When Anna awoke the next morning, she discovered very quickly that the meaning of 'her side' of the bed was apparently much different to her sleeping self than her fully-conscious self. She'd promised Elsa the night before that she'd stay on her own side…but as it would turn out, Anna had somehow managed to roll completely over in her sleep. The entire length of her body was pressed up against the senior, and her head wasn't on a pillow, but rather on Elsa's shoulder. It was actually quite comfortable, and—Anna found herself thinking—something that she could definitely get used to.
However, as much as Anna wanted to stay like that, the blonde was still sleeping soundly, and Anna knew that there was no way that she herself was going to be able to fall back to sleep. And while she didn't exactly regret the fact that she'd broken it unknowingly in her sleep, her promise to Elsa was one that she intended to keep now that she was fully aware of where she was. So, quietly and gently, Anna sat up and leaned against the pillows, satisfied with just sitting next to Elsa as she slept. It was a rather adorable sight, in all honesty—the braid that Elsa hadn't bothered to take out was resting in a perfect little upward arc on the pillow, her shoulders rose and fell under the blanket with each intake of breath, her lips were slightly parted, and she had a rather peaceful look on her face. And while it made Anna wonder what was going on inside the senior's head and what she was dreaming about, it was definitely a pleasant change to see Elsa so calm.
Smiling to herself at the thought, Anna let her gaze roam from Elsa's sleeping form to the rest of her surroundings now that she was a bit more awake. From the first and only other time Anna had ever been in the senior's room after Dee had colicked, Anna remembered the blue walls, the stark white furniture, and the desk. But this morning, her eyes seemed to gravitate to the finer details of Elsa's room—like the fact that all of the pictures on the walls and on her desk were not of people, but of horses. Some of them were of Storm, but most were of horses Anna had never seen before, and she wondered if they'd been project horses that had been sold long before Anna had ever started riding and working at Arendelle Riding Academy. She also noticed how that calendar that lay open on the senior's desk was so full of notes that there was barely any blank space left, and how an entire shelf on Elsa's bookcase was dedicated to the subject of physics, and how, much like they were on display in the barn office, a string held an entire row of horse show ribbons right above the room's two windows.
However, Anna was very intrigued by the fact that—unlike the barn office, where nearly all of the ribbons were blue—the ribbons in Elsa's room were an entire rainbow of colors, all the way from first through sixth place. And she found herself wondering if these were the ribbons the senior had won with Storm. Because from everything Elsa had told Anna last night, it was evident that while the little Fjord pony may not have been able to keep up with the first-place champions that replaced him, he clearly held an even more special place than a ribbon could ever represent in Elsa's heart...
Entirely lost in her thoughts, Anna almost missed the slow, yet somewhat loud intake of breath, released in what almost sounded like a content sigh from beside her. It drew Anna's attention back to Elsa, who turned over to face Anna in an elongated, seemingly half-awake movement before she said to the redhead, "Good morning, Anna."
Elsa's greeting was followed by a small yawn, and for some reason, it made Anna smile, "Good morning."
"How long have you been up?" Elsa asked.
"I've been up for hours," Anna joked, "When the sky's awake, I'm awake."
"What?" Elsa was clearly confused, too out of sorts to realize that Anna wasn't being serious at all.
"I'm kidding," Anna laughed, enjoying the way the blue eyes she gazed down at went from confused to relieved to slightly annoyed, "I've only been up for a little bit."
"You can't say things like that to me in the morning," Elsa grumbled, rolling back over, "My half-conscious self takes everything seriously."
"Hey, I could have told you that it was Monday, too," Anna teased.
"And I'm sure I would have believed you," came the voice that was now muffled by a pillow.
"So you're not a morning person either, huh?" Anna guessed.
"No."
"Well…I don't think I'd mind staying here all day."
"Not happening."
"Why not?" Anna asked, curling back under the covers.
"Because," Elsa said, once again turning to face the redhead, who was now ever so aware of how close their faces were, "It's my day off."
"Your argument is definitely invalid," Anna answered, "That is the perfect excuse to sleep more."
"Actually, it's the perfect excuse to get out of the house and do something for once," Elsa said pointedly, "So that would require us to actually get up."
Us.
Anna smiled at the word, "Does that mean I have you all to myself for the day?"
"I suppose. But you've got to do something about that hair or I won't be seen out of this house with you," Elsa teased.
"Hey," Anna complained, even though she knew quite well how unruly her hair typically looked in the morning, "It can't be that bad."
"I'm kidding," Elsa told the redhead, echoing the freshman's phrase from only moments ago. Then she reached out to run her fingers through some of the tangles, saying, "It's actually rather adorable."
The display of affection from the senior made Anna's heart beat just the slightest bit faster, and she was so transfixed by it that she found she had nothing to say in response. Elsa's hand then stopped on her face, her thumb brushing across the freckles on the redhead's cheek ever so slightly before she said, "Well if I'm all yours today, then what would you like to do?"
Although her cheek still tingled slightly from the cool touch of the blonde's fingers, Anna managed to say, "I'm always up for spending time with the horses."
But then…she had a better idea. And she was so excited about it that she didn't even let the senior respond to her original suggestion before she exclaimed, "I've got it! We're going to see Chip!"
Elsa laughed at the redhead's sudden enthusiasm, "How far away is the farm?"
"It's pretty close—just a half hour drive. And I mean it when I say that I really want you to meet him," Anna said sincerely, "I know he's not going to be exactly like Storm, but...maybe spending some time with another little Fjord pony might help make up for the fact that you missed out on seeing Storm to go to the party with me."
"Anna, you don't have to make anything up to me," Elsa said, "But, I would still love to go with you to see Chip."
And yes, the first part of Elsa's statement may have been true—especially after everything Elsa had said to her on the subject last night. But taking Elsa to meet Chip still made the redhead feel a bit better nonetheless.
"You're going to love him—I promise," Anna said.
"I'm sure I will. He's a Fjord pony—what's there not to love?" Elsa laughed.
"That is indeed a fair point."
"So now the only thing is, you don't have a car, and I don't know how to get there," Elsa said, "So I'll need directions."
"We could do it that way," Anna said. But then she thought about it for a brief moment before suggesting, "Or I mean...technically I could still drive..."
"You want me to trust you. With my car," Elsa said with a raised eyebrow, her tone borderline amused. And while Anna knew Elsa was likely just teasing her, the redhead also had a pretty good feeling that Elsa was indeed a bit worried about the idea courtesy of Anna's clumsy nature.
"What?" Anna protested in mock defense, "I happen to be a wonderful driver."
"I didn't even know you had your license."
"I have it. I just don't have a car," Anna explained.
"So what you're really saying is you want me to trust you with my car knowing that you haven't driven anywhere since…what, the beginning of the semester?"
"I mean, you're not wrong..." Anna said, "But it'll be fine. If it helps, I'll have you know that I passed my driver's set on my first try."
Elsa raised one eyebrow, as if questioning the truth of the last part of Anna's statement. But then, after a bit of consideration, the blonde finally decided, "Okay, fine. You can drive—but only because you know how to get there."
Anna grinned, "Awesome. The last car I drove was my mom's old SUV, so taking something fancy for a spin is definitely going to be fun."
"Is that supposed to make me feel better? Because it isn't working."
Anna only grinned wider, "Nope. But I promise—you have absolutely nothing to worry about."
"Alright, guess I'm just going to have to trust you on that one," Elsa laughed, at which Anna rolled her eyes. And then the senior said, "But now that we have a plan, I think it's time to get up."
In one swift motion, Elsa threw the covers off of herself, disturbing half of Anna's side of the blanket. However, that one simple action also left the redhead with the sight of the senior in even shorter sorts than she had been wearing the previous night and...was that the same low-cut tank top Elsa had worn the night Anna had stayed over after Dee had colicked? The one that Anna had so openly (and embarrassingly, at the time) stared at?
Considering the smirk that was on Elsa's face when the the redhead drew her eyes away once more from the white material, Anna was pretty sure she had her answer—and she was even more sure of it when Elsa asked teasingly, "See something you like?"
"Maybe I do," Anna replied, her words taking on a similar tone, "You wore that on purpose, didn't you?"
"Maybe I did," Elsa answered.
But with that wonderful little smirk returning to the senior's face...Anna was definitely certain that there was absolutely no 'maybe' about it at all.
In order to make the most of the day, the two ate a quick breakfast, and then Elsa dropped Anna back off at her dorm so that she could change into something more appropriate for the barn. The redhead could have borrowed something from Elsa, but the campus was close enough that it wouldn't take up too much time for Anna to change into something of her own—and besides, she still had her bag from yesterday's riding lesson that she needed to drop off, anyway.
Anna was surprised to find that Rapunzel wasn't in their room when she arrived, but as the redhead rummaged through her closet for barn attire that wasn't too old or stained, she supposed that her roommate was likely with Flynn. From the stories Anna had heard from Rapunzel, the two of them had been getting along quite well ever since the start of the spring semester, and Anna wouldn't be surprised if they were together by the end of the school year.
Just like Rapunzel won't be surprised at all when you tell her that you're dating Elsa now, Anna thought to herself, already thinking three steps ahead of her roommate's predictable teasing. But...even if Rapunzel would insist that she'd seen it coming the entire time, just the idea of telling her friends that her relationship with Elsa was now indeed official made a smile come to the freshman's lips.
The smile was still on Anna's face as she studied her reflection in the mirror, assessing the fit of a long-sleeve purple polo shirt of her own, and one of her nicer pairs of tan breeches. She didn't want to keep Elsa waiting too long, though, so she tamed the tangles and frizz of her hair into two braids as quickly as she could, and then she slipped into her boots and gathered her keys and her phone—and her driver's license; Anna would definitely be needing that.
Staring down at the little card in her wallet, Anna found herself briefly wondering if she really did trust herself to drive Elsa's car, because it was no secret that Anna was notoriously clumsy. And, as one normally would be when returning to any activity after an elongated break, the redhead was currently likely just the tiniest bit rusty when it came to driving...
But it was just like riding a horse, wasn't it? She had the acquired skill set and the muscle memory to do it right, even in a different vehicle.
That's right, you do. So stop overthinking this, Anna instructed herself. Everything is going to be fine.
She had nothing to worry about at all.
And, indeed, Anna did not have anything to worry about at all—the redhead got both of them to her old stables safely, despite the initial learning curve that came with driving a smaller vehicle. Her mother's SUV was much larger, and (Anna had discovered quite belatedly) required just a little more pressure on the gas pedal than Elsa's small silver car...But other than that, the drive to the barn had gone smoothly, and in half an hour, Anna was driving the car down the small, gravel driveway that she knew like the back of her hand.
Two pastures out front contained three horses each, all of whom Anna knew by name, and the sight of the tiny brick house and little red barn behind the front fields brought a smile to her lips. A brief glance in Elsa's direction showed that the blonde's eyes were glued to the window as Anna continued to drive up the gravel path, and the freshman couldn't help but wonder just what exactly Elsa would think of the quaint little farm that held so many of Anna's memories.
"Are you ready to head in?" Anna asked, once she'd parked the silver car around the back of the barn—which was much, much smaller than the one at Arendelle Riding Academy.
For the very first time since Anna had driven onto the property, Elsa took her eyes away from the window and nodded, "Yeah."
As Anna led the way into the barn, Elsa said eventually, "It's different than what I'm used to. But I like it. It's so...relaxed. And calm, in a way that our barn never is."
"That's what I love most about it here," Anna agreed.
And while she enjoyed the fast-paced environment and professional setting of Arendelle Riding Academy—both of which were typical aspects of a high-end competition barn—there was no doubt in Anna's mind that she would always love coming back to the laid-back environment of her old stables. It brought back memories of weekend lessons, and adventures with Chip, and countless hours spent with Kristoff and Sven on the trails in the middle of the summer...It was nostalgia that Anna felt more than anything when she returned to her old farm, because nowadays, the chances Anna had to visit were few and far between. This little place was home, and so while she introduced Elsa to the horses, she also took in every little detail and reminisced about every little memory while she could...
There, on Anna's right, was Lily—the black and white pinto pony who always greeted everyone with a small nicker. She'd been the first horse Anna had ever ridden here, and had taught her the walk-trot-canter basics before she'd moved onto more advanced skills with Chip. Next to Lily was Dime, the bay thoroughbred that Kristoff had leased before he bought Sven, and next to Dime was an appaloosa named Charlie, who had spots on his coat in even more abundance than Anna had freckles on her face.
A little further down the aisle was the wash stall that was currently vacant, which Anna had expected, considering that it was still a little too cold to bathe the horses. But despite the stall's emptiness, Anna knew that it, too, held so many memories, from desperately trying to show Chip that the hose wasn't going to attack him, to countless hours of scrubbing the dirt off of the horses who just had to pick the solitary spot of mud to roll in, and even to the water fights that, unbeknownst to the barn owner, most of the students liked to hold in the oppressive heat of the summer.
"This here," Anna said to Elsa once they passed the wash stall, "Is Sven. Kristoff's horse."
The tall gray horse was friendly as ever, eager for any kind of attention as he stuck his head through the opening in the stall door. He was an extremely well-tempered horse under saddle, and he had perfect manners on the ground—Sven was just an all-around happy gelding, and that cheery demeanor was one of the most endearing aspects of his personality.
"It's a nice barn, Anna," Elsa said sincerely, once they'd left Sven's stall and walked down the rest of the barn aisle.
"You really think so?" Anna asked.
"Yeah, I do."
And for some reason, the fact that Elsa liked it just made it seem that much more wonderful.
"I just have one question," Elsa said.
"Shoot."
"Where's Chip?"
"Oh. Right!" Anna had been so caught up in her own thoughts and introducing Elsa to the barn that she'd nearly forgotten the reason they'd come in the first place, "His stall is actually on the other—"
Anna didn't even have a chance to finish before a cheery voice with a thick Norwegian accent interrupted her explanation, "Anna! You didn't tell me you were visiting today!"
Turning abruptly, Anna saw Oaken, the barn owner, walking into the barn aisle while juggling about four different buckets. In all of the times Anna had been here and he wasn't teaching, she remembered him being constantly busy, since he ran the farm with only the help of his family and a few stable hands, so he was with no doubt pausing in one of his many tasks to greet them. But if anyone could make such a facility run so smoothly without much assistance, it was Oaken. He could complete anything from the simplest to most strenuous task with ease due to his tall and burly characteristics—and, as Anna had quickly come to learn, his personality was even larger.
Oaken had grown up in Norway as a child, but had moved with his family when he was a teenager. His parents had established a family farm here in America, which Oaken had taken over and now ran with his own family. He was practically like family to Anna at this point, since she always saw him around the barn and he had taught all of her lessons. And in the spontaneity of their plans, Anna had completely forgotten to let him know that they were coming.
"Hi, Oaken!" Anna said with a wave. She noticed out of the corner of her eye that Elsa moved the tiniest bit closer to her as Oaken walked forward, which was actually a reaction Anna had been accustomed to seeing from at least half of the barn's newcomers. Oaken's large frame was a major advantage for barn work, but tended to be a little intimidating to others at times—especially without having ever met him before. But once anyone got to know Oaken, his generosity and kindness would quickly prove that there was nothing about him to be afraid of.
"I didn't expect to see you around here until summer," Oaken said, smiling, "And I see you've brought a friend."
Anna didn't know whose face turned a deeper shade of red—hers or Elsa's—at the mention of just 'friend'. But she recovered quickly and said, "Oaken, this is Elsa. Elsa, Oaken."
Elsa raised her hand slightly, no doubt to give a small wave. But Oaken, with his typical overabundance of enthusiasm, immediately took her hand a shook it with much more energy than the blonde had been expecting.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Elsa," Oaken said with an even broader smile, "Anna rarely brings anyone with her when she visits."
"It's nice to meet you, too, Oaken," Elsa said, "Your barn is lovely."
"Why thank you. But I'm afraid I can't take all the credit—my father built it himself."
"Really? That's incredible," Elsa answered, seeming interested.
But, of course, Oaken launched into the entire story of how his family had moved here. And Elsa listened patiently to every single detail, which nearly made Anna laugh. She'd never meant for Elsa to have to get stuck listening to stories of the past, and since it was partially her fault, she did her best to let Oaken know that they only had a short amount of time to stay.
"Oh, I see. Got to get back to campus and do some important work for class, ja?" Oaken guessed.
Anna nodded, even though classwork…was probably the furthest thing from her mind at the moment, "I just wanted to stop by for a bit so that Elsa could meet Chip, since she used to have a Fjord pony of her own."
"Fjord horses are the best, aren't they? Perfect for any discipline and willing to tackle nearly any obstacle," Oaken said.
"That they are," Elsa answered knowingly.
"So I guess we'd best be on our way," Anna said, "I know Chip is on the other side of the barn."
"Actually, he's in turnout at the moment," Oaken explained, "But he's in the roundpen, because the naughty old boy insists on eating more grass than he should. So take as much time as you want with him. I'm sure he'd love some attention. And believe me when I say this, Anna, I think he misses you a great deal."
Anna gave Oaken a small smile, "I miss him, too."
After a quick round of goodbyes, Anna led the way through the small indoor arena to the roundpen, which was exactly as it sounded—a circle of fencing that enclosed a small, round area. This particular roundpen was filled with the same sand found in the arena and was actually rather large. And Anna could all but hold back a laugh at Oaken's reasoning behind putting Chip in the roundpen. She'd always known that the little Fjord pony had a tendency to eat too much for his own good.
As soon as she saw Chip outside, she couldn't help but pick up the pace, a large smile spreading across her face.
"Hey, Chip!" she called as she came closer.
Even though they were still a few yards away, the little dun pony picked his head up immediately at the sound of the redhead's voice and whinnied, and Anna took in the one sight she had missed the most. There was her favorite pony with his pricked-forward ears, his black and white mane that—in the signature style characteristic to nearly all Fjord horses—stuck straight up from his neck about three inches, and his bright and excited eyes fixated on his visitors. Anna wasted no time when she reached the fence, climbing the gate enclosing the roundpen as if it were a ladder and landing neatly on her feet on the other side.
Chip headed right over to Anna, first and foremost inspecting her pockets for treats. She'd brought him an apple, so she held it out in the palm of her hand and Chip chewed it happily. She scratched the Fjord pony behind his ears—his favorite spot—and when he was finished with his treat, he stuck his little nose between Anna's other arm and her pocket, looking for more.
"You get one, Chip," Anna laughed. Chip raised his head again at the sound of her voice a let out a small huff, to which Anna said, "Oh, don't you go complaining now—I heard you've had more than your fair share of grass these past few weeks."
Anna had always talked to Chip like she was having a conversation with the little pony. She didn't go as crazy as Kristoff usually did—he would actually talk for Sven instead of just to him—but Chip was just so easy to talk to. He probably knew more of Anna's high school stories and secrets than half of the friends she'd ever had at the time, and while Dee was Anna's favorite horse and equine confidant at college (especially when it had come to Anna's initial struggle to come to terms with her feelings towards Elsa…), Chip was always going to have a special place in her heart.
"He looks just like Storm."
The voice Anna heard from the other side of the roundpen was the only thing that could draw Anna out of the moment and her own thoughts. She looked up in the senior's direction and gave the blonde a small smile.
"Well, besides the fact that his coloring is dun and not white, but still the similarity is…incredible," Elsa added.
Anna nodded, remembering the picture of Storm in the office at Arendelle Riding Academy. There was indeed a striking resemblance, and Anna was willing to bet that both ponies were likely very similar in height as well as appearance.
"You can come in," Anna said to the senior, "He's really friendly. I just didn't open the gate because sometimes when he gets excited, he tries to bolt."
At this, Elsa smiled. It took the senior no effort at all to climb over the fence, and when she was standing next to Anna, she extended her hand to the little Fjord pony. Chip stood quietly as Elsa ran her hand across his neck and her fingers through his forelock.
"I remember when we used to clip Storm's mane. For shows it was all the same old short, even look, but when show season was finally over and it would have some time to grow out, I used to clip it into all of these different shapes. One time it was triangles, but my favorite was when we clipped it in squares. He would look all regal—like you'd see in the movies."
"I've never done anything like that with Chip," Anna said, "Actually, I don't think I've ever clipped a horse at all."
"It was…interesting, to say the least. He didn't really like the buzzing noise so close to his ears, but he got used to it eventually. He was also terrified of the wash stall…but he never quite got over that one."
Anna laughed, "Chip was scared of the wash stall, too. But we got him used to it."
"You're lucky," Elsa said, "I'd always have to give Storm a bath outside. He was definitely convinced that something in that wash stall was going to attack him. Maybe it was the fact that it was such an enclosed space...But he always got on the trailer without a problem, and that was an even smaller space."
"Well, that's horses for you," Anna laughed again.
The two of them were quiet, then, for a few minutes—Elsa seemingly lost in her thoughts about Storm as she continued to give Chip all of her attention, and Anna standing by the Fjord pony's shoulder, quite happy with the fact that Elsa had been so willing to share the memories she had of Storm with Anna so freely. The stories seemed to roll off the senior's tongue with such child-like enthusiasm that it seemed as though Elsa wasn't just telling them, but reliving them.
"So now that Chip is retired," Elsa said, breaking the silence, "Does that mean that you can't really work with him anymore?"
Anna shrugged, "I mean, I can't do anything with him like he used to be able to do. He's retired from the lesson program, so most of the time I just hang out with him. Occasionally I'll take him for a bareback hack around the farm, and sometimes I do liberty with him."
"Liberty?"
"Yeah," Anna said, trying to think of a way to explain it, "It's a training method where you work with the horse on the ground. The horse is completely loose, like Chip right now in the roundpen. You're not holding the horse back or anything, and the object is to get the horse to follow your lead. It's basically…a bonding thing. And Chip is pretty good at it—that is, if he remembers everything we worked on before I left. I've also been teaching him some tricks, too."
"That sounds…pretty interesting," Elsa said, and true to her word, she sounded very intrigued.
"Do you want to see if he'll do some of it?" Anna asked, "You can watch from the gate."
Elsa nodded, "Sure."
Anna turned back to the Fjord pony excitedly, "Let's see what you remember, buddy."
The whole purpose of the liberty exercises was indeed bonding, and also establishing leadership in such a way that the horse respected and trusted the person as a leader. But Anna had mostly done them with Chip for fun, and so she really did wonder how willingly the little pony would follow her lead knowing that the last time she had seen him was winter break. Considering this, Anna decided to start with something simple, walking to the gate and waiting for Chip to follow. At first, he stood there in the center of the roundpen, lowering his head and looking in Anna's direction. He was clearly thinking things through, however, so Anna waited quietly and patiently right where she was—and eventually, Chip walked over to Anna and stopped by her side.
"Good boy!" Anna praised, patting Chip on the neck.
In no time, she had Chip following her intently, changing directions at the walk every time Anna herself would. Even if she would pivot for a split second, Chip would follow her lead. And by the time she had Chip doing the same exercises at the trot and the canter, a quick look in Elsa's direction showed Anna that the senior was completely speechless. Elsa watched every move with interest, seemingly mesmerized by the way Anna and Chip moved as one, even though Anna was on the ground.
"That was incredible," Elsa said, once Anna brought Chip back down to the walk and he halted by her shoulder.
Anna rewarded the Fjord pony with a few pats before saying, "I'm impressed that he caught on again so quickly."
"It's just amazing to me that he respects you that much to listen so well," Elsa said, still in awe.
Anna shrugged, "I mean, it takes a while to build a bond like that…" she trailed off, but then found that she had a great idea, and jumped to suggest it before the senior could say anything else, "What if you tried it with Legacy?"
"What? No, I don't think that—"
Anna didn't even let her finish, "Don't you go doubting yourself, now," the redhead insisted, "Liberty training is designed to establish the exact kind of bond you need with Legacy. I honestly don't know why I didn't think of it sooner."
"I guess...it's worth a shot," Elsa said.
Anna smiled, "That's more like it."
They talked for a little longer about how the training might benefit Legacy before Elsa said, "Hey, didn't you say that you taught Chip tricks, too?"
"I did," Anna said, "Want to see some of them?"
Elsa nodded, "That was half the reason I mentioned it."
Anna rolled her eyes, but turned back to Chip, all too eager to show Elsa what she had been able to teach the little Fjord pony. And she was pleasantly surprised that he remembered most of them. She'd taught him to paw the ground with one hoof. She'd taught him to hug. And she'd even taught him to bow, which Elsa seemed to take a particular interest in.
"I saved the best one for last," Anna said with a smile.
Giving Chip the cues, she got the Fjord pony to lay down. Once he was on the ground, she slid easily onto his back, and with a small clicking noise, Anna cued him to stand.
"Okay, that was pretty awesome," Elsa was clearly impressed once again.
"And with that, we get to go for a completely tackless canter," Anna said, getting Chip to transition to the canter right from the walk, holding onto nothing but a small piece of the Fjord pony's mane.
"Such a show-off," Elsa chided, but Anna knew she was only joking.
"He's got a really smooth gait. And he's super calm. I probably wouldn't be able to canter any other horse tackless," Anna said truthfully as she brought Chip to a halt, patting him again for his good behavior. Then she grinned, "Wanna try?"
"Definitely not," Elsa shook her head.
"Not even if I ride with you?" Anna prodded.
"He's retired. And he's little. How's he going to carry both of us?" Elsa continued to protest.
"He's only little if you compare him to a huge horse like Lance. He's actually rather large, for a pony. He can definitely hold both of us, and besides, it's not like we're asking him to run a mile," Anna explained.
Elsa sighed, "Fine. But just once, okay?"
With that, Elsa slid easily from the top rail of the fence and positioned herself on the pony's back behind Anna. This time, however, when she slipped her arms around Anna's waist, she leaned over and said in Anna's ear, "But let's face it. You only suggested it because you wanted me this close to you."
And maybe there was just a bit of truth to Elsa's statement, but all the redhead said was, "If you distract me, I can guarantee that we're both going to end up on the ground."
"But you didn't deny it," Elsa teased.
"Oh, I'm sorry Elsa, did you say you wanted to gallop?" Anna shot back, squeezing Chip's sides rather abruptly with her legs, which resulted in the pony springing into a quick trot, causing Elsa to hold onto Anna's waist just a little bit tighter.
"On second thought, maybe we'd better continue this conversation later," Elsa decided.
Anna laughed, but sent Chip forward into a slow, collected canter, "Good choice."
But despite being caught off-guard from the pony's trot, Elsa seemed much more relaxed when they cantered Chip as opposed to when they'd cantered Legacy—which meant that it didn't take as much effort on Anna's part to keep them both balanced this time. When Elsa had been nervous with Legacy, she'd held onto Anna rather tightly the entire time, but right now with Chip, Anna no longer felt any tension from the senior behind her, and for that, Anna was glad. It meant that Elsa really, truly was trusting her.
And in a way, maybe it meant that Elsa was starting to trust herself a little more as well.
When Anna slowed Chip to a walk and halted, she turned around and said, "See, that wasn't so bad."
"No, it wasn't," Elsa admitted with a smile, "But…what is bad is that I think we both broke a rule today."
"Huh?" Anna asked, very confused at the blonde's words.
"Neither of us is wearing a helmet. And according to the huge sign outside the barn, 'a helmet must be worn at all times while on horseback'," Elsa read the words directly from the large blue sign that was indeed posted right on the barn door.
Anna batted the senior's arm, "Seriously? You just always have to say something about that, don't you?"
"I mean, I suppose I can let it slide this time," Elsa said, grinning mischievously.
"And why is that?"
"Because it makes this a hell of a lot easier," Elsa replied.
And without saying another word, she pressed a kiss to the redhead's lips.
A/n: Well, I figured that after getting some backstory on Elsa, it was only fair to dive a bit more into Anna's past as well :)
I also want to say thanks for the feedback on how long/short the rest of the chapters should be (from the last chapter's reviews). Shorter chapters are more manageable, but at the same time, I guess it really will depend on how major or minor the ideas in the chapter are to the story overall. And either way, I'll do my best to not have a ton of time in between updates. Finding time to write has been a bit easier lately, too, so I can only hope it will continue to stay that way.
Other than that, thank you all for reading!