Chapter 21 – No boat!
Anna sat under a tree in the courtyard, chin in hand. She had too many things to think about. It would be a week and a half before her bastard father returned from his trip.
She'd spent the last three days visiting with her mother and siblings. She found herself becoming quite attached to her newfound siblings, even though Kristoff made it clear he was less than happy when she left and would ask her if she had decided yet.
She hadn't made a decision yet but she knew, that if it came down to killing him or letting her mother or sister die she knew she'd draw her blade.
She couldn't blame her younger brother. He'd been raised by the tyrannical man in fear. Kristoff was big, but he was a noble, not a warrior. Anna was, and she had no fear for her sire, just deep set resentment.
All her time spent with them and thinking her situation to death had left very little time to spend with Elsa. She saw her at breakfast and a short time before bed when she came home, having slept beside the queen every night for the last five nights.
She wanted to do something for Elsa. Yea, she said she loved her, but she needed to show it more. Elsa could have anyone she wanted, she was the fucking queen, and she wanted her. A veritable nobody before she met Elsa.
But what? What could she possibly do or give that she couldn't get for herself? She'd really have to think about it some more she mused to herself as she watched Olaf continue his pushups.
It was late afternoon. She was just finishing Olaf's training when a guard came calling on Anna to go to the queen's study. She let Olaf go before making her way through the halls and bursting into the study. Elsa's head shot up in surprise.
"You summoned me, my queen?" She smiled widely at the surprised monarch. Elsa relaxed and rolled her eyes but smiled at the exaggerated accent.
"I did, Crown Prince Alistair of Castillion is getting married in two days. He was kind enough to invite me and by association you."
"No way in hell." Anna crossed her arms over her chest. The refusal surprised Elsa.
"If you don't want to go that is fine, but I must." She flipped through the documents on her desk.
"There's is no way I'm letting you go by yourself. I just don't want to get on another damn boat." The last part came out in a whine. "You remember what happened last time we were on a boat, right?"
The scratching of her pen on paper came to an abrupt halt and her muscles tensed.
"I'll never forget." She let out a shuddering breath. "I have to go though."
"What if we could get there another way?" Anna leaned across the desk pleading.
Elsa hummed, studying the woman leaning in across her desk.
"What did you have in mind?" She finally sighed, just as eager as Anna to never set foot on another ship. Anna grinned.
"I'm so glad you asked, Snowflake."
The sun had just barely peeked over the horizon, a cool spring morning. Anna in her blue and silver tunic was letting her large pet eat while she finished tying their two bags onto his back, giving the muscled scaly side a pat when she finished the knots. Elsa smoothed the wrinkles from the teal and black fabric of her dress as Kai worried over their choice of transportation and Olaf nuzzled his face into the queen's legs.
"Are you sure about this, your Majesty?" Elsa nodded. That was the third time Kai had asked her. Honestly no, she wasn't certain about riding the beast all the way to Castillion, but Anna assured her that everything would be fine and they could cut their trip down from a day and a half to a mere 6 hours with Frost.
She hadn't put up much resistance to the idea. She really didn't want to take a ship. She still wasn't sure about taking the dragon though either, too late to back out now.
"Everything will be fine, Kai. I trust Anna with my life." At that the head servant acquiesced. She was still nervous. The longest she'd been on Frost was about a half hour.
"Are you ready, your Majesty?" She glanced over at the smiling knight holding a hand out to help her onto her magnificent blue beast.
Elsa could only nod. She leaned down and kissed the drowsy prince on the cheek before allowing Anna to help her into the saddle on Frost's back, Anna grinned and tussled the boy's hair before climbing up herself. Elsa sat rigid, as far from Anna as she could in the presence of the stable keepers and Kai, despite how sure she was that he alone was aware of Anna and her relationship.
Anna reached around the waving queen to pick up the reigns.
"See you in a few days." Anna called cheerily before giving a light slap which took them into the air with a few mighty flaps.
Elsa leaned her back against Anna's chest, looking down at the town as they flew overheard and out onto the open sea. A strong salty breeze blew against her face.
"Now this is more like it." She glanced to the redhead now resting her chin on her shoulder.
"How is it that riding a dragon at dizzying heights doesn't even faze you, but ships make you violently sick?" She just smiled sheepishly and shrugged.
"I guess the ocean just doesn't agree with me, obviously, it tried to kill me." She gave a snort.
Elsa frowned. She didn't find the joke half as funny as Anna. She reached over and pinched her hand. Anna yelped, pulling back her left hand.
"What was that for?" The knight pouted pulling back slightly.
"I do not find that funny, Anna." Her voice cracked. Those had been the worst three days of her life, just as awful as the days that followed her parent's deaths.
"Hey. Sorry, I'm sorry, Snowflake." She wrapped her arm not holding the reigns around the queen's waist, doing her best to snuggle into the older woman who was tucking her head under Anna's chin.
"I thought I'd lost someone else I loved to the sea…" Anna grimaced, way too soon for jokes apparently.
"Sorry, I'm sorry that was a stupid thing to say. I sometimes don't think before I speak, you know that." She chuckled nervously. The blonde nodded against her neck, it was slight and she wouldn't have noticed if she hadn't felt the movement against her skin.
They were silent for at least an hour before Anna pulled the map from inside her tunic, shifting it around the queen in her lap to see.
"You can read that, right?" The amused tone from her neck piped up. She grunted face reddening.
"Yes, I can read a map. A map doesn't have words." Elsa giggled into the knight's neck.
"When we get back you can start taking lessons with Olaf, he's learning to read right now too" She snorted.
Anna's jaw clenched, biting back any remarks about not having time to learn growing up, she was too busy learning to survive.
Noticing her silence Elsa pulled back to look at the redhead who was glaring straight ahead at the seemingly endless expanse of sea occasionally glancing at the map. Copper red brows were furrowed together and her mouth was pursed so tight her lips nearly disappeared.
She was mad, and she shouldn't, but Elsa found the angry, pouting expression too cute for words.
"I was only kidding. Don't pout, Freckles." She smiled at the redhead. If anything the teasing tone in her voice only made her puff up more, pointedly ignoring the blonde, who frowned.
"Anna, I was only – "
"It makes me feel stupid, okay? I'm nearly 20 and I bet Olaf can read better than I already." She refused to look at the blonde, keeping her eyes trained on the expanse of water before them. Elsa half turned to look at her.
"You are far from stupid. You know I didn't mean that, I'm sorry, Anna." The knight sighed.
"We seem to be stepping all over each other's toes this morning." She mused. Elsa nodded and pressed a kiss to the underside of her jaw.
"You know, Gerda could teach you to read if you really wanted to learn." Anna hummed.
"I want to learn, it's just… embarrassing..." She grumbled making the queen smirk.
"I can easily arrange it so only you, Gerda and I are aware of it." She tried to convince her. "Or I could teach you. " Anna snorted.
"I'd like that, but do you honestly think you have the time to teach me to read? " Elsa hummed. She had a point. She stayed in her study fairly late most evenings. "I'm sure Gerda can teach me just as well as you." She looked up at Anna.
"So you'll let Gerda teach you then?" She nodded.
"It couldn't hurt to learn."
"Wonderful, I'll talk to Gerda when we return." She simply nodded again, spending the majority of the trip in silence, save for a brief argument over the map and directions.
Elsa was leaning back against the other woman's, eyes closed, resting when she started to wiggle.
"Be still, Freckles.." The groggy queen grumbled.
"Wake up sleeping beauty, we're here." Blue eyes blinked slowly, stifling a yawn behind her hand as she glanced down. The ocean had given way to land.
Atop every pole of the dock stood a flag of royal blue, a single golden stripe horizontally down its center with a fierce white dragon lying atop both, the flag of Castillion. A large city sprawled out along the water's edge. They would have to travel farther inland to reach the capital.
"So we are." She mumbled as they flew over the city. People who happened to be looking up stared and pointed as Frost sailed over their heads.
"I hope King Odar doesn't mind housing your beast in his stables." She glanced at the redhead behind her. Anna simply waved her off.
"Frost is a pleasure to anything not a fish." She laughed to herself. Elsa merely rolled her eyes.
Hopefully his Majesty wouldn't mind since he would get to see a real live dragon, and according to Anna the rarest of the rare, though she'd yet to see Frost produce anything other than chilled puffs of air.
"Most will see him as a dangerous legendary creature, not your snuggly pet, Freckles." She reminded.
"So you admit he is nothing if not my snuggly pet?" She grinned. Elsa sighed, giving up on arguing with the stubborn knight.
Within 20 minutes they were coming to a landing just outside Castillion castle, a reception of guards along with King Odar and Prince Alistair waiting for them, jaws unhinged as Anna bid the beast to settle softly to the ground before the other royals.
Anna jumped off and was quick to help Elsa down as the group approached cautiously, eyeing Anna big scaly pet. Bright cat like green eyes watched them back as he pressed his head against Anna's chest, begging to be pet which the red head obliged.
Odar was a large man, tall and broad shouldered with a square jaw. His dark wavy brown hair that touched his shoulders wisps of gray here and there. A dark silver crown sat in the king's hair. A few long purposeful strides, he stood in front of Elsa and gave a bow. The queen curtsied in return as they exchanged the normal royal pleasantries.
"A pleasure to see you again, Lady Anna." The knight looked up from scratching the dragons head affectionately to smile and give the Prince a deep bow.
"Thank you, your Highness." He nodded glancing at Frost, she noticed and grinned. "This is Frost, your Highness, my noble steed and companion." She grinned.
"A dragon." The prince mumbled in awe of the cold scaly beast.
"Can someone show me to the stables, your Highness?" He looked back to the knight and nodded.
"Of course." He motioned for her to follow. Alistair led her around the stone walls and through a gate, her large beast trailing behind her by his reigns. He led her to the end of the massive stable where a large stall sat empty.
"I hope this will be alright for your noble steed." He gave a small chuckle. Anna smiled gratefully.
"Perfect. Thank you, your Highness." He nodded.
"Will he require any special care for the duration of your visit?" Anna shook her head as she went about removing his saddle.
"No, he eats fish, other than that. He'll be fine by himself out here. Thank you though, your Highness. Alistair gave a nod before disappearing. Anna rubbed the lizards back where the saddle had been, thinking of what she could do for Elsa.
"What do you think I should do for her, Frost?" She looked over at the dragon eyeing her. He gave a huff. She grunted.
"Thanks." She drawled sarcastically leaning against the large scaled body, wracking her brain. Her eyes roamed over the stable, decorated in the blue and gold of the kingdom. The back stone wall was painted to look like a field in summer, bright flowers, grasses and faceless people.
An idea struck her
She gave the scaly leg next to her a light slap.
"I know exactly what I can do!" She grinned at Frost who just blinked back at her.
This chapter is a bit short and late, but I went out of town unexpectedly Thursday evening and im super tired cause I've been drunk and sleeping in a tiny armchair for 3 days. Patience please all.
~ Malthazar LOS