JQ: Alright guys, here's another one!
Hope you enjoy it!
Chapter 7
After breakfast, Gia decided to get changed out of her clothes, since she wore them yesterday. She wasn't a fan of being a royal. However she, at the very least, appreciated wearing clean clothes. She had hoped to walk to her room without interruption. Unfortunately, Vindra had other plans.
"Dude, tell me everything!" the short-haired blonde insisted for the millionth time, since they got to the second floor of the castle. Gianneva groaned in annoyance.
"I have no idea what the hell you are talking about, Vee." Gia sighed.
"But how?" Vindra asked. She was completely perplexed as to how her sister could be so oblivious to yesterday's events. "How could you not know? It was like...like...KABLAM!" suddenly, Vindra's wild hand motions became weapons, as ice shot out at the wall, just opposite them. After that near-miss, Gia turned to face her sister; a scowl more than evident on her features. "Sorry," was murmured after that. Gia rolled her eyes.
"I can't damn answer your damn question if I still have no damn clue what you're talking about!"
"Whoa; pause." Vindra said. She held up her hands, in defence, against her sister's hostile tone. "Back up, for a second." the short-haired blonde decided to rethink her word choices. She recalled that her madre would often tell her how sensitive women like mama were. Of course, her madre told her to never say that to anyone. "What do you remember about yesterday?" Gia exhaled. She was exhausted but knew there was no escaping the curiosity of Princess Vindra Elda.
"Well, for a start," Gia began, running a hand through her hair, "I remember sparring with you, in the courtyard."
"Uh huh," Vindra nodded.
"Then we made fun of madre for being a chicken, again,"
"Ha ha...yeah. She hates that." the short-haired blonde chuckled to herself. "Anything else, ringing a bell?" Gianneva shook her head.
"No," she answered, "nothing other than being in the throne room."
"Huh." Vindra commented, stroking her chin, "Odd."
"Why? What am I supposed to be remembering?" Gia hissed, as they reached their room. Vindra, suddenly, got very afraid. She didn't even quite understand what she saw, the other afternoon. She figured that she knew enough to just say it though.
"You...uh..." Vindra started to murmur, "...you sort of...bonded with Astraia." Gianneva raised an eyebrow.
"I beg your pardon?"
...
"WHAT?!" Astraia and Gianneva spat out together at the elderly woman, sitting in the middle of the room.
"I said," Darya started, less patiently than the first time she said it, "the both of you are now spiritually bonded to one another; like your parents are." Darya pointed to the pair of parents, standing behind the two girls. Said two girls looked at one another with shocked expressions. Astraia, however, sported a look of horror, while Gianneva just looked like she was about to rip someone's head clean off their shoulders.
"H-how? What?" Gia was having a hard time understanding everything. She kept glancing back at Elsa and Fría and the women just avoided eye contact. Fría began to whistle innocently, suddenly becoming fascinated with a piece of wallpaper that was peeling off of the wall. Gianneva groaned in frustration and annoyance. Parents...she sighed, internally, way to be helpful...She rolled her eyes and faced her aunt again. Astraia, too, looked towards her own parents and they faired no better.
"Look," Darya began, "I don't understand the binding either, but all I know is that it cannot be reversed or changed." Darya stood up, from her meditation pose and turned to face the young girls. "You're both stuck together, whether you like it or not and there isn't much to be done about it." Darya spat, mostly out of frustration and annoyance. Once she saw the looks on the girls' faces she was instantly regretful of her choice of words.
"Teacher..." Serafina began to chastise. Just before anything else could happen, Gianneva turned around and began to leave the room. Astraia, purely on impulse reached and grabbed Gia's hand.
"Gia, wait –!" but Gianneva aggressively slapped away the attempt at being calmed.
"Leave me alone!" Gia cried and began to run. Fría reached out to stop her but the small blonde just shrugged her shoulder away and started to sprint away from the room. Elsa sighed and turned to her wife.
"I'll handle this one, honey." she said, before turning away and started to walk in the direction in which her daughter had run off.
...
After about an hour of searching for the princess, Elsa finally found her in a portion of the castle that was pretty closed off; a cleaning supplies closet. Elsa, otherwise, would not have found her, save for the fact that the temperature was colder in this wing of her home.
She approached the door and softly tapped on it.
"Gia," she addressed in a soft tone, "darling? Can you speak with me, for a moment?" there was a heavy moment of silence. Unfortunately for Gianneva, Elsa was very patient. Several moments went by, and Gia could still feel her mother's presence. She sighed.
"You're still there, aren't you?" she asked, silently hoping that she was wrong. Soon, Elsa's calming voice was heard.
"What gave me away?" Elsa asked. By now, she was seated on the floor, with her back against the door of the closet.
"I dunno." Gia answered. She hugged her knees closer to her chest and groaned. Elsa sighed and began her first line of questioning.
"Do you want to talk?"
"No."
"Do you want to come out?"
"No."
"Do you want me to leave?"
"No." nodding to herself Elsa got up and turned the doorknob. As she predicted, the door was unlocked. She entered the closet and sat herself down on the, now, frost covered floor of the closet. She kept her distance from her daughter, but wasn't that much further from her. She closed the door and using her own ice magic, she sealed it shut. Gia gave her a questioning look, but the woman wouldn't be able to see anything, as it was now completely dark.
The two blondes sat next to one another, in a comfortable silence, enjoying the cold air. Elsa thought that Gia was like her in a lot of ways. Rather than dealing with situations head on, like her sisters and madre, Gia preferred to sit alone and think on her own. Elsa was not obtuse; she could see that Gia was struggling with herself.
Her daughter seemed to always steer away from conversations that revolved around the future. It was not unnoticeable how uncomfortable Gianneva would look when Fría would talk about her and Vindra being joint successors. Elsa had an inkling that Gia felt out of place; that she didn't know what path she should follow. Because of how isolated the younger blonde could feel sometimes, Elsa feared that Gia would end up exactly like her.
Fortunately, Elsa knew this problem well. There were times when she'd feel like she wasn't supposed to be queen; that she didn't have what it took to rule a kingdom. She, of course, always used this mindset when it came to Gia.
"How are you feeling?" Elsa asked softly. She heard some shuffling.
"Meh." was the response that she received. The queen chuckled softly.
"And what does it mean to feel 'meh'?" Elsa pried. She, once again, heard Gia shuffle. Only this time, the shuffling became closer and she soon felt the warmth of her daughter's presence. She smiled to herself, being relieved that Gia was showing signs of opening up.
"It means..." Gia began. Elsa could sense the wheels turning in her head and smiled, picturing how Gia was probably biting her lip just like Fría does when she concentrates. "...it means that...that I don't know how to feel." Gia scooted closer to Elsa. "I just..." the girl didn't finish her sentence so Elsa tried her best to fill in the blanks.
"It isn't wrong to not know how you feel," Elsa began, wrapping her arm around her daughter, "but when you can put it into words, just know that I am here for you. Madre is here. Even your sisters are here." Elsa sighed. "Take it from someone who knows, from experience." Gia turned to her mother, pretty abruptly. Elsa thought she was getting somewhere but failed to remember how critical her daughter was.
"If you speak from experience, then tell me what you think I'm feeling." Gianneva challenged. Elsa's shoulders fell. The pride she was feeling quickly dissolved. However, she recognized this as a chance to connect with her, otherwise distant, child and decided to share.
"I think you feel misplaced." Elsa said rather confidently. "I think that you feel as if you're being forced into a life where you feel like everything is being handed to you, without question. I feel like you're feeling how I felt during my entire adolescence."
"And why did you feel that way, mama?"
"Because I was to be queen. I was born into it. I honestly thought, in the beginning, that my first royal order was going to appoint your aunt Anna to the throne." Elsa admitted and Gia was wide-eyed. Her mother, Queen Elsa of Arendelle, was one of the most revered and admired rulers in all the land. She could never have imagined her feeling this way. Gianneva was intrigued. "I thought that I was hopeless; that I wouldn't be able to rule properly with my powers. My parents were afraid of my powers and I used to think that if my parents were afraid...then my subjects would be too." Elsa began to chuckle. "I used to call it a curse, but you're mother was the first person to tell me that it wasn't."
It was the middle of the night, a few months after they were married. Fría was still awake, as it took her longer to fall asleep most times. She was just staring at the ceiling, wondering how on earth she had gotten so lucky. She had a good life; many friends, was close to her family, had her dream job of being a military general (as well as being a queen consort), and she was married to the most perfect woman in the world. No one would be able to convince her otherwise.
To her, Elsa was everything. There was just no other way of putting it. She was elegant, brilliant, patient, kind, understanding and adorable. The other thing that made her fall was how intimidating she could be when she needed to; the mark of a good leader in Solsan culture.
Often, King Gregorio, Fría's grandfather, was criticized for not distinguishing between situations. He was not able to hold his temper, nor did he listen to opposite opinions. Her father, King Jacobo, tried to overturn that view, but the damage had been done; Isla Solsa became a less understanding place. Fortunately for them now, Claudio seemed to be doing a great job. Her father, in other words, loosened the lid for Claudio to fully open it.
Suddenly, movement was happening beside her. She took a moment to look at her bed mate. Elsa, who was usually a sound sleeper and rarely moved, began to fidget and stir. Fría, at first thought nothing of it and decided to hold her wife close in order to calm her movements. After wrapping the blonde up, in her arms, Elsa began to thrash about; muttering something incoherent. Fría let go of her wife and sat up. She began to speak to her.
"Icy?" Fría asked, but Elsa just kept muttering things and moving about. "Icicle! Wake up!" Fría demanded, feeling panicked.
"N-No! Fría! No!" Elsa shouted, in her sleep. "Get away – Get AWAY!" the room got colder and snowflakes began to appear. Fría, who was dressed in...well...just the sheet, was not prepared for this. She had to wake Elsa up and fast.
"Baby! Baby! Wake up! NOW!" Fría began to shake Elsa awake which proved effective. The blonde gasped and sat up straight, clutching the bed sheet to her chest. She seemed shocked, initially, but began to cry. Fría pulled her back in, for a hug, and held her as the sobs coursed through her body. "Shh, baby. It's okay, I'm here, shh..." Fría cooed, in an attempt to soothe. This process went on for awhile and Fría waited until Elsa's sobbing subsided. Once it completely stopped, Fría place her hands on her lover's face. "Hey, stranger." Fría said, with a soft smile. Elsa tried to turn away, but Fría kept her still. "Nuh uh, Icy; we're going to talk about this."
"B-but –!"
"No. Don't speak, unless you're going to tell me about your dream." Fría asserted. "You're my wife; I want to help. Please?" Elsa sighed softly but knew that Fría was not going to let up. She sat up straighter and looked at Fría. Even though she was just wrapped up in a sheet, the raven-haired woman sported a look that told Elsa that she was in no mood for games. Elsa supposed it was a good thing to have a wife as brash and forward as Fría, especially when she, herself, was being difficult. "I'm waiting." Fría stated, arms crossed.
"You told me not to speak, unless it was about my dream." Elsa reminded her.
"Do not use what I say out of context." Fría warned, simply. Elsa slouched.
"I'm sorry."
"No, don't be." Fría sighed, exhausted. "Darling you have to understand that I just want you to be honest with me. I don't care about...I honestly don't give two horse fucks about anything, really. But I do care about you; you're, actually, the only thing I care about." Fría admitted. "I wish to help you, if I can. And I know I cannot always assist you, but I want to listen. I want to hear every word you say." Elsa was fighting back thankful tears, at this point. She, truly, was undeserving of someone like Fría. Often, Fría would praise Elsa for being patient with her when Elsa should be the one praising Fría for that trait.
This, obviously, was not the first time night terrors ruled Elsa's subconscious; however, it was the first time that they revolved around Elsa striking Fría with her ice, on that dreadful battlefront.
"You cried out my name, this time, if that's anywhere to start." Fría said. Elsa nodded.
"Yes," she agreed, "it's the first time I've dreamt about your accident." Fría looked at Elsa and placed a careful hand over hers.
"The whole ordeal was vivid?" Fría asked.
"No, just the..." Elsa gulped and inhaled sharply, "...just the look on your face. I...I just." Elsa began to sob again, "I'm so sorry." Fría wrapped her arms around her wife and shushed her, softly. She ran her tanned and slender fingers through Elsa's platinum blonde tresses; she knew Elsa loved that and it usually calmed her.
"It's okay, it's okay." Fría recited, meaning it every time. She hated that Elsa still sort of detested her powers. Fría knew that Elsa had a good motive for hating them, but by that logic Fría should hate her own as well. "You have to stop that, you know?" Elsa's sobbing subsided again.
"W-what? What d-d-do you mean?" the blonde sniffled and settled her head atop Fría's chest.
"I know you think it's a curse," Fría said, "but it isn't." Elsa looked at her quizzically.
"But how can you say that?"
"Because it's apart of you. You were born with it. It can't be a curse if a wonderful person, such as you, has them." Elsa blushed. "Do you think that mine are a curse?" Elsa immediately snapped her head up and met Fría's gaze.
"No."
"Then?" Fría asked. "I know that the only difference that exists, between us, is how we were raised." she told Elsa, "No offence; I'm sure your parents meant well. But, darling, you've got to admit that telling a child to hide themselves is probably the worst thing to do. Especially when the child is different." Elsa wanted to say something but her wife was right; her parents' fear was the main source of her own.
"I wouldn't do that." Elsa murmured.
"Sorry?"
"I said that...I sure wouldn't do that." Elsa said, louder. "Children are fragile and...and I sort of detest my father for it. Bless his soul. I know he meant well but..."
"I know." Fría said, pulling Elsa into her embrace. "Just promise me that you'll stop hating yourself for it. It wasn't your fault, you know that." Fría forced Elsa to look at her. "Promise me." Elsa scanned her wife's face and found no trace of uncertainty. If this is what her wife wanted, then Elsa was going to try her best.
"I promise."
"Good." Fría settled them both on the bed. "Now you owe me a ton of kisses, and cuddles, for scaring me to death." Elsa laughed and kissed Fría on the cheek.
"Yes, dear."
"Your family and your friends are here to help you, Gia." Elsa said. "It took me awhile to believe that, but it is true. I don't know where I'd be, without Anna or your mother." the younger blonde nodded.
"I suppose."
"I'm not saying that you have to talk, right away. But when you do feel like it," Elsa began, "you know where my study is."
"What if you're doing something important?" Gia asked her mama. The woman just chuckled.
"Nothing I could ever be doing would be more important than my family." Elsa said. She then leaned over and kissed her daughter's forehead. There was a soft and comfortable silence that followed, before Gianneva spoke again.
"May I ask you something now?" she asked. Elsa smiled.
"I don't see why not."
"Is...is it wrong to feel like...like you're being forced into everything?" Gia questioned, confirming Elsa's assumption.
"No, it isn't." Elsa answered. "Is that why you got angry when you heard about the binding?" the smaller girl nodded.
"Yeah. I just feel like it's another thing that I have no choice in."
"And when have you felt this before?"
"When people tell me that Vee and I will be great warriors like, madre." Gianneva shrugged her shoulders. "Don't get me wrong, I enjoy battle and I like helping madre with stuff. But I don't want it as a career. I know Vee does, but I don't."
"You think madre is forcing that title onto you?" Elsa questioned her.
"Yes and no." was Gia's reply. "I feel like she wants Vee and I to be that way. And everyone else seems like they do too. I don't want to upset her, or anyone else, but I don't think I want that." Elsa smiled sadly; all that she and Fría wanted was for the girls to feel happy and loved.
"It's an illusion to think that madre would make you do that against your will. We don't want you to be unhappy; that's our first rule of parenting. If you really don't want to be a co-captain, you do not have to be." Elsa informed her. "We just want to see you thrive and be well. We want for you to enjoy what you do."
"Really?"
"Yes. You could be a stable girl, and your mother and I would be ecstatic." Elsa told her, "Although you must bathe, thoroughly, before coming back home." Elsa's face, suddenly scrunched up, "Your mother's sharp sense of smell will surely suffer a great deal." Gia laughed and Elsa joined her.
"Thank you." Gia said, once her laughter calmed. "I love you, mama." Gia said, wrapping her mother up in a tight embrace. Elsa felt her heart melt and hugged her back.
"And I love you."