~7~ Short Shorts

"Elsa wake up, I gotta show you something!" Anna whispered.

Elsa opened her eyes slowly. Anna was standing over her with a giddy grin growing across her face.

The next thing that Elsa noticed was the heat. The extreme heat.

"Why is it so hot?" Elsa asked, clearly irritated this early in the morning.

"The crew told me as we get closer to Requiem its gonna get hotter. This isn't even the worst yet..." Anna's voice trailed off. "Um," she began, stepping away from Elsa's bed, "your dress... its kinda... well... melting."

Elsa immediately shot up and jumped out of bed. It was true. Her dress looked damp and was dripping water all over the floor. Elsa was happy that that watery mess wasn't on her body, and distraught that her beloved dress was evaporating.

"Now what am I going to wear?" Elsa asked now pacing back and forth in her room. Anna stayed clear out of her sister's way.

"Well, the staff back at home must've known about this and packed us this." Anna revealed her hands from behind her back. She was holding a small shirt with a collar and Arrendale's national crest on it, and what looked to be a pair of pants with short legs.

"What is this?" Elsa asked, still unable to think about much else beside her melting dress.

"Its a shirt and what the staff and crew call 'shorts,'" Anna explained. They're these nifty inventions that provide the protection of pants while revealing your legs to keep cool. Kristoff already has his gear on. I was going to change into mine once I woke you up."

"Okay thanks," Elsa said halfheartedly. She was still transfixed on her melting dress.

"Okay well I'll see you at breakfast then," Anna declared. She turned and left the room singing to herself.

Once Elsa accepted that her dress was slowly turning to water and no amount of magic was going to fix it, she turned to the outfit Anna had left her. 'Oh my!' She thought to herself. This sort of attire was much different from what she was used to wearing. She decided to put it on anyway, because her other option was leaking through the floorboards.

It had been a while since Elsa had worn clothes with fabric, and the stitched cotton against her skin was much different than what she was used to. Once dressed, she went into the bathroom to examine herself in the mirror. She immediately became very self conscious. She noticed her fair skin and how much of her legs were being revealed in these so-called 'shorts.' After convincing herself that she probably didn't look that bad, she went to search for Anna and Kristoff.

Elsa found her sister and Kristoff on the deck of the boat, sitting at a small table eating breakfast. They, true to Anna's word, were wearing a similar getup that Elsa was. Anna smiles and waved her over to the table.

Elsa walked over cautiously, noticing every flaw in her stride, posture, and braid which she has suddenly become fascinated with fixing and pulling. Anna became aware of this as her sister got closer to the table.

"Elsa you look beautiful," Anna began. "Even more so than usual."

"Thanks..." Elsa said. 'Even my voice sounds whiny!' she thought to herself. There was a long pause as she sat down and examined her breakfast, not wanting to eat.

"The crew said we are making good time and should be in Requiem shortly after noon," Kristoff said to change the subject.

"I see," Elsa replied. It was true, she began to notice some ash and dark clouds close in overhead.

Breakfast continued in that rather awkward manner until Elsa got up from the table and went to sit up in the crow's nest. She brought with her the book about Requiem and the picture to study more.

The closer they got to Requiem the more Elsa wondered about the Prince. She had finally finished reading the book cover-to-cover when she noticed the sky had gotten significantly darker and there was loads more ash flying through the air. This was unnerving to Elsa because the only thing that flew like that back in Arrendale was snow, but she could control that. Not only was she removed from the protection of her beloved ice dress, but she was not in control of the weather anymore. This was not going to be a good visit.