A/N: And here we are with chapter two. It's rolling, ideas are scripted, and I'm working on this one for sure! I had another idea for another multi-chapter Elsanna fic that'd feature prominent OCs, but I wasn't sure what everyone's take on that'd be. I actively avoid pairing OCs with canon characters, so my creating of another story with OCs wouldn't effect the canon characters in any way - if what I'm saying makes sense. Maybe I'm babbling. ANYWAY, should I post another multi-chapter fic that has OCs but is still Elsanna? Let me know what you guys think!
Mending An Icy Break
- Chapter 2 –
Their middag repast was rather enjoyable, Anna had to admit. It had been a while since the two had shared a meal together without anyone else present, and although they were at either end of a rather massive oak table, it was still just the two of them in the room.
"Are you even tasting your food?" Elsa asked suddenly, without raising her eyes from her plate, tentatively prodding a sliced piece of smoked salmon with her fork.
The younger sister hadn't even noticed how enthusiastically she was wolfing down her food; she'd gobbled nearly half her plate's worth in a matter of minutes, with a few stray pieces of food clinging to the corners of her mouth. Her table etiquette was something to be feared.
"Oh–aha, yeah…sorry." Anna replied, having swallowed a generous mouthful. She wasn't used to dining with her sister, seeing as Elsa always ate her meals in her bedroom, and Anna with supervision in the main dining hall – several servants were always present, tending to her every need, and even so much as wiping her mouth between forkfuls. Her parents ate with her on occasion as well, and it was at those times Anna tried her hardest to eat with the grace and dignity befitting a young princess, but those instances were few and far apart.
Elsa's laugh broke the silence, and Anna's ears rang with the sound of it, making her cheeks tint rosy. She knew that laughter was directed at her, and yet, instead of blushing out of embarrassment she had flushed because her sister's laugh was so beautiful. It had been a long time since she'd heard her sister's laugh, and having it once again invade her ears was a welcomed sound.
"It's not very proper of you to laugh, you know," Anna admonished, "you're lucky to have me as a dinner guest." She assured, wiping her mouth with her napkin, and turning her nose up. Elsa's laughter was muffled against her hand as she smiled, giving her sister a small nod in understanding.
"Ah, yes, where are my manners?" She teased, her own cheeks rosy, perhaps from the warmth of the situation. "My apologies, Princess Anna." She bowed her head in an apologetic gesture, and the redhead grinned widely.
"Apology accepted." She replied quickly, turning her attention back down to her plate, and making quick work devouring the remaining vegetables and buttered bread.
Elsa, on the other side of the table, ate with the utmost poise and propriety. She stabbed individual cuts of salmon, raising the meat to her lips and delicately removing it from the fork with her teeth. Anna flicked her eyes to her sister and watched for a moment, mesmerized. She'd never seen someone eat so…beautifully. But then again, Anna mused, Elsa did everything beautifully. It was as though her sister lacked the capacity to be clumsy and undignified.
She, on the other hand, was about as clumsy as they come.
Elsa felt the familiar stare of eyes on her, hesitantly looking up through her lashes at her younger sister, catching her gaze unintentionally and quickly returning her eyes to the task at hand. "You're staring, Anna," She pointed out, cutting a few more even slices of her smoked meat, "do you mean to be?" Anna blinked again and then turned her eyes down to her own plate.
"No, sorry..." The princess answered quickly, prodding a few crumbs on her plate with her fork. Silence befell the room as both girls stared down at the beautifully handcrafted plates before them – Anna's empty and Elsa's half finished.
"Are you full?" Elsa asked suddenly, breaking the silence. She seemed to be doting on her sister quite a bit these days. Anna puffed her freckled cheeks.
"You don't have to worry about my eating," The redhead quipped quickly, "I'm pretty good at it. If I was hungry I'd eat more." Elsa fingers twitched against the cutlery she was holding and Anna bit the inside of her cheek, realizing how sharp that response was.
"Yes, you're right," Elsa forced a laugh, "I shouldn't be treating you like a child." Anna's heart sank. Part of her enjoyed the way her sister worried over her, but at the same time she wanted Elsa to treat her like a young woman. She wanted the queen to know that she was capable, that she didn't need looking after – she was, after all, eighteen years old!
"No, Elsa…, I'm sorry," The strawberry blonde gave her elder sister a small smile, "I'm just being grumpy today, I guess." She laughed. "I could eat a little more; some carrots, maybe?" Elsa blinked, turning her eyes to the large decorative metallic bowl that was steaming with still hot diced carrots. She smiled, wondering if Anna had picked those because they were within arm's reach for her.
"Alright, here," The queen set her cutlery down and reached for the lid, lifting it off and grasping the handle of the serving spoon. Taking it in her hand she scooped up a generous amount of carrots and turned, seeing Anna having already extended her plate, holding it out expectantly. With a small laugh she poured the carrots onto Anna's well-cleaned plate and set the serving spoon back into the pot, lidding it. "Will you be having dessert also?" Elsa asked, sitting back down and taking her fork and knife in hand once more. Anna stared down at the small pile of carrots on her plate for a moment before looking to Elsa.
"Mhmm, of course!" She assured with a quick nod, "you can't really conclude a meal without dessert." The queen laughed again.
"Of course not."
The remainder of their meal went by rather smoothly. Once they had both finished their plates Elsa called one of the waiters over, who snapped his fingers, and was followed by several underlings who made quick work removing the dishes and uneaten food.
Dessert passed much like the meal: quickly, smoothly and with laughter bubbling between the two sisters. Anna had missed eating with Elsa; spending years apart from her made her realize how much she missed the little things, like this. She missed the conversations, the company, that witty banter between them; she missed the way Elsa shamed her with her mastery of table etiquette, the way her sister would cover her mouth when she laughed, and even the way she'd slice her food into perfect little divisions that she ate one by one. Always so proper.
All in all, Anna was very happy to be able to spend a meal alone with Elsa like this. It was uncommon, not because of the years Elsa ate alone, but because they would normally have awaiting servants lining the wall near the kitchen doors. It was by the queen's request that they wait in the kitchen rather than outside it, giving her sister and herself at least the illusion of privacy.
Following their meal Elsa escorted Anna out of the dining hall, the two sister talking – Anna boisterously with hand gestures and facial expressions, and Elsa reserved and soft spoken – which filled the castle as their voices echoed and reverberated off the high ceilings.
"And then Sven drove the sled right into the tree, boy Kristoff wasn't happy!" Anna laughed, pulling Elsa closer as they walked, their arms entwined. The queen laughed softly and smiled.
"Does he need to get it repaired?" She asked. Anna shook her head.
"No, he said the worst thing was that the lamp broke, but he bought a replacement at Oaken's Trading Post." Anna wrinkled her nose. "After having a disagreement on the price, which almost ended with him getting thrown out, again." Elsa squeezed her grip on Anna's arm and smiled.
"Well he certainly is, hmm, feisty?" She suggested, laughing. "You sure know how to pick them." Anna blushed and shrugged her shoulders.
"What can I say? I make good friends." Elsa turned to Anna, a bit confused.
"Friends?" She asked. Anna tucked her hair behind her left ear with her free hand and looked down at the floor.
"Yeah…uhm, well, I sort of–uhm, broke it off. I mean, we were never technically seeing each other, and I…I dunno, sort of figured I was rushing into things…again. Kristoff understands. He said we can just see where things go–i-if they go, I mean. He's happy being friends too." Anna blushed, wondering why her cheeks felt so hot. She was only saying the truth, and yet admitting it to Elsa felt strange; she couldn't quite put her finger on it.
"Oh." Elsa hummed, nodding a bit. In a way this made her happy – she could spend more time with Anna then, and not feel guilty for keeping her from seeing Kristoff. All of her assemblies, signings, and other queenly duties kept her busy most of the day, and any free time she had she devoted to Anna. Unfortunately, her work tended to keep her busy well into the evening, and by the time she finished it was hardly an appropriate hour to spend time with her sister.
"You okay Elsa?" Anna asked suddenly, grabbing the platinum blonde's attention. "You're feeling a bit colder than usual." The redhead gestured down to Elsa's arm, which was joined around her own. The queen quickly smiled and tugged on their joint arms, pulling Anna closer and bumping their hips together playfully.
"I'm fine, thank you," She replied, enjoying the closeness of her younger sibling, "you're always worrying about me." Anna smiled back to her.
"It's my job to take care of my big sister!" She shouted.
"And this after I asked about whether or not you were hungry?" The princess took a moment, processing that statement, before blushing. She had been a bit harsh earlier; she really hadn't meant to be.
"I'm sorry." She replied sheepishly, looking up at Elsa with big wide aquamarine puppy dog eyes. The queen faltered at the sight and her heart melted under the intense stare.
"Now you stop that," She half scolded, not even a hint of seriousness in her tone, "that look is just unfair." Anna held it for a moment, staring up at Elsa, before bursting out into a fit of laughter. Elsa jumped a bit and Anna snickered, covering her mouth with her free hand.
"S-Sorry–!" The redhead princess smiled, looking to her sister, "y-you're just too funny sometimes!" She added in an attempt to explain. Elsa stared back, her cheeks quickly reddening.
"Anna…that's not funny." She murmured lowly, looking around, seeing if they were being watched. It was true that she wanted very much to spend time with Anna, but the queen was still unaccustomed to wandering the halls of the castle like this, and certainly not while her sister shouted and laughed so loudly.
"S-Sorry, sorry," Anna apologized in earnest between laughs, which seemed to diminish the value of her statement, "I didn't mean it Elsa, really." The princess snickered a few more times before catching her sister's expression and quickly straightening up. "Hey, Elsa…?" The queen turned her head away and eyes down and Anna's stomach tightened. "I…I really didn't mean to laugh at you, honest, I was just teasing." She explained, trying to get a better look at her sister's face, leaning over to catch her gaze. "C'mon, I am sorry. Please?" She reached out, sliding her hand under Elsa's chin, and turning the queen back to face her. "Really, I mean it. I wasn't laughing at you." Anna reassured, adding a big wide smile as an added bonus.
Elsa took a moment, her eyes flicking everywhere but her sister's face, until they accidentally met the younger girl's eyes and she froze in place. Anna's face was inches from hers, so close she could feel her sister's warm breath against her skin, and it tickled. It also smelled sweetly of the chocolates they had for dessert, and the scent invaded the queen's nostrils. "Anna…" She breathed softly, blushing deeply as her movements nearly caused her lips to brush against the princess'.
"Yes?" Anna asked, sounding oddly hopeful, as if she was expecting something to follow the breathy sound of her name.
"It's getting late," Elsa murmured, trying to ignore how hot her cheeks felt, they were practically burning, "perhaps we should be getting ready for bed now?" She suggested, eyes falling on Anna's, waiting for a response. The redhead frowned, seeming almost disappointed, though neither of them knew why that was.
"Mhmm; you're right, it is late," Anna mused aloud, giving a nod, "bed might be a good idea." She looked down the halls, seeing that the servants were already making their rounds and putting out all the lit candles that had been lighting the rooms since sunset. Elsa began to fidget, her fingers twitching, while she stared down at Anna. The princess kept her eyes forward, watching as one of the housemaids at the far end of the hall blew out a candle and then walked past the corridor, her footsteps echoing through the empty hallway until they reached the stairs and softened until they were silent. Why was she waiting, Else thought, her fingertips starting to frost. She felt so anxious, but she didn't understand why.
"Anna? Is something wrong?" Elsa asked softly, trying to coax her sister to say or do something, anything.
"No…," Anna lied, squeezing around Elsa's arm, "do you…have a lot of work to do tomorrow? Am I keeping you up?" The queen blinked and then nodded slightly.
"I have a few trade agreements to read over and sign, and then I have to discuss the plans for food storage this winter…, we need to be sure we're not overstocked so food doesn't spoil before we can make use of it like last year." Anna looked down at her feet, shifting them a bit.
"Will we be able to do something again? I really liked having dinner and dessert together." Anna said softly, and Elsa frowned. She wondered silently to herself if Anna felt neglected, but was afraid to voice her concerns, not wanting to be right. The level of guilt she felt was immense; not only had she missed her opportunity to bond with her sister all these years, but it was only after her coronation and the eternal winter fiasco that she'd even opened up to her. Now, with her being the sovereign queen of Arendelle, and the sole ruler, she was understandably quite busy. Still, this didn't make her feel any less accountable and responsible for any feelings of loneliness her sister might be harbouring.
"Of course," Elsa reached out with the arm that wasn't hooked around Anna's, cupped her sister's freckled cheek, and stroked it with her thumb, "I will make time to spend with you. You're the most important person in the world to me, Anna, you're all I have." Anna felt her heart flutter and her chest swell. Elsa rarely spoke like this to her, but when she did it made her feel warm all over. She leaned gently into her sister's hand and smiled. She trusted Elsa's word.
"Alright." She replied softly. "We'll do something tomorrow then." Elsa nodded, leaning in and brushing the softest and most delicate kiss to Anna's cheek, a sweet sort of warm affection, which almost contrasted against the cool silken touch of her lips. Anna closed her eyes, stifling a breathy sound that threatened to escape her, and subtly bit her lower lip. She was beyond the point of loving these affectionate displays, and at the point of craving them. She wanted more from Elsa, more kisses, hugs, touches; she just wanted Elsa close. As cold as her sister felt, she made her feel so warm.
"Tomorrow, I promise." Elsa smiled. It was definitely a promise she intended to keep. She untangled their arms and lowered her hand, turning and smiling once more at Anna before walking down the hall to her room. Anna stood in silence for a moment, not realizing that it was her room Elsa had walked her to. She turned and stared at her door, cheeks still rosy.
"Tomorrow."