NOTE: This chapter contains some brief NSFW content.

ALSO: Oreo O's are back. Thought you all should be made aware.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Elsa felt like her morning shower took twice as long as usual. Perhaps that was because she washed every part of her body twice, other than her hair.

Her sister's hand had been so close. Much closer than it should ever have come. But that wasn't the reason she kept scrubbing her skin until it shone red here and there; no, that was because she hadn't altogether hated the idea. Much as she knew it was wrong…

'What if Anna did keep going?' she thought as she slid the soapy washcloth over the back of her thigh again. 'What if I hadn't panicked and told her to stop, and… and I actually let her touch me? Would that make me the worst big sister in the world?'

The instinct was still there. Despite all those years apart, she still couldn't help feeling responsible for her little sister; even when she was the one pushing things, changing their relationship. Anna had lost her faith in God, and she had gone so far away from the righteous path that she not only wanted to sleep with women, but with one related to her. It was beyond "astray"!

But without thinking about religion… would she feel the same way? It was hard for her after so many years with her mother. Practically her entire existence had been centered around bringing glory and honour to His name. How on earth was she supposed to do that if she was so very tempted to sin?

'Okay, okay, get it together, Elsa. You're a smart, capable woman. You're in university, and doing great there! Just… think.'

True, the Bible said homosexuality was wrong. But then again, both Anna and Rapunzel had pointed out that might not really be the case. It certainly didn't feel wrong when she was wrapped tightly in Anna's arms, heart singing from how her soft lips felt. Body craving to even just be tickled again, if not more. The fact that she was her sister didn't seem to matter.

But it should. That was something everyone seemed to agree on, gay or straight. How could Anna want to do these kinds of things with her? How could she let her do them? They both had the same parents, the same DNA — with a few differences, of course. Had grown up together, played together and been read the same bedtime stories. Gone to the same schools before the divorce had changed all that. It was perverse… or should have been.

The mere thought of Anna pressing her down into the bed again renewed the tingles. She could try to lie to herself, say that she liked the feeling but not the person doing it, but what was the point? She wanted it to happen. She wanted it to happen with Anna again.

Anna, and no one else.

The moment she had that thought, she hated how true it was. She had the hots for her little sister. Crazy! She was literally crazy. It had crept up on her a little at a time, every time they held hands, or kissed, or hugged just a few seconds too long. Desire. Lust. The only thing that kept her from thinking of herself as a horrible monster was the knowledge that Anna started everything in the first place.

'And I don't even know if I'll like sex,' she thought at herself as she washed under her arms with more intensity than was necessary. 'Why should I try it with a sibling before anybody else?'

'Because it's more comfortable with Anna,' that irritating voice in the back of her mind replied. With nothing to distract her other than water and soap, she couldn't block out the thoughts that she had been doing such a good job of suppressing. 'You've been so intimidated by boys and the whole idea of dating for so long. Either because you were scared of opening up to a stranger… or because you were saving yourself for-'

The soap shot out of her hand and thunked into the wall, then slid down into the tub. No. No, she had never thought about Anna that way before. That wasn't right! One just didn't think about one's own sister that way, ever! But what if, on a subconscious level, she had? She could remember Anna saying she wanted to marry Elsa when they were small, and it being "cute" to her and to her father. Of course, their mother had laughed and then patiently explained that girls didn't marry other girls, and Anna had shrugged and asked if they could both be space pirates instead. The issue had been considered closed, but…

'Anna's always been in love with you. She always wanted to kiss you, and spend time with you, and follow you around. Made or bought you gifts. Told you how pretty you are. And now… she wants all of you.'

This time, the thought coincided with the washcloth pressing between her legs… and it felt different than it usually did. Stronger, more pronounced. Unbidden, a sound escaped from her lips.

"Oh!"

That was too much for the poor blonde. Immediately, she threw the washcloth into the corner and rinsed herself as quickly as she could, put the soap back in its cradle, and turned off the water.

There was a soft knock on the door, Anna's signature five-tap. "You okay in there?" she called through the door.

"Y-yes!" Elsa yelped as if Anna had barged right in, even though the door was firmly shut. "Sorry! I'll be out soon, I'm sorry, Anna!" Yanking the towel from the rack, she stepped out onto the mat as she began to pat down her skin.

There was silence on the other end of the door for a moment. "O-Okay, I was just going to let you know I'm going to step out for a minute to fetch something."

"Oh. Well… alright, Anna. I'll talk to you soon, right?"

"Yeah, I'll be quick." Anna said before walking away, her footsteps fading rapidly until Elsa could hear the door open and close behind her.

Sighing in relief, Elsa finished towelling off and went back into the room. She was almost grateful that she didn't have to face Anna now; not when her last few thoughts had been about their illicit passions.

By the time Anna returned, Elsa was dressed in all but her boots, ready for the last day of the week with the campers. She secretly was glad of it, as she wanted to spend some time figuring out her relationship with Anna. But it would also be good to have a bit of a buffer during the day. Maybe, if she could throw around her thoughts for long enough between distractions, she could figure out what they truly meant to each other. Just sisters, or…

The redhead held a large bar of pure white chocolate out to her sister, smiling tentatively. "Thought you could use something sweet," she offered and gave the bar a little shake. "White is still one of your favourites, right?"

"It is," she laughed as she took the bar. "Thank you, Anna."

Anna's smile grew bigger and she looked delighted. "Awesome!" She gave a little fist pump. "Okay, so what's the game plan today?"

"Well…" Clearing her throat, she began to peel open the chocolate bar. "There's breakfast, which I'm spoiling right now. After that, it's a beach day. Then… I think we're scheduled for that talk given by the representative from the First Nations."

"Alright, sounds good," she said cheerfully as she started running a brush through her hair. "And come on, chocolate is so much better than breakfast!"

Giggling at her sister's enthusiasm, she nearly forgot about everything she had been thinking up until that point. Nearly. Halfway through chewing her bite, it came back to her, and she lost her smile.

"Anna," she began after swallowing, "are you alright? Sorry. What I mean is, is everything alright? With you? This morning?"

Anna faltered only for a minute. "I'm fine." While her tone was a little more subdued than it had been seconds ago, she sounded sincere. "Are you alright?"

"I think so. But after last night, I'm not sure how I can be." Then she swallowed and licked her lips before continued, "B-but we don't have to talk about it right now. I just… just wanted to make sure you weren't… I don't know, upset because I stopped you. Or upset because we went that far, or upset for any reason at all, I guess. I don't know!"

"I'm not upset," Anna said as she reached out to pat Elsa's arm. "Last night was an accident and unless you tell me it's okay, it won't happen again. Because you're not ready, which is fine! I love you, Elsa, I can never be that mad at you." She leaned in and kissed her cheek. "Come on, let's go get the kids."

But before Anna could turn away, Elsa caught her up and pulled her into a tight embrace. She whispered into the side of her neck, "I love you, too, Anna. No matter what happens, I'm not losing sight of that again. That's a promise, Moondrop."

Anna didn't even hesitate hugging her back, letting out a shaky breath of relief that indicated just how thankful she was. "Thank you," she whispered back. "I promise I won't, either."

"Good." As they approached the door, she added onto that, "And thank you again for the chocolate. It's… it was really unhealthy for a breakfast, but also really delicious."

"I'm glad you liked it," she laughed and grinned toothily at her sister. "We all need an unhealthy breakfast from time to time!" She linked her arm with Elsa's and bumped her hip playfully against hers.

"Maybe so," she chuckled under her breath as they walked out.

Within a few minutes they were in the cafeteria, going through the line to get pancakes with syrup and bacon. Elsa couldn't help but feel her heart lighten slightly; Anna wasn't upset with her for calling a halt to their "experimenting" the night before. She had expressed a concern, and Anna hadn't even been hurt for a split second. They were going to be alright.

Or so she thought.

"Elsa? May I speak with you for a moment?" Aurora smiled sweetly as she approached the two, disregarding the confused look Anna gave her and keeping her attention on Elsa. "Alone?"

"Well…" She was too surprised to answer right away. Instead, she glanced over at Anna with a regretful look, as if to say, "Do you mind?" and "I'm sorry" at the same time. Anna shrugged and gave Elsa a light smile.

"I'll just go sit with Punzie. Feel free to join us when you're done with your talk, alright?"

Aurora nodded and grabbed Elsa's arm just a little too tightly, giving her another sweet smile. "Come on. We can talk over by the tree outside, where it's private." With that, the other blonde began to tug Elsa away.

Once they were under the shade of the tree, Elsa sighed and folded her arms over her chest. "Alright, Aurora, what is it?"

"You and Anna seem like rather close friends." The sweetness in Aurora's tone was pretty much completely gone and she gave Elsa a haughty look. "Too close, if you ask me."

"Isn't that the point of camp?" Elsa hedged, still waiting for the true reason for this conversation to become clear. "To get closer to God, and to each other?"

"Grow closer as a church, yes." Aurora crossed her arms. "We all need to learn to love thy neighbour and build strong communities that uphold our faith. However, that's not what I meant by you and Anna being close. And I think you know that."

A sinking feeling began to creep up on Elsa. However, she tried to hold it at bay; there was no possible way she could know anything. After all, their few random encounters that had been not-so-sisterly never happened where people would've been able to see. Aurora was grasping at straws.

"What do you mean, then?" she asked a little coldly.

Aurora sneered, "You two have been awfully snuggly for being just friends, Elsa — Belle told me that she saw you and Anna having a rather intimate picnic last week and Snow mentioned how she overheard some tidbits of a very interesting talk you two were having during the hike. I was willing to shrug all this off; after all, some friends are closer than others. However…" The other blonde's eyes narrowed. "You two kissed last night. That, I can't ignore."

"Belle? Snow?" Elsa breathed first, before her own eyes narrowed. "Wait, what are you talking about? We kissed? How could you have-" She caught herself before finishing that thought, incriminating as it was, but she worried it was too late. "What makes you think I kissed anyone last night?"

"I saw you," Aurora snapped, impatient now but also clearly enjoying the opportunity to come right out and say it. "I forgot my coat in the cafeteria kitchens last night and caught you and Anna kissing! I thought you were a God-fearing woman, Elsa! That's disgusting!"

All of the colour drained from her face. She saw. How could she have? When did-

Then she remembered the noise they had heard, the apron that had fallen off the counter. Of course. Someone else had been there. How could they have been so stupid?! Even though they had every reason to believe no one else could be in the kitchens at that point, there was no way to be sure — not in a public location like that! And now, it was too late. Aurora knew what they had been up to around the campgrounds, even if she only knew one tiny shred of information. That was one shred too many.

"Y-you just didn't know what you saw," she attempted in a hoarse voice.

"While I have been saving myself for the man I marry - unlike you, Elsa - I know what two people kissing looks like." Aurora glared at Elsa as her head shook very slowly. "I'm so disappointed. We all thought you were a devout Christian and I find out you're a-" She couldn't finish her sentence.

She didn't know why she was trying to deny it. Perhaps to protect Anna, or perhaps just to protect herself. But what she said was, "You don't know anything — and even if you did, you have no proof. So I d-don't know what you think you saw, but… and anyway, this is none of your concern!"

"Now I guess we can add lying to the list," Aurora tsk-ed. "It is my concern when it puts the children at risk of learning your habits." She said the word like it was poison on her tongue. "They shouldn't have to be exposed to that, Elsa! It's dangerous for their futures!"

"Maybe if you weren't stalking me, we wouldn't be having this conversation!" she couldn't help hissing angrily, trying to ignore how hot her face was likely growing. "You came to 'get your coat' — what a lie!"

"I want you to put an end to this, Elsa," the honey blonde snapped right back, ignoring the accusation. "Switch cabins and stop talking to her. I swear, if I catch you and Anna so much as looking at each other, I'll tell Father Frollo of your sins and have one or both of you evicted!"

The threat did give Elsa pause. On the other hand, she knew in her higher mind - the one that wasn't terrified at the moment - that Aurora knew nothing, and had no real proof. But if they stopped being careful, if they slipped up and let themselves be caught again, she could easily make proof at any time. All it would take is one incriminating cell phone photo and there would be dark times ahead of them.

"I'm not switching cabins," she told her, voice below zero. "And I'm not going to stop talking to Anna. You are wrong about what our friendship means, and I'm not going to let you… let you drive some wedge between us!"

The other girl drew back, looking surprised. However, it didn't take long for her surprise to melt into a furious scowl. "You met her three weeks ago, as if she means that much to you already." She rolled her eyes disdainfully. "But fine. If you want to be like that, I'll just go find the good Father right now."

"And tell him what? Make wild accusations?" Shaking her head, she took a step forward. "You wouldn't dare. Not when you have no proof. It would just make everyone uncomfortable, all over the camp, and nothing would be proven — there isn't any point, it won't get you anywhere!"

Aurora glared at Elsa for several moments before she nodded. "You're right, I don't have proof," she said. "But it won't be long until you slip up; sin always comes out, and when that happens, I'll have all the proof I need."

An enormous sigh floated out of Elsa. She knew Aurora was right; she had her dead to rights, even if she had zero proof of she and Anna's indiscretions. So she cleared her throat, tucking both hands behind her back. She could be just as much of a "frigid bitch" as the saying went.

"Fine, you seem very convinced. Just tell me what it is you want so I can get on with my day, okay?"

This smile was the worst yet: poisonous and self-satisfied. "I'll keep this brief. If me or any of the girls ask you for any favours, you and Anna have to do them. Simple, yes?"

Elsa was taken aback. After trying to wrap her mind around the statement for a few seconds, she demanded, "Are you… blackmailing me? After all that talk about 'doing what's right'?!"

Aurora shook her head. "That's a rather sinful word. I'm simply trying to make your life easier. The other girls can be rather chatty, you know, and you wouldn't want them chatting to the wrong person. I'm saying that they'll be more likely to keep their language clean if you did some favours in return." She smiled coldly. "A favour in exchange for a favour. Simple math."

For a few seconds, Elsa pondered her situation. She didn't like where it was going… but she also knew that this kind of thing could really ruin her reputation. Hers, and Anna's. That was the last thing either of them wanted, and she had a duty to protect her little sister.

Especially if she's also your girlfriend, that mean little voice in the back of her head whispered. The one that was brutally honest, and she tried to ignore.

"Listen," she hissed at Aurora. "You don't know what you're talking about, and you don't have any proof. But for the sake of keeping the peace… I'll go along with this. Within reason. If you start acting like you own this camp, the deal is off and I'll just find out what happens when you open your mouth."

"Fine. I'll be in touch. Be sure to inform your precious Anna. And do be aware that we'll be keeping an eye open." With that, Aurora left with a sharp strut.

"Who is we?!" she flung at Aurora's back. But she didn't deign to turn or answer. Sighing, she shook her head violently and stomped back inside to her sister.

Anna turned and started to smile at her sister but the smile fell almost immediately upon seeing the dark look gracing Elsa's face. "Elsa? Are you okay?"

"Maybe. Maybe not. Um…"

What was the point in hedging? Seeing no alternative, Elsa told Anna everything, trying to keep her voice as calm and quiet as possible. She stuck to the facts of their situation without bringing her own emotions into it, chaotic as they were. Anna looked livid by the time Elsa was done, her teal eyes burning.

"That's awful!" she declared, forgetting to keep her voice low enough so not to drawn attention to the two of them in her anger. When Elsa shushed her, she leaned closer to whisper, "How dare they threaten you like that?!"

"She's full of hot air," Elsa grunted, cheeks burning in tandem with her anger. "There's no proof. I… I do feel bad that she caught us, but it was dark, she… there's no way she really saw anything. Just that we looked like we were kissing."

Anna huffed and looked around, noticing a few curious glances in their direction before she reached out and grabbed Elsa's arm, giving it a little tug. "Let's go somewhere a little quieter."

"Can we? I thought… well, shouldn't we get back to the campers? After we finish our food, I mean."

Anna's mouthed a silent curse and nodded. "Tonight. We really should discuss this and what we should do."

"We should. For now…" Sighing, she ran fingers through her fringe again. "Okay. Let's just agree to keep denying that any kissing happened. No need to tell lies, that's only going to make things worse, just… tell them they're stupid for believing it. And avoid confirming. That's… that's the best we can do without disappointing God by creating huge falsehoods."

"Okay." She let out a long sigh as she nodded. "I'm sorry for putting you in this position. What are we going to do about the others? Are we just going to… do those 'favours'?"

"Well, I told her 'within reason'. If they start asking us to do anything really humiliating in front of the other campers, I'd say that crosses the line. But if they keep it to simple things…" Shrugging and sighing, she pursed her lips. "This is going to be annoying. Just use your best judgment."

The redhead took Elsa's hand in her own, giving it a warm squeeze. "We'll get through this. What's the worst they can do?"

Famous last words. She gave an optimistic grin, but it was one Elsa did not quite share.

To Be Continued...