Chapter 7:
Elsa's Secret
When Anna arrived for work the next day, she was told by Kai to go upstairs to Elsa's bedroom. Apparently, Elsa had something important to tell her. Upon entering the bedroom, Elsa greeted Anna warmly.
"Hello, Anna. I've been thinking about what you said, and you're right. It would be good for me to go outside for a little while," Elsa said.
Anna was skeptical at first. What brought this on? Surely her words couldn't have changed Elsa overnight. She continued to listen.
"I decided to give you the day off today, and the two of us can go for a walk in the town square instead. Just give me a minute to get ready. You can wait outside my room in the meantime."
"Ok," Anna said. She left the room, leaving Elsa to prepare for their trip into town. This was so strange. Elsa's sudden desire to leave the castle that she'd called her home all her life and go for a walk with a commoner. This wasn't like her at all. But maybe she should be open-minded. After all, Elsa was being very nice this morning. A few minutes later, Elsa emerged from her room, wearing a long brown hooded robe.
"Well," she said.
"Umm. It's pretty warm outside. Are you sure you want to wear that?" Anna asked.
"I wasn't asking how I look. I was asking if we're ready to go!" Elsa snapped.
"Oh, yeah. Let's go," Anna quickly replied.
The two women exited the castle, making their way through the streets of Arendelle. It was very lively in the town square today. There were large crowds of people everywhere. Anna stood close by Elsa's side. She could tell that the queen was very nervous being out in public. Elsa kept her head ducked low, hoping that no one would recognize her. Deep down she knew that that was impossible, seeing as how she had never shown her face in town before. The people of Arendelle had no idea what their queen looked like.
As they walked along the streets, Anna saw a shopping cart that she liked. She stopped to look at the merchandise that was carried on the cart, assuming that Elsa would stop as well. However, Elsa didn't see Anna stop, and continued walking among the crowd. By the time Anna noticed, Elsa was lost in the crowd.
"Elsa, Elsa!" she called. Anna couldn't see her. There were too many people. Meanwhile, Elsa kept moving among the people, hoping that she'd see Anna eventually. After several minutes of walking, Elsa started to feel overwhelmed. There were too many people around her. Elsa ducked her head lower, trying to block out the large masses, but suddenly, she tripped, and fell onto the cobblestone streets. The people around her continued walking, ignoring how she was scared out of her mind. Elsa slowly stood up, and pushed her way through the people, and into an isolated alleyway.
A little later, Anna stumbled upon the queen lying in the alleyway, clearly distressed.
"Elsa, what happened? I lost you," Anna said. From the look on Elsa's face, Anna could tell that she had a panic attack. Inside, Anna cursed herself. She should have known this would have happened.
"I'm so sorry, Elsa. Here, let's get you out of here," Anna said, gently coaxing Elsa out of the alleyway.
Anna bought Elsa some water to help calm her nerves. They took a different route back to the palace, one that wasn't as crowded.
"I'm really sorry that I lost you back there," Anna apologized. "This whole thing was stupid idea."
Elsa brushed her off. "No apology needed."
"You used to get out, right?" Anna asked.
Elsa nodded. "Yeah, a long time ago."
"What happened?"
"How should I know? I didn't keep track of the time," Elsa spat.
"Well, I've got one place that I'd like to show you. It's quiet, and it's not too far from here," Anna said.
"Very well," Elsa said.
Anna led Elsa to an isolated location in the outskirts of the kingdom. It was a small quarry, one that Anna loved to come to when she needed time to think. There was no one in sight, it was just the two of them.
Anna sat down on a slab of rock, and Elsa sat opposite of her. The queen pulled down her hood, revealing her whole head for the first time since they were at the palace.
"It's nice, isn't it?" Anna said. "I come here to think a lot. You know, when I get overwhelmed. It calms me down."
"Why did you bring me here?" Elsa
"I just wanted to share this place with you. You seemed really anxious back there, and I thought this place would calm you down a little."
Elsa looked around the quarry, admiring the rock formations, and the large pond in front of them. She had to admit, it was pretty.
"It is nice," Elsa admitted.
"I'm sorry I said what I said the other day," Anna said. "You don't deserve that. You have your reasons for not wanting to go outside, and I should respect that."
Elsa sighed. "You did nothing wrong, Anna. It was me that screwed up. I miss being outside."
Anna wasn't going to pry into Elsa's life why she never went outside, but a small part of her remained curious nonetheless.
"Anna, if I show you something…can you promise me never to tell anyone about it?" Elsa asked.
Anna looked in Elsa's eyes. The two sapphire blue orbs were filled with honesty, she knew that Elsa was about to share something secret with her.
"Of course. I would never tell anyone about you, Elsa."
"Very well. Here it is."
Slowly, Elsa took one of her gloves off, and held her hand in front of Anna. They both watched as small snowflakes began to form in the palm of Elsa's hand. The wind blew them into the air, quickly melting them, but more continued to form.
Anna was at a lost for words. Queen Elsa…had magic powers?
"That's…incredible!" Anna exclaimed. "How long have you been able to do that?"
Elsa quickly put her glove back on, ending the show of snowflakes. "All of my life, unfortunately," she answered.
"Is that a bad thing?"
Elsa sighed. "Yes, for me it is. I can't control my powers. I'm able to do amazing things with them, but they come with great risks as well. I could possibly hurt someone if I'm not careful."
"Is that why you never go outside?" Anna asked.
Elsa nodded. "My parents thought it would be best for me to stay hidden in the castle, because of my powers. They didn't want me to endanger anyone's life by exposing me to them. I spent my whole childhood, locked up in the castle, only watching the outside world through a window. I wear these gloves to control my powers. Without them, they become unstable. I love my people too much to risk hurting them with this curse of mine."
By now, Elsa was crying. Anna could see the tears dripping down her pale, white face. Elsa was much more vulnerable than she realized. These powers of hers caused her great pain and stress. Anna couldn't imagine what it must be like to carry this burden.
"Elsa, I don't think your powers are a curse. I think they're a gift, and you can control them if you want," Anna encouraged. "You just have to try."
"No, no, no. I've tried, but it doesn't work. It's beyond my control. For the safety of my people, I must remain inside for the rest of my days. It's not a happy life, but it's what's best for my people."
"But is it what's best for you?" Anna asked.
Elsa looked at Anna. For a brief moment, their eyes stared hungrily back at each other as if they two were trying to read each other's minds. Finally, Elsa spoke. "Yes, it is. Promise me you'll never reveal this secret about me."
"I promise," Anna stated.
"Good. We should get going now. I've had my fill of the outside world," Elsa said.
When they returned to the palace, Anna walked with Elsa back to her door. Before leaving to go do her chores, Elsa stopped her.
"Anna, this was one of the best afternoons I've had in quite some time," she said.
Anna's eyes widened in surprise. "All of it?" she asked.
"Yes. All of it," Elsa answered.
"See you for tea tomorrow?" Anna asked.
Elsa smiled. "I wouldn't miss it."
A/N: And Anna learns the truth about Elsa's powers. I seriously debated on whether or not to let Elsa have her powers in this AU. In the end, I decided that it would be too OOC if she didn't. The next chapter will focus on Kristoff some more. He's going to play a bigger role in this story. Anyway, please review! I'd love to hear your feedback!
