A user, mysharona1987, posted this prompt on tumblr and I had to run with it:

Realistic fairy tale endings

- After Elsa nearly killed them all because she couldn't control her powers, the people of Arendelle conclude she is too reckless and dangerous to have as ruler and send her to the guillotine, Marie Antoinette-style.

Major character death, obviously. Bring your hankies.

"Elsa, NO, you can't DO this! I just got you back, I can't watch them ... execute you!" Anna was sobbing, her words choked out through her tears.

Her sister sat in the window bay of her room. When the Council had (timorously) told her that the people demanded her execution for the crimes she had committed against the kingdom on her Coronation Day, she had meekly submitted to their judgement and gave her solemn oath that she would neither resist nor run away from her fate.

So instead of being imprisoned in her own dungeons, she was allowed to spend her last days in comfort in her room. With her sister, the soon-to-be Queen Anna of Arendelle.

Elsa didn't want to die, but she felt that her crimes were so heinous that it was justice that she pay for them with her life.

"Anna, I don't want to leave you, but, it is all that I deserve. There were people that died from the cold, and the kingdom will come close to starvation this winter because of the damage my powers caused the crops. I must pay for those crimes." She hung her head, not wanting Anna to see her tears. "I'm sorry that I am leaving you to handle the shambles I created."

Elsa's room was on the side of the castle facing the fjord, not the courtyard, so they could not hear the hammers and saws as the workmen built the guillotine. But she knew it was happening.

Anna broke into even louder sobs and wailed, "But I don't want to be the Queen! I want my sister to be Queen and I can be her right hand and we can fix this together!"

Elsa went over to the bed, sat down next to Anna and took her into her arms. "I am so, so sorry, Anna. If only Papa had let us be together, if only I had the courage to reach out to you after we lost them, maybe none of this would have happened. But the past is in the past and there is no other way to atone for the evil I brought down on Arendelle."

The two sisters stayed in their embrace for hours, tears flowing freely as they shared the love they felt for each other; the love that had been stolen from them by fate for thirteen years. But there would be no happy ending to this tale, only Elsa's death, and a sister bereft of her best friend forever.

A knock on the door startled Anna, but Elsa seemed to expect it. She kissed Anna tenderly on the forehead, then stood and said, "Come in."

The door opened to reveal the Bishop and the Baron who was the head of the Royal Council. The Bishop said, "You summoned us?" He used no honorifics and his voice was strained. He did not agree with the decision to execute the Queen, but had no choice.

"Yes. I called you here to witness my abdication," Elsa said in a calm voice.

Anna's head shot up in astonishment and it was clear that the Bishop and the Baron were equally caught off guard.

"Why?" snarled the Baron. He had lost family to the cold, and his farms were in ruins. Hatred was the only emotion he felt toward Elsa.

She looked at him cooly and replied, "Because the history of Arendelle should not be marred by a regicide. I accept the judgement of the people that I have committed a crime that deserves death. By abdicating in favor of the Princess Anna, I will die as a common criminal, and Arendelle's conscience will be free from future doubts concerning my execution."

Elsa walked over to her dresser, and got a sheet of paper and something else from the top drawer. She brought the paper to the Bishop. "Here is my decree of abdication. If you both sign and witness it, the throne passes to my sister."

While the Bishop and the Baron read and witnessed the document, Elsa went back to sit next to Anna, who was still in stunned silence over this development.

The Bishop looked at the two sisters and said, "Very well. It is done." He addressed Anna and said, "Your Majesty, we will discuss your coronation after her exec ... after." He bowed, and the two men left the room, closing the door behind them.

Elsa put her arms around Anna, who had begun to cry again once the men left. "Shhh, shhh, it's okay, Anna."

"Elsa, I can't handle this, I can't!" Anna wailed.

Her sister tried to reassure her. "I know this is hard; so hard. But you are strong, Anna, and you will make a wonderful Queen. You'll fix the mess I'm leaving you, and Arendelle will grow and prosper under Good Queen Anna. I pass this crown to you with the confidence that you will wear it with honor and grace."

Elsa held out her hand, her golden tiara lay in her palm. She mused that she was glad that they had been able to return to her Ice Palace before the turmoil had arisen that resulted in her condemnation. They had found Marshmallow, and he had returned her crown to her.

"No, I don't want it. I won't take it!"

"Yes, you will. Because it is your duty, Anna. And you will do your duty to the kingdom, just like I will do mine."

Anna flung herself into Elsa's arms again, and they spent Elsa's last hours on earth trying to make up for thirteen years of isolation.

Shortly after the dawn, there was another knock on the door, and they heard Kai's voice, strained and awkward. "Milady? It's ... time. They are calling for you to present yourself."

"Tell them I will dress and be ready in a few minutes, Kai," Elsa replied.

She rose and pulled Anna to her feet. "Help me dress, Anna?"

It didn't take long for her to dress in a plain but elegant dress in dark gray with purple rosemaling. Anna helped her brush and plait her hair and put it up in a bun, so her neck was bare.

Gerda had brought a dress for Anna as well - her mourning clothes; the ones she had worn for her parents' memorial service. Anna would mourn Elsa, even if no one else did.

Finished, they looked at each other, then embraced tightly, neither of them wanting to let go.

"Come, Anna. It's time." Elsa finally pulled away, then took Anna's hand and walked to the door.

Hand in hand they walked to the main door of the castle, accompanied by two Arendelle guards. The halls were lined with servants and staff, who bowed or curtsied as the sisters passed them.

At the courtyard door, the last two servants were Kai and Gerda. It was clear that Gerda had been weeping, although no tears were on her face now. Kai had the stoic look of a man pushed to his limits. They both bowed to Elsa.

"Thank you for everything, Kai, Gerda. For years you served me, and my gratitude for your kindness knows no bounds." Elsa looked at Anna, then continued, "I know you will take care of my sister for me."

Anna was fighting back her tears, her face twisted in anguish as she realized this was the end, Elsa was really going through with this abomination.

"Elsa ..."

Her sister wrapped her in one last hug and whispered into her ear, "I love you, Anna. I have always loved you, and I will carry that love into eternity." Elsa kissed Anna, then released her and turned to go out into the courtyard.

Kai said to Anna, "Your Majesty?" and gestured at the door.

"No. No! I will not go out there and witness this horror. How can you even suggest that? No." and Anna turned away from the door and slumped to the floor, her back against the wall. She wrapped her arms around her knees and put her head down to begin sobbing again.

She could still hear, though. The crowd noise had increased when Elsa had stepped out into the courtyard. A minute or so passed, long enough for Elsa to cross the courtyard to the steps of the guillotine and mount them. The crowd fell silent. Anna braced herself and couldn't breathe. The only sound was the pounding of her own heart ... then she heard "swish ... Thunk!" and the mob cheering wildly. She sobbed and put her head down and squeezed her eyes shut, trying desperately not to visualize the executioner reaching down, grabbing Elsa's hair and holding her head up in a macabre display for the crowd.

Elsa was dead, her sister was dead.

"The Queen is dead; long live the Queen ..." Anna whispered to herself. She wiped the tears from her eyes and stood. She was the Queen, and her duty to Arendelle was calling to her.