Disclaimer: Frozen and its characters are the property of Disney. I own nothing save for the plot and the mistakes herein.
Anna lies on her mattress, defeated.
Earlier of today, she wakes up a sleep-deprived Elsa from her slumber, begging they'd build a snowman. But to her dismay, the Queen refuses, reluctantly getting up from bed to bathe and get dressed.
All throughout the hour, Anna pesters her, even while she bathes ("Please, Elsa?" she suddenly says, breaking the silence in the bathroom as she pokes her head through the door and frightening poor Elsa, who was delving in her thoughts and had forgotten to lock the door.), and dresses into her undergarments ("Elsaaa," pleads Anna. "Anna!" cries Elsa, frightened once more and blushing furiously as she strives to cover herself, "I need my privacy!" "It's nothing I haven't seen," Anna states innocently, which makes the Queen's entire face go red.), and finally creates an outer garment made entirely out of ice ("Just for today," Anna prods further, momentarily marveling at how her sister conjures an aquamarine dress out of thin air. "Not today, Anna," sighs the Queen as she gazes at her own reflection in the tall mirror and straightens her posture.) .
The strawberry-blonde continues to badger her sister before, during, and after breakfast. But despite her sister giving her a cold shoulder all throughout mealtime, Anna refuses to give up. No, she goes so far so as to throw snowballs at the window of the meeting room Elsa had gone into. This startles not only Elsa, but also her guests: gentlemen from faraway kingdoms come to talk of trade relations with the kingdom of Arendelle. The Queen promptly stands up from her seat, walks to the window, and with a flick of her wrist, lifts the pane. Anna, who thinks this to be a favorable response, waits expectantly below.
"I knew you'd finally—"
Pff.
"Ow!" cries Anna as snow collides with her face. The snowball is simply dropped on her face—not thrown forcefully—but it stings nonetheless. "What was that for?" she demands.
"There's more where that came from," Elsa simply replies, before shutting the window and turning her back on her little sister.
Annoyed, Anna sticks her tongue out. "She's such a sourpuss," she mutters to herself, brushing the rest of the snow off her face. Today her older sister seems even more disgruntled than ever. Oh well, she sighs. She brightens up when she thinks of another playmate.
Kristoff.
"No-can-do," says the blonde ice harvester when Anna asks if he would like to build a snowman with her.
"But why?" asks Anna.
"I have to deliver all these," he gestures to a towering pile of blocks of ice, "all over town." He sees the dejected expression on Anna's face and instantly feels guilty. "Maybe you can go see Olaf," he suggests.
"Build a snowman with a snowman?" questions Anna. Kristoff shrugs helplessly. "Oh, forget it," Anna finally says, turning and walking away. This only makes Kristoff feel twice as worse and so he calls her,
"Anna!"
She looks over her slumped shoulder and sees him throw a carrot at her. Her reflexes are quick and she easily catches it in one hand, impressing Kristoff, who watches her take her leave afterwards.
Anna does try to search for Olaf, but as her spirits have suddenly died down, it does not take long before she gives up on playing with him, too.
And so Anna decides to return to the castle, and heads to her mattress the moment she enters the room. She lies there in silence, disheartened, bored, and lonely. She bites on the carrot Kristoff had given her previously and munches on it, the sound of her chewing the only noise in the room. She takes a few more bites, and finally abandons the vegetable, half-eaten, next to her.
Disliking the silence, she gets up and starts pacing about the room. It is a room she once again gets to share with Elsa, who had decided weeks ago it was high time she'd move in with her sister and make up for the thirteen, painful years of their separation.
Oh, but of what use is it? thinks the Princess bitterly. The only time Elsa returns to her room is when she retires from her Queenly responsibilities and duties. By then, it is late into the night, and she is too exhausted to so much as make small talk with Anna. And Anna leaves her be because she knows she should not deprive Elsa of sleep.
This had been going on for weeks, and for weeks Anna had been seeking the company of anyone in the absence of her sister's. The Princess' loneliness had not escaped the Queen's eye, but what could she do? Countless times, she had attempted to compensate for her growing absences and lack of attention towards Anna. But short conversations, dresses, or chocolates are not enough to satiate either sister's needs of affiliation. They sleep together often, but at times the Queen is crabby and irritable and prefers to sleep alone, leaving a hopeful Anna crestfallen after an entire day of anticipating her sister's arrival in their room.
Anna heads to Elsa's mattress and takes her seat at the edge of it. She eventually lies down, and rolls over, so that she is lying on her belly. Oh who cares if I mess her bed up? she thinks grumpily, deliberately moving her limbs and shifting her position slightly, crumpling the once-smooth sheets of the bed. If getting scolded is the only way to get her attention, I'm up for it. She lies still for a few moments and closes her eyes, inhaling the floral scent of her sister from the pillows.
Her eyes flutter open, and she spots the bedside drawer. "Hmmm…" She gets up, and pulls the top compartment open, and sees, to her surprise, a pair of aquamarine gloves. An extra pair? She thinks, examining them closely. They seemed no different from Elsa's first pair of gloves. "Huh." She wears them and holds her hands up in the air, inspecting them. A sudden giddiness creeps into her and she jumps out of bed. She runs out of the room, to the outdoors, where she starts playing in the snow like a child.
To Anna, it feels as if Elsa's ice powers are coursing through her veins, the source of the magic being the gloves themselves. She pretends she possesses the same uncanny abilities, dancing and twirling in the white landscape. She kicks the snow, and shovels them in her hands to throw them in the air, sending snow flying everywhere. She giggles and laughs, enjoying herself for the first time in a long time, and soon she is indulged in her own winter wonderland.
For Elsa, it is a long day and she is glad that the meeting is over and that the men have finally taken their leave. As soon as the men are gone, she slumps into her seat, and looks at the remaining paperwork Kai had left her. In the ensuing silence, she hears peals of familiar laughter and she looks out to see Anna playing happily in the snow. She smiles to herself, and continues to watch her sister. But she catches sight of something peculiar; she sees a flash of aquamarine as her sister digs into the snow and throws them in the air. Her eyes narrow. Wait. Aren't those my gloves? How did she…? But then again, it is Anna. She would not be surprised to know Anna would be snooping around, looking through her things. Which is, well, a first.
She would probably be upset; she should be upset. The gloves are a painful reminder of her isolated life in the past. She does not wear them anymore for the fact that she is free to reveal her powers to everyone without the fear of being ostracized. Once she had removed them, she had decided she would never again have to wear them, never again have to live in the fear of her own powers, and never again have to conceal them from the world. Oh, but she sees these gloves worn on the very hands of Anna, who seems to enjoy wearing them very much. At this, she frowns, rather upset. But Elsa observes Anna for a few more minutes, wondering what in the world her younger is doing with her gloves; she realizes then that the Princess is mimicking the movements she makes when she uses her ice powers. Knowing this makes her smile once again in amusement. She cannot help herself; her sister is much too adorable.
Elsa opens the window pane, and uses a bit of real magic: she makes the snow around Anna swirl and dance in time with Anna's movements. The Princess realizes this and stops for a moment. She stares at her gloved hands in disbelief.
"Wow," Anna exclaims. "So these things actually work!" Elsa suppresses a giggle. Anna begins to dance and twirl again, and Elsa makes the snow follow her movements with the graceful movements of her hand. She sees to it that the strawberry-blonde does not see her, but she thinks that Anna is too distracted to notice anything else anyway.
"This is amazing!" Anna cries in amazement, making Elsa chuckle once more. Anna is being much too funny and Elsa feels she might fracture a few ribs while she fights to control her muffled laughter. She feels all the day's stress and worries dissolve as she continues to play along with her younger sister. So indulged was she in this little game that she fails to notice Kai entering the room and walking towards her.
"Your majesty," Kai says, startling Elsa, and making the snow she was manipulating burst into the air, frightening Anna outside.
"Kai," Elsa turns around to face him with her hands folded behind her like a child caught doing something naughty.
Kai gives her a curious look but goes on to say, "You have more guests waiting to be attended to in the throne room." He looks at the pile of unfinished paperwork on the table, and then at Elsa. "Your majesty, you mustn't dawdle around and waste time—"
"I know, I know," Elsa cuts in, sighing. She takes one, last glance at her sister, and steps away from the window. "I'll finish the papers once I've attended to my guests."
"Very good, ma'am," Kai praises. He walks to the door and holds it open for her. The Queen half-heartedly leaves the room and Kai follows her out, closing the door behind him.
Meanwhile, Anna looks around curiously, unused to the abrupt stillness of the snow. "Huh. Must've drained you of your powers," she says, speaking to her gloved hands.
It is nighttime and Anna lies in her bed, wide-awake. Like every night, she is awaiting Elsa's arrival, hoping that maybe tonight, her sister would allow her into her bed, and they could once again sleep together. The room is dark and the candles are put out, but moonlight streams through the window, leaving everything in a gentle glow. It is not too soon before Anna hears the door creak open, and sees the slender figure of the Queen step quietly into the room.
The Queen's dress melts away as she heads to her wardrobe and takes out a light-blue nightdress, which she swiftly slips into. Afterwards, she gets into her mattress and stays still for a few minutes. It is in these silent minutes that Anna's anticipation shoots up, and she prays fervently, hoping Elsa would—
"Anna," the Queen's voice is barely above a whisper. She says no more; it only takes a few moments before Anna joins her in bed. Elsa allows her younger sister to snuggle up into her arms and rest her head in the crook of her neck. Anna sighs in content, and breathes in the scent of her older sister. She closes her eyes, sensing Elsa's exhaustion. Perhaps tonight they should just sleep; they will talk another time. The Queen's breathing becomes slower and deeper, and Anna thinks she is already asleep. But after a few minutes, she speaks again.
"Anna…" Elsa says softly, surprising the Princess, whose eyes flutter open instantly.
"Elsa?" Anna gets up slightly to look at the Queen, whose eyes are closed, face smooth and serene in the moonlight.
"I never knew you had ice powers, too."
Anna only stares at Elsa in wonder. She stares and stares and sees the corner of Elsa's lips quirk up slightly. Before she can say anything, the Queen is already fast asleep.
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