Hide and Seek
Anna laid back on her bed, staring at the ceiling, totally bored. There was absolutely nothing to do. Kristoff was gone for a few days on another ice harvesting trip, Olaf had gone along with him, and Elsa was knee deep in paperwork. Elsa took her duties as queen very seriously, and even though she always made time for Anna, sometimes she would let her work get the best of her. She forgot that even though she was queen, she was still human. She needed a break once and awhile.
Tired of being bored, Anna decided to pay Elsa a visit. When she opened the doors to her study, Elsa was exactly how Anna pictured she'd be: busily working away on several documents. Anna smiled as she walked up to Elsa's desk.
"Hey, Elsa! How's it going?" she asked.
Elsa sighed. "Fine. I just have so much work to do."
"I can see that. Why don't you take a break, and come play a game with me?" Anna suggested.
Elsa put her quill down, and frowned. "Anna, I've got over a dozen of letters to reply to from various kingdoms, plus another meeting to go to in five minutes. I don't have time for fun and games."
"I think the letters will be there when you get back, Elsa. Plus, can't you postpone the meeting for another day?"
Elsa shook her head. "Anna, when you're in charge of an entire kingdom, you can't just decide when you want to do things. You have a responsibility to your people; and it's your duty to see it through. Look, I'm sorry, OK. If I have time tomorrow maybe I'll go for a walk with you. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a meeting to attend."
Elsa stood up, and walked passed Anna, and out the door. Anna sighed. It was worth a try, but Elsa was a workaholic, someone who wasn't easily swayed from their work.
Anna looked at the piles of paper on Elsa's desk. She could see that she had been working on a letter to the kingdom of Labraza. The quill that she had been using to write the letter was a few inches away from the paper, waiting for Elsa to return and continue the letter. As she stared at the quill along with the piles of paper on Elsa's desk, Anna suddenly got an idea. She smiled, thinking it was probably the best idea she had in a long time.
When her meeting was over, Elsa returned to her study. She honestly wasn't looking forward to going back, and writing another dozen letters, but she knew that it had to be done. Upon entering the room, Elsa noticed that the quill she had been using an hour ago was missing.
She looked under the desk to see if it had rolled off, but it hadn't. Elsa looked all over her desk, not seeing the quill anywhere in sight.
I swear I left it right here, she thought. As she looked over her desk again, Elsa noticed something that she knew wasn't there when she left. It was a note with the Arendelle seal embedded into it.
Elsa picked up the note, and saw that it had something written on it.
You need a break. Come and play hide and seek with me. You know, like we used to when we were kids. Count to thirty, and then come look for me. If you find me, and you can have your quill back.
Love,
Anna
Anna! How could she do this to her? Of all the days! Elsa didn't have time for this. So what if Anna had her quill? She had others in her drawer.
Elsa opened one of the drawers to retrieve another quill, only to find that there were none in there.
"What?" she cried out loud, quickly realizing what had happened to them.
Anna!
Fine. If Anna wanted her to play her little game, fine. She would play. But she should expect a stern talking to when she found her.
Elsa closed her eyes, and counted out loud to thirty. When she finished, she hollered out. "Ready or not, here I come! You better be ready to give me my quills back too!"
Elsa thought of the places where Anna was most likely to hide. She checked the kitchen, looking in the pantry, in the parlor behind the couches, and in her bedroom. So far, she hadn't found Anna. It was almost 3:00, Elsa knew that she really should be getting back to work. But she couldn't do that without her quills! Blast it all, Anna, you really are a piece of work, she thought.
Elsa entered the library, the next place she planned to look. Insofar, she didn't see anything out of the ordinary, but she had the feeling that Anna was there.
"Anna, if you're in here, come on out. The game is over," Elsa said, sternly.
Nothing happened. The room was as quiet as a mouse.
"Seriously, Anna, this isn't funny, I need to get back to work."
Still there was nothing.
Elsa sighed. If Anna wasn't going to come out willingly, then she would have to make her come out.
Elsa went further into the library, keeping her eyes peeled for any place that Anna might be hiding behind. When she reached a small alcove in the corner of the room. Beside the alcove, there was a window with a set of curtains. A close examination of the curtains showed that there was something amiss. Elsa looked closer, and at the bottom of the curtain saw a pair of shoes.
Elsa smiled. Now she had her.
"Oh, well, Anna, I guess I can't find you. You win! I'll just be leaving now."
As Elsa started to turn away, she conjured a large ball of snow in her hand, and threw it at the curtains. The impact blew the curtains aside, revealing that there was no one behind them, except for a pair of women's shoes.
Elsa raised an eyebrow. What's going on here?
As she picked up Anna's shoes, and looked at them up close, Elsa didn't notice someone creeping up from behind. In a instant, Elsa felt a pair of hands playfully slap her on the back.
"Boo!"
Elsa screamed, and leaped back into the alcove, causing the walls and the window beside her to grow frigid with ice. There standing in front of her was Anna, no shoes on, and laughing hysterically. In one of her hands was the packet of quills she had taken from her office.
"Got you!" Anna laughed.
Elsa's expression turned from fear to anger. She stood up, quickly melted the snow in the library, and marched up to Anna.
"Anna, what do you think you're doing? Stealing my quills, getting me to run around the castle looking for you! The immaturity! I told you how busy I am! Why would you do that?"
Anna's laughter faded, and an apologetic look formed on her face. "I'm sorry, Elsa. You were just so overwhelmed, I thought I'd get you to relax and have some fun for a while. You've been working so hard, you deserve a break. I shouldn't have taken your quills. That was really immature. I'm so sorry, here you are," Anna said, handing Elsa her quills back.
Elsa took the quills from Anna, but getting them back was not satisfying at all. She now understood Anna's intentions. They weren't bad at all, they were made with her in mind.
After handing back the quills, Anna knew that she had better leave.
"I'll let you get back to work," she said, solemnly. "I'm sorry I bothered you."
Elsa reached out, and grabbed Anna's hand, causing the princess to look at her quizzically.
"You can't leave now, Anna," Elsa said.
"Why?" Anna asked, confused.
"Because you're it, silly. Now close your eyes, and count to thirty, while I go find a place to hide," Elsa said.
Anna's eyes lit up. She didn't need an explanation for that one.
"You got it!" she said, turning around and closing her eyes. As she started to count, Elsa ran off to find a place to hide. Anna was right. She was well overdo for a break, and what better way to spend it than with her Anna herself.
A/N: It's been a while since I did an Anna and Elsa one-shot. I hope you enjoyed this one! Let me know what you think!
