Chapter 2: Family Ties
Elsa chuckled, "You sleep like the dead, Anna."
Anna's face suddenly grew cold and serious. "That's because you killed me, Elsa. You froze my heart. All I wanted was to be your sister-your friend, to help you, and you lashed out in frustration and froze my heart! I never got the chance to know anything about love, true or not. You are a monster, Elsa, and you murdered me!" Anna lunged at Elsa, wrapping her freezing hands around Elsa's neck, choking the life out of her as just the ice that Elsa placed in her heart did the same to her.
Elsa jumped, sitting bolt upright in the bed. Her heart was pounding, and a layer of frost covered the bed. Anna snored loudly as she shivered in her sleep from the cold. Elsa darted her gaze to her sister who was still warm and breathing next to her. She gently laid her hand on Anna's back and felt her steady breathing. She was fine. Elsa relaxed. The room warmed, and the frost disappeared.
Realizing she had just had a nightmare, Elsa took several deep breaths to calm herself and attempted to go back to sleep but couldn't shake the feeling that chilled her to the bone. The cold, the actual coldness of the temperature, never bothered her, but the bone-deep chill of fear was paralyzing. Somehow she fell asleep again, listening to the calming rhythm of Anna's breathing, but was awake earlier than her sister.
Anna, who never had trouble getting a good night's sleep, slept hard and soundly from exhaustion. She was never aware when Elsa, already a naturally light sleeper, who slept fitfully the rest of the night after her nightmare, managed to pry herself from underneath her sister's sprawled arms and legs, leaving to start her day, no matter how late the hour. Anna managed to sleep through the departure of the first of the foreign dignitaries as well as what turned out to be a pleasant surprise for Elsa.
The Queen had spent the better part of the late morning and afternoon in her study, making her apologies to what seemed one country after another for the incident that occurred at her coronation. Just when she thought that she had managed to make amends to just about every country on the globe, Kai, the long-serving butler who was basically an institution in the castle, knocked on the door, clearing his throat in a manner letting her know he wasn't alone, and announced, "Crown Princess Rapunzel and Prince Eugene of Corona, Your Majesty." She barely glanced up to acknowledge him but did notice that his face carried an odd smile.
"Rapunzel? Corona?" A wave of embarrassment swept over Elsa. Her mother had been the younger sister of King Albert of Corona. She had been Princess Royal of Corona before marrying her father and being crowned Queen Consort of Arendelle. She and Rapunzel had met once before, before either had turned a year of age but hadn't seen each other since. Rapunzel had been born with her own magical powers. Her hair had held the power to heal and return lost youth until it was cut. An evil woman had kidnapped Rapunzel just after her first birthday and held her captive in a remote tower the first eighteen years of her life, posing as her mother. King Albert and Queen Lillian never gave up hope on someday finding Rapunzel, and every year on her birthday, they released lanterns in the hopes she would someday be returned to them. It was those lanterns that led her on a miraculous adventure to finding who she truly was and also true love. Elsa's parents had actually been returning from the celebration of Rapunzel's return when they were lost at sea.
Rapunzel, Crown Princess of Corona, and her husband stepped into Elsa's study looking like anything but the heir apparent to the throne of a fairly powerful kingdom. Her hair was cut extremely short. In fact she was rather short, and very slight Elsa found her to be even more slight than she and Anna. However when Elsa looked into her green eyes, she saw something familiar; something she hadn't really seen in three years, except when looking at Anna or in the mirror. She reminded her of her mother, the late Queen Isabel. Of course there should have been some family resemblance. Princess Rapunzel was her cousin, after all!
There, standing rather nervously it seemed in her own study was her cousin. Like a wave of warm air, Elsa started to slowly remember what it was like to have and be a part of a close, loving family. The family had once been close too, before the gates had been closed. Elsa just stared at them in shock as these memories began to resurface after years of repression. Princess Rapunzel, still quite nervous, seemed to almost mumble, "Queen Elsa, Your Majesty?"
Elsa stood from her desk, smiled, and warmly welcomed her cousins to her country, her home, and possibly into her life. "Crown Princess Rapunzel? Or, should I just say, Cousin? Welcome to Arendelle! I apologize that my welcome has been so delayed."
The princess then did something that seemed to Elsa as very Anna-like, and rather than continue with the formalities, she squealed, jumping a bit, before rushing to Elsa and enveloping her in a warm hug, knocking the breath of out her. For a moment, Elsa just stood there shocked that someone was actually hugging her. Coming to the conclusion that it wasn't such a bad thing after all, and actually quite nice, Elsa tentatively hugged her in return. There was just something about Rapunzel made Elsa just love this cousin she hadn't seen in almost a lifetime right from the start.
The prince decided to step forward and attempt to contain his wife somewhat. "Goldie, let your cousin breathe." He bowed to Elsa, "Your Majesty, Eugene Fitzherbert, consort to your wonderfully adorable and incredibly enthusiastic cousin."
Elsa held out her hand for Eugene to kiss, "And former thief, if I remember correctly. I may have seen your face on a few wanted posters in the past, though your nose is much nicer in person." She was smiling, and though for a brief moment Rapunzel and Eugene were worried that Elsa disapproved of him, they soon realized that Elsa was teasing him about his past.
"No one can ever seem to get my nose right!" Eugene complained, causing Elsa to laugh behind her hand. Feeling a little brave, he added. "The Snow Queen, the reformed thief, and the princess who used to have magic hair. We're quite the motley crew, aren't we?"
Elsa and Rapunzel both laughed at Eugene's observation. Elsa added, "We aren't exactly your run-of-the-mill family of royals, are we? Oh, and don't forget the recluse, hidden away on an island."
Rapunzel glanced up at Elsa and seriously asked, "Who could?"
"Please have a seat." Elsa motioned for the couple to join her in a sitting area next to a bay window, then rang for the butler. "Kai, could you bring some refreshments?"
As Rapunzel took a seat, she admitted, "Even though it's been three years since I discovered who I really am, I often still don't exactly feel like a royal of any type. Sometimes when I close my eyes, I worry that I'm still the girl up in that tower. If I open my eyes, I won't be married to Eugene, reunited with my parents, and am still lugging around all that hair!"
Elsa laughed a little nervously. It was still far too surreal that she was no longer hiding herself in her room, the library, or the secret passageways. Her cousin sensed that her thoughts were wandering to a dark place, grasped her hand, and asked, "Are you okay?"
Elsa gasped. She felt ice begin to run down her arms. She unconsciously attempted to pull her hand away, but Rapunzel just held tighter. "You have been through so much, and I want you to know that you're not alone. You and Anna are our family. My parents urged us to spend as much time here as we want as a sort of honeymoon and to get to know you. I think… well I know that we all feel guilty that your parents were sailing back home from the celebration of my return when they were lost at sea."
"It's not your fault," Elsa quietly assured her. Eugene put a loving arm around his wife and hugged her to him.
"I know," she responded. "Still yet, even though Papa has been overjoyed of having me back and recently gaining a son-in-law, he still grieves deeply for his baby sister. I think that they were very close when they were younger."
Elsa easily recalled the many stories her mother would tell her of her adventures with her brother, growing up in Corona. They had been very close and remained close through the years and distance after her parents were married. "From what I understand, they were very close. They were very much on their own from a very early age, I think, and came to rely on each other a great deal. My mother loved to tell stories about her dashing older brother, Albert. She adored him."
Rapunzel smiled thoughtfully but remained quiet. Elsa, wanting to make her relatives comfortable, changed the subject to something lighter. "So, how have you found Arendelle, and how have you spent your time?"
Eugene and Rapunzel looked at each other and laughed. Eugene spoke first," Well, we found it wonderful and a nice change from the hot, humid summer of Corona. Then it got a little bit cold for a couple of days. Then there's that little bit about our being stuck inside the cabin of our ship for the duration of the freeze. Once everything thawed we've found it quite charming, a veritable paradise."
"Wait, you were locked in your cabin… on your ship?" Elsa asked.
"Y-yes," Rapunzel gave her a sheepish grin. "You see, while we were waiting our chance to meet you, I remembered that I had left gifts for you and Anna from my parents on our ship. I guess I was a little scatter-brained, and I made Eugene take me back to the ship between the coronation and the ball. We were pulling them out of our luggage when the ship suddenly froze over, and we were stuck. We called for help, but no one came."
"I am so sorry," Elsa apologized. "I don't think that I'll ever know the extent of the damage I caused while running from my well, my life. To think that I believed running away meant freedom."
"Don't worry about Blondie and me, Your Majesty, we managed to entertain each other quite well during that time," Eugene raised his eyebrows in a roguish way, assuring Elsa in a manner that made both Elsa and Rapunzel blush that all had not been too terrible for the newlyweds during the freeze.
Just then Anna decided to make an appearance in the most unroyal way imaginable. "Elsa do you have anything for a headache? I feel as if I have trolls dancing in my head. Oh, you have company! Please excuse my… me. Well, here we go with the awkward again."
Elsa, Eugene, and Rapunzel all stood up. "Anna, allow me introduce you to our cousin, Crown Princess Rapunzel of Corona, and her husband Eugene Fitzherbert," Elsa gestured to her cousins.
Anna's jaw dropped. "Cousin?"
"You remember Mama's brother Albert is the King of Corona. We've met him and Aunt Lillian. Rapunzel was taken as a baby, but returned a little over three years ago. Mama and Papa went to the celebration of her return?"
Anna gave Elsa a dry look, "Of course I know all about the Lost Princess, Elsa. I haven't exactly been living in a cave!" Then she turned to Rapunzel and shrieked much like her cousin had before. Just a matter of days before she was lamenting her lonely life, and now she had her sister back, for real, and a cousin, her cousin's husband, and family. She had family. She also had a headache like none other and grabbed her pulsating forehead in pain.
Elsa rang for a servant to bring her sister some willow bark tea, and the four spent the rest of the evening chatting and getting to know each other. Elsa invited the couple to stay with them at the castle for the remainder of their time in Arendelle. After all, family should stay in the castle. That's what normal families did when there was nothing to hide, wasn't it?
After dinner, Anna and Rapunzel were laughing over something or another in the private garden outside of the main library while Eugene took a little walk among the shrubbery. Elsa… Elsa was contentedly reading over correspondence. The evening was not unlike the evenings she and Anna would spend with their parents before the accident. She had missed having a real, close family and the joy of being in the company of those she loved. She never once felt that she didn't have control of her powers then. Why had they never realized that love was the key to controlling them? Why, when looking back it was so glaringly obvious that isolating only increased her fears of herself and made everything so much worse?
She looked over to where her sister and cousin were clearly becoming as thick as thieves, so to speak, and she felt a small pang of jealousy. It just seemed so easy for the both of them to be open with everyone. All those years of isolation made behaviors turn into habits that became nature. She didn't want to be so cold and aloof, at least not to those closest to her, she just didn't instinctively know how to be anything else anymore.
She was absorbed in her thoughts and didn't notice Eugene walk behind her. "They're something, aren't they?"
"Y-yes!" Elsa agreed, putting down her paperwork. "They're very much alike, I think. Very open, lively, loving, and true. If you saw them together, you would think they were the sisters."
Eugene half nodded, half shook his head. "Well, at first glance, they seem a lot alike. However, I think Rapunzel has more in common with you."
"With me?" Elsa asked, placing her hand on her chest.
"Yes, Your Majesty, you!" he laughed. "Right now she's all excited at finally meeting you both. She is often like Anna whenever she's doing something new or just happy. However, there are times when she gets really quiet, and you can tell that she's somewhere deep within herself. She spent most of her time in that tower alone while Gothel did, well whatever is was that she did whenever her youth was restored. No matter how much Rapunzel loves her parents, or me and spending time with us... she sometimes needs to just be alone, with only the sound of her own thoughts to keep her company. That's the Rapunzel that almost no one knows or sees. In many ways she's still that girl, staring out at the floating lanterns, wondering about life." He was still talking to Elsa, but his gaze was warmly rested upon his wife.
Elsa noticed Eugene's attentions and smiled. "You love her very much, don't you?"
"I never knew that such a love could exist until I saw her in the lantern light." He shook his head, trying to focus back on Elsa. "You'll find out some day."
Elsa shook her head. "I seriously doubt it, but thank you."
Eugene was about to ask Elsa to elaborate what she just told him, but he suddenly lost the ability to speak. He was too shocked at what he saw ambling toward him.
"Hi! I'm Olaf, and I like warm hugs!" the snowman extended his stick arm.
"There's a snowman, and he's talking to me!" He looked to Elsa, who was trying to stifle her laugh. "Why is there a snowman, in the middle of summer, speaking to me? Did you know that there's a talking snowman?"
Elsa just chuckled. "Eugene, this is Olaf. I, well I sort of made him when I let it go." She turned to Olaf. "Olaf, this is Eugene. He is married to my cousin, Princess Rapunzel of Corona. She's the lady with Anna!"
"Cousins! I love cousins! I also love flowers. Did you know that there are all sorts of flowers all over Arendelle? I've spent the day smelling all of them I could. I think I'll continue smelling them tomorrow!"
Eugene just sat down and muttered to himself, "I'm married to the princess with the magic hair. Her cousin has magical ice powers, and I just shook hands with a living snowman. To think I used to believe being rich and living in palaces would be uncomplicated!"
"I think we all have our own trials and struggles. Some of us experience them in farmhouses and such, and some of us experience them in castles," Elsa said thoughtfully.
"Touché!" Eugene agreed.
Later that night, after Eugene and Rapunzel had settled into their suite of rooms and retired for the night, Elsa was preparing herself for bed when she heard a very familiar knock.
"Come on in, Anna! The door is open!" She felt a huge weight lift off of her shoulders when she said that. She had wanted to say it for thirteen years, but always believed it was better for Anna if she didn't.
Anna peeked through the door, almost unable to believe that she was allowed inside Elsa's room. She looked around, and it seemed very clean. It was almost pristine with everything in a specific place, and nothing just out and about or tossed along the way. It almost looked like no one lived in the room, but it was where Elsa had spent most of the past thirteen years. If she had spent the majority of thirteen years in one suite of rooms, they certainly wouldn't have looked like Elsa's. Excavation crews would be needed to find anything. Maybe she wasn't entirely wrong about Elsa maybe having a thing about dirt.
"Can I do anything for you?" Elsa asked from her changing room as she slipped into a nightgown.
"No, no," Anna answered, running her fingers across Elsa's vanity. "I just didn't get to see you alone any today and wanted to check on you. You know, see how you're doing and all."
Elsa walked back into the room, brushing out her hair. She noticed Anna looking over everything like she had never seen her room before and realized that she never had! "What do you think of my room? I just realized that you've never been in here until now."
"It's nice… very clean." She cautiously sat on the bed, hoping to not upset it much.
Elsa covered her mouth with her hand and giggled a bit. "Well, it's easier to find things when there's frost, snow, and ice covering everything if it's all where it's supposed to be. You can relax in here, Anna. I'm not going to go all 'eternal winter' on you if something is moved or mussed. In fact, I think this room needs a little messing up," she laughed then very quietly admitted, "It's nice having you in here."
"Really?" Anna's blue eyes grew wide. "You know, I thought that maybe you have a thing about dirt. That's why I thought you always wore gloves until the other day."
Elsa sat next to her sister. "Well, I admit I like to be clean, but I don't believe I'm obsessive or anything. Actually, come to think of it, I remember liking the smell of freshly tilled dirt. Remember when we used to help Mama plant crocus bulbs?"
Anna scrunched her forehead trying to remember. "Kind of." Changing the subject she asked, "Isn't it nice to get to know Rapunzel… and Eugene? It's almost like having a piece of Mama here with us."
"It is very nice. I think Rapunzel looks a little like Mama. I know she and Eugene have said that she is almost the spitting image of Aunt Lillian, but something about her reminds me of Uncle Albert and Mama."
"A little, I suppose, but she doesn't nearly look as much like Mama as you do. Other than your platinum hair, you are her spitting image. Having you back makes me feel like I have part of her back too. You also act a lot like her." Anna admitted.
Elsa thought for a moment. Her heart needed to hear what Anna just told her. "I will take that as a compliment, Sister-dear, because I have long considered Mama the most beautiful woman I've ever known - inside and out. Though her younger daughter has been working very hard to replace her there."
Elsa surprisingly said something that caused Anna to just sit quietly, smiling a gentle smile. It lasted all of thirty seconds before her train of thought landed on replacing things. "Oh, Elsa! I've got to find Kristoff tomorrow and replace his sleigh! I imagine he probably thinks that I've just totally forgotten about him!"
Elsa studied her sister closely as she spoke about Kristoff. She noticed the softness in her eyes as she spoke of the ice harvester. She wanted to meet and get to know this young man who risked his life to try and save her sister. He was possibly the most common of commoners, but his heart seemed anything but common. She surely had to reward him for his service to the royal family beyond replacing his sleigh that was destroyed.
"Anna, I already spoke with Kai today, and we are in the process of acquiring the latest model sleigh for Mr. Bjorgman. You can give it to him tomorrow if you see him. You can also tell him that I am naming him the Official Ice Master and Deliverer of Arendelle for his service to us. Then, I would very much like to be officially introduced to this young man. I imagine he's going to be a big part of our lives in the future."
"Really? Official Ice Master and Deliverer. Is that even a thing?" Anna asked skeptically.
Elsa yawned. It had been a an extremely long day, and she hadn't spent most of it sleeping like her sister had. "It is now. I'm the queen and proclaim it to be.." She crawled beneath her covers and patted the bed. "Now, I love you more than anything, but can't keep my eyes open anymore. If you want, you can stay in here with me tonight. I wouldn't mind the company. However, I have to get some sleep."
Anna squealed and clambered next to her sister. She wasn't sure if she would ever get over the thrill of actually having Elsa as an active part of her life again and knowing that she was no longer alone. Elsa, on the other hand, didn't have the heart to tell her sister to leave her room. She loved her too much and realized that she owed everything to her little sister with the heart big and true enough to save all of Arendelle. She saved them. Her sister had a lot to learn about life still, but she could teach her about love.
"Anna?" Elsa whispered. "I'm sorry."
That was a loaded two words and could be meant for so many things. "For what?" Anna asked.
"Oh Anna, I'm so sorry for everything, but I'm also sorry that I asked you that I doubted you knew anything about true love. All you know is love, and you see the best in every person. I have a lot to learn from you."
"Wow. I need to teach Queen Elsa something? Interesting." She rolled over to face her sister, who was resting on her side. "So you think Kristoff is going to be a permanent fixture around here?"
Elsa barely had her eyes open but managed to tell her, "I think that as long as you want him around, he'll be around. I'm also sorry…" She stopped, because this part was the hardest. "I'm sorry for telling you to leave when you told me at the coronation that you couldn't live in isolation any more. I'm sorry that my fear drove you to such desperation. I'm just… sorry." She hadn't intended to start crying, but the tears just sort of came on their own.
Anna closed her eyes and grew quiet a moment, recalling that fateful fight in the ballroom. "You were just as desperate as me, but it was to keep me safe and to keep your secret. I'm sure you were just protecting me then, telling me to leave. I'm sorry that I drove you to such measures."
"You were only letting out thirteen years of hurt and frustration, Anna. I don't… I don't blame you. Do you know that before all of that happened, I was actually enjoying the ball?" Elsa admitted.
"Really?" Anna asked. "You really meant it when you told me that you wished it could be like that all the time, didn't you?"
"Yes, no… sort of," Elsa admitted. "The ball was nice, but what I really meant was that I wished you can I could be close again. That was the nicest part of the entire coronation you know, being almost normal with you again. Then I remembered what I did to you when we were kids, and…"
"You pushed me away again that night to protect me, didn't you? It was always to protect me?" Anna asked. Elsa nodded then Anna continued, "I know you talk about how I stepped between you and Hans, sacrificing myself, but Elsa you have sacrificed your entire life for me for years." She stopped and remembered all the times she knocked on Elsa's door, asking her to build a snowman. "You were always just on the other side of the door, weren't you, all the time when I was asking you to build a snowman with me?"
Elsa sighed, and a few stray snowflakes floated in the air. Being open wasn't an easy task. "Pretty much," she admitted. "I tried to ignore you sometimes, but I couldn't. I wanted to hear your voice and know what you were doing. I missed you. I missed us."
"I'm sorry, Elsa," Anna told her unexpectedly.
This confused Elsa greatly. She never saw Anna as having anything to ever be apologetic for. "Whatever do you have to be sorry for, Anna?"
"I never once, in all these years, stopped to consider that you might be hurting too. I'm sorry that it never occurred to me that you didn't want the separation any more than I did, and that my constant pleas for your attention probably caused you even more pain."
Elsa shrugged, "You didn't know. You couldn't know, but you should have. I detest secrecy and disguise!" She pounded her fists against the bed, causing the covers to freeze a little.
"Then," Anna suggested, "let's promise not to keep any secrets from each other ever again." Without waiting on Elsa to respond, she held her hand over her heart and pledged to never keep any secrets from her sister.
Elsa hesitated. She wanted to make that promise with her sister, but she had spent so much of her life keeping basically everything from her. It just seemed impossible to agree, but she did it. Secrets had caused nothing but pain for the both of them. "Okay. I agree. I promise to never keep secrets from you again." Then she yawned. She was just so tired, and bearing her very soul to her sister was exhausting.
"Anna, I'm so tired and tomorrow is a full day for both of us. We should get some sleep. " She squeezed her sister's hand. "I love you. I'm glad you're still here, and that you're my sister."
Anna was a little sad that Elsa didn't want to talk anymore that night, but figured they had made some definite headway. Also, she seemed to recall that Elsa as a child could be a bit testy when too tired. "Goodnight, Elsa. I love you too." She felt Elsa's hand go limp as she quickly fell asleep then closed her eyes to to find sleep too.
