One of Elsa's maids set down a tray of the light lunch Elsa usually took, on her vanity beside the gloves. As the maid quietly closed the door behind her, Elsa took a bite of the cheese, refused to look at her gloves anymore that day. She stared at herself in the mirror; after spending most of her life in this room, it brought her comfort to do something so familiar. Especially after something so unnerving happened this morning.
Elsa tore off a piece of the freshly baked bun, and popped it into her mouth. Although she was good at hiding it, she shared a lot of Anna's carefree mannerisms. Elsa leaned back into her chair, and stared at the goblet of water in front of her. Usually Elsa ate lunch alone (unless an insistent guest was there) and since the deep freeze, she had been practicing controlling her powers. She reached her hand over to the goblet, and frost appeared around it. The water inside was frozen. It stayed there, as Elsa continued with her lunch. She closed her eyes, reached for the goblet, and thought of Anna and their childhood before the incident. Involuntarily, she smiled, and the goblet began to feel warm to her touch. Elsa took a sip of the water, and set the goblet back down. She had to keep doing this, keep practicing, in case her powers became uncontrollable again, and Anna was put at risk.
There was firm, short knock at her door that knocked her out of her reverie. Elsa made her way over and opened the door, taken aback when Erik stood there towering over her.
"Hello, Your Majesty. I was wondering if you had time for that tour now." Erik held up two large mugs. "I asked the kitchen staff for some hot chocolate, and they told me it was your favourite." He moved one mug closer to her.
Elsa instinctively shrank away from the mug, and looked at him confusedly. "Yes, just let me get my cloak."
She shut the door gently, and grabbed her cloak off her partition. What was going on with that prince? He seemed nice, but not as friendly as the other princes had been, nor was he making any uncomfortable advances towards her, as some of the other princes had. She threw her cloak around her shoulders, and clasped it around her neck. It was his size that unnerved her as well; someone that large should not be that odd.
She slipped out of her door, and noticed Erik was looking out of the window across from her bedroom. A smile was hovering over his lips; Elsa moved forward to see what he was smiling at. A few of the town's children were playing just outside of the gates, banging their wooden swords together. Elsa looked back at Erik, only to find him staring at her once more. Her cheeks burned, and she accepted the mug of hot chocolate. He followed her as she led them outside of the castle and into the town, silently.
Elsa began to ramble on about the different facts about the city, showing him different historic sites, the school, the market. She stole glances at him, whenever she was certain he wouldn't notice. It was his presence, she decided. His presence made her nervous, it made her stomach twist and at the same time, her insecurities silent. He caught her looking at him, as he took the empty mug back from her and held it for the rest of the tour. His hands were easily twice the size of her hands; she instinctively shrunk back from his touch. Just because she didn't wear her gloves anymore, didn't mean she wasn't going to be careless.
"Elsa! Elsa!"
Anna burst through the crowd at the market, a happy smile on her beautiful face. Elsa smiled back, and waved her over, causing Anna to slide to a halt before bowling her over.
"Kristoff and I are going to go for a sleigh ride up the North Mountain again, do you wanna come?" She spoke excitedly.
Elsa nodded her head towards Erik, who stood silently and politely beside her. "I can't Anna, we have company."
Anna finally realized a man was standing beside her sister, and straightened her back apologetically. "Whoa..." Anna's eyes widened as she looked him up and down. "Oh, um, Hi! Sorry! I'm Anna, Elsa's sister." She reached her hand out for Erik to take.
Erik bowed deeply again, and politely kissed Anna's hand. "Your Highness."
"This is Prince Erik of the Northern Isles," Elsa interjected.
The name of his kingdom seemed to fly over Anna's head, and Elsa appreciated her sister's non-judgemental attitude. "Nice to meet you Prince Erik!" Anna grinned. She turned back to Elsa. "Okay, well I'll be back in a few hours!"
"Your Majesty, feel free to go with your sister; I'm sure I can find my way back to the castle from here." Erik looked over his shoulder, towards the way they had come from.
Elsa shook her head. "No, no. I can finish our tour. It's Anna's boyfriend's birthday today, let them have some fun by themselves."
Anna gave her sister one last hug, waved at Erik, and took off like the rocket she was back towards Kristoff. Elsa smiled after her, before she turned back to Erik. "Shall we?"
Before Elsa could lead Erik back to the castle, they passed a group of the townspeople sitting in a half circle, each with an instrument in their hands. A laugh sounded out from the group, and soon a few of them began playing a melody. Elsa and Erik paused to watch the rest of the group slowly join in and create a wonderful song, followed by children twirling and laughing in the beautiful sunshine. Elsa couldn't stop the smile that played on her lips.
"Your Majesty, come dance with us!" One of the musicians grinned at her, and a chorus of agreement rang through the group.
Elsa, out of habit held her hand up in protest, smiling but shaking her head politely. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Erik turn to face her. She turned her full attention on him just in time to see him dip low into another bow, offering her his hand. "Would you like to dance?"
Speechless, Elsa froze. She didn't want to say yes, but something about the situation made her not want to say no. She looked around at everyone watching her, and she swallowed nervously. "Sure," she replied, letting her small hand be engulfed by his.
Erik led her closer to the inside of the half circle the musicians had formed, and gently pulled her closer to him. Other couples followed suit, making Elsa feel more at ease and less in the spotlight. Erik's hand rested gently on her waist, and she could feel warmth radiating from where he was touching her. Her gaze followed up his strong arm, up to his face, where he was looking down at her. His face was rough, not clean shaven, but she found herself liking it all the same. She smiled sheepishly at him, and he gave her a small smile back. She had no idea what he was thinking, but the twists in her stomach were growing tighter and tighter.
The song ended, and as the rest of the couples cheered and clapped, Erik kneeled before her, kissing the back of her hand he had been holding while they were dancing. He thanked her, and once again, Elsa felt naked before him. Taking in a sharp breath, she turned away, and clapped at the musicians with the rest of the crowd. She could hear Erik clap beside her, and she could feel his gaze on her cheek.
Something had changed in Erik after the dance. He followed Elsa more closely, as she led them back to the castle, and through the gates. When they walked through the doors, he held it open for her, and Elsa swore she could feel his hand brush her back as she walked past him. When the door shut behind them, she turned on her heel to face him. Erik showed no expression on his face, just the same stare that seemed to look into her soul.
"What are you doing?" She asked, cocking her head.
"Following you, Your Majesty," he answered. "Would you like to join me in having something small to eat?"
"Elsa," she replied, ignoring his question. He didn't move. "Call me Elsa. I have a name, and if you 're going to keep looking at me like that, then you might as well call me by my name."
"I'm sorry? Do you not like how I look at you?"
"I never said that!" Her reply shocked her; now that she thought about it, maybe she did enjoy how he looked at her? She sighed. "No, I just meant, you know..." she trailed off, and she could tell he had no idea what she was talking about. "Never mind." Elsa turned back around and began walking towards the kitchens.
"I apologize if I've made you unhappy or uncomfortable... Elsa." The way he spoke her name made her stop. She turned around to face him as he continued. "You just... fascinate me." It was the most he had said to her all day, and it made her heart thump. What was going on?
Elsa straightened her back, and relaxed her face. "I beg your pardon?"
Erik took a step closer. "This. Your... mask. I can see glimpses of you behind it, and it makes me want to know more."
Elsa's face dropped, and her eyes widened. At her reaction, she watched as Erik scrambled to apologize. "I apologize if I have over stepped, Your Majesty."
There was a silence between them, as she stared, shocked at him, while he sheepishly looked back at her. Elsa couldn't move, all she could feel was her heart pounding in her throat. Erik was so close to her, closer than anyone other than Anna had been to her since the death of their parents. Elsa shook her head, trying to gain her composure back. She couldn't feel this strongly, she could hurt someone again. Looking up at Erik, who was still gazing down at her with something, some sort of softness in his green eyes, she took a step back. "You should stay away, something bad could happen," she couldn't stop the words as they left her lips.
Erik cocked his head to the side, and frowned a little. He stepped forward with her, replying softly, "Why would it be bad?"
Elsa felt her heart in her throat again, as he took her hand in his. She stared at their hands, his large thumb rubbing the back of her hand comfortingly. She gazed back up at him, and she could feel a stillness in herself as she tilted her chin up towards him. Her pounding heart steadied, and her breath became the only thing she could hear. He leaned forward, and paused. For the second time in her life, Elsa let everything go, and closed her eyes.
As soon as her eyes closed, Erik kissed her, and her whole body was instantly on fire. She couldn't move, she didn't want to; she didn't want the moment to end. His fingers laced through hers, and his other hand brushed her cheek; she leaned her head into his hand.
The door the castle opened with a loud, long squeak, and Elsa sprung back away from Erik, just as Anna's voice carried through the room. "Yes, this is all MY fault."
Elsa blushed, as Erik met her eyes, and she struggled to compose herself once more. Anna and Kristoff both walked through the open door, and Kristoff closed it with a thud behind him. "Yes, I told you to be careful, and jumping from the sleigh when it's moving is not being careful," Kristoff replied, his tone laced with sass.
Anna rolled her eyes at him, and saw Elsa standing with Erik. "Hey Elsa!" As Anna made her way towards Elsa, she favoured her left foot more than the right.
Elsa frowned. "Anna, are you alright? What happened?"
"Kristoff was driving recklessly-"
"Not even close!" Kristoff interrupted Anna, and received a glare for doing so from her. He turned towards Elsa, "Anna decided to be spontaneous and jump out of the sleigh while it was moving. She hurt her ankle."
"Okay, I definitely thought it would be like last time, landing on a pillow!"
"It's a trail, it's packed snow, it's not fluffy, never-been-touched snow, why would it be like a pillow?"
"Okay, okay," Elsa interjected before the two could carry on. "Just, give me that." Elsa took a cloth hanging from Kristoff's pants, and twirled her hands. Beautiful ice appeared in the cloth, before Elsa wrapped the rest of the cloth around it, and gave it to Anna. "Keep that on your ankle, go to the kitchens and stay there until I come get you."
"Here," Anna said, as she passed the ice to Kristoff and started limping away. "You can put it on my ankle since this is all your fault anyway." Kristoff took the ice, rolled his eyes and followed her towards the kitchens dutifully.
Elsa watched them walk away, still a smile on her face. Behind her, Erik cleared his throat, and she turned around, startled. He sheepishly pointed down at his feet, and her face was horror stricken when she realized what had happened: Erik's feet were covered in a thick sheet of ice, stopping him from moving.