Last year of Elsa's elementary school life, she was chosen to be in the school choir. She hated choir practices as they would spend her after school hours and sometimes she had to go to school an hour early for practices. As the competition date was getting closer, the practices got more frequent and longer.
Hilda and Elsa were standing at the second row at the far left, it was a nice spot, her view was not blocked by anybody, and most importantly, not many people would bother notice those who were standing there.
"Listen up, everyone," said their choir teacher. "As soon as you finish your lunch, you must get all your belongings and arrive at the hall for our last practice. Okay? Now five minutes break and we'll sing one more time before your lesson starts!"
The group of choir children cheered and they hurried off to the tuck shop. Elsa sat at the bench and drank some water. Hilda came and sat by her side, smiling brightly.
"Isn't it exciting? After a couple of hours, we would be singing on stage and facing other choir groups!" said Hilda, who was completely indulging herself in the world of singing and performing.
"Let's hope that my ice power won't get out of control," whispered Elsa. "Though I am always on TV, not many people know that."
"You'll be fine, don't be too worried," said Hilda. "Just relax and nothing will happen, our song is about three minutes."
"That's a lot for me already."
"Not really," said Hilda and she began to sing. "There my longing finds its home, there my faith has its treasure…"
Elsa joined in and sang until the choir teacher ordered everyone back to practice. She was not concentrating on singing at all, she was thinking about the venue, what if there were a lot of people? What if she got freaked out and the ice froze everyone?
As soon as the lunchtime came, Elsa rushed down to the cafeteria to get her meal, Hilda chose to sit beside her at the corner.
"I've some news, beside choir groups, there would be the violin competition too," said Hilda as she ate her pasta.
"So?"
"The teacher says there would be a couple of boys performing violin pieces on stage."
"So you want to be their girlfriend?"
"Come on, it's just about saying hello and act friendly."
"Certainly I am not the friendly type of person," said Elsa bleakly.
"You need to stop worrying," pointed out Hilda. "Or else you can't get married ever."
"Marriage? Hilda, we're just eleven."
"Do you know that girls back in those days married off at the age of sixteen?" said Hilda. "Five years of dating and then you're married!"
"I don't think you would want to get married before eighteen."
"Who knows? One of them could be my prince charming."
"Stop your silly daydreams, this won't be good."
"Come on, let's finish our lunch quickly, the cello is going to be angry."
"It's Ms Cello Parkinson, she's got a name."
"Who else would call their child Cello? Then what's her parents' called? Piano and Trumpet?"
"Stop making fun of people," said Elsa while trying to control her snigger.
The two quickly finished their lunch set and hurried to the hall for last practice. Most people were there warming up, still the choir teacher was busy solving with paper works, so Elsa chose to sit down at a corner and rest.
"Hey, everyone, look!" said a student as she rushed into the hall. "I've got it!"
"What? What?" asked the other students and they quickly gathered around the student.
"They say that Leif Carlson is in the competition!"
"Leif Carlson? The violin prodigy?"
"Of course, he's the last performer of the day."
"Do you think the Cello will let us stay till the end of the show?"
"I don't know, I hear from my brother that the Cello usually dismiss us and she will stay behind for the results ."
"I wish I can grab my pen and book with me and let him sign, do you think he can sign on my hand?"
Elsa listened to all the chatters quietly and wondered what they were talking about.
"Hilda, who is the Leif Carlson?"
"Don't you know?" gasped Hilda. "He's the violin prodigy, getting the international prize in Austria last year. His parents were both famous violinists, they've got into headlines before, haven't you noticed that?"
"No, I just know Leif Erikson and A. J. Carlson."
"You must know him!" said Hilda. "He's very handsome and smart—"
"So why is he joining this local competition if he's so talented?" asked Elsa, trying to stop Hilda's flattery over the boy.
"How would I know? Oh, do you think I will bump into him?"
Elsa was not listening, she was thinking about herself, would she make fun of herself in front of everybody? She was the crown princess, she was to ascend to the throne one day, she could not have any mistakes.
"Alright, everyone, time for last practice and we'll be off to the venue!" said Ms Parkinson.
The choir children all moaned and returned to their positions unwillingly. The piano music rang and the choir all took a deep breath, then high pitches came out from their throats. When the song ended, everyone clapped loudly and cheered for themselves. Ms Parkinson nodded approvingly and she led the group to coach. Elsa and Hilda sat at the back, watching their choir friends singing and babbling in excitement.
"Oh, Elsa, I'm so excited," whispered Hilda, who could not stop smiling brightly.
"Calm down, or else I will have to give you sleeping pills," said Elsa while looking at the scenery outside as the coach drove along the road.
She closed her eyes and tried to control her power by recalling her memory of the little cottage. Only recalling the memories of that place could make her having absolute control of her ice power.
She was at the meadows where the willows were swaying freely, there was the clear running water in the stream, the hares occasionally stood straight and looked around, while the wild ponies were grazing in the breeze. The freshness of air was ever so luscious like the scent of lime.
"Elsa," said a voice calmly, with a hint of hurry in the tone.
She looked back and an arm grabbed her, the vision in front of her became blurry and grey, then it all fell into darkness, the meadow had gone.
"Elsa," yelled another voice. "Elsa…Elsa!"
Elsa gasped and she realized that the window was covered with a thin layer of frost, she tried to rub it off, but it did not seem to melt.
"We are going to arrive at the venue in five minutes," reminded Hilda. "You have to face it anyway, why don't you get prepared earlier?"
The coach soon stopped in front of a building and everyone got off the coach along with their belongings. Before leaving, Elsa looked back at the frost on the window and frowned slightly.
"Come on, students, there's not much time left!" said Ms. Parkinson and the group of choir students followed her into the building.
The room was a large hall with tons of chairs lining up neatly, there was the corridor separating the two sides of chairs, and there were already children sitting at the front, chatting with excitement. Some were sitting at the back, holding the violin neck and sometimes bending down while ticking the strings. Right in front of the audience seats, there was a table with three chairs, and Elsa assumed that they were the judges' seats. One by one, the choir group settled down at the chairs and some began playing rock-paper-scissors and I spy.
"Oh, I don't see Leif anywhere," said Hilda. "I wonder what violin piece he is going to play today."
"Just wait, time passes quickly," said Elsa, who was staring at her gloves dully.
"Did Ms. Parkinson say when we will be performing on stage?" asked Hilda.
"There're totally twelve choir groups this year," said Elsa as she bit her lips. "The first one is the famous Bergen Elementary School, and we are the sixth, following Norskya International School."
"So we're not the last one…"
"Why would you ask that suddenly?" asked Elsa.
Hilda grinned and Elsa immediately knew what she was thinking.
"Stop daydreaming and concentrate! We are here to sing, not dating any boys!"
"Okay, okay, I know."
Elsa sat down and watched the choirs' performances, all of them had sung well, so well that Elsa did not think their school had any chance in winning. Then, it was the Norskya International School's turn to perform. Ms. Parkinson quickly asked everyone to proceed into a small chamber and they started their last practice. Ms Parkinson kept on reminding them to smile and sway their bodies while singing.
"I'm not good at smiling and pretending that I like singing," said Elsa.
"It's all because you have a good voice," pointed out Hilda as everyone got to the backstage, listening to the choir's melodious singing.
"I am so nervous, can I just pretend having a stomach-ache?"
"Unless you want to be scolded."
The audience clapped and the hosts muttering something quickly, then the choir group was told to get into their positions. The curtains slowly opened and Elsa could not help fretting, her muscles were tensed up and her legs were shaking, though she was not standing in a prominent position, she could feel everyone was eyeing on her. The judges whispered into each other's ears for a while and the judge in the middle rang the bell. Ms. Parkinson bowed deeply and she turned around, her arms lifted up and the piano immediately played.
Elsa's voice was shaking and she wanted to close her eyes to calm down, but she could not. There were frost beneath her feet and it tried to occupy the whole stage. People were all looking at her and had their discussion in whispers, and Elsa knew why perfectly.
Conceal, don't feel, don't let it show.
When the piano stopped playing and Ms. Parkinson bowed, the audience gave them applauses and the curtains closed. Elsa let out a deep breath and looked down, the frost was there, but it diminished soon before she was pulled down from the stage.
"Oh my goodness, did you see the judges nod happily?"
"I bet they are going to give us high marks!"
"The Bergen Elementary School would be so jealous of us!"
"Hey Elsa," said Hilda. "Did you see Leif sitting at the back, he's so fabulous!"
"Who?" asked Elsa dully, who was not listening to her friend.
"Leif, he was enjoying our singing, it'd be nice if we can really stay behind instead of being dismissed."
As the children returned to their seats, Ms Parkinson told them that they needed to stay behind for the results, the children could not been happier.
"I need to go to the washroom," whispered Elsa and she hurried to the washroom.
Her muscles were still shaking and as soon as she faced the mirror, she could see her face was scarlet and the gloves were glowing.
"It's alright, it has passed, it's going to be fine," whispered Elsa and she took a deep breath.
After she thought she was calm, she headed out of the washroom and unfortunately bumped into someone.
"Hey," moaned Elsa, who was sitting on the ground.
"I'm sorry, Your Highness, are you hurt?" said a voice.
Elsa looked up and she was dazed. It was surely a handsome face, with sleek brown hair that shone under the lights, his eyes were of deep brown, giving out warmth. In his right hand, he was holding a violin and a bow. His white tuxedo matched perfectly with his face, creating an impression of nobility. Elsa could not help but staring at him.
"Your Highness? Are you okay?"
Elsa gained back her sense and she tried to get up. The boy pulled her up and smiled brightly.
"Thank you," said Elsa shyly.
"I'm Leif, Leif Carlson," said the boy and he nodded.
"I'm Elsa."
"I know, Princess Elsa of Arendelle."
"Yes."
There was a moment of awkward silence. Elsa bit her lips and she could feel the power was trying to leak out again.
"Your singing is good," said Leif.
"Huh?"
"I saw you sing, you are really good at it."
"Thank you," whispered Elsa, knowing that her face was burning hot. "Wish…wish you good luck on your performance."
Elsa immediately ran back to her seat and tried to relax.
"What happened?" asked Hilda.
"Nothing."
"You don't have to be afraid anymore, the performance is over, you can take a rest now, nobody's going to look at you."
The audience clapped again and the curtains opened. Leif was standing at the stage, then he slowly placed the violin was his shoulder, the bow hovered on the strings. After the bell rang, he began playing.
"I know this, this is the first movement Partita No. 2 in D minor, BWV 1004 by Bach!" exclaimed Hilda.
"By who?"
"Bach! One of the most famous composer, last time my piano teacher played Toccata in D major, BWV 912 in the lesson and I loved it!"
Elsa did not have the faintest idea on what Hilda was saying, she was staring at Leif's violin, though she did not have much knowledge about music, she knew that piece was ancient and it was almost like a dance in autumn, yet it was a farewell dance. Just then, she realized Leif was glancing at her direction, was she just overthinking? Was he just looking at Hilda?
The piece ended with a long note, and everyone clapped loudly, there was no doubt about his chance of getting the first place. Leif bowed and he disappeared into the backstage.
"He's such a prodigy, and he's looking at us…" squealed Hilda excitedly. "I wonder if I can have his signature and shake his hand. My piano teacher says she is a fan of him too."
Elsa was still thinking about the violin music. It was echoing in her brain, and it did not fade away until another round of applause rang.
"Elsa," said Ms. Parkinson.
"Yes, Ms Parkinson?"
"I want you to represent our school and go on stage for the prize if we win."
"Why me?"
"Because you are the princess," said Ms. Parkinson. "Now sit here, you can get out easier. Just listen carefully…"
Elsa did not want to be the representative, just because she was the princess she had to be the one who would be receiving the prize? Sometimes she really wished she was only a normal student who lived an ordinary life. How she had wished her parents were just normal people who were working for the country.
"Now, the results are out, let's invite our judges Peter Olsson, Kristina Frostenson and Horace Ralph to present the prize for us," said the host and the audience clapped in unison.
The three judges delivered their own lengthy speeches and started to present the prizes. There were a number of strange prizes, including Best Smile Award, Best Movement Award, Best Conductor and Best Pianist Award. Elsa was glad that Ms Parkinson got the Best Conductor Award, or else Ms. Parkinson would be stomping the hall and complained loudly about fairness.
"The second runner-up of this year's music festival choir section is…Northern Aurora School."
The students in front of Elsa cheered and a girl walked up to the stage, happily accepted the prize and leapt back to her seat, her schoolmates all tried grabbing the trophy and examined it.
"The first runner-up is…Bergen Elementary School!"
There was a moan among the Bergen Elementary School students as they heard the announcement, some of them even cried and hid their faces behind their hands, unable to accept the truth. A tall boy marched up to the stage and took the prize politely, still there was a hint of disappointment in his eyes. He quickly gave the trophy to his teacher and returned to his seat. The teacher glared at her students and walked towards the washroom, leaving her students dismayed and miserable.
"And now…the championship goes to…Flosta School of Arendelle!"
Elsa's schoolmates all cheered and Elsa was pushed up to the stage, receiving the trophy from Kristina Frostenson with a bit of shock. Flashes sparked at her and all she could was dazed there with puzzlement. Immediately, she was pulled aside and the host continued announcing the results. The two awarded violinist got up to the stage and received their certificates. Elsa could notice Leif was looking at her, frost was trying to come out from her palms, and she could feel there was tinkling on the surface of the trophy.
No, not now, not in front of anybody.
"And now, our champion violinist is…Leif Carlson from Bergen Cathedral School!"
Everyone cheered as Leif got up with his violin, walking to the stage as if getting a prize was just a common event. He shook hands with judges and received his trophy. From his smile, Elsa could tell that it was not surprising for him to get the trophy, and certainly he had more than that in his house, he would not have much desire on this little prestige.
"May the two students take a photo together?" asked the photographer at the judges table, flashing his camera with excitement.
Elsa and Leif were immediately placed together and the judges clutched their shoulders tightly. Elsa wanted to go back to her seat, she could feel inside her gloves, frost was growing out of control and tried to get out.
Please, not now, not now, just one more minute.
As soon as she was released from the judges' grasps, she headed down to the stage and handed in the trophy to Ms. Parkinson. The schoolmates kept cheering and hugging each other. Leif walked to the back and his parents patted his shoulder. When Ms. Parkinson told everyone to leave, Elsa took her satchel and got up from her seat. Just as she was about to get out of the room, she met Leif. The two stopped at the entrance.
"You go first," said Leif.
Elsa nodded and went outside, followed by Leif. The other students could not believe that the violin prodigy was talking to the princess!
"He's talking to her!"
"Am I dreaming?"
"I wish he's talking to me…"
Leif seemed to have ignored those words, he smiled at Elsa and said,
"Congratulations."
"Who me?" asked Elsa, shocked by his sudden felicitation.
"You're a good singer."
"Thank you," said Elsa. "You're a good violinist, not really good, it's…excellent…"
"Thanks."
"Erm…bye…"
"Bye."
"See you."
The King sighed as he received the news from Kai. Who would want to believe that their daughter was 'dating' a violin prodigy like what the media described.
"Elsa, you know you should not get too close with boys at this age, it's not healthy to the royal family," said the King.
"I just talked to him!" exclaimed the King. "I didn't touch him, I didn't hug him, I didn't date him, I just met him!"
"Agðar, this is only balderdashes from the media," said the Queen.
"We can't let balderdashes happen again that easily," said the King. "You know we are not normal people."
"I know," said Elsa. "I'll be more careful next time."
"Kai," said the King. "Send the letter to that newspaper office."
"Yes, Your Majesty," said Kai and he bowed deeply before leaving.
Ah, finally Leif is out! You may start to wonder if he is going to be someone that is extremely important in Elsa's life. I know it may be boring to you, because the adult life of Elsa is much more exciting. And also, I am thinking if Elsa's first child is going to be a son or daughter. That really bothers me, so I am holding a poll, please do my a favour, go into the poll. It will be in my profile for a whole week, I would be very grateful if you can spare a little time for that.
Reviews, Favourites, Follows are always welcomed. (I feel like my story is not good enough to make readers favourite or follow. T_T)
