Tides of Time Chapter 3: The Flight
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Hello again! Just wanted to say that I'm very thankful for all of your reviews after only two chapters! \(^v^)/ Other than that I really don't have much to say this evening, so I won't keep you waiting any longer; on with the chapter!
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The boarding process overall had gone relatively smoothly, exempting a few hiccups along the way, including the pat-down Anna and Kristoff had to receive when they was selected for a random search. Needless to say, Anna wasn't exactly appreciative of the experience. Thankfully the embarrassment of additional searches was not endured by Elsa or Hannah since they were obviously romantically involved with the two marines that had saved a little boy's life only minutes ago, and so were allowed through without so much as a glance at their passports, something Hannah was quite grateful for, as she absolutely hated her passport photo.
After the not-so invasive search of Anna and Kristoff, the group was finally allowed to board the plane, with a blushing Anna moving up in front of the group, having no greater desire than to get as far away as physically possible from the officer that searched her, nearly leaving the rest of the group in the dust as she practically jogged up to the entrance of the plane.
"What'd they do to her to make her walk so fast?" Elsa inquired to Andrew when she noticed that her boyfriend had been laughing at Anna as she scurried down the gate tunnel at top walking speeds.
"Just don't ask, it's probably better that way." Andrew explained, humor imbedded in each and every word, before glancing back at Kristoff who was currently fiddling with his ticket.
"You alright buddy?" Andrew asked.
"I can't believe that they randomly pick people to go through that..." Kristoff grumbled as he toyed with his plane ticket, which had become crumpled after the ice harvester crushed it in embarrassment during the pat-down.
Once the rest group finally made their way onto the plane, Anna seemed to cheer up quite a bit as far as an outsider to the little band could see, at one point even beaming in excitement when she noticed the flight attendants coming around with free drinks for everyone.
A few minutes after the group sat down, the flight attendants made their way over to them. Everyone decided to order some form of soda, exempting Andrew and Elsa who decided to each have a small glass of white wine, something Elsa appreciated very much. Finally a form of food and drink that she was familiar with back in Arendelle; it made the entire experience all the more enjoyable.
"Oh my god! Elsa the seats move!" Anna exclaimed happily as she repeatedly jabbed at a small button that was causing her seat to adjust to a laying position while the princess occupying it giggled like a schoolgirl, temporarily forgetting about her little issue with Kristoff and the grope-happy officer, if only for the moment.
"Be careful Anna, don't break anything!" Elsa chastised upon seeing her younger sisters antics on the rather expensive looking seat, yet the princess did nothing to divert from her current course of action, and so, Elsa decided to throw a solitary jelly bean at the back of Anna's head, hitting the mark dead center which caused the red-head to let out an involuntary yelp at the sudden flick to her scalp.
"Well that wasn't very mature Snowangel." Andrew noted out loud as he took a sip of the white wine, prior to snaking his arm around Elsa's shoulders and pulling her against him as she laughed jovially.
"I wasn't aware that maturity was a necessity around you sweetheart." Elsa responded humorously before she tilted her head to plant a kiss on her boyfriends cheek, however Andrew moved away at the last moment and turned his own head towards Elsa before capturing her in a kiss, letting her tongue slither into his mouth and her hand feel the muscles on his arm as his hand found its way under her new space butterfly logo t-shirt that Andrew bought her when he and Elsa were dragged to the mall a week after the ball by Anna, who was searching for something like a treasure box to keep her trinkets she obtained in.
As the young queen and soldier continued to make-out in the back row, eventually Elsa began to moan into Andrew's mouth rather loudly, unfortunately leading to Roc's discovery of the two lover's activities. With a snicker, Roc quickly pulled out his phone and began to search for a certain song while Hannah, who had also noticed Andrew and Elsa's actions, glanced at his screen, perplexed as to what her new boyfriend's intentions were.
Her question was answered once Roc found the song he was looking for as he held the phone over the two young adults who had begun to become just a little too friendly on the plane and hit the play button.
"I want your love and all your lovers revenge you and me could write a bad romance!"
Upon hearing this, Andrew and Elsa's eyes shot open in realization, finally registering that their make-out session was being observed, prior to quickly separating with awkward coughs and utterances of 'sorry' from both of them as their hands, which had previously begun to do a little too much exploring for a public place, returned to their own personal space as Roc and Hannah began to crack up in the seats in-front of them while multiple older couples stared on in disgust at the ruckus that the group was beginning to make; Elsa and Andrew's little feeling session in particular.
"Come on Dragon, leave room for the Holy Spirit, you should know that by now!" Roc joked as Elsa's face color began to rival that of Roc's cherry energy drink from earlier.
"Since when do you care about me being-... You're a dick, you know that right?" Andrew sarcastically grumbled, his mouth curving up into smirk, knowing that Roc would inevitably have a comeback firing off in a matter of seconds. And have one he did.
"Yeah I know, I'm just tryin' to keep you from making babies in the seat behind me." he said, making a suggestive motion with his hands while Andrew pretended to scoff as if he was offended.
"Just drink your soda before I make you sit next to Anna." The red-eyed soldier countered, eliciting a shudder from the black marine, knowing that if Elsa could tame the fearsome Dragon of Tempest Squad in the matter of a few weeks, he would have no chance, even against her younger sister.
"Don't drag me into this you jerks!" the rest of the group heard, signaling that Anna was in-fact paying attention to the conversation, a revelation that caused Andrew and Roc to cease their fake argument and turn back to their respective girlfriends who were both giggling at the princess' ability to tame two war-hardened marines with just a stern quip.
"Geez Anna, calm down..." Kristoff muttered without thinking, realizing his mistake a little too late as Anna's face twisted into one of rage, her teeth grinding in her jaw.
"Why don't you just shut up Kristoff?!" Anna yelled, causing the rest of the group to tear themselves away from what they were doing to gaze at the angry red-head, who appeared to be just about ready to murder her terrified boyfriend next to her as tears began to run down her face. "I don't have to calm down! Just shut up! Don't you dare speak to me that way you jerk, I'm not your reindeer!"
This comment nearly ripped Kristoff's heart in two. He had been doing his best to forget about Sven, and here Anna was undoing all of that emotional work just because something had rubbed her the wrong way on the way to the airport, although he was still completely in the dark as to what exactly it was.
"Whoa! Damn Anna, he didn't do anything! What's with the sudden mood shifts you crazy woman?" Andrew exclaimed before Anna's enraged glare switched to him, her eye color mirroring the marine she was staring at causing her to resemble a rabid hyena preparing for the kill.
"Stay out of this fire-boy!" Anna hissed, venom lacing her words.
"Alright, alright, sorry..." Andrew replied, leaning back in his seat as he turned his head towards a confused Elsa who was shrugging, completely dumbfounded as to why Anna was acting the way she was.
Meanwhile Kristoff pulled the hood of his sweatshirt over his head, wanting nothing to do with the princess sulking beside him as tears streamed down his face as he thought of his best buddy, stuck all alone in Castle Arendelle, with only servants to care for him.
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A few minutes later, after Andrew explained that they would be staying in a large fancy hotel in London's city center and Roc got his seemingly required teasing about how Andrew was a 'rich-boy' out of the way, the plane that the group was occupying had finally received permission to leave the gate and proceed towards the runway, with the two royal sisters staring out of their windows to observe the take-off procedure that Andrew had made seem so fascination during the explanation he gave as they approached the runway, Elsa even going so far as to put the automatic armrest between them down and leaning across her boyfriends lap to obtain a better view.
Andrew sighed as he took a sip of his white wine which had already been reduced to half a glass, why hadn't Elsa just asked to switch seats with him? At times she was a very refined, dignified, and wise young woman, rivaling even the smartest people he knew, but at other times... At other times her scatterbrained antics rivaled even Anna's. Although he shouldn't honestly be surprised; they were sisters after all, maybe Elsa was just more talented when it came to controlling herself, most of the time anyway.
Eventually forcing himself to evict the current course of thought from his mind, Andrew gazed down at the young snow queen in question who appeared to be just about ready to burst in excitement.
"You know you've seen an aircraft take off before Elsa..." Elsa's head quickly snapped up towards her boyfriend, a smile gracing her pristine features, causing Andrew's heart to beat rapidly in his chest. He was beginning to think this girl was hypnotizing him whenever he locked his gaze with hers.
"I know, but it's just so fascinating!" Elsa replied as she leaned her thin frame towards Andrew, supporting herself on his chest with a coo of joy, secretly knowing that Andrew would do absolutely nothing to restrict her from watching the launch. "Can you rub my back?"
"What? You seriously want me to rub your back Here in the middle of a crowded plane?" Andrew asked, receiving a rapid nod from the young queen using his lap as a pushup mat.
"Yes! Please?..." Elsa pouted dramatically, earning a purposely audible sigh and a solitary 'fine' from the smiling young soldier as he placed a hand on her back and proceeded to gently rub her shoulder blades while she began to purr in delight, causing Andrew to smirk.
"Does the kitty like her comfy scratches?" he asked sarcastically, and was about to begin laughing when he felt an unmistakable stabbing sensation on his thigh and gazed down to see that Elsa had formed large ice talons on her fingertips, three of which were violently jabbing into his thigh, causing him to inhale violently in pain.
"Cats have claws sweetheart."
"Point taken..." Andrew struggled out, sighing in relief once Elsa, who was satisfied that she had won the miniature debate, melted the claws into nothing but vapor.
Once the ice claws were removed, Andrew promptly returned to rubbing the young queen's back as she stared out of the window at the ground rushing past them as the plane picked up speed in an effort to lift itself from the gravitational restrictions of earth.
It was a magnificent feat of the modern age, Elsa noted, to be able to just fly like a bird, without so much as a string pulling the plane off of the ground. How long until the people of the future could reach the vast vacuum of space and explore the stars that filled the night sky like 10 million little fireflies? Elsa decided she would find out.
"Hey sweetheart?" Elsa asked as she adjusted herself so that Andrew once again had his seat to himself, mostly, once the plane left the confines of the runway below them, sending them up into the horizon.
"Hmm?"
"Is it possible to fly into space and explore the stars?"
"Yeah, we've already done it, dozens of times actually. The first space launch was about... 60 years ago give or take or give a year or two." Andrew explained as Elsa's face lit up like a Christmas light, ecstatic to hear that, not only had humans achieved the ability to travel beyond the stars, but that it was apparently a relatively common thing.
"Wow... What's it look like up there?" Elsa asked prompting Andrew to lean forwards pull out the magazine that was resting in the pocket in front of him. Upon closer inspection, Elsa realized that it was an astronomy magazine with a picture of a green and blue ball floating in expanse of black with small white dots littering the expanse, giving it a light Elsa didn't think possible.
With his index finger Andrew quickly pointed to the sphere and whispered quietly, lest anyone realize Elsa had no idea what Earth looked like and either mistake her for a fool or lower functioning young woman who was just fascinated by bright colors.
"That's Earth, we're right here right now..." Andrew began, pointing to North America's east coast before tracing his finger over to the United Kingdom. "And that's where we're going to be flying."
"That's astounding... I never realized the world was just so large..." Elsa gasped in delight, examining each and every land-mass with the diligence of a scholar examining an old scroll containing knowledge from a long forgotten age. How ironic, she thought, that she was the one from the long forgotten age reading over the knowledge of the future.
"Hopefully it's not so large that we can't find those pages, after all I'm sure your dying to get back to Arendelle at this point." Andrew muttered, not even registering the words coming out of his mouth.
"Actually... Andrew I..." Elsa began, causing the aforementioned soldier to glance down at his girlfriend. "When we find them... You'll come with me, won't you?..."
That's when a revelation that Andrew had never considered struck him like a pile of bricks dropped from atop a 4 story building. He had never considered what would happen once they actually found the Book of Time along with its pages, what would happen? He had no doubt in his mind that he would follow Elsa anywhere and anytime in the world, but at the same time, he had absolutely no knowledge of the social etiquette involved with Arendelle culture. Sure, he had spent days researching Arendelle, but the focus of his research was involved mainly in fables and legends, and there wasn't much when it came to record keeping of things such as Arendelle's table manners and proper dressing styles.
"Andrew?... Please answer... You'll come right?..." Elsa begged, beginning to grow worried as her boyfriend appeared to be stalling, however her fears were alleviated when Andrew's mouth tilted into a smile.
"Well it depends..." Andrew began, his arm snaking around Elsa's midriff. "Do I get to be king, wear awesome clothes, and put up a lot of giant paintings around your castle that say 'Roc sucks off horses'?"
"Fuck you Dragon!" Roc belched out from the seat in front of Andrew, causing the latter to laugh softly before turning back to Elsa, which had a relieved smile gracing her features.
"So you'll come with me?..." Elsa whimpered, her lip shaking visibly.
Okay, that god-damn adorable quivering lip was beginning to become some form of mind control, Andrew was almost positive now.
"Of course I will, but let's focus on finding the pages first alright?" Andrew said before lowering his lips onto Elsa's planting a light kiss on her slightly open mouth before raising his head back up and gazing at the small screen in-front of he and Elsa with a smile on his face, prior to glancing down at her once again. "Hey Snowangel, want to watch a movie?"
"Sure, what movie?"
"Hmm..." Andrew began to search through the touchpad selection, taking a few minutes to search, and after scrolling through a few different movies, found the one movie he was searching for as a smile appeared on his face. "Awesome! Elsa; the new Manhunter we were going to go see is on here!"
Elsa giggled softly upon hearing her boyfriend's excited proposal, nodding vigorously at him, prompting him to select the movie before handing her a large pair of headphones.
"Here, these'll help us hear the movie, at least if your little sister doesn't start snoring like an elephant." Elsa's laugh grew in strength when she heard this, prior to plucking the cushioned headphones from Andrew's hand and placing them around her ears before deciding she would have a little fun with Andrew's sleeping habits as well.
"You know you aren't exactly a quiet sleeper either sweetheart." The young queen teased, a sparkle in her blue eyes, and although she wasn't serious, she exerted every ounce of willpower she had to present a serious front, in hopes of tricking the red-eyed marine.
"You lie, I'm the most peaceful person in the world when I'm asleep." Andrew retorted as he placed his own headphones on his ears, before pulling Elsa over towards him, letting her lean on his chest as he reached over to the small screen in-front of them and tapped the play button prompt that flashed on the screen once the movie had finished loading, settling back into his seat as Elsa rested her head on the crook of his neck, inhaling the soldiers scent as she smiled.
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A few hours later, the inside of the plane's cabin had fallen into an eerie silence, with more than half of the cabins occupants attempting to catch a wink of sleep before landing in the United Kingdom, Elsa included, since she had drifted off into dreamland around an hour into the movie, curling into a small ball and using Andrew's shoulder as a pillow. Eventually a flight attendant had taken notice of the scene and decided to help in any way he could, it was his job after all.
"Excuse me sir?" He quietly asked as he approached Andrew and Elsa, a large dark navy blue colored blanket folded in his hands.
"Yes?" Andrew asked, turning off the small TV which had been rolling the credits of the Manhunter movie that he and Elsa were watching before turning back to the man.
"Would you and your fiancée like a blanket?" Andrew was surprised by the flight attendants question, did he and Elsa really seem as if they were engaged? After pondering this for a second or two, Andrew decided he would play along, after all, it couldn't hurt right?
"Yes, please." He responded, taking the blanket from the flight attendants hands with a nod of thanks, smiling ever-so-slightly before pulling it up onto he and Elsa, leaving only her head and his shoulders visible.
"Do you require anything else sir?"
"No, thank you very much for your help." Andrew replied, before yawning quietly, silently giving the flight attendant the cue that his presence was no-longer required, a cue he quickly took, bowing slightly before going off to tend to the other guests on the plane.
Meanwhile, two rows of seats ahead of the now sleeping couple, Princess Anna silently contemplated her actions through the day towards her boyfriend, who appeared to be out cold beside her, a small frown present on his face, along with stains of sad bitter tears on his cheeks, something that pulled at Anna's heartstrings, knowing that she had caused Kristoff to cry. She downright hated herself at the moment.
Biting her lip in anxiety, Anna gently shifted over so that she was leaning on Kristoff's chest and began to cry softly, guilt washing over her like a tidal wave, she began to speak.
"Kristoff?... Are you awake?..." Even with no response from the ice harvester, Anna decided to continue in an extremely hushed voice. "I know you can't hear me but... I just wanted to say that I'm so sorry, I feel like such a horrible person for what I said to you, and I... I'm just really sad; I heard what you said to Roc about how you don't want to bed me, and it hurt... A lot... But I understand, and I respect your decision... I love you, even if you don't really love me..."
With that, Anna quickly cleared the tears that were clouding her vision with the back of her hand, prior to laying her head down on the small pillow she had been given by a nice flight attendant a few hours beforehand.
Eventually, after a few minutes of quiet crying, Anna slipped into a dreamless sleep, her heart just about ready to tear itself out of her chest, beginning to snore softly.
However, unbeknownst to Anna, Kristoff had been awake the entire time, as he was unable to fall asleep, but had no desire to speak to the princess either, the keyword being had. Now he wanted nothing more than to shake her awake and show her just how much she meant to him, both mentally and physically, but stopped himself from doing so, knowing that he and Anna would probably end up in trouble with the staff of the plane, and more importantly, Roc would have another opportunity to tease him.
"I love you, too, Anna..." Kristoff muttered; god, he had a lot to do to fix this little situation, otherwise he was going to go absolutely insane. Maybe Andrew could give him some advice?... Finally, after a few minutes of pondering to himself, Kristoff decided to approach Andrew about help with Anna in the morning. With that, he let himself slip into the cold dark embrace of unconsciousness.
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So... Follow my story's twitter if you want! It's TempestSquad with the little 'at' sign, it has things like story updates and random rambles. I shall return with another chapter soon my minions!... Have a good night.