Chapter 8

The party

Summary: The sisters are reunited and had fun with an old dignitary for a brief moment before the second princess hung around with a man, a new enemy to the cynical crown princess.

The guests danced with the springy music coming from the band behind the curtains, eating luxurious food, joking around, or laughing during some typical conversation.

However, as the trumpets blew, the guests stopped whatever they were doing and turned to the ornamented throne in sync.

On the elevated platform, there stands the stout, horseshoe-haired, big-nosed butler with his hands behind.

"Queen Elsa of Arendelle!" He said as his voice boomed the entire hall for everyone to hear.

And finally, the long-awaited Queen Elsa stepped up the platform through the red-fabricated wall with her usual poised posture and small, cautious steps, as expected. She stands under a formal awning.

Elsa surveyed the entire room. Every guest gawked at her as if she was a decorated statue. Or perhaps they are merely curious. She gave them her unrevealing, carefully controlled smile.

Although she turned nineteen, her heavy attire aged her twenty years more. Elsa is very aware of it long before, but simply did not care. She wasn't there to impress some men.

"Princess Anna of Arendelle!"

The second princess, who runs out of the right side while waving awkwardly, grabbed the guests' attention. Most held their chuckles, while simultaneously others waved back to ease her nerves.

Elsa was surprised to feel her thin lips quirk in amusement.

"Here? You sure? I don't think I'm supposed to — Oh!" Anna's blabber halted as the butler ushers her over to stand right next to her older sister. A little too close.

"Okay…" She said before putting some distance between her and Elsa. She tried to imitate her sister's pose but fails since she needs to breathe and rest from running all the way to the castle.

Elsa was relieved, though it pained her inside when Anna withdraws herself further away.

The guests clasped at introducing the royal sisters — and the springy music — and returns to their business; eating and dancing seem more enticing than seeing the princesses and congratulating the crown princess for her birthday.

Elsa smiled at Anna, who tucked a strand behind her ear, clearly too nervous to notice her.

She didn't want her sister to just stand there with nobody to talk to, and as she gets more relaxed once the guests were not staring anymore — though some were still waiting to meet her — Her amusement and her plans encouraged her to make a small talk, even if it was not her forte.

And so Elsa turned to smile at her little sister and said, "Hi."

Anna visibly started and turned with wide turquoise eyes. "Hi… hi me?" she said with her hand pointed at herself in emphasis. Elsa nodded as she saw Anna's entire face come alight with joy, and her eyes twinkled.

"Oh! Um… Hi!" Anna laughed.

Wanting to extend the moment — she had it, and it might not come again — Elsa said, "You look beautiful."

Anna, if such were possible, flushed still brighter red, grinning and flustered. "Oh, uh… thanks? But you look beautifuller."

Elsa was unsurprised by her sister's very flawed vocabulary.

"I-I mean, not fuller! You don't look fuller, but more beautiful."

"Thank you." Elsa chuckled at Anna's pointless fear of saying something wrong. But now, she had to come up with something else because Anna's face was like a child opening its first Christmas gift.

"So!" Elsa said under her breath, whirling to the crowd before them. "This is what a party looks like." This was the best she could come up with. She watched the entire hall in sincere wonder. It was true. It has been a long time since she was at a party; years of confinement inside her dark little box had limited her knowledge of the basic concept of society.

Sure, the library is full of archived books that hold valuable information on countless subjects, but the best way to get a piece of background knowledge was always through actual experience and observation and getting out of the so-called comfort zone.

Which, Elsa realizes, was the whole point of the party.

"It's warmer than I thought!" Anna laughed, and seemed to think of this as a regular statement rather than something of a non sequitur.

Elsa nodded, and suddenly her small nose caught something.

"And what's that amazing smell?"

Both the sisters closed their eyes and inhaled, and they caught the source of the smell as they spoke together:

"Chocolate!"

Their eyes popped open to see them facing each other and dissolved into uncontrollable giggles. Elsa placed her gloved hand over her mouth to stifle her giggle, but

They finish their laugh simultaneously as Elsa looks back out at the party. Anna fidgeted with her hands as she looked up at her sister. She almost didn't feel alone and she wants to extend this perfect moment, but she has many things in her mind to express, and she couldn't think of where to start yet.

As her mind begged, she searched for something, anything, a person to point out or strange noise. Then she had it.

'Hans! How would she react if I told her I met a charming prince? Maybe she will appoint him a job so he could stay here.'

But just as Anna found her way, an audible cough stopped her.

"Your majesty?" The sisters turned in sync to see Kai and a slender, crooked-nosed, petite old man standing beside him, suited with an extraordinary amount of medals and inky dignitary uniform.

"The Duke of Weaseltown." Kai introduces the hoary duke by him, who glared at Kai.

"Weselton!" The duke snapped at Kai before he turned to her with a straight but improper, exaggerated posture. "The Duke of Weselton." He said with a smile, more gently this time.

The royal sisters smiled back at the duke as Anna glanced at Elsa, and she noticed her usual close-lipped smile. She did not like Elsa acting so coldly towards almost everyone, especially on her own birthday. But she still couldn't understand why.

"Your majesty," the duke said with a hoarse voice as he walked closer. "It is an honor to receive the invitation to attend the party. And as your closest partner in trade," He then bowed before her, "I very much wish for a happy birthday and prosperous years ahead to the future beautiful queen of Arendelle." He then straightens up with a grin.

"Thank you for your kind words, your grace." Elsa bowed her head with a formal smile.

He nodded. "And as my gift for you," He continued with a raised eyebrow, "It seems only fitting that I offer you your first dance as queen."

'D-Dance?!'

Elsa's heart sped up as she screamed inside. Please, anything but being close to somebody. She doesn't even know how to dance. The last time she danced with someone was when her father attempts to teach her by holding her hands and spinning her around; she was only an eight-year-old child back then…

But what the duke does afterward rendered both the sisters speechless. He winked at her and made a funny flitter of his slim legs, jumped as he flexed one leg low before the other whips into a high kick, and lands effectively in a trice. The medals on his attire clanked, and the air whooshed around him.

And the next thing he did was bowing with his gloved hand out towards her. But as he lows his head…

His gray 'hair' dips forward with a rip.

Both the sisters gasped before bursting into yet another giggle as they look at each other, but they controlled themselves this time. Anna lay her hands on her chest as she glanced at Elsa, who did a better job composing herself.

So, this is his way to offer dance, coming from an old man. That is very — for lack of a better term — funny.

"Ahem. Thank you." Elsa said. "Only I don't dance."

"Oh?" The duke said, his voice showing he feels dejected and offended as his thin shoulders and his once beamy smile fell down.

The way his enthusiasm fell reminded her of Anna back in their childhood. Oh, how many times she rejected her offers to play. But she didn't want to let the poor duke down. So how?

Elsa darted her eyes to Anna, who was still smiling at the duke. And that's where Elsa realized.

"But my sister does…."

Both the duke and the crown princess looked at the younger princess with a devilish smile. Anna laughed and flicked her hand at her sister's compliment, but her laugh fades away once she realized it wasn't a mere compliment.

"What?"

"Lucky you…"

Anna was about to protest, but it was too late as she gasped once the duke grabbed her slim arm and yanked her away from the podium.

"If you swoon, let me know, so I'll catch you!" he told the redhead princess as he pulled her to the dance floor through the crowd of noble guests.

As the princess was being pulled, she looked back to her sister with a look that says 'Help!'.

"Sorry…" but alas, the older sister simply chuckled wickedly with sparkling blue eyes while waving at them. She was definitely not sorry at all.

And all Elsa could do was watching the comical scene that unfolds before her.

Now on the dance floor with guests around them, the band changed the music as some guests waltz. The duke showboats his moves, but he is just awful. So Anna tries to make the best of it as she lay her hands were on her hips and kicked her feet to the other.

"Like an agile peacock! CLUCK-CLUGGLE-CLUCK!" He exclaims as he jumped around Anna. Neither he nor Anna noticed some guests staring and laughing at them.

"Ow!" Anna's eyes widened as she yelped when the duke accidentally lands on her feet. Her olive pleated skirt blew up, briefly showing her petticoats. Good thing no one saw. This was embarrassing.

"Speaking of…" the duke said as he hops along with his wig. "So great to have the gates open." Anna nodded with a forced smile, but her smile fell when the duke gets closer to her while hopping.

It seems the air got a little intense around them, Elsa noted. Although curious about what the duke is telling Anna, she didn't intervene further.

"Well, why did they shut them in the first place?" He asked her.

It was the same question Anna asked her parents and herself for years, and knowing that she wasn't the only one questioning did not surprise her.

"Do you know the reason? Hmm?" he got in her face and raised an eyebrow at her.

"No?" Anna backed away with a smile.

"Oh…" He said, clearly unsatisfied with her answer as he grasped her hand.

"Alright! Hang on!" the duke dips Anna back. On her upside-down view, she saw Elsa peeking through the crowd, barely holding in her laugh. All Anna could only shoot her a funny help-me look. Elsa instead found her adorable as she laughed more.

"They don't call me the little dipper for nothing!"

He laughed as he twirled her around and yanked his hand away. Anna managed to stabilize herself from falling. And everyone was entertained by his unusual but funny moves.

"Like a chicken with a face of a monkey! I fly!"

Elsa nodded at the Spanish dignitary and his partner as they bowed before leaving. They only came to congratulate her and wishing the best, but she only focused on Anna.

When they left, Elsa snickered as she saw Anna limping out of the crowd towards her while panting. She heard the duke telling Anna to let him know if she's for another round, but Anna seemed too tired.

"Well, he was sprightly!" Elsa giggled. For the first time in her life, she really missed happiness, which most of it came from Anna.

Anna rubbed her sore feet as she sighed, "Especially for a man in heels!"

"Are you okay?" Elsa asked as she tilted her head.

Anna beamed at her sister, loving how Elsa seems to care about her. Maybe her sister doesn't hate her, maybe she just missed her like how she did. Maybe their broken bond could be fixed.

"I've never been better!" Anna laughed with her hands clasped together on her heart. "This is so nice!"

Elsa smiled lovingly at her sister as she nodded in agreement. She also had felt the same, and it was so wonderful.

"I wish it could be like this all the time." Anna said.

"Me, too…" Elsa said with a smile, yielding to the impulse.

But then it hit her, in a blink of an eye, and the lightness was gone. Instead was an abrupt terror as she realized how much free rein she had been giving to her emotions. She had warned herself, threatened herself about today for the better part of less than one year. She had just never factored happiness into the equation. Fear, anger, sorrow—these she had been ready for. But not this. Not what Anna trailed after her like footprints.

In her mind, she saw Anna at five, throwing herself into the snow, and except for the added puberty, her face was the same, grinning and flushed and open in its joy. And it was Elsa who had caused that joy to be taken away. She had killed it as efficiently and wholly as she had almost killed Anna. To offer it back, even temporarily, would be cruelty beyond measure.

"But it can't." Elsa said. And when Anna's face fell, Elsa felt her heart go with it.

Anna would never hide her own emotions; that much was clear — disappointment and ire were at war in her expression. "Why not?" she asked, and it was bitter, intensely bitter. Justifiable, of course; Elsa would have been bitter too, in Anna's place. Maybe she would find it in herself to accept Elsa's secrecy one day, even believe it was for her own good. But not today.

"It just can't." Elsa said — gently, she hoped.

Anna was struggling; her lip trembled, and her eyebrows drew down like a child fighting tears. She swallowed audibly, and her nostrils flared as she glared at Elsa.

"Well, I wish you a Happy birthday, then…."

Elsa's sapphire eyes widened, and her heart pounds rapidly at her sister's rather spiteful words and tone. How? How did her little sister, who is just a poor and naïve young girl full of life, became so… mocking and vindictive?

And why the shock when it was her fault?

"Excuse me for a minute." Anna's voice trembled as she spoke, finally getting out, and then she fled from the platform.

Elsa could have called her, could have ordered her back. Could have pointed out that the position of the second-in-line princess was inferior to that of the future queen in her presence of others, and Anna leaving before permission was granted risked undermining royal authority over every person in the room. She could have, but she didn't. She twined her hands together, took deep, calming breaths, and stood there alone, very alone.

Soon, people brought up to meet her, and she wondered if there was a length of time that must be passed.

She accepted bows and curtsies and well-wishes, exchanged the expected pleasantries, but she no longer had anything more to offer. She was drained, exhausted. Anna had brought out laughter, but now the tight little smile was more than she could manage. She wondered how much longer this party would go on — her feet hurt and her lower back ached from standing, the heat of the room had grown suffocating, and her head was pounding from lack of food and lack of sleep and the awful feeling of weight in that crown.

The band changes the music's tone to something she couldn't grasp until she saw most guests dancing with their partners.

Romance.

She scanned the crowd as surreptitiously as she could, hoping to find a sign of Anna. And there she was. Among the crowd, Anna was dancing with an auburn-haired, tall, chiseled-faced, creamy attired gentleman. Anna was smiling at him as if she was in love with him, and the way he smiles back and his upright posture as he waltzes made him seem confident of himself. But perhaps a bit more than usual. Both seem they came out of some typical fairytale love story.

Being an honest woman — not often — Elsa envied her sister so much that she feels resentment towards herself and everyone, and she does not know why she resents. Elsa almost scowled. But she couldn't, since she must keep smiling at some idiot and be that good girl. Occasionally, Elsa wishes to be in Anna's position. But she wondered if Anna was vice versa.

Anna will be a fool if she dreams of being in her position. However, despite her flaws, Anna might not be as restless if she were the future queen as herself.

She fights the urge to roll her eyes when a young foreign brunette couple appeared from the corner of her eyes and made their way towards her, and she turned to them with her usual close-lipped smile. As expected, the couple introduces themselves as prince and princess of some sun kingdom before giving her well wishes and leaves. While all Elsa could do was simply smile, nod, and provide quick answers to their meaningless enquiry, as expected, too. Nothing noteworthy.

When would this cringe-worthy event end? When will she have the chance to get back to her room… and potentially leave a diplomatic disaster in her wake? When would somebody notice her distress? She could sit on the throne, but that would give the impression to the guests that she was bored. And she, right now, without Anna's presence, already is. In addition, she wasn't okay with her sitting on the throne, despite the fact it belongs to her.

She turned to peer through the crowd of guests for an unusual number of times, trying to catch sight of her sister, but any hope she has diminished when Anna and her strange partner are nowhere to find.

'She left with a stranger.' Elsa realized with wide eyes and furrowed eyebrows. 'A sixteen-year-old girl hanging around with a stranger in the middle of the night.' She decides to not trust this so-called gentleman. 'Where's your mind, Anna?'

She must send a guard to watch the stranger if he was foolish enough to take advantage of Anna. But Elsa didn't because he seemed gentle, attentive, and chivalrous. Even if she never heard of or seen this stranger.

'What was I thinking?' The crown princess sighed. Maybe she was just too judgemental; maybe the guy genuinely liked Anna.

Yet, for a brief moment, she wished her cynical assumptions over him were true.

Wherever her sister was, Elsa could only hope she was okay.

NOTE: Hey guys! This chapter is brief. Please go to my Instagram account, m_ihsanart, and follow me to see some art related to this fanfic. The reason updates are slow is that I draw almost every day. Notice that my version of Elsa and Anna have a different appearance since they're younger and celebrating Elsa's birthday instead of coronation on the winter solstice. Elsa is not officially a queen, but in this AU, she's technically a ruler after her parent's death, which means no lord or someone is governing the kingdom before Elsa's coronation.

I don't like how chapter 7 turned out, so I'm going to edit it soon.

The prince and princess of the sun kingdom are actually Rapunzel and Eugene. However, in this AU, Rapunzel and her family are not related to Elsa and Anna and aren't crucial in this fanfic.

If you don't know what my version of Frozen is, this AU aims to bring back the original story of Frozen while maintaining its theme, so the characters' attire and roles, and the magic system, could be different. You should expect Frozen's original concepts like villain Elsa, her snowmen army; the original source of Elsa's powers; Anna's wedding; troll's prophecy, and some deleted scenes to be implemented here. However, I tweaked them to fit the plot.

I am appalled there isn't much content regarding the intended version of Frozen.

What do you guys think?