The Bond that Grows
Chapter 1
Anna was quietly hiding her excitement, as she slowly slipped a blue crocheted scarf underneath her dark brown shawl. She then quickly put her hair into two strawberry-blonde plaits. She was used to being fully dressed before the daylight had reached the edge of the farm; however, she had woken up earlier for this special occasion. For today, a friend, a very special friend, was having a special day today.
As she was quietly placing her feet into her worn out boots, she could hear the gentle snores from the bed beside her. She knew that her youngest sister, Gerda, was sound asleep, but she continued on slipping out the door, quietly.
Anna slowly shut the door, hoping that it wouldn't creak throughout the house. With one swift motion of her long green skirts, Anna quickly tip-toed down the small hallway. Once she had approached the family dining room, she shriveled with fear, as she heard her other sister's loud snores coming from the room right next to it. She knew that her eldest sister, Elsa, was having some trouble sleeping since their parents' death a few years ago. She also knew that Elsa had become more distant and short-tempered towards her and Gerda. However, what Elsa didn't know wouldn't kill her, would it? Anna had thought about telling Elsa, but the icy glares and cold voice would be the response Anna would get. "She should take a liking towards Fredrick." she thought, as she glanced around the dining room for her small, light magenta, bonnet. The bonnet could be anywhere throughout the house, yet she was hoping that it was hanging up on the pegs right by the front door. Sure enough, she saw that the bonnet was gently placed right next to the family portrait, right on the mantle. She quickly ran up to the mantle and grabbed the bonnet. She cringed about what her father would think of her seeing Fredrick in a secluded area. She even thought that he would have been so angry with her to the point where he would whip the daylights out of her. "But he's not here," Anna had reminded herself, "They will never come back from the dead." She continued on getting herself situated, by placing the bonnet loosely over her two plaits.
She jumped for joy, once she had closed the front door to her home. She felt the fresh cold air flowing through her hair and into her dark shawl. She shivered, as she rushed down the steps of her front porch. She wanted to hurry along and find Fredrick before it's too late. After a good long and strenuous walk, she managed to get to the woodlot right across from the little creek bed. She figured that the little creek would be filled with some water, but that would only be used during both the spring and summer seasons; sadly, not for the upcoming winter season. She had hoped that Fredrick would be there fishing at the creek, as usual, but not for today.
"Now where could he be?" Anna had whispered, while she waited at the woodlot.
As Anna was patiently waiting for Fredrick to come, she prayed that no one else would come out and catch them together. Just then, she felt a pair of arms wrapping her body, from behind.
"Hello, Anna." someone had whispered in her ear, from behind.
"Fredrick!" Anna shrieked, turning around and had faced him, "You scared the living daylights out of me!"
"Sorry." Fredrick had chuckled, as he stepped away from her. Anna couldn't help but gape at the sight of her dear friend. Today, he was wearing a simple, yet frayed, white button-up shirt, with a pair of faded pants.
"But you still scared me, Fred." Anna blushed slightly, looking down at the dirt floor.
"Just be glad that it was just Me." he sighed, while leaning up against the pile of cut firewood, "Not Kristoff, or Pa."
He was right about that. They both knew that meeting each other in secret, was very risky, yet they were in love with one another.
"Happy birthday, Fredrick." Anna whispered, as she took the blue scar from underneath her shawl.
"Thank you" Fredrick said, with his honey brown eyes sparkling at her, "You remembered."
"How could I not?" Anna stated, as-a-matter-of-factly placing the scarf into his hand, "Besides, your family should remember, right?"
Fredrick gave her a scowled look, "Pa wouldn't say a word about it, especially since it's today. Ma does remember, but she didn't even bother to say hi this morning. On the other hand, Kristoff came in last night and gave me a hunting cap."
"Oh." Anna whispered hoarsely, while clutching her shawl closely to her chest.
"I do have some news to tell you." Fredrick said, with very little pride in his voice.
"Oh."
"The President is calling out from more men." he spoke softly, with his head hung low.
She placed her small hand over her own beating heart. She didn't want him to go and fight in this war. She wanted to cry out and have him hold her closely to his heart.
"Why?" she whispered, with a lump in her throat, "Why do you have to go?"
"Because," Fred had whispered soothingly, "I want to be a part of the Union Army and help win this war!"
"But what about your parents?" Anna had asked, with stiffness in her voice, "Will they be okay with you being gone?"
"They won't even notice." Fredrick shrugged, like it didn't even matter to him, "Pa does want me to be here and to help out with the farm."
Just before Anna could give her response, the sound of a fallen and axe had echoed throughout the small woodlot.
"Fredrick!" said the roaring man, Cliff, which stood right in front of the two.
"Pa!" Fredrick had yelped in fear, his face purely white.
"What in the blazes are you doing here with the Havlick girl?" Cliff had gritted between his teeth, his face turning blood red.
"Nothing, sir…" Fredrick could only sputter out, "We're just friends, Pa."
"Lies!" Cliff had bellowed, while removing his belt from his middle, "Fredrick, you are a liar!"
Before Fredrick could move out of Anna's way, Cliff grabbed his son by the arm and had started to whip his back.
"Please stop!" Anna cried out, as she loosely grabbed Cliff by the arm, "You're hurting him!"
"Let go of me!" Cliff snapped, as he freed his arm away from her.
"She's just my friend Pa." Fredrick had yelped out in pain.
"Lies!" Cliff sneered, as Fredrick had stumbled onto the ground.
"He's telling the truth!" Anna had pleaded, before Cliff grabbed her by the forearm.
"Such lies!" Cliff's voice had boomed into her ears, followed by the crack of the belt on her side.
"Argh!" Anna groaned out in pain, while holding her side.
Just before Cliff was about to whip Anna again, a tall young man came up from behind him and grabbed the belt from his hand.
"Kristoff," Cliff had growled in frustration, "What in tarnation are you doing here?"
Kristoff just glared down at his father and the terrified Anna that stood right in front of him.
"You got no right to lay a hand on her, Pa!"
"I make it my business!" Cliff had snarled, his face still boiling red. Cliff then snatched the belt from Kristoff's hand and was about to take a strike at Anna. Kristoff quickly pulled Anna to his side, hoping that she wouldn't get whipped by his pa, again. He knew that Anna had already gone through so much within the past few years; she didn't need any more in her life.
"Kristoff!" his pa exclaimed, his voice echoing in Kristoff's ear, "What's the meaning of this?"
"She doesn't need to be whipped." Kristoff argued, holding her close to his side, "Her and Fredrick are just friends, nothing more."
Cliff's eyes had darted towards his son on the floor, then towards his other son holding Anna close to his chest. His tempered flared at the sight of those three right in front of him. He couldn't understand why Kristoff wanted to protect Anna from her punishment.
"You!" Cliff had grunted, while pointing at Fredrick, "Get to your chores!"
"Yes sir," Fredrick jumped up and rushed on out of the woodlot.
"And you," Cliff's eyes had pierced through Anna's own, "Get! I don't want you around that boy!"
"Yes sir!" was all Anna could say as she slipped away from Kristoff's hold. She was happy that Kristoff was able to protect her from Cliff's reckoning. She would have to thank him later.
"Kristoff, why are you still here?" Pa had bellowed out, as they both walked on out of the woodlot.
"I need the money, Pa." Kristoff had grunted, after he shut the door behind them.
"What money?" Pa had questioned him, while holding onto his suspenders.
"Grand Pabbie's inheritance!" Kristoff snapped, "He left it for me!"
"Why need that money?" Pa had questioned.
"I need that money for lumbering, Pa!" Kristoff had shouted, his stubbornness was showing.
"Son, get that lumbering business out of your mind." Pa had shaken his pointer finger directly at his son, "You need to get back into farmin'."
Kristoff's jaw had tightened, while looking at his pa. He couldn't even believe that his own pa wouldn't even give him any more information about both Grand Pabbie's will and inheritance. "I will lumber pines, Pa!" he finally stated, while folding his arms against his chest.
"Fine!" Pa scowled, looking at his son in pure disgust, "Have it your way!"
"Thanks…" Kristoff had spit out, as he continued down the through the golden hayfield. He couldn't even believe that he had the same exact conversation with his pa and still receive the same exact response. He hoped that pa would change at the idea of him being a lumberman, but he knew that his pa would be set in his own ways.
"Guess I'll have to make money another way." he thought, as he walked on back to the main house.
As Anna was running on up to the small laundry house, she was thinking about the way Kristoff had saved her from getting beat by Cliff. Shad had decided that she should be able to thank him after her chores were done. Usually her days would often consist of hard work and very little play. She knew that her chores were very important and that most of them would help out with the farm. One of the chores that she had to do was both the mending and hanging of the laundry. She knew that all of the laundry had already been washed by the house maid, Lillian. She just hoped that the laundry was well cleaned and taken care of. Once she was able to smell the refreshing scent coming from the laundry house, Anna knew that Lillian was about finished with the washing.
"Good morning, Anna." said Lillian, cheerfully, as she was placing the wash board into the laundry closet, "How's doing today?"
"Fine." Anna had stated, while rolling up her small cuffs to her elbows, "Do I need to iron any clothes today?"
"No ma'am." Lillian had nodded, before she left.
"Thank you!" Anna had whispered, as she began her chore.
She hoped that the pain would subside on her side, but the emotional pain would definitely take a while. "I hope that Elsa didn't hear about this." she thought, as she hung the sheets. She knew that if her sister had found out, she would most likely receive another strict and cold lecture. With the perspiration and hint of sweat on her face, Anna knew that it was time to head home and help her other sister, Gerda, around the house. After a few loads were hung up on the clothes line, Anna quickly made a bee-line toward her house. Anna could feel the slight cool breeze flowing through her long braids. She clutched her dark shawl to her chest, as she continued on running to the front porch steps.
"Please don't be home." Anna had whispered, as she made her way onto the front porch. Just before Anna could knock on the front door, a young brown-haired girl had swung open the door.
"Anna!" cried out the little girl, while she leaped into her sister's arms.
"Gerda." Anna smiled, trying to maks the pain scorching from her side.
"Are you okay?" Gerda murmured, her eyes piercing into Anna's heart.
Just before Anna could giver Gerda her answer, an angry voice had called out from the nearby bedroom, "Anna is that you?"
"Yes," she gulped.
"Gerda get to your chores!" shouted out the angry voice, again.
"Yes, Elsa" Gerda replied quickly, as she ran out the door, "See you later, Anna."
"See you soon." Anna stated, as she kissed her sister on the cheek.
"Anna, come here." the voice was sounding even more demanding.
"Yes, Elsa." Anna muttered, as she walked towards the next bedroom. She hoped that her sister didn't find out about her and Fredrick. Once she appeared into the bedroom, she noticed that Elsa was already dressed for the day. Today, Elsa was wearing a simple dark turquois dress, with her platinum blonde hair pulled into a tight bun.
"I heard that you were seeing one of the Bjorman boys." Elsa had stated, as she was adjusting her bun.
"Yes." Anna kept her eyes low to the floor.
"Are you two intimate?" Elsa said coldly, while adjusting her cuffs.
"No!" Anna had gasped, with surprise. She couldn't even believe that her own sister would think that way, "We're just friends."
"That's not what Cliff had told me." Elsa had snapped at her sister, "You liar!"
"I'm not lying! Believe me, please!" Anna cried out, but nothing could change Elsa's mind.
"Liar!" Elsa sneered, her face fuming, "Mama and Papa raised us to not be liars!"
"But I'm not lying!" Anna pleaded, feeling overpowered by her sister.
"Yes, you are!" Elsa had screamed out, as she shoved Anna hard against the wall, "Now go and help Gerda."
"Yes." Anna shrieked, her heart pounding against her small chest. She couldn't even believe that her own sister had shoved her against the wall.
Anna raced on out the door, hoping that her sister wouldn't follow her, with another outburst. She hated her sister, for what she had done to the family. She knew that the angry outbursts were being caused by the death of their parents. You see, their parents have died in a ferryboat accident, three years ago.
"Three years," Anna had whispered, "Three years, since you've been gone Mama and Papa." She continued on heading out to the barn, until Fredrick had appeared from the small chicken coup.
"Anna." Fredrick smiled, while holding the large pail of chicken feed.
"Oh Fredrick," Anna breathed, as she stopped in her tracks. She couldn't believe that Fredrick, her love, was standing right in front of her.
"Yes." he had quirked an eyebrow at her.
"I'm so sorry." Anna quickly apologized, looking down at her shoes.
"For what?"
"That your birthday was ruined by your pa." Anna had choked, trying really hard not to cry.
"It's alright." his words were comforting to her.
"You better get back to the coop, before your pa sees us." Anna quickly stated, as she walked away from Fred.
"Will do," Fredrick waved, as they both went on their way.
Anna continued on her merry way towards the barn. The pain on her sided had soon subsided and that she would be able to now bend over.
"Gerda," Anna had called out, while knocking on the large barn door, "open the door, please."
With one small struggle, Gerda had managed to open the door for her sister.
"Anna." Gerda huffed, as Anna entered into the barn, "Are you okay?"
"No." Anna whimpered, holding the shawl close to her small chin.
"What's wrong?" Gerda's lip had quivered.
"Nothing." Anna lied, trying to comfort her sister.
"Did Elsa be mean to you, again?" Gerda said lowly, while looking into her sister's eyes for some reassurance.
"Yes." Anna had wiped her sister's tears away.
"Why does she have to be so mean?" Gerda whined, holding onto her sister.
"Not sure, sister." Anna had said calmly, while rubbing her sister's back soothingly, "Say let's get to milking, Gerda."
"Really?" Gerda's eyes danced, "You're gonna me with the milking?"
"Yep." Anna smiled, as Gerda ran on over to the cows.
Throughout the rest of the morning, both Anna and Gerda were busy milking the cows. Once the milking of the cows was done, they trailed on up to the main house.
"Maybe Kristoff's here." Anna had thought, as trudged on up to the kitchen door. She still wanted to thank him for saving her. Sadly, Kristoff wasn't there when she came in.