Some timeless eternity later, the Royal Physician came into Elsa's room. Elsa couldn't tell from his expression whether he had good news or bad. She sat up a little straighter. Kristoff leaned forward, intent on what the man would tell them.

"Your Majesty. We have done everything we can for the Princess Anna for now. Her wounds have been cleansed and bandaged and she is sleeping. She stirred briefly, asking for you, and we assured her that you would see her when she woke up."

Going on, the physician continued, "Your Majesty, I can't tell you yet with any certainty whether the Princess will recover." He looked disappointed when he said this.

"Why not, doctor?" Elsa felt her heart sink. Kristoff just looked anguished.

The doctor pulled another chair over and sat, looking at the two people in front of him with sympathy. "Your Majesty, this is one of those situations that forcibly reminds me of just how limited my ability to heal really is. I can set broken bones, I can stitch up wounds, I can administer some remedies that we have determined will help a body heal from diseases. Some diseases, some of the time."

He shook his head and continued, "But I can't see inside the body. There are some things that happen that I just can't fix. The stab wound that your sister received may or may not have cut into her gut. If it did, she will take the fever that kills, and there is nothing that I will be able to do except ease her passing." He could see the effect his harsh words had on the Queen and Kristoff.

"We will know within a few hours. If she has not taken a fever by morning, she should recover fully within a few weeks. I wish I had more hopeful information to share with you." He rose. "I think it would be best if you both sat with her. If she stirs again, it will comfort her to see you." He left unspoken the message that it might be the last time they would ever speak to Anna. "I will be checking on her every hour." He bowed and left.

Elsa and Kristoff just sat for a moment, stunned at this news. Elsa finally shook herself and started to get out of the bed. "Help me, Kristoff."

He steadied her as she stood up. Gerda hurried up to her, holding her robe, and helped her put it on over the nightdress she was wearing. Elsa leaning on Kristoff, they went to sit with Anna, both praying the vigil would not be a deathwatch.

Elsa's heart almost broke when she looked at Anna's still figure lying in the bed. Her face was so pale that the freckles stood out like blood against snow.

Kristoff brought a chair over for Elsa, who sat and took Anna's hand. He pulled a second chair over to the other side of the bed and sat down himself. He was afraid to touch Anna, but finally reached out to brush a few strands of hair back from her forehead. She stirred at his touch.

"El..Elsa?" her voice was a strained whisper.

"We're here, Anna. Kristoff and I are here." Elsa hoped Anna could hear her. She wasn't sure her sister was really awake or just dreaming. "We'll always be here."

Anna quieted again and the only sound in the room was her raspy breathing. Elsa and Kristoff looked at each other across her still form, their bond of love for Anna the only thing giving them comfort in their shared heartbreak.

The night dragged on, the silence broken only by the physician checking on Anna as he said he would.

Dawn was painting the windows with shades of gold and pink when Anna stirred again. "Elsa? K..Kristoff?"

The Queen had dozed, but her sister's voice brought her instantly awake. She leaned over the bed and stroked Anna's cheek. "We're here, honey. How do you feel?" Kristoff took Anna's hand as well.

Anna looked at both of them. "I had the strangest dream."

Just then the physician hurried in. "Excuse me, Your Majesty, may I?" Elsa and Kristoff moved back to give him room to fuss over his patient, feeling her forehead and checking the wound under the dressing on her side.

"Your Highness, how do you feel?" He watched Anna closely.

"Uh, with my hands? And...hungry." He nodded and turned to Elsa and Kristoff.

The physician said, "Your Majesty, I see no signs of the fever. And no signs of inflammation or festering around the wound. I am still cautious, but I believe the Princess will recover fully."

Elsa felt lightheaded as relief washed over her. Kristoff steadied her although he felt a little faint himself.

"Thank you, doctor. Thank you." Elsa sent a silent prayer of thanks to the heavens as well.

The doctor turned back to Anna. "Your Highness, it is a good sign that you are hungry, but I would like you to refrain from eating for a few hours more – at least, not solid food. I'll ask that some broth and tea be provided for you." He nodded to her, bowed to Elsa, and left the room.

Elsa and Kristoff again sat next to Anna and each of them took a hand. She smiled at them. "We'll have to talk about my dream, but I think I'm going to sleep again..." and she dozed off.

With the assurance that Anna was going to recover, the events of the past 24 hours finally overcame Elsa. When she tried to stand, she swayed on her feet and grabbed Kristoff to keep herself from falling.

"Whoa, Elsa, we need to get you back in a bed, too." Kristoff looked down at her with concern, and supported her with an arm around her waist. She clung to him, trembling in her weakness.

Gerda hurried up just then, and exclaimed, "Your Majesty!"

She helped Kristoff support Elsa, and they led her back into the other infirmary room. Gerda tucked her into the bed, and said, "I'm going to get you both something to eat and drink. Rest, Your Majesty, I won't be long."

Alone again, Kristoff sat on the chair next to the bed. Elsa looked more troubled than Kristoff had ever seen her. Well, more troubled since that day on the fjord. She kept staring at her hands, eyes bright with unshed tears.

"Elsa, what's wrong? Anna is going to be okay, we're not going to lose her."

She looked up at him. "Oh, Kristoff. I killed a man today in cold blood. I...I don't know how to feel. I'm afraid of myself again."

Kristoff took her hands in his. They were so small by comparison that they almost disappeared in his. He brought them to his lips and kissed them tenderly. She was stunned. Kristoff had never showed affection toward her, this was completely out of character for her stolid Ice Master and Deliverer.

"Elsa, these hands saved me, saved Anna, saved a lot of people, including you. You acted in self-defense, and to defend others from an evil man."

He went on, "Anna had told me how troubled you were after the attack by Weselton, how you feared becoming a monster who could kill without pity or remorse. That could never happen. You could never be a monster, your heart is too pure for that. You are the defender of your people, and you acted to defend them today."

A tear trickled down her cheek, he could tell she was holding back many more. "I'm not going to tell you that something like that shouldn't bother you at all, because if it didn't trouble you, THAT would make you the monster. Look how easily that bastard Pierre could deal out death. But that's not you, that could never be you."

"It's so hard to accept that what I did was the right thing. I should have had better control; I should have been able to disarm him, or just disable him, or … " Elsa managed to whisper.

"Elsa, you have precise control of your magic; that doesn't mean you can thread a needle with it. You did what had to be done; don't second-guess yourself. Being the queen means making hard decisions and accepting the responsibility for them. You've never in your life shied away from your responsibilities. That's not easy." He still held her hands and gave them a gentle squeeze.

"If it was easy, Elsa, anyone could do it. I'm just thankful that Arendelle has someone as special as you as Queen. Someone strong enough to do those hard things, no matter what it costs them." He looked at her with love in his soft brown eyes; the love of a man who looked forward to having her be his family some day.

That day when he finally worked up the courage to ask Anna to marry him. "Whoa, scary Ice Queen sister-in-law! That's gonna happen!" he marveled to himself.

It was three days later before Elsa felt strong enough to deal with the aftermath of the almost-assassination and Anna's rescue. Her magic took a physical toll on her and the emotional consequences were more of a drain. She spent the time eating and sleeping to regain her strength and sitting with Anna as much as she could. She had capable subordinates; the kingdom could do without her for three days or she hadn't done a good job in appointing them. Kristoff spent as much time as he could with Anna, too, so she wasn't alone when Elsa slept.

Finally feeling well enough to get back to the business of governing her kingdom, she met with the Admiral, Colonel Nordholm, and the Captain of her Guard in the Council meeting room. They had spent the time trying to unravel the mystery of the conspiracy to kill her and her nobles.

"Well, Admiral, what more have we found out about this horrific attempt at assassination?" She tried not to think how close the scheme had come to succeeding.

The Admiral simply gestured at Nordholm to give the report.

"Your Majesty, this man using the name 'Saint-Just' was so demoralized by what you did to Pierre that he was almost hysterical trying to tell us everything we wanted to know," Nordholm began.

Elsa felt slightly nauseated and clenched her hands in her lap as the vision of what she had done flashed through her mind again. She wasn't sure yet how she felt about it. Her sleep was troubled with dreams; dreams about her killing Pierre that always ended the same way as it had that day at the warehouse, no matter how hard she willed it to be different. Her outward expression remained calm, old habits serving her again to hide her inner turmoil.

The Colonel continued, "It appears that Baron Thorstad was in fact engaged in treason, just not the same treasonous conspiracy that Pierre tried to pull off. What Thorstad thought they were doing was a plan to kill Master Bjorgman, then kill you and several other high officials in an effort to put Princess Anna on the throne and have a suitor favorable to them comfort her in her grief and presumably become her consort."

Elsa gasped in horror. These men were evil, completely indifferent to human life. "Colonel, if that wasn't the real plan, what in heaven's name was Pierre's actual motivation?"

Nordholm's expression was grim. "It seems that Monsieur Rob S. Pierre was an unreconstructed Montagnard, one of those brutal fanatics that made the Reign of Terror such a terrible stain on the French Revolution. He felt that his father, who died in the reaction to the Reign of Terror, had been betrayed. Pierre was only ten when his father died, and swore vengeance on all royalty. He's apparently spent the last 30 years murdering his way through several realms. Saint-Just couldn't even give us a good estimate of how many people they had killed over that period of time."

"Your Majesty, these maniacs would have succeeded here in Arendelle if not for one small piece of luck, and your courage." the Admiral added. "Although I cannot help but wish you had a better sense of self preservation. Their primary goal was killing you after all. And your guards are not trained to protect you while you run into danger."

"Admiral, it frightens me to think how close they came, but … run away to save myself while the rest of you died? No. I have these 'gifts' and for all that they have cost me, I will use them for good when I can. Perhaps my guards will need to come to terms with that." Elsa was shaken, but stubborn. Her distaste for the idea of escaping danger instead of protecting her people was clear on her face.

Nordholm spoke, "Your Majesty, I wish we had uncovered this conspiracy before so much damage had been done. It is not an excuse, but this band of zealots had successfully eluded detection by some of the finest police and military forces in Europe for thirty years. They had murdered with impunity and were never even suspected of their secret agenda. We can only be thankful that their luck finally ran out when they decided to attack Arendelle," he finished.

Elsa could only nod at this. "I assume that thick dispatch case you are carrying, Colonel, has all of the details you have been able squeeze out of Monsieur Saint-Just?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. Him and the others that we took prisoner on their ship. They were unable to escape, the harbor chain had been raised to close off the channel to the fjord, and there were two frigates waiting just outside the seawall in any case. The only other captive of note was this 'Marquis Montagne', the disgraced scion of a noble family that was intended to woo the Princess Anna," Nordholm answered her.

Continuing, Nordholm said, "Your Majesty, these people, as evil and vicious as they proved to be, were extremely good at what they were doing. If we had not captured Saint-Just, and if he had not been willing to talk, we still might have no idea how this whole thing fit together. There was not one scrap of paper on that ship that had any useful information; it was all legitimate business correspondence. I doubt there was anything useful in that warehouse, even if it hadn't burned to the ground."

The Captain of the Guard had a question. "What will we be doing with these men, Your Majesty?"

"Do, Captain? Why, we shall give them a fair trial, a scrupulously fair trial. And then we will hang the murderers and imprison the rest. Or ship them back to other kingdoms that wish to try them for crimes committed there." Elsa's voice was harsh, her jaw set. They simply nodded, satisfied that their Queen would see justice done.

It was the first day Anna had been allowed out of bed. Since she was Anna, she insisted on going outside immediately, which meant walking in the garden, which meant Elsa had to go with her just to keep her from overdoing it. The weather was a beautiful spring day for Arendelle; the sun was shining and the temperature was above freezing for a change. Elsa hoped Anna could avoid the mud being created by the melting snow. Sometimes Anna could be a mud magnet without even trying.

They sat on one of the benches under the still-bare trees. It was too early in the spring for baby ducklings, but they were able to listen to the bird songs and the cry of the gulls over the fjord.

"Anna, when you woke up after being hurt, you were talking about some sort of dream. You never told us what that was about." Elsa finally broke the companionable silence.

Anna was quiet for a moment more, then said, "Elsa, it was … weird. It seemed surreal. It was like … like I was looking down on the room from the ceiling. I saw you, and Kristoff, and … me." She moved closer to Elsa, who put her arm around her.

"I was moving further away, it was like looking through the wrong end of a telescope. Then suddenly there was this bright light, and there seemed to be two people there, but the glare was so bright I couldn't see who they were. So I reached out, and started walking toward the light..." she trailed off and was quiet again. Elsa could feel her shivering. She didn't think it was because Anna was cold.

"Anna...then what?" Elsa asked her softly.

"I heard … voices. They kept saying, 'Go back, Anna. It's not time yet. Elsa needs you.' And then I felt myself being pulled back down into the room. Everything went dark, and eventually I woke up to see you and Kristoff next to my bed."

Elsa held her close and stroked her hair tenderly. "That was strange. But you were hurt pretty badly and had lost a lot of blood. The physician was worried that we would lose you."

"I think you did," Anna muttered. She sat up straight and took Elsa's hand. "I think I died."

Elsa looked at her with distress. "Died? But..." she gripped Anna's hand so tightly her sister flinched.

"Elsa, I think that was mama and papa telling me to go back to you. I think it just wasn't my time, and they made me go back." Tears welled in her eyes and trickled down her cheeks.

"Oh, Anna." Elsa hugged her close again. "It's all my fault. You shouldn't have been at that party at all, if I had only done a better job of explaining why I wanted you to stay away. I'm so sorry."

Anna pulled herself free of Elsa's embrace, then took both of Elsa's shoulders in her hands and shook her a little. "Elsa, that is not why I got hurt! I got hurt because I was being headstrong and selfish again. It wasn't .. your ... fault."

Seeing that she had Elsa's full attention, she went on, "Elsa, stop being the guilt-ridden martyr you've always been! You were right; I was wrong. I deserved everything that happened, because I was too stubborn and proud to admit I was wrong!"

Anna took Elsa's hand in hers again, and looked deep into her sister's eyes. "You don't have anything to be sorry for! You've sacrificed yourself for years, for me, for Arendelle. You can stop now, can't you see that? You can live for Elsa now! You don't have to be afraid any more!"

Listening to Anna, Elsa suddenly felt the last band of steel snap. Her whole life since she was eight she had tight bands that felt like steel squeezing her heart, reminding her of everything she had ever done wrong, driving her to atone for...what?

"Conceal, don't feel" That one had snapped that night on North Mountain as she threw off her fear and took joy in using her magic for the first time in thirteen years.

"Elsa, what have you done!?" That one had been the strongest; it had been reinforced every time she looked at Anna and saw the streak in her hair; every time she heard Anna outside her door. That one snapped that day on the fjord when she hugged a living, breathing Anna after the miracle of her sacrifice.

"You'll be fine, Elsa" Her father had assured her as her parents left on a sea voyage from which they never returned. But she hadn't been fine, not until she had learned to let love thaw her frozen heart.

"What are you so afraid of?!" The final shove from Anna that pushed Elsa over the edge into exposing her powers in front of her Coronation guests. The words that sent her fleeing out over the fjord and set the train of their destiny into motion. What did she have to be afraid of any more? Why leave that band of her fear around her heart?

She felt the last one loosening, loosening, dissolving, gone. Anna was right that she had been in the wrong; it had been her fault if it were anyone's. But Elsa had lived so long with the guilt and shame that it had become a friend she couldn't live without. It was like a drug, addictive in its seductive power. It was just easier for her to wrap the guilt around her like a familiar blanket; to take on the burdens of responsibility even if they weren't hers to take rather than accept the reality that the people around her were fallible, too.

She looked down at Anna, lovingly stroked her hair. "You're right."

"I'm right?"

"Yes."

"Wow, that's a first."

Elsa mock-scowled at her sister. "No, Anna, it's not a first. And if I'm going to give up being a 'guilt-ridden martyr', as you so quaintly described me, then you are going to give up calling yourself the goofy screw-up. We both know that you are a competent, intelligent and beautiful young woman—a woman who would do a fine job as Arendelle's Queen if that were your fate." She was smiling as she said this and opened her arms, inviting her sister into an embrace.

Anna leaned into the hug from Elsa, resting her cheek on Elsa's shoulder. "I know. That was my biggest mistake. I thought if everyone thought I was the ditzy, goofy, irresponsible little sister, no one would expect me to ever be the Queen, and you would be safe on the throne." She looked up at her sister. "But I had it just backwards. The more childish I seemed, the more likely our enemies would see me as a perfect means to depose you and put someone they could manipulate in your place. It put you in danger."

She straightened up, looked stern. "But, no more. I learned this lesson the hard way by almost losing everything. I promise you, from now on, I'll be your faithful right hand...wait, you're left-handed. I guess I'll be your faithful left hand … oh, you know what I mean!"

She reached out to take both of Elsa's hands in her own and grinned, "I'll travel throughout the land, telling everyone about my sister and the magic things she can do."

Elsa smiled at her baby sister. "Up or down together, princess crown together, always be together, you and me." It was a little song they had made up when they played as children, dreaming of the day Elsa would be Queen and the wonderful things they would do for Arendelle, together.

Anna smiled back and joined her voice with Elsa's, just like they had sung hand in hand so long ago. "No one can tell us what a princess should be, as long as we're together, you and me!"

~The End~

Author's Note: the little song Elsa and Anna sing here at the end is again credited to the songwriters for the movie. The name of the song is "We Know Better" and is on the deluxe edition soundtrack. I'm hoping they incorporate it into the Broadway musical, whenever that actually happens.

The very first thing I need to do is thank stillslightlynerdy for her help and mentoring when she edits my stories. I like to think that this story is better than the first one I wrote all of 3 months ago, and if it is, most of the credit goes to her gentle nagging, uh, I mean, mentoring about things like verb tenses and commas. Seriously, THANK YOU!

Any remaining errors are all mine...

I hope you enjoyed this story. I really hope you paid no attention to the man behind the curtain until he pulled out that gun in chapter 12 and blew his co-conspirator away. My intent was that you would be as surprised as Baron Thorstad was to discover that he was a pawn, not the chess master. The only hint I tried to give you was the names of the bad guys. They were all prominent radicals during the French Revolution Reign of Terror.

As usual, the real difficulty was creating credible danger to Elsa. Magic and all that. Hope it worked for you. If it did, be sure to review it! If you hated it, send me a PM to tell me why so I can improve my writing.

Not sure how many more of these I have in me …