Chapter 5
Elsa was left dumbstruck in the middle of the dancing crowd. The room felt like it was spinning as her senses was overwhelmed by the raucous ambience of the party. She couldn't bear being in large crowds for too long.
Elsa decided to leave the party, and snaked by dancing couples who were laughing and smiling at their own missteps and drunk off of the night's merriment. Elsa was too preoccupied with staring down at her feet and hadn't noticed a couple swaying into her path.
"Oof!" Elsa had the wind knocked out of her as an elbow accidentally jabbed the side of her torso. Just her luck, it was the same blonde girl who was incessantly dogging her earlier. The girl appeared to have got over Elsa quickly, and was already dancing with another man about her age.
"Hey watch- Oh, it's you, Eric," the girl realized who she had bumped into, and watched as Elsa rub at the sore spot on her side.
The guy dancing with the girl, paused mid-step, and immediately scrutinized Elsa with his piercingly blue eyes.
"Who's this?" He asked the girl, his voice already dripping with jealousy.
The blonde girl turned to her irate companion and lightly whacked him on his chest. "Nobody, Jack. Just some guy Princess Anna apparently has her eye on." The girl looked at Elsa disappointedly for a moment, but she wasn't one to be hung over anybody for too long.
"Yeah, I'm just some guy," Elsa said, already stepping to leave.
"My name's Cindy by the way, if you wanted to know," the blonde girl stated, after she realized she never got a chance to introduce herself. She blocked Elsa's way and turned to Jack, "This is Eric, Jack," she pointed out.
"Eric? Haven't ever seen him around," Jack dismissively said, and wasted no time tugging Cindy along back to the dance floor. "Come on, Cindy, this is my favorite ballad."
Cindy allowed Jack to pull her along like a rag doll, but looked over her shoulder towards Elsa once more, before she disappeared with Jack behind the bustling crowd.
Jeez, don't tell me she genuinely has an interest in me. Elsa sighed. If only she knew I was a girl, that would stop her pestering me as quick as I can build a snowman.
As Elsa groaned at the situation she somehow trapped herself in, she then remembered she had to meet Anna in the garden in less than ten minutes. Elsa looked at the ornate clock in the ballroom, she only had five minutes now. Crap.
She quickly bobbed and weaved through the dancing crowd, until she finally made it to the entrance to the garden. By now, she was panting and sweating from dodging all the dancers nearly slamming her with their jubilant dance moves. She sighed a breath of relief. Finally, I'm free. She deeply inhaled the night's crisp and cool air into her lungs and felt her muscles relax - the tension in them disappearing now that she had some privacy.
The chatter and noise of the party dissipated as she advanced further into the familiar gardens she could recall playing in with Anna when they were kids. Elsa knew exactly where Anna would be. She would be in the area of the garden she visited the most - the grove where the commemorative statue of their parents had been erected shortly after their death.
Elsa made her way there, treading along paths overflowing with colorful flowers of every variety imaginable - the result of their dedicated gardeners strenuous work. One piqued her interest because… it reminded her of Anna, or at least the color did. It was a red, fully-bloomed Chrysanthemum. Elsa knelt down, and carefully picked the flower, thanking the gardeners and their hard work for the gift.
Elsa continued along the path while reveling in the night's ambience, until she caught sight of the perfectly replicated statue of their mother and father. Anna, as predicted, was sitting on the bench below it, gazing longingly up at the motionless figures.
Elsa's heart dropped when she took in the sight of their deceased mother and father's stone duplicates - it had been so long since she'd seen the statue.
Anna hadn't noticed Elsa's presence - she was talking to the inanimate statue in a low whisper.
"Hi mom. Hi dad," Anna greeted their parents, as if they were really there. "It's been a while," Anna's voice dropped low, provoking Elsa to strain her ears - she was hanging on Anna's every word.
"I really miss you guys," Anna confessed, her voice cracking.
When Elsa heard the pain in Anna's voice, it nearly made her collapse to her knees, but she steadied herself against a nearby hedge. All Elsa could do, was continue to listen in distressed silence to her sister spill her heart out to carved stone.
Anna looked up at their parents' frozen faces, and a thoughtful expression graced her face. "Don't worry about Elsa. I'm doing my best to look after her," Anna said, unsurely. "At least, I'm trying to." Anna bit her bottom lip nervously. "I hope you guys aren't disappointed in me…" Anna stopped and bowed her head low in shame. Anna fiddled with her fingers and remained silent.
Elsa stepped forward, her instincts strongly urging her to go forth and comfort her sister. As Elsa moved in closer, her foot accidentally landed upon a twig and it split loudly in the overhanging silence.
Anna's head snapped up, startled by the sudden intrusion.
"E-Eric!" She perked up and quickly and pushed herself off the bench.
For a moment, Elsa had forgotten she was still in disguise and then remembered Anna still didn't know it was her behind the mask.
"Princess," she started, still unable to break out of character, but Anna interrupted her.
"Eric, how long have you been standing there?" Anna asked, looking frazzled, something she rarely was.
"Princess, I-"
"How long?" Anna repeated, her patience growing thin.
"Not very long…" Elsa said, and Anna looked embarrassed. "Look, Princess Anna, there's something I need to tell you," Elsa started, deciding the charade had gone on long enough, but then she paused when she saw a lone tear slide down Anna's cheek.
"Sorry," Anna whispered. "I didn't mean to go off on you like that." Anna's lips were trembling and tears sparkled in her eyes like the stars in the night sky above them. Elsa could not recall seeing her sister look so sad - it caught her completely off guard. But her intuition pulled her towards the trembling girl, and she wrapped her arms protectively around Anna's body.
Anna fiercely returned the hug and buried her face into Elsa's shoulder.
Elsa wanted to say something comforting, but couldn't find the right words. Hey, it's okay, would sound too simple. Hey, it's me Elsa, Anna. You've just mistaken me for a man and I went along with it anyway, but I'm here for you as either Eric or Elsa - which is definitely not the right thing to say during such a fragile moment.
While they embraced, the tears Anna had shed, soaked through the shoulder of Elsa's jacket and wetted her skin - leaving the spots they dissolved onto, burning.
Elsa tightened her hold on Anna, wanting to soak all the pain from within her sister - if only she had the power to transfer sorrow. Words had no use at the moment - she'd just stay silent and show Anna how much she cared for her through actions alone.
Eventually, Anna pulled herself away from Elsa, leaving enough distance between them for Elsa to gather a good look at her. Elsa was left dumb by Anna's raw beauty. Even with her face stained with tears, Anna still managed to retain a unique level of perfection. The luminance of the moon reflected off of her teary, teal eyes, making them shine.
Elsa had to remind herself she had to breathe.
Anna.
Body moving on its own - driven by a long-subdued desire - Elsa moved her face close to Anna's, but stopped when their lips were only millimeters apart. No, wait. This isn't right.
Anna was waiting for Elsa to initiate the final push, but Elsa was thinking too much again.
The moment between them appeared frozen in time as the anticipation thickened to an unbearable degree.
"Eric," Anna whispered, longingly, and Elsa decidedly pulled back.
Anna's face flashed with hurt when she realized Elsa had backed away, but Anna was always so stubborn. If Elsa wasn't going to go all the way, then she would.
Anna moved in this time, and Elsa wanted nothing more than to receive the kiss from Anna she'd always dreamed of, but… She thinks you're a man who doesn't exist.
Elsa gently stopped Anna from moving in any closer by pressing a hand to her chest.
Anna grimaced and looked embarrassed by the rejection.
"Princess…" Elsa said, still in Eric mode. "This… I would love nothing more to, but-"
"But you don't like me, right?" Anna said, softly, while looking down at the ground.
"No!" Elsa cried out, a little too vehemently, startling Anna with her protest. "No," Elsa repeated, more softly. "It's not that at all. Believe me, I like you a lot," Elsa emphasized, and Anna's face lit up at the confession. You cannot imagine how much.
"But…" Elsa was tongue-tied. What was it she was trying to tell her?
"But?" Anna urged.
"I won't be around for long," Elsa came up with a quick lie.
Anna frowned at the news. "You're leaving?"
"Well, yes. I'll soon be moving to the Kingdom of Corona. I wouldn't want you to be involved with me when I will just leave you behind - you don't deserve to be left alone." Elsa was trying hard to kill off this character she had created, but Anna's stubborn ways refused to let her off so easily.
"We can always visit each other or write to each other," Anna suggested, hopefully. "Please, I never even got a chance to get to know you. I know this sounds loony, but I feel as if I'm connected to you somehow - like we're meant to be." A blush formed on Anna's cheeks. "I can just hear my sister now," Anna chuckled shyly. "You can't marry a man you just met," Anna said, in her most regal voice.
I sound stiff like that? Elsa thought, reevaluating her tense manner.
"N-not that I'm thinking of marriage so soon, of course!" Anna corrected, as soon as she realized what she had just said.
Elsa gulped at Anna's adorable, shy side and noticed the Chrysanthemum she had picked earlier was still gripped in between her fingers.
Anna followed Elsa's gaze and gasped softly when she spotted the flower.
"Did you… pick this for me?" Anna said, disbelievingly.
Elsa nodded her head. "Yes, princess." She passed the flower carefully into Anna's hand. Anna sweetly smiled at the gift. She twirled the flower in between her fingers and admired the Chrysanthemum's vibrant color.
"It's beautiful. Thank you, Eric," Anna whispered, while reveling in the flower's woodsy scent.
Elsa clenched her jaw, trying desperately to come up with ways to untangle herself from her web of lies.
Anna quickly closed the space in between them to place a light kiss on Elsa's cheek. The spot where Anna's lips touched her skin, left a pulsating, tingling sensation. Elsa placed two fingers on the spot, wanting to trap the wonderful feeling.
Anna was blushing lightly - the shade of pink tinged her cheekbones and the bridge of her nose. Elsa nearly swooned from such an endearing sight.
"Eric, will you do me a favor?" Anna looked up at Elsa with a shy smile - her large, puppy-dog eyes already working its magic.
"Yes, anything, Princess Anna," Elsa replied.
"Will you promise you won't forget me?"
"It will be impossible to forget you, princess," Elsa promptly responded, and smiled lovingly at Anna.
Anna's blush intensified and she smiled softly at the compliment. She looked like she wanted to say something more. "I was wondering…" Anna hesitated.
Elsa waited patiently for Anna to gain her bearings.
"I was wondering if I could take off your mask? I'd like nothing more than to see my prince charming's face from behind that hunk of plastic."
It's made out of shiny fabric, Elsa's mind spastically regurgitated. Ugh, really, Elsa? Elsa incredulously wondered about her train of thought.
Elsa was so lost in her own strange thoughts, she hadn't noticed Anna's hand reach out to grab at the mask's edges - already loosening the knots on the sides. Elsa realized too late what Anna was doing to stop her - she felt the fabric slip slowly away from her face and her mind rang in alarm like a World War II siren. Run! Run, you idiot!
But the mask was gone from her face and no longer kept her hidden from her foolish charade.
Anna gasped. "Elsa!"