Elsa's small pale hands fiddled with the purple frays of her richly embroidered blanket as she desperately tried to ignore the news being explained to her.
"As a big sister you will gain more responsibilities, you must care for and protect your sibling. You will….." The king said stated loudly but his voice slowly faded away with Elsa's interest and she focused her attention in curling her hands deep in the warm fabric of her familiar friend.
More responsibilities. Elsa needed no more of those. It was always read, learn, sit, smile and act; it was already all to much for the small girl to handle. She was a queen by birth but still a mere babe in age and heart, and having even more responsibilities were seen as limiting her already nonexistent freedom. There was no room for this little four year old to roam. She wanted to play, color and act out the fantastic stories her mom would read to her at night. But there was no time for that, not for the future queen. The only light in all this for the small child was her parents.
Her mother sat next to her through every lesson of achingly boring history, endless name and date memorization was the bane of the small girl's existance. But Elsa's mother would sit and watch with a contented smile as she worked at her stitchery, and it as even her mothers skilled hands that crarfted her prized possession. Her blanket. Made in the rich purple and blue of her country it retained the warmth and parental love of her mother and Elsa took it everywhere, not bearing to part with it for a second.
Elsa pulled that blanket tight to her little body now as her father's voice brought her back from her thoughts.
"Do you understand Elsa?"
"Yes father…..I will love my new sibling," The girl's voice squeaked out, rising with the hint of a first lie.
"Mom…..Momma?" Came the timid voice of a scared princess as she stumbled in to the royal chambers.
"Elsa? Sweetie what are you doing up?" Came the tired question of the queen as she came forward in her sleeping dress to find her wide-eyed, terrified daughter.
"I-it was Rumpilstilskin Momma h-he took the gold and he-"
"No honey shhhhh, quiet okay? it was just a dream. Just a flickering memory of your bedtime stories playing in your head while your sleep," came the soothing reply from her mother.
"Can you come sleep with me tonight….," The princess asked shyly, her voice small and frail.
The queen smiled down sweetly, warm with the strength of her maternal instincts towards her child.
"Yes sweetie. Now come on, lets hurry back to your room before I catch a chill," she said before grabbing the four year old's hand and leading her off to bed.
"Up in bed now," came the soft order as Elsa pulled herself atop her bed to snuggle under her covers, her own blanket still trapped in her death grip, held on tightly by its corner.
The queen fought back another smile as she took the blanket to wrap it tightly around Elsa's small form before crawling in next to her. Elsa snuggled closer to her mother's warmth only to be stopped from nestling in closer buy her large baby bump.
"Momma whats-"
"Thats your new brother or sister" The queen answered quickly, grabbing her daughter's small hand to place it on her stretched tummy.
"Do do you love it yet?" Elsa asked, almost afraid of the answer.
"Yes…yes I do. And you will too…well, will soon enough anyways" Her mother responded softly before turning over to fall asleep.
"No I won't. You love it already and i'm just not gonna be good enough soon " Came the troubled thoughts of the child before she fell into the embrace of sleep.
Months passed and Elsa watched uneasily as her mother grew larger and larger while her energy dwindled away. The queen was almost too exhausted to leave her bed most days leaving Elsa alone and unhappy to struggle through her lessons. The pregnancy was taking its toll on all in the royal family and even the king's temper was drawn thin due to his worry. But soon enough all the anxious tension was broken …snapped in two one night with the queen's scream.
The sound had awoken Elsa and her little feet padded swiftly down the hallway, her blanket dragging behind her as she came to stand outside the royal chambers. Elsa listened to the flurry of movement and voices inside the room, sick with worry and terror as her mother's screams soon came again and with them Elsa's tears she she stood outside helplessly, desperately wanting to go in and comfort but knowing her presence would do nothing to help so…. she sat. Head resting against the coolness of the wall,blanket wrapped around her she sat and awaited news, crying with her mothers screams and grunts of pain until she fell asleep.
"Elsa, wake up," came the tired, rough voice of her father, echoing against the now silent corridor as he bent down to rouse her.
"Pappa?"
"Yes dear, come on its late you should go back to bed,"
"No momma she-"
"Your mother is fine child," The king assured with a smile, "And so is your sister."
Elsa smiled sleepily as relief rushed through her tiny body.
"Can…..can I see them?" the blonde asked shyly.
"I suppose you've waited long enough," he answered, taking her hand and leading her into the dimly lit room.
Her mother was already as sleep, the only evidence of her presence the lump in the large bed and soft snores of her exhausted sleep. Her father held a finger to his lips for silence before walking quietly towards a large crib situated beside the bed. Elsa watched transfixed ad her father picked up the small bundle in his arms and walked back to her, crouching down so she could see her little sister for the first time.
She was a tiny pink little thing, adorable in her contented sleep and Elsa moved closer as she admired the babe.
"Her name is Anna, and its your job to protect her now," the king said softly, smiling softly at his two children.
"Do you want to hold her?"
"NO!….no….. I'm too cold…" Elsa squeaked backing away from the baby.
"She'll be fine elsa, as long as you don't drop her," the king said trying to reassure the small blonde.
"She…she won't be warm enough. Where's her blanket?"
"Her blanket?"
"Yes didn't momma make her one?"
"No dear I don't believe she had the time,"
"Oh" Came the surprised response from the child.
"….She can use mine then," Elsa suggested reluctantly.
Surprised, the king took up Elsa's treasured blanket and wrapped up his new baby snugly in its warmth.
"There, that should protect her," He said smiling as he handed Anna carefully to her big sister.
Elsa held her sister stiffly still terrified of dropping her or worse….but all that fear melted as Anna gave a large yawn and snuggled into her, the baby's little hand reaching up to hold onto one of Elsa's fingers.
Elsa beamed down at her sister, her smile growing with the love creeping up inside her.
"There now, thats enough for one night Elsa, you can see her again in the morning," the king said scooping up the baby from Elsa's arms.
Elsa's father then moved the new baby back to her crib and was about to unwrap the blanket from her when a small hand to his leg stopped him.
"No…..she can keep it, just in case I make her cold again."
Years later
It had been the worst day in the young heir's life and although mortal consequences had been avoided the guilt still washed upon Elsa in waves and her heart shattered at the memory of hurting her sister; freezing her head, which, thank the gods was easy enough to fix.
Elsa's head hung in shame as she entered her shared bedroom for the last time, gazing at the new emptiness in the room. It had taken the servants under an hour to secure all her belongings in her new room, and she had felt completely hollow as she watched them work. Now she was near tears as she saw the vacant space where her bed was. She felt the same as this room now, off, odd, like a big part of her was missing. And it was. She could never be close to Anna again, she could never stay up with her sister all night speaking at a whisper until they fell asleep, curled around each other for warmth as they did almost every night. She could never take those risks again…. because she loved Anna to much to hurt her.
"Elsa," Came the confused voice of Anna as she walked into the room, staring at the absence of her sister's things.
"Where are you going?"
"Nowhere…..I'm just moving into my own room now…I uh need my space"
"Oh…"
"I'm sorry Anna but things…are going to change, they have to, I don't want them to but its what's best for us right now," The blonde heir said, her head cast down avoiding the sad eyes of her sister.
"I'm sorry," Anna said her face contorted in to a painful sadness. "Whatever I did i'm sorry, Elsa please don't leave me! I can't sleep without you," The redhead sobbed rushing over to cling to her older sister in a death grip hug.
"No Anna," Elsa whispered, clutching her sister just as tightly.
"Its my fault and i'm sorry…..I'm so sorry," She choked out though her silent tears, And then with one last squeeze she let her go.
"No, wait," Anna pleaded, scrambling behind her sister to frantically search for something while Elsa waited expectantly.
"Here, take this," Anna insisted, pushing the somewhat faded fabric of a purple and blanket into Elsa's cold hands
"Incase you're not warm enough without me."
"Elsa please…I know your in there….I need you," Came the broken teary words of
Anna as they came muffled through the door with none for her usual playful enthusiasm .
"…..And I miss you, god I miss you so much."
The words physically hurt Elsa, each sound drawing her forward, making her want to rush out and embrace her sister, to wipe her tears away and cease her own lonlieness…but she couldn't. And so her body shook as she leaned against the cool wood of the door, her blanket silencing her sobs.
"And I miss you too, I just…can't," Elsa thought as her body convulsed into another gut-wrenching sob.
"Conceal, don't feel,don't let her know….."
The sword descended swiftly, whistling against the wind and Elsa stood, paralyzed as she watched her sister step forward.
"NO!"
Elsa eyes bled with tears, blurring her view as Anna froze in place, her arm outstretched protectively before the sword hit her. And then Anna, now built of her sister's beautifully sparkling ice, shattered. Millions of frozen fractals shattering and disappearing with a wisp of white snow…..
"NO!….PLEASE NO!" The queen screamed as she came to, her body taunt and alert with the terrified adrenaline still coursing through her veins.
"Elsa?" Anna's voice called out hesitantly into the darkness at the door of her sister's chamber.
"Elsa, I heard a scream are you alright?"
Elsa's words failed her as she sat curled into a ball on her bed, still reeling from horrible dream.
Anna then moved forward towards her shaken sister, scared into action by her silence. But moving towards her was easier thought then done because Anna never really was one for skating. Elsa had frozen the floor in her fright, as well as almost everything else in the room.
And so on shaky legs Anna inched forward slowly till she bumped into the wood of the queen's bed.
"Oh…..Elsa…" Anna said her heart breaking at the sight of her disheveled, terrified sister.
"He killed you Anna….you were gone and I couldn't-"
"No! shhhh, quiet okay? It was just a dream. He can't get to us anymore. We won" Anna comforted, pulling her sister into her lovingly warm embrace.
"Gods your cold," She exclaimed at the touch of her sister's frigid pale skin.
Anna then searched the bed for a blanket, all the covers having fallen off during Elsa's terrors. A warm hand then grasped the old fabric of a familiar friend as Anna pulled up Elsa' s still prized possestion and wrapped the blanket around her, smiling as she met her sisters eyes.
"You still have it."
"Ya …Its the only thing I've ever really had to keep me warm…."
"No….you had me then, and you have me now."