Here Comes the Sun
Chapter 44
By: The Duchess of Arendelle
AN: Part Two
*A few days later*
A light breeze blew through the air as Anna strolled down the cobbled moonlit steps of the palace gardens. It seemed forever ago since she'd been able to actually look and appreciate the beauty of her surroundings. Edmond had only been in their lives for a few months, but it felt like centuries. His presence changed everything. His ever looking eyes casted on her and Elsa. They were never alone anymore. Never being able to speak freely without the fear that he or one of his spies should overhear them. Never being able to touch beyond a graze of the hand for fear that he would see and tell the entire kingdom about their forbidden relationship.
The only time they could be together now were stolen moments late at night, where they could steal away to their secret spot. Tucked far away, towards the very edge of the immense gardens, shrouded by greenery and shrubs, and covered in long strips of ivy, was a small wooden shack. Abandoned and forgotten by the world around it.
It was unremarkable. Invisible to those who didn't know to look for it. But over the past few weeks, it had become an asylum for the two sisters. Surprisingly, Olaf had been the first to discover it. In spite of all the drama and doom that loomed over all of them, Olaf still managed to keep his cheery and curious nature. Exploring the sprawling gardens one particularly warm afternoon, he'd come across the small shack. Barely noticeable as it blended in with the foliage that surrounded it. He excitedly ran back to Anna and told her of his explorations in the gardens and his brand new discovery. He then promptly became distracted by a ladybug that landed on the nearby windowsill and waddled off after it.
Now, she stood outside the ancient wooden door. Placing one hand on the splintered surface, she gently pushed the door open. The sound of creaking hinges was all that met her when she entered the tiny shack. She looked around at her clean, yet sparse surroundings.
Since its discovery, Anna had surreptitiously begun making the spot more comfortable for herself and Elsa. She'd cleaned the small shack from head to toe. The broken furniture that formerly inhabited it was removed and she'd replaced it with some older pieces from inside the palace. Pieces that no one would notice or miss. A small white table sat in the middle of the room with two light blue and white wooden chairs pushed in. The right hand corner of the room contained a small wooden bed, barely big enough to hold one person. Her and Elsa made do, it just meant they needed to squeeze extra close in order for them both to fit comfortably. Anna didn't mind that one bit. Finally, small glowing snowflakes adored the walls; Elsa's contribution. They lit the room in an ethereal blue, almost white, glow.
"I guess she's not here yet." Anna said aloud, into the empty room. Sighing, she took off the dark green cloak she wore and hung it on the old, chipped coat rack. She walked over to one of the chairs and took a seat. Waiting was the worse part. Anna was always the first to arrive. Elsa would often show up much later than herself. Which was understandable. Through all of the plotting, and sneaking, and blackmailing, Elsa still had a responsibility to her people. She still ran her country, for now at least, and that meant she still had duties that needed fulfilling. Sometimes her advisors would keep her late into the night, trying to stave off one political catastrophe or trying to find a way to offset deficits in imports and exports into the country.
Anna startled at the sound of rusty hinges creaking and quickly turned towards the door.
She let out a faint sigh of relief when she saw a head of blonde hair peep around the door frame.
"Elsa." she breathed out, rising from her seated position to meet the blonde at the door.
"Anna." she said in turn, a tired smile spreading across her face. Elsa closed the shack's door behind her, then turned back around to embrace the redhead. Arms wrapped tightly around the younger girl's waist and Elsa seemed to melt into the redhead's arms. Anna felt Elsa breathe deeply into her neck and buried her face deeper in the crook. The show of affection was not unusual for the blonde, but it felt like something was off. Anna backed away from the embrace just enough to look her sister in her eyes.
"Hey snowflake, what's wrong?" she gently asked. Elsa looked away and for a second, the redhead thought the blonde was going to shut her out again. Tell her it was nothing and everything was fine. But she didn't. Elsa sighed heavily, the exhaustion clear in the sound and looked back at her lover.
"Today was really stressful." she started. Anna nodded to show she was listening and to encourage the blonde to continue. "Care to share?" she stated with a sympathetic smile. Elsa heaved another sigh.
"It's… everything. For starters, it looks as if Arendelle may be heading into a recession if we can't think of a way to maximize income into the kingdom. I'm loath to admit it, but since cutting trade ties with Weasleton, Arendelle has been struggling financially. They were some of our biggest imports and exporters. In order to make up for the loss, the council has been pushing to raise taxes on our poor and middle class citizens, but I refused. When I suggested that we raise the taxes on the nobility and wealthy merchants instead, they all looked at me as if I'd grown 3 heads." Elsa shook her head in annoyance.
"And if that wasn't bad enough, Edmund was at the meeting and suggested we not only raise taxes on the working class merchants and farmers, but we should also cut funding to the local orphanages by half. HALF. And he wants to reopen trade relations with Weastelton. What's worse, most of them agreed with him. The sway he's begun to have over the council from being my "fiance" is more than troubling, it's terrifying. I can't imagine the sway he'll have if we…" At this, Elsa finally trailed off, but Anna knew what she was going to say. If they actually had to go through with getting married. It was a subject that they had both agreed to never talk about in the shack. In their oasis. Their escape from the harsh truth that awaited them outside those four wooden walls.
The room fell quiet and Elsa mentally cursed herself for unloading all her troubles on the redhead. She tried to avoid doing that as much as possible. She wanted to protect Anna as much as she could from the grim reality of their position and the kingdom's troubles. She didn't want her under any more stress than she already was.
Startled out of her musings, Elsa looked down at the redhead when she felt a warm hand caress her cheek. Instinctually, she grabbed in and held it closer, eyes closed.
Anna took the opportunity to lean forward and press their lips together in a sweeping kiss. Elsa gasped at the sudden contact of petal soft lips against her cold ones. Anna almost smirked at the opening the blonde had left her. She quickly took advantage and deepened the kiss, tongue smoothly sliding into the ice queen's surprisingly warm mouth. Their mouths clashed passionately, but there was no fight for dominance as Elsa let Anna lead the kiss. It lasted longer than Elsa knew she could hold her breath, and by the time it ended she was breathless and dizzy and panting. Even still, her lips chased after Anna's. The redhead smiled and pecked her lips once more before completely retreating. When Elsa opened her eyes, she saw the deep blue eyes of Anna's shining up at her.
"Thank you." the redhead told her. The cute crinkle of confusion between Elsa's eyebrows made Anna giggle.
"For what? I should be thanking you for that kiss." The blonde half joked, still confused. Anna laughed again, but quickly sobered and stared up at the blonde. The air of joking had completely dissipated and Elsa leaned closer, worry as well as confusion in her eyes. Anna brought both of her hands up and placed them on the blonde's chest, fingers grazing her collarbone.
"For opening up to me. It's… all I've ever wanted from you. Even before we… when we were little. I just wanted you to open up to me and tell me how you felt. But you've always had this nasty habit of holding everything inside, of carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders because of this compulsive need to "protect me." Even now, I know you still struggle with bottling up what troubles you. But what you just did, actually talking to me and telling me how much of a terrible day you've had and why… It's honestly more than I ever thought I would get from you. Eight year old Anna would never believe it." she finished with a slight smile.
Elsa was stunned at the redhead's words. She had no idea what to say. On one hand, she was over the moon at Anna's happiness at simply expressing her worries, her fears, her annoyances. On the other, it saddened her that Anna had gone so long feeling completely secluded and shut out. Even after becoming a couple. Her "protecting" Anna was actually having the opposite effect. And it was evident now more than ever how importing opening up was to the redhead. In the end, the Ice Queen could only nod her head and give the fiery redhead a watery smile.
Another long silence passed, and Elsa finally cleared away the lump in her throat.
"I promise you, from this moment on, no more hiding. No more, bottling. No more keeping secrets from you to "protect" you. I'm an open book Anna, one that can only be read by your beautiful eyes." The blonde assured her. The brilliant smile she received from the redhead made Elsa's heart skip several beats. A tear fell from the redhead's eye and Elsa quickly wiped it away.
"You have no idea what it means to me to hear you say that. I want to share everything with you, Elsa. The good, and bad. I want us to carry our burdens together." Anna brought them closer for another kiss, this one not nearly long enough for Elsa's liking.
Pulling back, the blonde could see the mischievous glint now in Anna's eyes. It promised that the kiss was just the beginning of their night…
AN: I've had these chapters written up for over a year but I just could not figure out how to wrap it up. I knew I wanted some Elsa/Anna alone time, but I didn't know how to get there. It was driving me mad. I'm still not 100% satisfied, but I could not keep sitting on these chapters. So hopefully it doesn't seem rushed or OOC. Anyway, hope you all enjoyed the 2-parter update.
Stay Safe xoxo