Hello again!
Asteroth1: Haha, it probably was! :p Sadly, this was Étienne's first and only appearance in this fanfic. He might be mentioned later on, but I'm not planning on him returning any time soon. Glad you enjoyed it! :D Sorry about that, I still actually know very little about this site, so I just closed it for now. :p I'll be sure to check it out!
Belmont9: Thanks! :D I'm glad you're enjoying it!
taylorjago: Really? How was it? :D
psalty: Haha, glad you liked it! :D
The familiar pitter patter of her feet on the floor got his attention even before she spoke. "Thomas."
He looked up from where he sat reading near the window to see his sister in her worn, faded nightgown standing before him.
"Didn't you say Princess Anna wanted to meet me?"
"Yeah. . ."
"So? When can I meet her?"
"Umm. Actually, I don't know."
"Why don't you bring her here?" A broad grin swept over the girl's face, and she rocked back and forth on the heels of her feet in impatience.
"Here? Mimmi, I don't think that's a good idea."
"Please, Thomas? I'll cook something special, and maybe Mama will get out of bed, and we can all talk together and-"
"Mimmi. Mama hasn't left her room for years. Just because Anna's coming doesn't mean that she'll come back to us."
Mimmi's face fell. "You're right," she mumbled. "I guess I just. . . hoped that she would."
Thomas stood up and closed his book. He rested a hand on the girl's shoulder comfortingly. "Mimmi, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that. It's just. . . Mama's never been the same since Papa died. We've been trying, and waiting for years. I still hope she'll snap out of it, but we've already tried to get her back. We can't do anything for her."
A sniff escaped Mimmi. "I just miss her. Things aren't the same without her here. Without her really here."
"Come here." Thomas wrapped Mimmi in his arms, holding her tightly against him. She hugged him back, eyes closing as warm tears fell onto his shirt.
"If it'll really make you happy, I'll ask Anna if she wants to come over."
"Really?" Mimmi looked up hopefully at Thomas. The desperate look on her face broke his heart, she had been deprived of so many things for years. He had to do this for her. He only hoped that Anna would agree.
"Of course. Anything for you, sis."
"Thanks, Thomas." With one last squeeze, Mimmi let go. "Don't stay up too late, okay?"
"Okay. Good night."
"G'night."
Mimmi scampered to the bedroom, the sound of her footsteps growing fainter with each step.
Thomas sat back down in his chair, and stared out the window. From here, he could barely make out one of the towers in Arendelle's castle.
He was embarrassed to show Anna his small, shabby home. To introduce her to his mother who had stayed in her room for five years and had locked out the world, even her own children, after the death of her husband. The only thing he wasn't ashamed of was Mimmi. He knew that the two would become friends instantly. Anna's fresh, energetic spirit was just what Mimmi needed.
"Thank you."
"For what?"
"For getting Prince Creepy of Chambord away from me. I never did thank you about that, and didn't get the chance to tell you yesterday since I was busy with Elsa."
"It's fine. It's my job."
"As my guard, or as my friend?"
Thomas stuttered, lost for words as he thought over this. "B-both, I guess."
Anna nodded, as if expecting this answer. "And thanks for singing to me that day after I fell out of the tree. You have a beautiful voice."
He looked away, embarrassed by the compliment. "It was nothing," he mumbled.
"Thomas." Anna reached for his gloved hand and held it in her own bare one. He looked to see her smiling genially at him, a rare gentleness spreading over her face. "Really, I mean it. Thank you."
His posture relaxed, and a warm smile appeared without him even knowing it. "You're welcome. But I'm not singing for you again."
"You're no fun."
"You're too much fun."
Anna stuck her tongue out at him, eliciting a chuckle from him. She let go of his hand, and Thomas was surprised to feel himself wishing that she had held onto it longer.
"Will we be at your house soon?" she asked as they continued to walk.
"Almost. We live pretty far into the forest. At least there's no annoying neighbors around."
Anna shook her head. "Always the jokester."
"Thanks for coming out here."
"It's my pleasure. I'm excited to meet Mimmi."
A silence followed, during which Anna contemplated asking him about his parents when she gave an almost imperceptible shake of her head. "I won't trouble him. He'll tell me when he wants to."
"Mimmi's going to make finnbiff," Thomas spoke up.
Anna stopped abruptly, her face devoid of all color. "Finnbiff? Reindeer?" she asked in a trembly whisper.
"Yep." The whole kingdom knew of the royal family's love of reindeer. Well, actually the family's varying degrees of love, but love nonetheless. Eating reindeer to Anna was like going swimming in a sea full of snakes.
"Thomas. . . I'm sorry, but I don't think I can eat reindeer, I would never be able to look at Sven or Kristoff again without feeling guilty. I'm sorry." Her eyes were truly remorseful, and she felt absolutely horrible at having to turn away the supper Mimmi had made especially for today.
"It's fine, I understand."
"You do?" Anna felt a weight being lifted off of her chest, although her eyebrows shot up high in surprise.
"Yep. Especially since we're not eating finnbiff. We're actually eating lapskaus."
"You. . . what?"
"Lapskaus. Not reindeer."
Thomas knew that Anna had quite a temper, but wasn't anticipating her response to his small joke.
"Y-you. . . you jerk!" She shoved him back and stomped away, braids bouncing behind her.
"Anna, wait!"
Thomas soon caught up to her and stood in front of her, blocking her way. Anna scoffed and crossed her arms. "Anna, I'm sorry, I just wanted to mess with you."
"I know! You made me think I was gonna eat reindeer! I was about to cry for Sven's family!"
A small chortle escaped him, and he quickly coughed in an attempt to cover it up. Anna wasn't fooled.
"And now you're laughing at me!"
"No, Anna, I'm not. I swear." The grin on his face said otherwise.
Anna huffed and tried to step around him, but he only moved in front of her again. "Just let me go eat with your sister!" she cried out.
"I will, but I really am sorry, Anna. I didn't think it would upset you like this, I just wanted to play a prank on you." He placed his hands on her shoulders, forcing her to look up at him. "I'm sorry, Anna."
She stared defiantly at him before sighing, turquoise eyes softening. "Okay. I accept your apology. And I'm sorry for shoving you. I guess I sorta went a bit crazy," she mumbled as she gave a sheepish shrug at the end of her sentence.
"I'm used to it. Now, come on, we better get there before Mimmi gets mad at me for taking so long to get you there." He removed his hands and continued on, Anna by his side.
"Do you live to make everyone angry at you?" Anna asked.
"Nope. Just you and my sister."
"I'm honored."
"As you should be."
Anna gave his shoulder a shove, making him laugh. "Do you live to hit and shove everyone?"
"Nope. Just you."
"What about Kristoff?"
"I leave that to Elsa."
The two continued to talk and bicker playfully until they reached Thomas' home.
"Here we are. Sorry it's so small."
"I like small. It's a nice change from the huge castle." Anna's eyes roamed over the diminutive house in awe.
With a sigh, Thomas opened the door for her. "Come on in."
They entered the front room, the comforting smell of food filling the air. Anna breathed in deeply, reveling in the atmosphere. "That smells amazing!"
"Mimmi'll be happy. Mimmi!" he called.
A girl of fifteen emerged from a smaller room, wiping her hands on her apron. She had the same dark-brown hair as Thomas, although hers was more lustrous. Her eyes were of a soft gray hue, and her petite figure almost reached Anna's. "Princess Anna! Welcome!" she shyly spoke as she dipped into a curtsy.
"Oh no! Please, just call me Anna."
"Are you sure?"
"Positive."
After a quick glance at her brother as if to confirm this, she nodded. "Okay then. Hi, Anna. I'm Mimmi." She gave a timid wave.
"Hi, Mimmi. Thomas told me a lot about you."
"He did?!" Mimmi glared at Thomas.
Anna laughed, the glare not escaping her eye. "He didn't say anything bad about you, don't worry."
"Yeah, I saved that stuff for tonight to tell her in front of you," Thomas teased.
Anna smacked his arm while Mimmi flushed, her eyes narrowed at him. "You're lucky Anna's here, otherwise I'd beat you up."
"See? She's abusive, like you," he said in a not-so-secret aside to Anna.
"Hey!" both girls exclaimed.
Thomas shook his head with a smile, evidently pleased with having managed to annoy both girls at the same time. "I need to go change out of my uniform, I'll be back. Mimmi, take care of her." He headed towards the back of the house.
"I will. So, Anna. You like lapskaus?" Mimmi hopefully asked.
"I love it. Although Thomas told me we were eating finnbiff."
"Sounds just like him. Come on, I'll take you to the table."
To Anna's surprise, Mimmi took her by the hand and led her to the kitchen. A small table for four sat in the middle, the stove on the left side and cupboards on the right.
"Sorry it's not very big," Mimmi mumbled as Anna sat down at the table.
"No, no! It's fine! It's cozy." Anna didn't want her and Thomas to feel ashamed of what they had; she had already fallen in love with their home.
Mimmi turned to the stove and ladled out the stew into three bowls.
"Can I help with anything?" Anna asked.
"No, you're our guest. It's fine."
Anna sat there, twiddling her thumbs under the table. She felt like she should do something, but if Mimmi said it was fine. . .
Thomas came in, dressed in a simple shirt and trousers. "Smells good, Mimmi."
"Thanks. Ta-da!" Mimmi placed a bowl in front of Anna and then Thomas, going back to the stove to retrieve her own.
"Wow, this is amazing!" Anna whispered. It was different from the lapskaus she ate at home. It was more. . . soothing.
"Oh, it's just stew," Mimmi replied as a warmth spread over her face.
"It's better than any stew I could make."
"She's right," Thomas interrupted. He ate a spoonful, looking down into his bowl. "She'd probably burn the castle down."
"That's not true! The most I've ever done is make a small fire."
"Multiple times."
"You know, you and Elsa must be keeping count or something. You guys are the only two who remember how many times I've burned stuff."
"And undercooked things. Oh, and added wrong ingredients."
Anna narrowed her eyes at him. "Thanks."
Mimmi watched the exchange interestedly, occasionally bringing the spoon to her mouth. "Is he always like this around you too?" she curiously asked Anna.
"Yep. Sometimes worse."
"Hey, I'm right here," Thomas interjected.
"Shh, I'm trying to talk to your sister." Anna waved his comment away and gave all of her attention to Mimmi, answering all of the girl's questions with a few peals of laughter here and there.
Thomas watched in amusement as the two girls all but forgot their food while chatting heartily with one another, as if they had known each other their whole lives.
"Thanks for coming."
"Thank you for having me."
"It was all Mimmi's idea."
"Still. Thank you, Thomas."
The two walked side-by-side down the hills towards the castle. Mimmi and Anna had spent hours together talking about various things.
Anna had listened intently to all of Mimmi's stories, and Mimmi had asked Anna about life in the castle.
Mimmi had stopped going to the public school five years ago to take care of their mother and the house while Thomas went off to work. He had taken small odd jobs before being accepted as a royal guard. He never ceased to feel guilty whenever he thought of Mimmi having to cut what education she could get short to stay home. Add that to the fact that was always alone, rarely interacting with girls of her own age. He wasn't exactly sure why, but he felt that their mother's illness had started to separate her from the others, leaving her alone in a world that they couldn't even begin to comprehend. She always seemed scared of girls her age, acting as if they would shun her if they knew about her mother's condition.
His mother's illness. After she had started to shut him and Mimmi out, he had been filled with anger and confusion. How could she break down now, when her children needed her the most? Over time, the anger had turned into cold acceptance. He had tried to help her, to provide for all of them until she got back up again. But she refused to leave her room, sometimes just staring at the wall or out the window. She didn't respond to him, only turning to look at him with eyes the same color as Mimmi's, but duller. He knew that she couldn't bear to look at him for long because he had inherited her husband's gentle green eyes. She would glance at him and then quickly look away, pain taking over her features. After a while, Thomas had stopped going to visit her. Mimmi brought her meals, changed her clothes, kept her clean, and kept her company. It broke his heart to hear Mimmi singing and talking to a person who might as well not have been there.
There were days where their mother would whisper a few words, usually directed towards her husband. Mimmi would run to Thomas, face alight with hope. "She said something! Maybe tomorrow, she'll talk to us!" Thomas could never find it in his heart to dampen her spirits, so he agreed hollowly.
"Thomas?"
He looked to see Anna staring at him, and suddenly realized that she had talking to him while he had been thinking.
"Sorry, I was just. . ."
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine."
Anna pulled him to a halt, one hand firmly on his arm. She didn't say anything at first, simply searching his face for answers. "It might help to talk about what's bothering you."
From the way that she said it, Thomas guessed that she spoke from experience. With a sigh, he brought a hand to his face, massaging his forehead. "It's my mother."
"Is she. . . alright?" Anna asked in a cautious whisper.
"No. My father died when I was fifteen. After he died, she just fell apart. She's stayed in her room everyday since then, talking to him. Mimmi stays with her. She gave up school to take care of her." Thomas's other hand clenched into a fist.
"We've tried for years to get her to come back to us, but nothing works. She doesn't care about anything anymore. Mimmi still hopes that she'll snap out of it one day, but. . ."
"You don't think so," Anna finished for him.
"Does that make me a bad person?" he brought his hand down from his face to see her expression.
She wore a small, understanding smile on her face. "No. It makes you human."
He took in a ragged breath, and suddenly felt weak. "I'm sorry, can we-"
"Of course." Anna seemed to know what he was going to say before he did. She carefully pulled him down with her, both of them sitting on the grass.
"I still think your mom will make it," Anna spoke up.
Thomas flashed her a doubtful glance. "How? I've spent years living with her, and you've never met her." He felt her hand stiffen on his arm in response to his cold tone, and instantly felt guilty. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"
"It's fine. And you're right, I've never met her. But Mimmi has. She still believes. And I believe in her."
"But what if she's wrong?"
"We don't know yet. The best we can do right now is to just wait and see. Maybe Mimmi's visits help her. We can try different ways to bring her back."
"We?"
"I want to help. I'll do anything I can to help you and Mimmi out. You can't lose hope, Thomas."
He closed his eyes, thinking over something in his mind. "Did you ever lose hope?"
"Once. When I was stuck in Hans' dungeons. We had been there for about a year when I started to give up on ever making it back home."
"What brought it back?"
"Elsa. It was a cold night, and I could see my breath in the air. I tried to make it better by thinking about Elsa and her magic. Then I remembered all of the times we spent together, especially when I broke my arm. I fell out of a tree while we were playing when I was five, and she carried me back to our room, knowing that our parents would be mad if they found out. Eventually, they did, but she stood up for me. She took most of the blame, even though I was the one who came up with the idea. In that cold cell, I told myself that I couldn't give up, I had to get back home to her and protect her from Hans, to be there for her. I owed her at least that much. Turns out, Elsa can protect herself, but that promise I made with myself kept me going."
Thomas slowly opened his eyes. In the moonlight, Anna appeared to be glowing. Her hair gleamed, and her eyes shone with a light he had never seen before.
"Thomas, will you make me a promise?"
He blinked, caught off guard by her question. But he owed her this much, at least. She had cheered up his sister, and comforted him. "Of course."
"Promise me that you won't give up on your mother." Anna held her pinky out to him, like how she used to seal her promises with Elsa.
"I promise." Thomas's pinky met hers, and she shook them in agreement.
"Okay. I'll hold you to that, Mr. Hat," she spoke, the corners of her mouth turning up.
He grinned back, surprised at how easily she had been able to lift his spirits. "We should get you back home."
"I can walk by myself."
"Your sister would kill me."
". . . Okay, fine."
The two walked comfortably in silence the rest of the way back, at ease as they wandered through the rest of the forest and then through the quiet town. When they reached the castle gates, a few guards spotted them from above and opened the gates from inside.
Anna turned to Thomas with a smile. "Thanks. I had fun."
"Thanks for coming, and for the pep talk."
"It was nothing. Don't forget your promise."
"I won't."
"G'night, Thomas."
Before he could respond, she gave him a quick peck on the cheek, and swiftly walked back into the castle. If he had been able to see her expression, he would have noticed the spread of pink across her cheeks and the grin that she tried, to no avail, to fight back.
As the gates closed behind her, Thomas stared at her retreating figure in wonder.
"Goodnight, Anna."
Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter devoted to Thomas' backstory. :) As for our secret villain, she'll be making another appearance in the next chapter.
Until next week!