Labor of Love
Early one morning, Elsa was finishing up some trade agreement documents with several kingdoms. She had just visited the kingdom of Labraza a week ago, where the king suggested they open a trading partnership. After signing the last document, Elsa opened up a letter that she had received from the Southern Isles. Since the Great Thaw, she had received dozens of letters from the royal family of the Southern Isles, all apologizing for Hans' horrific behavior. Elsa replied telling them that she had no hard feelings against them, but she did ask that Hans never again return to Arendelle. After what the man did to her and Anna, Elsa never wanted to see the man again.
Speaking of Anna, Elsa had planned to spend the day with her. The two were going to go to the library, and read books together. It was one of their favorite activities; each would take turns reading a chapter, continuing on until the book was finished. Every day, was a day that Elsa dedicated to Anna. Sure, she performed her duties as Queen of Arendelle, but her first and foremost priority was Anna, who she loved more than anything. Making up for the thirteen years they lost was hard, but Elsa did her very best to show Anna just how much she meant to her. It was exhausting, but it was a labor of love, and that in itself was worth it. At the moment, Elsa was working on a special project for Anna. One that she had been working on for a few weeks now. It was very sentimental; something that she put a lot of hard work into. As Elsa put the finishing touches on the project, she heard a knock at the door. She quickly hid the project in a drawer on her desk, before turning her attention to whoever it was who knocked. To her delight, it was Anna, standing there with a smile on her face.
"Hi, Elsa! Are you ready to finish reading "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" The two had been reading the novel for the past few days, and were close to finishing it. Elsa smiled. She would give Anna the present in a little while. Right now, she was going to spend quality time with her sister.
"Hi, Elsa! Sorry to disturb you," Anna said.
Elsa brushed it off. "You're not disturbing me, Anna. I was just coming to find you actually. Do you want to finish up reading the novel?
Anna's eyes lit up. Reading with Elsa was one of her favorite activities. "Yes! Oh, it's getting really good now! I wonder what is going to happen next."
Elsa laughed. "Well, you won't have to wait long, Anna. Let's head to the library, and find out!"
"Great! Let's go!"
The two raced to the library, eager to finish what they both thought was a great book. Anna was the first to reach the library. She opened the grand doors, and ran to the alcove where a copy of "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" was sitting on a table beside it.
Elsa snuggled onto the seat next to Anna, and began reading the next chapter.
An hour later, the sisters had finished the novel, both agreeing that it was one of the best books they've ever read.
"I can't believe I've never read it before now," Anna said. "I thought I read every book in this library."
Elsa smiled. "Well, this was a copy that papa bought for me when he came back from his trip to France. He was fortunate enough to find an English translation."
"I'll say. What's your favorite book of all time?" Anna asked
Elsa thought about it for a minute. "That's a tough one. I've read so many great books. If I had to pick one though, I'd say "Robinson Crusoe" by Daniel Dafoe. It's a powerful tale about survival. So well written too.
Hey! I just realized that your birthday is a month from now!" Anna cried, excitedly.
"You're right. I almost forgot about that," Elsa admitted.
"We have to do something special! You made my birthday the best ever! I'm going to do the same for you. Is there something you really want?"
Elsa smiled, and pulled Anna closer, giving her a big hug. "Anna, all I want is to spend time with you. That's everything and more."
Anna blushed. Truth be told, that's all she ever wanted as well, but she still wanted to do something special for Elsa when the time came.
Elsa remembered the project she had been working on earlier. Now seemed like just the right time to give it to Anna. Standing up, she made her way to the door. "Wait right here," she said. "I have something for you."
"Really? What is it?" Anna asked, curious.
"It's a surprise, silly. I'll be right back," Elsa promised.
A few minutes later, Elsa returned with both hands behind her back, obviously concealing something. "I've been working on this for about a week now. I would have gotten it done earlier, but there's just been so much going on."
"That's fine, Elsa, I understand. You didn't have to go through all the trouble," Anna assured.
"No. This is something special. You know how much you mean to me. For the past year now, I hope I've proven that to you," Elsa said.
Anna placed a hand on Elsa's shoulder. "Elsa, you have nothing to prove. I know that you love me."
"Thanks, but I still want to give you the life you deserve. The life you should have had long ago. And while I can't get back the years we've lost, I can do the best and make up for them."
"Elsa, remember what I said about bringing up the past?" Anna reminded her.
"I know, I know. This is different. This is something special. Do you remember the drawings you used to slip under my door?"
"Of course. I must have drawn about a hundred of them. What ever happened to them?"
"Well, I can show you," Elsa said, smiling.
The Snow Queen removed a leather bound book from behind her back, and handed it to Anna. Anna opened the book, smiling brightly when she saw the contents. There neatly sewn into the book, were all the pictures she had drawn over the years. Every single one.
"Elsa…" Anna began.
"I kept every one of them. I couldn't see you, so they were the closet thing I had to you. I actually had something that you created. Something that you did out of love for me."
Anna had always wondered what became of the drawings she slipped under Elsa's door. She put her heart and soul into every one, hoping that her sister would be impressed by her skills enough to come and see her. Never had she imagined that Elsa would take the time to actually sew the pictures into a book for her.
"Let me show you my favorite," Elsa said, taking the book from Anna. She flipped open to the last page, and showed her the picture Anna had drew when she was ten: a picture of the two of them together, hugging each other. Anna remember when she drew this one. She even remembered slipping it under her door. At the top of the page, Anna had written: "The best sister ever!"
Anna closed her eyes, but that was not enough to keep the tears away.
"Thank you, Elsa. Thank you so much. You didn't have to do this. You didn't have to go through all the trouble."
Elsa smiled, giving Anna a kiss on the cheek. "It's no trouble at all, Anna. This was a labor of love. Everything I do for you is a labor of love."
It was true. Though the duties as Queen of Arendelle took a great toll on her, and there were times when she just wanted to take a long break from it all, when it came to Anna, it was never a chore. It was an honor and a privilege. For Elsa to be able to show Anna how much she meant to her was the greatest gift of all. With Anna, it wasn't work at al. It was a labor of love, and that in itself was a treasure.
A/N: It's been a while since I've done a sisterly one-shot. I've been focusing on my longer Anna and Elsa story "The Price of Love." Hopefully, I'll write more soon.