A/N: Okay, I've got to be quick today, because my parents keep bugging me to help get the house ready for this party! (Speaking of, thanks to everyone who wished me and my cousin a happy birthday!)
The only thing I have to say about this chapter is that, for anyone who was wondering, I didn't forget about Anna! ;-)
Disclaimer: I do not own Frozen, even though I can recite the entire movie word for word!
"... 28, 29, 30! Ready or not, here I come!"
Anna opened her eyes and scanned the ballroom for any sign of Johan. She had won every round so far, and she wasn't going to stop here!
From his hiding spot behind a curtain, Johan bit his lip to keep from laughing. In truth, he had somewhat been letting Anna win, to even playing field, so to speak, but it started to occur to him that maybe he didn't really need to.
With his feet sticking out from under the curtain, he smirked to himself as he heard Anna quietly approaching. When the footsteps went quiet, she yanked the curtain aside in victory.
"Aha!" she cried. "Gotcha!"
Johan sighed dramatically, looking at the smiling girl.
"Oh, Anna," he said, looking at his shoes, "you found me."
He faked a look of disappointment until he saw Anna's smile fade away in concern. Then, he looked up at her with a smirk on his face.
"But let's see if you can catch me!"
With that he took off across the ballroom, with Anna in hot pursuit. The chase ended up going off into the hallway, and after turning a corner, he skidded to a stop as he almost ran into a flustered maid.
"Oh, excuse me," he apologized, "I'm sorry, I didn't-"
He was cut off as Anna crashed into him when she turned the corner. She tripped past him as she tried to stop herself, and she soon ended up on the floor between Johan and the maid.
"Ow!" she cried.
"Anna, are you okay?" Johan asked as he helped her off the ground. She winced as she stood, and her hand flew to the back of her leg and gripped it tightly.
"Well," she said, putting on a painfully sarcastic smile, "it might be a little sore for a little bit, but overall, I think I'll live."
She smirked at him as she tried to hold in the cries of pain that threatened to escape.
"Here," Johan said, putting her arm around his shoulder. With her hopping on her good leg, he helped her down to the infirmary, where they put some ice on her leg.
"Johan, you don't have to say here with me," Anna said. "I'm probably gonna stay in here a while, cause I don't feel like trying to walk right now."
Johan hesitated, but he nodded and turned toward the door.
"And, Johan?" Anna said.
"Yes?"
"Thanks for helping me get down here."
Johan smirked at her. "Aw, forget about it, kid. I couldn't have left you there if I'd tried."
She smirked back at him, noting his sarcasm. "Alright. Well I'll see you later, Mr. Hero."
"See you, Little Miss Injured!"
He heard Anna chuckle as he left the room. He walked through the halls and back to his room, where he flopped down on the bed. He had been so worried for a minute that Anna had been seriously hurt. The main thing that bothered him now was that it was really his fault that she had gotten hurt. He should have remembered how dangerous it could be to run inside a castle; he had learned that the hard way when he was only six.
Sighing, the prince shook the thought from his mind and tried to find something else to focus on. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Elsa's snow globe on his nightstand, and he picked it up to examine it again.
It had been three days since he had gone to talk to Elsa, and something was starting to bother him. Why had she given him the snow globe? Was it just a token of good will? Or was there another meaning to it? He had thoroughly examined it many times, half expecting to find some sort of hidden message on it. But unsurprisingly, he had found nothing.
He had considered going back to see Elsa again and ask her about it, but he could already tell that no matter what he did, she would probably never speak a word to him, let alone give him a straight answer. Still, he felt a need to see her again. There was just something about her that captivated him. She just seemed so scared of everything. When he touched her hand through the door, she had been shaking. At first he had dismissed it as shivering from the cold, but now he saw that it was more than that.
Perhaps Anna getting hurt would be the perfect excuse for him to go see her. She should just know about it, and he didn't know if anyone would tell her. But he also worried that if he did this, she would blame him for letting her get hurt. He didn't want Elsa to be mad at him, but it scared him that if she was mad at him, he would probably never know for sure if she actually was mad!
The prince took a deep breath and looked around for something to distract him from his thoughts. On the dresser, he spotted a small black case just begging to be opened. He got up and pulled the case onto the bed with him. He opened it up, revealing his precious shining flute. Normally, he would practice his flute every day, but because of everything that had been going on, the flute had been neglected for that last week since he had arrived in Arendelle.
Without needing to think about it, he put the flute together and played a few notes to warm himself up. He began to play from memory one of his favorite flute solos, a piece that his teacher had said represented the beauty of winter and snow. He had always had a passion for music, and normally playing his flute could get his mind off of anything. But as he played the soft tune, for some reason, it kept making him think of Elsa. He didn't understand why, but it was just not helping to practice.
He sighed as he put the instrument away. He couldn't stop thinking about the princess, and he made up his mind that he would go talk to her. Tonight.
.:.^*^.:.
Elsa lay on her back with her legs crossed and her knees protruding into the air. She giggled as she made snowflakes dance around between her fingers. Ever since she had made the snow globe, she had been a little more comfortable playing with her powers, albeit she was still a bit wary.
She couldn't stop thinking about the prince. She had never seen herself becoming a lovesick teenager, but that's exactly what she was, and she didn't mind having something good to think about. Finally someone seemed to understand how she feels about being isolated, and she kept dreaming of him being her Prince Charming who would save her from her tower.
As she giggled at her snowflakes, she heard that nagging voice in the back of her head.
Stop it! You're going to lose control!
Elsa turned and saw that image of herself in the mirror giving her a scolding look. She glared back at it, but she stopped the snowflakes anyway.
"I don't feel like I'm going to lose control!" she said to herself, standing up.
The reflection shook its head. You seem to be all about taking risks lately! Like when you touched the prince's hand without gloves!?
Elsa unconsciously held her hand to her chest. She hadn't really thought about gloves at the time because she hadn't even intended for their hands to meet. But secretly, she was glad that she hadn't been wearing them.
She sighed as she sat back down on the bed. She wanted him to come back. She wanted him to be with her. If only it could stay like that forever...
Stop thinking about him! the voice of the reflection said. You'll only hurt yourself!
Elsa felt a sadness fall down upon her. She knew it wouldn't last forever, and she didn't want it to all be in her head.
"Well," she said, "maybe one day I'll find him again. Or he'd find me! Oh, can't you just picture us laying under the stars together, not caring about anything except each other?"
You know it can never happen! the reflection said.
"Well, you could at least let me dream!"
Don't dream too far! You can't lose sight of who you are!
Elsa scoffed at her own thoughts as she lay back down and returned to playing with her snowflakes. One thing she was sure of was that there was no mistaking the tone in his voice when he had said good night to her the other night. He would be knocking at her door again. It was only a matter of time...
.:.^*^.:.
Johan held his breath as he knocked on the cold door.
"Elsa?" he said. "It's me, Prince Johan."
There was no response. He didn't expect there to be.
"Um... I'm sorry to bother you... but I just wanted to tell you something."
On the other side of the door, Elsa walked closer as she heard his voice. She stood behind the door, wondering what he was going to say.
"Well," he continued, "I don't know if anyone told you... but Anna got hurt today when we were running around the castle."
Elsa gasped quietly to herself, and he seemed to realize that she would be worried.
"Don't worry!" he said. "She's okay; she just fell on her leg and it's a little sore, that's all. I just thought you should know."
Elsa sighed in relief. She wondered why he felt that she needed to know, though. She heard him sit against the door, and she did the same.
"It was all my fault; I should have known better than to take off running in the castle and challenging her to catch me. I helped her down to the infirmary, and they just put some ice on it and said it would be fine. I just hope you can forgive me. I completely regret letting her get hurt... It was an accident."
The princess listened intently as he got a bit choked up. His last sentence really made her feel for him, because it was the first thing she had said to her parents after hurting Anna all those years ago. He didn't realize that she understood how it felt to have something be your fault. And in this case, it truly sounded like an accident, and at least Anna wasn't hurt too bad.
Elsa heard Johan trying to control his breathing, as if to keep himself from sobbing. Ignoring the fact that she had no gloves on, she slid her fingers under the door until she found his hand, which she held tightly.
When Johan felt her hand touch his, he expected it to pull away again. But this time, it didn't, and he knew he had been forgiven. He sighed in relief, and they sat in silence for several minutes before he finally spoke again.
"You know," he said, "I've been thinking about that snow globe lately."
Elsa bit her lip as he paused. Okay... and?
"Well, I was wondering, why'd you give it to me?" he asked. "I mean, it's beautiful, and I love it, don't get me wrong. But was it really just a way to thank me for not telling anyone I saw you, or is there some meaning to it that I just don't get?"
Elsa pulled her hand away as she strained to not say anything. There was a meaning to it, one she couldn't get around, but her intent was not for him to discover that.
He felt her hand pull away, and he quickly realized that he had asked something that was none of his business.
"I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to upset you, princess."
She relaxed as she listened to not the words he was saying, but the genuine tone of respect in his voice. She closed her eyes as she leaned her head on the door.
"But, I hope you know I mean it when I say that it really is beautiful," he said. "Just like I mean it when I say it to you."
Elsa smiled at this comment. So this is love...
For what seemed like hours, they sat in silence, each content with knowing that the other was only a door away.
Can you people say "lovesick teenagers"?
Read on, write on, dream on. -bandgeek63
