Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to Frozen or Aladdin, or any other Disney Franchise.
The Closing Ceremony
-Three More Days Later-
Shapes of ice fly around the room. All in many different colors. I wave my hands out and all the ice turns into snow. Flakes of snow change from red to yellow to green then to blue. Anna stares at all this with awe.
"Brava! I never seen anything like this! So amazing."
My heart warms up to her words. All the colorful snow around us disappears into the air.
"You can really control your powers now, can you?"
I nod with joy. The one fear that haunted my whole life has finally thawed. "I can finally trust myself. I don't have to worry about hurting you ever again, Anna."
"Elsa. I always believed in you. You'd never hurt me for real. I always knew you could do it."
"I know, Anna. I just never believed in myself. But it's all over now." I tighten my grip around her. "I'm going to be the big sister I always wanted to be. I promise I'll never ever let anything happen to you."
"You're always so selfless. But what about you, Elsa?"
Huh? I thought she was going to be overjoyed right now, but her eyes look incredibly sad. "Anna?"
"You don't get it. How can I live life knowing that my big sister isn't happy?"
"Anna, don't-"
"No! You're not happy, Elsa. You're not."
I know what she's talking about. For the last few days, she's been worrying about what will happen when Ali leaves. I know I can't change what has to happen, but I can't stand it if Anna is going to be sad about it. But it's me! She's sad for me!
"Anna. I don't want you to be miserable because of this. There's nothing to worry."
"Miserable? You're going to be miserable!"
"I know. But… I'll get over it."
Judging by her face, she saw straight through that lie. "You ain't fooling me, sis. You love him. There's no doubt there. So how should I believe that you're not going to be heartbroken when it happens."
"Everything is going to be fine. Please Anna. Stop worrying. Let's just enjoy these last two days with Ali." She doesn't look convinced. I put her hands inside mine and stare at her with the most assuring look I can make. "Everything. Is going. To be. Fine. Okay?"
"Okay, sis. I believe you.."
The clock strikes noon. In about thirty hours from now, I'm going to leave this amazing city. Arendelle is the most beautiful place I ever seen. The whole city breaths life all over, from its busy streets to its outer houses to its large harbor and to its great palace. I can never forget its people. So nice. So happy. So beautiful. Especially her. Arendelle's Queen. Elsa. If there's anything that I'm going to miss the most, it's her. I don't know what to do without her. I feel so empty right now, when I'm not around her.
Walking along the streets just outside the palace, a lot of people keep coming from nowhere just to greet me. No idea why though; they just all seem to know me as the future king. If they're referring to me becoming the next Sultan, father's going to be pissed that so many Europeans know that. Lots of elders also keep giving me their blessings, which is even more weird. Although, the one thing that really confuses me is that many men my age, mostly princes and nobles, don't seem very fond of me. Especially Prince Lucas of the Southern Isles. When I tried to greet him this morning, he treated me like I was invisible. Huh. Something seems familiar about that. And no, I'm not referring to Hans.
Speaking of the devil, there he standing outside at an orphanage. This didn't seem to catch my attention until I realized that he was not alone. Dozens of little children were all around him. Some playing with each other, while others were running about. Hans was in the middle of these little monkeys, trying to tame them.
"Okay boys, don't be so loud okay? Alex, give Jacob back his toy. Sean, didn't I tell you to take your brother to the bathroom? Sarah! Get off from that! You'll fall!" Hans hurries to a small pier where a little girl was standing with one foot on a log. He grabs the child and brings her back with the other kids. Before she was put down, Sarah hugs Hans with her tiny arms.
"I luv yu Uncle Hands."
"It's Hans," he rolls his eyes. Though if you look closely, you can see a faint smile on him. It's really faint and hard to notice. Even the most observant pair of eyes would have a hard time catching it.
"Hahahaha. Uncle Hands?"
Hans turns around with a startle, but then he quickly regains his composure (faster than he lost it). "Oh. It's you. Shouldn't you be smooching the Queen right now?"
"I think I've smooched her enough for a guy she's not in a relationship with."
"Pfft. You're in denial."
"As if. I'm leaving tomorrow. When that happens, it's over."
"You really are leaving?" his rather indifferent tone suddenly changed to something more of disbelief. "Is that really what you want?"
"It's what I have to do. It's the only way I don't get on my father's bad side."
"And what happens if someone gets on his bad side?"
"Most likely he executes them. Sometimes he would just throw them in prison or sell them as slaves."
"Would he do that to his own son?"
"Probably not. But he's still not very forgiving. He always finds a way to punish me even if I don't do exactly what he says."
Hans snorts at this. "Looks like I'm not the only one with daddy issues."
"What happened with you and your father."
He strikes a cold stare at me. "I'd rather not talk about that." His sharp eyes loosens when one of the kids jumps for his attention.
"Look what I can do Uncle Hands!" the throws a rock onto the bay, making it skip across the water.
"Impressive, Tom. Why don't you go teach everyone how to do that." All the kids went over to where Tom was standing. Hans takes a seat and lets out an exhaustive breath.
"Not easy taking care of kids, isn't it?"
He shakes his head.
"So why all of a sudden are you doing it? I mean, it's great and all. But why?"
"Like your girlfriend said-"
"Not my girlfriend!"
"Whatever. -I have to find my own purpose in life. I don't know what I'm suppose to be anymore, but I figure that I might as well be anything but useless. I heard about this orphanage during some charity work. It looked that they can use some help, so I went in and asked."
"Well I have to say, Hans. You're really coming through. Taking care of children is something that takes a lot of effort as well as a lot of heart."
"I'm just glad these nuns don't know much about me. In some miraculous way, they never heard about what I tried to do back in summer."
"Hmm. I don't normally agree with people lying, but I think yours is the exception."
Hans raises his chin. "You really think so?"
"If this can thaw your frozen heart, then yes."
"Urgh. Again with this frozen heart crap. I'm just about sick and tired of that label."
"Sorry." I look over at the kids, all throwing rocks at the bay. "They really seem to like you."
"Don't know why. I'm not very fun. I just make sure they don't get into trouble, and that's it."
"Children naturally trust those who go out of their way to keep them safe. That's what parents do. That's what they should do."
He sighs. "Yeah."
The door to the orphanage opens. A woman dressed in black and white emerges, "Okay children. Time to come inside. Chop chop," she claps her hands twice. All the children start to run back inside. The woman looks at Hans, "How were they?" Hans bows to the woman.
"Lady Superior. They were having fun for the most part. Sarah tried to stand at the ledge of that bridge over there, but I got her down."
She laughs. "She's the always the troublemaker. You did a good job today, Hans. You can take a break now." Once again, I catch that very faint smile on Hans' face. The nun looks at me. "Oh! What a surprise!" She bows to me. "The great prince, Ali. A pleasure to meet you, your majesty."
Weird. She didn't give this treatment to Hans, and Hans is also a prince. "The pleasure is all mine, madam superior."
"It's lady superior," Hans whispers.
"Very well," the nun rises up. "I best tend to the kids now. I'll see you tomorrow, Hans?"
"I'll be back first thing in the morning."
"Good." She returns into the orphanage.
"'Your majesty'? What was that all about?"
"Who knows. She probably heard about you and Elsa."
"So?"
"So, she thinks you're going to marry her and be the new king."
"Is that what everyone thinks? Cause that would explain a lot."
"You don't know, don't you? Ever since everyone saw you two at the ball, people had already started talking about Arendelle having two royal weddings."
"Wow. Everyone's gonna be so shocked tomorrow."
-:-
We're now sitting at a local coffee shop. Hans' draining down his cup while I was staring at mine
"What, you don't like coffee?"
"This coffee taste a lot different than the kind I drink at home."
He shrugs his shoulder. "I don't know; maybe we use different beans or something. Maybe you should try hot chocolate then."
"Hot chocolate?"
"Don't tell me you never heard of that. It's basically grinded up cocoa mixed with sugar and milk. You can think of it as liquid chocolate."
"Y- You mean... we can drink chocolate?"
He studies the look on my face. "Good god. You're a choco-freak too? I thought the Arendelle sisters were the only ones."
"Hehe. Elsa and I have a lot more in common than just having magic."
"I'd figure as much." He spins his empty cup with his fingers, deep in thought. "Those two won't ever forgive me will they?"
"Well you did try to kill them."
"Pfft. Oh well, I don't care. But I bet Anna would flip if she sees you talking to me."
"Hah. That's something I'd rather avoid this time. I don't know if you heard, but she went into an outrage back at the ball when you left. The fact that I tried to befriend you made her say A LOT of things."
We both chuckle. He's definitely not as depressed as he was at the ball. Perhaps Hans is changing. He's definitely has his energy back. Actually, his face seems even more livelier this ever before.
He gets up now. "I need to get going now. I guess I'll see you tonight at the closing ceremony."
Closing ceremony? Oh that's right! Today's the final day of this peace gathering. After this, it's all going to be over.
The door to Anna's room was open. I took a quick peek to see if my aunt was there. There she is sitting at bed reading one of my mom's old books, The Tale of Three Bears. Though I've grown close to her over the last week, I still feel uncomfortable talking to her about this.
"Nervous to see your own aunt?" comes a voice behind me.
I jumped and turn to see Uncle William right there. A large smile showing through his large beard.
"I- um… don't what you're talking about."
"Whatever you want to talk about, you can tell her."
"I know. It's just that it's so difficult. I've been bottling this up for some time now."
He puts his hand on my shoulder. "It's okay. Kate's really good at listening. Just tell her the problem and everything will be okay. Go on, Elsa." He gesters me foward.
Leaning at the side, I knock at the open door. Her eyes spring up from the book; "Elsa, hon, come in!"
"H- Hi Aunt Kate." I crawled out from the edge of the door. This is so ridiculous. How can I be so nervous about this. Especially to my own aunt. "C- Can I talk to you for a moment."
"Of course. What's on your mind, Queeny."
"Well. Uh.. It's about Ali. Actually it's more about me."
"Uh-hunh. Go on."
"You know I err love him right. Well it's just that.. he's leaving tomorrow."
"So I've heard. Are you okay with that?"
"Well… No. I'm not. I'm not okay with that. Not one bit! It's sucks! This has to be one thing I can't take. I mean I can take people hating me because of my powers. I can take being alone for all my life. I can even take the fact that I had to shut Anna out just to keep her safe from my powers. And yet! I can't take this! I'm going to lose Ali from my life. I know I can't force him to stay, but I don't want him to go."
She looks at my hands. I realize that I've been wringing the edges of my cape. "Honey, if you really love this man so much, you should tell him."
"He knows, Auntie. I've told him."
"But does he know how much? Be honest with me, Elsa. Does Ali really understand how much you love him?"
I thought about it. I've never really showed him just how much I feel for him. Well. Other than that time up at the ice castle when I kissed him. That kiss felt so long ago. We've kissed a few times afterwards but never like how we did at the ice castle. That kiss was so long, so tender; and every second of it made my heart go faster. I wish we can do that again. But he won't let me. I know it.
"Elsa. Hello. You in there?"
"Huh!"
"What's going on in your head?"
"Oh, uh, I was just thinking about your question."
"And?"
"No. He doesn't really know."
"Well then. Why don't you tell him? If he's going to let this all go, he should at least know what he's doing. Right hon?"
"I- I guess."
"Of course he should! How dare he thinks he can just steal a woman's heart and break it like it's nothing! He should be ashamed of himself."
"He's not like that. He's afraid of his father, Auntie. Ali's trying to protect me from him."
"Oh Elsa. I don't care how powerful this 'Cazzim' thinks he is, but he can't stand in the way of real love. And Ali is going to have to stand up to him one way or another. He can't keep cowering under his shadow like that."
"It's not easy for him. Ali's been living like that his whole life."
"You lived your whole life with fear, and you overcame it!"
"Yeah but-"
"He needs face his fears like everyone else, Elsa. If he ever wants to live a happy life."
If we ever want to live a happy life. Aunt Kate is right! I need to let Ali know how I really feel about him. But how?
"How should I show Ali my full love for him."
"That I can't say. You'll have to figure that one out by yourself, dear. Do something special to him. Make him feel very important to you"
I dig through my mind. Thinking of every possible idea I can do. Something that's special huh? Something that's only meant for him.. Maybe something that he can do? Something that I won't let anyone else do.
Once again, everyone has gathered in the ballroom, for the last time in this peace gathering. This is the final day; the closing ceremony. Unlike the last two events, this one is going to be quick and short. All the Queen has to do is give her blessings to all the kingdoms and allow the rulers to once again adorn their crowns. During the last few weeks, all the crowns were locked in the palace's secret vault, but now they are once again present next to their owners.
The Queen stood at the platform now, watching the families all assemble around her. No longer was she feeling nervous as she was during the opening ceremony. All her fears of ruining the largest event of her time as queen has subsided over the last three weeks. She's a new person now; more confident, more brave, and more hopeful.
But can people see through her outer shell? Can they see through that thin coat of happiness she veils behind? Only those who are close enough to her can tell. Sadly, this doesn't include a certain Arab in the room.
The Queen speaks. "As hostess of the International Peace Gathering, I, Queen Elsa of Arendelle, would like to congratulate all our brethren in a successful effort in maintaining the peace and harmony that our founders had prayed for. I, on behalf of my kingdom, give the International League our blessing, for may we keep peace between our kingdoms for eons to come."
All the rulers in the room now bow their heads to the hostess Queen and once again put on their crowns. The Duke of Weselton put on the crown that belongs to Weselton's absent king, and Prince Ali places the crowned turban on his head (however, this turban is not the one that his father wears, a breaking in the rules that no one but Ali knows about). Now it's Elsa's turn to put the crown on her head. As a single-ruling queen, only she can put on her crown. If that's the case, then what is she doing?
Elsa leaves the platform and walks through the crowd. Her crown in her hands. This is not part of the tradition. In fact, she could be breaking the rules herself. What is she trying to do?
She walks past many rulers, all staring at her with confusion. Her eyes are focused on only one man. She walks up to the perplexed Ali, sparkles in her eyes.
Ali lowers his head towards her, whispering, "Elsa, what are you doing? Everyone's looking at you."
"I don't care," she whispers back. "They can look at whatever they want, as far as I'm concern." She hands Ali her crown, who stares at the golden wonder that holds a gem in the middle.
"What at am I suppose to do with this?"
She smiles. "Put it on my head. Crown me."
"What!" Ali whispers rather loudly. "I can't do that. Only you can are allowed to do that."
"The way I see it, you can too. But no one else. That's how special you are. To me."
Ali becomes awestricken by this. Just how special can he be to this woman? He has never been this special to anyone before. Ali smiles at the Queen as he gently places the shining crown on this special woman. Elsa closes her eyes, feeling every sensation of his fingers on her head. After crowning her, he kisses her forehead, feeling the cool skin on his lips.
Everyone in the crowd kept quiet during all this. No one knew whether to speak up or not about this. Does this break the rules? It's just a silly tradition right? But the host Queen broke it. Does that mean anything? Hopefully not.
The closing ceremony was over and everyone return to their rooms for the night. Tomorrow morning, most of the royal families will leave for their kingdoms. I was in my room now, receiving an earful from Kai.
"How could you be so reckless, your majesty! This whole thing could have gone smoothly if you just put on your own crown!" Apparently, right after the closing ceremony, all the rulers were called together to discuss my 'misconduct'.
"It was just a stupid ol' tradition. It didn't offend anyone, so why was there so much fuss?"
"Your majesty, traditions are traditions. You just don't mess with them."
"What's wrong with a queen letting someone else crown her? Does that take any authority from me?"
"That's what everyone was talking about! They were trying to figure out if you letting Prince Ali crown you means that you forfeit your power to him."
"What! That's ridiculous. It's just a hunk of gold. When I lost my other crown, you guys already had this one made. I don't think a crown is the source of a kingdoms power. Right Kai?"
"Fortunately, the majority of the rulers sided with you. You should be lucky that your uncle is a great negotiator."
"I still don't see what's all the fuss. We still did everything right for all those three weeks. One little slip-up didn't had to be such a big deal. Besides, I was only doing it for personal reasons."
"Your majesty, I know you're going through lots of emotions right now, but you need to remember your duties as our queen. A leader must always his or her feelings aside when making decisions for their kingdom…"
I wasn't up for one of Kai's long lectures about leadership right now. I have somewhere else to go now. "Kai, I'm tired now. I'll hear the rest of your speech tomorrow."
"Very well. Good night, your majesty." He leaves the room.
I listen to his footsteps fade away. Okay now is my chance. I tiptoe out of my bedroom. Using my powers, I channel a stream of ice across the wall. From my lessons with Ali, I learn how to use the light reflecting from one end of my makeshift telescope to the other, able to see around corners from a distance. It's silly that I have to sneak around in my own palace, but I don't want anyone to know where I'm going. The coast was clear. I hurry around the corner. The room I'm looking for is right at the other side of the hallway. The door was closed. I hope he isn't asleep yet. I just have to talk to him.
If I knock, the people in the other rooms would hear, so I filled the keyhole with soft snow, the freezing it into ice to make a key.
Click
Can't believe that actually worked!
Opening the door, I see him packing up all his belongings. He's really leaving tomorrow, isn't he? I took a step in, and he looks up.
"Elsa!" his dark brown eyes flashes, making my heart jolt. "W- What are you doing here?"
"I had to see you." I walk in and close the door, leaving just the two of us here, alone.
"Her majesty is here?" Sabah pops from the bag, wearing Ali's turban.
"Sabah," Ali says, pulling his fancy large crown off her head, "why don't you go and play with Olaf. I'm sure he's not sleeping yet."
The birds face brightens up, "Okay!" She flies off the open window, now leaving us two alone.
"I'm mostly done with all the packing anyway. It's only fair to let her spend as much time as she can with Olaf while she still can. Poor thing really doesn't want to leave."
"She's not the only one." He was taken aback from the short distance of my voice. When he was looking away, I was walking towards him. I can feel my chest pulling me more and more towards him, but my knees kept buckling. It's like walking knee-deep in snow.
His eyes once again flashes. How are they so mesmerizing? I can feel my heart screaming with so many aches.
"Elsa?" He steps forward, almost filling up the space between us. His warm body radiates through my dress. "Please. Just let it go. Let us go. Please."
I shook my head. I shook my head hard. I keep shaking my head, feeling myself slipping. I can't hold it anymore. My love for him is too much. I just can't hold it inside me. When my head stops shaking, there was nothing to stop the water from flowing out of my eyes. I throw my arms around him, crying into his chest.
"Ali please. Don't go. Don't go. Don't go."
I couldn't control myself anymore. My cries grew louder. His arms wrap around my back, pulling me more into him. I cry, cause I know I'm going to miss this. I'm going to miss his warm embrace. So much! I pull my face from out of his chest, my eyes unwilling to open up through all these tears.
"Plehehehease. Don't go. Don't go. Don't-"
He muzzles me. He muzzles me with his lips. His lips feel hot! Why do they feel hot? But it doesn't matter right now. I continue to cry through his mouth, but his hands cup my cheeks. The more I cry, the hard he kisses. I can feel my tears being kissed off my cheeks. But everytime he kisses away from my lips, he always comes back to them. My chest feels like it's erupting with flames. His muscles tense as he squeeze me even harder.
I grab his collar and yank my whole body back making us both fall onto the bed. His entire weight presses down on me. It feels so good, having all his attention on me. He starts to cover my face with tender kisses. I clench his shoulders tighter, as he kisses down my chin. The lower his lips go, the feistier the butterflies in my stomach become. He reaches onto my neck, each kiss more hotter than the last. Then suddenly, as he kisses the line between my neck and collarbone, his lips turn ice cold. It feels so shocking good, damn it. I let out a long and satisfied moan. I grab his hair and pull him back onto my lips. Sparks of electrifying ecstasy channel up my spine. I feel so good right now. I want him. I want him more than I ever did. I want every bit of him. I'm ready for everything now!
I sink my teeth into his lower lip, enjoying every taste of it; of him. I can feel both our cheeks reddening. I probably look stupid right now, sucking on his lip like infant being suckled. But I don't care. I love it! His hands come down me as I continue to enjoy his lips.
Then.. Something pokes my stomach. Something within Ali's clothes. It was long and slender. I stare at it with wide eyes as it came out of Ali's garments. It continues to grow longer and bigger! Until it slithers onto the bed, now five-feet long.
"Quick-Shot!" Ali tries to say with only his upper lip. "I forgot you were in here!"
The snake looks at him with a disturbed face. "My apologies, my lord. I know I'm not suppose to leave until you order me to. But... I need some fresh air." Quick-Shot crawls off the bed and slithers out to the window, shuttering once before he left.
NOW alone. I look up at Ali, letting go of his lower lip finally. We look at each other, completely bewildered. Were we really going to do it? Did I really let myself become such an animal? This is so embarrassing of me!
"I. I don't know what came over me," Ali says, breathing heavily. He gets up from on me and sits at the edge of the bed.
"It's my fault. I pulled us down."
"But I kissed you first."
"I was the one biting you!"
"I was running my hands all over you! Even though when we agreed to be friends." I propped myself up and lean my chin on his shoulder.
"We can never be just friends. I love you too much."
"Elsa." He turns around. For the second time in forever, I see tears in his eyes. "I can't do this to you. I don't want anything to happen to you."
"I'm not scared, Ali."
"But I am."
My head jerks up. This is the first time I'm hearing this. Ali actually admits that he's scared! He'd always tries to deny it. But not anymore.
"I'm scared of what he would do. To you! I don't want to lose you."
"I'd rather die in your arms than never see you again."
"I'm sorry, Elsa. But I'm not letting that happen." He looks at me with a stern face. "Never." I can see it in his eyes. There's nothing I can do to change his mind. Nothing.
"Okay." I slowly stand from the bed and walk towards the door.
"Goodbye Ali."