A Blue Moon In Your Eyes
Chapter 5
Knock Knock Kno-Knock Knock
Anna did her signature knock on her sister's door. She was worried when Elsa didn't show up for breakfast today. Gerda said that she didn't eat this morning. She had the familiar feeling of this silence after the knock. She tried again knocking at her sister's door. "Elsa? Are you in there?", she asked through the door. She was answered by silence again. She opened her sister's door to double check the room.
But to her surprise Elsa's room was colder than usual. Worry flooded over her. She went further in to find out the source of this coldness. And there beside the queen sized bed, there was a slumped figure, trembling like a leaf. "Elsa!" Anna flung towards her sister and bent down to hold her.
Elsa snapped open her eyes when she felt Anna's warm hands over her shoulder. "Wh-what are you doing?! Stay back Anna! You'll get hurt!" Elsa curled up towards her, tucking her hands in. Anna looked at her with sympathy. She knew what would happen if she made her sister more tense. But she could never leave her like this.
"I am not leaving you like this. You are hurting Elsa!" And again she made an attempt to touch her. But Elsa flinched away from the touch. She made a mental note not to touch her sister at least for a few minutes until after she is calm. She searched around to find the cause of her sister's state. She saw her parent's portrait lying on the cold floor. But this day was not their parent's anniversary.
She moved slowly towards her trembling sibling. "Elsa, they are proud of you, you know." She regretted saying that when she saw her sister's tears fell down her rosy cheeks. She moved her hands towards her sister to wipe them away. But then again Elsa moved away from her. "D-Don't touch me A-Anna. I-I'm cold." Her voice quivered with fear and Anna could swear that she could hear the 'conceal don't feel' nonsense coming out from Elsa's mouth. Anna breathed out through her nose.
She stood up from where she was squatting down and went over her sister's bed. She took out the heavy white blanket that was spread over the queen's bed and wrapped it around her sister, making it look like a cocoon. After gazing at her handiwork with a smile, she wrapped her arms around her.
She felt Elsa stiff at that contact. "Anna- " "You are not cold Elsa. You are wrapped in a warm blanket." She tightened her arms around her. "But the room is-"
"Who cares. The cold doesn't bother me now."
"Anna please stay away." But Anna wouldn't relent. She held her and felt her sister's anxious breaths on her neck. "Elsa, do you remember the first time we made Olaf?" Anna asked her, desperately trying to calm her sister down. When Elsa tried to break free, she went near her right ear. "Do you remember how happy we were when you built him?" She whispered, her voice soft making her trembling partner relax a bit. "What does he like, Elsa?" She looked at her sister. "What does he like the most?"
Elsa's eyes were downcast. But Anna lifted her chin to make eye contact. "What does he like, Elsa?" She asked her once again. "Warm hugs?" Elsa answered with an uncertain voice. "Good girl! And why does he love warm hugs?" Anna wiped the tears away from her sister. Elsa sniffled, her eyes knitted together, thinking of her answer.
"Because we do?" Anna smiled at that. "Of course we do. We love warm hugs don't we?" Anna hugged the young queen once again. This time she was relieved when the room was a little warm again. Elsa buried her face against Anna's neck, tranquill. "Thank you Anna." Anna patted her sister's head. "Don't mention it." She looked at her sister, whose head was the only thing visible from the cocoon. Anna chortled at that.
"What?", Elsa asked, completely confused.
"Oh nothing." She laughed. "You look funny. More like a snowman...or a snow woman?. The only thing we need now is a carrot nose." Elsa blushed. "I do not."
"Oh sis but you do. I'm bringing Olaf here." Elsa freed herself from the warm blanket and caught her sister's arm. "Don't you dare."
"Aww. Why did you put that away?" Anna pouted. Elsa just shook her head with an amusing smile. Anna noticed that Elsa hadn't changed her nightgown. She looked like she just woke up. Her hair was messy, her eyes tired. "Elsa when did you wake up? Are you telling me that I woke up before you?! This is a world record!" Anna jumped with joy.
Elsa chuckled. "I decided to sleep in since I don't have much work today."
"You don't have much work today? Then her Majesty is requested to spend this wonderful day with her Highness and enlighten her with love and affection." Anna raised both eyebrows at her dear sister, eagerly waiting for a good answer. "I didn't say that I don't have any work today." Anna pouted. "But it will be my duty to honour her Highness with love and affection. Not just today, everyday whenever she asks me for one." Elsa winked at her.
Anna smiled wider than ever. She hugged her with all her might, crushing her sister . "Thank you sooo much sis. Okay so here is our schedule for today." Elsa just listened to her with a laugh. "After finishing your breakfast, you, me and Olaf are going downtown. Since Kristoff and Sven are busy with the ice harvesting and everything, sadly we cannot include them today and I will be your tour guide! And the weather is absolutely perfect for a picnic. Oh! And we can ask Gerda to pack chocolates for our trip, since it is very necessary for us. And we'll meet everyone and say hi… aand." She paused to think more for this picnic they are going to. "And we'll visit Britnie's house."
"Why Britnie's house?" Elsa asked after listening to her little sister's so-called 'schedule'.
"You don't know? They just welcomed a new little fellow to their family. And they would be happy to see you. And then we can return home and you ought to tell me a bedtime story. And then… we sleep."
"Then when am I supposed to do my work?"
"Don't care about that. You could just reschedule or postpone it."
"Reschedule or postpone? Anna-"
Knock-Knock "Your Majesty?" Gerda's voice made the two siblings turn to the door. "Come in Gerda." Elsa answered. The door opened with a creak. Gerda stepped in with a tray of breakfast and tea. "Good morning." The siblings greeted her. Gerda greeted them back with a smile. After placing the tray on the table, she curtsied and left them.
Elsa turned her head back to her sister. But before she could open her mouth Anna shushed her with her index finger. "Shush now. Go get dressed like a good girl and eat. We have so many things to do."
Anna pushed her sister into the restroom and sat on the bed with the tray before her.
Elsa came out a few minutes later and sat beside Anna. Elsa shared her breakfast with her sister as she knew Anna was a bottomless pit when it comes with food. Anna, after finishing it, laid her head on Elsa's shoulder and relaxed when she started stroking her hair.
"Anna? Are you falling asleep on me?" Elsa asked, looking down at her sister.
"It is not my fault when you are making me sleepy.", she mumbled.
"And what of your schedule today, your highness?"
Anna didn't say a word. Instead she pulled Elsa down with her. "What are you doing?"
"I'm trying to sleep. And you are sleeping with me too."
"Annaa." Elsa groaned. "I have work to do." Anna looked at her with pleading eyes. "Please Elsa. Just this once. Pleasee?"
Elsa sighed, how could she say no to her sister like that? "Okay." She whispered and cuddled with her sister. They didn't care about the tray that lay beside the bed. They didn't care about that day's plan. They just cuddled there, under the blanket and succumbed to sleep. Anna smiled thanking her sister for this warmth and love.
Warmth and love. Something she couldn't get right now. Lying on Elsa's bed, hugging her pillow, burying her nose with it, she couldn't get them. Elsa was not with her right now.
A week has passed. No sign of her sister. A week has passed. Still she still couldn't get enough sleep. She never liked to be lonely. She wondered how Elsa felt for thirteen years like this.
I was okay with that Anna. It was familiar to me. Loneliness was a part of my life. Don't worry about that. I have you now. Her sister said once. She sighed deeply, never letting go of the pillow.
"It's nice to lay like this in Elsa's bed doesn't it." A voice startled her. She turned her wide eyes to the sound coming from behind. "Oh my goodness Olaf! Don't scare me like that." She sat up.
"I'm sorry. I miss her." Olaf went and hugged Anna. Anna's heart melted at that. "I miss her too Olaf." Anna sighed. Olaf was always a zestful one. She loved his bond, he shayad with Elsa. She would often find them on Elsa's study, reading something together, sharing stories of their own or snoring on the study with Olaf curled into her sister.
She was not always patient like Elsa who would answer every silly question that came out from him. Olaf loved to spend time with her, whenever she would go to town or when playing games. But with Elsa he was really different. He observed every word she spoke. He would hold her hand whenever they went in a crowd. And not just him, Marshmallow and snowgies loved seeing their creator. She nearly had a heart attack, when she saw marshmallow hug Elsa with his big arms.
"Olaf? Can you sense Elsa somehow? Like where she is and how she feels right now?" Olaf looked at her. His face scrunched while thinking for an answer. "I don't know. But I am happy when Elsa is happy." Olaf smiled.
"Soo are you happy or sad right now?" She waited for him to answer.
"I'm so sad. Cause I miss her so much. But I was happy yesterday with Sven when he read me a bedtime story." He giggled. This made Anna worry. Was Elsa safe wherever she was? What if she was injured somehow?
"Have you seen Kristoff or Sven?" Olaf asked, making Anna look at him. "I don't know. What time is it?" She looked for the table clock. It was half past six. "Where are Kristoff and Sven?" Olaf giggled. "I just asked you the same question Anna."
Where is he? She went over the window bay and looked down at the stables. But instead of Kristoff or Sven, she saw two of the soldiers come running in. She soon recognized that they were Mattias' men.
She ran as quick as flash and pushed the door, nearly knocking the head servant. "I'm so sorry Kai! Are you hurt?"
"It's alright Your Majesty. I'm guessing you already know what the matter is." He smiled at her, rubbing his aching head.
"Yes…. Are you sure you're okay? I pushed it really- oh my god your head is swollen!" She cried out.
"It's alright. Besides, they are waiting for you, my queen. Should I arrange a council meeting mam?", he asked the flapping woman.
"No Kai, I don't want the council to know about this. Can you call Mattias there? ." She replied scratching her chin.
"As you wish."
"You called, Your Majesty." Mattias came in, his steps were stiff and his hands folded in his back.
"Mattias, finally! Where were you anyway? I'm stuck here with these 'mysterious fantasies'!" Anna exclaimed. He went in to find Anna sitting on a chair cross legged with a pencil and a paper in her hand.
He lifted his head up to find two soldiers sitting in front of Anna. He raised his eyebrow at them. "It's okay Mattias. I asked them to sit down a bit. Gosh! You should have seen them, they looked grim and hideous…… No offense."
"We don't mind Your Majesty. We look hideous anyway.", one of the men replied. Mattias looked down at the table in front of him. He noticed a strange object which almost looked like a sickle but bigger in size.
He cleared his throat. "Mind my asking Your Majesty. What are these?" He gestured to the table in front of him. "And what are you scribbling there?" He bent forward for a better look.
Anna, who was so distracted with her work there, couldn't catch his question correctly. "What? Oh this? I'm trying to picture the building they told me."
"Building?"
"Yes…. Just a minute. I'll finish it right now." Her pencil stroked across the paper, drawing curves. It looked elegant and graceful unlike her Majesty. He looked impressed. After finishing it, she straightened her shoulders with a proud smile.
"That was quite impressive, your majesty. It looks very real like the photograph we have now." He chuckled.
"Yeah. I have a lot of hidden talents you know? I just dont use them most of the time."
"What more do you have, your majesty?"
"I don't know?"
Mattias looked at her confused. "Why?"
Anna had a bemused smile. "Because they are hidden?"
The two soldiers laughed at this. Just then someone knocked on the door. "Come in Gerda!" Anna called her in. The maid servant had a tray with four cups of tea on it. She placed them on the table white Anna went and fetched a chair for Mattias. "Thanks Gerda." Anna smiled at her.
After insisting Mattias to sit down, Anna offered him tea. "Okay. So let's continue the things you found out so far." Anna said as she sipped her tea. "Let's start from the beginning so Mattias can understand more.", Anna said as the soldiers opened their mouths.
"Of course my queen. As General Mattias told us, Lieutenant Winfield and our crew started searching for your sister. And firstly we went to the north mountain, cause you know, her highness often goes there."
"Uh huh." Anna nodded.
"We found nothing but a giant snowman and a bunch of tiny snowmen there. And so we decided to go north. We found nothing for three days. Then we decided to split into two groups. One went north east and the other the north west. We took the west and the Lieutenant accompanied us."
"And who led the other group?" Mattias asked them. "Corporal Steve, sir." Mattias nodded to them to continue.
"When we crossed the Northuldra, we saw that mysterious building." All eyes turned to the rough sketch of the queen. "It was built at the edge of a cliff. We couldn't picture it correctly since it was dark."
"It looks like a skull somehow." Anna observed.
"Yes your majesty. But when we went in it looked more deadly. Skeletons welcomed us in the entrance. But when we went in, we saw a room colder than usual."
"We went in to see that the room was covered with ice. The farther we got, we saw the broken walls and… dead men." Anna's eyes twitched. "The end of the room was broken and we realized that it was the end of the cliff."
"Spears and swords were scattered across the room. But this." He pointed the curved weapon. "This made us more curious."
"Indeed. Never in my life have I ever seen this kind of weapon." Mattias took it in his hands. "It is not that heavy." He mused.
"It reminds me of the sickle." Anna told him. "It does, doesn't it?" He placed it back on the table. "And what of that locket?"
"That locket had an unknown language printed on it." He answered.
Anna recognized that. It was the same language that was written on the paper she found on mother and father's ship. She opened it to see a small bit of paper fall down on the floor. "Sarah?" She read the word written on the paper. Those letters were fluent and individual. She could recognize them somehow. She knew whose it was. "This is Elsa's handwriting." She whispered.
But Mattias' ears heard that whisper. He observed the printed letters on it. "This is Northuldren, your majesty."
"What else did you find?", Mattias asked them. "That's everything. We said everything we saw, sir."
There was a pin drop silence. Mattias turned his head to Anna, who was busy observing the bit of paper. "Your Majesty." Anna turned her head to him. "I'm getting a hint that these people are different from us."
"Honeymaren told me that these people perform black magic."
"And what else did she say?"
"Honeymaren and Ryder came here the other day. They told me that they suspect that it was those people. They said that they were removed from the community because of their evil deeds, fifty years ago."
"I have never seen Northuldra performing black magic or using these kinds of weapons. I think there are some more things we need to know. We need more details about these people."
"Maybe we could ask them to come over and get more details about them?" Anna suggested.
"Yes mam, and I could ask someone to investigate this weapon here. It might give us some clues."
Anna nodded. This made her mind even more troubled. Sarah. Who was she anyway? And why would her sister write this name on it?
"You just get some rest, your majesty. We'll figure everything out tomorrow." He stood up and offered a hand to her.
"And we don't want a sleepy queen to work tomorrow." Anna chuckled. She sighed and took his hand and stood up. She bid them good night but doubted that she would have one.