Anyone of some significance in the castle staff gathered in the great hall. An eerie aura of nervousness and anticipation lingered in the room. People spoke in hurried whispers, traces of conversations and concerned discussions carried in the still air. An impromptu meeting such as this had never been called before, especially with no hinting at a reason. The queen had ordered a meeting with all key staff- well, it couldn't be for something good, could it? Especially considering the riotous events of yesterday…
Everyone stood around in groups in the large hall, unconsciously segregating themselves by profession. There was no sign of the queen yet, so they remained standing- no seats had been placed- and waiting. So no one noticed when Princess Anna, along with Kristoff and Kai, crept into the room by the back, hidden by the masses in front of them.
They too, waited nervously, probably even more so than the staff- for there was no reason for this meeting if Elsa had not discovered their secret. And if she somehow had… well, there was no reason to suspect that Elsa would be any less thorough or conscientious in getting to the bottom of this matter than any other.
Finally, Elsa entered into the hall- as poised and regal-looking as ever, but with a manner of anxiety that Anna suspected only she would have the acuity to detect.
The hall quieted, whispers and mutterings ceasing, as everyone in attendance waited to hear the queen speak.
Elsa took a deep, gulping breath. Anna saw her fingers twining, twisting in front of her waist.
"Thank you for all meeting me here," Elsa began. Her eyes scanned the room, noting those who were gathered. She realized, somewhat nervously and ashamedly, that she knew the names, let alone the stories, of extremely few of them.
She swallowed, clasping her hands in front to still them. "It has recently come to my attention that an event occurred yesterday…a protest, to be exact. A protest that I was not made aware of until earlier this afternoon."
She paused at the sudden, universal widening of eyes, shared glances at this news around the room. The staff seemed shocked by her words, for sure. But anyone could be acting; hiding. She of all people knew that secrets could be kept hidden.
She continued. "I am sure some of you know to what event I am referring, while others do not. Regardless, for those of you that do…" She trailed off- unsure of herself, Anna knew, and her heart fell. Elsa clearly was drowning, smothered, even, in self-doubt and insecurity. Anna heard the slight wavering in her voice, the barely perceptible hunch in her shoulders. Elsa was doubting every element of herself, all over again. And all because of Anna's decision.
"…I need you all to know that withholding information, especially information as pertinent as this, from your Queen, is something that I should never have to come to you about. I-I…" she stuttered, upset. "-I don't know what opinions you hold of me, as a person, as a Queen, as a worker of this kingdom. And I'm sorry if what I've shown has led you to believe that it would behoove the kingdom to not enlighten me about such events." Her face hardened, her stance secure, as she felt the shame grow to light anger and resentment. "But no matter your opinion of me, it is vital that I remain informed."
She finished quickly, eager to leave the many watching eyes, warm bodies and the situation. "Should any of you know who it was that deemed it proper to leave me in the dark, please come to me at once. It would mean…" she struggled for a breath. "It would mean a lot. Thank you."
With that, she nodded curtly once to the room, gathered her skirts and left, head held high.
Upon the Queen's exit, the room buzzed, everyone turning to their peers to discuss what had just been revealed to them. It was clear that many of the staff felt concerned, betrayed, and even perhaps a bit fearful that one of their own had hidden this knowledge. Each worker knew that he or she, at least, had simply assumed that someone of more note had already informed the Queen of yesterday's troubling occurrence.
No one was more disquieted, however, than the small group still hidden at the back of the hall. Anna, Kai and Kristoff realized that their decision, made specifically to ease Elsa's mind, had done quite the opposite- and could, in fact, prove to be a major setback in light of all her recent progress.
By some unspoken gesture, a flick of the head, the three conspirators moved to a more private room.
"I feel awful," Anna moaned, sighing in regret and relief as she closed the door behind her, learning back and sagging against it. "All I wanted to do was help her- stop her from feeling guilty and unwanted again- because you know she would, when she heard about it-" Anna wagged a finger at the men as she spoke excitedly. "But now- god, did you see her?! She looked so…so…dejected!" She sagged once more, placing a hand on her forehead. "And it's all my fault."
"Anna," Kristoff began, stepping up to her. "It's not all your fault. Kai brought it to us, and you and I both agreed on what to do- together."
"No," Anna said roughly. "No." She shook her head. "It was me, ultimately. My decision. My fault. I have to go talk to her."
"You sound a lot less unsure of yourself than the last time you told me that," Kristoff added in with a smirk. He imitated his girlfriend, putting on airs- haughtily raising his head and straightening his shoulders. "I am going to talk to my sister!"
"Stop that!" Anna snapped, whacking Kristoff in the arm with the back of her hand. "This is serious. She's hurt."
"I know." Kristoff sobered. He scratched behind his neck. "So…"
"So-" Anna said, resolutely. "I'm gonna go talk to my sister." She walked stately out the door.
"Good luck," Kristoff and Kai called in unison, looking at one another.
Elsa raised her head from where it was cradled in her hands upon hearing a barely-audible knock at the door to her study.
She felt her heart plummet into her stomach. Her limbs began their trembling, and she gasped lightly, holding out her hands to see them shaking. There was only one reason someone would knock like that. Whoever was on the other side of that door must be the one who chose to withhold the riotous event from her. The person who thought her not worthy of being informed.
"Come in," she called weakly, cringing from the obvious waver in her voice. That's certainly not going to help their opinion of me.
Was she ready to see who was on the other side of the door? She had tried to eke out a plan for her course of action, should the perpetrator confess. She had thought about it incessantly ever since the event had been revealed to her. But she was no closer to finding an answer to how she should react than before. And when had she ever been confident in her knowledge of how to properly react, for that matter?
But it didn't matter anymore, now- the handle was turning, the door opening.
Anna's fingers shook, and she struggled to retain her grip to turn the door handle. She couldn't believe how nervous she was- she felt like she was a young teenager, again, waiting outside of her elder sister's door after knocking, hoping for any kind of response.
She had no idea how Elsa would react to what she was about to reveal- and that was scary because Elsa's reactions were always quite predictable. This would be a surprise to Anna, no matter what happened.
But upon entering her sister's study, it was clear to Anna that Elsa's surprise was far greater from her own appearance through the doorway. Elsa's eyes went as wide as Anna thought they could possibly go, her eyebrows shooting to the tips of her bangs, her lips parted slightly in shock. Her hands, raised just inches above her desk in preparation to stand, hovered, stilled in midair.
"Anna?" She questioned. "What are you doing here?"
"What?" Anna began to joke, attempting to offset her nervousness and Elsa's palpable tension. "Am I not allowed to be here?"
Elsa's face fell in embarrassment by her words, and Anna immediately regretted her statement. She's already upset enough, Anna, she thought- can't you go easy on her, just for once? Isn't that what you were trying to do in the first place?
"I'm sorry," Elsa began. "It's just that I assumed that whoever came by next would b-be…" she stammered, flustered, realizing that she had never told Anna what happened- any of it!
"Wait." She tried again, palms facing out as if to stop Anna. "I never told you. D-do you know of the riot that happened yesterday?"
"About that…" Anna trailed off, wringing her hands. Just spit it out. This is even harder on her than it is on you.
"Do you know who hid it from me?" Elsa nearly jumped out of her seat in anxiety-ridden eagerness to know. "Anna?" She questioned again, noting her sister's spacey look, clearly somewhere off in her own mind.
"Sorry," Anna shook her head. "No, I-well-yeah, but-" she cut herself off. "Wait." She took a breath. "Elsa, you know I love you, right?"
"What?" Elsa's eyebrows drew together, now concerned and confused about where this was all going.
Anna was a pure bundle of nerves now, all nervous energy.
"Look, can we- can we talk about something?"
Elsa clasped her hands to her chest, biting down on her lower lip. "Anna, what is this about? Please just tell me."
"Okay." Anna held out her hands in a placating gesture. "Elsa, you've been- you've been doing amazing ever since you became Queen and learned to control your powers."
Elsa blushed- she became embarrassed with this topic of conversation, yet was flattered to know her sister, whose opinions she valued over all others, thought she was doing so well. "Thank you?"
Anna continued on. Make her understand why you did what you did. Let her see it from your point of view. "I've never seen you look so- so happy. You're confident when you speak to people, you accept all my hugs and touches-" she chuckled- "and I know that's a lot- and the kingdom's doing really well with you as its leader." She smiled now, genuine. "I know Papa would be proud."
Elsa's flushed expression blanched now at the mention. She was still flattered, yes, but she was detecting an undercurrent of something negative about to surface in her sister's words.
Anna's wide smile fell, her fingers picking up their twisting once again. "But I know that it's still not easy. That there's things that you still struggle with- that anyone in your position would struggle with!" She hastened to explain at Elsa's shadowed expression. "Hold on, let me explain." She took another breath, fighting on. "You're under a crazy amount of stress and have so much to deal with. And I know you-you're trying to do it all on your own, telling yourself it's your responsibility and that you can handle it."
She chanced a look at Elsa- who stood looking like she was warring with herself physically as well as mentally. It was clear from her expression that she did not like where her sister's words were headed, did not like this topic of conversation- and wanted it changed- now. But Anna knew it all had to be said, in order to make her understand. So she kept going.
"And you're still getting used to dealing with people, with having them know about you, and your powers. And I can tell that sometimes you're upset or worried about it, worried about hurting people still, even though I know you won't. And you're always working so hard, and not letting yourself eat enough or sleep enough, and-"
"Anna." Elsa's face was bright red now, her lips pressed firmly together. Her hands, once I twisting and twining fingers that matched her sister's as she fretted, were now clenched in fists by her sides.
Oh god, am I just hurting her more now? But she has to see, has to know why…
"I'm already quite aware of my unending list of failings," Elsa started. "As much as I love hearing all my obvious anxieties, insecurities and inadequacies laid out before me- What. Are. You. Getting. At?!" Elsa's thumb and forefinger were pinched together, pointedly thrust towards Anna with each word of her question.
"Okay, okay!" Anna took a deep breath, bracing herself for her sister's reaction. "This is all why- that is, because I know you're going through so much already- why I had the truth about the riot hidden from you."
The temperature plummeted sharply- Anna could see her breath, and drew her arms in close to keep in the warmth. She looked up, unsurprised, if she had to admit it, to see tiny snowflakes dotting the room.
Elsa physically staggered backwards, as if her sister's words had struck her. "You did what?!" She whispered, hands once again clasped at her chest.
"I'm sorry," Anna tried, "but you weren't supposed to find out, so you wouldn't feel bad-"
"Feel bad?!" Elsa exclaimed. "Anna," she stressed, "feeling bad is one thing- but do you have any idea how bad this now looks for me? For my reputation? And not just for me, but for the kingdom!"
The wind picked up, the snow beginning to swirl a bit as it descended.
Anna glanced around the room. It would be hard to make her sister see her reasoning if she were even just a bit panicked. "Elsa, why don't we talk about this in a bit, once you've had some time to calm down?"
Elsa's response was a sharp gust of wind against Anna's now-shivering form. "Calm down?! What, did you expect me to thank you for telling me the truth and be forever grateful for your foresight?! Anna- you clearly don't grasp the fact that by your actions, you've singlehandedly derailed my already- precarious reputation- now what will people think, now that they think that not even the castle staff can trust their own Queen with such vital information? Don't you realize how much of a mountain I have ahead of me to get people to trust me-the top of which will likely never be reached?!"
The wind whipped and swirled. Elsa's hair had mostly flown out of its bun against her neck and was now prey to the violent winds. Her eyes were frantic and wild, her teeth bared as she spoke, gesturing sharply to demonstrate her points. She seemed to have no desire, for once, to control the magic that was pouring out of her- or perhaps it was entirely under her control if she was so sure of her emotions and anger.
Anna hung her head. She's not getting why I did it. Her arms were wrapped around her tightly, as her skirts flapped and ought against the winds. At first feeling guilty, Ana suddenly felt her shame into anger to match her sister's. She's not even trying to see my point- that I did it to help her!
Her hands went into fists by her sides, her eyes narrowing.
"You know, Elsa, I was just trying to protect you!"
"Protect me?!" Elsa drew up straight at that. "No, that's not protecting me- that's foolishly taking matters that you clearly don't understand into your own hands and hiding them from me!"
Fine- see if I try to help you again- clearly you're the only one who's allowed to make mistakes around here, Elsa, Anna thought, fuming at Elsa's close-mindedness
"Well, excuse me if I've learned to follow by example- I mean, I can't possibly imagine where I would've gotten the idea to try to protect someone by hiding something!" She paused, thinking. "Oh, wait! You're right, that was stupid of me- shouldn't I have realized by now that hiding things to 'protect people-'" (here she made quotation with her fingers in the air) "only makes a mess of things? I mean, isn't it enough that one of us did that already?!"
The wind ceased in the blink of an eye, Anna's skirts falling against her legs. Despite the seeming calmness of the still air, the sudden silence was eerie, and the temperature in the room dropped precipitously, ice beginning to form and crackle along the floorboards and the corners of the walls in threatening -looking branches and stalagmites.
Anna's arms wrapped tightly around her torso once more, trying to keep in what little warmth she had left. Just in front of her, Elsa's form matched her nearly exactly- just for a different reason. Her shoulders were slightly raised and hunched forward as well, her expression dark yet scared.
"That not the same," she uttered, low and rasping. "You know why I did what I did- maybe it hurt other things in the process- but it kept you safe." Her grip on her arms seemed to grow even tighter and she took slow yet steady retreating steps back into the room.
Anna sneered. "Maybe physically safe, sure- but what kind of life was that? At least I was just trying to let you live and enjoy yours with what I did!"
"It's not the same," Elsa repeated adamantly, as if trying to convince herself.
"It is." Anna stated, serious. She tried to stop her teeth from chattering but failed. "You're just blinding yourself from the truth because you can't handle it."
Elsa squeezed her eyes shut, arms still tight and steps still withdrawing into the study. She shook her head. "You don't understand. You don't know what you've done."
Anna just narrowed her eyes, refusing to say anything more. Elsa was just being stubborn and scared, unwilling to face the truth…right? Anna realized she didn't know anymore.
She didn't know where to go from here, what else to say. Her anger had faded, leaving confusion in its wake after their confrontation. There was clearly no convincing her sister, who stood looking confused as well, and forlorn. "Elsa?" Anna questioned.
"Anna, I-" she stammered, "I-I th-think you should go."
"But-"
"Just go."
Anna walked out of the study. There was nothing more to say. She knew why she had done what she did. But would Elsa?
Please let me know what you think! Constructive criticism appreicated as well.
