#agnaar

Once she was back home, she found her husband sitting at the kitchen table. His eyes were fixed in the cold cup of tea in front of him. Elsa hadn’t even put sugar on it. She had simply left it on the table untouched. But for some reason, she could understand Agdar. That cup of tea was the closest they had ever been to having a normal conversation with their daughter, and probably the closest they’d ever be.

Shaking her head, she tried in vain to get rid of those thoughts and the overwhelming sadness she was feeling. She then tried to focus her attention on her husband once again. It was clear he was feeling a lot of regret, the fact he hadn't even noticed her presence was in itself a clear indicator. But no matter how much she tried to understand Agdar's frustration and sorrow, the pent-up anger she felt towards him at that moment wouldn’t let her think straight. 

She couldn't forgive him, at least not at that moment. Since the day they had found Elsa, they had talked a lot about the things they should or shouldn’t do if they ever got the chance to talk to her. They both knew how delicate the situation was. How important it was to give their daughter as much time and space as she needed. Any mistake, no matter how small, could result in Elsa shutting the door in their faces forever. They knew that. And still, he had done the opposite of everything they had agreed on. He had ambushed and pressured Elsa into talking to them. He had let his own personal wishes cloud his judgement, ruining possibly the only opportunity they could ever get.

"Idunn…"

The voice of Agdar called her attention and she wondered for a moment if she had said out loud any of the things she was thinking about him. She waited for him to speak once again, afraid she had indeed said anything.

"Did you talk to her?" His voice was so low it took Idunn a moment to understand what he had said.

"Barely," she answered. She didn't want to sound so cold and distant, their family didn't need more problems. Anna didn't need to worry about them. She wouldn’t forgive them if they started fighting for mistakes they had made over twenty years before. But at the same time, she couldn't pretend. She couldn't act nonchalantly when Agdar had driven Elsa away.

"I didn't mean for any of this to happen." He wasn’t looking at her, his eyes were still fixed in the cup of tea in front of him as he rubbed his hands together.

Of course you didn't, she thought. Only a heartless bastard would want to push their child away. Deep down she knew he didn't want things to turn out the way they had. Though, she couldn't hide her frustration. "You know," she said as calmly as she could. She was about to confess one of her deepest secrets to him, and she needed to keep a level head. "Many sleepless nights I wondered if I shouldn't have kept Elsa to myself. Be just the two of us."

"What?" He didn’t raise his voice, but the hurt she heard in it was impossible to ignore. 

"I stopped thinking about it the day Anna was born but…"

"But?"

She could read him like an open book after spending twenty-five years together, she knew he was dreading the answer.

"Right now, after seeing how incredibly selfish you can be…" She took a deep breath, trying to calm down before she lost her temper. "I feel as if I should have done just that. Or at least I should've left after Anna was born, when she was old enough to come with me. I should've tried to find Elsa a long time ago."

He opened his mouth to explain to her she had done the right thing by staying. Or so Idunn imagined. But he closed it  before he said anything. He gaped at her for a few seconds before he said, "I'm sorry."

“Being sorry won't bring my daughter back home,” she said in a small voice. Even if it wasn’t strident, it carried all the anger and frustration she was feeling. At him, of course; but at herself mostly. She was Elsa’s mother. She had carried her for months. And she had promised the world to her. But then again, at the first inconvenience, she had abandoned her. “And at this point I think nothing will…”

Agdar nodded, understanding exactly what she meant. And she was thankful he didn’t comment on the tears that had started running down her face.

After a few minutes in silence, where both of them did nothing but look at the floor, Idunn said, “Please, when Anna gets home, try to pretend nothing happened here today.”

“I thought we wouldn't keep secrets anymore.”

“I promised Elsa we wouldn't tell Anna. She doesn’t want her sister to be between a rock and a hard place.” She smiled, thinking how caring of her sister Elsa was. “I want to keep that promise. Am I clear?”

“What if—”

“Am I clear, Agdar?” she repeated a bit louder.

“Yes.”

“Good.” She nodded her head a few times before turning around, ready to leave the kitchen. “I think Elsa left her clothes in the bathroom. I'll store them somewhere before Anna arrives.”

---

Finding a cab on a rainy Sunday had proved to be harder than Elsa originally imagined, which forced her to walk under the rain before she spotted an empty one. She waved to the black car and, only after getting in, did she get the chance to breathe a sigh of relief. She still needed to be careful not to let her concentration slip since she was inside a car with a stranger, but at least she knew it was a matter of minutes before she got home.

After the cab took a few turns, she realised she hadn’t checked the amount of money Idunn had lent her, and decided it was best to do it before the car had gone farther than she could pay. She counted the notes she found inside her pocket and opened her eyes in surprise at what she saw. There was more money than she had expected. More money than she could spend that month alone. She chuckled bitterly at the idea that her birth parents didn't worry about money as much as she did. She had to admit she was thankful to Idunn for giving her the umbrella and some money, even after everything that had happened; but still, seeing how easily they gave money away made her wonder if the story Idunn had told her about their youth was even true.

She sighed, and shook her head, hoping to forget about her fight with her birth parents for at least a few minutes. Giving herself a task to keep her preoccupied, she made sure to count the money again and decided she’d find a way to return Anna's clothes and the rest of the money one day. She only needed to find a way to do it without Anna or Kristoff finding out, though.

With nothing else to distract her, she turned her head to the window. Rain kept falling, matching her sorrowful mood, but at least she was getting closer to her parent’s home. She wasn’t sure she looked as miserable as she was feeling, but the odd looks the cab driver sent her way over the rearview mirror told her that she probably did. She couldn't get rid of the empty feeling in her chest, and she wondered how long it would take the wound to heal, or if it ever would. 

It’s ridiculous to be sad about something you suspected your whole life, Elsa. Get a grip, she told herself, though it was ridiculous to pretend it didn't hurt.

“Is this the house?”

The voice of the cab driver pulled her out of her trance, and she realised the car had come to a full stop.

“Miss?” he repeated, hoping to get an answer.

“Yes, it is. I’m sorry.”

“No need to apologise. It’ll be 95.7 kr.” As the cab driver watched her count the notes he said, “whatever it is you're thinking about, it shouldn’t make you frown like that. Even on days like today, there’s always a silver lining." He then offered her a sympathetic smile through the rearview mirror.

Elsa nodded but didn’t say anything. She guessed he was only trying to help her see things in a different light. But at the same time, she wondered what was the hardest thing he had had to endure in his life. Closing her eyes tight for a second, she tried to get rid of the bitter thoughts. He was just a stranger trying to be nice for all she knew. Thinking it was best to keep her ideas to herself, she paid the man what she owed and thanked him for the ride.

She was about to get out of the car when the man spoke to her again, “are you by any chance Kai's adopted daughter?”

Elsa wondered what was the point of drawing attention to the fact she was adopted, but she nodded nonetheless.

“I heard he and Gerda had found another kid somewhere. But I never saw you around. I thought it was just gossip,” he said with a laugh. “It was nice meeting you. Send Kai my regards.”

“I don’t know your name.” She knew she was being rude to this man for no reason, but somehow she couldn’t find the energy to pretend she wasn’t bothered by the conversation.

“Arthur,” he said, unaware of Elsa’s frustration. “I used to live in the neighbourhood. Ask your brother about me, I’m sure he must remember. He was always playing with my eldest son.”

Elsa remembered Kristoff playing outside and always pestering her to come play with him and the other kids. She was certain he'd remember the man, so she promised to send his regards. She bid her goodbyes and got out of the car.

On her way to the house, she wondered how many people in the neighbourhood even knew she existed. She guessed just a few did, considering she had spent the first three years inside the house. She wasn’t sure if she was relieved or not about the fact no-one besides her family really knew she existed. After all, less people knowing of her existence made it easier for her to hide her powers; but at the same time, it made her awfully aware of how little she mattered. She could count with only one hand the people who actually knew her and cared for her, and she wasn’t even sure one of them still did.

She knocked on the door and waited patiently for her parents to open up the door, hoping this time they were home. She also hoped to see the smile Gerda always offered her whenever she visited. After everything that had happened, she could use her mother’s sunny demeanour.

To her relief, Gerda was the one who opened the door and as she was hoping a big smile drew on her face. “Goodness me, Elsa!” She opened the door wide for her to enter and continued, “what are you doing here in this weather? Why didn't you say you were coming home today? I could have told your father to pick you up from the bus station before he went to work. Why are you still standing out there? Come in!”

Elsa tried to answer her questions, but got interrupted by a new one whenever she was about to do it. Deciding it was best to obey and talk only once Gerda finished her rambling, she got into the house and left the umbrella against the closest corner for it to dry.

"Don't get the floor all wet!" her mother exclaimed. "Wait, I’ll get a towel and a floor rag."

A few moments later Gerda showed up with both things and helped her with the bag while Elsa dried herself. "Have you eaten?" Gerda asked, after she gave Elsa the green light to enter the living room.

"What?" She asked, still distracted by her task at hand.

"Have you eaten something, dear?"

"No, not yet," she said, trying to sound natural, as if her disastrous morning hadn't happened. "But don't worry about it."

"Nonsense. I'll cook something for you. I ate out today," she said with a grin.

Gerda's smile made Elsa smile for the first time that day. There were many things Elsa admired about Gerda, and one of them was the way she enjoyed the little things in life. Eating out, even if it was on her own, would always put a smile on her face, especially when she tried new places in town. 

"I got home a few minutes ago, actually. I had just prepared some tea. I’d offer you some, but it’s peppermint. I know how much you hate it."

Walking into the kitchen, Elsa noticed the teapot and mug on top of the table. It was clear her mother hadn't sat down to drink it yet.

"Dad isn’t home?" she asked when she saw only one mug.

"Kai had to go to work earlier today. Something about…" Gerda paused, as she tried to remember what her husband had said that morning. "That thing or the other. Don't tell him I didn't pay attention to him," she said with a playful wink.

Elsa chuckled and nodded.

"So, what would you like to eat?" insisted Gerda, as she walked to the fridge to see if there were some leftovers or something she could offer Elsa.

"Mum, it's fine. You don't need to—"

"Oh, I know! I've got some pickled herring here. Does that sound good?"

A small smile drew on Elsa's face as soon as she heard the name of her favourite dish. It could certainly help lift her spirits. "Yes, it does."

Gerda smiled and took the jar out of the fridge, as well as some vegetables that could work as a side dish. "I was thinking about you, you know?" she said as she worked on her task. "I found some pictures last night; well, not pictures. I found a film in the camera. It was from the last time your father and I stayed at the cabin."

"That was over a year ago," Elsa said as she got closer to her mother. She couldn't remember the last time they had spent more than a day with her at the cabin.

"I know! I had forgotten to have those photos developed. So that's what I did this morning! Do you want to see them after—? Dear heavens, Elsa!" Gerda stopped what she was doing as soon as she turned to look at her. She dropped the plate on top of the counter and grabbed her injured hand. "What happened?! Let me see your hand. Why didn’t you tell me you needed help? Here I was talking and talking!"

Elsa was surprised at first, not understanding what had caused Gerda to get alarmed. But as soon as her mother demanded to see her hand, she noticed the blood stain she had left on the counter and allowed Gerda to examine her injured hand.

“Sit down,” demanded Gerda. “Let me get my things. Don’t touch it.”

Elsa chuckled once her mother was out of the room. Gerda wouldn’t let her rest if she knew the precarious bandages she had used in her hand earlier, and how many times she had touched the injury. She wasn’t proud of it, but she had done what she could.

“What on earth did you do?” Gerda asked once she was in the room with her again.

“I cut my hand with a shard of glass.” It wasn’t a lie and Elsa thought it was all the information her mother needed. “I came here so you could help me close the wound.”

“Then why didn't you say anything?!”

Elsa shrugged, unsure of why she hadn’t shown her injury as soon as she stepped into the house. All she knew was that, for a short time, she had forgotten about her problems and she had enjoyed her mother’s company too much to draw attention to them.

Gerda rolled her eyes at Elsa and said, “you need to start interrupting me, you know I could talk for hours about the most mundane things.” She opened her first aid kit and asked for Elsa’s hand. “Sweetheart, you shouldn't walk around with an exposed cut like this, especially under the rain.”

“I didn't have any gauze at home.”

“Elsa, how many times have I told you? You live in the middle of nowhere, always make sure you have everything you may need.” It had been a long time since Gerda had to reprimand her like a kid, and it made her feel nostalgic. Right at that moment, she realised how much she missed Kai and Gerda’s company. Given the choice, she probably wouldn’t have left the house to live in the mountains when she did, but the constant struggle to keep her powers concealed had forced her to do it sooner than expected. It was true she was happy when she was in the mountains, but she didn’t like the solitude as much as she pretended.

Elsa let her mother work on her hand, trying not to interrupt her. It was best Gerda disinfected and sutured her palm once and for all. To her disappointment, it took Gerda quite some time to fix her wound. Elsa had been forced to stop her several times to make sure her powers didn’t run out of control.

Thankfully, Gerda knew exactly how easily triggered her powers were. And she was extra careful around her. From time to time, she even prompted Elsa to use her powers to their advantage. Letting a small layer of ice cover her palm helped her with the pain.

“It’s been over ten years since I met you and I’m still amazed you can do what you do, ” said Gerda after watching Elsa coat her palm with a new thin layer of ice.

Elsa had noticed her mother had been lost in her own thoughts, but even then, her comment got her by surprise. "I'm sorry," she said, unsure of what else to say. It didn't matter how hard she tried, she couldn't stop herself from feeling insecure whenever she used her powers.

“Don’t apologise, dear.” The sad smile on her face didn’t go unnoticed by Elsa. “I mean it in the best way. It’s incredible.” She then picked a pair of scissors that were lying around and cut the thread before exclaiming, “All done!”

After flexing her hand a few times to test her stitches, Elsa smiled at her mother. “Thank you for your help.”

“Wait, wait.” Gerda grabbed Elsa’s injured hand once again and gently wrapped it in clean gauze. Before she let go, Gerda kissed her hand, right where the injury was. “There. Now, it’s all done!”

The gesture was so simple, and yet it carried so much trust and affection, that it welled Elsa’s eyes with tears. She tried to pretend it didn’t, but everything that had happened to her in the previous twenty-four hours made the small gesture a lot more meaningful, and before she could stop them, the tears began rolling down her face.

“I know what you're going to say,” said Gerda, unaware of Elsa’s tears as she put her things away. “Kissing wounds better is silly. Your brother always says so. But, in my experience, nothing takes away the pain like– Elsa? What's wrong?!” she asked, alarmed the moment she turned to look at her. “Did I hurt you?”

“I love you so much,” Elsa managed to say in between sobs.

“Oh, dear…” Gerda said as she moved her chair so she could be as close to Elsa as possible. She held her injured hand in hers and tried in vain to dry her tears with the other. “It’s just a silly kiss.”

“You've never turned your back on me and—” She kept choking on her tears.

“Elsa. Elsa, look at me,” said Gerda, caressing her shoulder, as she tried to calm her down. “Why would I turn my back on you? What kind of mother would I be?”

“My own parents didn't want me.” Once again she tried to say, but she couldn’t finish as another sob stopped her. She knew she wasn’t making much sense. Her mother didn’t know everything that had happened to her, but there was no way she could explain herself in that state. Not knowing what else to do, she wrapped her arms around the old woman and let herself cry.

---

The rain, as romantic as it seemed at the beginning to Anna and Kristoff, turned out to be an inconvenience the moment they tried ordering food. The downpour was not allowing the delivery people to work and so they were forced to get out of bed and drive to a restaurant if they wanted to enjoy a special meal.

For this reason, they chose to make the best of their day and changed into their best clothes – or the best they had in Kristoff’s apartment – and then drove to one of their favourite restaurants. Just like he promised, Kristoff not only bought lunch for them, but also chocolate cake to celebrate their engagement.

By the time the dessert arrived, Kristoff and Anna had talked and discussed several things about their future wedding. Their families’ relationship was their main concern, but they had agreed on certain things that could help them create stronger bonds between the two families. And they both agreed that Kristoff making peace with Anna’s parents was the first step.

“So, it’s settled,” said Kristoff once the waiter left them alone to enjoy their cake. “Tonight I’ll drive you home and I’ll talk to your parents.”

“I love you,” Anna said, elated Kristoff was willing to give her parents another chance so soon. A couple of months before the idea was inconceivable, and now here they were.  

“Are you talking to me or the piece of cake in front of you?"

Anna laughed but then she just continued eating in silence, instead of starting a playful fight like Kristoff intended.

"Is everything okay?" he asked. Even when he knew things were perfect between them, he couldn't help but worry. He knew things had to go perfectly well between their families before they could even phantom the idea of the perfect wedding.

"I was thinking, maybe…” Anna said, but stopped mid-sentence unsure if Kristoff would agree with her idea.

“What?”

“Maybe we should move in together?"

"What?" he repeated, unsure if Anna meant what she was saying.

"Our families will notice something's different. My mum will surely notice I'm happier than I’ve been in the last year," explained Anna with a grin, finding it hard to hide her happiness. She still couldn’t believe they were engaged. "But as you said, I don't want to rush the wedding or force Elsa and my parents to be on good terms just for the sake of this engagement. So… what if we move in together?”

“How are those things related? Not that I don’t want to live with you,” he clarified as soon as he noticed Anna’s unamused expression.

“Living together will allow us to start from scratch before the actual wedding, and it'll be something we can share with our families now. It’ll be a perfect explanation to why we are both so happy."

“I feel ridiculous having to hide the fact that I’m engaged to the girl I love,” Krisotff said, honestly. "Will your parents be okay with us living together before the wedding? I know your father is kind of—"

"I'm an adult, Kristoff,” Anna interrupted him before he even dared to say his father was a traditional man. After everything they had found out about her parents, saying they were traditional and conventional was off the table. “Besides, they can't say anything about it without turning into big hypocrites.”

“Well, I can’t argue with that,” laughed kristoff. “So… are you a hundred percent sure about this?”

“Yes!” Anna exclaimed. “Are you not?”

“I'd love to live with you,” Kristoff said with an honest smile. “I never told you this, but I miss the days Elsa was living with me. You were always there by the time I got home from work. It was the best feeling in the world.” He extended his hand on top of the table and caressed her knuckles gently. “However, I need to find a new apartment.”

“Don't be ridiculous, Kristoff. Your apartment is perfect! Besides, I need to finish my studies. I don’t have enough money to help you pay the new rent.”

“Nonsense. I want you to have a place you can call your own.” If they were going to start from scratch and build their own family, he wanted them to find the perfect place. And he was certain that a bachelor’s apartment which smelled like Sven wasn’t even close to the definition of perfect. “You need to move your desk and books too. I'll find a nice apartment with an extra room for you.”

“Honey. I love you. But once again, I can't pay for it.”

“I'll pay for it,” Kristoff said with a smile. “You'll finish your studies first. I wouldn't forgive myself if you don't finish your studies because you need to work to share expenses.”

Anna was touched by Kristoff’s commitment, but all of a sudden she was feeling guilty. She had come up with the idea of living together, but not once she had intended to force Kristoff to spend more money on her. “You don't need to provide for me, Kristoff.”

“I know. But I'd love to. Let's move in together, please.”

“Are we really doing this?” asked Anna, not believing how fast her life was changing.

“I'll start looking for a new place tomorrow.”

Kristoff’s grin told her he was even more eager than she imagined, and that made her all the more excited.

---

During the first few months after she had adopted Elsa, Gerda had struggled with how she could comfort a child who wouldn't allow other people to stay close to her. It had been only one of the many challenges Elsa had put her through, but it was always the hardest one. To see a young girl, crying her heart out after a terrible nightmare and not being able to sit by her side and hold her tight had broken Gerda in more ways that she could count at the time.

It was only after years of hard work and dedication on her part that Elsa had learnt to trust them enough to allow herself to cry in front of Gerda and the rest of the family. But, even if she had overcome that situation, Elsa rarely hugged other people whenever she was in distress. It was clear her defence mechanism was still ingrained in her brain and she avoided human contact as much as possible.

For this reason, now that Elsa was holding her as if her life depended on it, Gerda had a hard time understanding what was going on and how to best help Elsa.

Clearly, something had affected her to the point she burst out crying. It didn't take a genius to see it was related to her birth parents, like most of her problems were lately; but still, Gerda couldn't understand what had made Elsa reach her breaking point at that moment. She was certain there was something she was missing, and she needed Elsa to calm down long enough to tell her.

The first few minutes, the only thing she did was hold Elsa close while she wept on her shoulder. It broke Gerda's heart to hear her like that, but she was not going to stop Elsa once she had finally allowed herself to cry her heart out as much as she needed. It was only when Elsa calmed down and she began breathing more or less normally, that Gerda dared speak.

Not knowing what the real problem was made it harder for her to say the right thing, but still, she tried her best. "I'm sure your parents did care. They just didn't know any better. You deserve love, just like any other person, okay?"

To her disappointment, Elsa didn’t say anything that could help her see if she was saying the right thing. She just kept holding onto her.

After staying a moment in complete silence, Gerda thought it was best to simply ask Elsa what was going on. "Did something happen?”

Once again, Elsa didn't answer and it didn't sit well with Gerda. She gently pushed her, putting enough distance between them so she could see her eyes. Part of her regretted it as soon as she saw the deep sadness in them.

Reminding herself Elsa needed her to stay strong, and sometimes the only way to help her was to pressure her into talking, she repeated, "Please, Elsa… Did something happen?"

The way she averted her eyes gave Gerda the impression she was about to lie. But after a moment she looked at her again, and nodded.

"You know you can tell me anything."

"I don't know how to talk about these things."

And she knew it was true. She had always struggled with words which resulted in her keeping everything inside. But right at that moment, it was obvious Elsa needed to let go of all the sadness and resentment. And Gerda was not going to let her back down now that she was finally showing how she felt. "You've been through a lot in the last few months, dear." She gave her shoulders a gentle squeeze, trying to show her her support. "And I think you should try to talk about the way you feel. It may help you."

It was clear she wanted to talk about whatever was troubling her, but something was stopping her.

"It's just you and me, Elsa. Like that night at the hospital, do you remember?" She knew she did. It had been the first time Elsa had opened up to her. Telling her everything she had been able to at the time. It was the first time she had held Elsa in her arms — even if the little girl had struggled and asked her to stay away for her own safety. And most importantly, it was the day she’d made up her mind about adopting her.

Elsa nodded and her eyes filled with tears once again. She closed them for a few seconds before she felt brave enough to say, "Whenever I think about my life; about who I am and who I could have been, I feel this– this hole inside my chest." 

"A hole?" Gerda knew exactly what she meant, but she needed Elsa to express herself. To tell her everything she could.

"An emptiness," she tried to explain. "Here." Using her good hand, she gestured right over her heart. "Sometimes I fear it'll never close. I fear I'll never be happy."

She knew Elsa suffered a lot. She knew the things she had lived had scarred her forever. But to hear her say she wasn't happy made it all more real. The only thing Gerda had ever wanted for her children was for them to be able to overcome – to some extent – their inner demons and be happy. And here was Elsa, telling her she wasn't sure she would ever be. Not for the first time in her life did Gerda wish she could take all of Elsa's suffering and endure it herself. Trying in vain to keep the sadness from her voice, she asked, "you're not happy?" 

"I'm happier than I used to be, I guess," said Elsa, shrugging. "But some days are extremely harder than others."

"Is today one of those days?"

Once again, she nodded but didn't say anything.

"Why?" Gerda asked, unsure of what else to say. "Why is today any different?"

"I can't seem to do anything right lately," Elsa said after she tried to gather her thoughts. “Every time I feel I'm finally going to get my life on track, something happens and… I don't know what to do anymore."

The way she said it made Gerda get a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. The idea of Elsa giving up one day terrified her. Part of her knew Elsa was stronger than she let on, but her inner strength – or whatever it was that had kept her going for so many years – could wear off, and then she didn't know what could happen then.

She needed to help her see things in perspective. To find some silver lining in her clouded mind. "But you've been doing so good lately. You're studying now. You're working. You're starting a business…"

"I know but—"

"Those things are important Elsa." Gerda needed her to see she was doing more than she gave herself credit for.

"But my powers are there, lurking, everywhere I go. It's the same old story, I guess." Elsa looked at her hands in disdain. "Everyday I say I won't let them control my life; but I fail, miserably, every single time. No matter what I do, it isn’t enough. I try so hard — to be normal, you know?" The dejected look she gave her broke Gerda's heart. "But it isn’t enough. It’s never enough."

"Elsa…"

"I'm so, so tired, Gerda. Maybe I should just stop trying."

"Don't– Please, don't." She pulled her into her arms with urgency and kept her close, as if Elsa's words could make her disappear in that moment. "Don't say that. Don't even think about it."

"But I can't—" Elsa tried to explain, but Gerda wouldn't let her.

Hugging her even tighter, she said to her, "You deserve the world, sweetheart. Don't ever give up, please."

"Then what am I supposed to do?" said Elsa on the verge of tears once again. "My powers are the reason my whole life is so fucked up and no matter how hard I try, I can't control them."

Gerda didn’t understand what Elsa meant when she said she couldn’t control them. Only a few minutes before she had used them to help her heal her hand. In her eyes, Elsa had more control over her powers than she had ever had. But for some reason, she didn’t give herself enough credit. "Yes, you can. And your powers might be a part of you, but they don't define who you are or what you can achieve." How many times Gerda had said that to Elsa? She wasn't sure. But somehow, it had never gotten into Elsa's head.

"They’re the reason I struggle with the simplest tasks in life," Elsa began explaining as she put some distance between them. Tears were streaming down her face again. "They're the reason I had to endure a shitty childhood. The reason my parents thought they were better off without me…"

Gerda watched her dry her tears with her sleeve, clearly annoyed at herself for starting to cry once again. It pained her to see her that way and she wondered if she should tell Elsa to try to calm down.

"I don't resent Anna," Elsa continued, unaware of Gerda's worry. "but I can’t help comparing my life to hers. She's this smart, self-assured girl and what am I? Just a dumb person who hides from the world and hopes for things to change when I know they won't."

"Elsa, I won't let you talk about yourself like that." Maybe stopping her was for the best. Elsa had already denigrated herself too much, and she couldn’t help noticing the small snowflakes falling around them, a clear indicator Elsa was getting too agitated.

"Why not? It's the truth, isn't it? I can hardly live a normal life."

"It's not fair to compare yourself and your life to Anna's. Your upbringing was extremely different."

"Exactly! If only I'd been normal, my life could have been like Anna's. But I'm not. And I wasn't good enough for my parents and…" Once again she tried in vain to stop her tears. "It hurts so fucking much."

Seeing her at that moment, breaking down in front of her, made Gerda realise how important the love and acceptance of her birth parents was to Elsa. There was something inside of her that still needed their recognition, even when they had let her down in the worst kind of way. Gerda hated how unfair the whole situation was. The only thing the poor girl had done was to be born the way she was, and she wasn't given a chance to prove her worth before being left on her own. Idunn and Agdar had had the chance to raise a wonderful person like Elsa, and they had rejected that opportunity. And for what? They had told her their reasons, and they made sense to an extent; but whenever she saw Elsa suffering so much, the sympathy she could feel for them disappeared.

"I know it's not the same as if your birth parents told you this," she said, holding Elsa's hand after she tried in vain to dry her tears. "but you are, and you've always been, more than good enough to me."

Elsa's redshot eyes looked at her, unsure if she actually meant what she was saying. And Gerda hated it, because she had never doubted her before. It was clear she felt so lost and so insignificant she didn't even trust her word anymore.

"I hate the fact that the Arendelles came into your life, threatening to destroy everything you worked so hard to build," she found herself saying before she could stop herself. She was tired of pretending she didn’t feel disgusted by the Arendelles’ actions sometimes. "I hate that they came out of nowhere and made you so vulnerable. You're not less than Anna. You're not less than anyone one else. And I wish I could show you how much you mean to me."

She looked down and took a deep breath to calm herself down before she let her anger take the best of her. The last thing she needed was to say something about Elsa's birth parents that she could regret. But as soon as she was calmer, she continued, "I don't care if your powers make other people uncomfortable. I couldn't care less if you are not ‘normal’ to other people's standards. Part of me is glad you are not, because you love and you care about others like no-one does. Your powers might be a challenge most of the time, I don't deny that. But they shaped you into one of the most caring and selfless people I know. And hate that you hate yourself because of them. I wish you could see yourself the way I see you, dear."

When Gerda raised her eyes to look at Elsa once again, she was surprised to see her eyes fixed on her. For a moment, she wondered if she had done the right thing by telling Elsa everything she thought. But before Gerda could apologise for her outburst, Elsa threw her arms around her and whispered, "I don't know what I'd do without you.”

"You mean the world to me. Never forget that," Gerda whispered back, as she rubbed her hand on Elsa's back comfortingly.

"I wish you were my mother," Elsa mumbled on her shoulder, caughting her by surprise.

"Elsa… I– I am your mother. We may not be related by blood but—"

"I mean from the start," Elsa said a bit louder, but still in a quavering voice. "I wish I could look back and see myself and my childhood here. You wouldn't have left me alone."

At first, she thought about telling Elsa she couldn’t know that for certain. But after a second she realised it was true. There was no way she’d have left Elsa alone. "You're right. I wouldn't have," she said with conviction. "I am your mother now, though, and I promise I'll never leave you alone."

She felt Elsa nod her head against her shoulder and she smiled, knowing Elsa trusted her word. She looked up and relaxed when she noticed snow was no longer falling around them. 

“Can I stay with you for a couple of days? I don't want to be alone.”

Gerda nodded and hugged her tighter. Something had clearly happened to Elsa, it was the only explanation she had reached her breaking point and she was now asking to stay with them. She was really curious about it, but she saw no reason to bother Elsa with it at that moment. She’d have the chance to talk to her some other time. Right at that moment, all she cared about was her daughter’s well being. “For as long as you need. Your father will be thrilled to have you around too.”

---

Guess who’s back, back again. Leli’s back. Tell a friend. Guess who's back, guess who’s back, guess who’s back, guess who’s back. *Eminem’s ‘Without me’ starts playing* 

It’s been such a long time! I’m so sorry for keeping you all waiting for so long. I’m not even sure if there are people still lurking around. But if you are, you’re the best readers in the world. 

I could blame life and inspiration, and a lot of things for this terribly long hiatus. But the truth is, this chapter was so incredibly hard to write! Even when I love writing Gerda and Elsa together, they are such complex characters, and so different, that I kept writing and rewriting and rewriting their dialogues. Even now, I’m not sure they have told each other everything they needed to say. But I couldn’t keep you waiting anymore. I had a couple of scenes written that were originally going to be part of this chapter, but they needed some revision and honestly, I didn’t want to keep you guys waiting anymore.

I really hope the wait was worth it. I hope I tackled enough things in this chapter that you guys feel the waiting wasn’t in vain.

About the chapter itself, you may notice that I continue showing both sides of the story and both sides of a rainy day as a parallel between Elsa and Anna. I wanted to show how even in the smallest details, their lives are truly different.

I haven’t got the next chapter ready yet. But I was able to fix a few things I wasn’t sure about the following chapters, so I don’t think I’ll take as long as 5 months to update the new chapter. I’ll work as hard as possible to deliver on time.

As always, please leave a review. Let me know if you loved or hated the chapter. Let me know if you’re fed up with my long hiatuses or not. Say what so please, but let me know you’re out there. It’s always a pleasure to read you, guys. I truly mean it.

He enjoyed the time he spent with the new recruits and he valued how much they respected him, but the older he got, the more he wanted to stay at home on a rainy Sunday.

It was the third weekend in a row he had been called in. So it meant it was the third week in a row he'd had to cancel his plans to visit Elsa at the mountain. He was getting more and more annoyed by that fact than he wanted to admit to the chief of the department. It was a good thing he had never told Elsa his plans beforehand, because he wouldn't have had the heart to cancel his visits so many times.

I need to talk to Pedersen this week and tell him I won't be home next weekend, he thought as he got out of the car. It had been weeks since he had last seen his daughter, and he wanted to spend some time with her.

Elsa was starting a business with her friend and he didn't even know the man. He hadn't even offered them a helping hand or, at least, sat down to talk to Elsa about her plans; and he felt terrible about it. Ever since his children had become adults, he felt as if he was distancing more and more from them — even if Kristoff and Elsa always greeted him with the biggest smile they could muster whenever they saw him. He was tired of relying on Gerda to find out what was going on in their lives.

He entered the house and hung his wet coat before he went into the kitchen to find his wife. He smiled the moment he saw her at the table surrounded by old photo albums. Rainy days never failed to put Gerda in a melancholic mood.

"I've come to the conclusion that I'm getting old," he said as soon as Gerda raised her head to greet him. He looked to his right and noticed the coffee maker was on and smiled. Exactly what he needed. "Ten-hour shifts are becoming unbearable. I still like the job, don't get me wrong, but the amount of time at the station is killing me lately."

He poured a cup of coffee and sat next to her. "Gerda?" he asked, surprised she hadn't made a joke about his age yet.

"Elsa's home."

A big smile drew on his face the moment he heard his daughter's name, and he failed to notice her downhearted look.

"She is? Now that's good news! Did she come to—" He stopped himself mid-question as soon as he locked eyes with her. Elsa's visit would have never made Gerda look so sad, unless something bad had happened. "Is everything okay?"

"Not really," she said sincerely. "She'll stay with us for a couple of days."

"What happened?"

"I'm not really sure," said Gerda as she stood up to pour herself some coffee. "She came home around lunch time. She had an injury in her hand and—" She tried to gather her thoughts for a moment, and Kai let her. "I don't know, Kai. It's hard to explain."

"An injury? Did someone hurt her?" Suddenly, his instinct told him to find whoever had, but he needed to remain calm until Gerda explained the situation better.

"No. She hurt herself trying to fix a window or something. She came home so I could help her. But that's not the problem…" She sat down once again and looked him in the eye. "One moment, I was giving her stitches — we were talking as if it was just another day; and the next, she was crying and hugging me as if her life depended on it."

"What?" Even if he knew Elsa was a lot more open about her feelings with Gerda, he knew that wasn't something Elsa would do for no reason.

Gerda nodded. "I think she finally reached her breaking point."

"About her birth parents?"

"About everything."

Deep down he hoped it was only about her birth parents, at least then he'd know where to start if he wanted to help her. Everything was a lot more complicated. A sudden urge to see her took over himself. "Where is she now?"

"She went to bed."

"Already?" He turned to look at the clock. "It's only six thirty."

"She said she was tired," said Gerda as she put a picture inside the photo album she had in front of her. "And she did look exhausted."

He knew what Gerda meant, do not disturb her. But there wasn't a good reason for her to be so tired so early, unless… "Did her powers—?" He wasn't sure how to word the question.

To his good luck, Gerda understood exactly what he meant. "I'm not sure, but I suspect they did."

"You didn't ask her?" If her powers had gone on a rampage to the point they had drained her energy, then something bad had happened to her.

"I was not going to bombard her with questions when she was finally letting go of all the anger and resentment she was keeping inside," Gerda growled. "She was finally talking about the way she feels."

"I guess you did the right thing, then…"

"She clearly needed someone to talk to, even if she didn't know what to say." Gerda said, a lot calmer. "I don't know what caused her to fall apart the way she did, but it must have been serious."

The two of them stayed in silence for a minute. They didn't need to say it, but whenever Elsa had a bad episode with her powers, the two of them began to wonder what was best for them to do as if they had never had to deal with them before. It was no secret that even after ten years, they weren't sure what to do to help her.

"Was it really that bad?" He didn't doubt his wife, but part of him wanted to believe she was worrying more than she should. He desperately wanted Elsa to tell him she was okay, and that nothing bad had happened.

Gerda looked at him and said, "let's just say I'm glad she's staying with us. I don't trust her to be alone right now."

Kai's blood ran cold at that, but he tried to remain positive. "Gerda, we've talked about this. I don't think Elsa would—"

"If my daughter tells me how tired and fed up with her life she is, I will worry, Kai." Her watery eyes told him she was a lot more worried that she was letting on, and that crushed him.

Gerda had all the right in the world to be pissed at him for trying to diminish the situation. But he needed to believe it wasn't that bad. He needed to believe Elsa was just going through a rough patch and that she'd come out of it like she always did. There were few people more resilient than her.

"Have you talked to Kristoff?" he asked, hoping their son could help them. "Maybe he knows something."

Gerda shook her head. "I don't think he does. She didn't call him to pick her up from the mountain this time."

"She travelled on her own?"

She nodded.

"Do you think they had a fight? Elsa and Kristoff, I mean."

"No," once again, Gerda shook her head. "She only talked about her powers and her birth family leaving her behind." She tried to keep calm but her anger was getting the best of her, and Kai noticed.

Before he could ask her if she was okay, she huffed and said, "I knew it was a bad idea for her to get in touch with the Arendelles again. They're doing more damage than good."

He agreed with Gerda. They were doing more damage than good. That had been clear from the moment they told Elsa the truth, but there wasn't much they could do. Sighing tiredly, he said, "they're her parents. We don't really have a say. Whether she gives them a chance or not, it's her choice."

"We are her parents. Not them," Gerda retorted, finally allowing a couple of tears to fall.

"You know what I mean," he said, defensively. "He knew they had earned the right to be called Elsa's parents, but sadly Agdar and Idunn were still her birth parents whether they liked it or not.

After a few minutes of silence, Gerda said to him, "could you try to talk to her tomorrow?"

"About this?" he asked, unsure if he should bombard Elsa with questions when she hadn't talked to him personally.

"About anything," she sighed. "Show her we are here for her. Let her know how much we care."

--

Elsa woke up in the early morning the following day. She turned in bed a few times as she tried to fall asleep once again but, as it was usual, her body refused to cooperate. This time around though, she couldn't really complain. She had gone to bed earlier than usual the previous day and thankfully she had been tired enough to sleep the whole night. Something she hadn't expected, given everything that had happened.

She shook her head a few times, trying to get rid of the intrusive thoughts that were already disturbing her. She couldn't get rid of the awful feeling of hurting Marshall, or the empty feeling in her chest whenever she remembered her conversation with her birth parents.

Thinking it was best to do something instead of staying in bed feeling sorry for herself, she sat down in bed ready to start her day. She looked at the alarm clock and noticed it was earlier than she'd imagined, but at least she knew it wouldn't take long for Kai or Gerda to wake up, especially if her father had to go to work. With a tired sigh, she got up and went straight to the kitchen. She guessed a cup of coffee could help her start her day with the right foot.

With a steaming cup of coffee in her hands, she walked out the back door and sat down on the steps of the veranda that looked at her parents' garden. The heavy rain had stopped during the night, but it was still drizzling. The falling rain could certainly help her stay calm and distract her from her turbulent mind.

She wasn't sure how long she had stayed outside watching the rain fall, when her father's voice called her attention.

"Hey, kiddo," he said, playfully.

"Dad, hi," Elsa said surprised, as she turned around to see him come out the back door. "It's been a while since you last called me that."

"You'll always be a kiddo to me," he said with a smile. "Did you fall out of bed?"

Elsa chuckled at Kai's antics. "I was well rested, I guess. I couldn't fall back asleep. Did I wake you up?"

"No. Don't worry. I usually wake up early." She watched him look around until he spotted the closest chair and moved it closer to where she was sitting. "Mind if I keep you company?"

Elsa shook her head. If she was honest, she was glad her father was willing to spend some time with her. She could use the company to help her keep her mind off her problems. The rain had stopped helping a long time before he showed up anyway. "There's coffee in the kitchen," she offered, knowing Kai loved a warm cup of coffee in the mornings as much as she did.

"Oh, that's good news," he said with a smile. "I'll be back in a minute."

True to his word, he showed up a few minutes later. He sat down in the chair and said, "how have you been?"

"Mmh?" Elsa had been lost in her own thoughts even as she watched him move around the veranda, and so she wasn't sure what he was saying.

"I haven't known much about your life lately."

"I'm fine, I guess."

"You guess?" he asked with a sad smile. "Your hand tells me otherwise. What did you do?"

The question reminded Elsa of the many times she'd tried to do things on her own when she first came to live with them. Back in the day, she had failed miserably at the simplest tasks around the house, and the question was one that Kai regularly asked her, in amusement as he watched her try and fail time after time. She smiled to herself at the memory. Kai had never been judgemental, on the contrary, the question was always followed by a 'let me help you', which soon turned into a useful lesson, and she ended up learning a new skill.

"I tried to fix a broken window." It wasn't completely true, but it wasn't a lie, either.

"The one in the small bedroom?"

Of course he'd remember. He was the one who always insisted she got it fixed. "Doing it on my own wasn't my brightest idea."

Kai chuckled and smiled at her. "Accidents happen. Did I ever tell you that I met your mother because I shot myself in the foot?"

"What?" She was certain she'd remember if he had. Especially knowing Kai was a really competent police officer.

Kai laughed at her astonished expression. "Remind me to tell you the whole story one of these days."

It was obvious he wanted to keep the conversation about her accident, and Elsa wasn't sure if she liked the idea.

"Did your mother have mercy on you?" he asked before she had the chance to ask him to tell the story at that moment. "She says she's a healer, but I think she became a nurse because she likes inflicting pain."

Elsa laughed, and she felt it was the first honest laugh she let out in the last two days. "Of course she did. She's the best."

"It's impossible to badmouth your mother in your presence. It's no fun," Kai said with a smile that told Elsa he was actually proud of her, and for a moment the whole inside her chest didn't feel so big.

Elsa returned the smile, and once again she thought about her life and how easy it could all have been if Kai and Gerda had been her real parents. Every bad memory, every heartache, could have been replaced by the warmth and love that characterised them. But sadly, life had dealt her all the wrong cards.

"Would you like to play chess? I haven't played in months."

Something told Elsa he'd read her like an open book right then and there, and he was only trying to find a way to erase the sadness written in her face.

"You're the only one who actually likes playing in this family besides me."

With a small smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, she agreed. "Sure."

Before she could offer her help. Kai had gone into the house to pick up the board game.

They played for several minutes in silence. Each of them lost in the game, thinking of their best strategy to beat the other. They didn't consider themselves particularly good, but their skills were on the same level after having played against each other more times than they could count. From the start, chess had been what had got them closer to each other. And, if Elsa was not mistaken, it had been the first thing Kai had taught her.

Once the game had found a more relaxed pace, in comparison to their always frantic starts; and they found themselves taking more time to think their next movement carefully, Elsa found the courage to ask him a question that had been on her mind since the day she came to live with them.

"Dad…" she said, calling his attention.

"Mmh?"

"Do you remember when we first met?"

"It's kind of hard to forget," he said sincerely. "I'm not going to lie though, if I had known you were going to end up being part of my life, I'd have paid more attention." He then moved his remaining bishop and gestured it was her turn.

Elsa analysed the board in front of her and once she made up her mind about her next movement, she said, "were you afraid of me at the time?"

"What?"

If he had tried to hide the surprise in his voice, he'd have done a terrible job. "I froze Gerda's hand when I was in the hospital. Were you afraid of me because of it?"

"I didn't believe it at first…" he said as he watched Elsa move one of her pawns.

"Didn't Gerda show you her hand?"

"She did," he admitted, as he tried to come up with a good step to take in the game. "I was convinced the lack of sleep was driving my wife crazy. I thought she had burnt her hand some other way and had dreamt the whole thing."

"What about the other doctors and policemen? They must have told you something."

Kai smiled and looked at her before he said, "I didn't believe my wife. What makes you think I was going to believe a bunch of policemen?"

"So you just denied it?"

"Pretty much, yes," he said, shrugging. "If I'm honest, till this day I find it hard to believe you're capable of doing what you do. It's hard to say what I thought about at the time. I guess I tried to come up with a logical explanation to what had happened." He picked up his bishop a second time, but gently tried to put it back in place. "Then I saw you do it and I didn't have a choice but to believe it."

"You touched the bishop," pointed Elsa. "And you didn't answer my question."

Kai sighed, knowing Elsa was right about both things. So, he picked the piece once again and moved it as he answered her question. "I wasn't afraid of you, Elsa."

"But—"

"Did I think you were unusual? Yes," he said before Elsa could retort or ask that question herself. "Was I afraid of you? No."

She stayed silent as she processed what he was saying and came up with a good way to protect her Queen. "Not at all?"

"You were nothing but skin and bones at the time. Finding out you had ice powers only helped me understand why a monster like Weselton was so obsessed with you. It helped me see why he had kept you hidden all those years."

Elsa tried not to flinch at the mention of Weselton, but she knew Kai probably noticed how it affected her nonetheless.

"But you, Elsa," continued Kai, not commenting about her reaction. "You were just a child. Children are not dangerous."

She stayed silent once again until she made up her mind. A small smile drew on her face when she found a way to put Kai in a difficult position. She moved her rook and said, "check."

She enjoyed Kai's surprise as he analysed the board in front of him, making sure she was not messing up with him. "What about now?" she asked, unsure if she wanted to hear his answer.

"Are you asking if I'm afraid of you now?" Kai laughed. "I'm more afraid of Gerda."

"I'm serious, Kai."

The fact she used his name called his attention and he looked her in the eye. "I've seen a good deal of dangerous people in my life…" He moved and gestured for her to continue as he said, "you're not one of them."

Without looking at the board twice, Elsa moved her Queen and called check once again.

"Except in this game of chess. Leave your father alone for two seconds, will you?" Without any other options left, he moved his King.

"Checkmate," called Elsa with a small smile.

Sighing at his mistake, he pushed his King down. "I wish you'd be as confident in life as you're in this game."

The comment surprised Elsa. Kai didn't often comment on her lack of confidence. And perhaps she'd exposed herself more than she intended with her questions.

"Don't let the snow cloud your judgement, Elsa. You're a good person," he said, offering her a reassuring smile. "Why did you ask?"

"Would you like to play another game?" she asked, hoping to avoid the question. She couldn't tell Kai she had frozen Marshall's hand. She couldn't admit out loud how terrified of losing Marshall — and her parents' trust — she was. She couldn't risk it. There were only five people in the world who cared about her. Five. If she lost Marshall, she'd be devastated, but she'd manage. Time would help her heal that wound. But there was no way she'd be able to keep going without Kai and Gerda's trust.

"Why did you ask?" repeated Kai, noticing how distressed she'd become.

Not knowing what to say, she shrugged. Her father would keep trying to get a better answer. But at least she could buy herself some time.

"If there's something you need to talk about, you know I'm always—"

The telephone ringing inside the house distracted him, allowing Elsa to breathe a sigh of relief.

"That'd better not be the police station. I'm not in the mood to go to the station this early in the morning. I'll get it," he said to her, even if she'd never picked up the phone in her parents' house.

--

Kai walked into the house ready to pick up the phone and tell the chief of the department he was not showing up early this time. He didn't care if he ended up walking the streets with the new recruits. He was tired of putting his work before his family. Elsa clearly needed help. Her downcast expression as soon as he saw her was all the proof he needed. Elsa rarely wore her heart on her sleeve. It wasn't easy to read her. But this time, all he could see was a sorrowful soul, and he wanted to be there for her — not inside an office that smelled like old coffee.

"Yes?" he asked as soon as he picked the phone. He hoped whoever was on the other side noticed his frustration.

"Dad! Hi!" Kristoff said on the other line. "I'm glad you answered."

"Is everything okay?" Kristoff never called this early. The few times he had, he'd been so sick he couldn't get out of the bed and he'd needed his mother's help.

"Yes," he said. But he soon regretted it. "Well, I hope so."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Marshall Hålkesen," he said. "Do you know him?"

It took Kai a few seconds to realise who Kristoff was talking about. "By name, yes. Why?"

"He's just called me."

"This early?"

"He says he's been trying to talk to Elsa but she won't answer her door. He says he hasn't heard from her since Saturday, after she asked him to leave or something. He stopped by her house several times yesterday."

He could hear the worry in his son's voice. And that's when he remembered Krisotff didn't help Elsa get home the previous day. "Kristoff, she's—"

"Look," Kristoff said, interrupting his father. He was talking faster than usual. "I know he has probably just missed her, but I can't help worrying. He sounded quite agitated."

"Kristoff—"

"I start work in half an hour. I can't go check on her. Could you?"

"Can I talk now?" Kai asked, hoping he had nothing else to say so he'd listen and stop worrying.

"Yes, sorry. I overslept and I'm in a kind of a hurry."

"Elsa's here. She's fine."

"Here as in… your house?"

"Yes."

"That's odd. She didn't call me to pick her up."

"She travelled on her own." Now that Kai thought about it, he had no idea how Elsa had got home. "She needed your mother's help with something."

"Is everything okay?"

Kai smiled, proud of Kristoff for knowing his sister so well. "Yes. Don't worry."

"Okay, then." He didn't seem to trust him, and Kai couldn't blame him. He was lying through his teeth right then and there after all.

"Tell Elsa to call Marshall, the guy is capable of breaking her door down."

"I suppose you're exaggerating," said Kai, not liking the idea of a violent man near his daughter. "But I'll let her know."

"You clearly don't know Marshall," laughed Kristoff. "Anyway, I've got to go. Tell mum I say 'hi.'" And with that the other line disconnected.

Kai remained where he was thinking about what his son had just told him. He was unsure how to feel about Halkessen. Thinking it was ridiculous to dwell on that while his daughter was waiting for him, he hung up the phone and walked out the house.

"Do you have to go to work?" came Elsa's question as soon as he sat down in front of her.

"Not yet," he said with a smile. "It was your brother. Your friend called him."

"My friend?" said Elsa barely over a whisper.

"Marshall, is it?" He felt bad using the cheap trick-questions he usually asked suspects at the police station with his daughter. But he wanted to see her reaction to the man's name.

To Kai's alarming surprise, Elsa didn't answer. Too stunned about the mention of Marshall's name to speak. A bad sign in Kai's opinion.

"He's worried about you — your friend," he clarified. "He couldn't find you at your place yesterday. Kristoff said you should call him."

Elsa nodded her head slowly, and then once again a bit faster. Kai wasn't sure if she was trying to convince him or herself that she should do it.

"Is everything okay, Elsa?" he dared ask. If there was something going on between them, now was Elsa's perfect time to tell him.

"Yes," she said, a lot more convincingly than he expected. "I'll call him later today. Another game?"

He looked at her for a moment, trying to give her some time to change her mind. After a few seconds in silence, he accepted. Maybe all Elsa needed right at that moment was a distraction.

--

At midday, Kai found himself in the kitchen, watching his wife cook, as he wondered if it was a good idea to tell Gerda about his worries. He had no reason to mistrust Elsa's friend after all.

Gerda had insisted the previous night that Elsa's sorrow had been directed to her birth family and her powers. She hadn't mentioned any other person. So, the chances of Halkesen being involved in his daughter's sadness were almost null. Maybe there was no point in bringing him up if they talked about Elsa once again.

"Mum, can I use the wireless phone?"

Elsa's question called Gerda's and his attention. The question itself wasn't strange. Elsa had always asked permission to use every single gadget in the house. It didn't matter how much they had insisted everything in the house belonged to her as much as the rest of the family. She always asked if they were around. Kai remembered considering a sweet gesture at the beginning. But, as the years went by, he began to notice it was more sad than sweet. Even after ten years, Elsa still felt like she had to walk on eggshells around them, as if using a stupid phone could make them stop loving her.

"Of course, dear," said Gerda with a sweet smile. There was a time she'd insisted there was no need for her to ask. But she had stopped trying a few years after he did.

Elsa smiled back to her mother, picked up the phone and walked out the back door to sit on the steps where she sat earlier that morning.

Kai knew who Elsa intended to call, and he couldn't help standing up and walking closer to the counter, nearer the window. He didn't imagine Elsa building up the courage to call her friend so soon. Something in her face that morning had told him she dreaded making that phone call.

But to his surprise, there she was. Maybe he had done the right thing by not telling Gerda about his intuition. Perhaps he had been mistaken and Halkesen was only a really good friend. He hoped that was the case.

He was about to walk back to his place when Elsa's voice called his attention once again. She was speaking louder than before, as if the person on the other line wasn't quite listening to her.

"I wasn't home, Marshmallow," she repeated for a second time.

She was still calling him by his pet name, and that made Kai breath out in relief. He thought it was best to stop prying and sat back down, when he heard another thing that called his attention.

"I'm okay. My hand's okay."

She remained silent for a moment.

"I'm sorry. I know it's not– I'm staying at my parents' house for a while."

She sounded a lot more discouraged than she had just a moment before.

"I don't want to talk about it right now."

Kai watched her run her hand through her hair over and over again as she listened. Elsa's back was to the window, so he couldn't see her face, but he was certain she might have been biting her lip to the point her lower lip started to bleed.

"Just give me a few days, please."

He then noticed that her leg kept bouncing and she couldn't keep the phone on one ear for more than two or three seconds. It didn't take a genius to realise how nervous she was.

"I don't know what you want me to say," he heard her say, even if her voice was muffled by the window pane. "I'm not ready to— Could you please keep this between us?"

At that moment, he knew his intuition had been right all along. Something had happened between them.

"You know where the spare key is."

There was no doubt Elsa still trusted the man. She was willingly giving him access to her house and Kai wasn't sure how to feel about it.

"Marshmallow…" The way she called his name, as well as the deep sadness in her voice, made Kai feel guilty for being eavesdropping. Elsa was talking to this man from the bottom of her heart, he knew that; but a part of him wanted to make sure the man on the other side was not hurting her. So he stayed put. "I'm sorry I—"

She stopped abruptly and looked at the phone in her hand to make sure the call hadn't disconnected. Once she checked the screen, she tried again, "Marshmallow? Marshall?"

It was clear Halkesen had hung up on her.

He watched his daughter put the phone to the side and run her hands through her hair several times. A moment after, she buried her face in her arms, trying in vain to hide her pain.

A part of Kai wanted to go out and hug her, but he knew it would make it obvious he had been listening in on her, and the last thing he wanted was to lose her trust.

"Help me with this, please. And stop listening in on Elsa," Gerda said, calling his attention.

She had been on the other side of the kitchen cooking, with her back turned to him. Up until that moment, he thought he had been discreet enough not to call her attention. But it was clear she had been aware of his whereabouts the whole time. He was glad she hadn't come closer to see what Elsa was doing. He was certain she wouldn't have had the restraint he had, and she'd have gone out to pull their daughter into her arms as soon as Elsa ended her call.

Hoping to give Elsa some deserved privacy, he obeyed his wife and started cutting some vegetables next to her. They worked in silence for a few minutes until Kai's curiosity forced him to ask Gerda a question that had been on his mind since early morning.

"Do you know anything about Jostein's grandson?"

"Jostein… the old logger from the North mountain?" she asked, unsure if they were talking about the same man. "The last time I heard from him he was six or seven years old. He was always running around and exploring the mountain. He used to run errands for us during the summer, remember?"

"I mean now. Do you know anything about him now? He is Elsa's friend, isn't he?"

"You mean Marshall?" Gerda turned to look at him, surprise written all over her face. "It cannot be. Jostein's grandson was this tiny little scamp. The man I met does not fit that description."

"We haven't seen him since he was seven, Gerda. Of course he's not going to look the same. When did you meet him?"

The glance his wife sent his way told him she knew the kid was a grown up man now. But she still didn't believe they were the same person. "We ran into each other the last time I visited Elsa. Are you sure Marshall is little Hålkesen?"

He nodded. As far as he knew only five Hålkesens lived in town. Two of them were brothers. They owned a bar in the outskirts of town and they were not related to Jostein in any way. Jostein had a sister who, as far as he knew, was still alive and living in the city. The same was true about his daughter. And little Hålkesen, he had lived with his mother for a few years until he moved back to his grandfather's cottage. "Didn't he recognise you?"

"I don't think so," said Gerda, trying to remember. "He was only a child when we used to spend our holidays at the cabin. Maybe he doesn't remember us. Why do you ask?"

"Just curious."

"And this curiosity came out of nowhere?" She raised an inquiring eyebrow.

"Elsa was on the phone with him," he admitted, knowing his wife was not going to let him off the hook.

"Stop eavesdropping." Her accusatory tone did nothing but fill him with shame.

"I'm not! I'm just—" He sighed, not knowing how to justify what he had been doing. "It doesn't matter."

"I know you worry about—" The backdoor closing interrupted Gerda and she turned around to look at Elsa.

Kai knew she was even more worried than he was. After all, she was the one who had been by Elsa's side when she broke down. So he waited in silence as she addressed her. To his surprise, she didn't ask anything about Elsa's sombre mood.

"Are you having lunch with us, Elsa? Food will be ready in about fifteen minutes."

"No, thanks," Elsa said with a forced smile.

"You skipped dinner last night, dear."

"I had breakfast earlier. Thank you, Gerda."

Kai looked at Gerda at the mention of her name and he realised she had understood Elsa's hidden plea for her not to insist. She simply nodded once and continued working while Elsa left the kitchen.

Once she was certain Elsa was out of earshot, she turned to him and said, "I worry she might stop taking care of herself. Did she have breakfast today?"

"Just a cup of coffee, for all I know."

"Did you talk to her today?"

"We played chess."

"Is that a yes?"

He wondered if playing a board game even counted. He hadn't tried to talk to her after Kristoff's call and they had only played a few more games before Elsa excused herself and went back inside the house. "Kind of. I tried. I'm not the best father out there. I never know how to ask questions without sounding like I'm interrogating a suspect."

"You're a good father, Kai," Gerda said, as she put her hand on top of his. "You show them you care in a different way, that's all."

Kai wanted to believe her. But, as his children grew older, he realised how much he depended on Gerda to know what to say or do around them.

--

Once again, I underestimated the amount of words this chapter would have and I had to cut it in half. For a moment I thought about posting an extremely long chapter, but that would mean I had to delay it for a few more days. And to be honest, I'd rather give you guys something to read in the meanwhile.

This story keeps growing and growing and I fear I can't make it any shorter. Whenever I sit down to write, I have all these things I want to tell and I can't make up my mind, so I end up writing everything down. Sorry about that.

This time, I felt it was time I gave Kai an opportunity to show the way he felt about his family. I feel as if I had given Gerda and the Arendelles more importance than him, but he is one of Elsa's pillars and he deserved some time to shine. I also needed to show Elsa from other people's perspective. A person's sorrow is not something they deal with alone, after all.

Anyway, I hope you guys like this chapter. It isn't filled with exciting scenes, but I needed something like this to move the story forward. I apologise in advance for any typos or thing that's out of place. I tried to edit this chapter as best as I could, but it's quite late right now. I'm sure something may have escaped my eye.

Hope you guys are doing fine,

Idunn wished there was something she could say or do to make Elsa feel more at ease around her. She didn’t care if she didn’t get the chance to talk to Elsa about their past at all; all she wanted was to help her, show her she could trust her, and offer her a second home. Even when she knew she couldn’t offer Elsa more than the Bjorgmans had already given her, she wanted to be there for her anyway she could.

When she parked the car in front of the house, she turned to Elsa and offered her an encouraging smile. "Here we are," she said, hoping she could show her there was nothing to be nervous about. She then offered Elsa her umbrella.

"I'm soaked, Idunn," said Elsa, shaking her head. She saw no reason in accepting it after she had spent half the morning under the rain. "There's no use for the umbrella now."

Idunn agreed with her reasoning but still felt like she should avoid getting even more wet than she already was. "Can you run to the door, then?" She questioned as she opened her own door and kept the umbrella for herself. "It's raining even harder than before." Once Elsa nodded yes, she got out of the car and hurried to the front door.

Elsa watched Idunn run and wondered what was the point of using an umbrella if she was going to dart to the door anyway. She couldn't avoid comparing it with something Anna would do and it made her smile. Shaking her head, she picked her bag and got out of the car. She hurried to the front door as well and got there by the time Idunn had opened the door wide for her to enter. As soon as she was standing in the hall, Elsa wringed out her hair and clothes as much as possible.

"Wait here. I’ll get you a towel," said Idunn the moment she saw Elsa doing everything in her power to get dry. She didn't wait for her daughter to say anything and simply disappeared into a room. When she returned, she walked to where Elsa was still standing and put the towel on her shoulders. She asked for her bag and hung it on a coat rack by the door. Elsa didn't get to thank her, before she disappeared once again and got her some dry clothes.

“I thought you could wear one of Anna’s t-shirts and a pair of her trousers while yours dry,” Idunn said as she handed Elsa the clothes. “I also brought a hoodie, in case you were cold.”

Elsa smiled politely at her and accepted the clothes, though she wasn’t sure where she could go to change.

Idunn soon noticed Elsa had no idea what to do now that she had a towel hanging from her shoulder and Anna’s clothes in her hands. So, she offered the bathroom for her to change. “Sorry, I’m so used to Anna being the one in this situation. She doesn’t care too much about propriety and simply changes her clothes in the hall,” she chuckled as she explained Anna’s usual behaviour. “The door opposite the staircase is the bathroom. You can change your clothes there and leave your wet ones to dry.”

Elsa nodded and mumbled a thank you before she did as told. She was truly thankful for Idunn’s hospitality, but she still felt out of place inside her house. She had been uncomfortable the night she had come with Kristoff and now she truly felt like she didn’t belong in that place. To calm herself down, she reminded herself constantly that she was supposed to be there for a few minutes or an hour, not more than that, and then she could go back home.

She finished changing her clothes and then looked at herself in the mirror. It was at that moment she understood Idunn’s concern. Anna’s dry and clean clothes did nothing to hide how awful she looked. She was paler than usual and the dark bags under her eyes showed how little sleep she had had the night before.

Running into Idunn had helped her in a strange way to distract herself from her problems after all. Laughing to herself, she thought there couldn’t be a better way to forget about your problems than getting into new ones, though she was certain it wasn’t the healthiest way to deal with them.

She let her hair down and combed it several times, trying to look as presentable as possible. She wasn’t sure if Anna was in the house but she didn’t want to risk running into her looking so miserable. She knew her sister wouldn’t stop pestering her until she told her exactly what was wrong. And she didn’t know how to keep herself under control if the dam broke. Avoiding the issue was the best thing she could do inside the Arendelles’ house, and for that she needed to look as presentable as possible. She redid her braid and, taking advantage of her wet hair, she froze her hair in place. She usually used that trick whenever she had to leave the house in a rush, and she was glad she could pull it off so quickly. She looked at herself one more time, muttering a few encouraging words at her reflection, and finally came out of the bathroom. Idunn was nowhere to be seen, but she heard some noise coming from one of the rooms. If she remembered correctly, the kitchen was in that direction, and so she followed the sound hoping to find the older woman.

Idunn smiled brightly the moment she saw her daughter at the kitchen door. She was surprised to see her hair done so perfectly in such a short time, but she didn't think too much about it. It was good to see Elsa look much better now that she wasn't soaked to the bone. Her downcast expression was still present, but at least she didn't look so beaten anymore. "Do you want to eat something?" she said, hoping a good meal could help improve Elsa's mood. "It's almost midday. I'm sure you must be hungry."

"Not really," said Elsa. Truth be told, she hadn't eaten anything in the last twelve hours, but she didn't feel like eating regardless. "Thanks."

"Do you like tea? I can make some…"

"It's okay, Idunn," insisted Elsa. "You don't need to do anything for me."

“Of course I do…” ‘I’m your mother,’ was what she really wanted to say, but instead she settled for, “You’re my guest. Is peppermint tea okay?”

“Yes… I guess it is.”

Idunn’s smile became slightly bigger than before and Elsa felt guilty for wanting to get out of the house as soon as possible. It was clear Idunn was trying hard to make her feel welcomed, and she couldn’t deny she was being very thoughtful even when the situation was awkward to both of them.

“Come on in,” said Idunn once she noticed Elsa was still standing by the door. “Please take a seat.” Once her daughter was sitting, she decided to go on talking, “you know, peppermint is Anna's favourite tea.”

“I think she's mentioned it before,” said Elsa, remembering a few times Anna had asked for that specific kind of tea. After a moment in silence, Elsa said, “I thought Anna would be home…”

“Umm… No. She stayed at Kristoff's last night.” Idunn continued with her task in the kitchen while she talked. “They are quite a pair, those two.”

“She makes Kristoff really happy,” Elsa agreed with a small smile.

“She's been a lot happier ever since Kristoff walked into her life too.”

Idunn then looked at Elsa over her shoulder and a wistful smile drew on her face. After years of wondering what had happened to her eldest daughter, she was finally able to spend a few minutes in her company. It wasn’t exactly the way she had hoped to meet Elsa, but she was happy nonetheless. She couldn’t count the times she had wished for Elsa to be by her side the way she was right now. If she made an effort, she could pretend they were simply mother and daughter waiting for the rest of the family to get back home.

She put the kettle over the fire and turned around, leaning on the counter to look at Elsa while the water heated. It was surreal to think the woman sitting at her kitchen table was the baby she had once held in her arms. It made her realise how fast life had gone by, and how much she had missed for her stupid actions.

It didn’t take long for Elsa to notice Idunn’s inquisitive look, and she raised her gaze to look at her as well. Elsa didn’t say anything in particular and it was obvious she was making a conscious effort not to lock eyes with her. But still, Idunn understood the silent request. It was clear the unwanted attention made her uncomfortable.

Feeling stupid for putting Elsa in that awkward situation, Idunn turned her back to her once again and made sure she had everything she needed for their tea. Once the water boiled, she arranged the teacups and teapot on a silver platter and walked back to the table where Elsa was sitting. While she was arranging the things on the table, Idunn noticed the way Elsa kept biting her lip and playing with a thin bracelet on her left wrist. She tried to pay a look at the piece of jewellery discreetly, but Elsa’s hand kept getting in the way.

“So… Elsa—” she began to say once she sat on the opposite side of the table, but Elsa interrupted her suddenly.

“Maybe I shouldn't have come,” said Elsa sincerely. She had regretted her decision as soon as she had sat inside Idunn’s car for a second time. But now that Idunn was sitting in front of her — ready to talk to her — Elsa felt like she couldn’t pretend anymore.

“Wha– what?” said Idunn, taken aback. She thought they had been doing so well, despite the circumstances. She was aware of Elsa’s discomfort but she thought they had found a common ground. “No, don't say that. Staying under the rain was simply—”

“I can't do this. Not today.” Elsa was having a hard time keeping her powers in check. She was more nervous than she let on. Not to mention how tired she felt. All she wanted was to go back home, wherever that was… Gerda wasn’t home. The mountain wasn’t a good place to be either. She just didn’t know where to go anymore, but she was certain the Arendelles’ house was not where she wanted to be. “I'm sorry. It's just–” she tried to find the words to explain the way she felt without sounding too harsh, but she had no idea what to do. “I don't know how to talk to you. I don't know what to say to you. I can’t do this…”

Idunn smiled sadly at her daughter, understanding how difficult this was for Elsa too. Her daughter had lived all her life with the idea her parents weren’t there. They had simply vanished and left her in the worst place a child could be. And then, when she had finally found a family of her own and she was starting to heal, Agdar and she showed up in her life. No-one in Elsa’s situation would know what to do, or how to react. And Idunn had to be thankful she was still willing to be on speaking terms with her.

“You don't need to do or say anything, sweetheart,” said Idunn, trying to calm her down. She tried to put her hand on top of Elsa’s but she pulled away, avoiding physical contact. Idunn hid her pain as best she could and said, “we don't need to talk about anything that makes you uncomfortable. All I want is to make sure you have a place to stay until you can go home. I want you to feel better… You seem to be in the doldrums.”

Elsa stayed quiet for a moment and finally admitted, “I don't know what that means…” 

“Sad,” she explained patiently. “It means you look sad. Please, Elsa, it's still raining a lot. Just stay here a few more minutes and then I’ll take you home. I promise.”

Elsa didn’t meet her eyes, but nodded nonetheless. She wasn’t sure about it, but she had no other place to go. She guessed she could do it as long as they didn’t talk about their pasts.

Understanding exactly what Elsa needed, Idunn tried to come up with a topic of conversation. “I couldn’t help but notice you’re wearing a bracelet,” she said once she was certain Elsa wasn’t going to run out the door. She guessed talking about mundane things could help her relax a bit more.

Elsa raised her head and looked at Idunn confused about the change of topic.

“Anna wears some jewellery when she goes out or when we have a special dinner, but she never entertained the idea of wearing bracelets, rings or necklaces on a daily basis…”

“Oh, I– I do. I guess,” Elsa said, looking at the bracelet she always wore on her left wrist.

“May I see it?”

“Umm… Sure.” Elsa extended her left arm, making sure the palm of her hand was pointing to the ground so Idunn wasn’t grossed out by the blood on her precarious bandage, and she wasn’t exposed to her powers, in case something went wrong.

Idunn moved her chair so she got closer to Elsa and tried her best not to touch her hand. The way she had reacted before told her Elsa didn’t enjoy physical contact and she planned to respect her boundaries. “It’s beautiful,” she said as soon as she could pay a close look at it. The bracelet was thin and delicate. A beautiful flat chain made of white gold with a small snowflake engraved on its clasp. Idunn could tell it was made of real gold, it was certainly an expensive piece.

“Mum gave it to me,” said Elsa absentmindedly.

From the day she found out Elsa Bjorgman was her Elsa, Idunn tried to accept the fact Gerda was irrevocably her mother. But no matter how hard she had tried to come to terms with it, she still felt sad when Elsa called Gerda mum so naturally. “A birthday present?” she asked, trying to keep the conversation going and ignoring her unfounded envy.

“Umm… no. I don’t– I don’t celebrate my birthday,” Elsa admitted timidly.

“What? Why?” Idunn could see Elsa was unsure to talk about it, but her curiosity got the best of her.

Elsa looked at her and then at the table between them. “No reason.”

It took Idunn a moment to understand. They had left her with nothing but a name when she was a baby. There was no way she could know when her birthday was. The fact Elsa didn’t celebrate it was yet another thing Agdar and she had taken from her. “Oh… Elsa,” she exclaimed, feeling terrible for what they had done. “I'm so sorry. I—”

“She gave it to me when I moved to the mountain,” Elsa said, interrupting her apology. She didn’t mind talking about the bracelet. But she didn’t want to discuss anything related to her past. “She said it was a way of keeping the family close. She had it engraved for me.” 

Idunn didn’t know what to say to Elsa after that. She still wanted to apologise, but she had promised to keep the conversation light and simple so they could pass the time together. It was more than obvious that’s what Elsa wanted too. Feeling conflicted, Idunn remained quiet for a few minutes. Elsa did the same, clearly aware of the awkward situation.

Thinking it was best to do something productive instead of looking at the table between them, Idunn said, “Can I see your hand again? Maybe I could help you with your injury.”

“There isn't much you can do,” said Elsa, looking at the still wet bandages. “Unless you know how to give stitches.”

“No, I don't. I'm sorry,” said Idunn, sad she couldn’t help. “Let me change that piece of cloth into some dry bandages at least. Can I do that?”

Elsa nodded, knowing it was best to do something about it while Idunn, happy to be of help, said she’d look for her first-aid kit.

A few minutes later, Idunn reappeared through the door with a small box containing all the things she could need to heal Elsa’s hand — at least momentarily. She was nonplussed the moment she took Elsa’s wet bandages, the wound on her hand looked deeper than she had imagined. She had been expecting something smaller, easier to treat.

“Elsa,” she called her daughter’s attention. “What happened?” 

Elsa wasn’t surprised by Idunn’s reaction, she knew it probably didn’t look good. “I cut my hand with a piece of glass.”

“Are you positive you don't want to go to the ER? It must hurt a lot.”

“I can wait till Gerda sees it. It doesn't hurt as bad as it did last night.”

“Last night?!” Idunn couldn’t understand why she’d wait so many hours to find some help. Especially if she was covering the wound with such precarious bandages. “Why didn't you call someone?”

“Marshall — a friend” clarified Elsa. “He was there with me. He helped me take care of it.” It wasn’t exactly how things had played out the previous night, but it was all she was willing to share.

“Well, he didn't do a good job,” she answered, surprised that was the best her friend could do to treat a wound. “Next time, he could help you get to the city instead.”

“It's my fault,” said Elsa suddenly, trying to defend her friend. “He tried to help me but something happened…”

Idunn became aware of Elsa’s downcast eyes the moment she admitted that. “Is this thing that happened the reason you are in such low spirits today?” It wasn’t her place to ask, but maybe if Elsa could confide in her, she’d feel better.

Elsa hesitated for a moment, unsure if she wanted to tell Idunn what she had done. Even if she was her biological mother, she didn’t know the woman. The few things she did know was thanks to Anna and the letters they had shared, but it wasn’t enough to know the way she’d react. After all, she had hurt another person with her powers.

“Even if it’s hard, talking about these things usually helps a lot,” said Idunn, hoping Elsa would give her a chance.

“I…” She didn’t know what to do. There existed the chance Idunn could actually give her some good advice and help her see what was best for her to do.

“Yes?”

“Last night I—”

“Idunn, you left your car’s lights on!” Came Adgar’s voice from the hall interrupting Elsa. “Where are your keys?”

“Agdar!” said Idunn, surprised by the interruption. “You're home early.”

“We decided to leave work before we fired that incompetent lad,” he continued talking from the other room. “This is what we get for hiring unprofessional people. Wasting our time at the office on a Sunday just to fix their mistakes, unbelievable.”

Idunn looked at Elsa and muttered an apology before she stood up and walked to the kitchen’s door to see what her husband was doing. “Agdar, we’ve got company…” she warned, not knowing what he would say next.

Elsa, on her part, remained silent in her seat, not knowing what to do. It was logical for Agdar to show up. That was his house after all, but knowing he was there made Elsa a lot more uncomfortable than she already was. 

“What do you mean by company?” asked Agdar as he walked into the kitchen. He froze in his place when he saw Elsa sitting at the table. “Elsa!” he exclaimed, enthusiastically. “I wasn’t– I didn’t expect you to be here!”

“Hello…” said Elsa, unsure of what to say or do. His excitement to see her was quite obvious, making her feel partially guilty for ignoring his letters.

“Elsa is killing some time here while she waits for Gerda to get back home.” Idunn wasn’t sure if that truly explained what had happened earlier that morning, but it was a start.

“What?” said Agdar, still baffled by Elsa’s visit. “Is everything okay?”

“Idunn, could I use your bathroom, please?” interrupted Elsa, hoping to buy herself some time and get a grip on her emotions. Seeing Agdar again made her feel uneasy. She couldn’t get out of her head the argument they had had the last time she was at their house, and she wasn’t sure how to act around him.

“Sure thing, dear,” said Idunn.

“Thank you,” mumbled Elsa, as she walked past them.

Once Elsa was out of sight, Agdar turned to his wife and grabbed her by the shoulders. “Should I be excited? Concerned? Please tell me something. Did you arrange this meeting?”

“Calm down,” hissed Idunn, hoping Elsa didn’t hear his overexcitement. “I'll explain everything in a moment.”

“Will she stay for dinner? Is she willing to talk things through?”

“I said stay calm, please,” repeated Idunn, grabbing his hands and forcing him to let go of her. “I don't know,” she said in a low tone of voice. “I don't think she'll stay much longer. I ran into her by accident.”

“Where?”

“Sit down. I’ll try to explain everything before she comes back.”

---

Elsa locked the door as soon as she stepped into the bathroom and drew a deep breath in. She wasn’t in the right mood to talk to her birth parents. She didn’t even know if she’d ever be in the right mood for it. But now that Agdar was back home, she didn’t have many options. Either she left now or she stayed and risked talking about her past with people she barely knew.

She looked at herself in the mirror once again, as she wondered what to do. Leaning over the sink, a sharp pain made her notice her injury was still exposed. Idunn had taken the bandages off but she hadn’t got time to replace them. Once again, she cursed Agdar for arriving at the worst possible time. She still needed to bandage her wound before she could walk out the door. Not to mention she could still hear the pouring rain outside, making it harder for her to leave without Idunn trying to stop her.

She washed her face with her good hand and took a few deep breaths to calm her nerves. She could feel the ice tickling under her skin, but it was nothing like the night before. She knew she still had her powers under control and that was a good sign.

Making up her mind, she looked at herself in the mirror one last time, muttered a few encouraging words and returned to the kitchen before her absence would call their attention. To her bad luck, she couldn’t hide inside the Arendelles’ bathroom until the rain stopped.

---

“Elsa!” said Agdar as soon as she walked into the kitchen. Once again, his eagerness to talk to her didn’t go unnoticed by Elsa. “There you are. I’m sorry I interrupted your conversation with Idunn earlier. I didn’t know we had company. I apologise for my verbosity. I usually do that when I’m preoccupied with work.”

Since the first day she had met the Arendelles, Elsa thought Anna was more similar to her mother than her father — besides the colour of her hair which was certainly Agdar’s. But now that she heard him talk, she couldn’t ignore how similar the two of them talked. Both of them seemed to say everything that came to mind when they were excited; the only difference was Agdar's choice of words was a bit harder for her to follow.

“I’m sorry I came unannounced,” she answered, unsure if Agdar was the kind of man who didn’t like visits.

“Don’t worry about it. Idunn here was telling me how the two of you ran into each other.” Standing up from the chair she had previously been sitting on, he said, “Please, have a seat.”

“Thank you for your hospitality. But maybe it’d be better for me to go.” Elsa could see how disappointed he looked, but she had made up her mind. Even with her wound exposed, she thought it was best to leave.

“There’s no need.” 

“Are you sure you don't want to call Gerda beforehand?” Idunn tried to persuade her. All she needed was to buy some time, enough for her husband to feel like he had spent some time with Elsa too. 

“She sometimes does grocery shopping on Sunday mornings. I'm sure she must be back home already.” Elsa hoped that was the case, it wasn’t like she wanted to stay under the rain for several hours until Gerda returned from who-knows-where.

“You could still stay for a little longer,” offered Agdar, hoping his daughter would stay at least for a few more minutes. “We could talk. The three of us, I mean.”

“I'd rather go,” Elsa insisted. She guessed being honest was the best choice. “No offence.”

“None taken.” Idunn stood up from her chair as she spoke, willing to take Elsa home if that was what she truly wanted. “Maybe some other time?” she asked, hoping the answer would be yes. Deep down, there was nothing she wanted more than for Elsa to stay. But there was no point in forcing her to do so, she was certain it would do more damage than good.

“I’m not sure…”

“Please, Elsa,” said Agdar more emphatically. “We need to talk. There's no reason to delay this conversation.”

"I don't think it's necessary." She wasn’t ready. And she didn’t know if she’d ever be.

"Well, I do," said Agdar, convinced they couldn't let the opportunity slip. "We need to make amends"

"No,” said Elsa, sounding a lot more confident than she imagined. At first, she didn’t want to hurt Anna’s family with a resounding no, and she had hoped they got the message; but Agdar wasn’t helping. “That's what you need.”

“I think we are all part of this, Elsa,” Agdar said, trying to reason with her. “I know our actions have hurt you deeply but, please, try to understand where we stand.”

Elsa's patience was running thin, and with it, her control over her powers. She still had the situation under control, but she didn’t want to test her limits. And deep down, she knew she didn’t need to stay and listen to Agdar’s demands. 

“I’m going home. Thank you for your help, Idunn,” she said sincerely.

Idunn opened her eyes in surprise the moment Elsa addressed her. She had been so concerned about the conversation taking place, she hadn’t really been expecting Elsa to talk to her. By the time she tried to answer, Elsa was no longer in sight. She found her keys as fast as she could and left the kitchen after Elsa.

Agdar followed them, stopping Elsa just as she was about to walk out of the dining room into the hall. "Could you at least tell me why you won't answer my letters? Have you even read them?" he asked, exasperated. 

"Agdar!" Idunn couldn't believe her husband was being so insistent with Elsa. She had the right to ignore his letters, but he didn't seem to understand that.

"I just want to know," he answered as he turned to look at his wife. "She's right in front of us, Idunn. This might be the only chance we'll ever get to talk to her."

"It'll be if you don't stop being so demanding!" she hissed.

Agdar's tone did nothing but fuel Elsa’s rising irritation. Suddenly she didn't care about keeping a level head. "Why should I?" She hadn't raised her voice at all, but her question shook Agdar just as if she had. 

“What?” he asked, not expecting Elsa to react the way she had.

“Why should I answer your letters? Why should I sit down and talk to you?” asked Elsa, surprising both of them. "Why is it so important to talk to me now?" 

For a brief moment, he didn’t know what to say. He was looking at his eldest daughter, asking him something so simple yet so difficult to answer. Why? Why should she listen to anything he had to say? He knew she was right. The only answer was his desire to make things right. To make amends… But that was his selfish need.

She didn't give Agdar enough time to come up with a convincing reason before she went on, "All these years you didn't care if I was still alive or not. You guessed I was out there somewhere, and that was enough for you. Why do you care so much now?"

"Because you are my daughter." For him, that was all it mattered. 

"I don't know you," Elsa said bitterly. "And you certainly don’t know me. A couple of months ago I was only Anna’s sister-in-law."

"I know we don't know each other on a personal level yet. I know Idunn and I may not represent anything to you right now, but if you'd just let us—"

"I'm still the same person, you know?"

Agdar and Idunn weren't sure what she meant, so they both stayed silent.

"Anna's sister-in-law and me," she said. "You didn’t want to listen to me then, why do you want to listen to me now?"

"What do you mean I didn't want to listen?" Agdar asked, he wasn’t sure where the conversation was going, but he’d do anything to prove his daughter talking things through was for the best in the long run.

Something inside Elsa snapped at his question, her irritation turning into resentment. Their argument and the way it made her feel still replayed in her mind whenever she thought about the possibility of giving her birth parents a second chance, yet Agdar didn’t seem to remember nor care about it. "What I had to say about Romsdal wasn't important. The things I had experienced didn't matter to you." 

"That's not true."

"I was sitting right there!" yelled Elsa, finally losing her temper. She pointed at the table at his back over and over again as she explained, "I was telling you Weselton had done terrible things to me as a child, and you insisted I was exaggerating. You insisted he was a good person!"

Snow began to fall in the dining room, covering the furniture in white powder. The snow wasn’t enough to alarm Agdar and Idunn, but it certainly told them she was reaching a breaking point.

“Elsa, please, calm down,” said Idunn, trying to help her daughter see reason. She didn’t agree with Agdar’s demands and insistence. But she wasn’t going to let Elsa lose control, she knew it was something Elsa could regret.

Elsa looked at Idunn and then realised the snow falling around them. She wanted the snow to leave her alone. She wanted to express the way she felt for a minute without caring about hurting someone around her. She took a few steps backwards, ashamed of herself.

Idunn gave her time to take in what was going on around her. Before she could tell Elsa to ignore Agdar and accept a ride home, Elsa spoke again, sounding a lot more beated than before.

"You couldn't care less about my opinion, nor me as a person.” It was clear she was speaking to Agdar, even though her gaze was fixed on the floor. “You only changed the way you saw me when you realised I was your daughter." 

"I—"

"So, please, tell me why should I sit here and talk to you when I know all you want to do is clear your conscience.”

Even if Elsa’s powers had receded, Idunn had to look down and make sure Elsa hadn’t frozen Agdar to the floor by how still he was standing. He was clearly at a loss for words, and for a moment Idunn thought the argument was over.

Elsa looked at them for a moment before she finally left the room, disappearing from their sight. Not thinking twice about it, Idunn followed after her.

“You’re right about us not knowing each other,” said Agdar, still standing in the dining room, unsure if Elsa was still inside the house. “And you may be right about me not giving you the chance to talk and tell your truth — your side of things…”

Idunn turned to look at Elsa by the door and noticed she had stopped dead in her tracks. She didn’t utter a word, giving Agdar the chance to finish his idea.

“That is exactly why we need to have this conversation,” he said, hoping the silence from the hall meant he should keep talking. “I owe you the opportunity to tell me everything you ever wanted. And I owe you the chance to find out who you are.”

“I know who I am.” Elsa said indignantly, turning around just in time to see Agdar join them in the hall.

“Don’t you want to know anything about us? Don’t you have any questions?”

“Questions?”

“Yes,” Agdar sighed in relief. He finally felt like he had caught Elsa’s attention. “I’m sure you must have questions. I want you to finally find answers. I want you to understand why we did the things we did.”

Elsa stayed silent for a moment, thinking about the possibility of asking her birth parents something in particular. Truth was, she wanted to leave. She had no intention of staying. But Agdar’s offer gave her the opportunity to finally answer the question that had kept her up at night for as long as she could remember. “If I hadn't had ice powers, would you have kept me?”

“What?” asked Agdar, startled. 

“That’s a question, isn’t it?” Elsa said, not giving in. Agdar was offering the opportunity to find an answer she wanted. An answer she actually needed to help her make up her mind about them.

“Elsa, please, there’s no need to talk about this now,” said Idunn, not liking where this was going. She walked towards her daughter and gently patted her shoulder. “I’ll take you home.”

Even if Idunn’s touch surprised her, Elsa kept her eyes fixed on Agdar’s. “In your letters you say you had problems with your father, as well as money.” She was trying to remember everything Agdar had said to her in his letters. “And I get that. I know what it feels like not to have enough money to cover basic needs — the only reason I’m here today is because I didn’t have enough money for a cab fare.” She could feel Idunn’s worried gaze on her, but she didn't let her distract her. “I can only imagine what it feels like when you need to take care of a child on top of it. But I can't stop wondering, would you have tried harder if I had been normal?”

"We did the best we could," Agdar said, trying to avoid the question.

"Would you have tried harder?" repeated Elsa, ignoring his answer. "Would you have kept me?"

Not feeling comfortable with the answer he should give, Agdar tried to persuade Elsa. "Elsa, that is not—"

"You said you’d answer my questions."

"To talk about this out of context is simply—"

Sick of Agdar trying to answer with twisted words, she begged, "just answer the damn question!"

Agdar tried to find an answer that wouldn't break his daughter's heart, but couldn't. Truth was they would have done a lot more for her if only she hadn't been born with ice powers. "Yes," he said so quietly that Elsa almost missed it. He then kept his eyes fixed on the wooden floor, no daring see hurt written all over her face.

Elsa stayed silent after she heard Agdar’s answer. She was still looking at him, but she couldn’t focus on anything in particular. She felt like she had been slapped, and the whole in her chest became even bigger than before. She felt inmensurable sadness and anger. But this time. The anger wasn't directed to Agdar. She was mad at herself… For hoping, for having faith someone out there could love her and accept her for who she was.

The more she thought about it, the more logic Agdar's answer made. They had kept Anna. Why wouldn't they have kept a normal version of herself?

"Elsa…" Idunn said by her side, but didn't continue, unsure of what to say.

Elsa looked at Idunn and then at Agdar once again. He had finally raised his eyes and she thought it was best for her to say something.

"That's exactly why I don't want to talk to you," Elsa said, her voice low, trying to stop her voice from trembling. "I'm the one who will always end up feeling like a piece of garbage."

"I'm so sorry, Elsa," Idunn said, caressing her daughter's arm. It was freezing, but she didn’t care. She should have never cared about that. "We truly thought we were doing the right thing at the time."

"We loved you," Agdar said, hoping love could fix all of their mistakes.

"Not as much as if I had been normal it seems." Until that moment, Elsa had tried to keep a strong appearance. She had tried to challenge Agdar, showing a brave face. But at that moment, she couldn't stop the tears and snow from falling. Saying it aloud made it more real… more painful.

Shaking his head, trying in vain to erase the pain he felt, Agdar tried once again. He was not going to stand back and watch his daughter suffer for their mistakes anymore. He needed her to give him a chance, to listen to him and hopefully understand their claims were true. They loved her. “I know what we did was wrong. And I understand how you feel but— “

“Let me ask you something…” Her voice, as cold as the snow falling around them, stopped Agdar. “Have you ever been so tired, or in so much pain, you passed out?”

“What?” Idunn exclaimed, alarmed.

“Have you ever been so sick you thought you were going to die?” Tears kept falling down her cheeks.

“No—” He wasn’t sure what to say. He wasn’t even sure if they were rhetorical questions or if Elsa was actually expecting an answer. “What does this have to do with—?”

“Have you ever felt so bad about who you are and the things you do—” she stopped to draw in a breath. She couldn’t control her tears. “That– that you start to believe you deserve every bad thing that has ever happened to you?”

Both parents stayed in complete silence, stunned to hear Elsa open up about the things she’d lived.

“Have you ever experienced that?!” Elsa repeated, letting them know she was expecting an answer.

“No,” Agdar said clearly even though his voice was trembling.

“Then, don't say you understand the way I feel.” She got her point across, pointing at herself repeatedly. 

Once again, both Agdar and Idunn stayed in silence. Unsure of what to say or do. There was no nothing they could think of that could help Elsa feel less miserable.

“I’m going home.” She picked her bag, which was still hanging from the coat rack by the door and finally turned around to leave the house. 

“I never meant for any of that to happen,” Agdar said, hoping Elsa would trust his word, even if it seemed improbable. “I just wanted to give you a better life. I wanted to help you.”

“Has it ever crossed your mind that all the help I needed was a loving family?” She asked in a low voice. “Someone who would see past the ice and snow and love me all the same?”

“No…” He saw no reason in keeping the truth from her anymore. It was true he had never imagined something so simple could help her overcome the problems her powers caused.

Taking a few deep breaths, Elsa did everything in her power to stop the snow from falling. She focused on her emotions until they were secured behind the wall she had built years ago. She dried her tears and, once she was certain she could walk under the rain without freezing the drops around her, she asked, “Can I go home now, please?”

“Yes, of course,” said Agdar, certain there was nothing else he could say to convince Elsa to stay.

---

Elsa hadn’t walked more than a block away from their house when she heard Idunn calling after her. The woman was running under the rain with an umbrella in her hand.

“Elsa, wait!” she said, hoping Elsa would stop for just a moment.

Sighing tiredly, Elsa turned around and faced her. “Idunn, I don’t want to—”

“It’s just the umbrella,” Idunn managed to say in between breaths. She grabbed Elsa’s good hand and forced her to take it. “Keep it. And here’s some money for a cab.” She put the money inside her hoodie’s pocket.

Elsa stayed silent, not knowing what to say. Part of her didn’t want to accept the things she was being given; but on the other hand, she was glad she had a way of getting home faster. 

“Go home to your mother and get your wound treated,” Idunn said, patting the back of her injured hand. “I don't want you getting sick.”

Idunn’s gentleness made Elsa feel guilty for everything she had done and said inside her house. She was still ashamed of the snow she had left all over the place. “Idunn… I'm sorry I—”

“Don't,” said Idunn sharply, making Elsa open her eyes in surprise. “Do not apologise. Please. This isn't your fault. Nothing is your fault.” Taking a step closer to her daughter, she cupped her face to make sure Elsa listened to what she was about to say. “I am so very sorry for all the pain we inflicted on you, Elsa. There isn't a day I don't regret what we did.”

“Idunn—” Elsa tried to say, but Idunn stopped her.

“I loved you so, so much.” She had told herself time and time again she was not going to cry, but she couldn’t fight the tears that welled in her eyes. “I still do. I would give anything to take your pain away. Anything.” A sad smile drew on her face, she wished her words could be more than that. She wished there was a way she could turn back time. “I'm sorry Agdar and I can't seem to do anything right. You deserve so much more than what you get. Just know that we didn’t leave you behind because of your powers. We left you because we were powerless.”

Once again, Elsa raised her eyebrows in surprise. She couldn’t explain it, but Idunn’s words felt sincere. Seeing her cry had made Elsa feel empty inside. It just wasn’t right.

“We were Helpless,” she continued. “Our ineptitude made us do the most stupid thing we’ve ever done. The worst thing is, you’re still the one paying the consequences of our actions.”

In front of Elsa was the woman she could have called her mother. There was the mother she had longed for during those lonely nights in Weselton’s clinic. And for a moment, Elsa wondered what her life would have been like if that woman standing in front of her wouldn’t have abandoned her. “Was it really so hard to live with me? To take care of me?”

“No.” Idunn shook her head. “We just didn't know what to do. We were stupid… We still are.”

Idunn’s words sounded so genuine, Elsa felt she owed the woman some honesty too. Before she could stop herself, she said, “I needed you so much when I was a kid…” Elsa felt the tears well up in her eyes as she spoke. “I suffered so much. I was so afraid all the time. I would have given anything to meet you back then.”

“I'm so, so sorry, my love,” Idunn dried a couple of tears from Elsa’s eyes, and she hoped she could make Elsa’s bad memories disappear just the same.

Feeling overwhelmed by Idunn’s closeness. Elsa put some distance between them, and asked, “can I ask you something?”

“Anything,” she said. “Now and ever. Whatever you need, just say it.”

“Don’t tell Anna I was here. I don’t want her to hate me over this. She loves you, and she loves the idea of us being a family again…” It hurt Elsa to know she was putting more and more distance between Anna’s family and herself after that day, but she couldn’t ignore the way she felt. She wasn’t comfortable around Agdar. And she wasn’t sure she could forgive her birth parents after everything that had happened. “I don’t want to make things more difficult than they already are.”

Idunn was conflicted for a moment, but soon understood Elsa’s reasoning. She knew Anna would never resent her sister over what had happened, but still, she agreed with Elsa. It was best she didn’t find out. At least until they were on better terms. “That’s understandable… This meeting never happened.”

“Thank you.” Elsa offered her a small smile. “And thank you for your help today.” 

“Just—” said Idunn, stopping Elsa who was about to go. The moment she turned to look at her, Idunn threw herself in Elsa’s arms, hugging her tightly. “I’m sorry,” she said, aware she wasn’t respecting Elsa’s boundaries. “I just needed to give you one more hug. The one I gave you that night at the orphanage wasn’t long enough… And I feel like I'm losing you all over again.”

Elsa stayed frozen in place. She felt bad for Idunn, but she couldn’t return the hug. Not the way she expected. “I need to go,” she murmured, not knowing what else to say.

“I know,” said Idunn and reluctantly let her go.

---

I feel like some dialogues in this chapter are part of my past haha. Some of the things you’re reading now were written over three years ago when I first began to plot this story, together with some scenes from chapter 9 “The storm”. It’s so crazy to think those few lines I wrote in 2018 turned into this. I still can’t believe I’ve written more than 200,000 words and still haven’t finished this story. I can’t believe you guys have this amount of patience. I can’t thank you enough for that.

Anyway, as you can guess, this chapter was written and rewritten, and then rewritten again several times. Not entirely, just the dialogues and the characters’ interactions. Elsa put up a fight against me in this chapter in particular. I think I finally understand what writers mean when they say some characters have lives of their own. No matter how hard I tried, Elsa wouldn’t leave the Arendelles’ house without speaking up her mind, so I let her do as she pleased at the end.

You may find some mistakes here or there, truth is I tried to check for spelling mistakes and grammar mistakes before uploading this chapter, but truth is I am really tired. It’s quite late where I live and I’ve got to work tomorrow, but I didn’t want to make you guys wait any longer. I know some of you were excited to read this chapter! I hope you enjoy it!

I’d like to read your opinions about this chapter. Or about the story in general. Or about anything you think is worth mentioning. Please don’t be shy! I’m always open to comments and opinions. I love reading you!

Hope you’re all doing great! Read you soon!

It was true that from the moment she accepted Anna as her sister, life had become significantly simpler. She no longer worried about her friendship with Anna falling apart, and that made things easier between them.

Answering Idunn's letters had helped her find inner peace in a way that wasn't entirely related to Anna, too. She no longer stayed awake till long hours into the night wondering what was best for her to do. What Idunn had to say to her. Or what had really happened in the past. Of course, she still felt heartache and pain whenever she thought about her childhood and everything she had been forced to go through, but Idunn's letters had helped her find some comfort.

The only thing bothering Elsa at the moment was the fact Idunn and Agdar kept sending letters her way. She had read and answered the first few letters without a problem. But as time went by, and Idunn kept sending letters, she began to run out of things to talk to her about. She tried to remain civil about it, after all they had given her one of the best gifts she had ever gotten. But a gift didn't mean she could suddenly forget all the things she had gone through.

She didn't answer every letter, but still she made sure she wrote once in a while. Anna was still the main reason she answered back, and she had to admit Idunn had interesting stories to tell from time to time. However, she couldn't help feeling they were forcing a relationship Elsa wasn't entirely sure she wanted. Most of the time, she answered Idunn's letters and avoided Agdar's ones altogether – she hadn't made up her mind about him and it was easier to ignore him. The hurtful things he had said during that fateful dinner still lingered in Elsa's mind, making it hard for her to believe the words he wrote on paper. The way he had defended Weselton still made her feel like a piece of garbage and it was hard for her to forget it.

The letters she wrote to her biological family weren't the only thing that had changed Elsa's routine. Coming to an agreement with Marshmallow about their shared business had also had a great impact in her life. To her good luck, she no longer had to worry about her future as badly as she once had.

Thanks to Marshmallow accepting her offer, she now had a business plan and a great partner to help her along the way. In just the first few weeks since they had agreed on working together, Marshall had helped her see all the things they were missing and everything they could improve before Autumn came. His knowledge about the business and what they needed to focus on made things easier for Elsa in many ways. She could not only focus on her leg's recovery and getting into perfect physical shape once again, she could also plan different ski lessons for them to use while Marshmallow took care of business.

What was best, if they followed their plan correctly, Marshall was certain they could start booking classes several weeks before the season started. Something essential if they wanted to compete against the big ski schools and resorts.

Their lack of money and resources often worried Elsa, of course. Having a good business plan didn't mean all their problems magically disappeared, but Marshmallow's calmness always offered her a different perspective and a positive attitude that quickly set her worries to rest. He was certain they were going to find an investor sooner or later, or at least someone as crazy as they were who would lend them enough money to start their business. Elsa wasn't as sure as he was about it, but knowing he was working on it put her mind to rest. She was certain one way or another, he was going to find a solution.

As business partners, they began to spend more time together, even more than they originally imagined. They agreed on using Elsa's cottage as their main location since it was closer to the route from Trolheim. And Marshall ended up spending hours on end at her place.

Against all odds, the more time they spent together, the more Elsa wanted him to stay. Working with him all day made Elsa awfully aware of how lonely the days she spent alone felt. And half the time, she tried to find excuses for him to stay; even when the time together made Elsa extremely tired. Controlling and concealing her powers around him wasn't necessarily difficult since most of the time she felt comfortable in his company, but it could become tiresome, especially during summer when she couldn't allow her powers to manifest, not even for a moment.

But all things considered, she couldn't complain about her life. She had a routine that was good for her mental and physical health; she had aims and goals, and little by little she was getting closer to achieving them.

Nonetheless, no matter how smoothly things were going for Elsa, there were days she still felt inadequate to complete certain tasks. She felt strange enjoying the simple things in life. And even doubted her own potential. Those days were the hardest. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't escape her own self doubt and tiredness, making her daily tasks more difficult than they originally were.

"I give up," said Elsa, clearly annoyed with the exercise in front of her.

It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon, Anna had arrived early that morning to continue with Elsa's classes. They had been studying and working and practicing since she had arrived, but for some reason they were still stuck with the first few exercises Anna had planned for Elsa to complete that day. The older girl couldn't concentrate at all, and it was clearly making her feel more frustrated than usual. The fact Anna had chosen a difficult Mathematics topic to work on wasn't helping at all.

"Hey, no," said Anna reassuringly. She knew Elsa could solve those exercises if she concentrated. It was just a matter of time and dedication. "Come on. Try once again. I'll show you how to-"

"I don't want to keep trying, Anna," Elsa said, closing her books without letting Anna say one more word.

Anna took a deep breath and tried to remain calm. She hated the days Elsa just closed her books on her face that way. "You're just tired, Elsa. You can take a short break and then-"

"Yes, I am." Elsa stood up from her chair and walked to the fridge to find something to drink.

"You need to keep practicing," Anna said, not caring about keeping a calm appearance anymore. "If you don't complete these exercises now, you'll have to finish them on your own."

"Mark in the book the exercises you want me to complete for next class." Elsa answered not turning around to look at Anna.

Anna opened the book with a little more force than necessary. "I really think we should finish some of them now. This kind of exercise will be in the exam."

"Anna, I'm exhausted," she answered as she slammed the fridge's door. "I can't focus."

"That's an exaggeration."

"Oh, really?" Elsa said, calling Anna's attention. "Why don't you try to focus on Mathematics while you hold your powers back?" Before Anna could answer she continued, "Right, you don't have any."

"Then stop holding them back." Anna tried to be patient and she tried to understand Elsa's situation, but she hated it when she used her powers as an excuse not to do the simplest things. "Let your body relax for just fifteen minutes, let your powers go, and concentrate on your tasks."

"I can't."

"Elsa-"

"No," insisted Elsa. "I need to get used to it. I know I'll be a nervous wreck the day of the exam. I need to keep them under perfect control at all times."

"Study hard now and the ice won't be a problem the day of the test," Anna tried to reason. "It's ridiculous to think keeping your powers hidden a month before the exam will help you in some way."

"You don't understand." Elsa was in denial, no longer willing to listen to Anna anymore.

"No, I don't," said Anna, tired of the situation. "What do you want from me, Elsa? I wish I could help you, but I can't." She had no idea how her sister's powers worked or what she could do to keep them at bay. "I have no idea what to do besides offering you my help studying. I can try and teach you as much as possible before the exam, but I need your cooperation."

Taking a seat in her chair once again, Elsa looked down at the notes in front of her before she said in a low voice, "I'm sorry."

"I'm not mad at you. But I can't help you if you don't let me. Why don't we finish these?" offered Anna.

Elsa grabbed her pencil as if to continue, but stopped before she wrote anything down. "Please, let's have a break."

Anna sighed. Elsa was no longer trying to avoid the situation because she was mad, she seemed honestly tired. "Okay. Okay…" Anna agreed. "I guess we both need it."

Anna watched her sister massage her temples, then hide her face in her hands as she sighed tiredly. It was clear she wasn't exaggerating when she said she was exhausted. Not only her body language told Anna Elsa was at her limit, she could see it in her eyes too. "You've been awfully tired lately. Have you been sleeping well?"

"Same as always," came Elsa's reply, muttered by her hands.

"Is that a yes or a no?" Something told Anna it was a clear no, as if Elsa didn't know what sleeping well was.

"It's just…" Anna gave her sister time to order her thoughts. "I've had a hard time controlling my powers lately."

Anna had been expecting Elsa to admit she couldn't sleep well due to nightmares or anxiety, but not once did she imagine her powers were involved. "What? Why? Are you okay?"

Marshmallow and I have been spending a lot of time together - training and working," she clarified and Anna laughed, knowing the clarification came in order to avoid any remark she could send her way. "I've got to conceal my powers whenever he's around."

"All the time?"

"Yes," Elsa nodded. "I did the same when you took care of me after the accident. Doing it for long lapses of time can be exhausting."

"I still can't believe how well you hid your powers from me." They hadn't discussed much about Elsa's powers during the time Anna had taken care of her; so, any information Elsa gave her was still news to her. "It's hard to believe you're constantly concealing them though. You don't seem to struggle."

"Years of practice, I guess," she admitted.

"Does it hurt?" Anna had avoided that question for a long time. Part of her wanted to remain ignorant about it, just in case the answer wasn't what she was expecting.

"Huh?"

"Concealing your powers, does it hurt?"

Elsa took some time to come up with an answer. Anna could see she was trying to find the right words to explain something so unique. "Think about anything your body does on its own," she said after a moment. "Like breathing, for example."

"Okay," said Anna, not clearly understanding. "Breathing doesn't hurt."

"But holding your breath for a long time can make you feel somewhat uncomfortable, right? It's not pain, but your body is asking you to do something about it."

Anna stayed silent for a moment and held her breath discreetly. After half a minute, she felt what Elsa was trying to describe. "Are you serious?"

"It's not exactly the same feeling," said Elsa, not noticing Anna had actually held her breath. "But it's close."

It was clear holding her powers back didn't have the same effects as holding her breath. After all, Elsa still managed to live a normal life and do sports while she held them back. But it was impressive to think she was constantly fighting against her body like that. "How do you do it?"

Shrugging it off, she said, "I've gotten used to it."

"That doesn't sound healthy." It couldn't be. Anna was convinced that if Elsa had had the chance to grow up in a loving household with a loving family from the start, she wouldn't be so used to concealing who she was.

"I've gotten used to it," repeated Elsa. "That's all there's to say about it, really."

"Is this the reason you can't stand the city?"

"Partially." Elsa nodded her head. "I try not to let my concentration break whenever I'm surrounded by people, and it can be exhausting after some time."

"You're tense at all times!" Anna was just now realising what it really meant for Elsa to live with those powers. It wasn't just a matter of remembering not to use them. It was actually a conscious effort not to let them manifest. "That must be awful."

Once again Elsa shrugged. It seems as if she tried not to think too much about it. It was best not to dwell on what she couldn't have. Anna thought for a while about a solution to Elsa's problem. Maybe she couldn't help her sister train her powers for the exam. But if she could offer her a solution to her exhaustion, then Elsa was going to feel better during their classes. "Have you considered… maybe…" she said, calling Elsa's attention.

"What?" asked Elsa, already knowing she was about to suggest something she wouldn't like.

"Have you considered telling Marshall about your powers?"

"What?" she asked again. "No. Are you crazy? Why would I–?"

"Okay, listen to me for a sec," said Anna raising her hand and stopping Elsa before she came up with a million excuses. "You work with him now, right? You can't put yourself through something like this every day for the rest of– well… For how long your business lasts. It could be several years."

"Once Winter comes things will become easier," said Elsa trying to reassure her.

"Oh, good. Good!" She exclaimed sarcastically. "I didn't know you only had to wait like four months!" She let out an exasperated sigh when Elsa looked at her as if she had lost her marbles. "Elsa, are you crazy? You need to talk to him."

"And tell him what exactly?"

"The truth."

"Hey, Marshmallow," said Elsa, pretending to be talking to her friend. "I've got inexplicable ice powers!" She then lowered her gaze and pretended to order the things on the table before she said in a lower tone of voice, "Yes… There's no way that won't go wrong."

The mere idea of talking about her unusual ability made Elsa uncomfortable, and Anna hated it. It wasn't fair Elsa had to hide who she was at all times. She wasn't dangerous. She wasn't a threat. Then, why couldn't she just talk about herself more openly?

"You could try to explain it better. Why don't you start saying there are people who have certain abilities, different abilities, and then—" Anna tried to suggest when the front door of the cottage suddenly opened.

The girls heard the door and then the voice of Marshall. "Els? Are you home?"

"Shut–" said Elsa, putting her hand over Anna's mouth. "Shut up," she repeated in a lower tone of voice. "Don't say a thing." She then cleared her throat and said, "In the kitchen!"

Anna pushed Elsa's hand away from her mouth and took the opportunity to mess with her sister. After all, she had never heard Marshall call her that way before. "Els?" muttered Anna, playfully, earning a disapproving glance from Elsa.

"I brought the tools I told you about," said Marshall as he got closer to the kitchen door. "I was thinking we could fix the– Anna, hi." It was clear he wasn't expecting her to be there too and he stopped himself mid-sentence. "I didn't know you two were in the middle of a class. I'm sorry."

"Don't worry, big guy." Anna smiled at him. Since the night she had stopped his attempt at breaking Hans' nose, the two of them had begun to talk a bit more and understand each other better. Marshall was still quite shy around her, but little by little he was opening more to her. The good thing was he didn't mind her company in the least. "We were just talking."

"We'll probably finish these exercises next class," Elsa said and gave Anna a pleading look.

"I only stopped by to leave these things." He pointed to the toolbox and bag he was holding. "I was thinking I could fix your broken window. You know, the one in the bedroom where we keep our supplies."

"Oh, that could– that'd be great." Elsa said with a smile. If Anna remembered correctly, that window had been broken long before she met Elsa. It was due time someone fixed that thing.

"I still need a few tools that I'm pretty sure are in my SUV," he said pointing towards the front door. "I'll be back in a while. So, you've got plenty of time to finish your class."

"That works for me," answered Anna with a smile that was mostly directed at Elsa.

"Good." He smiled back. "I'll go get my things, then. Nice to see you, Anna."

"You too, big guy!"

"Take your time," said Elsa as she walked him out of the house. Anna heard the lock on the door when she closed it and a nervous sigh coming out of Elsa's mouth.

"You've got to tell him." Anna said as soon as Elsa stepped into the kitchen once again. It was ridiculous in her opinion for Elsa to be so tense and careful around him.

"Anna-"

"No, listen to me." Anna grabbed Elsa's hand the moment she sat down in front of her. "You should consider it. Just imagine how good you'd feel once you stop holding your breath all the time around him. You were clearly tense right now."

"I was tense because you thought it was a good idea to talk about my powers so openly." Elsa said, pulling her hand away from Anna's.

"Hey!" The last thing Anna needed was for Elsa to blame this on her. "It's not my fault he didn't knock. How was I supposed to know he'd show up?"

"Just–" Elsa sighed tiredly. "Please don't talk about my… condition so carelessly."

Anna decided it was best to ignore the way Elsa was referring to her powers as if they were a disease. "He'll accept you the way you are."

"No. He won't," said Elsa with a bitter laugh.

"Of course he will." Everything she had learnt from Marshall in the last few months told Anna he was the kind of person who would try to be understanding. The same way Kristoff, Kai, Gerda and herself included had been.

"My own biological family rejected me," she said matter-of-factly. "What are the odds of Marshall accepting me?"

Anna knew it was true, but it hurt. It truly did. Elsa probably didn't mean it that way, but it felt like a slap. She opened her mouth to complain, but there was no point in going down that road right that moment. "Tell him," she insisted, instead.

"No." Tired of the conversation, Elsa got up and began picking up her things.

"Elsa-"

"No, Anna."

"But you'll-"

"I said no!" It was strange for Elsa to raise her voice. Anna knew she was taking Elsa's patience to its limit. "I like Marshmallow. I'm not going to ruin our friendship by showing him my powers."

"It didn't ruin ours." Anna knew she was being too insistent, but in the last few months she had learnt Elsa needed to be pushed to her limits at times. It was the only way she could break the barriers she had built around herself.

Sitting down once again, Elsa took a deep breath in before she admitted, "I know. I know it didn't. But you're different."

"Different how?" asked Anna. Maybe, just maybe, if she was able to show Elsa Marshall wasn't so different from Kristoff and her, then Elsa would try to give him a chance.

"To begin with, you're nuts."

Anna couldn't help but laugh wholeheartedly at that.

Elsa smiled and continued, "You not only accepted my powers, you also accepted me. Any other person would have pushed their bastard and weird sibling away. You didn't. You are different, Anna. In a good way."

Anna gave her a sympathetic smile. "I don't like when you describe yourself like that."

"It's the truth."

Anna remained silent for a while as she watched Elsa continue to pick her things up. There was something she could say to convince her. But it was hard to fight, not only against her sister's stubbornness, but against everything she believed she was.

Elsa picked all the books and supplies she had been using and put them on a shelf where she usually kept them. She then filled a kettle with water. It was part of their routine. As soon as they finished studying, Elsa prepared some tea for them, and soon after Anna left. It was clear Elsa had decided they were not going to continue with their lesson that day.

Finding no real reason to insist on the matter. Anna picked her own things up and left the Mathematics book on top of the shelf. "I marked in the book the exercises I want you to complete."

"Okay," Elsa said, as she handed Anna a cup of tea. She then walked to the living room and sat down on the couch.

"You should have more faith in him," said Anna absent-mindedly, after following Elsa. She was still thinking about their conversation, and she spoke before she stopped to think if Elsa wanted to continue the discussion. "If there's someone out there who'd try to be understanding about your powers and who you are, that's Marshmallow."

"Why are you being so insistent?" asked Elsa, exasperated. She left the teacup on the small table in front of her and looked Anna in the eye, trying to understand what was driving her to push the conversation forward.

"Because it's affecting you. Physically." If Elsa wanted to be stubborn, so be it. But she could be stubborn too.

"What?"

"In your words, not mine, you're exhausted. Besides, it's clear you like spending time with him. Wouldn't it be better if you could relax for like ten seconds around him?"

"Who says I don't relax-?" She stopped herself mid-sentence. "You know what? It doesn't matter what you think. I need to focus on more important things."

Anna knew she was the one who was being insistent. She knew she was consciously trying to push Elsa. But to hear Elsa say she didn't care what she had to say made her get angry instead. "You're so afraid of letting people in, you don't even try!"

"Excuse me?"

"You won't let Marshall in - no matter how hard he tries. You won't give mum a chance to meet you. Properly meet you. All you do is push people away from you. I'm starting to feel sorry for them." She knew this was uncalled for. She had no reason to demand anything from Elsa except the fact she constantly ignored her parents' invitations. But still it wasn't necessary for her to react that way.

"What do you mean I don't let Marshall into my life?" asked Elsa, suddenly annoyed and confused. "He's my only friend outside the family. I asked him to be my business partner. What are you talking about?"

"It's just–" How could she explain to Elsa what was evident at plain sight?" You really don't see it?"

"See what? You're not making any sense."

"Gosh, you really don't."

"Anna, what are you talking about?" Elsa's own patience was running thin, and Anna knew it. She needed to regain some control and start making more sense if she wanted Elsa to listen to her.

'You mean the world to him. He's crazy about you!', she wanted to say to her sister's face. But that wasn't a good idea, so she opted for a different approach. "Marshall… he tries to be there for you. It's clear he tries for you to open up and trust him. But you keep pushing him away. You don't do it on purpose. I know you're only trying to protect yourself. But maybe, this time, by keeping this secret of yours, you're doing more damage than good. That's what I meant."

Elsa stayed silent for a moment, analysing what she had just said. Maybe it was best to leave it at that. Let Elsa think about it and come to a conclusion on her own. If she wanted to continue holding her breath for the rest of her life next to him, then that was up to her.

They remained in silence for a while after that, esch sister absorbed in their own thoughts. Anna believed Elsa had taken the opportunity to end the conversation once and for all. She was surprised when Elsa asked her a question she wasn't expecting.

"Don't you think I've got a justified reason not to let Idunn into my life?"

Anna had mentioned their mother out of frustration. She was the easiest example, besides Marshall, that had come into her mind. She always made a conscious effort not to let Elsa see how tiresome it was to be in the middle. Of course she understood Elsa's reasons. Who wouldn't? But her parents were good people. And she was the one who had to tell them, week after week, that Elsa hadn't sent a letter, yet again.

"Look, Elsa, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have mentioned mum but-" She sighed, not knowing what to say. Perhaps it was best to talk things through. After all, Elsa was the one who asked the question. "If I've got to be honest, I've been trying to be patient and understanding. I know you've got your reasons not to answer mum's every single letter. And they're justified to an extent but- but do you think mum hasn't told me the things she writes to you about?"

Elsa remained silent. And Anna guessed she was trying to remember the last thing Idunn had said to her in her letters.

"She's been asking you, over and over again, for a chance," explained Anna. "She's been asking you, begging you, for the opportunity to meet you just once in person."

Anna noticed the way Elsa avoided her eyes. It was clear she didn't have a good reason besides the fact she simply didn't want to.

"Mum told you everything about her. Everything about our family. She has asked for forgiveness more times than I can count and yet… you keep ignoring her."

"She left me in Weselton's hands," said Elsa in a small voice.

"I know," Anna said, nodding her head. "And I hate that she did." It was true. She did. There wasn't a day Anna didn't wonder what their lives could have been if they had stayed together. "But… Trust me when I say she's trying."

Anna waited for Elsa to say something, anything. But it was clear she had nothing to say. So instead of staying silent and waiting, she asked, "Won't you ever forgive mum and dad?"

"I don't know." Her response was fast and it made Anna wonder if it was true. Maybe Elsa didn't know yet, or maybe she was simply trying to keep her from the pain of accepting the truth.

"They love you." She had to try.

"It doesn't erase the past."

"Nothing will." She was surprised to hear herself say something like that. It sounded mean coming from her mouth. "I'm sorry, but it's the truth."

"Don't you think I know that?" she asked in a calm and collected way.

It was strange to hear Elsa say the things she was saying so calmly. She wasn't mad, or sad, or angry. And Anna wondered how many times her sister had gone over those things in her head to be able to talk about it that way.

"Mum and dad made a big mistake. I know that, Elsa," she said, trying to show her she understood. "But they are willing to be there for you now. Why won't you even try?" She wanted Elsa to try, just once, and see that their parents were willing to give everything they could to her. They were willing to give everything up just to prove to Elsa they loved her and missed her their whole lives.

"They turned their back on me once. What if they do it again?"

Of course Elsa's doubts were justified. Idunn and Agdar had broken her trust once, and in the worst kind of way. Anna was set to help her sister see things in a different way, though. "That won't happen…"

"I don't know them and they don't know me. There's nothing tying us together," she explained. "What if they choose I'm not good enough again? Then what?"

Anna couldn't help but agree with Elsa. It didn't matter how she put it. Elsa was the one risking more things in this situation. She was just now learning how to be around people and how to trust them. If their parents ruined this up, they were going to force Elsa back to square one. "Trust me when I say they are willing to be there for you. There's time. You can get to know each other. Just please give them a chance."

"What about Gerda and Kai?" asked Elsa.

"What about them?"

"They are my parents, Anna." She was annoyed Anna wasn't even considering her adoptive parents, that much was obvious. "I'm a Bjorgman."

"Mum and dad are not asking you to give up your life." Anna was frustrated with Elsa's reasoning. Life was not black and white. She could give their parents a chance and keep her life intact. But Elsa was adamant to try. "They simply want to meet you once again."

Elsa stayed silent and Anna believed she had finally cornered her. Either Elsa accepted she was right to an extent, or countered her one last time. Anna was hoping Elsa would give in and accept that meeting their parents just once wasn't the end of the world.

To her bad luck, Elsa had one more reason and feeling cornered forced her to confess why she was so determined not to meet their parents. "I don't want to be in the same room as your father, okay?"

"What?" asked, Anna. Surprised Elsa had a precise reason.

"I can't trust a person who looked me in the eye and told me Weselton was a respectable person," she admitted. "I can't. I've tried reading his letters… I end up crumpling them every time."

There was the reason Elsa had never sent a letter to Agdar specifically, and that crushed the small amount of hope Anna had left. "It really upset you the way dad defended him that night, didn't it?"

"To hear Agdar say Weselton was a good person made me feel like a piece of crap that night." Elsa said indignantly. "To find out there were important people, like your father, who still considered him a respectable person made me feel insignificant. All my life I've struggled with this idea that people would justify Weselton's actions if they found out about me - about who I am and what I can do."

"No one would justify his-"

"And your father was sitting right in front of me," interrupted Elsa, not giving Anna the chance to change her mind. "trying to justify his actions even when I was telling him Weselton had made my life miserable - and at the time he thought I was only a normal person, just one more girl who had gone through the foster system. What I had to say didn't matter."

"Dad had to believe what you were saying was a lie not to crumble down. He was thinking of you- I mean, you as his daughter the whole time. He was blaming himself right then and there." Anna remembered her father's words when he explained his attitude that night. He had been mad, but not at Elsa, at himself.

"That night, Agdar represented everything I'd been afraid of all my life. A powerful person who would justify anything as long as he gets to protect himself and his own interests. And the worst thing is…" said Elsa with tears in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. "He turned out to be my father."

Anna hated Elsa's words made so much sense. She truly did. "Dad didn't know Weselton had done those things. He didn't know he had committed those crimes."

"But he didn't take my word for it." Elsa said matter-of-factly. And it was true. "I can't trust him. Not yet, Anna. And I'm sorry."

"It's okay," said Anna, accepting, once and for all, her sister's reasons. Maybe it was best she kept quiet about it. Maybe it was best she finally listened to Kristoff and gave Elsa and her parents tiem to solve things themselves. It crushed her, but there was no way she'd force Elsa to meet with her father if she felt that way. "I'm sorry I'm so insistent at times."

Looking at the time, and guessing Elsa would appreciate a few minutes on her own before Marshall showed up, she decided it was best to leave. She had pushed her sister around enough as it was, even if it had been unintentionally. "I'd better go. It's getting late and Marshall will be here any minute now."

"Okay."

It stung Elsa didn't offer her to stay, but she couldn't blame her. "If you ever made up your mind about mum and dad. One way or another. Let me know, okay?" she asked, but it sounded more like a pleading. "I won't hold your decision against you. I will understand."

---

Marshall climbed the front steps two at a time and knocked on the door once before entering the house. He was in an incredibly good mood, and he was looking forward to spending the evening with Elsa. Fixing the window had been half an excuse he had come up with, but he was glad Elsa had agreed. Not only for the obvious reason of spending some time with her, but also because he finally got to fix the goddamn thing. Every time they wanted to arrange things in the old bedroom, they kept finding leaves and dirt that came from outside. It was driving him mad.

"I'm back," he said in a loud voice, announcing he was back in the house, in case the girls were still studying. "The tools were in the car, thankfully. I was afraid I had left them somewhere."

When he raised his gaze from the things he was carrying he noticed Elsa was only a couple of meters away from him, sitting on the sofa. "Oh, you were here," he said with a chuckle. "I was yelling like a moron."

She smiled at him, but for some reason he didn't understand the smile didn't quite reach her eyes. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yes."

A fast, short answer that did nothing but confirm something was not fine.

"What?" asked Elsa, noticing the way he raised his eyebrow at her.

"I don't believe you," he said with a gentle smile. "That's all."

"I'm fine, Marshall." She rolled her eyes at him, and he knew he was right.

"Sure…"

Knowing it was best not to push Elsa, he sat down on the couch next to her, not before lying his things on the floor. He could use a rest before he began working on the broken window and he didn't mind giving Elsa some time to see if she wanted to share what was wrong.

It didn't take half the amount of time he imagined for her to say, "Anna's mad at me."

"I find that hard to believe." He didn't look at her, giving her the space he was sure she needed to continue telling him what's wrong.

"She didn't say it," said Elsa, showing they hadn't had a fight exactly. "But I know she's getting tired of waiting."

"Waiting?" That called his attention. Both girls seemed fine the moment he had seen them earlier that day.

"She's disappointed I'm not going to give her parents a chance."

"I thought you were on speaking terms with her family."

"We are," she clarified. "Sort of."

"Then what's the problem?"

Elsa took a deep breath as she gathered her thoughts before she explained, "I've answered Idunn's letters. But they keep asking for us to meet. They keep inviting me to have dinner together. I haven't accepted their invitation yet… And I don't think I will."

Nodding a few times, Marshall thought about how hard it probably was for Elsa to make that choice. On the one hand, she had people who had abandoned her - for whatever reason, she never told him what had forced her parents to do it. On the other hand, she had her new sister, who she didn't want to disappoint. "You've got the right to say no. Anna should be more understanding."

"She still hopes we can become a family I guess."

"Hmm…" He couldn't blame Anna. She was right in the middle of that chaos.

"I know she means well, and part of me knows it'd be easier to just accept–"

"Look, Els," he interrupted before she began deprecating her own feelings like she had the tendency to do. "Do you want my opinion?" He waited for her to nod before he continued, "You proved to her you love her enough to be on talking terms with her parents. You shouldn't feel guilty this time."

"I can't help but feel like I'm betraying her somehow."

"You love Anna," he said. "And it's clear Anna loves you. You don't need to meet your parents if you don't want to. They are the ones who walked out of your life to begin with."

"I know but–"

"You didn't have a say back then, but you do now." Why was it so hard for her to understand she could be selfish and do what was better for her? "Do what makes you happy. And, so what if they have to wait a few months for you. You waited years for them to show up, and they never did."

Elsa's silence made him feel guilty. He didn't want to be so blunt, but the Arendelles' insistence infuriated him. He gathered his own thoughts and finally offered, "You did the right thing a couple of months ago when you read your biological mother's letter. That was something you needed to do. This… meeting thing." He had no idea what to call it. "That's not necessary. Don't feel guilty."

Elsa stayed silent for a couple of minutes, and he sighed nervously. He always tried to avoid giving his opinion for that very reason, he never knew when he was being too honest.

To his surprise, instead of ignoring him and his small rant, like he had imagined. Elsa looked at him for a moment, smiled and then pulled from his arm; forcing him into a hug he wasn't expecting.

"You always help me see things in a different way," she said calmly, as she buried her face on his shoulder.

"Oh, yeah, sure," he said, hesitantly. He was still trying to comprehend what he had said to earn a tender embrace from her. "I just– it's only my opinion. I don't like seeing you crestfallen."

"Thank you, Marshmallow."

"Anytime," he said as he wrapped his arms around her tightly. After a moment, he put some distance between them and offered something for them to do, in hopes she forgot about her family issues for a while. "Shall we fix that window?"

"Yes, let's go," she said with a smile.

He couldn't be sure, but something told him Elsa was as happy as he was about the fact they were going to spend their evening together.

---

I live! *insert Mushu's meme*

Hello dearest readers, it's been such a long time since the last time I updated I can only ask for your forgiveness. I tried to continue writing dialogues and scenes for this story since the last update, but work, life and a personal project I'm working on got in the middle every time I thought about sitting down and properly write this chapter.

Good news is I have several scenes for the following chapters written. It doesn't necessarily mean I'll upload them soon enough, but at least you can rest assured I'm sticking to my word. I will finish this story. You just need to be patient.

To be honest, I can't ask you to be more patient than you have already been. You're the best readers I could ever hope for. You're all so incredibly respectful to my story, my OC (who's taken a big chunk of this story and refuses to let go), to my times and so on. I love you all.

This chapter in particular, I want to thank a few people who have been sending messages and encouraging me to keep writing in the last few months: wabitham, aries1708, bigfrozenfan, Skadi Oz, smol bean, Demons Of Doom, BadEnglishSpeaker, among many, many others. Sorry I can't mention you all.

On the other hand, I want to say this chapter is dedicated to: @jimmi-arts . Who has made incredible fanart of Søsken. The art is so good and detailed I can't believe she took the time to draw something like that for this story in particular. I'm incredibly flattered. Everyone, go check her excellent work on Tumblr. You won't regret it!

Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this chapter. This one in particular is getting everything ready for the next big thing that's coming. But that's all I'm going to say for now. I hope the wait was worth it; and if it wasn't let me know what you didn't enjoy so I can improve! Tagging time: @swimmingnewsie @melody-fox @kristoffxannafanatic @kristannafictionals @neptrabbit @skneez @ellacarter13 @wondering-in-life @who-i-am-8 @fanfictionrecommendations-com @815-allisnotlost @khartxo @joannevixxon @betweenthedreams @burbobah @rileysfs @earlvessalius @blood-jewel @disneydreamer8901 @the-sky-is-awake @disneyfan103 @the-magic-one-is-you @anamaria8garcia @welovefrozenfanfiction @bigfrozenfan-archive @bigfrozenfan-archive @frozen-snips  @deisymendoza  @zackhaikal123 @cornstarch @roostercrowedatmidnight @showurselfelsa @fuzzyelsalikeiduna @when-dawn-arrivess @drafteedragon @snowycrocus @tare8chan @localarendellian @wabitham @roostercrowedatmidnight  @just-your-local-history-nerd@dontrunintofirexoxo @daphmckinnon @poketin @bruni-is-love @luna-and-mars @anotherpersondrawing @lovelucywilde @shimmeringsunsets @aries1708 @wabitham @agentphilindaisy @anotherpersondrawing @spkfrozen @jimmi-arts @snowmanmelting @dovahkiinkillua

Read you soon!

Sometimes she wondered whether people struggled so much to put their ideas into words, or if it was only her who had trouble with it. She guessed her lack of education could be an obstacle at times. But still, this time she felt there was something else stopping her. She had ideas about her business. Several ideas in fact. But the moment she wrote them down, she began to wonder if they were good enough, or if Marshmallow was going to like them. Her knowledge about businesses was limited and the last thing she wanted was to drag Marshall down with useless suggestions. Part of her suspected he was going to agree with whatever idiotic thing she came up — just for the sake of being nice. And that was the last thing they needed. For that very reason, she was putting extra effort in the way her ideas were worded.

She grabbed a blank piece of paper ready to start again when a knock on her door called her attention. Kristoff and Anna were coming to have dinner that evening, but she was surprised they had arrived so early.

When she opened the door, she was greatly surprised to see her mother standing on the other side. “Mum?” she asked, with a smile. “What are you doing here?”

“Can't a mother simply miss her daughter?” answered Gerda as she stepped into the house. “Why don't you visit me more often?” 

Elsa smiled at her mother’s playful tone. Gerda had always enjoyed making Kristoff and her feel guilty for the silliest things, and they knew exactly when she was just trying to trick them. “You changed me for some boring dinner when I did,” Elsa said with a smirk, trying to guilt-trip her just the same. “Is dad with you?”

“No, he had to work. I took the bus.”

“The bus?” Elsa had lost count how many times Kristoff had asked their mother not to take the bus on her own. It was relatively safe, but the two of them didn’t like the idea of their mother walking the trail to the cottage alone. “You should've called me. I would have waited for you at the bus stop. You know the trail here isn't in the best condition.”

“Are you insinuating I can't walk on my own?” Gerda replied, annoyed.

“No, of course not.” Sadly, it was useless to tell her mother what to do, the more they insisted on taking care of her, the more defensive she’d get. Kai was easier to deal with in that sense.

“I may be getting older, but I'm completely independent, thank you very much.” Gerda handed her daughter the purse she had been carrying and walked to the kitchen, ignoring anything else Elsa had to say about the topic.  

Elsa laughed at her mother’s childish behaviour and followed her. “You don't need to get offended.”

“I’m simply stating facts," she said matter-of-factly.

“Whatever you say…” There was no point in arguing with her. It was easier to let Kristoff deal with those things. It was a good thing her brother was going to show up later that day. “Kristoff's coming with Anna to have dinner, by the way.”

“I know,” said Gerda with a smile. “He told me to come and join you.”

“Then why didn't you travel with him?”

Gerda shrugged. “He said he was coming after work. I was bored at home and I wanted to spend some time with you.” She sat down at the table and looked around, noticing the mess on top of the table for the first time. “What were you doing, sweetheart? I'm not interrupting your studies, am I?”

“Not at all.” She knew Gerda didn’t mind the mess, but she began picking up everything she had lying around nonetheless. “I was writing down some ideas for next winter season.”

“That's wonderful!” she exclaimed with a clap of her hands. “Kristoff told me you'll give your business another chance.”

“Yes!” She loved the way Gerda always encouraged her to keep working on her own business. She had been the one who originally gave Elsa the idea when she moved to the mountain. “Marshall and I will try to work together.”

Gerda raised an eyebrow. “Do you mean your friend Marshall?”

She nodded and explained, “Westergaard kicked him out for no good reason and he had no idea what to do.”  

By Gerda’s expresion, Elsa noticed she wasn’t surprised by what Westergaard had done. More than once Gerda had warned her about not getting involved with Marshall’s boss. She never liked the idea of her asking him for a job.

“That's terrible,” her mother commented as she helped Elsa pick some of her papers. From time to time, Gerda peeked at the ideas written in them. Elsa didn’t really mind; if she was honest, any help her mother — or anyone — was willing to give her was welcomed. What did call Elsa’s attention was the way her mother looked at some of her notes and then smiled at her. “I'd like to meet Marshmallow one day. You seem to really like him.”

“Maybe you already know him,” Elsa said, unaware of her mother’s teasing remark. “He's lived here his whole life. The cottage he lives in belonged to his grandfather.”

“What's his last name, again?”

Elsa was about to answer when a knock on the door interrupted her.

--

Marshall fidgeted in his place as he waited for the door to open. The box in his hands moved for the third time in the last minute and he let out an exasperated sigh. He was nervous and the little beast inside the box wasn’t helping.

The box moved again and he opened the lid just enough to look inside. “Please, behave,” he said tiredly. A small paw scratched his fingers playfully, running his patience thin. “I said behave. Why won't you listen to me?”

The wooden door in front of him opened suddenly, surprising him, and he put the lid back into place.

Elsa smiled broadly at him from the door and said, “speak of the devil.” She then noticed he was on his own and asked, “were you talking to yourself?”

His cheeks turned red as a beet and he cleared his throat, trying to buy himself some time. The last thing he needed was for Elsa to think he had lost his marbles. “No,” he said. “What was that about the devil?”

“My mother was just telling me she'd like to meet you.”

“Me?” He wasn’t even sure which mother she was talking about, but he thought it was best not to ask. He had already embarrassed himself enough, there was no need to start asking uncomfortable questions.

“Yes. I told her we'll be working together.” Opening the door widely, she invited him into the house. “Come in.”

He gripped the box in his hands tighter and entered the house. He was nervous enough about giving Elsa the gift as it was. Meeting her mother was something he was not ready to do. Something told him the woman was going to read right through him as easily as Anna had done, and that wasn’t good. He wasn’t mentally prepared to explain to Elsa the way he felt. “I was just passing by. I wouldn't like to interrupt–” he tried to excuse himself, but it was too late. Elsa had closed the door behind him.

“Don't be silly,” she said with a lovely smile and then disappeared into the kitchen. “Mum.” He heard her say. “Marshmallow is here.”

To his surprise, the woman who entered the room wasn’t Anna’s mother. So that meant the old woman standing in front of him was part of Elsa's adoptive family. 

The woman seemed happy to see him there, so that helped Marshall relax. As far as he could tell, she looked like a sweet woman, someone he could easily get along with.

He wished he weren't holding the box so he could extend his hand and greet the woman properly, but he was not going to risk the little beast jumping out of the box and causing chaos. So, instead of extending his hand, he nodded his head and smiled at her.

“When I said I'd like to meet him,” said the woman as she turned to look at Elsa. “I didn't mean right this moment, Elsa.” She then laughed and turned to him. “Pleased to meet you, dear.”

Her silly joke helped him relax once again. "Pleased to meet you too, Mrs. Bjorgman.

"Bjorgman is my husband's name. Just call me Gerda."

Marshall nodded. He was pleased to know her mother wasn’t a serious nor structured person. It definitely made things easier for him. He looked at her again and realised her features looked familiar, but he couldn't point out where he knew her from.

“Would you like to join us?” asked Elsa, interrupting his train of thought.

“What?”

“I said we were about to have some tea. I could make some coffee for you if you'd like.”

The fact Elsa remembered he didn’t like tea made him ridiculously happy. “I– umm… no. It's okay. I just stopped by to–” He looked at the box in his hands and wondered if it was the right moment to give Elsa the gift. He could easily keep it for another day or two. “It doesn't really matter. It can wait.”

“Don't mind me, dear,” said Gerda, interrupting their conversation. “You two talk all you need. I'll be in the kitchen making tea.” Before Elsa or he could answer, she left them alone.

A cold hand touched his arm, and Marshall was drawn back to Elsa once again. “Are you okay?”

“Yes. Of course.” He was a nervous wreck, but he could handle it.

He tried to excuse himself and apologise for interrupting Elsa’s time with her family; but before he had the chance, the little pest inside the box decided to introduce itself. The lid of the box opened, falling to the floor, and the white head of a cat showed up. It meowed once in Marshall’s direction and then it realised Elsa was only a few steps away from them, so it stretched its paw to play with her.

“Whoa! Hey, you,” said Elsa, surprised to see the cat. “I wasn't expecting you.” She stretched her own hand and allowed the cat to grab her finger. “Did you adopt another cat? Won't the Snowgies get jealous?”

“No,” he said, quickly. “I mean yes. But not for me. It's– umm…” He wondered why it was so hard to explain himself. “It’s yours. If you want it, that is.”

She blinked a few times at him. “Mine?”

Marshall avoided Elsa’s confused look and admitted, “that's what I was doing here. You don't have to accept it. I know it's a lot of responsibility…”

Elsa chuckled and said, “hey, it's okay.” She then allowed the cat to smell her hand. “It's just– I don't know what to say. Why?”

“You’re giving me the chance to stay here at the mountain and work with you. I wanted to give you something you'd like as a thank you.” He held the box with one hand and picked the cat with the other. He put the empty box on the floor and held the cat correctly as he explained, “I remembered you saying you'd love a pet of your own. That’s why I adopted him — It's a he, by the way.”

Elsa stopped for a moment before reaching out and petting the cat in his arms. “He's lovely,” she finally said with a smile. 

Her grin was sincere, and Marshall let a nervous sigh escape his lips. At least she seemed to like the gift. “Would you like to hold him?”

“Umm… I'm not sure how to–”

“He's really friendly. Here.” While he waited for her to pick the cat, he thought it was funny how nervous she looked, as if the cat was a fragile object she could break if she held it the wrong way.

“Hi,” said Elsa with a soft voice once the cat was in her arms. “What's your name, little fella?”

“He hasn’t got a name yet,” Marshall explained. “He's been living with me for a week, but I wanted you to name him.”

“He's too cute. I'll need to find a fitting name.”

The cat bit and licked her fingers and then tried to play with her hair, making Elsa laugh. Her smile became impossibly bigger and Marshall beamed back at her. “Do you like him?”

“Yes! Thank you so much, Marshmallow.” All the nervousness he had felt disappeared when he noticed her excitement. 

“I've already taken him to the vet,” Marshall said as he got closer to them and began scratching the cat’s ears. The little pest — as he liked to call him — had caused so much trouble in his house the previous days, he found it strange to see him so calm in Elsa’s arms.

“Are you sure you don't want to stay?” asked Elsa, making him aware of the fact Elsa’s mother was still waiting for them in the kitchen. “We're having dinner later tonight.”

He knew she was trying to convince him to stay. She knew food was his weakness. But he wasn’t ready to share a family meal. Deep down he knew it was ridiculous to be nervous about meeting her family but he couldn't help it. “Maybe some other time. I really need to get going.”

“Okay…”

He smiled at Elsa once again before cupping the cat’s face and forcing it to look at him. “Don't be a pest and behave, alright?” he told the cat before he leaned down and gave the animal a kiss on top of its head.

Right at that moment, Gerda came into the room and exclaimed, “oh, would you look at that! Where did he come from?”

Choosing it was best to leave before Gerda started asking questions, Marshall bid his goodbyes. “Okay, I'd better go. Gerda,” he said, turning to the old woman in the room. “It was a pleasure to meet you.”

“You too, dear.”

He walked towards the door, but before he could leave Elsa stopped him.

“Come visit us one of these days,” she said with a tender smile that disarmed him completely.

“You can count on that.” He wasn’t going to admit at loud that he was hoping the cat could be another excuse for him to visit Elsa more often.

--

After the door closed behind the tall man, Gerda was surprised to see Elsa stay where she was, looking longingly at the wooden door with a smile on her face.

More than once Gerda had heard Kristoff and Anna talk about Elsa and Marshall’s relationship, but never had she imagined Anna’s claims were so close to the truth. She even remembered taking sides with her son once, saying it was improbable Elsa felt something for the mountaineer. But now that she got to see them together, she wasn’t sure she had taken the right side. She had to admit she was curious to know the way her daughter truly felt about the man.

“Will you take care of his cat?” asked Gerda, unsure of what to say without sounding too nosy. 

“No,” Elsa said, as she turned around to look at her mother. “He adopted it for me. Isn't he adorable?”

Gerda couldn’t tell if she was talking about the cat or her friend being adorable, but she thought it was best not to think too much about it. She was more surprised to see her daughter so excited about having a pet. She still remembered how nervous Elsa had been around Sven at the beginning, always fearing she might hurt the dog. “Are you up for it? You used to be apprehensive about pets.”

“I've got to admit I'm quite nervous,” Elsa said sincerely. “But Marshmallow knows I've wanted a cat for a long time. I have no excuse not to accept it now. And look at him, it’s hard to say no.”

Gerda chuckled as she looked at the cat in Elsa’s arms. It truly was hard to say no to a cat like him. Beautiful white fur covered his body, except for his paws and ears where the fur was a dark brown colour. He looked like a really friendly animal and the way he tried to play with everything around him made him even more adorable.

“Sven loves you,” said Gerda as she walked towards her daughter. “I don't see why this little guy wouldn't love you too. You shouldn’t be nervous.”

“Do you think he minds my cold hands?”

It was painful for Gerda to see Elsa so concerned about her powers, even when she had no reason to be. The cat seemed more interested in attacking her sleeve than anything else. “He looks comfortable if you ask me. I wouldn’t say he minds.” 

Luckily, Gerda's answer seemed to help Elsa control her insecurities. She made sure she was holding the cat correctly before asking, “Is tea ready?”

“Mmm?" Still distracted by the cat, Gerda took a moment to understand what Elsa was talking about. "Oh, yes, it is. I came to tell you that… It's a shame your friend couldn’t stay a little bit longer.” 

"Marshmallow's like that. He comes and goes all the time. You'll get to talk to him some other time."

Noticing the cat was getting tired of being held, Elsa picked the box Marshall had brought with him and put a cushion inside to make a bed for the cat. It didn't take long for the animal to find the spot comfortable and fall asleep.

Once the new member of the family was comfortably sleeping in the box, Gerda went into the kitchen to serve their tea. Elsa followed her and finished picking up her things.

"I can't believe he took the trouble to find a cat for me," said Elsa after they had finished their tasks and they were sitting down, enjoying their tea.

Gerda noticed Elsa was still very much distracted by the gift Marshall had given her. And if she was honest, Gerda found the whole situation endearing. 

When Kai and she had adopted Elsa, they knew things were going to be different for her. Her life wasn’t going to be exactly like Kristoff’s. But, even if at the beginning that had proved to be true. Little by little Elsa was developing the social skills she hadn’t had the chance to develop during her childhood.

Every year, Gerda noticed the way Elsa tried to improve and become part of society, as if her powers weren’t there. The young woman still struggled a lot with them, and every mistake she made was a huge step back in her learning process. However, that year Elsa had had the chance to spend her time with people outside the family and that had helped her grow a lot. Anna and Marshall had, in their own special way, helped her overcome her mistakes and learn from them in a way that was completely different. Both of them got her out of her comfort zone, forcing her to face new challenges, and learn how to interact in the real world.

Marshall, in particular, was Elsa’s best and worst companion. He was exactly what Elsa needed to overcome her fears and learn to deal with her powers and a healthy social life. The fact he didn’t know about her powers made it a bigger challenge; but still, she kept trying and learning with him. 

All in all, Gerda was happy Elsa had found a friend outside the family. The only thing she worried about was how he was going to react the day Elsa finally decided to come clean about who she was and what she could do. That made the whole situation worrisome, especially if Elsa was developing feelings for her friend without noticing.

The last thing Gerda wanted was to ask inappropriate questions about her daughter’s life, Elsa was an independent adult after all; but if she could spare her daughter future pain and heartache by doing so, then she was willing to do it.

“May I ask you something, dear…” Gerda said, cautiously. 

Elsa chuckled, surprised Gerda was asking for permission when she usually just said whatever was in her mind. “Sure. Anything.”

“Do you love him?”

Elsa stopped for a moment to think about her answer. “Not right now. But I'm sure I'll love him soon enough. He's perfect, don't you think?”

Gerda gaped at her daughter’s answer. Never, in a million years, she’d have expected Elsa to be so straight forward about her feelings.

“What?” asked Elsa, not understanding her mother’s astonishment. 

“I wasn't expecting such an honest answer.”

“What?” repeated Elsa.

“What are you talking about?” Gerda said, hoping they were talking about the same thing.

“The cat.” Elsa looked at her mother and laughed. “What are you talking about?”

If Elsa hadn’t been her daughter, Gerda was sure she would have thrown something at her. Only Elsa could think she was asking about her feelings for a cat. “I was clearly asking about Marshall.”

“Oh…” exclaimed Elsa when she realised what her mother had been asking. “No! I mean, it's not that I don't– But he's not–” she struggled to explain herself. “Stop asking weird questions.” 

Gerda’s frustration disappeared in an instant when she noticed Elsa's embarrassment. She didn’t want to make fun of her, but she had to laugh at Elsa’s mortified expression. “It's a completely normal question, dear,” Gerda explained in between chuckles.

“Why do you ask?” Elsa asked, trying to avoid the original question.

“You used to call him almost every day when you were living with your brother. You seem genuinely happy whenever he's around. Not to mention you tried to convince Anna and me you weren't even friends, when it is clear you spend a lot of time together…”

“That has nothing to do with-”

“I'm starting to think Anna may have been right all those months ago," Gerda continued with a smirk. "Maybe you don't consider him your friend because you wish for him to be more than that.” Gerda knew she was putting Elsa in an uncomfortable situation, but sometimes that was exactly what she needed to understand things around her.

“You're being ridiculous.” Elsa didn’t look at her mother, showing how embarrassing the conversation was for her. "I do consider him my friend. I wasn’t sure he considered me his at the time, that's all.”

“Are you sure you don’t feel something for him?” Noticing her daughter’s unamused expression, she clarified, “I’m not trying to make you uncomfortable, Elsa. I’m just asking…”

Still not meeting her gaze, Elsa said, “You know I don't date.”

Gerda smiled tenderly at her. “Dating and having feelings for someone are two different things.”

“You and Anna need to stop spending time together,” she murmured.

Gerda tried to cover the smile that drew on her face. "You haven't answered my question, dear.

"There's nothing between Marshall and me."

Maybe she was reading too much into it, but Elsa's avoidance was in itself a confirmation of some sort. Maybe it was too soon for Elsa to realise, but there was something there.

Of course, there existed the possibility Gerda was mistaken and Elsa only felt admiration or respect for her friend, but it was best for her to keep an eye open. Especially if Elsa ever decided to tell her friend about her powers. 

Regardless, Gerda thought it was fun to push the conversation a little bit further. "That wasn't the question."

Elsa let an exasperated sigh out, but before she could answer, a scream coming from the living room stopped her.

--

One of the things Kristoff loved the most about his girlfriend was her energy. The girl could spend the whole day studying or working, and she still had enough energy left in the evening to do something fun or entertaining. It was something he had always admired. But there were days when he felt Anna's overenthusiasm was too much, even for him. That evening in particular, was one of those days.

"Can you please slow down?" asked Kristoff as he tried to catch up with Anna, who kept walking in front of him at a fast pace.

"I can't," she said, turning around to look at him. "I'm too excited!"

"I know you're excited about the letter and whatever it is your mother sent Elsa." Anna had talked about a special gift on their way to the mountain and he knew she couldn't wait to give it to Elsa; but still, there was no need to walk the trail at such speed. "But we'll get there eventually. Slow down."

"Stop being so dramatic," complained Anna. "You can easily walk faster than me."

"You haven't been moving ice bags all day."

Anna stopped just enough for Kristoff to catch up with her, and then began walking at a fast pace once again. "You're an old man trapped in a young man's body."

"A handsome man's body."

She rolled her eyes at him. "Hurry up!"

When they got to Elsa's cottage, Anna climbed the steps two at a time and went straight to the door, not stopping to knock. Kristoff tried to stop and warn her about entering the house unannounced. "Knock on the door, Anna. The last few times I entered her house without knocking she almost killed me." 

She shrugged, not giving it much thought. "She knows we are coming." 

"Fine. Don't listen to me, but don't–" Before he finished his idea, Anna entered the house ignoring him altogether. "Why do I even bother?" Kristoff wondered out loud.

Kristoff got to the door, but stopped when he noticed Sven smelling the front steps. Something was definitely calling the dog’s attention. Probably a squirrel or something, Kristoff thought to himself as he returned where Sven had stopped. He pulled from his collar to take him into the house. The last thing he needed was for Sven to get lost, trying to chase wild animals in the forest.

Putting up some resistance, Sven didn't obbey Kristoff and tried to continue smelling the front steps and everything around them. 

"Sven, what's gotten into you? Come on."

It took a few tries for Kristoff to finally get Sven to move and get into the house. When he did enter, he thought it was strange to find Anna standing by the door. 

"What are you doing here? I thought you were in a hurry."

Anna didn't answer. Instead, she put her hand on top of his arm to call his attention and pointed towards a box in the living room.

"What?" he asked, not understanding what he was supposed to look at.

"That box just moved."

"Don't be ridic–" he tried to say, but the box Anna was pointing at moved at that exact same time. "What the hell is in there?"

"Do you think it's a rat?" Anna whispered. "Ugh! Do something!"

"It must be…" Kristoff was glad he was still holding Sven. He knew his dog was going to run straight to the rat as soon as he noticed its presence, and that would make catching the rat even more difficult.

He looked around and tried to find something heavy enough he could use to kill the rat, or at least knock it out.

The box moved once again, falling to the floor, startling them both. "Grab the box," he instructed Anna as he walked to the fireplace to grab a log.

"I don't want to!"

"Just do it. We can't let it escape."

Anna walked to the box carefully, trying her best not to startle the animal inside. When she got close enough, she jumped over it and held the box against the ground. She could feel the animal moving inside, and shivers ran down her spine.

"Ew! It's still inside!" she cried in disgust.

"Just held it there!" Kristoff yelled back as he tried to hold Sven back.

At that moment, Elsa and Gerda entered the living room in a hurry.

"What the hell is going on?!" asked Elsa, looking at Kristoff angrily. Kristoff knew he was a dead man for entering the cottage unannounced once again.

"There's a giant rat in there!" He pointed to the box Anna was holding with disgust.

"Rat?"

He walked towards Anna and held his weapon high in the air. "I've got a log. Where is it?"

"No!" yelled, Elsa, standing in front of Kristoff. "That's not a rat! Give me that." She took the log from his hand to make sure he didn't do anything stupid. "Are you crazy? It's just a cat!"

Anna sighed, relaxing and letting the box go. "That's a relief."

The cat inside the box saw its opportunity the moment Anna let go of the box and escaped, running towards Elsa and Kristoff. To the animal's bad luck, Sven was in that direction too.

Elsa and Kristoff both realised what could happen if the cat got close to Sven, so they yelled at Sven not to do anything.

Their cries only startled the cat, making it run behind the couch. They had the opposite effect on Sven too, who started barking at the cat and pulling from Kristoff's hold. 

"Kristoff, stop Sven, will you?" said Elsa while she tried to find the cat and put a stop to that chaos.

"I'm on it!"

"Sven, stop," said Anna in a serious tone, calming the dog in an instant.

Brother and sister looked at each other. Not once in all their years taking care of Sven had they been able to do something like that. "How did you do that?" asked Kristoff, baffled.

Anna ignored his question and walked where Elsa was. She had already found the cat and she held it in her arms. "Is the cat okay?"

"He's fine," she answered with a nod. "I think our screams frightened him more than Sven did."

Kristoff kneeled down and scratched Sven's ears while he continued to hold him. He wasn't barking nor trying to attack the cat, but he didn't want to risk it. "When did you adopt a cat?"

"Marshmallow gave it to me."

"He gave you one of his cats?" He couldn't believe Marshall had actually gotten rid of one of the Snowgies. More than once he had explained they were part of his family, and he wasn't planning on letting any of them go.

"He'd never separate the Snowgies," said Elsa. "He adopted this cat for me."

Kristoff looked at her and then at the cat in her arms. He knew Elsa liked cats, even more than dogs – with the exception of Sven, of course. But still, she had always felt insecure about adopting one herself. Marshall showing up with a cat put Elsa in a compromise for sure. "Pets are never a good gift."

"Unless you want one." Anna gave him a warning look that clearly said she wasn't going to let him ruin Elsa's happiness.

Ignoring the couple's silent conversation, Elsa explained why she wasn't surprised he had chosen a cat as a gift. "We've talked about pets before. He knows I love cats."

As if on cue, Sven whined at Elsa and she laughed at the poor animal. "No offense, Sven."

"What are you going to do with it?" Kristoff asked, still curious about the fact his sister was so comfortable with the animal in her arms.

"What do you mean what I'm going to do?" She held the cat closer, proving she didn't want to let him go. "I'm going to keep him."

Getting closer, Anna moved her fingers in the air for the cat to play with. "He's really cute," she said with a smile as she watched him try to catch her fingers. "What's his name?"

"I don't know. Marshmallow gave it to me half an hour ago. I haven't come up with a name yet."

"Maybe you could think of something you like and name him after that," suggested Gerda. It was clear the cat was going to stay, the sooner they found a fitting name, the better.

"You mean like… food?" 

"Not everything needs to be about food, Kristoff." Anna rolled her eyes at her boyfriend. "Oh, oh!" she exclaimed, calling everyone's attention. "I've got the perfect name for him right here."

Elsa gave Kristoff a curious look, but this time he couldn't help her. He was as confused as she was.

"Ta-da!" Anna announced as she took a book out of her backpack.

From where Kristoff was standing he couldn't see the cover, but Elsa's incredulous expression told him it was something she recognised perfectly well. No matter how much he wanted to ask what the book was about, Elsa's watery eyes stopped him.

He watched his sister sit down on the couch, with the cat still in her arms, and look at Anna in disbelief. "Is that? How- Where did you get that?"

Anna showed her sister a huge smile and handed her the book. "A family friend owns a bookshop. She helped mum find it." She waited for Elsa to let the cat go and grab the book before she asked, "is this the book you loved so much as a kid?"

"Once upon a snowman…" Elsa said as she read the title of the book out loud. "I can't believe it."

Finally understanding which book it was, Kristoff looked where his mother was standing. Gerda seemed as surprised as he was, but she was a lot more confused as to why Anna was giving Elsa the book in the first place. That's when he realised she didn't know Elsa and her biological parents were writing to each other.

"So?" Anna asked, still waiting for the confirmation her mother had found the right book.

"Yes," answered Elsa, still not believing she was holding her favourite book once again. "This is it. This is the book. Anna this is– I don't know what to say." Finally taking her eyes away from the book, Elsa looked at Anna with the biggest smile Kristoff had ever seen and opened her arms to give Anna a hug.

Anna said as she sat by Elsa's side and accepted her hug.

"Thank you. This means a lot to me. More than you can imagine."

"You should be thanking mum and dad," said Anna, still hugging her sister. "He came up with the idea, and mum spent a long time in Helga's deposit looking for it…” She let go and looked inside her bag for a second time until she found two letters. “They send these letters too."

Kristoff smiled while he looked at Anna and Elsa talking about the book. It was nice to see his sister so happy. Yet, he couldn't help but feel bad for Gerda. He knew how many hours she had spent looking for that book. How many times she had asked him about it and what he remembered, so they could try to find it. Sadly, she'd never been able to find it.

Once again he looked where his mother was standing, hoping to meet her gaze, but to his consternation, she wasn’t in the room anymore. Deep down he knew there was a reason behind his mother’s sudden disappearance, and he felt a sinking feeling in his stomach.

“Elsa,” he said, calling his sister’s attention. “Can you take care of Sven for a moment? Maybe introduce him to your cat so they can be in the same room together?”

Surprised by the sudden request, Elsa handed Anna the book and walked to where he was standing to hold Sven by his collar. “Sure. I have to do it sooner or later,” Elsa agreed. “Would you help me Anna?”

“Of course!”

Kristoff nodded at his girlfriend and left the dog in Elsa’s hands. He knew Sven was going to listen to both of them.

--

It took a while for Anna and Elsa to get Sven and the cat to meet each other. Either the cat kept moving, trying to get away from the dog; or Sven tried to bite the cat’s tail.

Elsa had to keep a tight hold on Sven’s collar whenever Anna got close to them with the cat in her arms; but after several tries, both animals understood they had to trust the girls and stop resisting. They looked and sniffed at each other for some time, until the cat understood there was no real risk and decided to start playing with Sven’s tail.

Elsa was apprehensive about letting Sven go at first, but after a few minutes, she understood it was no longer in Sven’s plans to hurt the cat.

Cat and dog began to play, finally allowing the sisters to sit on the couch once again. As soon as Elsa was sitting, she picked up the book, a smile drawing on her face as soon as she did.

“You really are happy about the gift, aren’t you?” asked Anna.

She traced the cover with her finger, copying the shape of the snowman drawn on it. “I drew this snowman more times than I can count.”

“Have you still got the copy that you made?” She seemed eager to see Elsa’s work.

“Weselton took it from me.” Elsa looked down at the book in her hands, thinking about that day. He had entered her room and just ripped the old paper sheets off her hands. “I guess he must have thrown it away.”

Disgusted by what she was hearing, Anna asked, “Why would he do that?”

Elsa didn’t feel like sharing too much about it. That copy had been the only thing remotely similar to a toy she had had back then. “He didn't want me doing anything except using my powers whenever he told me to. Playing with a piece of paper reminded him too much of the fact I was a kid, I guess.”

Anna tightened her fist until it turned white. “That bastard.”

Elsa looked at Anna and offered a sad smile. The last thing she wanted was for Anna to make a fuss about something that had happened over twelve years before. “There’s no point in getting mad about it now.”

Anna found her gaze and opened her mouth to offer some comforting words, but Elsa stopped her. “Tell Agdar and Idunn I really like the gift.”

“I will…”

Elsa knew Anna was still worried about what she had shared with her, so she tried to change the topic of conversation. “You said you had the perfect name for the cat… What did you mean by that?”

“Oh, yeah! I almost forgot,” she answered, taking the book from Elsa’s hands. “Look, the name of the main character of the book is Olaf. Don’t you think it’s a fitting name?”

“Olaf?” said Elsa as she looked at the cat playing with Sven.

Anna opened the book and pointed to a picture in particular where the snowman from the story could be seen. “He kinda looks like him.” 

“The cat?”

“Yes!” She got up and picked the cat with one arm as she showed the book with the other. “He's white and he's got brown paws. They look like Olaf’s arms, see?”

“I see what you mean…” said Elsa, looking at the cat and the picture from the book at the same time. 

“Besides, he looks like he likes warm hugs too, don’t you Olaf?” Anna hugged the cat close to her face and he rubbed his head against hers.

“Olaf…” Elsa tried the name at loud. “I like it.”

“Wait,” said Anna, all of a sudden, giving Elsa the cat. “I've got an idea. I'm sure I had it here somewhere…” The girl rummaged in her backpack once again until she found a bright orange handkerchief. “I never use this. I’m sure it’ll suit him.”

She got close to Elsa and Olaf, and tied the piece of cloth around his neck. “See? It's perfect.”

The orange piece of cloth fit perfectly around his neck and it was a great contrast with his fur. “What do you think, Sven?” Elsa asked when she noticed the dog was getting jealous of all the attention Olaf was getting.

The dog barked a few times and tried to jump on Elsa, making her regret asking. “Okay, easy! Careful, Sven.”

--

A new chapter! And I didn’t take three months to update this time. Yay, me! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter even though nothing extraordinary happens. Well, Elsa gets a cat, which for her is a big deal. But you know what I mean… I had Olaf’s appearance planned for a really long time, but I kept postponing it for one reason or the other. I hope you like the role I gave Olaf in this story.

Anyway, let me know what you think of this chapter and the characters' interactions. I think it’s pretty obvious by now how crazy Marshall is about Elsa, but well, Elsa keeps living in another dimension and she doesn’t notice. Only time will tell if she realises or not. She’s got other things in her mind right now, we can’t blame her.

As always, I’m really grateful for all your amazing reviews and all the love this story gets. I read every single review and treasure them a lot. I’ll get back to all of you who took the time to leave a review, I promise. And those who leave reviews as guests, I’m sorry I can’t reply, but you rest assured I love your reviews too!

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Talking about her past to Anna had opened up scars that weren't completely healed. Her days inside the clinic had been the worst of her life, and talking about them always triggered the worst memories. Memories that took days or weeks to fade once again.

In the past, every time those memories had come back to haunt her, she had calmed her restless mind with the idea that those days were over. They were part of a troubled past that she was little by little leaving behind. But this time, however, she couldn’t find that silver lining. 

Telling the world what Weselton had done put her on the spotlight, and being in the public eye could backfire. Kai’s petition meant she was going to be forced to talk about her past in front of people. She was going to be asked question and possibly requested to give more details than the ones she had given Kristoff and Anna. And she knew for a fact she wasn’t ready to do something like that. She knew there was no way she could face a courtroom full of people and talk about her past without her powers manifesting, or what was worse, they acting on their own and hurting people around her.

In short, she couldn’t put her mind at ease if there existed a slim possibility of people finding out about her powers and locking her up once again.

She sighed and turned for the umpteenth time and faced the ceiling once again. Eighty-four wooden planks. Eighty-four wooden planks and nine beams. She didn’t even need to count the wooden planks in her ceiling. It had been the only activity that had helped her keep her mind distracted, but it was no longer working. 

Tired of lying in bed and fighting against her own mind, Elsa got up and went to the kitchen to find something to drink. She needed her mind to stop over-thinking things for just a moment, and she guessed that moving could actually help with that.

The idea of drinking a beer was tempting, but she thought better of it. She found it hard to stop at just one whenever she was feeling anxious and the last thing she needed was to wake up the following day with a hangover. Opting for a glass of milk instead, she opened the fridge in hopes of finding one last bottle. But to her disappointment there was none. It was at that moment she remembered she had planned to spend the afternoon grocery shopping instead of trying in vain to fall asleep.

She closed the fridge's door with more force than necessary and sat down on the closest chair. Yet another tired sigh escaped her lips as she rested her head on the wooden table. She knew she could still catch the last bus to town and continue with her original plan and pretend the events of the previous night hadn't happened; but part of her knew she couldn’t face her family just yet. 

She wasn't sure she wanted to confront her father so soon. And even if Anna insisted she should listen to him before jumping to conclusions, she couldn’t stop feeling disappointed and hurt.

She raised her head when a knock on her door distracted her from her thoughts. At first she thought it had been her imagination, but a second knock made her realise there was actually someone waiting outside her door. 

The first person to come to mind was Marshmallow. He usually travelled to Trolheim on Saturdays, and from time to time he would offer her a ride. And since she didn't wish for him to see her like that, she stayed where she was pretending she wasn’t home.

She knew he was bound to ask questions giving her appearance, and she wasn’t sure she could make up a believable story. After all, she had big bags under her eyes and she was still wearing the old baggy t-shirt and worn out shorts she wore to bed. A look that didn't match a fake smile.

After three more knocks, when she thought he had finally left; she heard the door open. Knowing Marshall would never enter her house uninvited, she got up to see who was entering her house.

"Elsa! You're here!" said Kristoff, when she walked into the living room. "Why didn't you open the door?" 

"Why does everyone enters this place as they see fit?" she answered, ignoring her brother’s question completely.

"You never lock your door." A lame excuse, he knew.

"That doesn't give you the right to barge in."

"Sorry," he apologised. It was clear she was angrier than usual about his lack of manners, and he just wanted to avoid a fight. "We thought you weren't home. We were going to wait inside until you returned." 

"I should listen to Kai and start locking the stupid door," she said to herself, a little bit louder than intended. 

"Yes, you should," came Kai’s reply from outside the door.

"Dad?” The lack of sleep was surely making her mind play tricks.

"Can you please let us in, Kristoff?" asked Gerda from the outside, tired of waiting for her son to move from the entrance.

Only when he did move, she was able to hurry to her daughter's side. "Elsa, dear, how are you feeling?" 

Not wanting to be rude, Elsa told her she was feeling fine before asking, "What are you doing here?" She didn't like the sudden visit, and she knew there was a reason behind her mother's fussiness.

"Are you sure, sweetheart? You look exhausted." Gerda insisted, as she cupped Elsa’s face with her hands.

"We came to see you," answered Kai still standing near the door.

"Yes, mum. I'm fine," repeated Elsa as she moved her face from her mother's grasp. Elsa made sure to hold the old woman’s hands, preventing Gerda from touching her again.

She didn’t mind her mother’s affection under normal circumstances, but right at that moment she wanted some space. Elsa knew Gerda was going to notice things were not okay, but she still wanted to keep up the appearance. However, it was really hard to do so if Gerda continued fussing over her.

"What are you really doing here?" Elsa asked Kristoff, hoping her brother was going to be more straight forward with his answer. 

Contrary to what his mother was doing, Kristoff tried to give Elsa some space, and he sat on the couch. "Anna told me what happened last night. We came here to talk.” Noticing the way his sister's face suddenly contorted with worry, he clarified, “Actually, dad came here to talk. Mum and I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Dear, your hands are really cold." Gerda had always made the effort not to point out Elsa’s powers without a reason, but right at that moment Elsa was still holding her hands and it was becoming hard to pretend they weren’t painfully cold.

Her mother's comment made Elsa realise there was a thin layer of frost covering her hands and she let go in an instant. Putting some distance between her family and herself, she said, "I don't blame Anna for worrying, but right now is not the best time.” They way her powers had just reacted was clear indication of that. “I'm not in the right mood to have this conversation."

“I’m sorry, Elsa. But we need to talk about this,” said Kai. “The sooner I explain what that document you found is, the better.”

“Dad-” she tried to stop him. She was still hurt about his idea of opening her case once again, and she wasn’t sure how to explain to him her fears.

However, Kai interrupted her before she got the chance. “First of all, I'm sorry you found out about this on your own. I wanted to talk to you and explain things to you before doing anything. That document you found is part of a formal petition-”

"Anna explained to me what it is,” Elsa cut her father off. She was tired. She didn’t want to hear him talk in a methodical way. She wasn’t part of another police procedure, at least not anymore. The least she expected from her father was for him to be straightforward. “You're requesting for my case to be opened once again."

“Yes. That is correct,” he admitted. “However-” Elsa turning around and walking to her bedroom interrupted him mid sentence. “Where are you going?”

“Elsa?” called Gerda soon after. 

Before they could follow, Elsa reappeared with the document in her hand. 

“Here,” she said as she put the paper in Kai’s chest. “You can have it back. Do whatever you want. But I won’t take part in any of this.” Not waiting for her father’s answer she walked into the kitchen ready to continue with her original plan for the evening. Find something to drink and go back to bed.

Gerda took a step closer to Kai and whispered, “Kai, you better do something.” 

He exhaled as he thought what was best to do. Elsa was clearly hurt, he could see it in her eyes, but he couldn’t solve anything if his daughter didn’t give him the opportunity to talk and explain himself.

He entered the kitchen and said, “Elsa, we need to talk.”

Continuing with what she was doing, Elsa closed the cupboard door and ignored her father. Maybe some tea could help her fall asleep.

“Elsa.”

“I'm not in the mood to discuss this right now.” She didn’t turn around to face him.

“I need you to listen-”

“No!”

It wasn’t the angered response what surprised Kai, but the sound of a cup breaking.

“Damn it!” Elsa cursed when she noticed the cut on her finger. Her control over her powers had slipped for just a moment, and it had broken the cup she was using to fill the kettle. She hated whenever her body didn’t let her do the simplest tasks. "Useless freak."

Gerda entered the kitchen just in time to see her daughter muttering to herself after the curse. And then she noticed her hand covered in blood. Her instincts kicking in, she rushed to Elsa's side. “Let me help you.”

“It’s fine.”

“But-”

“I said it’s fine.” Turning around, Elsa looked for a piece of cloth and wrapped it around her finger to stop the bleeding. She could feel the disapproving look of Gerda, but she didn’t care. She could just clean the wound later.

Kai waited till the situation was under control before trying to talk with his daughter once again, “Can we talk now, Elsa? Please.”

"I don't want to talk,” countered Elsa in a lower tone of voice. “I don't. But that doesn't matter, does it? It doesn't matter what I want.”

“Of course it does.”

“Then why did you open my case?” she asked. Finally reaching her breaking point. "You promised me you wouldn't, yet you did. My opinion didn't really matter after all.”

“Elsa, you're getting ahead of things. This is just a petition. A request. Your case is not open yet.” He tried to reason. He could understand Elsa’s distress, and he wanted to make sure she knew there was nothing to worry about. 

To hear Kai say the case was still closed allowed Gerda to sigh in relief. At least things could be resolved inside the family.

“You’re not answering my question. Why did you do it?” Elsa didn't stop to think about his answer. At that moment she wanted to hear her father's reasons more than anything. 

Thinking it was best to just answer her question. His explanation could wait. “Because I care about you. And I think it's unfair you're the only person who didn't obtain justice in his trial.”

“I don't blame you for wanting justice, Kai. I do too. But this was not the right way to proceed,” Gerda was still mad her husband had written the petition without taking Elsa's wishes into consideration. 

“You and Gerda promised to help me build a life away from my past. Away from everything I went through. That paper is the opposite of that,” said Elsa pointing to the document in his hand. 

Kai walked to the closest chair and sat down with a sigh. “Look, I know it isn't exactly what I promised,” he agreed. “But I need you to understand I had your opinion in mind, all the time. I wasn't going to send this without your approval. I was going to talk with you.” Turning around he looked at his wife and son, who had also entered the kitchen, and clarified, “all of you.”

Noticing his sister wasn't reacting, Kristoff picked the document from the table and skimmed over it quickly. “It's signed by several police officers. Why would you take the trouble to do that before talking with Elsa?"

“At the beginning, I thought it was plausible to open a case against Weselton without getting Elsa involved.” He looked at his daughter to make sure she was listening and continued, "Some colleagues let me see it wasn't going to work and they all agreed it was best to work with Elsa's original case if I wanted justice. They offered their help; and soon after, the petition was written and signed.”

Even if Kristoff didn't agree with his father's methods, he too believed Weselton needed to pay for his crimes. And it made him happy to know there were other police officers willing to help Elsa find justice. 

"I found myself with half the initial work done before I knew what to do," continued Kai before his son could answer. "It’s for this reason I kept the document inside one of the composition books until I decided what to do." 

"Why were you looking for it earlier today?" Gerda couldn't help but ask. 

"I wanted to show it to you and ask for your opinion, Gerda. I wanted to talk to Elsa and I didn't know how." He looked down in shame at that. The love he had for Kristoff and Elsa was immeasurable, but there were times Kai still felt inadequate to communicate with them. It was hard for him to express his ideas and not sound like he was imposing them. 

“So, you never sent the petition?” asked Kristoff, wanting to make sure there was nothing to worry about.

Kai shook his head and asked Kristoff to hand him the document back. “This is the original document.” 

“Rip it up,” Elsa demanded. Hoping to put an end to her problems.

Kai looked at her and then at the document in his hand. He wanted to destroy the document and be on good terms with his daughter again. He wanted to make Elsa happy and show her she could trust him. However, a part of him still wanted to help that little girl he had seen in a hospital bed all those years ago. “Are you sure you don't want to give this a second thought?” he asked.

Arms crossed in front of her chest, she answered with resolution. “Yes, I’m sure.” 

Not having the heart to go against her wishes for a second time, Kai tore the document apart in front of her. He was letting go of their chance to keep Weselton behind bars, but he couldn’t force Elsa to do something she didn’t want.

Elsa remained where she was. Leaning against the counter with her arms crossed over her chest. She was feeling a lot better now that she knew there wasn’t any risk of people finding out about her past and her powers; yet pain and sadness still lingered in her mind.

Just like everyone else, Gerda stayed silent lost in her own thoughts after Kai complied to their daughter's wishes.

From the very beginning Gerda had been against Kai’s idea of opening Elsa’s case once again. She was aware of the consequences of exposing Elsa to the public eye. The prosecutor had been more than clear about it years before. 

Nonetheless, there was a part of her that still wondered if what they were doing was right. The idea of such an unscrupulous man walking free was unacceptable. And she knew anyone would agree with her on that matter. Anyone but Elsa. Or at least that's what it looked like. The way Elsa had reacted let Gerda see she'd rather accept Weselton’s freedom, than being requested to speak in front of a jury.

Gerda couldn't help but think of it as something strange. One would think she'd be the first person to ask for justice, but that wasn't the case. 

Elsa wanted to keep her past behind and move on with her life. That was clear. But Gerda could feel there was something else. 

Not thinking twice about it, and believing it was finally time Elsa opened up about the way she felt, Gerda dared ask, “what's keeping you from accepting your father's offer?"

Elsa raised her head to look at her mother, who was a few steps away from her. “What?”

“I don't want to change your mind,” she said before Elsa got defensive once again. “I've got my reasons to believe it's best to leave things as they are. But I want to hear your reasons. After all..." She took a deep breath knowing it was a sensitive topic. "Weselton will be walking free in a few years.”

“Mum...” Kristoff tried to warn before things got out of hand. He understood his parents' concerns, but he also understood Elsa’s fears.

Elsa’s silence only encouraged Gerda to continue. She usually avoided talking about this with her daughter, but she felt it was best to have the conversation now that the wound was open. "I just want to hear your reasons, Sweetheart." 

Not knowing how to explain the way she felt, Elsa simply answered, “I can’t face a jury. I just can’t."

“Why?" she tried again. "Try to put into words the way you feel. I think it’ll help your father and I understand.”

Kristoff stayed silent looking how with gentle words and patience his mother was able to get Elsa to open up. He admired that about the old woman.

Elsa, on her part, took some time to put into words the way she felt. After taking a deep breath, she gave it a try. “I'll be on the spotlight.”

“And?”

“And I'll lose control of my powers as soon as I start talking. I'll be exposed…" She made everything in her power to avoid her mother's eyes. "Everyone will know how dangerous I am.”

“You’re not dangerous, Elsa,” said Kai interrupting their conversation. He couldn't stand Elsa talking about herself in that way. 

“As soon as I lose control of my powers people will think I am.” She continued, ignoring her father. “It will be easy for Weselton to prove his point then. Everyone will see reason behind the things he did."

"Elsa, wait. Try to-" Gerda tried to make her slow down. 

"Sooner than later, they'll lock me inside a clinic to be studied again.”

“That won't happen, Elsa,” said Kai not tolerating even the idea of that happening again. 

“Yes, it will.”

"No, it won't," he insisted. "The judge and everyone involved will be surprised, but if you explain what that horrible man did to you-" 

"It won't make a difference because people hate the things they can't understand… People can be cruel, Kai." 

The look of pain on her face broke Gerda’s heart. It hurt to know she was talking from experience. 

"I know what it feels like to be at the mercy of cruel people. Not you."

Kai had to agree that it was true. He hadn't experienced cruelty first hand, but his job had taught him a thing or two and he knew he could keep her safe. “I won't let anything happen to you.”

"You can’t promise that," answered Elsa dejectedly. "You don’t know how my powers are going to react under so much stress. It could be a disaster. If I end up hurting someone again, everyone will see reason behind Weselton's actions and I’ll be forced back in a cage." 

“No one's going to force you back in a cage. I won't allow it.”

“Yes, you will.”

“How can you believe something like that?!” To hear Elsa had so little faith in them hurt him deeply. “After everything we've gone through-”

Gerda, on the other hand, didn’t take Elsa’s statement to heart. She wasn’t accusing them. She was merely stating a fact, as if she believed the right thing was for them to allow that to happen. “What do you mean, ‘hurting someone again’?” she asked, interrupting her husband.

Elsa held her mother’s for just a fraction of a second, before looking at the floor in remorse. That was the reason she never talked about the way she felt, she always ended up saying a little too much. She stayed silent battling what to do. She could feel her powers tickling under her skin and the lump in her throat getting bigger.

From where he was standing, Kristoff noticed the tears streaming down her face. He considered it was time Elsa told their parents everything she had gone through. He believed they were going to understand. He was certain. And finally knowing about her past was going to help them understand. “Elsa, they deserve to know,” he said, surprising everyone in the room.

“What is your brother talking about?” asked Gerda gently. Elsa had come so far, she just needed her to say had really happened to her.

“I hurt someone with my powers once,” she answered after several minutes, when she felt the ice was more or less under control. 

“Who?”

“A nurse. It was inside the clinic.” She couldn’t raise her head. She couldn’t face her mother’s disappointment.  

“How bad?”

“Bad. I never saw her again-” A sob interrupted her. “I don’t know what happened to her.”

“Oh, dear…" Gerda walked the distance that separated them. But Elsa moved away just before she could wrap her arms around her.

"Mum, aren't you listening? I'm a threat." She said with a broken voice. 

Angered by the fact Elsa wouldn't even allow herself to be comforted. Gerda forced Elsa to lock eyes with her. "Look at me. Look at me," she repeated when Elsa tried to look away. "Get it into your thick head. You are not dangerous. You were just a child trying everything in your power to protect yourself. You're not dangerous. Those who locked you up are." 

Not giving Elsa the chance to put some distance between them, she hugged her tight.

There wasn’t anything Elsa wanted more than to believe her mother’s words, but it was so hard to ignore the frightened look of that nurse. “I still don’t understand why you aren’t afraid of me…”

Her big blue eyes carried so much guilt and sadness, Gerda couldn’t fathom the idea of someone considering her dangerous. "Because when I look into your eyes and I see how much you care. We know who you really are. You are not your powers. They are part of you, That’s true. But they don’t define who you are.” Gerda held Elsa tighter, showing her how much she really trusted her. “You’re just a scared child." 

Finally letting her walls down, Elsa hid her face in her mother’s neck and hugged her just as tight. She let go of all the pain and frustration she had been holding and allowed herself to cry.

It was only when she had calmed down that Gerda spoke again. “Your father and I need you to tell us everything you went through, okay?” She offered her a sad smile as she dried with her thumb the remaining tears. “It’s the only way we can help you and protect you. Not to mention the only way we can avoid doing stupid things like-”

“Opening my case again?” she asked in a low voice.

“Exactly,” said Gerda with a smile.

Kristoff couldn’t help but chuckle at his father’s mortified expression.

“Okay…” agreed Elsa.

--

It was almost midnight when Elsa finished her story. Somehow having told her story to Anna the previous night helped her open up to her parents. Kristoff’s presence and constant support also made things easier. Just like she had done with Anna and Kristoff, she had avoided the most gruesome parts, but she knew her parents perfectly understood the things she didn’t say.

Both her parents had cried and cursed, but true to their word, they didn’t suggest doing anything against Weselton. And it helped Elsa feel more relieved, knowing that they had found logic in her fears, and they weren’t going to force her to do anything that could put her in danger.

They only bid their goodbyes after Elsa assured them she was going to be okay on her own. Going straight to bed and calling them first thing in the morning.

Kristoff, being the last to walk out the door, stopped in his tracks and looked at Elsa for a moment. He offered her a smile and said,  "I'm sorry we showed up the way we did. We were worried."

"I know."

“I didn't want you to be alone and I thought Kai owned you an explanation.”

Elsa nodded, perfectly understanding her brother’s reasoning. Maybe her mind was a mess right at that moment, but she was honestly happy her family had showed up. She still felt somewhat hurt for Kai’s actions, but she couldn’t blame him for caring. “I'm glad you came, Kristoff.”

“Elsa?” 

“Mmh?”

“Can I give you a hug?”

A small smile appeared on her face. “Since when do you ask permission?”

“Since this afternoon, when I thought you were going to kill me for entering your house without permission,” he answered, trying to light the mood.

Elsa gave him a hug and then watched him go, together with their parents. 

Once inside her house, she cleaned her wound and made herself some tea. She sat on the couch to think about everything that had happened in just forty-eight hours. It was crazy to think she had been so miserable the day before. She felt good about the fact she had been able to tell her brother the truth when he was leaving. She was truly happy her family had showed up when they did. And she was relieved she had finally opened up about her past with the people she loved the most.

When she was about to turn the lights off, a pile of letters on the coffee table called her attention. Idunn’s letters had been tossed over it earlier that day, and she hadn’t given them much thought.

She pondered for a moment what was best to do with them. The idea of burning them came to mind, she definitely wanted to. But those letters contained the answer to several questions about her childhood. Thinking it was best to ignore the letters until she could think more clearly, she picked them up and put them in between some books inside her library. Maybe one day, she could give Idunn a chance.

--

Several knocks on Kristoff’s door woke him up from his slumber. He stretched his arm and picked the alarm clock on the bedside table. He wasn’t surprised to see it was already midday. After all, he had arrived late the previous night feeling more tired than usual.

Even if hir sister had been the one who had opened up about her fears and her past, Kristoff had been nervous himself for most part of the conversation. He had felt like that fourteen-year-old kid all over again, who didn’t know what to do to help his parents or his sister.

He remembered the excitement he had felt when his childhood friend became his sister. But once the excitement had worn off, he began to notice how much Elsa had changed in a just a few years. She didn’t smile as often, and the silly jokes once amused her, no longer made her smile. He had noticed his parents’ constant worry and he had felt useless. It was for this reason he had self-appointed himself as Elsa’s protector.

But there was little he could do to protect his sister when the things hurting her were her memories and the distorted version she had of herself. It was then he let his mother do what she did best, which was to prompt Elsa to talk and help her in the process. Something he believed she had done perfectly well the previous night. But still, the meeting had been emotionally taxing, and for that reason he was having such a hard time getting out of bed.

Sven barking near his front door reminded him someone was knocking at the door. And he had an idea who that someone was. Jumping out the bed, he hurried to let his girlfriend in.

Anna entered the apartment and Sven didn’t waste time to jump and greet her. “Sven, you saw her yesterday. Please, let her be.”

“You know I don’t mind,” she said while she kneeled in front of the dog to scratch his ears.

Sven got tired after a few minutes and he sat near the door once again, expectant to see if it didn’t open once again.

Once Anna was standing once again, she pointed to the dog’s strange behaviour. “What’s with him?”

“He always does that when he misses Elsa.” He called the dog’s attention, “she’s not coming, buddy.” The dog whined a couple of times and then gave up, going back to sleep on the couch.

“I should take him to the mountain next weekend.”

“About that…” Anna said, finally getting to the point of her visit. “How’s Elsa? Did you see her yesterday?”

“She’s okay,” he said with a small smile. “I took my parents to the mountain and Kai explained everything to her. She’s still a little hurt at him for making her worry, but she was finally able to explain her fears to my parents.”

“Did she tell them everything?” She hesitated, not knowing if Elsa had come clean about that part of her past.

“Yes.” Kristoff offered Anna something to drink and continued, “they reacted the way I’ve always imagined they would.”

“They don’t blame her.”

“Of course not. Just like you and me, they let her know she was just a child trying to protect herself.”

“What about the petition? Will she have to face a jury?” Anna was really concerned about it, and she was willing to fight her parents-in-law in order to help Elsa.

“Turns out that was the only copy. No one outside the family read the petition. Kai ended up tearing it into pieces.”

Anna let a sigh of relief escape her lips. The idea of talking in a courtroom was nerve-wracking even for herself, she imagined how stressful it could be for someone like Elsa. “So, she’s okay?”

“She’ll need a few days to tame her mind and control the unpleasant memories. But she’s okay, yes.”

“Are you sure?”

The concern in Anna’s voice made him smile. For her, everything about Elsa was new, and Kristoff couldn’t blame her for worrying. “I’m sure.”

“And what about… Never mind.”

The way she kept fidgeting let Kristoff know her question was in fact important for her. “What is it, Anna?”

“Did my parents have anything to do with the petition?” She didn’t want to ask the question. She knew Kristoff was still having a hard time accepting her parents as Elsa’s biological ones.

“I asked Kai after we left Elsa’s place. He said they’ve met your parents a couple times, but opening Elsa’s case was his idea entirely.” He was still unsure how he felt about his parents meeting the Arendelles behind Elsa’s back, but he guessed it made sense. After all, they were the main reason Elsa had ended up in the hands of someone like Weselton. Kristoff could see his father taking the trouble to see if they were worth Elsa’s tears.

Even if he hadn’t forgiven Anna’s parents, Kristoff guessed they were actually good people. Kai wouldn’t have met them more than once if that hadn’t been the case.

“I need to talk with mum and dad. I can’t believe they’ve been meeting with your parents and they didn't care to tell me.”

He understood his girlfriend's discontent, he had felt the same way when he found out the previous day. “I think you should.”

“Would you like to be there when I do?" Deep down she hoped for him to accept. She missed the days Kristoff would visit her in her parents' home. "I could use your company.”

“Anna…" He didn't like to disappoint her, but he wanted to avoid a confrontation. He couldn't face Agdar and Idunn since he still blamed them for Elsa's miserable life. "You know how I feel about your parents.”

"Let me know if you change your mind...” It pained her to be in the middle of the chaos. But there wasn’t much she could do when her heart understood both sides.

--

Marshall sighed for a third time, as he tried to find the courage to knock on Elsa's door. He had been waiting for her in the slope for an hour before he accepted she was not going to show up. And for some reason, instead of going back to his place, he found himself standing in front of her door.

He had no real reason for his visit. Elsa could simply had been busy. But she had never stood him up in the past, and the few times she hadn’t been able to meet him, she had called in advance.

Part of him wanted to turn around and simply accept the fact she probably had better things to do than spending time with him. Still, his curiosity to see if she was all right was bigger and he decided to knock. 

Straightening his back, he waited for the door to open. And, to his relief, it only took a few seconds for Elsa to greet him.

“Hey,” he said with a smile, pleased to see there was nothing to worry about.

“Marshmallow? What are you doing here?” The mountaineer usually worked on weekdays, and it was strange for him to spontaneously visit after work. 

“Just stopping by,” he said as he scratched the back of his neck. “I wanted to see if you were okay…” 

Elsa looked at him puzzled. She had no idea what reason he could have to worry about her, unless her brother had called the guy and bothered him. If that were the case, kristoff was not going to hear the end of it. “Did Kristoff call you?”

“What? No. I-”

“Because if he did-” Elsa interrupted.

Trying to get his point across before she jumped to any other strange conclusion, Marshall explained in a hurry, “you didn't show up at the slope like we agreed, and I worried.”

“What?”

"You-" Elsa’s confused expression made him think about the possibility he had been mistaken. Hadn't he asked Elsa to meet him like he had intended? Not wanting to make a fool out of himself, he said, "It doesn't matter. I should've just called." 

Elsa grabbed his arm before he could turn around and leave. "Wait, Marshmallow, what are you talking about?" 

"On Thursday, when I called you," he began to say, as he scratched his beard - a nervous tic she had seen him do many times before. "I told you I was free today, and you said you'd meet me at the slope."

"Oh?… oh!" Everything that happened had made Elsa forget about her plan with Marshall. "I completely forgot."

"It doesn't matter. There wasn't much to do there anyway. Most of the snow is melted." 

Elsa could see he was trying to pretend it wasn't important. But she knew he had probably been waiting for her. "I really am sorry, Marshall. Truth is I had a hard weekend." 

“Everything okay?”

“I’ve been better.” There was no way she could explain to him her problems, so she left it at that. “I wish I had remembered about our plan. It would have been a good distraction.”

"Would you like to come to my place?” he offered. “We could eat something. If you want…" 

Elsa wondered if it was a good idea. She felt guilty for the little time she had been dedicating to her studies, and she had finally found the will to sit and work in her assignments just before his visit. On the other hand, she could really use some time away from her worries.

Before she got the chance to answer, however, Marshmallow said, "the cats miss you."

Smiling at his ridiculous attempt to convince her, she asked, "Do they?" 

"Yes. Well…" He cleared his throat to hide his embarrassment. He wanted to punch himself for the moronic reason he had come up with. "I think they do. And maybe they can be a good distraction from whatever is bothering you." 

"Okay."

"Okay?" 

"Yes." Smiling after days of sadness felt nice. She had to be thankful Marshall was considerate enough to invite her right after she had stood him up. "Maybe you're right, I could use some company. And I've missed the cats too."

Marshall smiled too, pleased to notice she wasn’t really talking about the cats.

--

I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I apologise in advance for any mistakes. I’ve been writing the whole day, and I can’t identify mistakes at this point.

Big thank you to everyone who has taken the time to review and share this story. You’re all amazing!

Tagging: @swimmingnewsie @melody-fox, @kristoffxannafanatic, @kristannafictionals, @neptrabbit, @skneez, @ellacarter13, @wondering-in-life, @who-i-am-8, @fanfictionrecommendations-com, @815-allisnotlost, @khartx, @joannevixxon, @betweenthedreams, @lilrann, @burbobah, @rileysfs, @zutonium, @earlvessalius, @blood-jewel, @disneydreamer8901, @the-sky-is-awake, @disneyfan103, @the-magic-one-is-you, @anamaria8garcia, @welovefrozenfanfiction, @bigfrozenfan-archive, @bigfrozenfan, @frozen-snips  @deisymendoza  @zackhaikal123 @cornstarch @roostercrowedatmidnight @wandering-bard-from-the-id, @showurselfelsa @fuzzyelsalikeiduna @when-dawn-arrives​ @drafteedragon​ @snowycrocus​ @tare8chan​ @localarendellian​ @wabitham​ @roostercrowedatmidnight​ @aries1708 @tare8chan, @just-your-local-history-nerd, @dontrunintofirexoxo @daphmckinnon @poketin @bruni-is-love @luna-and-mars, @anotherpersondrawing @lovelucywilde

It was for that reason Anna was confident Elsa was going to be able to complete the activity she had planned for her that day. She had arrived to the mountain early in the morning and she had dragged the older girl outside; explaining they were going to spend some time in a small slope not far away from Elsa’s cottage. 

What call Elsa’s surprise, however, was not the time she had arrived, but the fact she was carrying a couple of sleds with her; even when the amount of snow was not enough for them to use them. “I thought you said we were going to study today,” said Elsa after her curiosity took the best of her, when they reached the slope.

“We are!” answered Anna throwing the sleds in between both of them, and taking her backpack off her shoulders.

“Here?” They were at the top of a short slope and Elsa couldn’t see anything worth studying around them.

“Yes, here. We’re going to use these!” Her hand pointing to the sleds on the ground.  

“Sleds?”

“Yes. Just follow my lead.” A big smile plastered on Anna’s face as she put one of the sleds close to where the slope began. “Come on. Get on it and sled down the slope.”

Elsa looked incredulously at Anna and then at the slope. There wasn’t enough snow for it to be safe, and she had no intentions of getting hurt. “No, thanks.” 

“What? Why?” Anna knew perfectly well why and she was expecting Elsa’s answer from the beginning, but she didn’t want to spoil her idea.

“Because I want my leg to heal and to keep my head in place.” 

“Oh, really?” she said raising an eyebrow. “And why is that?” 

Elsa stayed silent looking at Anna for a few seconds. She couldn’t believe she was asking something so ridiculous. Even a child could see it was a bad idea. “There isn't much snow. I could sled down for a few metres, but then my sled would get stuck and I would end up with my head on the ground.” 

“Okay. Why is snow better?” Anna could barely keep a serious face seeing Elsa's unamused expression. In the last few weeks she had found out - with Kristoff's help - how fun it was to get on Elsa's nerves with the silliest things. 

"Snow is snow. You can sled on it." 

"Okay," she said, thinking it was best to stop goofing around. "Now, I need the real explanation. Why is snow better?" 

“Well… It just is.” She said, not sure about her answer. “I don't know how to explain it. Things just slide on it."

Anna smiled at her answer and kneeled down to take a book out f her bag. “The answer is here.” She handed the book to Elsa and let her examine it for a moment.

“Physics?” 

“Physics,” she agreed. “It's super fun. You'll love it.”

Elsa turned a few pages of the book, but didn’t seem convinced.

“Have you ever heard about Newton’s laws?” asked Anna, as she took the book from Elsa’s hands. She didn’t want her to start reading until they did the experiment first.

“No.” 

“Have you heard about gravity?” she tried. 

“Yes.” 

“Then you've heard at least one of Newton's laws.” She laughed when she noticed Elsa’s confusion. “Don't look at me like that! I'll show you what I’m talking about. But first,” she put an arm around Elsa’s shoulder. “I need you to cover the slope with snow.”

“What?”

“Cover the slope with snow.” It didn’t take long for Anna to notice Elsa was not at all comfortable with the idea, and she insisted, “come on. Use your powers so we can do the activity I planned.”

“No.”

“Please…” she begged. “I really want to see you use your powers.” 

She shook her head and crossed her arms, hiding her hands from view. “It could be dangerous, Anna.”

“Your powers are not dangerous.” She thought of a way to convince Elsa. After all, they couldn’t do what she had in mind if Elsa didn’t cooperate. And if she had to be honest, she was dying to see Elsa’s powers once again. She had been patient and she had given Elsa enough time to feel comfortable around her before asking; but now, she couldn’t wait anymore. “Please use them. I'll stand over there if it makes you feel better,” she said, pointing a few metres away from where they were standing.

“I don't know…”

“I know for a fact you use your powers when no-one's around.”

“That's not true,” tried to contradict Elsa, but Anna’s incredulous expression let her know she didn’t believe a word she was saying. “I… I-” she sighed in defeat. “Fine. I do sometimes.”

“Busted!” laughed Anna. 

“So what if I use my powers from time to time?” Elsa didn’t like the mocking tone Anna was using. For her, her powers were part of who she was, even if they made her life harder sometimes.

“There's nothing wrong with it,” clarified Anna. “All I'm saying is that, since you use your powers on your own, you can start using them in front of me. It'll be fun. Come on!” 

“I don't feel comfort-”

“Wait,” she interrupted. “Or is it that you can’t do what I’m asking?” 

“Of course I can.” In Elsa’s opinion, Anna clearly didn’t understand how strong her powers were if she thought she wasn’t able to do something as simple as covering a small slope in snow. 

“I bet that is,” continued Anna, not paying attention to Elsa. “You can't. So, you’d rather say you don't want to, than to make a fool of yourself.” 

“What?” 

“And here I was thinking you had an amazing power.” She turned around and kneeled down to pick her bag from the floor.

“I can cover the slope in snow in an instant.” 

“There’s no reason to pretend, Elsa. I should have known better.” She turned her head enough to see Elsa’s reaction and smirked when she saw her annoyed expression. She silently thanked Kristoff for teaching her how to push Elsa’s buttons.

“Oh, please, look,” said Elsa in exasperation. She looked down the slope, and with a flick of her hands she covered it with a massive amount of snow. Proud of being perfectly capable of doing it, she turned to see Anna’s expression. But to her surprise, she was grinning. “You just tricked me… Didn't you?” A sigh left her mouth at her own stupidity.

“Yes!” answered Anna excitedly for what she had just seen. The power Elsa possessed was even greater than she had imagined, and she couldn’t be happier she had been able to experience it. “And it was wonderful!”

“I can't believe I fell for that.” She was clearly ashamed for letting her pride get the best of her.

“You should be proud of your powers, you know?” said Anna as she examined Elsa’s snow in her hand. “They are incredibly beautiful.” 

Elsa wasn’t used to receiving compliments for her powers, and blood rushed to her face in an instant. Trying to divert attention from what she had just done, she asked, “what did you want the snow for?” 

“Oh, right!” Anna came back to the matter at hand. “I forgot about that for a moment.” She laughed at herself and ordered, “get on the sled.” 

“Weren't we going to study?”

Letting a tired sigh escape her lips she said, "Can you, please, trust me? Just get on the sled.” 

"I trust you, I just-"

"Ah, la la la," sang Anna, stopping Elsa's excuses. "I don't care. Get on the sled."

Elsa stayed where she was, looking at Anna as if she had lost her mind. But after a few seconds, she accepted defeat and got on the sled. "You are so weird sometimes," she said, once she was comfortably seated. 

"I know. Isn't it fun?" 

Elsa couldn't help but laugh. She had noticed how excited Anna was about whatever they were about to do and, seeing no reason in delaying the inevitable, she said, "Okay. Now what-?” A push on her back sent her down the slope before she could even finish her question, and she couldn't do more than yell Anna's name. “Anna!”

"Mark the spot where the sled stops!" Came Anna's yell from the top as she was reaching the end.

It took Elsa a few minutes to come to a full stop, mark the place and go back to the top of the slope. When she finally reached Anna's side, the girl was getting a second sled ready for her.

"Care to tell me why you pushed me down the-?" 

Anna stood up, took the first sled from Elsa's arms and pointed to the new one which was on its mark, waiting for her. "Get on this other sled."

Elsa crossed her arms and not for the first time looked at Anna as if she had completely lost it. "And here I was thinking the extra sled was in case you wanted to join me in my new adventure of learning how to use a sled."  

"Oh, you behave so much like Kristoff sometimes," complained Anna. There was no point in doing the activity if she explained things to Elsa beforehand. "Just get on the sled and have fun. Will you?" 

"Fine. Fine. You're the boss." 

For the following hour, Anna continued sending Elsa down the slope. Asking her to sit in different positions and even carry some weight with her, as well as changing the sleds everytime. 

It was obvious Elsa began to have fun right after she stopped trying to find some logic behind Anna's experiment. However, she was genuinely curious to know what Anna wanted to achieve with it, and she kept marking where the sleds stopped every time. At some point during the experiment, Elsa challenged Anna to a race. Anna not being able to refuse soon got on the extra sled and began enjoying the activity together with Elsa. 

Anna, on her part, couldn't be happier the activity was working so well. She had planned it during winter but at the time she didn’t dare try it - not wishing to damage Elsa’s leg. But Elsa's powers had proven to be just as perfect as fresh snow, and she was glad she had been able to convince Elsa to use them. 

After Anna had achieved everything she wanted with the activity, and she had had some fun with Elsa, she sat in the snow at the end of the slope with a happy sigh. Elsa soon joined her, sitting next to her. Somehow relieved the activity was over. She had been enjoying herself more than she imagined, but she was starting to feel exhausted. Months of inactivity were still taking a toll on her. 

Taking a deep breath, she asked, “are you going to tell me what we were doing, now?”

“Oh? Oh! Yes, right. Sorry." Anna had been so pleased with herself she had forgotten Elsa was still waiting for an explanation. "You marked every stop, didn’t you?" 

Elsa nodded.

"Great. Now look around and tell me, did you stop in the same place every time?" 

Elsa complied and after a moment she had her answer. "No." 

Anna crossed her legs to be more comfortable and asked, "why do you think that is?" 

Elsa thought for a while. She had an idea, but she knew Anna was now asking as a teacher and was expecting her to justify her answers. She wasn’t sure about the reasons behind the results, but she still tried to give acceptable theories.

Anna listened to her attentively before she began explaining the different laws and how physics had an effect on everything. She wasn’t too specific at first since Elsa was going to read in detail each law once they were back at the cottage. But she was happy to offer the older girl a reasonable explanation. To her surprise, Elsa’s hypothesis were interesting and not at all wrong. Of course she couldn’t justify everything in detail, but Anna was pleased to see she had grasped the main idea of the experiment.

After the explanation was over, Anna suggested they returned to Elsa’s house and sat down to read and take notes from everything they had learnt that morning.

From the beginning, Anna was certain Elsa was going to like the topic, but she never imagined she was going to start thinking on the many ways she could use that knowledge to become a better skier. Making Anna really proud of her. She was smarter than she gave herself credit for.

Not for the first time, Anna thought about how unfair life had been to Elsa. A really smart girl, who could have become anything she wanted, was forced to be an illiterate for half her life; and then she was pushed aside in a society that didn’t see value in those who didn’t have a piece of paper proving they were good enough. But even if the idea made her really angry, she tried to focus in the present. At least after years of injustice, life had offered Elsa a family and a possibility to change her fate.

Anna had been so absorbed by her thoughts she hadn’t realised the older girl had already finished her work, and was putting her things away. “I’m sorry, what?” said Anna when she noticed Elsa was talking to her.

“I was just saying ‘thank you’.”

“Thank you? For what?”

Elsa then smiled, but didn’t look up to meet Anna’s eyes. “For telling me to use my powers today. You reminded me they can bring joy and be useful from time to time.”

Anna beamed at her words, and put her hand on top of Elsa’s, pleased to feel it warmer than usual. “I won’t get tired of saying this Elsa. Your powers are wonderful. It’s time you start giving yourself the chance to enjoy them. Especially around Kristoff and me.”

“Yeah. Maybe...”

She could hear the hesitation in Elsa’s voice, but Anna knew just giving the idea some thought was a huge step forward for Elsa.

--

Anna arrived home later than she had intended that evening. After the studying session with Elsa was over, both girls had stayed in Elsa's couch talking and enjoying some hot chocolate which caused Anna to lose track of time completely. She took the last bus heading to town, and arrived at her parents' a few minutes before dinner.

She entered the kitchen and greeted her mother who was by the stove. Mother and daughter talked about their day and after a while, Anna sat at the small table in the kitchen.

Her family rarely used the table to eat, so Anna was not surprised to see piles of paperwork and documents belonging to her father and a couple of books she had left there the previous day. However, what did call Anna's attention was the half-written letter and envelope she was sure wasn’t there the day before. Not thinking much about it, she picked the envelope, and was shocked to read the addressee.

Thinking it was best to ask her mother instead of jumping to conclusions, Anna called Idunn's attention. "Mum?" 

"Yes, sweetheart?" 

"What’s this?" she asked, raising the envelope for her mother to see. 

The woman turning around to see what Anna was talking about, when she noticed the familiar envelope in her daughter's hand. "Oh, no, no. Give me that." She rushed to where Anna was sitting, and grabbed the envelope from her hand, as well as the letter she had been writing some minutes before Anna arrived. "It’s- it’s nothing important." 

The way she had reacted was all the confirmation Anna needed, but she still asked, "Are you writing a letter to Elsa?" 

"No…" tried to lie Idunn, but soon noticed it was useless. Anna had already read the name in the envelope. "It's not what you think it is." 

Anna raised one eyebrow in disbelief, but didn't say anything, giving her mother the chance to explain herself. 

"It’s just a way of expressing the way I feel," she admitted, ashamed of herself. "It’s silly." 

Anna felt bad for the way her mother looked down and tightened her grip on the letter. If she thought about it, Anna could see some similarities in the way her mother and Elsa behaved whenever they were ashamed. "I don’t think it’s silly…" she tried to reassure. "Something tells me this isn't the first letter you write, is it?" 

Idunn shook her head, still not daring look at Anna in the eyes. 

"How long have you been doing it?" 

"For quite some time now. This must be the tenth letter I've written so far." She put the letter inside the envelope and left it on the table once again.

Anna opened her eyes in surprise. She knew her mother was still struggling with everything that had happened, but to hear she had written over ten letters let her see just how much she wished to talk to her daughter. “Are you planning to send those letters?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Elsa doesn't want to have anything to do with your father and me,” answered Idunn with a sigh. “I want to respect her wishes.” Truth was Idunn and Agdar had stayed in contact during that time with the Bjorgmans. They even met a couple more times after they had discussed Elsa’s past. And every time, Idunn made sure to ask Gerda if Elsa had changed the way she felt, or if she had shown any interest in meeting them again. To her disappointment, Elsa hadn’t changed her resolution not to meet them. 

“Well, she doesn't know what you guys went through. Maybe those letters could be a way to let her know. And it’d be up to her if she wants to hear your reasons. You wouldn’t be forcing her.” Anna remembered her promise to Elsa about not forcing her to give her parents a chance, but she saw no problem in trying to convince her parents not to give up hope.

“Won't I be pressuring her if I send them?”

“I could deliver the letters myself and explain she doesn't have to read them if she doesn't want to. And she knows I won’t pressure her either.”

“I don't know, Anna.” The idea of Elsa reading everything she had written was tempting. After all, more than being able to hold her daughter in her arms again, Idunn wanted Elsa to understand that she had been loved. That she was still very much loved. And she knew her letters made that clear; however, there existed that lingering fear of making everything worse if she sent them.

“Look,” said Anna calling her attention. “All I'm saying is those letters may give you a chance.”

“You really think so?” 

“You've always had a way with words. I'm sure whatever you wrote must be coming from your heart. And I know you've got a good heart, mum.”

Idunn blinked away a couple of tears and embraced her daughter. To hear those words coming from Anna’s mouth after everything they had put her through meant more to Idunn than she could explain. She kissed her cheek and promised to think about her offer.

Anna smiled and detached from her mother when the kitchen timer called their attention. 

Idunn returned to her task at hand, and after a few minutes she dared ask, “how's Elsa doing?” She always wanted to ask Anna that question after her younger daughter returned from the mountain, but she rarely found the courage. 

Anna’s smile became bigger with the question, happy to know the ‘taboo’ of talking about Elsa’s life was slowly disappearing in the household. “She's doing fine. Her leg is healing fast.” Anna walked back to her mother’s side so they could talk more comfortably. “She's even training with Marshmallow now. They go walking and he also helps her with her exercises.”

Idunn smiled knowing her daughter was finally feeling better after the terrible accident, but her expression changed to one of confusion at the strange name. “Who's Marshmallow?”

“Your son-in-law,” said Anna matter-of-factly, before laughing at her own joke. She was certain that if Elsa could hear her, she’d be throwing something at her right at that moment.

“You call Kristoff 'Marshmallow'?"

But of course her mother didn’t get the joke since she had completely forgotten to mention the guy’s existence before that moment. “No, no,” she laughed again. “Your other son-in-law. Well, he's not technically your son-in-law yet. But you know what I mean.”

“To be honest, I don’t,” she said, having no idea what Anna was talking about. “Just tell me who Marshmallow is.” 

“He's Elsa's friend. A huge mountaineer. Ridiculously tall.”

“Are they- are they together?” Idunn stuttered, taken aback now that she understood who the man was. 

Anna pushed her mother with the shoulder in a playful way. “Interested in her love life, mum?” 

“What? No, Anna.” Leave it to her daughter to find the way to make her feel guilty for prying into Elsa’s life. “You said he was- You know what? It doesn’t matter.”

She cracked up at her mother’s poor attempt at justifying her curiosity. “I'm just messing with you!”

Idunn didn’t waste time and threw the dishcloth in her daughter’s face.

“Hey!” complained Anna in between laughs before answering her mother’s question. “No, they are not together. I just like to joke around. But he is her friend and they’ve been spending a lot of time together lately.”

She smiled at the idea of Elsa finally finding a friend outside her family circle. But her happiness was short lived, worrying about Elsa’s safety. Finding out about her past had made Idunn more aware of the dangers of the wrong people finding out about Elsa’s powers. “Is he a good person?”

Not paying too much attention to her mother’s question, Anna answered, “he's really quiet and respectful. He's a pretty great guy. I think you'd like him.”

She sighed in relief, knowing she could trust her daughter’s judgement. After a bad experience with an ex-boyfriend, Anna had learnt to read people’s intentions better, and she always checked the intentions of those who got closer to her loved ones. “I'm glad Elsa's found a friend, then.”

Anna found her mother’s comment a bit weird, but she simply nodded.

--

The following weekend, Anna was eager to visit Elsa so she took a bus on Friday evening to get to the North mountain the day before their class. She had something special she wanted to share with Elsa, and her enthusiasm couldn’t wait till morning. She thought it was a good opportunity to spend some time with the girl too. Talking or simply enjoying time together had become harder after Anna’s exams began. University had taken a lot of her time, and she rarely found the chance to stay more time than it was strictly necessary to help Elsa study. 

The weather was colder than the previous week, forcing Anna to hide her face inside her scarf and put her hands inside her pockets as she walked in the direction of Elsa’s cottage. Coming out of the path, she noticed the lights outside the cabin weren’t on, something strange considering Elsa’s preference. She always insisted on keeping the lights on since it made homes look more lively.

She knocked on the door a couple of times but to her bad luck no-one answered. She knew there existed the possibility Elsa was spending some time with Marshall, and Anna was sure it wasn’t going to take long for her to return home.

Part of her was certain the right thing to do was wait outside for Elsa’s return, but the cold wind was becoming harder to tolerate by the minute. Remembering Elsa practically never closed her door. Anna tried to open it, and to her delight, the door was unlocked. She murmured a thank you to Elsa’s questionable habits and entered the place. 

She closed the door behind her, and turned on the light. She shrieked in fear startled by Elsa who was, to her surprise, sitting in the living room just a few metres from the door.   

"Hi," said Anna once she had been able to calm her racing heart down. "I’m sorry I let myself in. But I thought you weren’t home and I know-" Anna stopped in her tracks when she noticed Elsa was not responding. Instead, she was looking down at a piece of paper in her hand. And what was more worrisome, she was crying. It was only then, Anna realised she hadn’t even noticed her presence. "Elsa?" she said louder, trying to call her attention. 

"Anna…" said Elsa, when she became aware of her surroundings. She tried in vain to get herself together, leaving the paper on the coffee table, and drying her tears. "I didn't hear you knock."

"Elsa are you okay?" 

"It's not important," she lied, but her voiced cracked betraying her words.

Anna rushed to her side and sat down next to her. "It must be if it makes you cry like this. What's going on?”

She whimpered and hugged herself. Not being able to answer Anna’s question.

“Elsa, please, tell me what’s wrong. You can trust me.”

Anna watched Elsa extend her hand and pick up one of the documents scattered on the coffee table. Soon handing it to Anna. “I found this inside one of my composition books.”

“What is this?"

“I don't understand half the things it says-” A sob interrupted Elsa, and she took a shuddering breath before continuing. “It's about me.”

Still not comprehending what the document was about and where it came from, Anna asked, "where did you get that composition book?"

"Gerda, she- she gave it to me." Once again, Elsa tried to control her emotions, but the more she tried to stop crying the harder it was to control her powers; and she already knew the temperature was colder than it should be inside the house. Not wanting to make things more complicated, she opted to let her tears fall, focusing only on keeping the ice at bay. 

Noticing how distressed Elsa was, Anna thought it was best to try and help her calm down before reading the paper in her hand. “Elsa, don’t jump to conclusions, okay? Even if it's about you, it doesn't mean it's something bad.”

“It- It’s about a legal precedi- precee-” she made an effort to remember the word, but it was difficult to focus. All she could think about was Kai, his stupid broken promise, and the pain she felt. 

“Proceeding?” tried to guess Anna. Hoping she was mistaken. Elsa’s life, and especially her childhood, was still a whole mystery to Anna; but deep down she hoped it hadn’t been so terrible there was the need to open a legal proceeding.

“Yes," said Elsa when she heard the right word. "What is that?” Her shoulders shook, as she tried in vain to even her breathing. “It means there will be a trial, doesn't it?”

“Maybe… What does it say?” The last thing she wanted was to lie to Elsa at that moment. She needed all the information she could possibly get. 

“I don't know! I don't know these words,” Elsa complained, not before cursing in silence her ignorance once again. She hated feeling so useless. New fresh tears started to fall and she hunched forward, trying to stop the storm inside. 

“Elsa, calm down.” Anna rubbed her hand on her back, trying hard to ignore how cold she felt to the touch. “Do you want me to read it for you?”

It felt strange for Anna to be in that situation. Although she had been teaching Elsa for the past three months, the older girl had never shown how much not understanding things affected her. She asked questions whenever she didn’t know something, and she showed a positive attitude towards new things. But this time, Anna could see she was still learning and struggling to comprehend multiple things; she could only imagine how difficult the vocabulary used in a legal document was for her. It pained Anna to see her crying out of frustration and possibly fear for what she didn't understand. 

Thinking it was best to find out what was going on, Anna began reading. Elsa was still distressed, but she knew there was no way she could help her if she didn’t make sense of what that paper said.

The first few lines where Kai simply introducing himself to someone and requesting his assistance. She continued reading until he began to describe a convicted man's current situation, and what he wanted to achieve by opening a new case against this person. The man's name was Weselton.

Anna read the name of the man once again, and tried to remember why it sounded so familiar. After a few minutes, she remembered her father yelling the man's name at the table the night the truth about Elsa came to light. And if she was not mistaken, her mother had mentioned his name too. He was the owner of the clinic where they had left Elsa all those years ago. Once she remembered, Anna became all the more interested to know what that document was about, and she was thankful Elsa trusted her enough to let her read it for her. 

For a few minutes, the only thing that could be heard in the cottage was Elsa's laboured breathing as she tried to calm down and restraint her powers, while Anna read and reread the document in silence.

To Anna’s surprise, Elsa had been correct, in the document Kai detailed the main reasons to raise charges against Weselton. Kai, with the endorsement of several police officers, was elevating a petition to a certain prosecutor. He was requesting his help to reopen Elsa’s case against the doctor. He detailed compromising evidence against the man, and even mentioned the cooperation of Elsa's biological parents on the case.

At first, she couldn't believe what she was reading. The more she tried to make sense of the fact her parents were cooperating with Kai’s petition, the more difficult it was to understand. She had no idea how her parents had been able to agree to something like that. Especially since they hadn't even had the the chance to meet Elsa properly. But her mother's words resonated in her head. Just days before Idunn had said she knew Elsa didn't want anything to do with them. There was no way her mother could be so certain about that, unless… Unless they had been meeting with the Bjorgmans all that time. 

The sudden realisation made Anna's blood boil. They had kept yet another secret from her, and once again their actions were going to have a terrible repercussion in Elsa’s life. 

She couldn't believe her parents actions. Nonetheless, she was more stunned to find out Kai was meeting with her parents without Elsa’s consent.

"Kai wants me to speak in court, doesn't he?" Elsa’s hoarse voice interrupted her train of thoughts.

"I'm not sure." In his petition Kai made emphasis on her parents, but he never explicitly mentioned Elsa's cooperation. “He doesn’t say. But I don’t want to lie to you, Elsa. He speaks about your legal case here. You may be expected to testify if they agree to this petition... I’m sorry.”

Anna’s confirmation did nothing to help Elsa’s nervousness. On the contrary, it only increased her heart rate at the mere idea of facing a court full of people. She could picture them, waiting for her to talk about her past, to relive a childhood she wanted to forget; waiting for her to make a mistake so they could justify locking her again in a clinic to be studied, while Weselton walked away. 

Noticing she was losing control of her emotions, Elsa did her best to control her body. But her breathing was becoming more and more difficult, and containing her powers was becoming painful. 

At first Anna thought giving her some time to process things on her own was for the best, but her idea suddenly changed when Elsa began hyperventilating. Anna knew she had to do something - help her somehow. She had read about anxieties attacks and she was sure Elsa was having one at that moment. 

She ignored the cold feeling she felt when her hand touched Elsa’s back again, and said, “Elsa, please, try to calm down. Maybe your father just wants to find a solution to whatever happened to you in the past. You haven't talked to him yet.”

It was clear Elsa wasn’t listening to her. She was once again hunching forward, her arms around her torso as if she was in unbearable pain. Not really knowing if her words were getting through, she leaned in closer and tried reasoning with her again. “Elsa breathe, please. Try to focus on-” 

It shocked Anna to see Elsa stand up all and dash to the bathroom before she could finish what she was saying. “Elsa?!” she asked with worry.

Anna ran after her and entered the bathroom, her eyes narrowing with concern when she saw Elsa’s deplorable state. She was leaning over the toilet, retching, even after having emptied her stomach.

“Elsa, are you okay?” She approached her sister and held her hair as she caressed her back, trying in vain to offer some comfort.

They stayed on the bathroom floor after Elsa was able to regain some control over her body. She soon begged Anna to put some distance between them since she still couldn’t trust her powers.

After some minutes, Anna saw Elsa stand up and walk to the sink. It was unsettling to see how much her legs were trembling, yet Anna didn't approach her. She noticed Elsa was following certain steps meticulously, and she thought it was best to respect her wishes and give her some space. Something told Anna that was not the first time Elsa was enduring a nervous breakdown.

Elsa let the tap running as she looked at herself in the mirror. She was only able to wash her face a couple of times, before a layer of frost covered the sink; making it impossible for her to continue. Her fist trembled with the intent of punching the frozen water, but she thought better of it and simply left the bathroom.

Anna stayed on the bathroom floor, not being able to tear her gaze away from the frozen sink. Only a couple of days before, she had seen Elsa use and enjoy her powers at will, and now she was shocked to see them manifest without her consent. 

Coming out of her stupor, she left the bathroom and soon found Elsa sitting in the middle of her bed. Arms hugging her knees tightly against her chest. She seemed more calmed but it was obvious she was still overthinking things; and Anna was certain that if she kept doing it, anxiety was going to take over her body once again.

Trusting Elsa to be alone for a minute, she went to the kitchen to get her a glass of water. Anna had noticed the frustration on her face when the water froze in the sink.

“Drink,” offered Anna when she entered the bedroom. She made an effort not to pay attention to the snowflakes that were gently falling around Elsa, covering the mattress in white powder. “It’ll help you feel better.”

“I’m sorry you had to see me like that,” said Elsa after she had emptied her glass of water. She didn't dare look at Anna in the eye though. She had been so close to lose control, and even if she had been able to restraint her powers just in time, the idea of showing her worst to Anna once again was embarrassing.

“No, no. Don’t apologise. You did nothing wrong.” Anna tentatively put her hand over Elsa's. Contrary to what she expected, Elsa didn't recoil nor beg to be left alone. “Are you feeling better?”

Elsa nodded, but she didn't say anything. Her mind was still busy worrying about the document she had found and the implications of it.

"Has this happened before?" wondered Anna.

"A couple of times." Her answer was barely audible. "When suppressing my powers becomes too much, and my anxiety gets the best of me."

Anna stayed silent, feeling there was nothing she could say to help Elsa at that moment. She desperately wanted to tell her everything was going to be okay, but she knew it was a lie. 

Elsa on the other hand, exhausted after her mental breakdown, tried to get comfortable in bed; knowing it was a matter of time before she lost consciousness. She rested her head on the pillow and looked at Anna sitting next to her. A small smile appeared on her face, thankful for the girl to be by her side.

Interrupting the heavy silence, Elsa ventured say what was in her mind. "Kai knows I want to bury my past and move on… It pains me to think he’s doing this, even after he promised he wouldn’t.”

“I don’t justify what he’s doing, but maybe he’s only trying to help,” offered Anna, feeling more comfortable now that Elsa was the one starting conversation.

“There’s no guarantee they’ll find Weselton guilty. For all I know I may be the only one affected by all this.” Her voice was weak and muffled. She could feel her body begging for some rest, even if her mind was still troubled with Kai betraying her trust and everything that could happen in the future.

Anna stayed silent for a few minutes, looking into space. There was nothing she wanted more than to help Elsa, but there was little she could do in her situation. How could she offer some comforting words if she had no idea what Kai was talking about in his petition? How could she stand by Elsa’s side if she didn’t know what had happened to her in the past? What if Kai was truly doing the best thing for her, and Elsa’s fear was too much to let her see that?

Finally making up her mind to what she needed to do, Anna found the courage and said, “Elsa, I can see how hard this is for you. And I want you to know I'm here to help in anything you need. But I can't do that if I don't let me in.” She took a deep breath and asked, “what did Weselton do? What happened to you?”

When Elsa didn’t answer, Anna turned to look at her. And to her surprise, she found her sound asleep. It was only then, she noticed the dark bags under her eyes and how truly tired she looked. Anna half-smiled and soon found a blanket for her - she guessed the truth about the past could wait yet another night.

Noticing it was already past midnight, she climbed into bed next to her sister. Her mind was still processing everything that had happened, and she hoped to sleep for at least a few hours.

--

Big thank you to everyone who has taken the time to review and share this story. You’re amazing!

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