"Anna, I don't know if I can do this," Anna heard her older sister's voice sound nearby her. Anna turned her head toward Elsa, taking in the elder's uncomfortable appearance with her arms crossed protectively in front of her middle. Anna's eyes softened a bit into the loving expression she always had for Elsa.
"Of course you can. I know you can," Anna reassured with a large grin and a thumbs-up. Anna didn't miss the strange glance Elsa threw at her for that comment.
Anna knew that particular remark brought back memories. But she didn't truly think about the depth of the words until she bothered to think of which memories.
"I don't know, Anna. The last time we had one of these parties, it didn't end well. For either of us," Elsa nervously glanced back over to the redhead. Anna moved so that she was grasping the blonde's hands in hers. She rested her forehead on Elsa's.
"Trust me. I'll be with you every step of the way, okay? I won't leave you at all tonight," Anna promised with a heartfelt smile. In return, she received the warmest mix of emotion that could ever come from a snow queen.
It was quite ironic, really. The fact that someone like Elsa could be stereotyped as so cold and unfeeling but was actually the polar opposite. In fact, Elsa was quite possibly the warmest and most feeling person Anna had ever had the pleasure of having in her life.
"I trust you, Anna," Elsa responded, and Anna could easily see that Elsa meant each word.
"Good." Anna then removed her hands from Elsa's grasp and wrapped her sister in a tender embrace.
But their moment of solitude and love could not last, for their duties as royals beckoned.
"Presenting Queen Elsa of Arendelle," Kai announced loudly to the entirety of the crowd gathered in the ballroom. Elsa took a deep breath and straightened herself, gracefully striding to her position in front of the throne.
Anna couldn't help but feel a little envy. Elsa always had such perfect mannerisms and she never was ungraceful. Unlike her sister.
"Princess Anna of Arendelle," Kai proclaimed. Anna folded her arms in front of her and tried to mimic Elsa's leisurely but queenly gait.
She was doing excellently so far. Anna had exited from the hall stretching beside the ballroom entrance and was gracefully making her way in front of the crowd. She proudly held her head high in her confidence.
It was such a foreign feeling to Anna. To actually be revered during her bout of refinement. No matter how temporary it may have been.
Naturally, all awe and respect were dispelled from the crowd around the time that Anna accidentally stepped on her dress and barely avoided falling on her face.
As she straightened herself, her cheeks were filled with a rosy red coloring and she saw some people chuckling and smirking at her expense.
Normally, it wouldn't have bothered her so badly for people to be mirthful at her mishaps, but after feeling so valued and esteemed for once, Anna couldn't help but feel a bit stripped of something.
But what truly sent a dagger through her heart was a comment made by a dignitary from the Northern Isles.
"Thank goodness she wasn't crowned Queen. Arendelle likely would've already fallen to its demise as has so many other countries with fumbling female rulers." Anna's eyes filled with hurt, angry tears at the cruel observation. She continued her walk to Elsa's side until she had finally arrived at her destination.
"Anna, are you okay?" she heard Elsa tentatively question beside her. Anna swallowed hard, trying to convince her tears to disappear before she found the courage to face her older sister.
When she though she finally had a good enough hold over it, she turned herself toward the platinum blonde.
"Oh, I'm fine. Don't worry. It happens all the time. Clumsy old me," Anna attempted to dismiss Elsa's worry with a shaky, self-deprecating laugh. Elsa eyed her strangely and Anna could see the concern in her older sibling's eyes, but Anna quickly formulated a distraction so that Elsa couldn't continue questioning her.
"Hey, Els, look! Chocolate fondue! Let's go get some," Anna hastily said, linking her arm in Elsa's. She knew that simply the touch would distract Elsa for a moment. It was something Elsa was so unused to and yet, after Anna openly showered her with it, she seemed to crave now.
After a few short moments, the two were at the fondue table and Anna was searching through the various fruits that one could dip into the fountain of chocolate.
"Ooh, strawberries! I love those," Anna enthusiastically claimed, gingerly taking one from the bowl and dipping it into the fountain. She then popped it into her mouth, savoring the delectable taste of her favorite fruit mixed with the taste of her favorite food.
"Aw, my gawsh. Dat ish good!" Anna enthused, her mouth full of food. Anna heard Elsa chuckle a bit.
"I take it you're enjoying it?" Elsa coolly questioned with her eyes half-lidded and an eyebrow raised, a casual smirk playing on her lips.
"Why, yesh, of coursh. I shertainly am," Anna replied around the delectable treat still stuffed in her cheeks.
"You'd better stop stuffing your face, because you and a chipmunk have a frighteningly similar countenance at this point," Elsa teased. Anna swallowed it all in one gulp, throwing a playful glare in Elsa's direction.
"The Princess of Arendelle as a chipmunk?! How dare you?" Anna faked being offended at Elsa's comment.
"Well, you are what you are," Elsa factually responded.
"Wow. That's prophetic," Anna shot back with a smirk.
"My, my, Princess Anna. Ever the chocolate lover, eh?" the dignitary from the Northern Isles snidely observed with a cruel smile set thinly across his slightly aged face.
Anna turned her gaze toward him, trepidation and hurt reflecting in her eyes. She knew that he wouldn't succeed in saying that many offensive remarks since they were in Elsa's presence, but she couldn't help but doubt a bit.
"My sister certainly enjoys her sweets. But don't we all?" Elsa conversationally piped up. To anyone else, she would have sounded cordial, but Anna easily read the guarded undertone of her reply. Anna was torn between wanting to thank her sister and feeling a bit angry at the fact that Elsa was more important than her in that she could defend the younger with more ease than Anna could herself.
"Indeed, your majesty," the man responded with a small smile that was stretched across his visage in more of a grimace. As the man turned away, Anna barely picked up his last words.
"Almost pig-like, wouldn't you agree?" he murmured to the French ambassador alongside him. They both shared a loud laugh at that comment. Anna felt her stomach clench tightly at the statement, and she looked down at her hands forlornly.
In just a few seconds, she felt Elsa's hand on the side of her face, stroking Anna's cheek gently with her thumb.
"Anna, look at me," Elsa gently commanded. Anna hesitantly raised her gaze to meet that of her older sister's.
She was met with the warm yet barely controlled angry stare of Elsa.
"None of what that," Elsa paused for a moment, seemingly collecting her emotions in an attempt to grasp better control of them, "man… said was true."
Anna nodded, looking back down at her feet quickly.
"If you don't mind, Els, I'm just going to go to the bathroom for a second. Y'know… To get cleaned up a bit," Anna dejectedly murmured, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Okay, Sunshine," Elsa replied. She then smiled sadly yet lovingly and kissed Anna's forehead.
Anna allowed a ghost of a smile to grace her lips and then she turned to go to the restroom.
She combed through a few groups of people and finally made it into the hall at the edge of the ballroom. Anna then sadly trudged to the room that happened to be right in front of her.
Just as she was about to turn the doorknob, she looked down and saw something wet on the floor.
She looked a bit closer and decided that someone must've spilled their water. Moving past this revelation, Anna then opened the door and quietly locked it behind her.
Just as she stepped in, Anna lost her footing and crashed to the floor, landing on her rear end hard.
"Ow," Anna stated as she tried to stand back up. Immediately, she started trying to slip.
"Woah, woah, woah!" Anna cried, grabbing the sink with her hands while desperately attempting to keep her feet planted firmly.
She watched out of the corner of her eye as her feet began to slowly slide backwards.
"Oh, no," she whispered, staring wide-eyed at her previously upright legs moved so that her body was straight. She held onto the sink with a death grip, absently noting the fact that her knuckles were turning white as Elsa's snow.
"Please, don't!" she squeaked, shutting her eyes as tightly as she could and clung to the porcelain of the basin.
When she opened her eyes finally after several moments, questioning why she didn't feel like she was slipping anymore, she realized that her feet had hit the wall.
"Oh, thank goodness," she breathed. Anna looked up at her reflection, taking a quick assessment of what she looked like.
She saw that, aside from her slightly bloodshot eyes, she looked just like she always did.
Anna exhaled in relief, allowing her grip on the sink to loosen. Just as she realized her mistake, however, her hands slipped from the sink and she landed on the ground.
"Ouch."
…
Anna finally emerged from the bathroom after many minutes of toiling and trying to pull herself out of the bathroom along with placing towels on the floor.
She quietly crossed the hall and peeked into the ballroom.
It hadn't changed at all from when she had left it, and everyone seemed just as merry as they were before. She couldn't help but wryly note that no one ever noticed her presence. If she wanted, she could just disappear upstairs and go to bed early without anybody noticing.
But she had a job to do. She had to make sure that Elsa felt comfortable in the foreign presence of the large crowd and the overwhelming volume of conversation and music.
Anna lifted herself up on the tips of her toes, attempting to see her sister's telltale platinum blonde hair through the thickness of the crowd.
Anna suddenly heard a hearty laugh that she immediately recognized. She turned her head quickly in the direction of the mirthful noise. Her eyes widened as she spotted Elsa laughing and enjoying herself among several complete strangers.
Anna immediately knew something wasn't right with her sister. Elsa never laughed like that unless it was just her and Anna.
She treaded the edge of the crowd, making her way to Elsa and the foreign dignitaries. When she finally got there, she walked up right behind Elsa and extended her hand.
"Uh… Elsa? Are you okay?" Anna asked albeit hesitantly, poking her sister's shoulder. She was then faced with the grinning face of Elsa.
"Anna!" Elsa almost shouted. Anna's eyes widened as she peered into the eldest's eyes. "Have I told you how much I love you today?" The blonde furrowed her brow. "Well, not just today, but every day!" The ridiculous smile returned to her countenance.
"You're acting strange…" Elsa threw an arm over Anna's shoulder, giggling a bit, and Anna caught the scent of what she identified as grape juice mixed with something else that was strange and different. Anna glanced at the hand attached to the arm that wasn't flung around her. In its grasp was a cup of purple-black liquid.
"Well, as you know, I'm a funny uncle!" Elsa claimed, cackling loudly. Anna face-palmed in embarrassment, becoming increasingly confused at her sister's strange behavior.
"Elsa, do you even understand the implications of that?" Anna whispered, trying desperately to ensure that nobody had heard Elsa's weirdness.
"Woah, dude! You're starting to sound like me!" Elsa suddenly stated incredulously, her eyes wide and the corners of her lips quirked a bit.
"Yeah, now pay attention. What have you been doing and how did you end up like this?" Anna questioned as patiently as she could muster. Elsa then got a confused look on her face.
"Like what?"
"Like you are right now," Anna clarified a bit. She watched as Elsa's bottom lip began to quiver and her eyes were becoming glassy with tears.
"Do you not like who I am?" Elsa's voice wavered, and Anna realized she was on the verge of tears. Anna's eyes went wide and she grabbed Elsa's hands.
"No, no, no, no, no! I absolutely love who you are, Elsa. It's okay." As quickly as Anna confessed those words, Elsa immediately returned to the happy, goofy persona she had just a few seconds ago.
"I love you, too, knucklehead," Elsa expressed with a lopsided smile.
Anna returned the grin albeit skeptically. She then turned around and rushed off to find Kristoff.
The redhead glanced all around the thick crowd of dignitaries and various royals. She had to find Kristoff. Elsa was acting really abnormal. Not that she wasn't abnormal in some sense of the word, but Anna considered that sort of abnormal normal.
Her head was beginning to spin at all of the abnormal normality.
Suddenly, in a shift of the crowd, Anna spotted shaggy dirty blonde hair.
Anna began to make her way through, squeezing between people.
"Excuse me. Oh, pardon me!" Anna sheepishly grinned in an attempt to provide some sort of apology when she received some indignant, snooty looks.
"Kristoff!" Anna furiously whispered, trying to get his attention. She rolled her eyes in exasperation when she failed to get any response.
"Kristoff!" Anna whispered again, trying to get closer to him. Finally, he happened to turn his head in her direction. She waved her hands above her head in a crazed manner, trying to get him to come over and meet her halfway.
His eyes widened a bit and he sat his drink down on the table and began trying to scoot past people to Anna's location.
Once he was finally there, Anna immediately began a long stream of speech.
"Good gosh, it takes forever to get your attention. Anyways, I need to talk to you about this situation I've got!" Barely pausing to take a breath, Anna lurched into her worrisome tale.
"Okay, so Elsa was really, really nervous when we were first getting announced. Y'know, the whole 'Queen Elsa of Arendelle and Princess Anna of Arendelle' and all that good stuff.
"So after that, I was kind of insulted in a roundabout way and when I left her alone for just a second because I had to go to the bathroom to freshen up she, of course, said it was okay. I mean, you don't come between a girl and her looking in the mirror, you know what I mean?
"So it took longer than I anticipated, like twenty minutes give or take for things that I'd really prefer not to get into right now…" Anna paused for just a moment, allowing herself a shudder in horror of the remembrance of her fiasco with the slippery flooring and the impossibility to walk.
"Anywho, when I got back, Elsa's talking to some boring folks from somewhere like Denmark or Sweden or England or something which is no surprise, of course. I mean, they probably tracked her down. But the real kicker is that she was actually laughing. And I don't mean her usual polite chuckle she uses with everybody but me.
"So when I got to where she was at and I asked her if she was okay, she turns around and starts loudly voicing how much she loves me and even said something about a," Anna leaned a little closer to Kristoff so that no one would hear her next words, "funny uncle." Kristoff's eyes were increasingly resembling saucers.
"And then when I asked her why in the world she was acting so strange, she got all emotional! So after all this weirdness, I decided I'd ask you if you had a clue what in the world is going on with her?" Anna finally finished her long uninterrupted ramble. She watched as Kristoff furrowed his brow and stroked his chin.
After a few moments, a look of recognition sprung onto his face and he locked gazes with Anna.
"Anna, did you happen to see if she was drinking anything?" Kristoff questioned albeit hesitantly. Anna thought for a moment.
"Actually… Yes, I noticed she had a glass of grape juice in her hand when I came back to the party…" Kristoff nodded his head, a grim look on his face. Anna raised an eyebrow. "Does that matter?" Anna asked curiously.
"Anna, I don't think that Elsa drank grape juice."
"Well, what do you think she drank then, beverage expert?" Anna requested, trying to keep her patience at Kristoff's strange behavior and seeming dread of her question.
"Elsa drank wine," Kristoff finally said, telling Anna plainly. Anna's eyes widened in shock.
"Oh, no…." Then all of Elsa's weirdness made sense. The wine must have been the strange scent she smelled in the midst of the grape juice scent.
Anna knew exactly what wine did. It was not something that anyone should drink. She had read plenty enough books to know that if someone drank it and didn't have a very good tolerance for it, they would act completely opposite of themselves. Or rather, some parts of their personalities were magnified as well as any mood swing they had.
"I've got to go back and make sure she doesn't do anything stupid!" Anna exclaimed, turning around and pushing through the crowd as well as she could.
At this point, she wasn't even really thinking about the fact that she just left Kristoff in the middle of the crowd by himself. She was too worried about what might happen if Elsa continued to act like she was.
She got on the tips of her toes, trying to see over all the people. She was suddenly cursing her decision to not wear heels.
Anna tried to see if Elsa was in the same vicinity as where she left her. Unfortunately, her view was blocked when a tall man stepped back a bit. She huffed in aggravation. Anna pushed through the crowd more and started moving as fast as she could.
Finally, she burst out of the crowd. She dusted her dress off a bit, trying to rid herself of the various foreign stinks from all of the strange people of the ball. Anna then immediately sprung into action, trying to find Elsa.
"Have I ever told you boys about the time I caught my sister and her boyfriend-" Anna's eyes widened in horror and she rushed over to Elsa. Anna grabbed her sister's arm and yanked her so that Elsa was standing beside her.
"Hello, gentleman, I need to borrow Queen Elsa. See you!" Anna smiled nervously, waving a bit before dragging Elsa away.
"Hey, Anna! Oh, wait, I need to tell you something," Anna's eyes widened in dread. She had a feeling that what Elsa was going to say was not socially acceptable. And they weren't that far from the gathering Elsa had been talking to.
"That guy over there's a drag queen!" Elsa proclaimed in a loud whisper. A very loud whisper, Anna couldn't help but note. Anna slapped her face with a hand and groaned. She tried desperately to avoid glancing over at the group. Elsa then began pointing.
"You see him, Anna? He's the big, fat one over there with the elephant nose!" Elsa whispered at the same volume as before. "I think he's a man dressed like a woman."
"Elsa, I know what a drag queen is. And that lady is not a drag queen."
"You mean it's a really ugly woman?!" Elsa exclaimed, completely foregoing all semblances of quiet.
"Shh!" Anna shushed, trying to get Elsa to quiet down. Elsa giggled and shushed back.
"Come on, we need to get you out of here, Els," Anna insisted, tightening her hold on Elsa's arm.
"But the party's just begun! Besides, I found some tasty grape juice and I think I'm gonna go get me some more…" Elsa started to tug against her. Anna kept her feet firmly planted against the hardwood floor.
"Elsa, you've been drinking wine."
"No!" Elsa adamantly disagreed. Then she suddenly got a strange look on her face. "Wait… Really?" she asked, seeming much more reasonable and Elsa-like. Anna exhaled in relief, seeing light at the end of the tunnel.
"Yes, you have. And you really need to get out of here because we don't need you saying inappropriate things to all these people in this party."
And just like that, Elsa's lapse of sanity disappeared.
"What?! Inappropriate? I'm the perfect picture of proprienty. Proprenty. Proprety. Propriety!" Elsa struggled with the words. Anna rolled her eyes.
"Elsa, you called somebody a drag queen just a second ago," Anna reminded her with a bit of a groan.
"Oh, yeah. Hey, there it is over there!" Elsa started pointing again.
"Elsa, stop doing that!" Anna hissed, grabbing Elsa's hand. Elsa pulled her hand out of the younger's grasp, threw her arm over Anna's shoulder, and gave her a sloppy kiss on the cheek.
"You're so cute when you're a little angry bird."
"Come on, you big goof, let's go."
"Wait, wait, wait! I need a sip of the magic juice!" Elsa grabbed a cup off of a passing servant's tray and immediately downed it. What followed was a thunderous belch that Anna didn't believe she'd ever hear Elsa do. "Whew, that was good!" Anna looked around in embarrassment and saw that several people were watching the inebriated queen and whispering amongst themselves.
"Elsa, act queenly!" Anna pleaded, grabbing Elsa's hands in her own. Elsa's eyes widened and she burst into a wide grin.
"Why didn't you say so?! Hey, and I got another idea." Elsa beckoned Anna closer. "Let's pretend you're a princess, too!" Elsa whispered, acting like it was the best idea in the world.
"That's a great idea, Els," Anna humored her sister, playing along with Elsa's drunken inklings.
"Cool beans." Elsa then straightened up, linking her arm in Anna's and stumbling forward a bit. She giggled at her obvious mishap in walking.
"Let us go, Princess. We're single and ready to mingle." Elsa walked along clumsily and Anna held onto her arm tightly so that the older girl wouldn't fall. Elsa dragged them over to a small group of royals from various countries.
"What is vibrating, breakfast dish of pork?" Elsa said in an overly eccentric voice. The little hope that Anna had for Elsa's queenly act was completely gone with that statement.
"I thought you said that you were going to act queenly," Anna whispered in Elsa's ear.
"I am." Anna rolled her eyes, but decided to give Elsa another chance. After all, it wouldn't be appropriate if the queen hosting the ball suddenly disappeared. And people certainly didn't seem to appreciate a lowly princess hosting it, Anna couldn't help but note albeit bitterly.
"So how's the party, gents?" Elsa's eyes widened as a servant passed with a tray of wine. Elsa quickly snagged and guzzled one before Anna could stop her. Anna huffed in aggravation.
"Everything is quite well with us, your majesty. Your party is beautifully well-organized," a mustachioed man complimented. Anna's face fell a bit. Elsa hadn't fashioned the party. It had been Anna that organized the arrangements.
"I 'ppreciate the kudos, but the real mastermind was the 'Princess' here," Elsa emphasized the title Princess and winked at Anna. Anna then remembered that Elsa thought they were pretending to be Queen and Princess. Anna winked back, trying to appear natural in a situation that was completely unnatural.
"Well, you have fashioned an excellent party, your highness." Anna recoiled in surprise, not really expecting the commendation.
"Oh! Thank you. It really was nothing," Anna grinned widely, allowing herself to revel in the praise. In the midst of her flattery, Anna was also given the satisfaction that possibly Elsa wasn't as intoxicated as she had originally thought. After all, Elsa seemed to remember who planned the party.
"Please excuse us, fellas, I gotta run real quick," Elsa suddenly proclaimed, pulling Anna behind her as she reached for a glass of wine on a nearby table.
"Elsa! Don't drink that!" Anna hissed, trying to take the drink from her. Soon Elsa was going to be completely wasted and considering how badly she was behaving when barely drunk, Anna dreaded seeing her any worse.
But, using her height to her advantage, Elsa leaned away from Anna and slurped the cup down her throat. She hiccupped a bit, giggling at herself shortly thereafter.
Then, before Anna could think, Elsa had another glass of wine and guzzled it as well. Elsa grinned, and Anna could practically see the transformation from semi-herself to completely not herself.
"Elsa, don't you drink another glass," Anna scolded, just as Elsa grabbed another. Anna's eyes widened and before Elsa could down that cup as well, Anna snagged it and sucked out all the contents.
The taste that hit her throat was indescribable. It was the nastiest beverage she'd ever had the displeasure of drinking. Anna hacked and coughed, trying to get the horrid taste out of her mouth.
Once the burn had mostly dissipated, Anna exasperatedly turned to her pouting older sister.
"You drank ma booze."
"Elsa, you can't drink booze."
"But I like it 'cause," Elsa whined. Then she suddenly burst out into boisterous song.
"I love booze! Booze loves me! Holy crap," she leaned closer to Anna and whispered, "I think I gots to pee!" Anna face-palmed in exasperation. "I'm feelin' kinda woozy, might pass out on the floor, alcoholic matador!" Elsa burst out laughing at the last line for what Anna assessed was absolutely no reason at all.
"Elsa, be quiet!" Anna grabbed her sister's wrists, pulling her a bit closer. Elsa giggled a bit, leaning close so that her nose was touching the redhead's.
"Wow, you got pretty eyes. I wish I had blue eyes," Elsa breathed in Anna's face and grinned dopily. Anna rolled her eyes.
"Elsa, you do have blue eyes," she reminded her. The look of shock that crossed Elsa's face was almost comical.
"For reals?" Elsa questioned, her eyes filled with childlike wonder.
"For reals. Now we've got to get a game plan," Anna said, partially to herself as she was looking around the room, trying to devise some way to smuggle Elsa out of the ballroom so that she'd just mysteriously disappear.
"OH! I love games. I'll be you and you be me," Elsa replied. Anna shook her head and rolled her eyes.
"Elsa, I've got a different thing to try. Let's play the silent game," Anna diverted, only halfway paying attention as a plan started to formulate inside of her mind.
"You already sound like borin' ol' me," Elsa said with a smile. Anna nodded her head, barely listening.
"Y'know, I wish I could be like you," Elsa suddenly sadly admitted. Anna's head snapped in Elsa's direction quickly, her eyes a bit wide. "You're so fun and openly loving. I'm just not no good at that stuff. Especially touchy-feely stuff." Anna eyed Elsa in shock.
Anna couldn't believe that Elsa truly wished she could be like her. Anna had always wished she were more like Elsa. But for Elsa to wish she was like Anna? That was quite possibly the greatest honor that could ever be bestowed upon Anna.
"Hey, there's the drag queen!" Elsa nearly shouted. Well…. That moment was completely ruined.
Anna's eyes widened at the sudden exclamation and she clamped a hand over Elsa's mouth.
She grinned guiltily at the sight of the poor lady that Elsa continued to insult. The woman was eyeing the pair quite infuriatedly.
Anna dragged Elsa off in the direction of Kristoff in an attempt to not only avoid the wrath of the angry woman but to also begin executing her escape plan.
"Anna? Hey, Anna?" Anna turned to look at the older woman that she was dragging along.
"Ya wanna dance?" Elsa had one eyebrow raised, her signature smirk gracing her features, and one eyelid drooping lower than the other. Overall, it looked frighteningly ridiculous.
"Ah, no," Anna replied shortly, continuing to tug. Elsa cackled and grabbed Anna's arm with her free hand.
"C'mon, jus' a tango. I heard the spicy salsa music playin' over here. Or wassat polka?" Elsa slurred, contemplating the words. Anna finally saw Kristoff again and she waved, trying to get his attention as her sister's weight became gradually harder to bear.
"Anna, ya look like a chicken with th' faceova monkey," Elsa giggled, and Anna was suddenly really dreading trying to get her to sleep when she was finally able to escape the party.
This time, he picked up on Anna's insane hand gestures immediately and rushed over.
When Anna looked at Elsa, the older one had the most mortified and freaked out look Anna had ever seen on any drunk's face. Of course, Elsa was the only drunk she'd ever seen.
"Anna, it's a funky lookin' donkey. Since I love ya, I suggest ya run. I'll dissitract 'em," Elsa whispered loudly and stumbled into Kristoff's arms. He caught her with a bewildered look on his face.
"Hey, good lookin', goin' ma way?" Elsa flirted, clearly trying to follow through with some half-witted plan she had stewing in her addled brain.
Anna would've laughed at Kristoff's glowing beet-red face if it wouldn't have been for the circumstances at hand.
"You's a fine young man with a hair fulla mop. A mop fulla hair," Elsa continued to struggle with the proper sequencing of the words.
Anna decided she couldn't take it anymore and she covered her mouth with a hand, snorting. Kristoff was delicately trying to remove Elsa from his grasp and pass her back over to Anna.
Once he finally succeeded, Anna settled on wrapping her arm around Elsa's waist to prevent any more trouble.
"Anna! Yer still here! I think my suave attempts at flirtating aren't workin'. He's kinda ugly an' it's killin' ma vibe," Elsa said to Anna, her voice slightly hushed. Anna rolled her eyes and hoped that Kristoff hadn't gotten too offended.
"Now that that's over. Kristoff, I need you to help me with this problem I've got," Anna gave Elsa a pointed stare. The tall ice harvester eyed her in slight horror.
"I need you to let Sven into the party as a distraction. At this point, I think it's best that the party's ruined because I can't let Elsa go on like this.
"Anna, are you sure that's a good idea?"
"Kristoff, don't you think that Elsa acting out while drunk is going to ruin her image more than a reindeer wrecking a party at the royal castle will?" Kristoff huffed in response. Anna glanced at her sister, who was turning her head and looking at all the people.
"I gotta go," Elsa suddenly stated. Anna eyed her strangely.
"Where do you have to go to?"
"I gotta visit John," Elsa retorted as if it was the most blatantly obvious thing in the world.
"And who is John?" Anna questioned, raising an eyebrow in complete confusion.
"He's a latrine," Elsa said. Anna's eyes widened in horror. Kristoff met her gaze, and Anna could see the disgust and worry in his as well.
"Well, methinks we need to visit John. You got this?" Anna inquired. Kristoff nodded curtly once and turned quickly to slip out of the party. Anna exhaled in relief, and began to make her way to the nearest restroom.
Just as she reached the doorway, Elsa decided that everything from the waist down was inoperable.
"Elsa, come on, would you? Haul your rear end in here," Anna grounded out at the sudden dead weight that she found herself pulling.
"Can't. Ma legs are larger than life an' gravity's pullin' 'em down," Elsa mumbled, giggling a bit. Anna growled lowly, narrowing her eyes in irritation as she repositioned her grasp to Elsa's arms.
"I think it's time to try defying gravity and stand up," Anna claimed pulling upwards as hard as she could. Elsa simply stayed lying on the floor.
"Fine," Anna said, giving up and dropping Elsa's arms. "If you want to lay there on the floor for the rest of the night, that's your problem. I'm going to go do something better." Anna began to walk off until something suddenly snagged her foot and she landed on her face.
She whipped her head around from her grounded position and saw Elsa's pale white hand holding onto her ankle.
"Don't leave me! I'll behave like a good lil' monkey. Just help me up," Elsa promised, reaching out with both hands towards Anna. Anna blew a lock of hair out of her face exasperatedly.
"Okay," Anna consented, lifting herself up and hopping to her feet. She crouched beside Elsa and wrapped her arm around the eldest's waist, lifting upward.
Betwixt the both of them, Elsa staggered to her feet.
"Victory!" Elsa whooped loudly shaking her closed fist in the air. Anna looked around nervously, hoping no one heard Elsa's yelling.
Anna then guided her to the bathroom, where she tried to instruct Elsa on what to do.
"Okay, so you know the drill, right?" Anna questioned, feeling really awkward having to explain things to a twenty-one-year-old woman.
"Yup," Elsa replied, her eyes half-lidded. They stood there awkwardly staring at each other.
"Uh, you need me to go?" Anna questioned, trying to escape the situation.
"Nah, you can stay." They stood there a bit longer.
"Well, are you going to… you know?" Anna inquired concernedly, hoping that she really didn't have to fully explain the functioning of things like that.
"I am," Elsa replied. Anna's eyes widened in shock and horror. "I'm visitin' him right now. I like 'em a lot and I wanted to make sure he was okay while I was gone," Elsa stated, and patted the water tank part of the toilet. Anna let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding.
"Oooooookaaaay, Elsa…. I think that the toilet-"
"John."
"Er, John… Is okay now. Let's go upstairs and visit Mr. Fluffykins the bedspread," Anna redirected, grabbing Elsa's shoulders and guiding her out.
"Yay!"
Anna paused for a moment when they were parallel to the ballroom doorway. She craned her neck so she could see what was going on in the room.
People were flailing around and Sven was rushing all around the room, knocking over tables and happily grunting and braying loudly.
"Now thassa party!" Elsa exclaimed, trying to run out of Anna's grasp to go join.
"Stop, stop, stop!" Anna maintained her grasp on Elsa's shoulders and repositioned the blonde so that she was now looking in the direction of the stairs.
"Aww…. Can't I have a lil' bit of fun?" Elsa whined, her bottom lip protruding in an adorable pout.
"You're going to bed before anything else happens," Anna answered factually. Elsa gave the ballroom one last longing look before they continued.
"Look, Els, I'll tuck you in and everything, okay?" Elsa then visibly brightened.
"Really?!"
"Really, really."
Anna pushed her to the staircase and wrapped her arm tightly around Elsa's waist while grasping the railing firmly with her free hand.
"You ready?" Anna asked, glancing at Elsa.
"I was born ready," Elsa proclaimed with a wide toothy grin, flinging her arm around Anna's neck.
"Alright," Anna agreed and began trying to haul her sister up the stairs.
…
"Hold on just a sec. I gotta rest," the redhead huffed, letting go of her sister and plopping down on the floor near the wall between her and Elsa's room doors. She leaned her head back against the wall, shutting her eyes for a moment.
"Ooh." Anna suddenly heard Elsa sound off. Shortly thereafter was a loud crash.
Anna's eyes shot open and she looked at Elsa who was sprawled out on the ground with shards of an antique vase that their mother had loved laying beneath her.
"Oww," Elsa whined, lifting herself up and her eyes welling up with tears. Anna rushed over and knelt down beside her, grabbing her shoulders and inspecting her front for any glass shards poking out of her.
While Anna was searching, she suddenly heard Elsa giggle.
"Hee, hee. I gots a boo-boo on ma finger." Anna raised her gaze to Elsa's hand.
A piece of glass was protruding disgustingly from Elsa's thin finger. Anna reached for Elsa's hand and gently plucked it from the appendage.
"Ouch!" Elsa yelped. Anna stood up and took Elsa's wrists, pulling her up.
"Let's get you to bed, Elsa," Anna said, peering into Elsa's face.
To Anna's surprise, Elsa's face was more green than her normal pale skin tone.
"I don't feel well," Elsa suddenly claimed, more clearly than Anna had heard all night. That meant that Elsa must be sobering.
"Okay. Let's go to bed and if you need to puke, let me know. I'll get something for you," Anna reassured her as she began to guide Elsa in the direction of the Queen's room.
"Do you think we could go to your room instead?" Elsa questioned tentatively.
Anna noticed that Elsa still looked by all means as if she were drunk. Especially since she was staggering a bit and couldn't seem to stay fully upright. Anna absently wondered if Elsa would remember anything about this night at all.
"Sure," Anna replied, and they turned to continue to Anna's room.
Before long, Anna had helped Elsa slip on a green nightgown and had her tucked in Anna's bed.
Anna kissed Elsa's forehead.
"I love you, Els," Anna expressed, smiling warmly.
"I think the roles have reversed," Elsa mumbled, her words barely intelligible. Anna giggled a bit.
"You get some rest," Anna said, starting to rise from her seated position on the bed.
"Wait, Anna," Elsa suddenly pleaded. Anna resettled herself.
"Aren't ya gonna stay with me?" Elsa questioned, her eyes wide and her hands clutching the top of the comforter. Overall, Anna couldn't help but acknowledge just how cutely innocent and childlike Elsa looked.
Anna looked up at the doorway and sighed in resignation, discarding her previous idea of checking on Kristoff.
She turned back to Elsa with a happy smile.
"Of course," Anna agreed, nodding her head subtly along with her affirmation.
She quickly changed into her nightgown and slid into bed with Elsa.
"G'night," Elsa murmured as she snuggled close to Anna.
"Goodnight, Elsa."
…
"Oh, gosh," Elsa groaned as she opened her eyes. She hissed and quickly closed them back.
Her head was absolutely throbbing with pain and at this point, the memories of the previous day were quite foggy.
"Good morning. How are you feeling?" Elsa heard a chipper voice inquire amiably. Elsa barely opened one eye to see her sister.
"I feel like death," she groggily rumbled as she felt Anna lean closer to take her temperature.
"Whew, your morning breath smells like death, too," Anna suddenly claimed. Elsa chuckled lowly, but quickly became solemn in wake of her growing curiosity surrounding the events of yesterday night.
"What happened last night, Anna? Why do I feel so terrible? My head's killing me and the sun is baking my eyes alive when I open them."
"Oh! I should probably draw the curtains. Give me a second." Elsa heard Anna shuffle across the floor and after a moment, she noticed the light grow dimmer from behind her eyelids.
She carefully cracked open her eyes, adjusting to the light of her surroundings.
She watched as Anna resettled herself on the edge of the bed.
"And as for what happened, I was going to ask if you remember," Anna questioned with a sly grin.
Elsa was silent, attempting to piece back together the scattered memories from the previous night. After only a few seconds, everything reconnected.
"Oh, no," Elsa moaned, covering her face with both hands.
Insulting Northern Isles man, drag queen, repeated cups of wine guzzled, John. Elsa remembered every last detail and found herself utterly mortified.
"Yeah, last night was rough," Anna agreed sympathetically. "Lots of interesting things happened last night that I'd really like to never have happen again." Anna quieted and at least in Elsa's perception, seemed to be contemplating something. Judging by her depressed countenance, Elsa assumed that it was most likely thoughts about the dignitary from the Northern Isles.
Elsa quietly reflected on what she assumed Anna was considering.
Elsa truly despised it when people underestimated Anna's capabilities as a royal and as a princess. Contrary to most people's beliefs, Anna was exceedingly intelligent. She had proved it to Elsa time and time again when Elsa attempted to teach her something new.
What bothered Elsa most was the fact that people judged Anna by her clumsy, silly mannerisms and her sometimes strange quirks. While most people didn't converse regularly with paintings or trip over the same rug three times in a row, it didn't make Anna any less great than everyone else.
However, Elsa knew that, despite Anna's laughter at her own mistakes, the younger girl was sometimes truly embarrassed and hurt by other people laughing at her. She also knew that the Northern Isles' ambassador had offended and upset Anna terribly. And Elsa didn't intend to allow her sister to continue letting him wound her.
"Anna, I want to tell you something," Elsa finally murmured after several moments of silence.
"Hmm?" Anna shifted her gaze so that she was staring into Elsa's eyes.
"You're not… Inferior to me or anyone else in any way," Elsa confessed. She watched as Anna's eyes averted from her own for just a second before resuming eye contact. "You're quite possibly one of the most heartfelt, caring, funny, talented people that I have ever had the pleasure of knowing and loving. Don't let one idiot stop you from knowing that."
Elsa watched as Anna silently processed this, looking down at her hands for a moment. When she looked back up at Elsa, the eldest girl saw tears shining in the redhead's eyes.
The blonde sucked in a breath a bit and hesitantly opened her arms, pushing past her insecurities and worries to do something that both her sister and herself would enjoy greatly. After only a few seconds, Elsa quickly found the redhead pressed against her in a tight embrace. Elsa snaked her arms around her baby sister, drawing her closer.
"Thank you, Elsa," she heard Anna murmur. Elsa nodded her head in acknowledgement.
"I'm simply stating the truth," Elsa replied. She held her sister for a few more moments until Anna finally spoke up, a teasing tone to her voice and Elsa could practically hear the mischievous smile that went with it.
"Hey, Els, would you like to go with me to visit John?"
"Oh, gosh, no."
