8/2/22: Started
12/9/22: Completed
YURI, INCEST
Chapter Summery: Suspicious of how much her mother knows, Anna attempts to tease out any clues, but discovers a shocking truth. Later, following after her sister, Elsa learns to create portals as well, but finds it difficult, but not for lack of power.
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of Frozen, Tangled or any other Disney characters or locations that appear or are mentioned in this work of fiction, Disney does.
- 8:54 A.M. -
After a bit of time following breakfast, and changing out of her sleepwear to be properly dressed for the day, Anna decided to 'confront' her mother; the curious case of Iduna possibly knowing about her relationship with Elsa too much to wait for a passing meeting.
Anna's first stop was her parents room, likely getting dressed for the day as well. Anna didn't have a particular topic to discuss with her mother, but she hoped idle conversation would produce the hints she was looking for. Knocking on the closed door of her parents room and announcing herself, Anna was slightly disappointing when her Father greeted her, who was dressed for the day, but the room behind him lacked Iduna's presence.
"Hi Anna."
"Hey Father, you wouldn't happen to know where Mother is, would you?"
"She told me she was going to walk around the castle a bit and talk to people. She didn't give me an exact location."
"Oh..." sighed Anna.
"What do you need from her?" Asked Agnarr. "I can pass on a message if I see her before you."
"It's nothing in particular, but..." replied Anna, before looking to her father curiously. "Maybe you can help me out. Can I step in for a minute?"
"Sure." answered Agnarr as he stepped aside to allow Anna in and closed the door.
"I'll get right to it..." stated Anna as she looked to her father. "Have you revealed my relationship to Elsa, to Mother?"
"No, I told you I'd let you and Elsa do that."
"Really?" asked Anna with a unsure look on her face, and crossing her arms.
"Heh, yes, I did not reveal your relationship." answered Agnarr with a chuckle and his hands on his hips.
"How about you take my hand?" asked Anna as she reached out her right hand, which prompted another chuckle from Agnarr.
"You think I'm lying to you? Seriously?"
"No, I..." replied Anna, before sighing and lowering her hand. "Sorry." she added, before Agnarr smile and placed his right hand to her left shoulder, which unfortunately for Anna, was covered in the sleeve of her blouse, providing no skin-to-skin contact.
"What is this about?" asked Agnarr, followed by another sigh from Anna before she answered.
"Ok, I've been getting this weird feeling from Mother concerning Elsa and I's 'girlfriends'. It started when Elsa's double showed up and Mother acted kinda weird around the topic of our rings and our relationship. Then this morning at breakfast... it kinda felt like she was teasing us. I dunno, I just get this weird feeling."
"Oh?" replied Agnarr with a smirk. "Maybe it's guilt?"
The remark prompts an annoyed frown on Anna's face as she looked at her father and stepped back to remove his hand from her shoulder as she crossed her arms.
"That's not it. I'm serious here. I think... I think Mother knows about Me and Elsa."
"How would she know?" asked Agnarr.
"I dunno, but I just can't shake this feeling." answered Anna, before sighing and placing a hand over her face. "Maybe you're right; maybe this is some kind of guilt... letting mother believe a lie, because I'm too afraid of her blowing up at me like you did."
Seeing the worry and stress on Anna, Agnarr's smile faded.
"How about you go talk to her?"
"I plan to, but I can't just ask her if she knows me and Elsa are in a relationship; what if she doesn't? That's just putting more stress on her when she already has to deal with Grandma." commented Anna, before lowering her hand and looking at her father. "Have you noticed anything odd about Mother concerning our 'relationship'?"
Following the question, Agnarr smiled and reached out his right hand, to which Anna looked at his offered hand curiously, before he commented...
"To ease some of your worry." Anna then smiled a little and took her father's hand, before he added, "No, I've not noticed anything odd, concerning your mother about the manner of your relationships. She told me about you two, telling her about revealing Elsa had a girlfriend to me. I told her it was a surprise, among other things, which piqued her curiosity, but I told her to talk to you two about it."
Feeling nothing odd from her father, a smile came to Anna's face, before she pulled her hand away.
"Thanks. So that explains why Mother seemed more pushy, even offering to include your private time."
"Which caught me by surprise." stated Agnarr.
"But that doesn't explain the weird feeling I'm getting from Mother..." stated Anna, before a thought suddenly came to her with a gasp. "Wait a minute! I never told Mother I had a girlfriend! Only Elsa was revealed to have one, but during breakfast, mother asked when she'd meet 'Our' girlfriends, plural! I told her my ring was just jewelry. How would she know I have a girlfriend!? I just fell right into her trap! She DOES know somehow! She has too!"
"Whoa, whoa!" stated Agnarr. "Bring it back a little. Ok, so she knows you have a girlfriend, that's not a guarantee that she knows WHO your girlfriend is."
"Right, right..." commented Anna with a sigh. "Without solid proof, I can't just assume. I mean, I was pretty nervous when the other Elsa brought up the topic of our rings and I told Mother mine was just jewelry. She could probably tell I was lying... ok, that solves that, but not the feeling I'm getting. If it was just normal teasing, I'd be embarrassed, but I feel there's something behind that teasing. I have to watch her behavior and what she says."
"Well, let me in on any interesting information you discover." commented Agnarr.
"Sure..." replied Anna, before she looked at her father curiously for a moment.
"What?"
"An interesting thought just came to me; Say Mother doesn't disapprove of Elsa and I's relationship, how would you feel about it?"
"Well, it would be weird."
"Would you try to bring her to your side?"
"Heh, no, though I would want to understand why she'd support you two."
"Well that's good." replied Anna, before a small sigh left her. "Well, I'm going to go find Mother."
"Alright, I'll see you later then."
"See ya." replied Anna, turning and walking away, while Agnarr smiled at Anna's departure and thought to himself...
'Anna's on to you Iduna.'
- 9:23 P.M., Garden -
Just minutes into her search for her mother and asking a few servants along the way, Anna was quickly steered in the direction of the Castle Garden. Upon entering the garden and quickly scanning the area, Anna was happy to spot her mother sitting on the wooden bench in front of the pond, her back to her.
"There she is." commented Anna with a smile as she walked towards her mother. Within about two yards, Anna called out to her mother, causing her to flinch in surprise as Anna walked around the left of the bench and sat to her mother's left.
"Oh, Anna." replied Iduna with a smile. "You surprised me. Guess I was a little too relaxed."
"Sorry." replied Anna with a smile as well. "So, just enjoying the fresh air?"
"Yeah." answered Iduna, looking out to the pond where a duck and her children where swimming. "Being with my family again and having the free time I have, I've found that I like being outside, enjoying the sights and sounds of nature."
"Well that's good." replied Anna. "It is nice out. Wanna take a stroll through town later?"
"Sure." answered Iduna. "Perhaps I'll meet the Kristoff you've mentioned."
"Heh, maybe. Would you be interested in meeting Pabbie? I haven't actually spoken to him in a while. He doesn't know you and Father have returned."
"Maybe." answered Iduna. "That's a bit of a trip to make."
"Heh, no place is too far now that I can make portals." commented Anna with a smile.
"Ah, right. Well, not today."
"Ok."
"Didn't Elsa say she was going to learn to make portals too today?"
"Yep! She didn't say when today, though, but it'll probably be before you leave today, I'd guess."
The next few moments were silent between them, but it wasn't awkward, rather simply enjoying the scenery and their company; however, Anna was thinking of how she could subtly tease out any information from her mother about her possibly knowing her secret. Iduna however, made the first move and silently placed her hand over Anna's right that rested on the bench between them. Curious, Anna looked over to see her mother smiling but still looking out to the pond. Anna didn't know why her mother wanted to hold her hand, but now she'd be able to identify any lies.
"During breakfast..." commented Iduna, before looking to Anna. "I want to apologize if I came off a little... aggressive. I just enjoyed seeing you two flustered and wanted to have a little fun."
"Heh, it's ok. It was certainly a surprise when you were about to volunteer what you and Father were up to last night. Were you serious about that?"
"Curious?" asked Iduna with a smile.
"N-No, no! Heh, I'll pass on that."
"Heh, so... Elysia, was it? Anything you'd like to volunteer about her?" asked Iduna with a smirk. "I'm very curious to learn about your girlfriend."
"Uh..."
Anna already hesitated on what to say, before she noticed her mothers smirk, that same smirk from breakfast and conveying that same odd, suspicious feeling within Anna.
"N-No." answered Anna.
"Oh come on." urged Iduna. "Elsa I get, but you liked lovey-dovey stuff when you were little, now you're so tight-lipped about you're girlfriend. Give me something, come on."
"I... uh..." commented Anna nervously before she quickly remembered a topic to divert to. "H-Hey, how did you know I even have a girlfriend? I never told you."
Anna saw her mother raise an eye at the question with a smirk.
"Changing the subject, huh?"
"W-Well, it's an important question." replied Anna, before her mother lifted her held hand.
"Your ring." stated Iduna, which prompted Anna's heart to race. "As flustered as both of you were when the other Elsa pointed it out, and the fact that you're a terrible liar, it was easy to guess."
"O-Oh..." replied Anna, as she sighed, she thought her ring had exposed WHO her girlfriends was.
"About this ring though..." commented Iduna as she grasped Anna's hand with both of hers. "I'm curious, what is it made of? Doesn't look like any normal material. If I had to guess, it looks like ice and it's cool to the touch."
Anna swallowed nervously, she was supposed to be teasing out information from Iduna, not on the receiving end of teasing and facing difficult questions that forced her to lie, which Iduna already called her out, on being terrible at.
"T-That's because... Elsa made it." answered Anna, before she thought. 'How am I gonna get outta this!?'
"Oh really?" asked Iduna with intrigue on her face and a smirk. "So you met a stranger, form a connection, then before she leaves, asks Elsa to make you a ring."
"... Yeah..." answered Anna nervously.
"You're lying." commented Iduna with a smirk and chuckle.
"Yanno, I think I'm gonna go..." commented Anna, figuring it was best to retreat before she tangled herself up in lies; however, upon attempting to pull her hand away, Iduna securely held tight.
"Go where? I'm enjoying this." commented Iduna.
Clearly stuck and toyed with by her mother, Anna rushed to think of something to help her situation, and in her panic, a question left her lips before she could even consider it.
"W-What are you hiding?"
Following the question, however, Anna felt a brief spike in her mothers heart-rate and a brief look of intrigue on her face before the smirk came.
"That's an odd question to ask out of the blue."
'Crap, that's not subtle at all!' thought Anna. 'But, she's avoiding the question.' following that thought, Anna quickly collected herself, if she pressed the issue, she could be on the offense.
"A-Answer the question; Are you hiding something?"
A small chuckle left Iduna and she opened her mouth to speak, but paused as if remembering something, and looked at her hands holding Anna's, and released it as if she wasn't supposed to be touching Anna's hand; but Anna smiled at the act and grabbed her mother's right hand.
"Answer the question, Mother." repeated Anna, which prompted Iduna to look as though she had been caught, before she simply smiled, and said nothing. "Yanno, not answering just makes you suspicious." added Anna. "I've been getting this weird feeling from you concerning my ring when the other Elsa pointed it out, and then this morning. It feels like you know something."
"Oh? What would that something be?" Asks Iduna. "I'm just enjoying some harmless teasing."
"You still haven't answered my question." stated Anna, before she saw Iduna, sigh with a smile.
"Yes, I am hiding something, but... So are you, and Elsa."
Following her mother's comment, Anna heart raced and released her mothers hand.
"W-We're not-"
"You're a terrible liar Anna, but you're perceptive." stated Iduna, before leaning back on the bench and looking out to the pond with a smile. "I thought I'd be able to continue teasing you two longer than a day, which has just started, but I guess I did poke a bit hard at breakfast." she added, before looking at Anna and seeing the wide-eyed shock on her face, and Iduna lifted her left hand to pat Anna's shoulder. "Heh, relax. I'm not going to blow up at you like your Father." she added, which prompted a shuttering gasp from Anna.
"Y-You..."
"Heh, I know?" asked Iduna with a smile. "Yes, I know. That whole Elysia story was a lie. There is no Elysia. That ring on your finger is from Elsa herself, to you, and her ring is from you. You're girlfriend is Elsa."
Anna was stunned, her mother DID know, and seemingly approved! A swirl of emotions came over her; confusion, when did her mother find out, and how; delight and relief, she wouldn't need to keep lying. The two most intense emotions she felt however, were relief and regret as tears brimmed and fell before she surprised Iduna with a tight embrace.
"I'm sorry for lying to you and keeping this a secret!" cried Anna. "You were just dealing with a lot and we didn't want to add this to the stress your dealing with and we were afraid of you rejecting us after the way Father reacted!"
Iduna smiled and wrapped her arms around her daughter and rubbed her back.
"Thanks for being considerate of me." stated Iduna. "It's ok now though."
"We were going to tell you eventually." continued Anna. "After grandma was gone and you came back."
Iduna said nothing but smiled and continued to hold Anna, letting her release the stress she had of keeping the secret, until she calmed down and pulled away, sniffling.
"S-Sorry about that." commented Anna.
"It's ok." replied Iduna. "Must've been stressful keeping that secret."
"Heh, yeah... didn't even realize it until the relief of you saying you know. It's such a weight off my shoulders, and for Elsa too, when she finds out. I'm so happy you approve."
"Hold on there." commented Iduna with a smile. "I wouldn't necessarily say I approve of this arrangement. You shouldn't have a romantic relationship with your sister in the first place, but given what's happened, I'm not going to get on you about it."
"Oh, well, ok then. Heh, you're handling this a lot better than Father did."
"Well, I've had some time to accept this." replied Iduna.
"Really? How long have you known, and HOW did you find out!?"
"Hmm, it was a couple days before Elsa's double showed up..." answered Iduna as she lifted her gaze and mentally counted while Anna's eyes were wide in surprise, before Iduna finished... "Today's Thursday, so... a week I think."
"A week!?" gasped Anna. "You've known for a whole week and didn't say anything!?" added Anna, before she gasped and continued. "Wait, if you've known for a week, that was right after our trip! You knew from the start!? How!?"
"Hehe, not from the start." answered Iduna with a chuckle. "The morning after my return, I was clueless about the two of you being a couple, it was Magna that told me."
"What!?" gasped Anna. "Your sister!? How!? We never even suggested to her that we even had a... wait..." she added, after a pause and her eyes widening as she recalled their first meeting of their grandmother, who pointed out their rings along with Magna being present, prompting a puzzled look to come to Anna's face as she looked at her mother. "Really? She figured it out THAT quick?"
"Well, she said the evidence implied what she thought, she didn't have confirmation."
"And let me guess, the evidence was our rings?" stated Anna.
"Yep. Your rings and how flustered you two were. Magna put the two together." replied Iduna, which prompted a disappointed sigh from Anna as she lifted her hand the ring was on and looked at it.
"Well, if someone knows about our magic, I guess it's not hard to figure out since we wear a ring of each others magic. Heh, not a very good job of hiding it when we wear the evidence and get nervous about it when pointed out."
"Hehe, yeah. Not a smart idea if you want to hide it." teased Iduna.
"Well, guess I'll let Father know you know when I see him."
"He knows." stated Iduna.
"Huh?"
"Yeah, he knows." repeated Iduna. "I told him last night."
"What!? So he was in on the teasing earlier!?" gasped Anna.
"Heheh, yep." giggled Iduna.
"Then that means when I went to him earlier looking for you, he was just playing dumb! Ugh, he's such a jerk for that! But it's better than his little passive-aggressive jabs he takes at me."
"Does he do it often?" asked Iduna.
"Not really, but it's super annoying when he does. He makes the comments like he's teasing, but knowing he means it just really rubs me the wrong way. Maybe it's 'cause he's said to our faces that he doesn't approve, that his 'teasing' comes off as unwanted and annoying. I don't feel that from you, though, even though you said you don't really approve."
"Yeah, but I've also had time to accept it." pointed out Iduna. "Agnarr didn't have that benefit."
"Yeah, you got a point there, but you're also not raising your voice, telling me I'm confused and being aggressive. You might be thinking it, but you haven't said it out loud."
"Heh, well, while I won't encourage your relationship, I'm not going to interfere." replied Iduna, before she reached to Anna's hand again and took hold of it with a smile. "But I would prefer a different choice of partner for you two. Until then though, I still intend on teasing you two though, but if I go too far, let me know, I don't want to hurt your feelings."
"Sure thing." replied Anna with a smile. "I have no intention of breaking up with Elsa though."
"And I'll still love you, regardless." commented Iduna. "Though I do have some questions, but I'll wait until Elsa's present too. Heh, I'm already going to have to repeat myself when we let Elsa know I know."
"Heh, I just had the funny thought of doing what you did and telling Elsa I didn't learn anything concrete from this little meeting, but that would be kinda mean considering the concern we both had."
"Hehe, yeah, that would be mean to do to your girlfriend."
"Wow..." commented Anna, with a nervous smile as she looked to her mother. "Hearing you say Elsa's my girlfriend is kinda weird."
"Well, I'm not going to deny the reality." replied Iduna. "I'd prefer if you weren't, but..." she added, before lifting Anna's hand with her ring. "You are."
Anna simply smiled, sure, her mother wanted different for her, but this was a much better interaction than with her father.
"Well, how much longer are you going to spend here?" asked Anna.
"Wanna go back to give the good news to Elsa?" asked Iduna with a smile.
"Yeah!"
"Heh, well, let's go." replied Iduna as she released Anna's hand, stood, and they both departed towards the castle.
"Oh, by the way..." stated Anna as the two entered the castle. "I asked Elsa about that welcome back party, and it wasn't meant to be a secret from you. Elsa just figured since you were dealing with grandma, it wasn't something you needed to know at the time."
"I see. So what are the details?"
"There will be two separate parties." stated Anna. "The first is a smaller one within Arendelle. The second is bigger with inviting other kingdoms to celebrate you and Father's return."
"Oh, hmm, I think two separate parties is one too many though." replied Iduna. "I'd be happy with just the second one."
"Well, the plan isn't written in stone and can change; but with the time it'll take to plan out the second one, we figured a smaller welcome back party with the townspeople would be nice."
"You do make a good point and it would cut down on the excitement a bit by splitting it into two. When would these parties take place?"
"Well..." replied Anna, looking a little unsure. "After grandma... leaves and you return."
"Oh..." replied Iduna. "I see."
"It wouldn't be immediately after, though!" quickly added Anna. "Not just you, but Elsa and I would need time after that and having a party soon after would be really rude and inconsiderate."
"It's ok, I understand." replied Iduna with a smile. "Things like this need to be planned in advance."
"Yeah... hehe." commented Anna nervously at the awkward moment. Iduna, however, didn't share the feeling as she added...
"Actually, I have a suggestion for the smaller party. We could invite some of the Northuldra to Arendelle."
"Really? Elsa suggested not inviting a bunch of Northuldra to Arendelle so soon, but the party will happen in the future. We should have plenty of time to slowly introduce everyone, then have a party celebrating you and Father's return and meeting more of the Northuldra. That's a good idea."
"Glad you like it." replied Iduna.
- 9:47 A.M. -
Minutes later, the two reached Elsa's room. Anna knocks on the door...
"Hey Elsa, you in there?"
"Yep." answered Elsa from within, before a moment later, the door opens to reveal her, dressed in her usual ice dress and saw Iduna with Anna, who gave her sister a big smile, along with Iduna smiling as well.
"You busy?" asked Anna.
"No, why?" asked Elsa, curious as to the clear delight on Anna's face, before Iduna answered...
"We- well, I, have something to tell you."
"Ok..." replied Elsa curiously, before she stepped aside to allow them in.
"I'll let mother tell you." stated Anna, as she and Iduna stood in front of Elsa, quite curious to what the apparent happy news was.
"Alright." stated Iduna. "Elsa, I..." started Iduna, before she paused, and briefly averted her gaze for a moment, before a smirk came to her face. "Actually, before that, during breakfast, you made a quick exit before you could tell me about your girlfriend."
"U-Uh..." stuttered out Elsa, wide-eyed, while Anna looked to her mother.
"Hey, that's not what-"
"Ah-ah-ah..." interrupted Iduna with a raised finger towards Anna and looking at her. "It's no fair if Elsa doesn't give an answer." she added with a wink. "A queen shouldn't be so quick to run from such a simple question."
"O-Oh, hehe..." replied Anna, immediately understanding she wanted to have a little fun before telling Elsa the truth. "Sorry, Elsa, she has a point."
"Now then, Elsa." started Iduna with a smile as she stared her daughter in the eyes. "What's your girlfriend like?"
"S-She's, uh..." nervously commented Elsa, avoiding her mother's gaze. "You know I was never really into this kinda stuff; this is embarrassing."
"It's not like I'm some stranger you don't know, Elsa." stated Iduna. "I'm your mother, just take your time. What's her name?"
"Well... her names..." began Elsa, glancing at Anna. "Adele."
"Good, I finally have a name." commented Iduna.
"Heh, yeah..." replied Elsa with a nervous smile as she averted her gaze.
"What's she like?" asked Iduna.
"Uh, well..." started Elsa as she began to fiddle with her fingers; however, Anna attempted to save her from the embarrassment...
"I can tell you what she's like."
"Yeah!" quickly added Elsa. "Anna can tell you about her better than I can."
"Really? Adele is your girlfriend though." stated Iduna. "I'm not letting you pass this off on someone else. I wanna hear about your girlfriend from you, so go on, what kind of person is your girlfriend? Is she younger, older; tall, short; as quiet and reserved as you, or more outgoing like Anna? Come on, this should be easy."
"OK, ok..." sighed Elsa. "She's a little shorter than me. I didn't ask her age, but she looks about my age and..." she added, glancing to Anna, who smiled at her, which prompted a smile from Elsa. "She has a similar personality to Anna, actually, energetic, and a bit clumsy."
"Ohh, hehe..." giggled Iduna. "So your type is similar to Anna?"
"W-What!? No!" gasped Elsa as her face flared red.
"Actually..." commented Anna with a smirk and a hand to her chin eyeing Elsa. "Adele and I do have similar personalities. Is there something you want to tell me, Elsa?" she added, which prompted Elsa to glare at her with annoyance.
"Ew." commented Elsa, before Iduna chuckled.
"I'm just teasing Elsa. Anna's personality isn't unique to her. So, how did you and Adele meet?"
At the question, Elsa looked back to Iduna, unsure what to say.
"Uh, well... isn't what I've said enough?"
"What? No, come on, this is the good part." stated Iduna. "I wanna know the story of how you fell for your girlfriend. Which of you made a move first? Was there dancing, a kiss involved?"
"Mother..." groaned Elsa, averting her gaze. "I really don't want to talk about this."
"Heh, have I really hit a wall with you this quick?" asked Iduna with a smile. "Or... do you just find it hard to make up a fake story right in front of me?"
Following the remark, the nervous embarrassment faded from Elsa's face as her eyes widened and a quiet 'Huh?' left her, before she lifted her gaze to her grinning mother in curiosity.
"W-What?"
"Hehe, I'm just having a little fun watching you squirm." replied Iduna. "After all, it's not fair if you were spared the teasing. You don't have to worry about making excuses anymore, though, I know about you and Anna." she added.
"W-What!?" gasped Elsa, red-faced, before she looked to Anna. "Anna!"
"I didn't say anything!" quickly answered Anna defensively. "Mother's known for a week."
"What!?" gasped Elsa again as she looked to her mother. "You've known this whole time!?"
"Heh, well, technically, not the whole time." answered Iduna with a smile. "It was the day after you two left that Magna told me about you two."
"Wait, Magna knows!?" gasped Elsa.
"Yep." answered Iduna.
Elsa was stunned and at a loss for words, before she silently walked by her mother and Anna to her bed and sat, lowering her head in her hands as she sat silently in thought. Just moments later, Anna joined Elsa to her right with a smile.
"Yeah, I was pretty shocked too. I started crying from the relief of not having to hide this anymore."
"I'm not going to cry." stated Elsa. "This is just..." she added, before lowering her hands and lifting her head to look at her mother, who had remained where she stood, before walking in front of her with a smile. "What exactly, do you know?"
"You and Anna are in a romantic relationship." stated Iduna, which prompted a blush to rise on Elsa's shocked face. "I've known for a week, but it wasn't until the event with your double showing up that I had confirmation with your behavior around your rings."
"So you've known from the start... and didn't say anything." stated Elsa.
"Yep. I wanted to wait until you two were ready, and I liked seeing how flustered you two were around the subject; so I decided to have a little fun and see how long you two would keep up the lies, but Anna's lie detecting ability put a hamper on that."
"So Anna was right." commented Elsa, looking to Anna, who smiled at her.
"Yep! Oh, by the way, Father was in on the teasing at breakfast!"
"Seriously!?" Gasped Elsa. "Ugh..."
"I know, such a jerk move!" added Anna, before Elsa gasped and looked to Iduna.
"Wait a minute! You know about our relationship, but you're not angry? You don't even look disgusted."
"Nope, I'm not angry." replied Iduna, now joining Elsa on bed, sitting to her left. "Your father told me how he responded, but I've had time to accept this. I want to clarify though, I don't necessarily approve of this. Like I told Anna, this relationship between you two shouldn't be a thing and I'm not going to encourage it, but, I'm not going to interfere. I'll just let this run it's course." she explained, prompting Anna to chuckle and comment...
"Well, that's certainly a nicer way of saying this is a phase."
Elsa also chuckled lightly, before commenting...
"Well, what if we maintain this course?"
"I'll still love you two regardless." replied Iduna. "I may not like the choice you two have made, but it would do more harm than good if I were to try and separate you two, again."
"Thank you Mother." replied Elsa with a smile and a sigh before she added. "It's such a relief now that you know and your reaction is so much better than fathers, even if you don't agree with our choice."
"You're welcome." commented Iduna with a smile. "I will tease you two, though, when the opportunity comes; nothing mean-spirited though."
"Heh, that's fine with me." replied Elsa.
"Me too." added Anna.
"So..." began Iduna with a smirk. "Now that that's out of the way, I have a question." she added, which prompted a nervous chuckle from Elsa.
"I'm sure you have a bunch of questions."
"Just one for now." commented Iduna. "Don't want to waste all the enjoyment your embarrassment has to offer. So, how exactly did you two get together?"
"Well then..." Stated Anna as she stood. "I should be go-"
However, Anna didn't even manage a step before Elsa grabbed her by the arm and pulled her back down.
"No you don't. We're gonna share this." stated Elsa, which prompted a groan from Anna, before she asked Iduna...
"Is this a real question or are you just teasing us? You did just say you'd tease us given the opportunity."
"Heh, It's both." answered Iduna. "I'm genuinely curious how this started. I have my own suspicions, but I want to hear it from you two." she added, which prompted a sigh from both sisters, looking ahead, not meeting their mother's gaze, before Elsa answered.
"Alright... it started after the freeze. Anna and I decided we were going to spend as much time together as possible."
"We had a lot of time to make up after all." added Anna. "Heh, and we were kinda starved for each others attention with the separation."
Following that remark, Iduna's smile turned bittersweet as her gaze lowered.
"Yeah, and that 'made up time' included sleeping together- J-Just together, sharing each others company." continued Elsa, quickly clarifying her meaning.
"For a while, at least." added Anna, as she and Elsa's faces began to redden.
"We started to get more affectionate with each other." stated Elsa. "We'd occasionally have nightmares about the Eternal Winter; we'd hug each other, give each other forehead kisses... Anna even kissed my fingers, showing me how comfortable she was with my powers... and then..." commented Elsa, before hesitating and placing a hand over her face. "Do you really wanna hear this? Isn't this weird for you?"
"A little." answered Iduna with a delighted smile returning to her face. "And yes, I wanna hear how this started." she added, which prompted a groan from Elsa. "Are you ashamed?" asked Iduna.
"No." answered Elsa. "This is just embarrassing. Never thought I'd be telling you this."
"And I never thought the two of you would be in a romantic relationship, but here we are." commented Iduna, prompting a sigh from Elsa as she lowered her hand and fixed her gaze on her lap.
"One morning..." started Elsa, before a small gasp left Anna as her face turned bright red.
"Wait, you're telling her THIS story!?"
"Well, it's when our relationship, as it is now, started." answered Elsa, looking to a blushing Anna.
"Ugh, no..." groaned Anna, as she fell back onto the bed, covering her face, which earned her a chuckle from Iduna, who commented...
"Oh, now I'm really curious."
"... One morning..." resumed Elsa, as her face was also bright red. "I woke up to Anna... enjoying a particular dream... with my leg."
"Oh... ohhhh." replied Iduna, quickly understanding what Elsa was implying as her eyes widened, before Anna groaned and took the nearby pillow and covered her face with it.
"And I..." continued Elsa. "Instead of just laying there watching, I... helped... until... well..."
"I see." replied Iduna, "You don't have to say anymore." she added, before Anna commented, muffled under the pillow.
"She doesn't have to, that's what happened, and we were girlfriends after that."
"Oh, so that first event was as far as it went in that moment?" asked Iduna.
"Yeah." answered Elsa.
"... and other moments?" asked Iduna with a smirk, recalling what she listened to earlier.
"Mom..." groaned Elsa as she covered her face in her hands, along with a muffled groan from Anna, prompting a chuckle from Iduna
"Hehe, ok, ok, I won't pry... for now." commented Iduna with a smile, "Seems my suspicions were right, though." she added, before lowering her gaze as her smile faded. "After separating you two for so long during important years of your life, when you reunited, you were likely strangers to each other, trying to fill that gap formed by the separation. Your sisterly affection crossed over into romantic."
The sisters were silent for a moment, just long enough for Anna to lower the pillow from her face to her chest before Elsa commented...
"Strangers might be a bit of an exaggeration. But like I told Father, I don't disagree that if things had played out differently, our relationship would be more 'normal' than it is right now. But what's happened, happened, and I'm happy with my relationship with Anna as it is."
"Me too." added Anna as she sat up. "I don't regret our relationship at all. Can I say for certain that this isn't some coping mechanism for our separation, or maybe this IS just a phase, no, I can't. But in this moment, right now, I am happy with my relationship with Elsa as it is, and have no intention of breaking up with her."
A small chuckle leaves Iduna, before she stands and faces her daughters with a smile.
"I may not agree with your choices, but I can respect your commitment to each other."
"Thanks, Mother." replied Elsa with a smile as she stood and Iduna had extending her arms out for a hug, which Elsa happily embraced, followed by Anna, coming in from the side and hugging them both.
"Yeah, thanks for being understanding."
"You're welcome." replied Iduna, before the group hug ended. "Well, unless there's anymore questions you have for me, or anything you'd like to volunteer, I'll leave for now and tell you're father the news."
"I'll join you." commented Anna. "I have some words for Father about the fake out he did to me earlier."
"Alright then. I'll see you later, Elsa." replied Iduna.
"Seeya later." answered back Elsa with a smile and following Iduna and Anna leaving the room, Elsa sat back down on the bed with a heavy sigh before leaned back on her back with a smile. "No more lying. Now that Mother knows, that's one big ball of stress dealt with."
"It's such a relief now that you know the truth." stated Anna with a smile as she and Iduna walked away towards Agnarr's room. "No more lying."
"Yeah..." replied Iduna. "The truth comes out eventually." she added, before briefly lowering her gaze. "Just a matter of how much things will spiral out of control when it does."
Noticing the slightly saddened mood on Iduna's face, Anna playfully nudges her and takes her hand with a smile.
"Well, we don't have to worry about that now. Our biggest secrets have been revealed."
"Heh, right." replied Iduna with a smile as she squeezed Anna's hand. "Oh, speaking of secrets, besides your father and I, does anyone else know about you two?"
"Heh, yeah." replied Anna. "The castle staff knows."
"Really?" asked Iduna with a chuckle. "Everyone?"
"Yeah... heh." replied Anna. "Apparently we aren't as subtle as we thought since we were told that most of the town suspects us at the very least."
"What are you two doing for most of the town to suspect you two?" asked Iduna with a smile. "Gazing into each others eyes like two lovebirds as you walk through town?" she asked, which Anna's only response was averting her gaze as her face reddened. "Seriously!?"
"We didn't think it was that obvious." muttered Anna, which prompted a delighted chuckle from Iduna. "It's not like we were kissing each other. I figured people would see it more as sisters being loving towards each other, not 'in love' with each other."
"I wish I could've seen that." giggled Iduna, which while Anna didn't respond, she did give a little smile.
- 10:13 A.M. -
After a bit of searching and asking around, the pair found Agnarr in the library, currently standing near a wall looking through a book.
"Oh, hello you two." greeted Agnarr with a smile upon the two entering.
"You're such a jerk!" stated Anna as she walked up to her father with a frown and her hands on her hips. "You were in on the teasing at breakfast."
"Hehe, I see the truth has come out." replied Agnarr with a smile, before directing his gaze to Iduna, who walked up to Anna's side with a smile.
"Yep." commented Iduna.
"You even lied to my face when I came to you earlier." added Anna.
"Now, now, I didn't lie." quickly replied Agnarr. "I just chose my words carefully."
"Still a jerk move." commented Anna crossing her arms and giving a pout. "Especially when you've made it annoyingly clear you don't approve. Mother may share your opinion, but she's a lot nicer about it."
"To be fair, your mother knew for a whole week." replied Agnarr. "She had time to process this, but I did apologize for my initial reaction."
"Yeah, point taken, but you still make very unwanted and rude comments." commented Anna.
"I see them as nudges in the right direction." replied Agnarr, which prompted a frown from Anna; however, before she could respond, Iduna placed a hand to Anna's shoulder, commenting...
"Hold on... Agnarr, I agree that we shouldn't encourage the choice they've made, but I also don't think it's a good idea to antagonize them."
"So you think we should just ignore this?" asked Agnarr. "I've already said I wouldn't interfere, but doing nothing feels like I'm condoning this behavior, which I don't."
"No, not ignore, but Anna clearly doesn't like the way you speak to her about this. So I don't think it's helping your goal."
"Mother's right." stated Anna. "I already know you don't approve, so there's no reason for you to keep taking jabs at me pointing it out; It just gets on my nerves." she added, before Agnarr sighed and replied...
"Then how would you like me to approach my disagreement with your current relationship then?"
"Well, I'd prefer you didn't." muttered Anna, "But I guess that's an unfair thing to ask. So if I have to deal with you voicing your disapproval, I'd like you to not do it so rudely."
"So you want me to sugar-coat what I say so you won't feel guilty about what you're doing?" asked Agnarr, which prompted a frown from Anna.
"I don't feel guilty about how I show my love to Elsa. You just don't need to be so rude about it."
"I don't think I'm being as rude as you say I am." replied Agnarr.
"Well you are."
"Then answer this..." stated Agnarr, crossing his arms. "How often am I 'rude' to you concerning your relationship with Elsa?"
"Too often in my opinion." answered Anna.
"Alright, but ignoring your opinion, how often am I actually rude to you? Is it every time we talk?"
"Well, no..."
"Is it even every time the topic of your relationship with Elsa comes up?"
"... no..." muttered Anna lowly after a brief thought, before Iduna commented...
"Now that I think about it, you did say your father doesn't do it very often."
"But that just makes the times he does make a rude or unneeded comment, that much more annoying." replied Anna.
"Well, would you prefer I constantly 'nudge' you in the right direction every time we talk, despite the topic?" asked Agnarr.
"No, of course not."
"Then I will continue to voice my opinion as I have been."
"Ugh, fine..." muttered Anna. "It's just, knowing you disapprove and your choice of words with your 'nudges', just rubs me the wrong way. It's obvious we aren't going to come to a middle ground here."
"I think we have." stated Agnarr, "You just can't handle my preferred way of occasionally teasing you. If you continue this course, you'll face much harsher words than I've said."
"Oh, so you're 'helping'?" asked Anna with annoyance. "I've already said what other people say doesn't matter, but what you say, and Mother, does."
"And I don't approve." stated Agnarr. "Which I will let you know occasionally. If you can't handle that, that's not my problem."
Following that comment, Anna scowls at her Father as an eye twitches, before she took a breath and relaxed.
"Whatever. It's not even noon yet, it's too early do be dealing with this with you."
"Fair enough." commented Agnarr. "Is there anything else you wanted to talk to me about."
"Not really." muttered Anna, before Iduna gave a little chuckle.
"Well, I'm glad you two can have an argument without getting riled up."
"There's no point in getting worked up." replied Anna with a sigh. "We're on opposite sides and neither of us are moving on it. Best we can do is just agree to disagree. Father could be doing a lot more than some rude comments occasionally. I just have to deal with it, and hope he comes around someday."
"Same here." added Agnarr, which prompted a resigned sigh from Anna as she shook her head
"Anyway..." commented Anna. "Despite Father's annoying comments here and there; he doesn't say anything super outrageous or anything that makes me want to avoid him completely."
"Well that's good." replied Iduna.
"Besides..." continued Anna with a smile. "I'm glad our relationship is out in the open to you two now, even if you don't agree with it. One less thing to worry about; A major one too. Plus, we can still talk about it."
"I agree." replied Agnarr. "Real problems start when communication breaks down." he added, before Anna responded with stepping forward and hugging him, which he also returns, before Iduna joined in, sandwiching Anna between them and squeezing a bit, prompting a giggle from Anna.
"Hey, you don't need to squish me."
"But I want to!" answered back Iduna with a chuckle.
- 1:37 P.M., outside the walls of town -
Following the fiery portal of Anna's opening near the shore of Anna's self-proclaimed training spot, she and Elsa walk through from the Castle's courtyard.
"Ohh, I'm so excited for you!" declared Anna happily as she stepped through first, followed by a smiling Elsa as Anna turned to face her and excitedly hopped and few time in delight.
"Hehe, well, I'm glad you're happy." replied Elsa. "I'm a bit nervous."
"Don't worry!" replied Anna cheerfully as she closed her portal and patted Elsa on the shoulder with a big smile. "You got this!"
"Thanks." replied Elsa with a smile.
"Alright then..." replied Anna, looking towards the castle and pointing towards it. "Take us back to the castle! Oh, have you decided on what method you're going to use?"
"Yeah, the one Cassandra used." answered Elsa, turning to face the shore, before she took a calming breath. "It sounded simple enough." she added, before lifting her left hand and easily created the door frame that would contain the portal, nothing fancy, simply a vertical rectangle framing a wall of ice.
"Alright!" stated Anna excitedly, before she stepped back about a yard. "I'll be quite so you can focus."
"Heh, thanks." replied Elsa as she briefly looked at Anna with a smile, who gave her two thumbs up. "I appreciate the confidence." she added before returning her attention to the ice door, and took another calming breath before she lifted her left hand towards it.
'Alright...' thought Elsa, 'Picture the courtyard, and just... do it.'
With a clear image in her mind of the target location, Elsa's hand glows with her magic, and shortly after, the icy door begins to glow faintly. However, it wasn't long before the glow spread to the frame and Elsa recognized she needed to focus, and with just a bit of effort refocused her magic on just the 'door area' and began to put a little more effort in, causing the door to glow a little more.
Just moments in, she felt resistance, not strong, but it reminded her of Cassandra warning her of it being more than she expected. Elsa herself was confident to continue, until she heard Anna's quite, but delighted chuckle at her apparent progress. The reminder of Anna's presence, brought in the creeping worry of Anna's safety if she messed up. Unfortunately for Elsa, it was that slight lapse in focus that caused the glowing wall to flicker, before flashing out, and Elsa stumbles a step forward as if something she was pushing was suddenly pulled away from her.
"Oh darn." commented Anna with a smile. "Ok, that was just your first try; shake that off and try again." cheered Anna.
"Heh, right..." commented Elsa to herself, before gathering herself again and taking a breath. 'Come on Elsa, Cassandra said there was no explosion.' she thought. 'Worse case is temporary blindness from the flash of light, or me being knocked to the ground, and a temporarily numb hand.'
Lifting both hands towards the wall, Elsa resumed the attempt, her hands, and the wall glowing brighter, quicker, as she put more effort into it. Elsa quickly felt the resistance push against her and pushed back with a slight groan. However, feeling the increased resistance, worry once again crept up in the back of Elsa's mind; whether appropriate or not, she considered herself stronger than Cassandra, what if her failure didn't cause an explosion because she was weaker, what if she herself put too much energy into the attempt, Anna was right beside her.
Her focus broken again, the glowing wall flashed again, and instead of stumbling forward, Elsa felt herself shoved back with a gasp and flailing her arms as she attempted to regain her balance, before falling to her butt.
"That was better!" encouraged Anna.
While true, Elsa didn't feel encouraged by the praise; lowering her gaze with a sigh, her left hand felt a bit numb. Two failures in, she could easily guess her problem, but didn't want to admit it.
"Hey, what's wrong?" asked Anna, seeing Elsa didn't seemed too pleased, as she stepped up to Elsa and knelt beside her.
"It's nothing." replied Elsa, looking to Anna with a smile and returning to her feet. "Just working out the kinks. I'm learning something new after all."
Anna felt Elsa was withholding something, but smiled and stood.
"Right, sometimes you have to fail before you succeed." stated Anna. "At least you can learn from those failures." she added, before curiously, seeing Elsa give her an almost disappointing smile before looking away to the ice wall.
"Right..."
"Hey, something's clearly bothering you."
"It's fine!" quickly replied Elsa. "I'm just in my own head. I got this."
"... Ok." replied Anna, before she stepped back. "Just relax, there's no rush."
"I know." stated Elsa, before she took a deep breath. "I know..."
Once again, Elsa lifted both hands towards the wall, and again, reached and passed the progress she previously made, and feeling the resistance increase, requiring more than a small groan from her now. Elsa could feel she was nearly there, but again, she thought of Anna's safety, which disrupted her focus.
The following third failure caused the most intense reactions so far; A blinding flash of light and the winning resistance Elsa fought knocking her off her feet, and to her back just a few feet back, while Anna only needed to shield her eyes, but quickly recovered and rushed to her sisters side.
"Elsa! You ok!?" gasped Anna.
Elsa was visually unhurt and sat up with a groan with a hand over her face.
"Yeah, I'm fine." answered Elsa, blinking away her blurry vision, before she groaned and flexes her numb hands.
"What's going on?" asked Anna. "Something's bothering you. I know it. If you're getting frustrated, you know you can take a break, right?" she added, before Elsa sighed and shook her head.
"I'm frustrated with myself. I know what the problem is."
"Oh, then what is it? Maybe I can help." replied Anna with a smile, which prompted Elsa to chuckle.
"The problem is that I'm worried about you." answered Elsa. "I'm scared that if I fail, I'd hurt you and then I lose focus, which causes me to fail."
"Oh..." replied Anna, before smiling. "So like what happened with me. I actually did hurt you though."
"Yeah..." replied Elsa sadly.
"Then the solution is an easy fix!" stated Anna delightfully. "I'll just leave, and wait for you in the courtyard. I won't be a distraction anymore." she added, which prompted a disappointed sigh from Elsa.
"But I don't want you to leave. I want to see the excitement on your face when I succeed."
"You will." replied Anna with a big smile. "You'll open the portal, and see my big, proud smile, and I'll welcome you with a big, warm hug." she added as she hugs Elsa, urging a giggle from her.
"Maybe you could just move further away from me." suggested Elsa.
"Heh, but I'd still be around, and if I'm around, you'll still be distracted, right?" replied Anna, which prompted a sigh from Elsa.
"Probably, yeah."
"Heh, don't worry. Once you get over this and succeed, the worry will go away, and you'll be making portals just fine with me around."
"Alright..." replied Elsa, clearly disappointed in the situation, before Anna stood and offered a hand to help Elsa to her feet.
"Come on, don't look so down." commented Anna with a smile. "You got this."
"Heh, thanks for the encouragement." replied Elsa with a chuckle, before she took a deep breath. "Alright."
Anna smiled and walked away about two yards and created a portal back to the Courtyard, before looking back to Elsa and commenting...
"I eagerly await you're return."
"So do I." replied Elsa.
"I'll come back in about ten minutes, though, if you don't come; just to check on you and give you a way back if you're having trouble still."
"Alright, hopefully that won't be needed." replied Elsa, before Anna stepped through her portal, and they both gave each other a wave of the hand before the portal closed, leaving Elsa's smile to fade as she lowered her hand with a sigh. Looking to the ice door, Elsa shook her head and slapped her cheeks. "Focus... If I'm sad about this setback, I'll just fail again. I'm gonna make this portal, and Anna's gonna be waiting to congratulate me."
Following another deep breath to calm herself, Elsa lifted both hands towards the icy door and began her attempt once again. Easily reaching her previous failure point, Elsa pushed through the resistance she felt as the wall maintained its steady glow.
- Courtyard -
Standing in the middle of the Castles Courtyard following the closing of her portal, Anna faced the gate with a smile.
"You got this Elsa. I know you can do it."
Just moments later, Anna noticed movement to her right and looked to see the familiar showing of Elsa's magic about two yards away, displaying a snowy, fuzzy outline of the door Elsa had created.
"Ohh, I get to see the creation of the portal here." commented Anna as she walked the short distance towards the forming doorway, which was slowly taking form, the outline solidifying first and progressing inward.
Anna happily watched the doorway take shape as the flurry of snow around it faded. However, nearly complete, a head-sized hole still residing in the middle of the door, the process appeared to stop and even reverted as the top half of the door crumbled.
"Ohh, come on, your almost there!" declared Anna.
"Well, this is disappointingly effective." muttered Elsa through clenched teeth.
Without Anna's presence, the attempt was much easier, so far, than she had expected. It was a bittersweet feeling, she was now rather confident she'd succeed, but wouldn't be able to share the success with Anna right beside her.
"At least I'll see her smiling face when I do succeed." commented Elsa with a smile as she pictured Anna congratulating her success. However, a thought occurred to Elsa... 'Wait, Cassandra said when she thrusts her hand to open the portal, there was a glass shattering sound... is there something that happens on the other end... like shards of ice... and Anna's probably standing in front of it...'
Once again, thought of Anna's safety caused Elsa's focus to falter. The door flashes, signaling failure; however, Elsa was not knocked away; she stumbled back a few steps before planting her feet and pushing back against the minor setback with a hard groan.
"N-Not this time!" groaned Elsa as she contained the energy of her near failure and a relieved sigh left her when she felt resistance return to normal. "Come on Elsa, Anna's smart enough not to stand right in front of it. So just do it!" she added, in frustration with herself as she pushed through the resistance, stepping up to the glowing wall, pulling her arms back slightly and thrusting them forward as she overpowered the resistance she felt, prompting a flash of light, that caused Elsa to briefly close her eyes and the welcome sound of shattering glass.
Seeing the glow fade behind her closed eyes, Elsa opened them to the sight of the ice door now showing the castle, and a smile comes to her face.
"I did it." commented Elsa.
Just seconds after, Elsa saw Anna lean her grinning face into view from the left, before stepping into view.
"Congratulations!" cheered Anna, before extending her arms out for a hug. "I knew you could do it!" she added, which earned her a smile from Elsa, before she lifted her right hand, and cautiously reached her hand into the doorway, before walking through it, followed by a chuckle from her before hugging Anna.
"Still had a bit of trouble, but I pushed through it." commented Elsa, before she released Anna and looked back to admire her success.
"Yeah, I noticed." replied Anna.
"You did?" asked Elsa.
"Yeah. I saw the doorway form on this end. The top half crumbled, before quickly reforming. Then the door glowing and boom, ice shards shattering outward from it before disappearing."
"I see."
"So, feel tired or weak?" asked Anna.
"A bit, but nothing to really comment on." answered Elsa.
"That's great. Now that you've succeeded in making the portal, now you won't have a problem repeating this with me here."
"Heh, right. Do it a second time to confirm I can do it reliably."
"Exactly. So close it and try again."
"Whoa, whoa, I want to admire this a little longer." replied Elsa with a smile as she looked over her success, before stepping through it again and looking around with a chuckle. "It's so odd to take a step and be in a completely different place."
"Heh, but the convenience is amazing." commented Anna as she followed Elsa through the portal.
"It sure is." before Elsa, before walking to the side and behind the portal and saw a surprising sight. "Ohh, there's still a wall of ice on the other side."
"Yeah, Rapunzel noticed that on Cass's portal, too." commented Anna as she also looked behind the portal. "I haven't actually looked behind my portals. Probably the same though."
Elsa cautiously placed her left hand against the wall, feeling that it was as solid as it looked. Elsa soon smiled and stood facing the edge of the portal and lifted her right hand and reached her hand into the front of the portal and chuckled as she didn't see her hand emerge from the other side.
"So weird." commented Elsa with a smile, before pulling her hand back and seeing Anna grinning at her. "Anyway, on to repeating this." commented Elsa and she walked in front of the portal.
"Heh, there's no rush, you can keep examining it."
"... and I'm done examining it." replied Elsa with a smile, before looking at her portal and crossing her arms. "Now, you said closing your portals is easy, right?"
"Yeah, it's like dispersing my fire normally." answered Anna. "So much easier than making the portal."
"Well then..." stated Elsa, before extending her left hand out to the portal, and with a wave of her hand, ice covered the opening, looking as it did before, followed by the frame and ice wall fluttering away, to Elsa's own surprise. "Wow... that 'was' easy. Almost disappointingly easy compared to creating it."
"Yep." replied Anna. "Now you just have to do it again. Then Felsa should be able to help you."
"That's right, your magic helps you in making your portals." stated Elsa, before she lifted her left hand and created a snowflake and heard Felsa speak to her.
"Anna's right, you'll need to do it a bit more for me to understand it, for me to help out. Though to be honest, you probably won't need my help."
"Heh, well, having the option is nice." commented Elsa, before the snowflake dispersed and Elsa looked to Anna. "Felsa said I might not even need her help."
"She's probably right."
Elsa simply smiled, before looking ahead and recreating the icy doorway and Anna stepping back about a yard.
"Alright..." commented Elsa. "Round two."
Lifting her other hand to join her left, Elsa proceeded to repeat her portal-making attempt. With the confidence of her previous success, Elsa was able to easily maintain focus on her destination. Although still groaning with effort, barely a minute passes before Elsa thrust her hands and the glowing doorway flashed and shattered in success as once again, the castle was visible through the door.
Elsa only managed a chuckle at her repeat success, before she gasped as she was nearly tackled by Anna excitedly hugging her.
"Congratulations! It didn't even look like you had a problem at all."
"Heh, thanks." replied Elsa, before Anna released her. "Cassandra was right; you sorta, feel it. After doing it the first time, it was easy to repeat it. Like learning to ride a bike, you fall and fall, but once you get the hang of it, it goes a lot smoother."
"Hehe, now me or Cass just has to take you to Corona and you can visit anytime you want!" stated Anna.
"I sure can." replied Elsa, before she looked at her portal. "But I would like to tweak the process a bit."
"How?"
"You said ice shards shoot out of the portal, right?" asked Elsa.
"Yeah, I'd say about a yard, and they stopped and hung in the air for a few moments before flurrying away."
"I'd like to not have that happen." stated Elsa, "In case someone's close by on the other side."
"Yeah, that's a good idea. Heh, but for now, you can make portals!"
"Heh, yes I can." replied Elsa, before she walked through the portal, followed by Anna, then closing the portal and dispersing the ice door. "Places won't seem so far away now." she added as she walked towards the castle.
"Yeah, plus the time saved." stated Anna. "Just have to make the initial effort to go somewhere first, then you can go there in under a minute, as long as you can remember a particular location. Oh, we could ask Cass to take us places she's been, explore a bit of the world, meet new and interesting people. Rapunzel mentioned an island they were stranded on and met little leaf people."
"It would be nice to see more of the world." commented Elsa.
"Oh, the next time we see Silvia or Edith, we could visit Kaleen." suggested Anna.
"Kaleen's protected though."
"Oh, right... but didn't Edith mention that there's an actual entrance, though? Maybe one of them could take us there, and once we enter, then we could use our portals."
"Maybe."
The two were yards from the steps of the castle before they saw the doors open, and Iduna walk out, joined by Olaf, who greet them with a smile.
"Hi Anna and Elsa!" greeted the snowman happily.
"Hey you two." added Iduna. "Your date's over already?" she asked teasingly, which prompted a chuckle from the sisters, before Elsa answered...
"It wasn't a date, Mother."
"Hehe, so, how did things go?" asked Iduna.
"Great!" answered Anna. "Elsa can successfully make portals."
"Wonderful." replied Iduna.
"You going into town?" asked Elsa.
"Yeah." answered Iduna. "I want to meet the people before I head back." she added, before looking down to Olaf with a smile. "And I met Olaf on the way and he asked to join me."
"I'll join you too." stated Anna. "I said I would, after all."
"So will I." added Elsa.
"Thanks." replied Iduna, before she and Olaf walked by the two with Olaf at her left, followed by the sisters, Elsa to her Olaf's left and Anna to Iduna's right.
With her second trip into town, the commotion of Iduna's presence wasn't quite as intense as yesterday. Iduna was stopped occasionally to chat with people, but not for long lengths of time, and was able to walk through town without a crowd around her, greeting passersby and even visiting a few shops.
Upon leaving a shop, the sisters and Olaf spot Kristoff and Sven, as well as his sled in the plaza near the outdoor shops selling fruits and vegetables.
"Oh, Kristoff's here!" commented Anna. "Let's go introduce you, Mother."
"Alright." replied Iduna with a smile as the group headed towards the man, who had purchased a bundle of carrots and gave one to a happy Sven before depositing the rest into his sled. The pair were alerted to the families approach by Olaf, running ahead and calling to them.
"Hi Kristoff and Sven!"
"Oh, hi Olaf." greeted Kristoff with a smile, before he noticed the other's arrival, Anna even giving a greeting wave. "Hey, you two. Oh..." he added, before quickly noticing Iduna and giving a bow. "Y-Your Majesty." he stated.
"Heh, hello." greeted Iduna. "So you're Kristoff? Anna has told me a bit about you."
"Kristoff Bjorgman, Your Majesty." greeted Kristoff with another bow, before he placed his left hand on Sven's head. "And this is Sven." he added, before speaking for his friend.
"Hello, Your Majesty. It's an honor to meet you!"
While Anna and Olaf didn't think much of Kristoff's little quirk, Elsa looked noticeably embarrassed, before Iduna chuckled delightfully.
"Hello Sven." stated Iduna. "You're very polite."
"Well, one of us has to be."
"Hey." commented Kristoff with a smirk.
"So you speak for your reindeer friend too."
"Heh, yeah... wait, too?" replied Kristoff.
"Yeah, one of Elsa and Anna's cousins, Ryder, does it too." replied Iduna. "So I wasn't too shocked by it; surprised, but not shocked. You two would probably get along."
"Oh, well, that's nice to know. I'd like to meet him too." replied Kristoff. "I'm sure Sven would love to have some reindeer buddies to run around with."
"I sure would!" commented Sven, prompting a chuckle from Iduna, before Kristoff added...
"But it can't be today. I have a delivery to do later." stated Kristoff.
"You're an Ice Harvester, right?" asked Iduna.
"Yep, and I love it!" replied Kristoff, before Anna chimed in happily...
"He's not 'just' an Ice Harvester. He's Arendelle's Official Ice Master and Deliverer."
The remark prompted a chuckle from Kristoff, as well as Iduna, who asked with a smirk...
"That's a thing?"
"Apparently." replied Kristoff, "Elsa gave me the new title." he added, prompting a chuckle from Elsa, who commented...
"I wanted acknowledge what he did during the Eternal winter."
"... and what does the new title grant him?" asked Iduna with a smile, however, rather than Elsa, Kristoff answered...
"I've found it more of a really fancy way of saying we're friends, and I can freely enter the castle."
"Ahh, I see." replied Iduna, before a familiar voice called to them from their left, Kristoff's right...
"Oh hey you guys..." greeted Elly as she walked up towards them with a smile, carrying a bag over her shoulder. "Olaf's here too, guess it's a family out-" she added, before she noticed Iduna turn her head towards her and gasped. "O-Oh, Your Majesty!" she added, stopping about a yard from them and giving a curtsy. "It's so nice to see you again. I heard that you had returned yesterday." she added, which prompted a chuckle from Iduna.
"It's good to see you too, Elly." replied Iduna. "I haven't seen you in the castle."
"Oh, heh, well, I'm currently on a brief break." replied Elly. "There's some personal stuff I need to work on, and Anna was kind enough to let me work through it without losing my job."
"Oh, well, ok." replied Iduna. "I hope everything's going well."
"It is. I'll be back to work soon." commented Elly with a smile.
"Well, I'm glad you two ended up getting along." stated Iduna, before Anna commented...
"Yeah, we're good friends now. Oh, by the way, mother, Elly and Kristoff know about us."
"Oh, really?" asked Iduna, while Kristoff and Elly shared a look of surprise, before Elly commented...
"Wow, you two told her already?"
"I've known for a week already." commented Iduna with a smile. "I enjoyed how flustered they'd get on the subject and decided to tease them, rather than confront them. I poked a little hard this morning, and Anna got suspicions of me, and decided to confront me about it, so I came clean."
"Wow..." replied Kristoff. "... and you seem to be ok with it too."
"I don't approve, but I'm not going to fight them on it." replied Iduna. "By the way, now that were on the topic; Elly, Anna told me, while the citizens suspect my daughters, the staff knows about them, is that true?"
"Heh, ohh yeah." replied Elly with a chuckle, which prompted a light embarrassed chuckle from Elsa and Anna. "Especially after- ah, nevermind." she added, before quickly stopping herself.
"Oh..." replied Iduna with a smirk. "How were they found out?"
"U-Uh..." replied Elly, glancing to the sisters, who both shook their heads, which Iduna noticed and chuckled.
"Ignore them." stated Iduna, prompting a nervous chuckle from Elly, before Kristoff chimed in...
"Yanno, as the only guy here, this is a conversation I don't need to be involved in. So I'm gonna go; it was nice to meet you, You're Majesty." stated Kristoff as he made a quick exit with Sven, which Olaf delightfully waved them goodbye, before Anna commented...
"Come on Mother, do you have to do this now, out in public?"
"What?" asked Iduna with a smile. "You brought the topic up."
"Yeah, so you wouldn't try and tease us."
"Heh, and how well is that working for you?" asked Iduna, prompting an embarrassed groan from Anna and Elsa. "It's so easy to get you two flustered. Besides..." added Iduna, turning her gaze back to a nervous Elly. "I'd like to hear a third party's opinion concerning your relationship."
"Well..." replied Elly. "What I can safely say is that they're possessive of each other."
"That's not the question I asked, though." stated Iduna. "How was their relationship found out? Did they get carried away in a moment of affection and get caught?"
Iduna was unaware just how close her guess was, prompting Elsa and Anna to place an embarrassed hand over their faces, while Elly simply chuckled nervously and red-faced before she answered...
"Uh, well... With all due respect, Your Majesty, I must refuse to answer that." answered Elly, which allowed the sisters to breath a sigh of relief. Iduna however, simply smiled.
"Heh, alright then."
"R-Really?" asked Elly. "You're gonna give up that quick?"
"Do you want me to pressure you?" asked Iduna.
"N-no, no, that's fine!" quickly answered Elly.
"Hehe, I won't force you to compromise your loyalty to Elsa and Anna. But tell me..." replied Iduna, as she walked to Elly's right and faced her daughters with a smile. "Do you enjoy the embarrassed looks on their faces too?" she asked, which prompted a chuckle from Elly.
"Yeah, I do."
"And I assume you support their choice?" asked Iduna.
"Yeah." answered Elly. "I know their particular relationship isn't 'normal', but they're not hurting anyone, and they're happy, and I like seeing them happy." she added, which prompted a smile from the sisters.
"Heh, I see that too." replied Iduna, before looking down to Olaf. "And what do you think of Elsa and Anna's relationship, Olaf.
"I think it's great!" answered the snowman delightfully. "I don't really understand why they're so nervous to talk about it though; Especially when they're making noise at night, everyone can hear them having fun doing what ever it is they're doing."
The snowman's innocent remark prompted the sisters faces to turn bright red, as well as Elly's, while a light blush came to Iduna's surprised face as well.
"Oh, my..." commented Iduna, lifting her gaze to her daughters, who immediately avoided eye contact. "Ahem, well, that's enough of that topic; let's move on to something else."
"Gladly!" commented Elsa and Anna, relieved and eager to change the topic, while Olaf looked on in confusion.
"Did I say something wrong?"
"No, no." replied Anna with an embarrassed smile. "It was just something embarrassing that we wanted to avoid, given the situation. In the future, though, avoid mentioning that."
"Oh, ok then." commented Olaf, still puzzled. "I just thought since you all were talking about it, it would be fine. Since you're not though, then I won't. But it's confusing to know what I can say and what I can't."
"I know..." replied Anna with an apologetic smile. "But some personal things about our relationship we don't want people knowing." she added, before Iduna chimed in, speaking to Olaf.
"To simplify what she's saying, if it's behind a closed door, even if you can hear it, you shouldn't talk about it."
"Yeah! Exactly!" delightfully commented Anna.
"Ohhh, I get it now! Ok!" replied Olaf with a smile.
To be continued...
