Chapter 2 - Fixing Her Up With You
The next morning, Queen Elsa arose in her bed, stretching her arms outward. She sat upwards, her platinum blonde hair long and flopping all over her face. While everyone knew that Anna was the one with messy bed head, Elsa was so much worse.
She smiled a bit at the thought of her sister. Last night had gone exactly the way she had hoped it would; she knew beyond any doubt now that Anna was in love with her too. And that knowledge put a broad smile on her face, and a happy twinkle in her cool blue eyes. She hopped out of bed and walked over to her vanity, straightening out her hair.
"I can't wait to see Anna today," she said cheerily to her reflection in the mirror.
Her hair all fixed up now, she went back to her bed and straightened up the sheets, picking up her stuffed penguin. "I'm so excited, Sir Jorgenbjorgen!" she exclaimed. "Anna and I are finally going to be together!" She paused for a moment, then said, "I know, right? Today is going to be great!"
"That's really great Elsa!" The little penguin replied, via Elsa making a goofy voice. Stroking the small tuft of wool hair on his head, Elsa held her little friend close.
Feeling her heartbeat softly in her chest, Elsa had never felt so happy. All that flirting and forwardness that she had been practising for so long had now paid off. Anna was definitely interested in her. It would only be a matter of time before they were together again.
Elsa hadn't been sure about these feelings she'd been having for her sister. She hadn't even know where they had first started to creep up in the first place.
Perhaps it was on the day of her coronation, seeing her again for the first time in so many years? Or maybe it was when Anna had said the words I love you not long after the younger sister had been saved after sacrificing herself for Elsa?
Whenever they had sprung up from, Elsa was deeply in love with Anna and now she knew Anna felt the same. But, Elsa wouldn't rush this. After all, Anna was a little slow with these sorts of things.
She looked down at her little plushie once again, stroking his head. "So... when do you think I'll get to kiss her?" She asked excitedly.
"Who knows?" Sir Jorgenbjorgen answered, his voice again coming from Elsa's mouth. "Just give her a peck on the cheek from me!"
Elsa giggled. "I certainly will, my fine feathered friend."
The Queen then placed the small penguin back onto her bed, yawning softly. She would probably have a few tasks to take care of that morning, but being her usual, hard-working self, she would no doubt be able to get them all done quickly and efficiently, which would leave the rest of the day for her to spend with dear sister.
A warm smile crept over Elsa's lips, lips she hoped would be pressing Anna's own lips later that day.
xXx
Meanwhile, Anna and Kristoff were out on a small rowboat on the fjord, each holding a fishing pole. Fishing wasn't exactly Anna's idea of a good time, but the fresh air was doing her a world of good. Plus, it gave her time to think over everything that had happened to her the previous day. While she was pleased to know how Elsa felt about her, she still wasn't quite sure how she was supposed to handle it.
"Hey, Kristoff?" she asked. "Can I talk to you about something kinda personal?
The ice harvester smiled. "Sure. Anything."
"I was wondering...what would you do if someone you had a crush on started flirting with you?"
Kristoff raised an eyebrow, very confused at Anna's question. "Ummm... I'm not sure. I've never been much about love myself."
And I thought you were supposed to be from the family of love experts, Anna remarked in her mind, rolling her eyes. "Well, if you did have a crush and they flirted with you, what would you do?"
"Well..." The blonde man said, putting down his fishing rod and stroking his chin. "I guess I would probably try and accept them flirting with me, and if I they really did like me in the same way, I guess I'd ask them out or something? Look, I'm not exactly an expert on this. The only love stuff I've picked up is the stuff my family tends to spout out."
Anna groaned, placing her head in her arms. Kristoff's family of trolls were good for advice, but she doubted they would have any advice for this situation. She then went back and picked up her fishing pole, casting it off into the fjord again.
Maybe asking Kristoff wasn't such a good idea after all. She could handle Elsa flirting with her and perhaps if she just talked to her about it, things would go very well.
Before Anna could think any more, Kristoff spoke again.
"So... who is it that you've got flirting with you, feisty pants?" Kristoff then inquired, politely and with a slight smirk.
Blushing furiously, Anna slapped Kristoff on the back. "It's none of your business!" She denied with a face full of embarrassed red.
Kristoff chuckled. "Come on, Anna, you can tell me. I'm good at keeping secrets."
Anna hesitated. "You promise you won't tell anyone?"
"Of course," he replied, drawing an X over his heart with the tip of his finger. "Why, is it a girl?"
The princess sighed, but slowly nodded. "Yes," she admitted, "it's a girl."
"Well, there's nothing wrong with that," he said calmly, returning his attention to his fishing line. "If there's one thing the trolls taught me, it's that you should be free to love whoever you want."
"Yeah well, this girl is kind of a special case," Anna then stated, gulping a little bit. She then looked down at her fishing rod, slightly embarrassed again.
Looking over his shoulder, Kristoff asked. "Wait, is she a princess like you?"
"S-sort of," Anna stated. She was still unsure of saying Elsa's name here. After all, while it was uncommon for sisters to be in love, Kristoff would probably be very confused by it all.
"What do you mean, 'sort of'?" he inquired.
Anna blushed anxiously. "I'm going to just tell you her name, okay? But I want you to swear to me that what I say NEVER leaves this boat. Do you understand?"
"Why are you so worried about it?" Kristoff asked.
"Just swear it!" Anna snapped.
Kristoff raised his hands in a calm-down gesture. "Okay, okay, I swear. Yeesh, Feisty-pants, calm down."
The princess sighed. "Thank you, Kristoff. The name of the girl I'm in love with...it's...it's Elsa."
"Elsa?" he asked. "As in... your Elsa?"
She nodded, averting her eyes. "Yes. I...I've fallen in love with my sister."
They both were silent for a long moment, Anna's words hanging in the air between them like a load of laundry hung out to dry. If there wasn't already a definition for awkward silence, this was it.
Anna closed her eyes, praying to all the gods and divine beings she believed in that Kristoff would be alright with this. She crossed her fingers, muttering her prayers under her breath.
Just then, breaking the silence, Kristoff spoke.
"Does she know?"
The princess of Arendelle turned her head and merely replied with. "I'm not sure... maybe... wait, what? You aren't weirded out by this?"
Kristoff shrugged. "I'm used to weird stuff, so it doesn't bother me."
"Oh," Anna said, not quite sure what to make of Kristoff's nonchalant response. "Well, in any case, yes, I think she does know. We went out ice skating yesterday, and she was flirting with me almost nonstop. It kept going, even over dinner. I've never felt more awkward in my life."
"Why? Didn't you like it?"
"Of course I did. I just didn't know how to flirt back."
Kristoff laughed. "So you had your gorgeous sister flirting with you and you didn't know how to flirt back to her?" He ruffled her hair. "Anna, you are a complete and utter dork."
The Princess sighed. "I know... But I want to tell her though. Me and her would be the perfect couple!"
"What exactly is your problem in the first place with her?" Kristoff then asked her.
"It's just that...I don't really know how to put my feelings into words," she explained. "I don't want to just tell her that I love her; I feel like she deserves more than just that."
Kristoff then came up with a rather clever idea. An idea he thought would no doubt help the young princess with her love troubles. Before he could speak, however, Anna then saw her fishing line being tugged in the water and the pole being pulled towards the bow of the boat.
"I got a bite!" She exclaimed, before grabbing onto the rod with two hands. "Woah! This is a big one!"
"Hang on, I'll help!" Kristoff called to her, grabbing Anna's sides and holding her steady. All they needed to do was hoist Anna's catch out of the Fjord.
Anna strained, biting her lip in frustration. She wouldn't let this fish be one of the many that got away from her line.
She struggled and fought with all her might, trying to reel in the fish. "Come on, you stupid fish," she grunted. "Come to Mama!"
The fish gave one final, titanic JERK of the line, pulling the fishing pole from the princess' hands. The sudden tug threw off her equilibrium, and she frantically waved her arms in a vain attempt to keep her balance. Finally, she fell out of the boat and into the cool water of the fjord.
"Anna! Anna!" Kristoff exclaimed, rushing to the side of the boat, but as he looked into the icy water, he gulped. There was no sign of Anna, not even a thread of strawberry blonde hair. "Oh... Shit, Elsa's gonna kill me with an ice sword."
Just then, she broke through the surface, coughing. "Stupid fish ruined my dress!" she groused. "Now I know what Hans felt like when his horse dumped him in."
Kristoff breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank god..." He reached his hands down to Anna for her to grab onto and pull herself back onto the boat.
Anna grabbed the hands of her friend, feeling herself being hoisted out of the cool water. As she slumped onto the seat of the boat, she wiped her very wet hair out of her eyes.
"Are you okay?" Kristoff asked her.
Groaning, Anna nodded. "Yeah I'll live... but I'll need a change of clothes when we get home."
"And you could probably do with a hot bath, too," he remarked. "That water's not half cold."
"But I just had a bath last night..." Anna whined. "Well... maybe Elsa won't flirt with me now, I mean, who'd flirt with a girl who stinks of fish."
The ice harvester then smirked, remembering his idea that he had come up with to help Anna in her relationship with Elsa. He then leaned over to Anna, smiling.
"By the way Anna, I think I know of a way you can get with Elsa without you worrying about speaking to her face to face."
Raising an eyebrow in scepticism, Anna looked directly at Kristoff. "How?"
Just then, Kristoff snapped his fingers. "Anna, that's it! That's how you can get with Elsa!"
"Wait, what? I'm not sure I follow."
"You said it yourself," he explained. "Elsa won't flirt with you now. But what if you weren't you?"
"Excuse me?"
Kristoff then moved over to Anna, whispering his plan into the princess's ear. As Anna listened to his words, a wide grin appeared on her face. Once Kristoff had finished, Anna hugged him tightly, thanking him profusely for his help.
"Kristoff! That's brilliant!" She cheered. "I'll see what I can do when I get back to the castle and out of these," She sniffed her clothes. "Wet clothes."
"Pleasure to be of service, Princess," Kristoff replied, happy to have helped.
xXx
Later that day, Elsa was striding through the halls of the castle, wondering where on earth Anna could have gotten to. She had left her a message saying she was going out on a trip with Kristoff, but that was so many hours now and Elsa had gotten worried.
She walked through the halls, holding her hands to her chest in slight worry. She knew Anna would be back soon, but she was a bit of a worry wuss.
Thankfully, her powers were very much under control now, so there would be no fears of any icy accidents, but Elsa herself was still quite worried.
Where are you, Anna? Her mind wondered. She continued to wander around the halls, looking from side to side as she checked every nook and cranny in the ornate royal building. First the places Anna would most likely be, then to the places she'd probably been at only a handful of times in her life. The princess was nowhere. She should have been back by now, the royal ice harvester's sleigh had been back for hours, so where exactly was she?
Elsa sighed and ran a hand through her hair. As the queen continued conducting the thorough investigation into her sister's whereabouts, she was suddenly approached by her butler Kai, the older man bowing before her with respect.
Elsa sighed, disappointed that she had been interrupted. "What is it, Kai?"
"Sorry to disturb you, your majesty, but a matter has arisen that requires your attention," the old butler replied. "It seems you have a suitor visiting you."
"Wait, what? A suitor? Now?" Elsa inquired, raising an eyebrow in distinct confusion. Of, all the times... She wasn't too fond of the whole suitor process, to begin with, and had tried to avoid it as best as she could. Besides, she had feelings for only one girl in Arendelle, and that was Anna.
The old butler nodded. "Yes. They requested to see you immediately, my queen. I've already had a few of the maids escort her to one of your private chambers. She's waiting for you now."
Her? The Queen had no choice but to reluctantly agree. She didn't want to seem rude to whoever this was. Even though this person coming entirely unannounced was a bit ungracious. "Very well, Kai. I'll meet with her right away."
"Of course," Kai stated, before bowing.
Making her way down in the other direction of the corridor, Elsa sighed. She would likely just have to politely turn down the suitor when she saw her. It was rather common for her to get female suitors, since the Queen was openly a lesbian, but even then she would turn them down.
She just hoped Anna was alright though. Her sister had actually encouraged her to try a few dates with the women who wished to court the queen and Elsa had accepted, but no one made her feel as good as Anna did. No woman or girl could match that.
Finally, Elsa arrived outside of the room where her suitor would be waiting. She put on a straight, sombre face, one of slight regret and understanding, a face she had practised many, many times.
Elsa then turned the knob and entered the room, taking a deep breath.
She walked into her private chamber, and was met by a posh-looking noblewoman in a cream ball gown with rosemaling along the hem, long gloves, and a jacket. She had a wide-brimmed hat perched atop her head, and hanging from it was a veil which obscured her face.
Smiling, Elsa bowed in respect. "Hello," she said politely. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss...?"
"Lady Sophie Herriot," the woman answered, her voice laden with a French accent. She Walked over to Elsa, bowing dramatically. "I am very pleased to meet you, Mada- My Queen."
Elsa bit her lip to keep from giggling. She knew exactly who was hiding under that veil and behind that accent. Oh, Anna, you're not fooling anyone, she thought to herself. The princess was a great many things, but a convincing actress was not one of them.
"I'm pleased to meet you as well, Lady Herriot. Please, come sit and have some tea with me." She gestured to a nearby table, on which a tea kettle and two cups were already waiting for them.
"Oh, no thank you," Lady Sophie replied. "I do not care for the tea, please. It is upsetting to ma petite belly."
Her constant fidgeting only proved to Elsa that Princess Anna had absolutely no plan. The queen was glad she at least had the tea. On numerous accounts, she had to drag the cup up and take a sip to hide her involuntary grin.
"Did you have anything in mind that you hoped to accomplish today, Lady Sophie?" Elsa asked, hoping her amusement didn't leak through too much. If she wasn't careful, it would give her away too, but that didn't mean she wouldn't have some fun in the process. "Leaning of Arendelle's culture, our marriage customs… Getting to know me, perhaps?"
Anna sputtered. "I'm w-well aware of your culture and customs."
"Good." Elsa stared at her. "I love an educated woman."
Through the veil, she pictured the rise of red on the girl's cheeks, going all the way down to her neck.
"So that leaves the option of getting to know me," Elsa continued, leaning forward. "Unless you have anything else to add?"
A subtle shake of the head. Anna released a small posh giggle to diffuse the situation, but Elsa wouldn't let that happen. Not just yet.
She smiled a bit. As much fun as it had been to play along with Anna's little game, she figured it was high time to put an end to it. "Lady Herriot, may I ask a favour of you?"
"Oui, of course," she replied.
"May I kiss you?"
The noblewoman's eyes widened to the size of tennis balls. "Forgive me, Your Majesty, but it would seem that my ears are, how you say, not the best. Would you please repeat?"
The queen smiled wider. "Certainly. May I kiss you?" she repeated, speaking slowly and deliberately so that there was no way she could be misunderstood.
Lady Sophie's cheeks went bright red. "O-oh. That is what I had thought you said. But I am afraid that this kiss is, ah, out of le question."
"And why, pray tell, is that?" Elsa inquired calmly.
"W-well..." Lady Sophie began. "Because...in my family, we do not give the kisses until the day of the wedding. That is why I wear this veil, you see."
Elsa leaned forward a bit. "Come now, Lady Sophie. There's no need to be so shy. There's nobody here but you and me."
"Um...I...er...uh..." Sophie stammered.
With the tips of her fingers, Elsa lifted up the veil to expose Lady Sophie's lips. "Just relax, Lady Sophie."
"B-but I-" she tried to object.
Before Sophie could utter another syllable, however, her voice was stolen from her as Elsa's lips touched her own in a soft, tender kiss.
