Prompt 7: Free Choice

Prompt by Protoestrella: Anna and Elsa lost in the woods + cold

Lost in the Woods

How did we get into this situation? What went so horribly wrong? Elsa wondered to herself, pushing through the snow with Anna behind her. They were still going downhill, but Elsa could barely see two feet in front of them. We never should have visited the mountains this time of the year.

Anna had begged, though. She had begged and Elsa couldn't help but give in. It was the first nice day of spring, and they hadn't been on a hike together since they were tiny children. Elsa honestly couldn't remember the last time she'd walked so much outside the confines of her room. They took it slow, ascending on foot past the low snowline. Elsa had insisted that Anna dress warmly, though she herself did not so much as bring a cloak.

Elsa thought they had turned back soon enough to get home before dark. Maybe they would have made it if the dark snow clouds hadn't converged on them halfway home. As it was, the sky was pouring snow faster than Elsa's worst blizzard. The wind-whipped snow stung their faces, and darkness had fallen early. They trudged between snowy shadows of evergreen trees when Elsa suddenly became aware that there was no longer a hand clinging to her cape and she whirled around. She panicked momentarily but quickly spotted a dark lump in the snow. Falling to her knees beside the prone form, Elsa quickly rolled her sister over.

"Anna! Are you okay?" she asked frantically. The girl opened her eyes wearily.

"I… I think I tripped?" Anna mumbled, shivering. "Elsa… it's so cold…"

"I know," Elsa murmured in concern. "I know it is."

"What? Y-You told me you can't feel the c-cold," Anna argued confusedly.

"I can feel it – it just doesn't bother me," Elsa explained, pulling the girl from the snow. Anna stumbled immediately, even within Elsa's grasp. She collapsed against her sister's chest, shaking violently.

"Elsa, I don't know if I can… can keep… going…" Anna gasped, clenching her arms close to her freezing body. She whimpered as a gust of wind slammed more snow into her face. But suddenly the wind ceased. Anna looked up shakily to found herself encased in a hemisphere of ice with Elsa. The light faded from Elsa's hand as she spoke.

"Does that help? Do you feel any warmer?"

"It's b-better now that we-we're out of t-the w-wind," Anna stuttered, leaning against Elsa in their blue-tinged shelter. The girl was shaking so hard she could barely speak. Elsa wrapped her arms around Anna, brushing the snow from her cloak. Anna instinctively pressed herself closer to Elsa and whimpered. Why is she getting close to me? Elsa wondered, though she automatically squeezed her sister's trembling form to comfort her. I'm not warm. In fact, I'm probably making her colder! This realization galvanized Elsa into reluctant action.

"I'm so sorry, Anna," she murmured sadly, tugging herself away from Anna's grasp. "I can't keep you warm."

"What're you talking 'bout?" Anna mumbled, pulling herself close again. She opened her cloak to press herself more closely against Elsa's body and let the fabric cover them both. "You are warm. You're always warm."

"No I'm not, Anna," Elsa tried to convince the girl. "I'm physically cold to the touch. Even… even Mama and Papa said so."

"Well, they were wrong," the redhead retorted stubbornly. "They're all wrong."

"They've held a thermometer to my skin, Anna. Studies have been done. My body temperature is always at least twenty degrees lower than normal."

"Well, maybe it's magic, then," Anna reasoned, burrowing her face into Elsa's neck. "Because you've always felt warm to me." This gave Elsa pause. Out of everyone in Elsa's life, only Anna had been exposed to her magic so intimately. Could it have left long-lasting effects?

"You're sure you're not so cold that you just can't tell the difference?" she asked tentatively.

"Mmhmm," Anna replied. A hand reached out to touch the ice wall, and quickly recoiled to the safety of the cloak. "That's cold. You're warm. Please, Elsa… I'm s-so cold…" she begged miserably, taken over by a shivering fit.

"Okay," Elsa relented, and pulled Anna close once more. Anna shuddered as she relaxed into Elsa's embrace. She swayed slightly, but Elsa held her upright.

"Are you okay?" Elsa whispered worriedly. Anna merely nodded in response and tucked her head underneath Elsa's chin.

"I'm just c-cold and tired. Can we… can we lay down?" Elsa lowered herself with Anna on top of her to rest on the cold ground. She used her allegedly warm body to insulate Anna from the frozen ground below them, and prayed that the cloak would be enough to protect Anna from the freezing air around them. At least they would be safe from the wind in the ice shelter she'd made. Elsa carefully took her sister's hands and rid them of the sodden, icy mittens she wore before wedging the girl's frozen digits between their bodies. Anna gave a grunt of confusion.

"I don't want to risk you losing your fingers," Elsa explained. She tugged the edge of the cloak up over Anna's head and face. "Or your nose and ears." She prayed Anna's boots had somehow remained free of snow, for there was little she could do to warm her sister's feet under their present circumstances. The younger girl shivered and squirmed uncomfortably.

"I'm so sorry, Anna," Elsa whispered again, holding her close. "I'm sorry it's so cold. I'm sorry we're stuck out here. I'm sorry I can't… can't stop the storm." Tears threatened Elsa's eyes as she clung to the shaking bundle curled up against her chest.

"Shh," Anna hissed in disapproval. "It's not your fault, Elsa. It's not your fault at all. In fact, if you weren't here with me right now I'd probably already be dead." Anna frowned when her words, instead of soothing the queen, seemed to only make her more upset.

"Anna…" Elsa choked out, desperately running her hands over her sister's back in an attempt to warm her.

"It's okay," Anna murmured, enjoying the touch despite her concern for Elsa. "We're going to be okay, Elsa. I mean, listen to me! I'm not so cold that I can't talk right. And that's usually the first thing to go. You know that." Elsa didn't reply, so Anna continued.

"Yes, I am cold. It's uncomfortable, but I don't think I'm in danger of hypothermia anymore. I can think straight again, now that we're like this. You're taking really, really good care of me. And I'm going to be okay. If you'd just relax and not worry so much, we'd both probably get even warmer." Anna's suggestion made sense, and Elsa forced herself to loosen her tense muscles, if only for the sake of Anna's comfort. She felt more than heard Anna sigh as she sank deeper into Elsa's embrace.

"That's it," Anna encouraged. "Think of love, Elsa. And how it thaws stuff. Even if you can't stop this storm, I know you have enough love for me to keep us both warm." Elsa thought about it for a moment and was interrupted by a soft hum from the girl on top of her.

"It's working," Anna mumbled happily. "Elsa, you're so warm and I love you so much and I can't… can't get close enough." Anna tried to press herself more tightly against her sister, but there was nowhere else for her to go. She was already lying chest-to-chest, hip-to-hip on top of Elsa. The older girl moved one hand to cradle the back of Anna's head and she laughed a little when the redhead sighed blissfully. Elsa herself could feel the warmth too, now. It didn't feel like it was just coming from Anna's body anymore. It felt like it was around them, surrounding Elsa and her beloved sister in their little cocoon of fabric and ice.

Love… Elsa thought in wonder. It really does thaw. It felt like a shift had been made in her mind. Instead of consciously maintaining the absence of ice around herself and Anna, Elsa had to concentrate on keeping up the ice walls that shielded them from the biting wind. The chill of the earth against her back went ignored. The temperature of the no-longer shivering sister she held against her chest made Elsa's heart sing with joy.

"I'm not cold anymore," Anna commented in quiet amazement. "Not at all. Not even my toes. Oh Elsa…" she sighed happily into the queen's neck. "Your magic is incredible. And I love you so much." Anna grinned as warmth seemed to suddenly flood into her bones even more, originating from the body beneath hers. She basked in the sudden wave of heat for a moment and appreciated the rocking caused by the rise and fall of Elsa's chest as she breathed. Soothed by the gentle motion, Anna yawned and relaxed. She grinned sleepily when she felt Elsa yawn as well.

"Do you think you could sleep?" Elsa asked. "You need to rest after all we've done today."

"Mmhmm," Anna replied. "You too. And don't worry about me, Elsa. If I get cold again, I'll wake you up and we'll fix it. But I don't think I will. Mmm… this is so nice. You smell nice." Elsa blushed and laughed quietly.

"Get some rest, you silly thing," she admonished gently, rubbing Anna's back with one hand and stroking through her hair with the other. Her eyes softened at the way Anna all but melted at her touch. Within minutes, the girl was limp and quiet, breathing steadily in sleep. Elsa lay amazed at how warm she felt. What sort of magic is this, she wondered, that I can control temperatures that are not my own? She looked down at the top of Anna's head, and smiled.

"You must be magical, too," she murmured quietly to the heavy, softly snoring lump that was probably drooling on her shoulder by now. "I only feel warmth when I'm with you. Oh Anna, I love you," and the ensuing burst of heat that flowed through her skin was so soothing and safe that Elsa drifted quickly to sleep as well.

The next time Elsa opened her eyes, it was to blue-tinted light streaming in through the semi-obscure ice around her. The rays caught on the geometric facets in the frozen sheets and scattered in a thousand rainbows within the little shelter. Elsa lay entranced by the beauty. There was no denying it – her powers could indeed create beautiful things. Speaking of beautiful things… Elsa thought, turning her attention to her sister. Anna was still snoring softly against Elsa's shoulder. Her hands had come up to rest under Elsa's arms, holding the slim queen in a light embrace. Elsa's own hands still held Anna firmly against her chest. She loosened her grip and began to rub Anna's back, hoping to wake the girl gently.

Anna snuffled, but she didn't fully awaken until a soft laugh moved through the chest beneath hers. She groaned, stiff from having slept in one position all night, but immediately ignored her aching when her sister gripped her shoulders in concern.

"Are you all right?" Elsa asked and swept a hand through her sister's hair to find her barely-open eyes.

"Uh huh," Anna mumbled sleepily. She wanted nothing more than to return to the heavenly warmth that was Elsa's embrace, but when she chanced a glance around their shelter her exhaustion was forgotten. "Oh wow..." she breathed, sitting up and gazing at the kaleidoscopic scene. She looked down at Elsa in amazement.

"Elsa… you… this is incredible…" the queen blushed but did not argue. While Anna continued to stare at their surroundings, Elsa was content simply to look at Anna. The girl looked much better than before. Her face was a bit wind-burnt, but no longer was she deathly pale. She was alert and didn't appear to be in any pain, so Elsa let herself sigh in relief and relax. At that moment, they seemed to realize simultaneously that Anna was still sitting on Elsa's body with her knees framing the older girl's torso. Anna quickly got off amidst many apologies.

"I'm sorry," she insisted vehemently. "I didn't mean to squish you, Elsa. Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine, Anna," she reassured her sister. "Keeping you warm was worth it. I'm guessing you feel better today?"

"Oh, absolutely," Anna agreed. "I'm warm and I slept well and I feel just fine! My back's a little sore, though."

"Mine is too," Elsa admitted, sitting up to stretch. "But we'll be okay. It looks like the storm has passed, finally. Maybe we can go home." With a thought and a small gesture she banished the ice capsule surrounding them and was immediately slapped in the face by a strong gust of wind. Anna instinctively wrapped the cloak tighter around herself. Elsa growled quietly and moved to shield her sister. She extended a hand against the wind and suddenly the icy blast ceased and was replaced by a stillness not shared with the surrounding landscape. Anna peeked over Elsa's shoulder to find that, a dozen paces away from them, the snow was being stirred up into a swirl from the clashing forces of wind.

"Wow. Once again, wow, Elsa," she murmured, tucking herself close to her sister's side. As long as Elsa's powers opposed the main force of the wind, all that afflicted Anna was the occasional crosswind. She wrapped her arm around Elsa to keep from tripping in the heavy layer of snow as the walked toward the gleaming rooftops of Arendelle. By the time they arrived at the palace gates, both women were exhausted and barely holding each other upright. Elsa's constant use of her magic had drained her strength significantly, and Anna's fingertips, nose, and ears were painfully cold. The staff immediately put Anna in a warm bath and Elsa in a warm bed, where she quickly fell asleep.

"Elsa?" came the quiet whisper a few hours later. "Elsa, are you awake?" There was no reply, so Anna crawled into the bed and curled up close enough to hear Elsa breathing as she slept.

"You saved my life, Elsa. I would have frozen to death without you. Thank you," she murmured, lacing her fingers between Elsa's. "I love you." And the limp hand she held somehow felt warmer. Love really will thaw, Anna mused as she fell asleep, safe and warm with Elsa by her side.

This was the last prompt of Elsa Week, but Monday December 21st is commonly considered to be Elsa's birthday. I have a freestanding story about her first birthday with Anna after the thaw that I will post on that day.

Thank you all so much for reading and commenting. It means a lot to know that other people enjoy and are touched by what I write.