Hello again everyone! I do hope you enjoy this chapter. I am sorry for the wait, but I am working on this one until the end!
"Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home."
― Edith Sitwell
Anna was in awe as they entered the heart of the city. Buildings sprawled out in every direction, and jutted into the sky. They were nowhere near as tall and looming as the castle, but they were definitely bigger than the city's buildings in Corona. The young red head was pressed to the side of the carriage at the window. She was grinning, and straining her neck to look at every structure they passed. Light snow had begun to fall from the greying sky, but the townsfolk didn't seem to notice. They sauntered through the streets leisurely, smiling and chatting with their neighbors as they passed. Anna smiled as she watched kids run through piles of snow, and throw snowballs at each other. They reminded her of Kristoff's younger siblings, and her heart swelled.
The horse drawn carriage trudged deep into the center of the city, where a large frozen over fountain. A crowd of people spotted the carriage, and Anna watched as mothers began to call for their children. She frowned as the kids ran to their parents, and the family's began to scatter, and leave the fountain square almost empty. The only few that remained were a handful of city guards and an older couple.
Anna sat back as the carriage slowed to a halt. She was confused, and a little upset. She sighed, and stared down at her hands in her lap.
"The townsfolk fear me," Elsa's voice was soft and matter of fact. No feeling.
Anna looked up curiously.
'Of course they do' is what she wanted to say. Or, what her father would want her to say, but that didn't feel right, so instead she smiled at the queen softly, and made a bold move. The young princess reached out slowly, and the queen watched her intently, but did not move. Anna placed a hand on top of the queen's gloved hands, lightly, and only briefly, and said,
"They only fear you because they don't know you".
Anna watched as the queen's eyes widened a fraction, but she didn't break the contact. Elsa cleared her throat and pulled her hands away slowly. Anna noticed her fingers shook lightly as she spoke,
"Thank you, princess".
"Call me Anna," she blurted, and then hastily pulled her hands back into her lap.
The queen looked up, almost shyly, and gave a small smile, "thank you, Anna".
After they exited the carriage Elsa began to lead Anna out into the city. Anna followed silently as Elsa began to point out architectural features of every building and statue they came across. At one point they turned down onto a busy street, the guards cleared a way for the two to proceed. The people stared and whispered, but Elsa paid them no mind, she continued to give Anna the tour of her city. They approached another square, this one significantly smaller than that of the city heart, but in the center there stood a statue of a man. Elsa lead them to the foot of the stone, and Anna bent her head back as far as she could to get a good look at the sculpture.
"This is my great grandfather, this statue sits here to commemorate his victory in the civil wars that wracked our country for years".
Elsa spouted out a few more facts about her heritage, but Anna was barely listening at this point. She was watching a man in the crowded square as he wove through people. She didn't quite know why this particular person caught her attention. He was a young man, about her age, with a pale face and blonde curls that hung over his forehead. She couldn't see much more under the cover of his hood, or the thickness of the cloak he wore, but there was one thing she was sure of. He was staring straight at Elsa. Intently, and the feeling Anna got from the intensity of that stare was not a good one.
Anna kept an eye on the stranger as he slunk to the back of the crowd and then completely out of sight.
Elsa finished her story of a battle that took place where they stood, and then turned to her young companion.
"Are you ready to continue on?" she asked.
Anna slid her eyes back to the queen and put a smile on her face, "yup".
By the time they rounded the next block of the city center Anna was shivering and huddled into her cloak. The city was much bigger than it looked from the shore, and even from the castle above. She didn't know if she could handle the dense cold much longer, but she didn't know how to broach the subject with someone who lived ice and snow.
As if reading her mind, Elsa spoke up, "are you ready to see my favorite place in the city?"
Anna nodded into her cloak, and then buried her cold nose into the warm fabric. She thought she heard the queen chuckled, but she didn't look up. They walked for a few more blocks, the guards had taken to walking behind them, giving the two a little breathing room as they moved deeper into the snow covered town. Before Anna knew if they came upon a large building. It rose gracefully into the sky and was adorned by three large stain-glassed windows.
'A church?' Anna thought. Maybe she should have read up on Arendellie gods before she'd come.
Anna was about to voice her confusion when the smell hit her. It was decadent and sweet, and just the way she remembered it. Her head popped up,
"Chocolate?"
Elsa did chuckle this time. She nodded and Anna grinned. She'd always loved chocolate, especially the high priced chocolate you could only get imported from places such as Arendelle. Unfortunately with the tension between their countries she hadn't had the chance to have any in the last few years.
When they entered the building it was all Anna could do not to run around stuffing chocolate into her mouth. It was some sort of store, and the entire room was stuffed with Arendellie chocolates. She barely noticed the small elderly woman that came scrambling over to them until she was right next to her.
"Hello your majesty!" the woman called. She hunched in an awkward bow and grinned her toothless grin at the queen.
Elsa smiled back at the woman and began to introduce Anna.
"This is princess Anna of Corona, she is to be my guest for a while, so i'd like to have her well stocked on your wonderful chocolates".
Anna looked at the small woman. She didn't seem to fear Elsa at all, in fact, she seemed to really admire her queen. She wore the colors of Arendelle, and a small fluffed hat atop her greying head.
"I am certainly honored, your majesty," the woman then turned to Anna, "what would you like, your highness?"
Anna certainly hadn't expected this to come from her morning out with the queen. She glanced at Elsa for help.
"It is my gift, pick whatever you like," said the queen.
Anna nodded slowly, she didn't want to take more from the queen, especially since she'd already given her so much. On the other hand, she did need to gain the queen's trust, and what better way than to accept her gifts with cheer?
"I'll take one of everything".
An hour later they were back in the castle, and servants were hustling to pull the piles of chocolate out of the carriage. Anna couldn't be happier, well, maybe after a hot bath she'd say that. Her toes were numb but her mood was alive and cheerful. Elsa led the young woman back into the castle, and they were met by Ylva and Eleanor.
"I do hope you enjoyed yourself Anna, I must attend to business. I hope to see you at dinner," Elsa excused herself and left Anna in the care of her handmaidens.
"Would you like a warm bath, your highness?" Eleanor asked her cheerfully.
Anna smiled and nodded, she needed to regain the feeling in her limbs, and honestly, she needed some time alone to think about her morning with the queen.
"We're all human, aren't we? Every human life is worth the same, and worth saving."
― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Anna spent the majority of her free afternoon exploring the castle with Cecil close behind. He had insisted on giving Anna the grand tour. So far they'd seen the kitchens, the grand library, the ball room, and the painting gallery. After about an hour of Cecil giving her his interpretation of art and history they made their way up a wide staircase decorated in lavish fabrics of dark blue and silver.
They were entering the wing of the castle where the royal family dwelled. In other words, Elsa's bedroom.
She ignored the shiver that ran down her spine from the thought, and followed Cecil as he led her through a wide hallway full of painted members of the royal family. Painting after painting of young and old rulers, all dark haired and dark eyed. The only painting that hung at the end of the hall was that of Elsa, presumably on her coronation day, her white-golden hair was tied into its bun, and she stood painted alone. No husband, no children, no family.
Anna had to look away from the painting. The sharp ache that pierced her chest was becoming too much. Cecil failed to notice her distress, instead he sauntered up to her and grinned at the painting,
"Our queen is simply wonderful, don't you think?"
Anna wasn't sure if he was really asking for a response, but she nodded anyway. She didn't trust herself to speak. Who knew what she would say after the morning she had. Cecil continued without a breath,
"And beautiful. Whoever ends up with her will be a lucky one. It is a shame though, " his tone was suddenly serious, and Anna was genuinely curious of what he'd say next, but he never continued.
Cecil turned to her and grinned, completely ignoring the fact that he hadn't finished his thought, and began to lead her down the hall once more.
"This is the queen's study," he motioned into a large room as they passed.
Anna peeked through the open door, a little scared she'd see the queen, but all she witnessed was an empty room. The walls were covered in books and parchment, and curved around a large wooden desk in the middle of the room. They walked towards the end of the long hall, passing several rooms as they went. She wondered what each held, but thought against asking.
"And this, " Cecil motioned at a closed door at the end of the hall, "is the Queen's quarters".
He smiled and playfully tapped a foot on the floor,
"Fun fact, we are directly above your room!"
Anna forced a chuckle. She wasn't sure how that was a fun fact, but she put it in the back of her mind just in case.
By the time Cecil finished showing her around the castle she had to rush to get ready for dinner. She cleaned herself and dressed in a thick blue tunic. She made sure to brush out her hair as much as she could before braiding back into its usual fashion. Just as she was finishing up Ylva came to fetch her.
This time around Anna lacked the nerves that had crept up on her the night before. She sat herself next to the queen, and once again was bombarded as servants rushed to bring in bowls of hearty venison and vegetable stew. There was an extra plate, however, that sat just in front of the princess. There sat a tower of chocolate from the morning's outing. Anna looked over at Elsa, and the queen just shrugged her delicate shoulders.
"I thought you'd enjoy a little desert," she stated simply, and then proceeded to eat silently.
Anna stared at the pile of chocolates for a moment, and then glanced around the empty room. Why hadn't she realized it before? The queen was lonely, that's why she had been so giving. She was alone, she ate alone, ruled alone, and slept alone. It only made sense.
"Thank you," Elsa looked up as Anna spoke, she arched a perfect brow as the young woman continued, "I don't know if I said it before, but thank you for everything that you have done to make me feel welcome. It means a lot".
Why were there tears in her eyes?
'Don't you dare cry!' her mind was screaming at her, but she soon felt the hot tears start to stream down her cheeks.
Just imagining being alone, or losing her father, her family, was too much for the princess. She clenched her hand into a fist, and used her left one to angrily wipe at the wetness on her cheeks. Just as she was about to excuse herself she felt something touch her fisted hand that rested on the table. Anna looked up, and into the dark eyes of the queen. Elsa had a gloved hand placed delicately, almost nervously, atop hers. Sparks shot through her chest, but she couldn't bring herself to pull away, or even look away from the mesmerizing sapphire orbs that bore into hers.
"You are welcome here Anna, do not think differently", it was obvious Elsa was not used to consoling people. In fact, she looked like she was straining to do so, but the action was still appreciated.
Anna nodded and wiped the remaining tears from her eyes, only then did Elsa pull her hand away. Anna sniffled once more and then reached for the chocolates, she knew that chocolate before dinner was a big no no, but she needed the pick-me-up. Elsa didn't say a word as she munched on the delicate treats.
By the time Anna reached her room she was exhausted. She and Elsa had sat and talked for more than an hour after their dinner had ended. Elsa told stories of her family history, and then asked Anna about hers. Anna in turn told stories of Kristoff and Sven, and had even succeeded in making the queen laugh once.
When she reached her room she stripped and changed into her usual sleeping clothes. She was ready to climb back into the warmth and comfort of her bed, but something kept her just a bit longer. As she pulled the thick furs back to make room she glanced out at the dark sky, and caught a flash of movement.
Curiosity drove her to the window. Anna squinted through the glass, and out into the dark snowy night. She could have swore she saw something, but it must have been a bird, or a bat.
She was about to turn to get into her bed, when her eye caught movement once more, this time it was closer. There was a shadow at the edge of her window, and it was moving up the outer castle wall.
'A person!?' Anna thought.
And then it hit her. Elsa's room was just above hers. Whoever was scaling the castle wall was headed to the queen's suite.
Before she knew what she was doing she was out her door and running. She was barefoot, and the stone floor of the castle was freezing, but she ignored the throb as she took the stairs two at a time. She stumbled around the turn, but sprinted until she reached the end of the hall.
'Where are all the damn guards when you need them?!'
As quietly as she could, Anna pressed her ear against the door. Elsa had to be asleep by now, there were no sounds other than her soft breathing. That was, until Anna heard the window begin to open. She had to time this just right.
Anna strained her ears, she didn't want to miss her opportunity. She heard the intruder's feet hit the ground, and she was off. She used her inhuman strength to bust through the door, and then hurled her body into his. They hit the floor hard, but he wasn't going to give up that easily. He pulled at her shirt, and pushed his knees into her ribs with as much force as he could. She wasn't going to let him go that easily however. Anna pulled a fist back and launched a punch. He was lucky enough to struggle to the side, and dodge the blow that crumpled into the stone beneath them.
The crash was enough to wake the queen this time. She hopped out of her bed and gasped,
"Anna!? What is going on here!?" she demanded.
Anna had no time to answer her, the man was still struggling. He had an arm pulled free from the princess, and used to opportunity to swing a fist into her nose. The blow drew a gush of blood, but Anna was determined, if she couldn't punch his lights out, she only had one option. She pulled the man's arms against his chest, reared back, and then slammed her forehead into his. Stars erupted behind her eyes, but the man was out cold. He slumped against the floor, allowing the princess to fall away and hold her nose in agony.
Elsa came rushing to Anna's side, she was confused and calling for guards,
"What the hell happened here?"
Anna held onto her probably broken nose as she sat up, her head spun, but she managed to breathe through the pain to answer the queen,
"I saw him climbing, I had to do something".
"You could have gotten yourself killed!" Elsa shouted angrily.
Anna was barely conscious at this point, but she shrugged, and wobbled as her nose gushed onto the floor. Finally the guards clambered into the room, but by now Anna could feel the affects of that headbutt, she was going to pass out, but there was one last thing she had to do. With the last bit of consciousness she had, she turned and pulled the hood away from the intruder's head. There, under the blood, was the same man from earlier in the day. His blonde curls were matted with blood and sweat. Anna just hoped she would remember that as her mind faded into darkness.
As always, please review!
~The-Frozen-Avatar
