Chapter 13: An Arendelle Princess' Musings

"… Anna…" a voice that sounded far off could barely be heard by the girl.

"Princess Anna!" the voice seemingly shouted. Princess Anna jumped a little in her seat as the tutor sighed.

"Ummm… Sorry? Yes, Professor?" Anna said in a voice that sounded overly apologetic.

"Perhaps we should get back to your regular schedule, Your Highness. It seems your extra classes are a bit too much for you to handle," Professor Sterkolv said. Anna referred to him as Professor Sterkolv, though her sister simply went with Mr. Sterkolv which the ex-professor was perfectly fine with in most cases.

Anna sighed to that and hung her head a little. "Then I won't ever catch up to Elsa…" she said quietly.

The ex-professor looked to the little princess fondly as he said, "You are not your sister. The two of you are both exceptionally talented and intelligent, but you two are still different from each other. There is no reason to try and catch up to Crown Princess Elsa."

Anna frowned a little to that. "I can't hope to be as capable of a leader as she will be if I don't catch up. I would be letting down our people if I didn't," she said.

Mr. Sterkolv shook his head to this. Princess Anna had been having more bouts of this melancholy lately. He and the other instructors were worried for her. "You are still very young, Princess Anna. No one expects you to be your sister, except yourself. Perhaps you shouldn't think this way and pressure yourself in such a manner. Especially given what it would mean if you were to take the throne," he said.

Anna frowned to that. It was true. She honestly hoped she never had to actually take the throne fully, because it would mean her much beloved sister was dead or otherwise incapable of ruling Arendelle. Anna shook her head of those thoughts. She looked to the professor sternly and said, "I still want to be capable enough to take it, even if I do not wish to ever need to do so. I want to at least be able enough Elsa would trust me to watch over our country if she is away. Besides…" She gave a frown to her desk. "I'm already ten and less than a year from now I will be eleven. Elsa already finished her accounting classes and a lot of her finance lessons by this point."

Mr. Sterkolv couldn't help but chuckle a little here causing Anna to look puzzled. "Pardon me, Your Highness. I only laughed because you fail to realize how odd it is for anyone to grasp these concepts by the time Elsa did. Not even your mother was as far into those lessons as your sister was at your age. The truth is you are actually on par with your mother at your age in those lessons and surprisingly further along in others than she was. You and your sister have a drive seldom found even in the Royal Family. And are both wonderful students and princesses."

Anna took a little solace in that.

"That being said…" Mr. Sterkolv started. "It wouldn't do well for you to push yourself too much, Princess Anna. There is such a thing as educational burnout and if you end up that way you do yourself and others little help."

Anna gave a sigh. "Fine!" she said. "I'll take less classes if that makes you and the other instructors happy."

"It would. We're all concerned about you, Princess Anna. We are also concerned about Crown Princess Elsa's determination, even though she has proven capable enough thus far. However, just like how too much exercise and exertion on your muscles without rest does more harm than good. So too does trying to cram too much knowledge into your brain at too fast of a pace. There is a reason why it is frowned upon for students to cram before a test," the man said to her.

Anna shook her head. "I see your point," she said. The young Princess then gave a giggle before saying, "I still find it odd a teacher is telling me to study less."

"We will adjust your schedule next week. Now that we have reached an agreement… Let's us get back to the lesson at hand," Mr. Sterkolv said.

Anna gave him a far too innocent smile as she said, "Weren't you just telling me I was studying too much?"

"Be that as it may… We shouldn't let this opportunity for learning pass us by. Which is a valuable lesson when it comes to economics and many other matters. It is good to make a wise decision, but we mustn't dwell on it so long it is no longer viable…" Mr. Sterkolv said and with that their lesson continued as Anna once more paid attention.

{-} {-} {-}

Anna looked out the window as she held Elsa's most recent letter in her hands. "Halloween does sound fun. Well... Apart from that. Elsa's school still sounds like so much fun… I really hope I can go to it or something similar at least," she said to herself. It was possible she could end up going to a similar but different school. This way she would gain the same experience Elsa, but further increase Arendelle's relations with different sets of people and countries.

Anna really missed Elsa, though that was a given. She wondered what it would be like to have roommates she spent almost every night having fun like they did. Elsa mentioned how she and her roommates had a bit of a reputation regarding their slumber parties as they called them. The group of girls were with each other every night, yet they still set aside particular nights for fun and games and when Elsa was in charge of refreshments, plenty of chocolate. Anna gave a giggle to that. Anna also loved chocolate, but it was funny the way Elsa pointed that out in particular in her letters.

The young princess really wanted to write her sister back and she would, but life in Arendelle seemed boring compared to the things Elsa talked about in her letters. Anna could mention a little about her classes, but that got stale after a short period of time. She also mentioned the occasional joke she played on the others. However, compared to the pranks Elsa talked about the twins pulled, Ron's older brothers, there wasn't too much she could do to compete. She and Elsa could come up with some really fun things, but those required more than what Anna could do on her own. "I also get the feeling there are more pranks from the twins than she tells me about and they are probably grander in scale," Anna thought. Sometimes the young Princess felt her wonderful sister didn't fully grasp she wasn't a little kid anymore herself and would leave certain things out of the letters. Anna was getting closer to eleven! Thank you very much.

She looked down to the letter again and reread part of it.

… Someone did a nasty prank on Halloween. They wrote a threatening message on the walls using red paint mixed to look like blood. Everyone knew it wasn't the twins. They are the biggest pranksters in our school, but they make sure there is some humor in their jokes.

Fortunately, we still had our Halloween party in the dorm room. We even managed to still convince Luna to tell us her story about a creature she called the Rake. She and her dad love going on trips during the holidays researching rumored beasts and they have had some rather adventurous and spine-chilling experiences while doing so.

I've actually in a manner taken Luna under my wing, I guess you could say. She is an odd girl, but she is still lots of fun and really intelligent in her own ways. Sadly, others decided to pick on her because of this and I couldn't just stand by. I've actually learned more about understanding people and figuring them out since I came here. Our instructors are good at such things, but experience is still really helpful. I wish you were here…

Anna sighed as she stopped reading the letter. She treasured it like she did all of Elsa's letters, but she would admit she felt a little jealous. A part of Anna felt like Elsa was replacing her with this Luna girl. "It's stupid to think that way…" she thought to herself. The young princess knew it was stupid too, but she couldn't help it. Perhaps it was simply she was missing her sister so much.

Elsa was away and meeting new people all the time and she wrote about it in her letters. Anna got a laugh about the new professor who made them take a really dumb and ego filled quiz on their first day of his class. Anna really wished she could be at this same place with her sister, or her sister wasn't there anymore. It was a bit a dark thinking the latter though. "Perhaps I really am wearing myself down with the extra class time trying to catch up," she thought. It was really rare for her to let anything get her down. Last year she missed her sister greatly, but she was never like this.

She looked down to read more.

… Draco Malfoy is confusing at times. I know he can be better than his father when it comes to some of his views regarding others, but it seems it will take a lot of work. I really wish I could just tell him who I was already and he should behave himself better. Then again, I probably wouldn't get to understand what he is really like as a person if that happened. It's also probably too early to make any real decisions about him. I do see him having the same business sense as his father at least, which is good. But I wish he would take a little more after his mother from what I have heard of her, even if she is far from an angel.

Maybe he will someday. Maybe he is getting better and will be like people always say their kids are. The best of both of their parents. He is at least trying to clean up that mouth of his, which is good since my house has a lot of classes with him this year. Otherwise it might be harder to get along with him and the others. He does at least usually get along with the rest of the people in my house. I just wonder if there is more to the reason why his house and my other friends' house get at each other's necks so often. It has to be more than just their intense house rivalry. I'll have to remember to ask Draco about that sometime…

Anna found it a bit overly complicated that her sister was trying to balance out a friendship with two different houses that really disliked each other. "I guess it does make for good diplomatic experience in a way. When she is the Queen, she will have to find out how to balance opposing parties and bring them to a mutual agreement," she told herself.

The younger princess always found her sister's musing regarding Draco Malfoy interesting to read. Elsa had mentioned him in a few letters previously. Anna knew she was reading too much into them, but she loved sometimes imagining Elsa's letters regarding Draco were equal to that of a young maiden in love without wishing to admit it or something of the likes.

You had to find some entertainment where you could when you had already read a good bit of the family's library. Anna felt if things continued as they were she would have to read everything in it at least twice, if not more, soon enough.

Anna had teased her sister about Draco a few times. Especially when her sister talked about her discussion with him regarding what the Malfoy family looked for in a future Lady Malfoy. When she got Elsa's response, Anna could just imagine her sister writing it with a roll of her eyes and an amused smile gracing her lips as she shook her head.

The younger princess knew her sister wasn't really too concerned about romance and such at this point. She also knew there was a very slim chance a relationship with Elsa and Draco could work out unless Draco did change a significant amount. Anna had learned about the Malfoy family already and she knew they always were most concerned with how they personally could benefit from anything. That was not the type of person a Queen of Arendelle would look for romance with honestly, even if she was sure the Malfoy family had the title and prestige for such a relationship.

Arendelle Royals were more concerned with an actual romance than just simply if it would be good politically or financially. Sure, their potential partners had to have a bit of prestige and nobility, if not high nobility, but it was also important to have a proper love with each other. It was necessary for a ruler of Arendelle to be with someone who wouldn't try to undermine them. The one they did marry was a huge source of counsel, but they couldn't be too overly ambitious.

Arendelle didn't have too many problems compared to the rest of the world when it came to throne succession and they tried to keep it that way. Royal brothers and sisters usually did what they could to help each other out along with their nation instead of just themselves. They also made sure they weren't too heavily involved with people who were too ambitious. Ambition wasn't a bad thing and could be a very useful tool, but one could go too far with it.

Anna knew from her lessons regarding families they did a lot of business with, that her family liked doing business with the Malfoy family. They could work the family's natural ambition to a mutually beneficial manner. Then the Malfoys usually found a way to make the joint venture even more profitable for both parties. When dealing with them, they still always kept in mind the family's true motto, "Before all else. Malfoy." They would always be on guard to a degree when around them because of that. While this didn't have any negative effects when it came to business dealings, it was no way to treat a romantic relationship. Having to keep a constant eye on the moves of the one you married was unhealthy and unpleasant.

However, the romantic in Anna made extra note of Elsa mentioning how Draco was changing. It was possible he could change enough to be a suitable lover or more. There was a part of her that wanted Draco to change to such a degree because it would make a good romance story. "Too bad life isn't more of a truly romantic love story," she thought with a forlorn sigh as she knew it was unlikely.

Anna read more of the letter again and found a name sticking out to her a bit more than usual. It was Neville Longbottom. Anna found it a bit surprising, but she recognized his family was another one they did business with on occasion. She wondered if Elsa realized this. She wanted to believe Elsa did, but the truth was it might not be too surprising if she didn't. The Longbottom family was a family they were recently getting more involved with business wise. It was nowhere near the level they were with the Malfoy family or many others, but her parents were increasing relations with the Longbottoms where suitable.

Madame Longbottom was a bit eccentric Anna remembered hearing her mom say one time, but the family was smart and while they weren't as involved on a more global scale investment wise. They were making good decisions and proving to be excellent in their own way when it came to capital venture investments. Her mom even talked about how Madame Longbottom made a point of mentioning her grandson Neville now that she thought on it more. Anna wondered if her parents were taking these steps of increasing relations because of the friendship Elsa and Neville shared. She wondered if she should mention this to Elsa in a letter. "Nah… If I can figure this out surely Elsa can as well," Anna told herself as she got ready for dinner with her parents tonight.

{-} {-} {-}

After dinner, Anna looked up to the night sky out on one of their larger balconies. Elsa mentioned there was a fun class she took involving astronomy. Anna thought that a little odd at first, but she guessed it was an elective of some kind. Maybe it was an extra class the school made students take to be more "well rounded" or something. Kind of like how schools would have a yearbook class or school newspaper class. It was usually something that happened at higher levels of education, but Elsa's school was rather prestigious and seemed to have many sons and daughters of nobility from all over attending along with scholarship students as well. Things were probably different there as a result.

"It doesn't really matter too much I suppose. I would love a class studying the night sky," Anna thought. She herself took more of an interest in the stars of the night. She always enjoyed looking at the starry night sky, but it was fun learning more about it now. It was something her parents, in particular her dad, were taking an interest in as well. She was pretty sure her parents were doing this so she wouldn't feel as lonely, but she would enjoy the time she shared with them.

"I forgot how calming and fun this could be," her dad said as he adjusted their telescope again.

Her mother gave a gentle laugh as she said, "I never have. I remember this was one of the many ways you chose as a means for us to be romantic when we were younger." She took a sip of her evening drink and smiled at her husband.

"I also remember how your dad would always keep an eye on me when we had such encounters," her dad said with a slight shiver. "I even remember when he took me to the side one time and told me, 'I feel I can trust you with my daughter now. Don't get too full of yourself though. I will always have someone nearby just in case you get any ideas. You won't even realize they are there until it is too late.' I will admit he did kind of terrify me a little with those words," he said with a laugh.

"Are you going to be that way when Elsa and I are older?" Anna asked.

King Agnarr gave a smile and said, "Very much so! Even if you two are more than capable of taking care of yourselves, especially your sister."

Queen Iduna gave a laugh to that. "You just want to do so since it was done to you," she said.

He gave a chuckle and admitted, "You got me there. But it is a father's duty! I already have a few creative approaches in mind for when such a time comes in the far far future."

Anna gave a teasing smile as she said, "That time may come sooner than you think... Given what I've read in Elsa's letters."

King Agnarr looked horrified for a moment before both his youngest daughter and wife laughed. "Anna… You shouldn't terrify your father like that," Queen Iduna said in between laughs as Anna looked overly innocent at them both.

The King cleared his throat and looked through the telescope again and said, "Alright. Come and look at Jupiter, Anna." Only he knew his sudden change of the subject was to get them to forget his moment of panic or so he wished. Elsa was far too young to even have thoughts about such terrible things like boys… At least he hoped that was the case.

{-} {-} {-}

When the young princess went to bed that night, she finished her reread of the letter. It upset her a little Elsa mentioned there was some business she would have to take care of over the holiday break. Anna knew she should be understanding of her sister. She also knew if Elsa was taking care of something it was really important, but it still annoyed her. It felt as if the world was trying to take away the little time she had with her sister anymore.

Anna sighed as she lay on her bed. She was ten. She shouldn't be having these kinds of worries. She shook her head and said to herself, "I'll just have to make sure the time I do have with Elsa, when it is finally Holiday break, is all the more precious." Part of her felt proud of herself for taking this approach. It was a compromise of sorts and something she felt was very mature queen/princess like behavior. She would be a princess her family could be proud of. She would be a princess her sister would approve of even more than that and could fully trust.

With those thoughts in her mind, Anna finally went to sleep for the night. She had pleasant dreams of going on adventures at some mysterious school with her sister next year. It was a very hopeful and unlikely dream, but it was enjoyable. In that dream, no one would ever doubt Elsa was her sister and no matter how close others were or how they saw Elsa, the two sisters were closer. Everyone would know Anna was the best little sister in the world and every one would know Elsa was her best big sister in the world. It may be a childish notion, but it did bring a smile to Anna's lips while she slept.

A/N: Thought this might make for a nice little early treat, since Halloween is in the middle of the week this year. Hopefully the rate of chapter postings isn't too much for people or too irregular. I just spend a lot of my free time writing this story. I might try to back off a little so things won't become too routine or something. It is just odd because of how I have chapters here and there for the story already written. When I felt stuck on something and wanted to write about different parts of the year, I would just do that. My fault there.