Disclaimer: Yeah, yeah, it's Disney's.

Agdar's schedule for the day had originally included a mid-morning meeting at the Nasjonsting, pitching sustainable energy research funding to an audience that didn't want to catch it. The chairman of the Energy and Environment Committee was so tight with Weselton that it would it take a crowbar to separate them. Well, it mattered little now. The meeting had been rescheduled, but with any luck, the leadership would change before they reconvened.

He'd left the meeting on his calendar, though. He was going to need it to cover his tracks.

Gustaf dropped him off at King Magnus Plass near the Nasjonsting. He went up the front stairs and turned toward the Fellesting side of the building, a remnant of the old bicameral legislature that was now primarily hearing rooms and office space. He knew he was being followed, by more people now than before. There were a lot of men in suits around, but he'd been wandering these halls long enough to know who really belonged there and who didn't. He assumed that those that didn't were either National Police or Weselton's men. After their chat in the car earlier, he was sure that the Weasel had deployed more assets.

Agdar strode down the hall and turned into a hearing chamber. He flipped the switch that turned on the 'Hearing in Session' sign over the outer door. The door on the other side of the room opened to a narrow service stairwell. He took it all the way down to a basement boiler room, where he opened his briefcase and pulled out a raincoat, a battered fedora, and a pair of black-framed glasses. Shrugging out of his suit jacket and tie, he stuffed them in the briefcase before putting on the raincoat and glasses.

Tossing his umbrella behind a maze of pipes, he left the boiler room and made his way to a small corridor that took him beneath the main Nasjonsting chamber to the other side of the building. He climbed the stairs to the main floor. No one gave him a second look as he donned the fedora and left the building through the rear lobby, his briefcase tucked under the raincoat.

Half an hour later, he was at the airport, where he boarded a plane for Gjoheim. Even as his fingers clutched the arms of his seat through the bucking, banking takeoff, he couldn't resist a look back at the Arendelle Castle, fading into the distance. Would he ever walk through the gates again?

And if he did, would it be in cuffs? Or with the future of Arendelle by his side?

Anna groaned and rolled onto her back, feeling like all seven of Snow White's dwarves had heigh-ho'd their asses off to work inside her head.

Pickaxes. Why do they always use pickaxes? Why couldn't the little bastards just pull the diamonds out with their bare hands? Dopey in particular seemed to be taking fiendish glee in driving his pickaxe into a place just behind her left eyebrow.

She ran her tongue over the roof of her dry mouth and crinkled her nose in disgust. Ugh, and who put all the little socks on my teeth?

She ran her hand over her face and attempted to sit up. Bad idea. Her stomach turned and the dwarves picked up the pace, adding their hellish whistling to the cacophony inside her skull. Happy joined Dopey in hammering at the spot behind her left brow.

Rolling back on her side, she forced her eyes open. On the bedside table sat a big glass of water and a bottle of aspirin. Drink all of it read a neatly-written note propped against the glass.

"Oh, thank God," she croaked, though with her dry, swollen tongue, it came out more like ow thik gah. She pushed herself upright, moaning as the dwarves redoubled their hammering. Her trembling fingers fumbled open the aspirin bottle, dumping a pile of the pills into her palm. She popped several into her mouth, and drained the glass of water.

She sat on the edge of the bed, elbows on her knees and head in her hands, until she was sure that the water and aspirin would stay in her stomach. Then she got up and tottered into the bathroom, where she stripped off the t-shirt and got in the shower. She turned it on and sank onto the tile bench, sighing as the hot water pulsed against her back.

It's not fair. If I'm gonna feel like shit, I at least shouldn't have to remember how fucking stupid I was.

Maybe she could just sit there under the water until her entire body melted away and ran down the drain. Then she wouldn't have to remember last night, remember what she'd done. She wouldn't have to face Elsa. Every time she thought about it, all she could recall was Elsa's wide-eyed stare and the rigid tension of her body. The pain in her eyes.

But also…soothing words in her ears. Gentle fingers in her hair. Warm arms, holding her, supporting her, helping her to bed.

God, I'm such an idiot.

She didn't dissolve down the drain, but after a while her fingers and toes got wrinkly and the water went lukewarm. Her head still pounded, but it was duller, like the dwarves had traded their pickaxes for rubber mallets.

She wrapped herself in a towel and went back to the bedroom, where she found her underwear, her black yoga pants, and an Arendelle University sweatshirt folded neatly on the bed. Anna just stared at them, trying to quash the spark of hope in her chest. The water, the aspirin, and now the clothes – Elsa had been in at least twice to check on her. Maybe she didn't hate her?

Or did she just want Anna to leave faster?

She dressed and went downstairs, still moving a bit unsteadily. The smell of coffee and eggs led her toward the kitchen. Elsa was pouring a cup of coffee. She wore jeans and a purple blouse with three-quarter length sleeves, and was in her sock feet. She looked up when Anna dropped onto a stool at the breakfast bar. She pulled out another mug and filled it, then slid it across the bar. Anna felt a little surge of warmth, both at the simple act of companionship and the slight quirk at the corner of Elsa's lips that might have been a smile.

The warmth quickly faded when she saw the bruises on Elsa's wrists.

"I really thought you might sleep all day," Elsa said. Her tone held a forced casualness, and her arms wrapped around her middle.

Anna closed her eyes, the lump in her throat threatening to strangle her. She opened and closed her mouth several times, but no sound came out.

"Are scrambled eggs all right?" Elsa asked, turning toward the stove.

"That's fine," Anna managed. She opened her eyes and watched Elsa, who expertly cracked and dropped eggs into the pan with one hand. Her gaze kept returning to those bruised wrists, the purplish marks standing out on Elsa's fair skin, and part of her wished that that her throbbing head would just explode and put her out of her misery.

The crackling of eggs in the pan was the only sound in the kitchen. Anna cast desperately about for something, anything, to break the silence. But what was she supposed to say? Hey, sorry I climbed into your bed and assaulted you last night. But we're good, right?

"That smells good," she said finally, then mentally face-palmed herself. That was…inane. And not really true – her stomach was on the edge of rebellion again. Elsa didn't respond; she just picked up a whisk and started stirring the eggs, her shoulders hunched in like she was trying to make herself smaller. Anna stared into her coffee, wondering if it was possible to actually die of remorse. "Elsa?"

Elsa didn't turn around, just kept whisking the eggs in the pan.

"Elsa, if you want me to leave… I'll leave," Anna said, swallowing hard. "What I-I…did to you last night…I'm so sorry." She looked up to see Elsa shoot a quick glance back at her. "That…that's not who I am. I don't blame you if you don't believe me, but…"

Elsa looked back over her shoulder, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. "Well, I - " she paused to clear her throat, "I won't deny that I imagined – hoped – that.. something might… happen?... between us? Even in this…this nightmare we're in. I just didn't…" Her voice cracked and she turned away.

Anna's chest tightened so painfully that she had to press her hand against it. Elsa…felt something for her? Had wanted something to happen between them?

And she'd blown it with her drunken self-indulgence and childish temper tantrum.

Will I ever stop fucking things up?

Her conscience told her to get up and leave right then, so that Elsa didn't have to be reminded of what happened every time she looked at her. But who would protect Elsa if she left? "I understand if you want me to go. I just don't want to leave you alone…unprotected…you know… wi-with everything that's going on?"

Then again, she might think she needs protection from me more than she does from whoever's trying to kill her.

Elsa took two plates from the cabinet and spooned eggs onto them. When she turned around to put the plates on the bar, Anna saw the tears slide down her cheeks. She made no attempt to wipe them away.

"Elsa, I'm sorry." Anna wasn't sure if she'd ever be able to say that enough. Her eyes burned with the beginning of her own tears. "I'll go. Right now, if you want." She started to get up.

"You were drunk," Elsa said. She cut off Anna's protest with a wave. "I'm not saying that's an excuse, but I know you never would've done it if you weren't. I could have stopped you if I'd tried." She looked down at the countertop. "And…I think that what I've done to you is so much worse."

She turned away from Anna and stared out the kitchen window. Snow was falling outside, coming down in thick, fat flakes that made Anna feel like she was trapped inside a snow globe. Elsa wrapped her arms around herself, and Anna shivered. She took a quick gulp of coffee. Was she imagining things, or had it just abruptly gotten colder?

When Elsa spoke again, her voice sounded far away. "When I was little, I had my whole life planned out. I would become an architect, and take over the family business. I would make sure that everyone in Arendelle had a beautiful house to live in. I would marry my white knight. He had freckles and blue eyes, and rode a banana-seat bicycle, and we would be in love forever. It all seemed so simple when I was seven years old."

She turned back to Anna, finally wiping at her tear-streaked face. "But I have this life instead. I think maybe I even did a little bit of good, even if I did it illegally? And then I ruined everything." She rounded the bar to stand next to Anna. "I'm the one who should be apologizing, Anna. I was selfish. I took away your choices. I took your life."

"Elsa…" Anna squeezed her eyes shut, but couldn't stop her own tears from falling. Then there were cool hands cradling her face, thumbs wiping her tears away. Warm lips brushed against her forehead, and she drew in a shuddering breath, trying to keep from breaking down.

"I don't want you to leave," Elsa whispered.

Anna thought she felt a faint touch of those warm lips against hers, then Elsa's hands were gone. When she opened her eyes again, Elsa was fleeing up the staircase.

"Elsa!" She jumped off the stool and ran after her. Oh, bad idea. She dropped to her knees at the bottom of the stairs, clutching at her throbbing head. Her stomach rolled, and she thought she might be sick again.

Don't puke, don't puke…

She rested her forehead against the bottom step. Her skin pressed against something freezing cold, and she opened her eyes in confusion. The step was coated in a thin layer of ice.

What the…?

She lifted her eyes. Ice patches covered every step on the curved staircase. Fighting her nausea and headache, she gingerly picked her way to the top, but by the time she reached the landing of the upper hallway, the ice was gone. Only the unusual coolness of the wood floor hinted that the ice had ever been there at all. Anna rubbed her eyes. Had she imagined it? Some sort of hallucination from too much booze and too little sleep?

One hand pressed to her aching head, Anna made her way down the hall. She knocked on Elsa's door. "Elsa?" No response. She knocked again. "Elsa, please, I know you're in there." Silence. She tried the door. Locked. She leaned against it. "I'm not going anywhere, okay? You said you didn't want me to leave, so I'm not leaving. I'm right out here for you."

She turned and slid down onto the floor, her back propped against the door. Elsa couldn't stay in her room forever, and Anna wanted be there when she came out. Wanted to know – no, had to know – if she had a chance to make it right. To know if there was something to justify that little flicker of hope that she felt from Elsa's words.

Drifting into the semi-aware state between sleep and wakefulness, Anna tried to sort out all that had happened - their argument, drinking, Elsa's room, the maybe-ice, everything blending together in a mix of alcohol and confusion and anger and shame. And want. And not quite lost in the turmoil, a hint of something more. Answers seemed to flit in and out of some barely-lucid part of her mind, dancing away before she could latch onto them. Finally, the events and emotions of the past day caught up with her, and she slipped into a dreamless sleep, still leaning against the door.

A/N: I know I'm a little behind my normal posting schedule. Real life is a bear sometimes. I also have a few side projects going on. Thanks for sticking with me!

For anyone who's interested, I've created a page on my Tumblr for this story. It has pics of Elsa's house, some background on Arendelle and its government, and some awesome fan art by Tumblr user nopantsparade! I'll probably post some other backstory elements and pics on it - helps keep me focused! I know links don't work here, but the URL is thegeekogecko DOT tumblr DOT com/The Once and Future Queen.