'Your Majesty, I beg of you to re-negotiate the export quotas. They've been lowered even further than last year.'
Elsa's eyes flicked from Ambassador Moreau to Anna who sat staunchly at the head of the long meeting table just inches to her left, a steely expression in her eyes. Anna was dressed in full regalia—auburn hair pulled back into a neat braided bun, a sunburst crown of gold and green atop her head that shimmered with the single blue gemstone that not long ago, had been the centerpiece of her own crown. An outward display of power and authority, important for a new, young monarch—and Anna wore it well, convincingly masking any signs of the insecurities that Elsa knew she harbored. And Elsa was proud. So proud. She so badly wanted Anna to succeed, so Anna could finally come to know and embrace the strong, competent woman that lie within herself—the person Elsa knew was there all along—and believe in that person. A subtle confidence already burned brightly within Anna, something that reminded Elsa distinctly of their mother—but that was only a small part. In this moment, everything else was brazenly and gloriously Anna. Her arms were folded defiantly across her chest and a single, stubbornly arced eyebrow slinked up her forehead as she stared down Ambassador Moreau.
Elsa knew that obstinate look well.
Anna was not going to budge on this issue.
Elsa forced herself to suppress a small proud smile and waited for Anna's protracted response, knowing what it would contain. Anna's negotiating style was vastly different from her own, she'd observed with a mixture of satisfaction and awe as the meetings had unfolded. In fact, Elsa had needed to say relatively little all day—for Anna was like a fire that could not be extinguished when her passion ignited over something she cared about. This was her greatest strength, her heart, and it was already serving her well. Of course, Anna's methods were far more animated than her own, but they were very convincing—and she used this to great effect, targeting and appealing directly to the diplomats emotions. Perhaps she was a bit overzealous at times, but for the most part, it seemed to be working—especially as Kai backed her up with numbers, facts and percentages as she went. They made a rather brilliant duo, Elsa concluded with satisfaction. She had always gone straight for the facts, straight for the throat—effectively dismissing and rejecting any and all brands of emotional or personal nonsense during these type of meetings—and she had always thought that was the formal and politically correct way to approach it. Though now she wasn't so sure, as she watched Anna work—perhaps emotions and personal connections were a useful negotiating tool after all. Or manipulation tool. Either way, the diplomats had warmed to Anna, and most even seemed to be garnering a modicum of respect her already, which was all Elsa cared about.
'Ambassador, I don't know how many more times I have to reiterate that I will not pockmark my lands with more iron ore mines simply because you want to build ironclad ships. The mines are harmful to nature, harmful to the environment and health of my people, and mining is simply not a sustainable practice. The regulations and quotas are in place for this reason. Take the deal as it stands or leave it.'
'Your Majesty, Arendelle is sitting on several of the largest iron ore veins in the world! Arendelle would be remiss to restrict its most sought after—and profitable—natural resource from the global economy at such a pivotal juncture. The Industrial Revolution is happening, grand ships will be built from steel, mark my words, and Arendelle can either be at the forefront of it, a global leader of iron ore exports and steel armadas, or left behind—it's your decision. Just know, that by restricting iron ore exports you are effectively driving the price up for all of us on the bloc, as we will be forced to look elsewhere, to such kingdoms as Weselton in order to fulfill our needs. It is not a good look.'
'What is not a good look, Ambassador, is harming and killing innocent people and the environment in the name of control, profits and industrial advancement.' Anna snapped heatedly, rising from her chair as she spat the words. Uncomfortable silence hung thickly in the air as the diplomats shifted uneasily in their seats. Anna's eyes flicked to Elsa's and she held Anna's gaze—you can do it. Anna took a breath to compose herself, then tried again. 'Ambassador, do you know why I am standing here before you, as Queen of Arendelle, and not my sister?' Anna asked calmly. 'Do any of you?'
The uncomfortable silence in the room deepened at Anna's words, as if this was the elephant in the room no one had addressed—and no one particularly wanted to address, especially if it had anything to do with magic. Elsa had learned long ago to stay away from that subject, even after they knew of her powers, they still treated it as a taboo subject that was largely ignored. As if ignoring it simply made it vanish, as if ignoring it changed the reality that was her everyday life—except it didn't, and Anna wasn't giving them the option to ignore it any longer. Each shook their head reluctantly, uneasily in response to Anna's direct question.
'No, I didn't suppose any of you would.' Anna said quietly, her eyes flicking towards Elsa again, briefly asking the unspoken question: Should I? Elsa gave her a subtle, resolute nod of approval. They had discussed the possibility of this strategy beforehand, and Anna was going to go for it. That small nod was all Anna needed, she turned to regard the table of men again, steel burning in her sea green eyes.
'I am Queen of Arendelle, not because my sister chose to abdicate, but because our grandfather, King Runeard, was guilty of this very thing you are trying to convince me to embrace. He abused and destroyed nature,' Anna stated and gestured towards Maren, who was sitting to the right of Elsa, listening intently. 'He exploited Ambassador Nattura's lands and people for his own gain—he tried to create a monopoly over all their resources—and we are still paying dearly for his mistakes.' Anna paused, letting the words hang in suspended silence before continuing.
'My sister was born with nature magic, specifically as an equipoise to his destructive actions, to restore and protect nature and prevent anything like that from happening again. That is what she does now, and why she passed the crown to me—and why I cannot condone digging up our lands. The price of my grandfather's selfish actions not only caused devastation to Ambassador Nattura's people, but affected Arendelle as well, damaging our lands and… and ultimately costing us a great queen,' Anna paused and glanced at her, a deep sadness in her eyes. Elsa held her gaze and forced herself to swallow the lump forming in her throat. 'And it cost me my sister.' Anna stated heavily and turned to face the men again, her face a mask of seriousness and pain. No one in the room dared breathe—Anna's emotions were palpable and her presence was powerful and commanding when she spoke like this.
'There is not enough gold in the entire world to convince me to disrespect nature the way my grandfather did.' Anna continued sharply. 'Disrespecting nature would be to directly disrespect my sister, and I will never do that. Instead, I plan to use my reign to restore and preserve the lands, to work in tandem with my sister, with Ambassador Nattura and nature itself to create sustainable solutions, to encourage the nonproliferation of non-renewable resources and I urge all of you to do the same. I will not jeopardize our children's future the way our grandfather did ours, and I can't imagine any one of you would wish that burden upon your own children either.' Anna finished, letting out a long final breath before dropping heavily into her chair.
The room stayed silent for a long moment as the gravity of Anna's words hung in the air, not a word or movement came from any one person. Elsa was stunned, and it was increasingly difficult to hide the grin that was pulling at her lips. Anna was brilliant, and captivating in the way she spoke. Finally Baron Von Karg cleared his throat.
'I understand how deeply personal iz zis issue for you both, and I am sure I speak for us all ven I say ve sympathize. But ze cold fact of ze matter iz, ze world iz happening around us, it iz changing quickly, and ve must respond to ze pressures of it, or be swept away by ze tides of it. Nations vill continue to press for iron, for coal and oil production and I fear zere iz little any one of us can do to stem ze tide of it.'
'I don't believe it is a job for any one of us alone, any single nation or person—which is why I'm asking for all of your help. Together, as one united front we can push back, demand safe and sustainable practices for the welfare of future generations. Our scientists have already discovered that wind, solar, hydropower and even geothermal energy can all be just as effective as coal and oil and much much safer for people and the environment. The Northuldra already know how to to this, we can work with them to create unimaginable innovations, but we must do it sooner rather than later. The world is changing rapidly, you are right about that—but whether it changes for better or for worse is entirely up to all of us, right now. Nature is willing to work with us—she is literally sitting right beside me.' Anna pleaded and waved a hand at Elsa. 'We just have to do it in the correct manner. Nature won't be controlled by you or me or anyone, the past has taught us that much.'
'That still doesn't answer the question of the iron. And how are we supposed to go back to our nations and tell our divinely appointed rulers that they cannot control nature, that they must work with it? They will laugh in our faces, what should we tell them then? Should well tell them to go sing to a plant?' Ambassador Moreau said with a mocking chuckle, to which several other of the men joined in on.
Anna stood up harshly and planted both her hands firmly on the table. She glared at the men who all quieted immediately. 'Tell them,' Anna hissed through gritted teeth in a threatening tone that Elsa rarely heard her use. 'To come here and talk to my sister.' She finished venomously, jerking her chin towards Elsa before she spun on her heel to leave the room. Elsa stood quickly to follow her, but Anna stopped at the door. 'Negotiate with Lord Chancellor Kai. You have my answer, I won't discuss this further.' Anna said over her shoulder, then opened the door and stormed out. Instead of following her, Elsa turned to face the men who for the most part looked stunned and confused at Anna's abrupt departure. A few of them smirked and subtly rolled their eyes. Elsa clasped her hands and stared at them with a raised eyebrow. The temperature in the room dipped slightly, causing a few of the men to glance around nervously.
'My sister speaks the truth, we live in a liminal time of industrialization. The decisions we make now will affect generations to come—safe, sustainable, natural energy may not be the easiest or most immediately profitable solution—but it is the only correct solution. We must learn from the past, not repeat those mistakes or it will become too late to correct them.' Elsa paused and looked around at the men, who were all quiet and shifty as if waiting for another to speak. A few were still smug. Ambassador Moreau was looking at her with a self-satisfied smirk that she had an immediate urge to wipe off his face.
She closed her eyes and sighed, exhausted by the never-ending greed and rigidity of these men, and waved her hand at the space on the floor just behind Anna's empty chair. The magic flowed freely from her as she envisioned the image she desired, willing the sculpture effortlessly into existence. She could feel the ice grow upon itself and finished shaping it with a quick, agitated flourish of her hand. She opened her eyes to the familiar crackle and pop of freshly made ice and to the cold chilling eyes of her grandfather's crazed face as he swung his sword at the unsuspecting Northuldra leader. A frozen moment in time that had changed everything.
'This, is what greed and cowardice and fear looks like.' Elsa stated sharply to the ensemble of wide horrified eyes. 'Killing innocent people for land and resources—this is what's not a good look.' She hissed then turned on her heel and stalked out of the room, a mixture of satisfaction and frustration brewing within her. Let them stare at that terrible statue while they negotiated with Kai, let them look into her grandfather's manic eyes for the next hour. Let it stick. It wasn't something she ever would have done as queen, such theatrics like that, yet it was incredibly liberating. Perhaps Anna's fire had rubbed off on her. Or perhaps those men just deserved it. Why was it so impossible to get them to see the blatant truth? Either way, it was also an effective opportunity to remind them to think twice before crossing Anna.
'Anna.' Elsa said softly when she finally found her sister not far down the hallway. She was gazing up at the portrait of Elsa at her coronation, right next to their father at his. Maren had followed her out as well and nodded her head indicating she would give them privacy. Elsa smiled and nodded in response before Maren left them.
'Sorry I left.' Anna mumbled quietly, then slowly turned to face her. Her eyes were red and puffy—she had been crying, and she looked utterly defeated. 'I just got so frustrated and I didn't want to cry in front of them. I…'
'Anna.' Elsa cut in with a smile and shook her head. She wiped a stray tear off Anna's cheek. 'You were amazing. I'm so proud of you.' She said, pulling Anna into a hug.
Anna buried her face in Elsa's braid. 'I don't think those men even heard me. They think we're crazy…' Anna mumbled, her voice muffled.
'When do they ever listen really?' Elsa added with a raised brow. 'One day they will find out the hard way for themselves, and will wish they had listened to us now. But the important thing is we tried—and we will keep trying, together. You said what you believed in and at the very least it will get them thinking about it—that's all we can do right now.' Anna huffed a sigh, but nodded in agreement. 'I also might have left them a little present before I left too.' Elsa added with a satisfied smirk. This got Anna's attention. She extracted herself from Elsa's hug and her eyes went wide, a smile spread across her face.
'You didn't?' She asked incredulously, wiping the stray tears off her cheeks. 'I've never seen you use magic in a meeting before—I can't believe I missed it!' She said and dropped her hands to her sides dramatically.
'A casual reminder not to mess with my sister.' Elsa said and wrinkled her nose playfully. Anna pursed her lips and snorted with a smile.
'Elsa, did you really plop down a statue of your grandfather right in front of all the diplomats?' Kristoff laughed from behind them. Elsa turned to see Kristoff, clad in full regalia as well—optics for the diplomats no less. Maren smiled guiltily beside him as they approached.
'I was trying to make a point.' Elsa said flatly and arced an eyebrow at him.
Maren chuckled. 'Oh I think you made it. All those men looked like they had wet themselves after you did that. Kai was stuck somewhere between mortified and thrilled.' Maren stated amusedly. Anna giggled.
'Well look, I'm glad you're done in there, because Mattias thinks they've found a man who might have the crystal.' Kristoff put in. 'He wants to speak with you.' He nodded at Anna.
'What?' Anna asked excitedly. 'Thats great! Where is he? Do you have it?'
'Not exactly. This guy is—an interesting fellow.' Kristoff said and rolled his eyes. 'He rubs me the wrong way. He wants a direct audience with you—claims he and his son found it and wants double the reward price, but he refuses to show anyone the crystal until he gets paid.'
'Well that sounds like a scam.' Maren added with a raised eyebrow and folded her arms. 'How do we even know he has it then?'
'We don't.' Kristoff added uneasily. 'But it's the only lead we have so far.'
'What can it hurt? Let's speak with him.' Anna said. 'I don't care what his price is, we just need to get that crystal back.'
Kristoff nodded. 'I'll tell them you're ready.' He added and kissed Anna briefly. 'Care to sit next to me?' He asked theatrically and offered Maren his arm. She pursed her lips and pushed his arm away.
'That was almost funny.' Maren said dryly. Kristoff chuckled.
'An escort would ruin her image.' Elsa added seriously, biting her bottom lip to keep from laughing.
Anna giggled. 'Ambassador Nattura must keep up her fierce, intimidating, I-will-kill-you-if-you-breathe-near-Elsa warrior presence at all times...'
'Alright, alright very funny.' Maren conceded with a roll of her eyes, and threw her hands up defensively. Elsa chuckled and gave Maren an apologetic look.
'I would kill anyone who breathed near you.' Maren mumbled under her breath, paused, glanced side to side to check if they were alone, then leaned over and kissed Elsa briefly. 'See you soon.' She added, and Elsa couldn't help but smile as she watched Kristoff and Maren turn to walk away down the hall. Several yards down, Kristoff reached around and tapped Maren on her opposite shoulder. She turned instinctively and upon seeing no one, spun and gave Kristoff a good shove, which barely moved his large frame. His laugh bellowed down the hallway before they disappeared around the corner.
She and Anna locked eyes with each other before shaking their heads and smirking.
'Are you ready for this?' Elsa asked finally.
Anna took a breath. 'I think so, I've seen you do it hundreds of times.'
'Just don't forget you're on the right now.'
'Right, right. I'll remember.'
'Ok. Let's go then.'
'Presenting, Her Royal Majesty, Queen Anna of Arendelle and her sister, the former Queen Elsa of Arendelle!' The Lord Chamberlain's blaring announcement echoed around the high vaulted ceilings as Elsa followed Anna into the throne room. Being announced seemed rather ridiculous in this instance, as there was next to no one in the room. Besides the Lord Chamberlain himself and several guards, Kristoff and Maren were the only two guests, sitting in seats along the wall to the right of the thrones. On the other side, sat a large burly man and a young boy who could have been no more than five. Children usually weren't permitted in audiences with the queen, but in this special instance Elsa supposed it had relevance. After a lengthy walk down the long narrow room, they approached the dais where the two thrones sat below a large triangle stained glass window. Anna, true to her word, did not forget, and seamlessly moved to sit on the throne to the right, where Elsa normally sat, while Elsa broke left and seated herself on their mother's shorter throne, where Anna used to sit.
'Why does he yell like that when practically no one is in here?' Anna whispered sideways through a barely visible slit in her lips. Elsa shrugged and shook her head, biting her lip to keep a serious face. Sometimes it seemed as if they were two sisters with one connected mind.
Anna took a deep breath and motioned for the guards to escort the man and his son forward.
The man who walked forward was large, muscular and very rough around the edges—he appeared to be a manual laborer, though it was apparent he had made some sort of effort to clean himself up for this meeting. Something about his demeanor unnerved Elsa, though she couldn't quite pinpoint it. The way his dark eyes roamed over she and Anna felt incredibly invasive and made her uncomfortable.
The child however, scuttled timidly next to the man and looked nothing like him, in fact he looked frightened—the main reason why children should not be permitted in this kind of a situation. His wide blue eyes darted about, back and forth between she and Anna. His clothes were worn and tattered, brown jacket that was a bit too large for him, trousers, high socks and shoes. Once again it appeared as if he had been straightened up, if only a little, for this occasion. His dark hair was unruly, but it was clear some attempt had been made to smooth it down. If his father wasn't standing right there, Elsa would have assumed this was a poor orphan boy. He clasped his little hands in front of himself, nervously wringing them together as he averted his eyes down to his feet. Elsa recognized those nervous gestures as something she herself did, and she immediately wished she could comfort this child.
'Yer Majesty.' The man said, dropping to one knee and bowing his head. When it was apparent that the little boy didn't understand royal protocol, the man smacked him upside the head. 'Bow.' He hissed quietly. The boy was clearly startled but dropped to his knees as quickly as his small body would allow. Elsa saw Anna visibly tense at the uncalled for action, and her own magic spiked within at witnessing it.
'There is absolutely no need for that.' Anna spat harshly. 'Please don't do it again in my presence—or ever again preferably.'
'Apologies Yer Majesty, Yer Highness.'
'Rise.' Anna commanded. It was obvious by her unusually curt tone that she was already as off-put by this man as Elsa was. 'What is your name?'
'Reis they call me. Assan Reis.'
'Mr. Reis. That doesn't sound like a local name, nor does your accent—where are you from?'
'I is a sailor ma'am, I's come from all over really.'
'I see.' Anna stated in a suspicious tone. 'Tell me then, just how and where did you and your son happen upon our crystal?'
'We's found it on the edge of town by the woods near a pub. Me son found it and see, well I's already knew you was lookin for it, saw it meself in the memo, so I's says we must go see the queen right away and return it.'
'Right. May we see it then?' Anna went straight to the point.
'I have yer word we be gettin' double the reward price in gold? Seein' as two of us found it and I be needin' the gold to feed me children.'
Anna sucked in a long irritated breath, then blew it out slowly. 'Yes.' She hissed quietly. 'As soon as we verify that it's the real crystal.'
Reis nodded and gave the boy a little push forward. 'Show her then.' He commanded the child. The boy stepped forward reluctantly, his wide eyes still frightened as they darted between Anna and Elsa. He tried to clasp his hands together again but the long oversized jacket sleeves prevented it. He gave up and dropped his hands to his sides. Elsa offered him a kind smile of reassurance.
'What is your name sweetheart?' Anna asked in a soft voice.
'Rune, ma'am.' The child said timidly, then stared at his toes.
'Rune.' Anna turned the word over as she said it. 'That's a very Arendellian name.' She added, and Elsa was following her. It was strange that a foreigner such as Reis had a child with an Arendellian name. Not impossible, as they had a recent influx of immigrants since the gates had opened, yet still it seemed odd. 'Do you have our crystal Rune? Can you show it to us?'
Rune finally freed his hands from his sleeves and clasped them nervously together again, he was still staring at his toes but nodded in response to Anna's question. In the same moment Anna got off the throne and moved to sit on the steps of the dais. Elsa felt the guards behind her shift uneasily, but motioned them to stay put. A queen sitting on the floor in the throne room was hardly normal protocol, but then this was Anna, and the guards would probably frighten Rune further.
'Come here then, it's ok, you don't have to be afraid of us.' Anna tried and motioned Rune forward, it seemed to work. He looked up at her and slowly toddled forward so that he was standing eye level right in front of her. 'Let's see what you've got there.' Anna coaxed. Reluctantly, he unclasped his hands to reveal the turquoise crystal. Elsa breathed a sigh of relief, she would have to hold it to verify, but it looked real. But, why did this child have the crystal and not his father—why had the father brought him in the first place? It all seemed very odd. Anna's eyes turned around suddenly and met hers with a worried look, then she nodded her head indicating Elsa to come over. Elsa got up and moved to sit next to Anna on the steps of the dais. Rune's eyes went wide at seeing her approach and she offered him a small, non-threatening smile.
'Hello Rune.' Elsa said softly. 'Nice to meet you, my name is Elsa.' He smiled timidly back at her, his wide blue eyes so like her own—then his cheeks flushed red and he turned his eyes down at his toes once more. Elsa chuckled.
'Hello.' He said quietly, his eyes flicking up to hers then back to his toes multiple times in rapid succession. A small, timid smile pulled at his lips. Anna had her hand under the boy's little hand, inspecting the crystal that lie there.
'It's stuck to his hand…' Anna whispered and immediately Rune yanked his hand back, clasping it in the other.
'Please don't cut my hand off!' He blurted out, clearly horrified at the prospect as tears pooled in his blue eyes.
'Sweetheart, no one is going to cut off your hand, who told you that?' Anna asked gently. Rune was fixated on his toes again but pulled his eyes up suddenly and glanced behind at his father. Then returned to staring at his toes. Anna exchanged a worried, knowing glance with her. Something was amiss here.
'Did your father tell you that?' Anna asked, and glanced behind him at Reis. Rune nodded his head yes, then quickly shook it no. 'Rune, look at me,' Anna said gently. Reluctantly, Rune pulled his eyes away from his toes to look at Anna. 'Is that man really your father?'
'Of course I is! Why would yeh ask the boy such a question?' Reis spat and started to move forward, but the guards that were on either side of the thrones moved forward abruptly, halting the man in his tracks.
'Rune, do you understand the difference between telling the truth and telling a lie?' Elsa tried lightly, returning her attention to him. Rune nodded.
'Lyin' is bad cause that's when you get smacked fer not tellin' the truth.' He said quietly. Anna took a deep breath and locked concerned eyes with her again. Elsa felt the anger boiling up inside but forced herself to tamp it down—this child had clearly been abused.
'That's…correct. You mustn't tell lies, but no one here is going to hurt you for telling the truth, I promise. So, can you tell us the truth Rune? Is this man your father?' Anna asked again, this time Rune shook his head no. 'And did he threaten to cut off your hand if you didn't listen to him?' Anna pressed gently, Rune nodded sheepishly and his bottom lip quivered.
'The boy lies! He's a compulsive liar, yeh can't believe a thing he says!' Reis boomed loud enough to make Rune jump. Anna stood up immediately and Elsa impulsively pulled a shaking Rune into her arms. He clung to her, which was both surprising and strangely nice.
'It's ok.' Elsa found herself whispering to the scared little boy. 'You are very brave.'
'You sir, are the liar and manipulator. Using and abusing this child for your own gain, profiteering off of a little boy using fear tactics—how do you live with yourself?' Anna spat, then paused, seeming to consider her next words carefully. 'Do you have any papers proving that this is your child?'
'Papers…yeh I got papers…' The man mumbled unconvincingly.
'Well until you can produce them, I'm afraid we will have to detain you. Take him away.' Anna said to the guards who complied immediately.
'Yeh can't do this, I found yer crystal! I deserve me reward!' Reis boomed as the guards dragged him from the room. Anna shook her head and let out a long exasperated sigh.
Elsa could feel Rune trembling in her arms and she held him tightly until Reis was removed and the doors closed behind them. 'Rune, it's ok, that man was taken away. He won't ever hurt you again—you're safe now.' Elsa whispered and rubbed his back reassuringly. Her eyes flicked up to Anna who was smiling at them.
'Rune, can we talk to you?' Anna asked softly and returned to sit next to them. Rune released his grip on Elsa and peeked around her to nod at Anna. Elsa adjusted him so he was sitting on her lap facing Anna. 'Do you—where are your parents sweetie?'
'I ain't got none.' Rune answered quietly. Elsa felt a pang of sadness shoot straight to her heart—Anna's expression saddened, her eyes flicked to where Kristoff sat, but quickly refocused on Rune and smiled at him. 'Ok. Who do you live with then?'
'Well, sometimes I stays at Mrs. Mason's. But sometimes she gots too many kids so we just stay outside.'
Mrs. Mason's—Elsa knew this to be the orphanage, what she didn't know was that it was at capacity. They would have to fix that—no child should be sleeping outside by themselves, ever. 'Outside?' Elsa asked.
'Mm hm, yes ma'am. I'm real good at findin' places to sleep, and I even know how to find berries in the woods.' He stated proudly. Elsa smiled sadly at him and felt a weight burden her heart.
'I'll bet that's how you found the crystal then, isn't it?' Elsa asked and Rune nodded. 'Then what happened?'
'Well, when Mr. Reis finds me, he telled me that it belonged to Queen Anna so I had to give it here. But when I tried to give it, it was stuck to my hand.' He explained and shook his hand to prove that the crystal wouldn't come off—which Elsa found odd, she had no idea why that should happen. 'Then he says if I don't come with to give the crystal back they might cut my hand off.' Rune stated, and started nervously wringing his hands together again. 'So I goed with him and he says the magical Snow Queen can get it off my hand if I just pretended I was his son. Then they wouldn't havta cut it off.'
'I see, thank you for telling us the truth Rune.' Anna said kindly. 'And guess what—my sister Elsa is the Snow Queen and you're sitting on her lap.' Anna said with raised eyebrows and a smile. Rune turned his wide blue eyes up to look at Elsa, his mouth agape.
Elsa smiled down at him, then sprinkled some snowflakes over his head. 'See, magic's not so scary.' She said, which caused him to giggle as a snowflake caught him in the eye. 'May I see your hand Rune?' Elsa asked and held out her own. 'You don't have to be afraid.'
Rune nodded and slowly, tentatively placed his tiny warm hand in hers. Immediately Elsa felt the crystal drop out of his hand and into her own—as if it recognized her. At once, Rune pulled his hand back and looked at it, bewildered and excited all at the same time. 'It commed off!' He announced happily. 'It's magic!'
Elsa nodded. 'All because you were brave and told the truth, that's the real magic.' Elsa added and winked at him, his cute smile stretched from ear to ear, he was missing his two front teeth. Then his cheeks blushed bright pink, seemingly embarrassed again and he looked down at his hands. Just then Kristoff and Maren approached, each smiling widely.
'Will you introduce us to your new handsome friend?' Maren asked and squatted down on one knee in front of them. Her smiling eyes briefly caught Elsa's own, then she focused on Rune.
'Rune, this is Honeymaren, she lives in the Enchanted Forest with me.'
'Enchanted Forest?' Rune reiterated, awestruck as the words left his mouth. Maren chuckled at his reaction.
'Yes, and it's very nice to meet you Rune.' Maren stated with a kind, comforting smile that Elsa could stare at for days. Rune was still staring blankly at her. 'You know, we can take you to visit the Enchanted Forest sometime so you can play with the magical spirits, would you like that?' Rune started nodding his head vigorously at the suggestion, then turned up to look at her.
'Ms. Elsa, will you come with too?' He whispered quietly.
'Of course.' Elsa responded with a chuckle. Just then Kristoff knelt down next to Maren and Elsa felt Rune tense and lean into her away from Kristoff. 'Rune, it's ok, this is our friend Kristoff.' Elsa added and felt Rune relax, but he stayed pressed against her chest.
'Hi buddy.' Kristoff said, but made no further movements. 'You know, when I was your age, I didn't have parents either, it was just me and my reindeer Sven.'
'Reindeer?' Rune asked, perking up and pulling himself away from Elsa's chest to look at Kristoff. 'You have a pet reindeer?' He asked, awestruck.
'Well, he's more like my best friend—and he can even talk.' Kristoff whispered and Elsa saw Anna roll her eyes, but she was smiling. 'I'm sure he'd love to give you a ride.' Kristoff added with a smile then glanced at Anna. Rune jumped off Elsa's lap, then turned around to face her and Anna.
'Oh, Ms. Elsa, can I go ride the reindeer right now?' He asked excitedly. It briefly amused Elsa that his first thought had been to ask her for permission, but he was so utterly adorable she found the the only possible response to his request was yes.
'Of course you can.' Elsa answered and saw his eyes light up as if it were Christmas morning.
'But Rune, in order to be a master reindeer rider, did you know you have to practice first?' Maren added, then turned around. 'Hop on my back.' Rune only hesitated a moment, looked back at Elsa—she nodded in approval—then he turned and jumped onto Maren's back. She caught him as he wriggled to get a good grasp around her neck, then she stood up, bouncing him up and down on her back like a reindeer would. He giggled and laughed and something warm crawled up into Elsa's chest at the sight. Perhaps it was Maren's melodic laugh, and seeing her just as she was then—completely her wonderful self. Or perhaps it was seeing a child that so reminded her of herself—having fun. She wasn't sure, but whatever that feeling was, she liked it.
'To the reindeer!' Kristoff announced and poked Rune in the side which made him giggle even harder. Then he led the way and Maren followed as they started to walk down the long room. Elsa smiled watching them go and felt Anna link arms with her.
'What's that look about?' Anna asked with a smile and a raised brow, breaking Elsa out of her trance.
'What look?'
'Oh, I dunno. You just had that glazed over, lovestruck dumb look in your eyes that's all.' Anna chided then started to walk them out of the room, pulling Elsa with her.
Elsa rolled her eyes. 'Stop.'
Anna hummed with a smile. 'I'm just saying, Rune really seemed to like you—and Maren.'
'He likes you and Kristoff too.' Elsa corrected. Though she couldn't deny how quickly Rune had attached to her, and also couldn't deny that she felt an unexplainably warm attachment towards him too—but it was probably just because he reminded her so much of herself.
Anna hummed again and squinted her eyes suspiciously, but said nothing further on that subject. 'Well, let's just forget about everything for a minute and go watch them ride Sven.' Anna said and huffed a long exasperated sigh. 'This queenly business is emotional and exhausting and I need some chocolate.'
Elsa chuckled. 'God I miss chocolate.'
'I would never last without it.' Anna confessed as if this were a revelation. 'At least that's one vice I have to keep luring you back here.' Anna joked with an air of sadness.
'Anna,' Elsa said and stopped walking. She took Anna's hands in her own and shook her head. 'I will come running back here every time you need me, and even when you don't need me. I miss you too, you know? Every single day.' Elsa said and searched Anna's eyes, looking for something other than sadness. 'But you are already an amazing queen even without me, do you know why?' Anna shook her head.
'Because of this.' Elsa said and placed her hand on her sister's heart. 'Anna, you have so much heart—so much love to give—don't ever let anyone bring you down or take that away. Promise me that? Like my magic, that's what makes you, you—and it's what the world needs most right now.'
Anna nodded and smiled, her teal eyes pooling with tears. She flicked them away and took a deep breath.
'I promise.'
A/N: I was listening to Be Still by The Killers while writing this, and I feel like it's a great song from Elsa to Anna. :)
