Guys – it's one in the morning, and I'm really tired, and I don't know where this came from. So blaaarg.
I own nothing.
Blarg.
"'Oh, you have come at last! I was waiting for you in my dream. I've waited so long!'"
King Amund paused to rub his throat. It was always the high-pitched princess voices that tested the mettle of his storytelling abilities, and damned if the stories his daughters loved the most weren't filled with them. Sometimes he wished that he had a boy or that at least one of the two would have somewhat boyish tastes – the voice he used for debates with the dukes and earls would make for a perfect Blunderbore impersonation. Remembering his audience, he continued.
"Just then, the spell was broken. The Princess rose to her feet, holding out her hand to the Prince. And the whole castle woke up too. Everybody rose to their feet and they all stared round in amazement, wondering what had happened. When they finally realized, they rushed to the Princess, more beautiful and happier than ever.
"A few hours later, the castle that only a short time before had lain in silence, now rang with the sound of singing, music and happy laughter at the great party given in honor of sweet Aurora and Prince Phillip, who were getting married. They lived-"
"Why?"
He paused again and looked up from the storybook. "Pardon?"
"Why'd she marry him?" Elsa asked, her bright blue eyes squinting with both confusion and general exhaustion. "I know he woke her up, but they've only known each other for a day or two."
He blinked, never really having given thought to the idea himself. "That happens a lot, y'know," she continued point-of-factly in his silence, "Sleeping Beauty, and Cinderella, and Snow White…n' a couple others, I can't remember their names. The prince could be a total bumface" (Amund let this slip of the tongue go by unreprimanded) "but they get married anyways. It'stupid," she finished, her words now definitely beginning to slur together.
It was times like this that Amund was both so proud and yet so baffled at his daughter's cleverness; only at the age of eight, and she could already argue most of her tutors into silence. "Your sister doesn't seem to think so," he said with a nod to Anna, who was practically unconscious on the other bed with several of her limbs somehow both underneath and above her blankets. "She says that the two had love at first sight."
"Thaaahaaat'silly," Elsa yawned. "He doesn't ev'n know her."
Amund leaned forward and kissed her forehead, ignoring the chill that tingled his lips as it often did. "You'll understand when you're older," he said. It was not the night for a discussion about that.
"Nope. 'm not ever falling in love at firsight," she said sleepily. "Can't…make…m…" The rest of her words trailed off in a small, tired sigh.
The King smiled, stroking his daughter's near-white hair. "Wise beyond your years," he said quietly. He kissed her on the forehead again, tucked the storybook under his arm, and puffed out the bedside light.
He was almost out through the door when he stopped and turned back to look at his elder daughter, something she said still ringing in his mind. Quietly, he walked back over to the chair at the bedside and sat down again, leaning forward expectantly.
"Can you do something for me, Elsa?"
The sleeping figure did not respond, but he nodded as if she did anyways. "Thank you. The thing is…your mother and I aren't going to be around forever, you know. One of the drawbacks to being royalty. And then you – and your sister," he added, regarding the twisted bundle wrapped up in the bed opposite, "are going to meet somebody someday. But if that happens, and we aren't there to help you, it'll be up to you to make the right choice. If it turns out that she's fallen in love with…Prince Bumface, I'll need you to protect her. Can you do that?"
He wasn't expecting a response; just the action of actually saying the words was cathartic enough. Though he swore he could see the corners of his daughter's mouth crinkle upwards in a dreamy smile – and that was answer enough.
Blarg.