlikely that canon Elsa would have ever interacted with anything Japanese.

Writing canon Elsa in the modern day is a treat, because there’s a lot of “did this exist” and “when did X happen”.

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Chapter 4: What Happens Next

Summary:

In short order, three things happened.

The smart assistant acknowledged with a chime.

The lights came on.

Elsa shot off the couch like she'd been shocked.

Chapter Text

Chapter 4: What Happens Next

“
 and then I awoke to find myself here,” the blonde finished, looking up at Anna on the other end of the couch after telling an abridged version of her life’s story and the events leading up to her appearance in the modern day.

Anna gave a low whistle. “That is one hell of a fairy tale, Elsa. How do I know it’s true? How do I know you’re not just someone - granted, a really talented someone - playing a part to get to me?” She looked up sharply at the blonde, a look of alarm on her face as though she’d said too much.

“Get to you? What does that mean?”

She shook her head slightly. “Nothing. It’s nothing, never mind. So you’re really a time traveler from the past, here to
 what? Observe the future? Take some futuristic technology back to your kingdom so you can conquer Europe? What’s your angle?” Anna prodded.

Elsa sighed. “Anna, I didn’t do this by choice. The storm - whatever it was - brought me here, and I have no idea how to get back, or if this is permanent.” She laid back against the couch cushions, her shoulders sinking as she finally admitted out loud what she’d feared since waking up in this new world, what she’d mulled over during the morning alone. What would become of her kingdom, her sister? “So
 this being the future and such, has science progressed enough to explain what has happened to me?”

The dying light of the day faded away, leaving the little apartment in shadow. Anna smirked at Elsa briefly, a mischievous look in her eye, before turning her head over her shoulder. “Alexa, turn on the lights.”

In short order, three things happened.

The smart assistant acknowledged with a chime.

The lights came on.

Elsa shot off the couch like she’d been shocked.

“Science has definitely advanced since your day, but I’m not sure if anyone’s ever solved this kind of weird situation,” Anna said, gesturing for Elsa to sit back down. She suppressed a giggle, seeing the frenzied look in the blonde woman’s eyes. “I- I’m sorry, that was cruel. I just needed to blow off a little steam from this crazy day and thought it would be a good laugh for us.”

“What
 what was that? Who is Alexa, and why is she invisible?” Elsa swiveled her head repeatedly, looking for the invisible intruder, her hands out to her sides as if waiting for an invisible attacker to appear.

Anna stood up and walked to the tiny fabric speaker on the bookshelf. “This is Alexa. It’s a smart home device that controls stuff around our apartment like the lights, temperature, music, and so on. It’s
” Anna struggled to remember what she’d learned in history class. “It’s like a butler, except that it’s all online now.”

“On
line?”

“I tell you what. It’s getting late and we didn’t really finish dinner - which I totally admit is my fault - so why don’t I explain it to you as best as I can while we order a pizza?”

Elsa blinked. “What’s a pizza?”


“So these black mirrors you have everywhere are all
 windows of sorts that have electricity and computers inside them?” Elsa asked, taking a small bite of her third slice of pizza as Anna finished explaining more of the modern world.

“Yep. And they provide endless entertainment and knowledge. Like, for example, I was searching for when pizza came to Norway, and from your point of view, it won’t arrive for another 127 years. But apparently you have a dish very much like it called brauddiskar,” Anna said, taking a swig of her Sam Adams beer as she relaxed on the couch.

Elsa smiled softly. “Not
 quite. Brauddiskar is much less oily than this and usually has fish and eggs on top of it, and certainly not this much cheese. However,” she took another bite, “I will grant you this is much more delicious. A little smoked salmon would make this perfect.”

Anna wrinkled her nose. “You really are a totally different person. My Elsa would never in a million years put fish on her pizza.”

While they’d been eating, Anna had, out of pure habit, scooted closer and closer to Elsa on the couch. As she finished off her own slice of pizza, Anna flopped against Elsa, leaning her head on the blonde’s shoulder. “I am so stuffed,” she giggled. “I think I need to go walk this off. Want to come along?”

“A walk would be lovely.” Elsa’s eyes unfocused as she reminisced. After meals, she and Anna would often walk the halls or grounds of the castle, holding hands, occasionally listening to Olaf ramble, as they watched the citizens of Arendelle go about their business. The palace’s walkways offered easy views to the entire city around them, and they’d giggle over the latest gossip circulating.

Anna struggled to her feet before lifting Elsa from the couch, walked to the front door, and put her sneakers on. Elsa followed suit, and they walked out of the brick apartment building along the darkened street. Old trees lined the avenue, along with modern LED lamps housed in old gas lantern glass casings to give the walk a more stately feel.

Without thinking, Elsa clasped Anna’s hand in her own, eliciting a gentle sigh of relief from the redhead. “This is such a magical world, truly. Lights that need no oil, carriages without horses, invisible butlers and helpers.” They walked up the block, passing brownstone apartments and little corner shop stores, neon-like signs advertising specials and lottery tickets.

Anna let out a contented sigh. “It’s been a little while since we’ve just gone on a walk together, hon- Elsa. My Elsa and I would do this a lot, sometimes even go out to one of the local bars. We
 we’ve not done it much lately.”

“Why is that, Anna? I can’t imagine someone not wanting to spend every minute with you,” Elsa murmured as she rubbed Anna’s knuckles with her thumb. Though she’d never thought of her own sister romantically, this Anna wasn’t so different from her sister in all the ways that mattered, and she’d been enjoying these quiet moments away from palace life.

Anna paused, lifted their clasped hands, and kissed the back of Elsa’s hand, making the girl blush slightly and take in a sharp breath. “I don’t know. You - she’s been so busy with the law firm, lots of late nights and long hours. We’re really trying to get her to partner in the firm. Once she’s done that, she said we can start thinking about kids.”

Elsa frowned, scratching her head. “I’m sure there’s a modern answer to this, but how would that work? You’re both
 women.”

“Ha! That’s an area where science has definitely changed. We’d either do a medical procedure to implant a fertilized egg inside one of us, or adopt, or 
 well, there are a lot of options. They’re just all very expensive options. Once Elsa’s a partner at the firm, we’ll be in a much better position financially to have kids,” Anna described as she stared up at the night sky, the city lights masking many of the stars. A tear trickled its way down her cheek. “I
” she sniffled, “I just wish it would go faster. Neither of us is getting any younger.”

It was Elsa’s turn to pause while they walked, gently rubbing a thumb over Anna’s cheek to wipe her tear away. “I’m sorry, Anna. It’s clearly important to you.”

Anna sniffled again as she resumed walking, enjoying the coolness of Elsa’s hand. “It’s
 it’s okay. I understand why you - my Elsa, I mean. Gosh, this is so confusing. Anyway, I understand why she wanted to wait.” She released a breath she didn’t know she was holding. “Telling you - even though you’re not her - makes me feel so much better. I know that when
 whatever this is
 is over, I’ll still need to tell her for real, but it’s
 it’s nice being able to share how I feel with you too, Elsa.”

“I know how you feel,” Elsa murmured, her hand rubbing small circles on Anna’s lower back. “You’re not my Anna, but you’re so close to her that in all the ways that matter, you’re the same person.” She leaned over and gave Anna a quick, chaste peck on the cheek before taking her hand again.

As they turned around and headed back for their apartment, an idea struck Elsa. “Anna, could you use your
 smartphone? 
 to look something up for me?” A nod encouraged her to give voice to the thought she had. “Can you look up what happened to the kingdom of Arendelle?”

Anna came to a halt in the middle of the sidewalk, reaching out and clasping Elsa’s arms. “Are
 are you sure you want to know the answer, Elsa? I’ve seen enough movies about time travel to know that sometimes, you’re better off not knowing.”

With a silent nod, Anna unlocked her phone and searched for it. “Well
 I know there’s a city in Norway named Arendal, but no record of a kingdom of Arendelle that I can find right now. I might have to look on my laptop when we get home.”

“Thank you for trying. I wonder what happened. We aren’t a large kingdom, but we’re prosperous and peaceful.”

Anna cast her eyes downward before putting a hand gently on Elsa’s shoulder. “I’m sure I’m not telling you anything you don’t know, seeing as how you’re a monarch and all - which still blows my mind, by the way - but prosperous and peaceful nations didn’t tend to stay unconquered, particularly in Europe back then. “

Elsa swallowed. “Yes, but no one would dare attack us. We had
” she paused to think about how to word her thoughts, since she hadn’t confessed the existence of her powers to this Anna. She looked away, staring across the street, watching one of the light rail trains go by. “I commanded some unique defensive capabilities back then.”

“Yes, but where are you now, Elsa?”

Anna’s train of thought caught up to Elsa and her stomach felt sick, bile rising in her throat. “I’m here
 which means I’m not there to protect my kingdom. I must have
 disappeared and my kingdom fell. Oh, God, Anna!” She nearly fell over as her knees weakened.

Anna pulled her into a hug. “It’s okay, Elsa. We’ll figure this out-“

“No, no, you don’t understand. Anna - my Anna! What happened to her? What if she was killed because I vanished and our kingdom fell to one of our enemies?” Elsa lamented, tearing up, holding tightly to Anna. “What if my sister died because of me, because I wasn’t there to protect her?”

“I don’t mean to
 I- this is going to sound insensitive, but 177 years later, you would both be gone anyway. People back then didn’t live for nearly as long as now.” Anna slowly rubbed her hands up and down Elsa’s back as she softly spoke. “That said, I understand wanting to make sure she lived as long and happy a life as possible. I certainly want that with you- I mean, my Elsa.”

Elsa nodded silently, relishing the feeling of Anna’s hands on her back, her warmth. A spark of confusion echoed in the back of her mind, but she pushed it away as she tamped down her emotions, channeling a bit of her magic inside to cool them down. “I’m sure she wants that with you, too.”

The women silently resumed their walk back to the apartment, Anna keeping careful watch during certain blocks. The neighborhood they lived in was an odd patchwork of really wealthy areas combined with really poor areas; college students in temporary housing intermingled with blue blood old money families. She spotted one guy, huddled on a stoop and staring at them intently, and took Elsa’s upper arm gently to urge her homeward a little faster.

After a few more blocks, they were safely back inside their apartment, the sounds of city nightlife picking up outside. Roving bands of singing college students walked by the windows, punctuated by the occasional train or police sirens. Anna closed the heavy velour curtains in the front windows and flopped on the couch, only to see Elsa poke her head out of the bathroom door.

“Umm
 Anna? I
 don’t know how the bath works. I realize this is ridiculous but
” Elsa said with a sheepish grin, a light blush coloring her cheeks.

“How
 do bathtubs work in your time?” Anna stood up and started walking to the bathroom.

Elsa gave a short laugh as she stared at the chrome fixtures. “Well, usually Kai or Gerda draw a bath for us, and we just
 bathe. Servants would usually carry the water to the bathing room.”

“Well, we don’t have servants here, just faucets,” Anna chuckled. “Shower or bath?” At Elsa’s blinking stare, she turned the faucet on to shower as a demonstration.

Elsa tentatively reached her hand in and gasped. “It’s
 it’s so warm! It’s like a warm rainstorm! Anna, this is amazing.” She immediately began to undress as Anna’s eyes widened, followed by quiet choking sounds.

Anna’s eyes hungrily devoured the sight before her, the woman who looked just like her wife did ten years ago, but with a few notable exceptions. She had body hair everywhere, which Anna assumed was the norm 177 years ago, no tattoos whatsoever, and wasn’t wearing any underwear at all. Before her mind could rope the words back into her mouth, she blurted out, “Elsa, where’s your underwear?”

“My what?” came the voice from inside the shower.

“Your underwear. Did you really go all day without underwear?”

Elsa poked her head out from the shower. “Anna, I don’t understand. What’s underwear?”

“N-never mind,” Anna muttered, leaving the room quickly, face as red as her hair. She flopped face first on her bed, trying to wrestle her emotions into submission. This Elsa wasn’t her wife, thought of her as a sister, and came from a time and place where everyone was a churchgoer. She was, to Anna’s knowledge, as innocent and pure as wind-driven snow. She groaned, flipping over and scrubbing her face with her palms, trying to force away the carnal desires that nearly overwhelmed her when Elsa undressed for her shower.

A short time later, Elsa came out of the bathroom, dressed in her maroon robe, the one she’d arrived in, hair somehow perfectly dry and braided despite just getting out of the shower. “How do you do that, Elsa?” Anna asked with the barest hint of frustration rasping in her voice.

“Hmm?”

“Have perfect hair after a shower. I’m pretty sure you’ve never heard of a shower cap, so what’s your secret?” Anna grumbled.

“Oh,” Elsa smirked, truly smiling for the first time, the same radiant smile that Anna had fallen in love with as a college freshman. “Magic.” She purred happily as she climbed into bed next to Anna, savoring not only the warmth, but the decadent luxury of modern day sheets.

Minutes after turning off the lights, Elsa felt the bed slowly rock and creak. Though the woman next to her might not be her sister, the mannerisms were the same. She opened her eyes, watching the lights from cars on the street dance on their ceiling. “Can’t sleep, Anna?”

Anna snorted. “How did you know?”

“You roll around restlessly just the same way as my Anna. What’s keeping you awake?”

A long moment passed before Anna rolled over on her side, facing away from Elsa, before whispering, “Do you really not wear underwear?”

Elsa could almost imagine the ticking of the clocks in her palace bedroom, counting the moments before the inevitable happened. Her stomach tightened. Her lips trembled. Her fingers tingled.

And she burst out into raucous laughter. “ANNA! What kind of question is that? Of course I don’t wear undergarments. I wasn’t sure what you were referring to earlier, but I gathered after remembering what I saw in the drawers. No, goodness no. In my time, they’re incredibly unsanitary and worn all the time only by
 certain professions. You only wear something like drawers and such during strawberry days.”

Anna coughed quietly. “Uh
 strawberry days?”

“It’s what we call our bleeding,” Elsa whispered, thankful that the room was dark and Anna couldn’t see her blushing.

“Oh. OH. Oh, that’s what you call that? That’s so much more poetic than what we call it,” Anna giggled. “Here, it’s called your period.”

Elsa wrinkled her nose. “That’s
 yes, significantly less poetic. Anyway, sleep well, sis- I mean, Anna.” She threw her arm over Anna, hugging her around the stomach, and curled up next to the redhead.

Anna’s last conscious thought before drifting off to sleep with a smile was the realization that Elsa was probably still not wearing any underwear.

Author’s Notes

This chapter has an amusing backstory to it. I wasn’t sure how bathrooms and such worked in 1840s Norway, and after extensive Googling, I still had no concrete answers. Most of the sources I found online had information dating back to the 1880s or so, but no earlier. So I did what any good fanfic author does, and I emailed the archaeology and history department at the University of Oslo (after Googling the staff) to ask them. After getting bounced around a couple of times, one of the historians said that the University doesn’t keep as good a set of records as the Royal Palace does, and recommended I contact the Royal Family of Norway’s staff.

So I did.

And they were more than kind enough to not only send me an answer, but an entire multi page document of the floor plans and blueprints for the 1840s Royal Palace (long since gone/rebuilt, so not exactly a security risk). And sure enough, the Royal Palace back in the 1840s had no plumbing of any kind. Servants would have carried water for baths and cleaned chamber pots instead.

Also, the bit about underwear is also true, though I didn’t need to contact the Royal Family for that. There’s a surprising body of work available online about undergarments, menstruation, etc. and “strawberry days” is indeed one of the euphemisms in Scandinavia.

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Chapter 5: Revelations

Summary:

A voice thundered behind Anna. "Leave my sister alone!" echoed off the brick walls.

Chapter Text

Chapter 5: Revelations

Warm. Soft. Pressing. Elsa felt Anna’s lips first brushing over hers, then pressing against her with urgency. Strong, nimble fingertips stroked from her shoulder blades down both sides of her spine, sending shivers in their wake as Anna’s hands descended, diving beneath the waistband. Elsa tilted her head back, leaning it against the refrigerator, and was rewarded with those same soft lips and the tip of Anna’s tongue tracing circles on her throat.

Elsa wove her fingers through Anna’s auburn hair, following the strands like a waterfall over her shoulders, her collarbone, and onto her breasts. As Elsa’s palms caressed the silky, freckled skin, she distantly heard Anna’s breathy voice through her haze of lust, calling her name.

“
 Elsa
”

She dragged her fingertips over Anna’s ribs, across the flat, taut skin of her belly, and was rewarded with Anna’s cries of her name again.

“Elsa!”

Just as she traced the pads of her fingertips over Anna’s hip bones, Anna’s calling became more forceful.

“Elsa! Wake up!”

Her ice-blue eyes snapped open, and she found herself staring into Anna’s teal irises as the redhead shook her shoulders. “Elsa, wake up! We’ve got to get going soon.” Once Anna was certain Elsa was awake, she tore into her dresser, looking for her outfit for the day.

“Going
 where are we going, Anna?” she said, scrubbing the sleep from her eyes and sitting up. Elsa stretched her arms over her head and yawned as she shook off the last remnants of her
 very confusing dream.

Anna rolled her eyes. “Your followup appointment, remember? They want to make sure no new symptoms have developed, and we have to go, even though you don’t have amnesia. Otherwise they’ll pester us AND charge us the co-pay no matter what.”

“All right, I’ll get ready,” Elsa grumbled good-naturedly, heading for the bathroom. As she closed the door, her dream came back to her, and she gasped, clutching the counter. She dreamt about Anna
 romantically. No, more than romantically, she dreamed about Anna sexually. Elsa stared in the mirror, looking at the woman staring back at her with a fiery blush on her face.

What is happening to me? I’ve never dreamed of anyone like that, much less my own sister! she chided herself. Was that my sister? Or was that this Anna? Maybe it’s because of how she slammed me against the refrigerator yesterday and kissed me so fiercely. No one’s ever touched me like that.

Elsa finished getting ready and put on another pair of yoga pants and a t-shirt, once again omitting underwear. She quietly smirked to herself, the omission intentional just to get a rise out of Anna later. That thought stopped her again. Should I feel guilty about my dream and about
 teasing Anna with something so intimate? I wish my Anna were here so I could talk to her about it.

She met Anna at the door, ready to catch another Uber.

“Hey, it’s still pretty chilly out there, Elsa. You might want a coat,” Anna offered, pointing out one of the jackets hanging on clothes pegs near the door.

“Oh, it’s okay. The cold never bothered me anyway,” she smiled, putting on shoes.

Anna snorted. “You are definitely not my Elsa. She gets all cranky if it’s less than 75 out.”

“Seventy-five
? Oh, you use the Fahrenheit system here! We use the RĂ©aumur scale, so it’s 19 out,” she smiled at Anna before they headed out the door. Anna shook her head; she’d never once heard of the RĂ©aumur scale.

Half an hour of traffic later, they arrived back at the urgent care clinic for Elsa’s follow up. While the nurse practitioner ran Elsa through the same battery of tests, Anna sat in the waiting room, contemplating her situation. She knew the nurse wouldn’t find anything, because there was nothing to find that was physically wrong with Elsa, except for being in the wrong century and possibly the wrong planet.

Anna stared at the generic, lackluster waiting room furniture, everything beige on beige, her mind wandering as the minutes passed by. Elsa’s knowledge of the world, her ability to interact with complex technology, talking about temperature systems that sounded fictional, everything pointed to her story being completely true. Certainly, someone faking it would slip up here and there, and she hadn’t seen any indication of deception at all. Combined with the complete change in preferences from her wife’s, Anna was almost completely convinced that Elsa’s bizarre time travel story was legitimate.

In turn, that created stomach-churning worry. Where did her wife go? This Elsa was a physically different person, as evidenced by the missing tattoos that her wife had; the snowflake on her back, and a tiny, embossed E+A in a diamond shape on her ankle. Was her wife out there somewhere? Was her wife stuck in a musty old castle in the 1800s? Anna’s mood lurched between laughter and tears, imagining her Elsa’s reactions to absolutely no electricity or Internet on the one hand and how much she would miss Anna on the other hand. Unsure whether to laugh or cry, Anna did both quietly in the waiting room.

“Mrs. Beck?” the on-duty nurse practitioner called, a different nurse than the one who saw Elsa on Monday.

“Yes?”

“We finished examining your wife, and for the most part, she’s totally healthy. We’re not sure the amnesia’s going to resolve itself as quickly as we’d hoped-”

Anna interrupted. “What do you mean, she’s healthy for the most part?”

The nurse practitioner pulled up a couple of charts on their tablet. “Well, two minor oddities. First, her body temperature is very much on the low side, about 95F. That’s
 normally, that would be a cause for medical concern, but she doesn’t appear impaired by it. Second, we did a few non-invasive tests, and her iodine and vitamin C levels are unusually low. Does she have any known nutrition deficiencies?”

Anna raised an eyebrow. “No, not that I know of. What would cause those deficiencies? What does that mean for her?”

“In more severe deficiencies, you can end up with thyroid issues and scurvy, but she’s not in danger of that yet. She said she doesn’t take any multivitamins, so I’d recommend starting there. That might also aid with the amnesia too, rule out any odd micronutrient deficiencies. It’s a little puzzling, honestly. We haven’t had substantial iodine deficiencies in people for decades,” the nurse said, scratching her head.

Anna coughed. “Well, I’ll make sure she starts taking some multivitamins. We’ll hit up CVS on the way home, there’s one just around the corner from our apartment.”

“Great. If you could just sign here
 and here
” the nurse practitioner indicated, page after page of authorizations and waivers of liability flashing by on the tablet as Anna grumbled to herself. She looked up as the door slid open, Elsa taking small steps into the general waiting area, giving her a small wave.

“Hey ba- Elsa. We’re all set here,” Anna smiled, taking the woman’s hand. They thanked the nurse practitioner and ran out of the clinic as quickly as possible.

Anna exhaled as they walked up the street. “That was close.”

“Close?” Elsa turned her head, quirking an eyebrow. “What was close?”

“You have some uncommon nutritional deficiencies in this day and age because of where you’re from, Elsa. Nothing we can’t fix with a multivitamin.” Anna savored the feeling of Elsa’s hand in hers, even if her skin was much, much cooler than her wife’s normally warm, sometimes even clammy hands. “We’ll stop by the store and pick some up.”

Elsa nodded. “That sounds good. Umm
 what’s a multivitamin?”


“Anna?”

“Yes?”

“What’s wrong with this chocolate?” Elsa chewed slowly on a bit of a candy bar they’d grabbed at the register as the afternoon sun lit the street in golden light.

Anna stopped walking in the middle of the sidewalk. “Let me see! Chocolate is no laughing matter, you know,” she grinned, taking a bite of the thin bar. “I don’t taste anything wrong with it?” She said, handing it back to Elsa as they walked along one of the side streets near their apartment, a more rundown block.

“It’s so sugary and
 gritty. Chocolate is supposed to be rich and smooth, almost like a sweet butter. At home, we drink our chocolate. This is
 this is barely chocolate,” Elsa grimaced, swallowing. “The solid chocolate you brought home the other day - the Sardinian-named one - didn’t taste like this. What happened to this poor chocolate?”

Anna gave Elsa a sidelong glance as they walked past apartments with graffiti all over the stoops and trash idly dancing in the light breeze. “You always were a little snobby about chocolate,” she muttered before playfully bumping her hip into the blonde’s. “Well, my Elsa is, anyway.”

“I’m glad we have that in common. I bet we’d get along famously,” she grinned.

“Except for the part where she hates the cold and fish of any kind.”

Elsa grinned. “We both appreciate fine chocolate. The rest is negotiable.” As she reluctantly nibbled on the chocolate bar, she snuck a glance at Anna every other bite. “Anna
”

“Hmm?”

“Tell me more about
 about the other version of me?” she asked, murmuring the latter part of the question into the candy wrapper.

Anna smiled as memories washed over her. “Elsa - my Elsa - well, you know she’s 34, she’s from Minnesota and in her words, ‘moved away from the cold as quickly as she could’, though why she picked Boston University still eludes me. I made fun of her for years about that, since it’s not exactly tropical here.” She huffed some air upwards, tossing her bangs lightly as they continued their stroll. “Her family’s from Norway, from a little-”

Ahead, someone unseen made a muffled noise that almost sounded like a person screaming with a hand over their mouth. Anna was the first to look up, her posture immediately changing, her back straight, her muscles taut. Elsa lifted her hands up in front of her, hovering around her waist, as she heard the sound too.

Down a side alley between buildings, they spotted a ragged-looking man pressing a raven-haired girl against the brick wall, his hand over her mouth to muffle her screams, a knife in his other hand. The girl appeared to be a college student, backpack on the ground next to her, eyes wide with terror.

“Stay here, I’ll handle this,” both Elsa and Anna said at exactly the same time. They looked at each other, each with an eyebrow arched. Anna rushed ahead, with Elsa close on her heels as they closed the distance to the assailant. Her voice booming against the alley’s walls, Anna shouted, “Hey asshole! Back the fuck off!”

The grungy-looking attacker, heavily bearded and dirty from head to toe, snarled through broken teeth and red-rimmed eyes at her, releasing the college student and turning to face Anna, knife held out in front of him. As the college girl ran away down the alley, the attacker turned his attention to the redhead. “Fine, bitch,” he slurred, “It’ll be you instead!” With a scream, he charged at Anna, knife held out like a jousting pole.

Anna widened her feet and braced herself, hands up almost like a boxer. Just as the assailant closed the last few feet of distance, Anna felt a blast of cold air from behind her, like someone had brought a polar vortex from January and dropped it in the alleyway.

A voice thundered behind Anna. “Leave my sister alone!” echoed off the brick walls. She glanced over her shoulder and saw Elsa’s eyes almost glowing bright blue as the woman held out her hands.

Anna blinked, trying to figure out if she was hallucinating or if Elsa’s hands really had snowflakes swirling around them, waves of cold bursting from her body like the winds of a blizzard. In another blink of her eye, what looked like a beam of glowing blue light filled with snow and ice shot from Elsa’s hands. The beam crashed into their assailant, striking him dead center in the chest. His skin began to turn icy blue as vapor coalesced around him, the extreme cold pulling humidity from the air. In another second, his body froze completely, and the momentum from him running toppled his frozen form, shattering into icy shards all over the concrete of the alley floor as though he were glass struck by a hammer.

Anna’s mouth hung open as something snapped in her mind.

The snow and ice vanished from Elsa’s hands as she looked around furtively, realizing what she’d done, what she’d revealed. No one else had witnessed the confrontation, so she grabbed Anna’s hand and tugged her forcefully to break her out of the stupor she was in. “Come on, we need to get out of here!” she urged, pulled the stupefied woman out of the alley and down the street.

Moments later, she slammed the front door of their apartment shut, bolting it tight, then sank to the floor, the adrenaline rush wearing off. Anna, still dazed, sank alongside her.

“Anna?”

“What
 how
” the redhead murmured, her eyes unfocused as she hugged her knees to her chest, rocking slowly. “I don’t
 understand
”

Elsa embraced her, drawing Anna in close. “It’s okay, I’ve got you. I wouldn’t let him hurt you,” she reassured, slowly rubbing small circles on Anna’s upper back.

As though suddenly awakened from a nightmare, Anna went rigid before pushing Elsa away, her eyes wide with panic, her chest heaving as she scrambled away from her, crawling like a crab along the floor. “What are you? Elsa, what the fuck? I know you’re not my wife, and I know you’re not from this time, but what the fuck? How did you- what was that? Are- are you some kind of, I don’t know, witch? Or- or an alien? Or are you some kind of sci-fi TV show character brought to life like Killer Frost?” she rambled, her words rushing out as she flailed her arms.

Elsa bowed her head. “I
 I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about this part. It’s something that took me years to
 accept. It’s only been the last couple of years that I could even face you - face my Anna - as what I really am.” She hugged her stomach, curling up a little on the floor. “I don’t know what I am. All I know is I have these
 powers
 magic. And most of the time I keep them hidden, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t watch you get hurt, Anna.”

Anna slowly caught her breath. “I- wow. I don’t know what to say. What- how does it work?”

“I’m honestly not sure. I was born this way,” Elsa shrugged, holding out her hands in front of her. “From when I was very little, I had these
 abilities with cold. Anna - my Anna - loved to play with me, and we’d use my powers for that. I’d make villages and castles and forests out of snow, any time of year.” She smiled wistfully, her eyes tearing up at the memories.

“So it’s not like you were sent from another planet in an alien ship or hit by an exploding particle accelerator or got bitten by a radioactive spider or anything
”

Elsa’s confusion was written all over her face, her lips parted as if to speak but no words were forthcoming.

“Never mind, those are all fictional references. So
 you’re not only the queen of a country, but a superhero too?”

“I wouldn’t say a hero, no. I have magical abilities but I try not to use them, at least not around people I don’t know,” Elsa shrugged, letting go of her knees and stretching out on the floor.

“Have you ever thought about being a superhero?”

Elsa sighed. “No. And here’s why
”

Over the next hour, she described her accidentally hurting Anna, her tears of isolation, disastrous coronation, the coup attempts by Weselton and Hans, her ice palace, and almost losing her Anna. “So you see, I am profoundly unqualified to be a hero of any kind. I almost killed the only person who ever loved me with these powers, and I barely trust myself even today. The only reason I revealed them today was because I couldn’t let that man hurt my sis- hurt you.”

Anna nodded solemnly. Her wife was a generous, caring person, and if she’d had these kinds of powers, she’d definitely be out in the world using them. But her wife had never had such intense trauma like this Elsa, being cut off from most human interaction for so many years. Her story explained why this Elsa seemed to pull away from touch, too. Anna had thought Elsa’s hesitance was simply the weirdness of finding out you’re married to your sister, but knowing you could accidentally freeze someone to death with a touch
 she shook her head wordlessly at the thought, the mental image of the guy in the alley shattering like glass. Did her years of trauma turn this Elsa into a cold-blooded killer?

“That’s why you don’t feel
 upset? Guilty? About what happened to that guy?” she asked haltingly.

Elsa shook her head. “I almost lost you - Anna - once, and I swore to myself no matter what happened, no matter what life brought, I would never, ever allow that to happen again. He left me no choice, because I will always choose you first.”

“Aww, that’s so rom- um
 that’s so sweet, Elsa,” she stumbled, catching herself.

“It’s okay, Anna. I know you meant to say romantic, because you still see your Elsa here sometimes, just like I still see my Anna in you, like in the alley,” she gave Anna a smile.

Anna exhaled, stood up, and waddled over to the kitchen area as feeling rushed back into her legs after sitting on the floor for so long. “Hey
 want a glass of wine?” she asked as she pulled out a bottle of moscato and two stemless wine glasses.

Elsa nodded, pulling herself to her feet. “I’d love one. Possibly more than one after the day we’re having.” She accepted the wine glass, looking at it curiously, then sniffing it as they both leaned against the counter. “Anna
 what is this?”

Anna gave a small smirk. “The glass or the wine?”

“Both?” Elsa asked, holding the glass at an angle as the effervescent bubbles rose from the wine. “I’ve never seen wine glasses like this before, and this wine looks like a champagne, but definitely doesn’t smell like it.”

“Stemless wine glasses are made for clumsier people like me who knock over regular wine glasses a lot,” Anna said with a giggle, taking a sip of her moscato, “and this is moscato, which everyone knows
 except
 ah. Alexa, when was moscato invented?”

The disembodied smart assistant sparked to life again, startling Elsa and causing her to splash a bit of wine from her glass. “Moscato was invented in 1870 in the Piedmont region of Italy. Would you like more information?” it pleasantly asked.

“No thanks!” Anna turned her attention back to Elsa. “So yeah
 you won’t have moscato again for another 30 or so years from your time.” A sudden thought smacked Anna upside the head, the realization that with life expectancies so short in the 1800s, Elsa might not even live to see moscato invented. She shivered at the prospect of having so short a life.

“So,” Elsa cleared her throat as she moved to the living room, sitting on the couch. “Before the
 umm, incident, you were telling me about your Elsa’s family?”

Anna joined her, sprawling out on one side and taking another sip of wine. “Oh, yeah! That’s right. So my Elsa’s family came from Norway, I think Oslo. Her dad always mentions some brewery in the city, Ringnes. They came here in the 70s as kids, her mom and dad, and ended up getting married and having Elsa in the late 80s. You can tell they’re from Norway because of their names-”

“Agnar and Iduna?”

“That’s right! How’d you know that?”

“Those were our - my parents’ names,” Elsa sighed, looking down at her hands and the wine glass in them. “They.. they died five years ago now, when I was 18. But I was still
 locked away, so my Anna had to deal with their loss all by herself.” Tears welled up in her eyes. “I was so terrible to you - to her, excuse me - and the last couple of years, I’ve been trying so hard to make up for it, for all the years I was locked away.”

She looked up suddenly, eyes wide. “Are
 are your Elsa’s parents still alive?”

Anna nodded with a small smile. “As far as I know, we had dinner with them last month.” She pulled out her phone and swiped through the camera roll a few times, then held it up so Elsa could see. Around the table at a local tapas restaurant were Anna and Elsa, with Iduna and Agnar seated on either side of them, smiling. Agnar had a ridiculously oversized sombrero on, apparently the man of honor with a candle-lit birthday cake in front of him.

Elsa choked back a sob as she held the phone delicately in her hands as though it were a holy book. “They
 they look so old and so happy, Anna. Look at Papa, his hair’s gone totally grey, and Mama
 Mama still looks so beautiful, just like I remember her.”

“If
 if you want, I could call them. You could talk to them? I mean, I know they’re not your parents, not the ones you lost, but
 maybe it might be something?” Anna offered, taking Elsa’s trembling hand in hers.

“No! No, Anna, I- I couldn’t. They’d know it wasn’t really your Elsa in moments, and I wouldn’t
 I wouldn’t want to worry them. Thank you, though. I
 do you have any more images of them? Maybe that would be enough, just to see them a little more,” she breathed, handing Anna’s phone back to her.

Anna took her phone back and swiped through a couple more screens, then looked up. “Actually, all the really good stuff should be on your phone! Do you have it on you?”

“No?” Elsa answered, confused. She’d not known her other self had one of these magical black mirrors. “How would I have had one?”

Anna sprung up from the couch with a giggle. “Then it’s probably in the same place you always keep it. I mean - oh, you know what I mean!” She made her way to the bedroom, Elsa following behind her. On the nightstand, in a stylish aluminum enclosure, was a fully-charged iPhone 12 in a blue and white snowflake case, accompanied by an equally snow-themed solar-powered battery pack.

“For someone who didn’t like the cold, a lot of her stuff is snowflake-themed. You mentioned she had a tattoo of a snowflake, too?”

Anna nodded. “Yeah, she just loves the beauty of them, the geometry, the uniqueness.” She smiled, thinking back to the early years of their dating, and how she’d made fun of Elsa for exactly the same observations her doppelganger was making now. They’d both weathered Boston’s damp winters more easily than many of their peers, being from the cold Midwest.

The phone’s lock screen lit up, a picture of Anna making a goofy face with baby carrots stuck in her teeth like vampire fangs. Elsa nearly dropped the phone as she burst into laughter. She lightly tapped the screen, triggering the password prompt, considered it for a moment as she tapped her index finger on her lips, and slowly spelled out A-N-N-A with a wry grin. The lock screen opened, showing rows and rows of Elsa’s apps - Black’s Law Dictionary, Kiwix (an offline version of Wikipedia), and dozens of others the lawyer used in her job. “All right, Anna, you’re going to have to show me how to use this particular magical device, since it’s definitely not my kind of magic,” she smirked.


Elsa lay on the couch, Anna having gone to bed an hour earlier after teaching her how modern smartphones worked, as she scrolled through photos of this Elsa’s life and times, especially of her parents. Dried tears left tracks on her cheeks and on the collar of her hoodie, from laughter and sadness alike, as a pile of used tissues grew beside her. She saw the parents she might have had if Agnar and Iduna hadn’t perished at sea. Certainly, these versions of her parents were much less formal than hers, and in a different century, but their smiles and warmth was unmistakably the same.

After a few more pages, she looked down at the tiny text along the bottom of the screen, scratching her head. What does ‘videos’ mean? she wondered, before touching the unfamiliar word. The screen shifted to a huge collection of little photos with triangles overlaid on them, and she touched one of Agnar and Iduna close together. The photo sprang to life, and Elsa stared in shock, a high-pitched cry forming in her throat as she trembled.

“Hi Elsa! Mama and I just wanted to wish you a very happy 34th birthday,” Agnar grinned, wearing a ridiculous red cone-shaped hat. “We’ll be in town in a couple of days to celebrate, but we didn’t want to miss the day-” he said before turning his camera to the side to focus on Iduna. “Elsa, my baby, we miss you so much and can’t wait to see you soon. We love you!” She blew a kiss to the camera, and the video came to an end.

Elsa’s cheeks were no longer dry, and would not be for the rest of the night.

Author’s Notes

This chapter presented SO many anachronisms the first time I wrote it. I had no idea Norway didn’t use the metric system until 1875, and I didn’t even know the RĂ©aumur system existed at all. Crazy.

Join The Party

Enjoyed this story? Want to meet fellow readers and discuss? Join the Elsanna Shenanigans community on Discord at discord.gg/TU9NpnH (copy and paste that URL for AO3 friends, go to discord dot gg slash TU9NpnH for FFN friends).

As always, please review, kudos, comment, like, follow, all that good stuff. I appreciate it.

Chapter 6: Working at Love

Summary:

"Kinda. You ever... you ever wake up one day and the person next to you is like... a totally different person?" Anna asked quietly, leaning on the cubicle's divider wall.

Chapter Text

Chapter 6: Working At Love

Elsa awoke in the early morning light to find Anna’s arms around her, hugging her from behind. More specifically, she felt not only Anna’s arms around her, but Anna’s palms cupping her breasts. Gingerly, she nudged Anna’s hands lower until they were resting on her ribs instead as she breathed a sigh of relief.

Relief soon became
 well, she wasn’t sure what it became, but her nipples were still aroused, and she felt heat pooling in her belly. Should I have moved her hands? she asked herself, unsure what she was feeling. On the one hand, she felt nothing but familial love for her sister. On the other hand, this wasn’t her sister, not here. She wondered what it would be like to indulge the sensation just a little more. Her opportunities for any kind of intimacy in her time were non-existent; those few suitors even interested in her because of her station were terrified of her powers, and she herself had been made to fear touching others after the accident with Anna as a child and her subsequent isolation.

Her wondering was cut short by Anna shifting her hands back into place on her breasts. Elsa felt a shiver run up her spine, closed her eyes, and let herself feel it. Is this so bad, to let her enjoy a few moments in her dreams, with her wife? I can tolerate this. This isn’t Arendelle, and I’m not the head of the church here
 I shouldn’t, but I even enjoy this just a little.

“Mmm baby, I wish we had more time
” Anna murmured, rubbing small circles with her fingertips, relishing the sensation of her wife’s soft, firm skin. “We don’t do this nearly as much as we used to
” Wakefulness slowly dawned on Anna, and her hands froze in place as she realized what she was doing to the woman next to her. Oh god, I hope she’s not awake! She must think this is so sick, her sister fondling her like this!

Both women quietly coughed and apologized simultaneously. “I, uh, I’m sorry, Anna, I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“No, no, it’s okay. I’m really sorry, I thought you were my wife and
 I’m sorry. That- it’s- wow, this is really awkward,” Anna blushed fiercely, her hands burning as she wrung them tightly to her own bare chest. “You must be horrified.”

Elsa turned over in the bed and gently cupped Anna’s cheek with her palm, a soft smile on her lips. “It’s okay, Anna. I- it’s not fair to you that the woman you love isn’t here right now. I’m a poor substitute, even if I am her in other ways. I can’t fault you for mistaking me for her in your sleep.” She put a finger preemptively on Anna’s lips. “And before you say it, no, you will not sleep on your couch.”

Anna let out a long sigh of relief and a short laugh. “Thank you, Elsa. That
 that makes me feel better. I
 in this time period, touching without consent is not okay.”

“To be fair, someone touching the reigning monarch without permission in my time is risking life and limb too,” Elsa giggled, laying back with her arms behind her head. “Last year, at a ball, a very drunk ambassador from Bavaria attempted to place his hand somewhere it shouldn’t have been, and I froze his coat sleeve solid, as though it were a cast for a broken arm.”

“Oh my god, what did he do?”

“He was confused, and then I whispered in his ear that the next time he behaved in such an uncivilized manner, I would freeze the entire arm. Then I had my guards escort him to his quarters to sober up,” Elsa smiled, remembering the awful ball. She thanked her lucky stars that she was able to handle the situation before the buffoon had a chance to meet her sister.

Anna mirrored Elsa’s pose, laying back on her arms. “Wow. I can’t imagine what that’s like, having guards and servants and stuff. It must be amazing.” Anna gleefully imagined having someone taking care of all the mundane things that she struggled with every day - paying bills, cooking, cleaning - and how awesome it would be for someone else to just do all of it.

“It’s convenient, to be sure, but there are downsides. For example, you’re rarely alone, and you’re always being watched. Every wall has eyes and ears.”

“I think I could live with that if it meant never having to dust again,” Anna chuckled. “My Elsa isn’t too fond of housework. We still split the chores, but
” Anna turned her head to look away for a moment, a tiny laugh in her chest. Once, they’d had a fight about mopping the floors, and Anna had accused her then-fiancee of acting like a queen. If only she’d known how true that was. Her chest tightened as laughter turned to heartache, missing her wife once more.

“I’m afraid I will be of little help until you teach me how, Anna,” the blonde said softly, interrupting Anna’s reverie. “I’ve honestly never done any of that kind of work in my life, though I’ve certainly seen the staff doing it on our behalf.” She turned to look at Anna, catching the sadness in her eyes, and propped herself up on one elbow. “What is it?”

Anna’s eyes glistened. “I miss her. You. My Elsa. I know it’s only been a few days, but
”

“It’s not the same.”

Anna nodded, wiping a tear from her eye. “No, it isn’t. And
 that’s not to say you’re not a wonderful person, and so much like her, but
 yeah. I
 what if she doesn’t come back?”

Elsa sighed. “We’ll figure this out somehow, Anna. Some way for you to get her back, and get me back to where I belong, with my Anna and my time.” She rolled over and slung an arm around Anna’s midsection, pulling her into a hug and feeling the crook of her neck dampen with Anna’s falling tears.

After a long pause, Anna took a deep breath, exhaled, and slowly sat up, the sheet falling from her naked body as a pink blush appeared on Elsa’s cheeks. “So
 today’s the day, huh?”

“Hmm?” Elsa said, confused, tearing her eyes away.

“It’s Wednesday, hon- Elsa. You have to go back to work today and at least explain things so that you can qualify for short-term disability,” Anna said, putting her clothes on. After she’d tossed on a flannel shirt, jeans, and a hoodie, she turned to Elsa. “What do you normally wear to
 uh, work? In your time, I mean.”

Elsa smiled. “Probably something that won’t go over well here.” She shrugged off her maroon night robe, briefly revealing her pale body before a stunning, ice-blue dress materialized, a long, flowing cape sparkling behind her.

Anna stared open-mouthed as the dress formed from snow and ice crystals swirling around her, the slightest bit of saliva dripping from one corner of her mouth. “Whoa. That
 that’s seriously the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen, Elsa. But
 yeah, that style isn’t quite up to date here.”

“What does your Elsa normally wear to work?”

Anna dug out a white button-down shirt, black blazer, and black twill trousers, with white pointed-toe pumps, and laid the outfit down on the bed. “This is usually your go-to, especially on meeting days.”

Elsa picked up each of the garments, turned them around, inspected them carefully, then smiled, stepped back, and with a wave of her fingers, channeled her magic to imitate the outfit on the bed, making only small cosmetic changes. After her ice blue dress had reformed as a navy blue power suit, she added small crystal earrings and a clear crystal necklace. “How’s this?”

“That
 you look amazing, Elsa. Like
 like my Elsa, but with a twist. Can
 can I?” she asked, her fingers already halfway to Elsa’s jacket before the blonde nodded. “It’s
 it’s cool, but not cold to the touch. That’s
 wow, that’s legit magical,” she murmured, the tips of her fingers lingering on Elsa’s forearm. “Is it still ice?”

Elsa nodded. “It is. I’ve experimented over the years with different shapes; ice can be shaped to take almost any shape and feel.”

“How- how does that work?”

“Honestly, I’m still not sure. I just
 think about it, and it does whatever it is I’m thinking or feeling. That,” she chuckled, looking down at her hands briefly, “has gotten me into plenty of trouble over the years.”

“The eternal winter you told me about.”

“Yes, that. That and plenty of other things. I missed a fair number of meals growing up because I was so heartbroken that the door to my chambers was frozen shut. I didn’t know how to control my powers back then. I should have realized that it was love which thawed; every time my Anna came by to talk, she would help me feel better and the ice would fade away.” She rolled her eyes at her own obliviousness.

Anna fidgeted, her throat bobbing as though there were words literally fighting to get out of her mouth and she was imprisoning them - badly.

“And yesterday?” she finally blurted out.

“What about- oh, you mean in the alley. My powers are strongest when I’m
 I guess you would say aligned? When what I’m thinking and I’m feeling are in harmony, when I know exactly what I want.” She thought back to the many times she’d visited the town square in Arendelle, delighting the children by crafting toys out of ice and snow. It brought her as much delight as it did the kids, and the toys got more ornate with very little added effort.

Her thoughts turned to the brute that they encountered in the alley. She had instinctively reached out to protect Anna, unquestionably. She reflected for a moment; it wasn’t fear she felt. Fear made her powers fly out of control, creating chaos in their wake. When she stopped the attacker - when she disintegrated him utterly - she was far from afraid.

“Yesterday, I was
 focused. In harmony. I knew I needed to stop him from hurting you, and I
 I felt such anger, that someone would dare attack my sister. I know, I know, you’re not my sister, but at that moment, I forgot.”

“What
 what did you think about?”

“I imagined him crumbling to dust, shattering into a million little pieces, and I reached out my hands-”

Anna gulped. “-and that’s exactly what happened. Wow, Elsa. That’s
 that’s still mind-blowing. This whole thing is, but that especially
 there was nothing left of him, not even his knife.” She nervously chuckled. “At least we won’t have to worry about the police finding the body, I guess?”

“Um
 I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not, Anna. All I know is that no one attacks my sister, or attacks you by extension, I suppose. Not while I’m around to do something about it,” she declared, her jaw muscles firm and tight.

Anna stepped back for a moment, took another deep breath as she regarded her wife’s doppelganger with affection, then embraced her. “Well
 good luck today, Elsa.”

Elsa smiled and pecked her on the cheek, then headed for the front door of their apartment. “You too, Anna. I’ll let you know what happens.”

“Remember to text me. You remember how to do that, right?”

“I do, yes. I’m starting to get the hang of these little magical black mirrors,” she grinned as they walked out the door to the light rail station.


Anna spun her cubicle chair around in a circle, chewing on the end of a pencil as she watched the office spin past her eyes. After leaving for work, she’d stopped by the Starbucks in her building, grabbed a quadruple shot espresso, and tried to focus on the mounting pile of work in her inbox. But a few hours later, the caffeine boost had worn off, lunch sat heavily in her stomach, and she tried to push her worries away.

Her worries had other ideas for her day.

What if Elsa isn’t able to convince her law firm to put her on leave?

What if this is permanent?

What if my wife never returns?

Can I love this Elsa as much as my own?

Will she ever love me the way my wife did?

Something nagged at her consciousness, poking her like a splinter she couldn’t find.

Would that be so bad, if this were permanent?

She worried at her lip, continuing to idly spin her chair until something lightly tapped her on the side of the head.

“Beck!”

Anna turned to face the woman in the next cubicle over with a grimace and a barely-managed fake smile. “What’s up, Janine?”

The younger, dirty blonde woman, one of her team members, stopped just as she was about to throw another paper airplane at Anna. “You’ve been spaced out for like, half an hour, boss. We’ve got a staff meeting soon! You okay?”

“Yeah, just a lot on my mind
 home stuff, you know?”

Janine nodded as she gathered up a folder full of drawings off her desk. “Totally. Trouble with the missus?”

“Kinda. You ever
 you ever wake up one day and the person next to you is like
 a totally different person?” Anna asked quietly, leaning on the cubicle’s divider wall.

“Oh yeah, totally,” her coworker said. “My last boyfriend was like, fucking Jekyll and Hyde, I swear to god. Some days he’d be so sweet, and other days he’d be a complete asshole from like, a 1970s sitcom.”

Anna rubbed the back of her neck. “What’d you do about it?”

Janine burst out laughing. “I dumped his ass and found someone who didn’t have the complete asshole part. Why, is your wife being an asshole to you?”

“No! No, definitely not. She’s just
 different lately, that’s all. And not a bad different, just
 not the woman I married, and I’m not sure if
 if it’s going to stay that way,” she said, the corners of her mouth turning down as her lower lip trembled.

Janine strode over from her desk and put a hand on Anna’s shoulder. “Do you still love her, even if she’s different?”

Without speaking, Anna placed a hand on top of Janine’s and nodded.

“Does she still love you?”

Anna looked up at Janine, nodding again.

“Then whatever it is, you’ll make it work. My ex didn’t love anyone except himself, so there was no fucking way it was going to work, you know what I mean?” She grabbed the file folder off her desk. “Now come on, we gotta get to Conference Room C and wow the shit out of these dummies from Weselton Corporation.”

Anna grabbed her tablet and phone with one hand, wiping the tears that had threatened to fall with the other, and followed her coworker to the conference rooms. “Thanks, Janine,” she stage-whispered as they entered.

Author’s Notes

A brief, fluffy interlude before we get to see how Elsa handles a job in the 21st century, plus some more consequences from the previous day’s adventures. Stay tuned as we see what kind of lawyer the Queen of Arendelle makes.

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Chapter 7: The Queen's Law

Summary:

With a deep breath, she shrugged and walked into the conference room...

... and fought with every ounce of her soul to not freeze the lone occupant solid. "Hans!" she hissed, glaring daggers at him, her hands hovering in front of her.

Chapter Text

Chapter 7: The Queen’s Law

Elsa walked in the door of Klein & Gabler, a prestigious law firm on the 34th floor of the Prudential Center tower, to be greeted by the beautiful Italian marble lobby, replete with mahogany furniture and gold-trimmed
 everything. The firm was beyond wealthy; its only serious competition was rival firm Wolfram & Hart. She’d spent much of the previous day sifting through the electronic messages on her phone and tablet, trying to understand who’s who in the modern Elsa’s life and work. After half a day of research and connecting the dots, she knew at least enough to work out the basics of who she needed to talk to.

“Ms. Beck!” A young, slender, raven-haired Chinese woman near the front desk practically shouted as she shot out of her chair. “We thought you got hit by a bus or something. What happened?”

“Oh, um, good morning,” Elsa smiled, cringing slightly at the intensity of the woman’s gaze. “My physicians aren’t sure what exactly happened but
 I’ve had some severe memory loss. Is Mr. MacDonald in?”

“He’s in a meeting but should be available in a few minutes. Want me to come get you when he is?”

Elsa nodded. “Yes please. Umm, where should I wait?” she asked, looking at the rich Italian leather couches in the lobby area, the wall behind them littered with trophies and awards for the firm.

The woman cocked her head, something Elsa found quite cute, especially as she was very sharply dressed for someone so apparently young. “At your desk?”

“My
 desk. I- I’m afraid I don’t remember. Can you point me in the right direction, ma’am?” she asked, turning her head slowly to see a large open work area with a dozen long workbenches, computers and phones everywhere, and dozens of young workers milling about under harsh, sterile fluorescent light.

“Wow, you really don’t remember anything?” The woman stepped out from behind the mahogany desk. “Come on, follow me. I guess you don’t remember my name, either?”

Elsa shook her head. “I’m
 very sorry.”

“Magnolia. We just started working together.” She walked Elsa to her desk; instead of being one of the sterile workbenches that the junior staff used, Elsa had a small interior office reserved for non-equity partners. The equity partners, of course, had the outer wall offices with the stunning views of the city skyline, and the senior partners had the corner offices.

“Thank you, Magnolia. I
 is it all right if I ask you for help, while I navigate my
 medical issues?” she asked, clasping her hands tightly behind her back to avoid appearing nervous. She recalled many of the names in her email, but Magnolia was not one she remembered from her research.

Magnolia chuckled. “Uh, yeah! I mean, I have to do what you say anyway, since I work for you. I’m your summer law clerk. Also, you usually call me Maggie.”

“Great,” she sighed with relief, looking around the small office. On the mahogany desk was a framed picture of Anna, wearing a hooded sweatshirt and standing next to a statue, her hand in an unfamiliar gesture with two fingers pointed up. Next to the desk was some sort of potted tree, and very little else gave her any indication of what her doppelganger was like. Elsa wondered just what kind of person her alter-ego was; after she’d opened the gates to the palace, she and Anna had gone on a decorating spree, putting up family portraits, pulling art out storage, doing everything to make the palace feel like home again. This Elsa’s office looked so bare that one could be forgiven for thinking it was an empty desk.

“Can
 can I ask what happened?” Maggie tendered, hesitating. Elsa smiled, gestured for her to sit down in one of the chairs, and recounted the last few days of her official story and amnesia for a quarter hour as Magnolia listened with rapt attention.

“Wow. That’s intense. So you really don’t remember anything at all?”

“Not a thing. That’s why I’ve come in to talk to Mr. MacDonald; since I literally cannot remember how to do my job, I need to file for short-term disability.” She’d read up on the basics of disability law, and with the urgent care clinic’s diagnosis, she had enough proof for it.

A flurry of activity outside her office caught her attention, and just as Elsa stood up to close the door, a man in a refined Italian suit charged in, pressing a leather-covered folio against his chest like a shield. She appraised him quickly; probably close to Anna’s age, athletic, with intense pale blue eyes and slicked back hair. She stood to address him. “Good morn-”

“Elsa! Thank God you’re back. Listen, we don’t have much time.” He beckoned for her to follow him as he speed-walked across the office, Maggie chasing behind them with an armful of folders. “Jay from SITC is in The Pit, and that douchebag from Weselton Corp is on his way over. We need to get this settlement done today, because otherwise we risk going to trial. Kris fucked up the filing, so I need you to keep Jay from losing his shit. We can’t afford to lose them as a client right now, and he’s right on the edge of dropping us. If this goes to trial, we’re probably fucked.” Their power-walk across the floor brought them to a glass-enclosed conference room with “The Pit” artfully inscribed on a small brass label adhered to the door.

“Just keep him happy while I get that asshole from Weselton and bring him up, okay?” the man said, dashing off while Elsa looked at Maggie, wide-eyed. With a deep breath, she shrugged and walked into the conference room



 and fought with every ounce of her soul to not freeze the lone occupant solid. “Hans!” she hissed, glaring daggers at him, her hands hovering in front of her.

The red-headed man sitting in one of the leather chairs turned abruptly. “What the fuck?” He stood up abruptly, nearly knocking over his chair. “No one calls me that! Not you, not Lindsey, not even your precious Senior Partners. I don’t care what you’ve been digging up on me - and don’t think I haven’t noticed - but that name is off-limits!” he shouted, instantly red in the face.

Elsa blinked. Of course, in this world, Hans would be different. Here, he was some kind of businessman instead of the thirteenth son of a royal crown. She noted, barely able to control her smirk, that he lacked his usual sideburns. She sat down at the end of the table, Maggie taking a seat to her right. “Sorry. Jay, is it?” she said without an ounce of emotion in her voice, gesturing at his chair.

He returned her glare before pulling his chair back under him and easing himself into it, his anger draining away to a resigned scowl. “Sorry. I
 haven’t heard that name in a while. Nothing good associated with it. How did you even find it? I hired a private investigator who told me he buried everything there ever was about
 that name.”

“I
 it probably came up in a filing somewhere, I’m sure. Now,” she coughed discreetly, “Jay, what seems to be the problem with the
 settlement?”

Maggie slid a folder of papers in front of Elsa, silently praying that whatever was wrong with her boss could be covered up. Elsa was the only person she’d interviewed with at all the big area law firms that would even consider her as a law clerk despite her stellar academic record. Her friends in law school had suggested over drinks one evening that the problem wasn’t her academic record as much as it was her not looking like the typical law associate. If Elsa got canned, she had no doubt her clerkship would be terminated immediately after.

“You know what the problem is, Ms. Beck. That bastard Weselton wants 22% as part of the settlement, and that will bankrupt SITC. We can’t afford more than 16%, and even that’s going to screw us over for years,” he sagged, holding his head in his hands, elbows on the polished conference room table.

Elsa looked down at the papers before her. Amidst all the dense legal language were notes in her own handwriting, along with what appeared to be colorful little squares of paper in someone else’s handwriting. In the margins on one of the first sheets, she read the basic terms of the settlement agreement. SITC - the Southern Isles Trading Corporation - and Weselton Corporation - were in some kind of dispute over a trade of gold ore. From her alter ego’s handwritten notes, there was some kind of shipping accident, and SITC had lost a substantial amount of Weselton’s gold ore.

In exchange for no admission of fault, SITC was to pay Weselton Corporation the market value of the gold plus a fee of 22%. If SITC did not agree to the penalty, Weselton Corporation would pursue a verdict admitting liability in court, which could permanently ruin the company’s ability to keep its customers or find new ones. Elsa arched an eyebrow. “Remind me again please - Jay - we are certain that 22% is unmanageable?”

The red-headed man nodded vigorously. “And Weselton knows it, too. He had access to our financials as part of a failed merger two years ago. He’s trying to put me out of business so he can lay claim to our ore processing capabilities, do a hostile takeover in bankruptcy.”

Elsa stood up, and gave Hans’ doppelganger a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “Please excuse me for just a moment. Maggie?” She motioned with her head for them to step outside the room. Once she was in the corridor and the door closed behind her, she grabbed Maggie by the shoulders. “I’m completely out of my depth here, Maggie! What am I going to do?”

Maggie trembled. “I- I don’t know, Ms. Beck! I’m just a clerk, I don’t actually know anything about this kind of case.”

Elsa took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and thought carefully. While the sovereign could do pretty much whatever she wanted, most of the time disputes in her court were handled by lesser magistrates or Crown courts. That said, as sovereign, she was expected to know the vast majority of the nation’s laws, should a case be brought before her in open court. In Arendelle’s laws, any agreement was null and void if it was made under duress, from arranged marriages to water rights for a farm. A fair amount of Europe and the United Kingdom followed similar principles.

Just as the idea occurred to her, the lawyer that had barged into her office came back, along with what she assumed was this world’s Duke of Weselton. The man was almost exactly the same as the Duke of Weselton she knew - short, loud, obnoxious, overdressed, fake hair. She stifled a giggle behind her hand as everyone filed back into the conference room.

“Mr. MacDonald!” Weselton called shrilly, his nasal voice piercing the air of the room as he grinned wolfishly, the predator’s smile as it closed in on its prey. “Is the agreement signed, or are we going to court?”

Elsa finally put the name to the face - the man who had crashed into her office was the Mr. MacDonald she had come to see about medical leave. Contrary to his brusque, bold behavior earlier, he looked cowed now, hunching over in his seat as Jay glared at him. The pieces began to fall into place for Elsa. SITC was their responsibility, and it was clear that they were on the rocks. She had no idea just how big a client they were, but it was important enough that MacDonald looked ill.

Anna, what would you do? How would you handle this? she asked herself, imagining her bold sister taking the initiative. Would she do something funny? Would she dive headfirst into the problem? Oh, Anna. I miss you so. Elsa took a deep breath and set her jaw, then stood up.

“No, Mr. Weselton, the agreement is not signed. The agreement will not be signed, and the case will not be going before the Cr- courts,” she said in her most regal voice and posture. MacDonald and Maggie both sat up immediately in shock at the change in her voice; the senior lawyer’s shoulders were practically brushing his ears, he was so stressed about this case.

“I beg your pardon, young lady?” Weselton peered at her through his ridiculously anachronistic monocle. “Now see here-”

“I am speaking,” Elsa commanded, channeling the full power and authority of her crown; regardless of the time period or place, her tone brooked no dissent. “You were aware of SITC’s financial situation and chose recompense that would be financially ruinous to the firm. So you presented them with a choice: either reputational ruin by forcing them before a magistrate, or financial ruin with a settlement they cannot afford.”

She began to slowly pace, her hands behind her back, as she took a slow, even breath. She could feel the ghost of Anna’s smile encouraging her on, settling her stomach. “Do you know, Mr. Weselton, what that is called in my coun- in my considered opinion? That is attempting to force an agreement under duress, and it’s well-established in international law that an agreement made under duress is null and void.” As she paced, the temperature in the room slowly grew colder.

Elsa spun on her heel, facing Weselton, whose jaw was open, his mouth soundlessly flapping like a fish out of water. “I think you will find that your case is without merit. You could put it before
 before the Queen of Norway and you’d have no chance of winning. Now
 I believe SITC would be amenable to an 11% fee, but certainly not 22%. If you agree right here and now, before this group of people, I will forget this attempt to blackmail SITC into signing your terms.”

She sat back down at her seat and stared at Weselton, unblinking. She knew from years of hearing cases in open court that the first party to speak lost, so she simply bided her time as beads of nervous sweat broke out on the short man’s forehead, despite the coldness of the room. Maggie, Jay, and MacDonald squirmed and fidgeted uncomfortably as she sat statue-still, her iron gaze unmoving from Weselton’s eyes.

“Very well. In exchange for confidentiality about this entire incident, 11%, but not a dime less,” Weselton said imperiously, his tone of voice mismatching his tentative glances towards everyone else at the table as he shivered. “My, it’s cold in here, isn’t it?”, he laughed nervously.

Elsa gave no hint of emotion as she amended the agreement filing by hand, then slid the paper across the table. “Your signature, please.” Her right hand twitched once as muscle memory of gaveling open court judgements returned to her, the ghost of the mallet kept on her throne during open court.

Once Weselton signed the paper and pushed it back across the table, Elsa permitted herself to smile. “Now, Mr. Weselton, I believe that concludes our business today. Someone will assist you in the execution of the agreement. In the meantime, Magnolia here will see you out. Good day, sir.” she said, resisting the temptation to speak her usual words at the end of open court, “The Crown has spoken”.

The little man stood up in a huff, glared at everyone in the room, and then stomped out like a toddler as Maggie held the door for him. Once the conference room door closed, Elsa turned to see Hans - Jay - clapping slowly as the room returned to a normal temperature.

“That was
 impressive, Ms. Beck. Fucking impressive. Lindsey, I knew you had talented folks on staff, but you never told me you had a negotiator like this!” Hans exclaimed, clapping the head lawyer on the shoulder. “You’ve been holding out on me, brother. Better be careful or I’ll poach her for my legal team!” he laughed.

The lawyer, Lindsey MacDonald, exhaled as though he hadn’t breathed since walking in the room, his body finally letting go of the tension. “Yeah, uh, Elsa was on a different case, but I pulled her in because of how important SITC is to the firm.”

“Well, needless to say, we will be staying with your firm as long as Ms. Beck here litigates our major cases. I’ll have my team start drawing up the papers for the settlement and for your new retainer. Golf tomorrow, man?” Jay asked as he gathered his personal items into a briefcase that appeared to be highly polished leather and gold trim, not bothering to wait for the nod from the head lawyer.

After Jay’s departure, Elsa released all the tension she herself was holding in, sighing and letting herself sink into the chair. Lindsey looked across the conference room table at her, leaning far back in the plush office chair, his oddly out-of-place leather cowboy boots on the table. “That was
 unexpected, Elsa. I didn’t think you had it in you.”

Elsa wasn’t sure how to react to that statement. The various emails she’d seen in her inbox from MacDonald hadn’t given any indication of what kind of working relationship they had, save that he was her superior and an equity partner at the firm. “I
 saw a lapse in Duke- err, Weselton’s judgement. He’s full of bluster and hot air, but in the end, he’s a coward who will fold when the pressure is on.”

“How could you know that?” the lawyer asked, running his hand over his product-laden hair. “This was Kris’ case, you’ve never interacted with the little shit before today.”

“I’ve
 known people like him in the past,” she said, clearing her throat. “I was actually coming to see you before you came into my office. It’s
 it’s a personal issue that I will need some time to resolve.” The confidence she’d channeled in the negotiations evaporated as she stared at her hands. Worry grabbed her stomach in a fist and squeezed. She had no idea whether this reality was permanent or not, but she couldn’t afford to screw things up and leave a mess behind, or wreck this Elsa’s life.

“Fuck, Elsa, do whatever you want. Go on vacation for a month, I don’t care. Do you realize how much the SITC settlement means? Jay’s over the goddamn moon. He wanted to try to settle for 16%, was hoping for 14%, and you forced Weselton’s hand at 11%. Do you know how big a deal that is?” Lindsey practically shouted, a lopsided grin on his face. “The ship Jay lost was carrying 5,000 tons of high-grade gold ore worth $6.2 billion. You forced Weselton to give up $682 million today in settlement penalties. Jay’s not going to forget that - you basically saved his entire company in one pen stroke. And that means we can name pretty much whatever retainer we want, which is going to make me look great to the Senior Partners. So yeah, you do whatever you want for the next month, okay?”

Elsa breathed out, nodding slowly as though the news wasn’t a surprise. It would seem I managed to save the Southern Isles today. I wonder if this Hans is just as much a treacherous asshole as the one from my time, she thought to herself. “A-all right. I’m not sure how long I’ll be out, but I’ll be sure to stay in touch.”

The two shook hands and departed the conference room as Lindsey went to brief the Senior Partners and Elsa headed for her office to pack up. Even though it was the start of the workday, she didn’t want to press her luck by sticking around and revealing the truth.

As she headed out the door, Maggie flagged her down, racing after her. “Hey, Ms. Beck! Elsa! Did you get a chance to talk to Mr. MacDonald?”

“I did, yes. I’m to take some time off, but be available with this,” she waved the iPhone in her hand. “So if you need me, please feel free to
 um, reach me.” She paused, looking at Maggie, who was practically jumping up and down as excitedly as Anna - her sister Anna - did when she was bursting at the seams to say something.

Maggie looked at Elsa as though she had descended from the heavens itself. She pressed her hands together in front of her and practically squealed, “That meeting
 I am amazed, Ms. Beck. To have even been willing to do anything with your
 handicap right now, much less save a major client for the firm! I hope you don’t mind me fangirling a little, but I want to be half the lawyer you are someday! How did you even know what to do?”

Elsa smiled, gently resting a hand on Maggie’s shoulder, which the clerk immediately covered with her own hands, smiling. “I should hope that you are substantially more of a lawyer than I am feeling right now, and I suspect you already are. As for the meeting
 a little luck, a little magic, and a lot of life experience. You’ll get there someday.” She turned and walked out the door, waving over her shoulder as she headed for the elevators and the world outside.

Author’s Notes

Magnolia, for those who don’t know, is the literal translation of the name Mulan.

Jay is a nickname for Johannes, which is also shortened to
 Hans.

There is an anachronism by design in this story; the concept of a contract being signed under duress being invalid as far as I could tell didn’t exist as a concept in international law until 1891, at least according to Black’s Law Dictionary. Sir Francis Bacon apparently introduced the concept in the 1600s, but that applied to English law only and wouldn’t have been applicable in the joint kingdom of Norway and Sweden :)

And yes, I might have borrowed Lindsey MacDonald from a different franchise.

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As always, please review, kudos, comment, like, follow, all that good stuff. I appreciate it.

Chapter 8: Secrets Deep Inside

Summary:

You
 when you look at me, I see an unbreakable love and an unshakeable trust in your eyes. I
 I couldn’t lie to you, especially after you told me how you and your Anna are.

Chapter Text

Chapter 8: Secrets Deep Inside

Elsa unlocked the door to their apartment after the long ride on the light rail home. She still marveled at this world, even after having been in it for days; trains powered by the same energy as lightning bolts instead of coal and wood as they were in her time. Even the elevator at her office was astonishing; in her time, steam-powered ascending rooms were novelties, whereas in this time, they were mundane utilities at best. Some even had those black mirrors in them to show riders more entertainment, as though the ride itself wasn’t stimulating enough.

After kicking off her shoes and putting her work stuff on the bed, she dug out her phone and recalled the lesson Anna had given her on how to operate the various basic apps. After briefly looking over all the colorful icons, she found the text messaging app.

>> crazy day today, but I’m home now

Within moments, the phone began to ring and vibrate in her hand, startling her. Elsa stared at it for a few moments, unsure what to do as two large colored circles on the screen, a green one and a red one. Taking a small gamble, she tapped the green one and was rewarded with Anna’s voice.

“Elsa? Are you okay? What are you doing at home? You’re supposed to be at work,” Anna’s voice echoed from the tiny speaker. Elsa could practically see Anna pacing.

“I’m fine, Anna. Everything’s fine - I’ll tell you the whole story when you come home,” she reassured with a slight grin. “But everything is fine, really. I even managed to improve your Elsa’s work situation!”

Anna laughed. “Of course you did, Miss Queen of Arendelle. Ok, I’ll see if I can get out of work earlier than usual.”

“Don’t worry about that. In f-fact
” Elsa stammered briefly, nervous about the suggestion she was about to make, “
I’m feeling a little adventurous. Want me to try to come visit you for lunch?” The modern world was amazing but people were still people, maps still maps. Feeling emboldened by her eventful morning, and worried that this change could be permanent, she told herself that she couldn’t hide away forever. She’d done that for 13 years growing up.

“If
 if you’re sure you feel up to it, Elsa,” Anna offered, as though she could feel Elsa’s doubts nagging at the back of her mind.

“I’ll be fine, Anna. Just let me know what the address is, and I’ll find my way there. I’ll message you as soon as I get to it.”

“Okay, baby. I mean-”

“Anna, it’s all right. If you call me baby sometimes, I mean. It’s sort of adorable,” Elsa chuckled. She was rewarded with a deep exhalation of breath on the other end of the call.

“Okay. Call me if you run into any - ANY - trouble, okay? I love you, Elsa.” Along with her declaration of love, a text message appeared on the phone with the address,

“I love you too, Anna. See you soon, I hope!” She pressed the red icon and the call disconnected, then began to look around the bedroom for what to wear. Internally, she battled between creating her own clothing of ice, which she could manipulate more quickly, or clothing from the modern day. Deciding it was better to blend in, she opened her dresser to find mostly work clothing. This Elsa apparently enjoyed formality more than she did.

Moving over to the other side of the dresser, she rummaged through Anna’s far more casual clothing selection, until her hands hit something hard and metal at the back of the dresser. What’s this? She pulled the clothing back to reveal a small metal box, about a foot long, with rounded corners and a black square on the front, along with a small keyhole. She tried to pick it up, but it was bolted to the dresser itself.

Why would Anna have something bolted to the dresser? That’s a terrible idea if there’s something valuable inside and you need to flee, she thought. Elsa racked her brain, looking at the strange container before covering it back up. Maybe it’s a jewelry safe, to keep the valuables from being stolen. It is awfully small. She’d ask Anna about it at lunch, then grabbed another hoodie and some clean yoga pants before heading out.

After 45 minutes of fits and starts, her train arrived at the Copley/Back Bay station, and she walked up the stairs to emerge in front of a massive glass monolith that stretched to the sky, far taller than any of the buildings in Arendelle. Elsa’s breath caught in her throat as she craned her neck to see the whole of the building. The skyscraper in front of her almost looked a little like ice, reflecting the blue and white sky above it.

After recovering from the shock and wonder of seeing such an immense, beautiful structure, something far taller than even her ice palace on the North Mountain, she made her way towards it. At the base of the tower, massive revolving doors spun in never-ending lazy circles, the building spewing out people like some kind of monstrous creature. Elsa shook herself out of her trance and opened her phone, texting Anna that she was just outside.

Anna immediately texted back that she’d be down in just 5 minutes, so Elsa sat down on a stone bench near the entrance, just people-watching. A menagerie of different people came in and out of the massive office complex; some were dressed like her, casually. Many were in suits and other formalwear, she gathered, though none of the outfits would be remotely appropriate in her time for the Royal Court. And more than a few people came in and out who appeared to be soldiers of some kind, based on the guns and dark outfits they wore. A few even wore some kind of helmet that obscured their entire face.

So engrossed was she in watching the people coming in and out of the building that she didn’t notice the person behind her until hands covered her eyes. “Guess who?” said the hidden voice, full of mirth. Elsa smirked and made her skin ice cold, causing Anna to squeak and withdraw her hands immediately.

“That’s no fair, you stinker! Using your
 uh
 eyelashes like that!” she stammered, covering her near-slip of the tongue. She playfully tousled Elsa’s hair before sitting down next to her. “No problems getting here?”

Elsa gave her a long look before chuckling, covering her mouth with her hand. “Anna, the office is literally 5 blocks from here. Getting here is pretty much the same way I went to get to work this morning.”

“I forgot that you
 didn’t forget. I mean, that you knew where it was because you’d been there!” Anna said, crossing her arms. “Anyway, I’m glad you got here okay. Anything in mind you want for lunch?”

“I still have no idea what all is available. The food choices here are
 well, almost inconceivable.” She lowered her voice and leaned in towards Anna. “Back home, we had what the palace chefs prepared, and occasionally foreign foods when we had visiting ambassadors, but nothing like this. It’s astonishing - foods from all over the world, and available to everyone. Like that, over there. What’s that?”

Anna turned her head to follow the direction of Elsa’s comment, then wrinkled her nose. “Eww, no. No Subway. Their food tastes terrible. If you want something like that, I’d say either Chipotle or Boloco. They’re both Mexican food places.” She looped her elbow with Elsa’s and began walking across the grassy green area towards the row of restaurants.

Elsa’s gaze softened. “I’ve never seen or heard anything Mexican. I know during my time that this country had just annexed the Republic of Texas, but I’ve obviously never left Arendelle, certainly not to this hemisphere. I’d always wondered what it would be like to be able to travel, to see different parts of the world.”

Anna spun around, her eyes wide, almost stumbling over the brick sidewalk as they walked towards the restaurants. “Wait, what? We annexed Texas? From Mexico? I don’t remember learning this in school!”

“Y-yes, yes this nation did. Your president, John Tyler, annexed it just a few years ago. In fact, the American ambassador made a brief stop in Arendelle on a Scandinavian tour earlier this year, trying to win support for his new administration. He was afraid various nations wouldn’t recognize his presidency.”

Anna shook her head. “What new administration? This is all so new to me - and I’m American!” She pushed open the glass door to Chipotle, the scents of tortillas and beans filling the air.

Elsa looked around in wonder at all the colors, sounds, and smells, the noises of food service, the loud pop music playing in the background. “This
 is amazing, Anna. What is all this?” she pointed at the overhead menus.

“Oh, you’ll probably want
 I’d say, get the chicken burrito with fajita veggies and cheese. That one’s really good.” She sidled up to the counter and called out her order; Anna ate at one of the local restaurants twice a week, and the staff here recognized her at once, waving to her from behind the counter.

After getting their orders and sitting down, Elsa continued Anna’s impromptu history lesson as Anna laid out the dishes and placed her phone face down on the table. “So yes, last year, your president died of pneumonia, and there was quite the little kerfuffle that made the papers even in Scandinavia about the line of succession.”

Anna shook her head, scooping up a lump of guacamole with her tortilla chips. “It’s so weird, Elsa. I mean, to hear you talk about this stuff in the present tense when for me, it’s literally 177 years ago. Kind of mind-blowing.” She bit into her barbacoa burrito, messily dropping rice and beans all over her plate.

Elsa stared at the giant burrito in front of her. “Anna
 how am I supposed to eat this? It’s
 it’s as large as my forearm.” She looked around and saw a rack of plastic utensils and grabbed one of each. The portion sizes of food in this time period astonished her; this single serving could easily feed three people in her own time. Were it affordable, she thought, a restaurant like this could end hunger in a village in just a few meals. Sitting back down, she began to slice open the burrito as though it were a beef roast, delicately cutting through it and trying to spear it with her fork.

“Uh
 that’s not how you eat that, Elsa. You just pick it up and take a big bite,” Anna said around her own burrito, a few bits of rice clinging around her mouth.

“This is so
 uncivilized, Anna. No one should be putting something this big in their mouth,” she scoffed, finally managing to get some of the burrito contents on her plastic fork. She took a bite, and the flavors exploded in her mouth as her eyes widened. “Anna! Anna! It- it- it burns! Oh goodness, it BURNS.” She channeled her powers to cool off her tongue and throat from the spices in the food, sighing as she numbed her tongue. She blinked tears out of her eyes. “Why didn’t you tell me it was so spicy!”

“Elsa
 it’s
 not. That’s the mild burrito. The spicy one is the one with the extra jalapenos in it,” Anna smirked, trying to hide her laugh behind her burrito. “Want a bite of mine? It’s the spicy one.”

Elsa vigorously shook her head before removing the plastic lid from her drink cup and taking a sip of her diet soda. She immediately began coughing. “This is
 what is this? It’s like a sugary champagne!”

Anna turned her chair to pat her on the back. “That’s Diet Coke. It
” she looked down at her phone, typing in a quick search. “It won’t be invented for another 140 years for you,” she whispered.

“It’s
 actually not bad, all things considered. A little too sweet for me, but it’s bearable. And it comes with a little handle for the lid, which is very thoughtful for keeping your hands clean,” she mentioned, holding up the lid by the straw.

By this point, Anna was coughing into her hand over and over again as Elsa experienced so many new things in one day. She didn’t have the heart to tell her the plastic straw wasn’t a handle at all. “So, tell me what happened at your office?”

Elsa recounted all the events of the morning, the SITC deal, Weselton, and the acknowledgement she received from her supervisor for smoothly handling what was apparently a difficult negotiation.

“Oh my god Elsa, that’s amazing. You
 I mean, my Elsa was wrapped around the axle on this case. She was up so many nights going over the details with a fine-toothed comb, trying to find a way to avoid having the case go to trial, looking for every little loophole and technicality, and you squashed it in a few minutes? I mean, I guess it makes sense, if you’re the Queen and you’re acting like a judge all the time. That’s kinda
” Anna squirmed as she heaped praise on Elsa, “
hot.”

“Hot? Why is that hot?” Elsa wondered aloud, tilting her head.

“It’s a euphemism that
 please tell me you know what hot means?” she gestured wildly, waving the remains of her burrito in the air.

“Like, heat?”

“No, like
 attractive!” Anna blushed, her face as red as her hair as her burrito hit the table with a thud. “I can’t believe you don’t say someone’s hot!”

Elsa giggled. “Anna
 based on what you know about me, when would I ever think anything hot was appealing?”

Anna swatted her arm with a handful of folded napkins as Elsa held her stomach, doubling over with laughter.

A moment later, Anna’s phone beeped softly, a sound like a wind chime, and her face shifted. The smile and crow’s feet around her eyes vanished in the blink of an eye, and the air around her changed as though a magic trick had replaced one person with another.

“H-hang on, that’s the office. L-let me see what’s up,” she stammered, picking up her phone. Her eyes quickly scanned over the screen as her lips parted without a word; her normally tanned skin appeared to blanche.

Elsa reached across the table and lay a hand gently on her shoulder. “Anna? What is it?” Whatever it was, it was close enough to her Anna’s reaction about something deadly serious, something deeply concerning.

“It’s
 um, there’s an emergency all-hands meeting at the office. I- I have to go, Elsa.” She shoved the last bite of her burrito in her mouth, cheeks full like a squirrel, as she gathered up her belongings. “I wuw see wu b hm!” she said through the food, causing Elsa to arch her eyebrow. “I said, I’ll see you back home, Elsa. I- I really have to go!” Anna blew Elsa a quick kiss out of habit and burst out the door of the shop, sprinting towards her office.

Elsa nodded, the whirlwind of activity receding as she sat with her partially eaten burrito. Something nagged at her mind; Anna acted as though the message for a meeting was something far more grave. She shook her head to herself; whatever it was, she was sure Anna would share it later that evening.

—-

That night, Anna came home from work later than usual; the last few days she’d tried to make it home as quickly as possible to support the newly-arrived Elsa. As she stumbled in the door, she let her backpack hit the floor with a thump, not especially caring about the laptop inside, and she sagged against the wall, exhaling.

“Anna?” Elsa peeked around the corner, looking at the redhead. Whatever had interrupted their lunch, it must have been quite pressing. Anna looked awful, fatigued, her eyes unfocused, her shoulders rising and falling as she caught her breath. “What happened?”

As though awoken from a dream, Anna started, instinctively jumping back a little before catching herself and throwing her arms around Elsa. “I, uh, I’m sorry for bailing on lunch like that, baby. It was just a hell of a day,” she sighed, letting her weight sink onto the blonde.

Elsa rubbed small circles on Anna’s back as she held her close. In moments, Anna’s shoulders began to heave and Elsa’s shoulder became damp with tears. “Hey
 Anna
 what’s going on? What happened today?”

Anna pulled back, her palms on Elsa’s biceps as her lips trembled, her eyes rapidly looking at Elsa’s. “I- it- it was just a rough day, you know? Lots of - lots of stuff happened, had a rough meeting.” She dropped her eyes towards her hands, still on Elsa’s arms. “I’m sorry, it’s
 I’m being silly, I know. It’s nothing, really.”

“This isn’t nothing, Anna. You may not be my sister here, but I know when someone’s troubled, when something’s eating at a person.” She touched a finger under Anna’s chin, gently lifting her head up. “My Anna taught me that, you know. You both have such big hearts and know exactly when something’s not right. And I’m telling you, something’s not right.”

“It’s nothing, really. Can- can we talk about something else for a little while, Elsa? Please?”

Elsa nodded. “All right. I’ve been meaning to ask you about something, but I didn’t have a chance to during lunch. Can you come into the bedroom for a moment?” At Anna’s wide-eyed expression, Elsa’s hand shot to her mouth, covering it. “Not- not like that! I mean, I didn’t mean to imply that! Sorry!”

Both women giggled for a few moments before Elsa led Anna to the bedroom, sitting her down on the bed. “I don’t know what kind of relationship you have with your Elsa, not in depth, but one of the things my Anna and I agreed on after my coronation is no more secrets, no more hiding. I couldn’t shut her out, wouldn’t shut her out. I promised to tell her everything - maybe not immediately, but always at some point.” She took a deep breath as Anna watched her, an eyebrow subtly raised just a touch. “While I was getting ready today, I stumbled on something, so I wanted to tell you and apologize if it was private. Just like I won’t hide anything from her, I won’t hide anything from you.”

Anna turned her head to the side a little, looking very quickly at her dresser before turning back to face Elsa, who hadn’t noticed as she was staring at her feet.

“Can
 can I see it?”

“See what, Elsa?” Anna asked after a long moment.

“The jewelry!”

Anna’s brow furrowed. “What jewelry, Elsa? I don’t really have any jewelry.”

Elsa pointed at the dresser. “The jewelry safe you have in your dresser. I saw it earlier, the one that’s bolted down.”

Anna paled and her mouth opened and closed like a goldfish for a few moments. Her hands gripped the blanket on the bed, crumpling it up in her fists until her knuckles turned white. She had hidden the safe carefully in the far back of the dresser, to avoid anyone finding it, covering it with clothing. Her Elsa had such different fashion tastes that they rarely shared any clothing, and Elsa wouldn’t have been digging around in the back of the wardrobe.

She took a deep breath to settle herself a little. “It’s
 not a jewelry safe.” She weighed how much of the truth to tell this Elsa, how much of her real story to share. As she mulled over her choices, Elsa tilted her head, waiting expectantly.

“It’s
 I’ll show you.” She walked over to the dresser, pulled the clothing aside, and revealed the box that Elsa had found earlier. Anna pressed her palm against the black square and the box beeped, recognizing her handprint. A gentle whirring of gears echoed off the walls of the wardrobe as the box lid popped open.

Elsa looked inside. “What
 Anna, that
 that is definitely not jewelry. Is that
?”

“It is. That’s my sidearm.”

Elsa was no stranger to firearms; a salesman from Samuel Colt had visited the kingdom, offering to sell Arendelle several large shipments of rifles and their new revolvers once she’d opened up the gates to the outside world. While this appeared to be different than a revolver, its overall purpose and design was unmistakable.

“Why do you have a sidearm?”

Anna sat down gracelessly on the bed, almost flopping onto it. “You said no secrets with your Anna?” She was given a silent nod. “My Elsa and I have
 a different relationship. Not a bad one, not at all. We love each other, but we agreed early on we’d also have our own lives, have things we did separately. We didn’t want to end up codependent.”

She thought back to the first year of their relationship. After the heady whirlwind that was always new love, they’d settled into a routine of sorts. Elsa had graduated from college and headed for Boston University’s law school as Anna went through her undergraduate degree. Anna majored in English, but unlike her peers who went into journalism or public relations, she was recruited for her communications and persuasion skills by what had first appeared to be a business, but turned out to be the clandestine service of a US Government agency.

As Anna recounted her past, Elsa’s eyebrows rose almost to her hairline. “So, after a few years in the Professional Trainee program, I became an operations officer. I was able to stay stationed here in the local office, and Elsa and I were able to settle down.”

“Why haven’t you told her any of this?”

“We were warned from the very beginning that people in the National Clandestine Services needed to keep things quiet. Our families and loved ones could become targets of our enemies, so better that no one knows what we really do,” she said, her hand hesitantly reaching out for Elsa’s.

Elsa caught the motion and clasped Anna’s hand, eliciting a sigh of relief from the woman. “And the ad agency?”

Anna gave a soft smile. “That’s real. It’s a real company, I have a real job there, but my boss is also my supervising officer. The agency is actually pretty decent; we’ve won a few awards here and there. But more important, agency life is well suited for my line of work. I can get on a plane and leave at a moment’s notice and just claim it as a sales pitch or an emergency client meeting, and no one questions it.”

Elsa scooted over and wrapped an arm around Anna’s waist, letting the woman rest her head on Elsa’s shoulder and lean into her. “Why tell me, then?”

“Because of the way you look at me, baby.” Anna gently stroked a finger up and down Elsa’s thigh. “You
 when you look at me, I see an unbreakable love and an unshakeable trust in your eyes. I
 I couldn’t lie to you, especially after you told me how you and your Anna are.” She looked up, tears pooling in her eyes. “I wish I had that with my Elsa.”

“Why don’t you?” Elsa asked softly, pulling Anna closer.

“I don’t know. I just feel like
 maybe we got too comfortable? Maybe we wanted to be too comfortable? We don’t fight, we hardly disagree, but
 we aren’t as close as we used to be. I thought it was just the stress of her trying to make it to partner, and me running all over the place for work but
 with you here this week, it’s made me realize just how much we’ve changed. How much I’ve changed, how much I
 hide. And I don’t want that, not any more.” Anna shuddered, struggling not to burst into tears. “I’m so tired of lying to you.”

Elsa stroked her fingers through Anna’s hair with her free hand, pulling Anna’s head close to let her cry. “You’re less carefree than my Anna, you know. Less impulsive. Maybe it’s just because you are a decade older than her, or the stress of your job. But I think it might be that you and your Elsa need to find your love again. You said the other night you don’t go for walks as much. And
 you murmured this morning that
” Elsa blushed at the memory of Anna’s hands groping her, “that you aren’t as intimate either. Maybe you need to remind each other of who you really are, who you fell in love with.”

“For someone who’s a decade younger than me, you’re an awfully wise woman,” Anna sniffled. She tilted her head up and softly pressed her lips against Elsa’s, and to her great surprise, Elsa didn’t pull away. Anna savored how soft and cool Elsa’s skin felt, a wonderful contrast to the warmth of her lips, and she pressed her palm against Elsa’s thigh as she deepened the kiss.

After a few heated moments, Anna pulled away and caught her breath. She craved this, the connection, the heat, the tentative gentleness that masked volcanic passion. She was equally surprised to see Elsa next to her, cheeks flushed, eyes closed, as though she were savoring the experience, rather than be unsettled by it. “Are
 you okay with this, Elsa?” she whispered.

“I
 I am. I didn’t think I would be but
 you’re not my Anna, my sister. You’re your own person, and
 I finally realize that now. You’re unique in your own right,” Elsa murmured, cupping Anna’s cheek with her palm. “And you’re beautiful.”

Anna’s breath hitched as Elsa’s words washed over her like a tidal wave. Was it possible that this Elsa felt something for her that was more than sororal affection? Before she could react, Elsa took the initiative and leaned down to kiss her lips again, and all other conscious thought ceased.

Author’s Notes

The usage of the term hot to mean sexually attractive only dates back to 1926, according to the OED.

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Chapter 9: Killer Frost

Summary:

She closed her eyes and shivered. *Elsa*, she thought, not even sure which Elsa she was thinking of, *I love you.*

Chapter Text

Chapter 9: Killer Frost

Anna woke minutes before her alarm to find a pair of arms around her midsection and a very warm, very soft body pressed against her back. As the haze of sleep lifted, she remembered where she was - and who was behind her. She turned her head, her chin brushing her shoulder, to see Elsa sleeping peacefully behind her. Elsa was dressed in her favorite maroon robe, though one side had come loose, revealing her right shoulder. Memories of the previous evening swarmed around her mind like fireflies; tearful confessions, secrets, and then kissing
 and more than kissing. Hands roamed, though Elsa’s clothes never went anywhere.

What am I to her? Anna asked herself. Clearly more than just someone in her sister’s image. She cares about me as
 me.

She turned back, looking at her nightstand as she bit her lower lip. What is she to me? She’s more than someone who looks like my wife. She’s
 someone I think I could love just as much as my wife. Fuck. And she’s so much younger than me. Oh god? Am I having a midlife crisis already? Anna’s stomach churned slightly at the thought. Am I cheating on Elsa
 with Elsa?

Before she could contemplate the crazy dynamics of the relationship, her smartphone’s alarm went off, Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance blaring from the tiny speakers. She reached for the nightstand and managed to grab her phone just as Elsa began to stir. “Hey baby, it’s okay. Go back to sleep,” she murmured, threading her fingers through the blonde’s bangs and gently kissing her forehead.

Anna quietly rolled out of bed and got dressed, gazing fondly at the slumbering woman still in bed. Her fingers tingled as memories of touching Elsa gently washed over her, the coolness of her skin unforgettable. Whatever their status was, whatever they were to each other, she couldn’t deny that having such closeness with Elsa again - her Elsa or not - was like a bottle - no, an oasis of ice water in the desert.

Slipping out of the bedroom, Anna waddled to the kitchen and popped an espresso pod in the shiny silver machine on the counter. Moments later, she sat on one of the bar stools, scrolling through her inbox and sipping her espresso, looking for what the day would bring as she forced her feelings for Elsa down for the moment.

Dread settled in her stomach like she’d swallowed a bowl full of gravel as she remembered the emergency meeting her team had the previous day. Rumor of a terrorist group that was trying to acquire a chemical weapon was what had set the office abuzz; informants had credible evidence that such a weapon existed and that a terrorist organization intended to set it off in the city, likely killing or severely injuring everyone who lived within the city limits.

She looked towards the bedroom door, still able to see Elsa slumbering. Whether this is permanent or not, whether you’re my wife or not, I have to keep you safe. She gulped the rest of her espresso shot, grabbed her keys and backpack, and headed out for the day.


“Beck!” her supervising officer called to her moments after she got to her desk, gesturing towards the conference room. “Quick all-hands meeting, come on.” She sighed, grabbed her second cup of coffee for the morning, and headed into the secure conference room in the back of the office, swiping her badge at the door.

Once the staff was settled in, the glass conference room windows snapped to opaque black, blotting out the world, and the subtle red LED highlights that bordered the ceiling of the room turned green, indicating that signal jamming was on. Her supervising officer, known in the agency as Dusty but for those in the Clandestine Service as Lt. Colonel Dustin Mattias, stood at the front of the room.

“Thank you all for coming in so quickly, especially those of you who had to travel in this morning,” he said, his rich, mellifluous voice filling the conference room with warmth as the dozen people around the table sat back in their chairs, tablets in hand. “As you know, we had a rumor yesterday of a terrorist group potentially in possession of a chemical weapon.” Mattias gestured towards the wall as a large screen TV lit up, showing surveillance video from the docks near the Conley cargo ship terminal.

“What you see here is at least partial confirmation of that rumor. A cargo ship arrived yesterday from Europe with at least one container aboard that wasn’t on any manifest,” he said, clicking through the photographs taken of the ship and crew offloading standard-size cargo containers, like giant Lego blocks. “Our sources indicated that this container here, numbered X1750, was offloaded without any of the normal processes.”

Video footage definitely indicated something was unusual about the container. Despite the standard markings for a cargo container, it appeared heavier than normal and had what looked like substantial climate control hardware on the end, ventilation ducts protruding from the side. Anna took careful notes, focusing on the markings on the container. She lightly chewed on the end of her stylus.

“This particular container’s last known location was in Denmark. Our sources indicate it was loaded, without any of the correct paperwork, on this cargo ship 22 days ago. Thermal scans indicate it has far more cooling equipment than standard for any cargo container, and if this is a chemical weapon, keeping it cool and stable would be essential for getting it to its destination. We need to verify the contents of that container.”

Anna looked down at her tablet, seeing the cargo manifest for the container, and her eyes bulged. The container’s registry indicated it was purchased by the Southern Isles Trading Company - SITC, one of Elsa’s clients. “Dusty, do we know for sure that the container came from SITC?” she asked, a slight quaver in her voice.

Mattias nodded, changing the screen to show a cluster of red-headed men standing outside of a large warehouse. “Security footage puts the container’s origin at this facility here, an SITC warehouse in Aarhus, the largest port in Denmark. Facial recognition identified these three guys as part of the Westergaard family, the owners of the company.” He changed slides to a floor plan of the Boston shipping terminal. “Ok, here’s the plan. Anna, you’ll take a team down to the terminal under the guise of being customs inspectors. We need positive identification of the contents of the container. Once you get on site, clear out everyone and then your HAZMAT gear on. Jim, Mary, you’ll back her up. The intel team will try to trace who the acquiring party is supposed to be on this end-“

Anna raised her hand. “Dusty, I think I might have a source for some of that. Can Jim lead the team while I run it down? It’s local.”

Mattias nodded. “Yeah, this is a simple sneak and peek, that should be no problem. Jim, you’ll take the lead. Timmy, you’re on backup. Who’s the source, Anna?”

“My wife’s law firm,” Anna grimaced. “Elsa was saying she met with someone from SITC the other day about a ship that had an accident in transit.”

“Good. I mean, not good that it’s entangled with your wife, but good that it’s a local source that we can chase down quickly. Time is of the essence.” He turned to face the room as a whole. “All right, folks. You know what to do, let’s get it done. Everyone’s on comms; keep me apprised of your findings.” The 12 staffers in the room all stood up at once, gathered their belongings, and left to get their tasks done.


Anna sat in the posh lobby of Klein & Gabler, waiting for Elsa’s intern Maggie to come get her. The petite Chinese woman rounded the corner, arms full of file folders, and struggled to wave slightly. “Mrs. Beck! Is everything okay? Elsa didn’t mention you’d be stopping by.”

Anna’s chest tightened and her face heated, shame suffusing her with what she was about to do. “Yeah, uh, she’s at home, taking some time off. You know, the whole head injury thing. And she sent me over to pick up a few things for her.” Anna pulled out a sticky note that she’d intentionally wrinkled up, as though it had been in her pocket all day. “Uh, she wanted some of the files for the
” she turned the note on its side, pretending to struggle reading it, “STIC case? SITC case?”

Maggie smiled. “Sure thing! In fact, I was just collating the most recent notes on my way from another meeting.” She unceremoniously dumped all the folders on the leather armchair and began to riffle through them. “Ah, here it is, this is the SITC file. Do you need me to get you a bag or something? I’m sure I can find a used takeout bag in the kitchen.”

“No, I’m all set, I’ll just put it in my backpack so it stays safe. Thanks, Maggie!” Anna hurried out of the office as quickly as she could without attracting attention, knowing that Elsa would still be at home. She stepped out of the elevator at the ground floor and



 walked straight into Elsa.

“What are you doing here?” they both asked in shock. Anna recovered first, shaking her head slightly. “You’re supposed to be at home, taking some time off,” she said, clutching the straps of her backpack tightly, her knuckles white.

“I thought I’d take a few hours to explore the city, and I needed a water closet, so I figured it would be safest to use one at the law firm, since I know where that is,” Elsa said, scrunching her brow. “What are you doing here?”

“I
” Anna thought for a moment, remembering what she’d confessed in tears the previous night. No more lies. I can’t lie to her. She doesn’t deserve it. As she made her decision, she set her jaw and exhaled. “I can’t tell you here. Let’s find a place to talk, and I promise I’ll explain.” She led Elsa by the forearm to a cafe across the street from the law firm, and stepped into a wall of noise.

Baristas pulled shot after shot, shouting customers’ names. Patrons clustered around tables and a standing bar, having conversations with each other, talking into Bluetooth headset, pushing past each other. The noise level was just below a dull roar, which was what Anna was looking for. Hiding in plain sight, in a room that no one could easily monitor, was perfect.

“This is your idea of a place to talk?” Elsa shouted over the din, her elbows close to her side as she struggled to avoid running into people. Anna nodded wordlessly and took Elsa by the hand to a table in the back of the CafĂ© where the noise was slightly lower.

“Almost no chance of someone overhearing us here,” she smiled briefly, then looked into Elsa’s eyes intently. “I was stopping by your office because I needed some information on SITC and I knew your office had dealt with them, especially about shipping stuff. Do you know any of these people?” Anna asked, holding out the tablet with the photo of the Westergaard family.

Elsa practically hissed, looking at the photo with a scowl. “I don’t know how much help this will be in this world, but that’s Carl, Frederik, and Hans. Hans is the youngest of King Georg’s 13 sons - he’s the one who tried to kill us in my time. In this world, he goes by Jay. I just met with him yesterday.”

“Here, they’re a shipping magnate family based out of Denmark.” Anna shared the basic details about the investigation and the suspicions that SITC might be smuggling weapons into the city. Elsa’s eyes widened at the thought of a weapon - any kind of weapon - that could kill an entire city.

“Of course Hans is mixed up in some kind of shady business. I should have known that from the start,” she spat, disgusted at the fact that some things never change. “So
 you’re trying to find out based on what the law firm was working on whether there’s a connection to this secret weapon?” Elsa asked as she riffled through the papers Maggie had put together.

“Yes, and-” Anna’s phone made a high-pitched beeping sound, and she quickly fished it out of her pocket and put it on the table, screen up. She hunched over it to obscure the screen from anyone else nearby as Elsa leaned against her shoulder to see. After a couple seconds of interference, the video cleared up and it became apparent they were watching a team of people arriving at the container from someone’s body camera.

Anna tapped her right ear to turn on her communications and immediately heard the NCS team opening the container. Agents had surrounded it, as a specialist cut the lock on the container with a welding torch. Elsa hugged Anna’s elbow as they watched the team work. Inside the container, vapor condensed, temporarily blinding the camera with fog.

Anna squeezed Elsa’s hand as the fog cleared, revealing a small chamber that was sturdily reinforced, like a giant bank safe. She started to narrate for Elsa what the team was saying on their radio. “They’ve found the weapon container. They
 they’re not sure of the power source. Temperature inside is -25 degrees, plenty cold. Jim - he’s the guy leading the team - says the thing looks like it’s pretty sturdy. They’re looking for traps now, going to see if they can open it up safely.”

“They’re going to
 wait, something’s happening.” On the screen, people in white head-to-toe suits began to run around, many of them reaching for their guns. Anna shook her head; the radio in her ear was suddenly filled with many voices shouting at the same time. “Something’s wrong. I hear
 shit, I hear gunfire, Elsa. Someone else is there shooting at my team!”

They both watched in horror as the team leader fell to the ground, obviously injured. The video turned sideways, and they saw glimpses of soldiers in dark blue uniforms running past the fallen leader. “Who is that? Shit, I
 I need to go help them, Elsa. They’re in trouble, and they’re less than a mile from here.”

Elsa stood up quickly and helped gather Anna’s papers into her backpack. “I’ll help you.”

“No, Elsa, it’s too dangerous. These
 whoever this is, they’re not playing around. They’re shooting to kill. I- I can’t risk having you get hurt.”

Elsa rubbed Anna’s arm softly and leaned over, her lips just barely brushing the shell of Anna’s ear. “I’ll help you with my powers. I’ll be safe - and I’ll make sure you’re safe too. Trust me, Anna.” Elsa squeezed her forearm.

Anna looked up to see Elsa’s eyes boring into hers and nodded ever so slightly. They ran out the door of the coffee shop together.


A mile’s sprint later, the two women stood at the perimeter of the shipping terminal, leaning against the wall of a shipping container. The containers formed almost a maze, filling Anna with anxiety. Around every corner could be one or more shooters. “Fuck, I wish I had my body armor. This is going to be messy, Elsa. Stay behind me as best as you can.”

“Armor?”

“Yeah, to stop the bullets. You saw the video, these guys are packing, big time. Mine is at my office; I didn’t think I’d need it to- hey!” she exclaimed, looking down at her body. Ice began to form on her clothes, growing quickly into what looked like heavy plate armor from a museum. “Will
 will this actually work?” she wondered aloud, looking at the heft and thickness of the ice, a beautiful pure white like snow. As she turned her head towards Elsa, she saw the same pattern weaving itself over Elsa. In moments, they’d transformed into European knights in armor. “Okay
 let’s hope this works. Here we go.”

Anna ran into the labyrinth of containers. Just as she turned a corner, a staccato burst of machine gun fire hit the edge of the container, sending sparks flying as she dove for cover. She felt a dull thump in her left arm and found the bullet lodged in the surface of the ice. Shock gave way to elation as she practically buzzed. “It’s working, Elsa! It’s working!”

Elsa nodded and smiled, her eyes narrowed and her forehead wrinkled as she channeled more of her magic to reinforce and harden the ice further. The ice had stopped the bullet, but cracked slightly, so she pushed her power into the ice, making it more dense. The armor changed from white to a sky blue color. “Where do we need to go?” she asked.

“The container we care about is straight ahead, but I don’t know how many bad guys there are between here and there. Jim’s video is still on even though he’s down and I counted at least 10 sets of boots running by
 the odds kind of suck, not gonna lie.” Anna pulled two more magazines out of her backpack as her guts churned. She had enough ammunition to take down a couple dozen folks but only if every shot hit someone. And she couldn’t let the bomb go off or get taken away, so waiting for backup wasn’t an option.

As soon as she peeked around the corner of a container, a hailstorm of bullets struck the metal, more sparks and bullet fragments spraying everywhere. Two more bullets struck her ice armor, leaving tiny cracks that sealed up again immediately. “Shit! We’re pinned down here.” Anna reached under the icy helm and tapped her earpiece, opening communications to her command team. “Hey Dusty, I’ve got eyes on the bad guys but I’m pinned down. Probably 10 hostiles, and I think they’ve secured the bomb. What’s it looking like for backup?”

Her earpiece squawked to life, Mattias’ voice loud and clear. “Anna, you’re all we’ve got right now. I’ve got an ops team about 10 minutes away - that’s the best I can do. See if you can hold them off and keep them from leaving until then, okay?”

Anna shook her head, grunting. “Dusty, in 10 minutes I’m going to be a smear on the ground if I don’t get some help. Ten to-“ she looked over her shoulder, making a snap decision, “Ten to one odds really suck, you know?” She tapped her earpiece to mute her microphone. Elsa arched an eyebrow as Anna spoke.

“Why didn’t you tell him-” Elsa started.

“Because we’re a covert government agency, and if they get wind of your powers, they’re going to want to study you like an animal in a zoo, and
 I’m not ready to lose you just yet. So
 we do this quietly, okay?” Anna clasped Elsa’s shoulder.

Elsa smiled. “So much for sending an army of heavily armed snow golems, then.”

“You can do that?” Anna squeaked, before flinching as another round of bullets clattered off the container door.

Elsa gave a faint smile. “Okay. I think I know a way we can do this that won’t give away my secret. Don’t move, okay?” Anna’s nod was the confirmation she needed and she raised her hands to the sky. In moments, a cold wind began to blow through the cargo containers, the metal behemoths creaking as the temperature plummeted. Clouds gathered overhead, blotting out the sun, and fat flakes of snow began to fall.

Even inside her armor, Anna began to shiver. She couldn’t see a thing; the snow was so dense and driving that it obscured her vision. Smiling inside her icy helm, she realized their attackers were probably in much worse shape; while snow in Boston wasn’t uncommon, blizzards with subzero temperatures certainly were. “Elsa!” she shouted to be heard over the driving wind, “I don’t know how many of my team is still alive, so don’t kill anyone, okay?”

Snow fell faster and harder, now up to her knees, before Anna realized Elsa was no longer beside her. Anna shook her head; Elsa’s powers were astonishing, and if she was honest with herself, a tiny bit frightening. She started to trudge forward towards the container with the bomb when the snow suddenly stopped and the air cleared.

Anna gasped at the sight. All along the walk, attackers wielding machine guns were frozen solid, encased in ice and unconscious, their lips blue. Their guns were pointed at the ground; however Elsa had done it, they didn’t even have time to react. She counted at least 15 enemy soldiers in various states of suspended animation; their bodies reminded her of the exhibit at the Museum of Science about Pompeii, the final victims frozen in place forever.

“They’re alive,” Elsa murmured, her eyes closed as she pulled her magic back, the snow rising into the air and floating away. “They’re just very cold right now. One of your team is still alive, around the corner. He was bleeding heavily from a wound to his leg, so I froze him as well. That should buy some time to get him to a doctor.” She sighed heavily and opened her eyes, an azure glow slowly fading from them.

“H-how long will the ice hold?” Anna practically whispered, her eyes fixed on the statues as she caught her breath.

“An hour at least. Plenty of time for your coworkers to get here and help us.”

They stepped forward to the container they were looking for and found Timmy, the junior-most member of Anna’s team, sagged against the container wall, gasping for breath. The door hinges of the container appeared to have been totally shattered by gunfire. “A
anna,” the young man wheezed, spit and blood flecking an absurdly thin goatee. “Timer
 ticking
 three minutes
” he struggled to say before passing out. Elsa knelt down beside him, laying him down as his blood coated her hands.

“He’s been shot, Anna, in the stomach. I’ll- I’ll see what I can do.” She touched the wound and encased the soldier in ice, chilling his body into induced hypothermia, and dragged him out of the container.

“Elsa
 we have a bigger problem,” Anna choked. “Look.” She pointed at the bomb container, which had been opened up by the attackers. Inside was what looked like a giant glass hourglass filled with a swirling green liquid. Several bullets had hit the casing around the glass, including the computer that presumably controlled it, and on the small green screen next to the bomb, a clock was counting down. Two minutes, thirty-five seconds to go.

“Oh fuck me sideways,” Anna spat, tapping her earpiece again as Elsa’s head whipped around. “Dusty, you there?”

“Five by five, Anna. Are you okay? We had some strange readings and the cameras on the perimeter got knocked out for a bit, but we’re back online. None of the cameras inside are working, I’m guessing the bad guys shot them out. What’s your status?” came Mattias’ voice.

“I’m okay, we got 15 bad guys down, 2 of ours wounded, 3 down, and a really big fucking problem, Dusty. The bomb’s armed, and it’s got two and a half minutes to go. How soon is that backup going to be here, and please tell me bomb disposal’s with them,” her voice shook as she vomited out her words, her eyes fixed on the display’s numbers. She felt a cool hand slip into hers and squeezed it for strength.

The long sigh Anna heard on the other end of the line nauseated her. She knew what he was about to say. “Fuck, Anna. Bomb disposal’s on the way but there’s no way they’ll get to you in time. We’re fucked. Once that thing detonates, it’s going to create a lethal cloud of whatever’s inside.” Mattias’ voice lamented.

Anna could hear him yelling excitedly in the background before he came back on comms. “Anna - what does it look like?”

“Like a giant green margarita from hell!” she shouted, seeing the timer hit the two minute mark. “120 seconds left.” Drops of sweat began to bead on her forehead. Not yet, please god, not yet. I haven’t said goodbye to Elsa yet. Please give me one more chance, she prayed silently.

Mattias came back on. “Okay, Doc Pabbie says it’s probably VX gas, so it’s not going to burn, just make a giant cloud of mist from a shockwave blast. He says if you have incendiaries - thermite grenades, that might be enough to incinerate it as is. It’ll fry once it hits 2700 degrees, so if you have thermite, use them all.”

Anna gulped. “Dusty, I don’t have squat except for my pistol, and the container walls look like swiss cheese from the gunfight, so I can’t even close the door.”

“Fuck,” sighed Mattias. “All right, get out of there if you can. Shit. We’re going to need to evacuate whoever we-”

“What about extreme cold?” Elsa asked Anna quietly.

“Who’s that?” Mattias practically shouted into Anna’s ear.

“Uh
 a vigilante showed up
 uhh
 dressed like Killer Frost,” Anna said, cringing at the cheesy reference that she came up with on the spot. “What about extreme cold, Dusty?”

“Who’s Kill-”

“DUSTY! Sixty seconds on the clock. Extreme cold, yes or no?” she shouted.

“I- let me check-”

Anna muted her mic and turned to Elsa, her eyes wide with panic. “There’s no time. Freeze the shit out of it, baby. Cold as you can make it, and surround it in as much ice as you can.”

Elsa reached forward with her hands and a beam of brilliant white light shot from her palms, hitting the glass container. Ice crystals immediately began to form on it as the swirling inside began to slow. Waves of cold pulsed from the glass, causing vapor to condense into fog and slowly fall to the floor. Icicles began to form on the ceiling of the metal container. Elsa strained, grunting, and the swirling inside the glass stopped completely. “Anna
” she gasped, feeling her powers beginning to weaken as she poured all of herself into the beam of frost, “
 get back.”

Anna ran out of the container as ice crystallized around the hourglass, beginning to obscure it. She mentally counted down in her head as the air around her grew thinner and colder, her breath easily visible now.

Three.

Elsa cried out, her powers casting a blinding blue-white light.

Two.

The sound of ice forming, crackling. It reminded Anna of the sound of glaciers calving on a Netflix documentary she’d fallen asleep to once, in her wife’s arms.

One.

Anna wasn’t sure if she imagined it or could actually hear the bomb beeping as it counted down.

She closed her eyes and shivered. Elsa, she thought, not even sure which Elsa she was thinking of, I love you.

Zero.

Author’s Notes

Sorry not sorry for the cliffhanger.

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Chapter 10: Show Yourself

Summary:

Look how happy we are in this picture, she thought to herself. Anna had her eyes half-lidded as Elsa was slipping the ring on her finger, but both were smiling and didn't have a trace of stress or anxiety in their body language or faces. A sudden thought hit her like a bolt of lightning. When did I start thinking about this Anna and me... together as 'we'?

Chapter Text

Chapter 10: Show Yourself

The bomb’s firing mechanism was little more than a tiny Rube Goldberg machine of chemicals and electricity. The timer went off, connecting a circuit between the clock and a wire. The wire sent a current to a small primer, which would catch fire, igniting a secondary charge. That charge would burn hot enough and fast enough to set off a concussive bomb - not heat (which would destroy the chemical), just impact, blowing the nerve gas into a giant, lethal cloud that would cling to the ground, killing everyone it touched.

But instead, the spark landed on the primer which was more than one hundred degrees below zero, and
 nothing happened. The spark fizzled out. The bomb simply sat idle.

And time restarted. Elsa stopped casting her magic, staring at the giant ice cube inside the shipping container. She turned to face Anna. “Is that it-”

And she was promptly slammed into the wall as Anna threw herself at her, simultaneously laughing and crying and plastering Elsa with kisses. She tapped her earpieces off as her arms pulled Elsa against her body and she cried out. “Elsa! I thought I’d lost you. I thought we were going to die, I swear to god!”

For her part, Elsa embraced Anna just as fiercely. “I wasn’t going to let you get hurt, Anna. I wasn’t going to let you die. I love you too much to let you go, for any reason. I’m done with letting things go.” She dispelled their ice armor so she could rub her hands down Anna’s spine and feel Anna’s cheek next to hers.

As tears ran down Anna’s cheeks, her earpiece chimed. She tapped it. “Anna! Cold should work. If you can get it below -51 Celsius, that will work!” Mattias shouted.

Anna managed to laugh, cry, and scoff all at the same time, sounding like a pig with hiccups. “We made it, Dusty! I’m okay, I’m alive. The bomb’s safe. We’re going to need EOD to get rid of it, and we need medics here stat. Jim’s down for sure, Timmy’s in bad shape.”

“You got it, Anna. Teams will be there in 2-3 minutes. Great work, come on in for debrief,” Mattias cheered, the relief in his voice evident. Anna could hear the rest of the team clapping and whistling in the background.

“Elsa,” Anna murmured, letting go of the woman for a moment, “As much as I want you here in my arms, my colleagues are on their way and I need ‘Killer Frost’ the mysterious vigilante to vanish, so they don’t catch you, okay?”

Elsa nodded. “I understand. I’ll
 I’ll meet you at home?”

“I wouldn’t miss it. I don’t know how long my debriefing
 my report will be, but I’ll bring home something to eat, okay?” Anna smiled, her whole body trembling as the adrenaline rush began to wear off.

She watched as the incredible woman sprinted away from the scene of the incident, reflecting on all that had just happened. What had started out as a guilty confession for using her connections to SITC had turned into a demonstration of the most unbelievable powers and capabilities she’d ever seen. None of the cases she’d worked over the years had ever shown that kind of paranormal skill that Elsa had exhibited. Snow golems? Freezing a bomb so cold that it couldn’t detonate? Putting people into cryogenic stasis without thousands of dollars of support equipment?

Anna shook her head as sirens wailed in the distance, slowly approaching her location. Elsa was
 something else. And based on last night and how we woke up this morning
 she’s my something else, I think. She smiled to herself at the thought.


Mattias sat back in the conference room chair. “Well, Anna, that’s one hell of an adventure for a Friday afternoon. And you still have no idea who this Killer Frost was?”

Anna shook her head as she stood at the end of the long table. “No, but I shit you not sir, she was dressed like the character from the CW TV show, head to toe icy blue armor, white hair, the works. Whatever technology she was using, it was advanced as hell. Looked practically like magic,” she said, struggling mightily to keep a straight face, her fingers twitching behind her back as she stood at ease.

“Man, I wouldn’t mind having her on our side on a more permanent basis. That kind of technology could make all our missions a hell of a lot easier. Still,” he stood up, smiling warmly at her, a hand gently laid on her shoulder, “You did it. You more or less single-handedly saved the entire city. Doc Pabbie said there was enough VX gas there to kill everyone in a 20 mile radius easily, and the winds weren’t in our favor today. I’ll be putting you in for an Intelligence Star, and whatever kind of promotion or bonus I can squeeze the beancounters for.”

Anna felt her cheeks warm at the praise as she stood up straighter. “Thank you, sir.”

“Not that I need to tell you, but take the rest of the day off. We’ll start running down the leads on the soldiers you captured and see who they’re working for. It’s not every day you get to save the lives of a million people,” Mattias grinned broadly, his teeth a brilliant white in contrast to his darker skin.

“Let’s hope it’s not every day!” Anna called as she headed out of the room to her desk, practically bouncing.


Elsa stood perfectly still at her dresser in the bedroom, looking at the wedding photo. Her thumb gently brushed the cool metal frame, her stillness belying the swirl of emotions inside her.

The craziness of the day made it such that she wasn’t sure what she felt, save that she was feeling it all at once. After she’d gotten home, the adrenaline crash hit her like an avalanche, and she lay in the doorway of the apartment for half an hour shaking. Once she’d pulled herself together, she went to the bedroom to change clothes, and ended up staring at the dresser.

Look how happy we are in this picture, she thought to herself. Anna had her eyes half-lidded as Elsa was slipping the ring on her finger, but both were smiling and didn’t have a trace of stress or anxiety in their body language or faces. A sudden thought hit her like a bolt of lightning. When did I start thinking about this Anna and me
 together as ‘we’?

Confusion made her feel light-headed, as though she were adrift in the ocean. Am I in love with Anna? She thought back to the events of the day. Waking up after making out with Anna the previous night. Running into her at the office downtown. The closeness in the coffee shop. Pride swelling inside her as she put ice armor over Anna to keep her safe. Anger channeled outwards into a blizzard at the men who dared attack her Anna. Listen to yourself, Elsa. ‘Your Anna’. Not your sister, your Anna.

And the terrible, gut-wrenching fear when Anna panicked at seeing the bomb and the certain death it was to bring. The expression on Anna’s face as she faced her own death broke Elsa’s heart, a mix of regret, sadness, and love all at once. She knew herself well enough after her coronation debacle to know that her emotions dictated the strength of her powers. Love thawed, but fear froze, and she poured all of her fears about losing Anna into the bomb. The ice practically called out to her with its song, colder than anything she’d ever created before.

When the bomb failed to go off, all her fears were made manifest in the cold around the deadly weapon, leaving a vacuum in her heart. The moment Anna hugged her, love flooded over her like the breaking of a dam, and at that moment Elsa knew, beyond doubt.

I’m in love with Anna.

She sat down on the bed abruptly as her mouth tried out those words.

“I’m
 in love with Anna,” she whispered, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

“I’m in love with Anna.” The words demanded to be heard, to be said, bubbling up from her chest, her voice gaining strength.

Warmth and happiness tingled at her toes, at her fingers, all over her. The truth surged through her like a lightning bolt. “I’m in love with Anna!” she exclaimed.

She flopped back on the bed, giggling at herself, surrounding herself in the blankets that had Anna’s scent and inhaling deeply. She wanted to capture every moment, every detail of how she felt, how Anna made her feel. The lengths they would go to save each other. Elsa hugged the pillow on Anna’s side of the bed, holding it tight as she closed her eyes.

Whether minutes or hours passed by, she didn’t know, but the sound of the front door slamming closed woke her.

“Hey baby!” Anna’s voice echoed from the front hall, along with the sounds of crinkling paper bags, “I’m home and I brought some food with me!”

Elsa sleepily wandered into the hall to find Anna with her arms full of a large brown paper sack, along with her usual work stuff. The rich smell of exotic foreign foods wafted in the air, rousing her from sleep’s embrace. “Mmm, Anna, that smells divine. What is it?”

“You’ll see,” Anna laughed, taking the bag to the kitchen and opening it up. She pulled out carton after carton of food, each in little white boxes, nearly a dozen. “Let’s see, we have
 shrimp fried rice, pork lo mein, some wonton soup, crab rangoons, beef and broccoli, General Tso’s chicken, and some ma po tofu.”

Elsa tilted her head as she continued to sniff the different aromas. “I don’t recognize any of those dishes - what cuisine is this, anyway?”

“This is American Chinese food!”

“What
 does that mean?”

Anna smiled. “It means it’s Chinese-inspired or themed food, but distinctly American in origin. Most of these dishes you wouldn’t find looking like this if you went to China. Take this,” she indicated, opening up a carton of General Tso’s chicken, “This is named after a Chinese general who lived
 actually, at the same time as you, now that I think about it. But neither he nor anyone he knew would have ever eaten food that looks like this. See this broccoli?”

“That’s Sicilian broccoli! It arrived in Arendelle about a hundred years ago, according to historical records, from travelers from what’s known as the Kingdom of Two Sicilies today. I mean, my today, not your today.”

“Wait, you mean Italy?”

“What’s Italy?”

Anna dug out her phone and after two minutes of Googling realized that Italy as she knew it in the modern era wouldn’t exist for Elsa for another 29 years. “Wow
 this time thing still messes with my head even after almost a week,” she grinned. “Anyway! China didn’t have Italian- Sicilian broccoli back in your time, so this dish is purely an American invention. Which, since it’s fried chicken in a sugary sauce, is totally an American thing to do anyway.”

Elsa took a tentative bite of the sweet, crunchy chicken and looked at Anna, her eyes wide. “What
 that’s so bizarre, Anna! It’s like a dessert and an entree at the same time!”

“Isn’t it good? It’s one of my favorites. So bad for you, but so delicious,” Anna commented, taking another piece straight out of the carton with her fingers. “Let me get some beer to go with this magnificent feast.”

After consuming an unhealthy amount of the Chinese food and several beers while sitting on the floor of the living room, Anna turned on the TV. Their escapades made the evening news after a fashion, with the broadcaster commenting on the unusual, short burst of winter weather in the middle of April.

“Hey Elsa
” Anna asked, turning down the TV volume as the blonde looked her way. “How big could that storm have gotten, if you’d really wanted to go all out?” She’d been wondering since Elsa had first demonstrated her powers in the alleyway. Just how strong is this woman?

Elsa looked down at her hands for a brief moment, remembering her coronation, her face heating slightly with shame at her memories, even still. “I could have put everything within a hundred miles into a deep, enduring winter in minutes. The harbor, frozen over. Feet of snow, icy cold weather, crops destroyed. I- I’ve done it before, by accident.”

“Your coronation. I remember you told me about that a few days ago.” Anna mulled over the possibilities. If Elsa was going to stick around
 there were some situations where her skills could definitely be useful. She idly picked up a fortune cookie, cracking it open and pulling out the fortune inside.

“What
 is that?” Elsa asked, staring at the tiny slip of paper and grateful for the subject change. “You put paper in your pastries?”

Anna chuckled. “It- it’s a long story. But these cookies have fortunes in them, little quotes and quips and stuff. Here, this one says,” she pauses to orient it the correct way, “Love can last a lifetime, if you want it to. Well, that’s certainly poetic and appropriate, given the circumstances. What’s yours say?”

Elsa followed Anna’s lead, removing the cookie from the plastic wrapping and snapping it in half to reveal the scrap of paper inside. She read it to herself quietly, her cheeks turning red. “Ahem. Do
 do you have to read these things aloud?”

“No, you don’t have to
 here, let me see it.” She reached over, and Elsa dodged her hands, pulling the fortune close to her chest. Anna grinned toothily, accepting the challenge, and chased Elsa around the coffee table, over the armchair, around the kitchen, and finally managed to tackle her onto the couch.

Giggling gave way to pregnant pauses as Elsa looked into Anna’s teal eyes, seeing the tiny crow’s feet around her eyes as she smiled. Elsa slowly reached a hand up, gently clasping the back of Anna’s head and pulling her down into a soft kiss.

Elsa deepened the kiss, pressing her lips against Anna’s, threading her fingers through her rich auburn hair, flecked with just the barest hints of silver as she savored Anna’s body resting atop her, warmth surrounding her. She murmured something quietly.

“What was that, baby?” Anna asked, propping herself up on one arm.

“I
 I’m telling you,” Elsa whispered.

“Telling me what?”

Elsa wordlessly handed the fortune to her.

“You
 you really mean it, Elsa?” she asked softly after a few moments, tears pooling in her eyes as she cupped Elsa’s cheek.

Elsa’s lips trembled as she nodded.

In a sudden rush, Anna embraced Elsa as though she were a life preserver in the roughest seas, clinging onto her for dear life as she shuddered with sobs of happiness.

The fortune fluttered gently to the floor, printed side up.

“If you love someone, tell them before it’s too late”

Author’s Notes

A nice fluffy break.

I didn’t realize just how fragmented Italy’s history was until I started reading up on this story. The country we know as Italy is a relatively new invention.

General Zuo Zongtang was a real person, known for his military exploits. He lived from 1812-1885, so he was contemporaneous with the canon Frozen period, though his military renown began after Frozen II, in 1850. The dish named in his honor was created in 1952 by Chinese chef Peng Chang-Kuei, and was served in the 1970s, and the general would never have had any dish like it back in the 1800s in China. Fried chicken is definitely an American thing.

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Chapter 11: Playing Tourist

Summary:

Anna sighed heavily. "I... all right. I just... I'm not ready, Elsa. I feel like I've just gotten to know you, really, and there..." She paused to catch her breath and suppress her tears. "There's still so much more I want to experience with you."

Chapter Text

Chapter 11: Playing Tourist

How fast things change, Elsa thought, laying in bed as Anna’s arm lay over her midsection. A few days ago, I wasn’t sure I wanted Anna holding onto me, especially since she sleeps in the nude, and now I can’t abide the thought of being without her touching me. She rolled over to watch Anna sleep, the woman’s breathing soft and deep.

Elsa chuckled quietly; this Anna was a decade older than hers but still drooled in her sleep, her hair still a wild, tangled mane. She gently smoothed a bit of Anna’s hair, memories of the previous evening drifting through her mind like little origami sailboats leisurely floating on a pond.

Anna kissing her on the couch.

Anna exploring her body, rough, callused hands everywhere.

Anna making love to her.

Elsa moved to lay on her back, staring at the ceiling, wondering how she could have changed so much, so fast. Was I always in love with Anna? Not this Anna, but my sister? Is that possible? Is that why this was so easy and carefree? She idly drew circles on her own belly with her fingertips, retracing the memory of Anna’s fingers as she stared at the ceiling, contemplating their relationship. This was her first experience of any kind with physical intimacy. She’d never felt much of a calling to her own body for most of her life; for her formative years, she feared it and her powers more than anything, and even after her coronation and awakening, she never longed for much more than the sororal affection her Anna shared with her.

This Anna
 this Anna brought her to places she’d never expected to go in her entire lifetime, and more importantly, she hadn’t lost control of her powers at all, even at the apex of her orgasms. The thought brought a smile to her face. Love really does thaw, I suppose.

Anna rolled over to face Elsa, dragging the blankets with her and snoring like a warthog before coughing herself awake. “Hey baby,” she murmured, sleepily hugging Elsa and basking in the warmth of her love once more. She captured one of Elsa’s hands and slowly traced figure eights around the knuckles with her thumb. Anna savored the feeling of Elsa not only next to her, but intimately close to her again.

She hadn’t been entirely forthright with this Elsa about her marriage. Some days she woke wondering whether her Elsa actually loved her, or just loved the idea of being in love. Their last fight before all the chaos of the past week was whether Elsa even wanted to be a partner at the firm or not; Anna was pushing to have her wife evaluate whether she wanted to make partner because the work was more rewarding, or she just wanted the title, was in love with the idea of being a partner. Their fight ended up with Elsa working late, and the next morning
 she’d vanished, replaced by this Elsa.

A dark thought drifted through her waking consciousness. Only a few days ago, she was wishing for her Elsa back, but after yesterday
 after last night
 she asked herself how she’d feel if this arrangement were permanent, if this Elsa was stuck in this time period, and
 she didn’t hate the idea. In fact, they’d had more spark, more flame than she’d had with her Elsa in months, maybe even years. If this Elsa became her Elsa, she could live with that.

And that thought made her throat tight and her stomach churn, guilt swirling inside her. This
 circumstance, wasn’t the way things were supposed to be. Good or bad, her Elsa belonged with her, and this Elsa belonged back in Arendelle in 1845. Somehow, things had to be made right again, even if it meant possibly breaking her heart once more.

Anna stuffed her ruminations back into her subconscious like an uncomfortable shirt gets shoved to the back of a drawer, and craned her neck to kiss Elsa on the nose. She cleared her throat. “Hey baby, did you sleep well?”

Elsa smiled with pinked cheeks. “I did, yes. I was
 very tired after last night.”

“I bet,” Anna giggled. “You were
 amazing.”

Elsa scoffed through her grin. “I had no idea what I was doing. It was you that was amazing, Anna.” She slowly sat up and winced. “I’m okay. Just
 sore in places I’ve never been sore before,” she offered before Anna could worry about her. The slightest bit of dizziness washed over her, but passed quickly.

“You look a little pale, baby. Let’s get some breakfast in you,” Anna soothed, rolling out of bed and tossing an extra long t-shirt on.

Over a breakfast of crepes and fruit, Elsa had expressed a desire to see a few of the city’s sights; for her, seeing anything outside of Arendelle was a treat. Her status as both monarch and magic user meant that she never left the capital much, and certainly not unattended to just freely wander around. Anna grabbed half a loaf of stale bread and practically dragged her out the door with her enthusiasm at playing tourist, starting with the Boston Public Garden, a large park in the middle of downtown.

An hour later, they walked into the lush verdant landscape, starting at the Swan Boats, a popular tourist attraction in which visitors sit in long paddle boats with plastic swan decor as tour guides slowly guide them around the pond, narrating much of Boston’s history. The two sat in the front row of six benches on the boat, as far away from the guide as possible so they could speak without being overheard. Elsa took great delight in nudging Anna any time the tour guide was referring to events that were contemporaneous for her. The City of Boston had legislated its first survey to build the Public Gardens in 1842, completing it 20 years later.

As they drifted along, Anna wrapped an arm around Elsa’s shoulders and leaned her head against the blonde, breathing in her scent. She snuggled against Elsa as fully as she could, hip to hip, thigh to thigh, and laced her fingers with Elsa’s.

Elsa turned her head and gently kissed Anna’s hair. “It’s funny, in my time, we could never be so publicly affectionate,” she murmured. “All of Scandinavia is fairly religious. Arendelle’s more progressive than our neighbors, but still
 it’s nice to be able to be this free. And it’s not just
 because we are women. Everyone’s that restrained.”

“Kind of like a Disney movie, huh?” Anna joked before realizing the reference was totally lost on Elsa.

Elsa closed her eyes, thinking of the bishop at her coronation. As reigning monarch, she was also the head of the church in Arendelle, and her word was as though spoken by the Lord himself. She’d had to dismiss that bishop after he’d insinuated that her powers were in some way unholy, banishing him from the kingdom. She shivered, remembering the harsh whispers he’d spoken behind her back, accusing her of witchcraft and being in league with the Devil. She could only imagine his invective if he’d also known his monarch preferred the company of a woman.

“Hey
 are you okay, baby?” Anna interrupted, feeling the air around Elsa get measurably colder for a moment. She sat up and pressed two fingers gently against the side of Elsa’s jaw, guiding her head forward and pressing their lips together. Elsa sighed happily in response, deepening the kiss and relaxing into Anna’s warm embrace, the sun overhead and fresh air easing away her painful memories.

A few brash honks by the white swans swimming nearby stirred them from their embrace, only to see the swans doing just as much necking as they were. Anna laughed and pulled out her phone, taking a selfie of the two of them. “Here, Elsa. Hand me your phone and I’ll take one for you too,” she grinned. They made a series of silly faces for the camera, ending with Elsa hamming it up by kissing Anna full on the lips, a finger hooked under her jaw.

Anna glanced at the preview images on the phone, nostalgia and affection swirling in her chest. This is how we used to be, she thought, wondering if her Elsa could be like this again with her. She leaned against Elsa again, trying to hide her watery eyes in the blonde’s shoulder.

A few minutes later, they sat at the edge of the shallow pond, unwrapping the stale bread Anna had put in her backpack. Without prompting, several of the white swans began to swim over, recognizing the food the women offered. Anna giggled as one of the swans began to eat bits of bread straight from her hand. “You know,” she murmured, looking around the pond’s edge before settling her eyes on the swans in front of her, “It wasn’t far from here.”

“What wasn’t?”

“Where we got married. On the river itself, on a small riverboat. It was a beautiful day, warm and sunny, with a breeze just like this one to keep the humidity at bay. I felt
 it was so perfect, Elsa, like out of a storybook.” Anna tossed another small piece of bread into the murky water, watching as several swans jostled to seize it in their bright orange beaks. “Do
 you think it will be like that again?” she said softly, watching the swans.

Elsa turned to look at her, one eyebrow arched just slightly. “What do you mean again, Anna?”

Anna blushed. “If
 this is the way things have to be. You, here, with me. I
 it kind of feels that way again, the way it did with my Elsa in the beginning. And
” she choked up, “and I don’t want to squander that feeling or rush it. I
 I was in too much of a rush the first time.”

“You mean
” Elsa covered Anna’s hand with her own, pressing it gently into Anna’s thigh, “Getting married again, sort of?”

“The whole thing, really. New love. Deep love. Engagement. Marriage. Maybe
” she looked down at her lap, hesitant to look into Elsa’s eyes for a moment before exhaling a deep breath, “Maybe even having kids?” The earnest, hopeful look on her face screamed louder than any words, her eyes wide and pupils dilated.

“I’m certainly not opposed to trying, in whatever form that takes, Anna,” she replied, squeezing Anna’s hand. She tried to imagine what that would entail, remembering how gleeful Anna was - her Anna - as a child, always doting on her big sister.

And then squeezing it harder, no longer conveying affection, but discomfort.

“Elsa? What is it?”

A wave of nausea passed over Elsa and she wrapped her free arm around her midsection, clutching her stomach as the knuckles in Anna’s hand went white from the strength of her grip. “I- something’s not right, Anna.”

At that moment, Anna’s phone chimed. She rolled her eyes and fished the phone out of her pocket, swiping it open with her thumb and putting it to her ear. Elsa gripped her hand harder, waiting for the raft of sensations to pass, as she listened to Anna mostly grunt and acknowledge the caller on the other end with single word responses. Within a few moments, Anna disconnected the call and looked at Elsa, her forehead creased and her skin a shade more pale.

Before she could say anything, Elsa interrupted, taking a deep breath to steady herself. “I’m going to guess there’s a strange phenomenon in the sky?”

“How- how did you know that, Elsa? Were you able to hear the conversation with Dusty?” she asked, bewildered.

“I’ve felt these sensations before.” Elsa looked towards the sky, scanning the clear blue for signs of the aurora. “They were
 they preceded the red aurora, Anna.” Inside, she practically screamed to herself. No, not yet! I haven’t had enough time here yet! I just want a little while longer with this Anna.

Anna’s stricken expression indicated she had about the same line of thought, a feeling like her stomach was filled with rocks. “How
 how long do we have, Elsa?” she bemoaned quietly, turning to look at the afternoon sun reflecting on the pond.

“I don’t know
 not long enough, Anna,” she cupped Anna’s cheek gently. “Not nearly long enough. Days at most, but probably less. The sensation is much stronger this time. And
” she looked into teal eyes in front of her, “I’m not ready to go. I love you, Anna. I don’t want to let go of you,” she murmured, a tear running down her cheek.

“Then let’s make the most of it, my love,” Anna pulled her to her feet as she scrubbed the tears from her own cheeks and let out a shaky giggle. “Samurai Express?”

Elsa shook her head. “I finally got used to this phone and all these ‘apps’ on it, and I found one nearby called No. 9 Park. It looks interesting- French food and a good wine list. What do you think?” she smiled at Anna, who had turned another shade paler. “Wh- did I say something wrong?”

Anna shook her head vigorously, her twin plaits almost smacking her in the face. “No, no! It- I- just
” her shoulders heaved as she caught her breath. “You have no idea how long I’ve been hinting to my Elsa that I wanted her to take me there for dinner.” She snuggled and reached out, pulling Elsa into a tight embrace. “It’s not fair, Elsa! How is it fair that you’re better than she is and you have to go?”

“Anna, I’m
 I’m not better than she is. I’m not, I really- we’re different people, and we’ve only known each other for a week. It’s been an amazing week, and I love you so incredibly much, but
 I’m not better. I’m not. Different, but not better.” Elsa stood up and brushed herself off. “Come on. Let’s get some dinner, try out this place, and see what happens, all right?”


A few minutes later, they were seated at a small table in the corner of what was effectively an apartment’s living room. No. 9 Park was a fancy French restaurant tucked inside a brownstone townhouse on Boston Common, the large park in the heart of the city. Massive, nearly floor-to-ceiling windows gave diners a chance to watch passersby on the steep, narrow streets. The dining room they were seated in was that casually wealthy look - nothing gaudy or ostentatious, but everything felt subtly expensive. The table linens were smooth and pure white; the crystal chandeliers overhead were tasteful, but a quick look at the crystal and one would recognize the old European handiwork - and price tag.

Anna sat down in the corner chair at the table, cringing inwards slightly. “Elsa
 this place is so expensive! Like, look at the forks! They’re all fancy and stuff,” she whispered across the table.

Elsa laughed, covering her mouth with her hand. Compared to Samurai Express, this restaurant was much more comfortable for her. A European-style restaurant was familiar territory, and her posture reflected her comfort. “Anna, it’s just a casual dinner. There aren’t even fish knives out.” She looked at the table setting, which in her time would have been an exceptionally casual meal, a salad fork and a dinner fork on one side, a single dinner knife and soup spoon on the other. At the palace, a formal dinner would have no fewer than 5 forks, 4 knives, 4 spoons, and 5 glasses at each place setting.

“What’s a fish knife?”

“It’s
 a knife
 you use for your fish course.” Elsa wondered whether the lack of decorum was a modern thing or an American thing. Who doesn’t have a fish knife and fork for a fish course?

She picked up the menu and browsed through the options, a pleasant warmth settling over her. This was just like home; prix fixe menus didn’t need individual prices on everything, so the menu was simply a list of what food was to be served. It reminded her of the beautifully handwritten menus Kai made for dinners, his unique calligraphy and even the occasional illustrations setting the tone for her meals with Anna.

Elsa paused, forgetting the menu in hand. What was happening with her Anna? As much as she felt intense romantic attraction to this Anna in the modern day, she worried for her sister. A thought struck her - what if she wasn’t just gone from her time, but this world’s Elsa was in Arendelle? Anna’s hand touching her forearm startled her out of her reverie.

“Elsa! Are you okay?”

“I- yes, I am. How are you?” she asked, smiling softly.

Anna blushed slightly. “I’m honestly a little out of my element here. We don’t do fancy very much and there’s so much to choose from.” She looked down at her menu, biting her lip. “And I’m not sure what half the words mean on here.”

Elsa scooted her chair a little closer to Anna, feeling the subtle warmth of their forearms next to each other. “Okay, which words?”

The redhead pointed at one of the first course items, a red snapper crudo.

“Crudo? That’s raw in Tuscan - your Italian. Didn’t you learn languages in school?”

“No?” Anna shook her head, looking at Elsa as though she’d just asked if Anna had learned to throw axes in school.

“You
 really? Papa hired tutors to make sure we could speak all the languages of the day - French, of course, because that’s the language of diplomacy. Tuscan, English. Arendelle is a sovereign principality, but we all learn Danish and German; it’s what our neighboring nations speak.”

“Wow,” Anna said, her eyes slightly wider as though starstruck. “Imagine speaking all those languages. So
 what about this? Bavette?”

“Hmm. It’s French for bib. I’m not familiar with the word Wagyu, though. Perhaps we could ask the steward?”

Anna raised her hand halfway, and the server glided over nearly silently.

“How may I help you, miss?”

Anna pointed to her menu. “What’s a wagyu bavette?”

The server, a middle-aged man dressed in a tuxedo and sporting a closely trimmed mustache, cocked his head briefly as he evaluated his patrons. “Ah, that’s a Wagyu flank steak, miss. Seared on cast iron, with a reduced au jus and caramelized onions, along with an organic heirloom potato latke.”

“Ooh, I love a good steak. I’ll have that and, uh
the tagliatelle,” Anna said, practically drooling. She’d wanted to go to No. 9 Park ever since she’d seen a special about it on the local television station about unusual restaurants in Boston, and a restaurant inside an apartment building fit the bill. Of the two, Anna was definitely more adventurous, and having met this Elsa from another world, she wondered if it was something constant in the universe. This Elsa, she mused as she watched her order dinner, was certainly less adventurous because of all the trauma she’d suffered in life thus far.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Elsa interrupted with a slight grin tugging at the corner of her mouth.

Anna laughed, tossing her head back. “You know that expression?”

“I do! It’s been around for quite some time, it would seem. In fact-”

At that moment, the sommelier came over with a bottle of wine for Elsa to inspect. Anna watched her carefully as Elsa inspected the bottle of 2017 Terre Nere Etna Rosso, then swirled a sample the sommelier had poured in the glass. She watched the blonde sniff it, examine the glass, then take a small sip before nodding to the man, who proceeded to pour two glasses.

After he departed, Anna leaned over. “You
 uh, you know what you’re doing with wines? Tasting them, I mean?”

“Yes, I had to learn years ago how to taste wines and judge their quality. Papa said sometimes more gets done in diplomacy over a bottle of wine than a battlefield,” she commented, her focus going soft as she remembered some of Agnar’s early lessons. Even as a young child, she’d listened with rapt attention before her isolation about all the social graces and skills a monarch was expected to have, lessons that had continued even in her isolation, with tutors leaving books and instructions of every subject matter.

Anna took a sip of the wine and gasped. “Oh wow! That’s
 that’s REALLY good, Elsa. Nice choice - how did you know? I mean, I’m sure almost none of these brands were around when
 you know, when. Way back when, I mean.”

Elsa giggled. “Mama had a rule. Wine from Sicily, cheese from France, beer from Bavaria, chocolate from the Netherlands. This was one of the Sicilian wines I saw, so I picked it.” She took another sip from her glass and savored the rich flavor, bold with hints of leather and earthy notes, a touch of cherry and raspberry on the palate. Memories of tasting tiny thimble-fuls of wine left on her food tray outside her room during her isolation, along with textbooks on wine-making came back to her.

“My Elsa’s parents I think may have done something similar,” Anna remarked, seeing the similarities between the two Elsas. “She always picks the wines when we have them, which
”

“
 hasn’t been as often as it used to be?” Elsa reached across the table and took Anna’s hand. “I know my time left here is short, Anna. Promise me, when I’m gone, that you’ll talk - really talk - to your Elsa and find your love with her again? If she’s anything like me, she can’t do without it, and she’d rather suffer in silence than be without you.”

Anna sighed heavily. “I
 all right. I just
 I’m not ready, Elsa. I feel like I’ve just gotten to know you, really, and there
” She paused to catch her breath and suppress her tears. “There’s still so much more I want to experience with you.”

“So do I, Anna.” She rubbed small circles across Anna’s knuckles as the food arrived.


“How can I be in love with both of you? I don’t
 I don’t know what’s real any more. Why does it feel like we’re
 I don’t know, like you’re dying or something?” Anna pleaded as they walked through the Boston Public Garden, the moon casting an ethereal blue glow over the sky as the old time gas lanterns lit the walkways. Anna gripped Elsa’s hand firmly, as though afraid she would simply vanish into thin air at any moment.

They’d finished the dinner at No. 9 Park, savoring every bite of the amazing meal. Anna had insisted on taking photos of all her food to commemorate how amazing it was, and Elsa had managed to sneak a word in with the server about it being a special occasion, earning Anna an extra chocolate torte for dessert.

“I’m probably going back to Arendelle, which means your Elsa will probably be back soon. And you did promise over dinner
”

“I know. And I will, Elsa. I’ll make it work again with her. She deserves it-”

“And so do you, Anna. You deserve to be loved as much as I love you, all the time.” She paused in the middle of the walkway to kiss her and hold her close. “You deserve the world, Anna. No matter which world I’m in.”

Author’s Notes

We’re closing in on the end of the modern arc, but I wanted to give the girls one last romantic dinner together.

Fun fact: Norwegian as a language is relatively new; during the canon period of Frozen/Frozen II, the official language was Dansk Norsk - Danish. And at the time, present-day Germany was a series of kingdoms; Bavaria (where Munich is located) was more or less an independent state, part of the German Zollverein customs union of 1834.

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Chapter 12: Flash Back

Summary:

“But I would have you!” Anna cried. “That would be
 that could be enough. For me.” She surged forward, wrapping her arms around Elsa’s torso and pressing her face into the blonde’s stomach. “You’re enough for me, Elsa.”

Chapter Text

Chapter 12: Flash Back

Elsa woke first the next morning, a sense of foreboding making her restless. A stray gust of wind blew into their apartment from the open windows, and on it she swore she caught a scent of lily of the valley, reminding her of Arendelle briefly. She turned her head to see a waterfall of red hair, interwoven with a few strands of grey, spilling over her shoulder and chest, Anna’s warm cheek nestled against her breast.

In the distance, she could almost feel the gravitational pull of the red aurora, as though it had invisible strings wrapped around her, gently tugging on her very soul. How she wished she could stay for just a little longer, a few more days, just long enough to sort out all her feelings about this world, this reality, this Anna.

She’d binge-watched a few science fiction shows on Anna’s TV during the week that talked about alternate realities and time travel, to better try to understand what had happened, but most were superbly unhelpful, if entertaining.

The best she’d managed to understand was that potentially there were an infinite number of worlds and with technology or magic, it might be somehow possible to travel between them. Elsa still wasn’t sure how much of what was on the television was fact or fiction; Anna had warned her that everything probably looked lifelike, but some things were - to Anna’s discerning eye - faked somehow. Elsa wasn’t sure how that was possible; everything and everyone looked astonishingly lifelike.

Several different shows had people portrayed with powers similar to hers. One showed a man who could make long ice paths to figure skate on at high speeds; another she looked up after the fight at the docks to see who Anna was referring to - a person named Killer Frost who could absorb heat from her environment. It certainly had given her additional ideas of things she could do with her magic, and she chuckled to herself at how funny it would be to show the creators of those programs what real magic looked like.

She paused her idle speculation to run her fingers through Anna’s soft, silken hair, eliciting a gentle snore from the woman and a giggle from herself. She wove a comb made of ice into existence and slowly began to tame Anna’s wild mane as the older woman stirred from her slumber, relishing in the sensation of their naked bodies pressed together.

“Elsaaa
 it’s too early to be up on a Saturday,” she mumbled, struggling to force the words out of her mouth as she groped for her smartphone on the nightstand, seeing that it was barely 11 AM.

“It probably is,” Elsa gave a lopsided smile, contentment tinged with sadness tugging at her mouth. She caressed Anna’s cheek with a cool palm as the redhead rolled over, propping herself up on her elbows.

“What is it, Elsa?”

“I think
 today’s the day. I- I don’t know how I know, but it’s
 just a feeling.”

Anna nodded, her eyes watering. “I had a feeling, too. Listen, Dusty texted me to come in this morning to look at what they’ve found. Why don’t you come with me? Maybe they’ve discovered something
 some kind of explanation, or, or-” or some way to keep you here, she thought to herself, staring longingly at the blonde and wishing she could hold onto her forever. “Either way, I don’t want to leave without you
 in case I don’t get to say goodbye.”

“Anna,” Elsa sighed, kissing her hairline, “We both know I don’t really belong here, even though I’d like to stay with you longer. If
 if it’s time for me to go home, then that’s what I should do. My kingdom needs me.” Her mind flashed back to earlier in the week, remembering the absence of Arendelle entirely from historical record.

Anna choked back a sob. “Can
 maybe I can come with you? Just for a little while?”

“As much as I would love to show you my home, you don’t belong there any more than I belong here. Also,” a wry grin appeared on her face, “you would hate it there. No electricity, no Internet, no movies or invisible butlers
”

“But I would have you!” Anna cried. “That would be
 that could be enough. For me.” She surged forward, wrapping her arms around Elsa’s torso and pressing her face into the blonde’s stomach. “You’re enough for me, Elsa.”

Elsa combed her fingers through Anna’s hair. “I’m sorry, my love. Whatever happens has to happen. I don’t even know how I got here, much less be able to take you with me, and
 what if there were no way for you to get back? That would hurt your Elsa so much, if you were forever gone. So
 let’s do as you said, and visit your office to see what your magical scientists and experts have found.”

Since it was a Saturday morning, both women threw on yoga pants and hoodies, grabbed their respective bags and backpacks, and got on the inbound train for downtown. Anna clutched onto Elsa’s hand and upper arm as though she might float away at any moment, pressing a kiss into her cheek every other minute. For her part, Elsa rubbed her thumb across Anna’s fingers and returned the soft kisses, snuggling into her as much as she could.

Elsa drank in every last sight, trying to commit as much as possible to memory. This magical world
 she’d try to remember as much as she could, bring what knowledge she could back to Arendelle and perhaps use it somehow to give her people a path forward.

After exiting at the Back Bay station, they walked up the stairs to Copley Square, the bright spring sunshine momentarily blinding them. Trinity Church’s facade greeted them, one of the oldest churches in Boston; it wouldn’t be built for Elsa for another 35 years in her time. On the grassy green common in front of the church, food trucks and stands served passersby as the city came to life, merchants barking their wares in heavily accented English.

Elsa smiled to herself as she walked hand in hand with Anna towards one of the trucks; the scene was similar to Arendelle’s market district. The same shouts for business, the same kinds of merchants. She mused how much had changed and yet how much was a constant of humanity, that even 177 years later, she could still get around in the world.

After Anna purchased two bánh mì sandwiches from the Bon Me food truck, they sat down on one of the stone benches near her office to eat. “I
” she started, a strangled laugh coming from her, “It’s funny, my coworker has a sign in her cubicle that I always thought was cheesy, but I actually understand it now. It says, ‘Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened’. That’s how I feel about this week.”

“I will, in fairness, probably do both,” Elsa remarked as she chewed, delighted in yet another interesting new cuisine to try, this time from a relatively new nation in her time, ĐáșĄi Nam. The taste of pulled pork and pickled vegetables made her taste buds practically dance. “Meeting you has been one of the most exceptional things that has ever happened to me, Anna. I don’t regret a moment of it, and I would do it again in a heartbeat.”

“So would I. And yes, I remember what I promised you last night at dinner. Whatever happens, if my Elsa comes back to me
 I’ll try. Who knows, maybe she will have changed, too.” Anna grinned, wondering once more what might have happened to her Elsa. She’d speculated all week once she knew the truth, but no explanation seemed particularly plausible. She’d just have to wait it out and see what happened, but if her Elsa did come back to her, she was committed to making her marriage work again.

“If today’s the day
 what do you think you’ll do first when you get back?” Anna offered hesitantly, staring at her sandwich.

Elsa finished chewing her bite. “Honestly? I will probably take a bath. No offense at all to you or your Elsa, but the bathtubs here are a mockery of what a bath is supposed to be like. The shower is brilliant, and I’m going to have one of our engineers figure out how to make that work but
 your bathtubs are barely deep enough to wash your legs, much less soak in them,” she laughed.

“Hey! Stinker. After all my hospitality, that’s what you have to say about my bathroom?” Anna shouted in mock outrage.

“Arendelle has none of the modern conveniences of this world, but we do have baths that allow you to sit in water up to your shoulders,” Elsa said, matching Anna’s silliness by turning her nose up and away. She resumed her normal posture and looked at her own sandwich for a long moment before turning back to Anna. “What
 what do you think you’ll do first when your Elsa comes back?”

Anna didn’t even have to think. “Tell her the truth. About everything.” She briefly glanced in the direction of her office. “This week
 with you here, with the honesty and the openness
 I want more of that. I want that with her, the way I had it with you. I want- I need to be as direct with her as I am with you, to tell her what I want and what I’m more than willing to give.”

Elsa nodded. “That would be a fine start, I think. After having lived her life for a week, it seems like you’re the only refuge she has from the tensions and perils of work. Dealing with people like Hans - err, Jay - is soul-crushing. Believe me, I speak from experience. So
 you telling her the truth might mean she’ll know she can trust you with everything as well,” she smiled, a cool hand on Anna’s shoulder.

Anna shivered in the cool April breeze; the sunshine they’d been enjoying had vanished on her, leaving only the chilling wind.

She looked up from her sandwich to see Elsa’s eyes wide, staring at the darkening sky, then turned her head skyward. Above them, dark clouds swirled, heralding one of Boston’s tempestuous storms. At that moment, her phone blared its emergency alarm loudly and her screen lit up.

GET TO OFFICE RN - DM

“Elsa, Dusty’s just sent out an alert. We should get over to-” For a moment, she thought the sun had come back out, as the area was awash in golden light. She glanced at Elsa to see the woman transfixed, staring at the sky as the brilliant light illuminated her features, making her look angelic. Anna couldn’t help herself and took a quick photo of her before looking up at the sky.

And Anna nearly dropped her phone. Above them raged what looked like the eye of a hurricane, but instead of clouds and rain, golden lightning surged and arced in a circle. The lightning seemed to pulse and race around the perimeter of the storm; Anna imagined this was what it must look like to fly an airplane through a tornado or something equally insane.

Elsa watched the lightning loops spinning faster and faster, like a blizzard made of topaz electricity. She was mesmerized; when the aurora surged over Arendelle, she was too stunned to note any of the details. This time, she watched as time seemed to slow to a crawl, and the majesty of the phenomenon revealed itself to her. A bolt of lightning almost the color of her hair seemed to race out of the clouds towards her, and for the briefest moment, she thought it was shaped like a man.

Her sandwich, half-eaten, fell to the surface of the bench with no one to hold it any longer.

Author’s Notes

This is the end of the modern arc. When we next meet, it will be back in Arendelle.

For the super nerds, speculate why the original aurora was red and this one was gold. It’s not an important part of the story, nor will we touch on the mechanics of the storm any more, but there is kind of a fun logic to it.

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Chapter 13: Back in Time

Summary:

And she pointed straight at Elsa, snarling.

"Guards! The imposter has escaped the dungeons! Seize her!"

Chapter Text

Chapter 13: Back in Time

The first thing Elsa noticed was that she could barely see, it was so dark. But she could feel, and the surroundings were all too familiar.

Cold. Damp. Metal. Stone.

She held up her hands to see manacles and chains on them, flecks of dried blood covering the edges - though they were only on her wrists, not the whole-hand imprisonments that Hans had placed on her the last time she was here.

In the palace dungeons.

She looked around for any clues or hints as to why she had appeared here. A few trays of spoiled food were piled up in the corner. She wrinkled her nose at the smell of rancid fish and moldy potatoes. Was the other Anna’s Elsa here somehow? Out the window, the moon shone over the harbor, sparkling in the night. A few ships remained docked at the piers. Nothing was frozen, which was an improvement over the last time she was in this particular cell, though she half expected Hans to walk through the door again.

She sighed, the memories of her last incarceration washing over her. How scared she had been, how little she had known her own power and what she was capable of. She had struggled so mightily to escape her chains the last time, blasting a hole in the wall with her unfocused, untrained powers. With the smallest giggle, she closed her eyes and grew crystals of ice between the chain links. Within seconds, the metal gave way, shattering like glass into rough chunks of iron on the floor.

Elsa rubbed her wrists and walked over to the heavy wooden door. She touched a finger to the lock and ice filled the mechanism, moving it to the proper position and setting the latch free. She grimaced as the heavy iron hinges creaked a bit, but no one seemed to be paying much attention. In fact, no one was around at all. I suppose I’ll need to have words with the warden to have someone properly on guard duty when we have actual prisoners in here, she smiled to herself.

The halls of the palace were dark; she had no idea what time it was save that it was clearly late in the evening, past midnight. Some of the palace staff were active until around midnight, preparing for the next day’s activities, and she heard no bustling of any kind.

Elsa made her way quietly to her chambers, walking the halls by memory to avoid waking anyone. She opened the door, wondering if Anna were inside, but the room was dark and cool. She lifted her palm, a large snowflake casting a soft blue light into the room, and she could see everything as she’d left it. The armchairs by the large triangular window, the fireplace, the vaulted ceilings - everything looked immaculate. In fact, she noted, the bed was perfectly made and there hadn’t been a fire in the hearth for days; all the ashes were cold and nearly odorless.

Once she’d oriented herself, she’d realized all her belongings were still on her; the other world’s Elsa’s yoga pants, hoodie, sneakers, and backpack were taken with her by the aurora. She gently smacked her forehead with her palm; her favorite maroon nightgown was left in the other world. With a start, she laid the backpack down on the bed and opened it, then trembled as her fingers shook.

The other Elsa’s iPhone and solar power pack were inside.

She had a moment of panic, the room spinning slightly. What was she going to do with this? She knew she had to hide it, conceal it before anyone knew it existed. With a sigh of relief, she remembered the lockbox in her antechamber. She picked up the 21st century technology and clothing and placed it inside, locked it, and then used her ice to destroy the key utterly, leaving it a series of tiny metal shards on her desk. Now, only a skilled lockpick or her powers could easily open the chest and its dangerous contents. No one could know about this just yet; the contents of the device were too dangerous.

Not that she would expect many more people other than Anna, Kai, or Gerda to be in her chambers anyway, but additional caution was warranted for the moment. She’d have to figure things out tomorrow. For now, she was exhausted and needed a good night’s sleep in her own bed.

I wish Anna were here to keep me warm, she thought with a wry grin. She presumed her Anna - her sister - was just down the hall in her chambers but it was much too late to wake her, nor was she in any frame of mind to try explaining what had just happened. Instead, she pulled the duvet aside and climbed into bed.

Her last conscious thought before falling asleep was that Anna’s 21st century memory foam mattress was much more comfortable.


The next morning, she shed a quiet tear as she woke alone, missing Anna’s arm across her stomach as she’d found it almost every morning for the past week. She sat up, scrubbed her eyes, and looked at her room in the morning sun. A thin layer of dust had built up on some of the surfaces; she wondered why the staff hadn’t been through to do their usual cleaning. It was almost as if her chambers had been closed off for a funeral, the way Agnar and Iduna’s chambers had been closed off for years after their deaths by the palace staff. She half wondered if her portrait in the hall was draped in black cloth.

Elsa looked at her wardrobe before deciding to cast an outfit out of ice, something she’d not done as much while she had been
 away. She thought of some of the uniforms she’d seen during her travels and with a wave of her fingers, she covered her body in a pale blue jacket and dress, with a split cape and ice boots to match. Not quite as severe as the real military outfits she’d experienced in the future, but a far cry from the ice ballroom gown she’d made when she first unleashed her powers and a positive reminder of where she’d been.

Down the hall, the longcase clock chimed nine times. Elsa took a deep breath, straightened her back, and left her chambers for the dining room, head held high. While the past week may have been a reprieve from her royal duties, she knew she’d have to pick up where she left off - and with the comportment required of her.

Except
 the staff, far from greeting her in their usual friendly way, appeared to be almost afraid of her. Chambermaids and laundresses seemed to recoil from her, bowing hesitantly and whispering to each other. A butler dropped a tray with a loud clatter on the ground before turning and running down the hall he’d emerged from, scrambling away from her as fast as he possibly could.

What is happening here? What happened while I was away? Maybe they do think I was dead! she wondered. She summoned her magic, ready to deal with whatever threat presented itself to her as she reached the dining room doors.

Elsa breathed a sigh of relief as she entered the dining room. There, at her usual spot on the right from the Queen’s chair sat her sister, chewing on a piece of toast with smoked salmon and sipping a cup of coffee. Anna even appeared to be reading some papers, which Elsa found intensely amusing, as Anna had never expressed much interest in crown affairs.

Speaking of which
 she spotted the crocus tiara in Anna’s hair. Had Elsa simply vanished, and Anna was forced to take on the mantle of leadership while she was in that other world? Perhaps that’s why her quarters had been untouched - maybe Anna thought she had died instead of vanished into the future.

She smiled and cleared her throat. “Anna-” she started, and then everything seemed to happen in slow motion. Anna turned to look, and first her eyes opened wide. Then her brow furrowed. She turned and stood up.

And she pointed straight at Elsa, snarling.

“Guards! The imposter has escaped the dungeons! Seize her!”

Elsa turned to see two of the palace Royal Guards, dressed in their forest green uniforms, wielding halberds and charging towards her. Instinctively, she stomped her foot on the wooden floor and ice cascaded across it, turning the entire room into a skating rink in the blink of an eye. The guards immediately fell face first, their halberds sliding across the floor, blades lodging in the wall harmlessly.

Whispers of “It’s really her!”, “The Queen!”, and “She’s alive!” of the castle staff behind her reached Elsa’s ears. Elsa waved her hands and slammed the doors shut with an icy gust of wind. She turned to face her sister, eyebrows arched, hands in front of her in case someone else tried to challenge her. “Anna! What in the world is going on? What’s the meaning of this?”

For her part, Anna looked close to tears. “Elsa? Is
 is it really you?” she mumbled as she clutched onto the high back of the wooden chair, shaking, but not from the cold.

Elsa nodded, relaxed her shoulders, and held out her arms as the ice on the floor retreated back into her. “It’s me, Anna. Really me. What
 what happened?”

Anna surged forward, embracing Elsa and crying into her shoulder, tucking her chin into the crook of her sister’s neck. “I
 I thought I’d lost you, that you were gone forever, replaced by that
 that imposter!”

“Imposter? Anna, what imposter? What are you talking about?” She pulled out her chair and sat down at the table as a steward hurried out a second plate of breakfast. After taking a few bites and smiling at the familiar flavors, she reached a hand across the corner of the table, resting it lightly on Anna’s. “Tell me what happened, Anna.”

Anna took a deep breath and placed her hands on the table. “Okay
 this is probably going to sound crazy, but it really happened. I’m not making it up, and it wasn’t a dream, okay?” With a silent nod from her sister, she pressed on. “A week ago now, you vanished. One moment I was running for the stairs to get Master Hansteen about that
 red aurora, that storm. The next thing I knew, you were gone, and
 this person who looked a lot like you was laying asleep on what was left of the balcony.”

“And
” Anna shifted her eyes to look around the room, “she was completely naked!” she hissed. “Can you believe that? Impersonating the Queen AND being so immodest?” Anna blushed at just the memory of the incident, how the imposter had been sprawled out across the floor, as though she were simply lounging there like some common prostitute.

“So what did you do?”

“The only thing I could do. I screamed for help, the guards came, and I had her put in the dungeons until I could figure things out.” Anna rested her face in her hands. “It
 it was so crazy, sis. The woman kept saying these crazy things, like her name was Elsa too, she was from the future, she was a lawyer, we would be in so much trouble.”

Elsa struggled to suppress a giggle and almost succeeded.

“You
 you think I’m crazy, don’t you?” Anna sighed. “I promise, it really happened. You can ask Kai and Gerda abo-”

“I believe you, Anna. I believe you completely,” Elsa reassured, patting her sister’s hand. “I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that someone else who was a lot like me was here, probably about 10 years older than me. And you kept her in the dungeon the whole time?”

Anna nodded. “For a good amount of the time, anyway. How did you know?”

“That’s where I woke up last night when I reappeared,” Elsa grinned. “Chained to the wall. Whatever that storm did, that Elsa and I switched places, so if she was in the dungeon when it came through again, that’s where I ended up. I was waiting for Hans to peek his head in and tell me he was trying to steal the kingdom again.”

“Not on my watch,” Anna scoffed. “As far as I’ve heard, he’s still shoveling horseshit, doing his penance on Lésþ Island. Speaking of watches
” she removed the crocus tiara from her hair, “This thing belongs on your head, not mine, dear sister. Shakespeare wasn’t kidding when he said uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.” Immediately, Anna’s shoulders rose as though an invisible weight was lifted from her back. For her part, Elsa adjusted the tiara slightly but bore its gravity as she always did, with grace and ramrod straight posture.

After they finished breakfast, the sisters walked outside to the courtyard gardens. Word had spread of Elsa’s return, and the castle staff once again greeted her cordially, bowing and curtseying along the way. Anna had wanted to go for a walk up to the terraced gardens to clear her head.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Elsa asked with a wry grin as they walked hand in hand, admiring the cherry and pear blossoms. Her sister’s hand was warm and much softer than the other Anna’s, she mused idly.

“Not much else besides the imposter and you vanishing, really. I- I can’t say just how overjoyed I am to have you, the real you, back. You didn’t miss a whole lot - the Jansens have finally resolved their water rights issues, and I had to run open court this week. I
 I managed to run the kingdom, but I didn’t enjoy it particularly much, sis.” Anna shook her head as she sat down on a bench underneath an apple tree, Elsa sitting beside her. “So, tell me
 tell me more about what happened to you?”

Elsa took a deep breath and squeezed Anna’s hand. “I was gone
 I was gone for a week to
 to another world. A world like this one, but in the future, in America of all places. And in that future
 I was married to you. Well, the Elsa of that world - the one who apparently came here, I’m guessing - was married to the Anna of that world.”

“Yeah, she mentioned being married
 oh my God, wait, were they sisters? That’s
 that must have been one crazy, mixed up world!” Anna gasped, her hand covering her mouth in shock. She briefly contemplated what it would be like to be married to her sister, equal parts fascinated and revolted.

“No, they weren’t sisters. It was so different - that world’s Anna was so much like you but also still a different, unique person
” Over the span of a few hours, Elsa recounted nearly everything that had happened to her in the week she’d spent in 2022, omitting only the intimacy she’d shared with that Anna. She wasn’t ready to have that particular conversation with her sister just yet, especially given Anna’s reaction earlier at the thought of the married Elsa and Anna possibly being sisters.

“Whoa. That
 that is some story. And it makes sense, too. The
 imposter? I guess she was real, just not you after all
 she said some weird, weird stuff,” Anna chuckled.

Elsa arched an eyebrow. “Like what?”

Anna laughed. “Sit down, and let me tell you all about her
”

Author’s Notes

We’re back in Arendelle! We will see future Elsa and future Anna once more in the epilogue. Their story is mostly done, but we will see what happens with them. They’re not forgotten.

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Chapter 14: Days of Future Past

Summary:

She turned over, her chains rattling as she tucked an arm under her head. *Anna, I miss you so much*, she thought as a tear quietly trickled down her cheek and sleep finally came.

Chapter Text

Chapter 14: Days of Future Past

Arendelle, 1845

Thirty-four year old Elsa Beck, junior partner at Klein & Gabler, tugged futilely at the heavy chains lashing her to the floor. “Let me out of here! I swear to God, the moment you let me have my phone call, I am calling the senior partners at my law firm, and you are going to be sued out of existence!” she shouted at the unhearing grey stone walls.

Elsa strugged for a few moments more against the chains before collapsing on the stone bench built into the dungeon walls, the coarse woolen dress she was given chafing every part of her body. “Someone! Anyone! Please! Let me out of here, I don’t know what I’ve done!” she wailed, curling up on the cold stone.

Whether it was minutes or hours that had passed, she couldn’t tell, but eventually the heavy wooden door creaked open, and two armored guards entered, both carrying some kind of club. They stood like faceless golems on opposite sides of the door as another person entered, carrying a candlelit lantern and wrapped in a hooded cloak. The shadowy figure nodded, and both guards filed out of the room, taking position on the other side of the door as the figure gently closed it.

Elsa backed away as far as the chains would let her, almost to the window. Whatever this bizarre freakshow cosplay thing was, she wanted no part of it, especially since it seemed
 almost real. The dungeon was real, actual, heavy stone. The chains were real, heavy metal that bruised her wrists. Was she about to be murdered in some bizarre cult sacrifice? Was that why everyone had these crazy weapons and some hooded psycho was walking towards her? She fell to her knees, quiet tears running down her cheeks.

“Forklar dig selv,” came the ominous voice from the hooded figure.

Except
 it wasn’t ominous. In fact
 it was familiar. Very familiar.

“Anna?” she looked up, her eyes wide. At first glance, it was indeed her wife, and she surged to her feet, running forward and clumsily embracing the redhead as best as she could while chained to the floor. “Anna, thank the heavens you came to get me!” She planted a kiss on her wife’s lips.

Before she knew it, the woman who looked like her wife had shoved her so forcefully that she fell backwards, arching her back in pain as the chains coiled up under her spine, bruising her badly. She shrieked as the irons battered her ribs and back.

“Hvem tror du, du narre?” the woman asked before cocking her head, realizing that her prisoner was speaking English. “I don’t know who you think you are, posing as my sister, the Queen no less, but you will answer for your crimes,” the redhead spat as she stabbed her finger at the supine blonde. “I will give you one chance to make this right. Tell me where my sister is!”

“I don’t understand what’s going on!” Elsa clambered to her knees, her joints aching. She’d already spent one night in this forsaken place, and sleeping on a stone bench was a far cry from the bed she’d fallen asleep in last night. “Please, you have to believe me. My name is Elsa Beck. I’m 34 years old, I’m an American citizen. Please, if you just contact the American embassy, they can verify who I am, please, Anna!”

Anna pulled down the hood on her cloak, scowling at the prisoner. “First of all, that’s not how you pronounce my name, imposter. Second of all-” she held the lantern close to Elsa’s face, taking note that she did indeed appear much older than her sister, “You still haven’t told me where my sister is or what you did with her. And just as a point of clarification, Arendelle has no formal diplomatic relations with your United States, not that I believe you. Other than the occasional traveling arms salesman, no one from America views us as important enough to warrant a diplomatic mission.”

“I don’t know where your sister is, or even who your sister is, I promise you!” Elsa sobbed, clawing at the air. “Wh- what’s her name? I mean, I don’t know if I’d know her, but-”

Anna drew herself up to her full height, straightening her back and tilting her chin up. “My sister is Queen Elsa of Arendelle, first of her name, sovereign of Arendelle and its principalities, head of the Arendellian Church, Supreme Commander of the Armies and Navies of Arendelle. And you mysteriously appeared at the same time she vanished, so
 where is she?”

Elsa curled up into the fetal position on the damp, cold stone floor, arms wrapped as tightly around herself as she could manage with the chains around her wrists. She squeezed her eyes closed, tears running down her cheeks. “I don’t know
 please, Anna, I don’t know where this queen of yours is. It’s only me, okay? It’s just me
 you’re supposed to love me, you’re my wife
 I’m sorry
 I don’t know where she is
 I didn’t do this
” her voice tapered off.

Anna’s heart ached, watching this doppelganger of her sister lay on the floor, bereft. Could she be trusted? Was she telling the truth about who she was? She definitely looked older than her sister; Anna could make out wrinkles and blemishes her sister lacked. Earlier, when she’d appeared magically without a stitch of clothing, Anna noticed that the woman had a tattoo on her lower back of a snowflake. It was like this woman was a distortion of her sister, some kind of creature out of a bad dream.

She left the imposter laying in her cell, quietly weeping, as the guards closed the heavy wooden door behind her. Anna turned to Kai, who had been waiting outside.

“Any word, Your Highness?” the portly chamberlain asked as he followed behind Anna.

“Nothing useful. She says her name is Elsa, and she’s a 34-year old woman from America,” Anna groused as they walked up the stairs to the palace’s main level.

“Do you believe her?”

Anna slowly shook her head. “I don’t know what to believe. She seems sincere enough, and her accent is definitely not from around here, but
 it could be some kind of magical trick. She also didn’t seem to understand anything I said in Danish, so she’s at least not acting about that.”

Kai escorted Anna to the dining room, where the staff was laying out breakfast. Word had spread already of Elsa’s disappearance, and the table was set only for one. “Perhaps this is some other kind of magic, Your Highness?”

“Maybe. Hey, that’s an idea. Let’s send a rider to the Valley of the Living Rock and ask Pabbie to come here. Maybe he can detect if there’s some kind of sorcery at work!” Anna exclaimed as she tucked into her smoked salmon and scrambled egg on toast.

“Right away, Your Highness. Though, I must say, the kingdom cannot be without its Queen for very long. While I send for Pabbie, shall I also send for the Archbishop?” Kai asked gently, not wanting the implication to weigh too heavily on Anna.

Anna froze, dropping her fork with a loud clatter against the gold-trimmed china. Her appetite vanished instantly, as her chest tightened. It felt as though the room had run out of air for her to breathe. “N-not just yet, Kai. Not today. If
 if we don’t have any answers by tomorrow
 then provisionally, yes. As long as we make that clear to Archbishop Hauge.”

The chamberlain nodded silently as he withdrew from the room, bowing. Anna stared at her plate, the taste of the food soured in her mouth as she wondered where her sister had been taken.


Elsa lay on the cold stone bench, shivering in the dark. She hated the cold generally, but this was an entirely new, painful experience for her. At least when she had been old at home, she had a blanket or a jacket or something handy. She thought briefly of her desk at the law firm. The guys had always kept the air conditioning cranked up too vigorously; in the dead of summer, she’d be wearing a coat over her suit just to stay warm.

This? Sleeping on cold stone, no blankets or pillows or even a thin mattress was torture for her. She admitted to herself that she’d had it pretty good in life. Her parents were reasonably well off, enough to put her through law school and in the first couple of years after law school, helped her with her apartment until she could stand on her own with Anna. Sure, she’d had her fair share of uncomfortable experiences, but this was a new low.

She curled up tighter, the itchy, rough cloth of her dress doing nothing to keep her warm. A chilling breeze blew in from the windows, making her ache even more; during the day, she could see sail ships coming in and out of what looked to be a harbor of some kind. The lone candle that had been lit in the sconce on the wall for the evening meal had long burned out, taking away the last light and heat she’d had. The previous night, she’d tried squeezing up against the wall, hoping to stay warm that way, but the stone just sapped more of her body heat.

Anna. She was always warm in bed, like her personal space heater. She regretted not spending more time with her wife the last few years, working late almost every day. She’d come home around 9 PM each night, quickly shower, have a snack, and then sit on sofa with her laptop working until midnight. Then she’d crawl into bed next to her wife, spoon her, and be up and out the door by 6 AM.

Elsa chided herself for her behavior. How foolish she was to take Anna for granted, to always assume she’d be there for her, to love her, to take care of her, to keep her warm. And for what? A partnership at a law firm that probably didn’t even notice she was missing, much less sending any help. A piece of paper telling her she owned a third of a business. Fat lot of good that paper would do her now even if she had it, trapped in a cell in some insane cosplay or third world country.

If I make it out of this alive, I’m never going to take Anna for granted again, she vowed to herself. Right now, she’d give almost anything just to have Anna in her arms for her warmth alone, not to mention someone to talk to. The guards - she’d nicknamed them Hans and Frans - apparently didn’t speak English at all, and she was left to talk to the walls.

She turned over, her chains rattling as she tucked an arm under her head. Anna, I miss you so much, she thought as a tear quietly trickled down her cheek and sleep finally came.


The sound of rolling rock echoed off the walls of the Great Hall as Grand Pabbie arrived the following day, answering the royal summons. The troll unfurled himself in front of the empty throne as Anna sat in the smaller chair to the right, the afternoon sun illuminating the rich, polished wooden floor.

“Princess Anna,” the elder troll said simply, offering a thin smile.

“Pabbie! Thank you for coming on such short notice!” Anna got up and rushed to the troll, taking his stone hands in hers. “Something terrible has happened to Elsa, Pabbie, and I can’t figure out what it possibly could be besides magic.” She explained in details everything she knew, from finding the imposter to the wild claims the imposter made. “I can’t even be sure that’s a person in there, Pabbie. Can you take a look?”

“This does sound mystical in nature, Anna. Let us go have a look at this false Elsa and see what we can discover.” He looked around the room briefly. “Before we go see this mysterious guest, let us go upstairs to where this puzzle started, hmm?” the living rock suggested.

Once to the balcony, which was still shattered from the lightning bolt, Pabbie closed his eyes and reached his hands out. “Something
 something else was here
 a doorway
 but to where?” he murmured, walking in a slow crescent around the damaged balcony. A soft yellow glow, like a disembodied candle’s flame, appeared in his stone palm as he circumnavigated the room. “Yes
 yes, very interesting. All right, Anna. Let’s go talk to this Elsa now.”

“What did you sense?”

“It is too early to tell. There is definitely magic afoot, but we should meet with this Elsa before passing judgement.”

“Oh, that reminds me
 she only appears to speak English, just so you know. I can translate for you.” Anna walked down the central staircase with Pabbie, leading him towards the dungeons.

“That won’t be necessary, Your Highness,” he smiled as they descended the steps.

A few minutes later, the door to the dungeon creaked open as Pabbie entered the cold stone cell with his guide light, to be greeted by an ear-piercing shriek.

“WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?” Elsa screamed, scrambling backwards on her elbows as quickly as she could. She reached the end of the chains and pulled, the cuffs cutting into her wrists. “Get away from me! Whatever the fuck you are, get away from me, don’t touch me!”

“Young lady, please,” Pabbie practically cooed as though he were soothing a toddler. “There is nothing to be afraid of.” He slowly reached out his hands, but made no move to step any further than the door as he turned to one of the guards. “Et andet lys, tak.” The guard nodded and brought in another candle, then lit it.

Elsa hyperventilated as she stared wide-eyed at the creature. It looked like
 a rock. A giant, talking, moving, moss-covered rock with eyeballs and a mouth and hands and
 whatever this dream was, it was getting weirder every single moment. A fleck of drool dripped down her chin as she struggled to bring her breathing under control. She looked to the food tray that had been left in her cell, but it was out of reach, and the wooden utensils would have no effect on the
 talking rock
 in front of her anyway.

“Wh- what do you want?”

Pabbie smiled softly. “You are Elsa?”

Elsa nodded wordlessly, still staring at the talking rock.

“May I enter? I intend no harm, Elsa.”

Elsa had pulled herself to a seated position, hugging her knees close to her chest and resting her chin atop them, the chains dangling by her thighs. “I
 suppose.” If this creature, whatever it was, intended her harm, there was little she could do about it anyway.

Pabbie waddled over to the trembling woman, holding out a hand. “Please, Elsa. There is nothing to fear here. I was asked by Princess Anna to see if you were telling the truth, to ascertain where exactly you came from.”

“H-how does
 how would a talking rock know whether or not I was telling the truth?” she squeaked, recoiling from his touch as though he could kill her in the blink of an eye.

Pabbie didn’t respond, instead closing his eyes and laying a hand on Elsa’s shoulder, no more than a feather-light touch. She shuddered as the cool rock touched the woolen dress, but slowly settled when nothing painful happened.

After what seemed like hours, Pabbie withdrew his hand and opened his eyes, then stepped back to the door of the cell. He turned to Anna, keeping his eyes on Elsa. “She speaks the truth, Your Highness. She is not from here, and while magic surrounds her, she has no magical abilities of her own.”

“If she’s not from here, where is she from?” Anna looked askance at the blonde.

“She is not of this world, Your Highness. Not only is she from a different time, but from a different reality entirely. Where, I cannot say, only that I can feel she is not from here,” he intoned gravely. “She is a person, however, and quite harmless. This is quite serious, Anna. It is entirely possible that whatever brought her here also took your sister, the Queen - and I cannot say whether or not it will even be possible for her to return. All I can say for certain is that this young lady has no ability to help or hinder us in our search for the Queen.”

Anna sighed, her shoulders slumping as she turned towards the door. What if her sister was lost to
 time? Magic? Another world? This was the answer she feared, that there wasn’t an answer at all. Her stomach dropped as though she herself were falling without end; while this wasn’t talking to Elsa’s locked door, it was almost worse. Unbidden, she was reminded of the days after Kai and Gerda had come to her with the dreadful news about the loss of their parents. They too had simply vanished, never to be seen again.

Just as she started to walk out, she heard a small whimper behind her. This Elsa was standing up, wringing her hands. Just like my sister, she thought. “What is it?” she managed to avoid snapping at the woman.

Elsa looked down at the nearly untouched tray of food in her cell, long since cold. “Um
 if it’s possible, do you have any food that isn’t fish? I
 uh
 I really dislike fish.”

Anna barked a short, sharp laugh with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “You’re definitely not my sister. She’d eat pickled herring and smoked salmon for every meal.” A deep breath. “All right. I’ll have something else sent down for your next meal.”

“Thank you, um, Your Highness. I, uh, I don’t know anything about where I am, but is there
 is there a process for what’s going to happen to me? A trial, a court hearing? Can I at least get my phone call?” Elsa hoped that wherever she was, she could plead her case. Junior partner or not at her firm, she was one of the best in her field of law; surely she’d be able to defend herself.

Another sharp, bitter laugh from Anna. “Yes, the Queen would typically hear all disputes and cases like this in open court. Unfortunately for you, you seem to have magically replaced her somehow, so there’s no one currently available to hear your plea until she returns. And I don’t know what a phone call is, or where we would get you one.” Anna turned on her heel and walked out, the guards closing the door behind her.

Elsa collapsed on the bench, holding her head in her hands as the chains rattled against the stone. She had to get out of here.


In retrospect, it was a mistake, but she’d had to try. On the fourth day in her cell, the monarch took pity on her and had her unshackled that morning. After eating a meal of boiled potatoes - thankfully the fish hadn’t made an appearance since she’d asked - Elsa stood by the window, looking at the harbor.

In her mind, she’d been keeping track of the guards’ movements. At each meal, they changed shifts, and the midday meal guards were the most lax. When they brought in food and swapped out the bucket she’d been using as a chamberpot, they left the door open the entire time, whereas the morning and evening guards closed it as they did their duties.

She had no idea where she was, other than a dungeon, but there must have been many ways in and out of whatever castle she was in. She’d watched enough Game of Thrones to know that there were always lots of passages and doors an in and out of any fortress or citadel. The guards were wearing heavy armor, so if she could just get by them, she was fairly certain she could run faster than they could, for longer.

It had been the same routine every meal for three days. One guard comes in, picks up the old tray. Second guard picks up the bucket. First guard comes back with a new meal. Second guard comes back with an empty bucket. They both turned left when they were outside her cell door. If she ran to the right, it might even be a few minutes before they noticed she was missing.

She had no plan for where she could go, but the harbor wasn’t far. Maybe she could find someone, a regular person not involved in this crazy Renaissance Faire reenactment, and borrow their phone for a couple of minutes, just long enough to call Anna and beg her to send help. Despite all the evidence around her, she still couldn’t believe that what this Anna had said was true, that she was on some other world. That was pure science fiction; more than likely, this was some elaborate ruse. Anna would help her, get her the hell out of here. All she had to do was get to a phone.

Elsa took a deep breath and counted as the second guard walked out and to the left with the bucket. As soon as he was out of the line of sight, she sprinted out of her cell and to the right, up a flight of stone stairs. Behind her, she heard shouting; the guards had already noticed her absence. At the top of the stairs, she found herself in a brightly colored hallway, with suits of armor along the walls and paintings of every kind on the magenta wallpaper. She looked around, frantic, and saw French doors at the end of the corridor.

As she barreled through the doors, Elsa found herself in a massive open courtyard, four huge fountains spraying water in the air. In the distance, the gates built into the heavy walls were open, and she made a break for them as fast as she could, the rough cobblestones biting into her feet. The sound of whistles and shouting echoed around the courtyard, and she knew she didn’t have much time.

After the first few steps, Elsa fully realized her mistake. Running on rough cobblestones, even when you’re in excellent physical condition, is difficult when you’ve never run on rough surfaces without shoes before in your life. She tried to move faster, but every step felt like she was walking on knives. By the time she’d gotten halfway across the courtyard, she could see the guards in front of her lined up, massive axes in hand. Elsa looked over her shoulder to see Hans and Frans behind her, manacles at the ready.

She fell to her knees, her face in her hands, and sobbed as they dragged her back to the castle.


Anna trembled with the effort of suppressing her tears. She couldn’t cry, not right now, not right here. There would be time for tears later. Right now, the kingdom needed her, especially after the spectacle of the imposter nearly escaping the castle. Arendelle needed a leader, someone to look to, whether she was ready or not.

She picked up the crocus scepter and orb in her hands as Archbishop Hauge read a passage from the holy book in Danish. The weight of the golden tiara on her head felt like it was made of lead and ten times its size. Kai, Gerda, and the castle staff that were available and free from their duties sat in the first two benches in the palace cathedral.

As the Archbishop finished, Anna turned to face the handful of people assembled. The archbishop’s voice echoed in the lonely, mostly empty cathedral, a far cry from the crowded, joyful ceremony two years ago for her sister. Pain stabbed at her heart, feeling the absence of her sister and her parents. She’d never felt more alone.

“Queen Anna of Arendelle.”

She gently lay the scepter and orb back on the teal pillow, her hands shaking. This was never supposed to happen. She was supposed to be at her sister’s hand, forever the spare princess - right where she wanted to be. There should never have been a Queen Anna of Arendelle, because it meant the worst had happened - that Elsa had abandoned her again, voluntarily or not. No matter who the woman was in the dungeons, Anna knew she was truly alone again.

Despite her valiant efforts, a tear rolled down her cheek.

Author’s Notes

This is the chapter everyone asked for. What was 2022 Elsa up to in the past? Now you know, and it probably wasn’t what you were thinking it would be.

A reminder that Norwegian was not the spoken language during the canon period of Frozen; Danish and German were. Norwegian as we know it today wasn’t the official language of Norway until 1905, so it’s likely Arendelle would have been about the same.

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Chapter 15: The Secret

Summary:

Anyway... you have to promise me you can keep this secret. No one must know at all. Not Kai, not Gerda, not Kristoff, not even Sven, all right?

Chapter Text

Chapter 15: The Secret

As Anna finished retelling the story of what had happened to the future Elsa, her sister's mouth dropped more and more in shock, the beauty of the courtyard gardens forgotten. While her own reception in the future by the other Anna got off to a rough start, she never imagined that the other Elsa would have such a traumatic experience of her own - and in Arendelle, no less, a place renowned for its friendliness.

"Does... Anna, does it bother you at all what happened to her? She was basically imprisoned for a week without any liberties whatsoever, just for being another version of me!" She hadn't put two and two together that arriving back in her own time to find herself in manacles would have been the situation her doppelgÀnger would have been in for the entire week.

"What? No! She was impersonating you. Remember what happened with Mary Baynton?" Anna practically shouted. Baynton had attempted to impersonate the daughter of England's King Henry VIII and sway public opinion that the king should be deposed in favor.

Elsa shook her head. "So you thought she was... going to try to take the throne of Arendelle? She was just a scared woman, Anna!"

Anna crossed her arms before her temper erupted, her eyes flashing. "So was I, Elsa! What about me? I was TERRIFIED that you were gone forever, that you vanished like Mama and Papa did!" She turned and pointed in the direction of the hills north of the city, golden in the setting sun's light. "I didn't want to have to walk back up that god-forsaken hill to put another memory stone next to theirs with your name on it! I thought you abandoned me again, and that I would have to do this all alone!" she shouted, her breath hot on Elsa's face. "Every night, Elsa. Every! Night! I wondered when I would have to make that walk again. I nearly threw Kai out of the palace the other morning when he brought me the stonecarver's name to start... start planning... yours," she choked.

"Anna, I- I'm sorry," she wrapped her sister in her arms as Anna lost any semblance of composure, weeping openly into Elsa's shoulder. Elsa threaded her fingers through Anna's hair as her shoulders heaved from her cries. "I won't leave you, Anna. I'll always find a way to come home to you." How she missed this Anna, her sister, the 'real' Anna to her. Her sense of humor was sharper, her soul less burdened, the light in her eyes brighter. Had it not been for the clothes and technology that she'd locked away in her chambers, Elsa could have dismissed her 'travels' as a particularly intense dream.

"It's okay, Elsa. I know... I know I probably should have handled that better. I mean, Pabbie had even said she was powerless but... I was so angry and scared that I blamed her. Mostly scared, you know? That you were gone and never coming back and... I'm sorry. I wish I could apologize to her, too. That Elsa," Anna sniffled.

"For what it's worth, I think that the future Anna will likely take good care of her. She had a traumatic week for sure, but it was only a week, and you certainly didn't do anything like torture her, right?"

Anna shook her head as her fingers trailed down Elsa's forearms. "No, though I did have to reprimand a guard because he just threw her food into her cell one of the days. I told him in no uncertain terms that we don't treat anyone like animals, even prisoners, and he's on stables cleanup duty for a while as a reminder."

"Good. Then she'll probably be fine. The other Anna is-" she stopped herself for a moment, choosing her words carefully as she pursed her lips. "Very kind and nurturing, so any harm that was done, I'm sure she'll eventually put behind her. We should, however, think about setting down some formal rules about how we handle prisoners on the very infrequent occasions we have them."

"You really did pick up that whole lawyer thing when you were away, didn't you?" Anna giggled through the remains of her tears. She tried to imagine her sister dressed in the fashion of the day appropriate for advocates, frock coats with straight trousers and tall hats. Her sister certainly had the posture and comportment of a barrister, but definitely not the fashion sense of one, what with her flowing ice dresses.

"Anyway, I'm so glad you're back," she sighed, holding Elsa's hands and tracing small figure eights over her knuckles.

At that moment, Elsa's stomach lurched slightly. Anna had moved her fingers in exactly the same way that the other Anna had, the morning after they had been intimate. Memories collided with the present, her body and her mind suddenly battling as she remembered how the other Anna had made her feel, then scolded herself for projecting that onto her sister. Finally, she managed to dislodge a few words from her throat as her cheeks pinked. "I- I'm glad to be back, too. It was... I missed you, Anna."

Try as she might, she couldn't completely dismiss the sensations and the memories; worse, she found herself staring at her sister's lips, wondering if they would feel the same as the Anna that had made love to her. What was happening to her? She quickly pressed her palms into her thighs and let her ice flow, the magic cooling down her body, helping to quell her physical arousal at her own memories.

"Elsa? Are you alright? You look a little flushed," Anna remarked, resting her palm on Elsa's shoulder. "Is something the matter?"

"N-no, nothing's the matter, Anna. It's just... I have to re-adjust after... after being away for so long." She reached up and covered Anna's hand with her own, before forgetting she'd just been using her powers.

"Elsa, your hand is freezing! What's going on?"

"I- nothing, I was just... seeing if... my powers still worked as they should," Elsa cringed.

Anna rolled her eyes before leveling her gaze at her sister. "Well, if there's one thing the future didn't change, you're still a terrible liar, Elsa. Come on, you know you can tell me anything, right?"

"I- I know. I know, Anna. It's just... on the one hand, I couldn't wait to get back, to you, to home. But on the other hand... it was a whole different, new world, Anna. There was so much to see, so much to learn, so much to experience that I'd probably never get the chance to again. And..." She stared down at her hands, rubbing them together slowly as though she were washing them in a sink that wasn't there.

"You're keeping something from me."

Elsa nodded, not able to meet her sister's eyes. "I- I am. I... let's go back to my chambers. We can't discuss it here."

They left the courtyard and walked up the circular stairs in the palace to the Royal chambers, nodding as they passed the various guards and stewards. Elsa signaled with a wave of her hand for two of the guards to follow them. At her doors, she turned them. "Please do not allow anyone to interrupt me. No one may enter." Both guards nodded, holding their halberds in front of them.

Once inside, Elsa locked the door, then froze it solid, before turning to face Anna, who had lit the oil lamps on the nightstands to stave off the evening's dark. "When the other version of me came here, what did she have with her?"

Anna snorted. "Literally nothing. She showed up without a stitch of clothing, which was... really awkward, I have to say. I mean, I remember when we were little, Mama and Papa would bathe us together but... it's been a long while since we did that together. I certainly wasn't expecting to see you - her - completely nude. That's how I knew she wasn't you right away, she had a tattoo on her back."

Elsa's cheeks pinked slightly as she pushed the thoughts of the other Anna unclothed away. "Mmm. Whatever the phenomenon is, it took me exactly as I was, and I suppose it did the same to her. I woke up in her bed wearing my magenta night robe, which I am very sad to say I forgot... in the future." She began to pace slowly, back and forth in front of the large poster bed.

Anna sat down on the corner of the bed, absent-mindedly rubbing the blue and white embroidered quilt with her fingers as she waited for Elsa to explain her line of thinking.

“And... what did you have her wearing when she vanished back to where she came from?”

“Probably the same thing she wore all week. I had a guard give her a basic woolen dress for decency’s sake. You know, the funny thing is, she kept asking for underwear! I was like, eww, gross. No one wears underwear unless it’s strawberry days, you know?”

Elsa chuckled as she paused her pacing in front of Anna, putting a hand on her shoulder. “Believe it or not, I had the same conversation in reverse with that Anna. She kept asking me why I wasn’t wearing any! But in the future, they have these fantastical machines that wash clothes for you.”

“Whoa! Really? That’s amazing. Gerda would lose her mind over something like that for the staff.” Anna flopped back on the bed. “It’s a shame you didn’t bring one of those machines back from the future, you know?”

At that remark, Elsa froze. She took a few deep breaths, then turned to face the door, hands outstretched, as she made a wall of ice nearly half a foot thick to completely block entry into the room as Anna sat up sharply, wondering what was going on.

“Anna... what if... what if I did?” she whispered.

“Did what?”

“What if I did bring back a machine from the future?”

Anna jumped to her knees, bouncing eagerly on the bed, her hands clenched in fists as she practically vibrated from excitement. “Really? Really, you did? How big is it? How many clothes can it wash at the same time?”

“What? No, not a clothes washer, Anna.” She pinched the bridge of her nose, bowing her head before looking up at her sister again. “A... a different kind of machine. A machine that’s like... like a book but so much more.”

"Why does this sound like a bad thing, Elsa? Wouldn't something like that be... I don't know, awesome?"

"Because... because it could be used for very bad things. Could be taken advantage of. It... it could destroy Arendelle." Elsa sat down on the bed, trying to suppress the feeling of panic rising inside her like spoiled food in her stomach, her throat constricting to keep from vomiting.

"Hey... whatever it is, Elsa, it's going to be okay," Anna soothed, scooting next to her sister and putting an arm around her shoulder. "I know whatever this thing is, you're the best person in the whole world to take care of it. No one is as strong or as powerful or as good-hearted as you. Certainly not me."

Elsa leaned into her, burying her face momentarily in the crook of Anna's neck. She inhaled deeply; Anna's scent was different from the other's, but not a bad different. More musky, more earthy. She smiled slightly; the future Anna's scent was heavily influenced by having that wonderful shower and a wild assortment of perfumed soaps. She'd have to figure out how to replicate that amazing experience at some point, so Anna could indulge in the joy that was a hot shower.

She pulled away from her sister and clasped Anna's shoulders. "That's untrue, Anna. You are good-hearted, except when you're scared, and who can blame you? Anyway... you have to promise me you can keep this secret. No one must know at all. Not Kai, not Gerda, not Kristoff, not even Sven, all right?"

"Elsa, you're starting to scare me a little. What is it?"

"Promise me, Anna. Please."

Anna nodded slightly, swallowing the lump in her throat. "All right, I promise," she smiled, holding up her pinky finger. "Pinky promise, even."

Elsa gave a thin smile, then walked into the antechamber with Anna on her heels. She opened the bureau doors built into the wall, then pressed her finger against the locked strongbox. Tendrils of ice snaked into the lock and rotated the tumblers, a solid clunk of metal indicating it was open. She lifted the lid carefully, revealing clothes, a pair of sneakers, her 21st century iPhone, and a giant snowflake she'd cast, glowing bright blue-white light inside.

"What is that, Elsa? A piece of glass? A stone?" Anna blinked, looking at the unremarkable object. "It's so smooth and shiny, like a black mirror." She squinted at it, noticing the snowflake-themed box next to it with four glowing blue lights on it.

"This, Anna, is possibly the most dangerous machine in the world. It's like... it's like a book, except that it holds many, many books and other information." She lifted up the phone and unlocked it with Face ID, then showed Anna the home screen.

Anna gasped. "It's... it's magical! It's a magical glass! What- how does it work? What does it do?" She tentatively reached out a finger to touch it, feeling the cool, smooth glass. The screen wobbled a bit under her touch, the icons shifting around.

"In the world I was in, this was how people communicated with each other, shared information, recorded information... it was an amazing sight. Nearly everyone owned one, and all these devices could communicate with each other."

"Like... like carrier pigeons? Or that new telegraph that was invented overseas?"

Elsa giggled. "Yes, I suppose so. Like insanely fast, invisible carrier pigeons. This is why this device is so dangerous, though." She tapped the Kiwix app on the phone, which loaded the offline Wikipedia the other Elsa had kept for quick reference on all her law cases, then typed 'telephone' into it.

Anna looked over her shoulder at the glowing screen, watching it build words like a book in the blink of an eye. She started to read. "In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell was the first to be granted a United States patent for a device that produced clearly intelligible replication of the human voice at a second device. Elsa... is this... this is... what is this?"

"You know of England's Encyclopedia Britannica?"

"Of course. I read our copy in the Royal Library a few years ago when... you know."

Elsa snorted. "Of course you did. This is the same thing. An encyclopedia, but... from the future, Anna. This article you're reading is about something that hasn't happened yet. It won't happen for another 34 years."

Anna sat down hard on the wooden floor. "That... wow. I... I can see why you'd say this is so dangerous, Elsa. Literally everyone in the entire world would want this, to be able to predict the future, to know what's going to happen."

"Yes. You and I both know people would kill for this. Destroy entire nations for this. They wouldn't think twice about wiping out all of Arendelle and killing every one of us to get their hands on this, which is why it's so important that it remain secret." She turned off the device, resting atop its solar charger, and replenished the glowing snowflake that kept its battery charged.

"So... what are you going to do with it? Just... keep it there?" Anna pulled herself off the floor and made her way back to the corner of Elsa's bed, patting the space next to her.

Elsa sat down, letting out a heavy sigh, her shoulders slumping. "I- I don't know yet. On the one hand I almost think it'd be better to destroy it, to wipe it out of existence. But on the other hand... I have to think about our kingdom, our people." Her voice cracked and her body trembled as she remembered one of the evening walks with the other Anna. "Anna... in the future I saw, there was no Arendelle. No record of our kingdom, no record that we ever existed. That terrified me. What happened in that world, in that Arendelle, that it ceased to exist, that there was no record of it at all?"

Anna watched the anguish contort her sister's face and pulled out her mother's scarf from under one of the pillows, draping it over Elsa's shoulders. "So you're worried that somehow, having this magical machine could lead to that?"

"No, quite the opposite. What... what obligation do I have to use the information on it for good, to advance our kingdom? On that device is centuries of knowledge about things like science, medicine, mathematics... do I have an obligation to use that knowledge to help our people? What if... whatever happened to that other Arendelle, what if I can prevent that?" She looked into her sister's eyes, seeing only kindness and love reflected.

"I don't know, Elsa. That's... that's a really big question. But I guess... Mama and Papa raised us to always do the next right thing, and so... yeah, I guess we would use whatever knowledge you had to keep our kingdom safe." She flopped backwards on the bed again. "It's so mind-boggling, sis. To think that you saw the future, you lived in the future, and you brought some of it back. I thought you were magical before, but now... wow. It's like you're a goddess or something. You literally have the power of prophecy now!"

Her sister rolled her eyes before laying down on the bed beside her. "As if I needed more magic to make people even more afraid of me. No, we have to keep this a secret. Our secret, THE secret, the one we can never share." She watched Anna's face carefully for agreement and relaxed as Anna nodded along with her.

"Elsa... thank you."

"For what?"

"For... for trusting me with the biggest secret we've ever had. I- I know that you trust me and love me and all that but... thank you. It means so much to me," Anna breathed, rolling over to prop her head up on one arm, tossing the other arm around her sister's stomach, "that you felt safe enough to entrust me with something this... important. Literally world-changing. I promise, I won't let you down."

Elsa turned her head and cupped Anna's cheek. "I know you won't." Memories resurged in her mind's eye of laying in bed with the other Anna, and she coughed briefly, trying to clear them from her thoughts. "We... um, we should probably get some rest. It was a long day, getting used to things again." She stood up, assuming Anna would head for her bedroom.

"It was. Hey, can we have a sleepover? You know, like when we were kids? Would that be okay? I really missed you!"

Elsa felt her throat tighten as though someone clenched a fist around her entire neck. Her stomach trembled. Could she safely share a bed with her sister, remembering what she'd done with the other Anna? Would it be awkward? Would it be like it was before her adventure, when they were just sisters? She wrestled with her thoughts before Anna's voice interrupted her reverie.

"Please?" Anna knew her sister could never resist her puppy dog look, no matter how blatantly obvious it was.

Elsa nodded, unable to speak, then sighed with relief as Anna raced out of the room to get her green nightgown. She opened her wardrobe to look for a new nightgown of her own, her favorite still left in the future, as she worried her lower lip at the thought of Anna spending the night.

Moments later, Anna burst in, her long green nightgown flowing around her body as she ran into the room. Elsa sighed with relief, a smile growing on her face. This wasn't the Anna of the future who slept stark naked in bed, just her sister. She pulled down the blue and white embroidered linen sheets and climbed in, Anna doing the same.

"Ready to sleep already, sis?" Elsa asked, pulling up the blankets. Anna gave a nod, and Elsa flicked her wrist, small bursts of snow extinguishing the oil lamps on the nightstands.

"I missed you so much, Elsa," Anna said quietly, laying on her back and staring at the canopy over the bed, her hands behind her head. "I... I was so afraid I'd never see you again, that I'd have to... somehow find a way to get along with your double, find some way to... accept her despite how angry and scared I was. Knowing she wasn't you, and never could be."

Elsa turned on her left side, propping her head up as she regarded the silhouette of her sister, the dark room obscuring most of her features. "I suppose I had it easier than you did in this crazy adventure," she murmured.

Anna turned to face her sister, her breath soft and quiet. "You didn't really tell me much about her. About the other me. What was she like?"

"She was... a lot like you. Brash. Honest. Bold. Incredibly brave. She knew what she wanted in life, and she wasn't afraid to go get it. She was... sad, too. Some of her dreams got deferred because of the other me," Elsa mused. "Anna?"

"Hmm?"

She hesitantly reached out and touched under Anna's chin with two fingers. "Promise me you'll go after your dreams, you'll chase whatever your heart desires, and you won't let anyone - even me - stop you from doing that?"

Anna giggled and took Elsa's hand. "Silly, why would you stop me?"

"She did. The other Elsa. She... made poor choices, choices that hurt her Anna. They... fell out of love. I never want to do that to you, so... please promise me?"

Anna extended her hand, touching Elsa's hip. "All right. I promise I will chase after my dreams, Elsa. Just remember that it'll almost always include you. We were separated for so long, I never want us to be separated again."

"Thank you, Anna. What would I do without you?"

Anna leaned over and kissed Elsa on the forehead. "You'll always have me, Elsa."

Author's Notes

Thanks to everyone who commented on the previous chapters. After reading this one, how do you feel about Anna's reactions, knowing what was in the back of her head the whole time?

There's an intentional anachronism in here - the pinky swear wasn't coined until 1860.

Join The Party

Enjoyed this story? Want to meet fellow readers and discuss? Join the Elsanna Shenanigans community on Discord at discord.gg/TU9NpnH (copy and paste that URL for AO3 friends, go to discord dot gg slash TU9NpnH for FFN friends).

As always, please review, kudos, comment, like, follow, all that good stuff. I appreciate it.

Chapter 16: Kingdom of Isolation

Summary:

She sat down at the very top of the cold steps, her head bowed against her folded arms. *How could I have been so stupid? How could I have lost control like that? What must she think of me?*

Chapter Text

Chapter 16: Kingdom of Isolation

Elsa paced the floor of her ice palace, her footfalls echoing through the cavernous crystalline halls, the emptiness pressing down on her like an avalanche. Dried tears marked her cheeks as she gazed up the azure staircase, remembering how her sister had pursued her up those stairs just a couple of years ago.

She sat down at the very top of the cold steps, her head bowed against her folded arms. How could I have been so stupid? How could I have lost control like that? What must she think of me?

Outside, the chill wind howled against the walls, whistling across the bridge that connected the mountain to the rest of the land. The sun was already high in the sky, the day half over. She wondered where Marshmallow and Olaf were, then realized she was only listening for one person.

She had no idea how long she sat there, unmoving, just waiting, until the heavy ice doors creaked open.

Soft footsteps echoed on the icy floor, walking towards her. Elsa kept her head down, unable to lift it, trying to hide the tears pooling in her eyes once again.

Then the voice she was simultaneously aching and dreading to hear cut through the silence of the icy chamber.

“Elsa? We need to talk.”


Earlier that day

Anna tied ribbons in her twin plaits as she finished getting ready for the day. Elsa had been back for just over a day and a half, and it was time for the Queen to resume her normal duties, open court being the most pressing. Anna had absolutely no desire to keep the mantle of the Crown, a fact she happily reminded Elsa of that morning as they woke up together.

The day had already started oddly; she woke that morning to find Elsa gently cupping her cheek and whispering her name, but she was still asleep. I guess she really missed me if she was dreaming about me, the redhead thought. Once she’d woken, Elsa pulled her hand back as though she’d touched a hot coal, then practically fell out of bed. When Anna pressed her for what was wrong, Elsa had turned beet red before making some unintelligible excuse.

Maybe Elsa will feel better after some breakfast, she thought. Finishing up her outfit for the day, she left her chambers, skipping down the hall to the royal dining room, her heart light. Even with Elsa’s odd behavior, Anna had slept the best she’d slept in days. Having Elsa next to her made everything all right.

Elsa’s cheeks pinked again as Anna waltzed into the dining room, her nose high in the air as she followed the scents of bacon and eggs. For her part, Elsa was just glad to be eating her normal food again; much as she loved 2022, there were still some comforts that only home could provide.

Unbidden, her traitorous heart reminded her that the Anna she could romantically love was not one of those comforts. As though to twist the knife further, her mind echoed an even more perverse whisper: not yet, anyway.

“Hey sis,” Anna chirped brightly. “How did you sleep last night?”

“W-well, thank you,” Elsa demurred.

“Me too! It was so nice waking up next to you.” She missed seeing Elsa practically choke on her cup of coffee, but saw the coughing fit afterwards. “Are you okay?”

“F-fine, thank you, drank just a bit
 of coffee the, um, the wrong way.”

At that moment, Gerda came out carrying a covered serving dish, placing it in front of Anna. She looked up, arching an eyebrow and catching Gerda’s small smile and eyes directed at Elsa. “What
 what’s this?”

Elsa grinned. “Take a look. Something I
 Thank you Gerda, you may go,” she said softly, watching the servant depart the room before continuing. “Something I brought back from my travels, you know?” she leaned over the table, voice barely above a whisper.

Anna lifted the cover to find what looked like a sandwich, but instead of the traditional meats or fish, she saw it contained scrambled eggs, bacon, and cheese. “Elsa, what
 what is this magic?”

“It’s something called a breakfast sandwich! It’s breakfast food
 but in the form of a sandwich.” She clapped her hands together in anticipation of Anna’s reaction



 and the sound Anna made as she bit into the crisp, buttery toast made Elsa choke.

She’d heard that moan before.

She knew that moan, intimately.

She’d caused that moan in the other Anna.

Elsa squirmed in her chair as her body reacted even faster to Anna’s gustatory delight. She could feel her arousal growing as she fidgeted, her ears and cheeks burning, as she tried to hide her reaction.

“Elsa! This is amaaaaaaazing!” Anna crowed, taking another gigantic bite and rewarding her with the same intense reaction.

“I
 I’m glad you like it, Anna,” Elsa blushed. She turned her head and folded her arms around herself, unable to watch Anna more at the moment, lest her recently awakened libido get the best of her.

“Sure you don’t want any?” Anna asked, offering the last few morsels of the sandwich. Elsa shook her head, making the mistake of looking at her sister as Anna finished the last bite, then licked her fingers.

Something broke free inside Elsa. Watching her sister lick her fingers brought back memories of the other Anna making love to her, and desire surged in Elsa like a volcanic eruption. She subconsciously began salivating, her hands clammy, her whole body shaking. She stood from her chair and surged forward, capturing Anna’s jaw in her hand, then leaned down and kissed her full on the lips, swiping her tongue across Anna’s lower lip.

Anna was dumbstruck. What was happening? One moment her sister had the most amazing sandwich she’d ever tasted in her life prepared for her, and the next moment her sister was kissing her as though they were lovers. Even Kristoff had never been so forward with her. Confused and unnerved, she stood from her own chair and shoved Elsa by the shoulders away from her, sending the woman flying across the room and skidding into the wall.

Elsa sat up against the dining room wall. Her eyes were wide as she shook uncontrollably, frost beginning to appear on the floor around her body. “Anna, I-” she gasped, struggling to breathe. The impact had knocked the wind out of her. She clawed for purchase against the wall, slowly pulling herself to her feet as she felt like an avalanche had fallen on her.

Anna had rejected her. Not only rejected her, but rejected her violently. She felt as though someone had reached into her chest and squeezed her heart until it crumbled into shards of broken glass. Tears pooled in her eyes as time slowly restarted; she could see Anna slowly approaching her.

Before she could subject herself to further rejection, further hurt, she turned and fled the dining room, the guards surprised to see the Queen running at full tilt down the hallway.

“Elsa! Oh my god, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to push you that hard!” Anna shouted from behind her, running as fast as she could but losing ground. They both cleared the great doors at the front of the palace, but Elsa was faster and was already running across the fjord, ice forming beneath her feet.

Anna stood at the shoreline, watching her sister run as she cursed herself. Stupid. That was so stupid, I should have just asked her to stop. She noted the direction her sister was running and a wan smile crossed her face. At least I know where she’s going this time, she thought.


“Elsa? We need to talk,” Anna’s voice echoed in the cavernous main hall of the ice palace as she closed the massive doors behind her. She looked around tentatively; the last time she’d tried to visit here unannounced, the giant snow golem that they now called Marshmallow was patrolling.

Marshmallow didn’t seem to be around, so Anna took a few steps inside, looking around. Elsa had repaired the place after the incident with Weselton’s thugs and Hans, and it once again looked brand new. Her eyes traced the dual sets of circular stairs, following them up the hallway, and at the very top she could barely make out the silhouette of her sister.

Anna began to climb the stairs slowly, each step echoing like a hammer striking an anvil. As she ascended, soft snuffling sounds reached her ears; Elsa must be crying, she thought. When she reached the last flight of stairs, she made out Elsa’s form, her face still buried in her arms, resting on her knees as she sat on the top stair.

“Elsa
 I’m sorry. I really am. I didn’t mean to shove you that hard. I don’t know what came over me,” she tendered, receiving no response in return. She reached out a hand as if to comfort her sister, but hesitated.

“It’s
 my fault, Anna,” Elsa’s muffled voice replied before she lifted her head. “I shouldn’t have done that. It’s not
 it’s
 I shouldn’t have kissed you like that.” Her sorrow was palpable, her voice raspy and thick.

Anna sat down next to her on the landing. “I
 I’m not mad at you, Elsa. I was surprised. Shocked.” She finished reaching out and gently laid her hand on her sister’s shoulder, receiving a hitched breath in return. “I mean
 no one has ever kissed me like that. Not even Kristoff, and certainly not Hans, and I was just, I mean, it was so exciting but scary and confusing, and
”

“I scared you?” Elsa mumbled.

“A
 a little, yes. I wasn’t sure what was happening, why you did that. That’s why I reacted like I did. But I’m sorry, I overreacted a lot. Did
 did I hurt you?”

Elsa shook her head. “Just
 my pride, I suppose.”

Long, heavy silence filled the air for some time before Anna swallowed loudly, wrung her hands together, and worked up the courage to ask the question that was on her mind the whole time, the question she asked herself, the wind, and the sky on the long walk up the North Mountain.

“Elsa
 why DID you kiss me like that?”

“I
 Anna, I’m so sorry. It will never happen again, I promise,” she rushed to answer, her eyes glancing back and forth between Anna’s to discern her reactions.

“It’s not
 I’m not upset at you, Elsa. I just want to know why
 why that happened. We’ve never
 never done anything like that. I mean, maybe we did as little kids before we knew differently, but
 I didn’t think you felt that way about anyone, or
” she began to mumble.

Elsa nudged her shoulder. “Or what, Anna?”

Anna’s cheeks turned red as her voice dropped low. “Or even knew how to do that. I mean, I’m not trying to be insulting or anything. I’ve just
 never seen you be intimate in any fashion with anyone. You won’t even let Sven lick you.”

“I don’t know why you DO let Sven lick you,” her sister snarked before looking down at her hands, clasping and unclasping them. “I
 I haven’t been as fully forthcoming as I should have been, Anna, and I’m sorry.”

“What do you mean?”

Elsa swallowed, summoning her courage as she took a deep breath. “In the future. I told you about the other you, the future you, but I
 I omitted some important things because I wasn’t ready to share them. Obviously
 I need to tell you what happened, I need to explain myself so that you understand why
 why I did that.”

Anna took her sister’s hands in her own, stilling them. “It’s okay, Elsa. Whatever it is, you can tell me. I promise it won’t change anything. You’re
 you’re not going to lose me.”

“You can’t promise that,” she replied sharply, losing herself into Anna’s eyes.

“I can, Elsa. I can, and I will.” She rubbed her palms over Elsa’s knuckles, warming the cool alabaster skin.

Elsa stood up, offering her hand to Anna, as she guided them both into the upper room off the top of the stairs. With a wave of her hand, she conjured a couch and sat down on it, the icy fabric and snow stuffing making for a comfortable seat.

“All right. The
 the Anna of the future, I told you she was married to the me of the future.” Watching her sister nodding, she continued. “What I didn’t tell you was
 how do I say this
 I might have developed some feelings for her too.”

Anna tilted her head. “Developed some
 you mean, like romantically?”

“Romantically and
 other feelings,” Elsa muttered, her cheeks ablaze.

“Other
?” Anna whispered.

“Yes
 yes, other. Anna, I’m so sorry, I never meant for any of this to happen, but
 it was all just so sudden. When I arrived there, on the very next day, you - the other Anna - kissed me. And I mean kissed me romantically and
 and sexually, almost.”

“Oh my goodness, really? What- why- how did you react?”

Elsa hung her head. “I
 I really liked it. But Anna, that’s
” Her words lodged in her throat as surely as if they’d been a stampede of people fleeing for the only exit. She coughed. “That’s not all of it. I
 we
”

Anna waited patiently, watching her sister struggle to get the words out. Whatever had happened in the future must have profoundly affected her. Perhaps Elsa had the same shocked reaction to the future Anna that she had when Elsa kissed her. A memory tickled at her mind, and she recalled that the future Elsa had kissed her in the dungeon - and she’d reacted exactly the same way. Before she could say anything, Elsa continued, voice barely above a whisper.

“We were
 intimate.”

“I
 um, I think I misheard, Elsa. Did you say
 you and
 the future me, did you say you were intimate?”

Elsa nodded, her shoulders hunched over, anticipating Anna’s reaction.

“Like
 how intimate? What do you mean by intimate? Like sleepover intimate? Sharing a toothbrush intimate?”

“Intimate, Anna. E-everything. We were intimate in all the ways that two women could be,” she murmured, wishing she could curl up in a ball and never have this conversation with her own sister. At seeing the confused expression on her sister’s face, Elsa rolled her eyes in frustration. “Sexually intimate, Anna. We were
 we were sexually intimate.”

Anna’s jaw dropped, and for a few long moments, she resembled a goldfish. Her mouth opened and closed soundlessly.

“Anna
 Anna. Please, say something.”

“You
 were intimate with future me? Like
 I don’t even understand how that would work, Elsa. You don’t have
 you know, boy parts,” she said with flailing hand gestures, a confusing melange of mental images running through her mind. Physical intimacy in general was something of a mystery to her, the Royal tutors covering the dry, clinical basics, and her experiences with Hans and Kristoff were limited to some hand holding and kissing, but not much else.

“Do you really want to know, Anna?”

Anna struggled with her response. On the one hand, she and Elsa shared everything. Years of being separated made her desperate to include Elsa in every part of her life and vice versa.

On the other hand
 the idea of being romantically or sexually involved with another woman was a brand new idea to her. All of Scandinavia was fairly religious; even though Arendelle was more progressive than its neighbors, one woman loving another intimately was rare. A few couples existed like that; they’d petitioned the Crown for marriage, and Elsa had agreed, despite the reservations of some of the bishops. Elsa was the head of the Church of Arendelle among her many other titles, so what she said was irrefutable law - but there was still substantial social stigma to anything except traditional marriage and relations.

Finally, she mutely nodded.

Elsa reached out her hands and began to cast memory after memory in snow, shapes taking form and illustrating in startling precision what Elsa and the future Anna had shared together, as her sister’s eyes grew wider and wider.

“I
 had no idea,” Anna swallowed loudly, her mind blown by the different ways two people could be intimate with each other. “There’s, uh, nothing in the Royal Library that explains things so
 clearly.”

“Do you see now why I found myself developing feelings for her? The things I shared with her
 I always thought that
 well, you know this. Because of my powers, I thought I’d never be
 intimate
 like that with anyone. But
” Elsa sighed, her eyes gazing far off in the distance as she recalled her week in the future: waking up in Anna’s arms, sharing meals, fighting the bad guys together.

“But you did
 with her. And you
 you kissed me because
?”

“Because I loved her and you remind me of her so much. And like I said, I’m so sorry, Anna. It won’t happen again, I promise.”

Elsa relaxed her shoulders and leaned back against the couch, propping her legs up. It was a profound relief for her to finally get all the secrets out in the open, to confess to her sister all that had happened while she was hopping between worlds. Best of all, her sister hadn’t yet run away screaming or been outraged or disgusted by her. She felt as though she could fully breathe again.

Anna gently patted Elsa’s ankle with her hand. “Hey, I understand falling hard and fast. I was going to marry Hans after literally just minutes.”

Elsa swatted Anna playfully on the arm. “Don’t remind me. I still can’t believe that.”

“But yeah, I can understand that.” She paused for a moment, a frown crossing her face. “I
 I suppose if I had given that other Elsa a chance, maybe we could have gotten to know each other, too. Or at least, I could have understood from her perspective what she thought of the other me,” she murmured, her face falling.

“I’m honestly not sure, Anna. She and the other Anna
 they have some work to do on their relationship. Quite a lot of it, actually. They’re not like we are, not as close as we are.”

“Are you saying
 what are you saying, Elsa?”

“We’ve had each other all our lives, even when
 you know, I was locked away. We still talked every day, passed notes under the door, made gifts for each other. They didn’t have that because they didn’t grow up together. We’ve been through the worst of times together in one way or another, and they haven’t.”

Elsa looked out the window of the Ice Palace, her thoughts momentarily drifting to the past, two years prior when she’d created the place in the belief she could hide from her troubles her magic begot. Instead, Anna had been the one to save her in so many ways, from coming to see her to literally giving her life by stopping Hans. The Anna of the future she’d fallen for had certainly put her life on the line many times, but it was only when Elsa had revealed her powers that the future Anna had included her in their life or death situations. The future Elsa was still in the dark about what that Anna even did for work, and those secrets were slowly withering their relationship instead of strengthening it.

Anna cleared her throat. “So, um
 I guess we’re good? I mean, I’m good if you’re good. Are you good? And I mean, you don’t have to be good, Elsa. Just because I’m good, I don’t want you to have to feel like you have to pretend to be-”

Elsa put a finger against Anna’s lips, suppressing the rush of adrenaline and flicker of heat the gesture triggered in her own body. “I’ll be fine, Anna. Are you?”

“I
 I still feel guilty for what I did to that Elsa. Especially since
” Anna took a deep breath, rubbing her palms on her knees, “Your first instinct with another version of me was to fall in love with her, to be kind to her. What does that say about me that I locked another version of you up and rejected her in every way? What kind of sister am I if I couldn’t see you in her?”

“You’re too hard on yourself, Anna. You were frightened and in pain. I don’t fault you at all for how you reacted. If our roles had been reversed, I’m not sure I would have done any better than you. For all we know, I might have frozen an imposter Anna solid on the spot.”

Anna swallowed hard and nodded. “Do
 do you love me like
 like that, Elsa? Like the other Anna?”

It was Elsa’s turn to be uncomfortable answering, and she honestly didn’t know how she felt just yet. Did she love Anna because she was Anna, or did she love each one differently? “I honestly don’t know, Anna. It’s all still a jumble in my head. I do know I love you and I’m happy to be back here, with you. That’s the one thing I’m sure of.”

“And I love you too, Elsa. I missed you so much when you were gone.” She took a deep breath and stood up. “Now come on, let’s get out of here and head back to the palace.”

“You’re too good to me, Anna.” Elsa took Anna’s hand, pulling her to her feet and to the icy balcony doors, which she slammed open with a wave of her hand. “Want to see something else I learned in the future?”

Anna nodded gleefully, glad the tension of the conversation had melted away. She had a lot of thinking to do, but she knew this wasn’t the time or place to do it. “I hope it’s another sandwich!”

“It’s not quite a sandwich, but I saw
 some imaginative uses of frost and ice powers in their literature and media. Let’s see if this works. Hold on tight to me, okay?” She lifted her hands up, weaving them in a circular fashion, and formed giant wings of ice on her back as though she were an angel. With another hand motion, a jet of wind and ice propelled the two into the sky like a great eagle, soaring from the North Mountain back to the palace. Despite the wind rushing past her ears, Elsa could hear and feel Anna’s delighted laughter, and decided that of all the things she loved about being home, that was one of the best.

Author’s Notes

Though it would seem like a logical thing, breakfast sandwiches weren’t invented (or at least commercialized) until the 1970s.

The other thing that occurred to me as I was writing Storm of Spirits was that while Elsa and Anna were physically separated for 13 years, there was no way they didn’t communicate with each other frequently. Olaf’s Frozen Adventure showed that they certainly had no trouble passing gifts to each other so in my headcanon, they may have been physically apart but emotionally together. The same would hold true for Elsa’s ability to be Queen - royal tutors would likely have communicated through the door, sending in schoolwork, etc. when things like meals were delivered. Otherwise she would never have gotten the education needed to be an effective monarch, and it was obviously intended for her to succeed Agnarr.

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Chapter 17: I Wonder As I Wander

Summary:

“Olaf! You can’t say things like that! She’s my sister! She’s my sister AND she’s the Queen!” She looked around furtively, making sure no one was obviously listening in. “Besides, sisters do not kiss each other
 that way,” she stage whispered, as she carefully reset the fence pieces.

Chapter Text

Chapter 17: I Wonder as I Wander

Anna walked down the dusty lane, passing by houses with neat slate roofs and diagonal wooden fences. The trees wavered in the stiff springtime breeze, the scent of the ocean always present. Overgrown thatch and large grey boulders dotted the side of the road as she walked up the hills of Arendelle’s outer limits, hundreds of meters above the palace in the distance. She rested against one of the larger fence posts, admiring the view, as her thoughts wandered.

I wonder what it would be like to live up here, someplace quiet, someplace without all the hustle and bustle of the palace, she mused, watching a few children playing in one of the yards. I wonder what it would be like if it were just Elsa and me.

She started at that thought, wondering where it had come from. Was it from that passionate kiss Elsa had given her yesterday? Or the tales of Elsa being with the other Anna, married to her and fulfilling her.

They’d woken up together again in the morning, but Elsa had crowded herself on the very edge of the bed, as far away from Anna as possible while still being on the bed. As soon as she’d woken, Elsa made sure to keep a cautious, generous distance - not far enough that it would be apparent to someone that something was wrong, but far enough that Anna noticed the difference.

Without thinking, her hand lifted itself to her lips, and she lightly brushed her index and middle fingers over her lower lip where Elsa had run her tongue during her passionate kiss.

Should I be disgusted? It’s not like we haven’t kissed each other hundreds of times when we were little kids, and even after the Great Thaw, she thought.

“Kissed who?” a voice broke through her thoughts, and she shrieked before looking down to find Olaf.

“Olaf! What are you doing here?”

“Oh, you know, just wandering around pondering the great mysteries of life, listening to people have conversations with each other and with themselves standing on a hill overlooking the city,” he blurted, winding up for a good ramble.

Anna sighed. “Now is not the time, Olaf. I was
 I was just thinking
 out loud, I guess.” She looked back out at the fjord, her eyes unfocusing.

Olaf looked out for a moment, his brow scrunched as he tried to figure out what Anna was staring at, and scratched his head. “What were you thinking about?”

“It’s nothing, it’s just
 well
 Can you keep a secret?”

“Yes! I mean maybe. It depends on the secret. And who’s asking me about the secret. Actually, no. I can’t keep a secret at all. But you can tell me anyway,” he offered with a guileless smile.

Anna gave a soft laugh as she hugged herself. “I
 well, I can never fault you for your honesty, Olaf. Let’s just say something happened recently and I’m not sure what to think about it.”

“You kissed someone?”

“The opposite, actually. Someone kissed me and I
 I don’t know how I feel about it,” she sighed, remembering how awkward and uncomfortable she felt in the dining room. Else had apologized profusely in her Ice Palace, and Anna had forgiven her, but she still couldn’t erase the sensation from her mind. Was it a good sensation? It was shocking, but was it unpleasant? She couldn’t decide.

“Was it Kristoff? He talks about kissing you a lot, and he always tells me to keep that secret, so maybe it’s the same thing, right?”

Anna pinched the bridge of her nose and exhaled, mentally counting to five. Kristoff was the last person she wanted to think about right at that moment. But as Olaf’s words sunk in, she considered his mention of Kristoff and realized while her Elsa had vanished in the future, she hadn’t thought about or even talked to Kristoff once during the entire incident.

She didn’t need him, not in the same way that he seemed to need her.

She did need her sister. As her sister, her best friend, her confidante, as Queen of the nation. But as a romantic interest? She wasn’t sure what to make of the idea, and started to walk down the road, idly tracing her finger along the fence as Olaf followed, confused at her lack of response.

“Wait, is kissing something you only do if you love the person?” Olaf asked as he waddled behind Anna.

“Well
 yes. You know that, Olaf. We’ve talked
 at length, I might add
 about what is appropriate behavior around other people. Remember what we said about warm hugs?” she snickered, recalling many long talks by Elsa about how warm hugs were something most people weren’t comfortable with, despite Olaf’s genial nature. Those same talks also extended to telling him not to kiss other people who didn’t ask to be kissed, and keeping his hands out of other people’s mouths, except for Sven. He didn’t understand why someone wouldn’t want a warm hug or a kiss, and the discussion went in circles for over an hour.

“Warm hugs are best with warm friends,” he muttered sullenly, before one of his mercurial mood shifts. “Wait, so that means the person who kissed you must love you a lot! Are you going to marry them? Will you have babies with them? Why are you blushing so much? Are you overheating?”

Anna covered her ears with her hands as her breathing sped up. “Olaf. Olaf! Not
 not now, okay. Just
 relax. I’m trying to figure out what the person meant by kissing me like
 like they did. Whether it means anything or not, okay? I’m certainly not going to do
 those other things you mentioned.” She tamed her breathing as her heart slowed back down to normal.

“I bet it was Elsa,” he blurted out.

Anna stumbled and pinwheeled against the rail fence, knocking a few slats loose before falling backwards into someone’s garden. “Olaf! You can’t say things like that! She’s my sister! She’s my sister AND she’s the Queen!” She looked around furtively, making sure no one was obviously listening in. “Besides, sisters do not kiss each other
 that way,” she stage whispered, as she carefully reset the fence pieces.

Olaf scratched his head with one of his twig arms. “Why not? You love each other. You just said people only kiss when they love each other like that. And you do plenty of other things together like sleep in the same bed all the time or hug each other whenever you’ve been apart for more than three minu-”

“Olaf
” she shook her head, a headache beginning to press against her temples, “that’s a different kind of love than what we’re talking about. It’s not the same-” Anna looked at the curve in the road ahead, spotting one of the local families, the Larsens, out in their yard. The Larsens were one of the many families with children who knew and loved Olaf, and Anna immediately let out a sigh of relief. “We can talk about this another time, Olaf. Right now, it looks like Harald and Anders would like to see you instead,” she indicated, waving at the young boys calling Olaf’s name.

The little snowman toddled off to go play with friends as Anna scurried quickly past the house before he could change his mind. She walked further up the road, climbing the steep hill that led almost to the outer stone walls of the city. She reached the uppermost tower, looking down at the entirety of the fjord as it sparkled in the sunlight.

Anna sat in the grass, mulling over Olaf’s clumsy but truthful words. How did her sister love her, that she felt comfortable enough to kiss her like a lover? Was her trip to the future, to that other reality, so dramatic and changing that she became a different person in just a week, or did Elsa harbor these kinds of feelings before she ever left, and simply didn’t tell Anna?

She picked a nearby daisy, staring at it idly as a cool wind from the mountains gently swept over the hills, ruffling her bangs. Her French tutor had taught her effeuiller la marguerite, plucking the daisy. Anna began to pluck the petals off the daisy as she mulled over Elsa’s actions, mindlessly reciting the traditional French. Elle m’aime un peu - beaucoup - passionĂ©ment - Ă  la folie - pas du tout. She loves me a little, a lot, passionately, to madness, not at all.

She gave a bitter laugh as the last petal settled on passionĂ©ment, she loves me passionately. Olaf’s words came back to haunt her once more. “You do plenty of other things together”, he’d said. And it was true. She and Elsa hugged each other as though they hadn’t seen each other for years, even if they’d only been apart a half hour. They held hands all the time. They walked through the city square, arm in arm like a couple at every festival and holiday. They slept in the same bed more often than not, curled up against each other like cats. Was that the behavior of siblings or someone else? She had no basis for judgement, and it wasn’t like she could go knocking on doors around town to ask people.

Did Elsa love her romantically?

She swallowed, her throat dry at the implications. Did Elsa love her romantically enough to want to
 be intimate? With her own sister? Why was Elsa behaving like this toward her?

Anna watched Harald and Anders running in circles around Olaf far below her vantage point. Siblings, out playing and having fun together.

Siblings. Anna’s thoughts turned to their relationship. Why did they behave the way they did in general, so much more close than others? Some of it was unquestionably the thirteen long years they’d been separated by their parents, to protect her from Elsa’s magic. That separation left deep scars in both of them, wounds that only each other’s presence soothed. They needed each other to remind the other that neither was alone.

Anna had occasionally wondered whether they were even properly sisters, having spent more time apart than together. Yet they weren’t truly apart, not in their hearts. Elsa never saw her in person all those years, but they talked daily, backs against Elsa’s door, complaining quietly about their studies, laughing together, making gifts for each other. She’d made a baker’s dozen of Olaf-shaped gifts for her older sister, one each Christmas. More than a few times, her father had scooped up her sleeping body from Elsa’s door, carrying her back to her room.

She contemplated the romantic relationships she’d had. Hans, for as little as that had lasted, was a whirlwind. Looking back, she never loved him, but she absolutely loved the idea of being in love, and he was the first person that had ever shown interest - that had the opportunity to show interest - in her.

And then there was Kristoff. Anna let out a heavy sigh, her shoulders slumping. He was a wonderful person. Strong, loving, caring, selfless, dedicated, loyal
 virtually everything she could ever want in a best friend. Yet she could see how he felt about her, how every glance was filled with pregnant pauses and longing so dire, it was like watching a thirsty man in a desert crawling towards an oasis. And despite it all, she felt
 nothing. None of what she’d dreamed of, none of what she imagined being swept off her feet by a handsome prince would feel like.

To her heart, Kristoff was lumped in the same category as Olaf and Sven. Lovable, people she could and did love, but not someone she could be in love with. And therein was the problem. She wanted to be the closest of friends. He wanted something different. Am I afraid to feel that way towards someone? she questioned, tossing the plucked daisy petals into the wind.

It wasn’t the same with Elsa, she thought. When she’d kissed Hans, it was almost like licking a perfumed soap dish. He was so polished, so elite, with the perfect cologne and flawless looks hiding his monstrous nature. When she’d kissed Kristoff, it felt like licking reindeer-scented sandpaper. Both experiences had ended up being stomach churning, though for different reasons.

When she’d been kissed by Elsa, it felt like a cool breeze, the scent of winter’s fresh air mixed with a bit of mint, warm and cool at the same time. Soft. Pleasant. She decided that yes, it was pleasant. And part of her wanted to experience it again.

Anna brushed the grass and dirt off her green dress as she stood, starting the long walk back towards the palace. Going for a walk had been meant to clear her head, not clutter it more, she lamented with a rueful chuckle to herself.

She’d been so intent on discerning how Elsa felt about her that she forgot one key aspect to consider: how she felt about her sister. As she walked by the row houses and the stone palisades of Arendelle’s outer walls, memories of the previous week washed over her.

Anna was all but certain after her impromptu coronation that she’d lost Elsa again, but this time, there was no door between them. Instead, she had Elsa’s twin, a poor substitute for the real thing. The night of her coronation, she’d cried herself to sleep, hugging Elsa’s pillows and trying to hold onto her scent as long as possible. And the night after. And the night after that.

The Royal Astronomer and all of her scientific advisors had been thoroughly flummoxed by the situation; besides Pabbie ascertaining that the Elsa in their dungeons was not her sister, even the elder troll was at a loss for what had happened. The straw that had broken the camel’s back was a quiet question from Kai a few days after her coronation, in private.

“Your Majesty,” he’d intoned, holding the door open to the library. “A word, if I may?”

Once they’d been seated in the library, he brought out a lengthy scroll. “Archbishop Hauge asked me to suggest that perhaps a memorial service would be in order for your sister, to ease the transition for you and provide you some closure. I know it can’t be easy for you, with your parents having vanished as well-”

“No.”

“Your Majesty, I underst-”

“No, Kai. I won’t do that again. I had to bury my parents alone. I won’t bury my sister alone as well.”

“Princes- I mean, Queen Anna, I have already found the stonecarver-”

Anna stood up from the chair she was in and glared daggers at the portly chamberlain. “Listen to me carefully, Kai,” she hissed. “I do not wish to hear another word about this matter, not from the Archbishop, not from you, not from a stonecarver. The next person who speaks to me of burying my sister will be exiled from the kingdom and set adrift in the Dark Sea. Am I making myself perfectly clear?”

Kai nodded mutely before excusing himself from the library, stumbling into the doors in his haste to leave.

As the door closed behind him, Anna’s gaze caught a candlelit portrait of her sister, and she choked back a sob. “I can’t believe she’s gone,” she whispered. “I can’t believe she left me again.”

The next day, Anna had taken a small measure of joy in seeing the torn up scroll in the pile of refuse to be tossed out, once Elsa had returned to the castle and everyone had seen her powers, knew that it was really her again. Just the thought of Elsa returning to her brought a smile to Anna’s face even now.

I couldn’t do this without her, Anna mused as her attention drew back to the present. None of it. Not being Queen, not being here, nothing. She’s the brightest star in my sky. She thought of all the things she’d missed that week - all the things she was afraid she’d miss forever. Their hugs. Their kisses. Their sleepovers. Their meals together. Their jokes. The gifts they gave each other. She had resigned herself to living out her days joyless, absent all those little touches that her sister brought into her life.

In her grief, in her fears of what she’d lost, she recognized that Elsa was the biggest source of joy and comfort in her life. Elsa was everything to her, just as she’d sung on her birthday: her sun, moon, and sky. She was the shoulder she leaned on, the heart that lived outside her own chest, the constant companion she needed in her life.

Elsa was everything to Anna, and a week of facing her fears, of facing a life without Elsa, cemented in her mind that she couldn’t do without her. She watched the neighbors playing a game of knights fighting some mythical dragon and realized she wanted the fairy tale happily ever after, too. But instead of a fictional prince sweeping her off her feet as she’d dreamed about growing up, the face - the person - in her daydreams doing that was Elsa.

Like a bolt of lightning arcing across the nighttime sky, Anna realized that she didn’t just love her sister. She was very much in love with her sister.

Author’s Notes

I was going to say the scroll was in the wastebasket, but modern wastebaskets as we know them weren’t invented until 1875. The history of sanitation (or the lack thereof) is kind of frightening. I’m amazed we made it this far as a species.

At this point in the story, I was toying with an Act III arc that involved Kristoff and the nature of the aurora, but I realized it was an unnecessary complication and took the focus away from Elsa and Anna. So we only have another 5 chapters left in this fic. However, the now-alternate storyline is written, mostly - I never finished it, but a substantial part of it does exist. So, question to you, my reader. Would you like to read the alternate, incomplete story, and if so, should it be an epilogue on this one (like a director’s cut) or something separate, even though I will never finish it?

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Chapter 18: From Now On

Summary:

The priest turned to Anna. “Anna, do you take Elsa to be your lawfully wedded wife, to love her, comfort her, honor and keep her, in sickness and in health, in sorrow and in joy, to have and to hold, from this day forward, as long as you both shall live?”

Chapter Text

Chapter 18: From Now On

No more secrets, Elsa whispered to herself. She paced a small circle in her chambers as she thought about the magical device in her lockbox. How would Anna react to seeing videos of their parents - well, sort of their parents, if parents from another world counted.

A quiet knock sounded from her door; Elsa opened it slowly, then smiled at her sister. “Good morning, Princess”, she murmured.

“Hi sis,” Anna offered as she came in and sat on the corner of Elsa’s bed, her hands uncharacteristically still, clasped together in front of her. Her shoulders were higher than usual as well, a clear sign of tension.

“I missed you at breakfast this morning.”

Anna laughed nervously. “Oh
 you know, I just slept in. Overslept. And I didn’t hear Kai calling for me to wake up.” In reality, she’d lain awake, staring at her ceiling for over an hour as she contemplated everything that had occurred to her on her walkabout. Did she really love her sister as more than her sister? What would their parents think? How did she really feel about it?

“You should have slept with me last night. I would have woken you on time.”

Anna burst out into a coughing fit, her cheeks reddening. The very idea of sleeping with Elsa sent her mind in places she wasn’t prepared to go, especially after the very
 vivid explanations of how women were intimate Elsa had shown her in the ice palace the other day.

“Anna, what’s going on with you today?” Elsa asked, her hands on her hips.

“Nothing! Nothing, not a thing, no thing, absolutely not thinking about things that I shouldn’t be thinking about, Elsa. Nope, no ma’am,” she rambled, her hands coming alive as they wrung each other and pulled idly at the threads in her dress.

Elsa arched her eyebrow.

“I promise, it’s
 it’s nothing. I’m just not feeling myself- I mean, I’m just not feeling like myself today. Anyway,” she squirmed, “What did you want to see me about?”

Elsa sighed and sat down next to her sister. “Remember when we promised there would be no more closed doors, no more secrets?” She received a silent nod in acknowledgement, continuing, “There’s one last thing from my trip to that other world that I need to show you, that I need to share with you. Something
 well, it’s something that almost defies explanation.”

She stood up and walked to her door, locking it and then freezing the door handle with a frostbolt, then bending down to open the lockbox in her antechamber.

“Elsa, you’re starting to worry me a little,” Anna laughed with a shaky voice. “Wh-what is it?”

“It’s nothing bad, but you should definitely remain seated.” She carefully disconnected the solar battery pack from the phone and carried it over to the bed. “What I’m about to show you is real, or at least as real as that other world got.” She took a deep breath, swiped open the phone, and stared for a moment at the home screen.

“Elsa?” Anna leaned over to look at the screen and gently touched her hand to Elsa’s thigh before realizing what she’d unconsciously done. Anna pulled her hand back like she’d been burned, but Elsa’s attention was on the home screen.

“Here goes.” Elsa tapped the Photos app open and scrolled to the first set of photos of their parents.

Anna gasped and reflexively hugged Elsa’s arm, looking at Agnar and Iduna on the screen, a photo of them taken presumably at their home. They were sitting next to each other at a table, with two colorful beverages in front of them, and a white fluffy dog laying in the background on what looked like cobblestones. “That’s- Elsa- is that
 that’s them?”

Elsa nodded. “It is. It’s them from that world.” Her eyes had already begun to mist. “They were still alive there, still happy and healthy and
 with that Elsa.” She swiped through photos of the three of them at various national parks, at more restaurants than Elsa could count, at Anna’s graduation.

“Did you meet them?”

“No, I didn’t dare.” Elsa’s stomach dropped at the thought. She questioned and second-guessed herself often since returning to Arendelle; should she have tried to meet them? Should she have accepted that Anna’s suggestion to at least give them a call? She pushed those thoughts away for the moment.

At that admission, Anna released a breath and the envy she knew she would have felt if Elsa had. “I’m not in nearly as many of these, am I?”

“No. In that world, we weren’t sisters, so there are many more of that Elsa and our parents than that Anna. But there’s still quite a few to look at.”

Anna sighed, a wet sniffle coming from her as she regarded a photo with all four of them in it, that world’s Anna in her red graduation robes, that world’s Elsa in a blazer and slacks, and their parents’ doppelgĂ€ngers in formalwear. “They look so old, Elsa. They look like
 like they would right now, don’t they? If they were
 still here.” She stared at the crow’s feet around Iduna’s eyes, Agnar’s receding hairline, his red hair laced with steel grey. He’d put on some weight, but looked so jovial it didn’t matter. She smiled to herself. They looked and sounded like the parents she wished they could have had, had they survived. That counted in her heart.

“They do. I spent hours one night just looking through all these, just to see what their lives were like. They were happy. Still in love with each other, and they cared very much about us.”

“How do you know?”

Elsa closed her eyes to steady herself before reaching for the bottom navigation menu. With a heave of breath and a gentle pat of Anna’s thigh, she tapped the videos icon and swiped to Anna’s graduation, then hit play.

The camera moved around until it settled on what looked like a granite pavilion, white, flat rock laid down instead of cobblestones. A statue of a man on a horse and some kind of sculpture was in the background as Anna, dressed in long, vivid red robes and a red cap with a gold tassel, stood in the center of the picture with a broad grin. She held out her diploma proudly to whoever was shooting the video, its equally red leather-bound case and gold letters glinting in the sunlight.

The little speakers roared to life as Agnar walked into view.

“Anna, we’re so proud of you!” Agnar said to the camera as he one-arm hugged the redhead, his bright blue tie fluttering in the breeze. “You’ve been so wonderful to our Elsa, and we couldn’t be happier that you two found each other.” Iduna came into view from the side, joining the group hug. “Congratulations, Anna,” Iduna murmured before giving Anna a peck on the cheek.

Anna lost her composure as the video came to an end, a sob breaking free from her. “I miss them, Elsa. Oh god, I miss them so much. This
 it’s like a miracle and a curse all at once, to see them so happy, to see them just one more time, but it hurts,” she cried, crumbling in on herself.

Elsa leaned over and wrapped both arms around Anna’s shoulders. “I know, Anna. I know. The first night I saw all these, I was
 I barely slept. I couldn’t tear myself away from watching, from looking to see what kind of life they had. And if I’m honest, I envied that Elsa so much, to still have her parents. I
 I almost said yes when that Anna offered to have me speak to them. But they would have known immediately that I wasn’t their Elsa.”

“I didn’t really give her a chance to speak to me. I guess I missed out on the opportunity to get to know another version of you,” her sister said, looking down at her hands as her cheeks burned in shame.

“Well, you did have her in a dungeon and at the time, your reasons probably seemed good. But yes, I’m curious about her as well. I wonder how much we had in common, if we shared the same traits. Clearly, we shared the same appreciation for you,” she chuckled.

As their laughter subsided, Elsa’s stomach churned. There was one video she desperately wanted to show Anna, but she was unsure how her sister would take it, especially since Anna had seemed distant ever since their return from the ice palace. Anna had spent an entire day away from the palace, apparently needing space.

“There’s
 one video in particular that
 that I thought you might
 well, that shows a lot of all of us.” Elsa laid the phone down on the bedspread for a moment. “But
 it’s very much a video about their romantic relationship so if you don’t want to watch it, if it makes you uncomfortable, I understand.”

Anna laid a hand on top of Elsa’s trembling leg, confident in her movement this time. “It’s okay, Elsa. Whatever it is, it’s okay. I
 I’m just glad to see them so happy, to know there’s a world out there somewhere where we’re all happy and together. I can’t explain it but
 that makes me feel better, somehow, to know that they’re alive and happy. So
 it’s okay.” She smiled and stroked her fingers through Elsa’s bangs briefly, making her older sister blush.

“A-all right.”

She pressed play.

The screen started black and then the unmistakable melody of Pachelbel’s Canon in D began playing as the setting came into view. The view was of a boat of some kind, a wide open floor with a covered roof, similar to some of the steamships Anna had spied in Arendelle’s harbor from time to time. A green metal arch decorated with lilies and roses was in the center of the room, and an elderly man dressed in a fine suit with white hair in a short ponytail stood under the arch.

Two lines of women filed in, three on each side of the arch. One side wore long, plum-colored dresses, while the other side wore the same kind of dress, but in a royal blue. Once the women filed in, the camera jostled as a pair of people walked by it on either side. Anna recognized the outfits from some of the still photos; Iduna had just walked by with that world’s Anna; both were in forest green dresses, though that Anna’s dress was trimmed with gold.

After a few more moments, Agnar and that Elsa walked the camera. Anna gasped at how beautiful Elsa looked, a far cry from the woman in her dungeon not more than a week ago. A brief flash of guilt surged through her, laced with regret at not trying to get to know her. That Elsa was wearing a stunning white dress with cerulean diamond patterns woven into it; the dress was off the shoulders and almost backless. Anna swallowed, her mouth suddenly wet with saliva as she watched Agnar escort Elsa to the arch.

This was a wedding. Their wedding.

As the music faded, the priest began to speak. “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to celebrate the joining of Elsa Bernadotte and Anna Beck in marriage. This is not the beginning of a new relationship but an acknowledgment of the next chapter in their lives together. Elsa and Anna have spent years getting to know each other, and we now bear witness to what their relationship has become. Today, they will affirm this bond formally and publicly.”

Anna watched raptly as that Anna clasped her Elsa’s hands carefully, tears welling in both their eyes and cheeks aching from smiling as the priest continued. “Today will mark their transition as a couple not only by celebrating the love between themselves, but by also celebrating the love between all of us—including the love of their parents, siblings, extended family, and best friends. Without that love, today would be far less joyous.”

The audience quietly applauded before the priest motioned for silence. He turned to face Elsa first, who was clearly breathing faster than normal, her chest heaving as a small tear ran down one cheek. “Elsa, do you take Anna to be your lawfully wedded wife, to love her, comfort her, honor and keep her, in sickness and in health, in sorrow and in joy, to have and to hold, from this day forward, as long as you both shall live?”

Elsa squeezed Anna’s hands once before murmuring, “I do.”

The priest turned to Anna. “Anna, do you take Elsa to be your lawfully wedded wife, to love her, comfort her, honor and keep her, in sickness and in health, in sorrow and in joy, to have and to hold, from this day forward, as long as you both shall live?”

That world’s Anna wasn’t so different from her. She practically jumped up and down, holding Elsa’s hands, and shouted, “Yes, I do! I do I do I do!” to the audience’s laughter.

As the laughter died down, the priest picked up a small pillow from off to the side holding two rings on it. “A ring is an unbroken circle, with ends that have been joined together, and it represents your union. It is a symbol of infinity, and of your infinite love. When you look at these rings on your hands, be reminded of this moment, your commitment, and the love you now feel for each other.”

“Elsa, place the ring on Anna’s finger and repeat after me. Anna, I give you this ring as a symbol of my love with the pledge: to love you today, tomorrow, always, and forever.”

That Elsa repeated the words and tenderly placed the ring on Anna’s finger as she stared longingly in her Anna’s eyes before looking back to the priest.

“Anna, place the ring on Elsa’s finger and repeat after me. Elsa, I give you this ring as a symbol of my love with the pledge: to love you today, tomorrow, always, and forever.”

That Anna shook so much from excitement that for a few brief moments, she ended up dropping and re-catching the ring like an outfielder chasing a pop fly ball before managing to secure it and place it on Elsa’s finger, hurriedly reciting back the priest’s words with an embarrassed grin.

The priest finally broke into a smile. “I now offer this blessing to you both.” He cleared his throat before making a sign with his hands.

“Now you will feel no rain, for each of you will be shelter for the other. Now you will feel no cold, for each will be warmth for the other. Now you will feel no loneliness, for each of you will be companion to the other. Now you are two persons, but there is one life before you. Go now to your dwelling to enter into the days of your life together. And may your days be good and long upon the earth.”

“By the authority vested in me by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and with the blessing of everyone before us, I now pronounce you married.”

The room broke out into raucous applause; Anna nearly did so herself as she watched the video. She giggled as that Elsa not only kissed her Anna, but dipped her, right out of a fairy tale. After they broke their kiss, Agnar and Iduna had rushed up to hug and kiss both of them, then pose for more photos.

A few more scenes played afterwards; Anna glued her eyes to the tiny screen as she watched that Elsa dance with Agnar in the father-daughter dance, and then watched the couple in their first dance. She giggled aloud to hear Pachelbel’s Canon in D still played hundreds of years in the future, something she’d thought about for her own wedding someday.

She salivated at the images of food being cooked from a grill off the back of the boat, guests treated to a simple steak dinner, and she marveled at the sight of the four layer cake, perched precariously on a table near the edge of the boat. They appeared to be on a river rather than the ocean, but the gentle rise and fall of the sides told her the cake could still topple. It was certainly different than how they did wedding cakes in Arendelle; kransekake was the preferred pastry because it was much more stable.

After the couple’s first dance, they made their way to the cake and that Elsa picked up a long knife. That Anna hugged her from behind and placed her hand on Elsa’s as they cut the cake. Anna marveled at the sight of the cake - a vivid red inside. Subconsciously she licked her lips, wondering what such a bold red cake tasted like. After cutting into it, that Elsa took a forkful and turned to face her bride, then gently fed her to the applause of the audience before returning the favor.

The video faded to black and came to a stop. Anna wiped tears of happiness away from her eyes, moved by the entire ceremony. Both sisters just stared at the album screen on the iPhone for a long moment.

“So
 Mama and Papa
 they looked so happy. And that world’s Anna and Elsa
 they looked so happy, too,” Anna murmured, the images of the happy couple kissing seared into her mind. She wondered how Elsa’s face looked when she’d kissed her in the dining room the other day. Was it expectant? Just as happy? Nervous? She couldn’t remember with clarity, and she wished she could, her fingers touching her lips.

After her walk across Arendelle yesterday, Anna had been troubled, wondering what their parents would think. It was obvious Elsa brought her feelings from the future, from the other world back with her and some of those feelings had transferred to Anna. But it was equally obvious to Anna that she’d loved her sister for a very long time. No one spends their entire childhood pining for another, sitting outside their door, devoting every day to making gifts, having conversations, and trying to be siblings despite the circumstances without also being in love in some way.

“What are you thinking, Anna?”

“Just
watching them. Watching Mama and Papa - I know they’re not our Mama and Papa but they also are, you know? Watching them so happy at seeing their girls get married
 it
” she trailed off, blushing, alternating between staring at Elsa and averting her eyes.

“Go on.”

“I-”

Elsa rubbed the back of Anna’s hand. “It’s okay. Whatever it is you want to say, it’s okay, Anna. I won’t judge you or think badly of you.”

Anna looked up, gazing into her sister’s cerulean eyes before whispering, “It almost feels like
 like they’re giving their blessing to how I feel, from beyond the grave.”

Elsa’s eyes widened as her breath caught. She didn’t dare hope that Anna felt the same way. “How you feel?”

“How
 how I feel about you, Elsa. How I always have.”

Elsa cleared her throat. “How
 how do you feel, Anna?”

“I- I think I might be a little bit in love with you. Maybe
 maybe more than a bit.”

A gasp was all Anna heard as Elsa just stared at her sister, trembling. “I
”

Anna took her sister’s hand and traced gentle circles along the knuckles, remembering the reaction it incited the last time she did that. “It’s okay, Elsa. Just like I told you when we were up on the North Mountain, whatever you want to say, you won’t scare me or lose me or anything. I’ll always be here for you, and now you know I have many more reasons for that. And I’m sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable.”

Elsa exhaled, her whole body relaxing as she did. “You didn’t, Anna. I was afraid to say anything after
 after how you reacted in the dining room the other day. Even though you told me on the mountain that it was fine, I wasn’t sure if it was really fine or if you were just trying to reassure me.”

Anna nodded and pulled Elsa into a brief side hug before clasping hands. “It was - and is - really fine.”

“I- I struggled when I was in the future. To keep straight which Anna was which, because so much of who she was, you are also: strong, brave, honest, loving, beautifuller,” she said with a wink, “and above all else, kind. I fell in love with both of you at the same time, I think, and when I came back here, that hadn’t changed. I was still in love with you, every version of you.”

Anna stood up and opened the balcony doors to let the cool morning air and bright sunshine in, before reciting all she’d thought about on her walk around Arendelle the previous day as she paced in front of the doors. How Elsa was her light in the darkness, the other half of her heart, her happily ever after.

“So
 what now? I love you, and I’m in love with you. It sounds like you’re in love with me,” Elsa whispered, staring into Anna’s eyes as she held Anna’s hands, savoring the warmth of her soft skin.

“I don’t know? I mean, I haven’t exactly had the greatest successes with romance, you know,” Anna grinned sheepishly as Elsa snorted in agreement. “But
 I think Mama and Papa would be okay with it - with us - and I’m willing to give it a try if you are.”

Elsa nodded as she drew Anna into a tight embrace, their bodies pressed against each other. “I’m willing to give it a try, too.”

Author’s Notes

Red velvet cake wasn’t invented until 1943, so canon Anna would have had no frame of reference for what such a vivid red colored cake would have tasted like.

The blessing that the priest gives in the wedding ceremony is and has been misattributed to various indigenous peoples over the decades, but it comes from a 1943 novel, Blood Brothers, written by Elliott Arnold. Arnold, a non-indigenous American, later stated that it was entirely fictional and had no basis in any actual traditions by peoples of the First Nations.

Future Elsa's last name, Bernadotte, is a nod to the Norwegian royal family's name. The Bernadotte lineage ruled Norway from 1818 to 1905.

There are two more chapters left in the main story before we get to the epilogues! Thank you for leaving your reviews and comments, and your feedback about the “director’s cut” alternate version. Since it clocks in at 17,000 words, I may either make it a REALLY big epilogue, or at least an epilogue in a couple of pieces.

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As always, please review, kudos, comment, like, follow, all that good stuff. I appreciate it.

Chapter 19: Planting Seeds

Summary:

“I wish I had your confidence. I just feel like
 I’m still worried. We can do so much good, but also so much harm with what we know, what we could know. I don’t want to put us in any danger.”

Chapter Text

Chapter 19: Planting Seeds

“Pass the salt please,” Elsa asked as she inspected her scrambled eggs on toast, carefully prepared exactly the way she liked it; eggs barely set, mixed with a spoonful of heavy cream and topped with minced chives, on darkly toasted landbroed, a hearty rye bread.

Anna smiled and slid the salt cellar over to her sister, who spooned a tiny amount onto her eggs. Though she’d never told her, Anna had something of an obsession with watching Elsa eat, ever since they were little. It had been drilled into them by their royal tutors to eat with the etiquette and comportment expected of royal family members, and Elsa lived up to those ideals on a daily basis with the grace of a prima ballerina. Meanwhile, the lessons had
 left less of an impression on Anna, a fact that her sister secretly enjoyed, even as she publicly scolded her for doing things like making toasts with beer or leaving her fork with the tines up on her plate.

“So.”

“So
?” Anna laughed. “What’s on your mind, sis?”

“I was just
 thinking about what we talked about yesterday,” Elsa began to blush, pink creeping up her neck. “It was
 different sleeping with you last night.” Elsa savored the memory of snuggling against Anna, their bodies fitting together perfectly, Anna’s warmth and her innate coolness the perfect match.

“But a good different, right?”

Elsa nodded. “Yes, definitely. It’s
 I don’t know how to explain it. Just knowing how you feel, it makes our closeness seem
”

“Closer? I feel that way too.” Anna reached over and patted Elsa’s hand. “I’ve always wanted to be as close to you as possible. Even when Mama and Papa had you lock yourself away, I still tried to be as close as I could.” Brief memories flashed through Anna’s mind, long days and nights leaning against Elsa’s door, the two of them talking and slipping notes under the door.

“Is
 is it okay to kiss you?”

Anna chuckled and scrunched up her face, pushing her lips out in an outrageous pout as though she were mimicking a five year old. “Kiss me, baby!”

Elsa pinched the bridge of her nose before scrubbing her palm down her face. “That’s
 not exactly conducive to a romantic kiss, Anna.” Deciding to have a bit of fun, she channeled her magic and made her lips icy cold, then planted a kiss squarely on Anna’s lips and pressed into her.

“ELSAAAAA! That’s so cold, you stinker!” Anna pulled away and leaned over, dunking her entire mouth into her cup of tea to warm up. “Talk about not romantic! I’ve heard of giving someone the cold shoulder, but that’s another thing entirely.” A thought ran through Anna’s head and she immediately turned beet red.

“Anna? Are you okay? You’re
 really red in the face. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing! Absolutely nothing, I’m fine. I’m totally fine. Yup,” she said, her voice an octave higher than normal. “I totally was not thinking about how awful that would feel if your mouth were
 um, like you were showing me the other day with those snow figures.”

Elsa’s blush joined Anna’s as her fork skidded across her plate with an ear-piercing squeal.

“Sorry!” Anna squeaked. “I didn’t mean
 uh.. yeah, sorry,” she stammered. She quickly turned back to her own breakfast, a pile of smoked salmon on top of toast as she leafed through some papers she’d brought with her. Despite Elsa having been back for more than a few days, Anna still had a backlog of administrative things to help her sister process as part of her short-lived reign. She cleared her throat. “So
 on a completely different topic
”

“Thank you!”

Anna laughed at Elsa’s rapid acceptance of the topic change. “Bjorbekk’s had another outbreak of disease. I don’t know what in the world is going on there. That’s the second time this year.” She pulled out a single sheet of paper from the folio their advisors had prepared for their morning reading and handed it to her sister. “What do you think is causing all those problems?”

Elsa read over the report describing villagers falling ill, with vivid descriptions of stomach pains and diarrhea; some children were badly dehydrated and efforts by townspeople to heal them with herbal poultices were having no effect. No one seemed to know what the cause was; no grain had been reported moldy, and no other villages nearby seemed to be affected. Some had even begun muttering about superstitions, evil spirits from the forests north of the kingdom possessing the village.

“What about
” Anna started before clapping her hands over her mouth, earning her an arched eyebrow from her sister.

“What about what?”

Anna looked around the room; all the staff save Kai were currently away. She leaned over to whisper in Elsa’s ear. “What about the black mirror?” As she did, she motioned with her eyes towards the door. Surely, in her mind, there had to be something on that mystical object that could lend some insight into their kingdom’s plight.

“The
 oh.” Elsa’s eyes widened for a moment before the barest hint of a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. “Let’s
 let’s finish breakfast and then we can talk about it some more, all right?”

After finishing off their breakfast and coffee (which Elsa was thankful for the palace’s coffee imports; the coffee of the future was incredibly strong and bitter, and she still had no idea what a Starbuck even was), they headed for her chambers. Once inside, she locked the door and froze the lock for additional privacy, then opened her antechamber’s lockbox, withdrawing the smartphone. The glowing snowflake inside had kept the solar power pack fully charged, which in turn had kept the phone ready for use despite being far out of its time.

“What do you suppose we should use to solve this mystery?” Anna asked, looking once more at the colorful array of icons on the home screen as they sat on the bed, thighs pressed against each other. She wondered just what the device was capable of; everything Elsa had shown her so far was magic, from knowledge of the future to seeing their parents alive, after a fashion.

“Let’s start with the encyclopedia on here again.” Elsa opened up the Kiwix app and started searching through it, leafing through page after page of bewildering terms. Two hours later, she settled on one topic that seemed to fit the description best. “What do you think about this?” she said, holding the phone towards her sister.

Anna squinted at the screen, reading aloud. “Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and muscle cramps may also occur. I don’t know what some of these words mean, but it sounds like what’s happening. Hang on a second.” She leaned back to grab a pencil and some note paper from the nightstand.

“Listen to this,” she said, pointing at a paragraph on the screen as Elsa looked on, “If commercially produced oral rehydration solutions are too expensive or difficult to obtain, solutions can be made. One such recipe calls for 1 liter of boiled water, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 6 teaspoons of sugar, and added mashed banana for potassium and to improve taste.” She scribbled down notes furiously. “I wish we had this written down in book format. We’d be able to share this much more easily.”

Anna ripped off the sheet of paper, folded it, and carefully handed the phone back to Elsa. “I’ve never seen a banana, and I have no idea what they taste like, but it’s definitely a fruit of some kind. I think I remember reading something from London about how red they are. We could use cloudberries or something as a substitute, right? They’re a reddish fruit.”

“I would imagine so,” Elsa nodded as she put the phone back in the lockbox and secured it, its power pack still generating power from the magical snowflake that glowed in the container. She occasionally wondered what other things could be powered from it, a line of thought that kept her awake the other night. So much of what she’d seen in the future relied on electricity. “Let’s have Kai prepare a royal coach for Bjorbekk.”

Half an hour later, with Anna’s notes in hand and a wagon of salt, sugar, and two barrels of cloudberries, the sisters headed for Bjorbekk, an easy hour’s ride away. The royal coach shone in the morning light, purple and gold trim - and cavalry alongside - indicating the importance of the passengers. The crocus flag fluttered from the corners of the coach as they headed out of the palace gates.

As the countryside passed by, Elsa chewed her lower lip, staring out the coach’s window. “Do you suppose using this knowledge is going to cause problems?”

Anna shook her head. “I doubt it. We haven’t said where it came from. For all anyone knows, it could have been brought by, I don’t know, a traveling Franciscan Friar from Prussia or something.” She took Elsa’s hand into her own, squeezing it gently. “Hey. I promise everything will be okay.”

“I wish I had your confidence. I just feel like
 I’m still worried. We can do so much good, but also so much harm with what we know, what we could know. I don’t want to put us in any danger.”

“No one else besides us knows where this came from, Elsa. And I’m certainly not going to tell anyone. Plus, even if I talk in my sleep, you’ll be the only one who hears it,” she laughed as she spoke quietly into Elsa’s ear, the noise of the rocky road drowning out their speech to anyone nearby. “Look at it this way,” a hint of a smirk forming Anna’s lips, “If we can use the knowledge for good, pull off a few minor miracles, and keep our people safe and happy, we won’t attract any unwanted attention, right? We’re not going to go, I don’t know, go revive the Napoleonic Wars or something crazy. And then they won’t give two thoughts about
 you know
 the other thing.” She wagged her index finger back and forth between her chest and Elsa’s.

“Oh. Oh, yes. That’s
 that’s true.” Elsa drew the curtains closed, ensuring none of their guards could see inside the carriage. She leaned over to whisper in Anna’s ear. “I suppose I owe you a proper good morning kiss.”

Anna smirked fully this time. “Yes you do, you stinker.” She turned her head, pulling her ear away from Elsa’s lips and replacing it with her own lips and gently pressed their lips together. The moment she made contact, her cheeks flushed and she felt dizzy, enjoying the sensation of Elsa’s soft, cool skin against hers.

Elsa gently ran her fingers through Anna’s hair, relishing Anna’s warmth. She swiped her tongue against Anna’s lower lip and this time, instead of panicking, Anna sighed happily. “Mmm. I like kissing you, Elsa.”

They parted their lips a little more, caressing each other’s tongues. Anna felt an explosion of warmth surge through her as they explored each other’s mouths. For a moment, all Anna could think was how amazing she felt. Elsa’s touch was so tender and caring, her lips so sweet.

After a few minutes, they broke apart, lips swollen and cheeks flushed. Both sisters straightened out their clothes and re-did their hair, just as the wagon came to a halt. One of the guards knocked on the door, letting them know they’d arrived in Bjorbekk’s town square.

The townspeople - those who were healthy enough to do so - came out of their homes and knelt down, bowing their heads. The town mayor, a grey-haired matron named Martha SkĂ„rland, greeted the royals nervously, shaking as she knelt. “Queen Elsa! Princess Anna! We are beyond honored that you have made the trip to see our humble little town personally. I- I thought you would just send some aid from the palace, not that you would be here in person. Please forgive us, we haven’t made any preparations-”

Elsa smiled, motioning for the elder to stand. “Mayor SkĂ„rland, please. There’s no need to worry, and I apologize for not letting you know in advance. We just
 wanted to see the situation for ourselves, and offer some assistance. Where is the town doctor?”

Mayor SkĂ„rland turned her head to nod at one of the smaller houses in the town square. “Reinert’s in his home - he’s taken ill as well, can barely get out of bed. He’s no closer to determining what’s happened here, says it’s got to be spirits or something.” Her eyes darted around the village, as though looking for ghosts.

The sisters walked around the town as a small crowd of townspeople followed them. As Elsa and the mayor spoke about the situation, Anna looked at the town well nestled in a small gully just on the edge of town, a small stream trickling nearby. She recalled what she’d read on Elsa’s phone earlier. “Mayor SkĂ„rland, has it been especially rainy lately?”

“Yes, Princess. We’ve had a good week of rain, which we’re all thankful for. The crops needed it.”

“And where do the townspeople dump their chamber pots and such?”

The mayor laughed. “Forgive me, Princess. Most of us aren’t wealthy enough to afford such conveniences. No, most folks just have outhouses.”

Anna looked again at the town. Most of it was perched on the side of a hill; the mentioned outhouses were typically behind each family’s home. She put the pieces together based on her earlier reading; heavy rains would wash sewage down the hill, where wastewater would pool and contaminate the town well. She pursed her lips together as the party walked back to the center of town. “Mayor SkĂ„rland, is that the only well in town?”

SkĂ„rland shook her head. “No, we’ve got probably a half dozen wells, but that one’s the largest by far. Most of the town uses it because it never runs dry.”

Anna gently tugged on Elsa’s elbow as the mayor made the rounds, visiting families door to door. “Okay, remember what we read this morning. The sewage is contaminating the well, so if we can get them to use wells that aren’t in the valley, that’ll help. That, boiling water, and making sure everyone affected uses the recipe we found - that should be enough,” she whispered.

Elsa smiled and placed a hand on Anna’s upper arm. “You’re amazing, Anna. I know you don’t want to be, but you would have made a fine queen for our people.” She cleared her throat. “Everyone, if you could step a little closer please?” As the crowd gathered, Elsa relayed what Anna had found and gave instructions that everyone was to use wells that were uphill from the valley until the crisis was over, and every house should boil all the water before drinking it. As she explained how to make the rehydration solution they’d read about, the royal guards offloaded the wagon’s supplies.

For the next few hours, they helped the townsfolk boil large cauldrons of water over a roaring wood fire in the center of town. Elsa summoned a giant snow golem, similar in size to Marshmallow, who lifted each cauldron off the fire and placed it on the ground before heaving another cauldron in place. Once the water was off the boil, Anna added in the correct amounts of sugar, salt, and cloudberries the villagers were mashing in large bowls. Mayor SkĂ„rland’s aides took clean pots and glass bottles, bottling up the potions and having townsfolk distribute them to the afflicted houses. By mid-afternoon, they’d made enough rehydration solution for each person to have 2-3 liters per day for 7 days, more than enough to keep them hydrated and out of substantial danger as their infections waned.

“Thank you, Your Majesty! It’s so gracious of you to provide us with medicine and aid,” the mayor gushed, bowing. “How can we repay the Crown for your favor?”

Elsa smiled and shook her head. “There’s no need to repay anything. We will always do our best to help the people of Arendelle in any way we can. Remember our directions and follow them to the letter, please. And keep that recipe handy in case others fall ill. In fact, once Reinart is feeling better, make sure he sends it - unaltered, please - to the nearby towns.” The townsfolk cheered and clapped as the sisters prepared to depart. Elsa took one last look at the supplies being put in the tiny hamlet’s town hall, which was little more than a small house.

As Anna watched her sister deliver final instructions to the town, she remembered something they’d talked about that morning. She turned to the Royal Guard. “Captain Masserud, can you take the carriage and two horses back to the palace, but leave two horses for the Queen and I to ride back?”

“I would strongly advise against that, Your Highness. Our role is to protect you and Her Majesty. This far out into the countryside, we can’t discount the risk of bandits,” the young blond captain stammered.

Anna laughed. “Captain, with due respect, my sister’s powers ensure that anyone who might have ill intentions will receive what’s coming to them, especially since it’s only an hour’s ride back to home. Why don’t you ride ahead of us by 15 minutes or so, make sure the way is clear. If there’s any trouble, you can simply wait for us on the side of the road, all right?”

“Of course, Your Highness, as you command,” Masserud nodded, before directing the guardsmen to untack two of the horses and prepare them for riders instead.

A few minutes later, Elsa caught up with her sister, looked at the horses, and arched an eyebrow.

“We have some things to discuss that I felt were best on our own, sis,” Anna smiled. She mounted her horse, one of two dun Norwegian Fjord horses whose bloodline had been in Arendelle’s royal family for generations. As Elsa mounted her horse, Anna pulled out her pocket watch, noting the time that the royal carriage and guard had gone ahead. After fifteen minutes, the sisters set out for the palace.

“So what did you want to talk about that we couldn’t in the coach, Anna?”

“It’s about the knowledge on the black mirror,” Anna said, swiveling her head around to make sure no one was in sight as they rode along the dusty road, lush green oak and birch forests lining it. The warm afternoon breeze rustled the leaves, the first hints of summertime on the way. Though it was early evening, the sun wouldn’t set until after 8:30 PM, so they had plenty of daylight for the ride back.

“What about it?”

“Remember this morning I said it would be handy to have all that knowledge in book form?”

Elsa nodded as they broke their horses into a working trot. “It would.”

“What if it was? What if we had someone transcribe as much of the knowledge as possible into books? We could store those in the Royal Library and then not need to refer to the source as much.”

“We can’t let anyone else know that it exists, Anna. You know that.”

Anna smirked good-naturedly. “No other people, I know. But
 could you make someone to do it? When you conjured that Marshmallow in the village to help out with the cauldrons, I got to thinking. You made Olaf, and he can read and write, more or less. Could you make something like that, something that isn’t a person but can still do the task?”

Elsa’s eyebrows shot up. “I- I have no idea. I suppose we could try when we get back to the palace.” She worried her lower lip between her teeth. “That would solve a lot of issues. We could start sharing the knowledge without having to worry about people finding out the real source of it, at least for things like medicine. And we wouldn’t have to pick and choose which knowledge we made use of, or cloister ourselves in the palace to frantically write things down. I don’t know how long that future technology will keep working.”

“And frankly, we need to learn as much as we can as well - and having books sure would be easier than us huddling around the little thing. Not that I mind huddling next to you,” she replied with a wink.

“I don’t mind it, either.”

After a half hour on the trail of light conversation and companionable quiet, watching the world go by, Elsa spoke up again.

“Anna?”

“Hmm?”

Elsa’s posture tensed with nervous energy. She glanced at her sister, who returned the look. “I- I love you, Anna.”

Anna gave a gentle tug on her reins to move her horse closer. “I love you too, sis. What brought that on?”

“I was thinking
 how do I say this? I was thinking I might like to do some of that trying we talked about the other day.”

“Wait, what? What trying?”

Elsa’s cheeks pinked. “Remember we said we’d try being romantic?”

“Oh, oh yeah, we did say that!”

Elsa reached over and grabbed Anna’s hand, bringing it briefly to her lips before gripping her horse’s reins again. “I’d
 I’d like to try that. That and
 more. If you’d be willing to try with me.”

“You mean
?” Anna started, her eyes widening, “Umm
 the
 snow stuff?”

“Only if you want to,” Elsa murmured, unable to hold Anna’s gaze. She turned to look down the road, her cheeks aflame now.

This time, Anna reached across to grab Elsa’s hand, bringing it to her lips. “Yes. Yes, I would like to try.” She playfully nipped Elsa’s index finger with her teeth before Elsa had a chance to pull her hand away. “I’d like to try with you very much, sis.”

They both spurred their horses at the same time, picking up the pace a little on the trot to get back to the palace faster.

Author’s Notes

Bananas were known to Europe as early as the 16th century, but no Norwegian had seen a banana until 1905. Additionally, bananas up to that point were red in color and not sweet; they were like modern-day plantains. The sweet banana was first developed in 1836 but didn’t become popularly known until 1876.

Cholera first came to Norway in 1832; they had a massive outbreak in 1853 that killed thousands of people in the capital.

Modern salt and pepper shakers were invented in 1925. Prior to that, folks used cellars, mainly because it was difficult to prevent salt from clumping.

Starbucks, named after the character of Starbuck from Moby Dick, was written in 1851 and so Elsa still would have had no frame of reference for the term.

Bjorbekk is a real city, about 10 kilometers southwest from Arendal, Norway. Today it takes about 12 minutes by car; I estimated the time in a horse-drawn wagon to be roughly that of pedestrian speed, anywhere between 35-75 minutes. The roads in Norway are notoriously in rough shape because of the cold climate, even in the modern era.

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Chapter 20: The End

Summary:

“I know what you mean. No secrets between us, even if we have to keep them from other people.”

Chapter Text

Chapter 20: The End

Anna shuffled backwards into the bedroom wall, her back pressing against the stone as Elsa’s body pushed firmly against her. She couldn’t tell if she was kissing or being kissed, but the feeling overwhelmed her with joy nonetheless. Cool hands glided down her back as Elsa’s palms settled on the small of her back.

Every touch, every stroke sent electric sensations through her body. Her eyes slowly shut as she felt the cold from Elsa’s body flowing all around her, a stimulating chill that easily penetrated her nightgown. Anna could feel the rise and fall of Elsa’s chest, her breath cool on Anna’s neck as she nuzzled her.

She shivered as she felt Elsa’s fingers walk over her hips and onto the front of her thighs. Anna arched her back, trying to feel as much as she could, bring herself as close to Elsa as she could



 and something in the wall moved. Anna shot forward away from the wall, shattering the moment as she yelped. Both sisters brushed their hands down their bodies, smoothing out their nightgowns as a hidden door opened. Stale air rushed from it; Elsa held up a hand to illuminate it with a glowing snowflake.

“What- did you know this was here, Elsa?”

Elsa shook her head, the flush in her cheeks receding as their passions cooled. “I’ve never seen this before.” She stepped forward and saw that the hidden door opened to a dark, narrow stone staircase. “This must have been here since the castle was built.”

They descended the stairs cautiously, Elsa’s magic illuminating the narrow corridor. At the bottom of the stairs was an ordinary wooden door with a now-rusted lock securing it. Elsa touched her finger to it, ice flowing into the mechanism and probing the lock’s gears. With a twist of her finger, the lock sprang open and the door creaked as it let them in.

The sisters walked into what looked like a storage room at first. The walls were lined with cluttered bookshelves, scrolls and manuscripts covering every surface. In the center of the room was a large table with books piled high on it and a long-dry inkwell and quill pen. Dried herbs and other magical paraphernalia lined a second, smaller table against the wall.

“Whoa
 look at all this,” Elsa murmured.

“I’m looking!”

Anna moved around the room and found a small chest on the floor, half-buried beneath more tomes. She gingerly pushed on the lid and found it unlocked; inside, she lifted out what appeared to be a purple scarf or shawl. Patterns of diamonds were embroidered all over the edges, and it smelled faintly of lily of the valley. A memory surfaced; Anna recalled that Iduna loved the smell of lily of the valley and would often wear a sprig of it in her hair. She pressed the shawl to her face and inhaled, remembering her mother’s kind eyes.

“What do you suppose this is?”

Anna looked around. “It almost looks like a study of some kind. Elsa, look - there on the desk,” she pointed towards a small leather-bound book with a bronze lock on the cover.

Elsa touched the lock and it sprang open easily. Inside, they found drawings of magical runes and languages they barely recognized. “This is some sort of journal.”

Anna scooted over next to her sister, perching her chin on Elsa’s shoulder. “I can find no record of a human with power like hers, but for the ancient myths with their tragic fates. Wait a minute, Elsa. This isn’t Father’s handwriting. This is Mother’s! They were
 they must have been studying your magic, trying to figure out how it worked.”

“I wish they had found some answers,” Elsa sighed, looking at the tiny journal in her hands.

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

“I- I’m honestly not sure, Anna. What are you thinking?”

Anna spun around in the middle of the small room, accidentally knocking over a few scrolls here and there. “This
 this room would be perfect for my idea from yesterday!”

“We
 we have the bedroom for that, Anna,” Elsa muttered, feeling warmth surge up her neck and onto her cheeks.

“Wait, what? No, not that, Elsa!” Anna giggled. “I mean
 you’re right, we do have the bedroom, and we’ll go back upstairs in just a minute to
 you know, pick up where we left off, but I mean on the ride back to the palace. Remember when I said we need all that knowledge from the black mirror in book form? This would be the perfect place for one of your snow creations to work!”

Elsa’s eyes widened. “Of course! And since no one else knows this room is here, it’s the perfect place to keep it, too.” She waved her hands and strings of snowflakes lined the ceiling, casting the room into a soft blue-white light. “Let me go get everything and we can set it up.”

A few minutes later, Anna and Elsa lugged the safe from the antechamber down the stairs, placing it on the heavy workbench.

“I still don’t know how you’re that strong, Anna. I could barely make the thing budge,” Elsa panted. “Now, let’s see what we can do.” She reached out her hand, clasping Anna’s, and focused on the thought of a living snow creature like Olaf or Marshmallow. Within moments, snowflakes began to swirl around her, coalescing into three tiny snowgies like the ones she’d accidentally created during Anna’s birthday.

Anna gasped. “They’re- they’re tiny snowmen with working hands!” She peered at the dwarven snowmen as they sat motionless on the desk.

Elsa closed her eyes and thought intensely about what she wanted them to do, then placed the phone on the table’s surface. Immediately, the snowgies grabbed the quill pen and a sheaf of paper, attempting to write. After a moment, they stopped and looked quizzically at her.

“OH! Of course.” Elsa cast another spell, filling the dry inkwell with water. The snowgies, directed by Elsa’s consciousness, swiped the Kiwix app open to a random page and began to write; one held the pen, one held the paper, and one swiped and scrolled.

“How do they know what to do?” Anna asked, puzzled at their ability to read and navigate the mystical device.

“They
 they’re alive, but not fully conscious. I can see what they’re seeing, and I’m almost giving them directions mentally, like whispering to them the general idea of what I want them to do.” She watched them hard at work, writing faster than she could, as they began to fill up the sheets of paper. “They’re starting with medicine and famine prevention; I figure that’s probably going to be the most immediately useful thing for our people.”

Elsa walked over to a shelf and grabbed several inkwells, all of which had dried out, and refilled each, capping them with ice. As the snowgies worked, the ice would slowly melt and make each new bottle available. She ensured they had as much paper as was in the room, several crates of it. “I’ll probably need to check in on them every day. We’re also going to need to order more paper and ink, I suspect,” she smiled.

Anna nodded. “I’ll make sure Kai has some on order. Now that we know about this room, we can keep everything down here instead of in your antechamber. Now,” she said with a wry grin, “we have some unfinished business upstairs.” Anna grabbed her sister’s hand, made sure the door to the hidden chamber was locked, and pulled Elsa back up to the bedroom. As the stone wall settled back into place, Anna tackled her sister onto the bed and began kissing her again.


“Am I supposed to be this sore the next day?” Anna whispered at the dinner table the following evening. “I feel like
 like I was rolling my face around in gravel!”

A glob of gravy went flying across the room as Elsa reacted in shock to her sister’s question, her hands losing control of her fork and knife, her roast now bearing a jagged cut across the meat. “Anna!” She swiveled her head around to ensure they were still alone. “You were awfully vigorous in kissing me yesterday, so yes, you probably have some bruising,” she whispered across the table.

“It’s still so weird to think that your first time was with a different version of me. Like, should I be jealous? Is she jealous of me somehow in that other world?” Anna shook her head as she spread butter on her toast.

Elsa continued coughing, trying to catch her breath. “By first time, you mean my first time
 ah. Ahem. Well no, you shouldn’t be jealous. You’re different people in some ways, and in other ways - the important ones - you’re the same person.”

“Like what kind of ways?”

Elsa’s gaze unfocused as she mentally compared the two. “You’re both kind. Bold. You both rush into things, you both wear your heart on your sleeve. You’re both good people.” As her thoughts wandered, she suddenly blushed and choked up, causing her sister to quirk an eyebrow. “You both
 um, tend to kiss and
 hands, hands in the same places,” she choked.

“Oh. Oh! Ha ha
 I uh, I see what you mean. Ahem. Sorry, I didn’t mean to embarrass you so much, sis.” Anna hid behind her wine glass, her eyes peering over the gold-trimmed crystal rim. “So
 uh
 how’s the writing project coming along?” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “Is that what we’re calling it? I can’t remember!”

Elsa rolled her eyes with a small smirk. “We discussed it last night, Anna. Don’t you remember?”

“I
don’t remember that. There are other things occupying my memory of last night, Elsa!” she hissed with a blush as she flailed at her body with her hands.

“Yes, the new book project. It’s coming along. In fact,” she lifted a sheaf of papers from the adjacent chair at the table, “it’s coming along quite nicely, the
 workers
 finished quite a lot today while we were in court.”

Elsa stood up, carefully folding her napkin and placing it on the table as she gestured for Anna to follow her, the sheaf of papers under her arm. After a few minutes, they were back in her royal chambers, the door closed to keep out any stray eyes or ears. Elsa made a quiet noise before pushing a bundle of paper to her sister.

Anna put down both wine glasses she’d carried from the dining room onto the nightstand. “Medicine
 antibiotics? What’s an antibiotic?” she puzzled, leafing through the pages. “Drugs made from a mold
 cures infections.” Anna looked up. “This
 this is a cure for all kinds of things, Elsa. It sounds like it could have saved some lives in that flood we had a few years back, the one with all the brackish waters and people getting infected cuts.” Anna shuddered at the memories of some of the horrific injuries people had sustained and the appalling but necessary treatments needed to save their lives.

She shook her head free of the memories and kept reading. “Fertilizer
 bat guano from caves to be harvested and put on fields along with other manures
. nitrogen fixation from the air
 wow. Wheat yield from fertilized fields grew from less than a ton per hectare to 5 tons per hectare, potatoes from 15 tons per hectare to 25 tons. Elsa, that’s incredible! We could double our food output from our farms, maybe more!”

“We could, yes.” Elsa sat down on the bed, taking a short sip from her wine glass before handing another sheet of paper to her sister. “Read that.”

Anna nearly spit out the wine in her mouth. “The Great Swedish Famine of 1867
 oh my god Elsa.” She kept reading, a tear pooling in her eye. “Those poor people
 starving to death because it was too cold
 That’s
 that’s not too far into the future.”

“It isn’t. There’s another famine coming in a couple of years, a smaller one that will likely impact Arendelle too. If we can get our scholars to research some of the things in these notes, we might be able to protect ourselves from it. Certainly we should be asking farmers to plant some extra crops a couple of years before.”

“Maybe we should levy some extra taxes a few years before too, slowly grow the royal coffers so we can have extra aid on hand,” Anna mused as she neatly reassembled all the pages; the snowgies had managed to draft well over 100 pages in the last day as they needed neither food nor rest. “It’s funny
 all these pages are in your handwriting. I guess they really are your children,” Anna winked.

“Anna! They’re not children! They’re barely even alive.”

After another sip of her wine, Anna looked at the pile of papers. “What if we sort these by subject, then I can take them into the city and have a bookbinder bind them into a single book?”

“It’d be better if they came to the castle. Even though we’re being careful about the origin of these notes, I don’t want them to be out of our hands any more than they have to be. In fact, I was thinking, we have the entire eastern wing of the palace that we don’t really use any more. What if we set it up as almost a university, a place for people to study some of the notes?”

Anna stood up from the table to look out the bedroom’s French doors. The eastern wing of the palace was mostly memorabilia and storage. They’d put many of their parents’ items there along with all the historical artifacts from the line of Arendelle monarchs of yesteryear. She’d spent a fair amount of time there during Elsa’s isolation, but the wing hadn’t been a source of particularly good memories, mostly just reliving the past when she had nothing better to do. Turning it into a scholarly pursuit would be a much better use of the space.

“Let’s do it. We can move all the junk in there to some of the storerooms or even out of the palace entirely.”

“Are you sure, Anna? So much of that is familiar to you.”

Anna regarded the icy blue and grey slate tiles covering the roof of the castle, shaded gold in the setting sun. “It’s familiar, but it’s not good memories. Not the kind of memories I want to keep around. I’d rather make new memories there, have it be a place of hope and growth for us and for Arendelle.”

After a long pause, Elsa moved to join Anna at the window, wrapping her arms around her sister’s waist. “What’s on your mind? You got quiet.”

“Do you think
 your powers, how long could they last? I mean, your ice.”

Elsa laughed. “Well, it’s been two years since the eternal winter, and my Ice Palace is still standing on the North Mountain. We were just there a couple of days ago and it looked none the worse for wear. Why?”

“Kristoff delivers ice so that people can store foods without spoiling too quickly,” Anna murmured, glancing at the sheaf of papers scattered all over the bed. “What if
 what if you did something with your ice palace, maybe expanded it? If it stays cold year round and never melts
”

Elsa tilted her head. “What are you getting at, Anna?”

“I can’t stop thinking about that famine. If your powers are strong enough to keep your ice palace totally frozen all year round, even when it’s 17 or 18 degrees outside, then maybe they’re strong enough for us to stockpile food, right?”

“I
 suppose so? I’ve never really thought about it.”

Anna turned to face her sister. “If we started to stockpile food and medicine and goods in your ice palace over the span of a few years, then maybe when these horrible disasters happen, we’ll be able to weather them with almost no harm at all. And we wouldn’t have to tell anyone we knew what was going to happen - we’d just be doing it slowly, carefully.”

Elsa brushed her hand against Anna’s bicep. “You’re right. The only thing we’d need to be careful of is making sure outsiders didn’t know much about it. The last thing we need is for Weselton or the Southern Isles to try stealing from us during hard times.”

“Ugh, you’re right. Still, if you made another couple of Marshmallows, I think that would probably dissuade anyone from looking where they’re not invited.” She smirked, imagining the look on the Duke of Weselton’s face if he were to be confronted by one of Elsa’s giant ice golems with meter-long razor talons.

Elsa laughed. “Yes, something like that. I’d still prefer to keep it secret for now, just in case.”

“As long as it’s not a secret between us.”

Elsa pulled Anna into a tight hug, pressing herself completely against her sister. “I’m so glad we don’t have any secrets any more, not between us. When I was in that other world, that Anna and Elsa had so many secrets hidden from each other, and it was slowly destroying them.”

“I know what you mean. No secrets between us, even if we have to keep them from other people.”

Elsa tilted her head. “What do you mean?” She was answered with a gentle swipe of Anna’s tongue across her lips. “Oh. Oh, yes. Yes, that’s definitely going to stay secret for some time,” she murmured, pressing her fingers to her lips gently before embracing Anna and returning the kiss.

“But not forever?” Anna asked quietly, staring into her sister’s eyes. “Because
 I would like for us to eventually not be a secret.”

“I know. And I want that too. I thought about what you said on the ride back to the palace yesterday. If we can provide for our people and avert as many disasters as possible, if we can make Arendelle’s future secure then
 I think they’d be tolerant of what the royal family does, so long as it doesn’t impact them negatively. Eventually, of course
 I’m still only two years into my reign,” she chuckled.

“Long live the Queen!” Anna playfully cried, before wrapping her arms around Elsa’s waist once more, fitting their bodies together. “I hope someday comes sooner rather than later. I mean, you are literally both the Queen and the head of the church, and your word is literally law so
 you could do pretty much anything you wanted, right?”

Elsa sighed. “Within reason. People
 people change slowly, over time. When I think about how the future version of us fell out of love, it wasn’t an overnight thing. It took years for it to happen, for them to change how they felt. Changing the minds of our people to accept
 us, us as more than sisters, will probably take years too.” She gazed out over the town square below, watching Arendelle’s citizens going about their daily lives before turning to face Anna. “We already had to dismiss one archbishop, remember?”

Anna facepalmed. “God, yes. He was such an ass for insisting you couldn’t be Queen because you were somehow a witch.” She rubbed her hands up and down Elsa’s back, a gentle smirk on her lips as the elder sister shivered at her touch. “Little did he know how we’d end up.”

“Little did we know, dear sister,” Elsa cooed. She rested her palms on the newly rebuilt wooden railing and looked towards the sky, relishing the feeling of Anna wrapping her arms around her from behind. “But I wouldn’t have it
 or you
 any other way.”

“Me neither, Elsa. I
 I can’t wait to love you for the rest of my life.” She turned her eyes to the sky, following Elsa’s soft gaze. “Well, would you look at that
” Anna murmured. In the sky above them, the aurora borealis languorously shimmered green and blue against the midnight black skies as the crescent moon shone bright over the horizon. For a moment, Anna felt as though the sky itself were blessing the two of them as an arc of gold lightning shot across the darkness in the shape of a smile.

Author’s Notes

The secret room was taken directly from one of the deleted scenes from Frozen 2.

This is it, folks, more or less. This is the end of the official story. What comes next are three things.

Epilogue 1: What happened to future!Elsa and future!Anna. We’ll check back in with them.

Epilogue 2: What were the consequences of Elsa’s time travels? Since Elsa jumped into an alternate timeline, we’ll skip forward to 2022 in the canon Arendelle timeline, which will be even more canon divergent.

Epilogue 3: That alternate branch story for the second half, incomplete, that I decided I didn’t want to do.

Finally, for all those folks who have enjoyed this fic, thank you! If you enjoyed the little historical notes, you’l find my only non-fiction work on AO3, the Frozen Historical Reference Guide, which contains many of these little tidbits I’ve uncovered in my writings.

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As always, please review, kudos, comment, like, follow, all that good stuff. I appreciate it.

Chapter 21: Epilogue 1: 2022

Summary:

For years I’ve wondered if something else was going on, if you had, I don’t know, a boyfriend or girlfriend on the side or something. You would just go on all these last minute trips for work, but my other friends who work at agencies don’t do that nearly as much as you did. I swore you were having an affair or something, but I could never find any evidence of it

Chapter Text

Epilogue 1: 2022

2022

As the banh mi sandwich hit the ground with a soft thud, the air around the bench shimmered briefly and then a flash of golden lightning swept over it like a splash of water from an amusement park ride. Anna stared as Elsa appeared, wearing what looked like
 the ugliest grey dress she’d ßever seen, like she was wearing a sack. She squinted before gasping at the realization that this was Elsa - her Elsa - back from wherever she’d been.

For her part, Elsa was curled up in a ball with her eyes squeezed shut, wondering what fresh hell she’d been delivered to after a week in a very real, very painful dungeon. Her back and legs were covered in bruises from sleeping on a stone floor, her chains and manacles pressing into her. Her hair, normally a lustrous white gold, was a tangled, oily, slightly grey mess, matching her skin. When nothing happened, she opened her eyes to see the ground and her bruised, cut, sore hands; the abrasions on her wrists had become infected after a few days. Without any other thought or consideration to her surroundings, she leaned over and like a feral cat, swiped the half sandwich that was laying on the ground and bit into it.

“Oh god, this-” she moaned as she wolfed down the sandwich, finishing it in four ravenous bites, a tear pooling at the corner of her eye.

“And I thought I liked sandwiches,” Anna chuckled, delighted at seeing her wife once more in any capacity.

Elsa turned her head, and her face contorted almost comically, whipsawing from elation to anger to fear. “S-stay away from me! I’m not going back! You can’t make me go back!” she hissed, standing up and holding her hands out in front of her. “I won’t go back!”

“Elsa? Elsa, what’s wrong? It’s me! It’s Anna!”

Elsa’s head spun around, seeing her surroundings for the first time as she sank to her knees, a sob erupting from her. “Anna! Oh thank god, I’m home!” She bent over and kissed the ground, then clutched onto Anna’s legs like a drowning man onto flotsam. “You- you won’t believe what happened to me, Anna! It- I- oh god, I missed you so much! It’s really you!”

Anna gently returned her wife’s hug. “It’s okay, Elsa. I’ve got you. You’re safe. I’m here, I’m here,” she repeated, rubbing her hands down Elsa’s back. Mentally, she bristled at the feeling of the coarse cloth dress on her wife. It was so rough, it may as well have been a burlap sack. What had happened to her?

Fat tears pooled in Elsa’s eyes as she clutched to Anna, savoring her warmth after a week bereft of any friendly contact. After her attempt at escaping and subsequent capture, her jailers were much harsher with her. They’d made every meal the same, fish and potatoes, and the one time she had complained, the guard spit in it before throwing it into her cell, food splattering all over her. If she never smelled salmon again in her life, she’d be thankful.

“Wh- where are- oh! We’re by our offices. What- what year is it? Does this- am I making any sense?” she started, looking around frenetically.

“Elsa, breathe. It’s okay. It’s Saturday morning, it’s 2022. You’ve been gone for almost a week,” Anna said, guiding her back to the bench. “Whatever you’re going to say, I believe you, okay?”

“All right,” she breathed, leaning her head against Anna’s shoulder. “So like I said, and I- it’s difficult to believe it even happened. If I didn’t have these injuries, I might think it was all a dream. I was somehow back in time, Anna. I traveled back in time somehow to, I don’t know when but it was like the Dark Ages. I spent a week - a whole week - in a literal dungeon of some castle. And it was real, Anna, really real! They had me in these heavy iron chains that bruised me so badly,” she offered up her hands and wrists, showcasing the bruising and bloody abrasions from where she’d strained against them.

Anna’s eyes were as large as saucers. “You were in a dungeon? Like a real, honest-to-god dungeon, Elsa?” Anna hadn’t expected that at all; she’d assumed that because she’d gotten along with the past Elsa so well that her Elsa would have done the same with past Anna. “What- how did that happen?” She reached down to her backpack and pulled out a small first aid kit, getting to work right away at cleaning and bandaging her wife’s wounds.

“They thought I stole their queen or something! It was totally insane, they had people interrogating me, and then they had someone who looked just like you. I thought it was you at first and I went to kiss you, and look!” She pulled up the back of the dress to reveal a mottled pattern of bruises all along her side, a few overlapping her snowflake tattoo. “She shoved me so hard that I landed on the chains on my back.”

“Yeah
 about that
” Anna shifted, uncomfortable. “You didn’t steal their queen, but
 she was here in your place, Elsa.”

“She
 what? You mean she was real? I didn’t
 there’s no way I did what they accused me of.”

Anna shook her head, wondering how much to tell her wife about all that had transpired during the week. She’d promised the other Elsa that she would do what needed to be done, make changes to help things get better, but she could feel the pull of old habits tugging at her like a ship circling a whirlpool.

For good or ill, her phone was about to force her hand. It pinged its alarm signal again.

GET TO OFFICE RN - DM

Anna held up her phone and saw Dusty’s emergency alert, summoning the team to the office - presumably to deal with the paranormal storm that had just deposited her wife in front of her. She waged a fierce battle inside her own mind; does she start down the path of clearing the air between them with the biggest secret of all?

As her phone chimed once more with a reminder, Anna tensed her jaw. “Y-yes. She was real, she was here, and
 well, there’s a lot of things I need to tell you about her. But I have to tell you something important about myself first.”

Elsa looked at her wife, even more confused. “I
 what?”

“I’d say to sit down, but
” Anna laughed nervously as she looked around to make sure no one was in earshot. “For the longest time, I’ve kept a secret from you, Elsa. A big one. It was for your own safety, to keep you safe from people who might want to hurt you but
 it was still keeping a secret, and I should have found some other way.”

“Oh my god, Anna. Are you
 what are you saying?” the blonde asked, confusion clouding her face.

Anna turned around and pulled her shirt up, revealing the lower back holster she was wearing just over the ridge of her hips.

“Is- is that a-” Elsa stammered, her eyes wide as she grimaced, gritting her teeth together. Ever since she’d done a brief internship in the district attorney’s office in law school, she’d loathed guns of any kind with a passion after seeing the damage they inflicted. She and Anna had spent many a meal with her venting about the evils of firearms after hearing some news story on the television.

“It is. It’s a gun. My gun.”

“Why
 why do you have a gun, Anna? You know how I feel about them.”

She leaned over to grab her backpack and pulled out her wallet. Inside was a small blue badge with her face on it, a number, and the National Clandestine Service agency logo. Anna closed her eyes, exhaled, and then handed the badge to her wife. “I
 umm, I work for the government, Elsa. As an officer in a
 in a clandestine agency.”

Elsa blinked, as though Anna’s words had simply bounced off her head. She was saying she was a secret agent? A spy? Something else? After the mental shock of being imprisoned for a week, the added surprise of Anna revealing that she wasn’t who she’d said she was nearly broke her. “What does that mean, Anna? What are you trying to tell me?”

“The ad agency is kind of a front for government work. I’m a field officer for a clandestine agency of the federal government.” Anna turned her eyes downward, waiting to see what kind of reaction Elsa would have but unable to look at her face, at what it might look like for her to lose her wife just as she got her back. Anticipation and fear choked the breath out of her.

Anna’s words finally sunk in, and Elsa did something Anna didn’t expect at all. She smiled. “That
 actually makes a lot of sense, Anna. It explains so much!”

“It- it does?”

“Yes!” Elsa broke into a broad grin before squeezing Anna into a tight hug. “For years I’ve wondered if something else was going on, if you had, I don’t know, a boyfriend or girlfriend on the side or something. You would just go on all these last minute trips for work, but my other friends who work at agencies don’t do that nearly as much as you did. I swore you were having an affair or something, but I could never find any evidence of it,” she ended quietly, her voice barely above a whisper. “But you out there as a secret agent makes a lot of sense. I always wondered what that little safe at the back of your closet was, but I didn’t want to pry.”

“You knew about that?” Anna gasped.

“Baby, we have a 700-square foot apartment. I doubt there’s any place either of us could hide anything for very long,” Elsa grinned. “Now, before we do anything else, can we PLEASE get me something to eat that isn’t shitty dungeon food or random sandwiches on the ground? And I don’t suppose you have a spare change of clothes in your bag, do you?”

Anna’s phone beeped again; this time, it was a different message.

STAND DOWN. BRIEFING AT 1500. - DM

Anna laughed. “No, but I have a spare change of clothes at my desk. Why don’t I run in and grab them, and then we can get you something to eat, okay?” With Elsa’s vigorous assent, Anna ran inside her office.

After she departed, Elsa turned to look around Copley Square. She gazed at the reflection of the sky in the Hancock Tower’s glass windows, seeing the beautiful clouds and blue skies of Boston. Less than half an hour ago, she was chained to a wall in a grey, dimly lit stone dungeon. She hadn’t been sure of anything, not even her own life. All week, she’d contemplated what it would be like to spend the rest of her days in her cell, suffering through rancid food, wearing sackcloth, and waiting to die of old age or disease from wherever she was.

But the hardest part of all for her was the doppelgĂ€nger of her wife who hadn’t shown her face at all after Elsa’s attempted escape. Anna in any form was the only comfort she had, and it felt like her last thread to reality was cut when the monarch no longer stopped by her cell. She pinched herself hard on the leg, trying to determine if this was all just a dream and she was still in that prison, but so far it all felt very real, the pain in her leg included. She coughed out a mix of a sob and a cry of joy that her imprisonment was over.

A few minutes later, Anna came running out, her backpack substantially more full. She smiled at Elsa before steering them both towards the row of restaurants, eyeing the Boloco where she’d taken the other Elsa. From memory, she knew it didn’t have a particularly large public restroom, but the Wendy’s had enough stalls and space to get changed, so they meandered in.

Elsa inhaled as they walked past the registers. “Oh god, Anna. That smells so good. You have no idea, they fed me nothing but this terrible fish and potatoes, all cold, for the week. I couldn’t stomach it. Before we leave, I am definitely getting a Son of Baconator. No, actually, I’m going to get a goddamn full size Baconator!” She rushed into the restroom while Anna waited near the door, texting back and forth with the office.

After a few moments, Elsa emerged from the bathrooms wearing dark blue yoga pants and a Disney World t-shirt. She’d washed the dirt and grime from her hands and face, tied back her hair and straightened out a few of the knots, and looked much more like herself, to Anna’s delight. With a flourish, Elsa balled up the sackcloth dress and shoved it violently into the trash bin next to the door, practically spitting at it.

“Now, before we do anything else
 hot food!” she exclaimed before freezing in place. “I uh
 Anna, you wouldn’t happen to have my purse, would you?”

“No, it’s
 at
 home,” Anna stammered, realizing with a start that Elsa’s purse was at home but her phone was not. Her phone was
 permanently gone, she grimaced. “I uh, I have mine on me.” She dug out a twenty dollar bill, and like a child in a candy store, Elsa dashed for the registers to order a Baconator burger, fries, and a Diet Coke.

They sat down with the food, Anna sneaking a fry or two, and didn’t say a word until after Elsa had devoured most of the meal. “I will never again shit on any kind of hot food after this past week. If I never see another plate of
 whatever the hell they gave me, I’ll be thrilled,” she declared, wiping her mouth with a brown paper napkin.

“Your fast food addiction has only gotten worse, hasn’t it?” Anna smirked, dipping a last fry in the tiny paper cups of ketchup on her wife’s tray.

Elsa wrinkled her nose. “You have no idea. The fish, Anna. Oh lord, the fish was like
 it was like fish jello! It was so gross. I can’t imagine trying to survive on that.”

“I’m glad you didn’t have to for too long, honey. I take it this means it’ll be a little while before we go back to Samurai Express?”

“If
 if that’s okay. I know how much you love that place but
 yeah, it might be a little while for me. We can always get takeout, though - it’s not like sushi can get cold,” she chuckled.

Anna frowned slightly, both at the prospect of not going to her favorite place, and the last time she’d been there with the other Elsa, the meal that gave away the other Elsa’s identity. “I understand. I’d probably feel the same too.” She fiddled with the empty paper straw wrapper, twirling it into circles for a few moments before looking up at Elsa. “Do you
 was my hiding my career the reason we got so distant with each other? Can you forgive me for keeping such a big secret from you?”

“Anna
 of course. I understand why you had to do it, even if I don’t love the idea. We’re both so dedicated to our work, you know? And you were just trying to keep me safe. I can hardly fault you for that. Maybe before this week I might have thought you were overreacting if you’d told me, but after being kidnapped and imprisoned
 I need all the safety I can get in my life,” the blonde smiled, finishing the last of the fries.

“Is that,” Anna cleared her throat, “is that why it felt like sometimes, you were more married to the law firm than you were to me?” she asked without malice or anger, just a lingering sadness in her voice as she twisted the paper wrapper into tighter and tighter circles.

“I
” she started defensively before taking a breath, the ghost of the sackcloth dress itching her skin. “I guess I have been a little obsessed with making senior partner, haven’t I?” She received a mute nod in response. “It’s not- I mean, oh Anna. I don’t know what I mean. Before all this,” she gestured broadly, waving her hands around in the air above her head, “I thought being a senior partner was the most important thing in the world.”

Anna waited to see if she’d continue before prompting her. “And now?”

“Now after spending a week in hell, in a literal dungeon with shitty food being thrown at me and absolutely no hope of escape, being afraid that I’d be killed or just be allowed to starve to death
 being a law firm partner didn’t do me a damned bit of good. It didn’t reassure me. It didn’t comfort me. It sure as hell didn’t get me out of there. I was powerless, and I hated it.” She turned her hands over, regarding the scabbed cuts and mottled purples on her wrists. “The only thing I really thought of this whole week was
 well, was you.” She reached up and cupped Anna’s cheek, brushing the pad of her thumb over Anna’s cheekbone.

Tears welled in Anna’s eyes as her throat closed. “Elsa, that’s- you don’t know how long I’ve waited to hear you say something like that. I- I thought we were done, you know? I thought that
 I mean, I wasn’t sure how to bring it up with you but we needed something. We needed a fresh start somehow.” Her phone beeped again and she muted it as fast as she could to avoid shattering the moment. “There’s
 there’s something else I have to tell you, too. It’s not as big a secret but
” She ignored her text messages and opened up her photo app, swiping to the pictures she’d taken in Boston Garden with the other Elsa.

“Oh wow, she really does look like me! She looks like a 23 year old me,” Elsa sighed wistfully, staring at the young woman in the photo. The two of them - the other Elsa and this world’s Anna - were leaning against each other, all smiles, with a pair of geese behind them caught in mid-honk. “Like
 she is me, isn’t she? Just like the Anna from where I was - she was really you, a version of you somehow.”

“She
 she was, yes. In all the ways that mattered.”

“So
 what was the secret you wanted to tell me?” Elsa asked, tilting her head.

Anna closed her eyes and exhaled, shaking slightly, chanting no more secrets in her head as she did. She swiped her thumb to the left, to the last photo in that series. Her and the other Elsa, kissing each other.

“Oh,” Elsa said softly, staring at the photo without blinking, her eyes wide. “You- she- oh. Oh wow. I
 I don’t know how to feel about this, Anna. That’s
 you’re really, really kissing her. Like
 I mean
 what happened when you were with her? Did something happen?”

Anna’s face flushed crimson as she tried to work her jaw to speak, instead only imitating a goldfish.

Elsa coughed quietly. “It’s like that, huh?” She turned away for a moment, Anna’s reactions telling the whole story. As long as they’d been together, she could read Anna’s body language like a textbook; her time in law had taught her how to read body language in general, and Anna was practically an open book. Elsa saw nervousness in Anna’s twitching fingers, guilt and remorse in how tightly pressed her palms were together, and
 shame? in how she’d squeezed her legs together. Combined with the barest hint of a bruise just on the collar line of Anna’s t-shirt, Elsa had a very clear idea of what had likely transpired.

“I’m so sorry, Elsa. I
 I didn’t mean to. I didn’t mean to do that to you.” Guilt sat on Anna’s shoulders like a sandbag, slumping her over the small table.

“I- I understand in a way, Anna. I mean, look at her,” she gestured to the photo, the slightest tremor in her finger. “That
 that IS me. Not someone who looks a lot like me or someone who could be mistaken for me. That’s
 me, me from a decade ago,” she said as one side of her mouth turned up in a small smirk. “And we remember just how
 passionate you were back then for that version of me. And as weird as it sounds, if you were going to be unfaithful with someone
 I guess the least bad someone would be another version of me, because it means you still love me after all.”

Anna exhaled. “I
 still, Elsa, it was a stupid and rash thing to do, and I regret it. But yes, god yes, I still love you. I love you so much, all the versions of you, even those from another universe or the past or whatever. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean
 I didn’t mean to break your trust.”

Elsa rubbed Anna’s cheek again, a soft smile on her lips. “You
 you didn’t know if I was ever coming back, the same as I didn’t know if I was ever going to make it out of that prison alive. I had nightmares of dying in there, in the past or wherever I was, and someone eventually finding my bleached, decrepit bones, chained to the floor. So
 I can live with you being with another version of me.”

“So,” Anna ducked her head sheepishly, “we’re okay?”

“We are. We are more than okay, Anna, because I realize that you’re the only thing that really matters. You’re the only thing that has ever really mattered, even if I lost sight of that for a while. I promise you I will never do that to you again.”

“And I promise to be forever faithful to, uh, this version of you only from now on,” Anna stumbled over her words. “I
 I want to make this work if you do, Elsa.”

“I do.” Elsa reached out and pulled Anna into a crushing hug, her hand on the back of her wife’s head as she tried to squeeze any distance between them out. After a few moments, she laughed at a thought that had bubbled up in the back of her mind.

“What?” Anna laughed, pulling away to look at Elsa’s face.

“So
 did you enjoy getting to feel up 23-year old me again? How was it?” she snickered, jabbing Anna in the ribs lightly with her elbow. “Did you do that thing you used to where-”

“Elsa!”


2027

“Hey, Killer Frost!”

Elsa looked up from her desk to see the newest junior partner at the firm approaching, two cups of coffee in hand. “Maggie, I told you that you don’t have to bring me coffee any more, definitely not after making partner! Also, please, PLEASE stop using that nickname for me?”

The Chinese woman smirked. “I know, boss. Old habits, you know? Besides, I wouldn’t call you Killer Frost if you weren’t such a cold-blooded killer in the courtroom, you know. Anyway, black with two sugars for you,” she said, placing the cardboard-ringed cup on the desk. She pulled one of the gold-printed coasters off the stack on the corner of Elsa’s desk, the Klein, Gabler, and Beck logo tastefully centered on the cork and leather. After putting down Elsa’s coffee, she sat down with her own in the chair across from her. “Any new developments?”

Elsa brushed her hair back behind her ear. “Not really, just another class action lawsuit,” she murmured, shuffling the papers around.

Maggie craned her neck to look at the top of the pile. “Which case is this one?”

“This is the Baltu case. I haven’t assigned a team for it yet, but there’s a good chance I’ll have you handle it. You’ve got the background for it.”

“What’s the situation?”

“Reparations. The plaintiff is Yelena Baltu, leader of a Sami tribe in northern Norway. She’s representing the entire tribe for an environmental lawsuit against our old friends Weselton Corporation.”

Maggie practically spit her coffee in disgust. “Those assholes again. Is there anything they don’t immediately ruin? Especially after the disaster around the Royal sinking.” She thought back to the last class action lawsuit the firm had prosecuted against Weselton; one of their larger shipping vessels collided with the KNM Royal, a Norwegian patrol boat, and caused an environmental disaster just north of Arendal.

“Yeah, they’re continuing their fine tradition of destroying everything they’re involved in. This time, they were apparently trying to find a trade route through what’s left of the polar ice and beached one of their coal ships on the shoreline, dumping close to a million tons of raw coal, plus about 7.5 million liters of marine fuel, fouling the whole area’s fishing.” She’d already written up what they’d be aiming for in the settlement - assisted relocation of the village and a living stipend for every villager for 25 years to support them because of the loss of their livelihoods.

“Well, I’m ready whenever you are to take it on. I can’t wait to take that little weasel to trial on my own this time instead of second chairing,” Maggie grinned toothily. “That way you can spend some more time with your family, too.” She gestured with her head towards the pictures on Elsa’s desk.

Elsa looked down, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth, as she looked first at the picture of her and Anna dressed in aloha shirts on a beach. Shortly after her return, Elsa had found herself with almost three weeks of vacation thanks to her royal counterpart’s winning of the SITC settlement, so she and Anna had taken a trip to the islands for a proper honeymoon that they’d deferred ever since getting married.

She glanced at the picture next to it, and her hint of a smile became as broad and as bright as the sun coming out from behind a cloud. Her and Anna holding their three year old daughter Rita after the adoption was finalized. Rita, short for her birth name Margarita, was clutching a little American flag on a wooden stick in one hand and a Colombian flag in the other, grinning from ear to ear. They’d traveled to Bogota for the adoption; Elsa had been able to spare a week, but thanks to Anna’s agency life, she was able to be stationed temporarily for four weeks to finish the adoption process. All that had been two years ago; Rita was now a precocious five year old that kept both women on their toes.

“Speaking of which,” she said as her phone chimed, “looks like the little rascal is all settled in at daycare.” Anna had messaged her with the latest short video clip of Rita after dropping her off. “I certainly wouldn’t mind some more home time.”

Maggie laughed. “You’re a Senior Partner with your name literally on the wall. You can do whatever you want, boss. You own a third of this place.” Her own star had risen with Elsa’s; after the SITC settlement, Elsa had come back almost as if she were a different person. She spent more time with her wife, but when she was in the office, she was twice as productive and effective as any other partner. Though she never explained it, Elsa had also started taking on a pro bono case per month, always for women who had been wrongfully incarcerated.

Before long, Maggie had started getting case after case, smaller work, just because Elsa was carrying such a large, profitable client load. With their shared victories in the courtroom, Maggie had made junior partner in half the time it usually took.

A few hours later, Elsa looked up to see her wife and daughter walking towards her office. She looked up at the clock and grinned; it was time for one of their family lunch dates. She and Anna worked close enough together that they could pull Rita out of daycare for lunch almost every day.

“Mama!” Rita came barreling towards her, the yellow sundress a blur as she crashed into Elsa’s thighs.

“Hey baby girl, ready to get some lunch?”

“Wendy’s!”

Elsa raised an eyebrow at Anna. “I didn’t have anything to do with her choice this time, baby! I was going to suggest Citrus & Salt because of their lunch margaritas, but she had other ideas in mind,” her wife said, drooping her shoulders at the idea of another Wendy’s kid’s meal. The only minor downside to their renewed relationship and their baby was a terrifying amount of fast food lunches during the week.

Elsa smiled. “Okay, Wendy’s today, but you have to get the apples with your meal.” She picked up the little girl and twirled her in the air for a brief moment before putting her down and grabbing her jacket from the chair. She clasped Anna’s warm, rough hand in one hand and Rita’s tiny hand in the other, and they made their way out of the office. As they rode down the glass elevator (a great source of delight for Rita), Elsa leaned against Anna to whisper in her ear. “We can get takeout jumbo margaritas from Tasca tonight, babe,” she grinned.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” she said with a nod and a knowing look. Anna and tequila always made for entertaining evenings in so many ways. As the elevator opened, Elsa lightly squeezed Anna’s butt, making her yelp and jump a little. Both Elsa and Rita giggled at her reaction.

“Stinker. You’re going to pay for that tonight after margaritas,” Anna deadpanned.

Elsa leaned over to peck her on the lips, then grabbed both girls’ hands and practically skipped through the lobby of the building. “I certainly hope so. Now come on, we have some burgers to go eat, my loves.”

Author’s Notes

Thus concludes the story of future Elsa and future Anna. They lived happily ever after, their marriage once again on solid ground.

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Chapter 22: Epilogue 2: Arendelle, The City of Secrets

Summary:

Annelisa gaped at the pantheon of spirits before them. “How
 how is this possible?

Chapter Text

Epilogue 2: Arendelle, The City of Secrets

2022, Arendelle

Queen Elsanna, daughter of Iduna II, granddaughter of Rita, great-granddaughter of Elsa and Anna, closed the door to her royal chambers as the last hints of the Arendelle national anthem wafted through the castle corridors. She looked at the high, vaulted ceilings and the paintings on the walls of her predecessors with admiration and nervousness as the newest monarch. She had a special fondness in her heart for her great-grandmother, Elsa, whose powers and adventures had secured the future of Arendelle 177 years ago.

After ensuring the doors were locked, she removed her coronation gown and tiara, laying them carefully on the bed. Jakob and Nora, her attendants, would be by later to preserve the garments for her heirs. She donned a sky blue hoodie and yoga pants, casualwear that would be scandalous in open court, but were her clothes of choice behind closed doors. She briefly looked in the mirror, seeing Elsa’s golden hair but Anna’s teal eyes and freckles staring back at her, a product of advanced genetic manipulation.

Elsanna touched a control by her bed, turning on the TV screen adjacent to the wall of paintings. A friendly voice piped up. “Online Assistant Facility ready for use. Welcome, Princess Elsanna,” echoed the voice in the room before an image appeared onscreen of a white snowman with a giant carrot nose.

“Hello, OLAF,” Elsanna murmured. “Today’s the day. Initiate Coronation Protocol, please.”

“One moment while the protocol loads, Princess. I mean, Your Majesty. Sorry about that. Hey, did you know that bonfire comes from the words bone and fire?”

Elsanna sighed. “OLAF, this is perhaps not the most appropriate time for trivia.”

“Oh, sorry about that. It’s just
 there’s always so much to learn. For example- oh wait, never mind. Coronation Protocol has been loaded.”

The gold crocus of Arendelle appeared onscreen, and OLAF spoke up despite being displaced. “Your Majesty, Coronation Protocol requires a password and voice authentication. Go ahead when you’re ready.” She smiled, remembering the lessons taught to her by her tutors about the history of Arendelle’s rulers and the sister queens who made this future possible. “Always punch Hans,” she said, and the screen flashed bright green momentarily.

She gasped as a video began to play, seeing the image of her great-grandmother. “My heir,” Elsa’s voice soothed, her face kind and strong despite her advanced age, “Congratulations on your coronation and ascension to the throne. My name is Elsa, and I was Queen of Arendelle long before you. Today, as you take the throne and the responsibility for our people, I grant you the secret knowledge that has kept Arendelle strong. On the wall below Queen Anna’s portrait, you will see a stone. Use your powers of frost and ice to open it, and down a flight of stairs will be King Agnarr’s vault. Descend into the vault, and open each of the lockboxes with your powers. The blue box with the snowflake will have everything you need to know about being Queen and then some.”

The image of Elsa, skin still impossibly smooth despite her hair being completely snow white and a woman in her late 70s, smiled as though she could see her heir. “I am certain you have made our kingdom proud already, and I know with this knowledge, you will be a fair and just ruler. Guide our people well, and know that Arendelle’s true power is always rooted in both love and family. May the flag of Arendelle always fly.”

Elsanna turned off the video and pressed her palm against a plain-looking stone in the wall, icy tendrils flowing into gaps around the stone, a magical key. A door silently slid open, and she descended a stone staircase into a vault that Elsa’s father Agnarr had built to hold research about magic. In the centuries since, it had held some of Arendelle’s greatest treasures. Hundreds of tomes sat neatly ordered on shelves in one part of the enormous room, a private library almost none had ever seen.

She made her way to a cobalt blue lockbox and reached into it with her ice magic, unlocking it. A soft hiss escaped the box as it opened, revealing a holographic projection device not unlike the others found around the castle, and several small devices. She tapped the projection device and jumped back, startled. Her recently deceased mother, Iduna, appeared as a nearly life-like hologram. “Elsanna, my darling. If you’re watching this, it means I am gone and you are now Queen. I know you’ll do right by our people, as I have tried to.”

The projection of her mother began to walk around the room as Elsanna stifled her tears. “Today, as I once had to learn from the passing of my own mother, you will learn the dangerous secret that has made Arendelle what it is. Before you is a piece of technology brought back by Queen Elsa early in her reign, a smartphone from a time and place outside of our own, another world entirely.”

Elsanna gingerly lifted the glass device, archaic by Arendellian standards but just one generation behind what the rest of the world had access to now. Despite its age, it still functioned somehow. Iduna continued.

“This device was brought back by Queen Elsa in 1845 under mysterious, paranormal circumstances. On it, Queen Elsa had somehow brought back knowledge of the future, of what is close to the present day for you, including a comprehensive encyclopedia of the future.”

Iduna recounted the years after Elsa’s return as scenes from the past flashed before Elsanna. In private, she had snowgie scribes working around the clock to transcribe all the knowledge stored in the phone, launching Arendelle ahead of every nation around it. Medicine, science, technology, literature, and politics were all within the small nation’s reach. The library in the eastern wing of the palace contained shelf after shelf of books, written in Queen Elsa’s hand, about almost every scientific, medical, and mathematical topic stored in the futuristic iPhone, nearly 3,000 volumes.

Initially, to fund much of the development of Arendelle from the knowledge, Crown Princess Anna had traveled to London and purchased as many counterparty risk investments in maritime insurance as possible. With sure knowledge of which ships investors were betting would sink but didn’t (she thought it was gross people were betting on innocent lives, so she only bet on survivors), she multiplied Arendelle’s fortunes considerably; in less than six months, she’d tripled the national treasury. Those proceeds went to investment in Arendelle itself, importing rare materials and building manufacturing capacity to power their advances in science and medicine especially.

As with her powers, Elsa recognized just how dangerous the knowledge was. Early on, the snowgies had scribed a series of articles about time travel and timeline pollution, leading Elsa to declare that Arendelle would have a strict policy of isolationism and neutrality, avoiding other nations except where necessary for trade until they were fully self-sufficient. A year after her return, she discovered a new land far to the north of where Arendelle had been located, a land known only to the indigenous Northuldra people as Ahtohallan.

Elsa launched expedition after expedition to Ahtohallan until she explored its secrets, including control over the elements themselves and the source of her magic. In cooperation with the Northuldra tribal nation, who she’d befriended along the way, over a decade they moved the entire city-state of Arendelle to Ahtohallan’s land mass. Most of Arendelle’s citizens and half the Northuldra chose to go with the Queen to the land in the far north; a minority stayed behind and eventually ceded the nation to Norway, becoming the principality of Arendal.

With her scholars’ knowledge, they were able to construct advanced technologies like greenhouses and hydroponic gardening, solar desalination, and other sustainable technologies that allowed Arendelle to thrive despite being located on a giant glacier.

With her powers over the elements and the happiness of her people assured, Elsa worked with the spirits to lift the enchantment over the forest surrounding the remaining Northuldra, and instead cast a similar enchantment over Arendelle itself, hiding it away from the world as the years passed by. Knowing that Ahtohallan would someday likely be destroyed by climate change, she made a bargain with the spirits to pass her magic down to her heirs, in exchange for them using their power to keep the sacred halls frozen and intact in the mists.

Once hidden from the world and secured from all manner of misfortunes, Elsa felt comfortable enough to elevate Anna to Queen alongside her and, in a break from tradition but relatively little scandal thanks to the prosperity of the small nation, married her as well. The spirits gave them an additional, unanticipated gift: when invoked, Elsa and any of her descendants could bear children unassisted, ensuring the royal line had heirs, though by the end of Queen Rita’s reign, such techniques were unnecessary thanks to Arendelle’s genomics program. Still, the spirits blessed each heir to the line with their powers as long as they held true to the pact made by Elsa.

Now, more than 177 years after Elsa’s return from the future, Arendelle was one of the most advanced civilizations on the planet, second only to Wakanda. The small nation had survived world wars, pandemics, and disasters unscathed, hidden away in the mists of far northern Norway. Its scholars had taken the knowledge brought back by Elsa and advanced it far beyond what the rest of the world had. Their first smartphones were built in 1900; their first quantum computers built in 1945. Their civilization advanced quickly enough that the phone, which normally would have stopped functioning after a few years, was easily sustained and repaired over the decades to keep it functioning as an artifact. As prophesied by Elsa’s trip to the alternate timeline, by hiding away Arendelle from the rest of the world, no one had ever heard of it and it had vanished from the earth.

Elsanna had always known magic was part of what made Arendelle’s rulers special; her own powers had awakened when she was 5 years old; her younger sister’s powers appeared at roughly the same age, two years later. The magical barrier that insulated the kingdom also gave her powers over earth, water, fire, and wind. But the rest of the story was largely unknown to the citizens of the tiny kingdom. All they’d known was that the outside world was a dangerous place, filled with people who would love nothing more than to plunder Arendelle’s secrets and ravage the kingdom.

Iduna gave some final instructions to her daughter, then smiled sadly at her. “I am sorry I’m not there for you, but I know you’ll lead Arendelle better than almost anyone, including myself. Please take care of your little sister for me, and I’ll see you
” her smile brightened, “I’ll see you when I see you, my baby girl.”

Elsanna tapped the hologram projector off after wiping a tear from her cheek. The only relations the tiny nation had were with the Northuldra and a few other Sami tribes nearby. Elsa’s legacy was secure; as Elsanna looked out the balcony window of the royal palace, she could see the flag of Arendelle snapping crisply in the wind, made golden by the late afternoon sun and framed by the giant, rocky peaks of Ahtohallan.

A knock at the door startled her out of her reverie. She looked at the clock projection on her desk; Jakob and Nora were probably stopping by. She’d lost track of the time listening to the history of Arendelle and hours had flown by. As she gestured for the omnipresent AI to open the door, a blurry mass fell into her room.

“Sis!” exclaimed the prone form face down on her floor, her black and green bunad pooling around her.

Elsanna facepalmed. Her younger sister had apparently just been ready to knock again and timed it exactly with the door opening up.

“Annelisa, you really do need to be more careful. Come on,” she laughed, holding her hand out. The brown-haired younger sister took the proffered hand and staggered to her feet, apparently still having trouble navigating the palace in the high heels she’d worn for the coronation ceremony.

“It’s not my fault we have to wear these ridiculous outfits for like, one time in our entire lives,” Annelisa muttered, still trying to find her balance and holding tight to her sister’s hand.

“You know you can take the shoes off now, right?”

A pair of black heels flew across the bedroom at record speed as Annelisa breathed a sigh of relief. After her shoes came the bobby pins holding her hair in place, luxurious walnut-colored waves unfurling. “Okay, that’s the end of that. So
 what happened?” she asked, hesitant.

“What happened with what?”

She elbowed her older sister as she finally let go of her hand. “You know! The coronation ceremony, the private one! Did
 I miss her so much, sis.”

“I do too, Annie. As for what she said, well
 Mother told me the real story of how Arendelle came to be and why we hide ourselves away in the mists here.”

Annelisa flopped gracelessly onto the giant bed with her arms splayed wide, rumpling the perfectly laid out duvet. Her tutors would be appalled at her lack of comportment, especially for someone 19 years old, but such lessons hadn’t ever really stuck with her. “And?”

Elsanna sighed. “And there’s apparently one last thing to do before my coronation is considered complete. I have to go to the Forbidden Shore.”

“Elsie
 are you sure?” her sister asked nervously, propping herself up on her elbows. “No one’s allowed to go there. It’s been the law since forever.”

“It is for all the other citizens of Arendelle, but not us. Mother said as part of the ceremony, I have to go there at least once. She told me exactly what to do. In fact, I should probably go and get it out of the way before the day is over, so that it’s all official and such,” the queen sighed, pulling a pair of sneakers out from under the bed.

Annelisa sprung up from the bed and flung open Elsanna’s wardrobe, pulling out some green running shorts and a black tank top. “Is
 is it okay if I go with you?” she asked as she immodestly wriggled out of her own confining coronation dress, leaving it in a puddle of fabric on the floor.

Elsanna laughed as she turned to give her sister some privacy. “I wasn’t going to give you a choice. Mother insisted you had to come along.”

A scant fifteen minutes later, the sisters exited the side door of the castle and began the long walk down from the plateau that Arendelle was built on. The giant glacier easily supported the modest city atop it; only heirs to the throne were permitted to leave the boundaries of the city for the glacier’s shoreline, hundreds of feet below. The sisters marveled at the buildings they passed by on the way to the edge of the glacier; hydroponic and aeroponic greenhouses grew food for the city year-round, while fields of solar and wind generators converted nature’s bounty into the power they needed.

As they descended the icy staircase cut into the side of the glacier, tendrils of fog and mist wrapped around them. Only those with the magical powers gifted to them by the spirits could pass through it, and the fog easily yielded to the two of them.

Finally, they reached the shoreline - the Forbidden Shore - and found an entrance to the interior of the glacier. “Mama said from here on in, we have to go barefoot”, Elsanna murmured, taking off her shoes and leaving them on the icy steps. Annelisa followed suit, grinning. The cold had never bothered either of them, a trait shared with their late mother.

Elsanna grabbed her sister’s hand as they walked through what appeared to be a foyer and a series of ice tunnels. Gentle lights seemed to sparkle in the ice itself, lighting the passages. They slid down the icy tunnels on bare feet as though ice skating until they reached a chasm. In concert, both sisters raised their hands and a bridge made of ice materialized across the gap. With shared giggles, they crossed over it, into a hall filled with ice columns, then through a triangular doorway into a cavernous, dark room.

“What do you suppose this place is, Elsie?” the brown-haired girl asked, staring in wonder at the midnight blue hues of the room, her voice echoing off unseen walls.

“I
 I don’t know. I’ve never seen or heard of anything like this before.” She gathered her sister’s hand in her own and they walked further into the room. On the icy floor, they could barely make out what looked like an elaborate diamond pattern, the ice slightly different hues.

Annelisa stepped forward gingerly, barely putting her toes on the center of the diamond pattern when the floor roared to life. A silvery white diamond glowed brightly, expanding into what looked like a snowflake. Annelisa grabbed her sister and held tightly to her as a fountain of light suffused them, then rocketed to the ceiling. Shimmering snow cascaded down the walls, revealing icy facets as though they were standing inside a diamond.

Elsanna gasped as she looked up into one of the large facets. “Mother!”

“Hello, my darlings. I am sorry I had to go, but destiny called.”

“Is it really you, Mama?” Annelisa choked out, squeezing her sister tighter in her arms as she stared at the image of their recently-departed mother.

“It is. My spirit remains here with all of the spirits of our forebears. This
 this is the source of our magic: our people, our family, here to guide you. The both of you. And there’s someone I’d like you to meet,” their mother smiled.

In a separate facet, Rita, daughter of Elsa and Anna, mother of Iduna II, shimmered into view, smiling down at the girls. “Hello, granddaughters. Though I never got a chance to meet you in life, I am happy to see you now,” the woman smiled before turning to face another large facet and a familiar face. “Allow me to introduce you to-“

“Queen Elsa!” Elsanna shouted with glee, extending her arms towards the image. “I’ve
 I’ve always wondered what it would be like to meet you!”

Elsa nodded and smiled at the sisters as Anna’s face came into view. “Look, sis. They look so much like us.”

“They do, don’t they? They also look like Mother,” Anna remarked from inside the glass-like ice as she hugged Elsa at the waist.

Annelisa gaped at the pantheon of spirits before them. “How
 how is this possible?”

From behind them, a soft tune floated through the air, a few musical notes hummed at first before the words filled in. Elsanna recognized the song immediately and began to sing along.

“Where the North wind meets the sea, There’s a river full of memory. Sleep, my darling, safe and sound, For in this river, all is found.”

As she finished the last bars of the song, a final face appeared in the ice. “I’m so glad you remembered,” Iduna the Elder murmured, then turned to the other women’s spirits. “And I’m so glad you each taught our heritage and passed it down from one generation to the next.”

Elsanna nodded. “Without it, without the Northuldra, we never would have known about Ahtohallan - and Arendelle might have been lost. The world outside
 it’s a frightening place. Thankfully Queen Elsa did what she did to keep both it and Arendelle safe.”

“Now you know why Ahtohallan is so important, my children,” Iduna the Younger said. “It is where we, as Fifth Spirits, go after our mortal lives. This river of memories is the source of all our magic, all our power. When Elsa rediscovered it, when she awakened it as you have today, she reconnected our line with our ancestors. It is why every Queen of Arendelle must come here after coronation.”

Snow began to fly through the air as the wind picked up, and for a brief moment neither sister could see anything. When the blizzard faded away, the five elders walked among them as figures in snow, animated. “Here, in this sacred space, you may come to us at any time, Elsanna - and you as well, Annelisa - to ask for our guidance. While we cannot interfere with the outside world or leave these halls, we can offer our wisdom and our love to you and to Arendelle,” Elsa said as her snowy visage held Anna’s hand.

Anna spoke up. “And when it is time, your time, you’ll join us as well. Hey Elsa
 uh, do they know they’re Fifth Spirits too? I mean, the Queen of Arendelle always has been since you, but I don’t know if-”

Elsanna laughed. “I know. We know. Mama told us in her last holographic video.”

“In her what?” Anna scratched her head.

Annelisa giggled and held up her arm, revealing a sleek cobalt gauntlet on her wrist. With a wave of her fingers over it, a small light glimmered, and then a shimmering image projected from it of Iduna the Younger.

Anna gasped. “Oh my god, that’s amazing! Elsa, look at that! They have better magic than you did!”

Elsa’s image, made of snow though it was, unmistakably pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head, much to the sisters’ amusement. “Anna, that’s not magic. That’s what technology has evolved to in Arendelle after I brought back that smartphone.” She turned to look at her great grand-daughter. “Arendelle
 is it still safe? It’s still strong?”

Elsanna smiled and reached out, putting a hand on the snowy image’s shoulder. To her surprise, it was solid, almost like the former Queen was really there in the room with her. “It is, Queen Elsa. The technology you brought back, each of us has improved on. We’re now probably one of the most advanced civilizations in the world. And as you’d asked, the flag still flies in the city center.”

The image of Elsa conjured a bench and sat down on it. “It fills me with relief that nothing bad has happened to our little nation, after all I read about the misfortunes of the future world in our books. Well, the responsibility of caring for Arendelle falls on you and your sister now, but I can already tell Arendelle’s future is in good hands.”

“Thank you, Queen Elsa-”

“Just Elsa, please!”

“Thank you, Elsa. Well, Annelisa and I should probably be heading back. But we’ll come to visit and learn more, as much as we can. I can’t wait to get to know all of you better,” Elsanna bowed and headed for the door before noticing Annelisa wasn’t behind her.

“Go on ahead without me, sis. I just need to ask one more question of the spirits before I’m done. I won’t be long,” she said, waving as her older sister left the great cavern.

Once out of earshot, the image of Elsa turned to the younger sister as the other women looked on, softly smiling. “What was it you wanted to ask us, Annelisa?”

At the prompt, Annelisa’s cheeks pinked and she folded her arms across her chest, staring down at your feet. “I
 I wanted to know, and this isn’t something I can ask anyone else, but I’ve been thinking about it for years, and
”

Elsa turned to Anna. “She rambles like you.”

Anna shushed her sister. “I’m sorry, please go on, Annelisa.”

“How
 ugh, I don’t know how to say this
 umm
 how do you know if you’re in love with your sister?”

Author’s Notes

This chapter answers all the questions about what happened with Elsa’s phone and how their universe, the canon divergent universe turned out.

Fun fact: Wikipedia shows just how many books it would occupy if it were printed out. As of September 2021, it’s 2,965 volumes printed, text only - that’s the size of the Arendelle library in this fic, though I figure the snowgies only wrote about half of it down as there’s a lot of less important stuff in Wikipedia.

This is it, folks! This is the official end of Switching Places. The last epilogue will be the incomplete second act that I scrapped, mainly because it detracted from the Elsa/Anna relationship and storyline.

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Chapter 23: The Road Untraveled

Summary:

This last epilogue is an unfinished set of chapters that was originally part of Switching Places, but I decided it was too muddled. This was, to be clear, the original story up to chapter 22. What's in the published version is what I wrote after tossing away these extra chapters.

Chapter Text

Epilogue 3: The Road Untraveled

Author’s Prologue

2021, my armchair

This last epilogue is an unfinished set of chapters that was originally part of Switching Places, but I decided it was too muddled. This was, to be clear, the original story up to chapter 22. What’s in the published version is what I wrote after tossing away these extra chapters.

Why? Fundamentally, Switching Places is about Elsanna, about the relationship between Elsa and Anna - related and unrelated. What happened in this “director’s cut” edition is that I mistakenly felt like I needed an extra plot to provide some drama after Elsa’s return to her correct timeline and find a way to logically have Anna fall in love with Elsa.

But, it turns out, I didn’t. Remember that Switching Places was conceptually borrowed from an Agents of SHIELD fic called Another Life, by AOS_Skimmons. In that fic, Skye gets bumped into an alternate universe in which she’s married to Jemma Simmons, and after falling in love with her there, ends up back in her original timeline and has to persuade Jemma to fall in love with her again. That’s the barebones concept that I spun into Switching Places (and amusingly, Another Life is in its entirety shorter than this one epilogue alone, at 13K).

So when I got to around chapter 22 of Switching Places, I realized that the entire extra subplot was wholly unnecessary. The story just had to be about Elsa - who had fallen in love with Future!Anna - and canon Anna falling for each other. That’s it. I ended up setting aside these chapters, but this is a behind the scenes look at where the story might have gone, plus some insight into my writing process. They haven’t been proofread; you’ll hear more about that in some of the author’s notes, but all except the last chapter are fundamentally complete as a first draft.

We begin at the end of Chapter 16. That ends in the “official” story with Elsa and Anna returning to the palace. This following part got deleted.

Director’s Cut, Chapter 16: Return Points

He woke up in almost the same place he’d disappeared from, a week later.

The perfect week. He was married to her. He was loved by her. He had it all.

And then it was ripped away from him. His dreams, shattered. His love, torn asunder.

Now, staring at the empty room around him, he curled his fingers into so tight a fist that his nails drew blood from his palm, and he screamed into the silent void that was his broken heart.

I want to go back, he growled, pounding a fist against the wall. I’ll do anything to get back what I’ve lost! Take me back!

He hit the wall harder. TAKE ME BACK!

His knuckles bled. TAKE ME BACK!

Director’s Cut, Chapter 17: All is Lost

Slightly More Than One Week Ago

There’s an expression, the days are long but the years are short. Sometimes, if we’re very lucky, the days are long because they’re filled with the kind of happiness and fulfillment we desire most in life. The embrace of a loved one. The unconditional companionship of a pet. The eager laughter of a child.

For the first time in forever, he had these and more. As he awoke, the last thing he remembered from the previous night was standing outside the stables, seeing a vivid magenta ribbon in the Northern Lights that looked almost like a thunderstorm, and a purple bolt of lightning stretching towards him like the finger of a deity.

He awoke next to her, and momentarily confused. In his mind, he remembered two lives; the life of the person he’d been the night before, and the life of the person he’d woken into. Memories conflicted, but as he sorted out his thoughts, a smile broke upon his face and grew wider by the moment.

This was a house, a home - his home - that he’d longed for since he was a young boy. Abandoned - no, orphaned, as a young child, he’d always dreamed of that feeling of completeness, as though his heart, once feeling like a piece was missing, was finally whole.

She was there, beside him, gently stroking soft fingers across his broad chest. At first he thought it was just a dream, but the morning light didn’t break the spell - and neither did the giant dog that came in and jumped on the bed.

Anna shouted, “Sven, get off the bed! You know you’re not allowed on it!” She desperately tried to suppress her giggling at the large dog’s antics, gently swatting the large brown Norsk elghund with a pillow. Kristoff stared in wonder at Anna before noticing the ring on her third finger
 and a matching one on his.

Once Sven sulked off the bed and curled up at the foot, Anna turned over to lay an arm across his chest. “Hey, big guy,” she cooed. “We better get up soon, gotta get Olaf ready for school.” She gave him a quick peck on the lips before hopping out of bed and scrambling to get dressed, while he lay there, stunned. He basked in the warmth of the bed, the softness, the lingering scent
 every part, every bit her.

Anna.

The woman he loved from the moment he met her in Oaken’s lodge, but knew he could never have, never be with. Royalty didn’t mingle with orphaned commoners.

And yet
 here he was, in his home, with her as his wife, and everything was exactly as it should be. He looked around, and it was exactly as he’d dreamed over the years, exactly as he remembered from this life he woke into. The queen size bed, stuffed with wool and lanolin, the rough-hewn wooden furniture made by his own hands. Colorful patterns adorned the walls, painted onto the timber planks, painted by his wife in the shape of snowflakes. A cuckoo clock hung on the wall, slowly ticking away the minutes until he had to rise.

It felt so real, so perfect.


“Papa, can you play with me?” Olaf, his blond-haired nine year old asked, holding out a ball and stick. Kristoff pulled on his vest and boots, then opened the door and stepped outside. He breathed deeply; the crisp, cool morning air greeted him as he looked out over the Arendelle fjord. In the distance, he could see the Royal Palace, far in the valley below; verdant hills and trees surrounded the small cluster of houses near him. “Sure, just for a few minutes until Mama has breakfast ready, okay?”

Olaf nodded and tossed the ball to his father, and they played a few minutes’ worth of slĂ„ball, pretending that they were famous athletes, running from the inside team to the outside team. Kristoff laughed at Olaf’s attempt to hit the wooden ball, and cheered for him on the rare occasions he was able to hit it with the stick. Each time, the boy’s eyes lit up like he’d just been given a Christmas toy.

More memories flooded his mind of this lifetime. Olaf being born, the midwife holding the baby up for Kristoff to hold. The tiny boy’s first steps across the woven wool rug that their neighbor had knitted as a baby gift. Olaf trying to ride the dog as a toddler.

Anna leaned out the front window, breaking his reverie with a shout, “Boys! Time for breakfast!” The scent of coffee and toast wafted from the window, and both ran inside. On the small wooden table, they each shared toast, smoked salmon, and scrambled eggs. Olaf devoured his so rapidly, Kristoff barely had a chance to take a bite before the boy was done. He put Olaf’s jacket on him and pointed the boy out the door. A few moments later, Olaf looked back and waved at his parents, as he walked the dirt road to the town center and the borgerskoler, or trade school.

Anna wrapped an arm around Kristoff’s waist as they stood in the door watching Olaf walk away. “He’s growing up so fast, isn’t he?” she sighed, leaning her head against his shoulder.

Kristoff swallowed. “He is for sure.” Pausing a few moments to look out over the fjord. “The Palace looks
 sparkly this morning, doesn’t it?” At the mention of the Palace, he felt Anna stiffen against him.

“I
 you know I don’t like to think about it, Kristoff,” she muttered, turning to head back inside and start cleaning up the breakfast dishes with a scowl.

“I was just saying
 I’m sorry, I know that it’s a sensitive topic. Sorry, honey.” A moment of confusion passed over his mind, conflicting memories dueling with each other.

“She’s just
 she never should have put me in that position, you know?” Anna huffed, wiping down the plates with a wet rag. “She never should have made me choose between you and her. If she- if she’d just kept things the way they were, none of this ever would have happened. What was so wrong with the way it was? We were happy, all of us.”

Kristoff walked over to the sink and rubbed his hands across his wife’s tense shoulders, easing his thumbs into the muscle tension that had appeared at the mention of Anna’s estranged sister
 the Queen. “She
 she wasn’t happy, Anna. I’m not saying what she did was right, disowning you and forcing you out of the Palace, but
 you know she loved you. Loves you, probably still,” he offered kindly.

“Yeah, well, she shouldn’t have loved me
 that way. It’s not right.” Anna looked out the window over the kitchen counter, tears welling up in her eyes. “I waited thirteen years for her, and she
 anyway, it doesn’t matter. We’re happy, Olaf is happy, and everything’s all right. Can you draw another bucket of water from the well, please?”

Kristoff sighed and grabbed the large wooden pails and yoke, heading for the well down the hill. He knew Anna still loved her sister, even after the catastrophic fight they’d had. When he proposed to her, he went to Elsa to ask her blessing, and she’d furiously thrown him out of the Palace entirely, without a word of explanation. Anna had found him outside the closed gates, asked what happened, and confronted her sister
 who had confessed she was in love with Anna.

Anna, being the feistypants redhead that she was, had told her sister that loving her like that was unnatural and delivered a fiery ultimatum: either she blessed Kristoff’s proposal, or Anna would leave.

She never expected her sister to choose the latter.

With that choice came consequences neither of them foresaw. Elsa disowned her sister, stripping her of title and patronage, and then in a shock to both of them, expelled her from the palace entirely.

He cranked the well handle, drawing up another bucket of water and pouring it into his larger carrying buckets as he reminisced. After Anna’s expulsion, she was effectively just another Arendelle common citizen like he was. They married in a chapel on the outskirts of the city with Pabbie officiating; when the local townsfolk got wind of her situation, they’d pitched in to help the newlyweds get a plot of land up in the hills. Anna had always been the people’s favorite royal, after all - she was kind and open, and hadn’t frozen the entire countryside solid for days.

Kristoff shook his head as he put the buckets on the yoke. What was real? This life, he remembered everything, but he also remembered an Arendelle in which Anna and Elsa remained the closest of sisters. They hadn’t had the fight, Anna still lived in the Palace, and he
 he lived in the stables with a reindeer. He turned to his side to see the elghund at his side. Sven. Both his reindeer and his dog were named Sven.

“Well Kristoff, who’s to say which is the dream and which is real?” he mouthed, miming the words from the dog as he leaned down to scratch behind its ears.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right, Sven. I’m here, this is where I am, and maybe
 I don’t know, maybe I’m just going crazy. But I distinctly remember you being a reindeer, too,” he chuckled as he hoisted the yoke over his broad shoulders, the water in the covered buckets sloshing around. “We better get back with this, huh?”


He honestly didn’t know how long it had been since being whisked away from the stables. The conflicting memories made it all such a blur; it could have been a day, a week, or a lifetime ago. But as he looked out the bedroom window that evening, his arm around Anna’s sleeping form, his heart sank.

There, in the distant sky, was an aurora with a storm inside it. He recognized it immediately; it was just like the one that had snatched him away from the other reality.

No, he thought. I don’t want to go there, go back there. There’s nothing for me there. She’s
 she’s not mine there. Sorrow and anger wrestled with each other in his heart, tightening his chest and stealing his breath as though Sven were sitting on him. There
 she’s not mine. She’s Elsa’s. And she’ll never be mine there. Why can’t I stay here, with her, with Olaf as a real boy instead of an insane talking snowman?

The fight ended, and anger won. Kristoff fumed at the injustice of finding a life - somehow - that was everything he ever wanted, only to possibly lose it all. I need to go see Pabbie, and quick.


The next morning, Kristoff rode his horse (not Sven, as his conflicted memories prompted him) to the Valley of Living Rock. In both lives, he’d been orphaned and raised by the rock trolls. A sense of nostalgia washed over him as the clan rolled into view like a thunderstorm over a great plain. At the head of the pack, Bulda and Cliff - his adoptive parents - sprang from their rolling rock forms and embraced him.

“What’s wrong, Kristoff? Love troubles?” the portly rock troll asked, her vegetation swaying slightly.

Kristoff nodded. “Something like that. Something’s
 happened to me. Is Pabbie available?”

The largest stone in the pack rolled forward and unfurled itself, rising taller than the rest. “Well, Kristoff. What have you gotten yourself into this time,” the old troll sighed, giving the human a wry smile. “Come, come. Sit down and tell us of your troubles.”

Kristoff recounted his confusion, waking up the previous day in a home that was different than the one he’d left the day before. He described the two sets of memories he had, as though he had lived twice as many lives. And he recalled the aurora with the unusual colors in the sky the previous night.

“You’re withholding something, Kristoff,” chided Bulda, nudging his shin. “What is it? Is something wrong with your wife?”

“I
 yeah. In this life I have Anna. We’re married, we’re happy, we have Olaf
 it’s perfect.” His features darkened as he continued, “In that other life, I don’t. Anna has Elsa, and they love each other. I- I’m not needed there for Anna to be happy.”

Pabbie stared at Kristoff’s admissions, his own stone brow furrowed. “Kristoff
 there is great danger here,” he murmured, holding up rocky fingers as he felt the magic surrounding the man. “You are in danger, great and terrible danger. I sense in you a terrible anger lurking, the way a wolf stands at the edge of the woods, always lurking. It is in your heart even now.”

“I need your help, Pabbie. I need to stay here, instead of being sent back to
 to where I came from. Surely you must know some magic that will help? If I can stay here, then
 then there won’t be anything except happiness in my heart.”

Pabbie slowly shook his head, casting his eyes towards the morning sky. “What has caused this change, these events, is magic beyond my grasp,” he said as he held his hands high, images of the aurora swirling in the air around them. “What brought you here is like a doorway into a room with many doors. It is not magic I can control, my grandson.”

Kristoff fell to his knees, his hands on the elder troll’s shoulders. “Please, please Pabbie. Please help me stay. I
 I can’t be without her, I can’t be without her love. I need her love!” Tears began to run down the blond man’s face as a spark of desperation lit in his eyes, his hands shaking the troll.

“I can only tell you to make the most of what you have, while you have it, Kristoff. Love is powerful magic of its own; you know this better than most. Do not waste a moment of time on anger, grandson. Fill the time you have with love, and whatever time you have, it will be enough. Now go, hurry back to her.”

Kristoff pressed his lips together before slowly nodding. “I- I’ll try. Thank you, Pabbie. I’ll see you again soon.” He mounted his horse and headed away from the valley, struggling to quash the anger inside him, anger at the unfairness of the situation. His face burned, in part from the anger and from the midday sun beating down on him.

There must be a way, he kept reciting to himself with each beat of his horse’s hooves back to his home.


The week drew to a close, and the aurora drew closer. Kristoff grew more restless with each passing day, pondering what would happen when the aurora finally reached him. On Friday, six days after his arrival, the aurora was almost overhead when he had a sudden thought: perhaps magic could be used against magic.

He gritted his teeth as the thought hit him while he was eating his lunch, sitting at the table. Thankfully, Anna was out in town getting supplies, else she would have noticed his mood darkening immediately. There was only one magic user he knew of who might have the kind of powerful magic needed to stop the aurora; Pabbie already said it was beyond him.

Kristoff looked out the window and down the valley to Arendelle’s palace. Elsa - the Queen - was so powerful a witch that she once froze the entire land solid, an eternal winter in the middle of July. If she could freeze a nation, could she freeze a magical entity? he wondered.

She’s not going to be happy to see you, Kristoff, he mimed Sven saying, the dog rubbing up against his leg.

“I know, buddy. But I have to try, you know?”

An hour’s walk later, he stood in front of the closed palace gates. Ever since Elsa had disowned her sister, the gates had returned to being closed all the time, much to the dismay of the citizens. He approached one of the guards, asking if the Queen would give him an audience. The guard eyed him briefly before shaking his head wordlessly, his halberd shining in the midday light against his forest green uniform.

“Please, tell her it’s a matter of magical urgency, about the peculiar northern lights!” he urged. At that moment, fortune smiled on Kristoff; Gerda happened to be returning to the palace in a carriage with some supplies and recognized him. The carriage drew to a halt at the gates and Gerda leaned out the window.

“What is a matter of magical urgency, Master Kristoff?” the elder chamberlain asked, tilting her head with curiosity.

Kristoff summarized the situation as best as he could, that the magical aurora seen in the night sky posed a threat, and the Queen could possibly use her magic to stop it before it did any harm, pulling someone else out of their life - perhaps even the Queen herself. Gerda nodded in assent as the guards held open the gates, allowing Kristoff to walk inside the courtyard.

“Stay here, and I will see if she’s amenable to seeing you again, Master Kristoff,” she advised, heading inside the palace.

He waited in the courtyard, looking around. In the months that had passed since Anna’s falling out, the palace had fallen into some disrepair. The fountains, once frozen into ice sculptures as the townspeople skated around, were empty of water entirely. Dried leaves floated aimlessly in the corners of the courtyard, and the roofline, once lined with snow and ice crystals that sparkled brilliantly in the sun, were drab and dull. He looked up at the palace’s facade and saw the giant bell used to ring in the holiday season still in its bellframe, the rope frayed at the end.

Though no sound preceded her arrival, the temperature heralded it. Kristoff shivered as the palace doors opened fully and a gust of bitter wind slapped him in the face. Hoping to make a good impression, he bent a knee as she stepped out, only to hear her sharp intake of breath.

“You,” she hissed at him, pointing a finger towards him, “how dare you set foot in the palace at all! You’re lucky I didn’t have you exiled entirely for what you did.”

“Elsa, pl-”

“It’s Your Majesty to you, assuming I want to hear you speak at all. Do you have any idea what you did? Do you have any idea how much pain you’ve caused?” she thundered, her once golden hair stark white as it blew around in the chill wind.

Kristoff stood up as his temper flared. “Me? I wasn’t the one who disowned my own sister and threw her out of the only home she’s known, Your Majesty,” he sneered, mocking her diminution of him. “If you want to talk about causing pain
 you know what, never mind. That’s not why I’m here. Have you seen the purple aurora over the northern skies at night?”

Elsa scoffed. “What of it, ice harvester? Not that the kingdom has much need of your services any longer,” she jabbed at him. To spite him, she’d made ice plentiful and free throughout Arendelle, ending his line of work entirely. While the citizens appreciated it for the most part, he and his fellow workers had needed to find other work.

“It’s dangerous, Your Majesty. It’s magic of some kind that Pabbie can’t stop and that can
 can hurt people. We need your help, your magic, to stop it, to stop it from possibly destroying parts of the kingdom or hurting your subjects,” he pressed on, ignoring her insults and digs.

“And how would you know that? Last I checked, you had no powers of your own, nor were you much of a scholar or a gentleman,” she snapped at him, as frost slowly began to seep out from under her feet.

Kristoff shivered. The air around them was as cold as the North Mountain on a sunless winter’s day. He wasn’t dressed for the cold, but she certainly seemed to be. Gone was the free-flowing azure ice dress and cape; the ice surrounding her looked like a more severe version of her coronation dress, the ice so dark a blue it was almost black. “I talked to Pabbie. He said it was, and
 and it’s hurt me once already.”

Elsa cocked her head before a lopsided smirk crept on her lips. “Did it?” She turned, heading back towards the palace door before looking over her shoulder one last time at Kristoff. “Perhaps it will finish the job then, so that I’m rid of you and can get my sister back.” Without another word, she waved her hand and the palace doors slammed shut in a gust of icy wind.

“Elsa! Elsa, please!” he shouted at the closed doors, “You have to help me stop it! You’re the only one who can! Elsa! ELSA!” he pounded on the heavy wooden doors futilely.

Two guards slowly approached him, halberds drawn. “It’s time to move along, citizen,” one of them said, pointing the long polearm at him.

“ELSA! ELSA!” he shouted, as another two guards took him by the elbows and dragged him through the courtyard, outside the gates. Once outside, they let him go, and he fell to his knees in front of the closed gates. “Please,” he begged to no one save the gates, “please, I can’t go back!”

He lost track of how long he lay there, stirred only from his despair by the setting sun. Alarmed, he turned and looked towards the northern skies.

The aurora was over Arendelle proper, magenta lightning crackling inside.

“No
 no! No, I can’t go back! Don’t let me go! DON’T LET ME GO! ANNA!” He picked himself up and ran through the town towards the hills. Kristoff sprinted for his home; in his mind, he thought if he could make it home, if he could make it to the root cellar, he’d barricde himself in there for a day until the storm passed. He’d be safe, and wouldn’t have to go back to a life without Anna loving only him.

He made it as far as the first hill before the lightning struck him.

Author’s Notes, Chapter 17

Not going to lie, writing ANY Kristanna was a weird experience for me, as was trying to crawl inside Kristoff’s head to understand him. There isn’t a ton to his character, but I figured being orphaned and raised by trolls, in addition to his lack of manners/decorum, would also leave him with a sense of abandonment, sort of an attachment disorder. Having Anna love him and losing that would be a lot more punishing to him.

This chapter was lengthy and part of the reason I started to doubt these later chapters. SO much exposition was necessary to understand Kristoff’s perspective that it was detracting from the Elsanna relationship.

We next move into Chapter 18, which is Anna wandering through the woods. In the official story, this is Chapter 17, and has no Kristoff at all in it.

Director’s Cut, Chapter 18: I Wonder as I Wander

Anna walked down the dusty lane, passing by houses with neat slate roofs and diagonal wooden fences. The trees wavered in the stiff springtime breeze, the scent of the ocean always present. Overgrown thatch and large grey boulders dotted the side of the road as she walked up the hills of Arendelle’s outer limits, hundreds of meters above the palace in the distance. She rested against one of the larger fenceposts, admiring the view, as her thoughts wandered.

I wonder what it would be like to live up here, someplace quiet, someplace without all the hustle and bustle of the palace, she mused, watching a few children playing in one of the yards. I wonder what it would be like if it were just Elsa and me.

She started at that thought, wondering where it had come from. Was it from that passionate kiss Elsa had given her yesterday? Or the tales of Elsa being with the other Anna, married to her. Without thinking, her hand lifted itself to her lips, and she lightly brushed her index and middle fingers over her lower lip where Elsa had run her tongue.

Should I be disgusted? It’s not like we haven’t kissed each other hundreds of times when we were little kids, and even after the Great Thaw, she thought.

“Kissed who?” a voice broke through her thoughts, and she shrieked before looking down to find Olaf.

“Olaf! What are you doing here?”

“Oh, you know, just wandering around pondering the great mysteries of life, listening to people have conversations with each other and with themselves standing on a hill overlooking the city,” he blurted, winding up for a good ramble.

Anna sighed. “Now is not the time, Olaf. I was
 I was just thinking
 out loud, I guess.” She looked back out at the fjord, her eyes unfocusing.

Olaf looked out for a moment, his brow scrunched as he tried to figure out what Anna was staring at, and scratched his head. “What were you thinking about?”

“It’s nothing, it’s just
 well
 can you keep a secret?”

“Yes! I mean maybe. It depends on the secret. And who’s asking me about the secret. Actually, no. I can’t keep a secret at all. But you can tell me anyway,” he offered with a guileless smile.

Anna gave a soft laugh as she hugged herself. “I
 well, I can never fault you for your honesty, Olaf. Let’s just say something happened recently and I’m not sure what to think about it.”

“You kissed someone?”

“The opposite, actually. Someone kissed me and I
 I don’t know how I feel about it,” she sighed, remembering how awkward and uncomfortable she felt in the dining room. Else had apologized profusely in her Ice Palace, and Anna had forgiven her, but she still couldn’t erase the sensation from her mind. Was it a good sensation? It was shocking, but was it unpleasant? She couldn’t remember.

“Was it Kristoff? He talks about kissing you a lot, and he always tells me to keep that secret, so maybe it’s the same thing, right?”

Anna pinched the bridge of her nose and exhaled, mentally counting to five. Kristoff was the last person she wanted to think about right at that moment. But as Olaf’s words sunk in, she considered his mention of Kristoff and realized while her Elsa had vanished in the future, she hadn’t thought about or even talked to Kristoff once during the entire incident.

She didn’t need him, not to the same way that he seemed to need her.

She did need her sister. As her sister, her best friend, her confidante, as Queen of the nation. But as a romantic interest? She wasn’t sure what to make of the idea, and started to walk down the road, idly tracing her finger along the fence as Olaf followed, confused at her lack of response.

“Wait, is kissing something you only do if you love the person?” Olaf asked as he waddled behind Anna.

“Well
 yes. You know that, Olaf. We’ve talked
 at length, I might add
 about what is appropriate behavior around other people. Remember what we said about warm hugs?” she snickered, recalling many long talks by Elsa about how warm hugs were something most people weren’t comfortable with, despite Olaf’s genial nature. Those same talks also extended to telling him not to kiss other people who didn’t ask to be kissed, and keeping his hands out of other people’s mouths, except for Sven. He didn’t understand why someone wouldn’t want a warm hug or a kiss, and the discussion went in circles for over an hour.

“Warm hugs are best with warm friends,” he muttered sullenly, before one of his mercurial mood shifts. “Wait, so that means the person who kissed you must love you a lot! Are you going to marry them? Will you have babies with them? Why are you blushing so much? Are you overheating?”

Anna covered her ears with her hands as her breathing sped up. “Olaf. Olaf! Not
 not now, okay. Just
 relax. I’m trying to figure out what the person meant by kissing me like
 like they did. Whether it means anything or not, okay? I’m certainly not going to do
 those other things you mentioned.” She tamed her breathing as her heart slowed back down to normal.

“I bet it was Elsa,” he blurted out.

Anna stumbled and pinwheeled against the rail fence, knocking a few slats loose before falling backwards into someone’s garden. “Olaf! You can’t say things like that! She’s my sister! She’s my sister AND she’s the Queen!” She looked around furtively, making sure no one was obviously listening in. “Besides, sisters do not kiss each other
 that way,” she stage whispered, as she carefully reset the fence pieces.

Olaf scratched his head with one of his twig arms. “Why not? You love each other. You just said people only kiss when they love each other like that. And you do plenty of other things together-”

“Olaf
” she shook her head, a headache beginning to press against her temples, “that’s a different kind of love than what we’re talking about. It’s not the same-” Anna looked at the curve in the road ahead, spotting one of the local families, the Larsens, out in their yard. The Larsens were one of the many families with children who knew and loved Olaf, and Anna immediately let out a sigh of relief. “We can talk about this another time, Olaf. Right now, it looks like Harald and Anders would like to see you instead,” she indicated, waving at the young boys calling Olaf’s name.

The little snowman toddled off to go play with friends as Anna scurried quickly past the house before he could change his mind. She walked further up the road, climbing the steep hill that led almost to the outer stone walls of the city. She reached the uppermost tower, looking down at the entirety of the fjord as it sparkled in the sunlight.

Anna sat in the grass, mulling over Olaf’s clumsy but truthful words. How did her sister love her, that she felt comfortable enough to kiss her like a lover? Was her trip to the future, to that other reality, so dramatic and changing that she became a different person in just a week, or did Elsa harbor these kinds of feelings before she ever left, and simply didn’t tell Anna?

She picked a nearby daisy, staring at it idly as a cool wind from the mountains gently swept over the hills, ruffling her bangs. Her French tutor had taught her effeuiller la marguerite, plucking of the daisy. Anna began to pluck the petals off the daisy as she mulled over Elsa’s actions, mindlessly reciting the traditional French. Elle m’aime un peu - beaucoup - passionĂ©ment - Ă  la folie - pas du tout. She loves me a little, a lot, passionately, to madness, not at all.

She gave a bitter laugh as the last petal settled on passionĂ©ment, she loves me passionately. Olaf’s words came back to haunt her once more. “You do plenty of other things together”, he’d said. And it was true. Her and Elsa hugged each other as though they hadn’t seen each other for years, even if they’d only been apart a half hour. They held hands all the time. They walked through the city square, arm in arm like a couple at every festival and holiday. They slept in the same bed more often than not, curled up against each other like cats. Was that the behavior of siblings or someone else? She had no basis for judgement, and it wasn’t like she could go knocking on doors around town to ask people.

Did Elsa love her romantically?

She swallowed, her throat dry at the implications. Did Elsa love her romantically enough to want to
 be intimate? Anna’s stomach flipped at the thought.

Why was Elsa behaving like this? Why did they behave the way they did in general, so much more close than others? Some of it was unquestionably the thirteen long years they’d been separated by their parents, to protect her from Elsa’s magic. That separation left deep scars in both of them, wounds that only each other’s presence soothed. They needed each other to remind the other that neither was alone.

Anna had occasionally wondered whether they were even properly sisters, having spent more time apart than together. Yet they weren’t truly apart, not in their hearts. Elsa never saw her in person all those years, but they talked daily, backs against Elsa’s door, complaining quietly about their studies, laughing together, making gifts for each other. She’d made a baker’s dozen of Olaf-shaped gifts for her older sister, one each Christmas. More than a few times, her father had scooped up her sleeping body from Elsa’s door, carrying her back to her room.

She contemplated the romantic relationships she’d had. Hans, for as little as that had lasted, was a whirlwind. Looking back, she never loved him, but she absolutely loved the idea of being in love, and he was the first person that had ever shown interest - that had the opportunity to show interest - in her.

And then there was Kristoff. Anna let out a heavy sigh, her shoulders slumping. He was a wonderful person. Strong, loving, caring, selfless, dedicated, loyal
 virtually everything she could ever want in a best friend. Yet she could see how he felt about her, how every glance was filled with pregnant pauses and longing so dire, it was like watching a thirsty man in a desert crawling towards an oasis. And despite it all, she felt
 nothing. None of what she’d dreamed of, none of what she imagined being swept off her feet by a handsome prince would feel like.

To her heart, Kristoff was lumped in the same category as Olaf and Sven. Lovable, people she could and did love, but not someone she could be in love with. And therein was the problem. She wanted to be closest of friends. He wanted something different. Am I afraid to feel that way towards someone? she questioned, tossing the plucked daisy petals into the wind.

Anna brushed the grass and dirt off her green dress as she stood, starting the long walk back towards the palace. Going for a walk had been meant to clear her head, not clutter it more, she lamented with a rueful chuckle to herself.

She’d been so intent on discerning how Elsa felt about her that she forgot one key aspect to consider: how she felt about her sister. But before her mind took her down that avenue, she was back at the palace gates
 and confused.

Bulda, Cliff, and several of the rock trolls from the Valley of Living Rock were waiting outside the doors to the palace.

“Bulda? What are you all doing here? Is Kristoff all right? Did something happen with Pabbie?” she asked, worried that the elder troll had
 fallen ill or something. Did the trolls get ill, she wondered? Could they even get ill? Before her mind went down another rambling path, Bulda waddled over and embraced Anna as best as the little troll could.

“No, my dear, everything is fine with Kristoff as far as we know. We saw him a little more than a week ago for dinner, he and Sven seemed good. No, Grand Pabbie is here to see your sister.”

Anna nodded, finally spotting Pabbie near the front of the small crowd. “Come on, I’ll take you up to see her,” she said, nodding to the guards to open the palace doors. Open court wasn’t for another day, so the doors were guarded; Elsa had kept the gates open, but generally, the citizens weren’t in the palace except for open court. As they walked through the corridors, Pabbie would occasionally raise a rocky hand up, as though he were trying to catch something invisible out of the air.

“Is something wrong, Pabbie?”

The elder rock troll nodded. “I was here
 not more than eight days ago now, isn’t it?” He looked to Anna’s nod before going on. “Yet everything feels different, feels as though something is wrong. I have felt this way for several days now, since Queen Elsa’s return. Tell me, Anna, is she quite all right? Is she
 herself?”

Anna blushed slightly, Pabbie’s words invoking her railyard full of thoughts from her afternoon wanderings. “Yes, she is. She’s back from
 wherever it was that she was, and nearly everything is exactly the same.”

“Nearly everything?”

“She had some eye-opening experiences, but she’s the same old Elsa as always,” Anna nervously laughed, quickening her pace up the stairs to the Queen’s chambers. Before Pabbie could inquire further, they reached Elsa’s door and Anna knocked on it. A moment later, Elsa opened it, expecting only Anna. Her eyes widened at the host of trolls with her sister.

“Hello?”

Anna ushered Pabbie inside; the rest of the group stayed in the hallway, curled back up into large round rocks. After the door closed, Elsa sat on the small divan in her antechamber, looking expectantly at her guests with a slight frown. Anna sat on the other end of the divan; after her wandering, she wasn’t sure what to feel around her sister.

“Your Majesty,” Pabbie cleared his throat, “I have come to you in seek of your assistance.”

“Of course, Pabbie, anything we can do to help, you know that.” Elsa scooted just a tiny bit towards Anna and reached out her hand. Like a reflex, Anna clasped her sister’s hand as they gave their full attention to the troll elder.

“Your Majesty, tell me. Have you noticed anything strange about your magic since your return from your magical journey?” The elder troll walked in a slow circle around the antechamber as his eyes slid over the walls. Had he needed to breathe, he might have been doing so slowly and deeply.

Elsa tilted her head slightly to one side. “N-no, nothing out of the ordinary, but I also haven’t had much call to use my powers since my return. Is there something I should be looking for?” She looked briefly out of the side of her eye at Anna, who had done the same.

Pabbie appeared not to notice, instead walking from the antechamber to the double doors leading to the balcony overlooking Arendelle’s town center. “Your Majesty, if I may ask your indulgence?” he gestured, stretching out his hand. Elsa stood and walked over, opening the doors. The warm spring breeze wafted into the room, a few small flower petals carried on the wind swirling into the room.

“What would you like me to do, Pabbie?”

“Far from the town, in the fjord’s harbor if you will, please summon the largest block of ice you can, Majesty.” He turned his eyes to the sparkling waters, waiting for Elsa to bring some ice into existence.

She closed her eyes, released the breath she was holding, and extended her arms straight out, slowly lifting them over her head. Snowflakes danced around her wrists and palms, sunlight glinting off the ice crystals. In the blink of an eye, a beam of frost shot from her fingertips over the town, touching the water. Immediately, hexagonal spikes of ice began to grow in the harbor, small at first, the size of a pencil. In another breath, they grew to the size of tree branches, then tree trunks.

The ice crackled in the distance, sounding more like an avalanche as it continued to grow. After a few breaths, Elsa opened her eyes and gasped. In the harbor was a chunk of ice half the height of the North mountain. “Pabbie! What- did you know that would happen?” She wove her fingers as though she were knitting, and the iceberg crumbled to pieces, splashing into the water and fading from existence.

Pabbie nodded slowly, tapping the tips of his stone fingers together. “It is as I suspected, Your Majesty.” He plodded back inside, Elsa following behind him as she closed the French doors silently. Anna stared at the two of them, waiting to hear what it was Pabbie was looking for.

“Tell me, Your Majesty
 how did that feel? How much effort was that for you?”

Elsa started to answer before she closed her mouth, pursed her lips, and glanced out the doors. She looked down at her hands, fingers extended, as though the magic was still flowing through her into the harbor. “None
 none at all. Usually something that large is draining, tiring. I remember after I created my ice palace on the North Mountain, I was exhausted for a few hours.” She looked up. “Why is that?”

Pabbie puttered around the room for a long moment. “Something
 something is changing the very nature of magic in our world, Elsa. Something dangerous is coming, something that is altering how magic works, amplifying it, making it stronger. I do not know why or how, only that it is happening, and it bodes ill for all of us.” He motioned for Anna to draw the curtains closed.

Once the room was dark, he summoned one of his farseer visions, ethereal light floating in the room above their heads. Though Anna had no other frame of reference for it, it reminded Elsa of some of the TV shows she’d binged in the future.

“When the red aurora, as you had called it, came by the first time, it grazed our region. That was what took you on your magical journey, Elsa,” he murmured as the vision of the aurora appeared, sweeping across the sky, bolts of lightning hitting the ground. One bolt struck Arendelle’s palace, exactly where Elsa had been standing a little more than a week ago.

“And that brought us the imposter,” Anna snarked, remembering the other world’s Elsa.

“This is why I came to see you, Majesty.” He raised his hands again, and the previous vision faded away. A new aurora took shape, this one a giant red swirling storm, as though you were looking at a thunderstorm, but through a massive fire. The storm in Pabbie’s vision approached Arendelle again, but instead of soaring across the sky as lightning emerged from it, this time it engulfed all of Arendelle in brilliant red flame, before Arendelle crumbled to dust.

Anna gasped, her hand flying to her mouth as she recognized what was happening in the vision. Elsa hugged her close, eyes transfixed on the vision as it faded. “Is
 does that mean what I think it means?”

Pabbie slowly nodded, his voice low and hushed, almost reverent. “It does, Your Majesty. Whatever storm caused you to switch places in the first place, somehow it is coming back. And this time it will destroy all of Arendelle.”

Author’s Notes, Chapter 18

You can see how much longer the wandering through the fields was in the official, final version of the story. This is a glimpse into how I write - each chapter of a story goes through four phases. The first is the ugly first draft phase, where I get the skeleton of the story outlined and written. The second phase is first edit, where I add details and embellishments. The third phase is preflight - this is where I look at my standard writing template and inspect the story.

The template I use goes like this: action, reaction, dialogue, emotion. What happened? What were the characters’ observable reactions? What did they say, either outwardly or inwardly? And how do they feel? The above chapter only got through phase 2, which is why it’s so different from what you read in the “real” Chapter 17. It’s missing a lot of those reactions and inner dialogue pieces that I write in later, when I’m checking that what was in my head at the time I wrote made it to the page.

To give you a sense of when this was being worked on, I was writing Chapter 18 around the time chapter 3 was published, April 25 of 2021. I try to write at least 50% of the story before I publish even one chapter. One of the things I hate most is an unfinished story that I really enjoy, so to prevent doing that to anyone else, I try to bank at least half the story before I go live. By the 50% mark I have a good sense of whether or not I’m going to finish the story or not.

Director’s Cut, Chapter 19: The Fall of Arendelle

Anna surveyed the landscape as she and Elsa rode in the coach away from the palace, the morning sun eerily bright, as though even the sun were stronger. To her eye, not much else seemed different, but after Pabbie’s haunting warnings the previous night, she was on edge. Every tree hid some nefarious villain from the fairy tales she’d read as a child; every shadow contained some kind of ghost or evil spirit. At each bump in the road, she’d instinctively clutch Elsa’s hand.

For her part, Elsa was much more calm. Whatever the reason that doom approached Arendelle, it made her powers that much stronger as well. She recalled the struggle, the drain she’d felt trying to stop the chemical weapon in the future, how close to tapping all her power she was to save that Anna. Last night, when Pabbie had her freeze part of the harbor, she’d channeled what felt like twice the power and was none the worse for wear. As long as her powers increased commensurate with the threat, she felt confident she could keep her sister safe.

“Where are we going, anyway?” Anna wondered aloud.

“Pabbie said there was something he felt just past the North Mountain, in the Black Mountains. Some kind of magic he wasn’t familiar with,” Elsa pointed out on a map she’d brought along. Anna scooted to the same side in the coach, looking carefully at the map as Elsa fidgeted. After her untoward display of affection the other day, she was hesitant about being too close to Anna, lest she lose control of her emotions again.

Who would have thought conceal, don’t feel would have been something I needed to say to myself again? she thought with a wry grin, giving her sister a sidelong glance.

As they approached the Black Mountains, Elsa’s head began to throb ever so gently, as though someone were pushing on her temples with just a finger or two. Not enough to hurt, not even enough to be a nuisance, but enough that she noticed it. Trying not to disturb Anna, who had fallen asleep an hour earlier with her head in Elsa’s lap, she reached her hand out and cast an intense beam of frost at a passing rock formation. What should have been a concentrated burst of magic needing all her focus was as easy as tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.

Elsa frowned. Her magic, her powers shouldn’t be that easy. Whatever this phenomenon was, it was getting stronger the closer they got to the Black Mountains and Pabbie’s magical source. She began to stroke Anna’s hair absentmindedly as the royal coach rumbled along the dirt roads. How did she feel about her sister? More important, how did her sister feel about her? Anna had come back from her walkabout only to run into Pabbie and the trolls, and she’d been unusually quiet for the rest of the evening.

Of course, Elsa chuckled to herself, being told that a magical phenomenon was about to destroy everything would tend to have that effect on anyone, but she still wondered if Anna really had forgiven her for her lapse in judgement.

Her treacherous heart scolded her. There’s no lapse in judgement. You love her in all the ways you can love someone, sister or not. Her mouth suddenly felt dry, and she closed her eyes, pushing away the thoughts for another time. Just as she’d begun to feel drowsy from the motion of the horses, a vibration stirred her senses. She looked out the coach window and saw the wooden bridge they were crossing begin to shake.

Then the world fell out from under them.

Without thinking, Elsa reached out with her hands, surrounding her and Anna in thick ice, turning the inside of the carriage into a solid block of ice. Once the falling sensation had stopped, she closed her eyes and the ice vaporized, revealing that they’d fallen to the bottom of a chasm. Almost nothing was left of the carriage except splinters and boards; she could see no sign of the horses or the driver. Had she not surrounded herself and her sister in the ice, they likely would have been pulverized by the fall.

Anna clasped onto Elsa’s shoulders as she looked up, seeing the shambles of the bridge above them. Whatever had caused it to fall was incredibly destructive; almost nothing remained of the bridge at all. She hyperventilated and shook, terrified at what had just happened. She’d awoken just as the ice had encased her, and for a brief moment, she was back on the icy fjord, her body turning to ice as she saw Hans’ sword descending towards her sister.

“Anna, Anna!” Elsa gripped her sister’s forearms, “It’s okay. We’re okay, we’re safe. Calm down, please! I’ve got you, okay?”

“Wh-what happened, Elsa? One minute I was asleep, the next minute I’m standing at the bottom of a canyon with the shattered remains of our carriage around us?” She looked around, eyes wide as she expected some kind of threat - wild wolves, monsters, spirits, anything.

Elsa shook her head. “I’m not sure. We were crossing the bridge and then suddenly we were falling. Let’s
 let’s get back up to the road and see if we can spot what happened.”

“Do you think that’s safe? What if- what if it was an ambush, somehow?”

Elsa reached out her hands and icy armor began to appear over both the women, covering them head to toe just as she’d done for the other Anna in the future. Once they were fully armored, she lifted her hands and both she and Anna levitated up the side of the cliff until they reached the top. She’d guided them as she once did Olaf towards the top of a Christmas tree, silently gliding behind some trees in case there was some unknown threat.

When they reached the top of the ridge, they realized what had caused the bridge to collapse. The hill they stood on itself was shaking, trembling as though there were an earthquake. Elsa held her hands out to the side, keeping their feet off the ground as it shook, boulders tumbling down into the ravine.

Anna swallowed, looking down at the ground below them. Had they stayed in the ravine with the remains of their coach, they would almost certainly have been killed by the rockslides as the sides of the ravine caved in.

After a few long moments, the tremors abated and Elsa set them back down on the earth, quite a safe distance from the crumbled ledge. “What in the world was that?” Anna asked, touching the ground with one hand gingerly, as though the soil would leap up and bite her. “Damn, Elsa. We are hours away from the palace, and I don’t think too many people live this far out. What are we gonna do?”

Elsa shook her head. “I didn’t see any sign of the horses or driver either. I’m afraid they probably perished in the initial bridge collapse.” She looked around, ensuring no one was nearby, then smiled as she raised her hands over her head. In a flash, two horses made of snow and ice rose from the ground, fully tacked and ready to ride.

“Whoa! I didn’t know you could do that!”

“I saw it in
 well, I saw it in something your future self had shown me.” Elsa regarded the snow horses with a wistful smile. During her binge-watching marathon in the future, she’d seen a video where a frost mage conjured up an ice dragon to ride; while a dragon flying over the skies of Arendelle would certainly be expedient, it wouldn’t do much good for the nerves of her subjects. Two white horses, on the other hand, would be relatively inconspicuous, especially at a distance.

They both mounted their horses and began riding the road towards the Black Mountains again. Just as they crossed over the next hill, the sky turned from its normal topaz color to a dull purple. Elsa massaged her temples with two fingers, feeling additional pressure on her head. In the distance, down in the valley, they watched as what looked like thunderclouds gathered over valley, violet lightning crackling around the edges of a circular cloud formation.

“What
” Anna started, dumbfounded by the display of magic in front of her. Something in the valley was shooting a bright magenta beam into the clouds. The beam began to pulse and surge, sounding like a dog growling and a hawk screeching combined. She felt a heat on her face, like sitting too close to a campfire, as the beam pulsed faster, the cacaphony of sound growing louder and more insistent. “Elsa
” she murmured, looking down at their ice armor. Droplets of water were forming on the surface as waves of heat washed over the valley.

“I see it, Anna,” she acknowledged, weaving her fingers to strengthen the ice surrounding them. Their armor crystallized once more, and their horses regained their strength. “This is probably going to get worse the closer we get to
 whatever that is.”

Just then, a deep, sonorous voice boomed across the valley. “I SEE YOU, FIFTH SPIRIT. YOUR POWERS MEAN NOTHING HERE!”

Anna turned to look at her sister. “Who’s he talking to? What’s a fifth spirit?”

“Beats me,” Elsa shrugged. She urged her horse forward, closing in on the center of the commotion. She could make out what looked like a giant cauldron of some kind and four stone arches, resembling fingers grasping towards the sky. Violet lightning crackled from the tips, and as they closed the distance, the smell of sulphur suffused the air.

Elsa held her hands in front of her as they approached the elaborate setup, a black-robed figure standing with his arms high above his head. She nudged the wind to carry her words more loudly as she sat tall in the saddle. “I am Elsa, Queen of Arendelle, and I command you to stop whatever it is you are doing!” she thundered.

High-pitched cackling reverberated around the canyon. “You are too late, Elsa of Arendelle. Soon my master’s bidding shall be done, and we will usher in the paradise he so richly deserves! BEHOLD!” The robed figure turned towards the cauldron as vivid purple light glowed from its contents. Its beam lit up the darkened sky around them, and then in a flash of purple lightning, the sisters saw it just over the next mountain.

The red aurora. Only this time it was a vivid blue, almost the color of Elsa’s eyes.

The storm was barreling through the summoned clouds, azure lightning crackling everywhere. Behind it, fires sprang up as the landscape almost seemed to be torn up, as though it was somehow a tornado, ripping everything from the ground under it.

Anna gasped. “Elsa! What- we have to stop this somehow!” Ignoring the dangers, Anna leapt forward and punched the robed figure, knocking him to the ground. “Who is your master? Tell me how to stop this!” she shouted, grabbing the robed figure by the hood and threatening to punch him again.

“I am,” a familiar voice echoed from the trees nearby. “I am his
 employer, Anna. But don’t worry, okay? In just a few moments, everything is going to be perfect again.”

“KRISTOFF? What the hell are you doing here?”

“What is the meaning of this, Kristoff?” Elsa echoed her sister’s shock, shards of snow and ice circling her hands. She looked closely at the man as he emerged from the woods. It was indeed Kristoff, but
 something was off. His eyes had a wild, faraway look; his hair was thoroughly unkempt. His clothes, normally a little worn, were torn and appeared to be covered in
 dried blood? Her jaw dropped at the man’s appearance.

He broke into a smile as he reached the cauldron, the crow’s feet around his eyes crinkling. “Anna, believe me when I say this is for the best, okay? It’s going to be perfect, you’ll see.” His voice gave lie to the promises of perfection, as though he had been hollowed out from the inside, an empty shell of a man.

“What the hell are you talking about, Kristoff? What’s going to be perfect? What did you do?”

Kristoff chuckled, a guttural laugh so different from how he normally sounded. “This fine gentleman that you just almost knocked unconscious told me he could help amplify magic, concentrate the magic around Arendelle to bring back
 that.” He pointed towards the sky with his thumb, the aurora ever closer. “You don’t understand, Anna, but you will. I sacrificed everything for you
 for us.”

He regarded the cauldron with dark, haunted eyes. The ritual to summon that much magic in one place had come at a high cost; the warlock he’d hired had needed a magical creature to sacrifice and the blood of a pure love. The two twigs that had been Olaf’s arms lay on the pile of firewood, next to Sven’s empty harness. He shook his head to clear it of what he’d had to do. In moments, he would have them both back, but the real versions of them. Olaf would be his child, and Sven would be the loyal hound that had been by his side for years.

“Once it arrives here in a few minutes, you will know a life without pain, without sadness, with everything you could ever want. It’s the greatest gift I could ever give you, Elsa, and all of Arendelle,” he smiled, sighing happily and looking like himself for the first time as he thought of his lost love.

“Enough!” Elsa whirled and directed a beam of frost at the cauldron, encasing it in ice easily. The purple beam dissipated, leaving only the blackened clouds overhead and the cerulean glow of the aurora, inching closer like a fire out of control in the forest. As the winds picked up, she heard Kristoff laughing again. “Nice try, Elsa. However, anything you do now isn’t going to matter. The storm will be here soon, and then you’ll find perfect happiness too. Trust me, it’s for the best, okay?”

“This isn’t what you think it is, Kristoff! I was captured by that storm before, and it threw me into a different world! Whatever you think it’s going to do for you, it won’t!” she shouted over the howling wind, her arm raised to keep the flying debris from hitting her eyes.

Kristoff scrambled to a nearby boulder, standing tall on it, his arms outstretched as though he meant to hug the storm bodily. Into the gusts he howled with laughter. “Anna! I’m coming home!” A blue bolt of lightning struck him and he vanished into thin air.

Elsa crouched down near the frozen cauldron, taking Anna’s hands in her own before pulling her into a tight hub. “I’m so sorry, Anna. I couldn’t stop this, I couldn’t stop whatever’s about to happen to us. I’m so sorry. I love you, Anna, so much.” She leaned down and kissed Anna on the cheek as blue lightning surrounded them both.

“Elsa, I love you too-” Anna managed before they both vanished.

Author’s Notes, Chapter 19

It was at this point that thing went really off the rails and I started to realize I was writing myself into a corner. There was a whole mythology behind the auroras and such that I had in my head, and I realized I would need MASSIVE amounts of exposition just to explain some of it.

The original idea for the aurora came from two different franchises: The Flash, in which the Speed Force provides a gateway to multiple realities, and the Nexus, from Star Trek: Generations, probably the only interesting thing in that entire film.

You see hints of the aurora being the Speed Force in the official version chapters; the aurora is red in the beginning (corresponding to the Negative Speed Force), and gold when it returns Elsa to her proper time. The bit of lightning shaped like a man is a nod to the Flash’s use of the Speed Force and setting the timeline right. In my head, I had the original idea that it was the Flash and the Reverse Flash fighting each other which caused the original aurora that then had to be put right. Obviously, that was entirely in my head and didn’t make it to the page and thankfully so - it’s entirely unnecessary to the story.

The trouble with the Speed Force is that it doesn’t really work as a vehicle for explaining how Anna falls in love with Elsa. So I mentally pivoted to the aurora being more like the Nexus than the Speed Force, and that made things
 worse.

Director’s Cut, Chapter 20: Purgatory

Absolute darkness tends to be disorienting. Most people, most of the time, have at least a little bit of light to orient themselves, a way to sense even the basics of which way is up. Absolute darkness is not like that. With nothing to reference, nothing feels real, and the other senses have to take over.

Elsa woke in absolute darkness. After a few moments, she lifted her hand to cast one of her glowing snowflakes
 and nothing happened. Her throat closed up as her chest tightened. What had happened, where had she been taken that her powers were unavailable to her?

Where was Anna?

She clambered to her hands and knees, slowly crawling in expanding concentric circles until she found a wall of wherever it was she had woken to. Wherever it was, the floor was cool to the touch and incredibly smooth, like polished marble. As her hands slid across the cool marble, she could feel the tips of her fingers getting cold, and breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn’t lost her powers so much as something was suppressing them.

After a few more minutes of fumbling around, she felt some raised ridges in the floor. They too felt as cold as ice and as smooth as glass. She’d made out four of them, in some kind of formation, but she couldn’t tell what. Elsa let out a short breath, frustrated, as she considered her situation. Nothing had changed; all she had were the uneven parts of whatever floor she was sitting on as reference.

She lay back, wondering what to do next, when the floor began to glow. A brilliant white light flashed once, blinding her momentarily, a gust of wind surging around her. As her eyes adjusted, she saw that the room was no longer completely dark; what looked like a giant ice cavern was around her, some kind of dome. The protrusions on the floor were visible now; they looked like four gigantic diamond-shaped crystals, embedded in the floor itself.

“What are you doing here?” an unfamiliar voice echoed in the chamber.

Seemingly from nowhere, a white-haired woman emerged from the shadows at the edge of the room. She wore what looked to be finely-crafted animal skins, something that Elsa had read about in her father’s journals, a people known as the Northuldra.

“I- where is here, and who are you?”

“We were not supposed to meet for at least another year, Elsa of Arendelle.”

Elsa stared at this mysterious woman. How did she know her name, her title? And what did she mean about not meeting for another year?

“What do you mean? Who are you?”

The woman stepped forward, leaning slightly on a tall walking stick. “My name is Yelana, first among equals in my people, the Northuldra. You are Elsa of Arendelle, the Fifth Spirit, and this
” she gestured around at the space, “is a place that our people call the in-between, a nexus between life and what we assume to be rebirth. It takes the shape and form of memories and dreams for most people who are stuck here, save for a few individuals born with the gift.”

Elsa quirked an eyebrow. “You mean magical powers?” At the woman’s nod of acknowledgement, she continued. “What did you mean by Fifth Spirit? The warlock who caused this problem called me that. And what do you mean, stuck here?”

Yelana walked to the center of the chamber and tapped on the floor with her stick, summoning a brief burst of white light. “Yes, magical powers. I was born with the gift of farsight. That is why we can have this conversation here, in this place, and why are you are unaffected by its illusions. Others, those who do not have the gift, are instead trapped in this place living out their dreams. They cannot see it for what it is: a prison.” She tapped her stick again, and the walls shimmered, revealing a kaleidoscope of different lives.

Elsa looked around, slack-jawed. She saw Kristoff with a golden-haired boy on his knee, with Anna looking over his shoulder. In the next, she saw Hans sitting on an enormous gilded throne, drinking from a goblet filled with a pale green liquor of some kind. Another image made her choke on her breath; she saw Agnar and Iduna sitting on a couch as her and her sister played at charades, Kai and Gerda sitting on a separate couch, sharing drinks. “These
 these are all the lives trapped in here? And this is what makes them happy?”

The elder nodded. “it is. Or at least, it is what they think makes them happy.”

“Why imprison us?”

“I have never met any creature here that acts as a warden or jailer. It is a prison in that they cannot leave, but not because they have committed some crime; they simply cannot leave. It may well be
 some kind of magic that preserves their essence.” Yelena tapped her stick once more, and the walls faded back to cobalt blue ice.

Elsa walked in a slow, wide circle around the room, touching her fingers to the walls. Instead of the coolness of ice, the walls felt warm and almost prickly, as though they were made of the static electricity that sometimes sparked from her woolen clothes. She regarded her situation carefully; she was caught here somehow, along with the mysterious woman Yelana, and everyone else she knew appeared to be imprisoned in their dreams. An idea sparked in her mind: if Pabbie was here, perhaps he was immune to its effects as well, being a creature of magical powers. She turned back to Yelana. “How- how did we end up here?”

“You remember the storm?” At Elsa’s nod, Yelana walked to the center of the room. She held her hand up, and part of the wall showed the valley where Elsa and Anna had been. The aurora, a stunning topaz color, swept over the valley, lightning striking the ground repeatedly. Elsa watched herself struck by lightning, vanishing, along with Anna - and then watching the valley burst into flames as the storm scraped the land clean.

“So
 everyone in Arendelle is here now? Are
 are we dead?”

Yelana shook her head, a gentle chiming sound coming from her earrings. “Not dead, but not in the world any longer. This place, whatever it is, is in between life and death. We are timeless here; time has no meaning. Our physical bodies may be gone, but our essence is whole.”

“Can
 can we leave?”

“Those who are not gifted, no. They are trapped for eternity in here. But for those of us who are gifted
 yes. Some of us have even left and come back. My family is here, but of them, I am the only one gifted, so I have gone back once to see if anything was left after the storm. There
 was nothing. Just a devastated land, bereft of all life.”

Elsa’s head swam with Yelana’s explanations. Just as she had just started to wrap her head around being in the future, now she had to figure out what
this purgatory was. “How long have you been here?”

Yelana laughed, a warm, comforting sound that reminded Elsa of her mother’s laughter. “I have always been here, Elsa. My gift, the gift of farsight, means that I was born into this realm as well as the earthly world we know. I suspect that I have been here my entire existence, and it is only my body that changes forms from life to life. That is how I knew we had not met yet, and that we were not supposed to meet at all until later. It is
 challenging to be here, to see in any direction in time, but to be able to change very little of it. I wish I could have saved them
” She looked at the wall, her shoulders sagging, as one facet snapped to life. A woman, close in Elsa’s age, was sitting around a campfire with a similar-looking man, as she cuddled a baby reindeer in her lap. “My daughter, Honeymaren, and her brother, Ryder.”

“They look
 very happy together.”

“They are. That is what I have struggled with. The people who are trapped in here are trapped in lifetimes of pure joy. I have asked myself many times if I should attempt to free them, but what kind of person am I if I take them away from a lifetime of joy? Is freedom worth that price? Is it really a prison if you’re happy in it?”

Elsa thought back to the mad look in Kristoff’s eyes, the look of someone who had been driven past the breaking point. The warlock he hired, the destruction he wrought - all so that he could get back to where he was happy. Kristoff had been the one to use black magic to bring the storm close, sacrificing thousands of lives for his own happiness.

“I
 I don’t know if it’s worth that price or not, Yelana. But I do know that someone who had that joy and lost it is responsible for all of us being here, being trapped. He
 he must have been here before, and somehow got ripped out at the same time I traveled.” She looked down at her hands, as though she had been the one to cause Kristoff’s madness.

A thought disturbed her. In the future, she had searched for Arendelle and found no mention of it. Was this storm responsible for its destruction? Could that be why Anna was unable to find any mention of it? She mulled that over for a few moments before something else occurred to her.

“What about us? Everyone else is living lives of happiness and fulfillment. Why aren’t we?”

Yelana sat down on the ground heavily, her eyes cast towards the crystals embedded in the floor. “Our gifts insulate us from whatever magic this place uses. Unfortunately, that also means we could not partake of that magic even if we wanted to. I have been here for longer than I can remember, and I will confess there have been plenty of times when I wish I could experience this magic instead, even knowing I would be captive. In some ways, it is the worst torment imaginable. I see the happiness of my family, but I cannot partake of it. Perhaps
 I believe this is the price I must pay for my gift, for my powers.”

Elsa paced back and forth across the empty room, silently pondering their situation. “The
 the last time I was taken by the storm, I wasn’t sent here. I was
 sent some other place, a different time, a different world. Why is that?”

The elder woman tilted her head. “I
 I do not know. Whatever this magic is, it is beyond anything I have seen before, and beyond my understanding. I am a part of it, but I have no sway over it. I just wish I could either be a part of my family’s lives again
 or not be here at all.”

“I
 I know what you mean. If my sister were here, I could be happy. Whatever we are, as long as I was with her, it would be enough. Without her
” she shook her head slowly, sinking to the floor next to Yelana. “Can
 can you show me Anna’s life?”

Yelana looked at Elsa with a fierce, unblinking stare. “You
 may not want to see that, Fifth Spirit. To see what you cannot have is torture most profound. If I show you that, then it will be as if you were a hungry man outside a window, looking in on a feast that will never be yours. Do you really wish to see that?”

Elsa chuckled mirthlessly. “I am
 familiar with the idea of wanting something I cannot have.” She stood back up, facing the icy wall that Yelana had shown before. “I am ready. Please, if you can, show me Anna’s life of happiness here.”

“All right, Fifth Spirit. I will do as you ask, but please do not hold me at fault if
 if it destroys any chance you have at happiness.”

Elsa gently clapped Yelana’s shoulder and nodded. With that acknowledgment, the elder shaman tapped her stick on the floor once more and the walls shimmered to life.

Author’s Notes: Chapter 20

Ugh. So this was the first idea behind Ahtohallan, as a sort of purgatory between magic worlds, a place where Fifth Spirits could regroup in cases of danger. Unfortunately, upon re-reading, this made absolutely no sense to me because it’s completely contradictory to canon, and we’re working with a canon-divergent story here.

This was also the point in the first draft where I went BACK and revised everything to be canon-divergent from Frozen 1 and not Frozen 2. Up until this point, Switching Places was set after Frozen 2, and it was a mighty mess to clean up the dates in the previous chapters once I bailed out on these director’s cut chapters. Why? I needed Yelana to say “What are you doing here?” as shown above; Yelana needed to have prior knowledge of Elsa but Elsa couldn’t have prior knowledge of Yelana.

In the end, I never used any of this, but I kept the canon divergence at F1 - and that worked well for Epilogue 2.

Director’s Cut, Chapter 21: Shattered Joy

Anna heard but couldn’t see her sister. The world was still dark, but she could hear Elsa’s quiet, soft laughter, smell the Christmas punch, and practically taste the holiday risengrynsgrþt, hot rice pudding with plenty of sugar, cinnamon, and butter.

The darkness was familiar as Anna’s senses fully awakened. She could feel the gentle swell of Elsa’s breasts pressing against her back as her sister’s hands covered her eyes. A laugh burbled up inside her as Elsa cheered, “Merry Christmas Eve, Anna!”, removing her hands from her sister’s eyes.

Anna adjusted to the light and saw the palace’s Great Hall fully decked out. A large spruce stood in the center of the room, candles carefully lit and balanced throughout it. Pine garlands dressed the windows and walls. Small paper flags and other decorations hung from it in garlands, along with copious different snowflake cutouts. Laughter bubbled up inside her; they were just like the designs she’d made as a little girl, constantly cutting them out and shoving them under Elsa’s door.

Before she could talk to Elsa about anything, Kai and Gerda entered the hall bearing trays of krumkake cookies shaped like little cones dusted with powdered sugar and steaming mugs of cocoa, as she clapped her hands with glee. She dug in right away, dipping the little baked pastries in the cocoa and moaning with delight. “It’s a good thing Papa keeps the palace so well stocked with Dutch cocoa,” she exclaimed through a mouthful of crumbled cookie, watching her sister do the same thing.

“Indeed it is, my darling,” Iduna smiled softly as she walked into the Great Hall dressed in her royal purple robes, arm in arm with Agnar. “Merry Christmas Eve to you both.”

Anna’s jaw dropped as fast as the krumkake she was holding. “Mama! Papa! You’re
 you’re here!” She tossed the food aside and sprang to her feet, running at her parents and embracing them.

“Mmm, we are here. Sorry, Anna, I know you like Christmas Eve to last long into the night. You always have, even when you were a little girl. Let’s try not to eat all the cookies in one sitting, if we can avoid it?” Agnar joked, grabbing a krumkake for himself as he pulled up one of the chairs from the side of the room, sitting down next to the blazing hearth. “At least until after we ring in the season.”

“Speaking of rings,” Iduna chuckled softly, “Where’s yours, Anna?” Her mother smiled kindly and gestured towards Anna’s left hand.

Anna leapt to her feet. “Damn, I must have left it in my chambers. I’ll be right back, nobody move!” she shouted as she charged out of the room, hearing Elsa mutter that some things never change and Iduna scold her mildly about her use of profanity. Some things never did change; even though she was 20 years old, Iduna sometimes behaved as though she were still a little girl.

Anna swung the door open to her room and practically jumped on the bed. She looked around for a moment and smiled; there, on the night stand, was her ring. She picked it up, turned it carefully, and slipped it on her left ring finger.

She lay back on the bed, kicking her legs into the air and practically squealing with laughter. Despite her bristling at Iduna occasionally treating her like a little kid, she did smile to herself that sometimes she gave reason for it, like now. In the silver moonlight streaming in from her window, she turned her hand and admired the ring.

Her ring was silver and gold interwoven, like braided rope, with an intricately-shaped crocus as the setting. Inside the crocus was a snowflake, and at the center of that was a single diamond solitaire. As the light hit it, the diamond refracted it, making the snowflake sparkle and the crocus glow.

It was the perfect engagement ring for her.

Happiness - no, joy - suffused her entire being, like a warm woolen blanket she could just wrap herself in and feel safe and loved. She’d wanted a storybook wedding since she was little, complete with all the fanfare, pomp and circumstance that a royal wedding was supposed to have. Everything would be perfect, just like Elsa had promised.

She looked at her ring again. The glinting light bounced faceted beams across the walls and ceilings, and something about the way the light shone reminded her of
 something, but she couldn’t remember what. Anna shook her head, the cobwebs of confusion fluttering free. Never mind whatever memory it was, it was Christmas Eve, which meant it was time to exchange gifts!

Anna raced back downstairs, trying to remember what she’d gotten everyone from the Christmas markets in Arendelle Square. As she barreled back into the Great Hall, memories raced back into her mind with equal vigor. For her father, she’d gotten a beautiful brass sextant. For her mother, an intricately woven purple shawl to complement the one she already had. Iduna was quite protective of her shawl and Anna figured having a spare would be useful. And for her sister



 confusion clouded Anna’s mind again. What had she gotten Elsa?

She looked down at her ring finger as her hand rested on the railing at the bottom of the staircase. The jewel glinted again in the candlelight as she heard her family’s laughter, muffled by the doors.

“Shit, did I forget TWO gifts? What did I get Elsa, and what did I get my fiancĂ©?” she wondered.

As she walked back into the Great Hall to the smiles and laughter of her family, another wave of memories washed over her. She looked fondly at her sister as Elsa passed a tray of crackers with cheese and smoked salmon to her mother. Anna sat down as they began to pass small wrapped packages to each other, and she could barely sit still from the excitement - not for receiving gifts, but giving them.

Iduna handed her a small box, giving Anna a soft smile as she did. The only name on the tag was a hand-drawn heart. Anna gleefully tore open the paper, opened the wooden box within, and pulled out a beautiful necklace on a silver chain. At the end of the chain was a mirrored crystal locket; Anna gingerly eased the clasp open to find the most exquisite, finely-crafted portrait miniature inside of her and her sister hugging.

She looked up, a tear pooling in the corner of her eye. “Elsa! Oh my goodness, thank you so much! It’s beautiful!” Anna walked across the room and sat down at Elsa’s feet. “Put it on for me?” she asked, looking up at her sister’s topaz eyes.

Elsa’s cool fingers danced across her skin as she affixed the jewelry around Anna’s neck. “There you are, a necklace fit for a princess.” The pendant hung down, slipping inside of her blouse where it rested almost against her heart. Elsa leaned down. “I love you, baby,” she murmured, softly kissing Anna’s lips.

“I love you too,” Anna managed between kisses. The moment felt like it lasted forever, just her and her sister kissing after exchanging gifts. Out of the corner of her eye, Anna noticed Elsa was wearing a ring on her ring finger too. The candlelight caught in the diamond solitaire, a tiny flash of light on Anna’s eye, and it was at that moment she remembered that Elsa was not only her sister, but also her fiancĂ©e.

Another bolt of confusion flashed through her mind. For a brief moment, she remembered her parents being gone, gone away somewhere, and Elsa being missing for a large part of her childhood. Anna blinked, shaking her head free of the confusing memories. Her parents were right here, sipping warm jul beer by the fire, and her sister
 Elsa had been the rock in her life for so many years.

Anna smiled at the memories. They’d grown up together so close. She remembered doing goofy things like taking baths together, silly stuff like picking each others’ noses as little kids, building snowmen every winter, having so many sleepovers that the number of nights they slept in their own respective beds could have been counted on one hand. Then once Elsa reached the age of ascension, everything changed.


The ceremony that day had been short; Elsa had stood in front of the church, Agnar and Iduna on either side of her, as she knelt down at the altar. Agnar touched the crocus scepter to each of her shoulders and the top of her head, signifying that she was now Crown Princess Elsa, eligible to assume the throne should the situation arise. That night, as they lay in bed together, ELsa had rolled over, a serious look in her eyes.

“Anna?”

“Hmm?”

“I
 I have to tell you something, something important.”

Anna rolled over, tearing her gaze away from the ceiling as she regarded her sister’s outline in the silver moonlight. “What is it, sis? You know you can tell me anything.”

Elsa squeezed her eyes closed. “Papa said now that I’m of age, I need to start thinking about a suitor. Someone
 someone who could be at my side when the day comes
 when I sit on the Crocus Throne.” She swallowed, her throat bobbing, before she continued, her voice a hoarse whisper. “But
 I don’t want to do that. I don’t want
 I don’t want to lose us, you know?”

She reached over and clasped Anna’s hand in her own. “I
 I need us, you know?”

“You’ll always have me, Elsa. You know that,” Anna grinned, lacing her fingers with her sister’s. “Nothing and no one will ever tear us apart. We’ve been best friends since I was born, it feels like.”

Elsa looked down at their clasped hands as her cheeks darkened. “What
 what if I want more than that, Anna? What if that’s not enough?”

“What
 what do you mean, sis?” Anna regarded her sister curiously, staring into her eyes.

“I
 you know what, never mind. I shouldn’t say anything more. I’m going to make things uncomfortable.” Elsa withdrew her hands from her sister’s and gripped the blankets so tight that Anna swore she heard the fabric starting to tear.

“Elsa
 you can tell me. I promise, it’s okay. Whatever it is, you can tell me.” Anna cupped her sister’s cheek and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead.

“I
 love you, Anna.” Elsa squeezed her eyes closed as she forced the words out of her mouth.

Anna giggled. “I love you too, sis! Why was that so hard to say?”

Elsa shook her head, her braid accidentally whacking her in the nose. “No, what I mean is
 I love you. I- I’m in love with you, Anna. If I could choose a suitor
” she rolled to face away from her sister, unable to utter her thoughts while looking at her face. “If I could choose, I would choose you, Anna. I would rather marry you,” she breathed.

She felt an arm wrap around her stomach, and the warmth of her sister behind her. “Elsa
 why can’t you choose that?”

Elsa barked a short, sharp laugh. “Besides being sisters, which would be scandalous enough, there’s also the matter of an heir to the throne. It would literally be impossible, Anna, as much as I would love it.” She rolled back over and gently brushed her sister’s coppery bangs with her fingers. “I would love nothing more than to have you as my queen, my soulmate, my love.”

“Then let’s figure out a way to make that happy, okay?” Anna smiled before pulling her sister into a crushing embrace. “Because you know what? I’ll tell you a secret too, Elsa.” Anna rolled on top of her sister, laying prone and making as much contact as she could, head-to-toe. “I’m in love with you, too.”


They’d done extensive research on all the royal families of Europe and learned that when it came to keeping bloodlines pure, almost nothing was off-limits except allowing commoners to taint royal blood. They’d petitioned their parents shortly thereafter, and much to their great surprise, neither Agnar nor Iduna had strongly objected. Agnar was still young himself; he was still strong and healthy, and would probably reign for at least a couple more decades, so the question of heirs was put off.

The following month, Elsa had proposed after having the rings made. She’d dropped to one knee in the Great Hall one evening after a family dinner, and Anna had squealed a resounding “yes!” to the applause of their parents and the castle staff in the room.

Anna’s reverie faded, as did her gentle laughter. She was still sitting on the floor, her fingers still brushing the crystal pendant. She looked up to see Elsa smiling at her, and she reached out to pull her sister into a fierce hug. “Thank you, Elsa! It really is perfect.”

“I’m glad you like it, sweetheart. Are
 are you sure you like it? You were quiet there for a really long time.”

“I love it!” Anna ran her fingers over the cold crystal again, admiring the facets. She held it up to the candlelight, seeing the rainbow light refracting off the crystal. And at just the right angle, she saw Elsa’s face
 and a beam of sapphire light just behind Elsa’s head.

It doesn’t take much to break a dam; a small hole is often all that’s needed for the waters to burst through, destroying the entire thing. Memory’s much the same; once a crack appears in the dam holding repressed memories, the entire thing tends to break.

The expression on Anna’s face shifted from joy to surprise to horror, her eyebrows climbing for her hairline as her jaw headed for her chest. The memories of this life shattered like warmed glass made too cold, too fast. Cracks appeared and then suddenly, her life as Elsa’s sister and fiancĂ©e exploded into tiny shards.

The aurora. The storm that threatened to wipe out Arendelle, threatened to hurt or kill everyone she knew, destroy everything she’d worked so hard for, suffered so much for.

Anna looked around the room. Agnar and Iduna weren’t here, not really. They were lost somewhere in the South Sea, their ship sunk in a storm. And Elsa
 her sister, not her fiancĂ©e, had locked herself away for 13 years to protect her little sister from devastating magical powers
 powers that had frozen the whole kingdom.

It had all seemed so real, so vivid, so
 perfect. And the last memories snapped into place as she thought that. Kristoff, a manic look on his face, telling them that life would be perfect. This was what he was willing to sacrifice everything for, what he was willing to kill everyone for.

She ran to hug Agnar and Iduna, to embrace the remarkable illusion she knew them to be, to savor being in her parents’ arms one last time, even as she felt the lie of the life she was witnessing begin to fade.

Within moments, Arendelle and the palace faded away, and she was left sitting on the floor of a blank, featureless room. “It was perfect, but it was a lie”, she murmured aloud as she got to her feet, tears streaming down her cheeks. She raised a hand and snuffled loudly as she got her bearings in
 wherever she was. It was an empty room, the walls, floor, and ceiling all a dark blue, as though it were made of something
 like ice.

Before she could process any more, a woman’s voice echoed behind her. “She’s here.”

Author’s Notes, Chapter 21

This is where the aurora FULLY became the Nexus concept from Star Trek: Generations, the ideal world you could live in where all your wishes were fulfilled. Those who have seen the terrible movie will recognize this as Picard’s first dream sequence in the Nexus.

So why was this so convoluted? Why did I think this was a good idea at all? Because up until that point, I had no idea how to have Anna fall in love with Elsa, believe it or not. I couldn’t figure out a rational way at the time for canon!Anna to fall in love with canon!Elsa. So I borrowed that plot device and essentially had a different variation of the first half of the story, but instead of being in a different timeline, I put Anna in a different reality entirely, one in which everyone she loved was alive.

Did it work? Not
 really. And that was partly because I was adhering too closely to the Nexus concept itself, and partly because
 it was wholly unnecessary. It was at this point where I KNEW these extra chapters were in serious trouble - this was WAY too convoluted.

What ended up happening in the real story was much cleaner. Anna wandered the fields, got her thoughts together, and realized that literally everything in canon Frozen 1 - thirteen years of pursuing her sister - was basically a declaration of love of every kind, and expanding that love into romantic love wouldn’t be a stretch for her. We know this to be true; the entire Elsanna fandom is basically built on that premise. The GIFs alone of Anna biting her lip as Elsa snuggles next to her in F2 are all you really need.

Sometimes the simplest answer is the best one.

Wish I’d realized THAT sooner.

Director’s Cut, Chapter 22: Break These Chains

Anna spun around to see Elsa - her Elsa, she remembered fully - and a woman she’d never seen before. Elderly, with long white flowing hair and an outfit that looked like it was made from animal skins and other natural materials. “Elsa! Oh my God, are you all right?” she gasped, running to her sister and embracing her, nearly knocking her over.

“I’m fine, Anna. I- how did you get here? Yelana-” Elsa indicated the woman next to her with a small gesture, “-said that only people with powers, with magical gifts could escape what they were shown by
 whatever this place is. We could see what you were seeing, but then it all vanished. What- how did you do that?”

“I
 I don’t know, Elsa. One minute I was thinking about what Christmas gift I’d gotten you, and the next minute, I found myself over against the wall.” She wrinkled her brow as she wiped the tears from her eyes, a thought occurring to her. “Wait, you could see whatever that was? That
 dream, I guess?”

“It was no dream, Miss Anna,” Yelana offered, extending a hand to Anna’s arm. “What you saw there
 what you lived there was the embodiment of what you thought a perfect life was. That is what this place shows you: everything you could ever want.”

“Who are you?”

Yelana explained all that she’d told Elsa previously; the storm, the destruction of Arendelle, her powers.

Anna sat down on the featureless floor, mulling over everything Yelana had said, plus what she now knew of this place. “That
 that’s why Kristoff did what he did, wasn’t it? To get back to
 whatever his perfect world was.” Fresh tears pricked Anna’s eyes. “It
 it felt so real, until it wasn’t. You-” she looked at her sister, “-you didn’t have any powers, because your powers were what caused us to be separated for so long. And Mama and Papa were alive
”

Elsa sat down next to her sister, head in her hands as her own eyes watered. She’d come to terms with her powers and her magic as something that was part of her, something that was neither good nor bad. Her chest ached and tightened at the thought of Anna’s perfect world omitting those powers. “What if that’s how Anna felt all the time?” she wondered to herself. “Does she think my powers have taken away her chance at an ideal life?” She sniffled, her nose running from her tears.

“Oh God Elsa, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it to sound like that. I love you, I love your magic, I love everything about you. I would never want you to be different than who you are,” Anna urged as she hugged her sister close. “You know that, right?”

Anna was about to continue when Yelana nodded at her. “I’ll leave you two to discuss this matter. It seems quite
 serious.” The elder walked across the room to what looked like a square hole in the wall, almost like a door; ice appeared to seal it up behind her.

Elsa watched Yelana leave before she looked her sister in the eye. “And yet
 Anna, when you dreamed of the perfect life for yourself, you dreamed about me
 without them.”

“I
 I guess, maybe, I don’t know how any of this works, but for Mama and Papa to be alive and for you and me to have grown up together so close
 maybe that’s how this magic constructed the story?” Anna offered a tentative smile to her sister. “I’ve always wondered what it would have been like if we had really grown up together, instead of me talking to you through a door for thirteen years. Somehow, this
 place let me see what that was.”

Anna’s eyes softened at the memories she’d experienced, of growing up with Elsa, of them sharing toys and playing together, doing each other’s hair, having sleepovers. “It’s so weird. I know for a fact what happened in our real life, but
 this dream, or these memories, or whatever this is
 it feels real too. I- I wish you could have felt it too, Elsa.”

“I
 saw it, or enough of it, through your eyes. It
 it was nice to see Mama and Papa like that. I hadn’t seen them
” Elsa stopped herself, remembering that she hadn’t shown Anna the videos on the smartphone she’d brought back from the future yet. She cleared her throat as she looked down at the hem of her dress, idly rubbing it between her fingers before glancing at the doorway, still covered in ice. “Anyway
 about that other thing.”

“Other thing?”

“Who you were engaged to.”

Anna gasped. “You saw that! I mean, oh, well, I guess you saw everything, huh? Yeah, um, I don’t know why it was showing us engaged. That’s really weird, you know?” she blurted out, covering with a nervous laugh.

“Anna, you were engaged to me.”

“I
 I know I was.” Anna wrapped her arms around her middle. “I’ve been thinking
 a lot, really, since you came back. Since
”

“Since I kissed you.”

Anna nodded. “Yes, since that. I wasn’t disgusted by it. I’m still not disgusted by it. Maybe it’s because we were apart for so long that I’ll take whatever I can get as long as it means keeping you in my life, Elsa.” She subconsciously looked down at her left hand, almost expecting there to be a crocus and snowflake ring on her finger, and her heart fell a little when there wasn’t. Though faded since she found her way out, she could still remember the memories of the fictional world she was in.

Elsa swallowed, her throat bobbing. “Ah
 uh, so does
 does that mean that you feel towards me
 the way I feel towards you?” She stared intently into Anna’s teal eyes, her eyes scanning back and forth, looking for any indication that Anna might even feel just a fraction towards her what she felt for Anna.

“We never did talk about it again, did we? After your trip to your Ice Palace.”

Elsa shook her head. “No
 we got so busy with
 you know, figuring out how a magical storm was going to destroy Arendelle.” She looked at her own left hand, remembering the ring she’d worn in the future.

“Well
 I guess we have time now.”

“So.”

“So.”

“The part of me in that
 world? Is that what we’re calling it?” Anna asked, scratching her head briefly, “was very much in love with you romantically. We had engagement rings and everything. It was
 it was really nice.”

Elsa sighed. “How do we know this place didn’t
 I don’t know, force you to feel that way?” She desperately wanted Anna’s love, but of her own free will, not because some magical phenomenon had forced it on her.

Anna waited for a long moment, staring at her toes on the textureless grey floor. “Because
 because I was starting to feel that way before all this happened, Elsa. I- I went for a walk up in the northern hills the other day, just thinking about all this, and I ran into Olaf-”

“Oh no,” Elsa lamented, cradling her head with her hands. “What did he say?”

“It- he said something that was actually really insightful. We were talking kissing and warm hugs and all that, and he said, more or less, you and I do plenty of things that only people in love do.” The little snowman’s guileless observations came rushing back to Anna now that she was free from the influence of the storm. He wasn’t wrong; they hugged and kissed and touched each other far more than other siblings she knew. Gerda had once joked that they hugged each other like they hadn’t seen each other for years, when they’d only been apart a few minutes.

“He’s
 not wrong.” She took a deep breath. “And at least he wasn’t ranting about animals that poop squares. So
 what the
 storm showed you, then? It wasn’t something that it imposed on you?”

Anna shook her head as she slowly inched closer to her sister. “It
 my feelings, they were already there. I guess I just
 a perfect life meant having everyone I love so close to me, as close as possible. And that meant being engaged to you.”

“I
 I know what that feels like. I was married to that other Anna. It
 well, I told you how we were, ahem, together.” Elsa’s cheeks colored at the memories as she broke eye contact with her sister, unable to hold her gaze while she thought about how she’d been intimate with the other Anna.

“So
 where does that leave us?”

“Do
 do you still love me
 like that, Anna?”

Anna drew her knees to her chest, hugging them. “I- part of me still does, yes. And if I’m being totally honest, it’s not a small part of me. But
 can we do that? I mean, are we allowed to be like that?”

“Anna
 where we are right now, it’s kind of like purgatory or the afterlife. Arendelle is gone. Everyone who could possibly care is gone, either trapped in the same place you were, or out here. There’s no one left to judge who we are, or who we choose to love.” Elsa pulled Anna closer, an arm around her shoulder as they sat together. “If you want to love me - if you want to be in love with me - then you should. It doesn’t matter where we are
”

Anna looked up into Elsa’s eyes with a smile. “
if you’re there with me. All right. I do, Elsa. I do want to be in love with you. And I think I might have for
 well, for longer than I thought.” She exhaled, the weight of confessing off her shoulders and dashed a quick peck on her sister’s cheek. ” So
 what happens next?”

“I
 I don’t know. Arendelle is gone. We’re in here. Yelana said she left here once, but everything was ashes, so
 I don’t know what to do,” Elsa murmured, touching her cheek with her fingers where Anna had kissed it.

At that moment, the ice barrier over the door to the chamber fragmented, icy crystals hovering in the air. Yelana walked back in slowly, looking at the sisters with a grim expression on her face. “While you were talking, I walked around the halls of this place. My powers permit me to see beyond here, and
” the elder’s face contorted, her brow scrunched as the corners of her mouth fell, “
there is nothing left. Not just of Arendelle, but nothing. Somehow the storm grew to proportions beyond imagination, and it has consumed everything.”

“What do you mean, everything?” Anna asked, her eyes wide. “Like
 everything, everything?”

Yelana nodded slowly. “Yes. There is nothing to go back to. Not Arendelle, not the Enchanted Forest, not the world. All is lost.” She knelt on the ground, touching the crystals on the floor. “I had hoped to find some way to leave here with my people, so that we could start anew somewhere else. Instead, it looks as though I shall be their watcher in their eternal slumber here.”

“Wait, so we’re just stuck here forever?” Anna yelled, pacing in a large circle around the room. “Does that mean we’re going to starve to death?”

“You have no need of food or drink here, Miss Anna. You have no actual body to feed, nothing to satiate, no fatigue to rest from. Time has no meaning here, nor do pleasures and pains of the flesh.”

Anna stopped in her tracks. “Wait, you said you can leave though, right?”

“I did. But there is nowhere to leave to.”

“Elsa, are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

Elsa’s head tilt and slight parting of her lips indicated she wasn’t. “I
 no, I have no idea what you’re thinking, Anna.”

“If time has no meaning here, then can we leave in a different time? Like, go back in time?”

A long moment of silence hung in the air.

“I
 have never thought to try, Miss Anna,” Yelana replied sheepishly, forcing herself not to rub her hand down her face at her own lack of foresight.

Anna clapped her hands together. “Okay, so
 let’s do this. If you can help us leave here at a specific time, maybe we can prevent this from happening at all, right?” She looked to Elsa, who still appeared deeply confused, her eyebrows knitted together. “Elsa, if we can go back to the start of all this, we can stop Kristoff from ever bringing the storm to Arendelle!”

Yelana slowly began to walk the perimeter of the room. “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to try. It certainly would be better than being trapped in here, in this room for eternity. Take my hands, both of you, and think of the period of time you have in mind.”

Both sisters looked at each other, nodded, then grabbed a hold of Yelena’s hands and thought of the morning after Elsa arrived from her jaunt to another world. White light clouded their vision, as though they were soaring through the clouds, and then they found themselves in the Palace gardens.

They turned to see Yelana already beginning to fade. “What’s happening?” Anna panicked, about to reach out to grab the woman.

“I am already here in corporeal form in this time, so I cannot stay, Miss Anna. I wish you luck in saving us all.” The elder offered a slight smile before vanishing completely.

Elsa pulled her sister to a small alcove to the side. “Remember that we are still here somewhere, our other selves. We should try to avoid being seen.”

“Right. Well, it’s morning so we should definitely avoid the dining room. In fact,” she said, looking at the town square’s giant clock tower, “you should be coming down towards the dining room right now.”

Elsa smiled. “That will create plenty of distraction. So, where to?”

Anna’s smile faded. “Let’s head for the stables.”

Author’s Notes: Chapter 22

See what I mean? The mythos and mechanics of the aurora were so overcomplicated that it took an entire chapter just for them to figure out that they loved each other romantically and how to leave.

So I bailed out. I stopped writing the story ENTIRELY for a little while and just ran on my treadmill (which is where I think about stories I’m writing) for a couple of weeks, trying to figure out how to dig myself out of the hole I was in. In the end, I confessed to our friends and colleagues in Elsanna Shenanigans Discord that I basically had to throw out all these chapters and start almost from scratch.

Director’s Cut, Chapter 23: Fresh Start

Given that I bailed out, what was supposed to happen in the final chapter of this original story? I never wrote the ending, but I had a pile of notes about what I was going to write. They went something like this


They would have gone back in time to the moment in which Kristoff re-emerged from his version of the aurora.

At that point, he’d still be disoriented, trying to figure out what was happening, and Anna, knowing the future, would confront him.

He’d see his opportunity to try to recapture what was lost, and dropped to one knee to propose on the spot - and at that point, Elsa would stun him with an ice blast to the back of the head.

Once incapacitated, the sisters would haul him to the trolls. Pabbie, having some level of farseer vision, would understand what they’re trying to do and basically do a repeat of the lore from Frozen 1, except this time, Kristoff would be the one whose memories were changed. Pabbie would have erased any knowledge he had of Anna’s existence whatsoever.

Elsa would have also dissolved Olaf; the little bugger can’t keep his mouth shut for anything and would have sought out Kristoff and asked him about Anna, so Olaf would have vanished as well. That would have protected the timeline and the integrity of the canon universe; while Anna was sad at Olaf’s loss, the world as they knew it would have been saved.

The story would have ended with the majority of what eventually happened in the “official” chapter 18, where Elsa would have shown Anna the videos of their parents, and ended with an interspersing of both reality’s weddings - future!Elsa and future!Anna’s wedding and canon Elsa and Anna’s wedding, then finish off with what is now Epilogue 2.

But as you can tell
 a bunch of things were wrong with this approach. First, it’s completely out of character for Elsa and Anna to ambush anyone, particularly Anna. So that was going to be a problem. The magic with the trolls made sense, but the ending left the aurora as an even bigger, more confusing mystery. And killing off Olaf was gratuitous, which also would not have been a great ending. The blood sacrifice earlier was already gratuitous and a total change in tone from the story.

In the end, the revised version of Switching Places, without the entire Kristoff/aurora subplot, was much stronger. The second epilogue, with Queen Elsanna, was always the endgame and in fact, I’d written that epilogue before I had even gotten to chapter 8. The first epilogue wasn’t on the books to be written, but so many of you had asked what happened with future!Elsa and future!Anna after chapter 12 that I needed to wrap up that thread and give you some closure.

So
 thank you to EVERYONE who read, reviewed, liked, kudos’ed, commented, and shared. Thank you to Jelly, who was my beta for consistency for a lot of the first version of the story. Thank you to everyone in Elsanna Shenanigans who is a constant source of encouragement to write and create.

And most of all, thank YOU for reading this. I hope you can join us over in the Elsanna Shenanigans Discord!

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