Ch 4- The Dinner Party
Hannah took in a deep awaking breath as she began to come to from her little fainting episode.
The same fear that she experienced before resurfaced: it was all a dream.
None of it was real. She would have to spend the rest of her life trying to recover from such a blow to her poor heart.
Although, she was thankfully wrong again.
Gently, she felt the smooth silk sheets beneath her and the warm quilt that was wrapped around her presently.
Hannah knew they were not her's.
Inhaling again, Hannah opened her eyes and surveyed the surroundings.
She lay in a small guest room with a dresser and a small vanity. Two large windows overlooked the castle gardens as the sun was beginning to drop behind the distant mountains.
HAD SHE BEEN OUT A WHOLE DAY?!
Suddenly, Jess burst through the double doors to her right.
"Hannah! Oh my god you're awake! I was so scared I thought you were going to die of exposure! Exposure to the snow queen that is. HAHAA." Jess laughed.
Hannah giggled too, despite her thumping head.
"And just where did you get all that?" Hannah asked gesturing toward the many chocolates and pastries Jess clutched in her arms.
"Oh these? Well if you must know, I was given special permission by the princess herself to take anything from the dining room that I wanted while I waited for you to wake up. So how was your nap?" Jess questioned, popping a circular chocolate into her mouth.
Before Hannah could answer, there was a knock at the door.
"Come in." Jess uttered with a mouth full of chocolate.
The queen herself daintily stuck her head around the corner.
"Hm, I see you found the sweets Anna told you about Jess." Elsa giggled.
"Oh you're awake?" The Queen paused, her brow furrowing. "Your name is Hannah, right?"
Hannah nodded in response.
"I'm glad to see you finally awake." The Queen said with a gentle smile. "How are you feeling?" Elsa inquired walking towards the bed where she lay.
Hannah felt her cheeks going a deep shade of red. WHY DID SHE HAVE TO BE SO SOCIALLY AWKWARD.
Trying to avoid another fainting spell, Hannah attempted to speak up, " uhh- I-I'm ok, t-thanks."
Elsa smiled, finding the girl's shyness cute.
"Well I'm glad you're alright, you gave us all quite a scare collapsing like that." Elsa continued.
"Would you girls like some dinner? The cook's prepared Fårikål."
Jess and Hannah shared a confused look.
Then Jess piped up, "Well I don't know what the heck that is but I'm kinda hungry so sure. Hannah do you think you're conscious enough to stand up?"
Hannah hesitated, "I think so." She pulled back the covers and placed her feet on the floor.
Standing up, all the blood rushed to her head, and she found herself toppling over on a nearby Elsa.
She now laid awkwardly on top of the queen, a dizzy ache plaguing her head.
"OH MY GOD I'M SO SORRY I DIDN'T MEAN T-" Hannah started, but was cut off by both Elsa and Jess's laughter.
"It's okay, really." Elsa assured her, standing up and putting her hand on Hannah's shoulder understandingly.
Down in the dining room, Anna was sitting spooning her first course soup into her mouth. Her boyfriend Kristoff sat to her left.
"So I suppose those girls are eating with us tonight huh?" Kristoff asked offhandedly.
*slurp* "yeah I guess so. Elsa went to check on them, and if Hannah's awake now they'll be down soon I'm sure." *slurp* Anna replied between soup swallows.
"I don't mean to be judgmental, but who even are they? They seem sort of, strange. Earlier today they went from hysterical laughter to screaming bloody murder out of nowhere, the one girl fainted, and I saw the other raiding the sweets table this afternoon. They just seem, I don't know weird." Kristoff explained skeptically.
Anna put down her spoon.
"Yeah, I guess you're right. They are a little on the quirky side, but was I expected to just leave the girl unconsciousness on the ground of the court yard?" Anna asked, a little frustrated that Kristoff was questioning her judge of character yet again.
"No I suppose not." Kristoff replied turning back to his own soup. He knew better than to question Anna. Especially at meal times.
The door to the Dining room swung open suddenly, revealing Elsa and the two girls trailing behind her.
"Look who's finally awake." Elsa addressed the entire room, gesturing toward Hannah.
Anna looked over and smiled. "Well I'm glad you're okay. One time I fainted and didn't wake up for two days, heh, they thought I was in a coma." Anna stated lightheartedly.
Elsa's face creased with concern, this being the first time she had heard such news about her little sister.
Hannah and Jess sat across from Anna and Kristoff, while Elsa took her rightful place at the head of the table.
Hannah locked eyes with Anna for a moment, then looked away quickly.
She decided to distract herself from her stress by looking at the various food assortments.
There was presently a steaming bowl of an unknown soup in the center of the table; it smelled heavenly.
A magnitude of different breads sat on plates around the soup pot, and the rest of the food on the table, she had no idea of their identity.
She couldn't help but also notice the beautiful decor of the elegant room.
Woven tapestries were hung on every wall, and an elaborate crystal chandelier hung just above their heads.
It reminded her of a similar one from Frozen that was located inside Elsa's ice palace on the North Mountain.
"Do you like it? I made it myself. I thought this room could use a little sparkle." Elsa admired the chandelier, noticing Hannah's interest in it.
"It's absolutely stunning, I've never seen anything like it." Hannah said looking down at Elsa, becoming more comfortable with speaking to the queen.
Elsa smiled in gratitude.
Three servers exited the kitchen bearing three platters of something Hannah had never seen before.
It appeared to be some type of weird meat, but she was so hungry she'd eat anything.
"So do you guys live in Arendelle or are you just visiting?" Kristoff questioned spooning food from the steaming platter onto his own plate.
Hannah looked at Jess like a deer in the headlights.
Although she knew it would have to come up in conversation at some point, she still didn't want to think about answering such questions.
"Uhh-yeah just visiting. A beautiful town really." Jess replied, masking her nervousness better than her friend.
Anna stood to attention. "Where are you from? I've always wanted to travel the world and maybe one day I can go visit your home town!"
"Well I'm from Sydney." Jess replied.
It was Elsa's turn to pipe in.
"Sydney? I don't recall hearing of that place before. I've read every history book in Arendelle and it's not written in any of them."
The queen turned to her right to look at Hannah, who was slumping in her chair.
"Are you from the same kingdom as Jess?" She asked, eager to find out more about this unfamiliar land.
"I'm actually not, no. I live in Florida... which is in America. Also it's not a kingdom, the form of government is democracy..." Hannah replied, her face turning the same color red as the stew in front of them.
Elsa blinked and used her hand to smooth down her hair while in thought.
"America is so far from here. How did you get here?"
Hannah inhaled and exhaled nervously.
She began to open her mouth to speak, but an ear-splitting bang at the door- to Hannah's relief- cut her off abruptly.