Chapter 40

A/N: Can I just say that the fact this story, one that I got the idea for like two years ago, has hit the forty chapter mark and still isn't done is kind of insane. For everyone that's stuck around for this long, especially through two hiatuses (that's a word right?), I really and sincerely appreciate you guys and I wouldn't be pushing myself so hard to keep writing if it wasn't for the support I've gotten.

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, now let's find out how these wacky adventures of Elsa and Anna finally end, shall we?

...they aren't ending this chapter, I'm just saying let's see how this ends.

You get the point.

Elsa flung her coat in the general direction of her desk and flopped onto her bed; today had been exhausting, both physically and mentally.

A thousand thoughts flooded her head, mostly about Hans and his ability to be such a persistent, menacing cloud over her head. She kept asking herself the same questions: How did she not see this coming? What were the legal ramifications of Corona International intruding on what was technically Arendelle territory? And how could she take down a man who always seemed one step ahead of her?

At their lunch meeting, Jasmine tried her best to ease Elsa's nerves and tell her of past experiences dealing with people like Hans, but it barely calmed her down. Only enough to get her through the rest of the day without letting her emotions impede her judgment.

Now however, the day was over. She didn't have to see anyone, talk to anyone, impress anyone, or plot some convoluted scheme of revenge against anyone. At least for the next few hours.

She was too exhausted to even get out of her work clothes, and her bed felt more comfortable than it had in awhile. It would have been so easy just to close her eyes and go to sleep. To forget about everything, even for just a few hours.

Then another thought came to mind, pushing through the worries and doubts like a concertgoer trying to get out of a mosh pit: Call Anna.

So she grumbled, made the gargantuan effort to flip over onto her back, and fished her phone out of her suit pants. But just as she was about to call her, Anna beat her to the punch.

Without hesitation, she accepted the call and put the phone up to her ear. "Hey Anna." she said, voice more groggy than she wanted it to be.

"Elsa! Hey- wow that was fast- uh...I was just, you know, chilling on my bed and thought I'd call you again. Today I mean, I thought I'd call you again today. Well it's actually night so, uh anyway how are you?"

Just hearing the flustered voice on the other end lifted Elsa's spirits up. She chuckled, "I'm okay. I was actually just about to call you too."

"Really?! Er I mean really? That's...that's really sweet. So how was your day?"

That was a loaded question. She sighed, "It was...interesting. Did you hear anything about the conference?"

"No I couldn't, it was a really busy day and there's no TV at the bakery. Maybe we should get one… Anyway what happened?"

She bit her lip, "Hans happened."

"...oh."

"Yeah…"

"What do you mean?"

"He showed up to the press conference, got on the stage, and announced that Corona International had bought out a private school. I'm still not sure why, maybe he did it out of spite or if this is a play at something bigger, but it's pretty much all I've been thinking about all day."

"Which school?"

"Hmm? Oh, uh this place called 'Oaken's Haven for Children'."

"What?!"

Elsa winced and pulled the phone, she swore she heard feedback coming through. She cautiously brought it back to her ear after she regained her hearing, "Do you know it?"

"Are you freaking kidding me?! That son of a..." She heard Anna pause and take a deep breath, "Yeah, Rapunzel and I went there to do a bake sale, Oaken really supported us big time and even supplied us with workers back when we were struggling, and they're still with us now. He never said anything about being in any trouble. How did that slimy rat get his hands on Oaken's school?"

"I don't know Anna, and I didn't know that this school meant so much to you."

"It DOES! Oaken is such a sweetheart and he LOVES those kids. The fact that Hans owns the school now, it just...I hate it. I really do. There's gotta be something we can do to keep this from happening?"

Elsa sat up, "We?"

"Well duh, as soon as you said Hans bought out Oaken's school, you dragged me into this. Well...more like I volunteered myself for this. Now, what can we do to make sure he doesn't get his gross, slimy hands on it?"

"I…" She stopped herself.

What could they do? It was something she'd struggled to figure out all day long, but even a talk with her headstrong girlfriend couldn't get her thoughts fully straight. "...I don't know."

"Can't we stop the deal from happening? I mean how official is it really? Why don't we just go down and barge in through the front door, try to convince Oaken not to do this?"

"It's not that simple Anna, we can't just tamper with a deal like that, no matter how much we want to. I mean we could but we'd both probably get fired. And Hans wins." She added that last line with a grumble.

"Well babe we can't just do nothing. Hans can't get away with this."

"Don't you think I know that?! I want to bring that bastard down as much as you, especially after-" Elsa stopped herself, partially to keep from letting her frustrations out on the wrong person, but also because she had never told Anna what happened in Agrabah. "I'm-I'm sorry Anna, I didn't mean to-"

"Especially after what?"

"Er, what?"

"What happened, Elsa? What aren't you telling me?" Anna's tone had grown more stern, demanding. She knew it was from a place of concern, but that didn't make it less intimidating.

Elsa leaned her head on her free hand, fingers digging into disheveled hair. It wasn't that she wanted to keep this from Anna, it was that the event was still so fresh in her mind that even retelling it might cause her to go into a panic attack.

Another panic attack.

"Tell me." Anna demanded, and in a much softer tone she added, "Please."

"Anna, I…" She felt a dull, throbbing ache in her head. "I want to tell you- I wanted to tell you- but it's something...it's hard to talk about."

"Whatever happened, you can tell me. I can help you, you know I can." Her tone was definitely nothing but calming now.

"I know you can. I…" The headache was getting worse, she didn't want to keep this from Anna from any longer. It was causing so much unneeded stress, and as much as she hated reliving it, she knew that the woman who had been there for her so many times before would be there for her now. "Okay...something happened at Agrabah. With Hans."

"What did he do to you?"

"It wasn't him specifically, it was- he had this bodyguard or whatever with him while we were there. This big guy with really bushy sideburns. One night while I was taking a walk, I saw…" A flash of a migraine stung her eyes for a moment. "I saw Hans beating this man in an alleyway. He was merciless, Anna, he didn't want to stop was terrifying to watch. I wanted to take a picture as evidence, but I forgot to turn the flash off."

The more she talked about the incident, the more the walls seemed to close in on her. Making it harder to breathe. Regardless, Elsa had to keep going. She'd already come this far.

"Next thing I know, I'm stopped and being pushed up against a wall by his bodyguard…"

"Oh no…"

Elsa sensed the shift in her tone immediately, "No, it wasn't- I mean he didn't do anything...like that. He just sorta pinned my arm behind me and pressed my...my face onto the wall. Gah, this is really hard to talk about."

"I know, I know it is. But I'm right here Elsa, I'm right here for you."

"Thank you Anna, I-" She stopped as tears slid down her cheeks and her voice faltered for a second. "I'm really glad that you're here."

"I'm always here. Now please continue, tell me everything."

She took a deep breath, wiped the tears away, and continued. "While I was pinned against the wall, Hans was talking about how I almost got him, and how I made him angry, and all this nonsense super villain talk about how he was smarter than me and three steps ahead."

"He really said that?"

"Yeah." Elsa sniffled, "He's a psychopath, he knows how to get what he wants. At any cost, and no matter who he hurts along the way. He's dangerous, and I want to take him down as much as you do but I just...I don't know how. I'm stuck here, Anna, and I'm lost and I don't know what to do next, I-"

"Hey hey, it's alright Elsa. Just take a breath, okay? Just breathe."

Elsa stopped talking and did just that. One deep breath. Then two. Then three. The walls retreated, and time slowed down. If only for a moment. "Th-thank you. I really needed that."

"Anytime, babe. You know that."

"I do."

"Now let me do your thinking for you. Let me help you figure out how to deal with Hans."

Elsa smiled, she definitely made the right choice in trusting Anna. "Do you have any ideas?"

"Yes. Well I mean kinda? It's not so much as a plan, and I haven't really formulated it enough yet. And it's- okay see what I was thinking was that Hans likes being in control, right? It feeds his ego or whatever. If we want to take him down, then we gotta strip that control away from him, make him feel as helpless as he made you and how he's made so many other people feel."

"And how do we do that?"

"We start with this. We start with pulling this deal with Oaken out from under him."

"Anna I told you that we can't tamper with their negotiations."

"Not tamper. Just counter the offer, that should be easy enough right?"

"It is, but I'd have to get permission from the board. And unless acquiring Oaken's school would help us in any way, I guarantee you they won't bite."

"Elsa you'd be taking back an Arendelle business- okay well I shouldn't call it a business, more like property...eww that doesn't sound right either. Well, you'd be taking back a place that means so much to people, kids, here in Arendelle. Hans hasn't lived here in so long, he doesn't know how this city works anymore, why would we trust a key part of Arendelle to someone who doesn't even live here? Plus, think of how much good press you guys would get. That should persuade them more than anything, right?"

A light flickered on inside Elsa's head, "Yeah, you're right. That's really smart Anna, I don't know why I didn't think of that?"

"Don't sweat it. Besides, you have a lot on your mind, remember?"

"I do." She was filled with a renewed sense of determination. This might work, it wouldn't take Hans down immediately, but it was at least a step in the right direction. Anna gave her the idea, now it was her job to make it happen.

No, it was THEIR job. They were in this together now. "I'll set up a meeting with the board ASAP, but tomorrow I think I'm going to make some time to check out the school."

"Really?!"

"Yes, I want to see for myself why this place means so much to you, and hopefully be able to speak to Oaken himself. See how this happened, and if I can somehow convince him to see reason and negotiate with ArenCorp instead. However...that means we'll probably have to reschedule our date."

"Oh…"

"I'm sorry babe." Wow that was still jarring to say. "I wanted to see you too, but-"

"No it's fine, this important to both of us. It's okay if you reschedule, I've waited four years to be with you again, I can wait a few days more."

Elsa's heart fluttered, "I love you."

"I love you too."

"Wait, why don't you just come with me tomorrow?"

Anna spoke timidly, "Do you want me to come with you?"

Elsa giggled, "Did you really need to ask?"

"Well gee I don't know." She could tell Anna was pouting. "This sounds like business trip and I don't wanna distract you or anything."

"Anna if you want to go with me, you can."

"Are you sure?"

"Mmhmm."

"Then yes I will!" And just like that, Anna's mood brightened and their date was technically back on. "Okay, just lemme know when you'll go and I'll do my best to get as much work done beforehand so I can come with. Deal?"

"Deal."

"Yessssss. I get to see you again, I can't wait. Oh, and we get to help Oaken. And we get to kick Hans' butt. Tomorrow's gonna be a good day."

"I hope so, Anna." Elsa sat up and peeled back one of her window curtains. As she took in the calming, night sky she found herself both hopeful and weary. Hopeful that she would find a way to stay one step ahead of Hans, but weary that she might be doing exactly what Hans was expecting her to do. The serene, quiet darkness as the city finally began to fall asleep served as a prelude to the uncertainty that awaited her and Anna tomorrow.

She took one last longing glance out the window before closing the curtain. With a heavy sigh she repeated herself, "I hope so."