Disclaimer: I neither own the rights to Disney, Frozen, the Disney universe nor any of its associated media, derivatives or products. I do not profit from this work.
A/N: Based on the theory that the "At Home With Olaf" shorts were meant to take place during a similar plague affecting Arendelle.
Trigger Warnings: pandemic, loss, mourning.
The queen peered down at the letter, taking a deep breath as she held the fountain pen gripped too-tightly in her fingers, white bloodless spots appearing where she pressed too hard and tears brimming in her eyes.
Elsa,
You know I would do anything to have you here for Christmas…but this year, I just don't think it's safe. With all of the cases Arendelle has had, it would be awful if you got sick here and brought it back with you to the North Forest. I don't think I could ever forgive myself if…
No, scratch that. Too gloomy. Her brows furrowed as she inked out the lines.
As a queen it would be wrong of me. Thank you so much for understanding, though I knew you would. Next year, when things are better….
Next year. Next year, when? She was still trying to negotiate with Dun Broch for enough doses of the vaccination. They had thought it would be ready by midsummer, then autumn, and then… well. It was Christmas, and still, they were waiting. When was the last time she had seen Elsa? She thought it was… sometime back in February? The queen tried to take a steadying breath and closed her eyes, scrubbing at them with the back of her hands. Ten months without seeing her sister. It wasn't supposed to be like this, ever again. The gates were open… well, had been open…
...when things are better, we'll make it up with as many charades nights as we want.
I love you, Elsa. Stay safe. Merry Christmas, and all my love, always. –Anna
She folded up the letter into a heart and then stared down at it, feeling as if all the energy had run out of her with the ink and left nothing but an empty, crumpled cavern inside. A line of music ran through her head, a song Olaf had made up when she and Kristoff had been quarantining after their diplomatic visit to Dun Broch. I am with you with this letter, I am with you with this song…
But they weren't with each other. They had lost out on so much… she and Kristoff hadn't even been able to get married, since neither had wanted to have the ceremony if Elsa and the kingdom couldn't attend. 1840 had taken so much, and Anna felt as if, writing that letter, she had run out of everything she had left to give.
She was just so…tired.
"Hey."
She looked up dourly at her fiancé, eyes rimmed by shadows and red with tears. "Hey," she sighed, setting the pen down. Kristoff sat down in the chair opposite hers across the desk.
"That your letter to Elsa?" he inquired. His bride-to-be had been putting off responding to her sister's query whether it would be safe to visit for Christmas for several days. Anna nodded miserably. "Listen, Anna…you know she'll understand…"
"Yeah…" But she didn't sound any less sad. Not sure what else to do, Kristoff reached a hand across the table, and Anna took it.
Then she collapsed in on herself.
Her fiancé stood up and walked around the desk as the queen half-rose to her feet and half-sunk to the ground; he caught her around the shoulders and held her up as she sobbed into his shirt. "Anna…"
"It's just…too much," she wept. "First the protests…then the assassination attempts…" Kristoff nodded sympathetically, though inside he felt his heart immediately clench up at the mention of the attacks on Anna's life earlier in the year. Some people had been less-than-pleased to find out that their ruling family was half-Northuldran, and that was before the plague had struck. "And now this plague and…there were those horrible rainstorms in the fall and…"
"I know. I know…"
"And the treasury's almost empty and I don't know what to do, people need help but I can't go borrowing more money from Dun Broch and…"
"I know…"
"And I still have to write the Christmas address!"
He stroked her hair as she cried. There was nothing to be said. At last, as her sobs were stifling themselves into hiccoughs, he hugged her tighter still. "We'll get through this," he promised.
"H-How?" she mumbled.
"We just will. We'll take care of each other," he said, with no real idea of how they were supposed to do that. "And we'll take care of Arendelle, and Arendelle will take care of us. We'll all get through this together."
Anna choked out a laugh. "Even if we're supposed to stay six feet apart?"
"Yeah. Even then," he chuckled. His queen pulled back, smiling ruefully up at him through tear-dropped lashes.
"I don't know how I'd have gotten through this year without you, Kristoff. You're…you've been my rock. Really."
"And you're my fiestypants," he said, kissing her forehead.
"Even when I'm not so feisty?"
"Especially then." They held each other for another long moment, before Anna looked back at her writing desk.
"I guess I should probably send it, huh," she sighed.
"Probably."
"And write the address…." She sat, or rather slumped, back into her desk chair. "I mean, what do you even say after a year like this? Where are we supposed to find holiday cheer right now? No ice skating, no Christmas feasts…"
"I'm not sure," her fiancé admitted. "But maybe…maybe you could say that."
"What do you mean?"
"I don't know. Just…be honest. That this year hasn't been great, but next year will be better."
"But what if it isn't?" Her words were spoken in a tiny, quiet voice, and he heard the fear in her voice that she, as queen, was not allowed to show to any other citizen but him. So he leaned down again and kissed her hair.
"It will be."
"You promise?"
"I swear it."
Somewhere within herself Anna found the strength to smile, for real. "Thanks, Kristoff."
"I believe in you, Anna," he said seriously. "Don't ever doubt that."
"Really?"
"Really. You are the queen Arendelle needed this year. And we'll all get through this, together."
She smiled again, and he smiled back, kissing her hand before leaving the library and closing the door behind him. The queen lingered for a moment in the warmth of the moment, and then sighed again and looked down at her fountain pen. She hesitated, and then drew a piece of holiday-themed stationary, etched with inked evergreen garlands and pealing bells.
"Be honest, huh?" she murmured to herself. Well, she'd always been good at that… that and making people laugh…
[Musical suggestion: Kristen Bell's "2020 Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" on The Tonight Show. Music starts at 1:35. Minor edits have been made to make it fit setting and historical context.]
Her Majesty Queen Anna's Christmas Address:
Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas.
Mrs. Olsen carefully adjusted her son's scarf up again so it covered his nose again, adjusted her own with a smile in her eyes, and slung her market basket over her arm.
Next year's on its way….
Mrs. Bredhal and her eldest daughter, the wreath of glowing candles on her head, carried the rationed coffee into the younger sisters' bedroom.
Santa's got a vaccination on his sleigh.
Mr. Larsen held up his daughter as she lit the menorah, his wife teaching their son to read by a newspaper. Headline: "Chanukah Miracle: Vaccine Bottles Stretch to More Doses!"
Have yourself a merry little Christmas.
The Andersens hung stockings before the fire, the children carefully cutting paper ornaments for one another instead of gifts.
Let the nonsense go….
The Askelands' tree was smaller this year, but the candles burned just as brightly as husband and wife decorated it, sharing a fond look.
Take a beat, and think about the things you know!
Three teenage boys played hacky-sack in the snow, six feet apart and scarves drawn over their noses. They'd missed out on a year of classes together at the local schoolhouse… but as the sun set, they paused and looked up at the statue of the late King Agnar and Queen Iduna above them, feeling uncustomarily solemn.
Close your eyes and let out a sigh, 1840's almost gone…..
Old Mrs. Rindal, now Widow Rindal, quietly lit a candle beside the picture frame and ate a solitary slice of fruit cake…
You couldn't write the stuff we've seen, but!
The old bishop handed out gifts of clothes and toys to poor families at the door of the church as the stars began to glimmer in the cold.
What doesn't kill us makes us strong!
The drinking buddies toasted each other with personal mugs through the window.
Though this year will be…. Socially distant, we'll get through it all.
Queen Anna gave a sad smile as she handed the letter off to the wind; Gale fluttered and accepted it, as Olaf and Kristoff came up behind her, her fiancé wrapping his arms around her waist.
Flash a mask and smile behind a sneezeguard wall!
The letter fluttered over the town, as down below, masked shoppers returned home alone from the market below the town Christmas tree.
And have yourself a Merry Little Christmas now!
Far to the north, the letter was handed into the waiting fingers of an ex-queen, who read it, and smiled.