When We Were Young
A/N: Just a note: Radon is 10 years old here, and Jacob is 8. Enjoy!
In retrospect, Radon and Jacob were pretty good kids. Every now and then, however, they liked to get into a little mischief, which is exactly what happened one Saturday afternoon. The two thought it would be a good idea to ride the horses through the gardens. Radon and Jacob didn't have much experience riding alone, so things quickly got out of hand. The horses trampled through all the flowers in the garden, and knocked over several fragile lawn ornaments. By the time, Kristoff and Anna had stopped them, so much damage had occurred.
"What were you two thinking?" Anna said, leading the boys into the parlor. She made them sit down on the coach, while she and Kristoff scolded them for their actions.
"Did you see all the flowers you destroyed?"
"We're sorry. We just wanted to have some fun," Radon explained.
"That's not fun, Radon. That's recklessness. You two could have really hurt yourselves" Kristoff said.
"We knew what we were doing," Jacob said.
"Clearly," Anna said, holding up a broken petunia.
"Ok. So things got a little out of hand. At least we didn't destroy the birdbath," Radon said.
"Think again, buddy," Kristoff said, pointing outside the window. Radon and Jacob turned and saw two servants picking up the pieces of a once beloved birdbath.
"You did a lot of damage in a short amount of time," Anna said. "My mother planted those flowers, and now they're dead. Thanks to you."
"We're sorry," Radon, and Jacob said in unison.
"Sorry is not going to cut it," Anna said. "Starting tomorrow, you are going to be working out in the garden, every day, planting new flowers, and tending to any of its other needs."
"Oh, mom!" Jacob pleaded.
"You heard your mother, young man," Kristoff said. "Until that garden is back to the way it was before you and your brother wrecked it, you'll be taking care of it."
Elsa walked in on the conversation; surprised to hear Anna and Kristoff so stern.
"What's going on?" she asked.
"Radon and Jacob decided to go for a little stroll through the garden…ON HORSEBACK!" Anna said, bluntly.
"And in the process, they destroyed your mothers flowers, some lawn ornaments, and a very expensive birdbath," Kristoff added.
Radon and Jacob couldn't bear to look Elsa in the eye. They loved their aunt dearly, and hated to make her upset. She was surely going to be disappointed in them for this.
"Well, that's a lot a damage," Elsa said, looking at Radon and Jacob. "Do you two know why you did this?"
"We were just having fun," Radon said. "We didn't mean to cause so much damage."
"Do you know how to properly ride a horse?" Elsa asked softly.
"No, ma'am," Radon confessed. "Neither of us do."
"I see," Elsa said. "And have you two learned anything from all of this?"
"We shouldn't have taken the horses out without mom and dad's permission," Radon said.
"And we shouldn't have ridden them through the garden to begin with," Jacob added.
"And maybe next time you should make sure that you know how to do something before you do it. Otherwise, accidents like this could happen," Elsa suggested.
"Yes, ma'am," the boys said in unison.
"Well, as they say, accidents happen. I just hope that you've learned your lesson."
"We have."
"Good. Now how about we all go out into town, and buy some chocolate?"
"Yeah!" the boys cried, jumping up.
"Hold on a second," Anna said, stepping in front of Radon and Jacob.
"You two aren't going anywhere until you clean up the mess you made."
"But mom, that's going to take days," Radon protested.
"Besides, Auntie Elsa invited us, and she's the queen," Jacob said.
"And I'm your mother, and I say that you are not going to have any fun until that garden is properly restored."
"Dad?" Radon said, turning to his father.
"You heard your mother, Radon. That's the way it's going to be," Kristoff said, firmly.
"Oh come on, Anna, don't be so hard on the boys," Elsa said.
"But Elsa, they wrecked the entire garden! They need to understand the consequences for their actions."
"While I do agree that the boys should learn a lesson, I don't think that punishing them is the right way to do it. Besides, you and I used to get in all sorts of trouble when we were young."
Anna's expression softened. "Yeah, but nothing like this."
"Exactly like this," Elsa corrected. "Remember that one night, you woke me up and said you really wanted some chocolate, and I told you that it was too late, and to go back to bed. But you kept teasing me about the delicious chocolatey goodness so much, that I just couldn't resist. We went into the kitchen one night, and raided the pantry of all the chocolate we had. I don't know how much we ate that night, but it was definitely a lot. In the morning, we paid the price for it too. After stuffing our faces all night long, we had really bad stomachaches. Remember how you threw up all over, papa?"
"Yeah, he was wearing his new robe too," Anna said. "He sure was upset."
"And then we learned that all that chocolate we ate was supposed to be for a party our parents were having in a few days. They had it ordered all the way from Switzerland."
"That was the best chocolate I've ever eaten," Anna said, reminiscing on that night many years ago.
"Remember how mama and papa responded to it all?" Elsa asked.
"Not really. My memory is little hazy."
"They told us to ask them next time we wanted chocolate, instead of getting it without their permission."
"Oh, that's right!" Anna said, suddenly remembering. "And then we spent the rest of the day in bed with stomachaches, and mama took care of us."
"Yep. So you see, Anna, you and I were both like Radon and Jacob at one time," Elsa said.
"I guess we were," Anna admitted.
"We all make mistakes, but what's really important is that we learn from them."
"I suppose you're right," Anna said, turning to look at her two sons.
"You two have learned your lesson, right?" she asked.
"Yes ma'am" they replied in unison.
Anna smiled. She knew that they were telling the truth. Elsa was right, it was a mistake, and nothing more.
"Glad to hear it. Now how about we go out for some chocolate?"
Radon and Jacob cheered a loud. "I'll go get my coat," Radon said, running out of the parlor.
"And I'll go get my coin box. I still have some money left over from my birthday," Jacob said, joining his brother.
"And I'll go get the sleigh ready," Kristoff said, smiling.
After he left, Anna and Elsa sat down on the coach, and watched the fire together.
"We really were mischievous, weren't we?" Anna asked.
"Oh yes."
"But those were some of the best times."
Elsa looked at her sister, and smiled. "Yes. They sure were."
A/N: This is just a quick one-shot I had, and I thought I'd share it. If you would like to see another Anna and Elsa one-shot, let me know in the reviews.