Prologue
All I Ask
by eversskye
Prologue
Four Years, Seven Months Ago
The feeling of warm water running through her fingers was very relaxing, and she hummed quietly as she washed the dishes. Elsa was in one of her more playful moods, gathering some of the soap bubbles and blowing on them occasionally while she rinsed the dishes clean of suds.
To Anna, she looked absolutely adorable. The younger girl snuck behind the blonde, unnoticed until she slipped her arms around Elsa's waist. The taller girl gasped, blushing darkly when she spotted the loving eyes gazing at her.
"A-Anna!"
The strawberry blonde grinned, squeezing the other girl more tightly in her arms.
"'Sup?"
Elsa slapped the arms around her lightly in half-hearted attempt to be serious.
"Anna. I'm busy."
Yet the lightly tanned limbs did not relinquish their hold. Anna took the chance to bury her face into the taller girl's shoulder.
"I'm busy too. I'm hugging my wife."
At this all attempts at seriousness were almost entirely erased as Elsa giggled shyly.
"Silly Anna. We're not married yet."
Anna smirked into her neck before reaching to grab her left hand. Together they stood, left hands raised side by side, identical promise rings shining in the fourth finger of both.
"So you admit that one day you'll be my wife?"
Elsa smiled, turning within the other girl's hold and placing her arms on the younger girl's shoulders.
"Would I be wearing your promise ring if I wasn't? But before that, shouldn't you tell your parents about us? I mean, you've already met my family. I think it's about time that-mmmnn..."
She was pulled into a passionate kiss, eyes immediately closing while the other girl pushed her against the kitchen sink. After a long while, they broke off, breathing heavily.
"Anna..."
The shorter girl smiled widely.
"Don't worry. I'm going back home for a few weeks this summer. I'll tell them then, and invite you over. They'll love you, I promise."
Four Years, Two Months Ago
Ping!
Elsa jumped from the bed, rushing to find the phone left on the nightstand and looking anxiously at the name of the one who had sent the text.
"Hey Elsa.
Sorry but I'm tired of this. I don't think it's working out.
I don't think we'll work out.
My parents' company is in a bad place right now, and they're under a lot of pressure.
I can't have our relationship add on to their burden."
The words pierced into her heart. She began typing hastily, desperately.
"Anna! Just..where are you? Where have you been these few months?
We can work this out.
Let me see you.
We can-"
Yet the other girl continued sending her texts, ignoring the ones Elsa had sent.
"Our relationship isn't just the two of us anymore.
I can't be selfish.
My father hurt himself in shame yesterday when he heard that I was with a woman.
I can't just forsake the ones who gave birth to me.
I can't leave them when they need me most.
Our time together will forever be remembered as one of the happiest of my life.
Goodbye, Elsa."
Four Years, One Month, Three Weeks Ago
It had begun raining several hours ago.
She barely remembered how she arrived at the mansion several hundred miles away from home, drenched to the bone. All she knew was that Anna had left her the address once in case of emergency.
She pounded on the door, heedless of the coldness seeping into her veins.
"Anna! Come out, please! Just let me see you one more time. Just once. Tell me you still love me, and I'll wait. I'll wait forever for you."
Her hair had fallen from the braid she usually kept it in, wet strands covering her eyes and face. It took a moment before she even realized a figure emerging from the door, the thundering from the skies making it hard for her to hear the door's opening at all.
Eagerly, she brushed the wetness from her eyes in attempt to see more clearly.
"Ann-"
"Go away!"
The man pushed her backwards and she slipped, falling down the steps that lead to the house.
"She doesn't want to see you, so you better leave the premises immediately or I'll call the police."
The rain that night never seemed to stop.
Four Years, One Month, Two Weeks Ago
"I told you we were over.
Why did you have to come here?
My parents have been arguing nonstop because of you.
Mother almost had a heart attack.
I wish you never existed."
She laughed bitterly atop the bed, not bothering to close the message before sending the phone flying towards the opposite wall. One satisfying crack later, the phone shut off, dead.
She would never reuse that number.
Never receive the apology that was sent two weeks after.
Two Years Ago
Her two brothers gathered around her as they waited for the family doctor to open the files containing her test results. Dr. Kai's face was very grim as he studied the notes, pausing a moment before turning to Elsa.
"Are you sure you want me to say this with them here?"
She looked at Olaf and Marsh before nodding.
"I'm sure. After our parents died from that car crash nearly a year ago, I'd promised them I would never shut them out again. Whatever happens, we'll be in this together."
The doctor sighed, rubbing his face with his hands.
"Elsa, you're the kindest, most hard working person I've ever known. But sometimes you just need to know how to let yourself rest a little. You've been working nonstop ever since your parents died. That overwork and stress is probably what triggered everything."
The siblings head each other's hands tightly as they listened, eyes determined as they waited for the doctor to continue.
"My brothers are all I have left, doctor. If I don't take care of them, who will? Just tell me the results."
It was always difficult to say, especially to someone so young. Kai wasn't sure if he felt more or less at ease that this particularly close-knit family seemed to not have a drop of tears between them despite the situation. Their strength humbled him, made him regret what he would have to say even more.
He cleared his throat, steeling himself to speak.
"The second set of tests have confirmed that the acute myeloid leukemia you had a kid has...well, recurred."
The younger teenage boy was quiet, staring in front of him almost angrily. His older brother, Olaf, inhaled deeply before pulling his two siblings into a tight hug.
Elsa patted her brothers' backs gently.
"It'll be okay, guys. I promised I'd take care of you, didn't I? We'll be okay."
They remained like that for the next half hour, holding each other as Elsa patted their backs, sad smile on her face.
Mom. Dad. Give me strength to take care of them, until they're both settled in college.
As they left the clinic, headed towards the ice cream store in hope to brighten each other's spirits, a grim thought passed through Elsa's mind.
You'll get what you want soon, Anna. Soon, we won't be in the same world anymore.
Present Day
"Hey Elsa! You okay there?"
She blinked, trying to clear the black spots in her vision. After a moment she smiled tiredly at Kristoff, glad that her goggles hid the unfocused look in her eyes.
"Yeah. I'm okay. Just a bit nervous on the new changes in our department, actually."
It wasn't the whole truth, but not a lie either. Kristoff seemed to understand, dropping the subject of her health in favor of the one she had chosen.
"I know, right? It's not as though Hans is a good boss by any means, but I'm also anxious to see who his fiancée is. If she's to replace him as head of department here, then I hope she's not as bad as he is. Or even worse."
Elsa nodded, not saying anything. They drifted into a comfortable silence, working at their respective lab tables until late in the evening. About five minutes before the day was over, a coworker announced the arrival of the new head of department at Westerguard Pharmaceuticals.
They lined up near the door, goggles off and experiments having been stored away, as they waited for the woman to enter through the door.
Elsa heard the emerging sound of her high heels before seeing her. The woman spoke up immediately upon entering, cheery smile on her face as she introduced herself.
"Hello. My name is Anna. I'm pleased to meet all of you, and I hope we'll work well together!"
It took one moment. One look, and Elsa's heart dropped.
Before her was Anna, but not her Anna at all.
The cheery smile, the strawberry blonde twin braids remained.
And yet gone was the tomboy in jeans and sports shoes with a thin silver promise ring as the only jewelry she ever adorned.
The stranger in a black well-ironed suit had a smile that did not reach her eyes. In her left hand was a large diamond ring that gleamed coldly, flashing as she moved while she spoke.
As her coworkers gathered around their new supervisor, Elsa quickly excused herself. She didn't look to see if the others had seen her at all, opting to walk as fast as she could out of the room.
She broke into a run once she reached the hallway, yet she could not make it outside the building before a wave of nausea hit. Shaking slightly, she opted to head towards one of the ladies' rooms on the ground floor, collapsing onto the sink for what seemed like hours.
The building was almost empty when she came back out, stumbling towards the exit. Her phone beeped in her pockets, and she reached into it to view a couple of worried texts sent by Marsh stating that he was outside to pick her up from work. Immediately all thoughts of Anna vanished.
Why did he...how did he know?
When she read through the messages and noticed the late time, she felt a pang of guilt. He must have driven there when he noticed she was not home. Yet she did not want to see him, worry him when she no doubted-ly looked terrible.
Taking a deep breath as the world spun around her, she slid down to sit against one of the walls, hoping to regain her strength for a couple of minutes before heading out to meet her brother.
Yet the nausea would not settle. The halls seemed to spin faster and faster, closing in on her as she collapsed, unconscious.
There was a small commotion with the janitors that attracted Anna to one of the hallways by the exit as she was about to leave for the day.
The meeting with her new coworkers did not take much time at all, and she would have left much earlier had it not been for the retreating form of the girl she had seen before the meeting at even started.
The girl had left so quickly that Anna was only given a brief glance. But for the moment that her eyes had been on the blonde, she had dared to hope it was Elsa. She was unsure why her mind kept looking for Elsa in such ridiculous places. Even if they met, Anna would not know what to say to her.
Shaking her head, she schooled herself to stop thinking about the other girl. There was no way Elsa was there.
Her line of thought was broken by the sight of two janitors kneeling by the form of an unconscious woman. She rushed forward to help, brushing aside the other two before pulling the pale woman into her arms.
"You two, call for an ambulance. I'll stay and take care of her while we wait for..."
The words died in her throat when her gaze fell upon the woman's face.
"Elsa?"
The woman remained motionless, while Anna's heart began to beat almost frantically.
She froze, unsure of what to do, until someone took the other girl from her arms. The emptiness she felt from the other girl's disappearance pulled her from her trance, and Anna looked up to see the face of a boy she once knew.
"Marsh!"
Except the boy had grown much taller, and was no longer happy to see her, frowning as he recognized who she was. Without a word, he pulled his sister onto his back and stood up, walking away. Anna rushed after him.
"Wait! What's wrong with her? What happened?"
The expression on the teenager's face did not change, and he did not turn back. But his words stopped Anna from her tracks.
"Don't touch my sister. Don't hurt her anymore."