"Lilo, it's time for bed!" Nani yelled, walking into the room. Noticing the child wasn't in there, she quickly looked back into the hall, and then dropped to the floor, coming face to face with her younger sister. "Bedtime."
"Aw, I'm not tired," Lilo whined, clambering out and dusting herself off. She slowly got into the bed, but didn't get under the covers. Her feet planted hard into the mattress repeatedly, while she excitedly screamed to play.
"Not right now, Lilo. It's getting late." She collected some things from the room, and was just to the door to shut off the light when she noticed her sibling frowning. "Fine, I'll read you a story."
Lilo smiled, knowing it was a compromise at the very least, and gathered herself under the blankets, patiently waiting to see what Nani picked.
The older sibling came back with a worn book in her hands that looked about as thick as her arm. "I borrowed this, but haven't gotten the chance to read it quite yet." She sat down in the hammock that held all of Lilo's stuffed animals.
"What is it? It looks boring."
"The cover's faded, but it's about a girl who's in love with a man, but he dies and she's forced to marry another."
"Sounds boring too," Lilo said, crossing her arms. "Pick a different book."
"We'll read a chapter, and if you still don't like it, we'll pick a different one," Nani compromised.
Lilo grumbled, but eventually nodded. Nani smiled and cracked the book open.
"Once upon a time, there was a royal family. The family had two daughters - Anna and Elsa-"
Anna was a sweet, kind hearted girl, always happy and looking for fun. Her sister was quite the opposite, Elsa was reclusive and enjoyed spending time alone, reading books or drawing.
The family was taken care of by a slew of men and women from various families, but one family in particular caught Elsa's eye. They were a bunch of red headed men and boys with freckled hair and dark eyes. She didn't bother to learn names, it wasn't her job to and they responded to a snap of her fingers.
One of them worked down in the stables, alongside two other men. He mainly fed and watered the animals, but one day when she entered he was brushing the coat of a golden horse.
"Move, stable boy, I'm going for a ride," She snapped, brushing her fingers through the fuzzy hair of the horse.
The teenager looked down and stepped aside. "As you wish."
With a frown she got the horse ready and turned her back to the freckled male.
Her favorite pastime slowly became annoying the young man. He was two or three years older than herself, but still had to obey her every whim. No matter what she asked, he agreed to do it.
"Oh, Hans!" She yelled, overjoyed to see his face covered in dirt from working hard in the gardens. Most of the horses had been replaced, and the need for him working in the stables had no longer been needed. Instead he tanned and freckled under the sun for long hours to tend to the garden.
"Yes, your highness?" He asked, rubbing his face clean. His shirt was tied in a belt loop on his pants, leaving his upper half exposed.
"I need you to pick all the strawberries from the garden. Gerda is going to make pie, so only the best ones."
With the command, she waited for the normal ring of words before she stormed back inside to wait for him to deliver the strawberries to the kitchen.
A little while passed, before she heard the garden gate open and close, and Hans faintly talking to the chefs. When she heard him leave for the gardens again, she stood and walked in, hoping to sneak a few berries.
"He brought in something for you as well, dear," Gerda said, pointing a knife in the opposite direction before she went back to cutting the strawberries.
Elsa looked over to where the maid had pointed, finding a vase full of lilies, a blue ribbon tied around them.
She plucked a single flower and placed it behind her ear, picking the wet plants from the vase. A card dropped from in between a few of the weeds and she picked it up.
Meet me at the Garden at 10? -H
She smiled faintly at the request and tucked the note into her dress and wandered off to find something to do before they met up.
"Nani! I'm gonna die of boredom!" Lilo complained, covering her face with a pillow.
"Nothing's happened yet."
"Exactly! Not even the tiniest kiss. When's this guy going to die?"
Nani sighed, picking back up where she had been stopped. "Elsa waited until everyone was asleep-"
Before she climbed out of her window and onto the cold ground. Her blue nightgown fell past her knees, but she wasn't cold. She walked along to the gardens, surprised to see Hans standing in his work slacks and a clean shirt. He looked like he had attempted to comb his hair. He was quickly finishing up his chores before the night ended, the summer nights dragging on.
"Hans?" She asked, walking toward him. He dropped the pruners quickly, head looking up.
"Y-your majesty." He grabbed a hold of something and handed it to her, momentarily forgetting his hands were still covered by dirty work gloves.
She looked down at the rose, gently stroking the petals. "It's beautiful."
"So are you - I mean... obviously, but-" He fell off, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Thank you."
He nodded. "D-do you want to go for a walk?"
"I wouldn't have come out here to just recieve a flower," She said, letting it join the other one adorned in her braid.
He took her hand in his own, and they walked up and down the garden rows, talking.
"So does that mean he's going to die soon?" Lilo asked.
"I don't know, I haven't read this before, remember?" Nani asked, licking her finger and flipping the page.
Years passed, and Elsa slowly grew up into a beautiful young woman. She became tall and thin, while her younger sister sprouted only a couple inches, and still had baby fat. Hans grew as well, and now twenty one he was lean and tall and muscular, tanned and freckled from all his time working.
Elsa had long since fallen in love with the male, but was scared to say anything. Being royalty it was forbidden for her to be with someone of his class.
"Hans," She said, leaning across the table. "I want you to go pick flowers for me... for my hair."
His green eyes locked with hers. "As you wish."
She melted a little inside, and gave him a loopy smile. "I- I changed my mind, come over here."
He turned around and stepped back towards her. "Yes, your majesty?"
She ran a finger over his nose. "Compliment me."
Nani looked up from the book.
"What? Is the chapter done?" Lilo asked.
"No, I just a need a drink of water," Nani said, standing up. A minute later she reappeared and cleared her throat, setting aside the water cup. "Uh, let's see..."
"He was about to die."
Nani glared at her. "Elsa and Hans kissed passionately and then... they did stuff. Like hold hands. And talk... until they fell asleep. From exhaustion of talking."
Elsa snuggled up against Hans, who wrapped an arm around her protectively.
"I love you," She whispered. Her eyes were heavy, but she knew she needed to make it known.
His fingers went slack around her arm. "It won't work."
"We can make it work!" She tried to convince him.
"No, we couldn't." He was silent. "I'll leave. Go and make a fortune, and come back to you as a proper suitor."
"You will?"
He nodded. "I'll leave in the morning. Maybe Corona has more to offer to me."
Nani closed the book.
"Why'd you stop?"
"It was the end of the chapter."
"He hasn't even died yet! Nothing's happened!"
"Do you want another chapter, then?" Nani smiled, slightly amused at her sister's antics.
"Only one more. That's it."