Evangeline was out of arrows.

Most of the enemy was dead, slaughtered by the almost impossibly fast shooting of herself and her two comrades. She had no doubt that the crossbowmen below were fine shots themselves, but it was difficult to hit a target one could not see.

The two prisoners were still alive, Kale having all but pummeled one of the crossbowmen to death with his bare hands. Evangeline had never liked the General, but even she had to be impressed with his ferocity. Meanwhile, Anna was gone- chased off by that air-mage. As much as the spymaster would like to attend to that situation, right now she had other problems to deal with.

For months, Evangeline had been nothing more than an utter failure. After years of successful service to her liege, she had proved utterly useless when Elsa had needed her most. None of her efforts had come close to unraveling the mystery of who was behind the conspiracy, and Evangeline had begun to worry that her ineptitude would get the Queen killed.

Then, out of the blue, Anna had shown up with a breakthrough. Incredibly, the leader of the conspirators had wanted to meet with her. It was the perfect opportunity for an ambush. Evangeline had been skeptical at first, but Anna had had no reason to lie. The Knight was a peasant girl in over her head, but she was also a brave warrior and unshakably loyal to her lover. That much was clear.

So the spymaster had agreed to her proposal. It was a risk to both herself and her men, but it was a chance worth taking. Anna would bare the brunt of the danger, and that was certainly worth a chance to ensure Elsa's safety once and for all. It had meant several hours of shivering in the trees, but the anticipation burning through her body had kept Evangeline completely warm.

Finally, she would put an end to this conspiracy. At last, Evangeline would fulfill her duty to her liege and end this threat once and for all. Thanks to Drell's weakness- his reluctance to kill Anna immediately- he had provided her with an opening that she was all too happy to exploit.

She was a faster shooter than her two allies, and so they still had several arrows in their possession. They were more than capable of finishing off the remaining conspirators. Evangeline herself could capture Drell, who had purposely not been targeted for fear of wounding him fatally.

The spymaster hurried through the darkness. Drell, having taken cover behind a tree trunk, turned around just in time to witness her sudden appearance. Drawing two long daggers from her belt, Evangeline leapt forward to engage him.

Drell met her charge furiously, deflecting a cut from one of her daggers and swiping at her head. Evangeline ducked nimbly, her hair bristling as his blade swung mere inches above it. She lunged forward, attempting to take advantage of the opening, but Drell was ready. He sidestepped the reach of her blades before striking out with his unarmed fist.

Evangeline's world was consumed by pain as she took his backhanded blow on her cheek. A hard kick at her legs and she crumpled to the ground. Her eyes focused just in time to see Drell...jumping at her with his sword angled for the kill! She rolled to the right, dodging his blow. Then, drawing on her decades of training and natural timing, swept her leg to the left.

Striking his wrist with the sole of her shoe, Evangeline knocked the sword from his hand.

Her head was still woozy; she lost precious seconds as she attempted to recover. Quick as a cat, Drell was on her again. His hands groped towards her throat, eager to choke the life out of her. Evangeline desperate caught his wrists in her own palms, but with his leverage and superior strength the traitor gradually pushed her arms back to the ground.

"You slaughtered them!" he hissed gruffly. "My brave men, brought down by three cowards hiding in the trees! At least Anna had the courage to meet me blade to blade. I do not want to harm her, but you..." Drell grunted, continuing to push her wrists down towards the snow. "You are going to die for what you've done."

The spymaster stared up at him. For months, she had searched for the traitor. Here he was, a man who she had almost daily seen with her own eyes. All this time, he had been right in front of her. She'd never doubted him, had always been polite to him...all the while he had schemed to murder her liege while greeting her with nothing less than a passive smile.

Rage coursed through her limbs. She had failed Elsa utterly, leaving the responsibility of defending the Queen to others. To allow Drell to kill her now would be to fail her liege yet again.

Evangeline had done enough failing.

Her chest catapulted off the ground. Drell, his efforts focused on pinning her arms, was taken utterly by surprise as her head slammed hard into his face. Evangeline's forehead exploded in pain but she relished the sensation. The traitor reeled backward; blood was running down his nose as his grip on her wrists ceased. She lashed out with her fist, hitting him hard in the jaw. He rolled off her completely.

Running through the darkness, the spymaster scooped up one of her daggers and pounced on her opponent. She slammed the heavy brass pommel into his head, and the traitor crumpled into the snow.

\

It was over. Drell had been captured and was safely secured. His allies had been decimated; only two had managed to escape. Evangeline yearned to pursue them through the woods, but pursuing them through a blizzard would have been a fool's errand.

Kristoff and Kale were free, standing off to the side and saying little. Both were alive and well. Kristoff's foot had been sprained during his capture, and he now leaned against a tree for support, but he would recover completely within a week.

Nearby, Evangeline was conferring with her two archers. Drell was lying at their feet, still unconscious with his wrists now bound. "Should we go after her?" one of her companions motioned to where Anna and Rohan had last been seen: across the lake.

Evangeline hesitated. She didn't like to take chances; there was no way of knowing whether Anna was still alive at this point. Yet sending her two men to search for them (she was too wounded to make the trip herself) would be risking both of their lives in this weather. And if Rohan was still alive and well, it was very possible that he would slit both of their throats.

"You have to!" Kristoff yelled. "Anna risked everything to give you a chance to take them down. You owe it to her to find her! What would the Queen say if she knew you left her to die?!"

The spymaster studied him curiously, considering his words. When it came to Elsa, Evangeline knew how important Anna was. If there was a chance that she still breathed, she owed it to her liege to seek out the Knight.

"I'm going," Kristoff muttered bitterly. Pushing off the tree trunk, he began to limp his way towards the lake.

Evangeline held out a hand to stop him. "Don't. You'll never find her on that leg, and I'll need you and Kale to help me take him-" she kicked Drell with her boot- "Back to the Castle. I can't lift him on my own." She turned to her archers. "Find her, but be careful in this weather," Evangeline gazed into their eyes meaningfully. "Don't take chances."

\

Anna couldn't run any longer. Her legs would simply not allow it. She'd been sprinting for several minutes, running at speeds no normal human could ever hope to achieve, but Rohan had stayed right on her tail.

Her muscles ached with so much pain that Anna wouldn't have been surprised if they were on fire. That might not have been such a bad thing, actually, considering that the rest of her body was freezing. Even if Rohan didn't get her, the cold might.

She fell to her knees. Anna didn't know how far deep they were into the forest, but she knew it was at least several miles. Far too away for help to arrive. Trees still surrounded her on all sides.

There was no use hiding; her clothes were far too conspicuous for Rohan to miss in the snow, and she had no time to climb into the trees. Running was no longer an option. Anna had no choice but to fight.

Rohan was a hundred feet away now. He slowed his speed to a walk, no doubt wary of any surprises. Anna needed a weapon. Any weapon. Still on her knees, she scrambled her lightly gloved fingers though the snow and came up with two icy snowballs.

Anna hurled one at his head with all her strength, but the pain from her wounds upset her aim. Caught off guard despite his caution, Rohan fell onto his back as her projectile slammed into the air-mage's chest.

Using the last of her strength, Anna ran forward. But Rohan returned to his feet instantly, gathering a blast of air and hurling it in her direction. This time, she was ready. The Knight dived to the side, avoiding the worst of the gust.

Her entire body cried out in pain from her movements. But Anna refused to stop. A year ago, despite her constant drive to live, the thief she had been would have yielded to the agony and fallen to her knees.

But she wasn't living for herself now. One thought above all kept Anna moving forward.

It wasn't her desire to see Elsa again and melt in her arms, strong though that desire was. It was something far more powerful. Anna was determined to survive, more than she had ever been throughout her entire life, because she wanted to spare her Queen the heartbreak of finding her body.

She charged forward. Panic alighting in his eyes, Rohan released yet another blast. This time, Anna was too close to dodge. She braced herself, drawing upon all her strength and forcing her weight forward. The Knight's charge was slowed, but the air did not press her back.

They were only several meters apart, close enough for a relative degree of accuracy. Her second snowball shot out of her hand, again aimed for Rohan's head.

And again she missed. But a vicious crack sounded through the air as the snow slammed against his sword arm. "Fuck!" Rohan screamed, stumbling back several paces as his blade fell into the snow.

Exultation rushed through Anna as she saw her opportunity. The Knight dived forward, rolling in the snow and coming up with her opponent's blade. She hurled it forward with all of her strength.

Rohan collapsed onto his back, the sword's blade lodged in his chest.

Anna stumbled forward, handling daring to believe that she had triumphed. Rohan's breathing continued to come in short desperate gasps, but judging by the cloud of red now spreading in the snow beneath him, he didn't have long. He was as fast as Anna, but he wasn't as durable.

"It's over," she sighed, falling to her knees. Her strength was gone.

The air mage laughed bitterly. "Thanks to you, it is. Humanity's time is over. Elsa's going to crush...crush us all." He paused, sputtering for air. "I suppose...I can't blame you. Loyalty to your Queen, a Queen who appears just...it's admirable. You don't deserve...deserve to see her rise. For your sake, I hope you die tonight."

"What?!" Anna demanded.

"If you...survive, someday you'll wish you died here, rather than suffer her...her betrayal. It would be a far kinder fate."

A final spasm of pain shot through his body, and Rohan collapsed further into the snow. Seconds later, Anna heard his last breath float into the air.

It was over; nothing was preventing her from returning to the Castle as a hero. Nothing except herself. The pain from her wounds was numbing her entire body, and the cold was doing the same. Anna couldn't help but let out an incredulous laugh at the irony. Her one true love...her Queen...practically was the cold. And now, the cold was going to kill her.

No!

Anna straggled over to a tree trunk, trying to latch her gloves onto the wood and hoist herself up...

She failed.

\

"Your Majesty!"

Elsa touched down just inside the Castle's outer gate, thoroughly relieved to be home after several hours of traveling. Unfortunately, the guards on duty at this section of the wall did not appear to share her good spirits. There stared at her as if she were a ghost.

"Yes?" she asked them calmly. The Castle had clearly not been attacked. What other situation could have them so worried? Yet they hesitated, as if fearing that the first man to speak would be struck down by a blast of her magic.

"Speak," she ordered. "Has something happened?"

\

Elsa ran through the halls as fast as her feet could carry her, paying not a thought to her royal dignity. No no no no no! This could not be happening! It...it was too much to take in all at once. Drell was a traitor, he'd been apprehended, his men had been wiped out...none of that mattered right now. Anna was missing! She was out there, somewhere in the snow-covered forest. Evangeline's men had been unable to find her.

It might already be too late; Anna wasn't immune to the cold. She could be...she could be...

The Queen didn't care that the conspiracy had been ended. The price had been far too high to pay. Nothing was worth Anna's life, not even the Queen's own. But why did the Knight have to be so stupid? Going out there, archers or not, had been all but a suicide mission.

It wasn't stupid. It was selfless. She did it for Kristoff...and for me. Always for me. No matter what I do, she's always sacrificing for me! It isn't fair! Hasn't she done enough...suffered enough? Why can't the world leave her the fuck alone?

Elsa was more than ready to tear apart the forest and search for her. Several patrols were already out there looking for the Knight. But there was something she had to check first. The Queen hoped against hope that Anna had thought to leave it behind. If she had, it would be in their bedroom.

She opened the door...and there it was! Resting on the bedside table was Anna's necklace, sparkling faintly in the glare of the late afternoon sun. Hope flaring within her chest, Elsa all but sprinted to it.

The necklace wasn't alone. Resting under it was a sealed envelope addressed to the Queen.

Quickly, the Queen placed the necklace in her pocket and reached for the letter. All but ripping the seal apart, Elsa hurriedly extracted the parchment and examined the words eagerly.

Elsa,

If you're reading this you know what's happened...what I've done. I know you would tell me to stay here, just as you know that I definitely wouldn't. I have a plan. If this works, Kristoff will be saved and the conspiracy ended. Hopefully Evangeline will believe me and agree to help.

I don't know what's going to happen. They could try to capture me, but I think they've learned from that mistake. They're probably going to try and kill me. Just in case they capture me, I've left you my necklace. You know what to do.

I've told you this a million times, but I'll never get tired of saying it. I love you Elsa. I love you so much that it hurts. You make my life worth living, and I'm not talking about the food and clothes (as wonderful as they are!) You are my life Elsa. For nineteen years, I never knew love, but the mere months I spent with you made it all worthwhile. If I don't make it tonight, it will still have been worth it. By a long shot.

You're a wonderful, amazing person, and the best Queen that the world has ever known. Never question that! You gave me a chance...letting me into your life when you hardly even knew me. I'm not talking about the reward for when I saved you; it was well thought out, but it had been earned. No, I'm talking about being willing to spend time with me...playing with me and having dinner with me. I was...am...a silly peasant girl, and yet the most powerful and beautiful woman on the planet thought I was worth something. You have no idea how much that meant to me.

If I don't make it, I have one dying wish. And I'll have earned it! So if something happens to me, don't blame yourself. Understand? I'm doing this to prevent further attacks on you, but I would also do it for Kristoff. I know that would be foolish, but I could never bring myself to abandon a friend. I think that's why you love me. But I'm the one doing this; it's my choice alone. And I'm the one who sent you off to the trolls, so you not being here is also my fault.

You'll miss me...cry for me, and I understand that. But don't think it's your fault, not for a second! There's nothing you could have done differently, and I'd be dead a dozen times over already if it wasn't for you! If I die tonight, I'll have lived a life that's worth living, and it's all thanks to you.

Tell Drell, Gerda, and Rapunzel that I said goodbye. They've all been good friends, loyal and helpful even when they didn't have to be. But I never would have met any of them if it weren't for you. I can't put it into words how much you mean to me Elsa, but I think you already know.

Love,

Anna.

\

The necklace was working. Elsa could feel it growing warmer as she flew deeper into the forest. That alone gave her hope, but she didn't know if the spell's continued power meant that Anna was still alive, or was leading her to a...

No! I refuse to think of it.

Anna wasn't immune to the cold. But she was strong, and much more capable of surviving than a normal person. Would it be enough? Elsa had talked with Evangeline for about ten seconds, just enough time to learn how long Anna had been out there.

The confrontation had taken place an hour after midnight. It was now roughly four in the afternoon. Anna had been out in the snow for over twelve hours. How could anyone survive that long?

She'll survive because she's Anna. Because she has to.

Anna was incredibly close. Elsa was several miles into the forest, and the sensation from the necklace was growing incredibly powerful. Letting the spell guide her, she glided down into the tress and swept her eyes around.

A body was lying face up in the snow, a sword lodged in its chest.

Elsa's heart raced so quickly that it nearly burst out of her breast before she realized that it wasn't Anna. In fact, she recognized him. It was the air-mage she had dueled during the night of the uprising, the one who had chased after Anna according to Evangeline. And Anna had killed him! That meant...she had to be alive! She had to be!

She didn't see anyone else. Save for the mage's body, the area was deserted. Yet the necklace was saying that Anna was here. Elsa darted around the small clearing, desperately looking for a sign.

Out of the corner of her eye, a bundle of snow lodged against a tree trunk moved slightly. Now, Elsa could see the flash of red that adorned it.

"ANNA!"

The Queen ran to the prone Knight, all but shoving the snow off of her back. Anna had been lying prone against a tree trunk, practically covered by the still falling snow. She took Anna off of the tree and laid the unconscious Knight gently on the ground, all the while unleashing her healing magic indiscriminately.

No! Gods...no no no no...

With trembling fingers, Elsa placed a hand atop Anna's breast. This couldn't be happening! There was nothing...then a pulse! It was faint, and now that Elsa could feel the beat, it was coming far more slowly than was normal.

But she was alive! Still firing her magic, Elsa laid her head on Anna's stomach and sobbed. If she still breathed, then she could still be saved. Elsa would not let the cold...her element, claim the person she loved more than any on this earth.

In a way, Anna had been lucky. She'd gone out with heavy winter clothing, and although the tree trunk had chiseled her skin, it had also shielded her face somewhat from the cold. Even so, Elsa was certain that a normal woman would not have survived such an experience.

It was on the flight back that the Queen realized how dire the situation truly was. Her joy at seeing Anna still breathe was steadily consumed by fear. The Knight was wounded in the thigh- pierced by a bolt of some kind. And Evangeline had mentioned that she had been thrown into the lake; getting wet made one much more susceptible to the cold.

Anna's gloves and boots had protected her from frostbite, but her skin was almost more blue than red. Her body felt terrifyingly cold. Elsa had never been threatened by hypothermia, but she knew how deadly it could be. And Anna was experiencing a severe case of it.

She continued to use her healing magic as she flew, trying to seal Anna's thigh wound. Elsa didn't know if her magic would be effective against hypothermia, but that would not stop her from trying.

I won't lose you, Anna!

\

They placed Anna in front of the fireplace in Elsa's bedroom, moving a mattress and several heavy blankets near the roaring flames and laying the Knight down upon them. Anna had continued to breathe during the flight back, but all that came out of her mouth were random light moans. Despite all of the Queen's efforts, she was still unconscious.

Sweat began to glean on the Knight's forehead, but her skin remained virtually blue. Her lips were nearly white. And although Elsa's magic had fixed some of the damage, the wound in her thigh remained ugly. It had begun to fester long ago; just looking at it caused Elsa to cringe.

Her mind kept going back to her vision: Anna lying dead in a cart. It wasn't exactly the same situation. The Knight had been lucky enough to escape frostbite, and rather than being a homeless orphan so destitute that a village healer would refuse to look at her, she was now for all intents and purposes a rich young woman with access to some of the finest physicians in the world.

And it might not be enough.

Elsa continued to blast her with magic, still not knowing if it was having any affect on Anna's hypothermia. At the very least, it was healing at least some of the damage in the Knight's thigh, and it gave the Queen the satisfaction of at least doing something. All the while, the Castle's best physicians surrounded the two women. Other than having removed Anna's wet clothing and replaced it with a warm set, however, there was little they could do to raise her body temperature.

Still, Anna continued to breathe. And as long as there was still breath in the Knight's body, Elsa's world had not yet ended.

Finally, the Queen heeded the advice of the Castle physicians and backed away for a brief amount of time. Unlike her ice magic, using her healing magic for long periods drained Elsa's energy. For a long session as this certainly promised to be, she needed to pace herself in order to remain viable. This at least gave the physicians the chance to apply some ointment to the festering wound and begin to stitch it up.

Next to her was Anton, the Queen's personal physician and the head of all medical professionals stationed in the Castle. Before he could give a report, Elsa rose to her feet and seized him by the shoulders.

"Save her, Anton. I don't care how long it takes or how much it costs, you will save her," she told him. There was no reason, after all, why they shouldn't be able to. Anna's main problem was her low body temperature. She was now surrounded by warmth. They couldn't fail!

Anton sighed sadly. "Your Majesty-"

In that moment, Elsa finally understood the situation. Anton's mournful, resigned tone made it all too clear. He wasn't concerned that there was a chance that Anna was not going to survive. He believed there was no chance at all.

"What?!" she roared at him. "Anna is cold. Warm her up! Is that so difficult?! What the hell am I paying you for if you can't do something as simple as raise her temperature!" Elsa shoved him a step back.

He stared into her eyes, his expression one of both sadness and exasperation. "I know this is difficult for you to understand, Your Majesty, as one who cannot feel the cold, but raising a body's temperature is not a simple process. She lives for now, but Anna is too far gone for our efforts to do any more than delay her passing. Frankly, I'm amazed she's lasted as long as she has. Her magic must give her body extra strength; that's the only explanation for her surviving the entire night.

The Queen shook her head, refusing to even acknowledge his words. "Then she might be strong enough to continue surviving!"

"I...I'm afraid not. I've dealt with hypothermia before, Your Majesty. Her wound sapped much of her body's strength, and the cold has stolen the rest. She's in the final stages. Her pulse is slowly but continuously weakening. Soon her heart will stop beating, and that will be the end. It's a trend that can't be reversed. Her body is simply out of energy, and nothing we do-"

CRACK! The floor around Elsa's feet splintered as ice spread out from under her shoes, growing dangerously close to the circle of physicians around Anna. With tremendous effort, she dissipated the ice but paid them little heed, only ordering them to continue their efforts with a glare that could kill.

This wasn't happening. Anna wasn't dying.

Elsa was the mistress of the cold; it had eagerly obeyed her every whim for over twenty years. And now, her own element had betrayed her. One of her favorite aspects of her life was about to steal the one person she loved above all others.

"Can't my magic help?" the Queen managed, struggling to keep the tears out of her eyes.

Anton shrugged helplessly. "We've observed that your magic can increase one's energy for a short period. I think it will be able to slow Anna's passing; her heart will not die quite as quickly. But you will just be delaying the inevitable."

No!

"I'm leaving, then," Elsa declared. "I'm going to Corona, a tear from Rapunzel is the only thing that might be able to save her. They only last a week before they lose their magic, but I'll be able to make it back to Arendelle by then."

"There is no time, Your Majesty. Judging by the rate of her decline, Anna likely has only hours before she passes. With your magic, you might perhaps be able to give her a day. By the time you were halfway to Corona, it would already be too late."

She knew he was right; it would be impossible to make it back on time. Instead, the Queen would blast Anna with every last drop of magic from her veins, and she would not stop until the Knight finally opened her eyes.

\

Anna was standing in a room, surrounded by several solemn individuals. She had been there for what felt like hours, listening to their morbid conversations. It took her some time to realize what was happening, but eventually her consciousness pieced the facts together. This was another vision. Right! She had just learned that her weird dreams were actually visions! But she couldn't remember how, or from whom.

Her memory of the entire world was a blur. She could faintly remember was that she was close to a woman named Elsa, and that there was something important that she had to tell her. What was it?

The only other thing she knew was that she had these visions when she was sleeping. That meant that Anna was currently unconscious. Yet the girl sensed that this was not the entire story. She wasn't in the middle of a peaceful sleep. Something had happened...something terrible.

"The prophecy can mean only one thing," a woman was saying. "The Goddess will return, and there is nothing we can do to prevent that," she affirmed. "Long after we die, she will take a human host."

Right, Elsa was a Goddess!

A man to her left slammed his fist down in frustration. "So after all our work, humanity is doomed?!" he demanded. "All we've done is buy time before the inevitable. Imagine her wrath when she reincarnates."

"No," another man interjected. "The prophecy makes clear that she will return. But it does not state for certain that she shall be victorious; our spy assures us that the transcripts he has seen all say the same thing: If her domain covers the entire earth. That uncertainty means that she can be stopped."

The woman shook her head sadly. "But not by us. We'll be long dead by the time she rises."

"She will be stopped," the second man replied. "And we will stop her. Perhaps we cannot oppose her personally, but we can keep the resistance alive. We shall impart our knowledge and our mission to our children, and they will do the same to their children. We will take steps to keep the magical bloodlines alive. Through our descendants, we will..."

His words faded out. No, more accurately, Anna was fading out. She could feel herself growing weaker, her connection to reality slipping away. This time, once she fully faded, Anna somehow knew that she would not simply wake up. Her body was growing airy...her awareness dimming. And once it was gone, her existence in the waking world would be extinguished as well.

\

"Thirty beats per minute. She's weakening, Anton. I give her three more hours at most," a physician intoned.

It was almost midnight, several hours after Elsa's return, and the Queen was utterly exhausted. She'd been using her magic on and off for hours, and the effort was draining her completely. It didn't seem to be doing the reverse for Anna.

"Your Majesty, I do not know which religion Lady Anna adheres to, but if it involves Last Rites of some sort, you may want to consider-" Elsa cut him off with a desperate, almost manic stare. She could sense the surprise of those around her. Their poised, dignified Queen was behaving like a lunatic.

The Queen gave a half sigh, half sob. "Anna has no religion. The world's been so cruel to her...she never had reason to believe. And neither do I. I'm going to...I can't lose her!" she increased her output of magic desperately, but her power had no effect.

Her physicians said nothing; they were just as helpless as she was. Elsa's brain was scrambling for options, but she could come up with none. Their current course was doing nothing save slowing down Anna's passing. Yet what else was she to do? The trolls were too far away, even if they had any magic that could help with hypothermia. Rapunzel, the Queen was sure, could save Anna, but for all the distance between them they might as well be on different planets. The Castle's medical staff could offer her no other alternatives.

Gradually, her head began to accept what her heart still could not. Anna was going to die. By sunrise she would have passed away, leaving nothing behind but a diamond necklace and a weeping Queen. Religious fundamentalists across the kingdom would shout for joy, proclaiming her death a just punishment from an affronted god. The rest of the citizenry would offer a sad shrug before moving on with their lives.

And Elsa's life would no longer be worth living.

Her eyes traveled to her fingertips. It would be so easy. There was even a poetic irony to it. Anna would be killed by the cold. Elsa herself couldn't freeze to death, but she could still be killed by ice. All she would have to do is lay her hands upon her chest and will a spike of ice to come to spring to life. The Queen would be killed almost instantly, joining her lover in death.

Yet even that was too much to hope for. Anna would never have condoned suicide unless it was a sacrifice to save another. To kill herself would be to shame the Knight's memory, and Arendelle would be the worse for it.

Her mind reeled, trying to come to grips with what was happening. Anna, who had become a pillar of her life...no, who had become her life, would never speak to her again. Elsa would never again hear the Knight's adorable laugh, or see her bite her lip in frustration. Never again would she be blessed with the gift that was Anna's smile. They would never again go skating together, eat together, or play together. Elsa would be alone until the day she died. No one would ever be sitting on the other side of the checkerboard.

Tomorrow, Anna would be buried alongside other Knights of the realm, inside the Royal Cemetery. She would be remembered as a hero, but that was all. Eventually, when Elsa's name would be etched in the history books for children to read about centuries from now, Anna would be completely forgotten. Her only mark on history would be a single unvisited grave in a cemetery among hundreds of others.

And Queen Elsa would live her entire life without ever taking a husband or wife. The Coronan line would again take over rulership of Arendelle. No matter how many came before her to seek her hand, none of them would ever measure up to the homeless thief she had found robbing her purse.

Why did I wait so long? I want to remember her as my wife. That's how she deserves to be remembered.

Maybe it wasn't too late! As a sovereign monarch, Elsa could marry any two adults...including herself. Anna would have agreed, she knew that. All she needed was to say the vows...and a ring.

Elsa knew where to find one, and her magic needed a break regardless. She leaned down, placing a gentle kiss on Anna's forehead. "I'll be right back, Anna," she promised as she rose to her feet.

There was no response.

\

She walked through the halls quickly, heading for the Royal Vault. It would be a stretch to say that this idea made her happy. Elsa's world was still a torrent of misery, and it would remain that way for a long, long time. But the idea of marrying Anna gave her purpose. This way, the Knight would be remembered as the royalty she deserved to be, and Elsa would have the honor of calling Anna her wife.

It would be an unorthodox ceremony, but it would be lawful. It was a legal remnant of ages past, but one of the monarch's powers was to marry any two individuals without a show of consent. It was a law designed to make arranging marriages among the nobility easier, something that the crown had not done for over a century. Making her way past the guard detail and into the vault, she opened her mother's jewelry box and retrieved her wedding ring. It had been left behind before their last voyage, out of fear that it would slip off her finger and fall into the sea.

Maybe they'll meet Anna in the afterlife. I wonder what they'll think of her? At the very least they can all have an illuminating discussion about how Elsa loses everyone she loves.

A ring was required. Arendellian tradition required that the groom place the ring on the bride's finger during the ceremony. Given that she was the higher ranking of the two, as well as the only one who was conscious, Elsa designated herself the groom.

She stared into the diamond, allowing her mind to digest the situation. This was it. Elsa was choosing a partner for the rest of her life. And the Queen intended to stick to that promise. Anna would be the first and last woman she ever married. The only person she ever loved romantically. No matter how attractive she found any woman in the future, the Queen would never pursue them.

It was worth a precious few hours of having Anna as her wife.

Responses:

PascalDragon: Thanks! I wanted everything to come together well.

Sedryn: We shall see…

ObsessiveImagings: Drell might not be right, but he certainly believes in what he's doing.

WinterWolfDragon: Me too.

Jascmaster: Hmm…It's also important to know that the magic users in Drell's group (Rohan, the fire mage) were also descended from those Gifted by the gods, or descended from the gods themselves.

Strab: She's survived for now.

Malekoydaerb: Some good news, some bad news.

JPElles: Thanks! Cool things, yeah…

ClaireCooper: Right! Up until this point, Drell has been nice and Kale was the asshole.

3Gs: I'm glad to catch people by surprise!

Arkanderu: It's an interesting dilemma, that's for sure.

AwesomenessUnleashed: Much appreciated!

Shtoops: Are you sure?

JesterSeraph: Glad to have a new reader! That thing with the seasons is an excellent point. Let's just say that Elsa uses her powers to prevent the courtyard from freezing; she can move snow and ice and dissipate it in relatively small quantities (though she can't outright stop natural blizzards, she can shield an area from them.) Nevertheless, that's something I should have caught earlier, so thank you.

Syrathia: At least Drell did not get away!

Guest 1: Anna's not doing so well so far.

TaniaHylian: She's escaped…

Lone-Wolf: Thanks! Will do!

DeathIsComing: Someone seems emotional

MindMadness: What about now?

BreeBear98: She will certainly try.

FreelanceBum: Nope! He's got a sprained ankle but he's fine.

Phoebex13: Thank you! Yes, it's been a key if subtle part of Anna's development that she learns to think things through and not rush in blindly. She's still selfless and brave, but she's more apt to think up a plan now.

FirstMovement: Which chapter is that?

Tithi: Honestly, I don't know. I have a clear path to the end of the story, but I'm not sure how long it will take. More than twenty chapters for sure, and probably much more.

DVINM: Amazing review! I loved the recap, very touching! I'm very happy that someone saw that bit in Chapter 10 that was ABSOLUTELY intended to foreshadow this. Yes, this development was planned since all the way back then. I think I decided that Elsa would be a goddess and a conspiracy was trying to kill her for it while writing chapter 8.

Gwiley161999: Thanks! I'm not exactly sure how much is left, but at least thirty chapters, probably more.

Gamernerd6: I have decided…we won't. None of us will ever know who her parents are, including me. I think finding that out, no matter what the answer is, undermines the strength of her backstory. I know pretty much all other fics where one of them is orphaned provide that answer, but not here. They could have been rich merchants who didn't want a child, royalty from another country who was somehow separated from their daughter, plague victims, or two lower class workers who couldn't afford a child. I, for one, don't want to know either way. A great writer once said: 'Some secrets should be kept even from the author.'

CrazyLikeArt: We're not going to learn about Anna's biological family. Make of that what you will. Interesting theory, however.

Mahmed: I can't give out all the answers yet, but I will talk about her powers. She can use telekensis on the snow and ice she's created, though usually she prefers to just blast it directly from her palms. She could manipulate her creations over relatively long distances, say within a mile. She can make five creations at a time, any one can be as large as Marshmellow or as small as an ant. They all have the aim and reflexes of a trained human, and are more durable. Though they get less agile as they grow larger. They can't disguise themselves as humans or other beings, if that's what you're asking.

Alone, each is probably a match for a single swordmaster, maybe two if they're at maximum size. Their greatest ability, however, is that as soon as one dissipates, Elsa can make another immediately. She's capped at five at once, but will never run out.