AN - I'm sorry this isn't Elsanna (will a cute sisterly relationship sate you?). I can read incest, but heaven help me if I try my hand at writing it. But I've added in a few Kristanna moments, which in my opinion is just as cute a ship.
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters...etcetera, etcetera...
Elsa's eyes flew open, only to be instantly assailed by the bright morning sun gushing in through the open velvet curtains. Her hands were balled into fists, her muscles tensed and her whole body rigid. For a moment she believed she'd been woken by the relentless nightmares that troubled her throughout adolescence, returning to haunt her once more; but only when she tried to shift from the fetal position did she notice how the bed dipped down just beside her, and with a sigh of relief she realized that she'd only been awoken by the presence of another person.
And of course it wasn't just any other person. Rather, the only person who would dare wake the Queen of Arendelle so abruptly, no matter the hour. The only person who awkwardly cluttered and stumbled noisily with the grace of a pigeon wherever she went, but somehow managed to sneak into the silence of her older sister's chambers without a peep.
Anna.
"Wake up, Elsa!" the redhead shouted down at her older sister, all but deafening her as she began shaking her awake. She never was a quiet person, but Elsa decided to let her get away with it; fifteen years of not being able to wake anyone up in the morning with her enthusiasm (especially difficult on birthdays and Christmases) was starting to catch up with the younger girl.
Elsa simply covered a hand over her mouth delicately as she yawned, "What time is it?" she murmured, only to be rolled onto her back and forced to look at the beaming face of her sister.
"Time to wake up!" Anna exclaimed impatiently, lying down and stretching on top of Elsa dramatically. As under-ten-year-olds, it had been a bearable antic of hers, but now…it seemed Anna didn't realize that she'd grown at all.
Grunting under the sudden weight of her younger sister, the white-haired girl attempted to sit up, which proved to be futile as her arms were trapped underneath the body on top of her, "Well I can't do that when you've got me pinned down, can I?" she jested. Instantly, the weight on top of her was gone as Anna scampered to sit at the end of the bed, crossing her legs underneath herself and impatiently fiddling with the fabric of her orange nightgown.
Elsa took her time sitting up, to Anna's obvious displeasure. As she looked to her boisterous sibling expecting an impatient glare, she was instead greeted by bright, wide eyes and an expression of eagerness shining through all restraints. She cocked an eyebrow questioningly at Anna, holding eye contact with her, icy cerulean against soft blue, until the redhead couldn't hold back anymore and let the words bubble out of her mouth: "Happy birthday!"
The look of shock on the queen's face must've been more apparent than she thought, because Anna's smile instantly disintegrated into a pout, "I wanted to be the one to say it first…"
Instantly, ten years' worth of birthdays came flooding back to Elsa in a whirl of memories. Despite her father's insistence that she minimize all human contact, no parent could be cruel enough to keep their child locked up on their birthday. Ages eight through seventeen saw her being hesitantly escorted by her mother out of her room and down the hall for a family breakfast. And at the bottom of the grand staircase, every year without fail, Anna would be waiting with her father with a horribly wrapped gift and an excited 'Happy birthday Elsa!' to greet her (she must have begged everyone in the castle not to say anything until she did; there was no way Elsa would've gotten from her room to the entrance hall without anyone saying anything otherwise). It was one of the few times throughout the year that Elsa genuinely smiled and, however briefly, didn't feel like a danger to everyone around her.
The more seconds that ticked by, the more Anna looked like a kicked puppy. Elsa didn't know if she did it on purpose or if she could just naturally conjure up the most miserable expression ever, but it never failed in tugging at the queen's affection.
"No, it's okay…thank you," she said hastily, pulling the young princess into a tight hug, "it means a lot. I'm just tired…"
Anna pulled back and looked at Elsa, her expression unsure, "Did I wake you too early?" she asked, her voice small."
"No! Not at all! It's only…" she glimpsed at the grandfather clock standing in the corner of her room and frowned, "…seven." With another glance back at Anna, she put on a reassuring smile, "Seven's good, though,"
Anna left out a soft squeal, beaming again as Elsa slowly got out of bed, "Great!" she exclaimed from her spot on the mattress, "I know you probably wanted to sleep in but I'm just really excited about you getting older – not that you're old, I mean…you're only twenty-two! But I'm only nineteen so that seems like a lot older to me! That is to say…um…you really just – "
"Anna?" Elsa sighed, a hint of amusement in her voice. The princess' head snapped back up and she focused on her sister with attentive eyes, "Shouldn't you go get dressed?"
The red-haired girl look down at the pale orange nightgown she was still wearing, almost shocked to see it there. She hastily jumped out of bed (almost tripping on the bed sheets in the process) and grinned sheepishly, "Oh! I…um…I should! I'll…see you down at breakfast, then?"
Elsa offered a slow nod and a reassuring smile. She watched the impossibly energetic girl skip out of the room, the door slamming shut behind her. Keeping watch on the closed door a few seconds longer as she heard a maid scolding Anna for her improper clothing, she rolled her eyes in amusement before turning her attention to pulling on her dress for the day.
After their parents were lost to the icy depths of the North Atlantic Ocean, Elsa had found no point in partaking in family breakfasts on birthdays anymore, considering the only other person to share it with was someone who'd needed to be kept safe from her powers. Subsequently, it'd been four years since she'd celebrated her birthday properly – the only indication of her aging up was Anna, just like clockwork, wishing her a happy birthday (in recent years, it'd been a disheartened but still slightly hopeful murmur through the keyhole) and leaving a present just outside the large white-and-blue doors. After all this time, walking into the dining hall for breakfast bordered on unnatural.
Of course, Anna was already waiting for her at the table; although it was a first to spend any meals in the castle, Elsa wasn't surprised to find Olaf sitting there too. What was slightly shocking was to find Kristoff sitting at the table too, looking as unhappy with the situation as Elsa was stunned, but that may have had mostly to do with the fact that Sven could only be a part of the gathering by sticking his head through one of the opened windows. It was one thing to let a walking, talking snowman into the esteemed castle, but a reindeer was simply out of the question.
Elsa secretly hoped that Kristoff wasn't always this grumpy when more than ten feet came in between him and Sven; he didn't really expect to live anywhere else but within the castle when he and Anna married in a month, did he?
Pressing it to the back of her mind, she reminded herself to smile and took her seat at the head of the long table, Anna and Kristoff seated at the ends either side of her. The ice harvester tried his best to look cheerful, but despite his best efforts it only managed to look forced. Elsa didn't blame him. To be up this early for the birthday of his fiancée's sister sounded less than appealing. At least he got to spend time with Anna (then again, when weren't they spending time together?).
She looked back to Anna, who was watching her intently, like she was waiting for her sister to show the slightest amount of dislike. The redhead looked sheepish at being caught, which gave Elsa the indication that it was her cue to say something, "This is nice,"
Anna perked up a little at the comment, "You really think so?"
"Well, so far," Elsa laughed lightly, "we haven't even had breakfast yet. But it's nice to finally spend a birthday with you properly."
The redhead's smile faltered only slightly, but she forced her eyes to stay bright and in contact with the queen's, "It's…been a while…"
Elsa opened her mouth to apologize (for what, she didn't know) when she was cut off by the rhythm of the footsteps of a servant bringing a silver platter to the table. At the sight and smell of their breakfast, Anna's face lit up like a Christmas tree, so the older woman chose not to continue troubling her and instead focus on breakfast. She cast one glance to the food sitting in front of them, and smirked mischievously at Anna.
"Pancakes?"
Once again, Anna looked sheepish, "Just like old times, right?"
Eventually Elsa just couldn't handle being in the same room as Kristoff and Anna anymore. Those two were either bickering or gazing at each other longingly; more often than not the first led to the second. Both caused the tension in the room to spike to the point that a third party would feel extremely uncomfortable in their presence. This morning was particularly unbearable; the queen had made the mistake of asking the princess if her wedding dress was tailored to her liking, at which Anna nodded excitedly and began discussing with her how pleased she was with the garment. Kristoff had cleared his throat pointedly and said that it was bad luck for the groom to see the bride in her wedding dress before the wedding, and hearing about it was just as bad. Anna made some jab at him for being superstitious, Kristoff defensively shot back that he wanted to be completely surprised when she walked down the aisle, and all too suddenly their eyes were locked in an unbreakable, loving gaze. At which point, Elsa decided to take leave from the table, trying to draw as little attention to herself as possible.
But walking out through the entrance hall to the grand staircase, she found herself grinning stupidly at how well such a specially ordinary breakfast had gone.
Elsa couldn't remember any birthday being as heart-warming as this one. The pancakes – a treat for special occasions the two girls had enjoyed throughout childhood – had been one thing, but Anna insisting on giving her a gift like every other year had been the icing on the cake. The young girl looked as though she might burst into tears as she handed over the still badly-wrapped present; it had been fifteen years since she'd been able to physically hand something to her sister and not be held back or have her pull away. It was certainly nothing short of overwhelming.
The gift was a simple silver necklace, inset with tiny blue and white diamonds that weren't unlike ice. Beautiful was the only word that came to mind when Elsa looked at it shimmering in her hand, but that hardly did it justice. She would've put it on instantly had her arms not been occupied pulling Anna into a tight embrace, "Thank you," she'd whispered, close to tears herself, "I love it,"
"My queen," Elsa's concentration was snapped back to the present by the voice of the man in charge of the many servants that worked throughout Arendelle's castle. She turned to look at his bowed form and noticed that he carried a small, ornate silver platter, upon which sat a bulky fold of papers, its seal a bright red kiss against the pale parchment.
"What is that?" she asked curiously. The wax had Arendelle's coat of arms pressed into it, but what could possibly be so important that someone needed to seal it in such a formal letter (and an old-looking one at that – the seal was dull and cracked and looked at least a decade old)?
"A gift, your majesty," the head servant presented, offering her the letter atop the plate, "from the former King and Queen of Arendelle,"
Elsa's eyes widened at the news, her heart feeling as though it had dropped into her stomach. Her parents wrote this to her? It took all her willpower to keep her hands from shaking as they plucked the letter from the plate, sliding her fingers slowly over the aged parchment.
"My queen, if I may," the servant interjected, sensing her fear and nervousness over the contents of the letter, "I have been working within these castle walls for many years. Your father entrusted me with this letter, to present to you after you'd become queen. When you were ready. He had, of course, always intended to inform you of its contents himself, but he greatly feared that circumstances would arise to prevent he or the queen to tell you in person. No one knew but them, and it is with a heavy heart that I present to you, Queen Elsa, his final gift,"
The white-haired girl tried to swallow the lump in her throat and mutter a small word of thanks, but the head servant was quick to see her distress and dismiss himself with a bow first. Left to her thoughts once more, Elsa retreated to her room and, for the first in months, locked the door.