Anna was trying to stifle a yawn; this council meeting had been going on since noon and she hadn't slept at all since yesterday. Throw in walking several miles in the dark, running back several miles leading a troop of Marines, then kicking the Weselton Commander in the head for threatening her sister, and it had been a long, busy day for Anna.

" … our casualties were relatively light, although it is likely we will lose at least two more men from the severity of their wounds." Colonel Nordholm was wrapping up his report on the aftermath of the battle.

"Not light for the families..." Anna muttered. She was still struggling to cope with their loss of troops, no, real men … men who had died defending her and her sister.

"I beg your pardon, Your Highness?" Nordholm asked.

"I said, our casualties were not light for the families of our men who died in this debacle," Anna raised her voice as she looked down the table at the Royal Council. "Is there anything else on your agenda that can't wait, Admiral?" Anna wanted to get back to her sister.

"No, Your Highness, everything is underway to repair any damage done by the battle, the attackers are under confinement at the Marine Barracks, and the task of returning the plunder they looted is well along," Naismith responded.

"Then this meeting is over. We'll reconvene the day after tomorrow at two o'clock. Thank you all," Anna dismissed them and hurried out of the room before they could rise and bow to her.

Nordholm and Naismith watched the council members leave; all except the Bishop. He shuffled papers until the others left, then looked up at his two colleagues with a small smile.

"There's some depth in that one," he commented.

"Just like her sister. Even though most people don't bother to look past the giddy exuberance," Naismith replied.

Nordholm chuckled, "You heard how she took charge of that troop of Marines, didn't you? Gunnarsson didn't know whether to spit or go blind when she sprang that on them. She was right, though. Legally AND tactically. That battle would have cost us a lot more if she hadn't led them back when she did."

Bishop Henrik Norgaard finished stuffing his papers into a portfolio and stood. "Possibly including the Queen. She was on her last dregs of strength when Anna ran up. Even if she had frozen that bastard, someone else probably would have killed her before you were able to force the gate." Norgaard wished he could use a stronger word to describe the Weselton boss, but he was a man of the cloth now, not the Marine he had been in his youth.

"How do you know that, Henrik? You weren't in the courtyard," Naismith asked.

"Sergeant Jorgensen told me. He's in the infirmary, hurt quite badly, but he'll recover. He was on the ground nearby when that Weselton dung pinned the Queen to the door, he knew it was the death of her. When she froze both of the swords, Jorgensen thought he was hallucinating." Norgaard related the entire story to his two colleagues as it had been told to him. They shook their heads in wonder.

"How is the Queen? I was too busy cleaning up the mess in the courtyard to get an update," asked Nordholm.

The three men walked down the hallway from the Council room. Nordgaard answered the colonel's question; he had been in the castle infirmary offering what comfort he could to the wounded and dying. "She will survive, but she'll be recovering for several weeks. That was a hell of an ordeal she put herself through, even before she was stabbed."

They emerged from the castle to the courtyard. Much of the debris and ruin from the battle had been cleaned up. The wounded had been moved to barracks, or to the castle infirmary. The dead had been taken to be prepared for funerals tomorrow. That's why there would be no council meeting. Arendelle would honor those who had sacrificed so much for their homeland.

"Would you gentlemen care to join me for dinner?" asked the Bishop.

"Not tonight, Henrik. We'll be at the Admiralty until the wee hours." Naismith said. Nordholm nodded in agreement with the Admiral.

The three men parted ways.

=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=

The day after the battle Elsa had wanted to get out of her sickbed to attend the funerals of the men who had died for her and Arendelle. Anna and Gerda had told her no, that they would hide all her clothes before they would let her do that and she would look silly in her nightgown. When she threatened to make her own dress, Anna just said, "Try it." Elsa discovered she was still too weak to do her magic when all she could manage were a few snowflakes. She slumped back on her pillows in frustration, tears in her eyes.

Anna sat next to her, stroked her cheek and said, "Honey, I'll be there in your place. Everyone knows you almost died for us, what you were willing to risk to save the kingdom from these goons. After you're well again, we'll go visit the families. But today, you aren't strong enough to get out of this bed."

Elsa nodded sadly and squeezed Anna's hand. "I know, Anna, but I owe them so much," she whispered.

So Anna had to represent both of them when she put on her mourning clothes and honored the men who had sacrificed their lives for their Queen and kingdom. The two the Colonel had spoken of had indeed died, so twelve families had lost sons, husbands, fathers, brothers. Anna spoke to each one of them, knowing that nothing could fill that void but hoping she could offer some small comfort that their loss was felt by the Queen and Princess as if it were their own.

They had held the funerals in the castle courtyard in front of the church. The crowd was too large to hold it anywhere else. The coffins of each of the fallen men, draped with the flag of Arendelle, was on a caisson with a team of horses to pull it. Although they were holding a joint memorial, each family would then take their beloved to their own place of burial.

As the last caisson left the courtyard, followed by a family in mourning, Anna took Kristoff's hand in hers and leaned into him. He had been there for her, even though he had no official standing as anything other than a friend. He wrapped an arm around her to comfort her. "You okay, Anna?"

He felt her nod against his chest. "I will be. Those horrible weasels did this to us, Kristoff. All because the Duke is a greedy, vengeful little … little ..." She couldn't seem to come up with a word strong enough. "And he almost took her away from me again!"

They began to walk back into the castle. The memorial service had taken most of the morning and it was almost time for lunch. Kristoff was hoping he could convince Anna to take a nap after lunch; she hadn't slept much at all last night because she had spent the night at Elsa's bedside. "Let's eat, then check in on Elsa, okay?"

Anna nodded again, then, "Let me go change first. I'll meet you in the family dining room, okay?"

"I'll be there, Feisty Pants."

=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=

After lunch they both went to the infirmary to visit with Elsa. Anna found Gerda first, to get an update before she talked to her sister. "She's fine, Your Highness, although she refused to sleep until she knew the services were complete. I think she felt it was the least she could do. She's been asleep for almost two hours, now. I was going to wake her to eat, she needs to build up her strength more than anything."

"You go bring her food, Gerda; Kristoff and I will make sure she eats it," Anna instructed.

They went into Elsa's room while Gerda left to get a tray prepared. Kristoff moved a chair next to the bed for Anna, then went to sit near the window.

"Hey, sleepyhead," Anna stroked her sister's cheek gently, noticing that tears were still drying. Elsa mourned even in her sleep, it appeared. Her eyes fluttered open and she reached for Anna's hand and squeezed it, so weakly it made Anna's heart clench.

"Hi," was the whispered response. Elsa smiled to see Anna.

Gerda bustled in with a laden tray just then and said, "Time for lunch, Your Majesty." Setting it down on the side table, she looked at Kristoff and asked, "Would you help Princess Anna sit Her Majesty up while I arrange her pillows?"

When Elsa was sitting up comfortably with the tray in her lap, she looked at all the dishes with dismay, "I can't eat all of that!"

"I'll help finish it, but you need to eat and drink as much as you can, honey," Anna tucked a napkin under her sister's chin, then offered her a mug of tea. "Are you strong enough to hold this, or should I?"

"I can do it," Elsa smiled at her. "I'm not used to being this pampered, you know!"

After lunch, Gerda took the tray away. "I'll leave the teapot and some mugs, Your Majesty. You need to drink as much as you can."

"Do you want to lie back down, Elsa?" Anna asked her.

"No, I'm comfortable sitting up for now," she yawned, which set off a sympathetic reaction in Anna.

It wasn't long before both of them were fast asleep, Elsa on her pillows, and Anna with her head on her sister's lap. Kristoff was content to sit comfortably by the window and watch over them.

When Gerda returned to find the two sleeping girls, she clucked and shook her head. Kristoff put his fingers to his lips to indicate silence, then walked quietly out of the room, motioning for Gerda to follow him.

"Gerda, she didn't sleep very well sitting up in a chair last night," he began. Gerda held up her hand to stop him from going any further.

"I know, Master Kristoff. We'll be moving another bed in here later this afternoon. We both know she's not leaving Elsa's side, and I will make sure it's comfortable for her tonight," Gerda assured him.

"Thank you. I need to go help with some of the cleanup. Will you please tell Anna I'll meet her for dinner?" Kristoff asked Gerda a little nervously. He was still unsure of his standing in the castle.

Gerda reached out to pat his arm, "I will convey your message to her. Now, shoo! I'll take care of both of them," she said, a twinkle in her eye as he blushed and left.

=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=

There was no sound in the library except the crackle of the fire and a snap and a pop as one of the logs burned through a knot in the wood with a flash of sparks. The fire had burned down to a gentle flickering orange glow, and Anna thought that she should put a few more logs on. But she would have to get up and disturb the woman sleeping in her lap to do that, and it was just too comfortable to remain sprawled on the couch, tenderly running her hands through Elsa's hair and holding her close.

It had been almost a week since they had taken back the kingdom from the Weselton invasion. Repairs to the castle were almost complete.

As Regent, Anna was still spending most of each day with the Admiral and the rest of the Royal Council, dealing with the aftermath of the attack. The survivors of the attacking force would be tried in the Admiralty Court for piracy and murder.

The Council still hadn't discussed how to send a strong message back to the Duke. It could wait until Elsa was completely healthy. He'd be shaking in his high-heeled boots when his pirate fleet didn't return on schedule, anyway. Let the little weasel squirm for a while. In the meantime, the Navy would board and search every ship seeking harbor in Arendelle, no matter how innocent it seemed. The Admiral had some ideas about how to avoid future surprises; Anna gave him permission to start putting them in motion and review them with Elsa when she was back at work.

Anna had a pretty low tolerance for bureaucratic nonsense, so she made sure the Council meetings moved along briskly and ended at a reasonable hour; she had more important things to do, like be with her sister.

Three days after the battle the doctor had allowed Elsa to be moved back to her own bedroom. Every evening since then Anna and Kristoff had helped her walk to the library after dinner, where they could enjoy the fire and each other's company. And snacks. Anna had interpreted "warm milk" to include hot chocolate, which helped lift Elsa's spirits.

The remnants of tonight's snack lay on the floor, empty cups on saucers and crumb-filled plates. The cooks had been on a mission to outdo themselves, so glad were they to have their royals back safe and sound. Mostly sound. Anna frowned as her hand felt the bandage on Elsa's arm, bulky beneath the sleeve of her dressing gown. "Damn that bastard. Hanging is too good for him. Drawing and quartering would be too good for him." But hanging it would be, after a trial for piracy and murder.

After the trials, the Commander would not be the only one to hang. Those few convicted of lesser offenses would be offered the choice of imprisonment in Arendelle and hard labor in the mines, or transport to a kingdom where they were wanted for previous crimes. Some would choose to stay; others were so terrified of the Snow Queen that they would take their chances with the justice of other kingdoms, even with a possible death sentence awaiting them.

Anna was dozing again when the door opened and someone tiptoed up to the couch where she lay cradling Elsa in her arms. It was Kristoff looking in on the two women. He smiled at the tableau, then added a few logs to the fire as quietly as he could. Satisfied, he went to sit on the floor with his back resting against the couch, his head close to Anna's. She stirred as she sensed him, then whispered, "Kristoff?"

"It's me, Feisty Pants. Had to check up on you two. Go back to sleep. You both need it."

Anna smiled and reached down to wrap the arm she didn't have around Elsa across Kristoff's chest. He put his hand up to cover hers and patted it affectionately. A deep contented sigh whispered into Kristoff's ear. With Kristoff in one arm and her sister in the other, Anna felt peace and warmth and love. Snuggled between the two people she loved most, she felt truly at home, perhaps more than she ever had before in her life.

Some warm timeless period later, Kristoff stirred, patted Anna's arm and turned his head to whisper, "Hey, don't you think it's time to go to sleep in a real bed?"

Anna blinked to wake from her doze, looked down at the Elsa-shaped blanket covering her and whispered back, "I hate to wake her. She's still so weak..." and stroked her sister's hair. Elsa snuggled deeper into Anna's hug and mewled a contented sound that caused Anna to chuckle softly.

"I can handle that, Feisty Pants. Hold still and let me carry her," Kristoff offered.

He stood and carefully put his arms under Elsa's knees and shoulders and lifted to carry her with her head resting on his shoulder, the way a husband would carry his bride across the threshold on their wedding night.

Ignoring the tingle that Kristoff's touch had aroused in her as he scooped up her sister, and a brief vision of herself in Kristoff's arms crossing the threshold to their wedding night, Anna hopped off the couch and went to open the door for him. They headed down the hallway toward Elsa's bedroom.

A sideways glance at him surprised Anna; Kristoff had the gentlest smile on his face as he looked down at the sleeping woman in his arms. It called up a childhood memory for Anna. Elsa always played with Anna but sometimes the younger sister's exuberance wore her out and Elsa would fall asleep in the middle of some evening activity. When that happened their father would lift his sleeping daughter into his arms to take her and tuck her into bed. Anna knew it was a true memory because the only magic involved was the magic of a father's love for his children.

Anna felt the tingle again as her thoughts considered how Kristoff would carry their child to be tucked into bed.

"Wait, what?" Two crazy visions in the space of a few seconds. Anna tried to stifle that wild imagination of hers. "Cold, cold, cold, think ice, Anna!" she chided herself. She'd only known him for three months, it was far too soon to be thinking of wedding nights and tucking imaginary children into imaginary beds.

She held the door open for him again and he carefully laid Elsa down on her bed. She stirred but didn't wake.

He turned and walked to the door and softly said, "See you tomorrow?"

"Sure, you know it!" Anna got on tiptoes to give him what she had intended to be a chaste peck on the lips. Her body betrayed her and the kiss became far more intense than planned. Kristoff was caught in the moment, too, and returned her passion with his own. They backed away from each other after only a few seconds and Anna could see the blush on his fair complexion even in the soft candlelight. She could tell from the heat in her own cheeks that a look in the mirror would show the same coloring on her face.

"Uh, well, goodnight then," Kristoff mumbled and left, closing the door quietly behind him. Anna stood looking at the door wondering where the heat that seemed to be spreading all through her body was coming from.

"Are you really kissing your boyfriend in MY bedroom?" chuckled a soft voice behind her. Anna whirled to see that Elsa was awake and propping herself up on one elbow, disheveled bangs hanging over her forehead.

"He's not my boyfriend," protested Anna. Elsa arched one eyebrow and smirked.

"Not yet. Maybe. Eventually. And anyway, would you rather I kissed him in MY bedroom?" Anna put her hands on her hips and tried to look indignant.

Elsa giggled, "Now that you mention it, probably not." She began to sit up and Anna ran to help her.

"Come on, Elsa, let me help you get that robe off and then both of us need to sleep for real." The bandages on her arm made it difficult for Elsa to remove the robe herself.

Comfortably snuggled under the blankets, Elsa arranged herself so she could lay her head in the crook of Anna's neck, put her bandaged arm across Anna's body in a hug and sighed with contentment. Anna chuckled and said, "Verðug dróttning stór".

"What?" Elsa mumbled, half asleep.

"It's Old Norse: 'Worthy Queen of Greatness'. That's what you are, the worthy Queen of Greatness. They sang it at your Coronation, don't you remember?"

Elsa was fully awake now. "No, actually. I was so anxious and afraid of freezing something over I didn't hear anything but a loud buzzing hum that faded in and out. I kept staring at the pillow with the orb and scepter and shaking. When the Bishop told me to take off my gloves I thought I would faint." Her voice was muffled and sad as she buried her face in Anna's shoulder.

Anna hugged Elsa a little closer. "Oh, Elsa, I'm so sorry. I didn't realize."

"S'okay. We lived through it." Anna felt Elsa take a deep, shaky breath.

"I'll sing it for you now. I thought it was so beautiful and appropriate for you."

Anna began to sing softly,

Verðug dróttning stór (Worthy Queen of greatness)
Hjarta af gulli skína (The heart of Gold shines)
Kronum þik med vánum, ást ok trú. (We crown thee with hope, love and faith.)
Fagra, grýttur land, heimr Árnadalr. (Beautiful, stoney land, home Arendelle)
Fylgið dróttningu ljóssins. (Follow the Queen of light)

As Elsa listened the song didn't make her feel worthy, it brought her guilt and shame back to the surface. Her fear of the stake had let her think of abandoning Anna, of abandoning her duty as Queen rather than face what the Duke had planned for her. How could she admit what she had considered doing? She was afraid she would see contempt in her sister's eyes at the confession. Elsa had suppressed her guilt since her rescue, now there it was again, choking her. She began to cry almost inaudibly.

"Hey, my singing isn't that bad!" Anna didn't know why Elsa was crying and she was unsettled by it.

"It's not your singing; your voice is beautiful. It's like an angel came down from heaven just to sing to me." Elsa sniffled and went on, "It's me."

"Huh? Elsa, I'm not good at riddles this late at night, what are you talking about?" Anna prompted.

Elsa pushed off the covers and sat up. She put her arms around her knees and looked away from Anna. "I'm not worthy. I … I'm a coward."

Now Anna was sitting up too. "Elsa, you aren't making any sense. After all the incredibly courageous things you did during this whole mess, how can you say that?"

Elsa wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand and said, "Because it's true. If you hadn't managed to escape, if they had taken us on those ships to go back to Weselton, I would have taken the coward's way out. I wouldn't have let them take me there alive." She put her head down on her knees and wept again. "And I would have … ab … abandoned you to them," she sobbed. "I'm so sorry, Anna."

Anna got up on her knees and hugged Elsa, trying to comfort her. "Elsa, Elsa, please don't cry. They were nasty bastards for sure, but ..."

Elsa shook her off, got out of bed and staggered slightly as she walked over to sit in the window bay. "You don't understand," she said harshly. She looked out the window; she couldn't look at her sister, she was too ashamed.

Anna sat on the side of the bed and said slowly, "You're absolutely correct. I don't understand. Please, tell me. We promised each other, no more secrets. There's something here you're not telling me, something I need to understand, because whatever it is, it's hurting you. Please?"

Anna held her breath, hoping that Elsa would share whatever was causing her so much pain. She had no idea why her sister felt guilty, but she needed to understand.

Elsa finally took a deep breath and in a faltering voice began to tell Anna about the horrible nightmare she had about being burned as a witch. Her description of the dream was so vivid that Anna could see it and smell it and feel it, just like her sister must have. The retelling of it was so real that Anna got queasy; she thought she'd vomit at the vision of her sister suffering that torture. She held it down and listened intently as Elsa got to the part about how the picture of Joan of Arc had first intrigued her and then led to reading the history that scared her senseless as an eight-year old.

"...and then after Mama and Papa died, I eventually told Kai to sell the painting. I hadn't gone into that room in almost ten years; I couldn't as long as there was a chance I'd look at it and see myself burn all over again. And then, in that dungeon, I did," Elsa's voice trailed off and she put her head down on her knees and whimpered. "All I could think of was saving myself; and I had promised I'd never abandon you again."

Anna was stunned. In all that they had been through that week, she would never have imagined this. Her heart was broken to think that Elsa had been dealing with that childhood terror in addition to everything else that she had put herself through. She got up and went to the window.

Reaching out gently, she patted Elsa's shoulder and said, "It's okay, Elsa. There's nothing for you to feel guilty about. Come on, let me take you back to bed now."

She took her sister's hand and led her back to bed, got them both under the covers and wrapped her sister in a hug. She held Elsa close and let her cry herself out, cuddling her and comforting her as best she could.

Eventually Elsa stopped crying; Anna could tell when her breathing slowed and her shoulders stopped trembling. She hoped Elsa had finally fallen asleep, but instead she heard a soft whisper, "So that's why I'm not worthy."

Anna thought a moment, then said, "Elsa, that story makes me think you're even more worthy. Joan of Arc was a special hero to me; I talked to her painting all the time. Well, until it disappeared. But I think I read more about her than you did, and I was older when I did. If we HAD been taken to Weselton, with that horror waiting for you at the end of the trip, I would have helped you do whatever was necessary to escape that."

Elsa sniffled and said, "You … you would?"

Anna's voice quavered as she fought back her own tears, "There is no way on this earth that I would ever have let you go through that kind of agony. I would have died first. Again. So you know I'm serious here."

Anna hugged her sister even tighter, then continued, "You wouldn't have abandoned me; I would have … gone with you. We would have been together. F … forever."

Elsa was quiet for long moments as she absorbed what Anna had said, her sister's unconditional love and acceptance banishing her guilt and shame and filling her with a quiet peace for the first time in two weeks.

"I'm sorry I took the painting of your hero from you," Elsa finally managed to murmur.

Anna shook her a little, "Don't be. St. Joan's still a hero to me, even without a picture to remind me. But I've got a bigger hero now: you. My Worthy Queen of Greatness!" And she kissed Elsa tenderly.

Elsa smiled and said, "And I have you, my very own Queen of Light."

"PRINCESS of Light."

"Goof."

"Stinker."

~fin~

=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=

Author's final notes:

"heimr Árnadalr" is what the choir was singing at Elsa's coronation in the movie. It is beautiful. The music is by Christophe Beck, lyrics by Christine Hals, a noted Scandanavian musician. She also provides vocals. Go find her blog; it turns out that some of the music you think is a musical instrument is really her singing! There are some interesting links about it on my tumblr page, I recommend you follow them for more information. I'm sure Anna did the song justice! grrlgeek72 dot tumblr dot com You guys know the drill.

Hope you enjoyed the ride. Again, please review if you liked it. Feedback is a wonderful thing!

Speaking of feedback, as always I must thank stillslightlynerdy for her help and editing. This story is much stronger because of her suggestions and corrections. Any remaining errors are mine alone.

Not sure where I'm going after this story. One of the reasons I wrote it was (besides the inspiration of that amazing, evocative picture!) was that my other stories were a fairly complete timeline leading up to Anna and Kristoff's official engagement at the end of "Beautiful, Powerful, Dangerous, Cold", and that timeline didn't have a lot of room left in it for dramatic, plot-driven stories in it, which is what I think I'm writing. After all, how many times can Weselton invade Arendelle? Or Elsa be threatened by a political plot? Arendelle is a small, sleepy kingdom, and no one would care about it if it weren't for the Snow Queen.

This 'alternate' timeline is darker than the other one; Elsa would lose ground on her healing after the trauma of this story. So maybe I'll explore this timeline more, a timeline with a more broken Elsa. Authorial privilege, right?

I'm not into weddings or childbirth, so that sort of story is right out. I love Anna and see her as a competent, loving sidekick to her sister, but I still focus on Elsa. What to do, what to do...oh, wait! I haven't tortured Kristoff yet! Hmm...

I have a 14,000+ word alternate ending to "The Spare", but 'alternate' implies 'not happy' and boy, howdy is it not happy. It's not finished yet, it might not ever see the light of day.

And one story idea did come to me the other day, but I think it will wind up as a chapter in "Walk In The Park", if I can keep it short enough. Which may not be possible; my muse does the story writing, I just type. "Do The Magic!" was supposed to be a short one-shot. Ha!

If you guys have any opinions, feel free to PM me. In the meantime, I'll putz around on tumblr and finish my Kristoff tribute video.

And beta "Queen's Rook" by stillslightlynerdy, which is a great story and if you haven't read it yet, you should. It's just getting to the good parts!