Anna was paralyzed, stuck between a rock and a hard place, (or rather, a queen and a cupboard), seeks full of an assortment of goodies she'd come across in her scrounging. Not even ten feet away from her was the woman who'd plagued her dreams for over a year now,and she couldn't decide if she were thrilled or horrified that she'd remembered her name. Okay Anna, you can do this,' she thought to herself, 'Just say "Oh, hi Your Majesty, remember how I lied and crashed your coronation? Fun times, fun times. Anyhow, I work for you now, so if you need anything, like a back rub, or a kiss, or you know, someone to just generally adore you, I'm your girl!"'. She wanted to kick herself for how stupid that sounded, even to her, but she stopped herself by remembering she was in fact in the presence of the Queen.
Elsa looked… well she looked haggard. Beautifully so, but she appeared worn, tired, but the shock in her eyes seemed so hopeful that all of that began to lift away. At least it did until the alarm sounded. Just as the Queen was about to take a step toward the stunned girl across from her, a crash sounded out from somewhere down the corridor, quickly followed by the footfalls of what was probably the entire royal guard rushing to the scene, shouting and calling all to arms. One of the guards glimpsed down the way and saw his Queen standing frozen in the doorway.
"Queen Elsa!" he shouted, alerting the others to her presence, and causing her to jerk her head towards them in shock at the interruption to her thoughts. Anna took that as her cue to flee; in a matter of milliseconds she'd darted towards the stairwell, unlocking it in one fluid motion that even she was surprised by, and scurrying in as she saw the first of the guards arrive at the Queen's side.
Anna's never run so fast in her entire life, not even when she'd shoved Kristoff into the fjord as a joke that he didn't find quite so funny, or when they'd accidentally pissed off that Oaken guy when he'd tried to gyp them out of a sale (he's a lot bigger than he looks). Point is, she was booking it in a way that she didn't even know was possible. Once she'd slipped through the doorway to the servant's stairwell, she'd practically flown up the stairs, taking them two- three at a time, trying to put as much distance between her and the Queen as possible. She barreled through the doorway to the staff's quarters and didn't even have to open the door to her and Kristoff's shared room before she came crashing face-first into her friend's chest.
"Why," he started, exasperation hardly controlled in his tone, "Do I have cause to believe that this commotion is somehow your fault?" He moved aside just enough to allow her access into the room, closing the door quickly behind them as Anna began to pace frantically about the floor.
"It wasn't me I swear!" she squeaked, never ceasing her movements. Kristoff cocked a brow at her in disbelief.
"Then why are you running around like a chicken with its head cut off?"
That seemed to draw Anna out of her reverie, and she dawned a thoughtful look, "Y'know I've never understood that reference. But then again, I've never seen a chicken with its head cut off. I'd imagine it's awfully bloody, and there'd be feathers everywhere, and who'd have to clean it up…" she was interrupted by Kristoff grabbing her by the shoulders and giving her a slight shake.
"Anna! Enough! What's going on?!" He appeared more confused than anything, "We've been here for less than a day, what could you have possibly done? I could hear the whole castle rushing downstairs like their lives depended on it!"
"I'm serious, I didn't do anything! I don't know what the big hullabaloo with the guards was." He looked at her for a long while, debating whether or not to believe her.
"Alright," he loosened his grip on her and began to back off until he narrowed his eyes at her once again, "Wait, if you didn't have anything to do with all of this, then why did you run up here like you'd just seen a ghost?" Anna's face paled and Kristoff couldn't have stopped his eyes from rolling if he'd tried.
"I just wanted a snack," she said measly, forcing a smile that she hoped looked more convincing than it felt, "And when I was down there I may have, I don't know, runintothequeen."
The blond's ears pricked at this, "You what?"
"I said I may have run into the Queen," Anna mumbled, "And, y'know, she may or may not have recognized me… and remembered my name… and I may or may not have bolted when all of the noise started." Kristoff didn't say anything at first, just stared at her in disbelief. So long, in fact, that Anna began to worry that she'd broken her friend. "Kristoff…"
"And you didn't even bring me anything to eat did you?"
"That's what you're concerned about?!"
"Well I mean if the Queen decides to kick us out because she finds out we broke into her coronation over a year ago and are now living a floor above her, I at least wanted to remember what it felt like to have a full stomach."
"This isn't funny Kristoff!" Anna reached out to shove her friend, but her push didn't budge the man at all.
"Do I look like I'm laughing?" he said, face serious, "Anna, this is the warmest I've been in months, I'm not really willing to give it up at the moment." She cast a glance toward the fire roaring a few feet away and tried not to think about the possibility that it could vanish so soon after obtaining it.
"I know, Kris, I know. Look, I didn't even know she'd be there, it's like, crazy late… or early? I don't know, point is, I was just trying to get a snack and in walks Els-"
"No!" Kristoff cut her off, "That's what got us into this mess in the first place, you gettin' too cozy with the Queen. Look, we just have to lay low and not make to much commotion and we can get by until they don't need us anymore, okay? Let's just distance ourselves and we'll be fine."
"But Kristoff-" Anna started.
"No buts, Anna. Do you want to be out in the snow when winter really hits hard?" Anna looked away from his gaze, not because it was angry, but because it was so genuinely full of concern. She sighed and looked him steely in the eye.
"I'm sorry, Kris. It won't happen again." Kristoff exhaled and drew Anna into his arms, and wasn't entirely surprised by her less than enthusiastic response. Eventually though, her arms snaked around his back and she returned the embrace.
"Alright then," he whispered, "Let's get to bed. We have a long few months ahead of us, feisty pants.
"Your Majesty are you alright?!"
Elsa blinked dazedly, trying to regain her composure so quickly after being startled by the noise, "Yes, yes I'm fine, there's no need for alarm." Half a dozen guards in various states of dress flanked their Queen, swords drawn and ready to defend from any threat that might come their way.
"What the devil is going on?!" Kai came bounding down the main stairwell dressed in his nightgown and cap, Gerda and a handful of other servants in tow, all in a similar disarray.
The captain of the guard bowed as Kai approached and addressed him formally, "It was nothing but a broken window, Master Kai. The wind must have sent a branch in through this way. I'll have my men clean this up and set about its repairs at once."
"There's no need for that, Captain," Kai sighed, relieved that there was no actual cause for alarm, "Let your men get their rest. I'll send for the glassblower and carpenter first thing in the morning. We can just tie the curtains together for now." He glimpsed down towards the guards around the Queen and gasped, making his way to them.
"Your Majesty, why are you up and about so late? And all alone?"
"I was just coming to get a bite to eat," she said, trying to ease the poor man's obvious worry, "And I wasn't alone, Kai, why didn't you tell me…" she turned for the first time back to the kitchens, and was shocked to see… well, nothing.
"Tell you what, Your Majesty?" Kai questioned, coming closer to see what his Queen was peering at with such confusion. All he could see was the kitchen, empty as usual for this time of night; the cooking staff wouldn't come in to start preparations for the day for another few hours at least, and yet the Queen was staring ahead like she was certain there was someone there. "What are you looking for?"
Elsa snapped her attention back to him as if surprised he'd been there at all, "N-nothing. Absolutely nothing. I must be more tired than I thought." She pressed a gloved palm to her neck and look to the ground, confusion evident on her face. Kai and Gerda shared a glance and the elderly woman moved forward to take the young Queen into her arms.
"Come now, Your Majesty, you need your rest. You're far too overworked." The Queen nodded dumbly and allowed herself to be led away by the Housekeeper, "I'll have Astrid whip you up a little something to nibble on, and then you can sleep."
Upon hearing her name, the girl snapped to attention and set about her task as the guards either dispersed back to their posts or the barracks, and the rest of the staff began trickling back to their rooms. Kai remained behind with Astrid, and made his way around, looking in the corners and under tables and counters for anything that might have spooked the poor Queen. When he reached the cupboard by the stairwell in the back of the room, he stooped down to retrieve something from the floor.
"Can I help you with anything, Master Kai?" Astrid spoke up from her spot kindling a fire underneath the stovetop.
Kai shook his head, and set down the object in his hands on the countertop amidst a number of cooking utensils- a single carrot. "No, no, I believe I'll just be off to bed now. As you should be as soon as you finish up in here."
The young girl nodded in affirmation, and continued her work, chopping and dicing a number of ingredients to go in a pot and come out edible, and Kai took his leave.
Gerda was finishing up getting Elsa ready for bed, Astrid had come and gone with a simple bowl of stew which Elsa took with an easy thanks and sent the poor girl off to bed. The older woman was moving towards the perfectly-made bed to draw back the covers as the Queen was undressing for the night, but stopped when she noticed a thin layer of dust covering the edges of the duvet.
"When's the last time you spent the night in your bed, Your Majesty?" she asked, fixing the younger woman with a pointed look as she emerged from behind the divider separating them.
"Last night, Gerda," Elsa started to say, but realizing her efforts at lying were futile, consented and offered a weak apologetic smile, "To be perfectly honest, I don't remember. Perhaps sometime last week? Or the week before?"
Gerda gasped in surprise, "Queen Elsa, you can't overwork yourself like this! You need your rest, child." She ushered the young queen towards her bed, making sure she was situated before moving to start a fire in the corner of the room. "Would you like a bed warmer, Your Majesty?"
"No, no that's not necessary, Gerda," Elsa reached behind her to begin undoing her bun and let her hair fall onto her back, "I'm fine."
The housekeeper looked concerned, "Are you sure Your Majesty? It's getting colder by the day, I fear we'll be having an early winter this year."
"I'm fine Gerda," she gave a weak smile, "Really. The cold never really bothered me, you know that."
Gerda nodded, still wary of leaving the Queen without anything to warm her besides the blankets on her bed and the small fire sparking to life in the distance, but she eventually relented and began to make her way out of the room, turning one last time towards her queen.
"Oh, Queen Elsa, your gloves."
Elsa cocked her head at the other woman, "My gloves?" Looking down she realized her gloves were still pulled up to her elbows, "Why, yes, I nearly forgot. Thank you, Gerda." The woman in question smiled, and bid the queen a final good night before closing the door.
Elsa settled into the bed, a sea of thoughts turning over and over in her mind. She was certain that she'd seen Anna in the kitchen, it had seemed so real, but perhaps the stress of ruling a country alone was finally getting to her. Perhaps she was just lonely. Perhaps Anna had never even existed and she'd gone insane long ago. All of these thoughts and more plagued her as she drifted off to sleep, gloved hands pulling the covers closer to her chin as the temperature dropped lower and lower around her.
GUESS WHO'S BACK?! Thank you to everyone who's left such kind reviews on here in my absence, I'm so sorry it's been so long. I hope you enjoy this chapter, the next one should be up soon.