March 22th, 1842
When Anna noticed Elsa acting a bit strange, she was walking on the castle's square with Kristoff and Olaf. The sun had long been set at that time and they just finished the celebration of Spring Equinox with citizens in the square. At first, Anna tried to do some cleaning but the servants refused to let their noble, and a bit clumsy, princess handle those delicate china sets, so she settled for a short evening walk in the castle square with her friends.
When they wandered to the southwest side of the main building, Anna involuntary glanced at the west balcony that led to Elsa's bedroom and she saw a tall slender figure stood motionless on the balcony. Although it was dark, Anna knew that was her sister.
"Do you feel that Elsa was a kind of strange today?" Anna paused and narrowed her eyes in concentration. But the solitary figure on the balcony was too far to see clearly.
"Elsa?" Kristoff followed Anna's sight and scratched his hair. "She is just being Elsa, I guess.".
"Hey!" As Anna turned back her sight, she quickly caught up with her companions. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Kristoff slightly shrugged, "I mean, she is the queen of Arendelle. I suppose she has the right to stay alone."
But Anna wasn't quite satisfied about this idea. "No one wants to be alone, especially Elsa."
"She would never be alone now." Olaf who was on Sven's back added.
"Right, but it's quite hard to make friends if you are a ruler of a country." Kristoff paused for a moment as if he remembered something funny, and he added, "speaking of which, today Kai again corrected me that I should address Elsa as 'Your Majesty', at least in official occasion."
"Ha, Your Majesty! Maybe you should. ROYAL ICE MASTER." Amused by his words, Anna mocked.
But Kristoff quickly fought back. "Well, he also suggested that I also should call you 'Your Highness'."
"Ew…"
"Anyway," As they reached the front of the stable, Kristoff finally stopped. "Here we are. Now I need some time to take care of Sven and I guess you also want to go check Elsa, right?"
"What about you, Olaf?" Anna glanced at the snowman who rode on the reindeer.
"Well, can I feed Sven another carrot?" Olaf slid down from Sven's back and asked.
"As long as it's not your nose." Anna nodded.
"Then, everything is settled." Kristoff clapped his hands and humorously made a profound reverence, "Sleep tight, Your Highness."
"I'll bid you good night. Royal Ice Master." The young princess also tried to curtsy but doubled over with laughter.
After bidding farewell with her friends, Anna quickly ran cross the square and glanced again at the west balcony. Elsa was still here, alone. Anna knew that there must be something not right with her sister, though she didn't know what it was. It seemed that Elsa became easily distracted lately. Last week, some people saw the young queen wandering along the fjord in a trance. The day before yesterday, when she was talking to the consultants, Elsa suddenly paused and left everyone awkwardly hanging for a quite long time without obvious reasons. Although she quickly excused herself by saying that she was lost for words when she recollected herself, there were still some concerns about the queen's health. All those random strange behaviors set Anna alert. It had been three years since Eternal Winter, and the life she and Elsa had was prefect. Honestly, Anna couldn't ask for more. She had the sister she loved back, and she would fight anything to prevent losing her again.
As Anna finally reached sister's bedroom, she stood for a few moments catching her breath and knocked the door with her secret code. "Elsa? It' me."
However, Elsa didn't answer her call, but the door wasn't lock either. So the redhead quietly opened the door and sneaked into the bedroom. The huge glazed door to the balcony was left open, and the bright moonlight quietly flowed into the room, dying the carpet with a whitish hue. Everything was tidy and the bed was made. The only missing was its owner. Through the door, Anna could see Elsa was still quietly standing at the balcony, holding the railing, facing the fjord on the north side of castle. Apparently, she was going to sleep, she had put on a velvet nightgown and released her blonde braid, but now she was attracted by something else. The bright white moonlight perfectly outlined her graceful beauty and her long platinum blonde hair was just like a frozen waterfall which seemingly gleamed with unearthly radiance.
"Wow." Anna was almost awed by the sight she saw. She always knew that Elsa was stunning, but it seemed that Elsa could always surprise her in a unique way. However, she also couldn't help but wonder whether her sister stood there like a statue throughout the whole time. It made her worry about Elsa's health. Although it was late March, the night of Arendelle was still chill. She knew that Elsa didn't feel cold, at least not in a normal way, but she could still get sick for all kinds of reasons. Magic didn't make her invincible. So Anna quietly crossed the bedroom and softly called again.
"Elsa?"
In just a short second, the temperature seemed suddenly drop to the freezing point. However, in next moment, cool night wind blew the icy air away, and everything was back to normal again.
"Anna!" The young queen quickly turned back and threw her arms around her sister. "You can't sneak upon me like that, it's dangerous."
The warm hug of Elsa made Anna lighthearted, she reassuringly patted Elsa's back and comforted, "You would never hurt me."
Elsa released her hug but still gripped Anna's hands. "You know that wasn't true."
"Anyway, what's bother you?" Anna didn't want to argue with her but swiftly changed the topic before Elsa began to blame herself.
Elsa quickly glanced again at the fjord outside. However, it was dark outside and nothing was there. Then she answered rather absently. "Nothing, I guess I'm just too tired."
But Anna wouldn't fall for that. She gently squeezed sister's hands, helped Elsa to concentrate on herself. "Now, who is the liar? Come on, don't tell me you haven't got bored of staring at the fjord."
Finally, Elsa smiled.
"I haven't." She protested softly. "And I just can't put it in words. It's just some disturbing feelings."
Then, an idea suddenly crossed Anna's mind. She jumped and dashed out of the bedroom, yelling. "Wait for me, I think I have just the right thing for you!"
Bursting into the hallway, Anna crashed into her bedroom and pulled out her treasure chest from the corner. After rummaging through her collections, she pulled out a burgundy knitted shawl. Then, the redhead closed the chest and dashed out of the door again.
"Gerda found it during the spring clean-up." Anna rambled excitedly, as she ran into to Elsa's bedroom, causing the blonde who just lit the candle to turn around curiously.
"I hope you won't blame me for secretly keeping it." As Elsa moved across the room and lit the candle, Anna continued rambling gleefully. "I was going to give you a surprise. Saving it for a special moment. Like your birthday present or something. But it looks like you need it right now. And…"
"This is…" as Elsa curiously picked up the soft knitted fabric, her voice became a bit husky. "This's mon's old shawl. I… I thought we lost it."
"I knew you would like it." Watching Elsa put on the shawl, Anna grinned in satisfaction. "Like I said, save it for a special moment!"
Elsa replied her with a gratefully smile. "I haven't asked, did everything go well after I left?"
"It was brilliant!" Anna brightened up considerably as she thought of the grand circle dance. She happily whirled around, as if she was still dancing in the square, and finally plumped down on the soft bed. "People were saying that the queen has prepared the best spring celebration in the world!"
"Well, actually, that's all thanks to YOU." Elsa chuckled at Anna's exaggeration and sat down beside her. "They should know it's you who prepared the best spring celebration in the world."
However, Anna frantically shook her head. "No, the only thing they should know is they have the best queen in the world!"
This time, Elsa didn't object. She just sat there, looked at Anna with a quiet smile. As their conversation stopped, Anna suddenly became a bit sheepish at Elsa's gaze. She quickly attributed it to the silence between them. Not that she didn't like sitting quiet beside Elsa — she adored every minute of it — but moment like this made her get butterflies in her stomach.
"So, are you going to sleep?" Anna tucked her hair behind her ear, and asked.
"I almost forgot that." Elsa nodded and her gaze turned to the well-made bed.
Anna quickly kicked off her shoes, climbed up on the soft bed and patted the mattress next to her. "Then, come here."
Elsa gave her a curious look for a moment but didn't refuse. The blonde wrapped the shawl and huddled up next to Anna like Anna snuggled up to her when they were children. "What are you doing, Anna?" Her voice was soft and tender.
"Just put up with me." The scent of Elsa's hair made Anna light-hearted. And she helplessly rambled in excitement. "No, I mean, it's your duty to take care of Arendelle and it's my duty to take care of you."
"I'm pretty sure there isn't a law about that." Elsa softly joked. "The last part."
"Then, you should announce a law about that." Anna replied with a silly giggle. And she cleared her throat and tried her best to recall the strange lullaby mother sang to them when they were young. Then she began to croon softly,
Where the north wind meets the sea,
"Now, I see what you are doing." Elsa murmured with smile.
"Shhh, quiet." Anna put her hand on sister's platinum hair and gently stroked it.
"Yes, mom." Elsa softly teased.
Hearing her playful words, Anna's cheeks flushed. She cleared her throat and announced. "I'm just going to block you out now, because I need to concentrate."
And again she tried, but this time Elsa accompanied her with a relaxing humming, which gave her great encouragement.
Where the north wind meets the sea
There's a river full of memory
Sleep, my darling, safe and sound
For in this river all is found
…
In her waters, deep and true
Lie the answers and a path for you
Dive down deep into her sound
But not too far or you'll be drowned
…
With the magical tone of the lullaby, Elsa yawned softly. She curled herself up in her bed, like a sleepy cat, and asked in a half-sleepy tone. "Would you like to stay?"
"Sure!" Anna beamed. "But, I need to brush my teeth first, you aren't going to like the mead smell. And probably change my dress ..."
However, as she noticed that Elsa had already fallen asleep with a quiet smile, Anna's voice trailed off. Looking at Elsa's serene face, she gave a happy sigh and gently tucked the blanket around Elsa.
"Have a tight sleep." She leaned forward, pressed a light kiss on Elsa's brow and quietly retired from the bedroom.
With a proud smile, Anna bounced through the hallway, as if she had accomplished the greatest deal in the world. The night was young, and the young princess felt that she wasn't ready for bed yet. After changing into a warm nightgown and brushing her teeth, Anna causally wandered through the castle to wear off her energy. Eventually, she stopped before one of the dormer windows in the hallway. From the window, she could see the moonlit roofs and scattered yellow street lights in the distance. The town, which huddled between the sea and the vertical slope of the mountain, now was quietly sleeping in the moon light.
She used to stay beside those windows a lot, especially after Elsa shut her out. She liked to gaze at the town and the bustling crowd in the square, imagining how life was like outside the castle. Sometimes, her father would join with her in daydreaming. And she still remembered that she once asked her father why they had to live in the castle.
"Because we are the royal family. This is our home." Father answered with a smile.
"But there is nothing fun here. Fairy book said that a princess could have all the fun in the world." She pouted.
"Oh, being a royal doesn't mean you could have all the fun." Father reached out a hand, stroking her head gently. "It's a responsibility, it means you have to take care of your people and make the right choice for them."
Anna didn't understand father's words back then, but after the gate was opened, she believed that she began to understand now. This was her home, and somewhere in her heart, she felt that she would never done enough for these people she knew and loved.
Elsa was dreaming.
She was travelling in a beautiful land, but not by foot or by horse. She was drifting with the wind or flying in a way that she couldn't control. The illusory north lights swayed in the dark sky and a vast forest blanketed with heavy snow stretched out beneath her. Although it was dark, her sight was strangely clear. She could saw a meandering river flowed across the land, huge monoliths with strange wood branch decorations scattered in the glades, faint traces of trails extended in the woods. Although there were many hints of human activities, but she didn't see anyone, she was alone in this vast forest.
In the dream, she tried to figure out where she was. It seemed to be an important thing. She knew that she was certainly not in Arendelle, but the landscape was very familiar to her. She thought about Corona, a beautiful land where she and her sister spent last summer with their cousin. But according to her cousin, they seldom had snow in Corona. She felt a bit bewildered. As a queen, she wasn't a frequent traveler. If she visited this land before, she should have recognized it now.
As she continued flying forward, she saw there was a frozen lake inside the forest. Beyond the lake, the terrain rose abruptly, and a mountain covered with snow and ice loomed like a ghost out of the dark. As Elsa drew near that mysterious mountain, she noticed there were a group of people moving along the mountain slope, like a string of ants. They looked like soldiers, wearing some sort of military uniforms and carrying a green-purple flag with them. As Elsa watched them curiously, she heard a faint rumbling began to resound through the air, like the thunder in the distance. The next moment, she saw those people frantically yelling and running, and she quickly realized what happened — tons of snow and ice began to crash down from the mountain top, like a white flood swallowing everything in its path.
"No!"
In panic, Elsa channeled her magic and tried to stop the devastating avalanche with her magic. But everything was out of control. Numerous snowflakes began to whirl around her, blurring her sight and disturbing her magic. In just a blink, those tiny figures were buried by the flow of snow and ice.
"Let go of me!" She cried.
"Elsa!"
In the chaos of snowflakes, she heard a familiar voice. Like a despair sailor who saw the yellow beacon of the lighthouse in the dark stormy sea, Elsa grasped that voice and forced herself to focus again,
"Anna!" With a gasp, she opened her eyes, and the first thing she saw was Anna's pale and worried face. Then, she noticed that the wind carrying with numerous snowflakes were howling in her room, and everything around them was covered with a thin layer of snow.
…
Elsa quietly sit at the corner of the castle kitchen, absently watching Anna making her special hot chocolate. The midnight snacks time was Anna's idea. After Elsa quickly dispelled the little blizzard in her bedroom, both of the girls felt that it wasn't a good idea to go to sleep immediately and Elsa knew that she would never easily get away without fulfilling Anna's concern and curiosity. To avoid attention, they only brought two small lanterns, because none of them wanted to have a bunch of servants fussing around. Luckily, the kitchen wasn't covered by the night patrol of royal guards, and they normally wouldn't have any visitors unless Anna set the kitchen on fire. It was Anna who found this little secret during the isolation period, and she quickly made the kitchen her midnight playground. After the Great Thaw, she also brought Elsa to this little secret base and now it became a sanctuary where they could spend some private time together during the sleepless hours.
"I guess you have to sleep on my bed tonight." With two big mugs of hot chocolate, the redhead returned to the table and sat down next to Elsa. She handed one mug and teased in a playful tone. "Don't worry, I will tell Gerda that why you have a wet sheet, or someone might think you wet your bed..."
"ANNA!"
Elsa hastily stopped the redhead with a blush, in case the topic became more embarrassing. The weight of wooden mug reassured her. And she looked down to the dark hot chocolate and sighed slightly.
"Did you have a nightmare or something?" Anna asked curiously. "I heard you were yelling 'let go of me', when I was back."
Elsa had had some nightmares shortly after the Great Thaw, and accidently froze her bedroom serval time in nights. Although Elsa asked the maids not to talk about it, she guessed that gossips died hard.
"Not exactly." Elsa sipped from the mug. It was overcooked, just like all the hot chocolate cooked by Anna before, but she would never mind the burn taste as long as they were cooked by Anna. She enjoyed the bitter-sweet taste on her tongue and took a moment to organize her thoughts. Finally, she spoke.
"I dreamed that I was flying over a forest in winter." As she said, she seemed to be brought back to her dream again. "I saw a huge lake and a strange mountain covered with snow."
"It wasn't in Arendelle. I don't know where it was" Elsa hesitated for a moment and added. "But I felt it was very familiar, like I had been that place before. And I saw a group of people on the mountain. A military troop or expedition team. Then, there came an avalanche. Lots of people were dead. I tried to save them with my magic, but I can't use it, something … stopped me. I guess that was when you heard me yelling."
"That's it?" Anna's eyes widened in confusion. "Oh, I didn't say it wasn't a big deal. It certainly explained a lot. It just, just …" As she continued, her voice got smaller and gradually turned into mumbling. "You look so upset, and I thought it must be a terrible nightmare."
Elsa doubted that Anna could ever understand the reason behind her upset. It was so trivial and elusive, even a bit ridiculous, and had nothing to do with the dream itself — it had been more than two years that she kept her magic in perfectly control, and during this period she had been upset and anxious, but she never accidently froze anything, whether in dream or in waking life, until tonight. The Eternal Winter was a terrible disaster, and she was grateful that the Arendellians still accepted and loved her as their queen after everything they went through. She had worked hard to live up to people's expectations and to show them that she and her magic were worthy of their trust. But tonight's incident awakened her long-forgot insecurity.
"No, you don't know, it feels so real, like I was there, and…" She tried to explain but just couldn't find the right words. "I'm just worried, I'm always absent-minded in spring, and now my magic run out of control again. I fear that I will let others down."
"Oh…" Anna hesitated, then the redhead quickly threw her hands around Elsa's shoulder and hugged her tightly. "You will never let anyone down, don't you understand? You are prefect, you are the most prefect queen in the world."
The warm hug from Anna comforted her a bit, Elsa turned head to the redhead and gave her a weary smile. "But my magic might freeze the country again."
"No." Anna answered firmly, "It's different, you have me now, no matter whatever happens to you, I will find you, and I will bring you back. If you dare run to the ice palace again, I will go there and truss you up and drag you back to the castle."
Elsa was amused by Anna's words. She fought back jokingly. "But Marshmallow will throw you out."
"No," Anna shook her head rapidly. "You won't let him harm me."
Elsa sighed and admitted that Anna indeed had her point, in a weird way. "Anna, what should I do without you?"
"Too late." With a wide grin, Anna cuddled up closer and rested her head on Elsa's shoulder. "You are already stuck with me forever."
In the dim light of the lanterns, they snuggled together on the bench, enjoying the peaceful moment of the silence. However, little did Anna know, Elsa hidden one trivial thing. Just before she was snapped out of that strange dream, she finally recognized that green-purple flag carried by the expedition team, which was soon engulfed by the deadly flow of snow and ice.
It was the golden crocus flag of Arendelle.