Prompt 2: Elsa + Emotions

Finding Peace

Peace. After living in roiling anxiety that had all but eviscerated her soul for year after year, Elsa was unfamiliar with feeling peace. Every fiber of her being was tuned to constant vigilance. Is there anyone around who could find out? Is the ice spreading without my knowledge? With Anna in her life again, it was doubly so at first. Is she okay? Is she cold? Have I frightened her or hurt her since the last time I checked? Has she come to her senses yet and realized that I am a monster? She was reluctant to voice these fears to the primary object of her concern, but the same persistent Anna who had knocked on an unyielding door for years was still very much present in Elsa's life.

Elsa should have known better than to try and keep anything from the girl. Anna worked at Elsa's fear-built walls like a sculptor with priceless marble. She was careful and gentle, yet persistent, and her hard work paid off as the weeks went by. At first it was a matter of calming Elsa's instinctual panic whenever she found herself in the same room as Anna. Then the challenge was getting Elsa to accept touches and hugs without automatically flinching away. Finally, it was the ordeal of teaching Elsa to trust Anna (and to trust herself) enough to truly relax around the princess. The words echoed in Elsa's ears. You won't hurt me, Elsa. I promise. I love you. She could never deny anything to those bright eyes and that eager smile anyway.

And that was how Elsa came to find herself lying on Anna's bed with the princess fast asleep and draped all over her. A soft half-snore filtered through the curtain of hair obscuring the girl's face and Elsa smiled. A freckled hand grasped unconsciously at Elsa's arm but stilled when Elsa gently took the searching hand in her own. Elsa felt her eyes growing as heavy as the weight against her side. This. This was peace. When the ice evaporated from her veins and everything was warmth, especially the steadily breathing sister who was half-lying on top of her. Elsa felt safe in a way she never had before as she drifted off to sleep. There was no fear. There was only peace.