Chapter Text
Protector AU
A hand gripped the end of the silver baseball bat, knuckles turning white. The redhead in the leather chair leaned forward, addressing the person lying on the floor in front of her.
“If I hear that you’re threatening any of my people again, it won’t just be your pretty face that gets smashed, capiche?” She snarled furiously.
The man on the floor spat, blood leaving his mouth. He looked up towards the leader with disdain. “Then tell your people to get the hell off my property.” He twisted his body to sit up, refusing to show any more weakness to her.
“You mean the property you stole from the Northuldrans?” Anna whispered dangerously. Her tone mimicked the heat of the crackling fire in the corner fireplace. She stood up, dragging the baseball bat with her. “How fucking dare you. You think you can come in here and make demands?”
She swung the bat with one hand, relishing in the sound the bat made as it made contact with the man’s jaw. At the height of her swing, Anna added her other hand to the grip and slammed it downward. She aimed at the man’s leg. The loud crack was followed by a pained scream.
“Take care of him.” Anna called out once her work was done. She looked at the blood splatters across her tiled floors. “And have someone come clean this up.”
“At once, sister.” The voice carried from a darkened corner of the room. Blue eyes traveled up and down the man, admiring her sisters handiwork. Pale hands lifted, creating frozen crystals around the unconscious man. She formed an ice platform and carried him out the door. Her platinum blonde hair turned as she looked towards a built man with sandy blond hair who was stationed outside the room. “Your turn, Sweeper.” She disappeared down the hall. Hints of magic trailed after her.
Once the woman reached the back entrance of their hideout, she dumped the man onto the ground. She waved her hands and formed a small snowball which she promptly dropped onto his face.
“Get the hell out of here, Hans. If we see you again, that’ll be it. You’ve had your two chances.” She spat at the man. Ice daggers flew up beside her, daring the man to come closer.
Hans whimpered and began dragging himself away from the dangerous woman. Elsa watched until the man turned the corner a few blocks down. Right before he left, she shot a hand out, sending an icicle flying. It impaled in Hans’ thigh, he let out an agonizing scream. Elsa smirked and let the magic melt, adding insult to injury as the cold water ran down his leg.
She huffed and used her magic to wash away the blood before the cobblestones stained red. Honestly, they’re so inconsiderate, bleeding all over our place like that. All they have to do is follow the fucking rules. She gritted her teeth and focused, washing away every inch of blood.
When she was finished, she turned back into the building, locking the doors behind her. She went to the bathroom to inspect herself before she returned to work.
Ice blue eyes scanned thoroughly over her outfit. The light blue pants were a pain to get blood out of, but Elsa enjoyed the way it struck fear into their victims’ eyes. They knew when the Fifth Spirit was called in, it was all over for them. She checked to make sure her pale blue vest was still equipped with her many hidden daggers. Once she was satisfied, she smirked at herself and returned to her sister.
--
“Thank you Elsa,” her sister greeted her as she entered the study. Few people were allowed to know her true name, and even fewer were allowed to address her as such. Elsa looked around to check if there were any other guests, but seeing no one else. She went over and gave Anna a quick hug.
“Anytime Anna, you know I would do anything for you.” She whispered in a moment of vulnerability. The two sisters only shared their true thoughts to each other in brief passing moments like these, when the world seemed quiet. After the moment passed, the siblings broke apart. Elsa’s mask slipped back on perfectly: her eyes hardened while her mouth turned into a slight smirk.
“So, what happened with the Southern Isles this time?” Anna dealt with the diplomatic aspects, Elsa took care of any loose ends. This mechanic worked as the two covered each other’s weaknesses.
Anna rolled out a map onto the large desk in the middle of the room “You know that town a few miles from here?” She pointed to a town on the map. Elsa squinted at the tiny print illuminated by the candlelights around the room. “The Southern Isles was trying to take it. Hans kicked out a brother and sister from their family inn and set up shop. So that’s why we had to send them a message.”
Elsa nodded, understanding the anger that welled up within her sister. The town was full of honest, hard-working people. “I see… then why not just… eliminate him?”
Anna paused for a second, considering her reasons carefully. “To strike fear, my dear sister. No one will try to take over Northuldra for a while. If we had simply killed him, they would retaliate for blood.”
“And what about the siblings?” Elsa felt an unusual sense of compassion for the brother and sister. She knew what it was like to grow up only relying on your sibling.
Anna smiled at her sister. “They’re actually living in our safe house above our own. I figured, it’d be better for them to lay low.”
“And have they figured out who we are yet?” Elsa questioned, eyebrow slightly raised. Although the sisters were well-known in the underground, the two had managed to be relatively unknown in the above ground world.
“I may be young, but I’m not stupid,” Anna’s mouth twitched with the joke. “No, they think we’re just concerned neighbors. I think you’ll enjoy meeting the girl though.”
Elsa stopped, browsing the books on the shelves. “How come?”
“She’s very pretty.”
“We’ll see. I think I may go and check on our… guests.” Elsa bade her sister farewell, reminding her that she only needed to send a message through the wind to get ahold of her.
---
Elsa made her way back to her shared home, removing her vest and unbuttoning the top two buttons of her shirt. She arranged her grey suspenders from her shoulders down to her hips. Looking into the mirror, Elsa hoped she appeared casual but still slightly intimidating.
She went up the stairs to where Anna had told her the siblings were staying. She knocked on the door and then leaned against the wall behind her, crossing her arms. The door opened and a woman with light brown skin appeared. Her dark brown hair was in a braid that fell over one of her shoulders.
“Hello, can I help you?” The woman looked around nervously, especially taking in the view of her surprise visitor.
Elsa took a breath, judging the woman’s posture and looks. “I’m your neighbor downstairs. You’ve already met my sister, Anna.” She liked the way the woman’s brown eyes ran up and down her. She’d seen many women look at her this way before. A look of being turned on but also intimidated.
The woman blinked out of her staring and looked at Elsa’s eyes with relief. “Oh thank you two so much for helping us. After that horrible man kicked us out, we didn’t know where to go. Your sister is so kind and wonderful, letting us stay here for a few days.” She reached her hand out, “My name is Honeymaren Nattura. My brother, Ryder, is inside healing from the beating.”
Elsa gripped Honeymaren’s hand, noticing how calloused her fingertips and hand were. She cocked her eyebrow at the new information. “The beating?”
“OH! Where are my manners, come in, come in.” Honeymaren stepped aside, welcoming Elsa into their temporary home. Elsa noted that the decor still hadn’t changed since she and Anna redcorated it a couple of years ago. Vases and paintings sophistically filled the room while the couches gave a relaxed feel. Elsa mentally calculated how many hidden weapons the two had stashed here over the years.
“Yeah, that man gave Ryder a beating after we refused to give up our inn.” Honeymaren walked over to the couch, reshifting her brother’s ice packs. “He was gonna hit me first, but Ryder jumped in. Even though he knows I’m the fighter in our family.” She let out a bittersweet laugh.
Elsa eyed the man on the couch, his skin was as brown as Honeymaren, but he was a good head taller at least. “Really? You’re the fighter?” She laughed, wondering how such a kind woman could take on anyone.
Honeymaren turned to lock eyes with Elsa. Honey-brown eyes met ice-blue. “You don’t grow up a lady on these streets without learning to fight.” She replied somberly, Elsa could hear the pain behind the words.
She didn’t know what came over her, but suddenly Elsa found herself behind Honeymaren. She put one hand on the woman’s shoulder and gripped it comfortably. “If you need anything, Anna and I are here for you two.”
“Thank you-” Honeymaren trailed off, not knowing how to properly address her guest.
“I have to go,” Elsa interrupted the silence. “Again, please let us know if anyone or anything gives you any trouble.” With that, she stood up and walked out of the unit. Elsa walked until she was sure no one had followed her back to their base.
--
She strode towards the study with a purpose, shoes echoing down the hall. She nodded at Sweeper, knowing that her sister had a soft spot for the team member. He nodded back confused as to why the Fifth Spirit was returning so early.
She opened the door to the study to find Anna studying over maps and new strategies. “Did you know Ryder was shook up?” She called out.
Anna gasped, “What do you mean?” Green eyes became bigger as Elsa explained the situation. “I’d only met with Honeymaren, I didn’t know that her brother was hurt.” Anna said once her sister finished.
“Well, it looks like Hans was a little more hands-on than he let on.” Elsa sighed and pinched her nose bridge in slight annoyance.
“Then you know what we have to do.” The order behind the words was crystal clear.
Elsa nodded at her sister and began buttoning up her shirt and readjusting her suspenders. She took out a dagger from underneath the desk and checked it over. She hated using these metal weapons, but she knew ice could only do so much. Better to slice them open first, then freeze . She told herself. As she turned the dagger, she saw Anna’s reflection in it. The other woman was wrapping her hands with her usual white hand wraps. While Elsa went for range, Anna loved the rush of close combat. Elsa watched as Anna went over to a bookshelf and took a red spined book. The shelf spun around, revealing a hidden weapons rack. Anna chose carefully, weighing each of her swords. She gave a couple of practice swings until she found her favorite one for the job. A medium-sized flamberge. She grabbed the sheath, put it on, and slid the sword into its case.
Once the two sisters were done preparing, they left quietly out the back exit. Anna knew that Hans wouldn’t have been able to get far with the injuries he had sustained. They tracked him through the forest that lined the edge of Arendelle. Coming up to the small camp, Hans had created for himself, the two sisters separated.
Elsa watched carefully as Hans attempted to bandage his thigh wound from the icicle, it was useless trying to set his leg, she noted. She felt another twinge of cold fury as she remembered the way Honeymaren’s face went from bright and laughing to pain as she retold the story of the incident. She waved her hands, collecting the moisture around Hans’ hands and freezing them into a makeshift pair of handcuffs.
“What the fuck,” the man cried out in surprise. He rocked his arms side to side to no avail. His eyes scanned the forest line wildly, hoping to catch his attackers.
“You fucking lied to us, Hans of the Southern Isles.” Anna had sneaked up behind him, sword raised to the ready.
Hans snarled, “No I didn’t, you bitch.” He tried to turn around to face his attacker, but was unable to as Elsa frozen his legs with more cuffs. “You said you’d let me go. I didn’t think the Fifth Spirit and the Queen would go back on their word, ha!” He wiggled desperately.
“I believe I said, if we ever see you again, that’d be it… Well, we see you now. We see that you were a coward and laid hands on the Nattura siblings.” Elsa’s voice came out cold as ice. With another wave of her hand, she brought out sharply pointed icicles. They lined up as she raised her dagger to Hans’ neck.
“The Fifth Spirit gives a shit about those orphans?” Hans laughed out incredulously. “You’re getting soft.”
Anna gave a soft grunt as she brought the zigzag sword across Hans’ ribs. As it lodged itself into his side, Anna began pulling it, feeling the way the sword cut across muscles and bones. On that cue, Elsa sunk her dagger into Hans’ neck, allowing the icicles to follow suit, piercing the man. The two sisters worked in tandem to ensure their handiwork was known but unable to be traced back to them. They stuffed the corpse into a body bag and added a card from one of Anna’s many pockets. It had the symbol of the fifth spirit, a warning to anyone else who tried to go against them. They sent it along the river, knowing it would wash up along the Southern Isle’s territory within the week.
--
The two women returned to their home to scrub themselves off. They ran warm showers and began washing their clothes, removing any hint of red. They turned in surprise as a knock came from their front door. Anna wiped her hands on a towel nearby and went to open it. She let out a light chuckle, “Oh Honeymaren, how are you? What can we do for you? I’m so glad you met my sister earlier.”
Elsa looked up to see their visitor. She shifted over to have full view and to make sure Honeymaren had full view of her.
“Oh, Ryder and I were just up trying to make a berry pie for you. You know, to say thank you for letting us stay above you guys. Not everyone would do that for complete strangers.”
Elsa stood up and walked diagonally behind her sister. “Like I said, anything you need, we’ll help however we can.”
“O-oh, hi… I don’t think I caught your name, earlier. And I can’t just call you Anna’s sister.” Honeymaren gulped at the sight of the beautiful woman.
“My name’s Elsa… nice to officially meet you Honeymaren.” Elsa nodded, showing a sharp jawline towards the woman.
Anna rolled her eyes and took the pie from Honeymaren. “Well, thank you, Honey! I’m sure Elsa and I will enjoy this. You’re too kind!” She gave another chuckle as she watched their neighbor be starstruck by her sister. Anna turned and walked towards the dining room to place their present down. She waved bye to Honeymaren and commented on how she needed to finish the laundry.
Elsa smirked and stepped into the hallway, closing the door behind her. She brushed one strand back from her blonde hair, enjoying the way Honeymaren’s eyes followed every little movement. She leaned down to whisper into Honeymaren’s ear, making sure to lower the temperature slightly. “You don’t have to worry about Hans anymore…” Elsa could feel the tingles she sent down Honeymaren when she finished. Then, Elsa spun around and reentered her apartment, leaving Honeymaren in awe and confusion about what had just happened.
“She seems nice,” Anna commented with a smirk. “You could, you know.”
“We’ll see,” Elsa replied coolly, “I wouldn’t want to ruin a nice girl like her. You know what I really am.” She sighed and looked off into the distance, eyes defocusing.
Anna shook off the excess water off of her hands and wrapped her arms around her sister. “You’re not a monster. We’re just dealing out justice to those who keep escaping it.”
“True.”
“Plus,” Anna continued, “Who’s to say she isn’t into a bit of ruining?” She could feel Elsa’s shoulders shake as she chuckled.