Prompt 6: Favorite Relationship

Unconventional

Their relationship is anything but conventional, and they wouldn't have it any other way. AKA: The story of how Arendelle gained a representative government.

Anna felt like she kept discovering something new about her sister every day, and not always on purpose. It was little things, like the way Elsa rolled her 'b's and 'd's if she spoke too fast, or how instead of sweating she would steam like an icy lake in the sun. Anna loved learning her sister's quirks, so she was not terribly alarmed when she quietly entered Elsa's study to find the queen systematically freezing and shattering sheets of paper. Her face was unreadable as usual – she still hadn't been able to kick the habit of concealing her every emotion - but Anna could see tension in her shoulders and an angry harshness in her eyes.

Elsa stopped immediately when she saw Anna, and the letter she held crumbled into fragments of ice in her hand. She smiled, but it didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Elsa? What's going on?" Anna asked, moving to Elsa's side.

"Oh, nothing," she replied with a sigh. "Just… part of the job, I guess." Her tone indicated that she didn't want to talk about it, but Anna paid no attention.

"Part of the job that makes you freeze your papers one by one like this? Looks like you've been at it for a while," Anna gestured to the pile of ice shards in front of Elsa's desk.

"I have been," she grumbled dourly, resting her chin in one hand with a frown. She didn't resist when Anna put a hand on her back, sweeping it back and forth comfortingly. When Elsa closed her eyes in bliss, Anna leaned over to look at the papers remaining on Elsa's desk.

"Offers of marriage? Betrothal agreements? Elsa, what is all of this?" Elsa stiffened immediately.

"Exactly what it seems," she growled. "Poorly-veiled attempts to take over Arendelle, mostly. And those that seem genuine… I just don't know, Anna."

"Well, certainly there's someone out there you have your eye on. Right?" Anna asked. Elsa remained silent, glaring down at the marriage proposals.

"I don't want a prince," she murmured so quietly Anna had to ask her to repeat herself. "I don't want to marry a prince, Anna. I know I should, but I… I don't. I don't want to get married. I don't want… that." Anna was silent for a while, still thoughtfully rubbing Elsa's back.

"Does that mean… you'd prefer a… um… a princess, instead?" she asked hesitantly. Elsa shook her head.

"I'm not interested in anyone like that. In the way that marriage… usually entails."

"What exactly do you mean?" Anna asked, somewhat lost.

"I mean… the idea of… of having… relations… it disgusts me. I want nothing to do with that." Elsa was blushing brightly and refused to look up at Anna standing beside her.

"Does that mean… you've never felt sexually attracted to anybody?" she asked. Elsa shrank lower in her seat and shook her head.

"No. And when I realized that what I was feeling – or wasn't feeling – isn't normal… I can't say I was too surprised. Just one more thing about me that's broken and wrong," she laughed bitterly.

"Elsa, no…" Anna murmured, placing both hands on her sister's shoulders. "It's okay to be exactly how you are. You don't have to marry anyone. You're a wonderful queen and I promise there is nothing wrong with you."

"I don't know, Anna," Elsa groaned, resting her head on folded arms. "What am I gonna do?"

"Um… not get married, I guess?" Anna suggested with a grin. She caught sight of a smirk and an eye roll and she giggled. Anna had successfully brought a smile back to Elsa's face, so she ruffled her sister's hair and escaped from the room before Elsa could retaliate with a snowball. Anna had some thinking to do.

Two weeks later, Elsa was again systematically freezing and shattering letters in her study when Anna approached her once more.

"Walk with me!" she begged, pulling at Elsa's arm. With a smile, the queen rose and linked her arm with Anna's.

"I've been thinking," Anna began, leading Elsa through secluded hallways. "About what you told me. So, a question for you: would you marry someone who agreed to never have sex with you?" Elsa blushed hard and looked away.

"I don't think I could ever trust someone to be that close to me, even without… certain activities. You know I have trust issues, Anna," she complained, alarmed by the suddenly heavy subject matter.

"I know. I am the only one you trust," Anna commented simply. I am all she has, Anna realized. Elsa nodded and glanced gratefully at her sister, but she paled and stopped short when Anna continued.

"I don't want to get married either."

"What? Anna, just because I've resigned myself to a life of solitude and loneliness doesn't mean you have to do the same!" She slapped a hand over her mouth, regretting her outburst.

"A life of solitude and loneliness? That's impossible with me around, and you know it," Anna quipped.

"You will find someone, Anna. You'll get married and move on, have kids, have a life of your own with your husband. What about Kristoff? I thought things were going well between you and him! Did something happen?" Elsa's eyes narrowed at the thought that the man had hurt her sister, but Anna reassured her quickly.

"Nothing happened, Elsa. I've been thinking - that's all. And I've realized that I don't want to get married."

"But why? Certainly you aren't broken like me – did my ice do it to you? Oh Anna, no, I'm sor-"

"Stop that!" Anna shouted, grabbing her sister's hands before she could clench them to her chest in fear and regret. "You haven't hurt me. I'm not broken, and neither are you. You're just different, that's all. Now stop panicking, because I do feel the attractions that you don't." Elsa finally stopped struggling and looked curiously at her sister.

"What?"

"I understand what it feels like to be sexually attracted to guys. But at the same time, I'm realizing that all I really wanted, all I really liked in both Hans and Kristoff… was you. Parts of who they are reminded me of you, I mean. Hans' attentiveness and chivalry reminded me of how we used to interact. His promise to never shut me out is what I always wanted to hear from you. He was kind to me, even though it turned out to be a cruel farce. And as for Kristoff, the ease and candor of the conversations we have, the friendship we share, the camaraderie of going on an adventure together, the way he cared for me when I was hurt, all of those things that I loved are based on what I remember experiencing and have experienced with you now that we're together again. But that's been the problem all along; they aren't you, Elsa! That's why something always felt like it was missing, and I was never satisfied. I was always looking for you. I always wanted you, and I still do. So I'm not getting married. I'm staying with you forever."

"Anna, there are things I cannot give to you," Elsa responded, backing away, desperately trying to block out her own emotions. "I cannot give you the kind of physical intimacy you could share with a man. I cannot give you children. I just want you to be happy, Anna. Please do not so easily turn away the benefits of a normal relationship for my sake."

"It's not for your sake," Anna argued. "I mean, not to say that this isn't also a good thing for you, but I really want this for me. I don't want a 'normal' relationship. I don't want to be part of a diplomatic marriage, though I know you'd rather die before doing that to me," she amended quickly at Elsa's aghast expression. "But even a marriage for love couldn't be enough. It just wouldn't… it wouldn't make sense. I could never be as close to a man as he would deserve, because that would involve removing you from being first in my heart. It would mean replacing you. And I would rather die than do that to either of us, because it would tear my heart in half and it would break yours to pieces. So yes, Elsa. I would forego having sex," she rolled her eyes slightly at Elsa's immediate blush, "forever, if it meant I got to have the life I've always wanted with you. I don't think I could ever truly be happy otherwise."

"Oh Anna," Elsa whispered, trying to hold back her tears. "Don't you think you'll change your mind? You know how I am. You know what I am."

"Elsa," Anna spoke firmly, holding tightly to Elsa's shoulders and pressing her forehead against the queen's. "I'm not going to change my mind. Even through thirteen years of silence, I did not change my mind about you."

"Yes you did," Elsa whispered, barely loud enough to be heard. "After the coronation. You wanted to escape from this… this prison. From me. You were going to get married and leave… and have that life you always dreamed of."

"No I wasn't," Anna countered calmly, though barely restraining her frustration. Elsa looked too broken and frightened to bear it if Anna were to shout at her. "If that's what I wanted, I would have gone when you told me to leave after denying me your blessing. Even with a seemingly perfect prince on my arm I still wanted you more than anything. So I pressed, knowing there had to be something else going on. I wanted answers, and if the true reason for your separation from me was that you really didn't love me I would have accepted it and gone away with him. But if you loved me even a little, then there would still be hope. And there was - I know that now. You love me so much, Elsa. You gave up everything for me. You would have let me go if it was what I wanted, and you still would! Oh Elsa, what would it have done to you if I had gone?" Anna frowned at the sight of tears finally falling from Elsa's eyes as the realization of what could have happened struck the queen. Anna moved to hold Elsa in her arms, but stopped when the older woman sniffed and shook her head. She swept the tears out of her eyes and looked at Anna intently but not unkindly.

"I will not emotionally manipulate your decisions, Anna. It does not matter what your departure would have done to me. What matters is your future. I will not hold you back from the fulfillment of desires that I do not experience."

"You're doing it again," Anna growled, to which Elsa's eyebrows raised. "You're acting like you don't matter. But you do, Elsa. You do. You matter so much to me. And just because you don't feel attracted to people like I do doesn't mean your feelings don't matter. I know you don't understand what it's like to be sexually attracted to someone. But just like you are the only person who can tell me how you feel, I am the only person who can tell you how I feel. And I'm telling you right now, I am not leaving you!" Anna's voice softened then, and Elsa let her raise a hand to gently wipe away a stray tear. "I know that you would never ask me to stay. I know you'd never tell me that you want me to stay, because I know you love me too much to ever think of controlling me. But all it takes is one look in your eyes, and I can see how badly you want this, too." Anna dipped her head to meet Elsa's downcast gaze.

"Would you please let yourself believe me, even just a little bit, when I tell you how much I want this life with you?" Anna saw so much fear and uncertainty at first, but she knew Elsa was looking at all the determination and conviction in her own eyes and it didn't take long for Elsa's vision to start swimming with tears. The queen had barely managed a hitched half-sob before strong warm arms were wrapped fiercely around her, holding all the shattering pieces together.

"There you go," Anna murmured between Elsa's broken whimpers of gratitude. "It's all right, I'm here. And I'm never ever leaving you."

"Elsa?" Anna asked as they sat in the library that night. "What are we gonna do about the kingdom?"

"What do you mean?" Elsa responded, not looking up from her book.

"I mean," Anna began, leaning against Elsa to get her attention, "what are we going to do about an heir?" Elsa sighed and put her book down, focusing on Anna instead.

"I've been thinking a lot about that, too. I had two plans in mind. I first thought to continue our family line through your descendants – name you and your children as heirs to the throne. But now… now it seems as though my other idea is perhaps the better one."

"I'll say. I didn't realize the future of our kingdom relied upon me having babies," Anna grumbled.

"I'm sorry, Anna. I just thought it was a sure thing that you'd get with some man and have children, given how much interest you showed in people. I never imagined you would want this instead," she gestured at herself degradingly.

"Elsa, stop," Anna rebuked gently, taking Elsa's hand. "You count as a 'people', too. You're my favorite one, after all." She smiled softly as Elsa's furrowed brow relaxed. "Now, what is this other plan you have?"

"Well, it's sort of an abdication," she began, "but a slow one. I will be the last reigning monarch of Arendelle."

"Wait, what? And have no more kings and queens? Would Father have been okay with that?" Anna asked in innocent shock, though she saw the flash of hurt in Elsa's eyes and regretted mentioning their deceased parent.

"He would want what is right for the people and what is right for us. The world is changing, Anna. Monarchies are falling left and right. There has been little unrest among our people, but that time will come. Would we not rather have our family line leave a legacy of peace and a gentle transition of leadership rather than fall in a violent revolution?" Elsa was silent for a moment as Anna contemplated her words. Then she leaned closer and cradled Anna's face between her hands. "And this way, we both get what we really want, too."

"Each other?" Anna asked quietly, hopefully.

"Each other," Elsa confirmed with a warm smile and gently kissed her sister's forehead.

Elsa bent over backwards to ensure that Anna got what she needed out of their unconventional relationship. It became evident that Anna, while willing to forego sexual intimacy, required a great deal of physical affection to feel whole. So Elsa made sure to hold her sister desperately close as often as she could. They shared a room, and often shared a bed. Elsa also thrived on the attention and love she received from the only person she had ever loved so much and trusted so deeply.

The council and city leaders were informed of the coming change in government and were presented with Elsa's fifty-year conversion plan. As promised, it carried a slow shift of power from the sovereign monarch to a three-branched government of elected officials. It would function in gradually increasing strength until the queen's death, upon which it would hold absolute authority over the land.

When the news went worldwide the marriage proposals began drying up, much to Elsa's relief. Kristoff's relationship with Anna was no more than that of a friend, for her heart rested firmly with Elsa's. The life of loneliness Elsa dreaded never came to exist at all, for Anna stayed faithfully by her side for life. Theirs was an odd love – not sexual, maybe not even romantic, but somehow stronger than family. Kristoff called them soulmates, and they agreed.

Centuries after their passing, the relationship between the last two members of Arendelle's royal family was a much-debated mystery. Some said their incestuous love led to a coup that dismantled the monarchy. Others say their line was cursed by the same being that bestowed the powers of ice and snow onto the queen. In modern times it has been proposed that the queen was asexual, which could explain the lack of any sexual relationships in her life. The princess was even more of an enigma, for who would endure a loveless lifetime in the company of the ice queen? Perhaps there was another sort of love that they both found to be worth melting for.

AN: I recognize that this is a lot more AU than what I usually write. This is kind of a study of my own (idealized?) views on love and relationships as a sex-repulsed asexual quoiromantic/homoromantic (as in, I don't know if these affectionate feelings are romantic or platonic, but I only feel them toward other girls).

And now you know way more than you wanted about the author.

Tomorrow will be normal writing without the addition of my personal "agenda" (I mean, besides the agenda that constantly pushes fluff and h/c because that's not going anywhere ever.)