Chapter Twenty Five: Under Pressure

Elsa let out a haggard sigh as she hunched over the pile of paperwork spread out across the bar at her studio. The place was typically a serene hideaway when she wasn't working, but ever since her proposal it had become little more than a wedding planning base. Day in and day out she spent every spare moment between classes and personal work scouring through countless, and seemingly endless, decisions that had to be made.

Truth be told, when Anna had begun telling her of plans for a big wedding Elsa found herself in a state of shock. Anna certainly didn't seem like the type to want to invite a huge number of people to a giant shindig, but after some days of consideration Elsa found that she couldn't blame her for it. After all, when Elsa had been in her first 'real' relationship she, too, had dreamed big. Now, though, her desires seemed almost simple as she tried to cope with Anna's newly developing capricious nature regarding the wedding plans.

Card stock samples for invitations, fliers for catering companies, not to mention the massive pile of advertisements for custom cake companies and the estimates for everything from the venue to the deejay, it was all very quickly becoming more than Elsa could handle. Though in classic Elsa fashion she would press on through the thick of it though and, somehow, by some miracle, it would all hopefully come together in a way that was pleasing for both of them.

Elsa wondered if she had momentarily become insane when she had said that her own organizational skills would make this a piece of cake. How cocky could she have been offering to take care of nearly all the planning? Especially knowing how quickly Anna could move a particular color or style from 'must have' to 'meh,' Regardless, she was here now and sheer pride was keeping her from admitting that she really did need more of Anna's help than she was getting.

Groaning, Elsa frowned and began sorting through the card stock samples again, hoping that this time she might find something that would fit for their invitations. Truthfully they were all fairly similar to her in style and weight, but their colors, fonts, and textures were vastly different. Warm purples, deep teals, and bright yellows were among a few of the choices Elsa had, and yet none seemed to have a text color that she liked against them, not to mention how hideous some of the fonts themselves were. It was certainly difficult to ignore the terrible design flaws in some of these and look at each aspect individually but she did the best she could.

"Still at it?"

"How did you even get in-" Elsa looked up, running a hand through her bangs to brush them out of her face as she struggled to find words to express her frustration, "You know what, I don't even care at this point. What do you need?"

"Listen, I get that you're stressed out over all this, but you did get yourself into it. Besides, is that any way to talk to your best man?"

Esmeralda raised her arms into the air in a glorified request for praise or applause and was clearly amused with herself, but Elsa didn't seem to find her antics nearly as entertaining. "For the last time, you are not a best man."

"Eh, best man, maid of honor, same difference."

"Same diff- I just can't with this today Esme. Really, what is it you need that's so urgent that you can't wait for me to answer your-" Pausing, Elsa roughly shoved some papers around until she managed to locate her phone beneath a particularly unstable stack of deejay information, "-fifteen text messages?"

"Don't be such a grouch!" Esmeralda insisted, only prompting Elsa to begin rubbing at her temples, though whether the action was in exaggeration or seriousness Esmeralda couldn't tell. "Fine, fine. I really just wanted to take you out for lunch."

"I really don't have time to-"

"And that's exactly" Esmeralda carefully pulled Elsa's hands away from her face and gave a gentle tug, sliding her from the bar stool and to her feet with a soft 'thump,' "why you should come to lunch with me. If you stress any harder today you're going to explode and honestly? I don't want to have to clean up the chunks of you when I inevitably take over your studio. For sentimental reasons, obviously."

"Sentimental reasons."

Elsa scoffed, but she found that she couldn't resist the draw of Esmeralda's offer, she had no logical reason not to. Her body wouldn't even allow her to contemplate fighting the guidance away from the pile of stress inducing activity and toward, well, she honestly didn't care what at this point. So long as it wasn't wedding related she couldn't have cared less where they went.

And yet, she still found herself feeling irritated when she ended up in a familiar booth at the front of Sugar Rush ordering her usual chocolate-y mess. "I thought you said we were going for lunch?" she asked once they both had received their order.

"It's all sustenance, besides maybe sugar is exactly what you need."

Elsa opened her mouth as if she were going to argue but decided against it, Esmeralda was treating her to 'lunch' after all. "So you just decided to come by and remove me from my work because you wanted some ice cream and didn't want to go alone?"

Esmeralda looked pensive for a moment, thoughtfully stirring the remnants of what was once a beautiful hot fudge and caramel sundae around in her bowl, "Come on, you know you needed to get out of there just as much as I needed someone to help me not look like a sad, lonely person."

"But you're not sad and lonely and I am quite busy and preoccupied with this wedding planning."

"If you won't let me help, then you should really just tell Anna you need her help you know."

Elsa's eye twitched slightly as Esmeralda knowingly trod right on top of a sensitive topic. She took a moment to gather her thoughts, not wanting to seem as though she had already mentally prepared an argument for just this discussion, but didn't take too long to respond. "I'm fine, Esme, really. I am a master planner, a champion of organization, a-"

"A pinnacle of lying to yourself?"

"I'm not lying to myself." Elsa huffed, spooning a particularly large bite into her mouth to avoid hacing to speak for a while.

"You know, it's my official job now to make sure that you can keep up with all this. And to me it looks like you really could benefit from having a talk with her about helping out. I can't believe she wouldn't want to help plan her own wedding, especially with how particular she seems to be with your decisions."

Elsa stayed quiet, guiltily stuffing another bite into her mouth to give herself time to consider her answer carefully. Anna hadn't really forced Elsa to take everything on alone, Elsa had really just volunteered herself and now that she was struggling she was too proud to admit that she wasn't nearly as skilled at planning such a large event as she thought she would be.

"Els, just tell her already. You guys have done this ridiculous dance where you try not telling one another things since the moment you met."

"And we're getting married so-"

"You're getting married because eventually you always come clean with one another." Esmeralda rolled her eyes as she lifted her dish to her lips to pour the viscous mixture of hot fudge, caramel, and melted ice cream into her mouth. Sighing happily she smirked at Elsa, "No need to thank me for my expert advice, this is what the best man is supposed to do after all isn't it?"

She couldn't help the small tick of her eyebrow raising as Esmeralda quite suddenly had the upper hand. She was right and Elsa knew it, and it certainly wasn't worth attempting to argue a moot point. "Yeah, yeah. You're still picking up the tab."

"Oh come on Elsa, seriously?"

But it was too late, for Elsa had already grabbed her bag and begun leaving Esmeralda behind. She had a lot to think about and Esmeralda was far too nosy to allow that to happen...

~X~

Even weeks later though, Elsa had not yet been able to breach the subject with Anna. It wasn't that she hadn't been trying, no, it was that with each passing day she became more and more nervous that Anna might be upset with her for hiding this for so long. It was ironic, really, that her desire to not upset Anna by letting this drag on for too long was resulting in the prolonging of her confession.

And now, on top of all of her extraneous stressors, she found herself seated across from Anna and between the Greene's. Their home was far more upscale than she could have guessed, from the intricate trim on their baseboards and ceilings to the overly shined silver vases that were strategically placed on what was no doubt the finest marble pillars everything spoke of fineries that Elsa couldn't have ever imagined they might have.

"-and I quite like the idea of getting a singer as opposed to a deejay, they're just so pedestrian and commonplace. What do you think Anna?"

"Elsa's diligently planning a budget for us, why don't you ask her if we can afford that?"

"Oh dear, please, budget? What a dirty word to use when discussing a wedding! You have us and we are happy to help you with anything you can't afford."

Elsa had all but zoned out until her name was mentioned, re-joining the conversation she found her ire being provoked in a way that she hadn't experienced before. She poked a single potato around on her plate and remained tight lipped all the while the discussion was taking place, making a note to address her feelings on the matter of accepting monetary 'gifts' from Anna's parents known later that evening.

"Elsa dear, have you decided on a deejay? Do say you haven't, I just know that a singer would be much better suited to you two. You're both far too good for a deejay."

"I've got a few tentative ideas, but no solid decisions yet."

"Excellent, magnificent! I'll get you her number before we part ways this evening so you can get in touch with her. She is quite magnificent, her voice is so regal. Oh, and what about the cake dear? I know Anna gave you plenty of highly regarded bakers but we do know a few who are much more refined in their visual appeal. I assume you ladies would like to really wow your friends?"

Clearing her throat, Elsa looked up at Anna for a split second as though begging her to step in and say something before looking back to her plate in a defeated manner, finally setting her fork down. "I-I'm afraid I haven't settled on anything for the cake either. I don't believe that we have even decided on a design or color scheme yet."

Anna's mother didn't pause for a moment, despite Elsa's clear signs of distress. "Do tell me you have at least decided on the invitations? Or finalized the guest list?Or even decided on a venue?" When Elsa shook her head timidly, though, Mrs. Greene sighed heavily, "I suppose that means not the seating charts either. And when did you two say you were tying the knot?"

Elsa swallowed her pride as best as she could, trying desperately not to seem like she was entirely inept. She shook her head, muttering, "We haven't decided yet." before sinking back into her chair.

"Perhaps I should look into a wedding planner, this seems to be far too much..."

But the words faded away as Elsa felt her chest tighten and push the air right out of her chest. Was it her imagination or was her breathing terribly, terribly loud? It felt difficult to catch her breath, her mind was swimming, swirling with worry and fear that seemed impossible to push back.

"If you'll please excuse me a moment."

Elsa managed to mutter the words before, rather rudely, pushing herself back from the table and dropping her cloth napkin next to her plate as she barreled down a hall and as far from the table as she could manage to get before leaning against a wall and all but breaking down. Tears burned at her eyes as she tried to steady her breaths, but without warning they had broken the dam and began falling as they hadn't in quite some time.

The stress, the thought of being a disappointment to Anna and her friends, the reality of being a disappointment to Anna's parents, it had all culminated in this moment of unprecedented and frightening weakness. Elsa was used to pressure, time crunches fueled her art at times and yet here she was, alone and crying in an unfamiliar hallway in an unfamiliar home. All because she hadn't had the sense to tell Anna not just that she needed her input, but that she wanted to plan this all together. Anything Anna wanted, just as long as they were together to make the decisions.

Elsa sobbed as quietly as she could, her fingertips gently rubbing against the wall behind her as she stood there attempting to calm herself. Anna's mother hadn't been wrong to ask those questions, after all Elsa had had weeks to plan and she'd basically done nothing. Oddly enough Anna didn't seem to have asked anything about it during that time, Elsa didn't doubt that Anna was just under the assumption that she had everything under control and yet that assumption had gotten them here. With Anna blissfully unaware of how heavy the burden Elsa had taken on had become and Elsa all the more broken and concerned at her lack of ability to just come out with the truth.

"There you are Els, we thought you'd gotten lost and-" Anna paused, looking Elsa up and down as Elsa quickly pushed herself from the wall and turned away, frantically wiping tears away before Anna could see, "Els are you...are you crying?"

XXXXXXXX

Although quite impatient for an answer Anna waited as patiently as she could. Elsa was clearly wiping something off of her face, and logic dictated that the only thing it could be was tears. But why cry now? They were having a nice dinner and talking about the impending wedding, all topics to be happy about!

"Listen if mom went over the line you'll have to forgive her, she's a little-"

"Your mom was fine."

Elsa's tone was clearly shaky, and Anna was certain that she heard a quiet sniffle before Elsa turned to face her. Her arms were crossed and her nose was pink, her eyes bloodshot, all clearly betraying Elsa as she tried to avoid the subject. "You didn't answer me, were you crying just now?"

"Of course not, what could there be for me to cry about?"

Her words were sharp now, and the slight tremor in the tones had all but gone. Something was wrong, but Anna was having trouble piecing together exactly what it was. Anna had no desire to have what could become an argument within earshot of her parents, so she, with some difficulty, took Elsa's hand and led her further down the hall and into a spare room.

"Come on, come clean."

"Nothing is wrong."

Elsa scoffed again, telling Anna just about all she needed to know. By now Anna could identify all the little signs, the way Elsa's eyebrows came together in frustration, the way her arms crossed defensively over her chest, even the gentle shaking of her leg as she tried to come up with something to say...Elsa was overwhelmed and unwilling to say a word about it. Anna, however, knew better than to think that she had lasted all this time with Elsa without picking up a few skills that might help her wheedle the truth out of Elsa.

To begin her little dance, Anna would start small. Address the most recent event, the one that seemed to have triggered this strange wave of tears and odd behavior.

"Oh, well okay then. So, you were saying you hadn't made any concrete decisions yet on things huh?" Anna paused, taking a moment to assess Elsa's reaction. The gentle rocking of her leg ceased and she tightened her arms over her chest a little more. Step two, begin pushing Elsa ever so gently toward making a decision on something related to the wedding. "Well, that's okay. We've got time, we haven't even decided on a date yet. How about we do that now?"

Anna pulled out her phone and displayed the screen so that they could both see the calendar, but Elsa wasn't looking at it. She was trying desperately to fight back tears, and though Anna could tell that her plan seemed to be leading them toward a resolution, she couldn't delay the inevitable any longer with this little game, she had to come right out and ask, then pray that Elsa would go along with it. Her heart ached as she asked, "Els, is this too much for you? Or...or are you having second thoughts?"

"I still want to marry you!" The icy demeanor that Elsa had thrown up between them came crumbling down in an instant, it seemed the suddenness of her questions had snapped Elsa back into reality. "Of course I do, how could you even think- I love you, Anna, I want to be with you."

"Then why were you crying in the hall? Something is up and we both know it."

"I just..."

Elsa looked to her feet, then to the nearby desk, anywhere but at Anna. Anna gingerly reached out for her, but thought better of it for the moment. "You know, if you're stressed about the planning you can let me help."

Anna was surprised to see Elsa look up so quickly, meeting her eyes with a look of...was that determination or anger? It was difficult to tell, but Anna wasn't sure what it meant. She knew that Elsa had happily said she would do it all, but she also knew just how much there was to plan and arrange. It was no simple task, and with her parents frequently insisting on more aspects, not to mention more complicated aspects, to add to the wedding Anna could see how things could easily become too much for any one person to handle. Even if that one person was her wonderful, incredibly skilled Elsa.

"It" Elsa began tentatively, looking away again as if it would keep Anna from knowing what was really going on, "may be a little more work that I originally anticipated. But it's nothing I can't handle. Given enough time."

"Listen, can I um, can I tell you something?" When Elsa nodded, Anna sighed and rubbed the back of her head, "So, this whole big wedding thing. I get it if we can't...if we don't, you know. I'll be okay. Honestly I just thought it would be really important to you and-"

"What?" Elsa laughed, the sound of her voice edging on incredulous, "When did I ever give you that impression?"

"Well it wasn't you really, so much as mom and dad. They said your parents thought you might have a big wedding one day and I guess they just assumed."

For a moment it was silent, only the sound of the gently blowing air conditioner breaking the lack of sound, and even that was hardly distracting enough to take away from the tension in the room. Anna heard a gentle, but louder than usual, exhale from Elsa, who then mysteriously chuckled. She was smiling, but not necessarily in a way that would make Anna think she might be pleased to hear that.

"I think your parents may have gotten the wrong idea about me, Anna. I don't need any of this, but if it's what you want then I want you to have it all. Everything, anything, just..." Elsa sighed heavily, as if the words she were about to speak might physically hurt her, "As much as I want to say that I can, it turns out that I can't do it alone. Would it be terrible of me to ask for your help now that I'm already in over my head?"

The admission wasn't a surprising one, Anna had wondered when Elsa had volunteered to do it all just how she would manage to get it all done. There was a note of disappointment in Elsa's voice as she had said it though, as though she had somehow thought she could handle everything, but in that moment the truth hit Anna square in the chest. Of course Elsa thought she could handle it on her own, she had been doing things on her own for years. There was no other way for her to do things.

Despite having Anna in her life now she still always did what she could alone, even if it meant taking on more than she could, or should, be handling to keep their little household running smoothly. Even now as their wedding loomed ahead Elsa was selfless enough to not argue for a simpler wedding in lieu of this ever growing monstrosity that Anna's parents were constantly adding to.

It was Anna's turn to tear up, and she did so in spite of her best efforts to keep the tears at bay. "Els, can we just go somewhere and get this done? Just you and me?"

The words were out of her mouth without hesitation, without reservations. This wedding planning had gotten so out of control, so horribly twisted, that Elsa had broken down in tears due to the stress of it all. And knowing what she knew now, Anna truly had no reason to keep trying for some big event. Elsa seemed to want something smaller, and in her heart Anna knew that she didn't need anything but Elsa.

"Anna..." Elsa was tentative, but there was an unmistakable note of happiness in her voice as well. "Anna I appreciate the notion, but we can't do that to our friends. They expect to see us get married..."

Anna wracked her brain for a solution that would be pleasurable for all parties, but no matter the arrangement it seemed that someone might be upset or inconvenienced by the sudden change in plans. The fact that they hadn't yet made solid plans anywhere was the only saving grace. And with that in mind, Anna grinned "Then how about we cut down on the guest list for the actual wedding? Just have the really important people attend the ceremony with us, then the reception can be larger where we see everyone else?"

"Wouldn't that seem a little greedy?" Elsa said with a wince, "You know, 'oh we only think these people are important enough to see the ceremony but everyone else come and bring gifts?'"

A snort escaped Anna before she could cover it, followed by a few small laughs. "You're right, you're right...we'll think of something, Els. Just don't stress yourself so much over it. I know I don't seem like it, but when I need to I can be very organized."

"Anna darling, what's going on? We thought you two might have unexpectedly been called away by how long you had been gone."

The sudden, not to mention eerily silent, appearance of Anna's mother in the doorway brought small smiles to both women's lips. The peal of laughter soon filled the room and echoed down the halls, leaving Anna's mother more than a little confused, but still smiling all the same. In that split instant it seemed that all would be well, even if they hadn't quite figured things out yet.

XXXXXXXX

The day had finally come, after much planning, and a little frustrated fighting, the pair had settled on every detail of a wedding somewhere between the smaller one they wanted and the massive one the Greene's were hoping to host. Despite numerous protests she had been wrangled into wearing a suit, and also coaxed into allowing Anna's attire to be a complete and utter surprise. With shaky fingers and less stable hands Elsa worked at fastening the center button of her suit jacket while Esmeralda paced behind her, already fully dressed.

"If you take any longer on that one button we'll be late for your wedding."

The jape was well deserved, Elsa had been staring at herself in the mirror for such a long time that she no longer knew how long she had been there, or how long she had until she needed to go and stand in front of all of their collective family and friends and profess her love for Anna for all of them to see.

"Ha ha." Elsa rolled her eyes as dramatically as she could manage, but made no effort to hurry her movements.

Truthfully she was nervous, more so than she had ever been in her entire life. Despite that, the reflection of herself that stared back at her looked quite stone-faced and unfazed. It was ironic that she could look so calm and serene externally when her mind raced with worries. What if she tripped on the way down the aisle in front of all those people? What if she had tied her tie incorrectly and hadn't noticed it until they developed photos? And the biggest worry of all, what if Anna changed her mind and left Elsa at the altar? It wouldn't ever happen, not in a million years. Elsa knew that in her mind, but that little worry still lingered. As impossible as it seemed, the chance, however minuscule, was always present.

"Do I look alright?"

Elsa's words wavered, betraying her vulnerability to Esmeralda. She waited, expecting some jab at her unnecessary insecurity, some salt sprinkled into the wound of her clear worry regarding the coming nuptials, but none came. In it's place, Esmeralda stepped right in front of Elsa, the corners of her lips drawn back in some gesture that Elsa couldn't place at first. Then the tears became visible in her eyes and it was clear, Esmeralda was proud of her. Proud.

Sniffling, Esmeralda tucked a few too-long strands of Elsa's bangs behind her ears, "Perfect."

"Stop it." Elsa managed, despite feeling her throat tighten as tears threatened to build up in her eyes, "You're going to make me ruin my makeup and then we really will be late."

"You're right, you're right. I just feel like a mother bird letting her little baby out into the world."

"You do realize that you didn't birth me, right?"

"Just let me have this!" Esmeralda insisted, seeming to stop herself from hugging Elsa, instead focusing her energy on straightening Elsa's tie and smoothing the shoulders of her jacket.

The pair nervously linked arms as they neared the makeshift zippered door of the tent and stepped out into the sun. The sky was deeply blue today, though it was seen in only patches through moderate cloud cover. Elsa noticed every detail as she tried not to focus on the rising nervousness that threatened to make her physically ill. It was a typical scene, a makeshift archway decorated with beautiful flowers set before neatly arranged rows of chairs split right up the middle. There weren't more than a few short rows on either side of the gap, Anna had been selective with her family, and both women had only invited their closest friends.

Elsa recalled planning their procession and the order in which they would walk up this seemingly endless gap, remembering when Anna had absentmindedly mentioned having someone walk each of them up the aisle without thinking. The apologies had been profuse, but Esmeralda had rushed to the rescue, volunteering to be by Elsa's side. She had protested at first, but in this moment she couldn't be more thankful to have her very best friend by her side to be sure that she didn't freeze.

"Smile."

Esmeralda's voice felt strangely far away, Elsa thought, and though the collection of friends and family was at a distance they felt overwhelmingly close. Her suit felt too hot and her tie felt too tight, her shoes weren't quite right, and though she was trying to smile she couldn't tell if she had managed to do so or not. Elsa was certain that she would die right here on this spot if something didn't break the odd semi-silence.

The time passed painfully slow as music began playing through a complex system of speakers behind her. Something must have been wrong, music shouldn't have started until Anna was within sight. Anna should have been here by now, Elsa thought anxiously, wondering just what could be slowing the day down.

"Don't you dare start second guessing things." Esmeralda quietly said, despite her smile her tone was quite serious, "Be patient, I'm sure her zipper just got stuck. You know Anna is the most clumsy person we know."

Clumsy, yes. That had to be it. Something happened with Anna's wardrobe no doubt, and that was the likely culprit of the time delay. Elsa's feigned, nervous smile morphed into a genuine one was she tried to stifle a laugh at Esmeralda's commentary.

"You're right, I know. It's just hard with all these people expectantly staring at us."

"I supposed worst case scenario we could just get married?"

"Oh hush." Elsa chided, still smiling all the while, "You said so yourself, Anna probably is having some kind of wardrobe issue."

But the seconds dragged on into minutes and Elsa began to lose her ability to even feign a smile. She couldn't very well look glum on her wedding day, but the length of time was too great. Something had to be wrong, there was no reason for such a lengthy delay. Yet just as Elsa was on the verge of retreating down the aisle in shame the familiar notes of the bridal march had begun to play from behind her.

And there Anna stood, arm in arm with her father at the end of the chairs. She was a vision, and though Elsa had protested either of them wearing dresses she found herself quite smitten by the way Anna looked today. Perfection was the only word for it. Her hair had been done with a single braid going across her forehead, leaving her bangs loose, and the remainder of her hair was pulled into a fat bun at the back. Her cheeks were rosy, no doubt from added makeup, and her dress...there were almost no words.

Ivory wouldn't have been the color Elsa might have chosen for Anna, but it looked wonderful all the same, and the fiery contrast of her hair made it all the more attractive. The fabric hugged her curves in all the right places, as though the dress had been tailored to her very body, but there was not any additional flash or trim to detract from the beauty of the wearer. It was nothing short of gorgeous, but Anna easily outshone the dress itself.

But something was wrong. Anna and her father stood at the end of the rows for too long, much too long. Elsa could feel the weight of her anxiety building in her chest to an almost oppressive level as the crowd began to whisper. Though she couldn't hear their words above the sound of the wedding march carrying on jovially, almost proudly behind her, Elsa imagined what they might be saying. She could only imagine that her expression was growing more and more desperate by the second as she stared hard at Anna, who looked equally unnerved next to her clearly displeased father.

Elsa glanced over at Snow, who had joined them up at the front as Anna's maid of honor, shrugged her shoulders quite obviously. Esmeralda looked more annoyed than anything, but Elsa was on the verge of losing the tiny sliver that remained of her calm demeanor. Whatever this was, this thing holding Anna back, it was clear that she hadn't voiced it to her father, and certainly not to Elsa who was losing faith faster than she cared to admit.

It couldn't have been more than a minute, but the time that had passed felt like an eternity. Then, Anna's face hardened in determination and she took the first step forward. Some of the crowd could be heard sniffling as they watched her walk past, clearly pleased that she had finally gotten up the pluck to take her first steps. Elsa breathed a sigh of relief, suddenly thankful for the volume of the music that easily overpowered the sound. Anna's father released her arm and resisted the urge to hug his daughter as he let her take her place across from Elsa.

"A little cliché, don't you think?" Elsa whispered, trying to lighten the mood, "A bride trying to get cold feet moments before the ceremony?"

Anna smiled, a nervous laugh crossed her lips and her cheeks reddened slightly. "You're just so beautiful, I was too stunned to move."

Suddenly Elsa was quite thankful that they had chosen to do away with the tradition of veils. If anything could have prevented her from seeing the flush of Anna's cheeks today she might have removed the it herself right away, no matter how inappropriate it might have been.

"Friends, family, we have gathered you all here today to witness the union of two remarkable young women. Though not all the world will look upon them favorably, may they find strength in those that are here to support them and-"

The rest of the words blurred together as Elsa began to hear her heartbeat in her chest. She knew the moment of the 'I do's' was approaching swiftly and something within her was ready to skip all the nonsense ahead of it and get right down to business. But, social demands spoke more loudly than her internal desire and she remained silent, smiling brightly at Anna as she waited for her cue.

"-Elsa has requested a moment to say something to her bride."

"Anna." Elsa spoke a little more loudly than she anticipated in her excitement, but quickly tempered her volume before taking Anna's hand. "Anna, my love. It would have been enough to simply whisk you away and elope, but here we stand before all of these people. Our friends, your family...I can't imagine doing this any other way. I ask only that when the weight of the world around you becomes too much for you to bear that you allow me to take on some of the burden, that when the path you are on seems hazy and confusing to let me help guide you, and that you never, never lose faith in yourself. If you do, I promise to always be here to remind you just how truly special you are."

Elsa could hear some quiet sobs in the crowd, but Anna's lips had tightened as though she were holding back tears. "Els, I'm not as eloquent as you. I don't have that amazing ability to just say what is right there in my heart in front of all these people, but I can say that I love you. My whole heart loves you, more than any words could ever say."

"I suppose this goes without saying, but do you, Elsa, take this woman to be your beloved wife? To care for in sickness, to support through difficult times, and to love through all of the good and the bad?"

"Of course I do." Elsa said, attempting to make her voice strong despite the incredible vulnerability the question brought out inside of her.

"And do you, Anna Greene, take Elsa to be your beloved wife? To help her spread her wings when she feels she cannot fly, to breathe positivity into her when she cannot summon it herself, and to love through all of the good times and the bad?"

Silence, for a moment, then a shaky, "I do."

The words to follow were drowned out by a rush of pure adoration as Elsa scooped Anna up into her arms, only hesitating for a moment before pressing her lips to Anna's. The notion of rings was left behind in the heat of the moment. Somehow, this kiss was more powerful than the first, despite being more chaste and in front of so many people.

When they parted all senses returned to Elsa, the sound of whistles and cheers, applause and party poppers being set off. But all she could see was the teal of Anna's tear filled eyes, the flush on her freckled cheeks, the heat of Anna's skin beneath her hands, and from that moment nothing else in the world seemed to matter so much as the feeling of knowing that she was Anna's, and that Anna was hers.

a/n: This chapter has literally haunted my dreams. I am so sorry it has taken so long to get this up, but I wanted to make sure it was what I wanted. This one was difficult to end, I had so many ideas that could have let it go on longer, but I feel it is right to stop here. I hope you all have enjoyed this one, I am nearly finished with my outline of the next story and once I have a few chapters prepared I'll start posting! See you all soon.