A/N Thank you to those readers who are following, favorited and those who kindly left a review.
Not much to say about this chapter...except enjoy.
Chapter Two.
For what seemed like hours, Elsa tossed and turned. Every position she tried was uncomfortable, hindering the sleep she so desperately desired.
Finally, she threw the covers off of her, clambered out of bed and then headed towards the door. As the Queen moved quietly down the hallway, she could feel her throat burning and another violent coughing fit followed. Slumping against the wall, she waited for the coughing to subside before making her way to the top of the stairs.
As she made her descent down the spiral staircase a sudden wave of nausea overwhelmed her. Panicking, she bounded back up the stairs and sprinted to the bathroom, where she found herself hunched over the toilet bowl, throwing up the contents of her stomach.
Wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, she collasped back down on the floor clutching her delicate stomach, before she was startled by a gentle knock.
"Elsa?"
No, no, no...not Anna.
"Elsa, are you in there? cause you weren't in your room. And I heard you coughing again."
The Queen knew she couldn't ignore her sister, but she didn't have the heart to tell her exactly what she was experiencing. No point in worrying her unnecessarily. "Anna, is it possible I could have a little privacy here?"
Anna waited, tapping her foot impatiently, before the door slowly opened to reveal her sister's pale, ashen face. "What were you doing in there?"
The two royals exchanged a glance, before Elsa answered in an incredulous tone. "Um, what one normally does in a bathroom."
Anna shot her sister a suspicious glare. "Liar!"
Elsa raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"
"You were throwing up in there, weren't you? Don't deny it Elsa, I heard you."
"I was not!"
"It's okay Elsa, you can tell me. I mean, we are sisters. If there is something you need to share, then I'm listening."
"There's nothing to tell. Now go back to bed."
After returning to her room, Elsa had managed to crawl back into bed, but no sooner had she gotten comfortable she found herself shaking with cold. The young Queen ended up pulling multiple layers of blankets over her in an effort just to keep warm. This isn't right. I'm the snow Queen. I certainly shouldn't be feeling like this.
Eventually, the Queen closed her eyes, yet she continued to endure restless sleep, until she jolted awake, clutching her breath, and struggling to breathe.
Calm down Elsa...Calm down. But it was easier said then done. Her whole chest felt like it was on fire as she attempted to catch her breath. After several moments the tightness in her chest subsided and she could feel herself being able to breathe normally again.
Realizing that something was seriously wrong, Elsa ran to the one place where she knew she could find solace and seek guidance...her Father's study. Once safely inside, she slid to the floor rocking back and forth repeating to herself that she was fine, that she couldn't be sick. Yet if only I believed it to be true.
A few silent moments later, Elsa rose to her feet and stood before her Father's portrait. She maintained her regal composure before an icy tear slipped down from her eye and her lower lip began to quiver. "Something is wrong with me Father. I'm really sick. Actually, I think I maybe dying. I know, I've let you down, but I promise. Before I depart from this earth I will teach Anna everything she needs to know. I'll make sure she becomes the best Queen she can be."
Elsa wasted no time in looking for her sister, yet her search of the palace proved fruitless. "Where could she be?" she groaned out loud.
"Your Majesty?"
The young woman recognized the familiar voice instantly. It belonged to her head servant, Kai. "Have you found Anna?"
The short, stubby man took a deep breath. "Yes, Your Majesty. Her Highness was spotted out in the stables just a few moments ago with that boy, Kristoff."
"Thank you, Kai," she replied as she hurried along to the stables. Luckily, Kristoff hadn't finished fastening Sven's harness to his sled yet, so the two hadn't set off yet."
"Anna?!"
The Princess, who was already seated acknowledged her sister. "Elsa, what are you doing here?"
"You need to come with me now...right now."
Upon hearing Anna conversing with someone, Kristoff peeked out from behind the stable door holding a handful of carrots.. "Oh it's you. I mean, sorry it's you...Queen Elsa," he mumbled nervously. He dipped into a bow and then shrank back a little from her icy gaze. I'm never going to stop being terrified of her.
"Anna, come with me now!" Elsa demanded with a hint of harshness.
The younger sister turned to Kristoff for support, but the ice master just scratched his head.
"Don't mind me. I'll just wait here."
A red-faced Anna then jumped down from the sled and quickly yanked Elsa away, until they were out of earshot. She then began whispering in a low voice. "I'm kinda busy today, Elsa. I think Kristoff is going to ask me."
Elsa was confused. "Ask you what?"
"Ask me what? are you for real? to marry me of course."
Elsa's face looked startled. "Marriage?!"
"Oh no, don't start that again. This time you've got no excuse to not bless it...should he ask of course."
She stared painfully at her sister, gripping her forearm tightly. "Anna, you can't see Kristoff today. Instead, I need you to come with me...please."
Wriggling out of her sister's grasp, Anna was fuming." You were the one who said I could spend more time with Kristoff! now you've changed your mind. Well I don't care. I'm seeing him today, with or without your approval."
Elsa broke into another coughing fit. "A-Anna..please. Don't make this harder then it has to be."
"Elsa are you okay?" the young Princess asked concernedly.
Before the Queen could answer, Kristoff offered the Queen his handkerchief. "Here you go, Your Majesty, take this. Don't worry, it's clean."
"Yeah don't worry about him," Anna chortled, "he uses his fingers to pick his nose."
Elsa, less then impressed by Anna's detailed description of Kristoff's disgusting habit raised an eyebrow. "Well that's... " she didn't quite finish her sentence as she was forced to cover her mouth as she let out another cough, this time staining the white handkerchief crimson.
Alarmed, Anna gasped as she noticed the red on the handkerchief, but Elsa quickly hid it from view. Don't let her see.
"Elsa...was that...?"
Elsa found herself put on the spot. "No it was not! now Anna. I'm not going to ask you again. Say goodbye to Kristoff, and come with me."
Kristoff gestured for her to go with her sister. "It's okay Anna. We always knew your royal duties were going to be more important."
The Princess heavily sighed. "Not as important as you though." They gave each other a small kiss on the lips before Anna said, "I promise we'll see each other tomorrow."
Kristoff smiled. "You can count on it."
Reluctantly, Anna followed Elsa through the castle. "That was rather rude of you; you know. Now, are you going to tell me where we're going, or do I have to guess?"
Elsa's back stiffened, standing tall. "The library."
The Princess let out a deep breath. "The library?...seriously?"
Elsa's answer was curt. "Yes."
Anna studied her sister momentarily, she could see the apprehension and trepidation. "Why?"
Looking into Anna's eyes, she restrained herself from telling her the whole truth. "Because you have some reading to do."
Once at their destination, Elsa scanned the shelves, pulling off book after book after book, and then afterwards placing them in a pile in front of the Princess.
Anna carefully examined them. "Um Elsa? are you sure these are the right books?"
Elsa took a seat opposite her. "Why wouldn't they be? Now I want you to read them from start to finish."
Anna began reading the titles of the books out loud just to clarify they were correct. "Trade agreements, economics, diplomacy, politics, defense strategies. Elsa, are we going to war? because you know you can just blast them with your icy powers."
Elsa's steely gaze was unwavering. "This is serious."
"Can't we just play in the snow?"
With all of her mental strength, the Queen resisted throttling her sister. "No. We cannot! Now I would like you to familiarize yourself with everything written in those books."
"Everything?" Anna whispered.
Taking Anna's hands in hers, Elsa tried to give her some encouragement. "Come on you can do it. But you need to hurry. We may not have much time."
A/N Reviews appreciated.