I'm Afraid of What I'm Risking if I Follow You

Part 12

"Do you forgive him?"

"I... think I do. I think I stopped letting it affect me a while ago, especially with what I have now."

Smiling up at her sister, Elsa asked, "When did you get so mature?"

Anna shrugged. "Well, being a queen will make anyone grow up pretty fast." She helped Elsa to her feet. "You have everyone worried sick. I know Yelena wants to talk to you at some point."

"I'm too exhausted to think..." Elsa confessed. "Again."

"When you wake up, then." They started walking back to the village, Bruni at their ankles. "We'll leave in the morning, but... only when you're feeling better."

Elsa nodded, looking to the dirt beneath them briefly. "Yes... that sounds good," she agreed, nodding.

When they returned, only Yelena was still up. Even Kristoff and Olaf had retired, to where Elsa would have to talk to them in the morning. Hans, Elsa could surmise, was where he should be.

Yelena wrapped a thick blanket around Elsa's shoulders, over Mother's scarf. "Welcome back," she greeted. Not "home." Now that she thought about it, Yelena had never referred to the village as "home" to her, though she had with everyone else. "I'm glad you're both safe."

"Did you talk to Hans?" Elsa asked.

"Briefly," Yelena sighed. "But we don't need answers now. There's time for that later."

Elsa nodded, finally letting go of Anna. "Yes," she agreed, too tired to argue. "I'll talk to you both in the morning."

And, like the night before, when she entered the hut, she knocked out the moment her head hit the pillow.

—

When she woke again, Elsa noticed Hans wasn't in his bed, prompting her for a moment to believe that the past day was a dream, that she hadn't kissed him and she hadn't put Bruni in danger.

But she was still wearing Mother's scarf and the blanket Yelena had wrapped around her, confirming everything.

To her surprise, when she emerged from the hut (probably still looking a hot mess), Anna conversed with Hans with Bruni perched on his shoulder, sitting off and looking to Olaf, who was playing with the children and probably rambling about yet another existential crisis he was going through. Anna didn't seem to notice her come out, and neither did Hans, so she continued to let them talk—and figured it must be civil enough, at least.

"Where's Kristoff?" she asked instead, flagging down Honeymaren.

Honeymaren rolled her eyes affectionately. "Off with Ryder and the reindeer, of course," she explained. "You know how the boys are."

"I do," she chuckled. "And Anna and Hans?"

"They just started talking." Shrugging, Honeymaren crossed her arms. "Why, are you waiting for your turn with him?"

Elsa gave her a playful tap to her shoulder. "We have things to talk about, yes," she said politely. "I didn't leave on a great note last night."

"No, but I could tell you were holding in that slap for a while."

"A long while," she sighed. "But this was more for how he thought freezing in Ahtohallan was a better alternative to figuring out his curse and trying to break it."

"Well, he's here now. And he's getting along with your sister pretty well."

Elsa waved a hand. "They always have. I'm surprised they're so civil now."