A/N This chapter is inspired by a suggestion from Wolf heart 22 about Steffan tripping over his sword. I know they probably meant for it to happen in the actual play, but since I don't plan for anything to go wrong in the play itself, I had to put it here. I've actually already started writing the play scenes, and it'll include behind the scenes bits that'll be funny (I hope) and include some hurt/comfort (though not too much).
Elsa collapsed to the ground in grief, her mind reeling from the news she had just been given. Anna. Dead. Because of her. She buried her face in her hands and sobbed. Behind her, Hans stood poised with a sword held in midair. The devious prince took a step forward…and slipped on the ice.
"Cut!" Elson yelled as Steffan tried to regain his balance, the blunt sword falling from his hands in the process.
Steffan managed to not fall, but then a snicker came from Elsa's direction. Raising an eyebrow, Steffan took another step toward his wife, but he failed to notice the fallen sword in front of his feet. His foot landed on the sword, which slipped backward on the ice-covered makeshift platform, which caused Steffan's leg to unexpectedly move out from under him, which resulted in the man losing his balance and falling face first onto the ice. Thankfully, his fall was broken slightly when his face landed in a pile of snow, but the relief vanished a moment later when Elsa burst out laughing.
Even Elson, Kristina, Anna, and Kristoff couldn't hold back their laughter at the sight of Elsa with tears running down her cheeks, and Steffan staring at her in bewilderment. "Steffan…" Anna began with a grin, "I think Elsa just pranked you." The snow queen simply laughed harder.
"Ah," Steffan responded with a nod, understanding dawning in his eyes as he sat up. "Alright, if that's the way you want to play it." She had her eyes closed, so he quickly scooped up a bunch of snow, mischief dancing in his green eyes, packed the snow into a ball, and threw in at his wife's face.
The look of complete shock on Elsa's face as she wiped off the snow was so priceless that even Steffan couldn't help but join in the laughter. In response, Elsa narrowed her eyes, gave a wicked smile, and before anyone could say or do anything, she created a giant snowball and let it fall on Steffan's head. "Never, under any circumstances, start a snowball fight with a snow queen," she scolded, smirking. "Come on, Steffan, you should have known that by now. I thought you were smarter than that?"
Steffan was saved from having to formulate a reply by another snowball smacking him in the face, and yet another hitting Elsa in the same spot. The two glanced over at Elson, who was shaking his head, his arms crossed in annoyance. "Uncle, Auntie," he grumbled, "now is not the time for snowball fights."
The four adults and Kristina glanced at each other. If they were being completely honest, Elson's constant control of everything was starting to get annoying. "I'm starting to think we've got ourselves a task master with no time for fun," Kristoff grumbled.
"I'm sure he means well," Anna told him, though she sounded quite unsure about that.
Elson sighed. "Alright, I'm sorry if I've been a bit bossy-"
Kristina snorted, interrupting her brother. "A bit?" she asked incredulously. She received a snowball to the face in response.
"As I was saying," Elson continued, glaring at his sister, "I'm sorry if I've been bossy, but this is not a small production, and we only have four weeks and two days left until the celebration. I've got to get everyone ready." He then turned his attention to the script.
In the short silence that followed, Steffan leaned over to his wife-who had stood up during the exchange-and whispered, "We're going to teach him a lesson when this is over…right?"
Elsa smirked and nodded. "Oh yes, definitely. We'll gang up on him as soon as the play's done."
"Alright everyone!" Elson suddenly spoke up, glancing up from the script. "Back to the beginning of the scene. First though, Uncle Steffan, why'd you slip on the ice? You're the one who's usually got the best balance."
Steffan raised an eyebrow at Elsa. "Care to explain?" he asked.
Elsa sheepishly nodded. "Yes, he usually does have better balance, but when the ice surprises him, he falls flat on his face, as you just saw. I created another layer under his feet, and since he didn't expect it, he slipped. The sword was just an added bonus." She smirked again.
Steffan put on a mock expression of hurt. "Oh, so you enjoy seeing me hurt myself?"
"Possibly."
"And here I thought you loved me," Steffan responded with a raised eyebrow and a smile.
"Oh, don't worry, I do," Elsa answered quickly, patting his shoulder affectionately, "but you look so cute when you're in pain." Steffan scoffed and rolled his eyes, but his grin made it clear he knew she was teasing.
"Okay, you two make me sick sometimes," Elson grumbled after sticking his tongue out in disgust.
"Snowflake, we're adults," Elsa told him with a wink. "It's our job to make you uncomfortable."
"Trust me, you'll do the same thing with your kids," Anna assured him with a cheeky smile.
"Never," Elson vowed, rolling his eyes. "Alright, Uncle Steffan, please pick up your sword before someone else trips over it, and Auntie Elsa…no more tricks please. Okay, everyone back to your starting positions. Action!"