Beginning - 0
"Take it away," the king bellowed. His voice was possessed by a manic rage, clouded by grief.
Mary Grace felt her eyes widen and, on instinct, she protectively curled herself around the crying newborn. She was frozen in the face of the King's eyes.
"I shan't be in the company of a monster!"
Her mind slowed. She'd never heard such cruel words thrown to such an innocent soul and especially not from a normally benevolent man.
"Get it out of my face!"
A vase flew across the room, shattering against the opposite wall. The baby in her arms wailed louder as she was led away from the room.
"Take the baby to our house, now." Gustave's voice urged, moments before the door closed behind her, leaving her in a large empty hallway, with the weight of a very tragic event heavy in her mind.
The Queen's death would be a huge impact. Beloved by all, the kingdom would be weeping for sure.
The handmaiden looked down. The baby had calmed considerably, though still teary.
And what of this child? Such a cruel welcome into the world and her heart grew heavy. She cradled the infant in her arms.
"I'm so sorry Elsa…" Mary Grace paused.
Elsa…
She'd been smiling…the queen. She was smiling as she caressed her child. Using her final breaths, hadn't she lovingly named the child Elsa? Hadn't the first moments of the child's life been filled with such tender love?
"Please take care of her Mary Grace. Please." She'd asked, a world of sincerity etched in her eyes.
It had stolen the lowly handmaiden's breath until all she could manage was a quivering nod.
The baby had calmed now. Maybe she did know a mother's love.
And maybe, it wasn't such a bad beginning after all.
Identity - 3
Elsa didn't quite have the words to describe what was going on as she silently observed the scene.
Mama had been cradling a little pink doll for a while now. Mama had pulled it out of her tummy and she seemed quite pleased with it. She had called it an Anna, a pretty name for such a weird looking thing. It didn't really fit, in her opinion.
When it started to make loud unpleasant sounds, Elsa's face scrunched up and her Mama laughed.
"It's alright, darling." She said quietly. "She's just tired."
Mama snuggled the Anna more deeply into her arms, cradling her, and the Anna began to quiet.
"Isn't she beautiful?" Mama was whispering now and Elsa had to strain to hear her.
"She'll make a beautiful Princess for the King…Don't you think?"
Was Elsa suppose to say yes? But it sounded like a very sad no.
"I know the circumstances are strange, but I hope that one day, you two will be good friends."
Elsa tilted her head to the side questioningly. Strange?
Mama smiled again before coughing, jostling the Anna and throwing her into another fit.
Mama had been coughing a lot more lately. If only Papa was there. He would know what to do
But Papa wasn't there. He hadn't been for a while now.
Why was he gone? He was still out for medicine, Elsa reminded herself.
He'd gone when Mama's tummy was still itty bitty, and it might have been a longer time then when he was usually gone for, but Papa said he was out for medicine and he didn't lie. Papa was going to come back.
He was just out for medicine, Elsa thought again. Until then, she would have to take care of Mama. That's what Papa always told her.
Elsa leaned herself on her Mama, wrapping her tiny arms around her.
Mama looked at her, reaching out a hand and ran her fingers through Elsa's messy blonde hair. "Oh, Elsa. You're such a sweet girl. One day, I hope His Majesty sees that."
Elsa didn't respond, just looked at her and then back at the Anna.
Who was His Majesty?
Practice - 5
"Maaaaamaaaaa!" Silvery strands, bounced in the wind as Elsa's excited clambers signaled her arrival.
Mary Grace raised a brow. "Elsa?" Such energy was so rare from such a docile girl. "What's the matter?"
Elsa grinned, showing perfect white teeth as she held out a cup.
Mary Grace looked at it expectantly. After a few moments, the excitement wore away. "You found…ice?" She asked.
Elsa's grin soured. "No! I froze it with my magic. I have super powers, Mama!"
The older woman nodded slowly. "Oh. That's…nice." What a curious day. Elsa had never been the girl to indulge in pretend.
Elsa huffed as if reading her mind. "I'm not playing a game. It's real. I can do it. Look."
Although doubtful, as all adults would be, she knelt by her daughter. What was the harm?
Elsa closed her eyes, knitting her eyebrows together. With a whine she began to strain every muscle in her body.
Thirty seconds passed into a minute and a minute turned into two. Soon Mary Grace felt her feet getting numb.
The cup continued on, unchanged.
"…Elsa, honey…"
"It worked before." Elsa's eyebrows knit together. "I know it." The young child's voice was insistent and there was a strong conviction in her eyes that made the older woman hesitate.
How curious.
"Then maybe you just need some practice." She heard herself say.
"Practice?"
Mary Grace nodded. "With practice, you'll be able to control your powers and do amazing things. I'm sure of it, just be very careful. I'll wait until you're ready to show me."
Elsa's face brightened. "Then I'll practice really hard. I'll show you soon, okay?"
Mary Grace smiled. She ran a hand through Elsa's hair and smiled. "I'm sure you will."
What was the harm in indulging her adorable daughter every once in awhile?
Questions - 13
She'd gotten the timing down to a science.
Placing the heavy bag on the floor, she pivoted herself around, extending her arms forward and catching an energy ball roughly shaped into a red headed girl.
"ELSA!"
The other girl giggled. "Good morning, Anna."
Anna pulled away from the hug with a pout. "Where have you been the last few days? You didn't come and I waited for you."
Elsa smiled weakly. "I'm sorry, Anna. Mother wasn't feeling too well so I had to stay with her. Kristoff and Sven should have delivered the ice for you."
"Well yeah…"
Elsa bend down to look Anna in the eyes. "Didn't you have fun?"
Her tiny face scrunched up in a thoughtful way. "We did, but it wasn't the same." She concluded.
It warmed Elsa's heart to hear that. The obvious idolization always stirred an inner need to protect in her. It pushed her to perform her best knowing that Anna was looking to her as an example.
"Well then how about I come have fun with you tomorrow?" She suggested.
Anna tilted her head questioningly. "You aren't going to stay?"
Elsa shook her head. "Mother's still not feeling well. I want to be with her."
The famous Anna pout emerged again but she still reluctantly agreed. "Okay. I'll wait for you tomorrow."
"Definitely."
Anna grinned before turning to run back toward the castle gates. "I hope your Mommy gets better Elsa. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Bye." She waved.
When Anna's little head was no longer in sight, Elsa turned back to the business she was conducting.
The castle's gentlemanly butler was waiting patiently as he silently watched the interaction.
"Sorry for having to make you wait, Kai." Elsa apologized.
He just smiled, holding out two bags of gold pieces, one of which, three times the size of the others. "It's no bother, Miss Elsa. I'm quite use to it."
Elsa laughed, a bit sheepish. "I'll try to do better next time." She grabbed them, the familiar weights resting in her hands.
She stared at it for a moment.
"Is something the matter Miss Elsa?"
Elsa shook her head. "No," she replied, "but there is something that I've always been curious of."
"What might that be?"
The girl looked up at him. "I was just wondering why I always have a second bag."
Kai's brow furrowed. "I couldn't say. All I know is the kitchen pays for your ice and the other comes straight from the king himself. I'm merely instructed to follow directions. I sincerely wish I could tell you more."
Elsa smiled. "It's alright. Thank you for telling me all what you can."
"Certainly." He responded, taking the ice bag over his shoulder. "Well, I must be off to my duties now. Good day, Elsa."
With a nod, Elsa waved him away. "You too, Kai. I'll see you tomorrow." She glanced at the two bags in her hand. She'll ask about it later maybe, when her mother was feeling better.
Life -14
Mary Grace had been thinking about death a lot the last couple of days. It was close to her time. She felt it in everything she did, the way her chest labored to rise, and the sluggish pace of her heart. Everything felt so cold and the small bit of warmth in her chest was shrinking every moment. It wouldn't be long now before she would be no more.
However, she'd been thinking about life as well, everything that she'd done up to that point. It rolled through her mind in snapshots and sound bites, happy moments and sad ones. She'd had plenty of both and she did her best to focus on only the positives.
She'd thought of her family and her old friends. She thought of the kind Queen.
And Gustave.
Her late husband. Oh, how she missed him. She remembered the moments they'd smiled and laughed under bright summer days and the whispered words on candle lit winters.
She would finally be with him soon. There was joy with that thought and a peace came over her. She'd done the best she could with the choices she'd been presented. On the whole, she was satisfied on all points except one.
She had one wish and one regret. She wished that she could have at least been able to have one conversation with her other daughter. She'd parted with Anna so early but what other choice did she have? Even then, she'd been on borrowed time, sustained only by the medications she'd choked down year after year. She knew that she couldn't take care of Anna.
A soft caress rested on her arm and warmth surged from the contact.
Mary Grace opened her eyes, being met with two piercing blue irises.
The young girl smiled, expertly covering the worry. "Did I wake you?"
Mary Grace mustered a weak smile of her own, attempting to be reassuring. "No, darling. I was awake. What's wrong?"
Elsa shook her head. "I just wanted to sit with you."
The warmth, so small before grew in size and she somehow found the strength to lift her hand. She captured a lock of Elsa's long hair, stroking the ends.
At least she'd gotten a chance to raise this beautiful girl. She'd tried to return Elsa back to her father as well but he still wasn't having it. Whether it was the familiar bitterness that prevented him from allowing Elsa's return or guilt, she couldn't tell but it was his loss.
Elsa was a phenomenal young woman, not many could say they started their own ice business at the age of 6. Better yet, she'd discovered this endeavor on accident after helping all the people around town one summer. Her kind heart attracted many people and Mary Grace knew she would be just fine now.
Maybe that was another wish of hers. She wished she could stay with Elsa more. There were so many things that she still hadn't experienced. She still didn't even know who she was yet and should she?
Mary Grace felt her eyes growing heavy. Her two biggest fears and her two biggest hopes, they would have to fair for themselves. She was simply too tired to help them now.
Cute - 16
Kristoff knew what it felt like to have your feet kicked out from under you. Everything went into slow motion as your brain tried to figure out why the floor was getting very close, very quickly. Usually it required a lot of force, so he was quite amazed at how efficiently Anna was able to harness that emotion without having to touch him at all.
"What?" He asked.
"Do you think Elsa is…you know…kinda…cute?"
Kristoff was silent for a bit as he tried to process what his next response was going to be.
He undoubtedly thought so, just like everyone thought so. Elsa was tall and slim with a nice face and an adorable smile. She had a shining personality and she always did her best to serve others. Throughout the handful of years that they'd worked together, he hadn't met one soul who didn't think Elsa was at least marginally attractive, but he always recoiled when he would hear other people talk about her that way.
He'd grown up with Elsa and she'd always been there to help and encourage him. She was like a sister to him. It made him feel weird when others placed a romantic connotation around her.
Just like how the word "cute" came out of Anna's mouth, how the word seemed to be disjointed from the other parts of the sentence.
Gross.
"Well…yes?" He stated in a way that didn't feel like a statement.
Anna didn't seem to mind. "Do you think she thinks I'm cute?"
"Why does it matter?" He asked.
Anna looked away innocently. "Nothing. I was just wondering."
He rolled his eyes. He hated playing these games. "Then I guess you're going to have to ask her yourself."
She blinked, no doubt imagining how she'd pose the question in her mind.
Kristoff sighed and changed his course away from the girl. She wouldn't be realizing his absence for a while, not with that dopey look in her eyes.