Author's Note: It's felt good to get this out of my head, where it has taken up residence and been very loud for the last year. I hope all of you have enjoyed it, because it was very fun to write! Hopefully it's been entertaining and stirred a few emotions as you've read it, because that's what it's all about. Time to bring things home.

Disclaimer: I do not own Frozen or any of the Disney characters held within. All of them are being used under Fair Use, and I have not and will not make any profit from this story.

An Elsanna Fairy Tale

Chapter 3: Prestige

by Jo K.

What am I fighting for

If I win I lose my life

I need you more and more

To break my will tonight

Only love can set us free

Only love can bear the truth

Only love can bring us peace

Only love can save me and you

-Sophie B. Hawkins, "Only Love"

—O—

The snow had picked back up again as Dani walked the streets of Arendelle, trying to follow Tove's directions to the small corner market despite most of the street signs being covered with snow and ice.

Trying to walk through the narrow paths that had been carved through the nearly six feet of snow that had fallen over the last ten days made her feel like a rat meandering through a maze, following its senses while searching for some elusive goal that remained stubbornly out of sight until the very end. The fact that most of Arendelle continued to go about its business despite the ridiculous volume of snow dumped on the country was still perplexing to Dani.

By now it seemed like almost everyone she saw wore either Elsa's single blonde braid or Anna's twin coppery braids, either as a wig or as part of a hat of some sort. Ball caps, toboggans, ski caps, fisherman hats, berets, it seemed as though practically any headwear imaginable could be found accessorized with the trademark hair of the goddesses of love—at least in Arendelle.

Spotting the small market at last, Dani smiled, stepping to the side to allow a young couple pushing a stroller to pass in front of her. As the young family moved past her, chatting about something, she saw the baby in the stroller was asleep, bundled securely against the cold with only the tiny face peeking out beneath the thick coat and blanket. The mother and father, both brunettes, had on toboggans, black for the husband, pastel blue for the wife, with Anna's reddish braids dangling down the man's back and Elsa's thick platinum braid laid carefully across the woman's left shoulder.

The sight no longer was surprising to Dani, not any more, though it continued to make her feel warm inside to see love being celebrated so openly and universally in this town. She made her way across the street, the thick white coat of snow covering it unmarred by footprints or tire tracks due to the height and depth of the accumulation. The first few days, sleighs and horses had been used to traverse the roads, but the continued snowfall made even them unusable for the last few days. Footpaths continued to be cleared, though, both through the diligent work of people who seemed to cooperate with keeping the paths clear as well as through the persistent steps of pedestrians continuing to pass to and fro despite the blizzard.

As she opened the door and stepped into the small market, she immediately felt a bit more at home. The size and open layout reminded her of the markets she liked to shop in back in Manhattan, and she even caught herself singing slightly as she made her way through the bins and shelves, collecting vegetables and groceries to cook for dinner tonight.

Arendelle was starting to feel like home, as bizarre as that sounded. She found herself looking forward to opening the curtains in her little bedroom and looking out at the small city below her, the mountains in the background, the snow still falling on most days but seeming to lessen recently. She still wasn't entirely sure how she felt about Tove, but now she caught herself several times a day considering what it would be like to be in a relationship with the Arendellan brunette.

Would they kiss each morning when they awoke, ignoring morning breath and tousled hair? Would they tell each other to have a good day when Tove went downstairs to open the pub, or when Dani had to leave for work? Would they tease and play with each other without the jibes becoming barbed or biting? How would the sex be? Would it feel awkward at first, or would it feel like something she had been missing her whole life and just never realized it?

Someone bumping into her right hip jostled Dani out of her pondering in the vegetable section.

"You looked like you were thinking some serious thoughts," said Karla, her dark curly hair and teasing smile both apparently at full strength today.

"Hey!" Dani said, happily. She reached out and gave the teenager a hug, throwing the girl off slightly. "How are you?" she asked. "Not driving anywhere today, I assume."

"I'm good!" Karla replied, seeming to regain her poise quickly. "I thought for a minute I had made a mistake, bumping you like that. Wasn't sure how you were going to react."

"I was just thinking," Dani replied breezily, inspecting some rather nice zucchini in the bin in front of them.

"About what?" asked Karla, either not catching or simply choosing to ignore Dani's attempt to brush off the subject. Grinning further, she added, "Or is it about whom?"

The tinge of pink that colored Dani's cheeks was enough of a reply, and before the American could speak, Karla laughed once. "I knew it!" the girl cried triumphantly. "And I bet I know who it is, too. Don't I?"

Dani nodded her head. "Fine," she said quietly, but despite her attempts to stop them, her lips curled into a slight smile of their accord. "She's really something else."

Karla nodded, adding three zucchini of her own to her basket. "Tove is, isn't she?" she said. "She went through a lot." Karla looked up suddenly. "Did she talk to you about any of... what she went through?"

Dani nodded. "Not at first. She did tell me about her parents dying the third night I was here. But night before last, she started talking about some of the abuse she suffered with her last girlfriend." Dani swallowed, her eyes threatening to tear up. "God, I can't believe she put up with it for three years."

Karla nodded. "She's got such a good heart that she always tries to see the best in people. But she finally realized that what she was going through wasn't love, it was torture. It was cruelty and meanness, and once she finally accepted that, she left."

"Was she in the United States when that happened?" Dani asked, suddenly making a connection.

Karla nodded as the two moved into the section of the market with dry goods. "That was when she came back here and took over her family's pub. A friend of her parents had been running it since their death, and he was happy to give the keys back to Tove, both because he wanted out of the headache of running the place, and because it really should stay in Tove's family. Her family's run it for sixty years, going back to Tove's grandparents."

"Wow, so it's kind of part of her family," Dani said, considering the girl's words.

"It is," Karla replied briefly. She stopped in mid-reach for a box of rice, then turned her head to look at Dani again. "You know, the blizzard's beginning to spend itself out. The time when it's not snowing is getting longer. I'm guessing the roads are going to be cleared before too much longer, maybe four or five days. Once they're clear, I'll swing by and pick you up to take you to the airport." She smiled again, this time with what might have been a hint of resignation. "I bet you'll be glad to get back home, huh?" She waved, then took a few steps backward. "See you then, if not sooner!" she said, then she turned and walked away.

Dani stood there for a few minutes, thinking over the ramifications of Karla's words and trying to resolve her sudden confusion as to how exactly she did feel about leaving Arendelle and going back to New York.

—O—

The eruption of hushed voices and urgent whispering throughout the gathering of deities in Asgard was immediate. Tyr's incapacitation had established that no one would be using Anna's magical ice blade against Elsa, removing their best strategist and his plan at the same time.

"I will go talk to her," Freya said, stepping forward only to have Odin grab her left arm, halting her motion.

The goddess of magic gave Odin a fierce glare, prompting him to quickly release her from his grasp. "Do you have a better idea?" Freya spat at the All-father, resentful of his gesture regardless of his intentions.

"What idea I have is that sending Skadi to speak with this Elsa proved to be a terrible mistake on my part," Odin said, careful to keep his voice neutral, a pointed display of courtesy on the part of the chief of the gods. "A mistake I do not wish to make again, with no less than the goddess of magic and love herself this time."

Freya held her angry glare, locking gazes with Odin's single eye for several seconds before forcing herself to calm down. "Remarkable foresight on your part," she spoke flatly.

"The storm has spread to all of the nine worlds save for Muspelheim and Asgard," spoke the deep voice of Heimdall, his eyes ever watchful as he gazed down the abstract length of the Bifrost. "Niflheim is even more of an icy tomb than it was to begin with, and Helheim itself groans under the spreading ice and falling snow. Alfheim and Svartalfheim are now both entirely frozen, as is Midgard herself. The ice quickly covers more of Vanaheim by the minute, and the giants of Jotunheim are frozen, stiff and still, in the icy prison that their realm has become. Even the frost giants are held fast in the grasp of this magic."

"I imagine the flame giants and their fiery realm might be immune to this icy onslaught," said Balder, always trying to find a ray of hope in the darkest night, but his optimistic observation did not bring much cheer to his peers. "Asgard also remains clear of this storm!"

The sudden flurry of snow that blew across Asgard and through the assemblage of gods and goddesses brought shudders among many of them, although whether that involuntary reaction was from the suddenly falling temperature or from silent surges of fear was unclear.

—O—

"So, what, everyone was dead?"

Tove looked down at the blonde hair spilling across her lap and the head attached to it, with Dani's face looking up at her. The two of them were seated on the couch upstairs, with Tove reclining against one side of the large couch and Dani lying between her legs, resting her head on Tove's thighs while quietly listening to the story. Until just then.

"What?" Tove asked, stopping the motion of her fingers gliding through Dani's hair.

"You just said that Midgard was frozen, along with those other worlds, Elf-land and—"

"Alfheim and Svartalfheim."

"Yeah, those. So if those worlds were frozen, was everyone in them dead?"

"Not yet," said Tove. "Either Elsa's magic kept them alive or they just hadn't frozen to death before—"

"Don't skip ahead!" Dani shouted, her body stiffening. "I hate it when people spoil the ending for me!"

Tove grinned proudly as she watched Dani's eyes close slowly and her lips shift into a content smile when the blonde settled back down into her previous position. "Dinner was wonderful," Tove said quietly. "Thank you for making it."

"It was the least I could do," replied Dani, her voice soft with comfort and sleepiness. "You've been so wonderful, and I need to do more to help you since you've let me stay here for so long." Her smile flattened into a frown before she spoke, "I'm not looking forward to leaving when the roads are clear."

I hope the roads are never cleared again, Tove thought, then immediately felt guilty for the selfishness of her thought. She has a home back in the United States. Expecting her to drop everything and stay here with me is ridiculous. Stop wishing for things that can never be. She took in a breath that didn't feel very calming before letting it back out again softly.

—O—

"Fetch me Thor."

Gasps from around the crowd were followed by Frigga stepping forward to look Odin directly in the eye.

"Odin, no!" his wife said, her aged face sorrowful. "The girl doesn't deserve that!"

"What she deserves is irrelevant at this point," spoke the All-father, his face grimly set. "She threatens the Nine Worlds with extinction. The time for gentleness has passed."

—O—

The explosive crack of lightning striking the ground close to her startled Elsa out of her constant sobbing. She looked up, once-blue eyes now shot with red and blurred with tears as she saw a large, fearsome man stepping out of the swirling smoke and snow thrown into the air by the bolt of electricity.

As she took in his fiery red hair and beard, her thoughts immediately went back to her dear lost Anna, but the rapidly building glow of the surprisingly small hammer in the man's hand seized her attention once more, and she knew who this had to be.

She had no time to even speak his name before the burning hammer was streaking toward her, its flight through the air making the air itself sizzle with its passage. Elsa dove to the side reflexively, drawing a wall of ice up from the ground to shield herself from the powerful impact of the hammer striking where she had been standing. Rocks and earth flew with the clap of thunder brought forth by the hammer's strike, but with her new power, the icy shield held fast against the earthen debris.

The sight of the hammer flying back to its owner confirmed Elsa's suspicions about the man's identity. "I'm trying to stop the storm!" she shouted, her voice barely audible over the crashing thunder now echoing through the mountains.

"As am I!" Thor shouted in reply before he hurled Mjolnir again at the young ice goddess.

Elsa threw up another wall of ice, this time directly between her and Mjolnir, but the enchanted hammer's direct strike shattered the wall of ice, sending Elsa awkwardly spinning to the ground as the powerful weapon scorched through the air just above her before arcing upward to return to the thunder god's right hand.

"Stop fighting and accept your fate, little god!" shouted Thor, his hammer returning to his gloved hand with a smack of impact. "You couldn't control your power even before you stole Skadi's magic! Be glad your dead woman isn't here to see what you've done in your grief and fear!"

A stinging impact on the thunderer's face sent him sprawling backward onto the snow. He growled as he brushed sleet and snow from his face, pushing himself up from his prone position, only to stop when he saw the sight ahead of him.

Elsa stood firm, her face lined with fury, teeth bared in a furious snarl as a tornado of ice and snow swirled around her. Her eyes now glowed with a brilliant cobalt light, her fingers flexed tightly like talons as she leaned forward, fixing the thunder god with a glare so terrible that he could feel his beard begin to rime with frost.

"Don't you EVER talk like that about Anna!" Elsa screamed, and the howling wind rose in pitch and intensity to match her cry.

Thor drew his right arm back to hurl Mjolnir again, only to have icy tendrils wrap around his arm, holding him fast. He spun around, striking the icy constructs with the edge of his left hand, using his prodigious strength to snap them as if they were icicles. He raised Mjolnir high into the air, calling forth the lightning that was his birthright.

Multiple tongues of burning electricity lanced down from the black clouds above to strike at Elsa, temporarily blinding Thor with their brilliance. But as his eyes quickly adjusted, he was presented with something he had not expected.

Elsa yet stood, the very air around her still steaming from the lightning's heat, her once-beautiful gown (a gift to her from Anna, for their fifth anniversary, although the thunder god was not aware of that fact) now torn and scorched in several places. If anything, her expression was even more furious that it had been before.

Waving both her arms out to the side, Elsa materialized dozens of glittering icicles in front of her, their razor-sharp points all aimed directly at the thunderer. She stabbed her arms forward, sending the deadly missiles flying at the red-bearded god.

Thor spun his hammer by the looped leather strap at its base, whirling it so quickly as to create a circular shield upon which most of the icy weapons struck and shattered. But then Elsa smiled and clenched her fingers into fists. Immediately the ice spikes which had shot around Thor and Mjolnir turned and flew back, embedding themselves into his back, his arms and legs.

The thunder god roared with pain as trickles of blood began to seep out of the many wounds, then he grinned with his own appreciation of a good fight.

A torrent of ice shot forth from Elsa's hand toward Thor, only to be met by a stream of crackling white electricity spewing from Mjolnir. The two elemental forces struck each other with a fury so great as to make the mountains around them tremble. Flashes of light and frost danced upon the snowy terrain in a lethal parody of the Northern Lights, sustained for several minutes. Then Thor abruptly leaped to his right, falling to his knee as he raised Mjolnir again, calling down the lightning once more.

As the bolts of electricity struck Elsa repeatedly, Thor used that moment to hurl Mjolnir at her chest, putting all of his might into the throw.

As Mjolnir streaked to its target, its glow tracing a seemingly solid line of light along its path, Elsa stepped forward, out of the barrage of lightning, screaming with primal rage and fury as she unleashed all of her power, all of her frustration, all of her anguish into a gout of bitterest cold that swept over Mjolnir and thunder god alike, burying them both in its raging destruction.

Elsa fell to her knees, momentarily spent at her exertion. Less than ten meters away from her, Mjolnir was suspended in a crystal of ice nearly as wide as Elsa was tall, a thin curving stem of ice connecting the frozen weapon's prison to the ground. Farther away, the frozen form of Thor was likewise encased in a solid chunk of ice, motionless and helpless.

As Elsa's fury ebbed in her exhaustion, she felt the storm sweeping across the cosmos had grown even more powerful, and she wept again. She truly was a monster without Anna and their love to assuage her fear, and with Anna gone there was no hope for the world.

And then a thought occurred to Elsa. For the first time in what seemed like weeks, the hints of a true smile slowly spread across Elsa's face. She carefully stood, the snow falling off of her dress where it had adhered with a mere thought of her part, and for the first time since the great storm that spanned the nine worlds (for despite the impossibility of its occurrence, snow was now beginning to fall in Muspelheim) first appeared, Elsa felt a flicker of hope ignite in her heart.

"If I am a goddess as Skadi said," Elsa said slowly, "then I'll just go get Anna myself."

—O—

"Okay, I have a question," Dani asked, taking another bite of her kringle as she and Tove walked through the busy streets, the stars sparkling in the night sky above Arendelle. They had just attended a quite adorable play put on by some of the school children, held on a small outdoor stage in one of the city's parks despite the cold weather. It had been remarkably well-attended; both dwindling snowfall and fierce parental pride seemed to be equally behind the large crowd.

Hot chocolate, coffee, tea and warm cider were being sold by several vendors lining the park, along with the now ubiquitous stands proffering Elsa and Anna wigs, hats, dresses, tiaras, shirts, hoodies, jackets, necklaces and even more trinkets and keepsakes than Dani could count. Snow had been carefully shoveled and moved to make paths for children and adults alike, and all spirits seemed to be jovial and joyous as the crowd cheered and applauded the students' hard work.

The first half of the play had been put on by younger students, primary and intermediate ages, while the second half was performed by older children, all teenagers, telling the story of Anna and Elsa that Tove had told Dani during their first nights together.

Tove turned and looked at Dani, taking a drink of her hot tea as they walked. "What's your question?" she asked, stepping carefully to the side to avoid three small children running toward them, laughing as they ran to and fro.

"Why aren't you in the spirit?" Dani asked teasingly, flashing a quick smile to Tove, who looked momentarily confused until Dani reached behind her head and pulled a long blonde braid out from beneath her coat, letting it drop loosely down her back.

"Oh," Tove said, a smile replacing the brief look of perplexity on her face. "Well, if you're going to do that, then I suppose I have no choice, do I?" she asked, not daring to consider the possible implications of Dani's wearing the blonde braid.

They stopped at one of the small heated stands selling Festival souvenirs; when Tove tried to pay for a blue baseball cap with Anna's long red braids, the man at the register instead lightheartedly argued with her, refusing to take her money after a brief discussion in Norwegian.

As Tove tugged the cap onto her head and they stepped back into the excited crowd, Dani stepped behind Tove to help reposition the cinnamon braids slightly. "What did he tell you?" she asked the Arendellan woman.

"He said that instead of paying, I could just feed him for free the next he came to the Two Queens," Tove replied, trying to conceal the light flushing of her cheeks. He also told me that he hoped you made me very happy, she thought to herself, but we'll just leave that part out for now.

As they walked Tove strove once again to steel her resolve. Dani has made it clear that she just wants to be friends, and I have to—I will—accept that. I'm not going to try to sway her or influence her, because that wouldn't be fair to her. I do care about her, and that means respecting her feelings as they are.

As she felt Dani's arm grasp her around her waist, pulling her into a walking embrace, she felt her resolve waver slightly. But gods, I do love her, she thought sadly.

—O—

Elsa had used her powers in this way more than once, extending her awareness around her, searching for someone (usually Anna or one of their children) or something. But while she could extend her awareness through the cold, snow and ice before, when she began the process this time, it instantly felt different.

It was snowing everywhere. EVERYWHERE. Throughout the nine worlds, she could feel tendrils of awareness, seeking, probing, for places she had never experienced, only names and vague ideas. But she wasn't about to let that keep her from Anna.

"Elsa," said a carefully friendly voice, sparking Elsa's attention back to the world around her physical body.

Looking around, Elsa instantly began gathering her power around her hands, flakes and crystals of ice and frost sparkling as they swirled into existence around her hands and forearms. However, the young woman with long golden hair walking toward her showed no signs of aggression.

"I am Freya," spoke the newcomer, lifting her open hands, palms facing toward Elsa, in a gesture intended to show peacefulness. "I'm here to help you try to control this storm you've accidentally unleashed, Elsa."

"I'll h-have to have Anna to control it," Elsa said, trying with all her might to keep her expression from breaking down again. "I'm going to get her right now."

Sadness etched Freya's face as she allowed herself to smile ever-so-slightly. "And where are you going to find her, Elsa?" she asked, trying to keep from upsetting the young goddess.

"I'll start with Valhalla first," Elsa said, only to stop herself and look pointedly at Freya. "Do you have her?" she asked accusingly.

Freya shook her head sadly. "I do not," she replied. "Although I would have been honored to have received her in Folkvangr. She was a skilled warrior, brave and just."

"Yes, she was," Elsa said, nodding her head as her eyes again filled with tears. "Then I'll go to Valhalla first. I'll find a way to get there."

"I am sure you would," Freya said, stepping forward slowly, carefully, so as not to frighten or threaten Elsa. "But Anna isn't there either."

"What?!" Elsa said loudly. "Where is she then?"

Now Freya was close enough to gently reach out and lightly touch Elsa's right forearm. "I'm so sorry to have to tell you this, Elsa," she said, causing a shiver to speed through Elsa's body. "Anna was a fierce, skilled warrior, yes. But she didn't die in battle."

"What are you..."

"She died of old age. And those who die of old age don't go to Folkvangr, or Valhalla. They go to—"

"To Helheim," Elsa finished, her breath so shallow and thready that the words were nearly inaudible. "To Hel."

Her jaw quivered as she thought of Anna, trapped in Helheim, condemned to a dark, cruel eternity that she surely never deserved. She sobbed against a tightly clenched mouth, all her sorrow of the last few days now multiplied by Anna's unjust suffering. Her emotions, along with her stomach, roiled within her, making her nauseous and furious in equal measure as the true bleakness of the situation settled over her like a pall. And then she screamed, long and loud, her voice shrill with frustration, with anger, with despair and sorrow, and all of Midgard for miles around her froze in the path of her unleashed emotions...

Including Freya.

—O—

"The roads are supposed to be passable tomorrow," Tove finally said, breaking the uncomfortable silence that weighed oppressively over what would likely be their last dinner together.

Dani nodded glumly, not meeting the brunette's searching eyes. "I know," she added, and there was a definite heaviness in her voice. "Please let me do the dishes tonight," she said, finally looking up, meeting eyes that appeared to be limned with unshed tears, just like her own. "It's the—" she got out before her throat closed up on her. She swallowed tightly before trying again. "It's... the least I can do. For you. For all you've done for me."

Tove reached out and took Dani's left hand across the small table they had eaten on every night for the last two weeks. "You don't owe me anything, Dani," Tove said, giving her friend's hand a squeeze.

"Yeah, I do," Dani replied, nodding several times. "For more than... For more than you know."

"It was my pleasure to be here for you."

Neither of them spoke for several minutes, as they simply sat in the quietness of the small dining room. Neither moved to release the other's hand, so they continued to sit that way, at times with a thumb or finger gently rubbing soft, warm skin below without protest from either woman. Below them, the sounds muffled by the thick flooring and high roof, the pub was busy, with people celebrating the Festival of Love as well as the roads opening back up the next day.

"I need to go down and help out for a bit," Tove finally said, apology in her tone. "I'm sorry that I can't—"

"Hey," Dani said, giving Tove's hand a brief shake. "No apologies, okay? It's your business. You don't have to keep me company."

"I know," Tove replied. "But I want to."

The unspoken emotion swirling behind Tove's eyes was more eloquent that any words Dani could have heard, and she felt something deep inside her heart that had been straining for days finally yield. "Go check on your girls downstairs," Dani said, feeling a single tear escape her lashes and rebelliously streak down her left cheek. "I'll still be here when you come back up." She patted Tove's hand before letting it go.

Tove slowly stood, the expression on her face vacillating between a smile and sorrow. She slowly walked around the table, then stopped. She bent over and gently placed a kiss on top of Dani's blonde head. She smiled finally, then she turned and walked to the door leading to the stairs.

—O—

"Astrid!" Tove called to the server, passing by with a tray of used plates and glasses. The server stopped and turned, and the slight smile that drew across her lips momentarily unsettled Tove. "Is, uh, everything okay? Down here, I mean?" she asked the girl in Norwegian

Astrid nodded. "Going smooth for what's pretty much a party night," she replied. "Oh, I left that stuff the American girl asked me to get for her in your office. Figured you could take it up to her later." Then the server resumed her walk into the kitchen.

Surprised, Tove simply stood there for several seconds. She was still standing there when Astrid walked past her again on her way out to the pub, this time carrying a smaller tray with prepared meals on it. She gave Tove a quizzical look but didn't stop as she walked past the puzzled brunette again.

Curious as to what Dani would have asked Astrid to acquire for her, Tove went directly into her office. After all, it sounded like her staff really did have things under control.

As she went into her office, Tove flicked the light switch on, then closed the door behind her. A small stack of printed papers and a folded newspaper rested on her desk. Tove curiously eyed the items as she took her seat behind the desk.

The newspaper appeared unremarkable until she reached the final pages. Among the classified section, several listings for small apartments had been circled. The printed pages included images of apartments and small houses for rent, both in and around the city, along with notations that suggested Astrid was offering her own opinions on the suitability, or lack thereof, of each place. All the notes were in Norwegian, but Tove still smiled at the sweet gesture on the girl's part.

Tove could barely breathe. She's thinking about staying here. Oh Elsa and Anna and ALL the gods, she's thinking about staying.

But did it mean she was interested in Tove, or did it just mean she loved living here? That was a vital distinction, and Tove didn't want to get her hopes up, setting her sights on something impossible. Just because Dani was looking didn't mean she was staying. Her home right now was back in New York City, her job was...

Well. Her job as a photojournalist involved a great deal of travel. And Dani had completed her current project on the Northern Lights and submitted everything online while she had been stranded in Arendelle, with backups of everything on her camera and laptop computer. So maybe it wasn't so far-fetched to think of Dani staying here.

But then that could be a new kind of torture, having such a good friend so close at hand, when deep inside Tove wanted it to be more.

Tove stacked the papers back up neatly, then picked them up as she stood.

She went quietly back upstairs, not wanting to presume anything but feeling the embers of hope still warm in her heart heating up slightly with each step she took. When she reached the apartment level, she stopped, momentarily surprised to not see Dani in the dining or kitchen area.

Then she heard Dani's voice coming from the living room, where the landline telephone was. Tove moved quietly, not wanting to startle or disturb Dani should she be on an important call, but as she drew near, she could hear Dani's side of the conversation.

"No, mom! Mom. MOM!" Dani said, before sighing heavily. "Look, I'm... I'm just not sure I'm going back to Manhattan yet, okay?"

There was a pause before Dani spoke again, likely listening to whatever her mother was saying. "Mom, I love it over here. It's incredible, and it's so beautiful. People are all nice and friendly, everything is within easy walking distance, and it's just so, so... peaceful here. And I think I need some of that right now."

Another pause, followed by Dani speaking again. "Yes, I have been trapped here for the last two weeks. But I'm glad it happened." A shorter pause, followed by Dani audibly taking a deep breath.

"Mom, I-I've... met someone."

Another pause.

"Yes, mom."

"No, mom."

"I know it's only been three months since all that shit went down, but Mom! You wouldn't believe what Tove is like!"

"She's kind, she's sweet, she's smart, she's—"

This pause was longer than the others, lasting several seconds before Dani spoke again.

"Yes, Mom. I said she. As in a woman."

"Mom."

"MOM!"

"Jesus, Mom! You have no idea how happy I've been over here with her! These last two weeks have been better than a vacation! I got my work done and sent in on time, and it was Tove who got me up on the mountain to take some of the best pictures I've ever captured! She gave me a place to stay, she's fed me, she's showed me around, she's told me about the area's history and culture, she's been—"

There was a longer pause, and when Dani spoke again, it was in a deep register Tove had never heard come from the American woman's mouth. "Don't... you... dare say shit like that about her!" Dani spat into the phone. "She would never take advantage of me like that. When I told her that I wasn't gay, she worked extra hard to not make me feel uncomfortable, to not make me feel pressured, and she never let it affect our friendship, even though I knew it hurt her badly when I told her that."

After another lengthy pause, Dani spoke again. Her voice wasn't as deep and threatening as before, but it was far from friendly. "Well, maybe I changed my mind. Maybe I am attracted to her. Not only is she freaking beautiful, she's the best person I've ever met. She runs a business that's been in her family for over fifty years, she's smart with money, she's mature emotionally, she's mentally stable, she's kind to everybody, and she's treated me better than any man I've ever dated!"

"No, I can live over here and still work at my job."

"I already fly around the world, Mom. I can submit all my photos and articles from here, thanks to this thing called the Internet. Maybe you've heard of it."

"Well, maybe you shouldn't be such a smart-ass with me! Did you think about that?"

"Look, why are you so ag—"

"Why did you put Dad on the phone?"

"Dad. DAD!"

"Goddammit, Dad! I care about her. I... I think I lo—"

An anguished whine could be heard in place of Dani's voice. The soft keening sent chills up Tove's spine ever from her position out in the hallway, and it took all she had to not rush into the living room and take the phone away from Dani.

"Don't... don't say things like that," Dani said, her voice no longer defiant and proud but pleading and hesitant. "No, I didn't deserve to be treated like that! He had no right to steal from me, to cheat on me, to—"

"No, Mom, it wasn't like that. I did try. I tried everything except giving up my job, my career, for him, and it still wasn't good enough. I wasn't good enough!"

"That relationship with him almost killed me. Do either of you really understand that?"

"No, I am not talking crazy talk! You have no idea how much I was hurting inside, because you weren't fucking there!"

The sound of sobbing began to emanate from the room, and Tove felt her own eyes burning in sympathy.

"You don't know..." Dani said weakly. "You don't know how much I... How much she means to me, even after just two weeks."

"WHY CAN'T YOU JUST BE HAPPY FOR ME?!" Dani screamed suddenly, making Tove jump. "Why does it always have to be some guy that one or both of you wants to set me up with, because they all turn out to be liars, or cheaters, or assholes!"

A soft thump came from the room, prompting Tove to look into the room. She saw Dani now sitting on the floor, her back facing Tove as she stared at the fire burning low in the fireplace for a long, painful minute.

"Please don't call me that."

The pain in that voice drew Tove's attention back to the young woman seated on the floor, crying from the way her free hand was swiping at her face.

"I'm not worthless," Dani said, her voice pained. "I'm n-not a whore." She sniffed loudly, coughing once. "I'm not going to Hell, either. Don't talk to me like—"

Tove gently taking the telephone handset from her hand cut off what Dani was about to say. "Shhh," Tove whispered softly as she carefully placed the handset back on the telephone's base, silencing the audible but unintelligible stream of hatred and invective blaring through the receiver.

When she sat down on the floor next to Dani, the blonde threw herself into Tove's arms, finally releasing all of the hurt and pain that had been brought forcefully to the surface by the conversation with her parents. They sat there for thirty minutes, until both posteriors had begun to go numb, Tove holding Dani and singing softly to her in Norwegian while Dani cried and shook, clutching to Tove as if she was a life preserver and Dani was drowning in dark, stormy waters.

—O—

In Asgard high above, the assembly of gods and goddesses fell silent at the arrival of the newcomer. Shadows seemed to darken and lengthen, and the air grew even colder. Several gods visibly shrunk away as the tall, fearsome woman strode through the snow accumulating on the ground, leaving footprints as intimidating as her ruined face, half beautiful, half sickly blue and withered as unto death.

"Hel," said Odin One-Eye, who refused to fear the goddess of the dead.

"Lord Odin," replied Hel, her voice raspy and dry. "There seems to be a problem in Helheim."

"Oh?" asked the All-father.

"Yes. It is completely encased in ice."

Odin nodded his head gravely, considering her words. "I believe I know the source of your problem, death-goddess." He gestured to the image being projected from the Bifrost.

Hel stepped forward, both her bright blue eye and her glassy white one fixing on the sight of Elsa, surrounded by snow and ice for miles in all direction, broken down and sobbing among the bright white wasteland. "Who is this?"

"A young goddess," said Frigga, stepping forward. "Who has lost her life's love."

Hel snorted disdainfully. "She should learn to control her powers, ere she come to my realm sooner than the Norns intend."

Odin turned to look at Hel, who looked away from the image of Elsa to meet the All-father's one-eyed gaze. "Her wife is within your realm," Odin said. "She was a fierce warrior, but time wins all battles in the end."

Hel nodded. It was a story she had heard, and seen, endless times before. "And what would you have me do?" she finally asked after long moments of silence.

"Could you free her wife's spirit?" asked Frigga, since it seemed no one else was willing to speak the words aloud.

Hel's face twisted, the beautiful left half forming a cruel smile while the ruined right half seemed to snarl more than it already was. "Let him ask me," Hel said, tilting her head in the All-father's direction.

Frigga turned to look at Odin, who in turn begrudgingly met her gaze, then he turned to the goddess of death once more. "Lady Hel, will you please release the spirit of Anna, wife of Elsa, from your realm?"

Hel smiled (and sneered) even more, closing her eyes and relishing the request. Each second she stood thus, Odin felt himself grow more and more irritated, and he was practically fuming by the time Hel's eyes snapped open. "No," she said simply, then turned to leave.

"NO?!" roared Odin, and the wind and falling snow briefly blew away from the gods gathered around him and the death-goddess as his temper rose. "NO?!" he roared again.

Hel turned and met his gaze. "Was I not clear enough, Lord Odin?" she asked, her voice fawningly obsequious.

She took several steps back toward the lord of the gods. "There was a pact struck millenia ago, and that pact specifies the division of the souls of the dead. You took your share of the brightest and bravest warriors, and what remains of dear Freya did the same. The two of you left the rest of the souls to me, putting it upon me to house, feed and care for the dregs of humanity, those whom you deemed unworthy to set foot in your precious Valhalla, or in Freya's pretty little Folkvangr. I was stuck with the task of guarding those souls neither of you wanted. I was left to manage a realm mired in perpetual gloom and sorrow." Hel stood up straighter, towering over all the other gods by a head-and-a-half.

"But I have done my duty," she hissed as she looked around, venom in her words. "And now you will respect the pact in your own right." She turned back to the All-father, and she coldly held his gaze. "This 'Anna' is mine to keep, and I will not give her back, though Helheim and the other eight worlds freeze for eternity."

—O—

"Elsa?"

At the sound of that voice, Elsa jumped to her feet, her heart beating wildly. "Anna?!" she shouted, looking around until her eyes finally fell upon cinnamon hair, freckles painted with abandon across a fair face that was once again youthful and vital, eyes of aquamarine and a smile of pure light and warmth. "ANNA!"

Elsa stumbled toward Anna, whose smile was beaming as the two of them quickly walked toward each other, finally meeting in a embrace that left Elsa crying tears of joy instead of sorrow. "How are you here?" Elsa whispered, not daring to let Anna go now that she was in Elsa's arms again.

"The gods convinced Hel to release me, so that we could stop this blizzard that's devouring the nine worlds," Anna said calmly. "They knew that you needed love to end the storm, and that your love had been broken when I died."

Elsa sobbed as she heard Anna's words, so lost in the emotion of their reunion that she paid no mind to Anna's arms and hands moving slightly behind Elsa's back while they held each other. Elsa had no way to see the slim dagger withdrawn from the long sleeve of Anna's dress, nor the clear, odorless poison that coated its blade with a dull sheen. She could not see the smirk that crossed Anna's lips in a way that seemed unnatural for that fair, happy face.

But she did feel Anna shiver from the cold.

It was just once, so slight as to be missed were it not for the intimacy of their embrace, but to Elsa it was a sensation so foreign to Anna, who was loved by the cold as much as Elsa herself, as to be unheard of.

Elsa's power erupted from her body with a ferociousness that picked Anna up, sending her tumbling in the torrent of cold and ice that sprayed around Elsa in all directions, its fury proportionate to Elsa's own. Elsa whirled around in time to see Anna's figure shift into that of a slim male, with short dark eyes and a cruel sneer that was now quite literally frozen onto his face, the poisoned dagger still held within his grip, ineffectual in his current predicament.

"Loki," Elsa snarled, and she blasted him again for good measure, tightening his icy prison so that it squeezed him painfully.

A snapping sound behind her made Elsa whirl, a stream of ice and frost already forming around her left hand as she spun.

"Stay your hand, ice goddess," spoke the woman, who was easily the tallest woman Elsa had ever seen. Long dark hair fell from her head down her back, but even more notable was this woman's face, half fair and beautiful, half blue as a drowned corpse with a mouth twisted into an unreadable expression.

"Hel," Elsa breathed. She did not lower her arm, keeping her left hand pointed at Hel as her icy power swirled around her forearm. "Return Anna to me," Elsa said, making her voice firm despite how shaken she was emotionally by the imposter-Anna.

Hel shook her head slowly, and it seemed as though the human half of her face was even... sad? "I will not," said Hel, her voice rasping but oddly gentle.

"Why not?!" Elsa cried, her voice tight with fading hope and frustration.

"Because that is not the way of things," spoke the death-goddess, who slowly took a few steps toward Elsa. "You know this, though your heart does not want to accept it."

"Please bring her back to me," Elsa said, her voice wavering as she spoke, trying to inject all the pain she was feeling into her words. "The blizzard I've created in my sorrow and fear is going to bring about an icy Ragnarok, an end to all things, and it can only be stopped with Anna!"

Hel shook her head slowly as she continued to slowly, patiently walk closer to Elsa. "Anna is a mortal, and their time is short. They are the most beautiful of flowers, growing proud and hopeful, blooming brightly and intensely, their very being suffused with color and emotion and life. Then they fade, then wither, then die, their beauty fleeting but all the more precious for its brevity."

Hel stopped as the storm surrounding them intensified further, stretching inward to blow over the two of them. Even the goddess of death felt herself shiver in the teeth of the magical cold, biting and bitter like nothing she had ever felt. She was still roughly ten meters away, but Elsa's anguish was evident even through the swirling snow. "But I can reunite you with your Anna," Hel finally spoke, having to raise her voice to be heard.

Elsa looked up, meeting Hel's asymmetric gaze. "W-what are you talking about?" she stammered, watching Hel through the fiercely blowing gusts of snow and ice.

"I can take you to her," Hel said, beginning to walk forward again, her steps still measured but slightly more urgent than before. "You can be together again."

Elsa's chin trembled. She knew what Hel was offering. And she knew that her pain, her anguish would never end as long as she and Anna were separated.

She nodded, sadly, as she accepted her fate. All things that live must die. And all things that die will lead to new life. If being with Anna meant an eternity in Helheim, then they would find beauty and joy and love in the shadows of that dark place.

Elsa knelt, lowering her head and accepting her death, a small price to pay to be reunited with her True Love. Hel pressed forward, battling the fearsome wind, which seemed to grow more and more powerful with each step the tall goddess took.

As she waited for the sting of death, Elsa thought about how upset Anna would be with her. This isn't what Anna would have wanted, and Elsa knew it. Anna had told her she would be patiently waiting for Elsa no matter how long it took, but Elsa couldn't even make it a week on her own.

She had lasted nearly thirteen years without Anna the first time. Thinking about those dreadful years made Elsa's heart ache even more. They were misery. Torture. She wouldn't want Anna to suffer that way again. This was going to be best for both of them, to say nothing of the nine worlds currently jeopardized by Elsa's runaway magic (as much as Niflheim could be jeopardized by even more ice and snow). Elsa's death would end this storm and save everything, and she and Anna would be reunited once more, this time for eternity.

So why did it feel to Elsa like she was making a terrible mistake?

—O—

Knocking on the pub's door made Tove jump.

Knowing who it had to be so early in the morning, Tove sighed and slowly crossed the open space of the pub's main room. She left her hard cider on the small table where she had been sitting for the last two hours. She didn't drink—it was never a good idea for someone who owned a pub to do so—and she had nursed and sipped at the single drink the entire time she had sat there, alone in the darkness.

She didn't know why Dani was going back. Guilt, she supposed, a card that parents knew how to play all too well. Maybe threats of some kind; Dani wouldn't go into details about what her parents had said, only that she had to go back.

She didn't want to go. Both Tove and Dani knew it. But whether it was through obligation or intimidation, Dani had told Tove, tearfully and emotionally, that she couldn't stay. That she would be back, that they would stay friends, but Tove hadn't heard the ring of believability in the blonde's words, only the numbness of defeat.

As Tove opened the pub's door, Karla's cheery round face appeared, her dark curls bouncing with the short jerk of her head to look up at Tove. "Hi!" she said, her voice entirely too happy for Tove to deal with at the moment.

When Tove turned and walked away without replying, Karla's face fell. "She's going back, isn't she?" the girl asked quietly as she stepped inside, closing the door behind her. The sun was shining, snow was thinning, and the roads were finally passable. But the darkness and glum mood inside the Two Queens presented an entirely different atmosphere.

Tove finally nodded, her back still turned to Karla. "Yes," she finally breathed out. "Her parents called her last night."

"Oh."

"It was... not a pleasant conversation."

"It sounds like it was pretty bad."

Tove nodded and turned, and now Karla could see the shining tracks of tears down Tove's face as the dawning light outside began to illuminate the interior of the pub through the large windows.

"Oh, Tove," Karla said, opening her eyes and pulling Tove into a much-needed hug.

"I love her," Tove croaked out weakly. "I don't care that I've only known her a little over two weeks. I love her."

Karla nodded. She knew too. She could see it. "She loves you, too, you know," she whispered to Tove.

Tove's eyes clenched tightly, despite them already being closed. "She tried to tell them that," she said through her sobs. "She was going to stay, until they did whatever they did to her, whatever awful things they said to her."

The two of them stood quietly for a bit, Karla trying to comfort her friend.

"I've been down here for the last two hours," Tove finally said. "While she was packing." She sniffed loudly, then swallowed. "I— I couldn't trust myself," she sputtered out, "not to try and plead with her to stay, to do whatever it took to change her mind." She closed her eyes again, ashamed at the thoughts that had run through her mind at that time, of the ways she might be able to coerce Dani to stay, to seduce her or tempt her. But none of them would have been fair, or right. It would have been manipulating someone Tove cared about deeply, and that would leave a stain on both their souls that might never fade.

"I have to let her go," Tove sobbed, burying her face in the shoulder of Karla's navy coat. "Because I love her."

"Have you told her?" Karla finally asked, pulling back enough to look into Tove's red eyes.

Tove shook her head. "She knows I care about her. I kissed her the other night."

"Did she kiss back?" Karla asked, surprise written across her face.

Tove nodded. "She did, and she said it was the best kiss she had ever had. Then she told me she wasn't gay." Before Karla could offer her opinion on that, Tove interrupted her. "I can't tell her, Karla. I can't hit her with that, right before she's flying back to the States, back to her home and her life. That isn't something you do to a friend."

Karla smiled sadly, reached up to cup Tove's left cheek with her bare right hand. "You're too nice for your own good, Tove," she said softly.

"I know," said Tove, nodding weakly. "But it's who I am. It's who I have to be."

"I know," Karla replied quietly. She stretched up and placed a quick kiss on Tove's cheek. "She's a fool for leaving you," the girl said sadly.

"She's doing what she feels like she has to do," Tove replied, her face sorrowful but resigned. "And I have to respect her decision and support her, no matter what that decision is."

The sound of the door from the stairs leading upstairs opening was surprisingly loud in the quiet, still pub. Karla and Tove stepped apart, both turning to see Dani, her camera bag and laptop slung over her right shoulder and her rolling suitcase standing in front of her, its handle fully extended.

"The car's out front," Karla said, clearing her throat once. "It's plenty warm." She looked back and forth between Dani and Tove. "I'll just wait outside. Take as long as you need to. Flight doesn't leave for three hours."

As the girl stepped back outside, a beam of soft golden light shone in through the open door, illuminating the wooden floor and the bar briefly before the door closed, plunging the room back into shadows again.

For long seconds Tove and Dani simply looked at each other, only five meters apart but separated by so much more. Then Dani ran forward, grabbing Tove's head with her hands and kissing the brunette, passionately, deeply for several wonderful seconds. Tove responded by throwing her arms around Dani, hugging her tightly as the two of them cried through their kiss, their tears leaking through their lips as they parted and reconnected again and again, the taste of salt mixing with a desperate heat.

Finally they pulled apart. Dani's eyes were flooded with tears, running so heavily down her face that they dripped onto her coat and her shirt. Tove's were the same, pupils wide and frantic.

Then Dani turned her head and stepped away, grabbing the handle of her suitcase and practically running out of the pub, the wheels of the suitcase bouncing awkwardly off the ground as the suitcase hopped along behind her.

—O—

The drive to the airport might have had beautiful scenery. It might have detoured along the edge of Hell. Dani wouldn't have known, because she sat in the floorboard of the back of the Land Rover, head buried between her knees as she cried uncontrollably.

She knew she had broken Tove's heart. She had also broken her own heart, and she knew it.

She wanted to stay. More than anything else, she wanted to stay. But she couldn't. It would have meant the loss of her family, although she hated her parents right now, the loss of her apartment, the loss of most her friends and the way of life she had grown up with.

Her thoughts raced for the thirty minutes they were driving, fixating again and again upon the two kisses she had shared with Tove, how powerful and heartfelt and real they felt.

She would never experience another kiss like that ever again. And she wouldn't deserve to. Not after what she had just done, walking away from a truly good person, someone who loved her, who was offering her heart to Dani.

Dani's face trembled as her entire body shook. It felt like she was dying, both inside and out, like she had rejected something as essential to her survival as oxygen, and her body was fatally punishing her for her arrogance.

She thought of Tove's voice, patiently telling her the story of Anna and Elsa. Of what the two women went through, to face their entire country and announce their love for each other, to stand tall in the face of withering criticism. Of course they were scared. But they followed their hearts anyway, and they stood together against all those who tried to pull them apart. They changed their lives and their country by standing up for their love.

She sucked in a shaky breath, feeling her heart briefly pause as it skipped a beat before resuming its pounding rhythm.

She had to go back.

She was wrong to leave. Maybe it wasn't too late. Mayb—

The Land Rover jerking to a stop forcibly wrenched Dani from her thoughts, her pulse hammering in the back of her head. She could still fix this.

"Karla!" she cried out, scrambling to pull herself off the floor and back into the rear seats so she could see where they were. "Karla, we have to—"

The sight of the blue door of the Two Queens faced her as she looked out the side window. She laughed once, not believing what she was seeing, uncertain if it was real or not.

She swiveled her head to see Karla turned around in the front seat watching her, a smug grin on the girl's face. "I, uh, left my phone here," the girl said. "Realized it once we were close to the airport." She looked at Dani for a few seconds, then asked, "Is there anything here that you forgot?"

Without another word Dani was throwing herself out the door of the Land Rover, painfully slamming her head against the Rover's roof but not caring at the moment. She ran across the sidewalk, snow still pushed to the sides, shoving the pub's door open and racing inside.

Tove turned at the sound, her tear-streaked face frozen in shock as she tried to process what she was seeing.

Dani didn't stop until she had grabbed Tove and was kissing her with complete abandon, pushing the two of them back against the nearest wall, and if not for that wall, they'd have wound up on the floor from their momentum.

"I love you," Dani said, half-whisper, half-plea between kisses. "I love you, I love you!"

Tove began crying again. "I love you, too," she replied, trying to catch her breath to keep up with Dani's vigorous kissing.

"I'm not leaving you," Dani said. "Not now, not ever."

"You'll have to, for your work," Tove managed to get out through the corner of Dani's mouth.

"Yeah, but I'll come back," Dani replied, her voice thick. "My heart's never leaving you, Tove."

After another few minutes of kissing, the two of them finally paused to catch their breath. Both faces were red and flushed, eyes still bloodshot, lips red, hair disheveled as they stood there panting, neither one willing to release the other for a second.

Finally Tove grinned. "Told you the Festival of Love was powerful," she said, lifting her right arm to tap her finger against the wall behind them.

Dani tilted her head enough to see the faces of Elsa and Anna looking back at them from one of the large Festival posters, their faces pressed together cheek to cheek as they smiled at Dani from the main image of the poster.

"I believe you," Dani replied, kissing Tove again. "And now I believe in them, too," she added before closing her eyes and getting lost in their kissing, enjoying the feeling of her heart swelling with happiness and joy.

—O—

Karla sat in the Land Rover outside, debating how long she should wait to take the American woman's suitcase and bags inside.

As she sang quietly to herself, fingertips tapping out a rhythm on the steering wheel, she saw Astrid walking toward her along the sidewalk, the woman's gaze fixed quite clearly on the black Land Rover. As Astrid drew near, Karla scooted over into the passenger's seat and opened the door, then moved back to the driver's seat as Astrid looked around, then slid into the Rover, closing the door behind her.

"Took them long enough," Astrid harrumphed, turning to look at the main window of the pub. It was still too dark inside and too bright outside to all the way into the bar, but she had a very good idea what was occurring inside.

"Yeah, I was beginning to really worry there," replied Karla, lifting her arm to tilt the rear-view mirror to check her reflection. "They were both too stubborn for their own good."

A shimmering glow briefly filled the cabin of the Land Rover, concealed from the outside by the tinted windows. When the glow died down, Karla's dark curly hair had been replaced by flowing cinnamon hair, long and straight inside of in its more usual twin braids. She smiled at the platinum blonde sitting beside her where Astrid had been, meeting sapphire blues that beamed back at her with utter devotion and love.

"I'm glad we didn't give up on them," Anna said.

"We weren't going to give up on them," replied Elsa, giving her wife a knowing smile that always sent a thrill down Anna's spine. "They had both been through so much. They needed each other."

"To heal their hearts," Anna said, nodding as she shifted to where she could look into the pub.

Elsa turned to do the same, their vision clearly showing them the two women who were in the process of joining their hearts together. "There'll be some fights and tough times ahead of them, but they'll make it through now that they have each other."

Anna stayed quiet until Elsa turned to look at her again. She smiled at Elsa. "Just like two stubborn people I happen to know, right?" she asked, placing her left hand on Elsa's where it rested on Anna's thigh.

"Exactly," Elsa said, leaning forward and kissing her mate of many, many years. "I think it's probably time for 'Astrid' and 'Karla' to move on, don't you?" she said after they broke their loving kiss.

"Let's stay until the Festival is over," Anna said, freckles sliding along her cheeks as she smiled. "You know you love it just as much as I do."

Elsa matched Anna's smile, then reached up and lightly touched the tip of Anna's nose with her index finger. "I'm fine with serving for another week."

Anna grinned. "Well, you know I'd break more dishes and glasses than I could pay off. Plus your butt looks really good in those jeans."

Elsa looked over her shoulder as she turned toward the car door. "You know I wear them for you," she said, giving Anna a wink before shimmering filled the vehicle again, fading to reveal Astrid and Karla once more.

As "Astrid" opened the door, she turned to look back into the Rover. "Love you," she said quietly, holding the door ajar.

"Love you too," replied "Karla," smiling and blowing a kiss to her mate.

—O—

As Elsa knelt there in the snow and driving wind, her doubt continued to gnaw at her. That doubt fueled the raging storm, already plunging the nine worlds into an ice age that even old Ymir himself would have been pleased with.

Patiently Elsa waited, minute after minute, trying to think only of Anna, of seeing Anna's face, of kissing Anna's lips, of hearing Anna's voice again.

Yet the sting of death never came.

Finally Elsa opened her eyes and lifted her head.

There, less than an meter away, stood Hel, encased entirely in ice. Her outstretched hand reached toward Elsa, but the storm made sure it would never touch her.

Elsa stood, uncertain if she should feel relief or anger while instead frustration reigned over her thoughts. She started toward Hel when a blinding flash of light and crack of thunder sounded behind her.

Instantly Elsa threw up a shield of ice between her and whomever or whatever had made that noise. Her first thought was Thor, but a quick glance in his direction revealed the thunderer remained securely in his icy block. Mjolnir was the same, still captured in mid-flight by Elsa's ice roughly two meters away.

Curious as to who would be the next to try and kill her, Elsa dissolved her ice wall but remained prepared to instantly conjure it again should that be necessary.

The identity of her latest visitor was evident as she looked him over, but despite all she had seen and experienced already that day, she was still stunned at who stood before her now.

"Odin," Elsa said quietly, steeling herself for another battle, one she likely could not win.

"Your storm has nearly frozen all, young Elsa," said Odin One-Eye, holding his great and terrible spear Gungnir tightly in his right hand. "The opportunity to end this scourge and reverse the damage you have done is fleeting."

"I can stop it if I have Anna!" Elsa screamed at the All-father, all sense of propriety for the lord of the gods swept away in her emotional turmoil.

Instead of answering with words, Odin began to sing quietly, his voice deep as the spoken runes of power began to charge the very air around him, gathering and building power. Elsa's emotions warred within her, leaving her unsure of whether she should fight, flee or simply surrender to her death, as she had been willing to do minutes earlier but was hesitant to do now.

"STOP!" screamed a voice from beside the two gods, off to Elsa's left and Odin's right.

Odin's runesinging halted, as did the frost swirling of its own accord around Elsa's hands and arms. The two of them turned to see a slight, willowy blonde woman in a long green dress standing there, holding what looked like a basket. She was shivering in the cold, but she stood completely still, facing the two gods locked in their standoff. Odin recognized the young, quiet goddess Idun, but Elsa had no idea who she was.

"Elsa," spoke the young woman, smiling as if she knew the greatest secret in all the nine worlds. "I have someone here who wants to see you."

Elsa stood there, dumbfounded, until Idun stepped to the side, revealing someone who had standing behind her.

Elsa felt her breath leave her lungs. "A-Anna?" she gasped.

In reply, the redhead wearing a simple gray frock ran forward at full speed, arms pumping, fists clenched. Elsa had only a few seconds to process that Anna was young again, now that her soul had been freed from its old, worn-out body. Then Anna was upon her, her arms wrapped around Elsa's chest and her head buried in the bend between Elsa's left shoulder and neck. Elsa's arms encircled Anna of their own accord as Elsa closed her eyes and breathed in Anna, her warmth, her smell, the feel of her skin, the feel of her hair, the sobbing of relief that came from deep within both of them as the two mates broke down with joy and relief at being reunited once more.

The singing of Elsa's magic deep within and around her told her that this was no imposter, no deception, and the way Anna kissed her only confirmed that.

"I love you, I love you, I love you," were whispered over and over from Anna's lips as she kissed Elsa's neck, shoulder, cheek, face and finally lips, ending with a prolonged kiss that tasted sweeter than any fruit, any meal, any drink Elsa had ever experienced. Elsa was unable to form words until the two of them retracted their heads slightly, just enough for Elsa to look into the brilliant green-blue eyes that been her entire world for over sixty years.

"I love you more than anything in existence," Elsa said truthfully, and as she spoke the words, the great blizzard sputtered and broke, the snow and ice evaporating as quickly as a soap bubble bursting at a child's touch.

All across the nine worlds, the ice and snow caused by Elsa's uncontrolled magic disappeared, leaving eight worlds once again free of winter's chilling grasp and the ninth, Niflheim, with a bit less snow and ice than it had a few minutes earlier.

Inside the main bedroom of the Ice Palace, a frozen Tyr fell backward as the ice imprisoning him dissolved; as he scrambled away so that the icy blade that had frozen him wouldn't fall on him, he watched as it levitated back toward its place on the wall, hanging itself neatly back in its former position.

On the plateau around Elsa, Anna, Odin and Idun, Thor fell forward from his awkward position after he had thrown Mjolnir, burying his face in the snow. The fierce hammer, its momentum arrested within Elsa's icy block, simply fell to the frozen ground with a wet thump.

Hel and Loki blinked at the sudden release from the numbing embrace of their icy prisons. Seeing the others gathered nearby, Loki quickly slipped his poisoned dagger back into the long sleeve of his tunic, while Hel blinked the frost away from her one good eye and wiped it away from the other side of her face. Seeing Loki, she narrowed her eyes briefly. "Father," she said flatly.

"Daughter," replied Loki, equally terse.

Odin simply stood in amazement as the storm vanished, the last lingering notes of its magic having changed from pain and rage to joy and love.

Freya quickly looked around, only to feel her heart surge as she saw the two lovers in each other's arms. She smiled and closed her eyes, relishing in the feelings of love that radiated from the two mates like warmth from the sun.

Elsa looked at Anna's face, once again youthful and dotted with the freckles she adored instead of the age spots left by time. She felt Anna's arms, once more wiry and strong, and her body, taut and lean like when they had just been married. "How did you..." Elsa asked, her mind having great difficulty processing how this happened.

Anna grinned and held up her right hand, opening her fist to reveal the core of a golden apple, only a small amount of skin remaining around the stem and base. "Idun over there found me in Helheim and gave me this," she said proudly.

"I made her eat two," Idun spoke, raising her voice to be heard clearly across the distance. "Just to make sure," she added with a smile.

"But h-how did you find her?" Elsa stammered, unable to take her eyes off Anna due to worry her wife would vanish should she look away.

Idun smiled. "It was easy," she said. "I just looked for the one spot in all of Helheim the storm refused to freeze, and there, in the center of that one place spared by the snow and ice, was Anna."

Elsa nodded, knowing how much the cold loved and respected her partner. She looked Anna up and down, marveling at how healthy and vibrant the redhead was once more. "So you're alive again?" Elsa asked Anna, her mind racing uncontrollably but her spirit bathed in joy.

"I am," Anna replied before closing her eyes and leaning against Elsa, tucking her forehead just beneath Elsa's jaw. "And I never have to leave you again."

"She's a goddess now," said Idun, walking toward the two women. As she drew nearer, Elsa could see the blonde woman's basket was full of plump apples, shining like molten gold in the newly returned sunlight. "Just like you, Elsa. You'll both still age, but slowly and at the same time."

"We can grow old together," Anna said, beaming as she stared into Elsa's bright blue eyes again, blinking tears of happiness away. "Like we always wanted."

Elsa was speechless, so she simply smiled widely and kissed Anna once again.

"Her power is too dangerous!" shouted Odin, making all those assembled turn to regard him. The All-father stood, Gungnir raised in his right hand, pointing at Elsa and Anna.

Before anyone could speak, Anna quickly broke out of Elsa's arms and ran to the side, seizing Mjolnir from where it lay in a small indentation it had made when it fell. Now brandishing the fell weapon, Anna ran back over to interpose herself between Odin and Elsa.

"I don't care if she's dangerous or not," Anna said hotly, Mjolnir extended toward Odin. "Elsa's my wife, and no one is going to hurt her!"

All was silent across the frozen plateau, save for the low, deep grumbling in Odin's chest. "You dare threaten Odin One-Eye, lord of the gods?!" he called out, standing nearly half a meter taller than the redheaded woman between him and his target.

Anna held his angry glare before nodding defiantly. "I do," she said, eliciting gasps from several of those in witness. "Because you threatened my wife."

"Do you know what you hold in your hand, young goddess?" asked Odin, his tone surprisingly lightening slightly.

"Looks like the hammer of Thor to me," replied Anna, never taking her eyes off the old god.

For long seconds the two stared at each other, hands tensing slightly, then relaxing slightly as the two locked gazes, one old, wise and powerful, the other young, brash and deeply in love. Those seconds turned into a minute, then two.

And then Odin's craggy face stretched into a smile, his white beard shifting as he threw back his head and laughed.

Wary of any tricks, Anna did not relax her stance, instead gripping Mjolnir tightly as she continued to watch the All-father, who seemed to be consumed with mirth at the best joke he had ever heard. The other gods also remained concerned, and Elsa moved to stand closer to Anna, in case they needed to protect each other.

Finally Odin stopped laughing, but the smile remained on his face. "So be it!" he called out. "I yield in this to you, young goddess," he said, opening his hand to let Gungnir disappear in a flash. He continued to chuckle as he walked forward, even his casual stride possessing a gravity to each step.

As he reached Anna and Elsa, he looked at them and smiled. "You remind me much of my older son, young goddess," he said proudly. "Fierce of spirit, brave of heart."

"Um," Anna said, glancing around quickly. "Thanks, I think."

"'Tis high praise!" Odin said, "For..." he said, clearly waiting for something.

"Anna," said Elsa from just behind Anna, resting her left hand on Anna's left shoulder. "Her name is Anna," Elsa said with a doting smile.

"Anna!" shouted Odin. "Our newest goddess, along with her wife Elsa!" Odin's eyebrow squinted in consideration. "But what shall you be the goddess of, young Anna?" he said, as much to himself as everyone else. "Elsa has taken up the mantle of goddess of ice and cold, but—"

"LOVE," called out a female voice from behind Anna and Elsa.

They turned to see Freya approaching them, her face aglow, her breathing heavy with the power the love between the two women was feeding her. "They will be the goddesses of love," Freya said, stepping forward between Odin and Anna and Elsa to place her hands upon the two mates. "A title and responsibility they will share together." She smiled as she felt part of her power flow between her and the two young goddesses. "A duty that they will carry out marvelously." Removing her hands and stepping back, she proudly added, "I know of no one more qualified for this position."

Anna turned to embrace Elsa as magic flowed through them, out of one and into the other, then back again over and over and over. Tingles skittered up and down their bodies, prompting Elsa to squirm slightly (she was ticklish, though she would vigorously deny it) and Anna to laugh out loud, both of them savoring the sensation greatly, but not nearly as much as they savored being in each other's arms once again.

A gentle touch on her right arm drew Anna's attention; she looked to her right to see Freya standing beside them. "You might want to give Thor his hammer back," she said quietly.

"Oh!" Anna said, turning toward the thunderer only to be stopped by Freya's light touch once more, causing her to turn and look at the goddess of magic again.

"Don't throw it," Freya said with a smile.

—O—

And so the Goddesses of Love continue their lives together to this day, encouraging others to embrace love and trust their hearts, to be true to themselves and their spirits, to maintain hope and support love wherever it may arise.

They think they have the best jobs ever.

—O—

Author's Afterword: It feels SO GOOD to have that story out. I hope more people can read it and enjoy it, because I loved writing it. I've carried this idea around with me for over a year, and when I starting actually putting fingers to keyboard, it did most of the work by writing itself.

Thank you for being patient and taking a chance on an odd approach to a story, with two OC leads as well as Anna and Elsa as leads. The intention was to use the two different stories together to tell an overall narrative, and it feels like it came out fairly close to what I had intended.

I hope you've enjoyed this story! There's plenty more of Elsa and Anna out there, so feel free to check out some other stories and other versions of Anna and Elsa. Best wishes to all of you!