"Thank you, I will look into it and send a messenger when I've come to a decision." Elsa nodded to Gerda. "And if you will, send up a tea tray in about an hour's time."
An afternoon of meetings and politics had finally ended and the queen was about to spend a few more hours in the study going over some papers in silence. It wasn't free time, but it was still a change in pace from dealing with people face to face.
Every so often she would hear her sister go by, either sprinting down the hall like a deer outrunning a wolf or attempting to sneak past unnoticed like a mouse avoiding a cat; there was no in between. With every attempt by Anna, Elsa laughed a little and with every laugh, a little less paperwork got finished. The queen sighed to herself and got up to close the door in an attempt to muffle the outside noise when she heard her name.
"Elsa? Elsa! Can you hear me?"
The voice sounded like Anna's, but it seemed odd that she would call for her sister when every other time she would merely come and talk to her in person.
"Anna?" Elsa called out wandering down the hall, "Are you alright?"
"I'm okay! Just stuck!" The voice came from the end of the hall, shortly before the spiral staircase that lead to the bottom floor. When Elsa came to the top of the stairs she saw her sister there, head between the bannisters and desperately trying to pull herself free.
"W-what did you do, Anna?" Elsa asked, stifling a giggle.
"Oh good, you're here. So I had brought Geoffrey in-"
"Geoffrey?" The queen said, quirking an eyebrow.
"Yeah! You know him, the gosling I brought for you months ago! Anyway, so I was taking him on a tour of the castle since he's big enough and he got loose so I was chasing him through the halls and that's when I chased him past your study. I was this close to grabbing him so I made a jump but he made a jump too right through the railings! Well, I had already made my move so I got stuck like that! And believe me I've tried everything to get out but nothing works!" Anna grinned sheepishly.
"I told you that you were going to get yourself hurt one of these days if you kept goofing around with the wildlife." Elsa sighed, looking for possible solutions to get her sister out of her predicament.
"I'm not hurt," Anna grumbled, "just stuck. Besides, when's the last time anyone had to rescue me?"
"What about that time you got stuck in the apple tree? Or when you fell into the fjords? Oh, or perhaps that time you spent all day in the market with those questionable traders and caught something so evil that you were bed-ridden for three days?" Elsa grinned, knowing full well there was a list a foot long of things that her sister had gotten into.
"Okay but those weren't wildlife-based accidents they were just….me." Anna scowled. "Are you gonna help me or do I have to eat dinner like this?"
Elsa laughed. "Dinner? Well I suppose if that's your top priority, I could see about finding a way to set you free. But you have to cooperate and listen carefully, understand?"
Anna nodded from between the bars. "I'll listen. But you're not gonna get me out that easy."
"We'll see about that. What you need to do is carefully pull your left ear out, followed by your right. When you're done that, tilt your head forwards and slowly back up. It should work. Just, please remember to go slowly." Elsa pleaded, weaving her fingers together. She knew how hasty her sister could be, and rushing this operation wouldn't benefit anyone.
"Alright," Anna nodded again, "let's give this a shot!" And with surprisingly controlled movements, the princess did exactly as she was instructed, managing to free herself with little difficulty.
"It worked! That's amazing!" Anna laughed and spun around, forcing Elsa to take a step back to avoid the skirt hems. "You're amazing!"
Elsa laughed. "Well I am good at solving problems, that's for certain."
"You are! I'm gonna go find Geoffrey and then we can both thank you in person!" Anna grabbed her sister in the biggest bear hug she could muster before sliding down the banister to seek out her feathered friend.
Elsa laughed softly to herself and headed back to the study. "I look forward to it."