Elsa’s scream wrenched her from Sleep’s embrace.

“E-Elsa?! Calm down, just…I’m here, I’m fine! Elsa!” Anna cried, ducking to avoid flailing limbs as her sister thrashed about on the bed. Her eyes were scrunched tight; sweat dripping down her brow, lips curled into a pained grimace. It took some doing and a slap that left her cheek stinging, but Anna was able to straddle the struggling queen, pinning her arms to the bed.



“Elsa! Wake up!”



“–them, I see them…” she heard the blonde mumble, breath manifesting as crystallized puffs as the temperature in the room dropped.



“Elsa, what’re you–”



“I see them, I see them, I see them, I’m sorry!” Elsa suddenly screamed again, her whole body shaking from some nameless fear. “I’m sorry! I-I had to, I had to…to…for…for…”



“Elsa?” Anna whispered fearfully. Whatever was troubling the queen, it wasn’t over the events on the fjord. Her sister whimpered, and Anna tentatively released an arm. When Elsa didn’t flail it around again, she moved her hand to the blonde’s cheek, tracing the small scar on the side of her face.



Blue eyes snapped open, almost glowing under the moonlight streaming in from the window.

“A…Anna?”



“Shhh…it’s okay. I’m here,” Anna soothed, pressing a brief kiss to her lips and brushing the remaining sweat from her regal brow as she pulled away. “You…had a dream. A bad one. You were screaming.”



Elsa’s eyebrows twitched, pain flashing across her eyes, and Anna knew the details were coming back to her.

She licked her suddenly-dry lips. “What…What did you see?”

Elsa closed her eyes, brow furrowing. Her hand pressed against Anna’s back, pushing her down until the princess was fully laying on top of her. Their foreheads met, noses brushing as the room’s temperature returned to normal.

“Elsa…?”



“I saw war.”



The whispered confession almost made Anna’s breath hitch. “From–”

“No. This was different.” Her sister’s eyes opened, a storm in her gaze. “I thought I could push it down, keep it away…forget. It was easy. Back then. There was always another ahead.”



Anna’s fingers traced the scar once more. Questions bubbled up inside, but she kept them down. Elsa wasn’t done speaking.

“Now I’m the only one,” she whispered, voice painfully small. “And it’s coming back.”



“And I’ll be here for you!” Anna insisted, releasing Elsa’s other arm so she could cup her sister’s face with both hands. “You don’t have to face this alone, Elsa! You can…”



…You can tell me.

About what it is you’re hiding.

About what you did.

Elsa shook her head, tears brimming her eyes. “I-I can’t. Not…Not right now.”

“Elsa–”



“Just…Just be here for me?” the queen whimpered, hands coming up to shakily hold her own freckled face. “Just for tonight? I’ll tell you…in the morning.”



A tear escaped.

“I just need to forget. For one more day.”



Anna hesitated, teal eyes searching the glacial blue before her. She saw pain. She saw war. She saw fire and blood and the glint of steel and the bitter frost–

“Okay.”



And Elsa brought their lips together once more.