A/N - Okay, after this I really gotta pause on the updates bc I have assignments, and that Kristen Bell talk with Oprah tonight!
Apricot, Angelina38's prompt of exploring life during the separation (ranging from the first night to their parents death), and how Iduna and Agnarr handled the girls. and how Anna and Elsa coped with the separation has been made into a book called "A love That Could Hold Up The World" its about 3 chapters in atm, I have more ideas for later chapters :) (Edit; You just replied haha I'm gonna keep this up just in case anyone else was wondering. Not a hassle at all!)
Takes place after F1, before F2.
This is a mix of your prompts x
Parties, Elsa hated them. A gruelling couple of hours of pretending to enjoy talking to this many strangers. She didn't have an out, she couldn't just leave. What Elsa lacked in social skills, Anna made up for. She would dance around the room talking to anyone and everyone she could find, regardless of their status. And people couldn't help but fall in love with her, the way she so effortlessly broke the ice between strangers, how she was guaranteed to earn a smile from everyone in that room at least once. Music was playing, the hall was bustling with an aray of characters from Arendelle and beyond. Events like this, both sisters agreed it brought out a community spirit. It was imperative to stay grounded, and know how people were. Elsa and Anna wanted to be anything but throne-sitters who had no clue what the kingdom felt. On face value, it was a wonderful evening. She had been working on not focusing on the negatives, but some days that feeling sat in the pit of her stomach and wouldn't lay off. Some days Elsa knew it to be instinct, that something wasn't quite right.
Before The Thaw, her fear had been that people would discover her powers - that she would slip up, put her sister and Arendelle at risk. She conquered that fear when it actually happened, exposure therapy, am I right? But standing here now, with nothing much else to do, Elsa had settled into people-watching. She had always done it as a child, and it's how she learnt the art of conversation. Though, the people outside her door and around the Castle mostly discussed current affairs and other boring stuff. So, she didn't learn loads. She couldn't keep people entertained like Anna could, at best she listened and answered appropriately, even if it took a minute to think of what to say.
So whilst everything seemed.. perfect. Elsa knew that it wasn't. The gates were open, and that was amazing. Anna was on the moon to have so many people on the grounds, as she titled a "welcoming committee", embracing them back into regular life. Elsa on the other hand, viewed it differently. At first, she put it down to mere curiosity. The gates had been shut for years with no explanation, of course it was a huge event that everyone wanted to partake in. The majority wanted to marvel at The Queen who could create ice sculptures at will. Others came along to decide for themselves if Elsa was still a threat.
After the initial shock, she saw the conversation shift. Once they were over Elsa's performance of grand ice creations, their attention turned to putting the pieces together. The odd side-eye, the hushed whispers whenever she walked past them. Not everybody was a friend. Not everyone believed Anna. Arendelle may have celebrated with her when she brought back summer, but it didn't change the fact that the winter was caused due to her
Everyone wants to pull apart the history of her family and figure out where and when it all began.
They would reminisce over the first time ringing in the season was cancelled, orchestrating a timeline of where things began to fall apart.
Elsa became a mystery that everyone wanted to solve.
Being Queen, there was almost a sense of entitlement in Arendelles people. That they had a right to know how all those years with closed gates were spent. Public Knowledge, that's what it soon became defined as. Her pain, the past that she was trying so hard to leave behind, was being dug up and examined by strangers she didn't know.
They had done it to Anna, also. Elsa's absence at the funeral led to a multitude of questions. They'd callously throw statements around, "Elsa isn't with you? It must be difficult not having her support, Princess." anything to dig up dirt between to the two of them, any means of forcing a reply that may indicate to a troubled home life that could explain what they were seeing in front of them. Anna stayed silent through it all, gritting her teeth. They needed support then more than ever, she couldn't risk ruining a relationship with superiors or other countries.
It was tragedy.
Everyone wanted to look at someone who that has happened to.
Everyone just wants to watch, and stare.
Judging every choice you make, wondering if just perhaps there's a root to it all. Every thing you say, every movement, every expression - there's a reason for it and they will stop at nothing to know what. The world is a stage, and Arendelle invited themselves to be the audience. Writing the script themselves to coincide with each act and event that they happened to attend.
Try as she might to not give anything away, The Queen's stiff, methodical composure was alluded to be a response to her trauma. Any shortcomings they felt she had was quickly accompanied with an excuse, before she even had a chance to explain. I suppose you wouldn't know better as you spent so long in isolation. The comparison between her and Anna stung the most, worlds apart Anna was a social butterfly, Elsa was not. That was the way it had always been, even before the separation. Anna was always the sister working overtime to coax Elsa to do some crazy idea. Elsa, was simply along for the ride. Yes, she was in pain. How could she not be? But it didn't define her as some Arendelle townspeople believed. It wasn't an explanation to every move she made. Her world didn't revolve around that. In relation to Anna, they would suggest that perhaps Anna was not grieving her parents as much as she should. That the stark difference between her and Elsa meant that she was spoiled, or ignorant.
Her instinct was quickly proven to be correct. Elsa could feel her skin crawl as some nearby attendees suggested that perhaps Anna and Elsa weren't close. Building on the story, Elsa listened intently.
"The Princess can't get further away from The Queen if she tried, she'll talk to anyone but her." One man grumbled, gesturing towards the crowded hall.
She tried to stifle a scowl, biting her tongue hard. If only they knew, that Anna practically smothered her whenever they were alone. They are sisters, they didn't have to prove it time and time again to people.
"Look at her, The Queen, she's so cold and distant. The poor Princess is trying to salvage this party." Another noted. She felt eyes land on her, the side of her face burning in their gaze.
She tried to focus on Anna, the younger sister wearing a huge smile on her face as she slowly circled the room, making conversation with as many people as possible. A magnetic spirit, there was one certainty that Elsa leaned into. People loved Anna. They looked to her in time of crisis for compassion. In a way, she had become a part of everyone's family. Frequently updated on milestones of children, deaths, and achievements. She truly was the people's Princess, extending her hand as often as possible to be involved in their lives, taking notes of what she could do to make it better.
The sister who could do no wrong. A sparkle in her eye that never faded, the epitome of all that was joy. Anna waved from across the room enthusiastically, before bounding across the hardwood floor to Elsa. Out of breath, she flopped in half staring at the floor inhaling as much air as she could. "Don't dance with the guy in heels, he's handsy." Anna laughed, returning to be eye-level with Elsa. "What's up?"
The ringing in the air wasn't going away, and the hairs on the back of her neck were still shot. They were still talking. Gossiping. Deducing ludicrous things as if she wasn't standing right there. Outside of all the shit that they were talking, at the very least it was disrespectful. She wanted to throw them out, go back to the chambers and scrawl their name from any list of people to invite for the future.
"Hmm?" Elsa's eyes flickered back to Anna, who was looking at her questionably.
"You look unhappy." Anna stated, her eyes briefly scanning the party. On the ball, that's who Anna was. She was already devising a rescue mission for Elsa to free her from this social hell if necessary, looking over the crowd trying to evaluate if the two could escape for a few minutes unnoticed.
"I don't like parties." Elsa's face softened, the tension in her shoulders slightly alleviating. Her sister was beside her, that's all she ever wanted.
Anna crossed her arms, tilting her head knowingly. "No... it's more than that.". With a glint in her eye and a smirk on her face, Anna laughed "You're rocking a very serious face right now." Waving up and down Elsa's face. "So, you don't have to tell me." She shrugged, "but this frown you got going is gonna give you wrinkles!" Anna noted, turning back towards the party. Pretending not to notice Elsa's face squirming as she tried to think of what to say.
"Who we are, days like this. It just feels like an invitation for pain" Elsa murmured quietly.
Anna's eyes widen, and she spins to Elsa, concern flushed across her face. "What? How do you mean?" She asks discreetly. Elsa clears her throat to signal Anna to the couple couple approaching them. Straightening, Anna plastered on a smile.
"Princess, the dancefloor is empty without you!" The woman says enthusiastically, her husband quickly nodding beside her.
"Oh! I saw your moves out there! Make it your own!" Anna laughs, waving her wrist down. " I'll be down soon!" She assures. The couple smiled, before leaving.
"You were saying?" Anna's eye's landed back on her sister.
"I don't like all this attention, Anna." Elsa said quietly, her face growing warm in embarrassment.
"What's brought this on?" Anna asked, she wanted to hug Elsa. So badly. But it felt inappropriate in this setting.
It was this question that worried Anna more, Elsa stayed silent, biting her lip nervously. Her eye's darting around the room to focus on anything but the question.
"Okay, it's okay." Anna rested her hand on Elsa's arm. "We won't talk here.", the elder sister nodded in agreement. "Can it wait?" Anna asked gently.
"Yes" Elsa confirmed, she could do this. She had survived every social occasion so far. They were never paradise, she had practise in enduring situations that didn't benefit her. "You should get back out there." Elsa said. Thinking like a Queen, if she detached herself from it all it worked. They had to save face, and the guests were missing Anna.
"Okay, I'll see you soon." Anna said hesitantly, as she took weak steps forward towards the party. "If you need me, I'm not far." Her eyes locked to Elsa intently.
Elsa mustered up a smile, hoping to throw off the pair that had been watching her through it all. Their snide remarks found no rest, and she didn't want to feed them any new material. Though they hadn't talked, Anna's visit still served useful. Elsa made a conscious effort of toning down her bitch-face, purposefully giving a gentle wave and smile to anyone who made eye contact with her. Perhaps she should have mingled. Standing there, listening to them drone on about a life they had no business of commenting on was making her blood boil. But Elsa knew better, joining the crowd now after Anna's just spoken to her would be headline news: The Princess lectures The Queen on her lack of effort. So she would grin and bare it. Blood would have to be drawn from biting her tongue before she would shift. The other option, was to eliminate the source.
She pondered over it. No, she couldn't make a scene. That would be far from royal. Equally, she was The Queen. She could have them removed. But that would only spin new tales of idiocy.
She settled for making conversation, down a distant hallway where if things did get out of hand, the aftershock would be limited to them.
She approached carefully, and quietly, hoping to not make her presence known until the last second, She wanted to catch every drop of lies that spilled from their mouths.
"Good evening." She smiled. Anna would lead with love. She could do the same.
"Your majesty.." One man stood stiff, elbowing the other hastily it lead to the second man choking on his drink, couching and spluttering.
"How are you enjoying the party?" She asked. Un-phased by the emotional chaos she had clearly thrown onto them, she enjoyed it, to see them quiver and back-track. They wrangled with the surprise of being face to face with the person that had patronised, struggling to slap on a smile.
"It's wonderful, really." The second man croaked, clumsily wiping remnants of his drink from his chin. Ah yes, the false niceties.
"I'm sure." Elsa said, giving the gentlest of nods. "I couldn't help but hear some of what you were saying." She looked the duo dead in the eye, wanting this to sting. "I'm not certain you're in a position to be passing judgement as you have been, especially to my sister."
Tension continued to rise, she had successfully placed both men on edge of a cliff they couldn't walk back from.
"You are a public figure ma'am, judgement is part of the job." He shrugged.
"It matters when it's factually incorrect. I have no issue with opinion." Elsa said sternly, she would not be reduced to someone unable to take criticism. She was in fact, a master of it.
"Ma'am, people have questions. Questions you've refused to answer." The other man challenged.
"Questions I refused to answer as it was nothing more than prying." Elsa fired back, "I may be Queen, but I don't have to offer up every detail of my life. Nor do I have to give you answers to appease conspiracy." This wasn't going as she hoped. She just wanted an apology, to extinguish any gossip. But with each passing second it was becoming more apparent that this was going to backfire.
Anna came skidding down the hallway, wearing a worried look. "Is everything okay?" Anna asked. A private conversation where nobody looked happy, that couldn't have been good.
"We were just leaving." One of the men said, exchanging a glance with the Queen, and then Anna. She felt defeated, her interrogation cut short. Elsa sighed pressing her fingers to her temples.
"What was that about?" Anna furrowed her brows, looking back down the corridor that led to the party. The music humming through the walls, it was a nice break to have some quiet.
There was no use in explaining that to the men, and perhaps Arendelle, that they appeared distant. It was barbaric, she was secure in the knowledge that Anna loved her. So instead, she followed doubt. Opening her heart, hoping Anna would prove them wrong. Because, she couldn't. She had wracked her brain trying to disprove what they said, but instead she just stumbled into reason upon reason as to why they were right. If that comment had substance, how much else did? It wasn't all created from thin air.
"Among other things, they said I was cold and distant." Elsa cringed at the words. They reminded her of who she was when she built her ice castle. It was intentional, by any means. But she had pushed people away. She had tried to be alone.
"Well that doesn't make any sense." Anna's face scrunched into a grimace. "That's not who you are, at all." Anna scoffed in a disbelieving laugh. As far as she was concerned, this statement had no leg to stand on. It was way out of the ballpark. Elsa didn't return her energy, instead she continued to stand and pout. Almost on the verge of tears, she looked sadly into Anna's eyes.
"Wait, Elsa? You don't believe that, right?" Anna panicked, a singular tear rolling down Elsa's cheek was her answer. "Elsa..." She breathed, pulling her into a hug. "You're not seriously gonna believe two old men we don't know, are you?" She whispered, stroking Elsa's hair. "We are currently hugging, you're definitely not cold, and we most certainly aren't distant." Anna laughed.
"That's not what they meant -" Elsa started, breaking the hug.
"You told me what was wrong. You aren't any kind of distant." Hastily, Anna told sincerely. "We know each other inside out, you're my sister."
There was a vulnerable silence, before Anna concluded Elsa wasn't going to continue. "What else did they say?"
"It's not just them, Anna." Elsa asserted, shaking her head. The only other that they had said was bullshit. "It's everyone." Elsa sighed, tiredly rubbing her eyes. "We went from the gates being closed to this." She gestured down the hallway to where the party continued.
"It was quite a jump" Anna agreed. She had been so excited, and she still loved it, even with it's downsides.
"Since this started, everyone's felt the need to say what they think. About the gates being closed, our parents, my powers. There isn't a part of our lives that they haven't thumbed through." Elsa explained. "I just wish I could be left alone."
Outside of the conspiracies, it was apparent that people believed they knew Elsa and Anna because they saw them frequently. It was bizarre to hear strangers tell her stories about her parents as if they were part of the family. Saying how much they missed and loved them. On one occasion, shortly after the memorial, Elsa received a letter from a crazed person. They wrote to tell her that they were going to venture out to the sea and recover their bodies, to provide them with a proper burial. It had been difficult enough as it was to accept that her parents weren't home, that engraved stones were all they could offer. But this, it was an invasion of her grief, no matter how well intentioned. She never did hear back from them, and hoped not to.
"It's difficult, Elsa. I know." Anna said sympathetically. "There is so much good that comes with this role too." She assured, looking deeply into Elsa's eyes. "Let people say what they want to say, we know the truth. That's all that matters."
"Do is not bother you?" Elsa asked surprised, "The way people look at us. All they see is dead parents and the sisters who were locked away from the world."
"It's still a part of who we are" Anna said wryly. "Not entirely, of course. I just try to show that there's more to me than that." Anna explained. And now it made sense, Anna was actively working on shifting focus from it, everyday. And now Elsa felt guilty. She wasn't certain that keeping as far away as she could was working. "Anyway, telling them otherwise doesn't work. Believe me, I've tried." She had been patronised any time she went anywhere without Elsa, they questioned whether they were still close as sisters, if they had had a fight. They told her it wasn't healthy to lie to herself and pretend that Elsa was supportive. Her absence came with scrutiny, to both sisters. That Anna hadn't tried hard enough to get Elsa out. That maybe, Elsa didn't love her parents. It was like fighting a brick wall.
"Elsa, don't change yourself for them." Anna said sincerely. "They'll find something, they always will." She warned. "They can exhaust themselves reading into everything we do for all I care." Taking a deep breath, she looked over Elsa, the sister still looked to be thinking intently. It wasn't that simple, she wasn't by any means as carefree as Anna.
"Do you feel better?" Anna asked warily.
She hated how their tragic family history became a source of entertainment. So often underestimated, Anna really began to understand The Heir and The Spare, she found herself constantly having to prove herself to people that shouldn't matter. But appearances mattered. Their roles dictated that.
"A little." Elsa replied. But she would never be 100% okay with any of this. So it was the best she could manage.
"What do you say we go back out there?" Anna extended her hand, which Elsa gratefully took. "I pack a pretty mean punch, you know?" Anna threw out into the air, "Next time someone degrades you like they did, come get me." Anna smirked mischievously.
A/N - This might be the longest one-shot I've ever wrote. Damn, well done if you made it this far!
Some additional notes :
Bring Her Home isn't finished! I said it was ending soon, there's still a good few chapters left I need to write. But we are coming to a conclusion.
A reminder that one of the prompts from this was turned into a book, called A Love That Could Hold Up The World, I'm very proud of the story, I really enjoy writing it.
Unrelated, I'm considering joining Frozen twitter.
I have a huge assignment due in a week and I'm behind, so I'll be focusing on that. I hope this nearly 4K chapter, (and the 3 chapters I uploaded in the past 3 days for ALTCHUTW, BHH, and this) suffices for now!
Thank you for all the love you continue to show me. I'm so glad people enjoy reading my stories. I got a review yesterday for Death Takes A Sister, a story I completed a few weeks ago, and it made me smile to know people are still reading that and Falling Into Darkness