Anna, for once, was ready in plenty of time for the function they were hosting. Dress? Check. Shoes? Check. Hair? Definitely not a messy pair of braids today, thank you very much. Check! Oh, come to think of it...
She smiled, twirling in front of the mirror. She knew what her outfit needed. She'd just nip through to Elsa's room and see if she'd let her borrow one of her flower-shaped hairpins. That would sort the outfit! And if her sister was already ready (and she certainly thought she would be. Elsa was nothing if not prepared), then Anna could get her to help touch up her make up!
Kristoff was bound to be slack jawed when he saw her. Anna wiggled her arms in anticipation.
"Elsa!" She called out, tapping a familiar but now much more joyful rhythm on her sister's door. "Can I come in?"
"I... Yes, Anna, you can come in." Elsa's reply was prompt, if a little flustered. Intrigued, Anna opened the door to see her big sister fighting with the back of her dress. Ice blue eyes looked up to her in supplication. "Help me, please?"
"Sure!" Anna swiftly pattered over, taking the time to admire the cut and fabric of Elsa's newest selection. Anna had half expected her to wear the same dress she'd worn two or three functions ago, but this one was certainly a pleasant surprise... if a little awkward with all those buttons on the back. "I must say, I thought you'd be ready by now, sis. This makes a change."
A huff of a laugh, a roll of the eyes in the mirror, Elsa replied, sarcasm oozing from every word.
"That had been the plan." Elsa's smile was broad. Her hair was hanging in loose waves around her shoulders, clearly just finishing drying. "I got a bit delayed helping Merida out. You know how she tends to rip through dresses like butter..."
"Oh gods..." Anna shuddered, recollecting one of her first encounters of the Scot in a function dress. Her second-hand embarrassment for her fellow redhead had been as powerful as the flex that had ripped through the back of that ill-fated dress. Merida had, thankfully, not seemed to mind too much that a room of fifty or so people had turned at the sound, merely shrugging her shoulders with an oops. The rip had not been small. "You managed to sort her out then?"
"Oh yes, there shouldn't be any issue." The smirk on Elsa's face seemed to imply a great level of satisfaction with her solution. Anna smiled. There, the last buttons were sorted. "Thank you, Anna."
"No problem!" The ginger-haired girl sat on her sister's bed, swinging her legs up and down as she let Elsa turn and examine the back of her dress in the mirror. Anna certainly approved of the shimmery bodice leading down to a large ornate skirt covered in patterns of glittering beads. The blue was darker than Elsa normally went for; making her sister's skin look like alabaster, flawless.
After a couple more turns and adjustments, Elsa seemed satisfied.
"So, how can I help you, Anna?"
"Well..." She didn't really want to get in the way of her sister getting ready, but she had come to ask. "I was wondering if I could borrow one of your flower hairpins? You know the one I'm thinking of, right, th-...?"
"The teal one?" Elsa smiled, looking Anna up and down. "Good choice! Hang on let me find it."
It wasn't long before Elsa had the right drawer open, a quick rummage producing the pin. Anna sat quite happily at the dresser as Elsa helped her fit it in alongside her braided bun. Anna sighed happily, remembering vague recollections of the two playing dress up in a similar fashion when she'd been four or five. It was nice.
"Thanks again, Elsa!" She said happily, standing up to hug her sister with gratitude. "I'll leave you to finish getting ready then. See you downstairs?"
"Actually..." The hesitation in Elsa's voice had Anna pausing mid-step, turning to see what it was Elsa needed. The blonde was twirling a comb between her fingers. "I was wondering if you could help me with my hair?"
"Oh, sure!" Anna blinked as Elsa handed her the comb and took the seat at the vanity. It was rare to see the platinum blonde looking so awkward, at least around her. Anna had seen Elsa be this awkward quite frequently provided there was a certain other person in the room. "So... Not to be rude or anything, but I always figured you preferred to do this sort of thing on your own. You never even let mama help you with it."
Anna remembered quite vividly. There had been times when she had accompanied their mother to Elsa's door when she had been checking on her eldest's preparations. Anna had watched with great admiration as the young Elsa meticulously combed each strand of her hair, face never leaving the mirror. No matter how their mother offered to help, Elsa would just shake her head and shrink in on herself, continuing with the brushing as though they weren't there. "Nearly done," she'd just say.
By the sad look on Elsa's face, Anna could tell that she remembered too.
"I.. I wasn't comfortable with being touched back then..." Her sad eyes closed as she leaned back into Anna's combing, the teeth sliding smoothly across her scalp along the silken hair, gently separating any tangles along the way. "To be honest, I'd forgotten how nice it felt. Thanks Anna."
Anna chuckled.
"You sure you wouldn't rather it was Merida brushing your hair?" Considering how close the two had become, Anna wouldn't have been surprised had Elsa asked the Scot. For all that Merida's hair was a glorious mess of curls; it was so long that Anna was sure she had to be somewhat passable at brushing it.
Elsa scoffed.
"I've tried that. That woman doesn't know the definition of gentle or taking your time when it comes to hair-ouch." Anna, sheepish, whispered sorry as the comb hit a rather stubborn knot. Elsa continued in her stride, clearly keen to rant on about Merida's lack of hair brushing skills. "Just because her hair can only be neatly brushed while it's still wet, doesn't mean all of us require a sprint to get it done before the curls rise. I swear..."
Anna smiled as she listened to Elsa talk. It was nice, sharing this moment together, as sisters should. It didn't take long to brush Elsa's hair free of most of the moisture and tangles. The loose waves were now a luscious curtain framing her sister's face. Elsa nodded and reached for the ribbon on the countertop. "Thanks Anna, I'll take it from here. Want me to do your makeup afterwards?"
"You would? I mean yes! Please." Anna grinned from ear to ear. "I'm planning on getting Kristoff to blush tonight."
Elsa raised an eyebrow, her mouth holding onto one end of the ribbon as she wound the other around her rapidly woven braid.
"Is this something I even want to hear?"
"Oh hush, you know what I mean."
And Elsa did, as the two giggled and exchanged quips, talk swiftly turning to subjects both light and fun. It was the most relaxed Anna had ever seen Elsa before a function with this kind of importance. It was nice.
Anna left Elsa's room, the blonde quickly revising the notes for her speech to come that night. The redhead decided to skip down to the kitchens. Her heart light and mind full of thoughts of Kristoff, she felt like she needed a snack to calm her nerves. Not that she was nervous, just, you know, excited in anticipation of the blond man's reaction. Elsa had said she looked beautiful with a smile so full of pride and joy that Anna just knew she was going to rock his socks off, only you know, well... You know.
She was busy blushing and trying to clear her thoughts when she bumped into someone. It was a small jostle, only a nuisance enough that the other person had to act fast to catch the apple they'd been juggling. The hand snapped down on the free falling fruit with an audible pop.
"Anna! Watch whar ye're goin' lass." Manes of fire-red curls had been tied back slightly, freeing up Merida's shoulders as she raised them to question Anna's caution. "Ah nearly got apple juice all over yer lovely dress!"
"Sorry," Anna said, shyly stroking some hair back behind her ear. It was more out of habit than actual need. "I was distracted. Speaking of dresses..."
She looked Merida up and down, admiring the white gown with leather trim, an open frilly blue top with short sleeves. It was unusual to see her friend in such light colours, the white making her skin glow and the low golden buckle making her torso seem longer. Anna leaned forward and squinted.
"I can't see any stitching."
"Whit?" Merida stared at Anna, not understanding her comment. It was a dress, of course there was stitching. "Anna, are ye aright hen?"
"Elsa told me you'd torn a dress," Anna said simply, standing on tip toes to better examine the seams along the shoulders, holding onto Merida's arm as she turned her towards her. "Now which bit was it? The back? The arms? It wasn't the hems was it?"
Merida's face turned beetroot red in an instant. If Anna were any judge, she looked redder than Elsa had at that function when Merida's dress had first burst open while she'd been showing Elsa her archery stance. "Did Elsa get Gerda to mend it for you? I swear the woman never does such fine stitching when she mends my clothes."
"Oh, crivens, help ma boab..." Rubbing at her face, Merida muttered. She looked embarrassed; Anna had never thought she would see the day. Pushing her away with the back of her apple filled hand, Merida made an effort to speak clearly so that the youngest of Arendelle couldn't misunderstand her. "There is no mend, Anna. That's because this isn't the dress I tore."
"Oh!" A pause as Anna considered. Even the dress from that first function, with its tear straight down to the small of Merida's back, had been fixable. The scot still wore it on occasion, a convenient zipper having been fitted to avoid further mishaps. Anna raised a brow. "Are you sure?"
A sigh.
"Trust me, Anna. That dress I tore today is for the bin and nowhere else." Having recovered most of her composure, Merida bit down into her apple and strode off. "Ah'll see ye at th' function!"
Anna watched her friend leave and smiled. Wow, she had to be really strong to accidentally burst a dress beyond all hope of repair. It was nice of Elsa to help Merida choose another outfit at such short notice. The white frock did look really nice on her.
Anyway, food; thankfully the cooks all seemed to be having a small break outside the kitchen, enjoying the fresh summer air as Anna snuck in towards the sweets cupboard. It didn't take her long to find a nice sized piece of chocolate. She knew these kitchens fairly well by now. She looked around the room as she took a quick nibble, suddenly noticing something sticking out of one of the bins. Was that? It was; a sleeve. That must be the dress Merida had torn. Curiosity getting the best of her, she went over to open the lid and examine it.
"Oh gosh, she wasn't kidding when she said it was for the bin." Lifting it up with one hand, she could see that the bodice had been torn down the middle back and front. The sleeves were barely still attached, ripped in parts, and the skirt was half falling off. Anna couldn't fathom how...
"Oh. Ooh. This is awkward." The black sleeves and neckline, the turquoise body and skirt, the ornate flowery pattern on the front; Anna recognised this dress. It was the dress she'd thought Elsa had said she intended to wear tonight. How on earth? And what was that lacy thing next to it? It...
Everything clicked into place. Slamming the lid shut, Anna bolted out the kitchens, her cheeks burning up. She would be better off thinking about socks.
It was hard not to think about what she'd seen. Especially whenever she caught Elsa and Merida making eyes at each other across the function room, or she noticed either one of them grinning for no reason. She was happy for them, of course. She would have been blind had she not seen that coming... It's just, you know, she hadn't expected it to happen so soon... or to sear into her brain the mental image of Merida ravishing her sister. It was no wonder Elsa had still been getting ready when she'd been to see her. Anna was just glad she hadn't gone in any sooner. That would have been really awkward.
Oh, where was that Kristoff when she needed him?
A gasp made her turn around.
"Now that's nice..." If the quiet awe in his voice hadn't been enough to melt her heart, his gaze so tender he could cry and his dapper appearance certainly did.
"Kristoff!" She blushed. She had been half afraid that someone might convince him to cut his hair short. Instead his blond locks were neatly sleeked back, in a fashion not too dissimilar to her sister's, the gleam of his hair making his head look golden. Someone had, however, managed to get him out of his boots. Anna had never thought she would be one to squirm with delight over the sight of ankles, even had they not been covered by socks, but it turns out she was, and it was wonderful. Most wonderful of all though, was Kristoff's suit. None of that boring stiff monochrome that all the men seemed to wear for such functions, relying on brass buttons to brighten up the look; instead Kristoff was sporting a delightful blue tunic with elaborate red patterns across the shoulders, on and around his collar. The same pattern ran along the cuffs on his sleeves and the hem of the tunic, a complementary belt neatly cinching his waist. Then there were the leather trousers tucked into his patterned socks. Oh gorgeous... Anna was left just as breathless as he seemed to be.
"Hey," they finally both said, together. Giggling the two embraced before relaxing and starting to talk about their day, the function, anything and everything really. Anna loved how easy it was being around Kristoff, his dry wit and attentive nature. He would laugh at her jokes and gently make fun of her, giving her plenty of openings to poke fun back. He barely had to do anything to make her forget her prior distress. The torn dress incident was now neatly filed away in the 'well, now I know' portion of her thought processes, replaced with a fond if burning desire.
Maybe Anna could get away with literally rocking off Kristoff's socks after the function tonight, if only a little.