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“Don’t trust the water.”
She muttered her Father’s warning. He was no longer here, but his voice repeated the words over and over in her ears as she took a step off the cold shore.
Those were the words she had been raised by. The words everyone around the loch lived and breathed.
The air felt heavy and cold. The mountain across the water obscured in a heavy fog. Overhead clouds blocked out the sky and threatened rain.
Deeper than the North Sea and so very cold, the loch was no place to mess around. Anna knew this and yet she found herself wading waist deep into the frigid water at the whims of a stranger. She couldn’t believe her grandfather, King Runeard let this happen.
“Please, don’t make me do this.” She turned and pleaded with the king. He stood on the shore, his eyes hard and unyielding. The stranger, a man dressed in a modest suit carrying a little book merely watched impassively and gestured for her to continue. His accent sounding strange against her ears.
“Don’t dawdle. I’d like to get this over with before dinner.”
Anna looked at her grandfather again. He nodded for her to cross the river.
Anna swallowed and turned back to face the water.
It wasn’t that the river was too far to swim something that could be done relatively quickly. No, the river she was not scared of, but the terror that lurked beneath sent her shaking. She took another step deeper.
Only moments before had a man from their town been dragged out of the river brutalized and torn to pieces. She had been on her way home and stopped to help bury the man before her grandfather showed up with a man she had never seen before.
The stranger had come from across the sea preaching about some god Anna did not know. She didn’t even bother to learn his name. Now she wished she had if only to spit curses at him for making her do this. What he said to convince her grandfather to send her into the loch she would never know. This is where she would die.
They had to know that. King Runeard definitely knew that.
The water reached her shoulders and she began paddling out. The voices on the shore fading out to hushed whispers. Anna tried to keep her breathing steady. She had to focus on making it across the loch and not what could be lurking just below her feet.
Swim across. That’s all I need to do.
Swim a mile across freezing cold water with a beast hidden beneath. She bit down on the panic rising in her throat.
“That’s it girl, keep going,” shouted the stranger unbothered by the threat Anna was facing.
She exhaled slowly, keeping her breathing as even as she could. The cold of the water made her shiver and keeping her muscles relaxed was a struggle on it’s own. Combined with the knowledge of what could be swimming far beneath made going forward an impossible task.
How could grandpa let him do this to me?
Her eyes lined with tears. Why send her out here to prove some stranger’s god. Why couldn’t the stranger prove it himself? And why her specifically?
Anna paddled further out. The water wrapped around her in a cloak of cold.
Minutes ticked by as Anna slowly made her way across the loch. The further she moved out the harder it became to focus on the distant shore.
Something was wrong. She could feel it. The air itself had turned heavy and pressed in around her.
She faintly heard Runeard shout from the shore.
“It’s alright, Anna.”
Her throat tightened and water lapped against her face as she fought the panic. Keeping her head above the surface was already difficult and she’d drown if she let the fear take over now.
She pressed on with shaky breath.
Anna knew it was there. She knew it was watching her make her way clumsily across the loch. The thing everyone in Avoran knew stayed far below in the deep.
Brùidnis.
A beast fitted with jagged teeth and a rippling spine. Known for the way it tore into men so foolish enough to test their luck. Few ever made it back alive and never in one piece.
A bit of movement beneath her sent Anna slipping under in a moment of blind panic. She resurfaced coughing and spluttering.
Angry shouting sounded from the shore and Brùidnis’ back broke the surface of the water sending the cold spray over Anna. It ducked back under and broke the surface again.
Up. Down. Up down.
It circled all around Anna, twisting her sense of direction. Toying with her.
She couldn’t find her voice to call for help, she could barely move enough to keep from sinking. Her teal eyes widened with terror as she watched the water ripple and move where Brùidnis swam. Then the beast stopped.
The ripples faded to nothing and the surface stilled. A humped shape sat broken on the surface watching and waiting. A cruel set of teeth smiled at her as she watched, her eyes wide with terror.
Time slowed.
Brùidnis charged.
Her body sank beneath the water as panic seized her. Not that she would have been able to do anything if she could swim. Her vision blurred as dark waves surrounded her. The reptilian face drawing closer and closer.
Her lungs screamed for air. She didn’t notice.
Anna knew she would die here.
Wide jaws opened ready to tear her apart. There was nothing left. Perhaps now she could reunite with her sister in the afterlife. That thought gave her a slice of comfort and she smiled faintly.
Ragged teeth slammed closed only a spear’s length away. The beast struggled and strained as if it had been held in place by ropes. It fought at first before giving in and lifted it’s grizzle head to her.
The face of death sat staring into her very soul.
And she stared right back.
Anna felt sick.
She should be dead. Anna knew she should be dead, torn to pieces by the beast in front of her. It wanted to tear her apart she could see the bloodlust lingering in its yellow eyes. But it did not move forward nor did it move back. Brùidnis merely floated there. Suspended in between as she was.
The lack of air became all too apparent and Anna found herself scrambling to the surface of the water, inhaling a deep breath as her head broke the surface.
“You will go no further. Leave at once!” she heard the stranger shout from the shore.
Her eyes darted around in fear that her sudden movement broke the delicate moment. No sign that Brùidnis had even been there remained. It had vanished.
Anna turned and headed back to shore as quickly as she could.
She scrambled up the shore unable to stand or walk from how much her body shook. In fear or from the cold she couldn’t tell. She didn’t care.
King Runeard and the stranger had gone on ahead already. The footprints in the mud telling Anna they headed back to town. She wanted to cry.
They left her. Her grandfather had sent her out to greet death on the whims of a stranger and then left her. A soft whimper squeezed through Anna’s throat. Tears streamed down her cheeks.
He left me here. He left me here.
Anna couldn’t believe it. Her family loved her. They all made sure she knew that So why would Runeard do this now? They had lost Anna’s sister two years ago. Why would he risk losing her too. It had to be that strange man. It had to be -
“How cruel of them to leave you.”
The voice sounded cold and sharp like the rumbling tides smashing against the cliff side. A cloak was draped over Anna’s shoulders interrupting her thoughts.
She looked up.
A woman a few years older than her gazed coldly out over the loch. Her hair pail skin and white hair appeared to glow in the gloom that settled over the mountains. She wore a plain dress with simple red and blue embroidery on the hems and a belt made of rope tied loosely around her waist.
Anna couldn’t believe it.
“Elsa?”
The woman smiled and nodded.
“Come, I will take care of you.”
Her voice had faded to a gentle breeze and she looked fondly down at Anna who only stared up in disbelief. Standing before her was her sister, whom she believed never to see again. Her sister who should be dead.
Elsa.
“I can leave you here to freeze if you prefer.”
Anna snapped out of her daze. She hadn’t noticed the hand extended to her. Quickly she took it and attempted to stand up. Her legs gave out almost immediately from having to bear the sudden weight. A slender arm wrapped around her waist and held Anna up pressed close against Elsa’s body.
“There’s no need to hurry. We’re not going far.”
Anna nodded mutely and allowed her to lead them along the shore. True to her word they did not go far before an small roundhouse came into view.
Odd.
Anna knew she had been this way before, having explored nearly every bit around the loch, but she didn’t remember this roundhouse being here.
Inside the roundhouse was simple and cozy. A fireplace in the center and only a few supplies littered about the space. A small curtained area held a single bed. “You have a lovely home. It’s . . . cozy” A simple statement with no hint of awkwardness or falseness to it.
“Thank you.” Elsa smiled and helped Anna sit beside the fire pit. “It doesn’t take much to make a home.”
She turned to start a fire before Anna could respond.
“You’re supposed to be dead.” Anna found herself muttering out without thinking.
Elsa gave her a mischievous smile over her shoulder. “I know.”
Anna shivered and looked away. Guilt stabbed at her despite how overjoyed she should feel about seeing her sister again. She should feel happy, elated even, or something. Anna only felt numb. Nearly being eaten probably had something to do with that.
The fire crackled and Elsa stepped back. She turned to Anna a smile on her face that quickly fell when she saw Anna’s dark mood.
“Hey, hey, what’s wrong?” she asked and knelt down on the dirt floor, “I thought you’d be happy to see me.” She hoped a bit of humor would lighten the mood. Anna only turned with pools of silver forming in her eyes.
“I watched you die.”
Elsa grimaced at that and stood abruptly walking over to a small basket and pulling out two wooden cups and a kettle. Anna turned to stare back into the fire.
“You didn’t watch me die. You ran away before she even showed up.” the bitter statement caught Anna off guard and she glanced over to watch as her sister aggressively through some leaves and herbs inside the kettle.
That day changed everything. Elsa stood before Runeard as she was accused of treason and sexual deviancy. She made no argument for herself and was sentenced to death. King Runeard threw her into the North Sea to also counteract as a sacrifice to the monsters lurking beneath. Anna had been unable to find it in herself to do anything and fled the moment the guards fired an arrow and drew blood. She hadn’t seen or heard anything of her sister since that day two years ago.
“How did you survive? They even shot you!” Anna’s voice was barely above a whisper. Elsa sighed. She walked over and placed the kettle above the fire before sitting opposite Anna. Neither spoke or made a sound. Anna, with tears rolling down her cheeks only watched the fire-light dance across Elsa’s face.
“The soldiers didn’t shoot to kill me.” Elsa finally said and rolled her right sleeve. Anna’s eyes widened at the strange, deep and brutal looking scar on her upper arm. “None of them hit me. They didn’t want to.”
“But the blood in the water.”
“Runeard had mangled my arm to keep me from fighting or saving myself before he threw me into the sea. You would have know that if you weren’t hiding behind the trees.”
The bitterness in Elsa’s voice alarmed Anna. A stab of guilt cut deep. Anna flinched and curled inward. She shivered and it had nothing to do with the cold.
“I’m sorry, let’s forget about this. The past is in the past.” Elsa forced a weak smile. She caught sight of Anna shivering and shook herself, muttering something about being an idiot as she turned and rummaged under her bed for a spare dress.
She handed it to Anna wordlessly before sitting back down by the fire. Anna held the dress mutely rubbing her thumb along the soft fabric. She shouldn’t be here. Elsa shouldn’t be here.
The fire crackled.
“Do you love me?”
Elsa looked up and tilted her head at the statement. A genuine smile on her face. “Of course I do,” she stated like it was the most obvious thing in the world, “hell would have to become heaven before my love would lessen for you.”
Another pang of guilt stabbed through Anna and she gripped the dress in her hands tightly. She didn’t deserve this, none of the love they had shared. She didn’t deserve any of it.
“I love you to.” she murmured out weakly meeting Elsa’s gaze. Tears dropping into the dirt.
Elsa leaned over and wiped her thumb over the wet trails on Anna’s cheeks.
“I know. And I’m sorry for being bitter about the past. You were scared and I shouldn’t blame you for that.”
Anna finally let out a sob and buried herself into Elsa’s arms. How could she still love her, after everything that happened. Anna didn’t deserve it. She knew she didn’t deserve it. How could Elsa still love her after all she did. She gripped onto Elsa like her life depended on it and continued to cry. Elsa held her gently all the while.
When her sobs finally quieted Elsa gently pulled away and rubbed Anna’s arms. The loving look on her face nearly sent Anna to tears again.
“I’ll always love you. Now why don’t you get out of that wet dress.”
Anna did her best to smile, “You just want to see me naked again.”
Elsa choked on a laugh at the out of place statement.
“What, no-I-!”
Anna cut her off with a giggle, “I’m only teasing.”
“You’re unbelievable.” Elsa huffed and turned around with her arms crossed. Anna hummed and stripped free of her wet dress. The warmth of the fire kept her from shivering to much when her bare skin met the air. Elsa didn’t move from where she face away from Anna.
“You remember the first time you told me?” Anna found herself making conversation as she changed.
“Told you what exactly?”
“When you loved me?”
Elsa hummed, “As in general or that day I kissed you too.”
Anna paused in slipping the dress over her head. She had forgot about the kiss.
“Yes, that one. The ‘it’s more than sisterly love’ confession.”
Elsa smiled to herself as she thought back on the day. It had been muggy and overcast. The air was cold and it had just stopped raining so everything was muddy and just gross. Not the ideal day, but one Elsa loved. “Yes, I quite remember it. Not the best day in terms of weather and emotions, but one I remember fondly. The day I finally felt free.”
“Free?”
“Oh, you know,” Elsa gestured in the air vaguely, “the burden of keeping my feelings a secret was gone.” She turned to look over her shoulder as Anna was in the middle of pulling down the dry dress. Pale-blue eyes widened at seeing so much skin and she quickly turned away a heavy blush on her face. Anna laughed.
“I knew it. You did want to see me naked.”
Elsa groaned and buried her face in her hands. Anna faintly heard her mutter something about being distracted and forgetting she was changing.
“It’s okay, I’m decent now.” Anna wrapped her arms around Elsa’s shoulders and whispered in her ear. The blonde turned and leaned away so rapidly Anna nearly fell over.
“Don’t do that.”
Anna titled her head in confusion before seeing the blush on her sisters face still.
“My dear sister, are you having lewd thoughts?”
“Yes, and it’s your fault.”
The bluntness of the statement surprised Anna. Even after she had admitted her feelings those years ago Elsa had remained a bit reserved still. She did everything she could not to make Anna uncomfortable. At least now she was speaking her mind. Anna smiled at that but let the matter lie.
“Is the tea ready,” she changed the subject.
Elsa relaxed in Anna’s hold and glanced at the kettle.
“Probably, I can pour some now if you’d like.”
“Yes please.”
Anna let Elsa go and watched as she stood and grabbed the empty cups handing both for Anna to hold. She didn’t question why and only continued to observe her sister. It had been two years and not much had seemed to change aside from the brutal scar on her arm. Anna studied the scar, Elsa not having pulled her sleeve back down. She watched as her sister never seemed to fully straighten out her arm and didn’t seem to use her right hand at all.
She waited until Elsa had poured the eat into the two cups before asking,
“How-how bad is it. Your scar.”
Elsa glanced down at the old wound and pulled the sleeve down to cover it quickly. Anna handed her one of the cups and waited patiently for her response.
“I don’t think about it much now. I can’t straighten my arm or hold anything with weight to it.”
Anna grimaced and opened her mouth but Elsa shushed her with a finger to her lips.
“Luckily I’m left handed and it wasn’t too big of a switch up.”
Elsa sipped her tea ending this particular conversation.
Anna shifted and looked into her own cup.
“Why?” Anna voiced after a moment. “Why aren’t you dead?”
Elsa shrugged undisturbed by the question.
“To be honest, I’m not entirely sure. It’s not the first time, but it was the first time he tried with Brùidnis.”
Anna tensed at the mention of the sea-beast.
Elsa turned and looked to Anna remembering something.
“Why were you in the river anyway?”
Anna tightened her hold on her cup and shook her head. She didn’t wanna talk about it. Not after what Runeard had done to Elsa and what he did today. Anna deserved what had happened to her in that river. She deserved to be dead after all she had done those two years ago.
“Would you like to spend the night?”
The sudden change in topic left Anna scrambling to reign in her thoughts. She glanced around trying to get a grasp on the situation and her eyes landed on the single bed.
“But - there’s only one bed.”
“I don’t mind,” she said with a cheeky grin and shrugged, “But if it makes you uncomfortable I can make other arrangements.”
“No,” Anna shouted and cleared her throat from the sudden outburst. “No it’s fine.”
It was not fine.
Anna’s mind was a mess. She knew Elsa loved her in a romantic sense. The way she had been taught a man loves a woman. At first Anna had been uncomfortable with it. She had been unable to be in the same room as her sister for nearly six months. And it wasn’t until she found Elsa crying in the snow and angrily confronted her about it that she realized exactly how cruel she was being. Elsa would never do anything she didn’t consent to.
“Are you sure? You don’t look well, and I know you’re uncomfortable with, well, me.” Elsa rubbed her arm and glanced away.
Anna shook her head to clear it. Ignoring the guilt that stabbed at her again.
“I’m sure.”
Elsa showed Anna over to the bed and left her to get comfortable while she rinsed out the two cups. Anna listened to the soft sound of Elsa humming. She recognized the tune from on old lullaby her mother used to sing and one her father attempted to after she died. Her never was good at it, but it helped even if she and her sister made fun of his off-tune songs.
Else stirred the fire once and left it to die out own it’s own as she made her way over to the bed. Anna waited for her to climb in but Elsa instead sat on the ground and rested her head back against the mattress.
“What are you doing?”
“You seem unsure about all of this. I don’t want to push you too far.”
Anna clicked her tongue. This was Elsa’s idea and she agreed to it. Even if she was uncomfortable with sharing a bed with her Anna wouldn’t let her sleep on the ground. Elsa had offered her help when her own family had left her. Anna could put aside her own slight awkwardness a If anything their body heat would keep them warm through the night.
“Come on. I’ll be fine. I already agreed anyway.” Anna tugged on Elsa’s sleeve to get her to move. A small smile formed on her face and she crawled into bed beside Anna.
It was awkward at first. Anna didn’t know what to do with her arms and legs exactly. She fidgeted nervously and Elsa noticed.
“Are you sure you’re comfortable with this?”
“Yes! Now shush and let me just - .”Anna trailed off and rolled to her side with a huff. Elsa laughed softly.
Elsa didn’t move from where she lay on her side. Her eyes closed and a content smile remained present on her lips. Anna couldn’t help but glance over her shoulder at her sister.
Her heart hurt.
This isn’t right.
Anna turned over to face her. Elsa remained still.
It’s not fair.
She swallowed the lump in her throat and reached out a gentle hand to caress her cheek.
Today had left her confused and terrified and now this. Elsa had said she was enraptured with her, that she had been watching her for a few years. Why would the essence of a goddess be watching her? Anna pulled her hand back debating. Did she know then, the confusing swirl of emotions in her mind. Did she choose now to show herself to Anna to satisfy some amusement, some curiosity she had.
Anna dismissed that thought. Elsa wasn’t like that. She had known her for less than a day and everything about her seemed genuine. Maybe Anna wanted to believe it to be genuine.
She had shifted closer to her, eyes tracing the curve of her lips. So close. They were so close.
Anna just had to lean forward and their lips would touch. She wanted to kiss her. It wouldn’t be right.
She pressed her lips against Elsa’s.
A hand gentle pushed her head forward and soft lips caressed her own before she could back away. The action surprised her at first, but Anna found herself quickly returning the kiss. Her eyes fluttered close and her body relaxed against Elsa’s. The lips on her own were softer than she ever thought, gentle and soothing. The hand in her hair scratched lightly at her scalp and sent tingles shooting down her spine.
All too soon Elsa pulled away. Anna found herself leaning forward to catch her lips again but a gentle hand on her chest, pushing her back stilled her actions. Confusion knit Anna’s brows and Elsa shook her head in the dark a guilty frown on her face.
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have - “ she cut herself off with a whisper.
Anna breathed heavily and took a second to catcher her breathe before she whispered out, “But I kissed you first.”
Elsa only shook her again and rolled over.
“Try and get some sleep. You need to go back to Runeard at dawn.”
They way Elsa said her grandfather’s name with so much bitterness left Anna with a knot forming in her stomach. It twisted and tightened and she thought she might be sick at the mere mention of the name. The memories of all the happened few hours ago left her shaking. Hot puffs of breath escaped in uneven gasps.
Anna wanted to scream.
Water.
Teeth.
Runeard’s dark, uncaring eyes.
Drowning.
She couldn’t breathe. Each breath gasping breath weighed her down. Water filled her lungs instead of air. The darkness of it all swallowed her and she could see the yellow eyes of a monster staring right back at her.
She sat up and made to leave the bed, nearly crying as her limbs caught in the blankets. She flinched and shied away from a light touch on her shoulder. Her panting grew more labored and the light touch turned into a firm grasp as she struggled to move, to get up and run.
“Anna, Anna it’s alright!”
Elsa’s voice cut through the swarming in her head and she snapped her attention to the blonde woman. Tears fell in large drops down her cheeks as she turned to her sister. The concerned look in her blue eyes made Anna freeze.
Why? Why was she so concerned for her. Two years ago when Runeard threw Elsa into the North Sea, when he made to kill her. Didn’t she know it was Anna’s fault.
More tears spilled from Anna’s eyes.
A warm hand cupped her cheek and wiped them away as best they could.
“It’s okay, he can’t hurt you.”
Anna shook her head unable to find the words in her scrambling mind.
“Trust me, Brùidnis will not ever harm you.”
“How could you possibly know that.”
Her voice shook as she spoke. She didn’t even care about him anymore. What she did to Elsa, she deserved to be swallowed by the beast. Right now she wished he had.
The hands cupping her faced squeezed gently and forced her to meet Elsa’s warm gaze. The sight of tears forming in her pale eyes sent an ache in Anna’s chest. She never wanted to see her sister cry.
“Because he listens to me.”
The words didn’t register right away in Anna’s mind. Her body stilled and she stopped breathing for a second to process what Elsa had said.
The monster in the loch listens to her.
“That - it’s not possible,” she spoke. Her voice barely audible.
Elsa’s hand moved from Anna’s cheek to rub up and down her arm in a soothing manner.
“There’s a lot that’s happened in the last two years. A lot that has been set in motion for something bigger.” Elsa stopped herself from explaining further. “It’s not important what exactly right now. Just know that he won’t hurt you and neither will Runeard. I’ll make sure of that.”
“Even after everything I’ve down.”
A hand led Anna to lay back down again. She barely registered moving and Elsa lay beside her facing each other. Her mouth set in a tight line at Anna’s words and her eyes shifted slightly back and forth obviously debating something in her head.
“Yes,” came the simple response.
“But why,” Anna practically shouted sitting up again, “after everything? How can you possibly want to be around me or even look at me? You should hate me. You should want to run me through and dumb my body in the river.”
Anna choked on a sob and turned away from Elsa.
“But I don’t.”
“You should!”
“Why?”
“Because-” she paused searching for words. She didn’t actually know how much Elsa knew about what happened. Should she risk saying anything at all?
“Why,” Elsa repeated firmly.
Anna didn’t answer and only flinched.
“Why.”
“Because I’m the one who turned you in to grandfather!”
The air stilled at her shout and silence echoed loudly.
“I’m the one who told him what you planned, and I’m the one who told him your secret.”
Elsa remained silent and waited for Anna to continue.
Anna exhaled shakily once and balled her hands in her lap.
“I told him your plan to leave. To leave and find a new life far away. He didn’t care, dismissed it with a laugh even. I thought he would make you stay or something, but he didn’t. He laughed and almost seemed happy about it. I didn’t know what to do. You were planning on leaving and I couldn’t even think about not having you around and my one plan to get you to stay didn’t work.”
“You could have come with me. I would have taken you with me you - “
Anna cut her off, “You know why I couldn’t!”
Elsa looked down and bit her tongue.
“I was mad after that. Mad at grandfather for not making you stay and mad at you for leaving me. As much as I found it disturbing that you loved me, I couldn’t stand losing you. You were one of the last bits of family I had left and you wanted to leave. How could I not be mad.” She brought her knees to her chest and shook with a sob. “But I never should have gone behind your back in my anger and told him how you felt. I knew grandfather would probably lock you up, but I didn’t care if it meant you stayed! I never imagined he would kill you for it. His own family-” Anna stopped talking after that and cried into her knees. Her own secret laid bare out in the open now. Being reunited with her sister after two year believing her to be dead should have been a happy occasion. Instead it turned into a pitiful dark night of secrets and lies being exposed. The truth being exposed. It hurt so much.
“Anna.” Elsa called out to her. Anna only curled further into herself waiting for the verbal beating she deserved. What her sister said next shook her far beyond what she expected.
“I knew.”
Anna froze and stared straight ahead in the dark.
“When you called a meeting with Runeard and met quietly by the river, I had been out cleaning some old barrels. Odd time to do it in the middle of the night, but I couldn’t sleep and needed to think. I heard it all. At the time I felt betrayed and hurt, but I came to realize you were running high on emotions. That’s why I disappeared for three days. I had to get my own emotions in line before I could face you again.”
Anna listened intently. All this time Elsa knew her dirty secret and still loved her. Even after she went behind her back, betrayed her so deeply, she still loved her. Anna didn’t deserve this. She didn’t deserve Elsa.
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
“Why would I?” Elsa tone held a gentle bitterness to it, “If I did you would have run, or shut me away and I probably would have been thrown into the North Sea sooner than I was.”
Warm arms wrapped around Anna’s shoulders and a chin rested atop her own head as she let the silent tears fall. “I don’t blame you, I never did.”
“You should. This would be easier if you hated me.”
“Anna, if it were that easy I would have left when they all thought I died, but I couldn’t. I love you too much to do that to you.”
“But-two years-” Anna sniffled, voice cracking.
“Shh, shh. A lot of things happened those two years and I will tell you the stories, but not tonight. That’s part of the reason I came back. I couldn’t let someone I love so much deal with all that’s to come alone.”
A chill crept down Anna’s spine at those damning words. She herself could feel something bad stirring in the air for the longest time, but brushed it off as bad weather approaching. She didn’t want to believe her little world would shatter one day, even if she had been putting cracks in it herself for the longest time. Elsa’s words only confirmed that it would one day shatter and change. And she had a feeling it would be soon.
Silence settled in the small roundhouse. Elsa said nothing for awhile letting Anna process everything. She knew how much it must way on the younger women. She didn’t expect to unload all of it the first night, but the universe had a funny way of doing the opposite of what she expected. Elsa smiled and shook her head at herself. She should know better by now, but that’s one thing she would never understand. Why the universe chose her as it’s plaything.
“We should sleep.”
Anna nodded once and uncurled from herself, laying down stiffly. A sadness settled in Elsa’s heart at seeing her sister in such a state and knowing she caused it. She hated seeing Anna like this. Bright eyes and a wide smile suited her far better than this husk of a shell that became of her.
Elsa pulled the blanket of the two as they settled down for the remaining hours of the night.
“Can you,” Anna swallowed, “can you hold me?”
Elsa stilled briefly at the question before shaking herself as Anna turned to look away in her silence.
She leaned over and smiled so lovingly at her sister. Pale finger gently brushed a stray lock of red-hair away before settling down. Her arms wrapped around Anna and pulled her close loosing just enough to let her turn around in her grasp.
Anna let out a shaky breath at the warmness of her hold and gripped Elsa’s dress tightly, afraid if she let go she might disappear again.
Neither spoke another word as the night crept on. The silence and steady beating of their hearts lulling them into sleep.
Dawn came all to soon.
Neither of them slept for more than a few hours last night. The weariness of all the events and the words spoken hung over them in the faint light. Clouds rolled over the sky, leaving only faint pockets to let the light through when the sun rose above the horizon. The wind carried the promise of rain as it swept over the loch.
Anna glanced ahead at the path that would lead her back home. The thought of going back and facing her grandfather terrified her. She thought she could trust him, but after he sent her into the river uncaring if she died Anna no longer felt safe in his presence. He didn’t care for her and she doubt he ever really did.
A hand reached out and grabbed her own as Elsa stepped up beside her just outside the roundhouse.
Anna sucked in a breath at the warmth of her sisters hand in her own. She didn’t want to leave her after just getting her back.
“I wish I could stay here.”
Elsa exhaled softly through her nose beside her as they both watched the light strengthen behind the clouds. She said nothing and gave Anna’s hand a squeeze instead.
A breeze swept by rattling the trees and scattering leaves. The cold season would be here before long. Anna turned to Elsa and swallowed.
“Will I see you again?”
Elsa smiled and nodded. “You will.”
“When?”
“I’ll find you when we’re to meet.”
Anna frowned at that answer. She didn’t like it. What if she needed Elsa and couldn’t get a hold of her or what if Elsa couldn’t find her. There had to be some way to contact each other.
Elsa spoke before she could voice her thoughts. “I know what you’re thinking and it’s best for you to go back to your normal life. As if you never saw me.” The look Anna shot Elsa had her smirking in amusement, “I’ll explain when the time comes, for now you have to be strong and trust me.”
“I do.”
“Good. That’s all I ask. All I’ve ever asked.”
A lump formed in Anna’s throat. Elsa never asked for anything more than Anna’s trust. Even after everything that happened between them Elsa never asked or expected more. Even after Anna betrayed her.
“I’m sorry.”
Elsa shook her head and faced Anna. Neither said anything and Anna sniffled trying not to cry again. Her soul weighed heavy with the guilt of her actions.
“I’ve already forgiven you,” Elsa said and pulled Anna into a soft embrace.
Anna stood frozen for a moment before wrapping her arms around her sister’s waist.
Elsa pulled away to quickly and the warmth quickly fled replaced with the cold wind. Anna shivered.
“Go.”
The command was gently but held all the authority of a queen. Anna nodded, turned around and ran down the path. She glanced back only once and briefly. The knowing darkness in her blue eyes and silent tears that started to fall knocked the breath from Anna’s lungs. She felt her heart shatter and stopped. A single step back toward Elsa and the blonde only shook her head and wiped her face.
“Go.”
The wind carried the word to Anna’s ears. She didn’t want to go. Her her feet carried her off anyway. And this time Anna didn’t look back.