Chapter 36
The synthesis of a modern exterior with gothic undertones bled into the living space as seamlessly as a ocean to the horizon line. Bright marble flooring traveled up into the winding stairwell; the pearly white stone only to be exemplified in its sheer magnificence by the low-lit dark wallpaper. The entry vestibule had been like an echoing cavern, with an uncomfortably large chandelier hoisted high above. The house's upstairs hallways felt exponentially smaller, snugger, even warmer; barely a window noticeable, but small recessed lights spanned the ceiling length of each passage, offering a soft glow to the air.
The closeness amplified by the dark walls and only mildly lower set ceilings. Various paintings, large portraits to small collections, claimed the upper space, while the occasional tall potted plant dotted the floor's vicinity. Despite almost the cluttering of pieces, there was still a starkness to be felt.
Taking each step with care, Anna let her eyes shift over the fancy décor. Elsa was saying only a few sparse words, here and there, as they wound down some hallways. Her head tilted over her shoulder, thoughts continue to replay the intensity of the earlier moment, now left behind; the intensity of those cold, heavy gazes..
She had stood stalk still, looking up to the couple standing front and center, their poise and air silently resonating around the space.
Daring, or by accident, she hadn't been sure, her eyes had flittered over the set of pale blue orbs; both as piercing and cold as icicles. But with a blink, she had found herself meeting the stoic stare of the fair haired man, shiver striking up her neck. How he neutrally scrutinized her was in a way that she could only say confirmed his relation to Elsa. The wash of anxious devja vu she felt was like transporting back to Day One of crew practice, getting the once over from Elsa's angry inspection after so suddenly and abruptly entering the woman's life; beautiful blue oceans containing a dangerous riptide within.
"Elsa, you didn't say you were bringing company." Anna's shoulders had twitched at those first words. Ah, no wonder that déjà vu had felt so powerful. She needed to stop making surprise entrances when meeting any of the Winters family.
"I apologize," their daughter had said giving a bow of her head. "It was a last minute decision."
The maid beside them smiled, arm flying toward Anna. "Miss Anna is Elsa's roommate for the summer. They decided to make the trip together." With the introduction, Anna had immediately mimicked Elsa's bow, if not with a bit more vigor, the heat of the attention landing on her making her feel woozy.
"Ye- Hi. Hi," she had mustered, unable to bring back her full eye contact to either of the company CEO's.
There had been a passing hum before she heard Iduna Winters speak again.
"Ms. Cockers, please make sure the staff go check the linens of the guest rooms. And please relay the message to Figaro that we'll have another seat at dinner."
The excited maid had given a forward bow before scurrying off with her directions.
When the four were left by themselves, Anna had wondered if they were going to give any sort of greeting close to the warm embrace Ms. Cockers had done. Honestly, it was ludicrous to even consider, so she hadn't been surprised when neither parent bridged any physical gap. Instead, more expectantly, they extended a verbal invitation to have dinner with them, as if it was some honor, at 6:30. And there was nothing more than that.
Her only thought observing the interaction was, That's really fucking strange..
Ultimately, the household hosts had taken their leave, calling various other wait staff (who seemed to emerge from the woodwork) along with them in their wake. Elsa was soon ushering Anna along on the journey to their rooms upstairs, taking an opposing direction from which the elders had marched off in.
Bringing her eyes forward down the hall once more, trying to brush away that awkward first meeting, Anna began to feel antsy to break the residual awkward silence. "So you seemed to have a nice relationship with, um.." She chewed her lip, knowing she was going to smile with her question. "With Ms. Lady?"
A groan came from the older girl, one step ahead, and Anna was glad to see the tension ease off her shoulders.
"She's been the head maid in our household since, gosh, probably when I was in kindergarten," she said, cheeks reddening with her next statement. "I was certainly not very creative with my nicknames back then, obviously."
Anna snorted. "I gathered that much.." She grinned when a light hand swatted her shoulder, and laughed at Elsa's words to hush.
A moment later, clearing her throat, Elsa was the one to speak. "So.. My plan is we'll do a little tour around the house before dinner.." There was a small sparkle in those blue eyes as Anna was given a side glance; a lovely amusement present that had yet to be seen on the estate grounds. "You shared yours, so I'll share mine."
Anna rolled her eyes. "Oh please, showing off your apartment's beauty was amazing enough already."
The blonde took a longer than normal stride, heading-off the younger woman. Anna paused, watching Elsa turn to face her, pale hand reaching toward a door handle at their side.
"Actually, I was referring to the whole childhood home experience that came with it." She smiled down at the freckled face currently warning under the gaze and close proximity. She leaned the tiniest of increments forward and Anna could swear the little 'click' she heard was the uptick of her heart rate. "Leave your bags here," Elsa said indicating into the room, lips lifted to one corner in a silly smirk that shared just how aware she was of the teasing moment.
With a heated face, breaking her attention from the blonde and looking into the wide space, Anna made a conscious effort not to let her eyes go too wide at the sight. Stepping into the room, she dropped her duffle onto the floor with a forgotten 'whump'. Her head was too busy turning in awe.
"This is.. whoah."
Deceptively for the second floor, the ceiling rose high, tall windows falling vertically down the wall like waterfalls, accentuated with a designer distorted wave within the glass features as well. The wallpaper was bright but looked to have some tiny engravings, adding to its chic. But most impressive was the bed sat in the middle of the room; gorgeous yellow embroidered patterns in the bedspread, silken material evident by the shine reflected from the overhead light.
The idea that she would be sleeping in that bed, one with probably top of the line linens imported from some foreign designer and pillow cases more expensive than her last 2 years of phone bills combined, was intimidating. She wouldn't lie. But it still looked absolutely fantabulous! She would also be lying if she said she was not looking forward to getting to sleep in such luxurious blankets tonight. The pleasing view made her realize just how much the car ride and cramped up her usually active muscles. Unknowingly, she sighed tiredly.
Just a house tour and a dinner standing in her way of diving onto that comfy bed now..
That 'little tour', as described, was quite more than what Anna would call 'little'. It had taken nearly 20 minutes to physically traverse the manor's sheer square footage alone, not even counting additional time for commentary and moments of appreciation for the gorgeous rooms and heirlooms.
Along the lines of 4 bedroom hallways, a study, a dining room with connected enclosed kitchen, library, beautiful terrace overlooking a brilliantly blooming garden behind the house fitted with its own fountain, and three living rooms (well, one was a 'parlor', whatever that meant). But despite the exuberant luxuriousness that it all oozed, there was an eerie emptiness to the sight. It was just as she had noticed in the hallway; it was like something lacked within the heart of the home. She kept quiet on this consideration, eagerly filling the sense of emptiness with her honest gaping awe-ridden questions and comments instead.
They eventually made their way back toward the bedroom hallway (well, the one that they started on; there were like 3 other halls that looked identical after all), and Elsa brought them all the way to the end where light was streaming through shaded glass. Opening what turned out to be a large set French doors revealed a tiny balcony, overlooking the seaside cliff and sharing the beauty of the afternoon sunset.
A breath of awe, more struck than all of her previous bouts of astonishment, slipped through her lips as Anna leaped forward to grab at the narrow banister; wide eyes taking in the breathtaking scenic view beyond the harbor and to the North Sea. She felt the other body settle in beside her, elbows leaning against the support as well. The breeze was warm and smelled of delicious sea salt.
"Man, you guys seriously have the best views here." She heard the older woman hum in agreement, but otherwise stayed quiet. Glancing to the blonde, Anna pursed her lips, fingers clasping together as she followed suit, leaning onto her elbows as well. "Hey, um, you really haven't said anything on the matters bringing you home since last night.." She lightly picked at her nails, feeling the other woman's eyes scan her side profile for a short second, as if knowing what was on the redhead's mind. I mean, we avoided it the whole car ride too, Anna thought. "Have you thought about how you're gonna bring up, ya know.." She looked straight at the blonde. "Well, everything?"
There was a pause and Elsa finally settled on a small head shake in response. Anna felt her spirit sag.
It wasn't as if the blonde hadn't had ample time to think over this conversation; what to say and how to say it. Given her hesitance to even talk about the Olympics ever since learning the news, Anna was actually positive that this discussion was all that had been occupying the astute woman's mind these last few days.
Anna could tell that the older woman still didn't want to acknowledge the daunting talk she was silently preparing for, but the fact of the matter was it couldn't be avoided. However, what made this situation stand out compared to all others before, was that Elsa didn't have to go this alone. That sparked a thought.
She leaned back from the railing, hands sliding into her jean pockets. "Well, hey. I'm here, so.." She chewed her cheek as she paused, noticing Elsa continued to stare forward, only turning to look at her as she trailed off. Her shoulders shrugged up. "Ya know, maybe I could try broaching the subject instea-"
"-Do not," snapped the tenor voice immediately; that tone usual saved for the commands of moving their boat. Her sea green eyes were on Elsa, shoulders falling a bit. There was a whispered apology passing by ruby lips seconds later; a pale hand rising to pass through snowy bangs accompanied by a weary sigh. "I mean that.. it's not that easy to just bring up rowing around them.."
Frowning in minor disbelief, Anna lifted her eyes beneath lowering brows. "Oh come on. It's exactly as easy as that." Her hands rose in front of her to gesture along with her thought. "Once the topic's out, it has to get discussed, right? Then it's done." Dark eyes were watching her, unreadable but very noticeably tired. With a reassuring and confident grin, she added, "It's like ripping off a band-aid. One, two, three!"
With a tidying clap of her hands to enunciate her point, she waited for that reticent look to pass from Elsa's features. In a few seconds, the pulled painted lips relaxed and lifted to a smile.
"I hope it'll turn out to be as simple as you say." Although, even with Elsa nodding in agreement at the words, Anna wasn't quite pleased to see the smile fall short of her eyes, but at least Elsa didn't dismiss her encouragement this time.
The grand clock in the hallway chimed loudly on the hour, causing both women to glance at their respective watches out of habit; neither sure of how long they'd relaxed into the silence. Elsa let out a breath, pushing away from the railing first.
"We better get ready." Anna watched the older woman take slow steps back into the hallway, letting the evening sea breeze dance around her, loose fly-aways catching the sunlight and making their platinum tone brilliant. Spurred by the wind at her own back, Anna sucked a breath.
Reaching out her hand and taking quick steps to catch up to the other woman, she took the older girls own, entwining their fingers in a comfortable ease; glad to have the closeness once more, missed from that which they'd shared earlier on their drive up. The contact felt particularly necessary right now, too.
Although the body beside her was tense, the contact seemed to work a bit of magic; her thumb stroking over the surprisingly soft-skinned knuckles, a stark contrast to the calloused fingers brushing against her own.
She wasn't quite sure how long their stroll down the hallway was, the damned place looked like a symmetrical labyrinth, but when Elsa drew them to a stop, she made the easy assumption that this particular door was her guest room. Stepping up in front of her, just like earlier, teal eyes looked back up to the older girl, happy to have their gazes meet.
With the closeness, the depth she could appreciate in those dark eyes, it would have been a perfect time to say something sweet. She knew it. But, let alone that she herself was never good at those sort of word choice selections, footsteps interrupted the silence before anything of substance could be uttered.
Over Elsa's shoulder, she could spy the maid from earlier bouncing down the hallway. With a tilt over her head, Elsa also saw the woman approaching.
"I'll see you in a short while," Elsa whispered gently, glancing back at Anna; that same distant smile from the window returning.
Only able to nod, Anna felt her hand discreetly released as Elsa turned around. Soon a few passing words were being exchanged and Anna slid herself into the room.
The blonde had left in a guarded mode, those oddly detached behaviors and veiled pleasantries haunting in her wake. With door shut behind her, Anna let her head rest against it, her eyes reflecting a sadness before closing in contemplation.
Ever since the rowing news had altered their plans, something shifted in Elsa's presence. There were just snippets here and there, almost unease, but the blonde was quick to deftly fix those blips with a smile or a topic switch. The anticipation of having to talk with her parents had been weighing so heavily already that Anna wondered if Elsa was purposefully trying to play off the degree of anxiety she truly felt; saving face for Anna's sake. If that were truly the case, she wished that she'd give up the bravado and just let Anna help her.
Leaving the considerations for now, knowing from experience that she could easily lose track of time thinking about the blonde, Anna grabbed her bag off the floor, dousing her distractibility in cold reality. Right now, she had to focus. She had to get ready for a dinner with the Winters. And she had come prepared.
Her large duffle was soon dumped haphazardly on the bed. Elsa had previously teased her about bringing such an over-stuffed looking bag, but Anna passed it off as needing to bring spares of things in case she tripped or spilled anything on herself. Like, typical Anna stuff. She still wasn't sure if she was pleased or miffed that Elsa accepted the excuse so readily.
Because, although not a bad thing to have back up for, it was not her primary intent.
Hand grabbing the zipper, she dragged it across the pack. Her tightly rolled clothes hidden inside began to tumble out; so many more than any normal person, or even the most clumsy and messiest person in the world, could need for a 24 hour period. One after another, she pulled out different sweaters, long and short sleeve blouses, trousers, khakis, and skirts. Nothing that had a stain or frayed hem was in sight. Nope. She picked the best of the best in her simple wardrobe.
Elsa had gone and made herself look so pretty when she was meeting Aunt Gerda by Skype. Anna had come here already knowing, from Elsa's own description of her family's customs, they'd be having a grand dinner all together. Though she hadn't been totally thinking that the Winters would be at the door to greet them, she had been wise enough to not dress terribly for the car ride; no holes in her jeans or dirt covering her Converse, thank goodness. Because like Hell would she be caught dead interacting with Elsa's parents looking anything less than good.. or at least decent.
After a couple of minutes, the artesian bedspread was nothing but a treasure ready to be unburied from the mass of fabric spilled above it. Her hands landed on her hips as she began scanning over the orderly mess, finally seeing the amount of styles and colors, ready to be matched.. or potentially, and probably more than likely, mismatched.
Oof.. this is going to be harder than I thought...
She had to have tried on nearly 9 different outfit combinations by the time she settled on her yellow knee length skirt, loose-fit patterned blouse, and white pullover sweater. The brightness of the look felt warm and also, she hoped, inviting.
Turning once more in the mirror, she nodded to herself at her final selection, somewhat reminiscent to her time spent deciding what to wear for their totally-not-a-date date.
Except this time, I'm not trying to impress Elsa. I'm trying to impress her parents. The mere thought brought another round of jitters.
She was quick to shake them off, finishing prepping a little bit of make-up; nothing over the top because she absolutely sucked at this sort of preening and primping. A dusting of blush, light touch of gold eye-shadow, eye-liner.. nope, scratch the eye-liner lest she lose her eyeball in the process. If she tried too hard with color exploration, she'd probably start to resemble a Penny Wise clown and dear God what a literal nightmare that'd be.
Releasing her hair was the last bit she needed, shaking out her twin braids, enjoying the bit of wave it left in the still manageably tamed locks.
When she gave a brief glance at her watch, catching the arriving hour's half, a knock at the door followed precisely on time.
"Anna, are you ready?" she heard in Elsa's voice from the other side.
"Ready!" she called back with a burst of nervous energy, hurrying to slide her feet into a set of high-heeled shoes. Specifically, her one and only set. After cramming all of her clothes into the bag, she had room for just one pair of shoes, and while she adored her other various sneakers, they wouldn't cut it for formality. So, even though she had no clue what was going to end up dressing her body, she had at least known what was going on her feet. Besides, high-heels make even thrift store hand-me-downs look fancier!
Yet as she stood and wobbled, hand bracing against the wall to steady herself, she immediately began to sorely regret that impromptu choice. And they freaking pinched her toes too! When was the last time she wore these? 8th grade? Yeah, all her momentary glee had vanished. She really hated her past self, right now.
Somehow stumbling to the door while holding her breath and keeping her posture tall, she opened the door, coming to face the blonde who stood there insouciantly in flats, dark slacks, and blue button-up; buttons undone at the top barely revealing a necklace chain, her Senior Oar charm tucked out of view, likely intentionally. The look was put together, but also came off as so simple.. or maybe it was just the elegant blonde who made every look seem so effortless?
Could Anna be.. overdressed? Perhaps, in the bright yellow with floral print, too vibrant? A momentary wave of self-consciousness rushed through her, only if to consider risks of standing out like an eyesore.
But the way that blue eyes blinked and widened a little immediately brought a buzz into her system. That's when Anna watched with a new light of delight as those same eyes trailed her body head to toe in an unbashfully intrigued way.
"Wow," was what fell from the tall woman's ruby painted lips in a stunned stupor. Those sapphire orbs were brought back to her freckled face. Beautiful eyes were wide and curious, surprise present. "You look.." Elsa blinked again and hesitated, fighting with whatever words sat on her tongue, before sighing and weakly shrugging.
Anna titled her head at the surrendered comment, voice coy. "What? Does the outfit not work on me?" Using the doorway arch to lean, she inspected down her body in a demur manner. She could see the immediate stiffening of the blonde's body as a pale hand lifted in defense.
"What, no!" Elsa was fast to reply as Anna brought their gazes, oddly near even in her heels, back together. A new redness spread over the porcelain face as her eager tone caught up with her ears. She leaned back, hand scratching her neck awkwardly. "It's all great. You.. look great." She swallowed hard as her eyes fell away, daring only quick glimpses back ever few waiting seconds.
Smirking with the response she much preferred, Anna gave a cute curtsey before taking one step forward and looping her arm within Elsa's; her shoulder nestling flush with the firm body hidden under the soft fabric. "As long as you like it.." she led in with a playful voice. She was happy to see a small grin pulling at the blonde's face.
"Definitely." Elsa nodded with her affirming word as they began their promenade down the hall. She let out a delicate breath, eyes still following the girl at her side as they began their trip. "You are really beautiful, Anna."
Freckled grew dark as her tan face reddened at the quiet comment, not unaware that the phrase wasn't just a situational 'you look' beautiful, but rather a wholesome 'you are' beautiful. Beautiful! Oh good golly graces, it felt so good to hear that come from Elsa's lips. How long until hearing such flattering things stopped setting off the butterflies in her belly?
Then Elsa leaned in a little closer, causing those same butterflies to reach her throat and Anna barely stifled a giddy breath; breath tickling her ear with a whisper. "It's just one thing.."
...Eh? Anna frowned, sobering a tad from her giddiness even though the proximal sensation was still sending a buzz down her neck. One thing? What one thing? "Uh, and and that is..?"
The blonde woman tilted her head down, smiling with such a silly grin that it should have been illegal to look that cute, hand lifting to cover the shell of Anna's ears, protecting whatever coming information from potential prying busy-bodies working disguised in the halls. The mere act had Anna's heart leaping, anticipating whatever little secret Elsa was implying.
"Although it's very attractive, I cannot believe you are actually wearing heels."
…
Just like she recalled from the short passing on their tour, the dining area was as spacious and echoing, elegant with air painted with the scent of a rich home cooked meal. It was everything she had expected.
The group had settled around the long, specialty hand-crafted mahogany table. And while the family seemed to pass simple exchanged, Anna found her eyes scanning the tall walls of the room; the higher those absurdly high walls climbed in this first floor room, the swell of anxiety simultaneously rose again. It was the awful feeling from earlier when they first rolled up to this fantasy of a life. It was as if she was an imposter; a commoner thrown into the fray of formality and exceptional wealth while in the presence of royals inside their powerful castle.
When those exploring eyes landed back to the salad placed before her, noticing the sparkling pieces of silver framing her plate, her imposter sensation only grew.
The fact that there were three different spoons and knives, and four kinds of forks set out for just one meal? What the actual fuck? She certainly did not belong here. Embarrassingly, it was glaringly obvious to even a layperson.
Aqua eyes glanced toward the side, seeing Elsa smoothing her cloth napkin over her pants before reaching for the outer-most fork by her plate. A side glance returned, small encouraging smile on her rouge lips.
Perhaps Anna was completely and totally out of her league, much to what she'd thought over the course of the year; out of Elsa's league. By athleticism, by beauty, and by lineage. But despite all of that, she had steadily overcome those concerns because Elsa was there to reassure her. Just like right now. So Anna knew she had to make do.. more than that.
She'd make a good impression, beat the silent judgment that she knew was targeted over her head, and make present herself to the best, yet turest means possible. Just like Elsa had.
"How is your supervisor treating you?" The question came a few minutes later, directed toward the Arendelle alumn.
"I don't report to her anymore, thankfully," Elsa responded distractedly. "The intern position gives me a lot more independence." Her parents nodded.
"How often are you there?"
Anna bit into her dinner roll, avoiding making any eye contact for these questions around the job. Elsa was quick to explain something in lieu of a typical Monday through Friday 9-5 type of job. In reality, Elsa was only signed on for working once a week. Otherwise, for the rest of their time, they had set up a plan to continue rowing out of AU's boathouse to keep up with their intensive training. There was no way that Anna would be able to pass off any lies in the conversation, so staying small and hidden of interest may have actually worked to her advantage.
Listening throughout the conversation, after the salads and antipastos had come and gone, she did her best to bear a polite smile, and although the majority of the small talk was not directed toward her, the side glances she was occasionally tossed were enough. Almost increasing in length of the stare if ever Elsa passed her a whispered check-in, leaving Anna feeling a nervous heat flush her cheeks each time out of the compiling attention.
There was a wonder in her mind, just a tiny itty bit curious, if the elder Winters had pieced the nature of girls' relationship together. By their unwavering astute eyes and extraordinary poker faces, if they had, they definitely were not impressed.
"It must be nice having completed your studies," said the brunette woman across the table. Elsa didn't raise her head, offering only a shrug. It was still too recent. Anna knew the stoic blonde had been doing her best to hide her disappointment in the graduation attendance. The house matriarch spoke again, voice more apologetic. "I'm sorry we couldn't make it to graduation. But Marie recorded some wonderful footage for us to watch."
"Well I'd hope so. She's done it enough times by now," Elsa muttered under her breath, tone deeply sarcastic. Just by watching the conversation unfold, Anna could immediately sense how such behavior was not something the elder Winters were used to.
"Elsa," came the deep warning tone from the head of the table. Anna watched as the platinum blonde's shoulders sagged in the slightest, body automatically yielding to the voice alone.
"Sorry." The quiet apology sat alone as the woman picked at her meal. Before taking a bite though, she turned to Anna and tried to catch her eye. Another check-in. "Hey, how are you liking it?" she asked softly.
The redhead sat up, smiling suddenly at the new attention. Large bite in her cheek, she did her best to speak without sounding too impolite. "Ohf! Reawwy good!"
The new attention, and Anna's sudden forgetting of her tableside manners, brought toward her seemed to grab the other adults' attention as well.
"Hmm, Aña, where are you from?" asked Mrs. Winters, a small kind smile on her lips.
Blinking and effectively swallowing her mouthful, Anna chewed her lip.
I'm pretty sure they heard my name when I arrived.. she thought while biting her tongue. Both of the elder Winters were making it quite clear, purposefully or not, that they really did not take into consideration much outside of their own To-Do's. "Oh, ah, it's pronounced Anna, actually. A-and I'm from Oslo, currently studying at Arendelle University." She made sure to smile widely at the end, a placating gesture to hopefully move this dinner along smoothly.
She received a humming acknowledgement from the matriarch. "And, what is it your parents do?"
"Mother-" Elsa started in, but Anna shook her head.
"No, it's okay," Anna added with an assuring smile after seeing the other girl give her a concerned glance. The younger rower looked back, keeping her mood elevated to as it had been before. "They actually aren't alive anymore."
The brunette woman paused, tilting her head, expression growing sympathetic; probably the most humanistic bit of emotion Anna had seen yet from the two. "Oh Dear. I'm sorry to have asked."
Accepting the woman's sympathy, wishing it didn't feel so close to pity, Anna shrugged. "It's okay, it's been a long time now. But my dad was a traveling salesman and my mom owned a flower shop. I live with my aunt n' uncle now. Uncle Kai's an electrician and Aunt Gerda actually took over my mom's flower shop."
Elsa looked at her, speaking quietly. "You didn't tell me Gerda took it over." Anna nodded, smiling.
"Yep! There's always sunflowers in the windows to honor my mom since it was also her favorite flower!" She enjoyed seeing the happy crinkle at the corner of Elsa's eyes hearing that bit of information. It was honestly the first real smile she'd seen from the blonde since they'd crossed the dining room's threshold.
"My, that sounds like a.. quaint life." Anna looked back at the smiling woman. She tried to fight the reflexive grimace from her lips; the sentence probably having meant to be nice, but failing miserably. Honestly, at this point, she was starting to wonder if these people were even aware of what common everyday items cost. There was about a 50% chance that she was about to voice a question about how much they thought bananas cost, but she was thankfully stopped.
"What are you majoring in?" The deep voice posed a part in the discussion; finally directing acknowledgement to Anna that wasn't simply passing glares.
For a moment she held her breath. She had been preparing herself for this moment.
From the very start, she knew that handling questions from Iduna would be relatively easy. It was speaking with Agdar that she was most concerned about. Thankfully, the question was simple enough that she couldn't mess it up. Not so thankfully? She had a strong inkling that it probably wasn't going to be the answer that the businessman would want to hear.
"Well, I'm undecided, so I haven't picked my major yet, actually." She was looking at the man when she answered, but watching his eyes lift, brows raising a bit skeptically, she retreated her gaze. "But! I'm really leaning toward Psychology at this point. The brain is so cool, and learning how people's emotions manifest as behaviors is fascinating!"
There was a brief pause, the man's pursing lips barely visible beneath his mustache. "And.. what would you even plan to do with that degree."
That statement was definitely not a suggesting nor encouraging of an open question. It was, rather, a pigeonholing, pre-determined decision being expressed in rhetoric.
She chewed her inner cheek. "I haven't really come to that decision yet," she answered honestly, regardless. Her voice raised as some excitement sparked inside of her. "But I'd like to help people if I can. Mental health is a pretty big crisis in the world today, so I've thought of doing that."
She'd actually been considering that particular idea a lot more ever since Elsa had begun seeing her therapist. The two still met, but had moved to biweekly sessions after Finals week, and Anna had started asking many questions about how the sessions went; not prying on the matters discussed, but of the methods and therapeutic interventions which Elsa was much more engaged in sharing. It all sounded really cool! Aside from her counselor sounding super insightful, she got to watch Elsa begin gaining more control of her day-to-day life, even when things began getting rough again; that was the most spectacular thing that Anna had seen.
But judging by the way neither of the elders displayed expressions with nearly as much enthusiasm, she felt her shoulders shrink down a tad.
"If I were to give you my honest opinion." Anna grimaced, expecting some reaction of the sort yet still not wanting to hear any opinion that the businessman wanted to offer. "I would advise you pick a more practical major. Something that you can use successfully in the future." He kept his look disinterested. "Besides, people nowadays blame everything on mental health when it really just falls on them not manning up to the occasion."
"Not everything in life must be practical," Elsa chimed in in a low voice, eyes on her plate, slowly side-eying the head of the table. "It's alright to pursue things of interest." She pointedly ignored touching her father's final two-cents.
Mr. Winters sat back, frown pulled below his slim mustache. "To only a small degree may that be true; music genres, colors, book genres. But anything of meaningful substance should be practical and concrete."
Anna noticed the ire building in Elsa's demeanor, and yet she relented and went back to picking at her meal.
It was these sort of passive reactions that were what Anna was most afraid of seeing. Elsa hadn't wanted her saying anything, but, maybe if she tried to open their discussion a little more, Elsa might feel more comfortable. She could show her that it's alright to take these baby steps forward in communication, happy to lead them in the direction of what needed to be spoken. Biting her lip, she sighed, speaking up.
"I think that's a good idea, Mr. Winters," she posed first, gaining the three occupants' attentions. Her next words contained an underlying ulterior motive, but she felt it important to nudge all the same. "Though, I'd also add sports to the list. Like for some, they may enjoy basketball or hockey, while for us, we enjoy rowing-"
"-That is not a subject we discuss at the dinner table." With a firm hand hitting the table almost instantly as the word was dropped, Anna's mouth snapped shut at the abrupt terse voice coming from the previously steady spoken man. A passing vision of Elsa's worried face from earlier came to mind. Whoah.. okay, I didn't realize the topic affected them this bad.. what the fuck..
Anna felt herself shrinking back by the sheer authority carried in his tone, despite knowing that, had it been any other random stranger who came at her (or Elsa)'s love of rowing like that would immediately get a heated rebuttal.
"She's only being nice!" Elsa spoke up firmly, rising to Anna's defense. Her arm even added gesture to her point. "You understand that it's stupid to ban subjects from dinner conversation, right? Especially involving guests."
The older gentleman crossed his arms along the table, shoulders subtly leaning forward, inflection monotone and uncomfortably controlled. "You are home for the first time in 3 years, including causing quite a mess for us to clean up last year, and yet you audaciously believe that you have authority to rule our discourse values?" Elsa's jaw clenched as she tensed under the cutting words. "Let's just end this bout of the conversation with final acknowledgement that practical thinking is always the best option."
Beneath the table, Anna felt a finger caress quickly over the back of her hand, gaining her attention and looked at the seated heir; the blonde shaking her head in a weak exacerbation.
"Nie słuchaj go."
The non-native words were whispered to her, delayed to react and process but she could discern the basics of the sentence; it was one that she was all too familiar with. She heard plenty of variants and conjugations of that verb given how many times she fell asleep or got distracted in class, Professor Pabbi always calling her out on her listening skills. It was also nice having this small secret code that they could use blatantly in front of her parents. Yet another wonderful thing to come of choosing this particular language to fill her college Language Mode.
She nodded. Not that she was planning on listening to anything this man had to say in the first place, but with Elsa's explicit order not to, she felt zero guilt whatsoever in ignoring his stupid responses.
A moment later, Mrs. Winters cleared her throat, looking over her shoulder and waving one of the butlers over.
"Todd." Nothing but the name was called and the red haired young man came scurrying over. The elder woman merely gestured over her plate as she folded her napkin on the side. Bowing his head, he was quick to take the plate away, slinking back with almost fox-like ease, quite a good skill to dodge in and out of a person's line of sight when there was such a risk that any lingering could cause a stir.
The older man called the same as the butler swiftly swept by his own plate, clearing the area. "Ms. Bellwether." Stepping immediately to his opposite side, the short old woman adjusted her classes, smoothing out her apron. "You may bring out our dessert, now. Figaro better be done preparing it by now."
Bowing her head, short white curls bouncing with the movement, the maid quickly turned to the swinging door of the kitchen.
Watching the exchange, Anna felt a large awkwardness rise in her stomach. She had never experienced anyone having a maid or butler before, let alone multiple staff.. and a personal chef, too. She nodded and gratefully thanked the young man who was soon at hers and Elsa's sides, clearing their own dishes. Anna noticed Elsa's voice rang just as grateful as her own; definitely a noticeable difference from the fairly blasé and ultimately rude interactions from their primary employers.
When the older maid came around, placing plates and a humongous variety of sweets on the table to select from, again Anna made sure to express her gratitude, watching the faithful staff all line up along the wall in waiting once more.
Needless to say, although she would send major kudos to the household cook, she found herself not able to enjoy the delightful sweets; the sour taste left by her whole experience of the Winters' behaviors and personalities was too strong for even the most abundant sugary sweetness to overpower.
…
The very second that the food was cleared from the table, Elsa had pushed her chair back, asking for them to be excused, although it rang more as a statement than an actual request. Anna hadn't even been sure Elsa waited for the little nod offered by her mom before she had tugged at Anna's elbow as she faced the opposite direction. The moment they had closed the heavy wooden door into the hallway, she let out a huge sigh, head lulling forward.
"I swear, sometimes they get so absorbed in themselves that they treat their staff like animals," Elsa grumbled angrily with a deep frown; exacerbated annoyance palpable as it radiated from her expression.
Anna could understand, from an outside perspective at least. Her aunt and uncle, although not wait staff themselves, never had much opportunity to hold high-level positions in their own jobs, Uncle Kai reporting to a hard-ass supervisor in his company and Aunt Gerda managing the modest income brought in to the tiny family business, but it didn't mean that they didn't put their all into the work they had. Any time people treated their staff or employees as less than their worth, as less than human, infuriated her. People like that don't deserve their employees and should do shit themselves if they think they know best.
Although Elsa probably would not have been phased by a dropped side comment, perhaps would even concur, Anna bit her tongue out of sheer respect. She was a guest welcomed into the household for the first time; she may not be a well-bred debutant like the typical guests the Winters chose grace these halls, but at least she was raised with God damned kindness.
Still stewing slightly in the aftermath, a not so comedic pout pulling the corners of dark lips, Elsa kept silent as she rounded a corner; her steps finally slowing into a stroll rather than an all out sprint to escape the earlier situation.
It all felt strange to see again; to experience in Elsa's presence. Like earlier. Like the last few days. Just steadily becoming more unsuaul. But why..
Anna furrowed her brows, examining the crossed arm form the blonde had taken, downcast head with dark stare directed to the carpet runner spreading from below their feet.
She thought back to how Elsa had been when they first met, and for a long time after too; the coldness she would project, erecting walls of ice thicker than compounded glaciers, impossible to see through. Back in those days, Elsa hoarded herself away, safe from any reaches of the world; all things, small and large, both trifling and those of utmost importance.
And even as time had progressed, learning more of how the elusive rower worked, how her intricate mind ticked, she could see this reclusiveness begin to fit small patterns; leading information that acted to catalyze the moments of onset. Words, touches, or feelings. All triggers in their own way, some of which Anna was happy to have seen be overcome. But yet, the biggest trigger of all, the one that still withstood the test of time across all that this year had weathered and, regretfully, probably would stand longest of all?
The damn 'F' word. Family. Forced by birth and blood to carry the responsibility forever.
That's when Anna realized its impact; the effect churning Elsa's actions now.
Looking back on the long emotional journey the two had been on for months, that despite the progress that she'd witnessed firsthand, the warmth of those matters was between them. And it was great! But.. right now..
The Elsa Winters of the past, labeled Ice Queen, used to push everyone away and lock up her heart, not allowing any emotion to penetrate nor allow anything to be seen in return. That same woman, so brave in doing so, had changed and begun to welcome the love of one special person; to feel the emotion and even share her inner feelings in return, never again showing that icy façade since the night that their feelings had been spilled bare.
The hot and cold, both so intense; both serving their own functional purpose. To express and to protect.
And here, now, in this family household with so much memory and twisted emotions circulating, Anna wondered if it was that exact dichotomy which was placing Elsa so off-kilter; normal defensive iciness mixed with the desire to remain accepting that one special person's heart-melting warmth, only leading to a slippery contradiction of behaviors..
If this was the case, would bringing it to the forefront of both their minds help ease the older girl? To know that, whether Anna's support was here so she didn't need to be afraid, or even, if she needed to fully close off for her own emotional well-being when faced with emotional trauma of their location, that that was okay too. She had to know.
Settling a stern expression over her face, she swallowed in anticipation.
"Hey, Elsa?" she quietly called up from her spot a few paces back in hopes to gain the blonde's attention. When it took the older girl a second longer to actually turn around than anticipated, Anna had made two quick extra steps to catch up.
But she forgot one small thing in her urgency to open this communication, self-righteous endeavor overpowering her touch on the physical present. Or mostly, her already clumsy grasp of balance.
She felt herself lilt to the side, ankle wobbling as she tried to find the center of gravity above the damned stiletto heel. Unable to do so, she took an abrupt step back, trying to right herself by sheer body weight redistribution instead. Quite possibly she heard her name called out, but all she was really aware was her hip bumping into a nearby shelf that had manifested right after they rounded that corner.
Somehow, definitely by luck, even in the frantic stupor, she heard a rolling sound, eyes catching the movement of a small object rapidly rolling off the safety of the shelf and entering a direct free-fall toward the floor. By some saving grace, wide-stanced and stable, she was able to spin her torso, cupping her hands and snatching up the petite, marble jar from its intended trajectory.
As her arms adjusted to its weight, she exhaled heavily, looking away and over to the wide-eyed blonde. Elsa's hand was partially outreached, only falling with the relieved sigh she also released.
When Anna stood fully, taking a once over of the decoration (that was obviously expensive by the shiny marble-like make) that she'd nearly knocked to the hard flooring, Elsa had stepped closer. Gently, she took the object, settling it neatly back on the discreetly decorated shelf.
Watching the scene totally correct itself, adrenaline from her clumsy mishap and amazing save finally running dry, Anna broke into an anxious sweat.
"Oh God! I-I'm so sorry!" She squeezed the words from a tight grimace, arms having contracted upward as she tucked into herself in embarrassment. This is so not what I had intended! She watched as the straight-backed woman simply gave a once over to the integrity of the jar before setting it up on the small shelf again.
"Don't worry, nothing came of it," she said rather disinterestedly.
Anna watched as Elsa turned to face down the hall again. Her aqua eyes looked at the item before taking her own step, more care directed to the movement rather than her absentminded thoughts. "Huh. Weird how that tiny jar's heavier than it looks.."
"That's because it's an urn, Anna."
The redhead paused and tilted her head with a creased brow. What did that word mean ag-oh yeah! It's- oh.
Oh shit!
Her hands flew to her face, cupping her cheeks. "Shit!" she cursed her astonished thoughts aloud in a shrill whisper. "Oh my God, I am even more sorry!" She could feel a near similar rush of anxiousness that had followed that time that she had nearly fallen onto Elsa's Single. Elsa had stopped and turned a look over her shoulder as Anna looked to the jar again. Tight pulling of her lips in place, she gentle patted the item in apology. "I'm sorry to you, too," she whispered to the urn.
Ugh. How could she have not realized? The whole set up on the shelf was very simple, but with a new understanding, the decorations did remind her of a memorial alter, no matter how minimalistic. It had to have been because she'd never seen one look like this, memorial or urn, because the jar itself was so..
"Why's it so small?" she asked out loud, mostly to herself as she leaned back.
The soft carpet gave no indication of movement until Anna heard the blonde's voice much more clearly, and she jumped seeing Elsa having ended up nearly beside her again. "It's infant size."
As with so many things Elsa said, the words were stated dryly, acting only to provide a functional fact. It was a habitual tactic Anna had become accustomed to, the subconscious behavior associated with Elsa's reservations from discussing specific topics.
Nodding slowly with this understanding, Anna swallowed after giving an acknowledging hum, feeling awkward. "Um.. so.. it's, um, here because..?" Finding herself confident enough to at least try a probing question, her eyes swooped down and up to the older girl who was staring at the shelf with blank eyes.
"It's for my brother."
"Ah…" The sound trailed from her mouth and then..
Huh?! She froze; the statement not registering correctly with her, contradicting all the previous knowledge obtained from the Winters' heir over the last near year.
"Your… what?!" She sputtered. "B-but you said you were an only child!" Anna almost cried incredulously, thrown by the fact she was given glaringly obvious misinformation from very early on in their getting to know each other.
But the blonde woman shook her head, almost disinterested. She took the small container from Anna's hands and resettled it on the decorated mantle.
"He had been stillborn at birth, so, for all intents and purposes, I am one." Elsa had a flat look, no yield in the disassociated affect. Conviction filling that claim.
The red haired girl wouldn't have it though. "That's not how it is!" She felt almost flabbergasted at the older girl's choice of words. "You still consider them your brother." Yet still, despite a little plea in that statement, Elsa shook her head.
"I have never referred as such. No one here has. We don't talk about it, ever." She breathed a dry chuckle, yet no semblance of amusement could be found on her features. "Not having been home in so long, I honestly forgot."
Anna tilted her head, eyes narrowed. "You still honor him, though.. right there." She motioned awkwardly to the tiny urn, keeping a solid berth of distance now.
Elsa partially, shrugged a shoulder, looking to the memorial before looking back at the young redhead. "That's because he was the hopeful heir to the company; a miracle baby after years upon years of failed attempts. And I know it broke my parents, more from small comments made by the staff as I grew up; that they didn't want to chance that feeling ever again, either." Her voice had remained disconnected, and Anna recognized it. It was the same tone Elsa reserved for much of the discussions related to her family, extracting herself from any emotional ties stirred by recollection. "But, everything changed of course.. 10 years later, I was merely a surprise. Nothing like the son they had been hoping for and lost, though.."
Standing still, just watching the woman become lost in her moment of reverie, Anna's fingers slowly clenched together; a rising bout of discomfort inside of her. The story. The detachment. That expression. All of it was painful to experience, and her heart went out to the Winters' daughter.
And her thoughts from earlier, understanding how Elsa closes herself off from these feelings yet hasn't been able to fully commit to that protective reclusion with Anna's presence.. it meant Elsa was feeling more right now than she probably had in a long time.
In that moment, she wanted nothing more than to jump over and wrap her arms around Elsa, hugging her tight until that awful expression disappeared and took all the ill emotions with it. Yet she was grounded in place. The sheer awkwardness of the particular reveal still lingering, still processing; learning something that had likely been a guide, influencing the brilliant blonde's life from the very beginning. It was a very very old memory, no matter how Elsa attempted to deflect its significance; to play it out as purely menial when Anna knew it was anything but.
The older woman let her navy eyes drag to the small memorial jar, eyes lingering this time. "It's weird isn't it," she asked in a reticent rhetorical nature. The tone of earlier slipping, connecting to something more personal than she normally allowed to show. "To stand in the shadow of someone who no one ever really knew; being compared to someone with forever unknown potential, only to be seen as nothing more than a failure."
Anna's jaw clenched. "You're not that at all."
But Elsa didn't meet her eyes. "It's what they see, so that's their reality." Finally, painted lids closed as she breathed out, shoulders falling slightly. "Whatever I do, until I meet their expectations, do everything right, in their eyes they just see me fail; again and again." The last words were like a swan song. "Why do I even still bother?"
This time, Anna did find her legs moving, stepping up beside her rowing partner, hand reaching out and resting over the woman's arm. The other slowly following suit, each fingertip ghosting the cool skin, following the small grooves of winding muscle until warm palms delicately enclosed over fine wrists. The action was silent, and Anna waited, staring at the porcelain face; the distinct profile she'd come to love.
If only those eyes weren't so achingly empty; cool blue like deep glacial caverns, echoing with only what Anna could imagine were flashbacks of times past. Things she'd been privy to, but impossible to know the extent of what living experience contained.
Still, she waited. She understood, time and time again. Time did wonders for the stoic woman. She'd wait for whatever Elsa needed.
What must have been a drawing minute, the necessity here, Elsa finally broke her distant gaze, bringing her look to Anna almost automatically once the spell had been broken, coming back to the present with two fluttering blinks; eyes glossy but so pretty.
Sure, Anna understood that any words she could offer would fall short right now; the unspoken, painful desire to bring pride to her family name, to her parents, was too personally engraved in her heart.
But, she could see herself in those gorgeous mirror-like orbs and she prayed that Elsa could see herself reflected back. Because in Anna's eyes, all she could see was the beautiful soul she fell in love with. If nothing else, the older girl deserved to see herself in that light.
And, by the way the corners of those vast oceanic eyes eventually creased, perfect head tilting slightly, she liked to think that her message was received.
Growing murmurs caught both of their attentions, similarly to earlier, only the undertones of these frequencies caused both women to snap their gazes back down the corridor from which they'd come. This time, as compared to before dinner, Anna felt their simultaneous stiffening and break of contact was done out of a mutual startle.
The two figures had rounded the hallway corner at the very second both girls finished squaring their bodies forward. The two voices that had been growing in volume continued a gentle chatter, and Anna noticed that the two heads of the household had individual phones pressed to their ears, identifying two non-native languages spun in the air. As they approached them in the remaining space, Anna could only pull pieces that matched what she knew of English and the other, Swedish.
Preemptively stepping back against the flat of the wall to leave room, Anna felt her nerves increase as the duo slowed their pace by the exact time they were reached. The elder woman's conversation had been concluded just before, phone already slipping into the pressed dress slacks near identical to Elsa's own wardrobe selection for the evening. Anna didn't know how to feel seeing the drawn similarities in the two women's fashion choices, perhaps because, at least visually, it connected the family members in a sort of closeness; disconnect of her far less high-fashion garb settling in her mind's imagery.
The fair-haired brunette motioned with her hand, stepping up in front of Elsa. "Oh honey, perfect. We were just on our way to find you." Her daughter's expression remained neutral, although Anna wondered if the endearment sounded as weird to Elsa as it did to her. "We'd like to request your presence in the library now." The question was strictly directed at the blonde, not even a passing glance to Anna, and she knew instantly that she was not about to get an extended invite as a guest to this family gathering as well.
With a brief pause, eventually Elsa nodded, and not a second later, she was looking at Anna. Concern outlined her eyes. "Do you remember how to get back to your room?"
Glancing up at her Doubles partner while giving an understanding smile, Anna nodded and gave a thumbs up. "Oh, yeah. I think I got the layout memorized already," she said with a lopsided grin, adding a wink for good measure and knocking her temple lightly. "Mind like a steel trap ya know?" She noticed Elsa raise her brows with some concern despite the silly reassurance, but her mother's hand had already fallen over her mid-back, guiding her along their path to which Anna assumed led back to the library (she assumed because, well, she hadn't quite memorized as much of the layout as she proclaimed).
Anna gave a final wave when Elsa finally turned left at the next hallway intersect; a lasting glance of blue eyes seeking the final bit of reassurance.
Chewing her lip after watching the retreat, she sighed, ready to continue toward the stairwell on the opposite turn, when she remembered that she hadn't been quite left alone.
Or rather, it was when the presence was re-announced to her that she realized.
Eyes catching the movement in the corner of her vision, she craned her head up to see the patriarch now standing before her; the tall, lean body acting like a tower over her smaller form.
Uncomfortably swallowing, she turned to face the man front on. Somewhere inside of her, she even felt the inane urge to toss a salute. Although she did not give in to this impulse, thank goodness, she still unconsciously straightened her shoulders, presenting herself as professional as much as possible. It was no easy feat as the stinging words from dinner still rang in her recent memory.
"Anna," Agdar Winters began with a deep voice, icy eyes locked on hers. The redhead felt her throat go dry at the sound of her name paired with the most pensive stare. Good God, despite all of the moments of familiarities, it was so undeniably obvious where Elsa inherited her own intense gazes. "I am not sure of your intentions toward my daughter, coming from the background that you do, nor do I wish to know any more of that matter.."
She had no idea what the man would decide to bring up, but honestly, she couldn't really believe that he chose that as his opening line.
The fuck do you mean 'the background that you do'? Auburn brows were drawn down, forehead creased in insult. No one made slight's toward her home life. My background is that I'm from a loving and kick-ass family, ya jerk face! She was quite surprised that she held her tongue; metaphorically biting it so hard that she may as well have still drawn blood. She wasn't ignorant to the fact the man had probably been thinking this exact thought back at dinner too.
"But I will say this, and I will say it once," he continued shortly thereafter, nonchalantly shifting his gaze up and away, ignoring any and all reaction the words had stirred in the young woman. His hands were folded behind his back, chin lifting with an air of might. "If you care about my daughter's well-being, in any regard, you will see why you mustn't encourage her reckless pursuit of this silly sport."
Reckless? It's a fucking sport! A frown pulled at her lips and she broke the stiff posture she'd somehow been maintaining. She controlled her word selection, still knowing the importance to not let herself get overly emotional, to contain her true feelings with a professional veil, much as Elsa always did. An example she desired to follow, if not any other time in life than right now. So she willfully, with quite a strenuous effort, sucked up her pride, grinding her teeth.
"Pardon if I may.. but I don't see it that way at all, Sir," Anna said while making a scrutinizing face, biting the title as it fell from her lips, but it was the only saving grace to control the venom that she wanted to spit. It felt awful to placate. "I show that I care by supporting her decision to pursue happiness. Rowing's something that she truly loves. "
He tilted his head, looking away toward the small shelving on the wall, almost forgotten from earlier, gaze lingering on the tiny item that had been in Anna's hands way too recently. He reached toward the small urn, shifting it slightly to the left, before tucking his hand back behind him. "Love?" He shook his head slightly. "Love waxes and wanes, leaving people the farthest from happiness in the end. Besides, that kind of love, a misplaced kind, certainly does not justify arrogance or ignorance of anyone's actions."
Arguable. She had been in the face of adversity regarding quite dumb actions herself; all of which eventually became worth the struggle. To accept her own feelings and express them, as well as to see Elsa open up and return them; love's brought about from different pasts, harrowing desperation and sadness, only to bloom into brilliant unison.
If this man was about to pose love, or rather its indication of weakness and grief, as an argument, he picked the wrong fiery spirit to preach to. And they weren't stuck at a formal dinner table for whatever 'valued discourse' to limit them. So, in the best way that she could, she stood her ground.
"In the face of opposition, sometime true love is left no choice; to be ignorant, to suffer. Because.." Swallowing roughly, puffing her cheeks a bit, daring herself to push on. "Because.. love is easily lost." Keen eyes slid back toward her face, away from the memorial jar. Her heart rate quickened as she watched herself in those cold eyes, disliking this reflection horribly compared to Elsa's own sweet yet all too similar ones. "That's why we should support and encourage the people who we lo- we care about to explore all there is in their hearts.." After her verbal stumble before the man, she tried to find the best way to finish her explanation.
Automatically, the exchange from earlier flashed through her mind. From the shutdown at dinner to Elsa's solemn recollection; how sad she looked, weary and defeated. How this was nothing new, going on for so long. All that pain, every conversation and weight of the family name piling heavier and heavier, ripping into wounds that were never allowed any means to heal. The only solace that Elsa had ever found was that feeling of freedom brought to her by the winds and waves; the only thing to break her from the burden brought about by unchosen flesh and blood. To prevent that happiness, that one glimmer of peace, was most heartbreaking of all. Her eyes fell, the words opening from her heart and spilling from her lips.
"Doesn't it hurt seeing those people we love miserable?"
This time, she didn't care that the particular word fell from her mouth. Honestly, it wouldn't have been helped had she even been consciously thinking about holding back expressing her feelings in front of Elsa's dad. If he was going to come at her, at both of them, no care to what either woman could mean to the other, he may as well just get the brutal honesty and deal with that matter in his own time. Anna was too heartbroken at the thought that she had to be the one to defend Elsa's love, her passions, for literally anything, against her own family.
The following seconds were uncomfortably quiet; the air settling between the two bodies, unsettling. Gritting her teeth, jaw clenched, Anna did her best to stay tall, unwavering. Any hope of her words making any impact slowly dissipating along with every ticking second that she remained under the steely, steadfast expression.
"Our family has already known enough loss.. suffered enough pain." His voice was firm, not harsh, but.. there was an aching anger simmering close to the surface. Just when Anna expected him to bite out another remark, the man pivoted on his sharp heel, maneuvering down the same path his family members had taken. "I will not let it happen again. When you leave, if you really care for my daughter, I hope you will realize what's necessary for her best interest."
The man was out of sight instantly, gone like a ghost fading through the walls, but heaviness of his words, the steely indifference to the presentation of his daughter's feelings, haunting her. It was only when two passing staff interrupted her staring stupor, asking for the state of her well-being.
With a forced laugh, trying to regain her cheery attitude, Anna waved them off with a reassurance that she was merely tired after dinner. It felt nice to have the empathetic gazes agree with her words, although she still hated how the staff had to endure knowing this feeling day in and day out. Thanking them again she walked the remaining short meters to the winding stairwell.
Shaking her head clear, hand on the banister, she oriented herself to the task ahead of her: finding her room again in the massive home. She removed her heels, standing flat-footed on the cold tile, knowing full well that she would be spending more time exploring than anticipated and like Hell was she going to continue in these God awful things.
She didn't need a pain in her feet when still shaking the residual annoyance of that pain in her ass.
…
It had been nearly 3 minutes, and probably double the errored turns and redirections (this house was a crazy maze). When she had first begun her embarrassingly long journey, she had felt her sweater pocket buzz, reaching for her phone. She had instantly smiled at the message.
'Sorry for that interruption. I will be sure to say goodnight when we are done.'
She didn't hesitate to respond, not sure how much phone access time Elsa would have once they were fully engulfed in this talk. 'No probs, hope alls good! I'll see ya soon!'
':)'
Visibly lighting up at the positive carryover of the use of emoticons (emojis wouldn't appear on her old fashioned phone anyway after all), she had used that pleasant energy to go about her nightly routine once she finally found the guest room again.
But an hour later, after completing her nightly routines and changing into a much more comfortable pajama set, found her laying on her back within the most wonderful cloud-like bedding she could have ever imagined. Her dry eyes were slowly scanning across the white ceiling, signs of boredom having overtly settled in. Laying here with absolutely nothing to do, she cursed how she hadn't even thought to pack her old Nintendo (would have been a grand opportunity to feed her NintenDogs for the first time in like 5 years). So in that moment, her mind was free to wander, thoughts only encouraged with each passing minute passing on the small clock at her bedside.
Were they really still meeting? It's been so long. Had Elsa forgotten that she was supposed to come by? Or had the text meant Anna was supposed to go say goodnight to her? Oh shoot.
Well, with that idea now in her head, she hopped off the cloud-like comforter and made her way across the room; the thought only acting to propel her anxious body on some semblance of a mission.
Sneaking a few quiet steps down the hall, hand skimming the trims of passing door frames, she turned and looked up at the wooden door. She frowned, eyeing the portrait painting on the wall. It seemed familiar enough to what Elsa mentioned on their tour, though she had completely glossed over this part. With little to deter her, she gently opened the door, flicking on the light as she did so.
As the room was illuminated, she realized immediately that she had chosen correctly. The royal blue curtains draped from the tall windows, delicate white and blue linen on the room's centered bed, some pretty trinket boxes on the far end bureau.. it all screamed the mature woman's name. Anna would have liked to say she just knew the blonde better than anyone, but really, the biggest giveaway was just the familiar unpacked bags beneath the dresser.
She chewed her lower lip, eyes skirting down the empty halls, before she slipped into the room. Just for a moment, she could take a little peak in here, right?
She approached the few paintings hanging on the wall, three in total, appreciating their elegance; probably oil based if she could recall what Rapunzel had told her before. The beautiful landscape scenes were so beautiful and gave the room a mature feel. Much more so than her bedroom's collages and taped up décor so fresh in her mind's eye.
Briefly, she wondered if Elsa had ever even had the thought to hang up pictures or posters the same way she had.. or maybe back in her school days, before she practically moved out completely to Arendelle, there could have been some small pictures taped here and there.
A fond smile formed on her lips as she lightly shook her head at silly thought. Elsa doesn't even have pictures up in her current apartment. It's not her style.
Turning, she approached the decorative bureau, hand reaching out toward a little box, before she snatched her hand back. "No, no, Anna. You are not risking spilling over any other family members tonight," she hissed under her breath.
"Um..?"
Head shooting up, looking into the mirror, she could see the familiar woman peaking through the doorway; blue eyes calm but curious, head tilting.
She spun around, watching Elsa slowly pad into the room. "H-hi..!" Anna felt her shoulders rise to her ears, stiff as a board, expression wide-eyed.
The older girl stood half-way in her room, arms loosely crossed over her abdomen. "I just stopped by your room, but.." A single brow arched in suspicion.
Anna honestly wasn't sure if she actually squeaked or not. "Sorry! I wasn't creepin' or anything! I just got mixed up trying to find the bathroom and.. and there were no staff around.. and, um.." Hands clasping together in front of her nervously, she began to hurry in the direction of the door.
But a pale hand gently reach for her wrist as she passed, holding her lightly. Turning, she saw the blonde's face looking at her, eyes as soft as the touch.
"I thought you had a memory like a 'steel trap,'" she quoted, lip curving up a hint at the kind quip.
Biting her lip, unsuccessfully holding back her growing grin at the tease, the young woman let her shoulders fall, loving the familiar touch. She turned to look at the older girl, pouting her lips in one of her poorest displays of innocence. "I don't recall saying that."
A smirk, delicate disbelieving chuckle following. "My, how convenient."
Anna's wide lopsided grin was instant at the laugh; any residual nervousness of being caught in the strange (creeper-like) situation having completed disappeared with the dual smiles shared.
Although the moment was pleasant, recent evening events playing on both of their minds, neither seemed to be quite positive on the direction which to proceed with the conversation at this point. Clearing her throat, choosing to be the one to test the waters, Anna licked her lip before chewing it lightly in cautious thought. "So.."
Goodness, she really really achingly wanted to ask about how the family talk had gone. But at the same time, she didn't necessarily want to bring down the happy little moment if the conversation hadn't been on the pleasant side (and, if she were being honest, she assumed that was near definitely the case).
While the word hung in the air, Anna lulled her head, letting her eyes pass in an arching sweep of the high ceiling, rocking a bit on her bare feet while feigning disinterest. With the quickest pan of teal over deep blues in her eyes' journey, the other's flicked to the side in the same moment. Internally, Anna's heart let out sigh.
It's also not her obligation to tell you any of her family stuff.. She internally frowned at herself. No matter how much she wanted to be involved with these family matters, feeling like her place in Elsa's life gave her such entitlement was not a good thing to assume.
Keeping her eyes on the window where they'd last landed, she shoved her hands into her pajama shorts' pockets, shoulders lifting. A silly smile spreading over her face, more forced than she was hoping to exhibit, she asked alternatively, "This must be where we say our sweet good nights, hm?" Her eyes had slid shut to aid in her smile's act of believability, hoping her playful tone was enjoyed.
"Wait." The soft word was spoken only a fleeting moment after her own, not holding any attempt at jest as hers had. Anna's eyes opened slowly, smile fading a little only due to the lack of reciprocated banter. Elsa was looking at her; the familiar, lightly drawn expression she used when hoping to express potentially conflicting information was displayed. "I'm actually.." Her blue eyes had averted briefly before lifting back to Anna's. Something strange shining within them than Anna could not quite place. "I'm glad you are here."
Blinking, Anna tilted her head. "Of course! Facing your parents wouldn't have been fun alone."
Elsa shook her head, fingers entwining with Anna's. "No, well, yes, that's true. But.." The roundest eyes met with Anna's. "I actually meant here.. now."
"Ah.. oh..! Well, total same," she gushed with a hot flare crossing her cheeks.
"I don't mean to sound so forward.. but would you actually mind staying with me tonight?"
Body steadily heating to its own accord, Anna found herself cooling only by the tiny concern rising in the back of her thoughts again. Where earlier she had been considering the bit of aloofness the older woman had been demonstrating since graduation, she was now facing the total opposite. Staring into those lovely eyes, yearning evident, feeling the squeeze of their fingers intertwined between them, she felt a flip in her stomach.
Swallowing (when did her throat grow so dry?), she nodded, trying to grin with confidence rather than the shyness swelling within her. "Is water wet?" Dark eyes searched hers momentarily with confusion.
"Um, no, it's actually not by its physical properties.."
Hand slapping over her face, Anna was quick to add, "That was rhetorical. Like a joke.." The innocent head tilt was too much and Anna let her arms flop to her sides, smile on her face. "Whatever. I meant yes, it's absolutely fine with me."
And it most certainly was. Primarily because just giving the affirming answer lit up Elsa's face, the most since she had arrived. But secondly..
Her aqua eyes scanned across the room, completely aware of the massive bed against the other wall. She internally squealed excitedly. She had taken the couch her first night staying in the apartment. It went unspoken, but she could tell something had been a bit off with Elsa's behavior, most likely due to the weight of a well overdue parental conversation. So she didn't push it, with a plan to revisit the idea once things had been squared away.
Being presented this opportunity now, here in the Winters' own abode, was not only pleasantly surprising, but also left her feeling a bit scandalous; after their brief chat, Mr. Winters most definitely already didn't want her around his daughter, let alone be getting into bed with her.
Her face burned as her mind's wording flew by. Oh God, my brain's already doing Freudian slips. Hormones. Blame the stupid hormones. Shaking her head, she let a heavy breath through her nose. "Be cool, be cool.."
"What was that?"
Urk! I said that out loud? Stiffening, Anna immediately back tracked, looking away from the bed toward the voice. "J-just.. it's kinda cool.. in here. Right?" It definitely wasn't. It was actually stuffy and warm, or maybe that was just below her collar.
Finally catching the blonde as she stepped out of her closet, changed into her pajamas, Anna blinked. It was an outfit she hadn't been familiar with; gone were those typical cute snowflake shorts and collected regatta shirts, for a sating long sleeve/long slacks set. Probably being something she kept at home strictly for this purpose, oddly formal and likely expensive. Yet another reminder of the unusual situation both had found themselves in.
Not taking long to react, Elsa went and opened a drawer and grabbed another blanket (one of those super soft fleecy ones), though she did have a little concern on her features as she brought it over to the bed. "I didn't think so. I don't even have the window open.." Laying it over one side of the king-sized mattress that was apparently meant to be Anna's side (Elsa did prefer the cold even if it was chilly in here), she shrugged. "But I hope this helps."
Smiling, trying to keep her nervous sweat in check, Anna thanked the blonde and hopped over the prepped side of the bed. She hurriedly tucked herself under the large covers, sucking in a sharp breath, feeling her thudding heart slamming below her jaw as she settled into place; nerves too haywire at the moment to appreciat ehte fact that somehow this bed was even more heavenly than the one in the guest room.
Not a minute later, the lights flicked off and bed dipped on the far side of the expansive cloud.
How long was it since the two had shared a bed? Like a real, humongous size bed? A king, totally never, but just any real bed. The Southern Isles? That was absolute forever ago!
They'd purposefully determined the sleeping arrangement at Elsa's as the standard couch-bed after they'd first talked about rooming together, and even though it had only been enacted for a single night since Anna had moved in, this whole situation seemed to be a complete 180 reversal of that decision; and it was completely changed at Elsa's own whim, no precluding discussion as they had been carefully doing, navigating emotions in a very structured manner as suggested by her therapist early on.
That had been the plan for every tiny but intimate development that they'd encountered these last few weeks, what Anna had been expecting to continue as the method now that graduation was over, because it had been working splendidly for Elsa's needs and growth, at least as far as she could tell.. That's probably why this just felt kinda.. off.
It made Anna's mind begin to wander toward what could have caused such a change in her perspective. Obviously, there was only one thing that had transpired so significantly in the last 24 hours. She turned her head to the side having felt the blonde slowly getting into the bed as well.
Shifting. The other person very clearly having turned toward her direction. Anna didn't even have to ask about the unusual behavior.
Whatever they talked about definitely has bothered her..
Before the redhead could think of something to say, considering if it was her place to break the tension of what was obviously on both of their minds, she felt a rustle. Her hand was delicately taken and lifted to the pillow space between them and she heard the soft voice speak out in the silence.
"Tell me more about when you first started rowing."
It took a second to short-circuit her brain into processing the words, pleasant surprise at the contact stirring her mind into a buzz. But when it did catch up..
Wait, what? Anna's head spun first trying to peer across the dark space, soon following with her torso rotating under the covers, brows cocked. "Uh, that's random all of a sudden." She could barely make out the shrug, the sound of sheets more apparent and anything visual in the night's shade. She mulled the thought around. "Um. Well, what do you want to hear? You already know Kristoff got me into it after my parents died."
Elsa went quiet. Anna knew it was because she dropped the parents topic fairly lightly where she sometimes skittered around the detail. Maybe it was the darkness around them or her fatigue from the day, or maybe even having already spoken of them this same evening already, but it wasn't that draining.
"I guess.. your feelings?" Elsa didn't sound sure of the description, but tried regardless, voice soft. "Maybe, how the early part of your time made you feel..?" The awkward tinge of the tone was heavy and Anna heard and felt the covers slide between them; Elsa likely having scrunched her hands up in a bashful manner. "If that was out of line to ask, I apologize.."
There was a seriously itchy impulse to ask why this was being asked all of a sudden. But Anna decided that perhaps prodding urge for information be held back for now. She rolled onto her back, free arm coming to rest on her abdomen as she opened the door to her early high school memories, sifting through the various ups and downs, deftly dodging anything that hit too close to the bittersweet memories of her late family.
"Well.. no, it's not a problem.." She hummed lightly, feeling those astute eyes watching her intently. "Just let me find out how to start.." How many years had it been since I had last set foot by the sea? By any open body of water? "4 years. That's how long it took me to approach the water again. Any body of water." She gave a chuckle. "No joke, I was almost nauseas when I met the coach at the boathouse. Well, no, I was nauseas, but didn't throw up or anything."
She could hear the smirk form on the face across from her. "You do know how to make memorable first impressions."
Clicking her tongue, Anna shrugged at the comment. A hum of thought came next as she thought more of those first few days on the water. "It was hard, that whole first Fall season. I couldn't look at the water for long; my stroke seat told me he was creeped out at how much eye-contact I forced on him." She smiled slightly to herself at that. "The day I remember most, and what I'd consider the turning point in my water phobia, was actually one of the scariest moments of my rowing career."
She felt the older woman scoot closer, rest of their bodies near touching, head lifting from her pillow in interest. "How so?" Even her voice reflected the wonder.
Chewing her lip Anna exhaled an easy breath. "In our final 6k race, the final freaking 500 meters, stuck in my tunnel vision, I brought our Eight too close to the shoreline and my rudder hit a rock." The quiet gasp probably would have sounded overly dramatic to any non-rower listening in, but Elsa understood the full consequence of the scenario; a high-powered Eight, in the middle of a race with other 60ft long shells all charging full steam ahead, losing its steering capability, setting the stage to risk a devastating crash. The ultimate coxswain nightmare.
"Anna.."
Younger Anna may have rolled her eyes at the subconscious scolding tone (because obviously she learned to be more aware of her boat's relation to the shoreline), but the redhead smiled warmly.
"To steer us safely, I had to shove my arm into the water to act as a rudder." She gave a feigned shudder for emphasis, feeling the blonde's hand squeeze her own. "But, again, silver lining. It made me realize how much responsibility I had for my teammates' safety, and how safe I could actually be in the boat even if reaching into the water. From that moment on, I was able to relax enough to appreciate being back on the water and continue my parents' love of it."
Clasped hands close, separating their faces yet joining them still,, Anna sighed happily; both the warm contact and warm conclusion to her story acted to sooth her tired body.
"Thank you," Elsa whispered after a 10 second span of reflection. "For sharing."
"Why did you want to know?" There was just a quick shrug in response. Nothing more. Nothing overtly telling, and yet all so telling in Elsa's own way; trying to subdue her interest, dismiss the action as nothing but passing thought. Unfortunately for her, though, Anna had seemed ready to turn the table, sea green eyes focusing on Elsa as best as she could in the obsidian room. "So." Her words were as pointed as her gaze, slowly forming a silly smile. "Your turn, then. How on earth did you fall into it?"
The older girl was quiet for a moment before exhaling a delicate sigh, a smile tugging at her words. "I guess it's only fair.." Her fingers softly stroked over Anna's open palm. "I had ice skated with my mom throughout childhood. It was really the only sport I ever was interested in."
The freckled face lit up at the known fact of Elsa's abilities. "And annoyingly so, you're still a great skater." She loved hearing the merry chuckle at the comment.
"Well, for the purpose of engaging in a professional sport, the kind where people can engage while still doing business, my parents had encouraged either skating or skiing." Anna couldn't help her eye roll, because of course the CEO's would only have one thing in mind. "Just so happened that, ironically, on a late spring ski trip, I stayed at the lodge at the mountain's base. It was more thawed and so a nearby lake was open.. It happened to be the first time I saw someone rowing." Her fingers continued their languid spins. "It was so mesmerizing, I can't explain it."
Anna nodded. "Hey, I can understand that." She let her fingers flex lightly, brushing the blonde's pale digits. "Let me guess, Mr. and Mrs. Stick-in-the-mud weren't so pleased to hear that." Breathing a laugh, Elsa agreed.
"Not a bit. But, still, they let me do a summer crew program at my school thinking that it'd get the idea out of my system or something." She wiggled her lips. "As if 'it's just a phase'."
"Well that sure backfired!" she laughed, but still remained curious. "So why not ice skating in the end?" Anna asked after Elsa had finished recounting her story. Teal eyes rolled at her lame question. "I mean like, I know you said you liked to go against your parents' rules and all. But I wasn't lying, you're really good! It coulda been a second hobby to consider."
Elsa smiled softly, turning her head slightly. "Nothing else compares. There was something freeing about having something that was.. my own. Something that my parents didn't order me to do because it would be 'beneficial' for the future. Rowing was something that let me live in the here and now, and be myself." She stopped and shrugged. "It became a part of me; more than just a hobby. That's why I cherish it and put so much time into it." She paused and let out a small snort.
Anna tilted her head. "What's so funny?"
The blonde shook her head against the pillow. "My Therapist actually said that when people live through lots of.. stresses.." Anna softened her gaze, pretty sure that Elsa's counselor was using another, less sugar coating word to describe this aspect of the heiress' life. "Um, that they can cling to other things to fill voids or find comfort.." There was a short but audible swallow before the sarcastic chuckle again. "I think we found ours in the concept of rowing."
The other woman waited a long moment, thinking about what she could say, before responding, "Well that might be a good thing.. Don't need you becoming a hoarder, ya know. Your apartment's too small."
Successfully, it drew a more honest laugh from the blonde's lips. "You should talk.. I saw that pile on your bed.."
"Leave my stuffed animals out of it!" She gave a lopsided grin hearing the beautiful bell-like giggle. It was innocent and very giving for Elsa, as well as something that she just realized that she had missed hearing. It felt so light, so easy. Breathing in laugh after laugh, feeling the warmth emanate from the body laying right beside her.
At some point during their playful banter, she felt the slender fingers slip away from her own, but only a second later feeling their cool tips dance over her warming face; caressing her so sweetly that her eyes slid closed at the mere touch alone, weak to the acquainted but long missed feeling.
And then, Anna wasn't sure how far away her senses had slipped to have missed any other alerts in her immediate vicinity, but she felt the softest press over her lips; cool and warm, minty and familiar.
Eyes briefly fluttering open at the sudden contact, contact which hadn't been felt in God knows how long, contact that Elsa had been so resolutely carefully delineating along their life events, Anna was met with the darkness. She wasn't left to question the soft touch for long. A warm moment later, she felt the blonde lean into her, fingers staying laced against the soft pillow; pale hand tracing up and cupping her cheek, tilting their faces close, deepening the kiss with a quick sweep over quivering lips.
Anna sighed into the action, lifting her head in response, feeling their hands separate, but only for a second. When she felt the slender digits trailing up her arm to cradle the base of her neck, Anna let her own find the finely carved collar bone hovering over her, steadying; every touch leaving her dizzy. She tilted her head to continue the kiss, feeling the blonde break away, immediately dragging her lips past her jaw and trailing down the column of her neck; the deep pressure against her skin intense, hot and wanting with every firm tongue pass.
Oh, fucking God, she wanted nothing more than to just melt right into that sensation; return this act with fervor, taking the blonde into her arms like she often dreamed of so frequently. Memories of experiences past coloring her perception. It had been so long, it was all she could focus on. And as her hands lifted, fingers pulling against the soft shirt, pulling the woman's torso toward her, she just wanted live in that precious reverie again.
But there was the damned inkling again, tapping incessantly at the back of her mind, the feeling deep in her heart.. She knew this wouldn't be right. Because, no matter how fucking good everything felt, how right it always felt kissing Elsa Winters, this time.. wasn't.
Why, after all that caution, this 180, all of a sudden? All of this..? This entire evening since Elsa's return..
Her hands slid up to the blonde's collar, and with the utmost strength of her will yet a mere feather's pressure of muscle, she pushed the two apart. Both still breathing heavily, she was looking inquisitively at the face in front of her, at least trying to communicate her bemusement. The shadowed outline revealed nothing useful of what the other girl was feeling. Breaths soft and intermingling, the taste on her lips near enough to make her forget her motive.
"Elsa..?" she whispered gently, leaving it as both a comment and open question with her lifting tone. She wanted to know more; what had transpired tonight. To be able to understand the inner workings of the reserved woman's hidden thought processes; a task she'd been faced with countless times before but with only rare occurrences nowadays. Her eyes stared into the darkness, not even catching the slight glint of sparkling orbs she'd managed from earlier; the woman's eyes likely averted.
Only silence came from the query, and before Anna could say something more, she felt the woman, previously having yanking the control of the situation, scoot a little closer, head falling into the crook of Anna's shoulder and collarbone; cradled lightly without invading her space further, melding her firm body into her side.
"I don't want to talk about it, please.." It was a tight whisper; the plea choking at the back of her throat. It caused Anna's eyes to widen, heat in her face cooling instantly at the voice. Dark lashes fluttered for a second against the speckled skin. "Can we just.. be close?"
Heart lurching into her throat, those words containing a weight bearing weariness, sadness even, Anna let out a quiet sigh. It was late and Elsa obviously wasn't looking to dwell on any family matters right now. Just to be in this stillness. Comfort. Anna could understand that feeling very well. Her hold tightened, hugging the older girl into her.
A part of her couldn't even begin to fight the closeness, something of longing having been gnawing at her soul for ages. So she decided to bask in this time, an allotment for physical touch; each second ticking by, cherished so deeply. Readjusting her arms, securing them tightly around broad shoulders, fingers finding their way to thread through silken tresses, the young woman tilted her lips against a cool forehead. Holding the strong woman so tightly, she hoped she was offering exactly what Elsa was in need of right now.
When the old grandfather clock quietly clicked on the shifting hour, Anna chewed her lip, eyes looking toward the black ceiling. Every blink having staved off the lure of sleep as she focused and listened to the blonde's even breathing at her side, but gradually, tick by tick, heart beat by beat, fatigue eventually set in.
…
As they returned upstairs, Anna paused at the door to her guest room. Elsa motioned for them to go inside.
Anna began throwing her stuff into her bag, not taking nearly as much care as she had done when first packing the nice attire. "It's been quite the experience seeing how you used to live," she said to the taller occupant; the comment held a lot of different feelings toward different aspects of the woman's home life. But Anna focused her attention to the best part, hand landing over her belly. "Like how on Earth am I supposed to ever go back to a dorm Dining Hall?"
Elsa chuckled with an eye roll. "Oh dear. All the Ritz and glamor have gone to your head." She took a seat on the still made bed, fluffy comforter giving beneath her weight and sinking her beside the other's duffle bag.
"Oh, not yet," she said with a grin spreading between her cheeks. "But after we medal at the Olympics, I may have a hard time getting back to reality."
A soft hum acted to agree to the statement. A loud zip had the girl finishing with her packing, taking the time to enjoy her fantastic wonders again. So far, this whole trip out here, she hadn't indulged in her excitement once. Since they were getting ready to leave anyway, and Elsa really needed some positives regarding rowing after the last 18 hours of parental drama, it was a better time than any!
"Can you imagine the amount of people that will be there? Hundreds of thousands of people go, and like a billion watch it!" She spun on her heels, hands going over her head as she looked up at the ceiling before tossing herself backwards onto the bed. Elsa made a small noise of surprise as the lightweight's flop bounced her more than she was expecting.
"That's.. not even an overstatement," Elsa said with a voice completely on the opposite end of the excitement spectrum from the exuberant redhead. "I can imagine it, but.."
Squirming her butt, Anna sighed longingly, eclipsing the crew alum's words. "I keep imagining it too! A huge area running along the stretch of water; fans filling each seat!" Her hand flew to her chin in consideration, sitting up quickly. "Would they have foam fingers for us? And flags and balloons. Oooo, I hope some people make signs." She gasped, throwing her bouncing body to her feet once more, eyes sparkling with a shiny new idea. "What if our names are on someone's sign! It'd be like we're super stars-"
"-I'm not doing it."
Anna's rambling caught in her mouth and she froze in the middle of her animated, pacing action. She shot a look at the seated blonde whose eyes were on her clasped hands. Dropping her still animated arms, Anna moved them to rest on her hips.
"Um. What was that, now?" Anna asked deliberately in a sarcastic tone, sending a low glare in her direction. "Because it sounded like you implied that you didn't want to try to compete."
The blonde shrugged, raising her brows as if it were an obvious endeavor. Her eyes still didn't look up, gaze on her lap.
Anna shook her head. "Elsa, do you not understand? We were offered a shot at the freaking Olympics.."
"Yes, both of us, and that's why you will still compete, Anna. They'll just place you with another, equally deserving Hopeful," said the blonde, using her logical tone. Her voice was flat yet fully earnest when saying, "You deserve to go to the Olympics."
Her lips curved into a frown and she took a step to the blonde. "So do you," she offered in a gentle voice. To her dismay, Elsa shook her head.
And it went silent. And jeeze was this silence was uncomfortably awkward.
Thumb and forefinger rubbing together at her side, Anna fought of the urge to clench her hands in annoyance. They'd obviously been in this anti-rowing house for too long if Elsa's perspective of this matter truly turned toward the insane. They needed to pack their bags up right now and discuss this topic in the neutral space of Elsa's car.
Anna stood near her bag, looking around the room, not exactly sure what to say for now. "Well," she started, ready to get them moving to get out of here and get down to a nice long chat on their way back. "I guess I'm packed. Do you need any help with your stuff?" When the blonde shook her head after a moment's hesitation, Anna turned fully, watching how Elsa had stood and walked toward the door.
Anna frowned, auburn brows coming together.
"Because you're already packed..?" she led in with.
Again, hesitation. Elsa just shrugged. She finally leaned herself up against the door frame, avoiding eye contact.
Feeling her heart quicken, bits of this piecemealed conversation starting to come together, Anna stepped closer. She stood tall, shoulders square. "You are going back to Arendelle, ya know." There was no room for question even though the other woman had yet to confirm nor deny the first question. "You promised."
Elsa sighed, biting her lip as she narrowed her eyes at her feet. "Last night.. My parents made good points about staying here. Including the pros and cons for staying with ATC, but especially because I won't be rowing for AU anymore. There's no good reason to go all the way back if in three months I'm going to be back here anyway." Anna's eyes went incredulously wide. "I'll give you my key. The apartment's still paid for through August and-"
"-Oh fuck that!"
The loud and harsh expletive visibly shocked the well-bred woman to alert, head rising with recoil. Her curious blue eyes fell on the steaming face in front of her. She had obviously not been expecting that level of reaction.
Cheeks red with anger, Anna's arm sliced the air in front of them.
"You're not staying here." Her voice was hard, spitting with a defensive poison; definitive.
The blonde shook her head again, and Anna was getting really tired of seeing it. "Anna I know you mean well, but I still owe them-"
"-No!" she interrupted loudly again, this time stepping into the blonde's personal space. "Fuck, you don't owe them anything, no matter what they've claimed." Her mouth sputtered for a minute, not exactly sure where to even start voicing her annoyances and concerns. She settled on the most immediate. "Dammit, you belong in Arendelle!" With me!
"No, Anna. I belong here." Her pale hand lifted to clutch at the platinum braid splayed over the front of her shoulder. "I had my chance to row professionally, and I chose to give it up. I made sure to train you to the best of my ability. It's your turn now. Compete."
Anna's hands were hard on her hips, finger nails digging into her skin through the layer of her shirt. Sheer infuriation was simmering inside of her. Perhaps because for the first time in weeks she could see that old act of escapism; practically hear the creaking hinges of that door Elsa sought to use as a divide in these situations. The door they had promised to never shut. And the blonde had come to this decision without any consultation, and not just now, as much as it stung, but last night; those embraces and touches so desperate because of this anticipated split.
She wanted to condemn all the woman's words, visceral shock trembling inside of her at the audacity of the claim, the behavior, and she was a nano-second from letting her real feelings of the matter.
But never was she more thankful for the modest amount of self-control that being with Elsa had steadily matured regarding her impulsivity.
Eyes, filled with a twinkling woe, were cast down; shadows ghosting over the brilliant snowy skin. "They also reminded me.. this is all necessary for your best interest, as well." She closed the sorrow-filled ocean pools and wrung her hands together tightly before reopening them with a heartbroken gaze; apologetic and yielding. "I'm sorry, I-I hadn't even considered.. If I'm paired with you.. God, the media will have a field day with your image!"
Elsa had continued to explain, but the latter portion were only partially processed; alertness having been yanked by the beginning confession. Anna felt a cold nerve strike as near identical words, all too fresh, reverberated at the back of her mind. "..if you really care for my daughter, I hope you will realize what's necessary for her best interest."
In that familiar phrase, now dripping with Elsa's heartfelt emotions, Anna pieced the puzzle together of what transpired over at least some of the evening. She narrowed her eyes, coming to the conclusion before Elsa herself even seemed to realize. All the power, the fire, prepared to spit form her throat, was dowsed and left with a manageable warm steam; comfortable in a state of understanding.
"So that's why, huh."
Blonde hair swished as she spun her head back to Anna, confusion at the calm gaze. "Why what?"
"Why you all of a sudden decided to go back to your parents' plans and disregard our own plans," stated the redhead. Her sea blue eyes leveled with those pretty yet saddened orbs, not sure if hers were looking just as sad. The heiress' parents had planted those dastardly seeds of doubt, sewn the guilt, again, and Elsa's selfless heart allowed them to bloom without abandon. How much more could this poor girl be taken advantage of? She folded her arms, voice matter-of-fact. "Come on Elsa, you don't really want that." She lilted to one foot, eventually taking a cautious half step with the other. "You're just concerned about competing alongside me, which, given everything, is totally fine."
Elsa's eyebrows drew down, expression serious. "Anna, of course I'm concerned," she said immediately, puffing her cheeks briefly in annoyance, letting a hard breath through her nose. "I'll ruin your image before you even have the chance to show them how.. how wonderful you are. And at this tier? The World's stage? The Olympics are a whole other level even beyond my experience!"
Cerulean eyes rolled dryly. "Stop talking like that. It's not about an image.." Eyes then falling back on the taller girl, Anna's brows drew upwards, an acknowledging concern present. "Norway, US, Brazil, Japan, wherever, I honestly don't give a shit how they paint me. This is about us.." She stepped closer again, taking the other rower's hand in hers; he free hand lifting up, finger extended to lightly tap against the dangling oar charm around Elsa's neck. ".. and about what we love!"
From those close inches, Elsa stared at her for a long moment, unable to pull up a strong smile despite being presented the most honest looking bravery. "You may not care but.." Her shoulders fell, sigh escaping ruby lips. "I really couldn't bear to let that happen to you if I have any means to help it."
Anna's heart ached more and more with every passing statement, her own shoulders also falling at Elsa's words; the weighted emotion thick and heavy. She knew the truth in those raw words. It had happened to the elite athlete before; giving up everything her passion's yearned for to protect the people she loved, all for the sake of the public's view of them. And once again, pitted with this choice, one that she'd been forced to make once before causing her to lose control of everything, Anna understood that the older rower was trying to grab control pre-emptively.
Because Elsa was scared.
Scared that the news would begin broadcasting her life all over again; dig up history cleaned from the internet and news outlets. Those horrible ghosts of her past could be so easily reconstructed and exposed once more, forced to re-live, and this time on a more grandeur scale; one not even Elsa had faced before. One which the entire world, beyond that of the more localized Norwegian rowing community, would see.
And she was only focused on what it would do for Anna's sake? This gosh darn woman, Anna thought in cherishing adoration. With a swell in her chest, she let her other hand fall, now collecting both of those delicate, worrying hands into her own.
"Come on, Elsa. This was your biggest dream," she said softly, hints of pleading in the undertone, memories of the Festival of Lights in mind and hearing one of the most pure confessions Elsa had ever shared. But the blonde looked away.
"That? No. That was so many years ago, Anna." She gently shook her head, almost giving a chuckle at the ridiculous idea. "There was never a Lightweight event for the Olympic Single. I gave up on the idea back when I chose the Nationals path."
The redhead only squeezed the pale hands tighter, hating how despondent the tone had become.
Especially because she didn't believe that bullshit for a millisecond.
"Nope. I won't let you give up this dream," she said resolutely as she stood her ground beside the blonde. "And I'm not leaving without you, Elsa." It caused the taller rower to flinch before bringing her eyes back to the lively aqua ones.
"Yes, you are." Her voice was steadily becoming choked up as emotions seemed to bubble, and Anna could tell that if she held strong, even if for just a bit more..
Watching the woman cementing her decision, erecting her usual wall of ice around an idea both knew was farthest from what she desired, Anna bit her lip. She only had one more thing that Elsa might consider as the swirls of her fears and concerns only grew in their sweeping zephyr-like mass.
I'm sorry, I really don't want to say this, but..
Seeming to become overwhelmed by the storm billowing inside of her, Elsa had removed her hand in a rush and reached for the golden door handle. "I'll drop you off at the bus station in-"
"-Hans had made a comment!" Anna began abruptly, cutting off the blonde and immediately commanding Elsa's attention. Anna then proceeded much more tentatively. "And I'm not sure what he meant exactly, but I.. I'm pretty sure it had something to do with last summer."
Elsa furrowed her brow, eyes scanning the serious freckled face, hand falling from the door instantly. "So he did tell you something.."
The whispered words startled her. Anna blinked. "Wh-what was that?"
Elsa shook her head. "He.. he told me he talked to you after the court case, but you never mentioned anything, so.."
Anna tilted her head. Elsa had spoken to Hans too? "When was this?"
"At our first race.. he was saying a lot of awful things, and so I thought, afterwards, that it must have been just one of his manipulative acts.." She shrugged sadly, almost looking embarrassed for mistaking the truth as one of the many slithering influences. "I guess I was wrong."
Hans was so manipulative. Both girls had to learn it the hard way. His beautifully keen and suave pragmatics were disturbingly convincing, able to morph any tiny bit of self-doubt and kneed it into a structural monster ready to feed on any self-consciousness. Whether it was Anna's drunkenly induced fears or Elsa's rampant anxieties, the sick man seemed to be fueled off the inimical discourse. Anna continued to hope and pray for that one day that Hans would rightfully get all that's coming to him.
"So Hans was there.. and he really was with you.." Anna said in dawning surprise, and stricken awe. Eyes flickering, she looked down to Elsa's hands. "Did.. were you the one that.." She lifted her finger to delicately touch the side of her eye, curving down in a crescent; an implicating question on her face.
Words unsaid, the widening of sapphire eyes matched with a rushing red flush answered her question immediately. Anna watched Elsa retract her hand to her chest absently, fingers flexing before clenching in reflexive memory.
"I..I.. well," she stammered in a very non-Elsa like way. "He had said some rude things about us, you.. I just.. couldn't help it." Her voice was reticent, confessing an act that was so unbecoming of someone bred to her familial caliber.
Anna on the other hand could not get enough of the fact that Elsa actually had been the one to land a suck punch to that asshole. And for Anna? Oh goodness she felt like swooning.
"Holy shit, Elsa.." she said..
"E-enough of that laughing," came the older woman's voice when Anna hadn't even realized she'd begun doing so. She tried to slow her giggling breaths. Elsa and shifted in a huff, leaning her back against the wallpaper thick wall, eyes closed as she attempted to compose herself from the embarrassing memory. "Can we please get back to the important parts?"
Anna rubbed her hands together, using the change in atmosphere as a chance to take the reins of the conversation. "Well, he didn't really say anything of substance after the court day. It was actually at the Art Festival, I ran into him.." Not even an hour before I saw her for her birthday dinner. Oh boy. She really should have mentioned something sooner, especially by the look appearing on Elsa's face. No doubt the blonde was stitching the entire timeline together, realizing the same thing.
"And..?" The prompt was soft, although Anna could sense an unhidden wave of anxiety in the undertow.
Clearing her throat, surprised to have found it become so dry, she began, "Um, it was about a 'hand in the act'." Anna swallowed as Elsa tilted her head in confusion. The redhead shook her head. "I think.. I'm pretty sure he was the one to have made the anonymous call and tampered with Belle's drug test."
"Wh-what?!" Elsa blinked suddenly, taken aback, face nearly aghast. "Anna, you realize what you're insinuating, do you not..?" And although obviously shocked at the news, Anna could see a tiny sign of acceptance below the surface of the woman's expression; as if the news was actually not as shocking as her exclamation had alluded to.
She felt the urge to calm the news in some way, given her words that had distressed the blonde so much were really only speculation. "Y-yes! But I don't know why he would-" she tried to offer but Elsa had already collected herself enough to dismiss Anna's attempt at condolence.
"No, no. He had all of the intention and psychotic manipulative ability to have done such a thing." Her voice sounded like it had already come to complete terms with the information. Her hand raised to the bridge of her nose in frustration, fist clenching. At that sight, Anna figured that Elsa probably had had the very suspicion herself at some point in time, but lacked any evidence to contribute it as fact and not just paranoia.
Elsa continued on. "He was always jealous. Especially over Belle. She was like his ultimate obsessive fantasy. And he hated me so much for it. I can see now that his personality would drive him to do unthinkable things just to get back at me for something I never even intended. Even risking Belle herself to get to me." She paused, hands dropping from her face and clenching. "And after what he did to you..?" That seemed to strike her heart sharper than any of the torn nerves of her past.
Hans' known freedom from incrimination suddenly became somehow even more unacceptable than thought humanly possible.
"We can't keep letting that bastard think he's won against us.."
Elsa let out the quietest growls from the back of her throat; so quiet that had the general Winters' household not been the naturally silent fortress it was, Anna easily would have missed it. She'd never witnessed such a protective aura exude from her partner. At least not at this magnitude. If Anna could place the expression using her layman's terms, Elsa was infuriated, remorseful and distraught all wrapped up in one.
Anna watched her uncertainly. "What can we even do at this point?"
The silent stare continued only moments longer before blonde tresses fell around the doll shaped face after she ran a hand through her bangs.
Honestly, Anna had no idea what to expect Elsa to say in that moment. But there was a fire crackling beneath the surface of the cold exterior that had befallen the woman. Even all these months later, the ordeal's memory still brought forth such visceral emotions.
Anna watched the fists clench to their tightest once more before releasing slightly. Yes. Ever controlled Elsa had reined in the maelstrom beneath her, but the glimmer in her eyes indicated it was far from extinguished. She was channeling. God, she was so incredibly good at that. If compartmentalizing was its own Olympic sport..
Through her wandering thoughts, Anna patiently stared as Elsa blinked with definitiveness. She waited on what words would come and break this silence.
"
Even though it was a breathless word, Anna felt her breath hitch. "What?"
"That's it," Elsa finally quietly stated, definitive, voice as hard as it was before when she exclaimed her inner thoughts at Anna's confession. "We're competing. And you'll show that damn fool that he messed with the wrong Double. We're going to show him the champion that you are." Her deep blue eyes shone with more determination than Anna had ever seen before; fire cracking to life inside them, like a blazing sun bursting over an ocean's horizon to dawn a new day. "I won't let anything stop us."
Neck craning back, blinking as she dealt with the sheer whiplash of the declarations, Anna searched for her voice. "Wait, what about the company?" Loathing to ask it, she had to be sure.
Elsa only firmed her jaw, look staid. "I've always done my hardest to please them, but it's never enough either way. What difference would this time make?" She shook her head, as if clearing any hopeless yearnings from her mind. Her lips were drawn straight as she stood taller. "If there's anything out there worth me laying all that on the line, it's for this. It's for redemption." Her blue eyes sparkled. "It's for you."
Anna's jaw fell agape at the words. She knew Elsa couldn't change things about the past situations now, but she could change the future. Together they could do something great, accomplish something greater and have the opportunity to live on in infamy together; crushing Hans' intention to hurt Elsa or to break them apart, destroying his own dreams of fame and fortune.
She felt her jaw tremble. "So, this means.."
"They may disown me, but.." Shaking her head, she firmed her resolve. "I can't run from this. Him. I won't." Elsa straightened her shoulders, locking eye contact with the smaller rower. "I'm going back to Arendelle. We're competing." She said those same words again, still conveying the utmost conviction. "And we're going to qualify."
With a bubbling grin of excitement, Anna reached a careful hand and placed it over the blonde's fist. Her now curious and excited eyes fell on Elsa's face. "Promise me, no more backing down, from here to the very end. Promise we do this together."
Her hand lay splayed, brushing over the other softly until Elsa's own relaxed. Somehow, their little fingers found one another, hooking tightly.
Elsa nodded, lifting their linked pinkies up to their eyes.
"I promise."
…
It was hands down the greatest bag packing scene of Anna's life getting to watch Elsa go through her things and pull out a few items that she had mentioned wanting to have back in Arendelle. Because they were going back together. Going home together. Never had she been more excited for an 8 hour drive in all of her life than right now.
"You're literally skipping," commented the blonde woman with a smile, two steps behind Anna as she hopped off the bottom step of the staircase. "I'm surprised you didn't just slide down the banister."
The beaming teenager spun around. "Tempting to get outta here even faster, I'll admit. But risking another stint on crutches? No thank you."
Elsa rolled her eyes but nodded in agreement with the supposition. "Impressive growth regarding your safety judgment." Anna laughed, nudging her partner in the arm. When they got to the door, Elsa opened it. "We'll load up the car and I'll pass a message to Ms. Cockers that we're-"
"Elsa?" Both girls stopped dead in their tracks in the doorway at the deep voice, bags hauled up and packed on their backs. The tall man was slowly approaching, eyes narrowed, scanning them. "What is going on, here?"
Anna felt the girl beside her stand a little taller with a slightly shaken breath exhaled.
"I.. I decided that I'm going back to Arendelle. And I'm going to compete." There was little tremble in the words once finding a pace, and Anna watched the athlete with a curious eye. The expression Elsa wore now was nothing like the demur and reticent one Anna had observed the other night, fielding all questions in a roundabout manner, never showing her true feelings behind a well-practiced façade of decorum. In its place, rather, was a face of resolute confidence.
Honestly, such firmness must have caught all of them a little off guard.
"We've already discussed this. You are to drop the ties with the Trade Center and start at our company immediately," he said, stepping forward to nearly tower over his daughter; his arms held behind his back, shoulders poised and steadfast. "It's time that you put that godforsaken rowing nonsense behind you once and for all."
Oh how Anna wanted nothing more than to bite at that line, again ready to stand up for the sport they both loved, but she managed to restrain herself, somehow. Elsa was always much more eloquent in her word selections anyway.
"I will not." Her words were stern, gaze as level as the older man's, a tiny tremor occurring in the fist closing at her side. "I'm going to continue with my 'nonsense' because right now, I have a shot at the Olympics; an actual chance at the most esteemed athletic title in the world." Her dad's jaw jutted sharply at the words though his expression and posture revealed nothing but the original abhorrent views of the scenario. But after the heavy silence following the declaration, although it could only be heard in the alto voice, there was an air of amusement. "Sure, it may have taken some support to come to that realization.." She glanced at the petite redhead beside her and Anna gave her a tiny nod in reassurance. She looked back. "But.. it was actually you who had always taught me to strive for greatness. And I deserve to take that chance now.. Sir."
Whoah. Whoah-ho-ho-ho. That was quite a sarcastic bite with that tone. Even Anna was a bit stunned at the amount of courage that must have taken.
The blonde reached down, hauling her bag over her shoulder, turning and walking past the smaller woman, heading out onto the porch. A voice spoke up.
"If you step out that door right now, Elsa-!" the older Winters warned lowly, voice sharp. "If you go on to tarnish our family name again, we are not going to be the ones to save you this time."
The words did their job, halting the tall rower. A long beat passed before the blonde looked over her shoulder, braid falling over her back in the motion while short loose strands fell over her face; downward gaze casting her face in a chilly shadow.
"I never needed saving the first time. I'm stronger than that, and you know it. It was all for you two; for the company." Her head turned forward again, a brief pause, voice coming out quieter. "All I had needed was for my family, for once, to just.. understand." With the soft word left hanging in the air, containing too many other meanings within it, she started walking again. Each step, precise, head held high; the exact posture bred into her since birth.
Mind nearly fritzing at the entire exchange, heart in her throat filled to the brim with pride, Anna wanted to jump in excitement for Elsa's stand; nerves buzzing with sheer elation to finally, finally, see the woman not back down from her parents' pressure. To stand up for herself and fight. Be heard. Ugh, she just wanted to go plant a kiss on that woman right this goddamned second!
The redhead broke her spell of watching that glorious moment for the blonde, sneaking a glance at the gentleman a few meters away, seeing how his frozen eyes were staring after the retreating body; expression still unreadable. But he then blinked, gaze turning toward Anna. She wanted to let out a squeak, somehow successfully stifling it, and she tried to pass off a nonchalant wave as she stepped out the door, hopeful to avoid any conversation born from the awkwardness.
"Anna."
But of course, Life's irony wouldn't spare her anything of the likes.
She froze, barely having her toe landing on the first step down. With a gulp, she turned her head around. No matter how much she hated this man's actions (and so many of his words), his body's overall aura still would leave even the bravest of military commanders shaking in intimidation.
"Y-yes?" she stuttered, brows quirked, curious.
His eyes left her for a long few seconds, looking past her again into the streaming daylight. Although just a miniscule difference, his words were softer than when he spoke to Elsa moments ago. And it was jarring enough for the redhead to blink, nearly ready to do a double take and question the words hanging in the air, trailing away with a tight, disheartened sigh.
"Please." He paused, long and metered; silence in thought taken for precision word selection. A trait shared with his daughter. "We just.." Another brief hesitation with the words, and then he let out a defeated sigh. "We don't want her fail."
The deep resonance weighted the voice; it weighted the words, emitting a somber air. As if there was something additional to say along with them, but nothing accusatory. Nothing belittling. Just something more about them.. Perhaps it was due to the similarities, running parallel to Elsa's own reflection last evening.
Yet the one thing that hung in the air, or lack thereof rather, stood out.. Replaying the sentence, over and over, silently, Anna noticed that she had been expecting a true mirror of Elsa's words. To confirm the negative view; a repeated failure at things, again and again, never to meet the family's highest set achievement bars.
But it wasn't there. Instead, it sounded like something else entirely.
Anna slowly sucked in a breath, gradually realizing the gravity of the statement; pieces upon pieces falling together into a puzzle shape that she had never considered.
This did not stand as a request, but an irrefutable order: to protect their daughter. A daughter not seen to repeatedly fail, but one that they couldn't bear to see do so at all; one they were willing to guard from a media onslaught at the expense of their family name. One who would be strong in face of adversity, knowledgeable and cultured well beyond her peers. One that they wanted to inherit a wealth, filled with pride and recognition, while not needing to suffer any lack of means in life.
A daughter that was a sheer chance, sheer miracle in their lives, too precious of a gift for them to want harmed or to experience hardships; so much so that they had organized her entire life to fit a perceived perfection.
Misguided in their means to accomplish these intentions? Undeniably so; practically locking her inside this plan, isolating her for fear of potential harms of the world, with no allowance to embrace nor express who she was. Emotional scars have since run deep, carved into the woman she loved most's heart; ones Anna had been exposed to and sought to comfort time and time again, bandaging where she could, being the supportive salve to reduce the pain that was untreatable.
But right now, being given this moment, even if only due to a father having reached his brink of emotional strength, she could feel the bit empathy growing in her heart.
His glaucous colored eyes closed, hands squeezed tight behind his back before turning on his heel and walking back into the dimly lit halls.
Not sure what he was expecting, it was probably along the lines of her scurrying out, but Anna wasn't about to leave it on that note alone. Not when the proud patriarch had spoken something like that, revealed a side that was evidently unaccustomed to such a prideful man, especially to a simple commoner who he'd known for not even a day.
"Wait," she said, obviously unexpectedly, but it was enough to stop him in his tracks, body still facing away. Anna swallowed, hands adjusting the bag in her hands to raise one up in a pumped fist. "I promise I won't let that happen, Sir. Ever."
In a partial glance back, not quite as much as Elsa's had been but containing all the same prideful essence that could only indicate blood-relation, the man nodded curtly, once. His voice was deep and carved with a solemn defeat. "See that it doesn't." Hands tightly clasped behind his back, he continued on his way.
Teal eyes following the man's slim back for an extended period, she turned to look out down the long walk-way again, watching as Elsa leaned against the hood of her car; back mirrored to the elder Winters'. With a little shrug to her lip, Anna pulled at the bag strap slung over her shoulder, heading out of the mansion. The recent words and her response were still bouncing in her mind.
I certainly won't let Elsa fail.. With each passing step, her heart beat the steadfast tempo along with her inner monologue. No. I'll do even more than that..
She stepped up alongside of the blue sedan, leaning in the reserved space at the blonde's side. Dark blue eyes, weary and saddened despite a half-hearted raised smile, glanced at her; apologetic. Anna shook her head, covering Elsa's hand with hers for a short time before the older woman seemed to relax and began to usher them both into the car with an air of lightness.
It brought a pure expression to her face as Anna slid in beside the brilliant woman. She knew she had made a lofty number of promises this day, but all of them she felt determined to keep. Will keep.
I will make sure that she wins.
-End Chapter 36-
So, I hope everyone liked the literary reference to all of the Winters' staff: Ms. Lady, Todd, Marie, Figaro, and Ms. Bellwether, who all happen to be animals.
Anyways, oye, this is officially the longest chapter to date O_O Next chapter we get to go back to more rowing competition stuff! Woohoo!
Alright everyone, we still got 6 chapters left to go to see what's in store for our lovely leading ladies. (may sound short, but at my length of writing, that's like 90k words still to go *dies*)
But as always, thanks for reading :)
