Chapter 8
Elsa
"We're going to to the Schoolhouse today." Elsa said, trying to delicately place her tiara in her hair. She eyed herself in the mirror, tongue out. She was never good at getting it to sit perfectly.
Stian pulled the cuffs on his jacket, "For what?"
"Anna goes down to the Schoolhouse every afternoon to greet the children. I figured we could do the same since she's on her way to Bergan." Elsa's tiara slipped in her hair, and fell to the table. She blew the hair out of her face, and sat down at the mirror, defeated. Stian put his medallion on, and walked to Elsa. He picked the tiara up from the table, and placed it on Elsa's head. He smiled.
"There."
"How you can do that perfectly every time astounds me." she beamed.
"Well, you know, I put on a lot of tiara's in my day." he joked. They both laughed. She loved his jokes, even if they were terrible.
"Come on," she said taking his hand, "They're expecting us."
The carriage slowly made its way down the road. Crowds greeted their King and Queen. Elsa loved her people. She saw them so often, she considered them friends instead of subjects. She hoped they thought of her the same way. Stian waved nervously to the crowd.
"Loosen up." Elsa whispered, still waving. Stian looked at her for a second, confused. A grin slid across his face. He was getting an idea.
He stood up in the carriage, "Helloooo, People of Arendelle!" he said in his best "Kingly" voice. The crowd cheered. He offered Elsa his hand, and she stood up as well.
"Helloooo, People of Arendelle!" she called in her best "Stian" voice. People, including Stian, laughed. The carriage slowly pulled up in front of a small stone building with a field behind it. The Schoolhouse. Stian exited, and helped Elsa out. The two stood in front of the doors leading out into the field behind the school.
"Here goes." Elsa said. The bell rang, and at first nothing happened. Then, one by one, kids began to emerge from the building. They ranged in ages from four to twelve, or so Elsa had been told. They looked at her in awe. Then to Stian. Then back to her. In front of them now stood about thirty children, completely silent.
"Queen Elsa?" a feeble girl voice asked. A small girl, no more than eight, emerged from the crowd.
"Hello! What's your name?" Elsa asked.
"I'm Nilly. Can I feel your hair?" she asked. Elsa laughed, and lowered her head. Nilly felt Elsa's bangs, and slowly retreated her hand.
"It's so white." she heard kids whisper.
"The King's too." others said amongst themselves. Elsa lifted her head.
"How about we play a game?" Elsa asked. The kids cheered in agreement. Elsa looked at Stian, who hadn't said a word this whole time. She took his hand, and led him to the middle of the small field behind the school.
"Watch." Elsa said. She raised her left food, and brought it down hard onto the ground. A large snowflake spread from her food, slowly growing over the whole field. The children began to laugh, and poke at the icy design in the ground.
"You try Stian." she said.
"No, Elsa, I can't."
"Come on!" she said. Stian shrugged, and held two closed hands to his chest. Then, he slowly spread his arms. As he spread his arms, a blanket of snow flowed over the field. The children began to laugh, and form snowballs. Elsa did the same, erecting a sad looking snow fort to take part in the festivities. Stian sided with the boys at the other end of the field. A good old fashioned Boys versus Girls snowball fight was just what they needed. Stian laughed, and made a small hallow tower from snow. The children all laughed as snowballs flew back and fourth in the air. A small child, no more than five, approached Elsa reluctantly.
"You're pretty." she said.
"Thank you." Elsa blushed
"Can I have a snowball?" she asked.
"You don't know how to make one?" she asked. The little girl shook her head. "Now, now. We can't have that! You can't call yourself a lady until you know how to make the perfect snowball. Here." Elsa said. She took a handful of snow in her hand, and pressed it into a perfectly made snowball. She gave it to the little girl.
"Throw it." she said.
"At who?" the girl asked.
"King Stian. He looks like he could use a snowball to the face, am I right?" Elsa asked. The little girl giggled, and threw the snowball. It barely made it more than two feet, but Elsa conjured up a small flurry to carry it across the schoolyard, as to not make the little girl upset. Elsa twisted her wrists and hands, until the snowball made contact with Stian, who sat atop the snow tower. He screamed, and fell from the top into a snowdrift below. He and all the boys erupted into laughter.
"Girls win!" he forfeited. The little ladies cheered, as Elsa stood up from behind her tiny wall made of snow.
"Good throw." Elsa said. The little girl giggled, and fled toward the schoolhouse.
"Time to come in everyone!" their teacher called, "Say goodbye to Queen Elsa and King Stian." The children lined up and said their goodbyes.
"You'll be back tomorrow, right?" one boy asked.
"Of course." Stian confirmed.
"Sweet!" he said, showing his missing two front teeth. The line was growing shorter, and the youngest girl Elsa had seen all day approached her.
"Bye Queen Elsa." she said.
"See you tomorrow." Elsa answered, smiling. The little girl didn't move from her spot. The people behind her got anxious. The girl stared at Elsa a while before saying.
"Do you have a baby in your tummy?"
Elsa was surprised. Did all of Arendelle know by now? She looked at Stian, who nodded. Elsa put her hand on the girl's shoulder.
"Yes. But it's still small."
"Are we going to get a new Princess?" she asked. Elsa laughed.
"Maybe. We'll see. Maybe a little Prince?"
"Boys are icky."
"They sure are." she said, smiling at Stian. Her husband knelt down next to the girl.
"Maybe you two could be friends, hm?" he said.
"Only if it's a Princess. Will she have white hair too?" Elsa and Stian looked at each other. Would their baby have white hair? Elsa really considered her hair color natural, she'd lived with it her whole life. She couldn't remember when it was blond. Stian's hair was naturally black, but when the two had gotten their powers, their hair had turned white, and their skin became pale.
"I don't know. We'll see." she said. The teacher beaconed the rest of the students inside. The groaned, and Elsa felt bad.
"We'll be back tomorrow! Count on it!" she assured. The kids disappeared into the schoolhouse. Elsa and Stian stood up, and let out a sigh. These were children huh? Elsa loved them. Stian looked like he was having the time of his life too. They were definitely both ready to be parents. There were only two things that worried Elsa. Would their child have powers? This question puzzled Elsa since she figured out she was pregnant. She would see when it arrived. Her other concern, speaking of powers, was Stian's problem keeping them under control. That's what she'd do today. She was going to teach him to control his powers.
To Let it Go.
