Elsa hadn't let go of her for hours. The two of them were still spooning on a mattress in front of the fireplace; Anna was still too cold to go anywhere else. They were alone for the moment, the royal physicians having left the room to give them privacy, but at least one medical professional was waiting nearby. The Queen was adamant that the staff be ready to assist Anna on a moment's notice.

"You don't have to stay here," the Knight protested weakly. Elsa and heat didn't mix. The Queen was sweating noticeably, and the warmth from the flames was clearly making her uncomfortable. She could have cooled down the temperature, of course, but Elsa wasn't taking any chances where Anna was concerned.

The Queen's only response was to tighten her hug.

Anna was certainly enjoying her Queen's love and attention. She always did. Unfortunately, the Knight also knew that there were many serious matters that required Elsa's attention, not the least of which was dealing with his betrayal.

"Elsa, you need to-"

"I'm here as long as you're here," the Queen promised. "It's going to take a full scale invasion to drag me away from you," she whispered to the wounded Knight. Despite all that had happened, Anna couldn't help but let out an amused laugh.

She turned around to face her lover...ignoring the spasm of pain that came as a result. "Elsa, I love being your favorite subject, but I'm not your only subject," Anna reminded her. "I'm going to be fine; Arendelle needs you."

Even through the Queen certainly knew she was right, it still took several minutes for Elsa to finally sigh reluctantly. "Fine; I'll be gone for twenty minutes. That's it. I'll have Anton come and watch you. You need anything...food, water, me...tell the staff and they'll get it for you straight away. Don't hesitate to ask for something; you're injured and they're servants and this is their job. Understand?"

It would be entertaining to watch Elsa lose her usually unflappable demeanor if only the Queen's loss of composure hadn't been brought about by a near death experience. "Of course. Now please, go spend a few minutes running the most powerful nation on earth." Anna would have gladly gone up and walked with her, but the doctors estimated that it would be at least a few days before she would be strong enough to walk.

Considering that they didn't even comprehend how she was alive, Anna had found the capacity within her to take the news in good spirits. For now.

"Arendelle is fine for the moment," Elsa replied. "But Evangeline needs to speak with me, and apparently it's urgent." She sighed. "I appreciate her efforts helping you, but I wish she could have picked a better time to talk. It doesn't sound like she has news of any imminent threat."

Anna's face paled. She had wanted to delay this talk until both of them were in a better emotional place...and she was strong enough to raise herself off a mattress. Despite all the time they had spent together, Anna didn't know how well the Queen was going to take the news about her being a divine being. Yet that was almost certainly what Evangeline wanted to discuss, even if she (unlike Anna) had no proof to back up the conspirator's claims.

Still, if Elsa was going to learn this from anyone, it should be her.

"Wait, before you talk to her...there's something I have to tell you. It's, uh, pretty big. Maybe you should sit down for a few more minutes." Despite the ominous tone of Anna's words, Elsa smiled before sitting back down in front of her. It gave the Queen an excuse to remain in the room.

The Knight bit her lip, mentally debating how to proceed. Should she slowly work up to the truth, or just be blunt and get straight to the point? Of course, Anna being Anna, the longer she held off from being direct, the more likely she was to ramble.

Blunt option it was.

"Elsa, I promise you that this changes nothing between us. You're a selfless, heroic Queen who would never do anything to hurt an innocent being. No matter what, I know that for certain. I'm not sure if you ever suspected this, or knew it...I don't think you did." Seeing the lines of worry begin to appear in the Queen's face, Anna forced herself to regain coherency. "I love you, and this does absolutely nothing to make me want to be with you. If anything, it just makes you more awesome. Anyway, Elsa, you're a, uh, a Goddess."

There, Anna thought with a sigh of relief. The truth was out, and it couldn't be taken back.

"Excuse me?" Elsa demanded.

Of course, there was still a lot of explaining to do. "The reason Drell and his people were trying to kill you," Anna began. "They think that you're the reincarnation of a Goddess. The last Goddess who had been left on earth after a civil war, actually. She was in power for a while, but her human followers turned on her and all but destroyed her with a sneak attack coupled with a powerful spell. But you can't actually destroy a Goddess, so her essence was scattered to the wind. A prophecy predicted that it would find its way into a human infant two thousand years later. It's been two thousand years, and you...fit the description."

The Queen stared at her as if she had gone mad. "I'd better call Anton," Elsa decided. "Your fever's acting up."

"It's true, Elsa! Evangeline will tell you the same thing. Drell told me all of it. But I know something that Evangeline doesn't. Which is...they're right. I mean, they're wrong about you retaining your memories and planning on taking over the world again...they think that too, by the way...but you are a Goddess."

Elsa was silent for a few moments. "How?" she asked simply.

"Ever since we've met, I've had some very weird yet coherent dreams. Four of them, to be exact. One: the end of the Gods' civil war. Two: the goddess's followers destroying her...which was barbaric. Three: the goddess remaining on earth thanks to a barrier of ice as the rest of her kind was banished. Four: the prophecy being told by a human Seer. I mean, I only heard parts of it, but still. I'd assumed they were just strange dreams, but each one correlated exactly with Drell's account of the past, even though I never mentioned them at all to him," Anna explained.

The Queen shook her head. "No. I'm sorry Anna, but you have to just be imagining things. Even if those things were true, why would you be having those visions? Shouldn't I be the one having them?"

Chewing her lip, Anna thought it over. "Maybe," she agreed. "But remember, you've been pumping your magic into me for months. Even if we don't understand how, we know that my magic comes from yours. There's a magical link between us; that's probably why I can see the past. It was just like the vision you had of Norgate...I remember it completely and it made total sense."

Elsa's eyes fell to the floor. "Anna, I don't know." She replied indecisively.

"Think about it," the Knight replied thoughtfully. "Your magic is more powerful than any recorded in history, and it's certainly stronger than what anyone we've encountered is capable of. You even gave me magic, and I'm probably more powerful than anyone we've met except for you. And out of all of us, you're the only one who has more than one ability."

A moment of silence passed between them.

"Elsa, you asked me to trust you about your vision of Norgate. Now I'm asking you to trust me when I say that I've had visions. I'm ninety-nine point five percent certain that you're a Goddess. When you think about it, it makes a lot of sense," Anna noted. The Queen's incredible powers, Anna's visions, the fanatic conspiracy desperate to bring Elsa down, and the Knight's own abilities...they all led to the same conclusion.

"I'm not immortal, Anna," the Queen pointed out.

"Yeah...there's an explanation for that too," Anna admitted. "The prophecy said that you would be reincarnated 'weaker in body'. Obviously, you haven't regained your full powers. It also said...and this is why they want to kill you...that you'll get them back when your domain covers the entire world. So, if you conquer the world, you'll become a full Goddess again."

Elsa looked at her skeptically. "Are you saying they have a point?" she questioned.

Anna shook her head hurriedly. "Of course not. I'm saying that I believe that they believe what they say they believe. Meaning, I think they're telling the truth. The only point I think they're wrong on is that you retain your memories, and that you were an evil Goddess. They're fanatics, traitors, and reactionaries, but I don't think they're insane lunatics."

Using all her energy, she leaned forward and took the Queen's lips in a soothing kiss. "None of this matters. I love you more than anything and I know you're not evil. Still, we should probably keep this just between us...no sense in scaring anyone else. Or encouraging them to build churches to you, which I doubt you'd like."

Elsa finally offered her a wry smile. "Are you sure? I thought you wanted to be my high priestess?"

The Knight frowned. "True," she agreed. "How about we make a church, but don't tell anyone else and just keep it between the two of us? You the Goddess, and I your one, utterly devoted follower. That way, I'll have you all to myself." You know what, maybe that's not such a bad idea...

For a moment, the Queen's light laughter rang around the room. "Maybe," she said with a wink. "But you're right, this should stay between us. Evangeline and her men may have heard what Drell said, but there's no point in letting on that he's not entirely wrong."

Warm relief swept through Anna. Elsa seemed to be believing her, and she was taking the revelation well, all things considered.

"It's a shame, though," the Knight said half-seriously. "Obviously, taking over the world would cause chaos and be very wrong...but I would have enjoyed seeing your powers at full strength."

Elsa nodded, staring out at the window thoughtfully. "You and me, ruling Arendelle together as immortals. It doesn't sound too bad, does it? I think our citizens might actually come around to it. Unfortunately, the rest of the world definitely wouldn't." Anna dipped her head in agreement. Elsa probably could conquer the world using her powers alone...no army could stand against them. But countless millions would probably die resisting, and the citizenry across the world would always see her as a foreign conquer. And the reaction from the world's churches...gods.

"It's just...sad. Of course, I'm glad that the conspiracy appears to have been quashed, but...it was all so pointless in the end," the Queen mused. "How many died thanks to their efforts to kill me? And for what? The ironic thing is, their goal, at least at its core, was noble. And yet hundreds perished for something that in the end was completely pointless. If they had never moved against me, they would have had nothing to fear."

"Yeah..." Anna agreed with a sigh. It was hard to feel triumph when the entire mess could have been avoided with no one being any worse off.

Then Elsa smiled again. "Still, I'm happy for one reason."

"I'm alive?" Anna offered.

The Queen winced. "Okay...two reasons. For one...yes, you're alive. But your entire life has been defined by poverty and loneliness. I wanted to fix those things...and I did. But immediately afterwards, those problems were replaced by a conspiracy doing everything in its power to kill both of us. Now, finally, I can give you the happy life you deserve."

They embraced again, snuggling for several more minutes before Elsa finally went to hear Evangeline's report. It wasn't until the Queen had left the room that Anna grasped the full implications of what Elsa had said.

Ruling Arendelle together. Gods, is she finally going to...?

\

Six hours later, Elsa was sitting at her bedroom desk getting some work done. Progress was slow, however, due to the concerned glances she directed at the slumbering Knight nearby. Anna was still in front of the fire and too pale for comfort, but the steady rising and falling of her chest was very reassuring to the monarch.

She had a lot to think about. First, there was the matter of what to do with Drell. His guilt would be revealed to the Castle and the country at large just as soon as Anna had recovered sufficiently to stand at Elsa's side. And then... By all rights, he should be executed. His guilt had been admitted in front of six trusted witnesses, and he wasn't exactly recanting his confession. His crimes more than warranted the death sentence.

The thought brought Elsa's focus back to one who had once been faced with the same punishment. Anna was furious with Drell, that much was clear, but that didn't mean the Knight would enjoy seeing her mentor hang from a noose.

Yet there were things other than Anna's happiness that the monarch had to take into consideration. The Arms Master was responsible, indirectly or not, for the deaths of dozens of innocent people...including Kai. To not punish him adequately would be to shame their memories, and the idea of letting Kai's killer off lightly made Elsa's blood boil.

No one understands how hard this can be.

Still, perhaps execution wasn't the smartest option. Drell almost certainly had useful information...information that would take time to extract. He was the leader of the conspiracy after all, and he almost certainly knew each and every one of its remaining members.

Slowly, an idea came into her mind. Drell would be excellent bait for the few remaining conspiracy members out there. If there was one thing Elsa could give this group, it was that they were loyal to their cause. It wouldn't surprise Elsa if they tried to rescue their leader.

She could keep him in the Tower, Arendelle's most secure long-term prison. There, he could be interrogated and kept away from any sympathetic members of the Castle's staff. Elsa would make this arrangement known. If any of his compatriots tried to rescue him, they would find themselves confronting an extra security detail that the Queen would secretly assign near Drell's cell.

It was a perfect solution. He would suffer greatly in the Tower, yet Anna would not need to put herself through watching his death. Elsa would have to make sure that only the most trusted guards and agents were assigned to handle his transfer and security; they could not afford another Jocasta.

And then there was Eldora.

Gustav's death was a shock, and the Queen couldn't help but wonder how Marisol was handling her father's passing. The two of them had shared something of a friendship during the times that they had met, and Elsa knew what a gentle soul the Princess (soon to be Queen) possessed.

Now that Elsa had come to full understanding of her sexual orientation, she could admit to herself that Marisol had a very attractive figure. The Princess could not rival Anna's beauty, but Elsa felt no shame in admitting that she admired Marisol's good looks.

This would be kept to herself, of course. And in the very likely event that Anna herself came to appreciate Marisol's physique (and given the Knight's astounding lack of subtlety,) Elsa would be able to play the jealous card if Anna felt like roaming the Eldoran Palace instead of spending time alone with her Queen.

By the gods, I really am a horrible person.

It took one week to travel from Arendelle to Eldora by sea, and that meant their delegation would need to leave within thirty days. This was a major public event, rather than a secret private meeting, and thus would require a massive delegation on Arendelle's part. Partially as a show of prestige, and partially to accommodate over a month at sea and in a desert country, a large collection of maids, servants, guards, officials, and advisors would have to accompany the Queen.

Eldora was a small kingdom with nothing more than an adequate military. Half of its landscape was a desert, but the sands hid vast quantities of precious metals and other valuable resources. With its southern neighbors hungrily eyeing its territory, Eldora had been desperate to form a military alliance.

Enter Arendelle. Early in his reign, Elsa's father had formulated a pact between the two kingdoms that endured until this day. None of Eldora's neighbors were eager to risk the wrath of Arendelle's unstoppable navy, and King Gustav had only been too happy to offer a generous trade package in exchange for an alliance. With Marisol's ascension to the throne, Elsa would have to make it clear that the agreement between the two countries would continue to remain in force.

Of course, there were some upsides to the trip. Eldora was a beautiful land, at least the part of it that wasn't covered in sand. In fact, its famed Cascade of Waterfalls might be the perfect place to ask the question.

And...there was the small matter of her being a Goddess.

Evangeline's account of Drell's words had matched Anna's completely. The Knight had seemed utterly sure that she had had prior visions confirming Drell's accounting of the past. In a way, it did all make sense. Elsa's power...her ability to use multiple types of magic. Perhaps Anna wasn't going through a delirious fever dream.

And deep inside her, the Queen sensed the truth of the matter. She wasn't sure if it was simple intuition or actual instinct...maybe some part of her had always suspected that she was more than human. To that part of her, the idea of being a Goddess just felt right.

In the end, it didn't truly matter. The conspiracy was all but defeated, and their motivations (pure as they might be) were for naught. Elsa had no intention of conquering the planet. According to their prophecy, if she didn't make the entire world her 'domain', she would remain mortal. The knowledge of her divinity ultimately changed nothing.

Still, she wasn't sure what to think about it. Right now, there was no purpose in angsting over the matter. She was still Elsa, Goddess or otherwise, and the only memories inside her head were her own.

\

"It's been three days, Kristoff!" Anna complained. "I know Elsa's worried about me and all, but I know my own body! It won't be long before I'm walking around without so much as a limp," she declared.

The ice harvester smirked skeptically. They were sitting in one of the Palace's private parlors; Anna having been practically carried from her bedroom to this sofa by a company of Royal Guards. The Knight had made sure that Kristoff was aware that she was all right as soon as she'd woken up, since he hadn't been allowed into the Castle following his release from captivity. Evangeline was a paranoid woman, it seemed.

Anna had asked Elsa if she could invite him over as soon as she was strong enough to get out of bed.

"Elsa, is it alright if I ask Kristoff to come by for a bit?" she questioned. "I mean, I know security's pretty tight right now, but..."

The Queen silenced her by placing a finger on Anna's lips. "You don't have to ask me," Elsa said. "This Castle is your home as much as it is mine; you have the right to invite whoever you please. Of course, I trust that you'll only extend an invitation to people who are trustworthy."

They'd been talking for a while now. Though shaken by the experience, Kristoff was unharmed for the most part. His sprained ankle was healing nicely, and with Elsa having just given him a dose of magic after he arrived, it would be back to normal in no time.

The monarch hadn't stayed around, unfortunately. Her schedule was a hectic one. Drell's involvement in the conspiracy was going to be revealed to the public at large the next day, and the Arms Master was still being interrogated.

Anna wanted nothing to do with it. She didn't want to know anything about his situation. Drell was dead to her; she never wanted to see or hear of him again. Elsa and Evangeline could handle him, and the last thing the Knight wanted to do was learn about their interrogation tactics. She doubted that they were pleasant.

"So...how's business going?" Anna asked. They'd been talking about the conspiracy for a while now, and frankly Anna had had enough of the subject. Though she trusted Kristoff, Anna wasn't going to tell him about Elsa's divinity. She'd allowed him to believe that Drell had simply been talking nonsense. The decision to tell or not tell anyone was the Queen's choice to make.

Kristoff smiled slightly. "It's going well enough. I'm still learning the ins and outs, but the profits are flowing in nicely. And I still have plenty of cash in reserve left over from the Queen's 'reward'. I still plan on paying her back, though."

Anna groaned.

"We can argue about that when the time comes," he offered. "Anyway, whatever happened with the Queen and Pabbie? Did she get something to remove your memories?" Kristoff questioned.

The Knight sighed. "No. Pabbie told her that losing memories...even those memories...could change who I am as a person. Elsa wasn't wiling to take the risk. Part of me wishes she was, but I suppose that she's the Queen. She gets to make those decisions," Anna said with some bitterness. "Anyway, I guess it's not as necessary any more. The conspiracy's over; we're probably not going to be attacked any time soon. Plus, just knowing that those responsible for what...happened to me...are behind bars helps a little. Looking into a flame still makes my stomach turn, but I haven't had any flashbacks since Drell was arrested."

Kristoff nodded. As he did so, a spasm of pain shot through her thigh. The wound was still healing, and every now and then the pain flared up once again. With a moan, Anna fell back farther into the sofa.

"Ugh! I am so tired of just sitting around," she complained. "I wish Rapunzel was here."

\

The next few weeks passed by in a blur. Nearly everyone in the Castle was shocked by the news of Drell's treachery, but within a few hours they seemed to accept it. Most were simply relieved to know that the source of the attacks had been found and dealt with.

So far, Drell had revealed nothing. He was transferred to the Tower, a prison located on Arendelle's rocky coast. Several miles away from the nearest town or village, it was the perfect place to keep the traitor isolated. There, he would be interrogated and held as bait for his remaining cronies. To her displeasure, the small part of Anna that still cared for him was relieved that she wouldn't have to watch him hang.

She was never going to see him again. Unlike with Jocasta, Anna had no urge to talk with the imprisoned Arms Master. The Knight had learned her lesson from the last time. And honestly, there wasn't much left to say between the two of them. Drell believed that Elsa was a threat, and nothing Anna could say would convince him of the error of his ways.

And nothing he could say would make her forgive him.

A/N: Breather Chapter

Reponses:

Sedryn: Don't worry, there's no Mariselsa planned.

DimmensionalLover: Very true. But as the goddess said, she could only contact Anna when she was near the realm of death, so she had no other choice.

Syrathia: No memory spell for now.

FreelanceBum: Really?

WinterWolfDragon: I think Elsa took it pretty well.

Lionheart: Yay!

BreeBear98: She's alive. Am I not merciful?

ClaireCooper: Probably.

Strab: What is your theory?

Kyoko-nyaa: Don't count on it.

Guest 1: Elsa certainly plans on marrying Anna. Whether Anna will remember is a different question.

3Gs: Yes, that's how dreams work, unfortunately.

LightningDragon: It's a roller coast; that's for sure.

Shtoops: Everything will change. Yet nothing will.

Nicfoto5: Plenty more to go!

Frost108: You'll see…

Arekanderu: Be careful what you wish for.

Guest 2: She remembers that Elsa's a goddess. She doesn't remember what she was told during that last dream.

Mpsantiago: Here's a breather…

JPElles: Thanks!

PascalDragon: It would certainly be a good thing for her to remember.

Malekoydaerb: Cost something?

Gwiley16199: Yeah, that's definitely a good thing!

ObsessiveImaginings: I'm not sure I would call it dues ex machina.

DVINM: Some you will see; some you will not.