Chapter 4: Some Things Never Change
Anna walked up the small hill in the castle's garden in search of Olaf. Elsa went over to look for him by the garden's small waterfall since he enjoyed watching the koi fish. Anna paused for a moment to breathe in the fresh air with a content smile. She had spent many days in her childhood to get away from the near-sunless, confining, walled, well, walls of the castle and escape to the lively, sun-soaked, grassy, flowered refuge literally just behind a closed door.
"Well, hello there. Are you travelling, too?" Olaf's cheery voice brought Anna back to the present which alerted Elsa who jogged up to Anna as the two sisters followed the voice up to find a certain talking snowman sitting on a picnic blanket in the middle of a small pumpkin patch smiling at and turning a red leaf in his hand like a magician showing an audience a trick playing card. Olaf stopped turning his leaf to look at Anna and Elsa "Oh, hi, Elsa. Hi, Anna." He said with a chuckle. "I was just talking to my new friend, Leif."
Elsa laid on the blanket on her side propped up by her right elbow to Olaf's left while Anna followed suit on his right. "And what does Leif have to say?" Elsa playfully asked. Olaf's smile turned to a slightly blank look as he said "I don't know, he only speaks German. I brought out a translation book, but I forgot I can't pronounce German words. Or read." Anna slightly frowned in sympathy "Bummer. " She then smiled as though to comfort him saying "But don't worry, I'll teach you."
Olaf laid on his back looking at her happily "Oh, thanks Anna. I'd like that a lot." He said cheerfully. Olaf had been wanting to learn how to read since Elsa read him that book about the young princess who lived with seven old men and fell in a coma until she was kissed by a prince who thought her supposed corpse was attractive. Olaf then pulled out a small box from which he produced a small, wrinkly, green leaf that looked more like a flattened sheet of paper after getting crumpled up. "Anyway, I've been doing a little comparison between Leif and my other friend, Treelore. And I've been wondering why he looks so much different than Leif does."
Elsa took "Treelore" in her hand and explained matter-of-factly, "Well, the thing is, Olaf. Leaves like Leif and Treelore, make food for the trees called chlorophyll, and when their cells are reflected by light in spring and summer, they have a green color. But in the fall and winter months due to the changes of temperature and day length, the leaves can't make as much chlorophyll, so the leaves kind of dry up and the lack of chlorophyll gives the leaves the more autumn red, yellow, orange and brown. You see?" Elsa smiled upon completion of her lesson in spite of Anna turned around the look at her both puzzlingly and impassively while Olaf stared innocently wide-eyed, no doubt trying to piece all of it together until he admitted "Not really, but I like that name, Chlorophyll."
Anna turned around to face Olaf and said "What she means is that in the spring and summer, the leaves are green, but they change colors in the fall and winter." Anna then leaned forward to Olaf and whispered with her hand on the left side of her mouth "It's their thing."
"Oh, I get it. That makes sense. Thanks Elsa and Anna." Olaf said smiling and putting his arms around the two sisters. Elsa looked over at Anna, slightly miffed and said "Anna, that's what I said."
Anna leaned on her right elbow to look back at her sister "Yeah I know, but I said it in English." She said with a slightly mocking smile to which Elsa gave a small smile and eye roll.
Olaf then got a look of both realization and possible fear, "So, even leaves change?" Elsa and Anna nodded. Olaf then sat up between them and looked at Elsa and Anna with his trademark "Olaf-smile" "Tell me though, you're both much older and thus all knowing." He asked "Do you ever worry about change?" His smile then turned into a look of slight fear and sadness "Like, the notion that nothing good is permanent?" Anna and Elsa looked at each other trying to figure out what to say, Elsa appeared very uneasy. She could easily answer a geometry question or how best to handle trade relations with other countries, but questions about life wasn't her best subject. "Uhhh… well,-" she began trying best to convince Olaf (and herself to a degree) that not all change was bad until Anna smiled gently at her, put her hand on Elsa's wrist and reassured "I'll take this one."
Anna sat up and ran her fingers through her hair "Well, no. Can't say that I do." She finally said. Olaf looked at her and asked a bit fascinatedly "Really?" to which Anna shook her head. Elsa sat up to look on slightly surprised. She knew Anna was most likely the bravest person she'd ever known, but she thought that nothing good lasting forever would daunt her at least a little bit. Olaf looked at Anna and smiled again as he said "Wow, I can't wait until I'm ancient like you, so I don't have to worry about important things.".
Anna giggled a bit as she laid back down on the blanket to look at the clouds, Olaf did the same. Elsa skootched to the top of the blanket at Anna and Olaf's heads to better look at the two, curious to hear Anna's enlightenment. Anna looked to Olaf as she explained "That's not what I mean. I don't worry because, well, I have you." Olaf beamed at these words. She then looked up to find Elsa and rub her forearm with a smile "And Elsa." (to which Elsa blushed) "And Kristoff and Sven, and the gates are open, and I-I'm not alone anymore."
Anna then looked back up at the clouds and felt something paradoxically familiar yet foreign come over to her and before she could piece it together it hit her "🎶Yes, the wind blows a little bit colder. And we're all getting older.🎶" Elsa looked on with a look of both surprise and happiness, she heard Anna sing outside her door many times before in their childhood, but usually they were sad, it was probably the first time she heard her sing happily. Not seeing Elsa's expression Anna continued "🎶And the clouds are moving on with every Autumn breeze🎶." All of a sudden "Maa-ha-ha-haa" a stray goat ran through the pumpkin patch, trampling a pumpkin with a *SPLAT* and then eating its contents. Anna. Elsa and Olaf looked on cringing at the gourd's gore, but Anna still sang a little more flinchingly "🎶Peter Pumpkin just became fertilizer. 🎶" Olaf looked at Treelore as he sang along a bit sad "🎶And my leaf's a little sadder and wiser. 🎶" Anna smiled again, stood up into a crouching position and lightly tweaked Olaf's carrot nose as she sang "🎶That's why I rely on certain certainties. WHOA!" The rest of the refrain was interrupted when Anna lost her balance and fell onto the pumpkin that the goat was eating, startling him away and coating her backside with pumpkin guts. Elsa thought she might break a rib from holding in a laugh, especially at Anna's "I meant to do that" grimace.
Once Anna washed her skirt, she, Elsa and Olaf were making their way through town as the preparations for the festival were well underway. The trio stepped through the wooden skeleton of a fun-house being hoisted up (but not without Olaf's head temporarily getting disconnected from the beams), while Anna continued "🎶Yeah, some things never change.🎶" she then took Olaf and Elsa's hand and sang "🎶Like the feel of your hand in mine. 🎶". The trio then walked past a painter just about to add color to a sketch of a frankly magnificent tree, but unbeknownst to him was being axed down as Anna sang "🎶Some things stay the same.🎶" Until the tree fell and the painter, now furious ran over to argue with the chopper as the three of them sang "🎶Like how we get along just fine.🎶" while hurriedly walking away. Olaf was now walking atop a large stone wall while Anna sang "🎶Like an old stone wall, that'll never fall🎶" untilOlaf fell onto the cart for the homemade runaway train ride that began to move, Anna paused as she sang "🎶Some things are always true.🎶" before she and Elsa ran alongside it (with Elsa noted impeccable speed), anxious to stop the cart despite Olaf's joy "🎶Some things never change. 🎶" Anna and Elsa sang as Anna pulled down on the track changer lever just as Olaf reached the fork in the tracks. Olaf's cart hit the barricade and the force of it caused him to go flying in the air. Elsa and Anna caught him as Anna sang "🎶Like how I'm holding on tight to you🎶", cuddling both him and Elsa with smiles all around.
The touching moment was brought to a halt at the sound of Kai calling out, "I'm terribly sorry to interrupt you your majesty and highness, but Mr. Miles Kirpatsky wants to see her majesty at the cobbler stand. He wants you to try his Mystery-Flavor Cobbler. He thinks that if you like it, everyone will, and he won't leave until you do. I did everything in my ability to pacify him, but he insists on her majesty." Anna and Elsa exchanged a look of dread and disgust, still remembering the "Mothball-Watering Cobbler Surprise" Mr. Kirpatsky wanted them to try last time. Anna whispered cringing in sympathy and held up a crossed middle and index finger "Fingers officially crossed it's something like pumpkin spice." Elsa whispered in dread "After last time, I'll be happy if it's something like liver and onion" Elsa released Anna and Olaf and putting on her "queen face" said "Of course, Kai. Thank you for notifying me." Anna leaned in Elsa's ear again and whisper-asked "You want me to hoard a bunch of chocolate and pumpkin-spice flavored treats to get rid of the after-taste?" Elsa smiled at her siter, grateful to have a sister who shared in the same culinary delights as she did and was happy to share in times of need. "Please and thank you." she replied kindly. Olaf cheerfully said "Yeah, me too. I'll save some desserts for you, too."
Elsa slightly bent down and smiled sweetly at him as she booped Olaf's carrot nose "Will you? Well thank you, Olaf". And with those words, she straightened up to her full height and turned to Anna and sighed "I'm so sorry, Anna. I honestly didn't think that anyone would need me today. Especially after Kai said he would handle everything." Elsa said disappointedly. Elsa was taught since she was seven years old that a great ruler puts the needs of their kingdom and their people before their own wants, an approach that Elsa was determined to keep alive more than ever now that her teachers weren't, but not at the cost of Anna.
Anna gave a small smile as she put up her hand as though she could literally stop Elsa's apology like she could stop a group of kids from crossing a street. "Don't be, Elsie. You're the queen, there's always gonna be moments when others need you for something. Besides, I'm sure it'll only take a few minutes." Anna reassured her. There were almost always days when Anna would want Elsa all to herself, but she knew that they couldn't just turn their backs on the kingdom's people if they needed them. Elsa smiled at Anna, no doubt relieved that she wasn't disappointed at Elsa having to tend to the people today of all days, especially when it meant having to break a Super-Sister-Promise. Elsa gave Anna a loose hug and warmly said "Thanks, sis. You're the best."
Anna returned the hug and replied, (with a mild blush at the compliment) "Uhh, thanks. I-uh-I try to be." Elsa let go and after a small wave to Anna and Olaf, followed Kai to the cobbler stands to sort things out. Olaf then poked Anna's forearm causing her to look down at him "Hey, Anna. What are skunks?"