Glad everyone seemed to enjoy the last chapter! I really struggled with writers block with this one, but we'll get there eventually!
(Also, as an aside, if you're on FF net and still reading this fic, do let me know cus it seems like nobody is)
-IEA-
It had been several hours now, and Iduna still wasn't quite sure what had happened earlier. She'd gone temporarily insane, of course. That was the only logical reasoning. It wasn't even as if she'd gone in to Elsa's room with some kind of sinister intentions! Iduna really had just wanted to get a glimpse of Elsa pre-Coronation, as she would have done on the day if she'd been around for the first one.
And then, when she was simply admiring the beautiful and confident woman her magical, awkward daughter had become... Iduna still didn't know what had come over her, and wondered if it was too much to hope that Elsa hadn't noticed. She'd certainly noticed Iduna all but fleeing the room, and try as she might, Iduna hadn't managed to act entirely normal all day. Anna hadn't helped by all but shoving her and Elsa out to dance together, though even in her mild panic Iduna noted that Elsa really could dance well - a credit to Anna, who had been the one to teach her. Iduna's own dancing was not nearly as fluid, though that was at least partly down to her nerves at being so close to Elsa again after that morning.
When she'd managed to escape the awkward situation and stand by the table under guise of getting a drink, Iduna glanced back and saw Anna had stepped in to her place as Elsa's dance partner. Her heart turned over in her chest as she realised there was little chance Elsa wouldn't tell Anna what had happened, and she wasn't quite sure how to deal with that knowledge. And then, when Elsa leant in and kissed the top of Anna's hair, Iduna felt a pang that could only be described as yearning deep in her chest.
Part of her wanted to just leave, to be alone with her thoughts so she had a chance of making sense out of the tangled mess inside her head, but today of all days she could not simply walk out on events, especially not after being the one to urge Elsa to re-do her entire Coronation in the first place. So Iduna swallowed a stiff, strong drink to brace herself, put on a polite smile and went back to mingling and entertaining as she was supposed to, trying and failing to avoid stealing furtive glances at her daughters. That was particularly difficult when it came to Elsa, who seemed to be filling her 'new' role with so much more commanding confidence that hardly anybody could stop themselves simply watching her.
Was Iduna simply lonely? It was possible. She'd been without her husband for several years, and long recovered enough for things like pain and fatigue to no longer dull her thoughts of him. But missing her late husband was no excuse for... what had happened earlier. Agnarr would have been horrified with her. She should have been horrified with herself. And yet, of all the things Iduna was feeling, disgust was not one of them.
Everybody was quite used to the affectionate way Elsa and Anna interacted with one another, which meant that whenever she stole a look over at one, the other was often close by. And so, as thoughts turned themselves over in her mind, Iduna was reminded that the two were... a package deal, really. Not that it mattered! At least, not that way. Because Iduna wasn't attracted to her daughters, wasn't interested in either of them like that and so she didn't need to think about the fact they came as a pair.
And that was that, she tried to tell herself. It didn't quite take. Particularly when Iduna was approached by one of the visiting dignitaries from the Southern Isles. Hans Westergaard was still banned from ever returning to Arendelle, but given the position of the Southern Isles in relation to Arendelle's port, they couldn't entirely bar the entire nation from the kingdom without raising bad blood. Still, they were all quite wary of Elsa's powers, so they'd been on their best behaviour all day. Until then.
"So, with so much effort to put the unpleasantness of the somewhat botched Coronation behind her, has Queen Elsa given thought to taking a husband?"
In any other situation, that wouldn't be an entirely inappropriate question. Intrusive, perhaps, but the sort of thing Elsa could expect a few queries about, particularly by political allies. But in her current confused mood, Iduna herself was just not in the mood to think about Elsa's love life.
"As I'm sure she's made clear before, that is not something you can ask anybody but Elsa about. I'd appreciate you not using me to try and go behind my daughters back."
He recoiled slightly, frowning. She'd probably been a little rude, but the man seemed quite mollified, clearing his throat and excusing himself. At least she'd gotten rid of him. When had Iduna gone from asking those same questions of her daughter to almost feeling like she had to defend Elsa from such questions?
"Anna, you're going to make yourself sick."
Anna pouted, looking down at the chocolates left on her plate.
"But it's sooo good!"
Elsa rolled her eyes, unable to suppress a fond smile at just how Anna that was.
"And they'll still be there tomorrow."
"That's true. Do you promise to make sure they are all kept nice and cool so they don't go all funny? I used to hide extra sweets in my room sometimes but if I forgot they were there then the maid sometimes found them and they didn't look so pretty."
"I promise."
Anna sighed, but she put the plate down. Elsa was relieved; she was absolutely certain Anna would be complaining of a stomach ache that night already, and was sure if she carried on it might have actually made her sick. To soften the blow, Elsa reached out and pulled Anna to her side, leaning down to kiss her hair.
"Never change."
Anna hummed happily, squeezing Elsa round the waist before she pulled away, seeming to remember they weren't alone. Elsa hoped the party would wind down enough that she could leave soon, itching to get her hair out of the tight style and change in to some clothes she'd crafted out of her magic, which felt more natural against her skin. Though, if the things Anna had said to her were to be believed, Elsa probably wasn't going to be re-dressing for a while after she got undressed...
Dragging her mind back on track - it wouldn't do to be caught out lost in such thoughts at such a big event, especially one she was supposed to be hosting - Elsa let her eyes roam the room. They landed upon her mother, who was standing near Kristoff and appeared to be laughing at something he said. Even from several feet away, Elsa could see the tension in Iduna's shoulders. Anna followed her eyeline, looking between mother and sister.
"Does she look a little tense to you?"
Elsa shrugged, unable to answer clearly before they were in private but not wanting Anna to continue fretting.
"Perhaps she's tired. It's been a long day already."
"Maybe. She's with Kristoff though, so she's probably still having fun. He's awesome!"
Elsa smiled. Kristoff was indeed a wonderful man; if Anna had been looking for love in another man (after the Hans debacle), she could have done a lot worse than the slightly grizzly guy who agreed to help her survive climbing up an enormous mountain. He was a valued and much loved part of their family now - and had offered to 'make it official' if they ever needed to marry Anna off for political reasons, or simply to quiet rumours. Plus, he'd been quite the protective, comforting influence for their mother for a while, when she needed somebody not occupied with other duties to keep her company.
"I think I am going to retire for the evening. It's been a lovely day, but I am exhausted."
The stiff posture was still evident, though Elsa noted that Iduna managed to keep her tone quite even when she came over to bid goodnight to her daughters. Elsa nodded.
"I wish you a good nights sleep. Have someone walk you back, for my peace of mind?"
Iduna nodded, and Elsa watched her ask Finn to escort her on her way out. She didn't really think anything would happen, but with a castle full of people - many of them not especially well known, as they were entourage to the people she did know - it definitely made Elsa feel a little more relaxed to know someone trusted was ensuring her mother made it to her room safely.
Elsa wished she could just leave too, but had to wait until there was an acceptable number of others who had gone to bed too, which often took a long time when so much food and drink was available. She'd made sure treats were sent down to the courtyard for the citizens of Arendelle after she'd gone outside to greet them all as 'the new Queen' too, and there had been no screaming or fear-freezing! So all round, the whole re-do had been a roaring success.
If Elsa could just sort out what the hell had happened that morning with her mother, the day would probably be perfect. But the niggle of confusion remained, though it couldn't quite dampen her happiness that everything had gone so well. After so long in fear, it was still a wonderful novelty to feel... celebrated for who she was, rather than the image she'd put on to cover her true self.
Finally, finally, it got to a point where Elsa could leave. She'd seen Kristoff leave for the night, and he'd taken Olaf with him to make sure the snowman made it to bed - he loved parties, and he didn't technically need to sleep, so Elsa was glad to know he wouldn't be spending the night getting in the way of the staff who had to clean up after the party. Anna had excused herself a few minutes before, since she knew she couldn't go with Elsa as there would be staff waiting to help her out of her dress.
Elsa bid the final stragglers a good night, reassuring them they were welcome to continue enjoying themselves a little longer until they were ready to retire to their rooms. There was still security and servers around, obviously, but it was with a quiet sigh of relief Elsa got away from being centre of attention at last.
"Did you enjoy your Coronation, Queen Elsa?"
Gerda inquired as she took the crown from Elsa to put away, resting it carefully on a cushion and placing it on it's own little table.
"I did, thank you. It was a wonderful day."
Much better than her first attempt, and Elsa had genuinely enjoyed herself. Which was more than could be said for the first attempt all by itself. Once she'd been undressed and conjured herself some nightwear, Elsa sighed in relief at the feel of her magic settling against her skin. Gerda hummed, nodding to herself.
"I assume you'll be fulfilling your common evening ritual with Anna. Shall I have some hot cocoa sent up for the two of you?"
There was a lot left unsaid by Gerda as she asked, and Elsa knew she knew, and so appreciated the discretion of her calm question, and the acceptance implied by her smile as she asked.
"That would be lovely."
"Excellent. I'll have Anna sent for too. Do you need help with your hair, Your Majesty?"
"No, I'll sort that out thank you, I've been itching to brush out this braid all day."
Gerda chuckled to herself as she and the others left, and Elsa immediately headed over to her vanity to start taking down her hair. She knew Anna liked the sight of her in her crown, but Elsa really couldn't take the severe style another moment. She'd just finished untwisting the braid when there was a knock at the door that made her heart lift up happily, and Elsa called out quickly.
"Come in."
Anna popped her head around first, closing the door behind her before skipping over to stand next to Elsa, leaning down for a quick kiss before she straightened up again.
"Need some help?"
"If you want to. Just be careful, it's been braided quite tightly all day."
Anna nodded.
"Of course."
She pulled up the stool nearby and sat down, taking the brush from Elsa's vanity table and starting to brush her hair. Much as Elsa would have enjoyed having Anna curl up on her lap to catch up on all the kisses she'd missed that day, they weren't quite in the clear yet as Gerda was having drinks sent up. And honestly, after the noise and fuss of the day, the peaceful moment alone with Anna brushing her hair was lovely.
"You were amazing today, by the way. I mean, you're always amazing, but you really kicked butt today. I spent the whole day just thinking wow every time I looked at you."
Elsa smiled; Anna was so sweet.
"Thank you. I couldn't have done today without your support."
"You'll always have me. And honestly I think you would have kicked butt all by yourself. But I'm happy to help!"
Anna was still brushing her hair when their drinks had arrived, so Elsa asked Anna to get the door and finished up for herself.
"Thank you!"
She heard Anna say to whoever it was that brought them drinks, and Anna bumped the door closed with her hip before placing down two steaming cups on the nearest suitably flat surface. Then, rather sensibly, Anna locked the door.
Elsa circled the bed and climbed up on the other side while Anna clambered up on her side, and the cups were ignored for the moment in favour of the two embracing. The two of them just laid there for a minute in silence, Anna's head on her chest as they soaked up each other's company. Elsa felt every bit of tension leech out of her with Anna in her arms.
Well, almost every bit. There was still something she needed to tell Anna about...
"I'm gonna drink that now, cus otherwise I'll forget and it smells really good!"
Elsa swallowed, nodding before she then envisioned a potential mess from a shocked Anna dropping her drink everywhere. So she reached over and grabbed Anna's wrist, stopping her from reaching her cup.
"Wait. I need to tell you something."
Anna frowned, shifting back and looking over at Elsa, concern visible on her face.
"What is it?"
Trying to figure out her phrasing, Elsa knew it was going to take some explaining regardless of how she started.
"Well. Alright. I think... I think mother almost kissed me this morning."
-IEA-
Well, there's going to be some fun conversations happening...
