Hot Chocolate

The ballroom smelt of chocolate.

If that smell extended to anyone else, that was a problem. The ballroom wasn't meant to smell of anything. True, there was food, but it was meant for decoration, or to be eaten by those who actually came for such a thing. But…dammit, Elsa could smell chocolate. Rich, dark chocolate. Somewhere, in this room…

Hold it together.

Chocolate that was making her mouth water. Even as she forced a smile to Prince Joachim of Denmark. Even as she made her way across the ballroom, nearly bumping into those two travellers from Corona (what were their names? Flynn was one…or was it Eugene?). Even as she reached the table and…

Chocolate.

There it was. Like something out of her childhood. It had meant to be a gift for Anna, but her younger sister had gone off with that man from the Southern Isles. An hour, maybe two. Nothing to worry about.

More to myself then.

Almost, she reached out for the delicacies. Almost, she forgot her vow. Conceal it. Don't feel it. That included hunger, and desire. And-

"Oh Queen Elsa I must say, these lemon cakes are stupendous."

And the need to be as isolated as possible.

Not that she got a chance. Because the woman who came up to her provided no such chance. Eyes up front, fully direct, an intriguing lack of pomp and circumstance, but right now, that might not turn out so bad.

"I mean, the chocolate's good too," the woman said. "But…I mean…do you like chocolate?"

What?

"I mean…" The woman trailed off. "Sorry. I forget myself sometimes."

Elsa smiled faintly. "I know the feeling."

Chocolate. Ice-cream. Pudding. I'd sometimes freeze it solid as a joke. Poor Anna. She always got brain freezes. We'd laugh afterwards but-

"But, I mean, I haven't seen you eat anything at all," the woman continued. "Are you not hungry?"

Elsa tried to compose herself, hoping that by opening her mouth, her guest wouldn't see the saliva building up in it. "I…ah, don't have much of a sweet tooth, I'm afraid."

Liar.

"And besides, I mean, queen, not princess now." She tried to smile. "Too many butterflies in my stomach."

Well that's partly true.

The butterflies were there, but they weren't filling her stomach. In fact, Elsa was starving. But dealing with food, especially chocolate, meant using one's hands. If chocolate got on her gloves, the gloves would have to come off. And if the gloves came off, well…best not to think about that.

"I didn't get your name," the queen said to her guest, currently picking up one of the chocolate balls from the table as if to mock her. "You are…"

"Oh, Sansa," she said. "Sansa Stark."

"I'm…not familiar with that name."

"Oh. Well, you can call be Sansa Lannister I guess. Or Baelish. Or Arryn. Or Stone."

Elsa paused – she didn't recognise any of those names. "Stone" might have some connotations amongst the common folk, but having locked herself away for over a decade, she knew even less about them than she did the people around her. Not that it had stopped a crowd of her subjects filling the castle's courtyard out of their own free will. She'd ordered food, drink, and merriment be provided for them. She hadn't dreamed she'd be loved enough for them to accept it.

"Milady?"

Well, Stone might be what it may. And the other names? Is that…husbands?

"Tell me," Elsa said. "What brings you to Arendelle?"

"Oh, an escape from the winter," Sansa sighed. A dark light flickered in her eyes. "And…well, other things."

"And where would these other things be?"

"Oh, well…far away from here. Westeros…it's in the North…maybe was is the word…things came down from even further north and…"

Elsa let her ramble. North. That didn't tell her much – even the Southern Isles could be considered "north" of something. So she listened, trying to place Sansa's accent – her Norwegian was functionally flawless, but the accent…she couldn't place it. And tonight she'd heard every accent Europe had to offer.

"So tell me," Sansa said, trying to break the subject, unaware of Elsa's reverie. "Where's your sister?"

"Pardon?"

"Your sister. I understood you had a sibling. Princess Anna? Second in line?"

"Oh," Elsa said. "I…she's around."

"Oh," Sansa said, looking perturbed. "I…see."

Elsa winced, and fought the rush of fire and ice within her, even more so as she heard the clock strike eleven outside. She'd wanted tonight to be…different. If she was going to be forced to mingle, she figured that doing so with her own sister would be preferable to the faceless masses that had come to give her gifts in one hand and treaties in the other. But

"Milady?"

"Look, she's somewhere," she snapped, feeling the ice rise and the fire subside. "She…"

Her words warbling, Elsa glanced back at the chocolate. It smelt delicious. And she wanted nothing more than to smash the damn table into splinters.

Cursed. I'm cursed.

"You know…" Sansa said. "I had a sister once."

"Hmm-hmm."

"I mean, we never got on with each other. Not until…" Sansa sighed. "Well, not ever really."

Elsa glanced back at her.

"I mean, we might never have. But…well, we lost each other." She lowered her gaze, and Elsa could swear she seemed to be on the verge of tears. "I lost everyone…but my sister might be…well…perhaps…"

Elsa bit her lip, and put a hand on Sansa's shoulder. Ii was a risky move – in fact, it was the riskiest thing she'd done today bar take her crown and sceptre, and even that was from obligation. But for this moment, she wanted to take that risk. Because she'd seen that look before. In the mirror.

"My lady…it is not for me to say how you view loved ones," Elsa began. "But…if believing something makes it easier for you…believe it."

Sansa wiped something from her eye. "Really?"

Elsa withdrew her hand – she wanted to keep her there, but she could feel the ice returning. "Yes. When my…our…parents died…I told myself, 'they're still alive. They'll come back. Everything…will be alright.'"

Everything would go back to normal. As in, proper normal.

Sansa nodded. "I heard of what happened to Arendelle's past rulers. I'm…sorry."

"Yes," Elsa said, feeling something in her eye as well. "Me too."

Sorry. She'd been "sorry" for over a decade, and for the last three years especially. Sorry because not only had she failed as a sister to Anna, but she'd failed at being a surrogate parent as well. A parent who'd let her ward go running off into the night with a complete stranger.

"Well, I should go," Sansa said. "Mingling, and all."

Elsa laughed. A genuine laugh that surprised herself. "Yes. Mingle."

Sansa curtsied, and began to walk away. Ii didn't take her long for one of the male dignitaries to start talking to her.

Schadenfreude.

Schadenfreude. A German word that Elsa had picked up. Satisfaction from the misery of others. She didn't wish Sansa ill, but that was one less dignitary that she herself would have to deal with. Now all she had to deal with was the issue of her sister. Of using this night to do…something. Anything. To…get her hands dirty. Metaphorically speaking.

Or literally.

Elsa glanced back at the chocolate. It still smelt delicious. It looked delicious. And gingerly picking up one of the balls with her hand, as she popped it into her mouth, it tasted delicious as well.

No. Divine…

The ice went away. For now.

She just hoped that by the end of this night, some of it would thaw. That by the end of tonight, maybe…she and her sister could have some of it together.

A/N

The original idea I had was for Sansa to meet Anna instead, as per them both having to wake up to the harsher aspects of reality in their character development (not that Sansa ever seems to learn anything from that...ugh). Ended up doing it with Elsa instead because...some reason.