A/N: This is just a cutesy story that I wrote on Valentine's Day because I was feeling inspired. It took me a while to finish though. Hope you enjoy the clues, and feel free to play along if you want to try and figure things out before Elsa does. Also feel free to leave comments and let me know what you think, but be nice please. Thanks for reading!
Elsa jolted awake for the millionth time as her eyes drifted shut once again. She was in her study poring over the documents that had been arriving by the bucketful recently. This was her third, no fourth night in a row that she was forced to work past midnight only to get up the next morning at six o'clock to complete other queenly duties. She was utterly exhausted and desperately wanted to climb into her soft, queen sized bed and sleep until spring like a hibernating bear. But she had to finish the paper work that had been piling up for the last month, otherwise it could mean serious trouble for Arendelle's international relations with the few kingdoms that would still trade with her. The candle was almost completely finished and the first rays of sun were beginning to peek over the horizon. Just a few more pages and then you can hit the sack she told herself. Before she even finished reading the page in her hand though, her head clonked onto the desk and Queen Elsa was out cold.
Anna had grown increasingly worried about her older sister lately. It seemed like all Elsa ever did was sit in her study and do paperwork. She rarely came to meals, oftentimes eating while working, and appeared to be going to bed later and later while getting up earlier and earlier. She'd offered to help multiple times, but each time Elsa waved her off and told her to go outside and enjoy the snow with Olaf. Anna liked playing with the adorable snowman, but she missed having a real person to talk to. Elsa was always busy and Kristoff and Sven were off spending time with their troll family and wouldn't be back for at least a week. Thinking about Kristoff reminded Anna that Valentine's Day was just around the corner. She had been planning a surprise date for him for forever. Grinning, Anna realized the holiday was also the perfect opportunity to get Elsa's mind off work.
The next morning Elsa awoke and looked around groggily. At first she was disoriented, but then she realized she was in her own room instead of the study. One of the servants must have found her asleep at her desk while lighting the fires early in the morning and carried her to her room. Rolling out of bed, Elsa groaned and began to get dressed. Feeling too tired to put much effort into picking an outfit, she created her trademark ice dress, quickly braided her hair, and headed down the hall toward her study. The servants would know to bring her tea and breakfast there so she could get right to work.
As she turned the handle to the ornate study door, Elsa realized something was wrong. The door was locked which was unusual. She quickly found the head servant Kai and asked him if he knew where the key was. Trying to suppress a grin, he replied calmly, "I'm sorry but I have not seen the key recently, Your Highness. I do however have a note for you that Princess Anna requested I give to you this morning." Elsa took the proffered slip of paper and scanned it quickly.
In Anna's unique writing it read, "If you want to find the key to your precious study, follow the clues I'm about to give you. If you try to cheat in any way I WILL know and put the key somewhere permanently irretrievable. Have fun on your high stakes scavenger hunt and here's your first clue! 'So many times I sat here trying to get you to build a snowman. For thirteen years this was as close as I could get to you.'
Sighing in frustration at Anna's silly games, Elsa stomped down the hall in a very un-queenly manner toward her sister's room. She had the beginnings of a raging headache and was tired beyond belief. Elsa was in no mood for games. As she stomped away, a thin trail of ice was left in her wake. Bursting into the bedroom, Elsa was prepared to blast some snow and lay into her sleeping sister, but instead found the bed empty with no trace of the princess. Realizing she had no choice but to follow the scavenger hunt, Elsa let out a little laugh at Anna's cleverness. For days Anna had been trying to get Elsa to take a rest, and now Elsa had no choice but to take a day off from paperwork. She took another look at the clue that she had crumpled in exasperation and walked back down the hall toward her own bedroom.
Upon reaching her door, Elsa could see a little piece of paper hanging from the doorknob. Someone (presumably Anna) had punched a hole into a corner of the paper and used a piece of ribbon to tie the paper to the knob. In her haste to get to work, Elsa had not noticed the paper on the door earlier that morning. The ribbon was knotted tightly and Elsa was having trouble getting it undone, so she placed a finger on it and froze the ribbon. With a little tap the frozen ribbon broke cleanly and the paper was free.
Squinting to read the cramped handwriting, Elsa could barely decipher the clue. Congrats on following the rules Elsa. I know you're probably mad at me. As a reward for being a good girl I'll give you an easy clue this time.
What happened here?
A princess became a queen.
Forced to remove your gloves,
Your powers were almost seen.
Wow that really is an easy one. Anna must take me for an idiot, Elsa mused. Turning smoothly on her heel, Elsa sauntered confidently down the hall toward the opposite wing of the castle.
Pausing momentarily outside the palace chapel to catch her breath (speed walking from one end of the castle to another was quite a workout), Elsa quietly pushed open the chapel doors and bowed her head in respect. As she made her way to the altar at the front of the room, she kept an eye out for any stray pieces of paper. She inspected the altar looking for any signs of a note from Anna but couldn't find one. Running through a list of major places in her head, Elsa couldn't think of any other places that would fit the clue. Just as she was about to give up and look somewhere else, the priest walked out from a back room and stopped her. Is there something I can help you with?" he asked in an overly innocent voice.
"As a matter of fact, yes," Elsa replied, suddenly excited. "This may sound crazy, but is there any chance Princess Anna left a note with you or mentioned a note at all?"
"Funny that you should ask that because she did say something about a note earlier."
"What did she say? Please tell me!" begged Elsa
"She said to tell you that the clue you seek is hidden out of sight; underneath your mortal enemy. And to find it you will have to look at things from a different point of view."
"What could that possibly mean? Can't you tell me anything else?" demanded Elsa.
"I'm sorry, I cannot your majesty. But perhaps if you look somewhere that is hidden from view under normal circumstances you will find something." And with that last piece of advice, the priest walked away leaving Elsa alone before the ornately carved altar. Realizing Anna's last clue wasn't as easy as it seemed, Elsa sat down on one of the pews and looked around the room despondently. What does she mean beneath my mortal enemy? How should I look at things differently? I would assume my mortal enemy is probably Hans but how do I look beneath him? I can't very well sail to the Southern Isles and ask Hans to stand up so I can check underneath him. Unless…
With a triumphant cry, Elsa jumped up from the pew and got down on her hands and knees. I really hope nobody comes in right now to pray or something because I must look ridiculous crawling around the floor like a baby. She proceeded slowly down the length of the pew on her hands and knees feeling their undersides. Occasionally she twisted her neck to get a glimpse of the bottoms of the pews. I really must get somebody to clean these more thoroughly. It's absolutely disgusting under here, Elsa thought disdainfully. From down here the ceiling seems so far away! And I never realized how many rows there were until I had to crawl down all of them on my hands and knees!
Elsa was about to give up if she didn't find the clue soon, when she felt something cut her finger as she ran her hand along the pew. "Ow!" she exclaimed angrily. Sucking the blood off her finger Elsa twisted her neck so she could get a look at the bottom of the pew and saw a slip of paper stuck to the bottom of the seat. Elsa grabbed the paper and quickly stood up to stretch her aching back. Cursing Anna quietly, Elsa unfolded the paper to read her next clue. "I'm impressed you've made it this far Elsa. Don't disappoint me now because there's only two more clues left! This one may be the hardest though.
For so many years you shut me out.
I was always so lonely and sad.
But I made a few friends like Joan of Arc.
Now then, where are they to be had?
Elsa thought for a moment, then with a swish of her ice cape, turned and left the chapel. Anna was always talking about how brave and awesome Joan of Arc was and how much she idolized her. Elsa had always assumed that as a kid, Anna had probably read countless stories about her hero, and what better place to read books about history than the library? Thankfully the library was near the chapel, so Elsa arrived within several minutes.
As she entered the library, Elsa was overwhelmed by the sheer number of books stacked high in the bookcases. There must have been thousands upon thousands of books in that one room! Everywhere Elsa looked, there were twenty foot high bookcases lined up in neat rows with books of all shapes and sizes tucked on their shelves. There were even some books stacked in piles on the floor. The air was musty from all the old books and the lighting was dim, but Elsa was still enchanted by the plethora of literature in front of her. As she stared around in wonder, a mousy man came up to her and cleared his throat loudly to get the queen's attention. Startled out of her reverie, Elsa looked down at the old man.
"Hello Your Highness. I am the royal bookkeeper Vlad. May I help you find something?" he asked politely in a wheezy voice.
"Yes, I was wondering if Princess Anna had been here recently looking at books about Joan of Arc or if she had even left a message with you about a clue."
"I'm afraid she has not Your Highness. Princess Anna rarely comes in here as a matter of fact. But if you're interested, I can show you where some books about Joan of Arc may be."
"Yes, please. That would be much appreciated."
Vlad led Elsa through a maze of bookcases until he reached one on the left side of the room, away from the door. "These two shelves should have books about Joan of Arc." Vlad gestured to two shelves near the bottom of the bookcase. "Let me know if you need anything else."
"Thank you very much. I certainly will." Elsa knew it was probably a long shot that Anna would have hidden a clue in the library since she almost never came here according to Vlad, but she had to start somewhere. After flipping through a few books, Elsa realized this was ridiculous, and that the last clue was too vague to lead her to a specific book. More likely, it pointed toward a room involving Joan of Arc. And Anna had said friends, plural, so it suggested there was more than one person involved. Elsa was stumped, so she decided to find Kai or Gerda to see if they could help her out. They probably knew Anna's childhood habits better than her anyway.
Elsa only had to look for a few minutes before coming across Kai cleaning windows in the hall. She showed the servant the clue and he smiled knowingly.
"I have a very good idea of where this may be. I would suggest you check the portrait room."
"The portrait room? But why?"
"Let's just call it a hunch Your Highness."
Elsa was baffled as to why she would check the portrait room, but she figured it out quickly enough. On the side wall, front and center, was a ten foot high painting of Joan of Arc riding her horse into battle. Elsa laughed to herself as she remembered a conversation she and Anna had where Anna admitted she used to talk to paintings when she got bored. Elsa hurried over to the painting and sure enough, there was a piece of paper wedged into the frame. Elsa was so excited that she was almost done with the scavenger hunt that she almost tore the paper in her haste to unfold it. It read: Bet you needed help with this one didn't you? It's okay though, I won't hold it against you. I know you've been dying to get your key back so here's your last clue. Good luck!
Here two dreams were shattered,
As we danced the whole night long.
You'd made mistakes before,
But this is where it went wrong.
Elsa barely had to read the clue before she nearly ran out of the room with excitement. She may have forgotten that Anna talked to paintings, but she would never forget the night everything went wrong and her secret got out. She lost her chance to be normal in the people's eyes, and on top of that had refused to let Anna marry the dashing Prince Hans. By the time she finished thinking the entire clue through, she was at the door to the ballroom. Unsure of what to expect inside, Elsa pushed open the door cautiously.
As soon as the door opened, she was tackled by a flying mass of red hair and green dress. Anna vigorously hugged her sister and danced around gleefully. "Happy Valentine's Day Elsa! Wasn't this just the greatest? Did you have fun? I'm sorry I tricked you like that but I wanted you to take a break from work and-"
"Whoa, slow down Anna," Elsa giggled. "I'll admit I was pretty mad that you stole my study key and locked me out, but this was pretty fun. I'd actually forgotten all about Valentine's Day until now."
"Really? So you're not mad anymore right? 'Cuz I just wanted you to have fun today instead of working yourself to death."
"No, I'm not mad. I really enjoyed your little clues. That portrait room one was tough. I had to ask Kai for help."
"I knew it! Let me guess, you went to the library first right?"
"How did you know?"
"Let's just say I know my sister. But now that you're finally here, we can start the celebration." Anna stepped aside so Elsa could see into the room and lo and behold was a mountain of chocolate truffles with an ice statue next to it of Anna and Elsa together.
"I know you could probably make a better ice statue with your magic, but this was the best I could do on short notice. Do you like it?"
"I love it Anna! This party just needs one more touch." Elsa threw her arms in the air and released a cloud of light flurries.
Anna hugged Elsa again and whispered, "I love you Elsa".
"I love you too little sis." And with that they both dove at the chocolates and ate every last one of them.