The email with the information that had been covered at the team meeting came that night.
And in short, it meant one of two things. Either Anna would have to get another part time job in order to pay for the weekly Tuesday and Friday night lessons that began in a week, or she would have to quit the team and ride as part of the club.
"Why is it so much money?" Anna sighed.
"Well, you know I'd offer to help you out—"
"Kristoff, that is out of the question," Anna told him pointedly.
She was sitting in his dorm room, where they had been watching some random TV show while talking about their classes. But then she'd gotten the email notification on her phone—which she suddenly had the urge to hurl across the room.
It just wasn't fair!
"Well, there's also what Merida was talking about at the meeting," Kristoff said, "I don't think they put it in the email."
"What do you mean?" Anna was confused.
"They said that if anyone thought that they'd have trouble paying, to email your respective team captain and that you'd be able to work something out," Kristoff informed her.
Oh, right, Anna remembered, I stopped listening the second I heard how much the lessons were.
"I'm going to email Flynn right now," Anna said, "And hopefully settle everything before the first lesson."
"You've got a week," Kristoff reassured her, "Everything's going to work out."
And, indeed, everything did work out…just not quite in the way that Anna had expected.
Flynn had gotten back to her two days later, offering her something that he had worked out for her that would cut the cost of each of her lessons in half; a now manageable price.
Anna would work at Arendelle Riding Academy twice a week, on Thursdays and Sundays.
Which gave her the inevitable and much displeasing opportunity to run into Elsa during her work again.
But she couldn't say no.
She couldn't let some stuck-up senior keep her from riding on the team. This was something that Anna had dreamed about! The one thing that had drawn her to this college to begin with!
Her work began this Thursday, before the lessons started.
And during chemistry on Wednesday, Elsa made no mention of Anna working the following day, and didn't once acknowledge their awkward encounter at Starbucks.
In fact, she barely talked at all, which was no surprise to Anna. But when she did say something…she sure knew how to get her point across.
If the senior wanted Anna to get her something, Anna got it. If the she wanted Anna to write something down, Anna wrote it. If she wanted Anna to get out of her way, Anna got out of her way; this Elsa never had to ask twice.
And never once did she ask Anna to take any measurements, or perform any technical part of the experiment. Never once did she ask Anna's opinion.
Queen's orders, Anna rolled her eyes.
Whatever Elsa said was the right answer, and if it wasn't—well, Anna had yet to find out what would happen if it wasn't. Every calculation that the senior would write on their lab report, Anna quickly learned, would be rewarded with nothing short of a hundred percent when it was graded.
And Anna, although she most certainly would have helped more if asked, could only attempt to follow the precision; could only attempt to understand why the orange liquid was being mixed with the yellow liquid and forming this solid thing that was somehow transcribed into words and numbers on the paper beneath Elsa's hands. Because if Anna asked the senior to slow down and explain something to her, she feared she might end up with a predicament not much different from Delaney's episode at the tryouts.
God. I just compared her to a moody mare, Anna's thoughts were, at this point, unable to be kept back, along with a small laugh that slipped out before she could contain it.
Elsa looked up from the paper, "Is there something you find funny?" she paused for a moment, and then said pointedly, "Because there's nothing that I find amusing about the fact that while I sit here and go through every calculation for you, you insist on interrupting me."
It took every bit of Anna's strength not to laugh again in astonishment.
She's worse than a moody mare.
Anna's phone buzzed the next morning, just as she was leaving her building for class. The message that she saw was from Hans.
Want to meet me for dinner in the dining hall tonight?
Anna smiled at his message, and was about to accept the offer when she remembered that she had to leave at a quarter to five and spend three hours working at the barn.
I wish I could, but I can't. I'm working at the barn now. My first shift is tonight.
Regretfully, Anna sent the message, choosing to leave out the part about why she was working at the barn.
And after that, the day seemed to go downhill.
"Hey, at least you'll be around the horses," Kristoff told her as she grabbed her bike to head to the barn.
Yeah, but I'll be around Elsa, too.
"I know," she said, "Hopefully I'll see you later."
It was a shorter bike ride than it was to Starbucks; it only took five minutes. It was definitely a walkable distance, but she preferred her bike, however ridiculous she looked pedaling in barn boots.
Anna left her bike outside the barn where the cars were usually parked, and then realized as she walked into the barn that she had no idea where the office was located. And she knew that she needed to find the office in order to sign in for her shift. So she walked through the barn and followed the aisle around the indoor arena in the hopes of finding the office, and there, because life answered her prayers sometimes, was the office, all the way down past a supply closet.
But once she reached the door, Anna wondered if she was supposed to knock. The door was shut, but she was here to work. Surely she wouldn't want other people thinking that she expected them to do things for her—like opening the door for her.
And there you go again, analyzing everything imaginable. Just open the damn door.
Without giving it another thought, Anna did indeed open the door, walking into the office without hesitation.
And when she did she found Elsa.
Sitting at a computer.
Surrounded by so many papers that were organized in such an immaculate manner, Anna couldn't even begin to comprehend that it was possible.
And she was on the phone.
This was not what Anna had been expecting at all when she'd (finally) come to terms with the fact that she would have to see Elsa for an extra six hours of her life each week.
But it all made sense.
Elsa was in charge of everything that fell under 'financial'. So of course, as a 'working student', Anna would be her responsibility. Actually, from the looks of it, it seemed as though Elsa practically ran the barn herself.
And so Elsa would be her…boss?
Not that the senior didn't automatically assume that role any other time they interacted, so this would be no different. No different at all.
With the exception of the fact that Elsa was currently wearing barn attire, it looked like this was shaping up to be exactly like their chemistry lab…
"You're late," Elsa said once she put down the phone, "And don't you know how to knock?"
In the entirety of the situation, Anna was all of two minutes late. And it was technically due to the fact that she had to wait for Elsa to finish her phone call.
"Sorry," Anna's voice came out softer than intended.
Was she really going to let Elsa push her around?
"You sign in on the clipboard on the wall when you come in and when you leave. The first thing you need to do is switch turnout. All the horses outside come in, and all the horses inside go out, unless otherwise noted. And that is extremely important. There is a chart in the feed room that has the requirements for all of the horses. If it's written on the chart that a horse is lame, sick, supposed to be in a lesson, or anything else out of the ordinary, do not turn that horse out.
"Second, you are responsible for picking stalls. All twenty eight of them. And I hope you know what this entails—you're not spending time cleaning them completely or replacing the bedding; that gets done in the morning. And third, you are responsible for feeding the horses. The chart in the feed room that I mentioned before has everything written out.
"You are also expected to sweep the aisle—both the top and bottom levels—before leaving. If there are any problems, you are to let me know. Do you understand?"
"Yes," Anna said, barely even daring to breathe.
Without further instruction, Anna walked to the clipboard and penned her name and the time she had arrived. And she was halfway out of the office, just about to leave, when she heard Elsa say, "And I'd appreciate if you shut the door."
Anna wouldn't have been able to wipe the glare off of her face if she'd tried as she shut the office door a little more forcefully than necessary.
You don't appreciate anything I do.
By seven forty five, Anna had successfully finished nearly all of her jobs. As she swept the upper level, she listened to the sounds of the horses below her.
A huff. A whinny. The occasional grunt. The jostling of feed buckets.
In a way it was comforting; a small sense of normalcy amidst how foreign this entire barn was to a girl who was used to a small farm.
When she returned to the office after sweeping, she found that the door was closed. But she could tell that the light was off, and Elsa was nowhere to be seen.
Guess my knocking would fall on deaf ears, Anna thought as she pushed the door open, turned on the light, and made her way over to sign out. As anything I say would, even if she were here.
It took her all of three seconds to write her name on that paper, but it was what she saw almost hidden in a corner behind it that made her stop in her tracks.
There was an entire bookcase in the corner of that office, with boxes of papers pushed up against it. It was filled with…trophies. And ribbons. And awards of every possible shape and size. Anna would have added 'color' to that list, but the ribbons were nearly all blue. Nothing short of first place. And right on top sat a picture that Anna had not seen walking in the first time—a picture that captured the moment of a small white Fjord pony, frozen in time, as he trotted regally across snow-covered pasture.
"So you show up late, and I still can't get rid of you even after your shift has ended?"
Anna cringed at the words.
Dammit, why do you always have to do things like this? You really thought you could get away with snooping around her office?
Anna turned to face Elsa. Her boss. Her lab partner. Her classmate. Or…whatever she was to Anna at this point.
And at first she was just going to apologize again.
But then…she had a better idea.
She was already walking on thin ice; what more did she have to lose? And so she spoke on impulse, without really thinking.
"Is he yours?"
The question, as Anna had suspected, caught Elsa off guard, and the senior's eyes widened slightly, looking first to the picture, and then back to Anna.
Of course Elsa hadn't been expecting Anna to ask her such a question. Anna was entirely sure that every single person in her own place would be too intimidated to even look Elsa in the eye.
Although Elsa's icy composure seemed to melt the slightest bit, she covered up her shock in an instant. And the words she spoke were short and curt, "He was."
And instead of walking into the office, she turned around and left the barn.
When Anna arrived at the barn for her first lesson, she was nearly as nervous as she had been for her tryout. And her nerves were amplified by the fact that she didn't know anyone else on the novice team. She didn't even know who she was going to be assigned to ride!
But I guess that's an answer you'll get in a matter of minutes, Anna thought as she made her way up to the lounge.
On the table, she saw a paper where her name was written next to a horse named Titan.
"I vaguely remember turning him out yesterday," she mused aloud as she searched for an empty locker for her bag.
Then, looking back at the list, she decided to figure out who exactly her two other teammates were. They were listed by first name only. The first was Belle and the second was Olaf.
Seeing Olaf's name, she gave a little sigh of relief that she'd know someone before she went to go find Titan and hopefully tack him properly this time. And thankfully, he was one of those horses that only needed the usual saddle and bridle. She led Titan into the arena, where she was pleased to find that the lesson went smoothly, and definitely much more relaxed than the tryouts. Although large and somewhat speedy, Titan was content to listen to Anna's every cue both during flatwork and jumping.
And when the lesson was over, Olaf came up to her, taking off his helmet to reveal hair sticking out in every direction—including right up from the middle of his head.
"You're Anna, right?" he said, grinning broadly.
"That's me," Anna told him.
"I thought I remembered you."
"Well, I definitely remember you," Anna laughed, "You were the only one to talk to me and Kristoff the first day of orientation."
"Yeah I guess that's right," Olaf said, but then he changed topics abruptly, "But I have to go talk to Elsa and I was wondering if you've seen her."
"No, sorry," Anna said.
Thank God.
Because after what Anna had said to her last night, she was sure that the next time the blonde saw her, she would make her pay for it.
"But she's probably in her office," she offered.
"Probably," Olaf agreed, "Thanks, Anna."
"Sure," she said, watching Olaf walk down the aisle that she had so tediously swept the day before.
And as he walked away, she couldn't help but wonder if he would notice the picture in that office.
The one that Anna just couldn't stop thinking about.
The little Fjord pony looked so beautiful and gentle—reminding her so much of her old lease horse, Chip.
And after the way Elsa had reacted to Anna's question, there was only one explanation that Anna could come up with to justify the senior's actions, and it was something that Anna also couldn't stop thinking about, no matter how hard she tried.
Elsa—the same cold and seemingly indifferent Elsa who had nothing but criticism and orders to direct at her ever since Anna had arrived—had once cared very much about something.
A/n: So Elsa's just one big mystery at the moment. Lots of questions…and not a lot of answers. Yet ;)
Anyway, here are some horse terms:
Lame: It's a rather broad term. It covers anything that would change the horse's gait. It's also anything that would affect the horse's ability to perform required tasks. In essence, it means that the horse is injured, just more severely than just a scrape or a cut.
Flatwork: Basically any exercise that doesn't involve jumping (hence 'flat').
And it's more of an idea than a term, but I'll explain the whole 'moody mare' thing in case you were all confused by that. It's a common assumption in the horse world that mares, no matter what mood they're in, always look and act annoyed. Or that they're "always angry". Kind of an appropriate analogy to make with Elsa at the moment for the purposes of masked emotion.
Thanks for reading :)