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

Part 12

"A man with nothing to lose? Pretty sure he can make time atoning for his sins." Before Elsa could mention that it was something Hans would say, Honeymaren, in her usual fashion, walked right off.

But there was Yelena, whom Elsa needed to talk to.

"Yelena I—"

Holding her hand up, Yelena silenced Elsa. "Hans spoke to me. He didn't sleep last night, but I let him know about the spirits, and how distraught that little stunt made all five of them."

Elsa knew better than to correct her; she needed to accept that, as one of the spirits, his disappearance had affected her, too.

"I also see it in your eyes. I know you've seen something there that's helped point you toward your future."

How did she...? Elsa had been grappling with it, but she should have realized... Yelena had felt this the whole time. She'd been trying to lead Elsa down this path because she'd seen it for her.

The Northuldra wasn't her new home. It never had been. It'd been

"It's knowing that there are others out there," Elsa explained. "Others I can help, others afflicted like Hans... How can I sit by so complicit while knowing that?"

Yelena took her hands, smiling. "You've grown so much, Elsa," she assured. "You've taken everything from the spirits and become one with them. And wherever you go... they'll always be with you. Ahtohallan will always be with you."

Elsa grinned back, pulling her into a hug. "Thank you." It's exactly what she needed to hear... even if she'd been too stubborn to believe it at first. But seeing Moana, seeing that there was hope for someone like Hans, who was cursed at birth without his knowing... the job of the Fifth Spirit was to build a bridge, right? The bridge between sisters, the bridge between human and spirit...

The bridge between those cursed and those not?

She watched Anna finally look over, smiling when she saw her sister, and beckoned her over.

To Elsa's eternal surprise, Anna kissed Hans on the cheek, then pursed her lips, contemplating. "Underwhelming," she decided. "It definitely wouldn't have worked out between us. I made the right choice with Kristoff."

"A damn shame," Hans chuckled, shaking his head.

Anna shot a knowing smirk at Elsa, one only she could see. Flushing, Elsa asked her sister, "You called me over?"

"Yes! I think... we'll be taking our leave soon." She took Elsa's hands, smiling. "That's okay, right?"

"Um... wow." She wasn't expecting Anna to be the one to suggest leaving; usually she was finding reasons to keep Elsa around, especially when she would come to visit Arendelle. What had she and Hans talked about? Was their conversation from last night enough? "Yes, of course that's fine."

Anna hugged Elsa tight, as they always did when they parted. But this seemed... different. Elsa couldn't put her finger on it. "I love you," she said into her hair. "You'll always be my big sister."

"I know." As if on cue, there was Ryder, Kristoff, Sven, and the rest of the reindeer. "I love you, too."

It was an easy parting, like all the other ones. Kristoff hugged her, Olaf hugged her, Sven nuzzled her shoulder. Elsa still couldn't escape the... certain something of it all. Maybe it was because Hans was there to witness it, silently in the background. That had to be it; they still had yet to talk since their hug. And she was honestly over the anger, after crying last night.

What she wasn't over, was the one thing she had yet to tell Anna. Maybe she would, when she wasn't so embarrassed by the thought.

Elsa waved until she couldn't see Kristoff's carriage anymore. In her peripheral vision she noticed Hans siding closer to her, like he was politely waiting for her to acknowledge him. "I'm not sorry for slapping you," she said.