Elsa read back over her letter to the Southern Isles, she tried to be polite, but it still irked her that Hans had received no punishment. Unfortunately her clear disapproval had already strained trading for most of the past year. She'd had to lock away her feelings and in the past months she'd opened up trade; they were one of Arendelle's major trading partners. The economy and goods they provided were far too valuable to give up for the actions of one irresponsible prince. Elsa folded the letter; she'd send it with the wedding invitation. Though she hadn't explicitly written it, the tone of the letter clearly showed that Hans was forbidden from Arendelle.
The ship would leave tomorrow, arrive at the Southern Isles in one week and hopefully return with the fabric in less than a month. The seamstress had guaranteed that she could finish the dress within two weeks, if she got the fabric in time. So the wedding was planned for a month and a half, Anna was already skipping around the palace in white dresses imagining every room as it would be on that fateful day.
Anna burst through the door, "Elsa!"
Speak of the insane, hyperactive sister.
"You must learn to dance." Anna grabbed Elsa's hands and pulled her up from the desk, spinning her around the room. "I cannot have you embarrassing me with your complete ignorance regarding the finest aspects of life."
"I know how to dance." Elsa tried to look serious, but laughed despite herself.
"Oh, really?" Anna stopped dancing for a second, to give Elsa a doubtful look. "When was the last time you danced?"
Elsa opened her mouth and then paused thinking. There had only been a few parties since she'd returned from the mountain: Anna's birthday, the winter and summer solstices. She had spent them all overseeing the festivities, watching other people dance. Before that… "Does ice skating count?"
"No, ice skating doesn't count." Elsa thought she detected a smirk as Anna twirled around.
Before that... Elsa hadn't danced at the coronation and leading up to the celebration she'd focused on controlling her power. She must have had dance lessons when she was younger, but she'd always preferred studying to seemingly foolish pursuits like dancing.
"You can't remember, can you?"
"I know I learned how to dance." Elsa stopped dancing, "I just can't remember the exact movements."
"I'm sure it's like riding a bike, but you're still going to take classes." Anna stopped and hopped onto the desk. She gave a sly smile. "We wouldn't want any princes to be disappointed, now would we?"
"Come on Anna," Elsa walked over and sat on the edge of the desk next to Anna. "You know I'm not interested in getting married yet."
"Who said anything about marriage?" Anna wiggled her eyebrows and laughed at Elsa's perturbed expression. "But seriously, you could do with a whirlwind romance."
Elsa tried not to look skeptical; Anna's whirlwind romance hadn't exactly gone well.
Anna read Elsa's expression, "Yah, yah. My first romance wasn't perfect." Elsa snorted. "But now I know better. It taught me what defines a good relationship. No more power hungry murderers for me."
"Oh," Elsa pretended to nod understandingly. "Is that why you waited a year to marry this one?"
Anna pushed Elsa, "Shut up! You like 'this one.' Remember, you gave me your blessing." She raised her eyebrows, "you even went through all the trouble of getting mom's wedding dress." She paused and her smile was replaced by a gentler expression. "Why did you get the wedding dress for me?"
"It wasn't that hard. I found it right away." Elsa waved her hand.
Anna looked skeptical, "it still would have been easier to just pick a random design."
Elsa tried to shrug nonchalantly, "Everyone deserves to know their parents." Elsa hadn't been there for her sister the first time.
Oh look at you being the good sister.
"Thank you," Anna looked truly happy. "Whether it took you three seconds or two days, I'm incredibly grateful." Elsa would do anything to keep that smile on Anna's face, no matter what the voice said.
Come on. We both know you're just trying to make up for all those years you shunned her.
"I'll take the dance lessons." Elsa would make sure this wedding was perfect for Anna; she'd be there for Anna now.
You left her all alone when she mourned her parents. Do you have any idea how many nights she cried herself to sleep? "Don't worry." Anna took Elsa hands and looked seriously into her eyes, "I'll help you woo a prince."
You're still keeping secrets. You haven't shown her that journal.
Elsa forced a smile, trying not to look at the drawer with the journal. "My evenings are really the only free time I have.I'll start dance lessons, as soon as I'm done writing invitations. How does that sound?"
You really think a few dance lessons will make up for years of the abandonment? For all those tears?
Anna stood up and began to spin out of the room, "I will find you the perfect instructor and you'll be the best dancer Arendelle has ever seen." She blew a kiss and danced down the hall.
She still resents you.
Shut up.
Mean.
Elsa slid of the desk and picked the journal out of the drawer. She walked over and threw herself onto the bed. I'm trying to read.
You know I'm honored you've given up trying to ignore me.
Elsa tried to shush the voice.
Don't worry I won't talk. I actually want to see what this says.
Elsa tried to ignore the way the shadows seemed to collect around the chair next to her bedside, and instead, began to read.
It's already been six months and I cannot wait for this baby to be born. Don't take me wrong, I'm incredibly happy to be a mother, but carrying another human being is not an easy task. To make matters worse the Moinil Fever is still at large. It has proved largely non-fatal, but half of our staff has spent the last month sick. (Beyond this I can't help but wonder if Primrose and Thomas's child would still be with them were it not for the plague and that stupid, stupid flower.) I've been staying in my room for the past few weeks - hopefully I won't catch the stupid fever and this pregnancy will go off without a hitch. Mildred the midwife has been spending time with me. She says that the pregnancy is coming along nicely, but I must make sure to relax.
"We mustn't excite the little princess."
Why mustn't we excite the little princess? I want her to feel my joy. I want her to exclaim at a beautiful sunset or fall in love with a glorious book. I want her to be happy.
Elsa smiled. Her mother had loved her. Her mother had wanted her to be happy
That was before she knew about your powers.
…..
"Come along," Stick rushed Jack through the hallway. "Do not make the queen wait."
Jack was already at a half-run. Trying to keep up with the urgent, incredibly tall man was near impossible. "You could…slow down." Jack panted. Sure, he had fitting clothes and he was in slightly better shape, but jogging around a castle and up several flights of stairs was still a challenging workout.
Stick glared. But thankfully, he stopped. Perhaps Stick was nicer than Jack had originally thought.
Jack caught up. "Thanks…I thought…you weren't…going to stop."
Stick turned around, his eyes flashing. Jack flinched, stepping backward.
Stick spat out each word, "If you say anything to the queen, anything like what you said yesterday, I'll ensure that you are never let inside this palace again." With that Stick turned and entered the doors slightly down the hall.
Jack first impression of Stick was definitely right. Was Stick too generous a nickname? Turd? Killjoy? Damper? No, none were quite as snappy as Stick. Jack followed Stick into the library.
The light filtered through tall stacks of books, filling the room with a soft glow. Dust hung in the air, each bright peck suspended like a miniature star. Jack stepped forward and a musty smell encased him with calm warmth. He held out his hand, trying to catch a bit of the sunlight. He noticed that both Stick and the queen were staring at him. He pulled his hand out of the air and coughed trying to appear normal.
The queen gave him one more confused look then turned to Stick. "I'm sorry Baard, I didn't know you were coming." She looked around the desk, "I'm sure we can find you a pen. Are you here to help write invitations?"
So Stick's 'real' name was Baard. Jack didn't care.
Stick was shaking his head, "I'm here to watch him." Jack noticed he refused to say Jack's name. Did he have a strange nickname for Jack too? Genius. No, Flawless. Yes, Stick's nickname for Jack was definitely Flawless. What else could Stick call him?
The queen was giving Jack a skeptical look. She was doubtless wondering what he had done to get an armed guard following him. She could continue to wonder; anything was better than her knowing that he had said something treasonous. Jack walked to the desk and sunk into the chair.
"So what should I do?"
The queen pushed a pile of parchment towards him along with a completed invitation. "Copy this onto the paper, show me the invitation when you're done, and I'll tell you if you can move onto the next."
Jack took a stylus into his hand, seeing his preparations, the queen returned to writing invitations. He felt Stick's frown on his back and brought his quill to the paper, trying to copy her elegant letters and swirls. He knew how to write, but he'd never had wonderful handwriting, much less studied calligraphy. He nibbled on his tongue, the quill point trembling with concentration.
He completed the last swirl and slammed the quill down. "Finished!"
Elsa looked up and held out her hand. Jack proudly placed the finished invitation in her hand.
She scanned it and then gave Jack a dissatisfied look. "I thought you said you could write."
"I can write," Jack leaned across the table. "Look, letters!"
Elsa held the invitation closer to her face, "You're right. There do appear to be some basic letters here." She crumpled the invitation and threw it into a basket beside her. "Try again."
Jack stared at the queen, who had returned to her invitations without a second look at him. He grabbed the paper and returned to copying the invitation. He shoved it at her, and again she shook her head. Time after time he copied the same letter, the same swirls and yet she continued to rebuke his invitations. Each grew slightly better and when she tossed his eighteenth invitation into the basket, he pulled it back out.
"Okay," he smoothed the paper. "I understand why you threw out the first few, but what's wrong with this one? It's perfectly legible"
The queen put down her pencil and peered at the parchment. "If I wanted proof that you were literate, this piece of paper would be acceptable. However these invitations are being sent to royal dignitaries from a multitude of countries as well as honored guests. If they received this invitation they would become convinced that we were determined to slight them. This piece of parchment," the queen pointed emphatically at the invitation, "could start a war."
"Excuse you!" Stick spluttered and Jack rolled his eyes, stupid decorum. "Your majesty, I'd like to think that my handwriting isn't bad enough to bring armies to their feet."
Elsa turned the invitation around so it faced him. "Your lines are slightly diagonal; the dot on the i is almost an inch away and you smudged 'cordial', 'Arendelle' and 'reservation'. Try again." With that she sat in her chair, assuming the disagreement was over.
She assumed wrong, "If you were so picky why didn't you pick someone else, someone who could write better?"
She sighed, "Anyone who has proper penmanship is far too important to have time to write wedding invitations. If I asked them, they would doubtless say yes, but I'd rather have them focus on their jobs. I've asked a few of the servants, but either they cannot write or their penmanship is worse," she crinkled her nose and looked at the basket, "or the same as yours. On top of that I'd be wasting their time. You are sufficiently literate and would otherwise be doing useless busy work that's better done by people who know what they're doing."
Jack decided not to mention that the same could probably be said of the invitations. "Aren't you one of the important dignitaries who should be focusing on your job?"
He regretted the question immediately, the queen's face fell. He hadn't realized that her previous expression had been happy, but now he could see where the small smile had disappeared. He could feel Stick glaring holes into his back.
"I should be doing my job," she shrugged. "I just need a break. Even those dignitaries have families and friends they take breaks with."
"Wait," her situation might be worse than he had previously suspected, "Are you saying that writing invitations is your idea of fun?"
"That's enough." Stick finally stepped forward, but Elsa waved him off.
"It's fine." She blushed slightly, "I like taking care of my sister, besides I enjoy books too."
"You must send a lot of time in the library."
She peered around, "Can you blame me?"
He couldn't.
They returned to the invitations, but despite their previous civility and Jack's continued efforts, Elsa continued to reject every one.