Freeing the Winter Lily

Chapter One

Elsa finished reading the letter, then crumpled it up and sighed. Another one, she thought, rolling her eyes. That makes what, a dozen? More? Each more insipid than the last. She tossed the crumpled ball of parchment at the waste basket in the corner of the room, but her aim was off and it bounced off of the wall.

"Wow, Els," came Anna's voice from the doorway. "I figured you'd make that shot with how often you take it." Elsa turned and saw her sister standing just inside the entrance to her study. A grin split her face and she hurried around the desk to pull Anna into a hug. "I'm glad to see you, too," the Princess said, returning the hug. "What was that, anyway? Another love letter?"

"Yes," Elsa groaned. She reluctantly pulled away from her sister and sighed. "From Sweden this time."

"Ah yes, Prince Lindorf," Anna said. She held a finger under her nose to simulate a mustache and adopted an exaggerated accent. "Oh, Your Most Rrrrroyal Majesty, I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed my recent visit to Arendelle. Especially since it was a mere two days and I slept past noon both days after staying up all night drinking with my men. I do so hope that you'll consider coming to visit Sweden so that I can show you the sights of country and express my… appreciation." She finished her speech with a waggle of her eyebrows.

Elsa chuckled into a hand. "Stop it, Anna," she said. She glanced over at the trash can. "Though truthfully, you're not that far off. He did invite me to Sweden to 'show his appreciation' for my 'immense hospitality' during his visit… Yet, he seemed to enjoy the local tavern more than anything else based on how often he was nursing a hangover." She sat on the edge of her desk and let out a sigh. "But yes, another trite letter that talks more about how much they enjoyed Arendelle than they did getting to know me… not that many of them have tried."

Anna sat down next to her sister. "Well, they don't know what they're missing," she said. "Which means I get you all to myself."

Elsa leaned over and rested her head on Anna's shoulder. She savored the quiet for a moment, then said, "This would all be so much easier if we could just marry each other."

She had expected Anna to laugh, but her sister was silent, almost thoughtful. Elsa was about to check and make sure that she was still breathing when Anna finally responded. "Why don't we?" she asked.

Elsa sat upright and let out a disbelieving, "What?" She was sure that she had misheard, there was no way that her sister was actually suggesting… "Anna, you can't be serious."

"Okay, maybe not marriage," Anna said, "but a… courtship or something." She hopped off of the desk and strode over to the window that overlooked the fjord. "Why wait for another second-rate Prince from who-knows-where to show up and be more interested in the crown he can get than the marvelous woman who wears it? You deserve someone who loves Elsa, not just The Queen." Anna faltered in her speech, ducking her head a bit as she walked back toward the desk. "And… I'd like to be that someone, if you'll let me."

Elsa could only sit and stare for a moment. Where did she learn how to be so romantic? she wondered. "I don't know, Anna," she said. "I'm not… it sounds…"

"Hey," Anna said, taking her sister's hands. "It's fine if you don't want to do this. It's not exactly a… normal idea. You can say 'no' and I won't be disappointed or upset or think any less of you."

Elsa was speechless. There was an earnestness in Anna's eyes that told her every word was true. She could turn down the proposition—an insane proposition, frankly—and Anna would accept her decision without a hint of disappointment or malice. The strange thing was that she didn't want to turn it down. It was an outlandish idea to be sure, but it had its merits. There was, however, one thing that gave her pause.

"I don't want to hurt you," she said softly. "If we do this… if we try being together but it doesn't work, or even worse if it does work but we have to stop for some reason…" She dropped her eyes down to their joined hands, unable to hold her sister's intense gaze. "I don't think that I could live with myself if I was the one who broke your heart."

"Oh, Elsa," Anna said, smiling. She lifted one of her sister's hand and kissed the back of it. "There's no one in the whole world I would rather trust with my heart than you."

Elsa ducked her head a bit while heat flooded her face. When Anna said it like that, she almost felt worthy of being entrusted with her heart. Even so, she chewed on her lip, unsure. Part of her wanted this, but that part worried her. Anna was her sister, so how could she even consider a romantic relationship with her? It should have been a repulsive idea, and yet…

"Tell you what," Anna said, derailing Elsa's train of thought. "I can tell that you're torn on this, and honestly I can't blame you." She stood up and took a few steps back. "So, I propose a test. Something that will help you figure out exactly how you feel."

"And that would be?" Elsa asked.

"Kiss me," Anna replied.

Elsa's heart leapt into her throat. The thought of kissing Anna both terrified her and sent butterflies through her stomach. It was an exciting idea, but she knew that this was a point of no return. If anything were to happen between them, they would never be able to go back to be just sisters again. Steeling herself, she stood up and took a step closer to Anna. The redhead closed her eyes and pursed her lips slightly, content to wait until Elsa was ready. With one last deep breath, she leaned forward.

There was no jolt of lightning when their lips touched, no life-altering moment of clarity. Anna's lips were soft and warm, but they were flesh just like any other part of her. She held the contact for a few seconds, then pulled away. As strange as it sounded, she was a bit disappointed that she hadn't felt anything.

Anna opened her eyes a moment later, her confused expression seeming to ask, 'is that it?' She glanced around, lost in thought. "Can I try?" she asked, "Me kissing you, I mean."

"Of course," Elsa replied. She wasn't sure how it would make a difference who was kissing whom, but she was willing to try if Anna wanted to. She wasn't exactly sure what she was supposed to do, so she just waited. Anna hesitated, starting to move forward only to sway back on her heels again. It was the first hint of nervousness that she had shown during their discussion, and Elsa could barely stand how adorable it made her sister look.

Anna finally stepped closer, bringing a hand up to cup Elsa's cheek while the other arm slid around her waist. Their lips met again, and Anna pulled her sister closer. Elsa felt Anna's lips moving against hers, so she tried to reciprocate. The hand on her cheek slid around to the back of her head, fingers weaving into her hair. Something stirred in Elsa's gut. The feeling of Anna's lips on hers, the hand on her back pulling her in and pressing their bodies together, the fingers in her hair, they all combined to spark a warmth that spread through her body and made her head swim. She brought her hands up and grabbed the shoulders of Anna's dress to steady herself.

She wasn't sure how long they kissed, but Elsa was panting lightly when they finally separated. She locked eyes with Anna. Her sister was flushed, but had a small self-satisfied smile on her face. Just as she had feared, something had sparked between them. There was no going back. "No one can know about this," she said, "about us."

"That just makes it more fun," Anna purred before capturing Elsa's lips in another kiss. Outside, bells tolled to herald the arrival of a new hour. Anna groaned and pulled away. "I have to go," she said.

"Go?" Elsa repeated. "Where?"

"I'm arbitrating a dispute between the leaders of the Merchant's Guild and the Fisherman's Guild," she said, taking a step back. Her hand trailed down Elsa's arm, sending a shiver through the blonde. "I'm supposed to be meeting them at the docks right now. I was actually on my way down there before I stopped to see you and got… distracted."

Elsa half-wanted to tell her sister to forget about the meeting, but she couldn't. She was proud of Anna for taking initiative in helping her manage the kingdom. There had been more than one time where she had decided to delegate a task to Anna, only to find that she had already chosen to take care of it herself. As enjoyable as it was, Elsa couldn't ask her sister to shirk her duties simply to stay with her and explore this new aspect of their relationship. "Well, you'd best not keep them waiting too long," she said, moving back behind her desk. "Especially Josef. For a man whose job revolves around waiting for fish to get caught in a net, he's incredibly impatient."

Anna giggled and headed for the door. "Yeah," she replied, "the trick with him is to ask him about his grandchildren if he gets riled up. You'll have to listen to him gush about them for ten minutes or so, but when he's done he'll have completely forgotten why he was upset." She pulled the door open a bit, then paused. Before her sister could question it, she dashed back across the room, lunged across the desk, and planted one last kiss on Elsa's lips. Just as quickly, she bounded back across the room and out the door, calling back, "See you later, Els!"

Elsa sat and stared across her desk where Anna had been an instant before. Her lips still tingled from the parting kiss. She slumped back in her chair and muttered, "What have I gotten myself into?"

"Anna, it's time to get up," Elsa cooed. The mound of blankets and hair that allegedly contained her sister stirred for a moment, then grew still again. She prodded it with a finger, drawing a low guttural growl from the mound. "Come on, Anna. If you don't get up now, breakfast will be cold by the time you get there." She sat down on the edge of the bed. "Is it going to be like this every day now?"

A pair of teal eyes peeked out from under the blanket. "You know the rules," Anna groused, her voice muffled. Elsa couldn't help but smile, despite her sister's stubbornness. A few days after their experience in her study, she had found Anna still in bed and woken her up with a kiss. Every day since then, Anna had refused to get out of bed without getting a kiss first. She claimed that she had been cursed and that only the kiss of a beautiful Queen could break the spell. Elsa leaned down, pulled the blanket aside, then gave her sister a kiss. Anna snaked an arm free and wrapped it around Elsa's neck, pulling her further down and holding her in place to prolong the contact. When they separated, the redhead was nearly purring in contentment.

"Alright, sleepyhead," Elsa said, "let's go. Up." Anna looked at her for a moment, then burrowed back into the blanket. Smirking, she called on her magic and let it course through her hand. "Alright, but you brought this on yourself," she said, then she dug her hand under the blanket and pressed it against the first patch of skin that she could find.

Anna shrieked and thrashed about. Her protective blanket betrayed her, twisting around her limbs and trapping her. "Stop it!" she cried. She finally managed to free an arm and flailed it in Elsa's direction. "That's not fair!"

"You know the rules," Elsa replied, grinning. She let the magic fade and pulled her hand out of the blanket. When her sister had calmed down, she set to work untangling her from the blanket. Once the redhead was free, Elsa took a hand and helped her out of bed. "Come on," she said as she pulled Anna up. "There's a bath waiting for you, and if you hurry there might still be some breakfast left for you when you're done."

Anna grumbled for a moment before muttering, "Fine." She lifted her arms and stretched. As she did, Elsa found her eyes tracing the slender curve of Anna's neck, the sharp lines of her collarbones, the gentle swell of her…

She tore her eyes away, looking back up as Anna's arms came down and rested on her shoulders. Her thoughts ran in half a dozen different direction, leaving her feeling more than a little confused. She'd never looked at her sister in a physical way before, but allure was undeniable. Regardless, it was neither the time nor place to ponder the issue, so she pushed the feelings to the back of her mind. Anna, oblivious to Elsa's distraction, grinned and said, "I think I'll need a little something extra to last me until I make it to breakfast."

"You're incorrigible," Elsa said before leaning in for another kiss. She wrapped her arms around the small of Anna's back while the arms around her neck pulled her closer. While they were kissing, she felt something wet swipe along her bottom lip. It was gone as quickly as it had arrived, so she ignored it. The wet feeling returned a few moments later, lingering and passing along her lip more slowly this time. Elsa pulled back and saw her sister's tongue retreat back into her mouth. "What are you doing?" she asked.

Anna ducked her head as her cheeks darkened. "Using my… tongue?" she quietly answered. She pulled her arms back and buried her face in her hands. "I know, I know. It's weird." She took a breath and looked up again, her face still solidly crimson. "But years ago I was just wandering around and I saw a handmaiden and stableboy that were kissing using their tongues. They really seemed to enjoy it, so I thought I would try it." She smiled bashfully. "Guess I should have mentioned it before I decided to try it, huh?"

"That might have helped," Elsa replied. She darted in and gave one last chaste kiss. "We'll have to try that later. For now, you need to get to your bath."

"You're no fun," Anna muttered, crossing her arms and pouting.

"I believe the problem is that you find me entirely too much fun," Elsa shot back. "Now go. I'll see you at breakfast." She turned to leave the room, only to let out a yelp when squeezed her butt. "Anna!" she hissed, whirling back around. "I told you not to do that!"

"And I told you to not have such a cute butt," Anna retorted. She winked, then headed off to the her closet. Elsa glared after for her a moment, then got an idea. She summoned her magic and formed a snowball. Taking careful aim, she tossed it and hit her sister square in the buttocks. It was Anna's turn to yelp, her hands whipping down to cover her now wet backside. The redhead turned and stuck her tongue out, then scurried into her closet as a second snowball sailed past.

Elsa let out a small sigh, then turned and left the room. She headed for the dining room, but the walk left her alone with her thoughts. The image of Anna's soft skin crept back into her mind. There was no point in denying it; her sister was attractive. Very much so, in fact. It was a strange observation for her to make, and not only because it was about her own sister. She had never been attracted to a woman before. Not that any of the men parading themselves through here have been anything to look at, she thought wryly. But maybe that wasn't their fault.

She stopped and gazed out a window, letting her mind wander a little further. She had never paid much thought to who she might be attracted to. Being the Queen, it likely wouldn't have mattered anyway. Her marriage would be one of political convenience, not love. Her parents had been lucky enough to fall in love and be happily married for years, but they had been careful to tell her and her sister that not all rulers had the same fortune. Their warning hadn't dissuaded Anna from her dreams of marrying a Prince with whom she fell in love at first sight, and Elsa was secretly envious of her sister for it. Being "only" the Crown Princess, Anna was under significantly less pressure to choose a spouse who could offer something to Arendelle. If Anna met a man whom she wanted to marry for love-and whom she had known for a time measured in months or years rather than days-Elsa was prepared to give her blessing. However, she knew that she wouldn't have that luxury, and had tried to prepare herself for a purely political marriage. She would entertain the various Princes that paraded through her kingdom, then pick the one that offered Arendelle the most in return for her hand.

At least, that's how it was supposed to happen, she thought. As usual, Anna had upended her carefully laid plans in what seemed like an instant. Their short relationship had shown her what it was like having a partner who loved her. Over the years that she had spent preparing for her rule as Queen, she had come to terms with the idea that she might never achieve the same kind of loving marriage that her parents had enjoyed. She had even spent some time worried that her powers would prevent her from marrying at all.

Yet in little more than two weeks, Anna had made her question whether she would be able to tolerate a marriage to someone that she didn't truly love. They had done little more than kiss. But every time they finally went their separate ways, her head was swimming and she couldn't stop grinning. She had even caught herself daydreaming in the middle of a few Council meetings wondering when they would next be able to sneak off somewhere private.

Is this… Love? she wondered. The thought had floated through her mind amidst half a dozen others, but once it took root it slowly grew until it crowded out all others. Am I in love with Anna? I loved her before, is this really any different? Questions swirled around her mind, pulling her in different directions.

Something pressed against her cheek, pulling her from her thoughts and making her jump. She turned to see Anna giggling at her fright. "Don't do that, Anna," she chided, swatting at her sister's arm.

Anna caught Elsa's hand and held it. "What, I can't give my wonderful sister a kiss on the cheek?" she asked. "Besides, I called your name like four times, but you didn't answer."

"Oh," Elsa replied. "I'm sorry. I was… lost in thought."

"Clearly," Anna said, smirking. "Now, come on miss 'hurry or you'll be late for breakfast.' I don't know what the chefs cooked up, but it smells amazing and I'm starving." She took off down the hall, pulling Elsa along by the hand. The blonde did her best to keep up, thankful that she had opted for flat shoes instead of heels.

Elsa was out of breath by the time they reached the dining room. Too much time sitting behind my desk, I suppose. The table was arrayed with a veritable feast of fruits, meats, and pastries, but she had no appetite. Her stomach twisted and churned while her mind quickly resumed the train of thought that Anna had derailed earlier. She peeked over at her sister out of the corner of her eye. Despite her attempt at discretion, the redhead caught her and offered a warm smile that made her heart flutter. She discarded any last vestiges of doubt. She was hopelessly in love with Anna, that much was painfully obvious. The only question that remained was: what would they do about it?

"Anna," she said, "we need to talk." Her sister froze and looked up at her, fork still halfway in her mouth. Elsa put her own silverware and pushed her plate away. She had barely eaten but she still felt like she was going to be sick. "I just… Well…" Anna was looking at her expectantly. She took a deep breath and started talking, hopeful that she would be able to channel some small part of Anna's ability to improvise.

"I've been… thinking," Elsa said. "We need to talk about where we're going with this-" She motioned between them. "-with… us." She glanced at the door, regretting her decision to delve into the conversation somewhere other than her study. Anna's expression shifted from mild intrigue to concern, and Elsa tried to offer half a dozen different explanations and reassurances at once. "It's just that I want to make sure that we're both… If we're not in the same, or at least headed in the same… We've been kind of playing this by ear until now, but-"

"Hey," Anna interjected, cutting across the blonde's rambling. She took one of Elsa's hands and gave it a gentle squeeze. "As cute as it is to see you flustered like this, just tell me what's wrong. Whatever's going on in that adorable little head of yours, just let it out and we'll figure it out together."

"Right," Elsa said. "As I was trying to say, I think that it's important that we have a discussion about where we're going with our… relationship." Her throat felt like it was closing up, and she wondered if Anna could hear her heart thundering in her chest. "Because I… I think that…" She gathered what shreds of courage she could and blurted out, "I love you."

Anna gave her a bemused smile. "Is that all?" she asked. "Because I know that I love you."

"That's not-" Elsa huffed and chewed on he rip for a moment. "I mean I think that I'm falling in love with you… romantically." Anna's smile morphed into a predatory grin. She stood up and scampered over to the door, sliding the lock into place before coming back to the table.

"That's good," she said before turning Elsa's chair away from the table. She climbed onto it and straddled the blonde's legs, resting her arms on Elsa's shoulders. "Because I am completely, absolutely-" She leaned closer as she spoke, until Elsa could feel her breath ghosting against her lips. "-one hundred percent, head over heels in love with you." She closed the last distance between them, lavishing her sister with a long, languid kiss.

Elsa nearly melted into her chair. All of the questions swirling through her mind faded away, lost in the feeling of Anna pressed so close against her. The redhead's scent surrounded her, fresh and earthy like the trees that she still loved to climb. Her sister started to pull away, but she wrapped her arms around her and held her in place. She savored the kiss for a moment longer, then let go and fell back against her chair. There were so many things that she wanted to say and questions that she wanted to ask, but she was having trouble forming a coherent thought after the kiss. Eventually, she managed a weak, "Wow." Anna giggled, and the sound made her heart skip a beat.

"I agree," Anna said. She lingered for a moment, finally pulling back when her sister started to lean up for another kiss. "Not here," she whispered as she climbed down from Elsa's lap. "But there'll be plenty of time for it later." She sat back in her chair and went back to her food.

Elsa could only sit and stare. Anna's confession, and the subsequent kiss, had lifted a weight from her shoulders and allowed her to breathe more easily. But it also raised more questions than it answered. Several of the them fought for her attention, begging to be asked. However, all she managed to do was blurt out, "How?"

"How?" Anna repeated, giggling again. "How could I not? I mean, just look at you. You're smart, funny, kind, and breath-takingly gorgeous." She speared a piece of fruit and shrugged. "It was really just a matter of time before it happened."

The sound of someone trying to open the door echoed across the room, followed shortly by a trio of firm knocks. Anna pushed her sister's plate back toward her, then stood up. "Eat," she said, "there'll be plenty of time to talk about it once we're somewhere a little more… private." She winked before skipping off to unlock the door.

Elsa resolutely tried to ignore the blush she could feel spreading across her face. She went back to picking at her food, though her mind was too busy whirling with questions for her to worry about being hungry. She looked up and saw Kai following Anna back to the table. "Good morning, Kai," she said.

"Good morning, Your Majesty," he replied, bowing. "Your morning session of Open Court is due to start in ten minutes. Will you be ready by then, or would you like me to postpone it for a time?"

Elsa thought for a moment, looking to Anna. She was sorely tempted to push Open Court back by half an hour or so for a bit of private time with her sister. Maybe I can start it on time and just 'accidentally' be a bit late. She pondered the idea for a moment longer before dismissing it. Her father's lessons about her duties as Queen were instilled too deeply. Even if she did sneak away with Anna, she would just be thinking about how she should be attending to her Open Court.

"That won't be necessary, Kai," she said. "I'll be along shortly, thank you." Kai bowed and left. When the door closed behind him, Elsa sighed and looked at her sister.

"Don't look at me," she said, a smirk tugging at her lips. "You're the one who decided that it was a good idea to tell me that you loved me ten minutes before you had to hold Open Court."

Elsa sat back and crossed her arms. "Oh?" she said. "And when should I have told you?"

Anna tapped her chin for a moment, though her lopsided grin told Elsa that she already had her answer and was only pretending to think about it. "If I had to guess," she said at length, "I would say either over a romantic candlelit dinner, or down on one knee while proposing to me."

"Oh, really?" Elsa asked. She had to admit that Anna's suggestions had a certain level of romance and elegance that her stammering confession over breakfast lacked. "Well, it's clear that you've put a lot of thought into this." She couldn't say that she was surprised. She had had a lot of time to plan out things like that while she was locked away in the castle for years.

However, there was one question that Anna's prepared response brought to mind. "How long have you known?" she asked. The redhead looked up at her, a hint of panic in her eyes as they darted around. "Anna," she said more sternly. "How long have you known?"

"That's not important," Anna replied, waving a hand dismissively. She pushed away from the table a little more forcefully than necessary, causing her chair to screech across the stone floor. She cleared her throat and said, "Well, you need to get to Open Court, so I won't keep you any longer." She turned on her heel and strode towards the door, only for a wall of ice to spring up in front of her.

Elsa stood slowly and approached her sister, who stared down at her shoes. She lifted Anna's chin with a hand. "There's no wrong answer, Anna," she said softly. "Whether it was last month, last week, or even years ago." Anna bit her lip, and Elsa asked, "Was it years ago?"

"No," Anna replied, before hastily clarifying, "Well, not really. It's just…" she blew out a breath. "It's complicated." Outside, bells rang to signal the arrival of a new hour. Anna glanced out the window. "You need to go," she said, holding up a finger as her sister started to say something. "I promise that I'll tell you everything and anything you want to know when you get back. But for now, you need to focus on your duty."

Elsa pursed her lips. As much as she didn't want to admit it, Anna was right. "Fine," she said. "but I had better not come back to find out that you ran up the mountain to hide with the trolls… again."

"Oh come on, I did that one time," Anna retorted, crossing her arms. "You really need to let that go."

"Not a chance," Elsa said, smiling. She gave Anna a kiss on the cheek as she walked past, heading out of the dining room. As she neared the Throne Room, she heard voices echoing from down the hall. Already out the door, she thought. Wonderful. Any hope that she'd had for a quick session of Court were dashed. The people waiting in line fell silent as she passed, except for a few nobles who offered her perfunctory greetings as she walked. She couldn't help but give a light sigh as she sat down, motioning for the first supplicant to approach.

Elsa had thoroughly reached the end of her patience. After a grueling session of Open Court, she had been stopped by Duke Alexi Karloff, Arendelle's Master of Coin and one of the most influential members of her Royal Council. He had initially claimed to only want a moment of her time, but he had droned on for so long that over half of the Council's members had stopped and surrounded them, trying to stage an impromptu Council meeting. She had been waiting patiently for a pause in the conversation that she could use to excuse herself, but it was becoming increasingly clear that such a pause was never coming.

"Gentlemen," she said forcefully, precluding a retort that Duke Karloff was about to release. "I appreciate all of your concerns, but this is neither the time nor place to discuss them. Since so many of you seem to have something to say that's important enough to stop me in the middle of the hall-" She met each Council member's gaze in turn, taking a small enjoyment from watching them squirm and wilt under her stare. "I'll have Kai arrange an additional Council meeting for tomorrow morning. I'll have him send out messengers with the specific time later this afternoon."

"Of course, Your Majesty," Duke Karloff replied, bowing. "Please accept my deepest apologies on behalf of us all. I did begin this mess, after all. We shan't take up any more of your time than we already have." He turned and beckoned to the rest of the assembled Council members. "Come gentlemen, Duchess Haskaal, let us away." He bowed once more to the Queen, then turned and headed down the hallway. The rest of the members followed him, a few of them grumbling to one another shortly before moving out of earshot.

Elsa watched them leave for a moment. She couldn't figure out Alexi. He vacillated between being stubborn as an Ox and obedient as a Hound, sometimes within the same sentence. A mystery for another time, she thought. Her mind returned to Anna, not that the redhead had been far from her thoughts since she left breakfast. It occurred to her that they had neglected to agree on where to meet once she was done with Court.

Only so many places she can be, she thought as she started off toward her study. Unfortunately, her study was empty, as was Anna's room. That left the library as the last place her sister might be that didn't require climbing either on top of the castle or up a mountain. She quickly made her way to the library, barely slowing as she threw open the door.

"Anna?" she called out. A faint echo floated back to her, but the massive room was otherwise silent. She waited a few moments, mentally working on the scolding she was going to give Anna when she finally found whatever hiding place she had run off to. Just as she was about to leave, she heard Anna's voice float out from the back corner of the library.

"Over here."

She headed deeper into the library, rounding a corner into a small alcove with two large chairs facing a window. Anna was sitting in one with her legs pulled up to her chest. She smiled as Elsa came into view. She moved over as much as she could and patted the seat next to her. Elsa sat down, and Anna snuggled up next to her, laying her head on Elsa's shoulder. The pair sat in silence, Elsa staring at Anna while she stared out the window. The redhead chewed on her lip for a moment, seeming to need one last bit of time to organize her thoughts.

"I think I fell in love with the idea of you first," Anna said after a time. She chewed her bottom lip. "Maybe 'love' isn't the right word. I venerated you, worshipped you almost. You were like my own personal valkyrie, sent down by the gods to watch over me. I could only catch fleeting glimpses of you; not enough to really see you, but just enough to make me keep trying. Even though we never saw each other, you would always get me the absolute perfect gifts for my birthday. It was like you knew what I wanted even better than I did." She sighed and looked out the window. "I had these… powerful feelings for you, but I didn't know what they meant or what to do with them."

Anna fell silent for a few moments, simply staring out over the fjord. After a time, Elsa asked, "When did you realize that your feelings for me were… romantic?"

"That part was easy, actually," Anna replied. "It was out on the fjord, when I saw…" She paused and swallowed. "When I saw Hans about to… to kill you." She took Elsa's hand and squeezed it, as if to make sure that her sister was really there. "I saw you just sitting there, that sword ready to swing down on you. I knew in that moment that I had to save you, even if it would cost me my life."

Elsa pulled her sister into a hug, squeezing her eyes shut against the tears welling up in them. "I'm so sorry," she murmured.

"For the thousandth time, I forgive you," Anna replied. She leaned into the hug, nestling her face in Elsa's neck. "How many times do I have to tell you that?"

"A thousand more should do it," Elsa said. They separated and she gave her sister a quick kiss on the cheek. After a few moments of silence, she asked, "Where do we go from here?"

Anna grinned. "Well," she said, "there's still some time until lunch, and no one knows where we are, so…" She ducked away from a playful swat, giggling. "I know. I know." She tapped her fingers on the arm of the chair, thinking. "Does this really change anything?" she asked. "I mean, we still have to be careful and keep our relationship secret. All that's different is that now we know it's real."

Elsa shrunk in on herself a bit, her eyes dropping to her lap. "It was always real to me," she murmured.

Anna reached down and linked their fingers. "Me too," she said. "I just didn't want to speak for you." She leaned in for a kiss, then laid her head on Elsa's shoulder. "So, here we are; two lovers with an impossible romance. We're just like Romeo and Juliet, except we're both girls… and related to one another. Also, wasn't Juliet like thirteen years old?" She pursed her lips. "Maybe we're not exactly like Romeo and Juliet."

"That's probably for the best, seeing as how they both died at the end of the play," Elsa said. She chuckled as her sister stuck her tongue out at her. "But I suppose you're right. In the end, not much has changed." She brought her hand up and trailed her nails along Anna's side, causing the redhead to squirm. "There was something else that you were right about, too."

"Hmm?" Anna said around a poorly suppressed giggle. "What?"

"No one knows where we are," Elsa replied. Her sister's face lit up, and the redhead nearly knocked her out of the chair when she pounced. Before she could register what had happened, Anna had straddled her and captured her lips in a fierce kiss. It was a bit rough, but Elsa couldn't complain. Anna's infectious enthusiasm had her fighting back just as hard, and she let her lips part when she felt her sister's tongue brush against them.