Twas the day of the holiday season in Arendelle, the biggest festival of the year. People from all over the city would gather in the celebrations, signalling the end of a year and the beginning of a new one.
At the Arendelle castle, a certain pair of royal sisters were preparing to hold the festivities in their own home, inviting all of Arendelle to join their celebration.
"Remember to not put too much sugar on the yule cake, Anna," Elsa instructed, as her younger sister sieved icing sugar onto a freshly baked cake. "We don't want our citizens to have heart attacks."
"I'm being careful, Elsa," Anna responded, putting down her utensil. "I'm so glad we get the holiday's together again." She wasn't exaggerating. After thirteen long years, Elsa and Anna had been reunited and their bond having blossomed from platonic to romantic and things couldn't have been better.
Elsa smiled and held Anna's hand. "Me too, we deserve this happiness after the year we've had." The year had gone by so quickly. Elsa's coronation, Anna's birthday, Elsa's own birthday a few weeks earlier, it had certainly been a busy time, but the two sisters had made sure they always had at least a moment to spend with each other.
Anna then walked over to the window, and smiled. "I can't remember the last time there was a holiday celebration here."
Elsa walked beside her. "You wouldn't have, Anna," she informed her. "The last time we did something like this, you were only a toddler and you still couldn't walk without Mama holding your hand."
"That explains it," Anna admitted. She must have been so cute in those days. "But at least I get to have fun in this cute dress!" She then twirled around her new outfit, a wintery dress and sash bought for her by Kristoff, with some mistletoe in her hair. "And I'll get a lot of kisses too."
Elsa giggled. "Trying to make me jealous, dear sister?" She flirted, winting slightly.
Anna kissed her sister on the cheek. "No, because you'll be the only one I'm kissing. These lips are for no one else."
Elsa smiled. "Come on, we should get ready before Kristoff gets back with the Yule bell. I'd hate for the Queen and Princess to be late for their own party."
Anna grinned. "Then lead the way, oh Furry Queen," she intoned, referring to the furry collar on the dress Elsa was wearing. The dress was Anna's present to her, sewn by herself, to the best of her ability. One would think that Anna would have probably got something wrong, but Anna knew her sister, and her body, so very well, that she had sewn the most beautiful dress possible for Elsa to wear this season.
Elsa rolled her eyes at Anna's reference and smiled. Anna was truly the definition of the lovable dork.
The two sisters walked out into the courtyard of the castle, hand in hand like the royal couple they were. The people had gathered into large crowds, cheering for them.
Elsa beamed with joy, a wide grin on her face. Months ago, she feared that all these people would hate her. Now they loved her, and were cheering for her on this fine winter's eve.
The two sisters came to a stop, and Elsa stepped forward to address her kingdom. "People of Arendelle. Thank you all so much for coming on this wonderful day. We gather here to celebrate our holiday season, to enjoy our traditions and this wonderful time of year. Let the holidays begin!"
As the crowds cheered again, Kristoff was hosting a large bell into the tower above Elsa and Anna, preparing to strike it with a large hammer. "Hey, Elsa! Should I do the thing?" He called down to them.
Elsa and Anna looked up at him, giving their friend a thumbs up. "Go ahead, Kristoff," Elsa replied.
Kristoff picked up the hammer and slammed it into the bell, causing a loud GONG to reverb throughout the city, travelling as far as the icy, north mountains.
The crowd then cheered some more, and Anna then wrapped her arms around Elsa, grinning happily. "This is perfect, Elsa," she stated.
"Party's only just started, dear Anna," Elsa reminded her, before kissing her on the lips and dipping in her in those slender, furry covered arms of hers.
xXx
As the party got underway in the ballroom a few hours later, Anna was hovering near the dessert table, hungrily eyeing the Yule cake she'd made. She had been practising her baking skills for some time, and even though her early attempts hadn't gone so well, she was particularly proud of her cake.
Elsa walked over to her sister, smiling. "I know you're hungry, Anna, but you have to wait until after dinner. It would be rather improper if you were to devour it now."
Anna groaned. "I know. My one perfect cake, and I can't eat it for hours."
Elsa giggled and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Be patient, Anna. You'll get your delicious sweet treat soon enough."
Anna smiled and held her sister's hand. "Being patient is your dearl, Elsa. Me, not so much."
Elsa smiled. "Yes, I know. I have been living with you for most of my life," she teased, pinching her chubby, freckled cheek.
Anna walked with her sister up to the small stage at the back of the ballroom, grinning happily. "Do you think this first holiday party has been a success?"
"Of course," Elsa stated. "And it will be the first of many to come."
Anna held her sister's hand, smiling and feeling full of joy. Christmas, Yule, the holidays had many names, but their only purpose was for the two of them to be together, in joy and comfort.
The young princess then looked over at the people of her homeland, enjoying themselves in whatever traditions they celebrated, be they of faith or family. One thing that caught her eye was Kristoff, playing his lute for a group of children in the corner of the room, Olaf dancing with them.
"They're so happy over there," Anna admitted. "I can imagine Kristoff knows quite a few songs from his time with the trolls."
Elsa looked over at the quaint and happy scene and sighed deeply. Those years apart had meant she and Anna never had much of a chance to enjoy times like this, sharing each others traditions and doing the things other people would do this time of year.
Anna glanced at her sister and asked. "Elsa...do we have any family traditions for the holidays? I mean, I'd hate for us to feel left out."
Elsa looked down. She knew what the answer would be and knew Anna wouldn't like it. She would have made an excuse, but she had forbidden herself from telling lies to Anna, not after hiding her powers all those years. "Not that I can remember Anna... I'm sorry."
"Oh..." A sad expression crossed the princess's face for a brief moment.
Elsa turned away from her sister, her shoulders drooping like a puppy dog's ears. "I'm so sorry, Anna. It's my fault we don't have any traditions." She felt so guilty right now. All this happiness she had shared with her kingdom, and yet hadn't found a way to make Anna happy this time of year.
Anna looked over at her elder sister and placed a hand on the Queen's shoulder in assurance. "Don't be sad, Elsa. It's not your fault. What's in the past is in the past."
Elsa didn't respond, she merely still faced away from Anna, not bearing to look at her in shame.
Anna sighed sadly. She had to think of something she could do to cheer Elsa up...but what? She needed something that she knew Elsa would remember, but all the times she had been to see Elsa while they were seperated had become so blurred, it was hard to remember anything she could have done with her. But then, it hit her. Something very faint from those years apart, and yet it was something very familiar to Anna. Something she knew Elsa would understand.
"Elsa, I think I've got something," She stated, confidently. "I know what we can do!"
"What are you talking about, Anna?" Elsa asked dejectedly. "We don't have any traditions, I told you that."
"Yes we do," Anna replied, grabbing Elsa's hand. "Just follow me, okay?"
Elsa nodded, slightly unsure of what Anna was going on about, but she knew she could trust her sister. "Okay."
Anna led Elsa out of the ballroom, a big wide grin on her face. "Come on Elsa!"
Elsa held her hair in place as Anna pulled her along the corridors, gasping for breath. "Easy Anna! I'm not as fit as I used to be!"
"Shouldn't have been eating all those chocolates," Anna teased. "I remember you once ran up the whole north mountain, all the way to your ice palace."
"That was before I learned to make ice mounts," Elsa pointed out. "And that was a long time ago now."
"Look, we're here now," Anna then stated. She had led Elsa up to their now-shared bedroom. Anna then unlocked the door and entered the room, looking up at the ceiling for a brief moment before seeing a small hatch in the roof that led to the attic. "Elsa, could you make like an ice ladder or something?"
"Anna, what?" Elsa inquired, very confused. What could Anna possibly be wanting to look at up in the attic?
"Trust me," Anna stated. "You'll see what I mean. Just make the ice ladder and get me into the attic."
Elsa sighed. "Alright, I'm trusting you." She held out her hand and conjured an icy stairwell for Anna walk up. "But this better not be some silly game of yours to try and cheer me up."
"Don't worry, Elsa. I know what I'm doing," Anna reminded her. "Have faith in your sister."
The princess walked up the steps to the hatch, gently prying it open with her strong, Arendellian arms. She poked her head into the attic, her ears already feeling nibbly at the cold air from outside. The attic was a dirty place, with cobwebs and dust everywhere. No one had set foot up here in a long time.
Anna undid the bun in her hair and started to look around the various chests and boxes, hoping to find what she was looking for.
"What are you looking for?" Elsa asked, curious.
"Something traditional," Anna responded. "Oooh," she made a slightly cute noise. "Look what I found!" She pulled a weird hat out of one of the chests and giggled. "I found my jester hat!" She then displayed a set of strange mittens that looked like paws on her hands and a dark cape down her back. "And my old dragon claws and sorceress cloak!" She then cackled. "Fear me oh Snow Queen, om nom nom," she imitated a fearsome beast.
Elsa giggled. "Anna, that's adorable."
"I'm the definition of adorable, Elsa," Anna remarked. "But it's not what I'm here for."
"Then what are you here for?" Elsa wondered, still curious. If Anna had been trying to be cutesty for her, she didn't need to go looking for old junk in the attic. "I mean, no offense Anna, but most of the stuff in here is old, and doesn't really matter anymore."
"True, I mean there's all your old gloves and such, but there's just... I dunno a sense of nostalgia to this little attic."
"You have a good point," Elsa agreed. There good memories in here, but there were also bad ones. "But then, there are some things I'd rather leave behind." She then looked a box containing a set of teal gloves, like the ones she wore for her coronation. "Like these." She picked up a glove and slid it onto her hand. "Still fits."
"Come on, the gloves have no purpose in our life now," Anna replied, taking the glove off Elsa's hand.
Elsa then looked in a drawer nearby, finding a small plush penguin. "Oh! Sir JorgenBjorgen!" She held the little teddy in her arms. "He was a good listener."
"Awww you had a teddy!" Anna cooed.
Elsa sighed. "I needed someone to talk to while you were away, so I took up knitting for a little while and made him."
Anna stroked the penguin. "Keep him, in case you need something else to cuddle in bed other than me." The young princess went back to her searching the various chests.
Elsa smiled. Maybe this attic wasn't such a junkpile after all.
Anna then gasped as she found a pair of small wooden boxes in the chest she was looking in. In one box, she found exactly what she was looking for and in the other... was something equally special, something she knew would be the perfect thing to give Elsa to make her happy.
"Elsa, I found it!" Anna stated triumphantly with a toothy grin, picking up one of the boxes and handing it to Elsa.
The Queen looked at the small little box, puzzled. "What's in here?"
"Some old memories," Anna replied. "And our tradition."
Elsa opened the box and her eyes widened, gasping. "Oh my gosh! Anna…" Inside the box was a set of little cards made by Anna, with drawings of snowmen on them and her and Elsa being together. Also inside were other various gifts made by Anna's handiwork, like a little doll of Olaf made with sticks.
"I remember these…" Elsa said, her breath taken away. "I didn't think we still had them"
"Neither did I," Anna remarked. Every year while she and Elsa were apart, Anna sent her one of these little gifts, but after their parents were lost at sea, and Anna and Elsa had felt more apart, Anna had stopped.
Elsa held the box close to her heart. "Thank you, Anna… for reminding me we do have a tradition."
"And allow me to continue that tradition, because Elsa, here's my present to you," Anna responded. She then took out the other box and got down on one knee, opening it up. Inside was a beautiful necklace, with dark blue straps and a silver amulet in it's center, the royal crest printed at its center.
Elsa blushed and covered her mouth, knowing that this was no ordinary necklace. It was a betrothal necklace, one that been passed down through the royal family for many generations and now it was Anna's to give.
Anna smiled. "So… what do you say Elsa?"
Elsa teared up slightly, smiling with happiness. "Yes… My answer is yes."
xXx
Author's note: Welcome to a little series of fics based on the events of the new Frozen short. This one was kinda based on an idea that Nona had (thank you nona) of Elsa proposing to Anna in the attic. As you can see here, I flipped it and added a little thing to the proposal. (That I may have borrowed from Avatar, but hey if Korrasami can propose with necklaces, why not Elsanna)
Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this little fic and enjoy the ones to come. :3