So, largely supportive response to last chapters notes (all very much appreciated, and the reason I opted to come back and write another chapter), but some... not so much.
How full of shit do you need to be to say I'm being unreasonable for asking people to treat me with a shred of decency? Fucking hell, some of you are the reasons people quit writing.
-IEA-
Sometimes, Elsa wondered if the reason Anna continued to knock - considering she was completely free to let herself in to any room in the castle - was because she was making up for years of closed doors. At least now she knew Elsa would always answer, always open them.
"Come in."
Anna's head appeared, smiling at Elsa where she was sat at her desk.
"Hey. Busy?"
"Always, but you know I can always spare a minute for you."
She pushed her chair out from the desk, creating space to allow Anna to perch on her lap. Anna did so, leaning down to kiss Elsa softly and the two shared a smile.
"So, I was talking to mother" since Anna's birthday, they were still on shaky ground but their mother did come down to more meals, and actually spoke to them now "and she said she wants to see the castle you made. Besides, I thought we could go check on Marshmallow. He might be lonely."
Olaf naming Elsa's giant snow guardian Marshmallow had stuck, and Elsa didn't have the heart to change it. Besides which, it was surprisingly sweet a name for what was once the embodiment of Elsa's terror, her bone-deep fear of Anna getting too close and getting hurt again. Apparently Marshmallow had been a little overzealous, though he hadn't actually hurt anyone himself, the need to escape via a two hundred foot cliff dive didn't really go to keeping Anna safe.
Elsa hadn't been back up the North Mountain for a while. Definitely not since their mother came back.
"I have quite a few meetings and visitors this week, but if you like we can take a trip next week?"
"Sounds good. Will you still have time for riding this week?"
"Of course. I always do my best to keep that morning free."
Anna beamed.
"I know. But sometimes you're busy. I do appreciate you making time for me."
Winding her arms around Elsa's neck, Anna kissed her soundly, the taste of sweet berries on her tongue. Letting her hand settle against Anna's waist, Elsa managed to drag up just enough presence of mind to not get completely lost in her sister. It was good timing, as no sooner than Anna was pouting about the kiss stopping, there was a knock at the door. Anna stood up, pointedly wiping her mouth. Elsa picked up a mirror, noticed the light make-up she wore that day was a little smudged. Quickly dabbing the smudge away, she touched her own cold hands to her warm cheeks to cool the flush there.
"Come in."
She stood as the door opened, smoothing out the wrinkles in the skirt of her dress.
"Your Majesty. A delivery for you, it must be received personally."
"I see. One minute Kai" Elsa turned to her desk, ensured her ink pot was capped and paperweights kept her current work in place "I'm coming."
Anna followed, naturally, someone keeping watch at the door of Elsa's office to make sure nobody snuck in and disrupted her work. They headed down to where the delivery was waiting, the runner for the jeweller (Elsa recognised the box) looking like his entire day was made by Elsa descending the stairs.
"Your Majesty!"
"Good day... sorry, I don't know your name."
"Oh! My apologies, Your Majesty. My name is Christopher."
"It's Kristoff!"
Christopher's eyes widened to the side of dinner plates when he realised he was being chided by a walking, talking snowman. Olaf ran over, curious about the new person in the castle.
"Did someone call me?"
A voice floated in from outside through the open door, Kristoff and Sven coming in to view in the courtyard.
"No, sorry Kristoff. Good day Christopher. I believe you have something for me?"
"Yes, yes! Your new crown. I was instructed only to hand it to you personally."
"I appreciate the diligence. Gerda, would you see if my mother is in her room, and bring her down if she is?"
Gerda hurried off, Anna looking at her strangely.
"Why do you want mother here?"
"She missed my coronation, even though she was the one who finalised the design for my crown. I thought she would like to see the new one."
Considering everything, Elsa still found it almost unbelievable that her mother was gone for over three years, but only missed the coronation by a matter of months. They waited in a slightly stilted silence, but soon enough Gerda was back, Iduna in tow. One hand went to hold the skirt of her dress clear, the other clutching the banister but it was heartening to see her manage stairs by herself with relative ease.
"You sent for me, Elsa?"
"I did, mother. My new crown is here, I thought you would like to see it."
Elsa was the first female heir in several generations, and a Queen by marriage was awarded a different crown to a Queen by birthright. Besides which, King Agnarr's crown wouldn't have even fit Elsa if she'd been meant to inherit the actual crown itself. It was much too big. Elsa had a treasured memory of when she and Anna were very young, when Anna had convinced her to sneak in to where father kept his crown, and Anna had tried it on. It was so big it fell right over her head, and the resulting fits of giggles had gotten them caught and scolded.
Christopher finally got to hand the box over, and Elsa took it gracefully. She placed it down on the nearest table, lifting the lid carefully. Everything looked as though they'd obeyed her specifications perfectly from the top, her sister and their mother both hovering closely, curious. It was a blend of old and new - Elsa had wanted to keep some of the design her mother put in to it, but the thought of putting that exact same crown on her head sent unpleasant chills through her.
"It's beautiful."
"It is."
Anna agreed with their mother, and Olaf's mouth opened comically wide in glee.
"Wooooow!"
The same signature shade of gold, the jewelers personal touch being that it was lighter, looking almost silver in certain light. The same central point, the same sparkle of blue in the centre. But instead of framing the central point in that strange shape that reminded her of a flame surrounding an icy centre, Elsa had opted to have smaller points spread out from the middle, each one with smaller sapphires inside.
"Thank you Christopher. You may pass on my gratitude to your boss. It's perfect."
Flustered and smiling, the delivery boy bowed and took his leave. Elsa knew she'd need to visit the jewellers again personally to offer more thanks, but that was for another day.
"Are you gonna do a whole re-enactment, or just have your portrait re-done?"
Anna asked, cocking her head to admire it.
"Why would you have it re-done?"
Their mother asked, looking confused.
"Two reasons. One being that, despite the talent of the painter, that portrait is awful. My panic and tension are very clear, and it is not a portrait that inspires faith and trust in the new ruler. The other is that the portrait represents an absolutely awful day, with only a single shining moment in it, and it was not my coronation."
Placing the crown back down gingerly - she'd need to have her hair done before the crown would sit well - Elsa stood and picked up the box.
"Come, I'll show you."
They headed up the stairs - Elsa slowed out of habit, but Iduna kept pace pretty well - and headed up to where Elsa's coronation portrait was still waiting to be hung. A lot of walls in the castle had needed some restoration or touch ups to paintwork after her ice did some damage, so she'd been able to put off having it hung.
With just the three of them there (Elsa wasn't sure where Olaf had gotten to, and simply hoped he wasn't causing trouble), it was a quiet moment as Elsa pushed the fabric covering away.
She didn't like looking at the portrait. The artist hadn't painted her looking as terrified as she felt, but there was no hiding her rigid posture, the visible discomfort, tension in her jaw and back and shoulders so very clear. When the context of her powers and panic was removed; Elsa simply looked scared of the crown. A poor, flustered lady raised above her capabilities.
"I couldn't hang this alongside father and all those before him. It would make his choice to allow a female to inherit the title look like a mistake. So I used the loss of my crown and the need for repairs after I froze the castle to delay. I just have yet to decide whether to re-stage the coronation and take my oath anew. Swear to protect Arendelle with all that I am, rather than against all that I am."
Anna's fingers slipped through hers, squeezing gently in reassurance. Their mother was still looking at the portrait, taking in the image.
"What was the shining moment of that day?"
"It was the first time I got to speak to Anna since we were children. Unless you count me telling her to go away through my locked door for over ten years."
Anna's grip tightened, and Elsa turned to her sister, leaning down to rest her forehead against Anna's. Silent, but comforted by each other.
"We never did give the two of you much of a chance at a normal relationship, did we?"
"Maybe not, but I wouldn't change what we have now."
Elsa couldn't suppress a smile at Anna's answer. Her capacity for love and forgiveness was astounding, and so very humbling.
"Nor would I."
Perhaps things would have been different if they hadn't been seperated. Perhaps not. But what Elsa knew was that being with Anna made her happy.
"Alright."
Confused, the two of them pulled apart enough to turn eyes to their mother.
"Alright?"
"I... I'm done fighting you two on this. I don't want to see it. And you are still going to have to face up to your responsibilities to the royal line some day. But I lost over three years... I don't want to spend the rest of my life fighting with my daughters."
Their mother looked tired, Elsa noticed, seeming resigned as she turned back, having averted her eyes from their intimate position.
"Are you serious? You're not gonna dodge us and yell anymore?"
There was something very childlike in the way Anna asked, like she was a small girl frightened to be in trouble. Iduna sighed, but turned a surprisingly gentle expression to the two of them.
"I can't promise I'm going to find it easy, or that I won't need time. But... I don't want to waste more time fighting."
Elsa nodded. They were already very discreet around others, though there was a degree of physical contact between the sisters that most people expected, their closeness attributed to making up for lost time.
"That seems very reasonable."
Their mother let out a short laugh, which was a surprising sound given the tense mood.
"That sounds like something your father would have said, when he got his way but didn't want to appear too smug about it."
Anna giggled at her side.
"I remember! He used to say that to me when I asked for ice cream after he beat me at chess."
In that moment, Elsa felt a weight lift from them. The three women were just... there, a family, remembering the one they'd all lost. Iduna approached them slowly, almost as though she wasn't sure she wanted to.
But she hugged them both even though the sisters were still holding hands, and Elsa heard Anna choke up a little as the three embraced. It was still strange standing taller than her mother, feeling Iduna's hair tickle under her chin. Her eyes were wet when she withdrew, casting her eyes back to Elsa's portrait.
"I think you should re-do the coronation."
"You do?"
"Yes. And not just because I missed the first one. He never doubted you were capable, and your father would never have wanted you to remember such a proud day so sadly. And from what I've heard, it would be nice to have such an event without that wretched Southern prince involved."
That was a very good point. Elsa hadn't even thought of how they could make the whole event Hans-free.
"I suppose that's settled then. It will take a while to arrange such an event" Elsa winced inwardly at all the planning that would need doing "but I think it will be better than the first."
Given how she'd almost killed Anna right after the last one, Elsa was pretty sure it couldn't go any worse. But she tried not to dwell on that, and focused instead on the first steps to truly rebuilding a relationship with their mother.
-IEA-
Baby steps, Elsa. Baby steps.
