Frozen Collaborative Art Project
Words by me, art by the amazing laikaken, see more of her lovely work at candied-dreams dot com
Note: This fic is accompanied by four pieces of amazing artwork that is blocked by this dumb website. So please see the original tumblr post ( counterpunches dot tumblr dot com slash post/87072376032/set-this-freedom-free-frozen-fic ) to see the fic + amazing images

Anna bounces excitedly, hopping from one leg to the next. "Do you think she'll like it? I think she'll like it."

"Anna, the last time you brought a stray to the castle, it was me."

"Right, and look how well thats turned out!"

"That's not my point. Elsa has to like me. I'm dating you."

Anna makes a face and shrugs off his concern, "Not true. She hated my last boyfriend, and that didn't end so badly."

Kristoff glares. "Anna, that's not funny."

"Come on, it's a little funny."

"No, it isn't. And besides, I-"

"Hush," she says, shoving a finger over his mouth, "She'll love it, I know it." Removing her finger, she replaces it with her lips, kissing him instead.

Kristoff's too stunned to move and stands like a doofy lovesick dope while she bounces away to look for Elsa. Anna finds her upstairs at her desk with a smattering of documents in front of her. "Oh good! You're here," exclaims Anna as she grabs her sister's arm. "Come with me."

"Wh-, Anna!" Elsa says in confusion, trying to put down her pen without splattering ink all over the papers.

"What is going on!" Elsa attempts to demand as she's dragged down the hallway, but Anna's laughter is contagious and she can't help from giving way. "Anna, this is entirely unseemly," Elsa tries to say with a straight face, "You can't just drag me down the hallways, people might see!"

"Let 'em! They've had enough of stuffy you."

"I'm the Queen."

"Yeah, okay, sure. But right now you're just my sister. Okay! Wait here," She says, grabbing Elsa by the shoulders and situating her in front the doorway. Anna disappears behind the door and Elsa shakes her head with a fond smile. A moment later, Anna peeks her head out with big eyes and a bright smile. "You ready?"

"Anna!"

"Okay! Okay. Look what I found today at the marketplace!" Anna squeals, stepping out from behind the door with a heavy bundle in her arms.

The good mood freezes instantly as Elsa stiffens and her face falls flat.

"No, absolutely not."

Anna's brows fold in confusion. "Elsa, what? Why? It's just a-"

"I said no, and that's the end of it," Elsa replies coolly, making no room for argument as she quickly but quietly storms away down the hallway.

"Elsa, it's just a cat!" Anna cries after her, arms outstretched holding an orange tabby. Her shoulders slump and the cat twists its head, looking back confused at Anna. "Meow?"

"I don't know what that was, either," she says to the cat, eyes narrowing in determination as she squints down the hallway, "But I'm going to find out."

Two hours later Anna thinks Elsa's had enough time to cool down. It's already encroaching on the edge of her patience to wait so long, but she respects Elsa's need to go off and...brood, or something. She paces back and forth outside Elsa's chambers for a few minutes until she stops suddenly. Her days of standing nervous outside Elsa's door are long over. Neither of them are those girls anymore; Anna won't let them. With a deep breath of resolve, she turns the knob and strides in.

"Anna!" Elsa's back at her desk and looks up, bewildered.

"Elsa, Ok, what is going on - you always loved animals!"

"Things change, Anna," Elsa says, pushing her chair back as she stands stiffly and walks over to the window.

"No. Not this, not you," Anna presses obstinately. "You used to brush the horses for hours, you would set bowls of milk for the kitchen cats! God, you even tried to hide a dog under your bed once! What's wrong? Are you allergic now? Is it because it's a stray?"

"No, it-"

" I know tabbies aren't the fanciest cats, but we can get it cleaned and groomed! I think-"

"Anna!" Elsa shouts and Anna jumps because, hello, Elsa never yells.

"It's not-" Elsa takes a deep breath and pinches the bridge of her nose.

Anna finally notices her sister's hunched and tense shoulders; that her hands are tucked under her arms. There's something about the way Elsa's staring out the window - the window that she'd looked out of far too much for thirteen years - that Anna can almost see the years of longing and regret, the yearning. That heaviness keeps Anna's silence and quiets the impatience in her bones.

"There was a butterfly," Elsa finally says as she cradles her left hand and rubs it unconsciously. "I was twelve, and it was spring. The window was open and I was reading on the sill. A butterfly flew in, and I was so surprised, I-"

She pauses, and gently touches her fingertips against the glass before pulling them back into a fist. "I froze it. I didn't mean to, it just...frightened me for a moment. It landed so suddenly, and before I knew it-"

Elsa breaks off and closes her eyes. She breathes in deeply through her nose, and when she opens her eyes again, they're hard. "It shattered when it hit the floor," she says with an edge. "I didn't touch anyone after that."

"Elsa," Anna breathes, "You won't-"

"I know," she says hurriedly, turning back to meet Anna. "I know, but... maybe I will. You showed me the cat and all I saw was a butterfly in pieces on the floor."

They're quiet for a few minutes, but then Anna stands up, eyes lit. "I have an idea."

"Anna, no."

"You haven't even heard it yet!"

Anna's heart lifts at the hint of a smirk on Elsa's face when she says, "Your plans have never turned out well."

"I went to go bring you back without a plan, didn't I?" Anna counters.

Elsa rolls her eyes, "Yes, and you ended up dead."

"Why does everyone keep harping on that today." Anna huffs.

"What?"

Knock, she thinks.

"Elsa, just...Trust me?"

Elsa hesitates, eyes flickering to the side of Anna's head where the white used to be. Her lips quiver. "Okay," she finally breathes.

"Okay." Anna beams.

"Okay!" Anna squeals. "We're here."

"Anna, where are we, it smells like the stables in here," asks Elsa with a hint of skepticism as Anna whips off the blindfold with a flourish.

"The stables," Kristoff answers evenly with a smirk.

"Oh," Elsa says, wrinkling her nose as she looks around. "Hi, Kristoff," she smiles.

There's a loud grunt from behind and Elsa twists swiftly. "Hello to you, too, Sven," she greets politely. Sven snorts with a pleased grin and Anna scratches his chin.

"Okay, Elsa, so here's how this is gonna work. All you're gonna do is give Sven a carrot."

She eyes Kristoff skeptically. "Just...give him a carrot?"

"Well, we'll start small, get you comfortable, and build from there."

"A carrot," Elsa exhales with relief, "That doesn't sound so bad."

"Nope!" Anna chirps, "And Sven loves carrots, don't you Sven." Sven whinnies happily.

Kristoff grins and grabs the sack of carrots, "Just, don't ask him to share. He's been known to hog 'em."

Sven snorts indignantly and Kristoff smirks at him.

"A carrot," Elsa repeats, "That's easy," she says to herself, reaching into the bag. Sven snorts with excitement when he sees the flash of orange as she holds it out to him. After the first bite, her shoulders relax and she's more at ease. Three carrots later, Elsa smiles as if she'd been doing this for years as Sven munches happily, and licks her hand in delight.

Instantly Elsa seizes up and jerks her hand back as if burnt.

"Elsa, it's okay," Anna murmurs in a low voice, "You're not gonna hurt him."

"He likes the cold," Kristoff adds reassuringly as he rubs Sven's back. "And he likes people more than I do," he tries to joke. Anna sends him a quick look of thanks.

But Elsa's already pulled her hand back to her chest, letting it rest in that damned, awful place over her heart. Fear hovers on the edge of things and Kristoff looks over at Anna, wary.

This was not a bad idea, she thinks stubbornly, I'll prove it.

Before Elsa can hesitate for too long, Anna takes her sister's hand in her own. Elsa jerks her head looking at Anna, fear shining in her eyes, and Anna's heart lurches.

Anna gives her hand a squeeze. "You'll be fine, Elsa."

The way she looks at her makes Anna wonder if she somehow said the wrong thing but by the time Elsa realizes what's happened, Anna's already placed her hand flat against Sven's strong shoulder.

Anna smiles. I'm a stinker.

Elsa exhales in a rush and her eyes widen; not in fear this time, but reverence. Instantly her whole body softens in relief. She pets him in slow, long strokes. "He's not a butterfly," Elsa breathes in wonder, amazed.

"He's not a butterfly," Anna beams back.

Kristoff looks back and forth between the two of them, confused. "Wait, what? Who's not a butterfly. Why are we talking about butterflies?"

Elsa laughs, a deep throaty sound, and Anna can see Elsa's fears floating away on her laughter. "Nothing," she says to him, eyes shining, "It doesn't matter, anymore."

Elsa's laughter is the sound of freedom and it makes Anna soar.

Her laughter soon breaks into a sob, and Elsa wipes at her eyes, laughing and crying all at once. The emotion is contagious and Anna's eyes start to tear. She tries to swallow them down and blink them away because only one of them at a time should really be a blubbering mess, but she can't help it. She never could when it came to Elsa. A laugh bubbles from her throat wetly and they're both crying.

Kristoff and Sven share a look, eyebrows cocked in confusion. He looks wary but Anna grabs him - "C'mere," she says - squeezing him with one arm and Elsa with the other. Between the two of them, Anna's exactly where she's supposed to be.

We'll make the sun shine bright.

Sven happily munches on his carrots, seemingly oblivious to the three of them.

Six weeks after The Sven Breakthrough (as they like to call it) (and by 'they', they mean Anna), Elsa bursts open the doors to Anna's bedroom, jolting her up from where she was reading.

Her chest is heaving and her eyes are wild and Anna can't help but think the worst. Instantly her pulse doubles in alarm.

But then she notices a thrill behind the wildness in Elsa's eyes, and Anna exhales. It still feels so miraculous to see something besides fear and hesitation in Elsa's face that its overwhelming. Anna smiles, her beam matching Elsa's own.

"I have a surprise for you," Elsa says breathlessly. Excitement is sparkling in her eyes and Anna flashes back to the girl who always woke her up at first morning's light on Christmas morning with barely-contained eagerness. The fact that that little girl has finally - finally - come back and is here in her room….Anna would do everything all over again in an instant. And just as she did when she was five, Anna lets Elsa grab her hand, and she follows the pull of her sister's magic.

"Where are we going?"

"I said it was a surprise," Elsa laughs, "Telling you would obviously defeat the whole purpose."

"Not the whole purpose, what about a hint?"

"No."

"Not even a little one?"

"What's the fun in that?" Elsa smirks.

I wish it could be like this all the time.

"Besides," she continues, "You love surprises, don't even pretend like you aren't loving this."

"I admit nothing." Anna bites her lip and smiles, "But yes."

Me too.

This time, Anna's the one being placed in front of a door. "Are you ready?" Elsa asks with twinkle of magic in her eye and a smile on her lips. Elsa is infectious and Anna thrums with excitement. She bites her lips and nods vigorously, bouncing on her toes.

"Shhh! I think they're here," Anna hears Olaf whisper loudly through the door. The second Elsa twists the handle and cracks the door open, Anna's eyes open wide and her jaw slackens with joy.

"Surprise, Anna!" Olaf yells.

Puppies.

Are bouncing.

Everywhere.

And if she thought she couldn't love Kristoff any more, she was wrong, because seeing her bear of a man under a pile of puppies shouldn't be as attractive as it is. Her heart does a weird flippy thing in her chest and she falls in love with him all over again.

"Pick one," Elsa says from behind. and Anna jumps because between the puppies and Kristoff, she kind of forgot where she was for a second.

"Huh?"

"Pick one."

Anna snaps her head around, "Really?"

"Really," Elsa smiles.

Anna explodes in delight, absolutely unable to contain herself. "Thank you thank you thank you thank you!" She squeals, immediately running over to where the dogs are all clustered in Kristoff's lap. They all demand her attention as she sits down, flopping around to crawl into her hands and over her legs.

"Thank goodness you're here," Kristoff says, busy petting two puppies behind the ears, "I'm getting licked to death."

"Oh please, if you could get licked to death, Sven would have done it years ago. Besides, look how cute they are!" she squeaks, rubbing her nose against one of the dog's and giggles as it licks her face.

"Aren't they though?" Olaf says affectionately before growing serious. "They really might lick me to death though, I'm getting a little concerned."

Kristoff gives up pretending to be grumpy because hello, puppies. He leans back against the heels of his hands but there's a yelp and he jerks one arm up. Whimpering, a puppy waddles out from behind Kristoff's back, nursing a hurt tail.

"You almost crushed him!" Anna yells, smacking Kristoff in the arm.

"I didn't mean to!" Kristoff says apologetically, cradling the dog in his hands protectively.

"He's so small," Anna remarks.

"Looks like he might be the runt of the litter."

There are six other dogs crawling over them, but all it takes is one look at the one Kristoff's holding and Anna knows she's a goner.

She turns around excited to present her choice to Elsa, but then sees one lone puppy frolicking around Elsa's feet. Her sister's kneeling down to pet it, smiling as she scratches behind it's ears. She looks up and notices Anna staring at her with big, round pleading eyes.

Elsa gives Anna a look. "Anna, no."

"But-"

She quirks an eyebrow, "I said one."

Anna pouts.

Then Anna tilts her head to the side and deepens the pout. Her lip quivers.

Elsa's resolve slowly starts to crumble.

Her eyes start to water.

Elsa sighs and rolls her eyes. "Fine," she caves.

Kristoff laughs.

Anna unleashed a monster. Or so it feels like, sometimes. After that moment in the stables with Sven, the floodgates are open and Elsa couldn't get enough of animals. The puppies were only the beginning of it.

The tabby that Anna wanted to adopt spends more time with Elsa than it does with her. She's a little jealous because it was supposed to be her cat but it likes Elsa more. But then she sees the way a smile slowly slides onto Elsa's face when the tabby nuzzles against her ankles while she's working and Anna suddenly doesn't mind at all anymore.

The horses are still Elsa's favorite. She goes out at night; after the long days of being queen are over, when the weight of running a kingdom presses her to the edge of things, Elsa rides. With the freedom of darkness and nothing but the stars above her, she's just Elsa - a girl riding in the wind, one with the sky, earth thundering underneath in every stride.

Sometimes Anna will sit by her window and catch Elsa slipping out to the stables. A special kind of joy will fill her in those moments, a thrill that Elsa is taking her life for her own, finally living it the way she never did before.

Other times Anna thinks about how it was Elsa who was trapped behind a window and watched Anna - watched everyone - live their lives; lives Elsa desperately wanted but couldn't - wouldn't - let herself have. Sadness seeps into her heart, and when Anna can't bear the ache and the grief becomes too much, she sneaks to the kitchens and takes her place outside. When Elsa returns, windswept and exhilarated by her ride, Anna is waiting, and they sit on the steps the way they used to and watch the sunrise, sharing a cup of cocoa or a pastry.

There are times when Elsa runs into Kristoff in the stables. She'll return her horse, sliding off the bridle to hook by the stall, and catch him sleeping against Sven, both snoring atop a pile of hay. On cooler nights, she quietly drapes a blanket on him before slipping out. And sometimes he cracks an eye open and smiles as Elsa closes the stable doors behind her.

Now when Anna waits, there are two dogs sleeping at her feet and by her side, keeping her warm until Elsa gets back. She's not alone anymore.

Anna looks up at the window and smiles.

She never was.

The End.