Chapter 1 (re-started)
I had to re-do chapter one (and didn't know how to just edit it), but I didn't realize what kind of confusion I was walking into when I thought of writing a Frozen modern AU in Norway, so I had to switch it to setting it in the US. (If I'd done the Netherlands, people might be like, "ya know it's based off of Norway, right, not the Netherlands?")
I realized that not only is the foster system controversial there (or was in 2018, at least) but there's an important thing in Norwegian culture called janteloven. I don't know how to write with that in mind yet, so to continue this story with themes that I really want to express, I'll switch the setting. I'm kind of sad, but this way, I'll feel more free to go deeper into the heavy stuff.
In Anna's short life, the let-down from her parents hadn't really been a large fall, but the let-down from Elsa had been enough to make her feel like she was going down a huge, scary slide. She couldn't remember her first days with her foster family, Papa Agnarr and Mama Iduna and Elsa, because she had only been three at the time, but she remembered clearly how Elsa always made Anna feel right at home; like Anna belonged.
Elsa was eighteen when young Anna arrived, and in the beginning, whenever Elsa was home, they seemed inseparable. Sometimes, they would play made-up games or Elsa would act out fairy tales forever. Sometimes they would act them out together.
They especially bonded over winter and snowmen, and would play outside in the snow together. Or, when there wasn't snow, they would make a pretend winter indoors with white and blue blankets and towels, paper snowflakes all colored in, and cups of ice.
Together they might go on a snowy adventure or have royal dance parties with Anna's stuffed animals.
Anna's favorite beyond favorite memory was getting Olaf from Elsa.
Flashback
She noticed that Elsa had been working on some sort of secret sewing project in the evenings when Anna was already in bed or in the mornings before she woke up. Then one evening, she and Elsa made another "magic winter" in the living room, but it was dark out and instead of turning on the lights, Elsa brought out a chord of little blue lights. Anna's eyes were wide with wonder.
"Oh! It's magic!" she exclaimed happily.
The fun didn't stop there.
"And now with my magic..." Elsa began.
She rattled a small wristband of bells with one hand, and gently shook the chord of lights, before placing something soft on the floor.
"Do you wanna help me build this snowman?"
And by that she meant, lift the soft item up so that it was standing upright.
So Anna lifted the soft item and saw that it was Elsa's sewing project; a stuffed snowman, almost the same height as Anna.
His body looked like it was made of two pieces, but it was one pocket of stuffing, with the head and little feet sown to the body as separate pockets of stuffing. He had two eyes with black pupils. Little "sticks" were on his head, even two "twig" eyebrows, and he also had "stick" arms with branchy fingers.
An orange "carrot" nose, shaped with a bit of a hook to add to his silly persona, was sewn to his head. Black dyed cotton balls were sewn to his stomach.
Elsa even went as far as to give him a wide smile and on top, front tooth. She held the snowman's little twig arms and put on a different voice.
"Hi! I'm Olaf and I like warm hugs!"
"I love you, Olaf!" Anna snuggled Olaf close and smiled sweetly at Elsa.
They continued to dance together with Olaf and play games in the "snow."
End of flashback
Back in the present, Anna was carrying a little basket with Dr. Pepper, a package of Oreos (with Nutella, of course), and the gift she made for Elsa. Thinking back to the memory of Olaf helped her suddenly realize something. Elsa didn't just have very sad feelings inside, like Papa Agnarr explained to Anna the other day, but she must also feel guilty about the accident that one time.
The memory of that "wintry" night started off as a fun memory, but even for Anna it had a miserable ending. Their dancing had turned into a playful chase, and before long, the laughing stopped.
Anna tripped over a wrinkled blanket and hit her head on the corner of the coffee table. She remembered that her head really hurt, but she hardly cried because she knew that Elsa was the best person to help her since she was going to learn in school how to be a doctor for kids.
Elsa had helped clean the cut which made it sting and was not fun, but she praised Anna for being so brave and she kept apologizing.
Anna was also beginning to remember how angry Papa Agnarr and Mama Iduna had been with Elsa for playing such wild games inside.
What made that memory miserable for her, was not how much it had hurt her head, but how it changed Elsa. She stopped making magical winters inside, which Anna felt she could live with, but she stopped playing with her all together.
At first, Elsa at least spoke kindly to Anna, although more distant than in the beginning, but then Elsa began staying in her room whenever she was home.
No matter how often Anna would knock on Elsa's door to invite her to build a snowman, Elsa would either ask her to leave or not respond at all.
Everything made sense now! A friend in her class made another boy fall on the playground, and at first she felt so guilty that she didn't want to be around the boy. Maybe that same guilt was what made Elsa stop playing with Anna.
Now, armed with the answers and a present for Elsa, Anna was ready to go and talk to her. She practically skipped up the stairs, but stopped abruptly.
She could see through the slightly opened bathroom door that Elsa was fiddling with something.
"Elsa!" she called. As she approached the door, which she was so surprised to find open, she jumped when Elsa slammed a cabinet shut.
"Anna!" She looked panicked. But quickly she calmed down again. "What are you doing here?" That was a strange question since the hallway and the upstairs bathroom were for everyone in the house.
"I came to surprise you with a present." She shook off her surprise. "What's wrong? Are you looking for medicine?" Anna guessed Elsa was sick because she continued to shake a little.
"Actually I was looking for...this." She held up a note and then tucked it away in her pocket. "And you're right. I've been feeling a little sick."
"Oh! Oh! Then I can be your doctor! Look, I brought you Dr. Pepper and yummy Oreos and Nutella. And this," she smiled brightly.
With bewildered eyes, Elsa slowly took the gift that Anna made, and discovered that it was a small origami Olaf that she must have learned how to make at school.
"Olaf?" Elsa's voice was soft with astonishment.
"That's right! Olaf!" Anna remembered. She giggled sheepishly, "I almost forgot his name." Since Elsa still wasn't saying anything, Anna began to fidget with her braids.
"Anna..." thankfully, she broke the silence. "You made me this? A-and you used your snack and drink choice for me?"
Whenever Anna went with Papa Agnarr or Mama Iduna shopping, they would let her pick out a treat and a drink for herself. This time, Anna chose what Elsa liked, and although she enjoyed those snacks too, these ones were for Elsa.
"I thought you were mad at me for ignoring you. Why would you do this for me?"
There was no hesitation, as she put the basket down, took Elsa's hand, and gave her the innocent, loving smile of an adoring child, like her heart was somehow too great for her little body.
"I love you."
Elsa dropped to her knees and engulfed Anna in a warm, tender hug, which pleasantly surprised Anna.
Except, Elsa's crying did confuse Anna. Her crying made no sense, unless... it was happy crying! She'd seen people do that a few times.
"Elsa?" she questioned in a sweet, but confused voice. "Are you okay?"
"I'm just surprised." Now Elsa pulled back but put her hands on Anna's shoulder. "I didn't treat you right. I stopped showing you that you matter to me. But you still say you love me?"
"Mama Iduna told me everything," Anna explained, eyes wide and hands gesturing wildly. "She said you have that really bad sadness-the word is so big to remember-the one that makes people not want to get out of bed." She then put her hand over her own heart. "I don't want you to feel so sad," and she almost felt like crying just thinking about it. "That's why I made you this present!"
Something about those words made Elsa's eyes tear up which made Anna speak faster and with bigger hand gestures.
"I want to make you feel better and happy again. And you-maybe-but not so bad-but a little bit...hurt my feelings. But Ms. Gerda told us that even those who love us can hurt us!" she explained quickly because she didn't want Elsa to feel bad. "She said we all do things we feel bad about."
Still, Elsa looked at her with a sorry expression. Suddenly, Anna brightened with a new thought.
"You're still my favorite person and sometimes I like to pretend that you're a wonderful...magical...good...snow queen!" She pounced at that last one and flung herself at Elsa with a warm hug.
The sweet gesture and words made Elsa gasp and laugh. Now Anna was certain Elsa was happy crying.
She took a deep breath, and smiled at me so kindly, like before. The old Elsa!
"But you, Anna," she grinned, "are the hero of my day. I like to pretend you're a fearless princess." Elsa switched from a gentle tone to a more narrative tone. "The brave Princess Anna who won't let the freezing wind storms stop her from defeating evil." She picked up the basket with one hand and offered her other hand to Anna, "Will you join me in this bountiful feast?"
By now Anna was close to happy crying. Elsa was herself again? Happy? And did she love Anna too?
But as the went downstairs to enjoy their feast, Anna joined in the theatrics. "And the beautiful Queen Elsa made her magic snow!"
"Thanks to Princess Anna, the queen was free to play with her sister and the whole kingdom."
For the first time in forever-at least, that's how it felt like for young Anna-they were able to laugh and have fun together. Anna tried to drink her Dr. Pepper as gracefully as she could, but with all the ice cubes in her cup and her energetic gestures, there were a few spills here and there.
Normally, Elsa was perfectly graceful and regal, but she chose to take a sip right as Anna was telling a particularly energetic part of the story and spilling while making expressions that Elsa found too adorable. In an effort to prevent spitting her Dr. Pepper all over the table, her soda went up her nose, causing them both to laugh hysterically.
Their laughter calmed down, and Elsa remembered something. Her note from earlier was in her pocket, but to Anna's shock, she tore it up and threw it away.
"Why did you throw that away? Don't you need it?" she asked curiously.
"I don't need it after all," Elsa smiled.
While Anna was curious what Elsa wrote, she decided in her mind that Elsa must have written a note to remind herself of something that she no longer needed to have written down. Anna herself never needed to write anything down...well, she wasn't exactly a master at writing anyway.
"Before I forget, I do have to make an important phone call," Elsa interrupted Anna's thoughts.
She went over to the phone, dialed the number and waited, her expression returning to a serious one.
"Dr. Rockford? You're-" she smiled sheepishly. "You told me to call you again if..." There was a pause. "Yes, and I'm much better at the moment." Another pause. "Wednesday? Yes, that would be a good time for me... Thank you, Dr. Rockford... And you... Yeah. Bye." She hung up.
"Was that a doctor for the-therapy?" Anna wondered. She'd heard that word before and knew it had something to do with the sadness.
"Yes." At Anna's worried expression, Elsa quickly continued, "Sometimes, it's so difficult for me to understand what makes me feel the way I do. Today has really been special with you, Anna, but I can't promise I'll always be okay from now on. Going to see Dr. Rockford will help me understand those things and that will help me be a better sister to you."
Now it really was Anna's turn to cry happy tears.
"Sister?" she gasped, overwhelmed with joy.
Elsa gave her another hug, then leaned back and held Anna's hands.
"Yes, Anna. Sister. Even if the world tore us apart and told us that we're not, I promise I will always think of you as my little sister. I love you too."
Elsa loved Anna too.
Anna clung to the memory of that special day when they reconnected.
Due to an unfair set of circumstances, Anna couldn't stay with Elsa's family after six years of living with them. Elsa put in much effort to stay in touch with Anna, and was able to do so to an extent.
Details and Explanations to come...
And stay safe!