Chapter 7

Theobald had suggested that they take cover under a nearby oak tree, for the clouds above were becoming grey and he feared that rain would soon be pelting down on to them. Fortunately he had brought with him a full day's supply of food, drink and some extra blankets, in case of a sudden change in temperature.

"Here," he said, as he passed a blanket quickly to Elsa, who was now sitting by the trunk of the large tree. "I must admit that when I first ventured up here, I had not been expecting it to rain. But then, neither it seems did you."

"No," said Elsa self-consciously, avoiding Theobald's gaze. There was less distance between them now, and she suddenly became acutely aware that she was very much alone. Prince or no prince, the fact was that she didn't really know Theobald at all. He was a stranger….. Now that it was raining, she was stuck here and would have to be with him till it stopped. Of course, she could make it snow, but she was tired from her ride up the mountain, and had not enough strength to sustain so much power.

"You know what I've just realised," exclaimed Theobald, causing Elsa jolt and be brought back out of her thoughts.

"What?" she asked nervously with a worried frown.

"I don't really know you," said Theobald frankly, as he turned away from his horse to walk towards Elsa, a beguiling smile emerging on his face as he sat down opposite her. She noticed that he was not completely covered by the leaves and that raindrops were starting to land on his shirt. He had obviously felt that she was nervous and had taken the curtesy to not sit directly next to her. Elsa's frown deepened in confusion as she observed Theobald take out food from the basket which he had brought with him. Everything she had learnt about him from observation was contradictory. He was clumsy yet well-mannered, timid and yet abruptly brave and even confident at times, scruffy and yet surprisingly attractive, something which he seemed completely unaware of-

Elsa's eyes widened. Wait. Attractive?! Since when did she think he was attractive?! What a stupid, silly, utterly ridiculous-

"ELSA!"

"Huh?" said Elsa, who found herself staring directly into a pair of soulful, chestnut eyes. She suddenly became aware that Theobald had moved from his previous position, and was now crouching down so that their eye-level was equal, currently staring at her in very confused, slightly worried manner.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Your - Majesty," stammered Theobald as he became aware of Elsa staring back at him, his eyes suddenly starting to look everywhere but at Elsa as he moved hastily away from her, back to where he had been before. "It's just that you were unresponsive and I was scared that you were suffering from a panic attack and-"

"I'm fine," said Elsa in a warm but slightly blunt fashion in order to make Theobald stop talking.

She smiled unconsciously as she saw Theobald freeze, his hands half-away through his ruffled hair, his expression full of neurotic panic.

"Oh," sighed Theobald in relief, and he let his arms drop. "Good, that's good. But er, if you don't mind me asking, Your Highness, what were you doing?"

"What?" stammered Elsa, suddenly very self-consciously and becoming increasingly aware of how warm her cheeks were. "I was, um, just, thinking."

Theobald stared at her quizzically, waiting for her to continue.

"Thinking about," said Elsa desperately, raking her brains. How handsome you-

"About my sister!" she blurted out, a little too loudly.

Theobald's eyes widened slightly at what he perceived to be a rather energetic response. There was something off about the Queen today, but he couldn't put his finger on it…. but seeing Elsa simply stare back at him, he began to nod slowly before continuing to arrange the food.

Elsa let out a sigh. She had been too close to revealing her true feelings. Yet again, she had put herself into a position of having to conceal herself, and not let anything show. Well, she'd had enough practise by now to be able put it into good use. Still, she had come to the woods in order to let herself go, not to suffocate, like how she was feeling now.

"Sandwiches, that's all I've got I'm afraid," said Theobald apologetically as he passed Elsa a dish array with different sandwiches.

"Thank you, it's more than enough for me… I'm used to very simple food actually," said Elsa hesitantly, as she picked one up.

"Simple food?" said Theobald, who had begun to eat one of his. "Oh, sorry, bad manners, shouldn't speak while eating."

"Oh no, go ahead, my sister and I do that all the time," said Elsa warmly with a smile.

"The Queen and the Princess scoffing themselves with sandwiches. Hmm, somehow I can't picture it," said Theobald in a playfully mocking way, which made Elsa laugh a little. "But why the simple food? Surely two princesses growing up in a castle would be prepped and primed as they should be."

"Well, you must know by now the story of how I concealed my powers," began Elsa slowly, which Theobald nodded in return, "I lived in a castle with no contact with the outside world. I had no friends, and I didn't eat or socialise with my sister at all during the whole of my adolescence. Over time I became depressed and refused to eat. In the end, I could only manage simple food, in fact, I convinced myself that that was all I deserved. It also helped because with less strength I thought I could stop my powers from getting stronger."

Theobald stared speechless at Elsa's sad, lonely figure staring melancholically down at the ground, the only sound now the pitter patter of rain softly hitting the leaves above them.

"Did you ever think about…. you know, suicide?" asked Theobald tentatively, but seeing Elsa lift her head and stare at him, no, frown at him, he immediately started to back-track. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to pry-"

"No, no, it's not that!" said Elsa in desperation, shaking her hands in front of her, shuffling closer towards Theobald. "It's just that, no one's ever asked me that before. It's so foreign… So strange to be able to talk about it now. It's sort of, liberating," said Elsa, staring at Theobald incredulously, as his worried expression slowly ebbed away.

"So you did," said Theobald hesitantly, studying Elsa's face. She was so beautifulIt would have been a such waste. He stopped himself from thinking anything more.

"I did," said Elsa before taking a big breath. It was the first she had ever admitted it to anyone. For some bizarre reason she had managed, for the first time in her life, to confess her true feelings to someone. It just happened to be someone she had just met.

You can't marry a man you've just met.

Elsa blushed inwardly. She was slightly ashamed of her words now. Though she wasn't so silly that she would marry someone she'd just met, she could sort of understand now how Anna had fallen for Hans so easily. There seemed to be a sort of strange charm which ran through the family.

"What stopped you?" came a muffled voice.

Elsa looked up, slightly confused by the strangeness in his voice, before catching her breath upon seeing Theobald's face. Though he was trying to hide it as best as he could, his expression was one of such anguish, and though it was slight, Elsa could swear she could see tears in his eyes.

"I - I knew that Anna would be sad, and that she would be alone. Despite the fact that she would be safer, I didn't want her to go through the kind of loneliness that I did. She was my responsibility, I had to fill my parents shoes. I owed it to them. Otherwise, all their effort would have been for nothing. I had to become stronger."

"I'm sorry," said Theobald, turning away from Elsa to recompose himself. "I don't know what overcame me."

"That's ok, it is upsetting, and I was foolish girl to think it would solve my problems. It was an escape route which, if I had taken, would have cemented the fact that I was a coward."

"You're not coward, Elsa," retorted Theobald, his voice with a tone of slight annoyance, much to Elsa's surprise. His expression had changed once more, and he stared down at her now with such indomitableness that it caused her to sag her shoulders in defeat. He was unpredictable. It wasn't an opinion but a fact. "You weren't a coward for running away when they found out."

"But I should have stood up for myself. Told myself to not have so much fear." Now she could feel her tears coming. Brilliant. "I was a coward and I failed Anna."

"Elsa, are you-" started Theobald with concern, looking into her eyes.

"Oh no, just a little dust in my eye," said Elsa, giving him the best smile she could.

"Would you like a clean sleeve?" asked Theobald, coming closer and gesturing towards his hand.

"No, I'm fine, really. All better-" began Elsa but she was intervened by Theobald's hand, which slowly placed itself protectively over hers.

"You don't have to be so brave you know," said Theobald purposively, staring at Elsa in a way that no one had really looked at her before. It was as if he could see her. Really see her. And it frightened her. It frightened her to death.

"Oh, but I do actually," said Elsa, her voice wavering as she slowly moved her hand away and shuffled back to the safety of the trunk of the tree.

Theobald stared woefully at her as she proceeded to eat silently. Despite her current happiness, her past still haunted her. Much like his did.