So for those of you who aren't my usual readers, youll notice an OC in here whom ive shipped with Elsa. if your not into that, plese move along and don't leave a nasty review as guest just so i cant come after you.
Everyone else.
Drake is a Dragon Knight, a warrior with the power to change into a dragon with a necklace he wears. He's already met Elsa at her corination, and once before when they were kids.
caught up? nice.
read review and enjoy.
on with the show
"It's my fault we don't have any family traditions… my fault… my fault…" Queen Elsa sat down on her bed placing her face into her hands. "If I had only gotten control of my powers, we may have spent some time together as a family … maybe then we would have something to do for the holiday."
She felt the cold tears build behind her eyes just when someone began knocking at her door. She lifted her head to examine the door.
Who could that be? It's not soft enough to be Olaf or Anna? Christoff?
She lifted herself and traveled to her mirror to make sure she looked "queenly", held her chin up and went to her door. She softly cleared her throat and opened the door, completely surprised by who was on the other side.
Drake Daniels, Dragon Knight, greeted her with the largest smile she had ever seen on him. "Merry Christmas, Queen Elsa."
Small bursts of Excitement bubbled inside of her, causing her to forget her etiquette and she wrapped her arms around his neck. He returned her hug by wrapping his arms around her slim waist. The only person, aside of Anna, she allowed to touch her.
She pulled back. "It's great to see you!" She beamed. "I'm surprised though, what are you doing here?"
He shrugged a shoulder. "Well I was curious as to how you spent the holiday. Christmas right? We celebrate the winter solstice where I am."
"Really?" She was about to inquire more until she noticed what he was wearing. Normally he wore heavy, battle worn and scratched leather, but now he was dressed in a dark green grey dress tunic with a silver trim. Of course her eyes drifted to the necklace he always wore. A blue glowing orb with a dragon wraping around it. Looking at his face she noticed that his hair was actually combed, making her crinkle her nose.
His smile dropped. "What?"
She snickered, waving a finger at his hair. "Not a huge fan of the 'neat' look."
He rolled his eyes. "It was my father. Wanting me to make sure I looked nice for the holiday." He started running his fingers through his dark brown hair. "So what is it you guys do for, um, Christmas?"
The lump had reformed in her throat, making her aware that she was the reason they didn't have anything to celebrate for the season. She moved back into her room, her head hanging just a bit lower.
"Nothing." She muttered under her breath.
He finished messing with his hair before following her into her room, but made sure to keep a safe distance. "Nothing? But there was a huge table set up downstairs."
She sat herself onto a chair that was set up by a window overlooking her kingdom. "We invited the entire kingdom to celebrate with us, kind of like a way to celebrate opening the gates, but my people had their own traditions to get back to." She placed her chin in the palm of her hand and let out a long sigh.
"Well you shouldn't take any of that personally." He said sitting opposite her.
"Oh no, no, I don't." She corrected. "It just made me realize we have nothing to celebrate. Unless you count eating mud and grass stew in celebrations of Flemmingrad?" Confusion weighed on his brows. "Don't ask." She sighed again her eyes flickering from one house to the next as she imagined all the families inside, warmly celebrating the holiday. "If it wasn't for me, we'd have something to celebrate."
"Hey." She tore her eyes away from Arendelle to look at him. The tone of his voice shocked her. Deep and commanding. "Don't talk like that. Just cuz your a queen doesn't mean everything is your fault. Remember?"
She breathed a laugh. "I do, but freezing Arendelle in the summer actually was my fault."
He shrugged. "True," she shot him a glare, "you said it not me." He held out his hands as they shared a laugh. "But in all seriousness, you can't blame yourself for what happened, and you can't blame yourself for this. Remember what my uncle told you?"
She chuckled again. "Oh yes. 'It happened. It sucked. No one died, it's time to move on'." Looking back out the window she put her face in her hands. "I should probably go apologize to Anna now."
Drake let out an exasperated groan. "Oh boy, what you do now?"
She stood tossing a pillow at him. "If you must know, I may have stormed off…" The gravity of her actions sunk deep into the pit of her stomach, "I shut the door on her."
Drake was silent, understanding the impact such an act would have on her sister, and just how guilty that would make her.
"Hey," he got to his feet and stood beside her, "knowing Anna, I'm sure it's not that bad." He took her by the hand, something that surprised her, but considering it was him, she let it slide. "Now let's go apologize." He led her out of her room, but released her hand as soon as they were in the hallway.
Much to her dismay.
The cold never bothered her, but she recognized when the warmth was around her. Especially his.
As they came to Anna's chamber door, Drake stepped aside so Elsa could knock. Taking a quick breath she knocked before entering.
"Anna, I owe you an apology for earlier." Looking around she saw that Anna's room was completely empty. "Anna?"
Stepping in behind her, Drake asked. "You sure she's here?" Before she could respond a thumping noise sounded above them. They glanced upwards at the ceiling, Drake snorting with laughter. "Your castle isn't haunted right?"
An unusual jolt hit her in the spine. "Of course not, that's ridiculous, why would you say that?" As she went for a lantern, Drake couldn't help but laugh at how spooked she had gotten at the mention of a haunting.
"Could be a ghost?" He yelled after her with a slight laugh to his voice. "Maybe a wraith?" She returned with a lit lantern and went to the ladder leading them to the attic above Anna's room, all while struggling to ignore him "Could be a striga?" He followed her up the ladder. "Or maybe a specter?"
She stopped before glaring down at him. "My castle isn't haunted, now knock it off before I kick you off this ladder."
They went up a few more steps. "Or maybe—"
Her face lit up when she remembered a letter he had written her a few months before her coronation. She looked down at him with a dark smirk. "Or maybe a doll?"
He froze as the color drained from his face. "Don't even joke about that." She giggled and made her way up the ladder into the attic with Drake right behind her. Looking around the shadows offered by the lantern they noticed a few trunks lining the walls. "Well no ghosts…. yet." She spun to face him, ready to throw his fear of dolls in his face, until they heard thudding coming from one of the trunks.
She jumped back beside him, staring at the trunk that was now moving. "What was that?"
"Well, Like you said," He sputtered, "your castle isn't haunted...right?"
A figure, covered in a sheet, emerged from the trunk causing them both to leap back, Drake drew a dagger and placed himself in front of Elsa.
The figure in the trunk moved again, this time moving the sheet that uncovered her sister Anna, completely oblivious to the fear she had accidentally caused.
"Hi Elsa!" She chirped. Both Elsa and Drake heaved a sigh of relief. "And Drake!?" She climbed from the trunk, tripping over the edge and falling onto her behind.
Elsa helped her to her feet, laughing out of joy that her castle wasn't haunted. "Anna, what are you doing up here?"
"Looking for traditions," she stated matter of factly.
Drake stepped up beside them and quickly noticed that she was dressed rather oddly. Mostly in articles that appeared hand made from stuffing and cloth. "And what are you wearing?"
She gestured to the three pointed hat on her head. "My old Viking helmet, and this," she threw a tattered cape over her face and spoke in a deep voice, "was my sorcerers cloak." Finally she showed off a pair of green mittens. "Look Drake I have dragon feet too! Num, num, num." She made biting motions with her hands that made Elsa laugh happily. Even Drake found it rather amusing.
Anna removed the Knick knacks and placed them back into her trunk. "What about you Elsa? What's in your trunk?"
She shrugged. "Oh mostly gloves."
Anna snickered. "Right, rows and rows of satin gloves."
Drake, curious as to what was in her trunk, joined Anna. "As well as rows and rows of matching socks."
Both laughing, Anna opened the trunk to reveal rows and rows of satin gloves.
Anna's face dropped. "Oh."
"Yup." Elsa looked down into the trunk. "Welcome to my world."
"Well," Drake examined a pair of gloves, "could be—YA!" He leapt back. Anna and Elsa looked from him, back into the trunk.
"Oh who's this little guy?" Anna reached into the trunk removing a crudely made penguin doll.
Elsa gasped with delight taking the doll in her hands. "Oh sir Yorgin Byorgin!" Her thumbs caressed the small doll lovingly. "He was such a good listener." As she fiddled with the doll she remembered that seeing it had freaked out her friend.
A mischievous smile tickled her lips. "Drake come say 'hi' to Sir Yorgin Byorgin."
He put up his hands and backed away, grinning sheepishly. "How about a friendly wave from across the room."
Anna skipped to her sister, grabbed the doll and shoved it into Drake's face. "Your not afraid of Sir Yorgin Byorgin are you?"
He shrunk away from her. "I'm sure he's very nice."
He backed into a wall and was at her mercy now. "Awe you don't like dollies?"
"Well the last doll I met tried to kill me."
As much as Elsa seemed to be enjoying herself, she pulled her sister away. "Okay, stop picking on him." She took her doll back into her hands, but shot him a look that said "she had a doll and she knew how to use it".
She moved back to her trunk, continuing to look down at the doll in her hands and fiddling with its stitching. Slowly she remembered why it was they were up in their attic for.
"Oh Anna, how are we gonna find Christmas Traditions in here?"
Anna joined her sister by the trunks. "I'm sure there's something in here we can find."
"What about this?" Drake lifted a box from Elsa's trunk.
Her eyes lit up with recognition, set the doll down, and took it into her hands. With both Drake and Anna peering over her shoulder, Elsa opened the box showing off a ton of small drawing and a few dolls shaped like the living snowman, Olaf.
"Do these dolls scare you Drake?" Anna teases.
He wrinkled his nose at her just as Elsa gasped excitedly. "I think I know what our family tradition is."
—:0:—
Elsa sighed with blissful content staring into the dancing flames of the fireplace. What a day it had been for her and her family. Yes, her family. Olaf, her tiny snowman creation, was not just a link between her and her sister, but in some way, a link with her and her people. Thanks to him a new tradition had been born in Arendelle, for her whole family.
Glancing at the opposite couch beside the fireplace, Anna and Kristoff had fallen asleep in each other's arms, and Olaf asleep beside them, far away from the flames. She went for a blanket and covered the young couple before creating a small flurry over the sleeping snowman. Sure he was away from the fire, but why take the chance.
She sat back onto her couch, the tension in her shoulders melting away when a soft clicking of the doors drew her attention. The Dragon Knight, once again, greeted her with a smile as he joined her on the couch.
"Where were you?" She asked.
He shrugged. "Checking the perimeter of the castle."
She arched a brow. "'checking the perimeter'? Are you expecting an attack?"
He chuckled nervously. "No, no. Just a habit I guess." He glanced over at the other couch, twisting his face in confusion when he caught sight of the sleeping snowman. "How is Olaf asleep? He shouldn't need sleep."
Elsa giggled as she shrugged her bare shoulders. "He's so adorable, I don't have the heart to ask to many questions."
They shared a laugh before falling silent. Silence that slowly started to shift into discomfort. Glancing over at him, he appeared to have something on his mind that made him fidget in his seat.
He cleared his throat. "So, um, it's my understanding that, it's a Christmas tradition to give gifts." She eyed him strangely as he began digging around in one of his pockets. Finally he removed a small box and presented it to her.
Her blue eyes went wide with shock and alarm. "Oh my. Drake you shouldn't have."
He pushed the box closer to her. "I know, and yet I have."
She was uncomfortable accepting a gift from him, especially when she had nothing to give him in return, but she took the box from him. She took in a deep, but small breath, so as to not show how nervous she was, and opened the box.
The light from the fire gleamed off the silver necklace that gave it the color of moonlight and the clearest winter night. Along the silver band were small pendants in the shape of stars and one large charm in the center in the shape of a snowflake. "Wow." She breathed. "I-I can't accept this."
"Yes you can." He urged. "Dragons are known for hoarding treasure and my father has his own 'cave' that will be mine one day and I just removed a piece, made a few modifications and bam, you have a gift."
Her eyes went from his hazel pools back to the necklace. She knew she shouldn't, but she couldn't help feeling deeply touched, so much that she was unable to stop her smile.
Emotion choking her, she breathed. "Drake, thank you."
He scooted a bit closer to her so that he could examine the necklace with her. "It's pure silver, with a small hint of iron and salt mixed in. Not enough that it ruins it, but enough that, along with the stars, will provide protection for, ya know, ghosts." He ran her fingers along her back, causing her to "eep" and jump with surprise.
She smacked his hand away playfully then removed the necklace so she could examine it between her fingers. She turned her back to him, moved her braided hair aside and handed him the necklace, indicating that she wanted his help putting it on. He got closer to her, took the ends of the necklace, ignoring the slight burning sensation the iron caused him, and guided it around her neck.
With her shoulders exposed due to her dress, she shuddered when she felt his warm fingers graze her skin. Being half Dragon he always ran hot and with him so close she could feel his heat seeping into her body. He settled the necklace onto her neck and fastened it, but for some reason lingered just a few seconds longer. Not that she minded. Her fingers traced the silver chain, all the way to the stars and then the snow flake.
She turned to face him unaware of just how close they were. "How does it look?"
He appeared at a loss for words, but finally managed to say, "You look stunning."
Color tinged her cheeks. "Thank you." She looked down at her hands that were now fiddling with each other, before she looked back into his eyes. The light from the fireplace reflected in them that made them appear to be glowing, making him even more handsome with a small hint of animalistic savagery.
It was here she remembered just how kind he was to her, how he was never afraid of her, always believed in her. He was her friend, and next to Anna, probably her best friend.
Her eyes drifted, from his eyes down to his lips as they drew closer to her own.
But just as it seemed their lips would meet, she turned her head so his lips grazed her cheek.
They pulled away from each other, confusion swimming in his features. She looked away, unable to face him. "I'm—I'm sorry. I—" she got to her feet and headed for the door, "I can't—". Leaving him alone and confused, she ran to her chambers, hand clasped tightly around her necklace and the tears fell, creating a small flurry of snow behind her..