I'm sorry Anna but you can't accompany me to this meeting."
Elsa's voice sounded earnest and Anna knew her sister was right. However that didn't do anything to quell the sadness that bubbled up at not being able to spend time with the most important person in her life.
"I could just sit next to you and hold your hand. I wouldn't say a word about your trades and treaties and whatever you're discussing about. I just... I just want to be close to you," Anna explained, trying to convince her sister nevertheless.
"Anna. You know I can't do that. This is an important meeting and bringing you would seem like I couldn't handle it myself. I have to proof that nothing has changed just because everyone now knows I have ice powers. Please understand my point. I'm not doing this to hurt you or shut you out."
Elsa was pleading now, desperately trying to get her sister to understand her reasoning. She would love nothing more than to have the redhead at her side. Just feeling the younger girl's touch relaxed Elsa and she was always able to concentrate better when Anna was around. However, it didn't change the situation they were in now.
"I... I know Elsa. Sorry. I'll just... go to one of the libraries and read something. I'll see you at dinner."
With these words Anna was about to turn around and leave but a hand on her wrist stopped her.
"Anna, wait! We're in the congress room. You know, the one beside the west wing library? Maybe you could read there. I mean it even has the big wing chair you like so much. You could wait there for me... I mean, only if you want to, of course."
"I... yeah, I can do that..." Anna didn't sound entirely convinced but she knew she had not much of a choice.
Of course she would very much prefer the mentioned wing chair to be occupied by Elsa with one of her books in her hands and reading it to her younger sister. But she knew that Elsa had more important things to do.
The redhead looked up and smiled shyly at her sister.
"Want to go there together?" she suggested hoping for at least a few more minutes together.
Sadly, Elsa shook her head, the regret clearly showing in her eyes.
"I have to get the documents from my study. I'll meet you there before the meeting begins and we could talk some more, okay?" She felt like she was doing a really bad job at being a sister but this meeting just was too important for her to fail.
"Sure... I'll see you there," Anna answered hesitantly and finally turned to leave. This time Elsa didn't stop her.
When Anna reached the west wing library her first idea was to just grab a random book and read it. But she got curious how the congress room looked like. At least she would be able to imagine where Elsa would sit and what she would see. Maybe afterwards they could talk about some of the pictures on the wall or something like that.
Anna opened the heavy doors and was met with a wide room. Most of it was occupied by a giant rectangular table with 18 chairs around it. Two of them at the ends of the table and the other 16 on the long sides. She was slightly disappointed when she realized it was one of the rooms without pictures on the walls. A heavy looking table-cloth went all the way down to the floor, preventing Anna from being able to look beneath the table.
Her curiosity got the better of her and without much thought she lifted it - it was heavy indeed - and crawled under the table. However, there wasn't much to discover. She tried to imagine what it would look like later when all the dignitaries' pompous boots would be assembled. At this picture she had to giggle shortly. This however stopped immediately when she heard someone enter the room.
"It's another ten minutes until our meeting starts, sir. Would you maybe have a cup of coffee first?"
This was clearly Elsa's voice. The queen obviously was accompanied by one of the meeting's participants. Anna became nervous. She knew she couldn't get out of this if those two decided to stay in the room. How would she explain what she had done under the table? That would be exactly the kind of incident Elsa had tried to avoid by not inviting her in the first place.
"No thank you. But a tea would be nice, my Queen."
Anna didn't recognize the nasal voice but she was certain it was one of the dignitaries.
"Very well," Elsa answered and asked a passing maid to get their beverages.
Afterwards the two went to the table and sat down, Elsa at the table head and the man with her on the chair beside her. Anna saw her sister's delicate ice slippers touch the floor and the end of the ice gown she now wore most of the time hovering above them. She also had to repress a snicker when she saw how the man's feet hung in the air, a few inches above the ground. The way he swung his legs forwards and back made him look more like a schoolboy and less like someone you would invite to such a meeting.
Slowly and anxiously avoiding making any sound Anna inched closer to her sister. If she was doomed to spending the meeting under this table she at least wanted to be at Elsa's side. Also she didn't want one of the longer-legged dignitaries to accidently find out about her. She crawled on all fours, hardly listening to the indistinguishable chatter above her. Finally the redhead was so close to her sister she could stretch out her hand and touch the pale leg in front of her.
An undignified - and clearly female - squeak from above the table told Anna that she had done exactly what she had thought about. Suddenly the table-cloth was lifted and Elsa looked directly into the uncertain eyes of her sister. The blonde's eyes widened when she saw the redhead shyly wave at her. Hastily the queen sat up straight again and told the dignitary that her dress had shifted, making her think it had been a mouse at her feet. He laughed good-heartedly and they changed the topic.
Anna wondered what she should do now. Elsa knew she was there. Would it be too forward to get even closer to the blonde? Suddenly she heard deep laughter and many heavy footsteps as the rest of the dignitaries arrived together. Immediately panic flooded Anna's system and without much thought she shuffled closer to her sister until her back was rested against the older girl's legs. The redhead felt her sister stiffen behind her, however she did nothing to shoo the girl under the table away. Obviously the queen had realized as well that her sister should stay close to her in order to not be discovered.
Anna sat there, her own legs pulled towards her chest as she saw the men's boots appear under the heavy table cloths one by one. On the one hand she was terrified of anyone beside her sister finding out about her predicament. However she was also glad to be close to Elsa. Just feeling her behind her was soothing the redhead. And the way her sister had relaxed her legs told Anna that she was allowed to stay where she was for the remainder of the meeting.
When the discussions above her started, Anna tried to follow them. But the table cloth cushioned the voices and all too soon Anna gave up and just concentrated on the feeling of her sister's warmth in her back. This concentration was also the reason the redhead instantly noticed when her sister tensed once more. Since Elsa knew that Anna was under the table the younger girl was certain she wasn't the reason for her sister's uneasiness. So the redhead concluded that something in the discussion must have made her sister uncomfortable.
Anna wanted to sooth Elsa, make her relax. And she knew exactly how she could do this. After all they had resumed this position more than once in the past. The redhead loosened the grip around her legs and slowly turned around. Her feet slid to the side however they were still bent so she wouldn't touch one of the dignitaries. Carefully Anna hugged one of her sister's legs and snuggled closer to it. At first Elsa had flinched at the unexpected movement under the table and Anna could hear her stutter before she caught herself again. The redhead was glad when she felt her sister relax once more. She smiled happily and buried her head in the folds of Elsa's dress, sighing happily. The position was slightly different to their usual but it was still close enough for her to get lost in the familiarity of it. Slowly and with a dreamy smile on her face Anna finally drifted asleep, never letting go of her sister's leg. She knew nothing could happen to her, now that she was at Elsa's side.
"Anna."
"Anna, wake up."
Slowly the princess came to, hearing someone whisper her name. She rubbed her eyes and looked around. Quickly her gaze halted on her sister's concerned face. Elsa was bent down towards her and shortly Anna wondered why she seemed to sit at her sister's feet.
"Hey, Elsa," she answered sleepily and added with a dopy smile, "I slept really well."
However instead of smiling as well Elsa's gaze grew stern and Anna began to worry. She looked around and finally the memories flooded back to her. A blush coated her cheeks as she lifted her head with an embarrassed gaze.
"Oh... sorry about that, I...ehm..." Anna began to explain but trailed off to get her still partly sleeping brain to get an explanation out.
"What were you thinking?!" Elsa interrupted her sister's thoughts with a sharp whisper. "In what world did you think that crawling under the table at my most important meeting was a good idea? You're the princess for god's sake!"
Anna averted her gaze in shame and she slumped backwards, her grip on her sister's leg loosening and putting her hands in her lap. She knew that her actions hadn't been thought through and obviously her sister had every right to be mad at her.
"I'm sorry, Elsa," she mumbled still unable to look into the blonde's eyes. "I wanted to go into the library but then I thought I could at least check out the room you would be in and I wanted to see if something interesting was under the table and then suddenly you came in with this dignitary and I knew I couldn't get out so I stayed but I didn't want to be discovered so I thought if you knew I was there it would be okay so I used your legs as a backrest and it was really comfy but then you tensed again and I wanted you to relax so I hugged you and then I kind of fell asleep and now you're mad at me and I get it and I'm really really really sorry, Elsa."
Anna had explained the whole story in one long sentence, hardly pausing for so much as taking a breath. Now everything was out and Elsa would most likely make sure that her sister never accompanied her to any meetings, not under the table and most certainly not next to the queen. Anna's shoulders slumped even more and her whole demeanor showed that she really was beyond sorry about what had happened. The silence she was met with after her explanation confirmed Anna's fears and slowly she felt her eyes fill with tears.
"Anna," Elsa wanted to get her sister to look up at her.
"Anna," she tried again, gentler this time. The soothing tone finally convinced the redhead to lift her head and meet her sister's gaze. However Anna's vision was blurry from the tears that now started to stream down her cheeks. When Elsa saw this, she immediately grew concerned.
"Oh, Anna. Please don't cry," she hurried to say and leaned further downward to cup her sister's cheek carefully. She used her thumb to wipe away the redhead's tears. "I'm sorry I was so harsh on you. I was just scared of the dignitaries finding out about you. I know you wouldn't willingly sabotage my meeting."
Elsa smiled reassuringly. She hated seeing her sister's tears but she hated it even more that she was the reason they were there this time.
"I'm sorry, Elsa. I thought if I had to be stuck down here, I could at least be close to you. It won't happen again, I promise," Anna answered still sniffling.
Elsa couldn't take the sad sight before her any longer. She pushed her chair back, not caring about the noise it made scratching over the floor and kneeled down before her sister, both now completely hidden by the table cloth. The queen's hand had stilled on her sister's cheek and as soon as she was down on the same level as the redhead Elsa lifted her second hand and mirrored the placement of the first.
"Anna. It's okay, really. I'm not mad anymore. I'm glad you instantly thought of getting closer to me to not be detected. And I really have to thank you, hugging my leg may have been... unusual but you really helped me relax. So, no need to cry any more, okay?"
Anna lifted her gaze and looked at her sister incredulously. When she saw Elsa's gentle smile she knew she had been forgiven. She sniffled a last time before suddenly stretching forward and engulfing her sister in a deep hug. They stayed like this for a while until Anna more felt than heard her sister's voice whispering into her hair.
"How about we go to dinner now and afterwards we'll spend the evening in the library all by ourselves?" she suggested and almost instantly felt the redhead's smile on her collarbone.
"You'll sit in the wing chair?" Anna asked hopefully without loosening her hug.
Elsa's chuckle lightly reverberated in her sister's chest.
"Yes, I'll sit in the wing chair. But only with you next to me," she whispered once again into the smaller girl's hair.
Anna only nodded before finally loosening their embrace.
"I'll always be next to you," she answered with an earnest look on her face.
"Come on," Elsa finally quipped and crawled up from under the table, holding the table cloth up after she had stood up again on the other side. Anna came out as well and patted off the dirt that had accumulated on her dress over the last hours.
"Let's get to dinner," Elsa said and stretched a hand towards her slightly confused sister.
Anna was surprised that Elsa would let her go to dinner looking like that. She was sure her hair was as much a mess as her dress had been. However she decided not to look the gift horse in the mouth and grabbed her sister's hand to follow her towards the dining hall.
They sat next to each other and ate in a comfortable silence, the only noises coming from the servants who brought the food, the clatter of bowls and dishes and the crackling fire.
When they both were finished Elsa instantly grabbed Anna's hand again and they went towards the west wing library again. This time though they actually entered it. Right before dinner Elsa had ordered someone to make a fire which was now burning in the fireplace.
"What would you like to read today?" Elsa asked her sister.
"Could we continue the story from last time?" Anna asked shyly.
"Of course, Anna. Wait a minute," Elsa said and loosened her hold on her sister's hand.
Anna shortly looked disappointed at the loss of contact but stayed where her sister had told her to.
Not even 20 seconds later the blonde stood before her younger sister once again.
"Shall we?" she asked as she once more extended her hand for Anna to grab it.
They went towards the giant wing chair that sat right before the fireplace. Elsa sat down in it while Anna kneeled down on the floor before it. Her arms went around one of her sister's legs in an instant while her head lay on the blonde's cool lap, shuffling until she found a perfectly comfortable position.
"I really missed being able to put my head in your lap at the meeting," Anna admitted in a mumble. "But your chair was way higher than this one."
Elsa affectionately stroked her sister's red hair as she looked down at the girl lovingly.
"Me too," she quietly admitted and could feel Anna's smile on her thighs.
Elsa used her free hand to create a support rack on which she put the book. And while she resumed lightly patting and stroking Anna's hair she continued the story they had read for two weeks now. Anna listened to the soothing quality of her sister's voice and soon enough she drifted asleep once again. She knew she was safe here, at Elsa's side.