(Here's the next chapter! Enjoy!)
That's…..that's my exercise done for the year." Arianna gasped out.
Idunn looked down towards her sister, highly concerned. Flashbacks flooded her head of herself lying on the deck, her body coated in blood, seconds away from death. She grabbed her sister's hand and squeezed it tightly in an attempt to chase away the tragic memories.
Karl looked down at her, also concerned. He looked up at Idunn. "Is she going to need an oxygen mask?"
"Just a cup of tea. No…..two! Four actually. The crazier the situation, the more tea is required to rejuvenate." Arianna replied.
"Ari…You're going to turn into a teacup." Idunn muttered.
"A minor side effect." Arianna responded.
Idunn laughed and reached for the emergency tea kit, pouring Arianna a hot cup of tea. She reached for a biscuit and put it on the saucer.
Arianna shot up in an instant. "I SMELL TEA!"
Idunn breathed a sigh of relief. "Well I'm glad you're alright." She handed Arianna the saucer.
Arianna's eyes immediately lit up with delight. She smirked and picked up the tea box.
"Corona tea! Good choice!" Arianna smiled. "You'll never believe who's the new face of Corona tea."
Idunn giggled and raised an eyebrow. She had a feeling about what was about to follow.
Arianna turned the box around and flashed a cheeky grin. "ME!"
Idunn laughed hard. "Well, I expected nothing less! Since when?"
"Well, I'm probably the only person in the Seven Kingdoms that has an emergency tea kit! But the tea company asked me a few weeks ago."
Idunn peered at the box. "Oh, you look so happy!" Arianna was grinning widely on the box, but peacefully drinking a cup of tea.
"Drink Corona Tea, and you too could be as fabulous as Queen Arianna" Idunn read. She laughed hard. "You've been up to a lot since I've been here."
"I have...even though you're here under not the best of circumstances. It has been an honour to share it with you. Now…" Arianna began.
She picked up a fishing rod and happily handed it to her sister with a smile.
"Knock 'em dead, Idy."
Idunn rolled her wheelchair towards the edge of the boat and held her rod tightly. Karl stood next to her.
He moved closer….and closer….
Idunn raised an eyebrow. "On my three." She got ready to cast her line. One…Two….Thr-MMPHHH!"
Karl leaned forward, giving a long kiss on Idunn on the lips. Arianna's jaw dropped, and she grabbed her own fishing rod, preparing to use it in self-defence.
Idunn gasped and pushed him away. "KARLLLL! WHAT THE HECK!?"
Arianna turned red and shattered her tea cup and pointed it at Karl. "Get your hands, OFF MY SISTER!"
"Idunn….look. I'm sorry. I didn't know what to do or say. You are so beautiful, and I just fell in love the first time I saw you even though you-" Karl stammered.
Idunn sighed. "Karl…..I can't. I can't. I just lost my husband. I'm a widow. I can't. You're a wonderful friend. But I can't." Idunn held her hand over her chest and sighed deeply.
"Look what you've done! You're putting stress on her weak heart, you inconsiderate imbecile!"
"ARIANNA!" Idunn exclaimed. "Stop this!"
Arianna stood between Karl and Idunn protectively. Her stern face was enough to spike fear into even the toughest soldiers. Karl gulped.
"I assure you, I will be closely watching your behaviour Karl." She gritted her teeth, causing even Idunn to gasp in fear.
"As long as I'm alive, I want to NEVER see you lay a finger on my sister again, unless she gives you her UTMOST PERMISSSION!" Arianna yelled.
The other fishermen's eyes widened as big as saucers. No one had ever seen in the history of Corona a queen so furious.
Idunn inhaled deeply. As much as she knew her sister cared, this was just plain embarrassing.
"Just LET IT GO!" Idunn groaned and pushed Arianna out of the way onto the hard deck so she could see Karl again. "I'm forty-five! Just give me some….space!"
"Oof!" Arianna landed on her rear, in a rather unqueenly matter. Arianna didn't reply. Her face creased into one of hurt and concern.
She looked back at Idunn, a small tear escaping her left eye. She sighed deeply and went back to sit with Rapunzel, mostly to drown her sorrows in the various flavours of tea in the emergency tea kit.
Idunn's wonky heart for once didn't feel like the worst thing in world. For what she just done to her sister had hurt more than any medical procedure.
"Three." Idunn sighed and cast her line. Karl slowly turned to look at her.
"S-Sorry…." Karl said quietly.
"Don't worry….it's been a crazy time for both of us. I apologise. I haven't been able to think straight. I don't sleep that much. I just can't stop thinking about my husband. Its….difficult."
"No….no…its my fault. Really. I was selfish."
"Karl-OOOOH! FISH!" Idunn gasped. She felt a heavy pull on the end of her rod. She attempted to reel it in, gritting her teeth and straining to bring it in faster.
"Wait no! Let me he- wait…do I have your utmost perm-"
"YES! YES YOU DO!" Idunn grinned. "Fishing is a fast business! If you don't grab it, it runs away! You must be like the fox and the rabbit! Get your prey!" Idunn laughed.
Karl put his hands over hers and helped her pull it in. Idunn breathed heavily as the large salmon fell on the deck with a slap. Idunn lifted it up triumphantly and proudly towards Karl.
"It's….it's for you." Idunn said
Karl looked surprised. "But it's yours! It's for you! You won the challenge!"
"Yes…But I ended up in your net during the accident instead of salmon. Compensation."
Karl laughed. "Well I happily accept."
Idunn smiled. She looked out towards the ocean and the docks, more specifically the pier.
Elsa and her three friends, Hildegard, Maria and Olga, playfully ran along the edge of the pier, pretending to be birds.
"I'm an eagle! I'm the best!" Olga laughed. She jumped up and down, flapping her arms around.
Hildegard did the same, running around in circles around Maria. "I'm a hawk! I'm better!"
Maria just sat next to them, hooting like an owl and attempting to turn her head in a 360-degree motion, which of course, didn't work.
Elsa put her hands on her hips and stuck her chest out proudly. "AND I! I, ELSA! SHALL BE THE FIRST FLYING HUMAN!" Elsa stuck her arms out horizontally.
"COMING THROUGH!" She thundered down the pier, her shoes pounding against the wood.
Idunn's eyes widened. Running near a large amount of water was never a good idea.
Elsa squealed with delight, her eyes closing as she felt the wind run though her hair.
"ELSA! WATCH OUT-" Maria yelled.
Elsa's feet made contact with a puddle of water on the edge of the pier. She opened her eyes to see herself slipping around uncontrollably before she landed in the deep water with a sickening smash.
"ELSA! She can't swim! And neither can we!" Maria gasped.
"ELSA!" Idunn gasped. Motherly instinct over logic overcame her and she pulled her nasal oxygen once more out of her nose. She used her wheelchair as a boost to dive into the water, still having a strong grip on her stick.
She swam while still holding her stick to the drowning girl.
"Idunn?!" Elsa bubbled.
"Grab onto the stick, child!"
Idunn guided the girl to the edge of the shore. Elsa ran safely onto the shore.
The left side of Idunn's chest ached. There was a sudden, sharp pain, like a dagger stabbing her over and over. She looked down at the left side, inhaling deeply, growing concerned at the potential damage she may had caused.
Her eyes focused on the calm water, flowing back and forth and back and forth.
Something wasn't right. Something wasn't normal. And it was no bed of roses.
In the water, she was surrounded, conquered. By a large puddle of her own blood.
(That's it for this chapter! Thanks for reading! Reviews are appreciated!)
