"Elsa!" Kristoff yelled, running after her, careful not to slip on the ice.
She was pacing around the meeting room, violently gripping her hair. "She's going to tell Anna, Kristoff. She's going to tell her!"
"You don't know that."
"Do you seriously think she won't tell her?"
"Elsa, calm down!"
"Do not tell me to calm down!" she yelled. She threw her hands back, and an icy wind blew all of the papers off of her desk. She was breathing heavily. She looked at Kristoff with fear and panic in her eyes.
"Okay then. Elsa, cool it," he said, adding a twinge of humor, or at least trying to.
She furrowed her brow, still breathing heavily. "Really?" Kristoff shrugged and rubbed the back of his head. "Get out," she said.
"What?"
"Get out!"
"Elsa…"
"Kristoff, in case you haven't noticed, I'm kind of panicking. This is no time for you to joke around, or piss me off, or whatever it is that you're trying to do!"
"That's not what I'm trying to do, Elsa! Please, just-" She shot him an icy glare before he could finish. He sighed. "I'm sorry."
After a few seconds her angry demeanor melted away. "No, I'm sorry. I'm not even mad. More like scared, I guess."
"I understand."
"I know Callan's going to tell Anna, I just know it. I'm scared of how Anna will react. I'm scared that she'll hate me."
"Why don't you tell Anna first then?"
"What?" said Elsa.
"Why don't you beat Callan to the punch? I mean, to be honest, Anna'a going to be mad either way. Sorry, but it's true. But maybe if you tell her yourself, she'd be a lot less mad than if she heard it from Callan." Kristoff suggested.
"But how, Kristoff? How am I supposed tell my little sister that I've been sneaking around with her supposed boyfriend?"
"You said it yourself, you need to ease her into it."
"What's all this 'you' stuff? Aren't you going to have a part in this? Anna and I share you, it would only make sense."
Kristoff shuddered. "Don't say that you and Anna share me. It makes me feel dirty. And no, I don't think I should have a part in this. You're her older sister. And the other woman too, at that."
It was Elsa's turn to shudder. "Don't call me the other woman." The two were silent for a while. Elsa walked over and stood behind her desk and gathered the papers together. "How did this even happen, Kristoff?" she asked, dejected, as she plopped down into her chair.
Kristoff followed her, stood behind her chair and started rubbing her shoulders. "Well, when a boy and a girl really like each other…" he started. Elsa elbowed him in the stomach.
"Shut up," she giggled.
"Hey now, I'm just trying to lighten things up."
"Well stop," she scolded, but she smiled. "Listen, Kristoff," she said after a few seconds. "I have a lot to do today, and I have a lot on my mind. I think it'd be a good idea if you left." She cringed slightly, worried he'd be offended.
"Sure, of course," he said, his voice soft and understanding. Elsa stood up, pushed the chair out from in between them, and gave him a big hug. Her heart skipped a beat when she felt his arms wrap around her. "Anything to help you figure through this," he continued. "After all, I am half of the problem."
"You are not a problem," she said into his chest, her voice slightly muffled. "You're sweet, and kind, and understanding…"
"And dashingly handsome," he added, holding her tighter.
"Yes, and dashingly handsome," she agreed with a laugh. They pulled back from the hug, but still held each other's arms. "Thank you," Elsa smiled.
God, that smile of hers… Kristoff thought, his eyes lighting up. "Sure," he said. "I'll see you tomorrow." he reluctantly stepped away from her and started for the door.
Elsa furrowed her brow. "Oh, right. Anna invited you here in the morning to send Hilde off with us, didn't she?" she remembered.
"Yup, see you then. Bright and early," he answered, then he was gone.
A smile remained on Elsa's face long after Kristoff had left. She wasn't sure why, he just had that affect on her sometimes. Today, she effortlessly whirled through her to do list, settling on trade agreements and reading the naval Captain's report, even writing out a response. For whatever reason, she didn't think at all about the incident with Callan. Until, that is, she finally left the safety of the meeting room for the day and ventured into the rest of her palace.
Not really knowing how long she had been in there, she decided not to knock on Anna's bedroom door in case she was still sleeping. But Elsa didn't want to go downstairs either, in fear of running into Callan. She sighed and paced around the hall. She eventually made her way to the library, and settled in a chair with a good book. Or, at least she tried to. All of a sudden her mind was racing.
What if Callan's talking to Anna right now? Maybe I should go see… But I don't want to bring it up with Anna if it's not necessary. Not yet, anyway. Maybe I should talk to Callan. I can try to explain things, I suppose. Or at least make something up, given that I can't even explain things to myself.
She didn't even notice that she was freezing the book to her hands. "Oh!" she gasped, when she eventually looked down. She tried to let go of the book, but there was a solid inch of ice binding it to her hands. She clumsily moved her arms around, and the ice retreated back into her hands. Even though she was confident that no one had seen, she blushed, and scurried in between some book shelves.
"What is wrong with me all of a sudden?" she wondered out loud, returning the book to it's rightful place on the shelf. "That's it. I need to go find Callan."
She turned out of the library, but quickly chickened out of going downstairs, instead heading for Anna's room. She knocked ever so softly, not wanting to disturb her sister if she didn't have to. "Anna? You awake?"
"Sure, come in, Els."
Elsa slowly opened the door, peeked inside, then shuffled in, closing the door right behind her. "Hey, how was your nap?" she asked, putting her hands behind her back.
"Heavenly," Anna said. She was sitting up on her bed, still half covered. She stretched until her back cracked. Elsa winced at the noise. "What did I miss around here today?"
"Nothing that I know of. I just finished writing my response to the Captain, so I'm done for the day. I just though I'd check on you."
"Glad you did," Anna smiled. "Want to go get a snack?"
Elsa thought about it longer than she should have, analyzing the affect it would have on Callan if she saw Elsa and Anna together. Maybe Callan would think that Elsa told Anna what was going on, and she was oddly okay with it. Maybe it would somehow let Elsa off the hook, at least for a little while longer. "Sure," she finally answered.
"Yay! We should go get some chocolate! Okay, I'll get dressed and meet you in the dining room in a few minutes, okay?"
"Gotcha," Elsa smiled and gave a thumbs up before slinking out of the room. She cautiously checked the dining room for any sign of Callan before walking down the stairs. She tiptoed, and stood in the most secluded corner in the room, trying to stay hidden until Anna came downstairs. She kept cautiously peeking around the corner and up the stairs.
"What are you doing?"
Elsa must have jumped about 10 feet in the air. She whipped around and saw Callan standing right outside the kitchen doors. "Callan! I, er…" she started. "Nothing," she continued, trying to appear normal. "Just waiting for Anna to come downstairs. We're going to go get some chocolate."
Callan gave her the weirdest look. "Oh, okay. Well have fun," she said, starting to head back to her room.
Wait, that's it? No snide comment or innuendo? No threat or ultimatum? Elsa thought. But as much as she was questioning it, she didn't dare say a word and give Callan any ideas.
Anna came downstairs moments later, searching for Elsa, who was still in the corner for some reason. "Elsa?"
All of a sudden Elsa felt stupid for hiding. She quickly thought of a way to make it seem less weird. "Boo!" she ran from the corner and jumped out in front of Anna.
This time Anna jumped about 10 feet in the air. "Oh, goodness Elsa! What was that for?"
Elsa smiled and shrugged. "Why not?"
"You little stinker," Anna put one hand on her hip and pointed at Elsa. "Come on, let's go."
The duo arrived at Birgiton's shop and stood in line politely, despite the villager's offers to have their spot in line. By the time it was finally their turn, Anna quickly ordered for the both of them. Elsa looked down at the display case of chocolate and smiled.
"The Queen's Choice?" she giggled. Birgiton blushed.
"With all due respect, Your Majesty. Princess Anna told me it was your favorite, and now it's the favorite of the rest of the kingdom! It's my best seller!" he explained.
"It's fine," Elsa said, waving off what she assumed to be some sort of apology on Birgiton's part. "What kind of Queen would I be if I didn't share my favorite chocolate with my subjects?"
Birgiton smiled, nodded, and handed Anna two to-go cups of cocoa, and placed a small bag of 'The Queen's Choice' on the counter. "Will that be all for you ladies?"
"Yes, Birgiton, thank you," Elsa said, picking up the bag of chocolate off of the counter and replacing it with a few gold coins. The girls took their snack outside and sat down at a little table right outside of Birgiton's shop. "This was a good idea, Anna. It's such a nice day out, too. I'm glad to get outside after being cooped up in the meeting room all day."
"I bet," Anna said, being the first to open the bag and take out a chocolate. "You got all of your stuff done, then?"
"All of it," Elsa said with a sigh, taking a chocolate also. "I decided which trade proposals to act upon, read over Aberforth's report, and even wrote a response. So the kingdom should be taken care of for a while, hopefully."
"So you're free tomorrow morning then?"
"I should be. Why?"
"I thought of making Hilde a special send-off breakfast."
Elsa picked out another chocolate and looked it over thoroughly. "Do we even know how to cook?"
Anna laughed. "I'm sure we could figure something out."
"I'm sure you're right. Sounds like a plan! I bet she'd really appreciate us doing something for her for a change."
Elsa smiled, taking pleasure in just sitting and talking with her sister. As far as Elsa knew, it could be one of the last times it could be this way. Who knows how dynamically their relationship would change once Anna knew about Elsa and Kristoff, no matter who told her.
The next morning Elsa woke up extra early, just to make sure Anna was awake extra early. Neither of them really knew how to cook, and Elsa wanted to get a head start on Hilde's send-off breakfast, just in case something went wrong. Which, let's face it, it was bound to happen.
"Elsa! I'm out of knives!" Anna yelled from across the kitchen.
"What do you mean you're out of knives?" Elsa yelled back.
"I mean, I used this one to slice the bread, now I need one to slice the fruit!"
"Use the same one, Anna!" Elsa yelled, slightly aggravated, but mostly amused. She was having a good time, at the expense of her little sister being upset over having no cooking skills whatsoever.
"Oh, right," said Anna. She could practically hear Elsa roll her eyes. "Shut up," she yelled. Elsa laughed.
"I didn't say anything!"
"You were thinking it!" She paused. "Are you even contributing? Or are you just here to be snarky?"
Elsa scoffed. "Snarky? My dear sister, you haven't even seen the beginning of it," she said, and she conjured a snowball and threw it into Anna's back.
Anna gasped. "El-saaa!" she whined. "That was cold!"
In the middle of Anna's complaints. Kristoff came sauntering in the kitchen through the batwing doors. "Hey! I heard you two are cooking. I'm surprised nothing's on fire," he said.
"Be careful what you say, Kristoff. Anna's got a knife," Elsa laughed.
"Yeah, and I know how to use it," Anna said, in a tone that would suggest that she wasn't joking. Kristoff decided it would be safer to join Elsa on her side of the kitchen instead.
"So what's cookin', good lookin'?" he said nonchalantly. Elsa turned to him with wide eyes. She darted her gaze to Anna and back. Kristoff slapped a hand to his forehead.
"Anna, Kristoff asked you a question," Elsa covered for him.
"Oh, um, well I'm slicing some fruit and bread, and I don't know what Elsa's actually doing," she said dryly.
"That's enough, Anna. I told you I'm trying to fix some eggs and juice."
"Please don't say you're trying to fix egg juice…" Kristoff joked.
"Eggs and juice," Elsa laughed. Kristoff smiled. He loved making her laugh. Elsa paused, thinking about how hurt her sister's feelings were probably getting. "Uh Kristoff, why don't you go see if Anna needs help with anything."
"I'm fine," Anna muttered from across the kitchen.
Kristoff shrugged and leaned up against the counter that Elsa was working on. Elsa tilted her head towards Anna and mouthed the words 'Go anyway'.
So he did. He walked over to Anna and gently placed his hands on her shoulders. "Are you sure?" he asked calmly.
Anna jerked away from him. "I'm fine." she repeated.
"Okay," he said, backing up. He looked back to Elsa. She shrugged. "I guess, uh, I guess I'll go wait in the dining room."
Once he was out of the kitchen, Elsa strode across the room. "What was that?" she asked, once she was by Anna's side. "You're the one that invited him here. Don't be so rude."
Anna sighed, and placed the knife safely on the counter. "I just don't feel like dealing with him right now."
"Why's that?" Elsa asked, then mentally kicked herself for doing so.
"I don't know," Anna said, turning around to face her older sister. "I mean, I love him, I do. But at the same time, I just… I don't know," she continued, shying away.
"No, no," Elsa said, gently placing a hand on Anna's shoulder, prompting her to face her again. "Come on, you can tell me."
"I don't think I can," said Anna. Elsa's expression fell. "No, it's not that I don't trust you Elsa, because I do, honest," she stammered, trying to reassure her sister. "I mean, I don't think I can explain it."
When all Elsa did in response was nod, Anna kept going. "But I can try," she said, looking over at her shoulder and taking comfort that Elsa's hand still rested there. "I want to be around him. Of course I do, we're a couple. But… things aren't normal. Something's not right. And that's making me not want to be around him, because I feel like once he gets me alone, he's going to tell me something that I don't want to hear. And…" she paused when her voice started to waiver. "I'm scared, Elsa. I'm scared of what's going on, of what it is he would tell me." She shut her eyes tightly and chocked back a sob.
Elsa felt her heart drop so dramatically that she was surprised that no one could hear it fall. "Oh, Anna…" she whispered, placing her free hand on her little sister's cheek, wiping away a tear that never fell. I need to tell her, now, don't I? "Anna, listen…"
"Come on you two, Hilde and Sigvard are waiting," Callan said as she burst through the kitchen doors. The sisters quickly separated and each grabbed two trays of food. Callan took one from Elsa, turned around and left the kitchen just as quickly as she entered. Elsa and Anna followed without saying another word.
Breakfast went off without a hitch, and no one got sick, so Elsa considered it a success. She smiled as she scanned the table, watching everyone finish their meal. But her smile faded when she saw Anna practically curled into a ball sitting next to Kristoff, as if merely his presence was the bad news she was dreading. The content silence was all of a sudden awkward. She eventually cleared her throat and stood up.
"Everyone, I'd like to thank Anna for having the idea to throw this together for Hilde. We had a blast cooking, or at least trying to," she laughed, and looked down at Anna, who actually smiled back. "And I want to of course thank Hilde, who over the years has done a marvelous job looking after my family. Actually, I don't think I could thank her enough for all that she's done for us. Especially in the past 3 years."
Hilde blushed and shyly waved off Elsa's kind words.
"To Hilde," Elsa said, raising her glass.
"To Hilde!" Kristoff, Sigvard, Anna and Callan repeated, following suit. They all took a healthy swig of juice.
"Thank you, everyone," Hilde smiled, looking around the table. "I'll miss you all so much," she said, this time focusing on Sigvard. He nodded in return.
With that, Callan began collecting plates and taking them into the kitchen. Anna began to follow her, then Elsa panicked, fearing the opportunity Callan would have to say something. Elsa jumped up and grabbed her sister's shoulder. "Anna, she'll be right back out to send Hilde off with us. Let's go to the foyer, okay?" Anna looked confused, but she followed Elsa anyway.
By the time everyone had arrived in the foyer, all of Hilde's things were packed into a carriage, and ready to go. Hilde stood in front of the door, and standing behind her in the shape of a crescent was Callan on the outside left, then Elsa, Kristoff, Anna, and Sigvard on the outside right.
Every so often, Kristoff would glance out of the corner of his eye to Elsa, and he noticed that every couple seconds she would look nervously at Callan, as if she were about to blurt out her secret right then and there.
"Well, I should be off, then," Hilde said quietly. Anna was the first to step forward and give Hilde a big hug.
"Thank you, Hilde, for absolutely everything. I'll miss you," she said, briefly burying her face into Hilde's shoulder before backing out of the hug and returning to her place in the lineup. Kristoff went next.
"You're an incredibly sweet woman, Hilde. I'll sure miss seeing you around." He gave her a small hug.
Callan immediately stepped forward next, as if she wanted to make sure that Elsa didn't make contact with Hilde right after Kristoff did. She took Hilde's hands in hers. "Thank you for teaching me everything you know. Not only about how to be a good maid, but also how to be a kind, honest woman. I'll really miss you," she said, letting go of her hands so she could take her in a hug.
"As will I," Elsa started while Callan and Hilde were still hugging. But she waited longer before continuing. "You are welcome here absolutely anytime, I mean it." She smiled and hugged Hilde longer than anyone else had so far. When she separated, she turned around to face everyone else. "I think we should leave Sigvard to say what he needs to."
They all agreed, and dispersed into different directions. Elsa headed for the dining room, and Kristoff caught up with her. "What was that?" he asked.
"What do you mean 'what was that'? I thought it was nice…"
"Yes, it was very nice. But I was talking about the way you were looking at Callan."
"Oh, you saw that?" she asked sheepishly.
"Yeah. Why are you so afraid of her?"
"Because she has dirt on me, Kristoff!"
"So?" he yelled in a whisper. "You're the Queen! You have authority over her. Who cares about dirt?"
"I care about dirt! Right now, she has the power to ruin me, and she knows it! That's terrifying!" said Elsa.
"I know. But you shouldn't let it show. That's what's making her so confident about knowing. Because she knows you're scared of her." Elsa was silent in thought, so he kept going. "You shouldn't be all 'Oh no Callan, please don't tell Anna! I'll do anything, please!'" he said in a high-pitched, wimpy voice. That one got a chuckle out of Elsa. "You should be more like 'Callan! I am the Queen! And if you so much as speak to Anna, I'll have you locked away!'" he said, this time in a much deeper, gruff voice.
"Oh come on, I don't talk like that," she said with a laugh. "But I get your point. And you're right. Maybe if I show her that it does't bother me that she knows, she'll be less inclined to tell."
"Exactly!" he said. "I have to go now. But remember; big strong scary Queen!" He comically flexed his muscles, gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, and left.
Elsa had spent most of the afternoon in her room relaxing and cleaning up a bit. She went through her closet and looked for dresses that she'd want to give to Anna. She set a few aside, then decided to venture downstairs for a glass of water.
Okay, if Callan's down there, just remember; big strong scary Queen. Big strong scary Queen. She repeated Kristoff's words to herself in her head. But her mantra didn't work. When she turned the corner to walk down the stairs and saw Callan and Anna sitting at the dining room table chatting over a cup of tea, she froze in her tracks.
"Callan! Anna! What are you doing?" she asked.
"Nothing. Just having some tea," Anna answered. Elsa shouldn't have been worried, but the look Callan gave her sent her into panic mode.
"Anna I need to talk to you. Alone. Uh, now," she said.
"Can't it wait? I was talking to Callan," Anna said. She turned to Callan and resumed their conversation.
Elsa quickly began trotting down the stairs. When she was about halfway down, Callan opened her mouth to say something. Panicking even more now, Elsa thrust her hand out in Callan's direction, and froze her mouth shut.
"Elsa! What's wrong with you? That was rude, now unfreeze her right now!" Anna scolded, standing up.
"Anna, I really need to talk to you right now," she said, crossing the room and grabbing Anna's arm.
She violently jerked away. "No! I was in the middle of visiting with Callan! Now unfreeze her!"
"Anna please! It's important!"
When Anna saw the seriousness in Elsa's eyes, the anger in hers faded, but only slightly. "Okay."
Hands shaking, Elsa retook Anna's arm and led her out of the dining room, without daring to glance at Callan. She took Anna past the foyer, and they stopped as soon as they entered the family room.
"Okay Elsa what is it? What could be so important that you had to interrupt me simply having a cup of tea and a nice talk with Callan?"
"Anna, there's something I have to tell you." Anna crossed her arms. "Kristoff and I…"
"Kristoff and you what?" Anna said, taking a few steps towards Elsa. Elsa took a step back for every step Anna took. They continued like that until Elsa backed into a wall, and could go no further. Anna had her cornered.
"Kristoff and I…" she started. "Both love you very much!" she finished the sentence quickly, flashing a nervous smile and holding out her arms as if gesturing for a hug.
Anna, arms still crossed, shifted her weight from one hip to the other, obviously not fooled.
"Okay," Elsa exhaled, preparing herself. "Anna, the reason Kristoff has been acting so strangely towards you recently is… well… him and I, we've been…" She paused, trying to find the right way to say it.
Anna looked as if she'd just seen a ghost. "You're joking with me, aren't you? You've got to be. Please tell me you're joking with me."
Elsa cringed knowing that Anna had figured it out. "I wish I were."
"This isn't funny, Elsa. This really isn't funny!" she said, her voice breaking. Elsa lowered her head and looked at the floor somberly, not saying a word. Tears gathering in her eyes, Anna managed to stand in front of her sister for a few more seconds, waiting for her to say something, before she finally took off.
"Anna! Wait!" Elsa yelled, springing into action and running after her.
"Leave me alone!" Anna yelled back between sobs.
"Anna!" Elsa called, chasing her up the stairs. She noticed that Callan was no longer at her seat in the dining room. Elsa caught up with Anna just as she arrived at the door to her room. Anna whipped around and placed a hand firmly on the door.
"Just… go away!" she screamed, and slammed the door right in Elsa's face.
That was a first.
Sorry updates are taking so long, everyone. I've got a lot of other things going on right now. I'll try to do a better job! Thank you so much for reading!
