Author's Note: To those of you who are (or were) fans of The 100, I want to give each and every one of you a hug, because my heart is hurting too. Lexa's cruel, unjust death has deeply impacted me, and I have an overpowering urge to do something about it. As such, my mind keeps pushing me to contribute something to the collective effort to correct this terrible wrong, and as you might expect with the way my mind works, it's a bit unusual. I'll say a bit more about this at the end of this chapter.

Now, on to the next epilogue!

This chapter picks up roughly FOURTEEN YEARS after the previous chapter.

Cover Art for the story is by the incredibly talented Trixdraws from DeviantArt. Thank you again, Trix! Official art for the story is by the wonderful Giulia! Links to both artists and their works can be found on my bio here. Please see Chapter 1 for my Standard Disclaimers!

Feel, Don't Conceal

by Jo K.

Epilogue 3: Red at Morning

Into the distance a ribbon of black

Stretched to the point of no turning back

A flight of fancy on a windswept field

Standing alone my senses reel

Fatal attraction is holding me fast

How can I escape its irresistible grasp

-Pink Floyd, "Learning to Fly"

—O—

"Could you please pass the salmon, mother?" asked Elin, gently running her fingers through Erin's hair where her sister's head was resting in her lap. Erin's eyes were closed in contentment, her hands clasped across her stomach, as she lay comfortably on her back, relaxing at her sister's tender touch.

"Of course," Elsa said with a smile, handing the chilled bowl of smoked fish to her two oldest daughters, now both eighteen and growing into beautiful young women, with Elsa's long platinum blonde hair and Anna's blue-green eyes.

Lise's giggles rolled through the salty air as the youngest member of Arendelle's royal family writhed on the supple surface of the makeshift island as Anna tickled the five-year-old, laughing along as the barefoot girl tossed and squealed beneath her younger mother's nimble fingers.

"I love these picnics," said thirteen-year-old Kari, her long, loose copper hair a perfect match in color for Anna's, just like Lise, although Kari had Anna's blue-green eyes while Lise's eyes were the same striking blue as Elsa's. The middle daughter took a healthy bite of her bread and cheese, moaning lightly at how wonderful the flavors tasted in her mouth. "When are Emilia and her parents supposed to arrive?" she asked, her mouth still chewing. She swallowed then continued, "I mean, I know their flotilla is coming today, but do we have any idea what time?"

Anna gave a sideways glance in Elsa's direction, trying not to smile. "Looking forward to seeing your friend again?" Anna asked politely, taking a drink of water from the ice mug Elsa had created.

"Well, of course," Kari sighed, idly playing with a lock of her hair as she stretched out, her left hand behind her head, slightly propping it up. "Letters only go so far," the young teen said, her voice trailing off as her mind wandered. "You know what I'm talking about, don't you, Jormy?" she asked, releasing her grip on her hair and lowering her right hand to give several loving pats to the shimmering white surface beneath her.

A deep, slow groan echoed through the titanic sea serpent's body where it emerged from the ocean, only a tiny sliver of its body but enough to create a small island large enough for Arendelle's royal family to comfortably enjoy their afternoon picnic. The rest of the fearsome leviathan's great bulk remained below the sea's surface, patiently still as it likewise enjoyed time with its creators and their daughters.

Kari rolled over, her eyes closed and a smile on her face as she spread her arms and did her best to give the great beast a two-armed hug, punctuating it with a kiss on one of its enormous scales, even a single scale much bigger than the girl even with her arms spread wide. "Poor thing," Kari said sympathetically, the taste of salt water agreeably on her lips. "You get lonely at the bottom of the ocean, I know."

A slight shudder, enough to register as a tremor to those currently sitting or lying on Jormungandr, passed through the beast's frame, making Elsa smile and Anna giggle. "He talks more to you than anyone else, I think," Anna said to Kari.

"Because he knows I understand him," the teenager said breezily, giving the beast another attempt at a hug before sighing happily and allowing her body to relax against his icy skin.

Though Kari and Lise did not appear to have Elsa's ice magic like Elin and Erin, the cold deeply loved and respected them as daughters of its mistresses, and it happily protected the two of them from its bitter, withering touch. The two younger daughters had played with Elsa's, Erin's and Elin's icy creations from infancy, handling and tolerating the ice no differently than they did dolls, blocks or other toys.

Kari jumped slightly when she felt Lise's small body settle down beside her, curling up against her side and settling into steady, shallow breathing that indicated the baby of the family was falling asleep.

Elsa watched as the two younger Arendelles visibly relaxed, waiting several minutes until both of them had grown still, their chests rising and falling gently and steadily. She took a deep breath, followed by a long drink of cold water and another bite of salmon on a cracker. She looked first at Anna, then she turned her attention to their two oldest daughters. "May we talk a bit more about what the two of you told us earlier today?" she asked, keeping her voice low and forcing calm into her tone.

"We told you...," Elin said, pausing to take a bite of smoked salmon Erin had lifted to her mouth, her lips brushing against her twin's fingertips very slightly.

"We'll never rule Arendelle as queens," Erin finished for her sister, bringing her left hand back down to rest once more on her chest. "It's not a matter of whether we want to rule, it's simply how it will be."

Elin finished chewing and swallowed. "We'd be honored to rule after the two of you step down far into the distant future, but it's not our choice."

"Fate has something else planned for us," Erin added, reaching up with her right hand to caress Elin's cheek, drawing a warm smile from her twin.

After a brief pause, Anna softly asked, "And you know this how...?"

The twins briefly looked at each other, Erin tilting her head to look up while Elin looked down. "We can't tell you," Erin finally said after a silent debate with her sister.

"Not yet," Elin added quickly. She lifted her head to look at her mothers once more. "But we do know."

Anna slowly stood, rising from Jormungandr's shimmering scales. She walked over to their oldest daughters, then bent over to place a kiss on Elin's head, followed by kneeling to place a kiss on Erin's forehead, drawing soft laughs from both young women. "Your mother and I will always love you no matter what you do or who you become," she said seriously.

"We still plan on living in Arendelle," Elin said, grasping Anna's hand and squeezing it lightly. "You're not getting rid of the two of us. This is our home. We just have to walk a path different than that of our sisters."

Anna smiled and looked over at her and Elsa's other two daughters, sleeping peacefully atop one of the most terrifying creations she and Elsa had ever made. "Kari'll make a great queen too," Anna said proudly. "Even if she does take after me."

Elsa playfully shot a stream of glittering frost in front of Anna's nose, close enough to tickle the tip and make Anna turn to look at her, eyes nearly blue in the current bright light of day. "It's because she takes you after that she'll be a great queen," Elsa said. "She cares with her entire heart, and without fear of consequences."

Erin and Elin shared another brief but meaningful look, a gesture that wasn't lost on their mothers.

"What?" asked Elsa.

The two twins smiled hesitantly at each other before they turned to look at their mothers again. "She will be a great queen..." Erin said.

"...But not for Arendelle," Elin finished.

The nonplussed expression on both of their mothers' faces made Erin and Elin both recoil slightly. "We can't—" Elin started, only to be cut off by her younger mother.

"Tell us," Anna finished, a bit more harshly than she had intended.

"There's the fleet from the Southern Isles!" Elin shouted suddenly, standing so quickly that Erin's head lightly thumped against Jormungandr's scales.

"Ow, El!" Erin moaned lightly, rubbing her head softly.

"Don't think you're getting out of this discussion, little princess," Anna said, her fingers reflexively tightening into loose fists. "Not with a trick like that."

"No, it really is the Islander fleet!" Elin insisted, pointing over Anna's left shoulder.

Anna turned to look at Elsa. "Is she telling the truth, my heart? Or do I have to prove to Princess Elin that I am still quite capable of spanking her?"

"She's telling the truth," Elsa said, trying her best to keep from laughing.

"Emilia's here?!" Kari practically shouted, coming out of her slumber and shooting up to her feet so quickly that she rolled Lise over, the youngest daughter's arms flopping rather limply as she came to a stop.

"Poor thing," Anna sighed, reaching over to rest her hand on Lise, who appeared so unconcerned about her abrupt change of position that she continued to softly snore in her new location.

Elin and Erin both lightly laughed at Kari's excitement. "Yes, she and her parents are here," Elin said. "It'll be a few hours before they dock at Arendelle and disembark, but we could arrange for you to see her sooner..."

"Yes, please please please please!" squealed the middle Arendelle daughter.

"Stand still," Elin said calmly, as Erin silently called for Snow, who was hovering high above the family picnic with her counterpart Sleet, concealed in cloud cover thanks to the twins and their powers. "Arms out," Elin added, smiling as Kari complied.

"This is SO much fun," Kari said excitedly, grinning at her older sisters. "Thank you both for not making me wait."

"Behave yourself," Elsa said. "Everyone knows you're excited to see Emilia again, but don't overdo it."

"I won't, I promise!" Kari managed to say before a shadow fell over her, followed by glistening silvery-white talons grasping her outstretched arms with a delicacy seemingly impossible from a creature such as the large ice dragon, grown over the last decade at a pace equal to that of her master. While still smaller than Icescale and Townprotector, Snow and her sister Sleet were now more than half the size of the older ice dragons, and the still-growing icy beast easily lifted Kari off of Jormungandr's body, carrying the laughing and cheering teenager toward the convoy of ships less than a nautical mile away.

Sleet soared down to match her sister's flight, pulling slightly ahead to lead the way toward the flotilla of Islander ships.

"Hopefully this won't frighten the Islanders too badly," Elsa said, unable to keep from fretting the slightest bit at seeing her middle daughter carried off in the claws of a dragon, even one of her gentle creations.

"Knowing Emilia and her parents, they're most likely already calming their crews down over Jormungandr," Erin volunteered quietly. "He is rather hard to miss, you know."

—O—

Kari loved flying.

It was the most thrilling sensation she had even known, the air zipping over her face, the green blur of the ground or sea shooting far beneath her, her heart racing and chest tight with excitement. Nothing could match the soaring elation she felt when she flew through the sky, either on the back of one of her family's ice dragons or in one's talons.

But recently, the sensations that stirred in some parts deep inside her when she thought of Emilia came close.

Emilia had been her best friend for years, both of them princesses raised in families that were far from traditional in any sense. Both had intimate familiarity with magic and what it could accomplish, for good or for ill. Both of them had been raised to accept that love didn't always require a man and a woman, and both had grown up with strong examples of love in the form of their parents, Elsa and Anna for Kari and Ariel and Eric for Emilia.

As such, Kari had her suspicions as to the true nature of the difficult-to-characterize sensations she felt when around Emilia, or even when she thought of the pretty princess with eyes as blue as a summer sky, hair as red as Ariel's own scarlet tresses, and a mouth that could switch from demure and polite to salty and sassy with a wink of her cobalt eye. Her heart would race, frequently skipping beats and eliciting occasional twinges in her chest when she pictured Emilia's smiling face. Her stomach would become queasy, a deep, vaguely uncomfortable feeling that left her terrified yet thrilled. Her hands would begin to shake and sweat, her lower back would grow cold and clammy, her throat dry and tight as her entire body betrayed her anxiety, and she marveled that no one had yet picked up on how she increasingly stumbled over her words and managed to make an awkward mess of social situations whenever she and Emilia were around any people other than just the two of them.

It was so nerve-wracking, internally inspecting and retroactively considering every little interaction between the two of them. Did she mean to slide next to Kari when they spent the night together, or was it just her tossing and turning in her sleep? Was it careful placement of her hand that caused Emilia's fingertips to gently brush against something lower than Kari's waist when they embraced, or was it just a simple mistake of positioning? Did Emilia's eyes truly convey some feeling more than friendship and happiness when they looked at each other these last few months, or was it merely wishful thinking on Kari's part?

It was exhausting, the constant worry and second-guessing, but right now, in this moment of flying over the ocean toward her best friend, Kari managed to temporarily put aside the bittersweet agonies of adolescence and focus on the joy of feeling truly and overwhelmingly alive.

—O—

Later that evening, after officially welcoming Prince Eric and Princess Ariel of the Southern Isles and their daughter Princess Emilia, a small but happy group of adults wound their way into the game room of Arendelle Castle. The children had been released to their rooms, or at least to find amusement somewhere in the castle, and Anna, Elsa, Ariel, Eric, Arista and Hilde each found a comfortable place to sit in the game room. The small fire burning in the closest fireplace was more for show than for warmth, given the summer season, but the soft crackling and snapping of the fire did provide a comfortable ambiance to the cheerful room.

"When did our girls get so big?" moaned Ariel, flopping backward into the middle of a sofa Eric had already partially claimed.

"When we started getting old," Elsa replied.

"Speak for yourself!" Anna answered quickly. "I'll have you know that I will never be as old as you," she said teasingly, lifting her chin and turning her head away from her wife sitting beside her.

Rather than verbally joust with Anna, although that could be fun in itself, Elsa instead replied by lightly digging her fingers into her wife's right side, tickling her enough to make Anna shriek and jump off the couch.

"We're so glad you could come visit," Anna said to their guests from her new position seated on the floor in front of the couch, pointedly refusing to correct her location.

"We could definitely use the vacation," said Eric, with Ariel nodding as she shifted to lean against her husband. "And gods know Emilia was ready to swim here herself if she had to wait much longer to see Kari."

"How are things in the Isles?" asked Elsa, gently running the fingers of her left hand through Anna's loose hair, causing Anna to lean back against Elsa's leg and hum contentedly.

"Busy but good," Ariel replied. "Things have been stable long enough that the day-to-day activity mostly runs itself, but Eric continues to handle all trade agreements and the fleet, and those duties keep him busy most of the time. I take care of the daily administration of our island and the nearest ones, as well as handle issues with Atlantis."

"Are our sisters there doing well?" asked Arista, her expression pensive.

Ariel nodded, unable to keep her face from darkening slightly at the knowledge that Arista was still banned from their old home. "They're doing fine," she said. Then her face brightened. "But I think you're doing very well," Ariel said pleasantly. "You seem happy, sis."

The smile that crossed Arista's face was genuine as she hugged her wife Hilde a bit tighter. "I am happy," she said honestly. "You gave me a home for several years when I needed one the most, and I will always be grateful for that, but now I've made a home here with an amazing wife who loves me."

Ariel got up and walked across the rug between the couch with her and Eric and the loveseat with Arista and Hilde. "Your happiness makes my world a better place," Ariel said as she bent over and hugged her blonde sister. Once she released Arista, she turned to Hilde. "And you making my sister happy is all I could ever ask for," she said as she hugged her sister-in-law. "Thank you for taking such good care of her."

"You're welcome, Ariel," Hilde said, pleased that she had remembered not to call her sister-in-law "Your Highness" yet again.

—O—

Down the hall, in Kari's room, she and Emilia talked incessantly, catching up on all the things their weekly letters simply couldn't contain. Kari's younger sister Lise danced around the room, twirling two well-worn Anna and Elsa dolls that were much older than any of her siblings, trying to be loud in the manner of a younger sister who doesn't feel like she's receiving quite the share of attention she should be. Kari and Emilia alternated playing with Lise until the youngest princess of Arendelle finally fell asleep and was carried to her bedroom by Jora, the most experienced of the handmaidens in the castle; after that, the two girls retired to bed, laughing and playing under the covers and whispering secrets while screaming laughter into pillows to muffle their voices, so they wouldn't get into trouble for being awake so late.

But down the hall, Erin and Elin were more somber as they lay awake in their bedroom.

"It has to happen," Erin said. "I don't want it to happen that way either, El, but you know it's going to."

"She's going to be terrified," Elin replied, her voice softer than usual, tinged with regret. "Both of them will be." She looked over at Erin. "I know it'll be worth it, and sooner rather than later for them, but I wish there was a less dangerous way it would play out."

Erin rolled over, throwing her right leg across her twin sister's hips and pinning her in place. She grinned as her long, straight blonde hair fell over Elin's face, tickling Elin's nose and making her twin giggle, her thin lips curling into a happy smile as Erin's arms wrapped around her.

"We both know that no one can fight her fate," Erin said, her face hovering just above Elin's. "Not Kari and Emilia, not Lise, not our mothers..."

"And not us," Elin finished for her sister before lifting her head up to meet Erin's gentle lips in a sweet kiss. "I know, Er. I know."

"Then why are we still talking?" asked Erin, smirking down at her lover. They hadn't told their mothers yet, not out of shame or embarrassment—for if anyone could understand how the two sisters had fallen in love with each other, it was surely their mothers—but simply because they wanted to keep the true depth of their relationship to themselves for now. They were still exploring, still learning each other in the most intimate of ways, and they were in no hurry to let anyone else in on their most treasured secret, not just yet.

—O—

Before the sun had even tinged the night sky with pink, Kari and Emilia slipped out of Arendelle castle, eluding the castle guards with a skill Kari had definitely inherited from her younger mother. With practiced silence, the two teenagers made their way to the smallest of the sailboats in the private harbor inside the castle walls, climbing in after releasing the sloop's tethers.

Emilia looked up to examine the morning sky, now beginning to take on a crimson hue as the horizon began to lighten. "It's going to storm, Kari," she said, having some reservations about their planned morning cruise.

"We'll be back before it gets bad," Kari said, busy at work with the sail. She had been interested in the ocean from an early age, and even at just thirteen she was already a capable pilot of the smaller vessels in the royal fleet. "And besides, you're a better swimmer than even I am," she added with a knowing grin.

Emilia rolled her deep blue eyes in response, which made Kari's heart swoop in her chest. She was willing to brave a dozen storms for the chance to have private, quality time with the quirky, charming redhead with whom she had fallen in love.

"Just don't make me have to carry you back to shore if the boat sinks," Emilia called over her shoulder, turning her back to Kari while the copper-haired princess worked at sailing the boat, so as to keep her best friend from seeing the fiery blush suffusing her cheeks.

"But I thought mermaids liked to rescue poor sailors from drowning," Kari teased back. "Or are those stories just tall tales?"

"Those are usually men that mermaids rescue."

"Well, I'd hope you could make an exception for me."

Emilia blushed even harder, her lips pulling away from her teeth as she grinned uncontrollably. Neptune, please don't let her see my face right now. "I can always make an exception for you, Kar," she said, her voice deeper and more watery than normal, causing her nearly to curse at herself for getting so emotional at the thoughts her adolescent mind was forming.

The sudden warmth and pressure on her right cheek made Emilia jump, nearly knocking Kari over before she could pull back from kissing Emilia's cheek. The two girls simply looked at each other for several seconds, both faces glowing with heat as they each struggled to find words.

"I should, uh, get back to sailing the ship..." Kari finally mumbled before turning and hurrying back to the tiller. Her lips were still tingling with the heat of Emilia's cheeks, mixing with excitement at her own boldness.

After a few more awkward minutes, Emilia turned to watch Kari work, admiring her friend's smooth, efficient movements. Kari was wearing a simple white sleeveless dress, revealing slim, lean arms as she gripped the tiller with her left arm and manipulated the rigging with her right while tacking. The wind briskly blew the skirt of her light dress, revealing her lengthening legs, more fair than her arms but no less lovely to Emilia's eyes.

"You want me to show you how to do this?"

Emilia shook herself out of her rapt gaze, seeing the warm smile on Kari's face. "Um, I almost killed us both last time, in case you forgot."

Kari grinned. "Then why don't you just lie back and relax? You can serve the brunch when we get to a pretty spot."

Emilia smiled back. "Deal."

—O—

By the time Kari thought they were far enough out to not be disturbed, the clouds were looking significantly darker. She grimaced slightly as she lowered the sails and dropped anchor, then carefully made her way forward to gently wake Emilia from her nap.

"You are so beautiful," Kari whispered to herself as she gazed down at Emilia's sleeping figure, lightly covered with a thin blanket she had brought from the castle. The blanket I used last night, Kari realized suddenly, and the realization fueled the fire already burning in her chest even hotter.

She didn't deliberately reach out to touch Emilia's cheek, but somehow her hand dropped down anyway, and Kari could only helplessly watch as her own fingers gently, hesitantly caressed Emilia's face. When Emilia sighed and smiled in her sleep, shifting to lean into Kari's touch, the Arendellan princess thought her heart completely stopped.

Only the fluttering of light eyelashes, revealing sleepy sapphire eyes, was enough to restart Kari's trembling heart. Then the adoring smile that stretched across Emilia's face nearly stopped it again.

"You don't have to stop."

The breathy voice of Emilia still half-asleep made Kari realize that she still had her fingers against Emilia's left cheek. "Oh!" she yelped, jerking her hand back quickly enough to smack her right elbow on a metal cleat. "Snowballs!" she shouted, now cradling her throbbing elbow.

"You need to be more careful," Emilia said, her eyes dancing as she reached out for Kari's arm. "We can put some ice on it when we get back."

"Would be nice to have my mom's powers right now," Kari grumbled.

"Oh, but I like you just the way you are," Emilia whispered as she gently kissed the knuckles of Kari's right hand. As the wind blew across the small sloop, Emilia looked up, scowling as she took in the look of the sky. "We need to eat fast," she said. "We're not going to get back before it starts to rain."

"Is getting wet a problem for you?" Kari asked playfully, then she immediately clamped her left hand over her mouth. "Please forget I said that," she mumbled beneath her hand.

Emilia couldn't help but blush yet again; it was amazing that she hadn't fainted from all the blood seemingly perpetually concentrated in her face. She looked down at the boat's deck briefly, but when she looked back up, she found herself looking at Kari's thin white dress in an entirely different light. "Actually, I'm not going to mind the rain at all, I don't think," Emilia said confidently.

—O—

"Do you know where Kari and Emilia are?!"

Elin groaned at the loud voice rousing her and Erin from sleep. She shifted slightly, pulling the sheet tighter to her bare chest while at the same time tugging it over to cover Erin's chest as well, while she slowly rolled over and off of her sister. She found herself lying on her back, looking up at two scowling faces that happened to belong to their mothers. "They were talking about doing something together today," Elin mumbled, trying to wake up enough to carry on a coherent conversation.

"They probably left the castle to go on a picnic or something," Erin said sleepily as she turned toward Elin, sliding over until she could snuggle against her sister, draping her arm across her torso and nuzzling her face into Elin's neck with a happy sigh. "They'll come back soon," she mumbled against Elin's throat.

Anna and Elsa both looked at each other knowingly; those movements were very familiar to the two of them. Elsa looked at Anna, raising an eyebrow in silent question; Anna replied with a teasing smirk and a look of nonchalance.

"We'll leave you two be," Anna said pleasantly as she bent down, placing a kiss on each girl's head.

Elsa did the same, whispering a soft, "We love you," as she stood back up and took Anna's hand.

"Love you too," came two sleepy replies as the two Queens quietly left their oldest daughters' rooms.

As Elsa closed the heavy door, she smiled as she met Anna's bright gaze. "Well, that explains a lot," Elsa said calmly.

"To say the least," Anna replied. "They could still take the throne once we're gone, though. Arendelle accepted our love for each other. They'd accept the twins loving each other too."

Elsa looked thoughtful, getting a faraway look in her eyes that Anna loved. "There's something more to it than that, Anna. They have their reasons, and they'll tell us when they're ready." She turned to look back at her wife. "Just like they'll tell us about this new level of their relationship with each other... when they're ready."

Anna slipped her right arm through the crook of Elsa's left. "Well, I'm just happy that they've both found someone who loves them and will treat them like the precious young ladies they are."

Elsa sighed, low and long. "Our babies are growing up, my heart," she said wistfully.

A matching sigh came from her side. "So are we," Anna said softly. "Someone turns forty in a few months."

Elsa turned her head to glance at Anna. "And someone else needs to be quiet about that, or she might be sleeping by herself for a night or two."

"Pffft," Anna puffed, trying not to laugh out loud. "Like you'd ever kick me out of our bed. And I'll be there in just two-and-a-half years, anyway."

They walked in comfortable silence for a bit longer, making their way down the hallway of their residential floor, then descending the grand spiraling staircase to the main floor. The bustle of servants and workers going back and forth brought smiles to the faces of both queens, as it reflected the everyday state of affairs in Arendelle castle now.

"Can you believe it's our twentieth anniversary coming up?" asked Anna, leaning her head against Elsa's bare shoulder.

"Feels like the fortieth," Elsa said quietly, keeping the smirk off her lips.

"Hey!"

—O—

"Okay, so I might have waited a little too long before bringing us back in!" Kari shouted, trying to be heard over the blowing storm that was tossing the small sloop up and down. She was straining to keep control over the small watercraft, and with the wind screaming into the sails and waves lifting the ship several feet in the air before suddenly dropping away beneath them, she was being taxed to her limits.

They could finally see Arendelle, although they were at least another hour out, given good sailing conditions. But these conditions were the diametric opposite of good. The pounding waves of rain and surging waves had drenched both girls, but Emilia found herself too afraid for Kari to take any voyeuristic thrill in the girl's sodden dress. Emilia at least didn't have to worry about drowning, but Kari...

"Do you think we should just drop the sail and try to ride it out?" Emilia asked, having to yell as well despite Kari just being several feet away.

Kari had been trying to sail them into the storm valiantly, but it was just too much for her. She nodded, hands aching, shoulders burning with the exertion. "I think so," she said, standing to reach for the halyard line to the mainsail.

"LOOK OUT!" Emilia screamed.

Kari turned just in time to see a massive wave break directly against the mast and her alike. The sickening snapping sounds of the mast breaking and the hull cracking were all she could hear before the rushing tide slammed into her, carrying her over the side of the boat.

Kari immediately tried to swim upward, but a jerk on her right arm, followed by the sensation of something tightening around her right ankle, kept her from using that side of her body. She tried to pull herself upward, but she felt herself being drawn downward by something that had twisted itself around her right leg. She could see a splash of white above her as she looked up toward the surface, steadily rising away from her.

Emilia swam downward as fast as her mermaid form allowed, easily catching the terrified Kari. With magically keen eyesight, sharpened to see in the depths of the ocean, she could easily determine the predicament her best friend was in. The line holding the anchor had tied itself around Kari's right lower leg, and it was now tugging her inexorably downward. Further complicating matters, the rigging of the sails had seized Kari's right arm when the mast snapped from the impact of the wave, and despite her desperate struggles, she couldn't get free.

The anchor silently struck the silty bottom with a murky cloud boiling out around it. It wasn't terribly deep here, but it was more than deep enough for Kari to drown.

Emilia started to cry as she began to claw at the line cinched around her friend's right ankle. She didn't have a knife with her, and in her own desperation she tried to gnaw at the stout rope, with no success.

She floated upward sadly, looking into the frightened blue-green eyes of the girl she loved. Kari's cheeks were still puffed out, so she had been able to at least draw in a deep breath before going under, but she was panicking with her air running out. Her eyes were filled with sadness and longing, and Emilia sobbed once more as she gently reached out and held Kari's cheek tenderly.

Suddenly Emilia's eyes popped open wide, startling Kari. The mermaid shot upward, a trail of bubbles following her rapid ascent. Kari tried to see where she was going, but her eyes weren't made for seeing in the darkness of the sea. Lungs burning, eyes stinging, cheeks aching, she tugged and yanked with her right arm and right leg furiously, but nothing would yield.

Then the scarlet cloud of Emilia's hair floating was back in front of her, filling her blurry field of vision. Kari took in Emilia's bright blue eyes, for what would be the last time. She had never told Emilia that she loved her, and that was the one thing she would regret for eternity, she thought to herself as she blew out the last of her air.

And then Emilia's lips were upon hers, and her own lips were being forced apart, and then, and then...

She felt the breath of air Emilia had taken pass into her own mouth, into her own lungs, and it felt nearly as sweet as the knowledge that she was kissing the girl she had fallen in love with. As the blackness creeping around the edges of her vision began to slow its advance, she saw Emilia's smiling face looking back at her, the promise of more inherent in her deep blue eyes.

As Emilia swam upward to get another breath, Kari tried to calm her racing heart, but with no success. When Emilia returned and shared a second breath with Kari, Kari reached forward with her left hand and carefully gripped the side of Emilia's head, holding her close enough for them to stare into each other's eyes while they kissed and shared breath. Kari's ears were ringing, her chest was still throbbing, her right arm and right leg were painfully constricted, but she didn't care.

She was still alive, and she was in love.

When Emilia swam up to get another breath, Kari allowed herself to inspect her right arm first; it was trapped by a loop in the line still attached to the jumbled, broken mess of the sails, swirling slowly with the current flowing around them. She needed a knife, or something similarly sharp to cut both her arm and her leg free, as not even she and Emilia together could lift the anchor to the surface.

Emilia returned with another breath, smiling joyfully as she pressed her lips to Kari's once more, giving her friend another minute or two of life.

The sound of impact above them drew the attention of both girls, with only a few precious bubbles of air escaping between their lips in their surprise. Emilia could see the two gleaming white objects diving toward them before Kari could, but as soon as Kari registered their color, she knew who it had to be.

Snow and Sleet, she thought with immense relief.

The two ice dragons split as they reached the girls, with one diving lower to snap the line attached to the anchor with her sharp teeth while the other more carefully used her talons to sever the rope tied around Kari's right arm, taking care not to cut either girl in process. As soon as she was free, Kari wrapped her arms around Emilia's chest, holding tightly as the mermaid surged upward toward the surface, her body undulating to propel their ascent.

They broke the surface so forcefully that they shot a few feet into the air, causing Emilia to abruptly cry, "Eeep!" and twist her body to shield Kari from the impending splash when they came back down.

It was the most wonderful sound Kari thought she had ever heard.

—O—

Several hours later, Kari was resting comfortably in her bed, with Emilia, back in her human form, cuddled up against her, arms securely around her best friend and new girlfriend. The two of them were fast asleep, exhausted both physically and emotionally from their ordeal earlier that day.

Elsa sighed as she carefully closed the door, shooing Anna out of the way so she could do so. Once the door was closed, she turned to face Ariel and Eric, standing behind them in the hallway. "I'll make sure one of Kari's handmaidens stays with them tonight," Elsa said. "Both in case they need anything as well as to make sure that certain... proprieties are respected."

"Not saying anything bad about either of our girls," Anna added quickly. "It's just better to not give them an opportunity for temptation."

Ariel nodded, as did Eric. "After Kari nearly dying today, it wouldn't surprise me if they tried to rush into something they weren't ready for," she said pleasantly. "We appreciate you guarding our daughter's virtue," she added with a grin.

The four of them began walking down the hallway toward the main staircase. The sun was still up, but evening was approaching quickly, and the afternoon glow was beginning to take on hints of orange and pink.

"So should we start talking about the wedding arrangements now or later?" Eric said as they reached the staircase, eliciting giggles from Elsa and Ariel and outright laughter from Anna.

"Well, personally, I think we should wait until the two of them are both awake and present, just so we can get the maximum amount of embarrassment out of such a discussion," Ariel shot back, grinning madly.

"So maybe breakfast?" asked Anna, a gleam in her eyes. "Kari's sisters should be there as well."

Elsa shook her head slightly. "You two are terrible influences on each other," she said, lifting Anna's hand to her lips and kissing it. "Too much alike for everyone's good, especially mine and Eric's." Still smiling, she looked at Ariel's husband. "Prince Eric, I hereby give your daughter Emilia permission to court my daughter Kari," Elsa said pleasantly, smiling when Eric offered her a slight bow in reply as he played along.

"I graciously accept on behalf of Emilia, and I extend the same permission for Kari to court Emilia as well, Your Majesty."

Elsa looked around at her wife and their two friends. "I think that no matter what relationship Kari and Emilia decide is right for them, we're all blessed with such good friends," she said happily. "But maybe we should put up at least a hint of disapproval, so they don't realize we'd all be happy with them getting married ten years down the road."

"Ha!" Anna laughed. "You think they're gonna wait that long, Elsa?"

"Well, at least five years," Ariel added. "They still have quite a bit of growing up to do, especially after that stunt this morning."

Elsa nodded her head in agreement. "They do," she agreed. "But I think today helped them make up their minds on a few points, at least." She stepped forward, reaching out to take Eric's and Ariel's hands. "And most seriously..." she said, her eyes beginning to frost with tears as she struggled to maintain control. "Emilia saved our daughter's life today, keeping her alive until Sleet and Snow could free her from the wreckage. That is a gift we can never repay fully."

"Elsa..." Eric said gently. "There's nothing to repay. If it weren't for the two of you, Ariel and I would both be dead and our nation under the thumb of a madman."

"Absolutely," Ariel added with a nod and a smile. "So knock off this nonsense about you owing us anything."

Eric reached out to take Anna's hand with his free right hand. "If anything, maybe let Kari come visit more frequently. I know Emmy would appreciate that, especially from this point forward."

"I think that can be arranged," Anna said. "After her grounding is over. Her taking that boat out without telling anyone or asking permission was incredibly dangerous."

A sudden snort startled everyone present; heads quickly turned to look at Elsa, whose complexion was growing shockingly red before she covered her mouth and her lower face with her hands. "I'm sorry," Elsa mumbled from behind her fingers, "but hearing Anna gripe about someone doing something reckless was just too much for me."

"Hey, she's your daughter, too," Anna jibed back at Elsa, lightly shoving Elsa's left shoulder. "You can't blame me for everything she gets into."

"No," Elsa agreed. "Just most of it."

"Mommy..." came a sleepy voice from behind them, making the four royals stop and turn around. Shuffling toward them was a very sleepy Lise, dragging what looked like a white stuffed animal of some sort in her left hand and rubbing her eyes with her right hand.

"Aww," Ariel said as Anna and Elsa looked at each other for a moment; after what was apparently a silent discussion between the two, Elsa began to walk toward the drowsy princess, whose soft green nightshirt nearly reached her little feet.

"She sleepwalks sometimes," Anna said quietly to Ariel and Eric as the three of them watched Elsa kneel down and pick up her youngest daughter, holding her to her chest as she walked back to the other three. "She's probably not even awake."

Elsa rejoined the other three, humming softly as she gently swayed, rotating slightly to one side and then the other while holding Lise. No one said anything until the sleeping girl dropped her toy.

"I'll get it," said Eric, kneeling to pick up the white doll, only to release it halfway through standing up. "Whoa!" he said, managing to control his voice and not shout. "That's cold."

"Well, it's snow," Anna said with a grin, smoothly kneeling and retrieving the toy. "Elsa's magic holds it together and keeps it from melting. It's super soft and great to cuddle with, as long as you're on good terms with the cold. Lise and Kari haven't inherited Elsa's powers, but the cold still loves and protects them, for which we're very thankful." Anna held up the toy, an anthropomorphic creature with a massive torso, disproportionately skinny arms and legs but large, blocky fists and feet; its head was crude and similarly blocky, with a wide line for a mouth. "It's a doll version of one of Elsa's first creations. He helps take care of our ice palace on the mountain."

"He seems..." Ariel said, trailing off as she thought. "Unique."

Anna and Elsa both smiled. "He is," Elsa said quietly. "If you two don't mind, Anna and I need to go tuck Arendelle's youngest princess back into her bed," she said to their guests; Anna moved to take Lise from Elsa, shifting the sleepy redhead with Elsa's blue eyes to her right shoulder.

"Absolutely," Ariel replied, with Eric agreeing quietly. "I look forward to seeing what excitement tomorrow brings," she said, a teasing gleam in her deep blue eyes.

"Whatever that may be," said Elsa, returning Ariel's smile and taking Anna's free hand, "we'll all face it together."

—O—

Author's Afterword: Hey, this is the next-to-last chapter! I've really thought about making one more, just to make the final chapter count be thirty instead of twenty-nine, but I'm not sure. We'll see.

I've started a new story with Elsa and Anna, too! It's a crossover with Clarke and Lexa from The 100, and I would love for any of you to check it out and tell me what you think! I've never done an official crossover before, and it's a bit different in terms of getting a feel for it. Overall the story should feel very much like FDC, and I'm aiming for about 12-15 chapters at this point. (But we all know how that goes with me making estimates.) The Elsa and Anna in "Our Fight Is Not Over" are the same ones from this story, set when Elin and Erin are both thirteen, so five years before this chapter took place. Right now it's more Clarke/Lexa-heavy for the first two chapters, but we should be on equal footing between Clexa and Elsanna by the fourth chapter. You do not have to be a viewer of The 100 to enjoy the story, and I'm trying very hard to write a story that reads smoothly for people who have never watched the show. Let me know what you think of it if you do give it a try.

Hope you've enjoyed this chapter! See you soon!