"Anna"
"Pssst. Anna"
Anna groaned as she was awakened by someone gently shaking her shoulder.
"Anna, I need to talk to you…"
She slowly blinked as she tried to focus on the blurry figure kneeling beside her bed, the half dead fire in her room casting more shadows than light.
"Elsa!? What are you doing here? Is something wrong?"
"No, nothing is wrong, well not really, I…" Elsa hesitated for a moment, pausing to think before continuing. "I have something I need to tell you".
O wow. OK. This must be serious.
Anna sat herself up in her bed, trying to wake herself up so she could hear what her sister had to say. She wrapped her beddings around herself, trying to keep away the cold air in the room.
"What is it, Elsa?" She asked, slightly shivering.
"I know it must be important when the whole room cools like this. I mean obviously it's important, why else would you wake me up in the middle of the night? Not that I mind of course, I always like talking to you, but yea… What's going on?"
Elsa smiled lightly at her sister, and she seemed to relax some. The air in the room lost some of its chill.
"Sorry for the cold, is that better?"
"Much" Anna replied, smiling back at her sister. Anna thought herself lucky to have a sister who loved her like Elsa did. Elsa was always so considerate. Knowing she had her big sister to look after her made her feel safe and loved. These past years where they had been able to grow closer were the happiest of her life.
The two sisters held their gaze for a moment before Elsa took a deep breath and continued.
"These past few years have been so marvellous"
Hey, I was just thinking that.
"For a long time, I thought I would never be able to have someone close to me. I shut out the world. Not just out of my room, but out of my heart as well. I made myself believe I was cursed to be alone forever. But you…" Elsa's smile widened. Her glistening eyes reflected the flames of the dim fireplace, as she stared lovingly at her sister.
"You never gave up on me."
"Awwww, Elsa…" Anna said sheepishly, blushing at the unexpected outpouring of emotion. The room had warmed up quite a bit as Elsa had been talking. That, combined with the warm words coming from her sisters' mouth, made Anna release her grip on her blankets which she still had wrapped around herself, and let them slide down onto the bed.
"I never would have dared dream my life could be so full of love. And now that it is I realise that…."
Elsa's words trailed off as her eyes went as big as saucers, her face went the deepest shade of red Anna had ever seen.
"Anna…" Elsa said under her breath, avoiding eye contact. Anna looked back confused, not understanding the abrupt change in tone.
"Anna!"Elsa repeated more forcefully, between gritted teeth. "…Your nightgown" She whispered as though they were in a room full of dignitaries who might overhear.
"What? OOH!" Anna looked down at herself. Her flowing green nightgown hung loosely on her body reaching barely to the knees, revealing Anna's legs below a lacy trim. The upper portion of the gown had ties to close it up to around the neck, which Anna had neglected to actually tie, revealing more of her freckled body than even her fiancé had yet to see. Anna quickly grabbed her gown and held it closed with one hand. An imperfect attempt at modesty. Elsa was still visibly flustered.
Geez, Elsa can be such a prude.
Anna caught herself smirking, so she put her serious face back on. She was enjoying this moment with her sister and didn't want to ruin it, so she resisted the urge to tease her. After a moment of nervous fidgeting, Anna spoke up, trying to break the tension and get the conversation back on track.
"Sorry, I didn't expect anyone to be in my bedroom tonight..."
OK. That's a little awkward.
"Certainly not my sister…"
Even more awkward.
"Not that I mind of course, you are always welcome, a midnight visit from you always makes me feel better. That sounds weird. Ok, maybe not weird, just different than in my head…"
Oh. My. God. Stop talking.
"Uh, anyway. Life. Full of love, yea me too. It's been great!"
Elsa let out a forced, nervous laugh. Regaining her composure, she searched her head for her next words.
"Um, as I was saying…"
Elsa seemed to be unsure of what to say next, like she had changed her mind of where the conversation should go. Gone was the smiling face full of emotion from only moments before, replaced by the regal expression she wore so often.
Damnit, you spooked her.
"I … I have to leave."
Anna scrunched up her face and raised an eyebrow, giving her sister a quizzical look.
"That's what you woke me up for? To come into my room, just to tell me you have to leave it?"
"No Anna, I don't mean your room… I mean Arendelle, I realise I must leave Arendelle. The forest needs me now, I can feel the spirits calling" Elsa said as she turned to look out a window, seemingly still unable to resume eye contact.
"Wait, what?! Elsa what is going on? Is this because of my gown? Because that seems like an overreaction. I can buy a new one."
"That's not what this is about, I have been thinking about this for awhile now." Elsa sighed heavily. She finally returned her gaze to Anna's, her icy façade cracking just enough to reveal a tinge of sadness in her eyes. "I don't belong here Anna."
Anna stared blankly at Elsa for a moment, her mouth slightly agape as her mind processed what was being said.
"Oh my god. You're being serious, aren't you? W-When?"
"I should leave tomorrow…"
"TOMORROW?! Elsa my wedding is in two days!"
"I know, and I'm sorry…"
"You're sorry? You're SORRY?! Elsa, this doesn't make any sense! You come in here, talking about love and happiness, and now you have to leave? You owe me a better explanation than that."
Elsa rose from her position, looking to make her way to the door.
"I am still the eldest of the household, and the fifth spirit. I gave you an explanation, I'm sorry if you don't like it"
Anna scoffed loudly at this remark. Hurt and angry, she too rose from her position in her bed.
"I'm sorry I thought I was talking to my sister, not the supreme-spirit-goddess of Ahtohallan" She spat out, adding a mocking tone to the made-up title she just gave her.
"If you don't owe it to me then at least think of our people. They expect you to be there Elsa. What am I supposed to say?" She asked shrilly.
"How do I explain this?!" Anna shouted, throwing her hands up into an incredulous shrug.
"'Oh I'm sorry, Elsa couldn't make it because she had forest business' what the hell does that even mean? What, did somebody step on a squirrel? Did a birds nest fall out of a tree?! What is it that is soo important!"
As Anna yelled her questions, she made her way towards her sister, she didn't want Elsa to be able to easily run out of the room. Elsa slowly tried to back away, but Anna persisted, inching ever closer. Trapping Elsa with her back against the wall, she got close enough to grab her if she took flight. Close enough to see the faint freckles on her face. Close enough to see Elsa's cold exterior crack even more, allowing Anna to read an expression she had not seen in a long time. An expression that caused her anger to slip away, replaced with concern for her sister. It was the same expression that she had on when she exposed her powers at the coronation, the same expression she used to get when Anna would catch her in the halls of the castle in the rare moments she would leave her room all those years ago…
Elsa was terrified.
"Hey, hey" Anna said softly trying to calm Elsa down. Anna reached out and put one hand on Elsa's shoulder, the other on her waist, trying to pull her in for a hug. But Elsa resisted, seemingly frozen in place.
"It's OK, I'm here for you. You can tell me anything Elsa" Anna said as she caressed Elsa's arm and shoulder, trying to get her to relax. But it seemed to have the opposite effect. Anna could feel her sister tense up. She could sense her heart rate accelerating, as her eyes darted around the room, the room that had now gotten colder. With her hands no longer keeping her gown closed Anna felt the cold penetrate her clothing, causing every inch of her body to tingle with goosebumps. But she paid it no mind, her full attention on trying to coax out of Elsa whatever it was she was hiding.
"Elsa please let me in, I am here for you. I love you." Anna said softly sliding her fingers all the way down Elsa's arms, taking her delicate hands into her own. She tilted her head forward, trying to catch her gaze. When Elsa finally let their eyes meet, Anna looked deep into her sister, trying to read her. She saw fear, she saw anguish, and she saw another emotion she hadn't noticed before. Anna's mind raced trying to work out what it was. If she didn't know any better, she'd swear that Elsa wa..."
"I'm FINE Anna!" Elsa suddenly shouted, pushing her way past her startled sister. Her mind still reeling, Anna was momentarily too stunned to stop her from making her way towards the door.
"Fine then just leave!" Anna screamed, her voice breaking with emotion.
"Obviously I'm too hard to be around. Or maybe just not worth it. Either way you better just go, the forest clearly needs you more than I do."
Anna threw herself back onto her bed. Trying not to lose herself just yet, she stifled her whimpers. She hated to have people see her cry when she was angry, so she turned away from her sister, opting to stare at the wall beside her instead.
"I am sorry you feel that way Anna, but this is what is for the best" Anna didn't have to look at Elsa's face to know what expression she had on now. She was closed off again and Anna was not getting in.
"Yup" Anna said curtly, with a tone that let Elsa know she didn't agree but didn't want to discuss it anymore.
"I love you too Anna. And you are worth the world to me…"
"Uh-Huh"
Elsa stood there a moment, before turning to leave.
"Just so you know" Anna shot at her sister right as she crossed the threshold.
"you're not fooling anyone with that resting ice-witch face of yours"
I know you are hiding something.