First Story time! Please let me know what you think of this (very short) first chapter :) This is my first experience ever writing any fiction, so please try not to be TOO harsh. On with the story!
Update: Hello Lovelies! Welcome to the revision of this first chapter. Steadily working on all the other chapters, and really hoping you guys enjoy the rewritten stuff. Thank you for bearing with me. Onwards!
Gentle snowflakes swirled down from the ceiling of where Elsa laid, draped across her duvet. All around her, laced across the sheets and in between the threads of fabric was frost, like a beautiful, somewhat unreliable glue. The sounds of rushing feet behind her door made it difficult to focus, difficult to let herself drift off into the nothingness she had grown so accustomed to existing in. The open window let in warm spring air as the sound of Kristoff, Olaf and Anna's laughter wafted in from the gardens below.
Eight months ago, Anna had been engaged to a man she hardly knew. Now here she was, deeply in love with a man she wasn't engaged to and running around in a garden with a magical talking snowman.
Yes, a lot can happen in eight months.
Tonight was the first official royal ball after Elsa's train wreck of a coronation. It had taken a lot of convincing on Anna's part, a lot of pleading and crocodile tears and almost an excess amount of chocolate. Even then, when Anna finally got her confirmation, an exasperated 'Maybe', she had screamed with elation and smothered Elsa with kisses to the cheeks and forehead, before she ran out of the room screaming for paper and quills and the works. If you couldn't tell, Anna was more than excited, and with Kristoff's and Olaf's help, the ball had been in preparation for almost three months.
Elsa rose from her sheets wearily, and ceased the falling crystals. In all truthfulness, the ball shouldn't have been wearing on her as much as it had been the last few months. It was to be a night of merriment, of laughter and drinking and dancing, dancing, dancing. It didn't feel like that though – more like the world's most exhausting, imposing chore, a massive burden sitting on Elsa's ivory shoulders and whispering disheartening nothings into her ears.
She shuffled to her closet, yanking open the white doors with her well-maintained fingers, and focused on the single garment hanging in the back – the dress to end all dresses, as her sister had put it when she had flown into the room with flushed cheeks and wild eyes earlier that week.
'You'll be the Belle of the ball in this, Elsa!' She had smiled, tossing the garment bag onto the bed and unlacing it. 'I wanted to keep it a surprise until later, but here you are, and here I am, and here it is!' She wrestled the dress from its wrappings and flung it up with a flourish. Elsa had simply looked over it in that cool way of hers, forcing a smile onto her cheeks through her exhausted haze.
'It's wonderful.' She had said.
Now, looking at it, she wasn't so sure. Of course, the dress was nice, with it's royal blue sheath, and but writing it off as the best dress in the world was a bit of an exaggeration. The deep navy of the dress was sure to compliment her eyes if anything, while the silver patterns sown into the silk were sure to go nicely with her creamy skin. It would suit her just fine, for one night.
She rustled in her drawers for a moment, yanking out a corset and underthings, and shimmied both on. Elsa had grown up without handmaidens, with her parents' overprotectiveness due to her abilities, and was used to fastening her corset from the front. She chose a silvery corset cover, and just one petticoat. She was feeling a bit modest tonight anyways – no guests of particular interest were attending.
Well, at least any of particular interest to her. Yes, there were multiple bachelors attending the ball this evening, to Anna's delight and multitude of passive-aggressive invitations sent out to wealthy men for miles around. Elsa was in no rush – she wanted a husband, sure, but that would come with time, she had always assumed. If tonight, she met a man, so be it.
Finally, she yanked on her gown, and turned to observe herself in the mirror. She had guessed correctly about the gown's colorings flattering her looks, at the least. Makeup would still be necessary, nevertheless.
She sat down at her boudoir, facing her reflection. Her pale fingers absentmindedly skimmed over her ivory comb, lifting it to her long hair. Nerves, mostly, were what caused her hair to become tangled with frost and ice. She didn't like interacting with people that weren't the servants or family, including Kristoff and Olaf. Her last ball had most definitely not gone well, and the sinking in her gut was trying to convince her that this one would be no different. She was worried, terrified, even, and fought the urge to fold her arms and grip her elbows, a habit she had adopted ever since injuring Anna so many years ago. She forced those thoughts away, froze them solid and shoved them into the deepest parts of her crackling brain.
As she brushed her hair, Elsa observed the door opening behind her and watched as Anna bounced in, cheeks even rosier from the permanent chill that haunted Elsa's chambers. Elsa's eyes bounced back to her own pale face as she focused. She was pretty, she knew as much – large blue eyes, button nose, and rosy cheeks, if she pinched them enough. Compared to her younger sister, however, she was nothing – Anna's lovely freckles, beautiful smile and infectious charm always won over foreign visitors. Elsa preferred to sit up in the library, and had to be dragged out on more than one occasion, due to an important dignitary visiting.
"Excited, I see." Elsa said as she laid her comb down and ran her fingers through her locks, to ensure the absence of anything cold or wet.
"Well, of course!" Anna smiled giddily, smoothing her pale violet gown and twirling in white slippers. Her hair was pinned in a circlet on her head and swathed in white and purple flowers. "I mean, it's been in the works for months. But look at you, hardly dressed! Elsa, what did I tell you about the darker eyeshadow? Not suitable for a welcoming of spring ball, I'm telling you-" She rambled on and on. Elsa merely shut the pallet and reached for a new set of colorings, pale pink and the lightest of purples.
"You're worried about me, but have you even looked at what Kristoff decided to wear this evening?"
Anna turned to see Kristoff, who had, for once, been quiet and come into the room. Adorned in a floral suit, he looked as if he had rolled in an oil painting of a garden. "Kristoff," Anna tsked with a smirk, "How on earth are you going to impress any girls dressed like a flower patch?" She walked over to him, pulling him down and nuzzling his nose with a giggle. He chuckled throatily, pulling her closer and murmuring, "I think I just impressed one." They giggled together, and Kristoff quickly pecked her on the lips before staring into her eyes momentarily.
Elsa simply smiled and turned back to her boudoir. She plucked up a pink pat of lip coloring, using one finger to smear it on, while her second hand reached for the small case of blush. In no time, her makeup was applied, pale eye shadow and all.
"Okay, lovey-dovey aside, lets get down to business." Anna said, shoving her boyfriend so hard that he stumbled back onto the bed. She strode towards her sister, eyes sparkling. "I have no doubts that you've already seen the guest list."
Elsa didn't let her features change, and merely nodded. Anna grinned.
"So you've seen the men, then?"
"Anna -" Elsa warned.
"Good! I wrote a second list, just in case you're interested, about the men we invited. Just gossip, really, gathered from around the kingdoms, but some of it might help out with your dancing tonight. Names, appearances, likes, dislikes, embarrassing ticks and habits... All for you, sister dear." A freckled hand dropped the relatively thick scroll in front of the queen. A pale eyebrow arched into her hairline, Elsa turned.
"Anna, you and I both know that taking a king isn't really a priority of mine. I don't think I've even flirted with a man since I was little and had that fling with Prince Dylan when we were young."
"Exactly! So I made sure to invite him tonight, although, uh, he's a bit different now-"
"You invited a man whom I had a 'courtship' with when I was six years old, yet still consider him viable for a relationship with me?"
"Yes." She said, exasperated. "Well, no, not exactly, because he's already an ally, but also because-"
"Anna, stop that. I'm glad that you went through all of that for me, but as I said, taking a husband is not my main priority this evening. Tonight, I'm having fun, maybe dancing, and forging alliances with some of our further kingdoms. Tonight is politics-"
"And romance." Anna added with a sly grin. Catching Elsa's cold stare, she scoffed. "Oh, come on Elsa! I want little nieces and nephews, and you need someone-"
"I did just fine on my own for 13 years, thanks."
A cold silence descended on the room, and Elsa focused on pinning up her hair, noticing her sister's embarrassed and downtrodden frown.
"Elsa, I'm sorry." Anna said softly. "I'll… I'll back off on the romance stuff."
"No, Anna, no, I'm the one who needs to be sorry. It's been difficult getting used to being in the throng of social things. I just want tonight to be easy, a simple reintroduction to society as a new and improved person, and not a monster." Elsa said, standing and wrapping her sister in her arms. It took Anna a moment, but she returned the hug.
"I understand." Anna said, her voice muffled in Elsa's half-done updo.
"Look, if it really means that much to you, I'll keep an eye open for Dylan. Talk to some men."
Instantly, Anna flew out of her sister's arms, eyes shining. "Really!? Oh you're the best, Elsa!" She kissed her sister's temple, grabbed Kristoff by the arm, and proceeded to fly out of the room.
Elsa sighed, shaking her head in annoyance, and sat back down, continuing the process of doing her hair. She had no intentions of breaking her promise to her sister, but that didn't mean she had to completely abide by it, either.
Boom, first chapter, all pretty and updated. Originally, in this chapter, Elsa was kind of boy-crazy, which, following the events of the movie, was so not her. Thank you sosososoososoos much for reading, and until next chapter, lovelies!
