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A Fable of Fidelities and Fresh Starts (featuring Facebook)
Chapter Nine: Take Two
~#~
Elsa Queen ► Anna Queen
Sorry about yesterday. I hope you're ok. Will you meet me later? At the Ice Palace at 7?
Anna could feel her grin was so large it was pushing her cheeks up into her eye sockets.
"She wants to meet me!"
Fingers quickly flew across her phone's screen to respond.
▇ Anna Queen All is forgiven-
"I wouldn't write that," Kristoff said, reading over her shoulder.
Anna frowned but she deleted it and tried again.
▇ Anna Queen Elsa! Hi! I was just talking to Olaf about you-
"Or that."
Anna glared up at him. But again, she deleted it, and stared at her phone thinking.
▇ Anna Queen 7 sounds great. I would love to meet you later. I'm fine thank you. So glad to hear from you.
She looked at Kristoff to see if he disapproved of this too. He smiled faintly and raised up from the sofa so Anna took that as approval and pressed send.
"I'm going out," Kristoff announced. "You need milk Grand Pabbie. And, pretty much anything that isn't herbal tea. What do you want for dinner?"
"Whatever you like Kristoff," Pabbie said, with an unbothered shrug and gesticulation.
"Where are you going?" Olaf asked.
"Piggy's Deli. It's just down the street."
"Ooo, can I come? Elsa said her friend said they have a great selection of English imports. I wanna try some English food!"
"You want to try English food. Cause it's such a well known culinary treat," Kristoff retorted sarcastically with a smirk.
"Yep."
"Oh... Alright then."
So the boys head off with Sven in tow leaving Anna alone with Pabbie for the first time. She realised she hadn't really spoken to him all that much and that was pretty rude. He had let them all stay, and hadn't even been judgemental when she'd staggered into his apartment drunk last night.
"I haven't had a chance to thank you," Anna said. "For having us."
The old man smiled. "Not at all."
"Can I get you anything? Tea? A snack?"
He chuckled: a husky, gentle sound. "Just sit down my girl. You seem frantic. You should relax before you meet with this sister of yours."
OK. Yes. Relax. I can do that.
She checked the time on her phone. It was nearly 1pm so she had six hours. Six hours until she met with Elsa. Six hours to think about how she could stop it from all going wrong again, just like it had yesterday afternoon.
"That doesn't look much like relaxing."
"I'm sorry. Sorry," Anna sighed. "I just… I can't stop thinking about her. Bulda told me that if I threw a little love her way, everything would be alright. But she doesn't want my love. She rejected me! So what can I possibly do?"
Pabbie frowned, his bulbous face screwed in concentration. "Things are not always as simple as we'd hope," he said. "Perhaps if your sister rejected you, it is because she doesn't realise what you can do for her."
"But I told her! I told her I wanted to be there for her and I wanted to help."
"And what does she want?" Pabbie asked shrewdly.
Anna fought back the misery. "She wants me to go home."
"Does she?"
… No. She messaged me! She wants to meet me!
"Maybe you should think about what you can do for her, and not about what you want to do for her."
"But no one will even tell me what's going on! There's this whole thing with her and my parents and I don't understand it at all!"
He chewed on that a minute and Anna waited patiently.
"The reality of a person is not in what she reveals to you, but in what she cannot reveal to you." Pabbie eyeballed her to see if she was listening. She acknowledged him with an inclination of her head. "I would say to you Anna, if you truly want to understand your sister and help her, listen not to what she says but rather what she does not say. With your patience will come her trust."
Anna nodded tentatively. Patience. Yes. She had been treating this whole situation as something that needed to be fixed now. Right now. But it was Elsa's life, not a bad grade. Oh and I really should have a look at my coursework at some point.
"Why don't I put some mediational music on and I can teach you how to channel your breathing," Pabbie suggested, already pushing himself up with his cane.
"Channel my breathing?"
"It will be healing dear."
~#~
By the time Kristoff, Olaf and Sven returned from the store, the air was thick with incense, Anna was sitting cross legged on the floor and she felt a whole ton more at peace. Everything seemed much simpler, much more clear.
Listen not to what she says but rather what she does not say.
That should be easy. Elsa never said much at all.
"Oo, what's going on?" Olaf said eagerly. "Did I miss something fun? Hey, what's this music? Can I-"
"Shh, we're using our quiet voices right now," Pabbie said in hushed tones.
"Oh. I can do that too," Olaf whispered and he sat down on the floor next to Anna. She peeked out of the corner of her eye to see him mimicking her Buddha-esque contortion.
Eyes closed again, she heard Kristoff going into the kitchen, the beaded curtain giving way. Sven's telltale padded footfalls followed behind. There was knocking about and rustling as the shopping was put away and then the sound of paws excitedly scrabbling on the floor when a packet was ripped open. Beef jerky.
Anna smiled. There was something so simple about the relationship between the two of them. They needed each other and loved each other but there was nothing selfish about it. They gave each other what they could, but never demanded anything back. A perfect give and take symbiotic companionship.
"Open your eyes when you're ready Anna," Pabbie's soothing voice said, and she did.
"Mmm," she hummed, her smile still in place.
"Would you like to take a nap? You can use my room."
She couldn't remember the last time she had felt so relaxed. A nap sounded perfect.
"Yes please."
"You'd better drink a glass of water first. You might feel a little dehydrated."
Not really. But once she'd stood, Anna realised that Pabbie was right. Her throat was dry and she really needed to pee.
Water first.
In the kitchen, Kristoff was reaching up to put the last of the shopping away. Sven barked once and bounded towards her. She bent down to scratch him behind the ear and he pushed his head into her hand, tongue lolling happily.
"Hey buddy, give her some room," Kristoff said in the same low tone Pabbie had been using, tugging back gently on the dog's collar. Sven listened. He always listens. Kristoff turned around and poured her some water from the faucet and handed it to her.
"Thanks," she said, glugging it down.
"Feel better?"
"I feel wonderful," she grinned, feeling a little slurred and limp, spent and content. "Pabbie's like some kind of shaman!"
"Actually he's a reiki master, or at least he was. Before he retired."
"Well, he's amazing," Anna murmured as she retreated back out of the kitchen. She popped into the bathroom to pee and then onwards towards Pabbie's bedroom. She lay down on his soft incense-smelling bed and slept deeply, and she didn't even miss Ducky.
~#~
After a hearty nap, and a comforting dinner of stodgy pasta in tomato sauce, the hour was approaching. When she had awoken from her nap she had checked her phone and found Elsa had replied to her Facebook message.
▇ Elsa Queen Looking forward to it. Bring Olaf and your friend.
Anna had smiled. Just some buddies hanging out. Hanging out with my sister. And my friends. In a bar. Together. That's all. And she had replied.
▇ Anna Queen Will do. Love you.
The Anna of five hours ago would have ummed and ahhed about posting that last bit, but this new Anna, reborn by Pabbie's wisdom, didn't think twice about it.
Throw a little love their way.
Anna finally knew what Bulda had meant. She didn't mean for her to hurl her love at Elsa, like it was a football that needed to be caught, but to sprinkle it in the air like confetti or snowflakes and let Elsa wander through it at her own convenience.
"Are you sure you want us there?" Kristoff had asked uncertainly as they were pulling their coats on.
"Of course she does!" Olaf had interrupted.
Kristoff's questioning eyes didn't waver.
"Of course I do," Anna echoed.
They took the bus. Anna was insistent that Kristoff didn't drive. "You've been driving me freaking everywhere! You deserve a night off. Have a drink. Have two!"
When they approached the cocktail bar, Anna couldn't believe she was here again already. The memory of sambuca was present on the back of her tongue and she winced. Never again. She really hoped those jerks from last night weren't here tonight.
They entered the Ice Palace and there was a familiar face behind the downstairs bar.
Himani was there, looking at her phone nonchalantly. She looked up as they approached and when she clocked them, she grinned and put her phone down.
"Hey guys!" she sang. "Good to see you again. Did you get home OK last night?" she asked Anna.
"Yes thank you," she replied. "Kristoff picked me up."
"Quite the doting husband," Himani winked at him.
Husband? What?
"Really landed on your feet haven't you Kris?"
"It's Kristoff," he muttered through gritted teeth.
She chuckled. "Oh, I know." Her eyes slid to Anna, and Anna wasn't sure she liked the appraisal she was giving her, nor the sly smile.
"Wow! Look at all the colours! What is in those?" Olaf was pointing at the array of liquor bottles and tugging on Anna's arm.
"Nothing you want Olaf," she said.
"Is he even of age?" Himani piped up, scrutinizing Olaf warily.
"You didn't seem to care about that last night," Kristoff pointed out cantankerously.
Himani narrowed her eyes at him, before dismissing his comment with a breezy lop-sided smile, snuffing through her nose in amusement.
"I'll just have a pink lemonade please," Olaf said.
"Your friend Nicoline's here," Himani conversed, as she poured out Olaf's drink.
"Oh?"
She set the pink drink on the bar. "That'll be two seventy hun." She turned back to Anna. "Yeah, upstairs. She's with that blonde chick."
Elsa!
"OK, thanks very much."
She started to move away from the bar towards one of the staircases but hesitated. "Aren't you getting anything to drink?" she asked Kristoff.
"I'll get one upstairs," he said.
~#~
Elsa. "Hi Elsa, how you doing?" "Elsa I'm so sorry!" "Elsa, I spoke to dad…"
Thoughts of how to start the conversation battled in Anna's head, but she recalled Pabbie's teachings and breathed in through her nose and out through her mouth slowly until she calmed again and then she was at the second floor.
It was sparse so she found Elsa quickly, sitting at a large hexagonal table with Nicoline Laska. They were smiling. Like old friends. Anna felt a pang of jealousy.
"We'll be at the bar," Kristoff said.
Olaf opened his mouth to argue but Anna got there first.
"No! Please...Will you come with me? Both of you?"
They acquiesced (one more enthusiastically than the other) and the three approached. Elsa spotted them as they were half way and she sat up straight and folded her hands in her lap.
She looks nervous. It really didn't sit well with Anna that her presence would make her sister nervous at all. It should be the complete opposite. So she dealt with it the only way she knew how. She waved and grinned.
"Hi Elsa! And Nicoline," she turned her glowing optimism on the other girl. "We met yesterday. Good to see you again."
"You too," Nicoline said.
"Please," Elsa said gesticulating to the empty chairs around the table. "Sit down."
"Hi Elsa!" Olaf sang.
"Hi Olaf," Elsa said fondly. "What are you drinking?"
"It's pink lemonade! It's really good. Want to try some?"
As they settled into their chairs, Olaf annoyingly taking the seat next to Elsa as he proffered his straw for her to take a sip, Nicoline leaned across Kristoff and touched Anna gently on the arm.
"Hey, I'm sorry for yesterday."
"Huh?"
"I wasn't sure what...your motives were. With Elsa. It's absolutely not my intention to make your family business my business, I need you to know that."
"Oh, OK," Anna fumbled. "No, it's OK. I didn't mind. You were just looking out for my sister."
"I was."
Anna smiled, the small interaction making her feel so much less jealous about everything. Included. Maybe she could be my friend too!
"You can call me Nic, by the way, if you want, I mean. I know Nicoline can be a bit of mouthful," she said playfully.
Anna giggled. "Ok thanks...Nic."
Nicoline, no, Nic smiled back at her and sat back in her chair.
Anna peeked up at Kristoff to find him smiling knowingly at her. She grinned happily.
"OK, well, don't drink all of it!" Olaf burst out from beside her. She turned. He was swatting away Elsa's hand from his drink and taking it back. Elsa was laughing.
Elsa is laughing.
She caught Anna's eye and her smile didn't falter. Anna's grin only grew.
~#~
They all had drinks now. Kristoff had gone to the bar for a round for everyone, after Olaf had complained that Elsa had drunk all of his lemonade. Anna had tried to foist money at him but he had been insistent on paying, almost to the point of rudeness, so she'd given in.
The atmosphere was light and airy and Anna tried to glide on it without focusing on the fact that she really wanted to talk to Elsa alone.
Throw a little love her way.
With your patience will come her trust.
"So how exactly did you come to be helping my sister? Olaf said you met her on the road?"
Kristoff glanced at Anna.
What does he want? Permission?
"Urr, well, we met at a service station…" he started hesitantly.
"My car broke down-"
"Oh, Anna-"
"Don't. You sound like mom. Anyway, so my car broke down and I was stuck in the middle of nowhere but, see, I didn't want to go home cause I wanted to see you and Kristoff was at the same service station and he was coming here anyway so I paid him in gas money to give me a ride."
Elsa squinted in interest. She looked at Kristoff hard, but not aggressively, more curiously.
"And you're still here."
"Well, we're friends now!" Anna answered for him. "I've even met his family. We built a snowman, me and Olaf. I wish you'd been there! And then we had a snowball fight in the yard. And Sven was trying to eat the snow!" Anna giggled, eyes slanting upwards to Kristoff. "It was fun, right?"
Kristoff chuckled. "Right."
Elsa smiled genuinely at her, losing the tightness around her eyes.
"You seem happy," she said.
I'm happy now, now that you're here.
"So do you," Anna replied.
Elsa turned her smile down to her drink and took a sip through her straw.
"So," Nic started. "You're Kristoff Bjorgman huh? I've heard about you."
"Really?" Kristoff couldn't have sounded less excited by that prospect if he tried.
"Hard not to. Your name's carved onto the wall of my workplace," she laughed. "Anton was really glad to see you yesterday y'know. Wouldn't shut up about you all day."
"Oh… Sorry about that."
"He told me what happened." Anna perked up in interest. "It's a shame. Those guys are real wankers. Thinking they own the place. But not everyone's like them."
"I know," Kristoff said, but it didn't sound like he did really.
Those guys? The guys from last night?
"You should come back to the slopes, mate. Just for fun. Not for any kind of competition. I'd love to see you ski."
Is she flirting?
"You ski well?" It was Elsa's turn to perk up.
"No, he doesn't ski. Not any more. Do you Kristoff?" Olaf intervened helpfully.
Kristoff didn't answer. He's tempted, Anna thought, watching him fixate on thumbing the frost away from his beer glass.
"I'd love to try out some skiing," Anna said, thinking that maybe a little prompting was all he needed. "Anton said we could have a go on the yellow one, didn't he? Maybe we could all go?"
"I've got a day off tomorrow!" Nic jumped at the offer.
"Elsa?" Anna turned hopefully to her sister, but she didn't even have to ask. Her eyes were bright with excitement already. She grinned.
"Yayy!" Olaf was so thrilled he jumped up out of his seat. "So it's settled then? Tomorrow? What time? What shall I bring?"
"Nothing. We can sort out your gear at the base," Nic said. "And there's a cafe next to the base. Why don't we meet there at 8 and have breakfast before we get going?"
"Yayy!" Olaf squealed again.
"You going to join us?" Anna asked quietly, leaning into Kristoff.
He hesitated. "Yeah, I'll come. But only to make sure you don't break your leg or something."
~#~
After four pink lemonades, Olaf finally couldn't hold back from going to the bathroom any more. Anna immediately sprung into his seat.
"Hi," Elsa said.
"I can't believe we're finally going to do it!" Anna squeaked. "We're going to have the vacation we always talked about! Skiing on the North Mountain!"
"I know!" Elsa's enthusiasm was a sight more toned down than Anna's but that was just Elsa. Anna knew she was ecstatic really. Her eyes softened and she smiled at her little sister. "I'm really looking forward to it."
"Me too," Anna said, her eyes feeling watery. She couldn't blame the drink. She'd been drinking seltzer all night.
"Anna, I want to apologise," Elsa said. "I was too hard on you yesterday. When you went missing...I just felt awful. I can't tell you why but I just can't come home right now. I hope you can understand-"
"That's OK," Anna said quickly. "You don't have to tell me. It doesn't matter. I shouldn't have pushed you."
Elsa smiled sweetly, fully. "No, I'm sorry. It's not because I don't love you Anna. I never want to hurt you, you know that don't you?"
"I do," Anna smiled. "I love you too. And I never want to hurt you either."
"I don't think you could," Elsa said, and it warmed Anna's heart.
By the end of the week you and she will be watching chick flicks in your pyjamas eating ice cream together. Maybe Hans hadn't been entirely wrong.
"They seem to be getting on well," Elsa noted, and Anna followed her line of sight across the table. Kristoff and Nic were deep in conversation, and had been for some time. It had started about Anton, then skiing in general but then they'd become too engrossed in each other for Anna to keep up so she had drifted away.
"Mm," Anna agreed, taking a sip of her water and looking away again.
Elsa chuckled. "I don't think you need worry about her."
"What? What do you mean?" She's not interested in him? How does she know that? Why wouldn't she be interested in him? Why wouldn't he be interested in her? Look at her, all pretty and slim and knowledgable about skiing and mountain life and...Wait. Why would Elsa think I care at all? "You think I'm jealous?!"
Elsa tilted her head, lifting one eyebrow wryly at her.
"I'm not jealous. He can talk to whoever he wants to! I have Hans remember?"
Anna suddenly panicked she had been too loud and she glanced at the other two people at the table, but they hadn't heard or noticed. They were far too wrapped up in their conversation.
"Oh yes, Hans. How is Hans?"
"I'm just having lunch with my brother." There was your apartment, and your kitchen and Hans and some girl. It's my roommate.
"Fine. He's looking after my plants."
"Oh, that's nice of him."
The place feels empty without you.
"It is nice of him," Anna agreed, inwardly chastising herself for continuing to have these dark thoughts. If he said he was having lunch with his brother, that's probably what he was doing. If he had his picture taken with a girl at a party that was just because he was a social butterfly. It's my roommate. That one she couldn't justify. "I'd love to introduce you some day."
"I'd like that," Elsa said.
We could have her over for dinner. And open a bottle of wine and talk and laugh all evening. And maybe Olaf could come too and then there'd be enough of us to play Pictionary.
Thinking of Olaf, he magically appeared. He didn't complain that Anna had stolen his seat, he just plonked himself down her vacated chair and looked around the group. He smiled at Elsa and Anna.
"What are those two talking about?"
Anna shrugged.
"Hey! What are you two talking about?"
Nic looked up and Kristoff turned his head. "What the skiing's like in France," Nic said.
"Oo, is it good? Is it better than here?"
Anna smiled. You could always rely on Olaf to unite a group.
~#~
"Thank you for coming out with me tonight Anna," Elsa said, as they five of them shrugged on their coats and exited the Ice Palace. "It was fun."
Anna nodded vigorously. "It was! It was so nice…" Just like I always wanted. "I wish it could be like this all the time."
Elsa smiled. "I don't see why it can't be. I'll see you again tomorrow? 8 o'clock at the ski lodge?"
Anna grinned, and nodded even more fiercely. Her head was going to fall off if she carried on like this. "Yes, 8 o'clock sharp."
"You won't sleep in?" Elsa asked humorously.
"Of course not! I can't wait!"
"Good night Anna." And to her complete and utter shock her sister opened her arms wide and stepped towards her. Anna only hesitated briefly before throwing herself into Elsa's open arms and hugging her with everything she had. She rested her head on her shoulder and turned her head to find Kristoff and Nicoline both watching the scene tenderly. She smiled widely at them both. And at Olaf who had already got his phone out again and was blindly tapping away.
They said their goodbyes and Anna stood next to Kristoff, watching the two girls retreat across the parking lot. A small part of her had hoped that Elsa would ask her to stay with her at the lodge, but she didn't and so Anna hadn't asked. Patience. Patience is key.
"So, that was good, right?" he said.
"That was very good," she confirmed.
Elsa and Nic were walking along closely, their arms grazing each others' with every swing. But Anna wasn't jealous anymore. Anna was happy. Happy that her sister had found a friend, a companion, someone that had helped her come to life.
"Shall we go?" Kristoff asked.
"Yes." Anna smiled up at him contentedly. "Let's go home."
Notes
Pabbie's advice about understanding has been bastardised (read stolen) from a quote by the Lebanese writer Kahlil Gibran: The reality of the other person is not in what he reveals to you, but in what he cannot reveal to you. Therefore, if you would understand him, listen not to what he says but rather what he does not say.
I'm not smart enough to come up with the sort of wisdom Pabbie brings to the table. ;)
Thanks for the reviews I received last chapter. Turns out a little prodding helps :). Helped me focus on completing this chapter quickly! :D I'm sorry I can't respond personally to the guest reviews so in response to niiice, Thank you for the kind words (happy writer!) and you'll just have to wait and see. This fic is only projected to be 15/16 chapters long so we're half way there!
Thank you all for reading, still reading! Well done you! :D I appreciate every fave, follow and review. It's encouraging to know I'm not just wasting my time. In service for spending my free time writing Kristanna fanfic (when I probably should be knitting or baking or something for my son :P) all I ask for is a little review. I'm like the cookie monster for reviews ;)
Have a good week all.
