Epilogue: Well Now They Know

"All aboard for Weselton!"

The crier's disembodied voice echoed to the hidden side of the dock, where rickety assemblies of cargo rested on equally rickety planks of wooden ground. Adam peered out from his hiding place among them. There were only three men guarding the ship's cargo hold, and of the three, only the leanest had his hands free of crates.

"Hurry up you two, get that freight loaded on!"

The two burlier sailors, hair a matching shade of carrot-ginger, grunted their grudging assent to the first mate. At least, Adam assumed he was the first mate - he could have been a particularly brazen cabin boy. Hard to tell much, trying to spy from a haphazard pile of crates.

"Last call! All aboard!"

Weselton. It fit the description: far away, home to a great deal of commerce and work, and devoid of a single citizen that gave a damn about one's history.

Now all he had to do was get there.

You could have sold the flute. Would've paid for five tickets.

He'd considered it. Elsa's gift was well-made: elegant, curved, full of beauty and kind sentiment. Like her. Which was exactly why he hadn't considered it for very long. He knew that he couldn't. Their time together might have been pointless, but it was also priceless. He would be a fool to think that he could pawn it off, and he'd be damned if he stole from her.

I'm a coward, not a thief, he thought. Benedikte hadn't cured his worst ailment, but he'd made an honest man of him yet.

Benedikte…

No. You are leaving. This is the only way.

Adam ground his teeth. He was angry, but he wasn't sure at what.

Better put it to good use.

The ex-stable hand peered out at the dwindling freight that remained to be loaded. There was only one large enough to contain him.

"There we go!" His eyes shot to the first mate, following his lackeys into the ship's hold with a running mouth. "If you don't have this loaded by the time all the passengers are aboard, I'll have you scrubbing the spoons until they…"

Adam toned him out, just as he imagined the "lackeys" felt compelled to do. He kept talking until he was well out of earshot, walled up within the hold with the other two.

For now.

Adam bolted onto the dock, seizing the largest crate immediately. Nights of climbing the rafters silenced his footsteps. Hours shoveling hay strengthened his fingertips enough to pry the lid of the crate free. And years of living in Arendelle's market allowed him to recognize the country's most prominent export within.

Blankets. On any other day, he might have smiled at the luck. Today, however, he felt only guilty.

He worked quickly, tossing armfuls of the pine green and violet fabrics off the dock and into the water. They floated lazily under the dock's stone embankment, drifting out of sight like shamed puppies. Soon he had a plentiful hollow of blanket-padded space, the stowaway's ideal hiding place.

Quickly. Get in.

Seconds later, and there he was. Standing idly over his only means of escape, a dog too frightened to eat its dinner.

You don't have much time! Come on, go!

Adam acknowledged the thought. It was true, but it didn't feel… right. He looked about at the dock's openness. He was standing in a sea of planks, bordered by a mountainous ship and hills of cargo. The rumble of boarding passengers was distant, unreal, on the other side of all those boxes. He was alone.

But there was one thing the ship did not block out. There, looming above the stone shore of Arendelle, above the ship's many masts, was the great spire of Castle Arendelle. Its turquoise was angrily bloodied in the morning sun, jabbing at the sky for all to see. He was neither responsible for the castle's building nor the color of the sun, but Adam felt guilted by the thing nonetheless. He wondered just how much anger lingered there now that he was gone.

Benedikte would have noticed first, of course. Elsa might have discovered that night; if not, certainly by lunch today. He hoped that she was angry, that she hated him. Not only would he deserve it, but maybe she wouldn't be sad enough to cry.

He wasn't happy that he had avoided it - he simply knew that he couldn't bear it if he did. There would be many things he could never see again: Anna's spontaneous, if creative, falls; Benedikte's amused gazes; Hans's disdainful snorts; Silver's giddy whinnies; Olaf's benign ignorance. Elsa's quivering laughter, hand uselessly held up in some effort to mask her mirth - a hand that had withheld a magic more stupendous than he could have ever imagined. Too stupendous.

"Oh, Elsa…" he murmured, naught but the ocean breeze his audience. "It's better this way. You'll see."

He felt the unwelcome warmth of tears brim in his eyes. The first mate's endless voice was getting louder, nearer. Adam took one last look at his sunlit home, shamefully warped and twisted by his tears. Then he hopped into the crate, curling as tightly into himself as possible. He reached over the edge and grabbed the lid.

It was better this way. Elsa would move on, find a wonderful prince, one that cared for her and loved her. And, one day, when she had the courage to show him, he would not be a coward.

Not like Adam Westergard.

"Elsa? I kno - I'm pretty sure you're in there."

It had only been a few weeks - too soon for Elsa to stop coming down to dinner. It had been so wonderful. Why would she ever want to stop?

This was too familiar to Anna. She wanted to scream, to force open this damn door and knock some sense into her sister.

But she didn't. She balled her fists and did her best to act like a princess. Elsa had spoken with her. She just needed to be nice and not get angry and maybe that would work. Because things were different now.

"Elsa? Please come down to dinner. It's much nicer when you're there, and Mother and Father told me that they like it when you're there too."

Did she hear a breath? "Elsa?"

Nothing. Anna felt a little breeze escape from under her sister's door. It hadn't seemed that cold out earlier tonight…

Had she jumped out the window?

"Elsa…" Anna swallowed, "Please answer me. I don't… I don't like it when you ignore me."

One second. Two seconds. Three seconds.

Silence.

Anna squeezed her eyes shut. I didn't ask for some stupid tears! She turned down the hall, back to the dining room with parents that loved her, that didn't play around with her feelings. She was fed up with stupid old-

"Anna?"

"Elsa?!" One of her braids may or may not have smacked her face as she spun. "I'm here! I mean… I'm here. What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry… I was asleep." Something was different about her voice. It sounded hoarse, like her throat was skipping every other letter. "I don't think I can come to dinner tonight. I'm not feeling well."

"...Oh." Anna bit her lip. Elsa wasn't feeling well! Of course! What else could it have been? "Do you… do you want me to get you anything? I can bring your plate up if you want!"

A pause. "Thank you, Anna. I'm… I'm just not hungry right now. Maybe tomorrow night."

"O-okay," was all she managed to come up with. "You sure you don't want anything?"

"Yes." Another breeze, stronger this time, assaulted Anna's feet.

"You shouldn't keep the window open, if you're cold you can't-"

"I'm fine, Anna." The phrase was punctuated by another gust. A pulsing ache suddenly ricocheted through Anna's skull, causing her to wince and back away from the door.

Then, it was gone, like a dream. Anna removed her hand from her forehead, now able to see the monolithic door in its entirety. Suddenly, she wanted to cry again, only she couldn't. What would Elsa think of that?

"Alright, then… I'll leave you alone," she murmured, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear as she walked down the hall. "Feel better."

She was too far down the stairs by the time Elsa replied.

"Thank you, Anna."

Days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months, and months turned into years, but Elsa never came down to dinner again. Anna was angry at first, then sad, and then, as she always had been, forgiving. Life went on in Castle Arendelle much as it once had. The new stable master was not nearly as kind as Benedikte had been, always seeming bothered by her. Anna eventually stopped riding the horses. She asked Kai why Benedikte and Adam left; he only ever said that it was their business, and their business alone.

Anna never thought to ask her parents the same question, and it was not long before she no longer had the chance. A simple visit to the nation of Corona quickly turned disastrous, and the princesses of Arendelle found themselves suddenly alone in the world. Only they knew, however, just how alone that was.

Anna mostly healed, doing what she could to stay busy. She forgot Elsa's promise to come down, instead choosing the engage in other, healthier efforts - namely roof climbing and, overhearing the kitchen staff on the lunacy of the idea, skinny-dipping by the castle's rocky foundation. Gerda had not found it as courageous as she did.

But Elsa did not forget that promise. It burdened her every day. Her powers, ever a barrier, never did calm down after Adam left. Almost every day she wondered: why? She just needed to hear it from him. But whenever her mind strayed down that path, the ice followed. Sometimes it happened every hour; as the years drew on, she occasionally managed not to think about it for a whole day. But she never forgot, even on her birthday. Especially on her birthday. So Elsa toughed it out, avoiding everyone she could, for the next four birthdays.

Unfortunately, she did not have that privilege on the fifth.

"And so I grab him by the shoulder and tell him that we have to make haste, the summit is in twenty minutes! But he tells us the summit is right here, in the pub!" Cornelio explained, glancing at Jean as he related their story.

"Naturally, we are beside ourselves," Jean chimed in, his French accent reminding her of a leaf in the wind - zipping from this word to that, stirred to great passion on some syllables and almost ignoring the rest. "How do you convince an Irishman to abandon his beer and put on his pants?"

Elsa smiled, pretending to listen to their story with greater interest than she had available. Nothing matched the combined zeal of storytellers and champagne. Her thoughts, however, were with Anna.

"I wish it could be this way all the time."

"Me too…. but it can't."

"Well… why not? I mean-"

"It just can't!"

It's not even her fault. What kind of queen are you if you can't even-

"Let me just, uh, get around you there…"

The newly crowned queen raised her eyebrows slightly, glancing over her shoulder to confirm that it was, in fact, Anna. Her sister though it was, indelicately weaving her way through the crowd, Elsa was most surprised to find that she was not alone. A tall man with crisply combed hair and a white jacket trailed behind, a smile fit for the gallery lightening his face. Prince, no doubt about that.

Elsa turned back to the gentlemen engaging her.

"It seems my sister has need of me," she said, offering an apologetic smile. "I would love to hear the rest of your story later tonight?"

The men glanced between one another, more than a bit disappointed.

"But of course, Your Majesty," Jean acceded, dropping with Cornelio into a slight bow. "Until later, then."

Elsa smiled, nodding her consent before turning to her sister.

"Elsa!" Anna practically halted as soon as their eyes met, dropping into a placating courtsey. "I mean, Queen, me again, uh…" She looked back at the prince, who stepped up to take her arm as if on cue. "May I present Prince Hansof the Southern Isles."

Elsa and Hans exchanged nods of acknowledgment, all very well and formal and polite. What followed, however, was not exactly par for the course.

"Your Majesty…" Hans added, dropping into a proper bow. "We wou-"

"We would like…" The two of them paused, stumbling into one another's sentences, and Elsa could not help but smile. Anna deserved to meet someone like this.

"Your blessing…"

If they began courting, she might even find a way out of this life.

"Of our marriage!"

WHAT? "M-marriage?!" she sputtered. Did they hear themselves?

Anna's reply was a poorly-concealed squeak. "Yes!"

Okay, they did. That was even worse. She stalled for time.

"I'm sorry, I'm confused…"

"Well, we haven't worked out all the details ourselves-"

Anna.

"We'll need a few days to plan the ceremony-"

You want.

"Of course we'll have soup, roast, and ice cream-"

To get married.

"Wait - would we live here?"

"Here?!" Elsa's thoughts could stand the silence no longer.

"Absolutely!" Hans chimed in.

Oh no…

"Anna…"

Elsa tried to get a word in, to slow all this down, but Anna was already on the next level.

"Oh, we can invite all twelve of your brothers to stay with us!"

"What? No, nononono-"

"Of course we have the room, I don't know if some of them have-"

Okay. Enough.

"Anna, wait. Slow down."

Her sister looked at her as if she'd forgotten that she was even there. To an extent, she didn't feel she had the right to intrude now, of all times. But it was obvious that someone had to.

"Nobody's brothers are staying here, nobody is getting married."

Anna's eyes relaxed, growing wider, if still confused. She took a step forward, and Elsa felt her heart quicken. "Wait, what?"

Oh no. Elsa knew what followed that feeling. She looked at Anna, at Hans. His hair was brownish red, terracotta. No.

This had to stop. Anna had to know where this path led. Where it had led her.

"May I talk to you, please? Alone?"

Elsa tried to give Anna the most communicative look she could. This was urgent. This was not about Hans.

Anna missed it.

"No…" Anna retreated from her, finding solace once again on Hans's arm. Her choice was him. "Whatever you have to say, you can say to both of us."

And what should she have expected? Years of ignoring, unfulfilled promises. What chance did she now stand against this man, who gave her sister hope of a better life than she could ever provide?

Fair enough. Maybe Anna was right about her. But she was not right about Hans. Elsa stood as tall as she could, determined to be, if a sister was impossible, a queen.

"Fine." Her body rebelled, telling her not to be calm. This time, however, she was its master. She would not let it overtake her tonight. "You can't marry a man you just met."

Anna resisted, gripping Hans tighter. "You can if it's true love."

"Anna, what do you know about true love?"

"More than you." Elsa wavered, stung. Her heart rate increased, incensed by memories of gifts given, secrets passed, lessons taught. A kiss shared. "All you know is how to shut people out!"

Elsa swallowed. No. She was wrong. She'd known love, been loved. And lost it.

Her emotions were fighting harder. Her hands were cold. She couldn't do this.

"Y-you asked for my blessing, but my answer is no," she managed. Keep it together. "Now... excuse me…" Conceal, don't feel…

She started heading for the door, ignoring everything about the couple before her. Don't go too fast, don't let anyone notice…

"Your Majesty, if I may ease your-"

"No!" She regretted the snapping at Hans the instant it escaped. The ameliorating tone she tried to employ after did little to help. "You may not, and I-I think you should go."

Josef was standing vigilantly behind them. She had never been so relieved to see a guard.

"The party is over," she said, having not the heart to look up from the floor. "Close the gates."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

She was closer to the door now. Once she got there, she could have peace. No stories from Cornelio and Jean, no ludicrous marriages from Anna. Just her and her memories, the good and the bad, like every other birthday.

"What?! Elsa, no no - wait!"

Anna's voice seemed so distant already; it was a shock when her sister's hand latched onto hers. Elsa gasped as her glove slipped away in Anna's fingers.

Your glove.

Her skin prickled at the unfamiliar embrace of air. She recalled the last time she had felt it, forming a snowball in her hands, widening the eyes of another terracotta-haired-

No! "Give me my glove!" she snapped, desperately reaching out for Anna's prisoner. The younger girl retreated, blind to the surging storm in her sister's heart.

"Elsa please, please! I can't live like this anymore!"

It stopped. Skipped a beat, overtaken by a handful of simple remembered words.

I can't do this. I am so sorry.

Slowly, of their own accord, Elsa's hands retreated from Anna. They curled into her stomach, trying to hold it all in. In that moment of painful serenity, Elsa found her words.

"Then… leave."

Like he did.

Anna's posture changed. Her eyes grew wide, hurt. Why did she have to make that face? Hadn't all these years been about not hurting her?

Enough. She was through. She couldn't be the one to hurt Anna after sacrificing everything not to.

Not that she had anything left to sacrifice.

Elsa turned toward the door, arms bundled in front of her like she was ill.

"What did I ever do to you?!"

All of their voices rebounded in her skull.

What did I ever do to you?! Just tell me that, and I will go away forever!

You'll be fine, Elsa.

Goodbye, Elsa…

I can't do this. I am so sorry.

"Enough, Anna," she managed. She could barely speak without her voice trembling, keep her eyes open without shedding tears.

They'd all left. She didn't care if Anna married Hans. It was better this way. It was better if they all left. If they all joined Benedikte and Adam and her mother and father. They were all better off without her.

"No, why? Why do you shut me out? why do you shut the world out?" Anna's voice rose in volume, the second time she had shouted at her in all her life. "What are you so AFRAID of?!"

Elsa spun around, and for a second she saw them. Mother and Father, cautionary and forbidding. Anna, only thirteen, angry and kicking her door. Benedikte, so weary and pitying. And, for a second, Hans wasn't a prince: he was a stable boy, a bit shorter, hair longer, eyes wide with fear.

You're alone.

So she shouted at all of them, even that nasty, nasty demon in her head.

"I said ENOUGH!"

The air filled with spiky crackling. A wall of icicles exploded to life right before her eyes, jabbing the patrons back, demanding that she be left in peace. She didn't even feel the magic, it just happened, and for a second she wondered if someone else had done it.

Sadly, if it had, they wouldn't all be looking at her.

Elsa stared at her bare hand, betrayed. It still glimmered with a few faint traces of magic. She could feel all their eyes on her, wide with shock and fear. She looked up at Hans, far cry from a stable hand, thought with a familiar lack of warmth in those widened eyes. Anna, stunned finally into silence, the pleading look still on her face, forgotten. Elsa couldn't look too long at that. Maybe Anna was better off without her, but she couldn't be afraid of her. She couldn't.

But then, the only person she had shown had been afraid. Even when she'd thought it impossible, he ran away. The damage had never unraveled, never gotten beyond his confidence. But Adam hadn't failed to see the monster that she was.

And now, everyone knew.

I've had gaps. I've had hiatuses. But finally, we are done! If this story seems sad, don't forget the movie that follows it!

It's been a great experience writing this story. It's been a test of my ability to stick to a project, but I couldn't leave you guys hanging forever.

Thank you to everyone that took the time to leave reviews. Whether they were short or long, they gave me a reason to keep writing.

If you want more, check out the other Frozen story on my author page. The Ice God is a continuation of the movie, albeit covering very different themes from this story. I have some plot restructuring to do for that, but I will be updating again as soon as that is done. Check it out if you wish!

Thanks again for reading, everyone. Oh, and have a happy Halloween!