Do You Want to Decorate a Christmas Tree?
Elsa rubbed her temples as the stacks of papers loomed over her. It had been over half a year since her coronation, yet the work never slowed. Ever since Arendelle cut off trade with Weselton, Elsa had been scrambling to get another foreign nation to conduct trade with them. Having attended dozens of diplomatic meetings and written countless letters, all the queen wanted to do was give up.
I want the work to end, the stress to end, to take a break. I want to be a princess again.
Drops of snowflakes started to descend around her and melted on her papers which caused her to snap back to reality as she rushed to wipe them off. She closed her eyes as she grabbed her quill pen and took a deep breath. Learn to control it. Conceal, don't feel.
After meditating for a few seconds, Elsa looked back the paperwork in front of her and was determined to get as much done as she possibly could. Just as her pen started to mingle with her paper, she was interrupted by a knock on her door causing her to groan and lay her head on the table in defeat.
"Elsa?"
Barely audible, Elsa managed to moan out, "What, Anna?"
"Can I come in? I just want to talk about something."
Elsa hesitated. Anna never wanted to just talk. Every talk led to the two of them doing something that involved either helping Kristoff, going to her ice castle, eating chocolate, or building a snowman. Although, she didn't really mind the last three. "Of course Anna."
The door swung open as the redhead charged in with a devious smirk on her face.
Elsa lifted her head from her desk, "What did you want to talk about?"
Anna took a deep breath, a well known sign that heralded one of her signature rants, "Well, I know you're really busy right now, but Christmas is coming up and since we haven't really spent any Christmases together I figured it would be really nice if we did something together. It doesn't have to be anything too big, I just really want us to do something. We've been apart for so long, and I want to make up for all the lost time that we haven't had-"
"Anna!" The redhead stopped talking and looked at her older sister. "Just, get to the point."
Anna's face blushed as she started to twiddle with her fingers, "Well... Do you want to decorate a Christmas tree?"
"Anna, I have all this paperwork that I need to get done before-"
"Pleeeeaaaassssseeeeeee"
Elsa couldn't say no even if she wanted to. She let out a small sigh, "Alright."
Anna hopped a few times while squealing as her older sister started to rise from her chair. The duo started to stroll towards the library where they used to spend Christmas with their parents as children.
"Elsa, this is going to be so much fun! We can add different color decorations, light candles all around it and oh! I'll even let you put the star on top! We could also make paper snowflakes since you like those so much!" Anna continued to show her excitement throughout the entire trip. When they reached the library door Anna was shaking with so much anticipation that she looked like she was having a seizure.
Anna pushed the door opened and her eyes widened at the sight in front of her. Gerda was putting an elaborate golden star above a tree as Kai was lighting candles all around.
Gerda noticed the two sisters and her eyes lit up, "Oh, your highnesses! We were just about to call you so you could see the tree fully assembled!"
Anna shook her head, "Wait, what!?"
Kai turned his gaze on the duo, "We figured both of you must be awfully busy. Especially queen Elsa, with all that paperwork and what not."
Anna darted her eyes from Elsa to Kai and Gerda and back to Elsa, "B-but, me and Elsa were supposed to up the Christmas tree. I-I, w-what?"
Elsa looked at the two workers and mouthed "Thank you." The two nodded in reply with smiles on their faces.
"Take it down."
All three snapped towards Anna. "E-excuse me, your majesty?" Kai stuttered.
"I said take it down. Elsa and I are going to decorate this tree whether she likes it or not."
Elsa stepped in front of her sister and put her hands on Anna's shoulders, "Anna, please. They already put it up. Look how much work they put in it."
Anna straightened herself and crossed her arms, "No excuses. We're decorating this tree and that's final."
"But Anna - "
"No buts either."
Elsa sighed as she turned around to the servants, "Take it down." The two groaned as they slowly dismantled their hard work. It took them a few minutes, but eventually the tree was once again in its naked state. Elsa looked at her younger sibling, "Happy?"
Anna clapped her hand together, "Yup! Let's get started!"
Anna rushed to the box next to the tree that contained various metal and glass ornaments. She gestured Elsa to come over and the two pulled out a long metal chained that had various silver icicles and snowflakes dangling from it. They worked together to wrap it carefully around the tree, painstakingly making sure that it never overlapped.
Anna dug back into the box, grabbing glass balls and tossing them to her sister, "Elsa, catch!"
The blonde move quickly to catch the delicate objects, "Careful Anna!" Once she caught them all, she looked back at Anna making a cute pouty face. Elsa couldn't help but burst into laughter, finally starting to enjoy spending time with her sister.
Once again, the two labored to hang the ornaments until it was perfect. No two same looking ornaments were within three branches from each other, giving the tree a nice, varied look. The two stepped back and gave a triumphant sigh as they looked at their masterpiece. Elsa took her turn at the box, pulling out wax sticks and waving them in the air, "Time for the candles!"
She lit one on a burning candle left by Kai and Gerda, handing another stick to her sister and lighting hers. Anna looked at the tree, contemplating where to place the candles, "So, where do you think we should-" She turned to her sister, only to be greeted by a waxy finger rubbed on her cheek.
It took her a second to register what just happened, but once she realized she started to fan her face, "Hot, hot, hot, hot, hot, hot!" Once the wax cooled, she glared at her sister.
Elsa couldn't help but shrug and smile, "Sorry, but I had to get back for the ornaments somehow."
Anna rubbed her hand on the melting wax on her candle, "Oh it's on now!" She chased Elsa around the library both yelling at the top of their lungs.
"Anna please! I was only trying to get even, what good does this do you?"
Anna stopped at one side of a table while Elsa stood cautiously on the opposite, "Maybe I don't want to get even again. Maybe I just like seeing you squirm!" With that Anna continued to playfully chase Elsa around the room, both taking turns wiping the heated wax on the other's face.
It took them a while, but eventually they got tired and dropped down on the floor. They laid down next to each other, breath heavy and sweating dripping. They looked at each other, both analyzing the wax makeup on their sibling before bursting out into another fit of laughter.
Elsa finally caught her breath and turned to her sister, "How about we don't put candles on the Christmas tree?"
Anna stared at the ceiling, still concentrating on her breathing and lowering her elevated heart rate, "Yeah, that sounds nice. We should do that." She turned to her sister when she heard her shuffle to stand up.
Elsa offered her hand. "Come on, we still have to put that star on top. I'll even let you do it," she said as she winked at her sister.
Anna took her hand and hoisted herself up, rolling on her toes to maintain her balance. Elsa grabbed a nearby chair and presented it to Anna. The redhead did a curtsey before she stepped on, causing a giggle between the two. Elsa handed the intricate star to her sister and Anna carefully hoisted the star right the top. She stepped down and Elsa led her to the other end of the room so they could bask in their creation.
Anna stared at the tree, "It's beautiful."
Elsa crinkled her nose, "Indeed, but something seems... missing."
The redhead turned to her sister, "Missing? Like what? The candles?"
Elsa shook her head, "No, it just seems- Wait, I know!" She waved her hands causing a flurry of snow to fly towards the tree. A cloud formed over it, much like the one Olaf possessed, and started a gentle sprinkle on the Christmas tree, causing it to have a white layer on top of the branches.
Anna gasped as she put a hand on her sister, "Elsa, it's. Well, perfect." The older girl smiled knowing she made her sister happy. They stood there for a few minutes just taking in the sight before Anna hugged her sister tightly and kissed her on the cheek, "Thank you for doing this with me."
Elsa hugged her sister back, enjoying the warmth and closeness between the two of them, "I wouldn't have missed it for the world."