Olaf needs to know

After their journey to the northern lands, Anna and Elsa had a lot of work to do in the kingdom. When they returned home and made sure the people and the kingdom were okay, both sisters began with the necessary arrangements for Elsa's abdication and Anna's coronation.

It had been a difficult topic to talk and discuss at first, but with time the idea began to sit well with Anna. She was nervous about becoming Queen, but she knew she had her sister's support and her advice to guide her. She was also sad Elsa was leaving the castle, but her sister constantly reassured her she was going to come and go between the lands. It was only necessary for her to send a message with Gale, and Elsa was going to return in an instant.

The whole idea was still strange to some of their advisers, but little by little it was growing into them and the council. Anna and the council felt it was necessary to have someone representing Arendelle in the Northern lands, and someone the Northuldra could trust and rely on whenever they needed assistance. Elsa was the only right person for that, being a spirit of nature Elsa could protect nature and the Northuldra from the bigger countries who were ready to exploit the riches for their own economic power. She could make sure everything was in order while at the same time, she could let herself enjoy the freedom she deserved.

A month after their journey, things began to fall into the right place. Everything was almost settled, except one thing. One thing Anna felt was too important not to discuss sooner than later. And that thing was Olaf. Anna felt her sister was being unfair with the little snowman by keeping him in the dark about her plans for the future. And she felt it was time Elsa discussed them with him.

Elsa had avoided talking about leaving Arendelle in front of Olaf. Anna had let her know about Olaf's fears and insecurities, how he had been afraid of change and how he had felt betrayed and angered when she left them behind. Making Elsa believe it was best to tell him later, when things were settled. Nonetheless, Anna felt it was time her sister told Olaf the truth.

"Elsa, stop it," said Anna after the topic had arised, yet once again. "You've got to let him know. He already knows I'll be Queen of Arendelle. He knows you are the fifth spirit. He must be suspecting something is going on… "

"It's not that I don't want to let him know. It's just…" Elsa made a pause. "I don't know how to tell him."

"Just talk to him. Explain things like you explained to me. He will understand."

"I don't want him to be mad at me," confessed Elsa. "I don't want him to feel pressured to follow me or to stay here either…"

Anna smiled tenderly to her sister. She knew Elsa loved the snowman, but she didn't often show how much. "He won't be mad at you. He loves you."

"He was mad at me before. I must be the only person out there who has made him mad" Elsa sighed and sat down in the chair in front of her desk - now Anna's desk -.

"Well, I've got to admit I was surprised when I saw him mad that day…" Seeing Elsa crestfallen expression after her comment, Anna felt she needed to reassure Elsa things were going to be okay. "Elsa, he's just growing up. It's normal for him to feel anger from time to time. But this time is different, this time you'll talk to him and explain things to him."

Anna saw her sister look down. Probably overthinking what she should say to her snowman. She was surprised how much Elsa struggled with that kind of things still. Even with her family. No wonder Elsa had never felt comfortable in her role as Queen. Something her sister had recently admitted to her.

"He adores you," said Anna. Part of her thought Elsa felt she couldn't talk to Olaf because she didn't notice how much Olaf loved her. "You are his creator. He would do anything you tell him to do or not to do, and he would never stop loving you." When she noticed Elsa had raised her head to listen, she continued, "he will listen. And he will understand. Just please, talk to him."

"That's what I'm afraid of…"

"What?"

"What if he asks me what to do?" said Elsa. "What if he feels like he has to follow me to the enchanted forest and it's not what he wants to do?"

"Do you want him to go to the enchanted forest with you?" asked Anna. Truth was she had no idea how Elsa felt about it. And the opportunity was perfect.

"I don't know… I feel bad leaving him behind. I worry something may happen to him and I'm not around to fix him or help him," said Elsa with worry. "But I want him to be happy. And I know he's happy here. With you, and Kristoff and Sven."

Anna couldn't help but chuckle at her sister after that.

"What?" asked Elsa. She didn't see how anything she was saying could be funny. She was worried for Olaf's well-being.

"And you really want me to believe you are not his mother?"

"Oh, not this again. I'm not his mother. I just built him and I love him. That's it."

Anna laughed again before saying, "Sure, sis. Whatever you say…" Anna cleared her throat when she saw Elsa's look and said, "Anyway, if he asks just tell him what you told me. Let him choose-"

Anna was interrupted by a soft knock on the door, and a snowman waddling into the study, "Anna! Elsa!" he waved. "You called me?"

Elsa turned to her sister after watching Olaf enter the room, and looked at her in a way that said, 'you called him now?'

Anna just smiled at her sister and said to Olaf, "Yes, Olaf. I did! Elsa wanted to talk to you!"

After that, she stood up and walked to the door, petting Olaf on her way out. And closed the door behind her. She knew Elsa was going to be mad for a few seconds with her, but she knew it was best if her sister talked with him.

Anna had to admit she couldn't keep waiting anymore either. She needed to know what was Olaf going to do. She wanted him to stay with her and Kristoff. His presence was comforting and it was always funny to have him around. But she hadn't said that to her sister. She wanted creator and creation to talk things through and choose what they wanted to do. She felt it was not her place to choose for them. Even if both of them leaving was going to crush her.

Elsa watched the door close behind her sister, and realised she didn't have an alternative. Olaf waddle towards her and stood by her side, smiling. He looked happy he was supposed to stay with her and talk. She knew she had neglected him the last few weeks. Abdicating had been a little bit harder than she imagined, it didn't only affect her life, but her sister's and the whole kingdom. And so, she hadn't had much time on her hands to spend time with the little snowman.

"What do you want to talk about Elsa? Books? I found a new encyclopedia in the library. I was trying to find information about how sleeping in long journeys prevents insanity, but I can't seem to find anything."

"No. That's n- not want I want to talk about." She felt silly stuttering in front of Olaf. He had always been a comforting presence in her life since she created him and she knew she could speak freely in front of him, but this time she didn't quite know how to start the conversation. She chose to start with information Olaf already knew. "You know Anna is going to be Queen of Arendelle, don't you?"

"Oh, yeah," he nodded eagerly. "She told me. I think it's great!" He then scratched his head. "I don't know why you don't want to be Queen anymore…" He thought for a moment, and before Elsa had the chance to answer, he said, "Is it because people have been decapitating Queens in recent years? I'm not sure what decapitate means, though."

Elsa paled at the thought, and suddenly felt the need to cancel Anna's coronation and her abdication altogether, and stay in the castle. Leave it to Olaf to make her reevaluate her life decisions.

Her train of thought was interrupted when Olaf continued, "but I read people are angry with their monarchs before doing it, and people like you and Anna. So I don't think that's it."

Coming back to the conversation at hand, and trying her best to leave her new unfounded fear aside, Elsa said, "Well, I'm stepping down because I realised I was not the right person for the job."

"Don't you like being Queen?"

"It's not I don't like it." Truth was she had always felt inadequate for the position. But she didn't feel like discussing that with Olaf. She had just recently confessed it to Anna. "It's just… It's not who I'm meant to be."

"What do you mean?" he seemed interested. Elsa was glad he was following the conversation and asking questions. It was easier for her to talk that way.

"I was born to be someone different. I'm supposed to be out there, with the rest of the spirits," she answered. "Do you understand?"

He pondered for a few seconds what she said. "And being Queen forces you to stay here in your study all day?"

"Yes." She felt relieved Olaf understood her reasons.

"What are you going to do now?"

"I'm going back to the forest…" she was surprised she was able to say it so easily.

"For a few days?"

"No." She sighed, knowing he was not going to like her answer. "I'm going there to stay."

He furrowed his brow. "You are leaving?"

There it was. The question she knew was coming. She nodded and caressed the top of his head. "I won't live here anymore. That's what I wanted to talk with you," she said in a small voice.

"Why?" A dejected look on his face.

Elsa hated being the reason their happy snowman felt that way. She hated always being the reason her family suffered. But she couldn't keep pretending. She had found herself that day in Ahtohallan, and she knew she couldn't go back to the way things were. "It's where I belong. It's where the magic of nature belongs."

Olaf opened his eyes in surprise, making Elsa wondered if she had said something wrong. "What about me? I'm made of magic snow. Should I go too?" he asked with concern.

Elsa felt his worry and soon tried to calm him down. "That's up to you."

He raised his head to meet her eyes and asked, "Up to me?"

Elsa leaned in so it was easier for him to look at her in the eye. "Do you want to come to the forest with me?" She needed him to understand it was his choice completely.

"I don't know…" he ruffled his hair twigs. And after thinking for a few seconds he confessed, "I don't like the forest."

"You don't?"

"I think it's scary."

Elsa tried to remember the forest. She had been so captivated with the land, she couldn't think of it as scary. "Scary?"

"You know, full of potential threats…"

She chuckled at his answer. Olaf's vocabulary had changed so much in such a short time. "Well," she said remembering Olaf's worry after she had brought him back to life. "I promised you I wouldn't put you through mortal danger anymore. So, you don't have to come with me if you don't want to. You can stay here with Anna and Kristoff."

"I can?" His spirits seemed to raise with his question.

"Of course." She smiled tenderly to him. "I want you to be happy, Olaf."

He sighed and walked the short distance that separated them. He rested his head on her lap and said, "I don't know what to do."

Elsa felt guilty once again. Here she was forcing Olaf to make a decision that surely was hard for him. He always said he loved his whole family. Wanting to make him feel better, she picked him up and sat him on her lap. She gave him what she hoped was a warm hug and asked, "What do you feel here?" She pointed to his chest. Even if she knew Olaf was not human, she liked to believe he felt things in his chest too. She also knew he understood what she meant. "What do you think would make you happier?"

"I think," began Olaf but he hesitated, as if the answer was going to be incorrect. "I would like to stay in the castle with Anna, Kristoff and Sven…" Before Elsa had the chance to tell him it was okay to feel that way, he continued, "but you built me. I don't want you to go." He looked at her with sadness. "I don't want things to change."

Elsa didn't answer. She couldn't promise him things were going to stay the same. She knew that once she left the castle a lot of things were going to change. They were changing already. "Are you mad at me?" she asked.

"No. I'm just…" He made a pause trying to understand how he felt. "…sad. Do you have to go?"

Elsa hugged him once again and nodded. "I'm sorry I'm leaving. But I'm sure you'll be happier here." Without detaching herself from him, she tilted her head and said, "But you'll have Anna; she was always better company than I was. And Kristoff and Sven." Then she remembered his new found passion for books and said, "you also have all the books you can read here…"

Instead of lifting his mood, the comment about the books made him sadder, puzzling Elsa. "But you won't be here to tell me what the difficult words mean."

"No, I won't…" She sighed. Then an idea came to her mind. "But you can send me letters. You'll have someone to write to." She remembered Olaf sending letters to everyone in the castle, when he first learnt to read an write.

"Oh, it's a good thing I learnt to write then!" he said with excitement.

"Yes, it is." Elsa tighten her embrace, happy to know he was finding something to look forward to. "You can send me all the letters you want. And if you ever need me, you could just send a message with Gale and and I'll be back as soon as possible."

He then turned his head to look at her. "Can I visit you too?"

Elsa smiled. "I'd love that."

They both stayed in silence for a few minutes, just enjoying their company. Elsa felt bad for not spending more time with Olaf in the past. She had always worked too much or worried too much to enjoy the simple moments like the one she was living at that moment.

He distracted her when he asked, "when are you leaving?"

"After Anna's coronation."

She watched him count what she guessed were the weeks before the coronation and he then said, "So, we still have a few weeks to spend time together."

"Yes, we do."

The following day, Anna and Elsa were in the study once again, this time arranging the guest list for Anna's coronation. The most important kingdoms and allies had been told about the event, but they still needed to figure out some things.

Both sisters were discussing Arendelle relationship with a Kingdom Anna didn't remember ever reading about, when Olaf entered the study running with a map in his hand. "Elsa look! Look what I found in the library!"

Elsa turned around, surprised by the sudden visit, and knelt in front of him. "What is it?"

"It's an old map of Arendelle. Look! It has all this marks and circles in it. What do you think they are?" He opened the map to show his creator.

Elsa picked the map and tried to identify what each circle marked, but she couldn't think of anything. She recognised her father's handwriting on the left margin. It said something about water.

Anna stood behind her and looked at the map too, she recognised one of the marked places. "That's the oldest well in Arendelle. It's near the town square," she said pointing to it.

"I think father was thinking of building more wells," said Elsa. "I can't believe I didn't come up with the idea of checking the water supply in Arendelle before…"

"Do you think all the 'new wells' he marked in this map were built?" asked Anna.

"I don't know…"

"Uh! We could go explore the town and find out!" said Olaf with excitement. Before Elsa knew what was happening, Olaf grabbed her hand and ran in the direction of the door. Elsa looked at the twig arm in her hand as she watched Olaf run out the door.

"Olaf wait! You forgot your hand!" said Elsa aloud, shaking his arm in the air.

Anna laughed as she watched her sister kneeling on the floor with his arm in her hand. "He wants you to go with him."

"Come on, Elsa!" said Olaf from the door, when he realised his arm and his creator were missing.

"Olaf, I'm helping Anna with the coronation right now."

Anna shook her head and helped her sister raise from the floor. "Go explore the town with Olaf," she said. "Besides, I could use the information."

"But-"

"No 'buts'." She interrupted. Anna got closer to Elsa and whispered, "go play with him. You'll miss these moments."

Elsa looked at her and smiled. Anna had already taken her role as Queen and was offering her the chance to go out and enjoy her new found freedom. She whispered a thank you to her younger sister, and walked out the door with Olaf.