Fall
Nothing makes sense in Elsa's mind right now. It's a soupy, half conscious state that should be alarming, but she's too tired to work up the energy. It could be a dream, but her fuzzy surroundings seem just a bit too familiar for that to be the case; Elsa's dreams are abstract and often don't take place in a particular setting.
She hears voices, raised, alarmed. Most she is vaguely familiar with, though they sound very different with a panicked edge.
"What happened?"
"She's fallen!"
"Get the doctor, now!"
That last voice is unmistakable, but it's so wrought with brusqueness and nervous energy that it shouldn't belong to the person it's coming from. Elsa feels a cloud of warmth surround her, supported by two shaking hands.
"Elsa, you're gonna be okay. Stay with me!"
She tries to respond, but her tongue won't work. She opens her mouth, and no sound comes out. At least, no sound she can hear.
"No, stay awake!"
So she is awake, sort of. She can't move her own head, so it lolls, useless. The hands gripping her tighten, desperate.
"Don't close your eyes!"
She wants to obey the voice, but her brain has other ideas. At least, she thinks so. If she's thinking at all. She tries to speak again, but she can't get anything out, other than a tired exhalation of breath.
"Elsa...I can't lose you."
You won't, she wants to say as the voice trails off into little hiccups. It's the last thing she hears before the entire universe goes black.
There are no dreams.
"Your Majesty, are you awake?"
Early evening comes, and Elsa's eyes finally open. She recognizes the room as the clinician's office, and the bed she's in is no ordinary medical cot. She says something along the lines of 'yeah, I'm awake', though it sounds more like a drunk's slur than actual words.
"Thank goodness. Her Highness has been worried sick, as have we all."
'Highness' signifies something in Elsa's mind. She mulls the word for a few moments.
"An–na?" she rasps once she's come to a bit more. "Where's she?"
"Your Highness, she's awake."
It takes no more than five seconds for a clattering of objects to signify the princess' approach. Elsa can see the familiar red head of hair, along with an equally red set of eyes. Blearily, she opens her arms as best she can. The princess wants to lunge into her sister's arms, and she even looks as though she'll make the motions to do so.
"Careful, your Highness," the clinical voice at Elsa's side gently warns.
Anna nods, then settles for a comparably sedate hug around Elsa's shoulders.
"Thank God you're awake," Anna's voice is scratched by tears, and from the sound of it, more may be on the way. "I was so scared."
"M'okay," Elsa beams a smile to ease the redhead's suffering, to say nothing of her own. A worried whimper brings Elsa's finger to Anna's lips. "Shh, m'okay."
"Your Majesty, do you remember what happened?" the doctor asks, though there's guilt in his face at interrupting their tender moment.
Elsa tries to shake her head, but a wave of pain slams through her skull. She brings both hands to her head with a groan. Her sister's hands rest on her shoulders.
"N—no," she replies thickly. "Wha' happen?"
"Y–you tripped on that damn ice train of yours and fell," Anna interjects. "Thank God you weren't at the top of the stairs, you were halfway down."
"The good news is, it looks like nothing is broken," the doctor sweeps in to ease the sudden look of panic in the queen's eyes. "The bad news is, you've sustained a concussion, but I don't see any signs of permanent damage. Even so, I'd recommend bed rest for the next few days, at least. All things considered, you are very lucky."
Elsa blinks, muttering something along the lines of 'I don't feel lucky'. Anna looks as though she wants to cuff her sister in the back of the head for the flippant remark.
"It could have been much worse, I assure you," the doctor beams an amused smile. "Thankfully, her Highness was there to take you right to me. Well, I'll leave you two for a while. Do call me if anything changes."
The moment the doctor leaves, Anna begins petting Elsa's hair. The queen gives a low hum.
"How do you feel?" there's a tiny tremor in Anna's voice, and even a foggy-headed Elsa can pick up on it.
"I'll be okay," comes the husky response. She flashes a warm smile meant to ease the princess, but Anna's eyes begin to leak anew.
"Hey, what are those doing there?"
"What?" the baffled princess isn't sure if Elsa isn't making sense, or if she's just missing something. "What are you talking about?"
Elsa reaches up, then slowly drags her thumb across Anna's cheek, wiping two salty droplets away.
"Elsa-"
"Shhh. I'm alright," the queen's silky voice smooths over Anna's watery interjection. "C'mon, no more tears."
After she erases the damp lines on Anna's face, Elsa gives a dopey grin, her cool hand braced against the princess' warm cheek.
"Let's see a smile on that pretty face."
It's not that Elsa isn't affectionate, but this breed of consolatory warmth feels foreign. A reflexive grin splits the gloom in Anna's features.
"That's it," Elsa coos, and Anna's smile only grows. "I swear, that smile of yours does wonders."
"Elsa, just how hard did you hit your head?"
"Hmph. Not my fault you can't take a compliment."
Anna gives a snuffly laugh.
"Yeah, you're gonna be fine," she brushes her fingertips along Elsa's forehead. "Good thing you've got such a thick skull."
"I wouldn't talk if I were you," Elsa raises an eyebrow. "Remember the balcony incident?"
"Yeah, let's not go there."
Elsa shakes her head with a soft laugh.
"I think you took a year off my lifespan that day."
"Elsaa!"
"Sorry, bad timing," the queen has to work to keep the grin off her face at Anna's pout.
"The worst."
Closing notes: WHAT ARE THOSE?! Does anyone remember that meme? No? Okay. I think in a previous fic I jabbed at Elsa's obscenely long ice train, though it may not have been published here. What is it with these two and capes? Only Anna really has an excuse for it, since she actually gets cold.
