"How much farther?" I asked Anna.
"Not much farther." She replied and I raised an eyebrow at her.
"Really?" I said in a deadpanned voice.
"What?" Anna looked at me confused.
I sighed. "You told me that it would not take that long for us to get there when we left my home." I said a bit annoyed.
"Yes, what are you trying to get at?"
"It has been three days since then!" I finally shouted. I even tried screaming it with my mouth, so bubbles burst from me. Anna flinched back in shock and I like to think the bubbles made me look like a water dragon.
"I, um, still don't understand what you are so upset about." Anna said nervously.
I sighed once more and rubbed my temples. "Three days Anna. Three days!"
Anna looked at me confused. "Three days is not that long."
I frowned at her and folded my arms. I tried to think of a way to explain this to Anna.
"Anna." I began and she perked up. "I have lived my whole life as a human."
"Yes?"
"And as a human I expected to have only one hundred years of life, or to be more realistic I expected to at least make it to eighty years."
"So?" Anna tilted her head as she stared at me in confusion.
"So, mermaids live three times as long, and because of that difference humans view time differently. Although I have really enjoyed our trip and seeing a lot of the ocean and sleeping in dark caves and shipwrecks, I am finally officially done. and if you say that we are almost there one more time, I am going to summon a whirlpool, and have it fling you out of the ocean and you will be flung so high up in the air it will take you five minutes to come back down again!"
I glared at Anna and she stared at me in shock. Then her cheeks puffed up and she hunched over as she tried to stifle her laughs. I stared at her slack jawed. How dare she!
"Sorry, sorry!" Anna said as she raised her arms defensively and even swam backwards a little. "I did not think about how others perceived time. Forget about the fact merfolk live longer, we also don't really have things like clocks or latterly any way for us to keep the time. We just eat sleep and play when we want to."
I thought about it. Time was measured by the sun for a long time. The sun comes up, we work the day, the sun goes down, we sleep. It made since that mermaids had no real concept of time, do to the fact that light does not reach far down into the depths of the ocean.
"Then why did you laugh at me?" I asked her still annoyed.
"Well, I thought the situation was a little hilarious. I felt disappointed in myself for not realizing why you were getting agitated sooner, and I am sorry, but your threat to toss me out of the ocean was just to funny, and I could not help but imagine myself being flung into the sun."
I frowned at her, but then the image of Anna flying away screaming that she was sorry flew into my mind and I stifled a laugh. Anna saw this and gave me a wide grin. We both giggled for a few moments.
"Okay, I forgive you. Do you think now you can give me a more exact idea of when we will arrive?"
Anna thought for a moment. "About an hour." She said and I sighed.
"Great!" I exclaimed excitedly. "What what?!" I screamed in panic.
Anna looked at me perplexed. "What do you mean? Weren't you just complaining about it taking to long to get there?"
"I know, but…" I wrung my arms as I tried to find the words to explain what I am feeling. "I didn't think we would get there that soon!"
Anna just folded her arms and raised an eyebrow at me.
"I-I know I was the one who said we should go because I needed to except my destiny and stuff, but now that it is just an hour away, I don't know what to do!" I started to swim back and forth. "This is just such a big change. I do not even know what to expect. Is the mermaid kingdom a bunch of caves or is it a palace? What if I do not like the food that is considered a delicacy? What if they do not like me? What if they think I am to human like and childish?"
"Elsa." Anna said softly as I felt her touch my arm. I spun around and grabbed her by the shoulder.
"Tell me Anna, has there ever been a Queen that completely failed at being a Queen?!" I shouted at her.
"Well…" Anna trailed of and looked away. "I won't say that every Queen was perfect, and there are legends of a couple that changed into Sea Witches, but…most of them are usually very good, not that they were perfect role models and you definitely do not have to compare yourself to any of them, trust me you will do great, sure you don't know much about the world of merfolk but you can learn and by being here more people can teach you and mumph!"
I covered Anna's mouth with my hand to stop her ramblings. I know she was trying to make me feel better, but I was just getting more nervous. I lowered my head and just looked down into the abyss of the sea.
"You be fine." Anna said in a soft voice. I looked up at her in surprise. I remembered my father telling me the same thing with the exact same tone, a long time ago. "Think of it this way. You don't know anything about the merfolk, but they also do not know anything about you either. Just be yourself. Ask questions and get to know people. Just like how everyone wants to get to know you."
Anna smiled encouragingly at me and I gave her a shy one back.
"Don't worry, I will be right by your side, and even if I am a bit of a klutz, I did grow up in this palace and can help you with anything." Anna promised and I finally felt reassured.
"Okay, I think I am ready." I said and we quickly hugged before we continued our journey.
We chatted and I found myself looking around expectantly as time went on. I was really curious on what the kingdom looked like. Anna had told me that there were several places that mermaids lived when they were grouped together. But we were going to the one that was considered to be the home of the Queens.
"We are here." Anna said as she stopped. I looked around confused.
"There is nothing here though?" I said, a little puzzled and disappointed.
"Because it is underground. We are right above the entrance." Anna explained as she pointed down and I saw a hole that was almost invisible.
This made since. Although I was not aware of that many people or machines being able to descend down that far into the ocean, I still would imagine that the mermaid kingdom would be very well hidden as mermaids were nothing but myths now a days.
Anna swam down into the hole and I followed. It led into a tunnel and I felt us going deep down. The light faded away and I felt a little Closter phobic. Suddenly Anna stopped her arm raised up, and I could tell that in front of us was very tall and thick seaweed.
"Are you ready?" Anna asked as she turned to me.
I raised my hands to my chest and nodded. Anna smiled and pulled back the seaweed.
The first thing that hit me was the light. It was bright but not like the glare of the sun or like a lightbulb, no this light felt soft. And because I was so focused on the light, I realized all the colors. The place was filled with so much color and I realized that it was the lights that gave off this color. Then I noticed how big this place was. There was a ceiling and I saw strange flowers that glowed on it, but we were still very far away from the ground, and the place seemed to stretch on almost endlessly. There was only one wall that I could see, and it was far ahead of us. Every where else was hovels and colorful plants. But the grandest of the place was the palace. It was big, stretching from the bottom all the way to the top of the cave. It was grand and detailed; however, I knew that it was not handmade or sculpted. This majestic pillar was shaped by the ocean itself. My eyes tried to look at everything at once. It was all breath taking. Then, I finally noticed the people.
So many mermaids were swimming about. They were just going about there day and I even saw a group of children playing tag. We were so far up that I could not hear anything but because mermaids communicated through telepathy it made even more since that this place had a strange calming silence to it.
I felt Anna grab my hand and I snapped out of my trance.
"Shale we?" Anna asked and I nodded excitedly.
We swam down a little before Anna stopped suddenly again.
"Oh." She said like she just remembered something. She turned to me. "I almost forgot to tell you."
"What? What is it?" I asked.
"Try not to just say "mermaids"." She said and I tilted my head at her. "Mermaids are what we call females. Basically, mermaids are girls, merman is obviously boys, and merfolk are what we call all of us as a species." Anna explained.
"You never thought to tell me this sooner?" I asked, feeling scared once more. I had been calling them mermaids since I had met Anna. Now that I thought about it, she did always use the word merfolk a lot.
"Well, I did plan on telling you sooner, but I forgot." Anna said sheepishly. "I always thought it was funny and adorable how you kept making that mistake, so I never corrected you."
I slapped a palm to my face.
"One day Anna, you are going to do something so embarrassing and I will be the first to laugh and taunt you."
Anna just smiled and pulled my forward and down.
"Jokes on you, I have already made a fool of myself more times than I can count, I am practically immune to embarrassment now." Anna said proudly.
"That is just sad." I said in fake sympathy.
Anna just scoffed at me and we both giggled and swam faster down.
We came to a group of mermaids, I mean merfolk, and Anna waved.
"Hello!" Anna shouted. The merfolk turned there heads and gasped. Many of them darted away but one lady swam quickly up to us. As The others left, I heard them shouting.
"Princess Anna is back!"
"Princess Anna!" The lady shouted as she got close to us. "Where have you been? Everyone has been looking for you when you disappeared after your mother passed away. It has been months; do you have any idea of how worried everyone was!"
Anna bit her lip and looked worried. She started to fidget. "I am sorry, I thought everyone would stop me or insist on coming so I just had to leave on my own."
The lady sighed annoyed. "I understand that you needed to grieve, but could you not have confided in at least one person before you disappeared?"
"I am sorry." Anna said quietly as she hung her head.
The lady softened her expression and smiled sadly at Anna. "Well, you are safe and sound now. Where did you even go?"
Anna looked up at that. I was watching Anna when she nodded her head my direction and then looked over at me.
"I went to go get my sister." Anna said proudly.
It was then that the lady noticed me. She stared at me and her eyes went wide. She jolted back as she raised her arms to her face, and I could see tears brewing in her eyes.
"Iduna?" She whispered and I twitched at the sound of my mother's name. All I could do was float there, my hands poised in front of me.
Anna shook her head. "No, this is Elsa. She is mothers first born child and Queen of the ocean."
The lady lowered her arms as she stared intently into my face. Finally, she gave a warm smile.
"Elsa, you look a lot like your mother, just like your sister. Allow me to be the first to welcome you home." The lady then proceeded to twirl and then lower herself into a bow. She then raised up and tears were once again brewing in her eyes.
"Welcome to your kingdom, I do not know the extent of your situation, but I give my deepest condolences to you for the loss of your mother." She then turned to Anna.
"You would have made a wonderful Queen, Anna, your mother always said so." She then turned back to me and nodded her head. "Both of you, welcome home."
Anna lowered her head in a bow and all I could do is give a slight wave.
The lady gave us a bright smile. "Well, we must tell everyone the good news and start preparing for a celebration! You to head to the castle and I will spread the word!"
"Thank you." I said quietly, I was still in shock. The lady gave a wave and darted away.
I looked at Anna. She was watching the lady swim away. I tried to make it so that I did not look worried, but I just could not help eyeing my sister. Anna suddenly turned to me with a bright smile.
"I guess we should do as she said and head towards the palace! Come on, I want to introduce you to Kei and Gerda!" Anna said as she grabbed my hand and started to drag me.
I was pulled for a little bit before I felt I could move my fine again. I swam up so that Anna and I were side by side and she let go of my hand. I gave her a big smile to show I was doing well, and she smiled back.
"So, who was that?" I asked.
"No idea, I have never met her before in my life." Anna said coolly.
"What?! But she seemed, so well…" I trailed of. The lady had spoken to Anna like she was a troublemaker and not like a princess, I had assumed she was a duchess and friend to our mother by the way she talked and addressed us.
"That is normal." Anna said and I gave her a puzzled look. "Like I said, merfolk do not really care about things like position and power, I mean we sort of do, at least some of us, but most of the time we just treat each other as equals. Because the Queen is the undoubted ruler there never is a power struggle or anything like that. And the Queen is supposed to be more of a mother to the merfolk as well as a ruler, so the royal family is always very intimate with everyone. But that is not to say we are completely on the same level. They do not see us as equal. More like, as my teacher once said, "we are all rocks at the bottom at the sea, we are the same and therefor equal, but you, the daughter of the Queen and the Queen herself are not just rocks, you are jewels, still rocks, but much more valuable". That is how everyone I know has viewed the kingdom."
"But doesn't it feel wrong that she knows you and you don't know her?" I asked. I had no idea how guilty I would feel if someone came up to me and acted like I was someone so important to them and I had known idea of who they were.
"Yes, it does, but everyone always just tells me that that is how it is. I am a princess so of course everyone would know who I am, but they do not expect me to know any of them. I have been told that I will get used to it, but I never have. Mother had a trick though. When someone she did not know came up to her, she would take their hands and through the power of the ocean learn their name. With some practice I am sure you can do it to."
"If that is the case then maybe I have been slightly over exaggerating my reluctance to be Queen." I said in deep thought.
"I told you, you just have to be yourself."
Anna and I laughed and swam quickly to the castle. I looked over at Anna from the corner of my eye. She seemed to be normal, but that lady had made me realize something I had never even thought about.
Anna had grown up as the crown princess. Everyone had no doubt treated her like she would one day rule over them. But she and mother always had known that she was the second daughter and would never get the crown or the power. Did she ever feel jealous? Did nothing ever sway or hurt her that all the praise she got was one day going to turn to another mermaid once I had come back? No, that was not what I was concerned about. Anna had made it clear that all her life she had just wanted to meet our father and me. And when our father died, she wanted to hone her powers so that she could see into the past and learn about him. If she became Queen, then that dream would never come true. No, what I realized I had overlooked was something far worse.
In every memory I had of Anna I could only picture her smiling and helping me. There was that one time when she got scared when we were up high in the bubble, and when she got angry because I was refusing to be Queen. But other then that, she had always been positive and caring. Her smiling in my swimming pool, so happy to finally meet me. Teasing me, dragging me to the ocean and showing me around, our bubble bath. All of them were filled with smiles and laughter. But, because of her constant smile, I had ignored something that I had learned the first night we had met.
Mother was dead.
I had not really felt anything at the news of her passing. I had said goodbye to her long ago when she disappeared beneath the waves, and although the knowledge that she had been alive for so long and never came to see me did sting, I still loved her and had excepted her leaving. My father was also a distant memory. He had died three years ago, and I had Rapunzel there with me.
Anna never even got to met father. Years of dreaming come to a swift end. And as for mother. I had never really question how long she had been gone. Had it been a year, or just months? The lady had made it sound like Anna had left right after her death. In that case, how long was Anna gone. Did she know where I lived, or did she wander? And if she did know, then did she come straight to me or did she hesitate? But if she did come straight to me, then would that mean that Anna had been smiling and trying to help me, one week after mother had died?
I thought about how Anna looked when the lady had been talking with her. Was she flustered, or was she trying to appear to seem fine? Had Anna even grieved our mothers' passing yet? I thought of how she had acted since we met. And I realized that just as I had dealt with my newfound responsibilities by burying it with the joy of finally meting my sister, perhaps Anna was the same. Had she ignored her grief and instead had focused on our reunion?
These thoughts were tearing me up inside. I should have noticed sooner. Why didn't I realize? It was so obvious now that I thought about it. I remembered when the power of the ocean had taken over my body. I had told Anna that I was sorry that I had not been there when our mother had left this world. But how did she die? I could not take this anymore and felt my hand reach up to touch her.
"Anna." I said quietly, but then her eyes light up and she dashed forward.
"Kei!" She shouted as she barreled into a merman, who looked like he would be in his late forties.
"Princess Anna! I am so happy you are safe!" The man whose name was Kei said as he and Anna hugged. He looked up and saw me. He gave a warm smile. "And you brought your long-lost sister."
Anna released him and they both swam up to me. Kei gave a bow.
"I am Kei, I have been something of a butler to your mother."
I instinctively and nervously bowed back. "My name is Elsa."
"Am I right to presume that we are going to have a party today?" He asked us and Anna nodded.
"We ran into someone who is already spreading the word of our arrival."
Kei chuckled and shook his head. "As is expected. Why don't you take your sister up to your room? I will send someone to bring you a snack and then you two can rest for a while. Then someone will come and get you both ready for the party."
Anna nodded happily. "Sounds like a great idea! But first I have to go say high to everyone!" Anna then darted into the palace. I had not even noticed that we had arrived.
I watched Anna swim away. I felt eyes staring at me and I turned back to the merman.
"Forgive me your highness, but is everything, all right?" He asked in a concerned tone. I bit my lip and looked over at Anna. His eyes followed my gaze, and I could see that he grasped that my concern was about her.
"Its just that…" I hesitated but then looked back at him. "How long has mother been gone?"
His face became down cast. "Not long enough for her to be swimming around like that."
I nodded. "Did she even cry?" I asked. I was not trying to imply that my sister did not feel anything about our mother death, I just wanted to know if she had at least sorted out some of her feelings.
"When she had brought the news of her mother's death, she had appeared to have been crying. She then had locked herself in her room for two days." He said solemnly. "After that, she came out of her room and looked determined. She said that she was going for a swim and that was the last I saw of her before now."
I lowered my arms and looked over at Anna once again.
"Are you going to talk with her?" Kei asked and I shook my head.
"Not today." I said steadily. "This is supposed to be a happy day and I do not want to ruin it for her by making her talk about something she has been avoiding."
Kei nodded his head. He then bowed to me once more. "I leave her in your care, my Queen." He lifted his head and gave me another encouraging nod. I nod back and then swam after Anna.
"Elsa!" Anna waved at me and then motioned to the Mermaid next to her. "This is Gerda, she is one of our mother's closest friends."
"A pleasure to meet you Queen Elsa." Gerda said and then bowed.
"Thank you, it is a pleasure to meet you to." I replied shyly. I then thought of something. "Anna, how many people actually knew of my existence?" The lady was completely surprised but both Kei and Gerda seemed almost unfazed when they had seen me.
"Well, not many." Anna said as she started to think. "Pretty much anyone our mother had felt safe telling. She did not want you to come home a complete stranger after all. Kei and Gerda, our cousin three times removed, I don't know if her daughter knows though, I guess we will find out tonight, and a few others."
"Okay, that is good to know." I said gladly.
"Well, I think you two should head up and get some rest." Gerda said as she started shooing us away. "I don't know how long you to have traveled but I suggest that you get well rested for ball tonight. A plate of star fruit will be up with you shortly."
Anna looked like she was about to argue but I cut her off.
"Thank you, we will gladly do that." I looked at Anna expectantly. She nodded her head and thanked Gerda as well.
Anna grabbed my hand and lead me deeper into the palace.
"This place is so big." I said absentmindedly as I looked around. The caverns were detailed. Plants were arranged neatly all around and sometimes the place would split into three paths.
"I suggest you constantly ask for directions for a while." Anna said to me. "Even I sometimes get lost in this place, but I just go with the flow, found the perfect place for Mother and I's secret garden that way."
We swam deeper and then I realized that we were also going up.
"Where is your room located?"
"Near the top. The Queen's room is at the very top. I am sure that everyone wants to tidy it up and make it grand before you move into it."
I nodded. We kept silent for the rest of our swim until Anna had led us to an archway with vines of pink flowers draped over it.
"My room." Anna said as she led me in.
The room was grand. The ground was flat, but the rest was that of a dome. There were places where rocks would jut out and I could see the sticky mats on them. In the center of the room was a giant clam. It was so big it could fit three full grown people on it. The inside of the clam looked soft and squishy, like the sticky mats but bigger and thicker. Cloth of something that looked like it was woven by a spider, as it was so fine and silky, was attached to the very center of the ceiling, it then draped around the clam. The rest of the room was filled with various other things. I saw quit a few old treasure chests, save for one that looked like it had been made from seashells. Flowers were positioned expertly in certain places. And there were just knick-knacks here and there that I had know doubt Anna had got from crashed ships. Like a pretty vase and a picture of a landscape were in a corner. I also noticed a huge rock by a wall. One side of it had been polished to where it was flat and even had a reflective surface.
I swam up to the mirror and looked into it. So that was what I looked like. I had never really seen myself in my mermaid form. It was not like there had been a mirror in the ocean and I had never wanted my friends to just take a picture of me. The glittery blue scales shimmered in the pink and blue light of the room, and my fins and hair floated around me. I looked otherworldly.
"You okay?" I heard Anna aske behind me.
"It's just that. I finally see that I am not human." I said almost sadly. I then turned to Anna with a puzzled look. "Are we considered half human?" Our father was human, so did that mean anything for us?
"No." Anna replied. "If a merfolk has a child with a human then the child will always be a merfolk, I have never even heard of a case in which it was either some how half or even full human."
I nodded in understanding.
"Excuse me your majesty's, I have brought refreshments." A young mermaid then entered caring a tray with a cloth draped over it. We told her thanks as she set the tray down and swam away.
Anna uncovered the tray which I realized was a very circular seashell and reveled what looked like fluffy stars.
"Those are not star fish, are they?" I asked warily. I had never actually liked sea food, and the idea that I might have to eat then, uncooked no less, was something I was not looking forward to. It also felt wrong now that I was a mermaid.
"What, no, have you ever even seen a star fish?" Anna asked me in surprise.
"Not really." I said ashamed.
"I thought I already told you that we don't eat sea food, and that instead we had gardens with fruit only found at the bottom of the sea."
"Um, I forgot." I said embarrassed. Anna sighed and lifted up a star.
"This is a fruit. Try one, they are delicious." Anna held out the fruit to me and I took it. Hesitantly I took a bite. A juicy flavor burst in my mouth and I found myself immediately taking another bite. Anna giggled and together we wolfed down the rest.
"That was delicious." I said as I stretched out.
"I guess we should take that nap know." Anna said as she moved over to the clam.
"Are you sure, you don't want to chat a little?" I asked hoping to get more tips on palace life from her.
"Are you not curious why they are called star fruit?" Anna asked.
"Because they are shaped like stars." I said suspiciously.
Anna smiled and shook her head. "That does have weight to it, but the real reason is that it has a relaxing taste and smell to it. It is very popular to eat this before going to sleep."
"Oh, I see. I guess we should..." Suddenly a yawn overtook me.
Anna swam to the clam and sat on it, she then patted right next to her. I gave her a smile and swam over.
We both laid down. The clam was much more squishy then the sticky mats. Anna closed her eyes, and I was about to do the same when I saw the lid of the clam start to slowly come down. I froze in panic and when I had decided to move it was already closed shut. I was cushioned from all sides. I tied to move my hand. I could move freely for most of it, but I still constantly felt the padding no mater how I positioned it. It was very relaxing. Anna had not panicked, so I guessed that this was normal. It felt nice.
With that I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.
Authors notes:
Surprise update for Homeward! Thank you for reading!
I had originally planned for something else, but the chapter was getting long so I decided to split it, so another update is hopefully in the near future!
The clam is not alive, just so you know. It originally was supposed to close by Anna pulling it down, but I liked the idea of it closing on its own, like a music box. don't know if any of you actually care about actually sea life, because I have done absolutely know research on how it works.
Now that we are off the land, we move from Elsa freaking out about being a Queen and a mermaid to Anna's secrets. Yes, Anna had always been planned to have been hiding something, that is another reason for why I have never done this story as part Elsa's point of view and part Anna's point of view. That, and because Anna was the one who knew how mermaids worked so she always was going to be the one to explain a lot.
Despite Anna's secret being planned, I felt shocked when I started to write about when exactly Iduna had died. I had never really thought about how long it had been. But as I was writing this chapter, I realized that it should not have been that long.
I think the way that Anna and Elsa deal with grief is that Elsa pushes others away and runs away, while Anna instead focuses on other people's problems.
Next chapter will be introducing someone. It is going to be a Disney princess so take a wild guess on who you think it might be! Hint, it is not Rapunzel or Ariel. He he.
Replies to Reviews because I realized I have never done that for this story. Thank you All!
Frozen Wolf heart 22: I hope that you have been enjoying this small series. I tried my best to make Anna and Elsa as accurate as I could. It was difficult because their roles were very much reversed. Anna is the one with the secrets and knowledge, while Elsa is the one in the dark. Personally, I always felt like other fanfictions tended to make Anna to immature. Anna was naive in the first move but only in regards to romance, she had shown quite a bit of intelligence and planning through out the movie. I sort of had an idea for a one shot of Anna and Elsa in their witch forms, but I don't think I will be writing it any time soon.
BadEnglishSpeaker: Thank you! I hope this story has been going in a direction that you enjoy! The plot of Elsa showing Anna around town was dropped do to the fact I had know idea of what to do. Glad to know that Rapunzel and Flynn were good!
Pip and CO: Thank you! I am happy that Rapunzel and Flynn turned out well.
Shinobi: Thank you!
Guest: Thank you!
Thank you once more for reading and I hope you have a wonderful day!