Chapter Twelve: Borrowed Time

There was utter silence for a full minute. Everyone stood frozen in place as they watched the blue unearthly light surround the room. Elsa looked up, horrified at what she had done.

"I'm sorry, I'm s-so sorry," she cried. How could things have gone so horribly wrong? She desperately wished she could time travel now to prevent this all from happening.

"That was brash," the Time Guardian scolded, "You could have ruined everything. That is, if you haven't already. Oh, was that rude? I'm not good with human feelings."

Elsa's blood ran cold and she decided that she had two options.

She could run away, the coward's choice, and see where that took her. That didn't work last time but she had her sister to guide her out of the darkness. The circumstances were much different now and Anna was most likely traumatized to have all this exposed to her at her age.

The other option, though, was to choose between her two timelines. Her original one, where her parents were dead and she had grown up in fear and isolation from her sister. It was also the one where, no matter what, Anna had loved her and gone after her despite the doors constantly slammed in her face.

Then there was this one. She couldn't get rid of Anna's grinning face as they built a snowman in the dining room. The hope she was still filled with and the promising future…that seemed to be crushed now. She raised her eyes and saw a frightened expression on her sister's face. Did Anna still trust her? She couldn't leave this timeline the way it was – not with a hopeless-eyed Anna. She couldn't forgive herself if she did.

Elsa bit her lip. "You…you said you could give me time to choose."

The Time Guardian nodded slowly.

"Let me fix things." Elsa said.

"If you returned to your original timeline this never would have happened. If, in the end, you chose your original timeline then this would have all been in vain, would it not?" the Time Guardian said, "Are you sure your choice is the wise one, child?"

The blonde turned to face her sister who was watching over the scene, fear and confusion etched on her face. She never wanted to see that look on Anna's face ever again. "Let me fix this, then I'll return,"

"What?" Anna whispered.

The Time Guardian stared at the two sisters.

"Humans…strange things," she paused, "But if that is your choice then so be it. I'll be back in a month. That should be enough, yes?"

Before Elsa could plead for more time, the Time Guardian nodded and turned into mist. Elsa stood there, dumbfounded. The heaviness of the situation suddenly struck her. The adrenaline coursing through her seemed to disappear entirely.

The world faded into darkness.

~o~

Elsa dreamt of her sister.

Not little Anna but…her Anna. They were alone in a meadow that seemed to stretch out to eternity. Her sister was picking wildflowers and braiding them into a crown but something seemed different about her. Anna turned to her and smiled warmly, "Hi, Elsa."

Elsa waved back and Anna giggled. The redhead stood, the flower crown now complete, and gracefully made her way towards her sister. She lay the crown atop the older one's head.

"Queen Elsa." Anna said, smiling and embracing her sister.

She simply stayed there, transfixed. Elsa closed her eyes but once she opened them again, she saw the cold white walls of the infirmary. Her parents were looking down on her, worry written upon their faces.

"Elsa! We were so worried!" her mother said, leaning in and caressing her face. Elsa fought the urge to pull away as memories whizzed past her head. She was still in the past.

"What happened?" she said, trying to sit up. "Where's Anna?"

"Anna…" her father said, "She's traumatized at the moment. She won't speak to anybody. Will you tell us what happened, Elsa?"

A million excuses ran through her head but the truth shone brighter than everything else. She wanted to confide in someone so much so that someone, anyone, would at least know what she was going through. She didn't want to bear this weight any longer but…

She couldn't tell them.

It hurt her to know how little her trust was in her parents but it was for the best.

"Kidnappers. They took Anna," Elsa said.

"We gathered that much already – "

"Let's talk to her like a daughter instead of a witness, can we?" the queen said, placing a hand on her husband's shoulder warningly.

"Sorry," he said, facing Elsa again. His expression was warmer but still demanding, "What happened? Did you find Anna first or..." he trailed off.

"Kristoff and I, we found Anna but the…" she paused, "The kidnappers were already gone. I guess she wasn't what they were looking for." Elsa said quickly.

Her parents shared a look. Would they believe her?

"Alright." The king said, "But you two have to be more careful from now on. We'll have to heighten security," he said to a man standing guard by the edge of the room, "Lock the gates at night. There's no saying that they won't try to come again. Elsa? You are not to do anything this…brash again."

Elsa nodded.

Her mother smiled at her and ran a hand through Elsa's hair, "You were so brave, dear. Rest now; you've had a long day."

"What about Anna?" Elsa said. She could already feel her eyes drooping, longing for sleep.

"You can talk to her in the morning. She…isn't feeling her best," her mother said, eyes darting to the left. "She'll be okay."

Elsa nodded, trying to ignore the ringing in her head. It was screaming at her to help Anna, fix Anna, be there for Anna. But the medicines were kicking in and she felt too heavy to even stand.

Tomorrow, she thought. I'll help Anna tomorrow.

What Elsa didn't know, though, that Anna's current state was much worse than she could ever imagine.

Author's Note

What?! I updated?!

Yes, I did and this is probably going to be the last update. I'm so sorry.