Chapter Seven: Forgotten Rooms

Theme Song: Gymnopedie No. 1 (Dark Piano Cover) by Myuu

Early the next morning, at about six o'clock, Elsa woke up. When she was a teenager, her father helped her train herself to wake up early every day without someone else having to wake her. By now, her eyes would automatically open at six in the morning every morning without fail. Unless she stayed up late the night before, that is.

Opening her eyes, Elsa was greeted with the sight of… a pair of sock covered feet. Groggily sitting up while running her fingers through her messy hair to try and even it out, she saw none other than her sister. Apparently, Anna had moved around a lot in her sleep, as she was currently sprawled out on her stomach with her head where her feet should have been, her feet where her head should've been, and one arm dangling off the side of the bed.

Rubbing the sleep out of one eye with the heel of her hand, Elsa smiled at the comical sight of her sister. Carefully slipping out of bed so as to not wake up the princess, Elsa quickly changed, braided her hair, and wrote a quick note for Anna, explaining where she would be, before carefully covering her up with a warm spare blanket and quietly leaving the room.

Once she was out in the hallway, she made her way to her office to look over what had to be done that day before she went and had breakfast. The office used to be her father's, but now that she was queen, it was hers.

A sense of déjà vu came over her as she stood outside the door. Since sharing a room with her sister would make organization difficult, she had Kai move all of her important papers from her old room to her father's office yesterday with the intent to use it as her own work area. However, this would be her first time seeing the room since the accident. Would it even still be the same?

Taking a deep breath to try and calm her nerves, she reached for the doorknob and slowly turned it with a click before carefully opening the door.

Creaking on its old hinges, the door opened to reveal a small room with red velvet carpet and deep green wallpaper. On the side of the room opposite the door, a single large triangular window looked out towards the Northern Mountains. In the center of the wall to the right, a framed map of the kingdom hung over a chair and desk which faced the fireplace in the opposite wall. Above the fireplace, there was a portrait of the royal family, which was painted before the isolation when Anna was still a baby. A short distance from the fireplace, two chairs faced each other; one was a blue high-backed chair—her father's—and the other was a cushioned, white and yellow stripped rocking chair—her mother's. Also in front of the fireplace, and adjacent to the two chairs, was a light green sofa that could seat four people. On the walls either side the fireplace, door, and window, stood ceiling-high book cases which were filled with all sorts of volumes and novels. Built into the wall just below the window, was a long padded seat, and in the corner to its left, between two bookcases, stood an old grandfather clock.

Taking a deep breath, Elsa took in the smell of the room, and with it, the memories. There was the smell of tea, from when her mother would help her father with his work or keep him company when he worked late. The scent of coffee lingered from the king's needs for caffeine in the early mornings and late nights. The faint smell of cocoa could be detected from when the two young princesses would spend time with their busy father during the evenings. Lastly, there was the smell of her father's plug tobacco, which he would cut into pieces to smoke in his pipe while resting in his chair by the fire.

The room hadn't changed at all.

The familiar sights and smells of the room calmed the young queen and brought a fond smile to her face.

She would definitely enjoy working in here.

Going over to the desk which held the stack of papers that she had asked Kai to move, she used her powers to make a temporary ice lamp before taking a piece of clean paper, donning her spectacles, and making a list of what had to be done that week. On the other side, she then mapped out the work that she would do on each day of the week. With that done, she placed the list on the desk and glanced at the clock. It was a quarter past six… she better go get some breakfast.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

In the dining room at exactly six twenty, Elsa sat down to some breakfast. It was nice to actually eat in the dining room again since she hadn't done so since the accident. Eating quickly, she finished her meal and was about to leave the dining room to get on with her work, when she saw her little sister tiredly shuffling through the doorway, still in her nightgown.

"Good morning, Anna," Elsa greeted as she approached her, "you're up early."

"I just woke up for no reason and saw that you weren't there so I felt lonely, but I found your note," Anna explained while tiredly rubbing the sleep out of one eye. "Why are you up so early?"

"I'm the queen now, silly," Elsa began while playfully ruffling her sister's still messy hair. "I have a lot of work to do, and thus, have to get up early. Did you have any more nightmares last night?"

"No…" the princess replied before timidly adding, "Thanks, Elsa, for letting me cuddle with you."

"Anything for you, Sunshine," the Snow Queen replied with a happy smile. "I hope you enjoy your breakfast. I'll be working in Papa's old office if you need me, okay? The door will be open." The queen tried to walk past, but the princess quickly moved to block the way. "Anna, what are you doing?"

"There's a toll on the dining room door now. You need to pay a fine if you want to pass."

Crossing her arms over her chest—in annoyance or amusement, one couldn't really be sure which—Elsa asked, "And what, pray tell, is your price?"

"Two things. First, a forehead kiss," Anna stated as she tapped her forehead with one finger.

Smiling fondly while rolling her eyes at her sister's goofy antics, Elsa complied and gave her forehead a quick kiss. "And the other thing?"

Throwing her arms wide open, Anna added, "The second part of the fine is a warm hug, and I know for a fact that you give the warmest hugs ever."

"The coldest hugs ever," Elsa corrected as she wrapped her arms around her little sister.

"No, Elsie," Anna corrected in turn with a kind smile. "Your hugs are always warm, both with love and in temperature."

Elsa gave a small smile; she really hoped that Anna was right. "I'll take your word for it."

"Don't just take my word for it," the younger sibling insisted, "go hug Olaf and Kristoff when you've got the time, I'm sure they'll tell you the same thing I'm telling you."

"I'm… not so sure about hugging Kristoff just yet."

"Okay, then just Olaf. He's the Warm Hug Master. He'll tell you that your hugs are the warmest in the kingdom."

Elsa smiled, both at the thought of the dear little snowman, and at her sister's loving persistence. "Alright, I'll go do that later today," she promised before pulling out of the hug. "Now I need to get to work."

"Okay, I'll come and keep you company after I have breakfast."

"And get dressed."

"And get dressed."

"Don't be afraid to go outside later and see Kristoff, Olaf, and Sven if you want to, okay?"

"Okay. I love you, Elsie."

"I love you, too, Sunshine."

"See you in a bit."

"Looking forward to it."

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

After having breakfast and getting dressed, Anna started to make her way over to her father's, I mean Elsa's office.

It was still dark out, but it was just light enough for one to barely see the dark and shadowy presence of the buildings and mountains. You know what I mean. When the sun is just starting to come up but there isn't yet a single speck of gold in the dark blue canvas. The fluffy clouds slowly floated through the troposphere, pushed onward by a cool and gentle breeze blowing from the sea, filling the kingdom with a slightly salty smell.

On the way to the queen's new office, the princess had to pass several doors, but one of them made her stop for a moment. It looked almost the same as all the other doors, she hadn't opened it for years, same as several of the other doors with forgotten rooms, but the reason for that was the difference. With longing eyes, Anna slowly reached for the doorknob and gripped it tightly; would she even be able to turn it? Squeezing her eyes shut while silently hoping and praying, she quickly turned her wrist… and with it, the doorknob. Her eyes flew open with surprise.

It was unlocked!

Slowly opening the door, the princess entered. It was a bedroom, like many of the rooms in the castle, but… this one was different. In the middle of the wall to the far right was a king-sized bed that was covered with a white and purple quilt. On either side of the bed, there was a nightstand. The one on the left side had a candle, and a book, while the one on the right held a pair of spectacles and a pipe in addition to a candle and a book. In the wall opposite the bed was a fireplace, and on either side of it, a large bookcase filled with books. Opposite the door, there was a triangular window which looked out over the fjord below. By the wall a little ways away from the door was a vanity with a little seat in front of it on which the last woman who used this room would sit as her lady's maid helped her do her hair and makeup. Lastly, there was a large, oak wardrobe adjacent to the bed.

Closing the door to the room most of the way, Anna made her way over to the wardrobe as silently and reverently as if she were in church. Standing in front of it, she carefully took hold of the handle and opened it. Creeaak. Inside were several fancy and well-made dresses and suits which were separated so that the suits were on one side and the dresses were on the other. On the floor of the closet, there were several pairs of women's dress shoes and men's dress shoes neatly on their respected side of the wardrobe.

Taking the hem of one of the dresses in her hands, the princess brought her face close to the shoulder of it and took a deep breath… Perfume… tea… and coffee.

Reaching for one of the suits, she brought the fabric to her face and inhaled… Coffee… cologne… and tobacco.

The familiar scents brought back memories both happy… and sad. She let the memories play through her mind, until she just couldn't take it anymore. Her shoulders started to shake as she leaned a little bit into the wardrobe and brought the suit and the dress closer to her, burying her face in the fabrics. Tears spilled out of Anna's eyes as she sobbed, fondly rubbing the clothes against her face before whimpering, "Mama… Papa… I miss you." Crying into the former king and queen's clothes, Anna didn't even notice that someone had entered the room until a voice brought her out of her thoughts.

"Anna?"

Quickly wiping her eyes, the princess turned around to see Olaf standing in the doorway with concern written on his snowy features. "O-Olaf," Anna began in slight surprise as she tried to clean her face of any remaining tears, "what're you doing here?"

"Looking for you," the snowman replied while waddling further into the room, his personal flurry floating in with him. "I heard you crying… are you okay?"

"I, um," the redhead murmured while trying to keep more tears from falling, "I'm fine, I just… really miss my parents."

Silence followed for a moment before Olaf asked, "Where are your parents?"

Anna's eyes widened slightly. He didn't know? Well, he was created about three days ago, how could he have known? "They're… They're dead, Olaf."

"Oh…" the snowman sadly replied, not really knowing how else to react. "I'm sorry, Anna. That's really sad."

Wiping the corner of her eye with the heel of her hand, she sniffled slightly. "Yes, Olaf, i-it is really, really sad," she whimpered.

"Would you like a warm hug to make you feel better?' the snowman kindly offered with his stick arms outstretched towards the princess.

Nodding, she squeezed her eyes shut as her tears finally escaped once more. They coursed down her face as she got on her knees and opened her arms wide. Olaf wasted no time wrapping his twig arms around her as best he could. "It's okay, Anna," he quietly murmured, "I've got you."

"Thank you," she replied, her voice shaking and chin resting on his cold head. "I love you, Olaf."

"You're welcome, Anna, I love you, too," the chubby snowman quietly stated as he let the princess cry.

Anna trembled and shook as she sobbed onto the little snowman, the tiny snowflakes from his flurry falling onto her head and shoulders.

"I don't have a mom," Olaf randomly stated to try and cheer her up, "or a dad."

Smiling slightly at his randomness, Anna gave the snowman a squeeze as her sobs began to die down. After thinking about what he had said, the princess remarked, "Actually, Olaf… I think you do have a mom."

The snowman pulled out of the hug with a happy gasp as he lifted his head off of his body. "I have a mom?"

Anna chuckled at Olaf's excitement before confirming, "Yeah, I think you do have a mom." Wiping the remainder of her tears from her eyes, she added, "I think Elsa's your mom."

Putting his head back on and giving another happy gasp, Olaf excitedly proclaimed, "We need to go find Elsa and tell her she's my mom!" The snowman quickly waddled out of the room and Anna quickly rose to her feet to follow him, but not before carefully shutting the wardrobe. Briskly heading over to the door of the room, she looked over her parents' chamber one final time before carefully closing that door as well and running after her snowy friend.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Hi, everyone! There's chapter seven for ya! I hope you liked it.

Please tell me what you think in the review box below. Whenever I read your comments, I literally do a happy dance in my chair. (In fact, I'm surprised that I haven't been caught yet…)

Also, I just want to let you all know that the reason why I've been uploading chapters so quickly is because I already had about ten chapters written out when I first got this fanfiction account a few days ago. In reality, I started writing this fanfiction at the beginning of summer vacation last year and have only written ten chapters and a bit of the eleventh chapter… So when I reach chapter ten, don't expect me to keep on posting more than one chapter a day… or a week. So when the updates start getting really slow, I want you to know that I haven't abandoned the fic, I'm just a slow writer. Please have patience with me.

Thank you.

God bless you and your day.

Sincerely, The Professor.