A/N: Hey everyone! This is the last chapter for this story. Please let me know what you think. I do have plans for a sequel if people are interested, but life is kind of crazy, so I need to know there is interest before I commit the time. Thanks so much again for reading. You guys are awesome.

Chapter 10 – Contented Fugitives

Elsa quickly rose from her rock and went to stand by Anna as the older woman approached them both. "I'm Elinor," the woman said, offering a hand to shake and smirking as she noticed the subtle way Elsa was shielding Anna. Elsa took it and shook it firmly, and Elinor was not surprised to find it on the colder side of normal. Anna grinned and stuck out her own hand as soon as Elinor had released Elsa's, and Elinor smiled at Anna as she took it. Apparently the young lady's innate friendliness had not been overstated. "My Merida informed me that you two were in need of a good place to hide, so I am here to show you to the Woordcarver's hut," she explained.

"Merida?" Elsa questioned.

"Ah, yes. I forgot about all the pomp and circumstance and code names of the illustrious Campus," Elinor said with wry exasperation. "I believe you ladies would know her as 'Bear-Scotty', even though she hates that codename almost as much as she hates the State."

Anna brightened at hearing the codename. "You're Bear-Scotty's mom!" she said excitedly. "She's told us so much about you, and I'm so happy to meet you. I'm Anna."

Elinor smiled at the enthusiasm and the easily-offered first name. From what she had been told by Merida, Anna was born Plebian and shouldn't have had a first name. It meant the young lady had given it to herself and it spoke to her personality and spunk. "Very nice to meet you, Anna," Elinor replied sincerely. "And who might you be, lass?" she asked Elsa, curious to how she would respond.

"Depends on who you talk to, but isn't it obvious?" Elsa replied, sarcastically blunt. Anna gave her a chiding look, and Elsa sighed. "I'm Elsa, or so my Apprentice keeps insisting," she said, giving Anna a look that was a cross between smitten and annoyed.

Elinor smirked but didn't comment further about names. "Very nice to meet you as well, Elsa," she said. "Now I think we should get you two somewhere less exposed." She reached into the bag she was carrying and drew out two dark brown cloaks, handing one to each of the young ladies. Anna took hers and gratefully put it on; apparently autumn meant freezing cold in Dunbroch. Elsa looked at hers and tried to hand it back to Elinor.

"I'm okay without this," Elsa said. "The cold doesn't bother me."

"That may well be true, lass, but it's not the cold I'm worried about," Elinor said wryly, pushing the cloak back towards her. "I'm more concerned that the outfit you have on might be a wee bit conspicuous to any Enforcers or State drones that might be patrolling these woods. Especially you two are the two most wanted fugitives in the State at the moment and everyone who has a screen saw you in that outfit."

Elsa glanced down at herself and winced; Elinor had a very good point. Elsa put the cloak around her shoulders and ice blue and white disappeared under much more camouflaging dark brown. "Much better, dear," Elinor stated with satisfaction. "Now I better be getting my own camouflage on." She turned her back to them, and Elsa and Anna's eyebrows rose as she stripped off the dress she was wearing and put it in her bag, leaving her with no other clothing on. The younger ladies both blushed and turned away, but when they turned back, there was no longer a woman but a large brown bear.

Elsa chuckled, shaking her head. "I guess 'Mama-Bear' wasn't just a codename," she mused. The bear huffed in a way that resembled laughter, but didn't say anything further. "You can't talk in this form?" Elsa asked, after a couple of moments passed and there were still no words forthcoming. The bear shook her head in an unmistakable "no". "Then why could Mulan?" she wondered aloud.

"Simple: dragons are mythological; bears are real," Anna answered distractedly, staring at Bear-Elinor with a delighted smile.

"Mulan seemed pretty real," Elsa countered.

Anna turned her attention from Elinor to Elsa, and Elsa knew she was close to getting in trouble. She didn't care though; she loved debating things with Anna. "What I meant was that since dragons are mythological, they can have whatever biology the mythos sees fit," Anna explained, her eyes warning Elsa to let her finish. "Bears are real creatures with documented biological features. Vocal cords capable of speech aren't one of them."

Elsa considered the argument. It was pretty sound considering that they were discussing transmogrificatied Extraordinaries whose biology was poorly understood anyway. But she would never let Anna have the last word, so she opened her mouth to counter. Her retort was stopped by an annoyed growl from Elinor, whose emphatic pointing paw indicated that they needed to be going. "We'll continue this later," she whispered to Anna.

"And I'll be ready," Anna replied with a cheeky grin. Ahead of them, Elinor shook her head and continued walking, leading them into the dense forest.

Even though Elinor was non-vocal in her current incarnation, Anna kept up a lively conversation with her as they travelled farther away from the stream and into the interior of the forest. Just by using yes or no questions, she managed to find out that Merida/Bear-Scotty could in fact transform into a bear like her mother, that the bear thing seemed to be genetic like Elsa's cryokinesis, that the bear thing had been in the family for generations, and that Elinor was married to a big, burly guy who looked a lot like a male Merida but who had no powers of his own. Though amazed by the amount of information Anna had managed to extract in such a short amount of time from a mute bear, Elsa was not the least bit surprised. Anna had a knack for disarming people into spilling their secrets. "Leader really should have made you an interrogator instead of a tech spy," Elsa teased when the one-sided conversation died down.

"She thought about it," Anna admitted, embarrassed but not offended. "But ultimately she decided we needed someone in Architecture more. I'm really glad she went with that choice."

"Even after everything?" Elsa asked hesitantly.

"Even though we're following an Extraordinary bear through the woods and the State is hunting us down to execute us," Anna confirmed cheerfully, and Elsa smiled because she knew Anna meant it.

"I'm really glad she went with that choice too," Elsa admitted, reaching out and wrapping Anna in her arms. Anna smiled and snuggled into her before giving her a heartfelt, passionate kiss.

"Well, it's good to know that your rescue wasn't just a stunt to piss off the Patricians," Elinor commented with amusement. Elsa and Anna quickly broke apart and blushed as Elinor, now back to human form and dressed, smiled at them. "We're here, lasses," she said, pointing at the cottage in the clearing.

They pushed further into the clearing, and the ramshackle building that greeted them made Elsa's eyebrow arch in disdain. She usually wasn't this judgmental, but the sagging roof, the wide gaps between the planks and the other signs of poor construction coupled with disrepair made the Architect within her cringe. Before she could help it, she was mentally devising ways to repair and improve it. Elinor caught her expression and chuckled. "It's not what's on the outside that counts, lass," she said, turning an old-fashioned key and unlocking the door. They all went inside, but instead of being in the cabin proper, they were in a hallway that extended to both the right and left. Since the cottage was circular, Elsa reasoned that the hallway was one large circle and that going right or left would still bring them back to the front door.

"So the outer building is camouflage," Elsa surmised.

"Aye, that it is," Elinor confirmed. "The broken-down fixer-upper façade, together with its isolated location, has kept this cabin safe since it was built." She went left down the hallway until she came to another door, this one about 180 degrees from the first one. This door was much more sophisticated than the other one, however, and a simple key would not suffice. Elinor placed her hand on the panel and after it was scanned, a menu popped up. Elinor punched a few keys and then reached for Anna's left hand, placing it flat on the panel. The computer scanned it and peeped, and Elinor put her hand up again to confirm the new print was to be accepted for entry. The menu popped up again, and again Elinor put in the correct sequence. Figuring Elsa would prefer not to be touched, Elinor did not grab her hand, but instead just indicated the panel. Elsa put her left hand up, her print was scanned and the panel peeped. Once again, Elinor put her hand up to confirm and Elsa's print was accepted. Elinor let the panel go dark and then reached for Anna's hand again, placing it flat on the glass. It was scanned and the door slid open smoothly.

"I see we don't get the menu option," Elsa observed.

"That's mostly to keep everyone safe," Elinor replied. "Leader trusts the both of you wholeheartedly, but…"

"…sometimes the fewer people that know something the better," Anna finished, having heard this particular rationale many times before.

Elinor smiled. "Exactly," she said. "Anyway, welcome to your temporary home," she stated, leading them through the inner door. "There are hooks by the door to hang your cloaks."

The inner building turned out to be octagonal, not round, and the doorway opened up into what could be considered to be the dining room. The kitchen stood off to its right and was stocked with the normal appliances like a refrigerator, oven, stove and dishwasher, while the living room complete with couch, recliner and fireplace branched off to the dining room's left. A hallway with five doors started at the entryway and went past the kitchen, and Elsa assumed that these were bedrooms and/or bathrooms. Another door stood at the other end of the living room and Elsa's architect eye told her the space beyond this completed the octagon. With its size, Elsa hypothesized that it could be the master bedroom suite.

"This is really big for two people," Anna said, looking around and loving the rustic esthetic as she and Elsa took off their cloaks and hung them up. She disliked the lack of windows but understood the reasons for their absence, and the skylights present throughout the cottage would let sunlight in once it crested the trees.

"That's because it's built to fit twelve," Elinor retorted good-naturedly. "This cottage is supposed to be the headquarters of the revolution when it happens, so it has enough space for the entire Philosophy Club." Elinor paused to think, and a smirk broke out. "Well it did until Elsa joined, that is. I guess Leader just assumed that she would be sleeping with you," she teased, and Anna smiled cheekily as Elsa colored slightly, knowing it was true. "Speaking of sleeping arrangements, let's show you to where I put your things," she said, crossing the dining and living rooms to the door on the other side. Elsa and Anna followed.

Elinor opened the door and went in, Elsa and Anna still following. Two pairs of eyes swept the room, finding a bed, closet, typical bedroom furniture and two more doors. "The door on the left leads to the attached bathroom and the door on the right leads to all of the technology like the alarms, the communication grid, the climate control and the desktop computer," Elinor explained. "There two tablets in the top drawer of the desk in there that are fully connected to the State feed so that you can stay abreast of what's going on in the big wide world. Leader may contact you on those, and you can definitely use them to contact her or me should you need to, but be careful to use the proper frequencies so the State can't trace them back to here." Elsa and Anna nodded.

Elinor walked over and opened the closet, revealing their clothes neatly hung up and the cases they came from neatly stacked up on the bottom. "I thought you two might be exhausted, and it's been a while since I had someone to mother, so I unpacked for you," she explained, looking tentatively at Elsa and Anna because she was not sure if she had overstepped her bounds. "Your other clothes are in the dresser."

Elsa didn't look thrilled, but Anna looked at the clothes, looked at Elinor and then unexpectedly crossed the bedroom floor to wrap the older woman in a hug. "Thank you," Anna said sincerely, hugging her tightly. "I've always wanted a mom, so I have no problems being your surrogate kid."

Elinor hugged her back. "You're welcome, Anna," she said warmly. Releasing her, she went to the bathroom door. "There was something else I unpacked and put in here for safe keeping, but I think it's safe to completely unpack it now," she said, opening the door.

Anna and Elsa waited, expecting Elinor to retrieve something, but Elinor did not go in. Instead she retreated to the far side of the bedroom and leaned up against the doorframe leading to the living room. They looked in the bathroom, curious as to what might be in there, when suddenly a white blur came barreling out of his hiding place in the tub and starting winding himself around Anna's ankles and purring.

"Olaf!" Anna exclaimed, kneeling down to pick him up. "What are you doing here, sweet boy?" she asked rhetorically, cuddling him as she stood up.

"Ask her," Elinor said, indicating Elsa but keeping a safe distance from the clawed demon that was none too friendly with her yesterday. "She put him in a pet carrier and put a crown sticker on it."

Anna looked at Elsa, and Elsa shrugged. "You said you were going to be living with the both of us soon," she explained nonchalantly. "I just wanted to make sure both of us were here."

Hearing this, Anna carefully set Olaf on the bed, wrapped her arms around Elsa and kissed her thoroughly, leaving Elsa a bit dazed. "You are the worst Ice Queen ever," Anna said happily.

Elsa was taken aback, but then realized Anna's meaning. "Only when you are around, Apprentice," she admitted resignedly.

Anna smiled at her, but her response was cut off by an emphatic "Shoo!" from Elinor. She and Elsa both turned to find Olaf sitting in front of Elinor and Elinor eyeing him warily. Olaf ignored the "Shoo!" and came closer, and though it was obvious that Elinor wanted to flee, to her credit she stood her ground. Olaf hesitated briefly but then started rubbing himself against her legs. "Oh, now you're nice to me, you wee beast," she muttered. "Yesterday you were all claws and hissing." Olaf stopped his rubbing to look up at her, and she begrudgingly and very cautiously bent down to pet him. He accepted her ear scratch happily and then went back to his favorite human.

"I'm sorry he was a pain yesterday," Anna apologized, knowing that Elsa was unlikely to do so.

"Eh, he was probably just scared," Elinor said, dismissing the incident with a smile. "Well, I think we've seen the important things in here. Would you like a tour of the kitchen?"

"Yes, please," Anna said, and Elsa looked at her with a speculative eyebrow. "What?" she challenged. "I put the dry ingredients together okay, didn't I?" Elsa didn't comment but raised the eyebrow higher. "Fine," Anna huffed, "I'm a little hungry."

Elsa and Elinor both chuckled at that, and the three of them left the bedroom with Olaf trailing at their feet. Once in the kitchen, Elinor opened a few cabinets, showing them where the dishes and utensils were before showing them the pantry. "When Merida told me that you lasses were coming, I made sure to stock up on the essentials," Elinor said. "When this runs out or if you need anything else, just let me know and I can buy it and deliver it for you."

"We can't ask that much of you," Elsa said, embarrassed. "Is there any way we can go ourselves?"

"Not right now, lass, no," Elinor said firmly. "There is an obscene bounty on your heads at the moment, and even though most in Dunbroch support the revolution, the temptation to turn either of you in would be far too great."

"Speaking of money, even if we could go, we wouldn't have anything to pay with, Master," Anna reminded Elsa, so used to using Elsa's former title in front of other people that the thought didn't even cross her mind that it was obsolete.

"Well, that's not exactly true,"Elinor replied. "Leader had your computer geek guy reroute your both of your bank accounts into a new, secret account. You won't be earning any more, but you do still have what you had."

"So we can pay you for what you bring us," Elsa stated, relieved.

"Well, if it makes you feel better and you want to, lass, but it's really not necessary," Elinor shrugged.

"We'll figure it out later," Anna announced suddenly, sensing a stand-off borne of politeness brewing. Elsa and Elinor glared politely at each other for a moment but looked towards Anna as she opened the refrigerator. She glanced around at the fully-stocked shelves, but one thing on the top shelf caught her eye and she stared at it for a few moments. Just as Elsa was about to ask her what was wrong, Anna reached for it and drew a familiar pink box out of the refrigerator.

"I didn't put a crown sticker on that, Apprentice," Elsa assured her when Anna looked at her questioningly.

Anna glanced at the top of the box and saw a short, handwritten note there. "Dear Ginger and Morgan," it said. "We were raiding Morgan's fridge and this hadn't been touched. We thought you might like a surprise in your new place, so we packed it up along with the cat someone put a crown sticker on. (You owe us for that one, Morgan!) Love you guys, Blondie."

"I swear you lot are the nicest collection of rebels I've ever met," Elinor muttered with a roll of her eyes.

"Brains, not brawn, Mama-Bear," Anna replied cheerfully as she put the cheesecake back in the refrigerator and shut the door.

"So it would seem," Elinor agreed readily, but then looked at Elsa. "Except for this one here," she pointed out with a wry grin. "Defeating three squadrons of Enforcers all by yourself seems like a decent show of force. I appreciate you being gentle with Merida, by the way."

"You defeated three squadrons after you froze me?" Anna asked Elsa, and Elsa nodded and blushed. Anna sighed. "Now I'm really annoyed I was in the sphere and couldn't see anything," she pouted.

"Oh, no worries there, Anna," Elinor reassured her. "I'm sure the State has already altered the tape to make you lasses look bad by now, but the unedited video is on those tablets in the bedroom. Leader disseminated that as quickly and widely as she could."

"Why would she do that?" Elsa asked, annoyed. "Doesn't it put both of us more at risk because people will recognize us easier?"

"Not really," Elinor answered. "Everyone was forced to watch it live anyway, and the State will be broadcasting its version of the events, so I would think that most in the State would be able to recognize you two regardless. No, she is broadcasting the real tape because it's the best recruitment video the Rebellion ever had."

"How so?" Elsa asked, puzzled.

Elinor looked at Elsa like she had just asked the oddest question in the world, but Elsa's face told Elinor it had been an honest inquiry. "Well, lass, let's break it down, shall we?" she asked when the puzzled face remained. "This State is run on fear and the people don't rebel because they are afraid. What they saw, though, was one of the State's most respected Plebes completely disregarding this fear and openly challenging the Patricians on their own stage. Then, after threat of arrest, they saw this Plebe defy the Patricians even further by freezing off her State uniform, showing her utter contempt for the State by obliterating one of the most prominent symbols of it and revealing she was an infamous Extraordinary. Then she showed the people the Patricians and the Enforcers were human by nearly killing the most powerful people in the world and then taking out three squads of their goons."

"But I was just trying to save Anna," Elsa protested.

"And that's the best part," Elinor assured her. "It wasn't some self-aggrandizing stunt. You did it for love. More specifically, you did it because the State was trying to take your love away from you. The State forced you to rebel against it, showing everyone that even the finest Citizens can have their breaking point."

Elsa took all that in and realized to her dismay that Elinor was right. "I don't want to be a symbol," she said quietly.

"No one ever does, lass," Elinor said sympathetically. "But at least you have a devoted partner and a place to hide for a while. Maybe it will all blow over and you'll live out your days in peace." All three of the women in the room looked at each other, knowing how very unlikely that outcome was, but at least the hope was there. After a moment, Elinor roused herself and glanced at the clock. "Well, I need to be getting back, lasses, and you two are probably exhausted," she said with a warm smile. "I'll leave you two to your rest, and I'll come by in a few days to see how you are doing."

Anna went to Elinor without hesitation and gave her a hug. "Thank you for everything, Mama-Bear," Anna said warmly.

"Ah, you're welcome, Anna; it is always nice to help out any friends of my Merida," Elinor said, returning the hug before releasing her.

"Yes, thank you for all of this, Elinor," Elsa added. "I don't know where we'd be without everyone's help."

"You're welcome, too, lass," Elinor replied. "Now get some sleep, the both of you," she ordered good-naturedly as she left the outside door key on a hook and walked out the inner door into the hallway.

The door slid shut, leaving the cottage in a welcome silence. Finally alone, Elsa and Anna looked at each other for a few seconds before Anna nearly bowled Elsa over with the ferocity of her embrace. "You are amazing, gorgeous and I love you, but if you ever do anything that dangerous again, even if it is to save me, the Pillars help me but I will kill you myself!" Anna choked out, the tears coming down in torrents onto Elsa's Ice Queen uniform. Now that they were safe and alone, the emotional upheaval of the last three days was finally catching up to Anna it seemed, and Elsa just hoped she could be the ballast that Anna needed. Elsa said nothing but let her lover cry, holding her close and soothing Anna the best that she could.

Thinking they might be more comfortable sitting, Elsa gently guided them over to the couch and sat them down, her arms never letting go of Anna. Anna's grip on her didn't loosen either, and they sank into the couch together. Elsa continued to hold and soothe Anna, whispering words of encouragement and gently rubbing her back. Anna continued to cry, the cathartic action releasing all of the pent-up terror and uncertainty of the last two days. Eventually her tears slowed and stopped, but Elsa continued her ministrations until Anna loosened her grip and looked up. "I didn't mean to yell at you about saving me," Anna apologized as she sniffled. "I really do prefer being alive to being dead."

"Well, I would hope so," Elsa replied with a small smile. "And please stop apologizing," she ordered gently. "In the last two days you were arrested, nearly executed, frozen internally, thawed out and transported into a completely new life. I would be more worried if you didn't have any kind of emotional reaction."

Anna looked at her, and Elsa gave her an encouraging smile. Anna smiled back. "I love you so much," she said as her arms tightened and she nearly squeezed the life out of Elsa.

Elsa wheezed and Anna slackened her grip a bit, but she didn't let go. Elsa kissed her forehead. "I love you, too, Anna," she said contentedly as they sat on the couch together.

Eventually the peaceful quiet and the lack of sleep caught up with Elsa and she started to drift off. Anna noticed and chuckled, shaking her drowsy protector gently before Elsa could completely conk out. "Come on, love," Anna prodded, and Elsa grumbled a bit in protest before getting up and following her to their new bedroom. After Anna had gotten rid of her own boots and socks, she pounced on Elsa, her nimble fingers found the zipper to Elsa's uniform and she unzipped it before sliding it off of Elsa's body. Her mouth quirked into a smirk when she noticed that Elsa was not wearing anything underneath it. "I think I like this uniform even more now," Anna said appreciatively as she hung the uniform up in their closet.

Elsa smirked in return and crossed over the bedroom floor, wrapping her arms around Anna and snuggling into her back. "You can thank some anonymous members of the Philosophy Club," Elsa said as she started kissing the back of Anna's ear, causing Anna to shiver. "Although speaking of uniforms, I think it's time we got rid of this one," she said, turning Anna around and grasping the lapels of her Architecture uniform. Before Anna could protest, Elsa sent a wave of ice through the fabric, obliterating the jacket and pants and leaving Anna clad only in the still-useful-in-their-new-life turtleneck and Elsa's underwear. "Much better," she purred, lifting the turtleneck over Anna's head and tossing it aside before unclasping the bra underneath and tossing that too. Just as Elsa went to kiss her now-exposed neck, Anna put up her hands and gently pushed Elsa back.

"No," she stated firmly, and Elsa looked at her in pouty shock. "You were falling asleep on the couch five minutes ago and for good reason, probably. You haven't slept since I spent the night at your quarters, have you?" Anna asked pointedly. Elsa looked chagrined and Anna had her answer. "Yeah, I didn't think so," Anna retorted. "We are going to sleep now."

"Yes, Master," Elsa sassed with a smile, a little disappointed but willing to be compliant because Anna was right about her being completely exhausted. Anna smiled and grabbed her hand, and less than a minute later, they were snuggled under the covers in each other's arms. They felt the vibration as Olaf jumped up on the bed to join them and after he had settled down, the three of them fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Feeling light taps on her nose, Anna begrudgingly woke up, forcing her eyes to open. She had no idea what time it actually was, but she didn't care; neither she nor Elsa had any place to be anymore. Elsa was wrapped around her still completely asleep, and Anna smiled. She looked up at Olaf, who meowed hopefully, and she sighed, carefully removing Elsa's arms so she could go feed the persistent cat. To her surprise, Elsa started crying softly in her sleep and her arms reached out for Anna. "No," Elsa whimpered. "You can't take her away from me. Please don't take her away from me."

Anna's heart broke; apparently she wasn't the only one still processing the last few days. "Shhh, love," she soothed, leaning over to whisper in Elsa's ear and stroke her hair. "No one has taken me away. I'm still right here. I'm just getting up to feed our spoiled-brat cat."

Elsa visibly relaxed, and her restless movements stopped along with her crying. "Pain-in-the-ass cat," she mumbled into the pillow as Anna's gentle touch combing through her hair soothed her and put her back to sleep. Anna smiled, and when she was sure Elsa was content, Anna kissed her softly before getting out of bed. She went into the bathroom to retrieve Olaf's food dish, figuring since Elinor had put him in there for safekeeping, she would probably have put his food dish in there too. She had, so Anna scooped the empty dish off the rug and padded into the kitchen with Olaf close behind her.

Anna had to open a few cabinets before she found it, but Elinor had been kind enough to think of Olaf and a bag of cat food rested in one of the lower cupboards. She poured some in Olaf's bowl and left him to eat, returning to the bedroom. Elsa was still sleeping peacefully, but Anna was now too awake to join her, so she went to the dresser and rummaged around for some clothes. After spying and retrieving something she liked, she pulled her on new-favorite Arendelle Academy t-shirt and shorts set and went into the adjoining office. She retrieved one of the tablets from the desk and returned to the bedroom proper, settling herself in bed beside Elsa to read.

"THE 'ICE QUEEN' TERRORIST IDENTIFIED!" screamed the headline of the State news website she opened. "PATRICIANS' BRILLIANT GAMBIT TO LURE HER OUT SUCCEEDS BUT ENFORCERS FAIL TO CAPTURE HER!" was the follow up. "Brilliant gambit, my ass," Anna muttered. "They had no idea I was the Ice Queen's girlfriend. Those stuck-up idiots got lucky and then were too stupid to use me as leverage. Instead all they did was piss off my Elsa and look where that got them," she boasted quietly, frowning as she scrolled.

"Why are you talking to yourself and hurling quiet epithets at the tablet?" Elsa inquired sleepily.

Anna looked over to see Elsa stretching. "I'm sorry, love," Anna apologized. "I wasn't trying to wake you."

"S'okay," Elsa slurred, still waking up. "You're kind of cute when you talk to yourself." Anna smiled at her and Elsa sat up against the headboard, scooting closer to look at what Anna was reading. Forcing her eyes to focus, she read the story and snorted in derision. "Yeah, they were planning to lure out the Ice Queen; what a load of utter bullshit," she stated.

"And now you know why I was talking to the tablet," Anna told her cheerfully and Elsa chuckled. Anna scrolled through a few more websites, but they all pretty much said the same thing, so she closed the browser. She scanned the home screen, seeing if there was anything else that caught her interest when she spotted something labeled "Morgan's Party". She clicked it, and it turned out to be a video. When she hit play, the Campus Square came into focus and Anna realized this was the video of her own execution.

Both of the women watched silently as the events they had just lived through unfolded before them. It was odd watching themselves, but it was nice, too, as they got to see the reactions of the Patricians and the crowd as certain things happened. Anna chuckled at the look of disbelief that all of the Patricians wore when Elsa stood up, and she laughed harder when that disbelief turned to shock when Elsa's true identity was revealed. "Didn't know what fury you'd unleashed, did you?" she mocked and Elsa shook her head, blushing a little at Anna's delight.

They continued to watch, seeing Anna save the Patricians' ungrateful lives before Elsa froze her heart to put her in the ice sphere. Anna finally got to see how magnificent Elsa had been in her fight with the Enforcers before she had rushed back to the stage to thaw Anna out. At this point, though, Anna grew thoughtful and she paused the video, turning to look at Elsa. "What would have happened if you hadn't gotten back to me in time?" she asked, curious.

"I don't know," Elsa admitted after she had thought it over. "It would depend on why I didn't reach you. If it was because I had died, family legend says my powers die with me and so you would have thawed out and the sphere would have melted. It's a legend though, so I don't know if it's true. If I had just been captured, then you would have frozen solid, but because I froze you out of love, you might have started thawing out anyway. You would have had issues with hypothermia then, though."

Anna studied Elsa, her face unreadable for once, as she pieced everything together. "I know you too well to believe that you would freeze me without knowing there could be unforeseen complications. Why did you still freeze me, Elsa?" she asked quietly.

Elsa looked at Anna, her heart sinking as Anna asked the one question that Elsa had never wanted to answer. Yes, she had known of the uncertainties of freezing Anna, but she still made the choice to do so for one selfish reason. She had just been fortunate that she had made it back in time, and her selfish choice hadn't mattered. She had to be truthful now, though; she had to tell Anna of her selfishness, even if it did end up costing her everything. "I mostly did it for the reason I told you on stage, to protect you from hypothermia," she replied honestly. "But, I also did it so that if I failed in my promise to protect you, you would hopefully die at my hands and not by their hands." Anna looked stunned and Elsa bowed her head, tears slipping down her cheeks. "I know how incredibly selfish that was of me," she confessed. "Your life is yours and yours alone. But, I just couldn't bear the thought of them taking you away from me."

Anna didn't say anything for a long while. She was too busy trying to collect her thoughts and process what Elsa had just told her. It was only after she had thought and processed and weighed things against who she and Elsa were as people that she was confident she knew how she felt about Elsa's decisions regarding her life. "Well, I did say it would be a beautiful way to die," she decided. Elsa looked up at her, startled by the simple statement, and her look of hopeful confusion melted the last of Anna's doubt and anger.

Anna reached out to stroke Elsa's cheek and Elsa leaned into it, fresh tears coming down her cheeks at Anna's magnanimity. Anna reached over to kiss some of the tears away. "I know why you did it, and I love you all the more for it," she murmured. "And, I do realize that we had no time to plan anything before I was carted away. But, we are fugitives now. We have to know that one of us being captured is a big possibility. You have to promise me that you won't make another unilateral decision regarding either our lives individually or together, even if one of us is captured. Promise me, Elsa; promise me we are in this together," Anna demanded.

Elsa cupped the hands cupping her cheeks, relieved beyond measure that Anna still loved her and was still beside her. "I promise, with all of my heart," she swore and sealed her declaration with a possessive kiss. Anna responded in kind and soon the world contracted down to nothing but the two of them claiming one another and assuring each other of their commitment by their kisses and caresses.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Epilogue – Six Months Later

Anna yawned and stretched, her hand automatically feeling for Elsa on the other side of the bed. As expected, though, the search yielded nothing, as even in exile Elsa followed her old habits and got up way too early in the morning. Anna paused to let her brain start fully functioning before she threw off the covers and got out of bed. The frigid air of a Dunbroch spring met her naked skin, so she scurried to the dresser to put on some sweatpants and a sweater. She stopped briefly at the control room to turn up the thermostat that Elsa had turned down before going into the kitchen.

The coffee was already brewed and waiting and she poured herself a cup and doctored it with milk and sugar before sitting on the couch. As Olaf settled beside her, she picked up a tablet from the coffee table and began to read about what was happening back on Campus. The State was still looking for them, at this point almost frantically, and it was bringing in and questioning practically everyone who had ever interacted with either of them in any way. That had included the entire Philosophy Club, but everyone was so well-trained and/or such convincing liars that no one suspected the Club did anything but talk about dead philosophers and philosophies. It had also helped that Leader, Merida and Mulan were all highly respected Librarians, Enforcers and Detective respectively and the State had confidence in their fealty, which was ironic considering their favored Architect had been the Ice Queen. But nevertheless, the Philosophy Club was safe for now.

As Leader had predicted, when the State was unable to find the Master Architect and her Apprentice, they had tried to arrest Elsa's parents in Arendelle. Big Daddy had done his job well, though, and now both Synni and Alfred were with him and Tiana's mother Eudora down in Old New Orleans. Anna smiled down at the tablet as she remembered their first communication with Elsa's parents. They had been overjoyed to see their daughter again, even if it had been through the tablet, and their immediate acceptance of her had made her cry. She couldn't wait to see them in person and just hoped it would be soon.

Anna set the tablet down and settled back on the couch, clasping her mug and debating what she wanted to do today. There were several of her paintings that she could work on; she and Elsa weren't doing poorly for money, but selling her pieces always brought in extra, and there was one particular piece of jewelry that she was practically itching to buy. She could also work on planning their garden, Anna thought as her mind skipped around. The ground was still covered in snow, but it was warming up, and in summer she was planning to grow vegetables and herbs so they wouldn't have to buy them. She sighed, not feeling particularly motivated to do anything with a warm cat on her lap and a warm cup of coffee in her hand. Maybe she could just convince Elsa to cuddle with her all day.

As if on cue, the door to the entryway slid open, and Elsa came in, her cheeks rosy from the cold outdoors. She saw Anna and Olaf on the couch and her eyes lit up as she came over to give Anna a good morning kiss. "Morning," she said, leaning down to bring their lips together.

Anna kissed her back but shivered. "Did you have to bring all of the cold in with you?" she teased. "I was just getting this place warmed up."

"Feels okay to me," Elsa responded with a cocky smile.

"I'm not even going to justify that with a response," Anna said as she rolled her eyes. "Did you have a good workout?" she asked.

"Yeah, I did," Elsa said, going into the kitchen to pour her own cup of coffee. "I managed to scale that one really tall cliff face over by the falls."

"Wow, that's impressive," Anna complimented her.

"No, it was pretty ill-advised," Elsa disagreed, wincing as she sank down onto the couch. "Now I'm tired and sore."

Anna laughed. "Well, I was hoping to convince you to cuddle on the couch with me today, so you've played right into my hands," she said cheerfully. Elsa chuckled and surrendered, carefully maneuvering her sore body so that she was tucked right up against Anna. Anna responded by wrapping her arms around Elsa and the two of then sat peacefully sipping their coffee. Eventually Olaf got bored and jumped down, and soon after that their coffee was finished and their mugs were set on the coffee table.

Elsa, her vigor returned by the quiet rest, took the opportunity to shift their positions so that Anna was pinned underneath her hips on the couch. Anna's eyes widened at the unexpected shift and Elsa couldn't help but smirk wickedly, her smug smile telegraphing her not-so-pure intentions for the woman beneath her. Elsa's hands slipped under the sweater and just as she had suspected, Anna hadn't bothered to put on a bra. Her hands cupped the soft flesh they found there, and Anna sighed in pleasure as Elsa's hands started to tease the body they knew so well.

Elsa watched in fascination as Anna started to writhe underneath her. She really shouldn't still need Anna this badly, she thought as her hands continued to caress. They had been together for months now, alone in a cottage when they could indulge themselves at will. There had even been a two-week cycle of endless fucking, fighting and crying after the State birth control had finally been expunged from their systems and their bodies learned to self-regulate their hormones. They had left copious amounts of DNA evidence all over the cottage as proof of their lust and still Elsa found herself wanting more.

Elsa leaned down to kiss her now-flushed lover and the infamous whimper escaped from Anna's throat. Elsa chuckled, her hands finally leaving Anna's breasts to slip the sweater off entirely when a knock at the door snapped them both out of their desire-filled reverie. Elsa hastily scrambled off Anna to answer the door and Anna sighed in frustration as she straightened her sweater and ran a hand through her hair to smooth it back down.

"Morning, Anna! Morning, Lass!" Elinor chirped as she came into the living room with a box of some sort.

"Morning, Mama-Bear," Anna replied happily, glad to see her even with the interruption. "What brings you by?"

"A couple of things, Anna, one of which is in the box," Elinor replied, setting it carefully on the coffee table. She opened the box as Elsa and Anna looked on and they peered into it to see two sparkling blue eyes looking back up at them. "It's a Canadian lynx cub," Elinor told them. "His mother and siblings were killed out in the woods and I found him all alone. Since you lasses are out here all by yourselves, I was thinking you could raise him in relative peace until he's old enough to be released."

"We'd love to," Anna said instantly before Elsa could say anything. She reached into the box to pull the white-beige ball of fur out. She cradled him and he responded by snuggling into her sweater and purring. "I'm going to call you…Marshmallow," she decided as she sat with him on the couch. "Olaf! Come take a look at your new brother!" she called.

Elsa looked at Elinor. "Thanks," she said sardonically.

"I'm sorry, lass," Elinor apologized. "But I can't keep him, I couldn't find anyone else to keep him and you two were my last idea. He is too small to live on his own."

"It's okay," Elsa sighed. "She's going to love him."

"Already does," Elinor said wryly as she indicated the playful cub and giggling redhead on the couch.

Elsa sighed again. "You said there was something else?" she inquired.

"Yeah, there is," Elinor said, her voice growing serious. "Leader sent me this to give to you lasses. Apparently things are changing on Campus and she didn't want to use any of the frequencies." She handed Elsa a small portable drive. "Just plug this into the tablet and the message will start playing," Elinor said.

Elsa looked at the drive worriedly; she could feel the peace she and Anna had obtained over the last few months threatening to unravel. "We'll watch it in a bit," she promised Elinor.

Elinor nodded. "Well, I've got to be going, lasses," she said. "I'll see you two later."

"Bye, Mama-Bear!" Anna called as she walked out the door and Elinor waved.

Elsa dropped back down on the couch and smiled when the newly-dubbed Marshmallow came toddling over to see her, seemingly unafraid of anything despite his small size. She picked him up and he played with her fingers as she set him on her lap. She conjured a few snowflakes that drifted down, and he had a great time swatting at them, sneezing when one of them landed on his nose. "You had to be adorable, didn't you?" Elsa groused as he bounded back over to Anna.

"Of course he did," Anna replied. "Did I hear Elinor say we had a message from Leader?"

"Yeah," Elsa confirmed. "She sent it on a drive because she didn't want to use the frequencies."

"That doesn't sound good," Anna said.

"No, it doesn't," Elsa agreed.

"Well, we should see what she had to say, then," Anna decided as she reached for the tablet on the coffee table. Elsa handed her the drive and Anna plugged it in. Within seconds, Leader's face popped up on the screen.

"Ginger and Morgan, I hope this message finds you well," Leader began. "I am contacting you ladies this way because things are changing rapidly around here, and I want to make sure that this message is not intercepted. Like I am sure you both are aware, the Patricians were deeply embarrassed that their prized Plebe turned out to be the Ice Queen and their response has been to ramp up monitoring through the IRB and the Enforcers. They have cracked down on everybody and everything, and if it's possible, we have even less privacy than we did before. It has gotten so bad that even Voodoo Queen and Debutante are living apart in fear that they will be arrested. Not surprisingly, the Plebes on Campus do not like this, and dissatisfaction with the State is growing by the day. That kind of dissatisfaction had always existed in the Proletariat, and now that they have you two to look up to, their voice has only grown louder."

Here Leader paused, and even though it was prerecorded, it felt as though she was looking directly at Elsa. "The People haven't forgotten that you were one of them, Morgan," Leader continued. "The Patricians were actually right when they predicted the Proletariat would follow you, because from what we've seen, they will. Our Proletariat ranks have swelled by thousands since you rescued Ginger." Elsa frowned, unsure about how she felt about that, and Anna reached for her hand, squeezing it in sympathy as Leader concluded her message. "So, with all that said, this is what I needed to tell you both: public sentiment is with us, we finally have enough manpower and all of the logistics are in place. The Revolution is beginning and we need you two to be a part of it."

THE END