Here Comes The Sun
Chapter 19
By: The Duchess of Arendelle
AN: Not a lot of Elsa/Anna in this chapter, mostly plot, but there will be a whole lot next chapter. Irish slang in here, meanings in the AN at the bottom. Sorry for any mistakes!
"Excuse me?" Elsa asked, infuriated with the smug man. Edmond looked at her, eyes glowing with mischief.
"I called this meeting, Your Highness." He repeated. Elsa stared at the man with disfavor.
"And may I inquire as to why?" the blonde queen asked.
"Well, majesty, as a courtier and a faithful citizen of this great land, I'm concerned." He spoke, with a false troubled look on his face. Elsa frowned a bit.
"Concerned? About what?"
"The fact that her majesty lost control of her powers again, no matter how slight it was. You gained your control back, this time, but what if there comes a time where you are not able to? Who would lead our great kingdom then?" He said, leaning forward with both hands crossed on the table in front of him. Elsa noticed an iron ring with humongous ruby placed in the middle and surrounded by small jade crystals on his right ring finger. She could have sworn she saw the brilliant ruby let off a dull glow right before all her council members started to shake their heads and mumble in agreement. Elsa glowered at Edmond.
"That will not happen. But you must have forgotten. In the very unlikely event that something like that should come to pass, we still have my sister." Elsa said, smirking at Edmond. Edmond smirked back.
"You mean the Princess that was going to marry a complete strangers hours after they met? Who's betrothed turned out to be an evil manipulator bent on killing you and the princess in order to gain control of our fair kingdom? That sister?" he spoke slowly, letting each word roll off his tongue and pierce the queen's ears. Elsa was now officially pissed. She bristled as she sat up straighter in her chair and glared daggers at the man.
"You will watch your tongue and be mindful of the way you speak about your princess." She spat out, trying to calmly compose herself but failing. She felt her powers begin to leak out as the temperature in the room dropped slightly. How dare he speak that way about Anna? Who did this man think he was? Edmond bowed his head respectfully at his queen's words.
"I apologize your grace. Truly I did not mean to offend." He stopped and stared at Elsa as he brought his hands to his mouth and blew into them.
"Brrr. Awfully cold in here for the middle of summer." He said and the men around him started to agree.
"Yes it is a bit cool…"
"Was it this cold in here when we first sat down?"
"It's the queen's doing, she must be losing control of her powers again…"
It couldn't have been more than three degrees cooler in the room, but the paranoid men made it seem like it was twenty below zero. She stared at Edmond who was smiling at her. He did that on purpose. He knew how to manipulate these fools. Elsa had, had enough. She raised a hand to silence the men.
"Gentlemen, please." She said, but the men continued talking. She looked over at Kai who stared at the queen helplessly.
"I said that's enough gentlemen." Again they continued to ignore her and instead went on about their concerns of Elsa losing control and the temperature drop. Elsa closed her eyes and held her hands tightly in her lap. If this continued to go on she would lose control.
"ENOUGH!" she finally shouted. Instantly the men around her closed their mouths and looked at their queen with wide eyes. It was dead silent in the room for a long while as the men remained quiet and Elsa tried to reign in her emotions. Edmond took this chance to speak.
"Her majesty is right. That is enough, out of all of you. We have strayed from the problem at hand. Although Princess Anna is a fine, fine choice as a leader, she is not… let's say… mature enough to lead. She has not been properly educated on how to lead an entire country. That's why I believe at the upcoming ball next week, you should have no choice, you will have to take a groom, a king to rule by your side and keep you in check." He finished, smiling darkly at the queen. He was sure this would get a rise out of the blonde. Elsa was not stupid. She wasn't just queen at 21 because she was born into it, she was bright, intelligent, and she knew when she was being goaded.
"Listen to me, all of you, because I am only going to say this once." Elsa began calmly as she gently laid both hands, one on top of the other, on the table. She went into full-fledged monarch mode as she stared down each and every one of her advisors, eyes landing on Sir Edmond as she pressed on.
"I am your queen and you are my advisors. You are her to advise me. But I do not take orders from you or anyone here. I will not be told what to do or think or say. I have let you all off the hook when it came to hosting the ball that will 'force me' into marriage. The only reason I haven't canceled it is because I didn't want to offend the foreign participants. But listen clearly and this goes for you especially Sir Edmond." She said, calling the man out. She took great satisfaction in the surprised look that crossed the dark haired man's face. It was clear that he didn't expect Elsa to be so forward.
"I will not be bullied or manipulated into taking a husband. If I chose to walk away from that ball as single as when I walked in, that is my choice and there's nothing any of you can do about it." Elsa finished. Silence filled the room again as the men looked around at each other, confused as of what to say. A distinguished old grey haired man around eighty decided to speak up.
"Your majesty, if I may?" he rasped out as he got the attention of the room. Elsa looked at him, throughout this entire meeting the man had remained silent. Elsa nodded her head in approval and the man began to speak.
"Your majesty, I am Sir Peter Lindqvist, I was head advisor to your grandfather in his later years." He paused for a second, as if remembering. Then he continued.
"Back in those days, your father was a young thing, around your age actually. He too said he would refuse a bride. He said he would never marry out of duty but for love. Your grandfather knew this and although I tried to talk him out of it, he made a clause in the Kongelig Regelboken, the sacred book in which all rulers of Arendelle must abide." He paused again and stared at Elsa with a sorrowful look. Edmond looked on with a smile as he twisted the ring on his finger. This time Elsa knew she was not mistaken, the ruby was letting off a dull glow. The old man, Sir Peter, pushed on, the words coming out of his mouth as if they were being forcibly removed.
"He… decreed that all future rulers would have to choose a spouse to marry before the end of their 21st year. You father was 19 at the time and you could imagine his reaction. Your grandfather, King Skander, died shortly after the decree so your father had no time to convince him to revoke it. Had your father not married your mother on the eve of his 21st birthday the council would have been forced to choose a bride for him. So, you see your majesty, you don't have a choice, so please try to find your love at the ball." He finished, looking down at the table. He couldn't bare to see the sad, disappointed look on his queen's face. He had no idea why he brought that up in the first place. He didn't want to, but it was like he couldn't stop the information from spilling out. Just as he predicted, Elsa looked horrified to discover this. How had she not heard of this before? She knew her advisors could pressure her into marriage, but never force.
"Well, there you have it." Edmond said, leaning back in his chair with his hands connected in front of him. Elsa didn't bother to even acknowledge him. She was feeling faint. She looked down at her hands and saw frost forming on her palms. Kai bent down beside Elsa and whispered in her ear.
"Go your majesty, I will wrap up the meeting. Quickly now." He said. Kai had noticed Elsa's distressed look and looking down he too saw the frost forming on her palms. He knew losing control of her powers in front of these men was the last thing that needed to happen. Elsa looked up at Kai and tried to smile gratefully.
"Thank you." She whispered out before rising from her seat and swiftly exiting the room. She heard Kai make an excuse to the confused, protesting men as he brought the meeting to an end. Elsa strode through the castle's hallways, hands clutched tightly to her chest. She could feel the pounding of her own heart as she turned another corner. Servants milled around, going on about their daily routines. They smiled and spoke to her and she tried her best to look normal and speak back.
"Evenin' your majesty." A young maid with flaming red hair excitedly spoke to her. The girl had a huge smile plastered on her face and Elsa tried to return it.
"Ah, hello Iris." Elsa spoke then tried to make a hasty retreat to her chambers so she could let her ice powers go. The girl didn't seem to notice as she continued speaking.
"How is her majesty today? I noticed that ye weren't in yur' chambers this morin'?" The girl spoke with a thick accent. Irish perhaps? Elsa was exasperated but tried to hide it as she responded to the girl through a clenched tooth smile.
"I'm fine Iris, I hope you are as well. I spent the night in Anna's hospital room, that's why I wasn't in my chambers this morning. Now if you'll excus-" Elsa was cut off by Iris as she spoke over the queen.
"Oh yea! I heard' bout' that! Is the poor dear al'right? I hope she's not hurt too badly." She exclaimed. Elsa was close to gritting her teeth. When did everyone start becoming so comfortable around her? She felt her magic begin to make its way out of her fingertips. She had to 'let it go'. Now.
"She's fine, but I really have to g-"
"Ah, Queen Elsa! I just remembered! Did ye hear about tha new-"
SWISSHSHHSH SHOOWOSHH
Ice and snow shot from Elsa's hands. In a matter of seconds the entire hall was a winter wonder land. Piles of snow were everywhere and the beautiful marble floor was covered in a sheet of ice. Snow slowly trickled down from the ceiling as Elsa stared in wide eyed horror. This was sure to be tonight's gossip. From her right she could hear Iris squeal in excitement.
"Jaysus on the cross! This is right fierce weather! I ain't seen snow like this since I was a babe in Ireland with me mammy! It's always a treat since it don't snow much there. This is amazin' queen Elsa!" Iris said as she slid on the floor, holding the freezing snow in her hands and throwing it in the air. Elsa was stunned. She thought the girl would run and scream, spreading rumors about 'how the queen can't keep her powers under control.' But wait.
"What do you mean you've never seen snow like this? You weren't here when I…" Elsa trailed off, gesturing with her hands.
"Nope, I jus got here two weeks ago! Wen I heard about tha amazin' things ye could do, I almost didn't believe. I thought these people were right nutters! Then I seen ye freeze the ground for people ta skate and I tought I'd lost me head! Thanks for those weekly skatin rinks by the way." She responded as she fashioned some snow into a mini snowman.
"And you're not afraid?" Elsa asked. Even some of her senior staff were still wary and afraid of her.
"Not a bit!" she responded happily. Elsa smiled a bit at that.
"I'm sorry but I just had to release some of my pent up magic, I have to make it go away now." Elsa said apologetically. Iris sadly looked up from the snow angel she was making.
"Aw, alright..." she said as she rose from the ground, brushing the snow from her dress. She watched in awe as with just a flick of her wrist, Elsa cleared the entire hallway.
"Go on outta that! Wow!" Iris exclaimed. Elsa giggled, how old was this girl?
"How old are you Iris?" Elsa asked curiously. Iris suddenly looked nervous as she grabbed the front of her apron and began twisting it in her hands.
"I- I'm 19 yur majesty." She answered, eyes downcast. Elsa looked unconvinced. Now that she really looked, the girl didn't look like she was much older than 15.
"Right. Do you want to try that again?" Elsa asked with a raised eyebrow. Iris looked to the side as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
"I jus' turned 16 last week…" she trailed off. Elsa frowned slightly. The minimum age to work in the castle was 18.
"You know you are not old enough to work here, don't you?" Elsa asked. She wasn't upset, just confused. What was a 16 year old doing working at the castle and not in school? Iris swallowed hard and looked at the queen.
"Please don't kick me out yur majesty. Me family jus' moved here and I need this job ta help support them." She pleaded with Elsa. The ice queen's face softened a bit as she gestured for the girl to walk with her.
"How did you get this job? I know for a fact that we require records on all applicants, I look over the papers and approve them myself." She said. Iris looked down.
"I got some git of a man ta falsify me some papers…" Iris said. Elsa nodded her head in understanding. They walked a few more minutes in silence before reaching Elsa's destination. The infirmary. Elsa stopped outside the entrance and turned to the young redhead.
"Listen Iris, I have much bigger problems than an employee with false papers, so I'm going to let this slide…" Elsa began. Iris looked up happily.
"But…" Elsa continued and Iris's smiled faded.
"You will have to take school lessons three times a week for four hours. Don't worry your pay will not be affected and this is just an exception for you." Elsa finished with a small smile. Iris grinned again and on impulse grabbed Elsa around the waist in a giant bear hug.
"I am in me wick! Really? Thank you queen Elsa!" Iris exclaimed. Elsa was taken by surprise. She patted the girl a few times and the redhead realized what she was doing and quickly let go.
"Sorry…" she said shyly with the huge grin still on her face. After that the two quickly parted. Elsa had requested that the redhead bring tea and something for her and Anna to eat to the infirmary. The girl had bowed and scurried off towards the kitchens. Elsa waited outside Anna's door for a few minutes, running through all the ways she was going to break the terrible news to her love, before taking in a deep breath and turning the knob.
****FROZEN****
Elsa entered the infirmary and ran into Dr. Fritz just as he was leaving Anna's room.
"Hello Dr. Fritz, how is Anna today?" Elsa inquired. Fritz smiled at her.
"She's doing fine your majesty. Go see for yourself. Ah, but I did give her a little something for pain, her ankle was throbbing a bit." He said, pointing towards the door. Elsa smiled at him and nodded.
"Take care." Elsa called behind her as she walked to the door and opened it. Inside she found a sleeping Anna. A full head of red hair was sticking up in every direction as drool dripped from the side of her mouth. Her limbs were thrown about the bed and her cover hung halfway on the floor. To Elsa nothing could have looked cuter. She looked at the clock hanging on the north wall. It was 3:15. She wasn't planning on doing anything for the rest of the day, not after that meeting, so she slowly made her way to the sleeping figure and climbed in with her, curling her body around the redhead's. Anna stirred and turned on her side. She sleepily looked at Elsa and smiled.
"Hey you." Anna said groggily. Elsa smiled slightly.
"Hey yourself." She said back. Anna decided to wrap her arms around Elsa and pull her closer.
"Mmm. Kristoff and Punize told me you were in a meeting this morning. How'd it go?" Anna asked as she made herself comfortable and began to drift again. Elsa frowned but quickly hid it behind a soft smile. She couldn't ruin this moment. She needed this and so did Anna. She kissed the redhead on top of the head then whispered in her ear.
"It was fine snowflake."
AN: Okay so, introduced some important story plot information this chapter if you read closely and 2 new characters who are going to play a bigger part in this story…. But no time soon. Anyway, next chapter more Elsa/Anna communication. Quick question, do you think Elsa should go ahead and tell Anna, or do you think she should keep putting it off? Oh! And the ball is coming up soon, that's when all the action and drama really take place. A lot of twist and turns. I'm so ready to start writing it, but I'm not going to rush this. Peace! :)
The Kongelig Regelboken- The Regal Rulebook in Norwegian
Jaysus – Irish exclamation for Jesus
right nutters- very crazy
Go on outta that – Irish slang exclamation – Get outta here! Or You're pulling my leg!
Git- Irish slang- Idiot – Jerk
I am in me wick! – Irish slang- you must be joking!