"Anna!" Elsa shrieked and fell with her, holding her sister up as her head lolled sharply to one side exposing her neck and the livid purple bruise across her cheek. Elsa gathered Anna to her, rocking back and forth trying to understand what had happened. Her sister was so pale and her split and bloody lips had taken on a blue hue.

"What have I done," Elsa whispered looking frantically around her room at the ice glistening all around them. She was about to shout for help when a wordless bellow sounded from the hall seconds before something large and heavy smashed into her door. Ice splintered and cracked, large shards falling away as whoever was on the opposite side beat at the wood again. Third time the charm, the door burst open and a red faced Kristoff stumbled in, slipping on ice and nearly colliding with the wall across from him. He clambered onto unsteady feet, sweat making his hair stick to his scalp like a helmet, a look of utter terror on his face. The mountain man took one look around the room, saw the assassin frozen to the wall behind him, saw Elsa cradling a limp Anna in a room completely covered in ice and felt his world begin to collapse.

"No," he whispered and stumbled towards the royal sisters.

"Kristoff please, she's so cold," Elsa pleaded attempting to lift Anna but only managed a pained gasp as the stitched in her stomach pulled tight.

Ah, that's right. I've been stabbed recently.

Kristoff wordlessly leapt into action, scooping Anna into his arms much like he'd done with Elsa a day earlier and carefully tottered to the bed. The queen staggered to her feet as well but her focus was on the room. She needed to get rid of the ice. It took a few tries, her power sputtering under her control like a candle in the wind, but she was able to draw the fractal particles back to her and disperse them into the air as harmless snow flurries. Anything cloth remained damp, but at least the temperature had once again returned to a livable degree. The mountain man, seemingly oblivious to the fact that the ice was gone, moved towards the fireplace after setting Anna on the bed, but the queen stopped him.

"Make sure Anna's alright. I'll get a fire started," Elsa said shuffling to the fireplace, hand pressed against the bloody gauze patch covering her stomach. It hurt every time she shifted and she was having difficulty taking deep breaths, but it was just physical pain which could be dealt with. Her growing panic over Anna's condition was what really hurt. Kristoff looked like he was going to argue but the cool look the queen gave him changed his mind. Elsa pulled the damp logs from the fire and lit new ones, throwing as much wood into the fireplace as it could hold. She'd never been one for heat, but the sudden flush of warmth that burst into the room was like a breath of fresh air.

The sound of clanking plate armor pulled her attention to the door where six guards stood, two of which were holding Physician Malkof by the arms. They took one look at their queen, barefoot, hair in a messy, disheveled braid, dressed in undergarments that had been cut away and stained with blood, and averted their eyes. Elsa couldn't have cared if she were standing in front of the entire squadron completely naked; she understood immediately what was going on, her instincts screaming, and her rage suddenly rekindled. There was only one reason her guards would haul a man before her in such a way. An icepick manifested in her left hand, long and dangerously sharp.

"Why, Malkof," Elsa growled stalking towards the man who had delivered both her and her sister as infants and had subsequently tried killing Elsa twenty three years later. Malkof remained tight lipped until one of the guards wrenched his arm behind his back, wringing a pitiful whimper from the little man.

"I asked you a question!" Elsa bellowed, ramming her icepick under his chin where a single bead of bright blood bloomed at the tip. Malkof seemed to find himself and glared.

"You destroyed my kingdom," he husked, swallowing uneasily against the point of the icepick.

"You're…"Elsa's mind whirled as the missing puzzle piece she'd been searching for finally fell into place. "You…you were originally from Weselton."

"You destroyed any chance we had at fair trade with neighboring kingdoms, and now Weselton is collapsing because of you! You did this, witch! Your sorcery is an abomination to this world! Your parents should have burned you the second they realized the evil you possessed! I should have—"

Malkof would have said more, Elsa was sure, had Captain Revel not issued a savage strike to the back of the once royal Physician's head with the butt of his sword, silencing him.

"Apologies, Majesty. I could not stand to hear his vial, treasonous rabble any longer."

Elsa should have reprimanded the captain but couldn't bring herself to so much as scold him. If he'd not done it she sure as hell would have, or done worse judging from the amount of blood on her icepick. The queen had grown used to the mixed reactions her powers gained her. Not every citizen of Arendelle had been pleased their ruling monarch possessed such awesome, and at times, inherently deadly powers, but the grumblings were seldomly heard and even more seldomly recognized. Still, the accusations of witch or devil hurt, but Elsa was anything if not capable of hiding her feelings and slipping into her role as ruler.

"Take him to the dungeons. Find the coldest, darkest cell you can. I'll deal with him when he's had enough time to know what true cold feels like."

The guards snapped a sharp salute and hauled the Weselton traitor away. Before Captain Ravel left, however, Elsa caught the worried look he cast over her shoulder at Anna. When the queen caught him looking he averted his gaze and flushed slightly.

"Is there something else, Captain?" Elsa asked, keeping her voice quiet. Revel opened his mouth to speak, thought better of it, and closed it again.

"It's not my place, Majesty."

"In lieu of all that's happened I give you permission to speak freely."

Revel seemed to be choosing his words carefully before speaking again. "Should…should I call for the Physician's apprentices to come and tend to the princess?"

Elsa stared at the man, pondering his question carefully. It was Kristoff who answered from across the room, his voice dripping with venom.

"I won't let any of those traitors touch Anna."

"Master Kristoff," Elsa sighed turning slowly. She couldn't blame him for his feelings towards the apprentices, she herself was skeptical of their loyalty knowing they had personally tutored under Malkof, but she could not and would not have him naming innocent people traitors without presenting any evidence. "As fiancé to my sister, I respect your wishes, but do remember that I alone am queen. Should I feel the need, I will call the apprentices myself to tend to the princess. As for right now," she continued turning back to Revel, "my sister is in the best hands she could be. Thank you, Captain. You are dismissed. On your way back to your barracks, please send Kai up."

"Yes, Majesty!" Revel saluted before hurrying to catch up with his regiment as they hauled an unconscious Malkof to the dungeons.

Elsa watched them go before closing the door and leaning against it, just allowing herself a moment to breathe. What a hellish day this had been, and it wasn't entirely over either. There would be so much paperwork to go through, an interrogation to plan, a trial to schedule, letters to send to Weselton outlining the charges brought upon one of their former citizens…so much work to do. It gave her a headache just thinking about it, and the pain in her side flared momentarily.

Gingerly she pulled the bandages aside and stared down at the sutured wound. There would be a scare, that was plainly evident, but what else would be left behind after the wound scabbed and scared? What mental scars would she and her sister have to bare? Surely Anna would…

Elsa suddenly remembered Anna and stumbled over to her after retrieving two cotton robes and a fresh set of blankets from her armoire.

"Wrap her in these," she said handing the robe and blankets to Kristoff. She sat on the end of her bed, wrapped in a robe to hide her near nakedness, and watched the mountain man undress her sister, his large fingers working so deftly at the knots in Anna's bodice Elsa wondered if he'd had practice. Gently he slid the piece of fabric out from under her and tossed it aside as he began removing her sundress, finally revealing the extent of her wounds. Elsa felt her breath catch in her throat.

"What did I do to you," Elsa whispered staring wide eyed with horror at her sister's bruised and beaten body.

Red burns covered most of Anna's chest, arms and face in splotchy patches from where she'd touched Elsa's super cold skin. The flesh of her right hand was a swollen bloody ruin, shards of metal protruding from her skin like porcupine quills. A vicious black bruise was slowing spreading across half her abdomen and lower chest. There were bruises on her wrists and arms that looked like impact points, and the livid purple and red gash across her left cheek was beginning to swell. The last wound didn't look as bad as the others but it was the worst by far. It appeared as if Anna's right knee had been broken, her leg sitting at an awkward angle and the skin around the joint beginning to turn colors. Elsa felt warm tears begin to well in her eyes and fought back a heartbroken sob. Why was Anna always bearing the brunt of the abuse?

"It's not your fault," Kristoff said, his first words directed towards her since slamming through Elsa's bedchamber doors. The queen laughed hollowly, hugging her waist so that her deadly hands were locked at her side. She didn't dare touch her sister, not after what had happened at the fjord had very nearly happened again.

"Thank you, but it is. I did this to her."

"Really? You sent the assassins after yourself? You broke her knee? You—"

"I froze her again!" Elsa snapped, tears leaking out of her eyes. A twinge of pain as her wound spasmed suddenly doubled her over. Teeth gritted, she sucked air through her nostrils until the episode passed and she could once again sit up. She wasn't surprised to find a fresh bloom of blood on the gauze patch. Kristoff reached over and tried to put a hand on her shoulder but she pulled sharply away.

"I hurt her, Kristoff," Elsa whispered. "I promised it would never happen again, but here we are, two years later, and Anna is unconscious after nearly freezing to death, and I'm the one to blame. I just…" Elsa trailed off, to full of guilt to continue. Maybe Malkof had been right. Maybe she was a monster. She sure as hell had done a lot of damage to the people she was supposed to love.

Unable to think of anything to say that would lighten the burden weighing down Elsa's heart, Kristoff turned back to Anna and began making a mental note of everything she needed mending. Her hand and knee were definitely the most important things. The splotchy burns could wait and the bruises would have to fade like they always did…

"You fought him off," Kristoff said as he bent over his fiancé's broken knee and scrunched his eyebrows together in thought. When Elsa's head snapped up, Kristoff winced inwardly. He'd meant to keep that comment to himself.

"What?" she asked in a shocked whisper, her grief momentarily forgotten.

"I…um…well she…Anna, she…Ah hell," Kristoff trailed off trying to figure out how to say what came next. He'd known about Anna's combat training with Revel. Anna had confided in her fiancé about her sparing, feeling guilty for keeping secrets. At first he'd been angry. The idea of another man touching his fiancé was more than he could stand, but Anna explained what went on and invited him to join the two on more than one occasion but there was one stipulation. Anna forbade Kristoff from telling Elsa.

"I can't keep secrets from the queen."

"Please, Kristoff. If she knew she'd be furious, and I need these lessons. I need to feel…like I can protect myself. Please…"

He'd eventually relented and had even gone to a few of Revel's lessons, standing at the back of his room and watching his fiancé dart and duck around the training circle as the captain instructed or corrected her. Now it seemed the cat was out of the bag. Elsa knew.

"Tell me what happened, Kristoff," Elsa demanded. The mountain man sighed but didn't look up, continuing to work on Anna.

"Your sister has been taking combat lessons with the captain of your royal guard."

"Revel?" Elsa said in shock.

"Yes. She—"

"Why did she do a foolish thing like that?" Elsa gaped, clutching the edge of her robe and trying not to let ice leak out of her fingers. This time Kristoff did sit back and locked eyes with her.

"Anna wanted to feel protected—"

"But I'm here! And we have a castle full of trained guards—"

"So she found someone who would teach her," Kristoff continued. "She and Revel have been sparing together for two years."

"Two years? How could she think that was a good idea!? If they'd been caught it would have been Revel's head and carrier on the line!"

"Apparently the lessons paid off seeing as she most likely kept that second assassin from killing you in your sleep," Kristoff finished with a measure of ice in his voice. Elsa just stared at him, dumbfounded. Finally she found her voice again.

"You knew about this." It was an accusation not a question, and Kristoff felt his pulse quicken with anger. "You knew and still let her spar with my guard captain?"

"Of course I bloody well let her do it!" Kristoff exploded, unable to hold back his emotions any longer. There was just too much there to hold in and he wasn't like Elsa, the depthless lockbox. "Anna explained to me exactly why she wanted to learn, and, I'll admit it sounded weird and just a little bit wrong at first, but your sister wanted to be able to protect herself, to protect you. You have ice powers, Elsa. She's just a flesh and blood human. Anna saw what Hans almost did to you on the fjord and never wanted to feel that helpless again! So yes, after I realized how vulnerable and helpless she felt and saw how professional Revel was being, I let her continue. But let's be honest. Anna would have continued her lessons even if I'd said no. When she wants something she goes after it no matter who's in the way."

Elsa stared down at her folded hands in her lap, unsure of what her next move should be. Her head reeled with the thought of her sister fighting, but it seemed to make sense somehow. Anna had always been a tomboy, always scraping her knees or coming back to the palace covered in mud and leaves. She was spring and summer made flesh, so it seemed only fitting that the princess would want to learn how to fight, but it was the idea of Anna trading punches with an opponent that put the sick feeling in Elsa's stomach.

"She…she fought off the assassin by herself?" Elsa managed after a moment's silence. Kristoff had returned to caring for Anna, pulling the long shards of metal from her palm as gently as he could. There were a few small ones that would require a pair of tweezers to remove, but luckily the rest were easily pulled free with just fingers.

"I've seen bruises like these on her before when she's gotten a bit too rough with Revel."

"I've never seen any bruises," Elsa said thinking back on the past two years.

"Makeup is a wondrous thing," Kristoff mumbled. "But she usually just wore long sleeves or bracelets to hide them. You never noticed her strange choices in clothes or jewelry?"

Elsa hung her head, shame burning in her cheeks. No, she'd never noticed. Anna had always been a free spirit, dressing as she saw fit within the confines of royal attire, but even that had been stretched. But Elsa knew it was more than that. The queen just hadn't been paying that close attention to her younger sister. After the Great Freeze her monarchal duties had quickly caught up to her, and though she spent as much time with Anna as was possible, there were times the sisters went days without seeing each other except for fleeting moments or at dinner. It was the only thing about ruling a kingdom Elsa hated, and it seemed her inattention to her younger sister had led to her missing quite a bit in Anna's life. That realization hurt.

A knock at the door made her turn. She bid whoever was on the other side to enter and Kai poked his head in. He took one look at the queen and let out a startled gasp, walking past the threshold before he realized he'd moved and sketched a hasty bow.

"Merciful heaven, Majesty, you're…you're…awake and sitting up!"

"I know; it was a shock to me as well. Apparently the Physician exaggerated my condition," Elsa said with a small smile. It was a flimsy lie but one the manservant wouldn't question. She saw the relief on his face and felt a bloom of heat in her chest. Kai had been there from the beginning and had lived through the turmoil of the past thirteen years with quiet understanding and unending patience. He was as much family to the sisters as their late mother and father had been.

"Majesty," Kai's eyes went wide when he noticed Anna on the bed, "the princess, is she…"

"Kai, please retrieve a spare medical kit from the infirmary and bring it here. Also, bring a small try of food, some tea, two kettles of hot water and white linen. And send for the mortician."

Kai looked suddenly fearful but Elsa waved a hand to the body of the assassin hidden behind the door.

"The second man who tried to kill me is behind you."

Kai froze, his jaw clenching tightly as he turned to look behind him. Whoever had tried to kill the queen was lying face down on the carpet, and he was happier for it. Death had never set well with the manservant. Kai turned back towards the queen and nodded once, his steel trap of a mind locking her order away. He took a step away before hesitantly clearing his throat, eyes on the floor.

"Majesty, forgive my assumption, but would it not be better to take the princess to the Physician's apprentices?"

"Master Kristoff has proven himself a capable healer, and I do not wish to move my sister." There was a gentle finality in Elsa's voice and Kai nodded, backing out the door and hurrying off the retrieve the queen's order. Ten minutes later the manservant returned with a cart full of thing, some Elsa had asked for and some Kai had thought might aid the queen and her soon-to-be brother-in-law. The mortician arrived with the manservant and hauled the assassin's body away without a word or preamble. He would be dumped into the next available unmarked grave at sunrise. Elsa thanked both men and bid them goodnight, though it was probably closer to good morning.

"Is there a splint kit in that bag?" Kristoff asked after finishing bandaging Anna's hand. Elsa dug through the leather satchel and withdrew two short wooden planks and a bundle of gauze. The mountain man nodded, looking down at Anna's knee one last time as if coming to some unspoken decision.

"Ok, I have to reset the joint."

"And you've done this before?"

"I dislocated my knee once a few years back while coming down from the mountains. No one around but Sven, and he's no help. All hooves, you know. So yeah, setting a break is kinda like setting a dislocation."

Elsa wasn't sure she believed him, but with no other alternative other than calling the apprentices she had no choice. Kristoff took a breath, grabbed hold of Anna's slender white calf and gave it a hard jerk towards him. The sound of the joint popping back into place and Anna's sudden scream echoed through the room. It was unclear whether the princess had awoken before or during the setting, but she was awake now and shaking with pain.

"Anna, Anna its ok. I promise that was the worst of it," Kristoff soothed. She didn't seem to hear him, eyes clamped shut and face screwed up in a pained expression that lasted until Kristoff finished setting and bandaging the break. Only then did Anna exhale shakily, face milky white.

"That…hurt," she managed.

"You did really well," Kristoff smiled brushing stray locks of hair from her face.

"I wasn't conscious, so your argument is invalid. There's no telling how I'd have reacted had I been awake."

"You still did good."

"Where's Elsa?" Anna suddenly asked looking around. Her question was answered when she spotted her sister on the opposite side of the bed looking down at her hands. "Hey, why are you all the way over there?"

Elsa didn't answer, keeping her eyes trained on her hands. Anna attempted to reach over the gap separating the two but her sister drew back sharply.

"Please don't…don't touch me."

The look on Anna's face was somewhere between shocked and hurt, but she recovered quickly, a new emotion overtaking her bruised face. Determination.

"No, we're not doing this again. You're not shutting me out." The princess used her left hand to push herself into a sitting position and moved closer to her sister, mouth a hard line as she dealt with the pain screaming at her from all angles. Elsa tried to move away again but Anna was faster and grabbed her wrist, holding it tight

"Anna please—"

"No!" Anna growled defiantly. "You're not getting your way this time, Highness. I'm not letting you go no matter how hard you struggle."

Elsa looked about ready to bolt but the hand encircling her wrist begged her to stay. Her hesitation only lasted a moment more before she gave in and relaxed fractionally, her perfect posture splintering as she slumped forward. Anna didn't seem satisfied and jerked her sister towards her. The queen gave a squeak of surprise as she fell against her younger sister. Before she could move, Anna wrapped both arms around her shoulders and hugged her so tightly Elsa felt her shoulders pop.

"I'm never letting you go," Anna mumbled into Elsa's hair. She could smell the scent of winter frost, cool and clean in her nose, and breathed deep, content on just holding on to her sister. Elsa finally melted into Anna's arms, the warmth of her sister's body like sun shine on her cold skin. She loved moments like these when the two of them could just sit in companionable silence, listening to the creaks of the castle and the sound of each other's heartbeat. But things had changed again. No matter how warm or safe Elsa felt in Anna's arms there was a rift between them, old wounds resurfacing.

"I'm so sorry," Elsa choked, tears rolling from her eyes as she curled onto Anna's chest and began to cry. "Please, forgive me. I'm so, so sorry."

"For what?" Anna asked, gently raking her fingers through her sister's near white hair.

"I nearly froze you again," Elsa hiccupped.

"Nearly, but not completely," Anna smiled.

"Same difference. I broke my promise to you because I wasn't strong enough."

"Weren't strong enough? Elsa, you successfully killed two assassins in one day! You saved me from the second assassin here in your room. How the hell is that weakness?"

"I nearly killed you in the process…again. Maybe Malkof was right. Maybe I am a monster."

"Oh enough!" Anna tried to get a hand under her stubborn sister's chin, used her damaged right hand and wound up shaking it for half a minute until the stinging went away. Realizing she couldn't use either hand, her left one pinned behind Elsa, she huffed and settled on words.

"Elsa, look at me. Look at me! I'm alive because of you. End of discussion. Had the assassin killed you he'd have done the same to me; his words not mine. But you killed him and saved me."

Elsa blinked in surprise and lowered her head against her sister's chest. It was hard to shake the fear and guilt swirling around inside her, but ultimately Anna was right. Suddenly the tension seemed to leave her and she sank further into the comforting warmth of Anna's body.

Kristoff spend the rest of the evening and much of the early morning bandaging his fiancé. The burns were easier to treat, slathered with some sweat smelling salve that would take the swelling down. Elsa helped where she could, cooling Anna's knee in order to numb it and helping Kristoff smear on the burn salve. It wasn't until dawn was very nearly upon the three, gray light peeking up over the horizon, that the mountain man declared himself finished, Anna patch, and his share of excitement complete. Anna pulled him into a passionate kiss, Elsa turning away to give them privacy. She squeaked with surprise when the two pulled her into a hug, tired bodies flopped haphazardly across the now dry bed. They stayed where they'd fallen, three bodies tangled together in a comfortable warm bundle. Kristoff almost immediately drifted off to sleep at Anna's feet, his soft snoring reverberating around the room. The sisters lasted only a few minutes more before sleep finally claimed them, younger sister snuggled against older sister, both at peace in each other's arms.