Day 1: Love at first sight.
It was her coronation day. Elsa had finally turned of age last winter; three years after her parents' ship had sank. The council had ruled the kingdom all that time, but today she'd finally become Queen. Was she nervous? Yes, but not for the reasons most people would be. She wasn't afraid of the great responsibility that'd be placed into her shoulders, and she didn't fear her young age and lack of experience would be a problem when it comes to being a leader. No, she mainly feared two things: that her powers would manifest themselves when she removed her gloves to take the sacred orb and the royal staff, and… the horde of suitors that would no doubt be trying to conquer her at the ball. Thankfully, the first part had already passed, and her powers hadn't slipped too much. Now she just had to survive the ball.
The ball had just started, and yet she'd already had to deny a dance to three princes and the Duke of Weselton (she hoped the later wasn't after her hand too). It's not like she wanted to appear rude, and she knew she'd have to agree at some point, but she wasn't used to being so close to people, much less touching them, so she preferred to avoid it until it was absolutely necessary. Plus, she knew she was but a prize for all those leering princes, and didn't want to give any of them the satisfaction of choosing them as her first dance.
"Queen Elsa." Kai said as he escorted two people towards her. She groaned internally, but put up her best fake smile. "May I present, Prince Hans and Princess Anna of the Southern Iles."
Finally, Elsa took a good look at them both. First the prince: tall, with auburn hair and sideburns, charming smile and green eyes, and a white suit. He was probably her age, perhaps a bit older, which was curious considering the king of the Southern Iles was pretty old… but had thirteen sons, meaning he was probably the youngest.
Now, the princess… The princess! She was a sight to behold. Elsa normally wasn't one to stare, but she just couldn't help it. She had big and expressive teal eyes, rosy cheeks, a bright smile, and… freckles. Millions of adorable little dots adorning her face and shoulders. And she was a redhead, which for Elsa was always a plus. And that dress complimented her body quite well… The Queen was definitely having a hard time trying to think of only innocent things. And calming down her racing heart that appeared to be actively trying to get out of her chest.
"Your Majesty." Hans said, bowing before taking her hand and kissing it, flashing her a dashing smile that she promptly ignored.
"Good afternoon, Prince Hans." Elsa answered out of politeness. "I'm glad you and your sister were able to come." At this, he nodded in acknowledgement before turning to look at the princess and nudging her with his elbow when she just kept staring at the Queen.
Finally, the princess realized what was being expected of her and quickly bowed exactly as her brother had done before, kissing Elsa's hand. Which of course made the Queen forget momentarily how to breathe. That is, until Hans cleared his throat and shook his head, at which Anna's eyes widened before she let go of Elsa as if she had been burned before taking a step back and making a clumsy courtesy, almost falling in the process. Of course, all this only made her more adorable in the Queen's eyes.
Hans sighed, and turned to address Elsa.
"Please, forgive my sister. Having thirteen older brothers hasn't exactly taught her how to behave as a proper lady."
"It's quite alright." Elsa answered, giving the princess a gentle smile that she quickly answered with a goofy one of her own.
"Queen Elsa, I'm sure you've already heard this many times tonight, but… the stories I've heard don't even come close to describe how beautiful you truly are, and I'd be honored to have my first dance with you, if I may?" He said, and Elsa had to force herself to tear her gaze away from the princess and address him, making sure to sound cold and firm, so he wouldn't insist.
"Thank you for your offer, but I really don't dance. Feel free ask someone else though."
He seemed both disappointed and confused for a moment, but at the end sighed before putting up his best smile and answering.
"Very well, I hope you change your mind later. I'd be eager to show you how to dance." And with a bow, he left. Elsa was expecting his sister to follow him, but to her surprise (and delight) she stayed.
"You should give him a chance. He's not that bad, really." Anna said, and Elsa did her best not to faint when she heard her beautiful voice. "And if you don't dance with him he'll be complaining the whole way home, so…" She mumbled that last part, making Elsa giggle, hiding behind her hand as usual.
"I would, princess. But I suspect that, being the thirteen son, he's only trying to marry into the throne here. And I'm not currently looking for a king."
"You don't have to marry him! Just give him a dance, please. I'm sure that'll shut him up until we go back to the Southern Iles." Anna argued.
"So… you don't want me to marry him?" Elsa rose an eyebrow. She was starting to suspect the princess was playing matchmaker.
"Of course not!" The younger girl shook her head. "You're too pretty for him."
"You think I'm pretty?" Elsa felt heat rise to her cheeks, despite the fact she was trying hard to suppress it.
"Beautiful, actually. Gorgeous." Anna corrected herself, and Elsa could have sworn the princess' face blushed when she said this.
"Why, thank you." Elsa replied. "You're quite beautiful yourself. And charming. I'd sure pick you over any of those princes any day." She hoped her words didn't sound that odd. But the princess just laughed, thinking she was joking.
"Yeah. Sure you would." Anna rolled her eyes. "With those looks, I bet you already have a fiancé and are only waiting until it's proper to announce it." She sighed. "And I bet he's tall, handsome, heir to the throne of a wealthy kingdom, and perfect in every sense of the word." She didn't sound very happy about it.
"I don't." Elsa said, wrinkling her nose when she imagined herself marrying any prince, no matter how perfect he was.
"Really?" Anna's eyes lightened up with hope and something else Elsa couldn't quite decipher, and she was about to reply when suddenly her nose picked up something delicious in the air.
"What's that amazing smell?" She asked before inhaling deeply as she closed her eyes.
"Chocolate!" Both Elsa and Anna exclaimed in unison. And the Queen looked at the younger girl, surprised that she seemed to be as enthusiastic about chocolate as she was. She giggled a bit when she saw Anna's happy smile at the prospect of eating said thing in the near future, and decided she wanted to spend at least a little more time with her and, maybe, get to know her better.
"The desserts must be at the table already. Would you like some?" Elsa asked, and the princess bit her lip at that, as if she was struggling with the decision.
"I would, your Majesty." She started cautiously. "But… I would also like to keep talking to you a little more." She blushed at her own words and looked shyly at the Queen, who felt her heart skip a bit at the sight.
"Well, I was planning on eating a bit of chocolate myself. Would you care to accompany me?"
"Of course." The girl perked up instantly, her smile bright enough to light up the whole ballroom.
They walked in silence towards the table that was next to the wall, and discovered it was filled with chocolate, cakes, chocolate cakes, and other sweets. And drinks. But Elsa was only interested in anything with chocolate on it. And Anna. But considering the princess now had chocolate all over her face, she actually fit in the same category.
"Here." Elsa offered her a handkerchief that she accepted gladly and used to clean her face before giving it back with a sheepish smile.
"Sorry." She said. "I tend to stuff my face with chocolate when I'm nervous." She tucked an invisible strand of hair behind her ear.
"So you're nervous right now?" Elsa asked amused.
"Well… I've never been to a formal ball before. Not outside the Southern Iles, at least." She answered honestly. "And besides… I've never talked to a woman as gorgeous as you." She practically whispered the last part, but Elsa still heard her. A blush instantly appeared on her cheeks, but she also started to feel enthusiastic. Was this girl… flirting with her?
"Well, I don't have much experience with balls myself. But… I think you're supposed to dance in such events. And meet new people. But I've already done the later, and I think it's time for the Queen to have her first dance, don't you?" Elsa offered Anna her hand, but she just kept staring at it with wide eyes like she couldn't believe what she was asking her.
"You want to dance with me?!" Anna exclaimed, surprised. "But… But I-I'm just m-me… I mean…"
"Please, princess, it would be an honor." Elsa insisted, trying not to show how nervous she was herself at the prospect.
"T-the honor is all mine." She replied, taking her hand and letting her lead her towards the center of the ballroom, where other couples were dancing. Instantly, everyone else got aside to let the Queen alone in the center of the dance floor. Though there were a few whispers when they saw who she chose as her first dance partner.
Elsa, however, promptly ignored them and tried to enjoy her time with Anna. Which wasn't difficult at all. The princess felt warm in her arms, and having her so close was almost intoxicating. She knew how to dance, obviously, but could also be quite clumsy. Yet, Elsa realized she didn't mind. All she wanted was to dance with her all night. And to be with her for many more nights.
Curiously enough, she never believed in love at first sight. And yet, this girl from the Southern Iles had managed to charm her with only a few happy smiles and honest compliments. All in less than an hour. She still didn't believe in love at first sight though. But maybe she'd request both the Princess and her brother to stay a bit more in Arendelle. Maybe then love would actually have enough time to bloom.
A/N: Hi, this is my first contribution to the Elsanna week, and hopefully won't be the last. I'm actually planning on continuing this same story during the next days, and of course it'll be mostly fluff! What do you think?
Thanks for reading and please review/favorite/follow.
Thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13.