The Sky Is Awake

XVII. The Only Fixer Upper

Elsa started awake to a rattling sound. She lay still on her side, breathing in and out slow, controlled breaths, willing the ice back.

The doorknob continued jangling.

Elsa rose on an elbow and called, "It's not locked."

The clatter stopped with an enlightened "Oh!" and the door swung open. Olaf skipped in with a merry beat. The flurry above his head kept up with his happy twirls, scattering tiny flakes over the floor. Then its chill was right by Elsa's arm, as Olaf popped up by her bedside.

"Good morning, Elsa! The sky is awake!"

"Are you okay?" Elsa whispered.

Olaf cocked his head and flexed his twig arms. "Um, I think so?"

Elsa reached out and touched him—cold, warm to her, but solid. She exhaled a breath she hadn't known she was holding. "Why are you here, Olaf?"

"Why are you here?"

"This is my room."

"That makes a lot of sense!" Olaf heaved himself onto the bed, sitting down by Elsa's feet. "I'm here because you're here."

"It's…" Elsa glanced out the window. "… early. Where's Anna?"

"Oh, she went to bed because she was tired. Did you know there are prison cells in the dungeon? Anna said it was for bad people. How can you tell if someone is bad?"

How, indeed?

Lately, Elsa felt like she had been spending more time in this grey dawning light than regular hours of the day. Apparently, living snowmen did not need sleep. Elsa didn't know where Olaf went during the day, or what he did; she only wished that he managed to stay out of sight like she had asked. Yesterday, Elsa had heard Gerda scream "It's alive!" from the office, resulting in her pen jerking across a semi-important document. There was also talk amongst the guards that Arendelle's winter spirit had awakened and was preparing the palace for a premature cold season. No one had yet approached her with concerns, though. Elsa suspected Anna had something to do with that.

"Sometimes bad people can act good," Elsa said now, rubbing her eyes. Having Olaf come into her room every other night meant she was waking up later than she should be, with so much to do. "And sometimes good people are framed for bad. It's complicated, Olaf."

"Wow, you know a lot about bad people. Anna said she's never seen one before."

Elsa gave a slight smile. "And I hope that never changes." She got a proper look at the snowman in the dim light. "Where is your nose, Olaf?"

Olaf's hands went to his face, where Anna had pushed a carrot through the morning after—everything. The carrot Elsa had gotten was found in the great hall, which Kai reported had somehow flooded overnight. Anna had been nearby, eating breakfast, and she'd snorted orange juice up her nose.

"Oh!" Olaf gasped. "That's why I'm here!"

"You want me to find your nose? How did you lose it?"

"Chestnut was hungry. I think he likes me."

"Why didn't you ask Anna?"

Olaf picked at his stubby twigs of hair. "She, uh, told me to ask you?"

Elsa arched her eyebrows. She glanced at the open door and the hallway beyond; still an unsettling sight. But it was always Olaf who came in, only Olaf, and after the first few nights, Elsa had resigned herself to routine. She hadn't had as many troubling dreams since Olaf. And Anna knocked on her door a lot less now. Elsa didn't know how she felt about that.

She swung her legs out of bed. "I think the night chef should have retired to bed by now. Let's be quick."

Olaf cheered that they were going on adventure, and Elsa put a finger to her lips, smiling.

OoOoO

"My favourite season is summer. What's yours?"

"Shh," Elsa said, watching the candlelight recede around the corner.

Olaf tottered into the corridor. "It's fine! Hermann is always singing on night duty. He won't hear us at all. Come on, kitchen's this way!"

Elsa stepped out a little more cautiously, but Olaf tugged her along with a happy hum. "Olaf, I don't think you need my help on this particular adventure."

"Why's that?"

Because Anna had obviously showed Olaf everything she knew about the castle at night; curious shortcuts and patrol routes, and Elsa thought she understood where the winter spirit rumour came from now. In fact, she wouldn't be at all surprised if Anna and Olaf had spread it themselves.

Olaf led her in a zig zag manner down another narrow corridor. Elsa was pretty certain they were taking a ridiculously roundabout way to the kitchens but found that she was actually enjoying herself. It reminded her of another time and adventure, long ago, being pulled along by another hand.

"It's autumn. I enjoy autumn most."

"Uh huh. And what animal do you most identify with?"

"Pardon?"

Olaf nodded patiently. "And what animal—"

"No, no. I understand the question… I'm just afraid I don't know how to answer it."

"That's okay! Do you believe in taking naps?"

By the time they finally reached the kitchen, Elsa had answered so many strange questions that she was struck by how little she knew about herself, until she heard her own answers. After finding out her preferred ink colour—which was only the first passably normal question so far—Olaf seemed to go down a mental checklist, and his eyes lit up again.

Elsa quickly clamped a hand over his mouth. "We really have to be quiet here. Alfred might still be awake… or already awake."

Olaf noisily zipped his lips. Elsa patted his head and tiptoed through the doorway.

The kitchens were darker than most areas of the palace. It had few windows, and even those caught little light, since the chambers were tucked so low into the foundations. As she entered, Elsa saw immediately that the kitchen was empty, because none of the lanterns were lit. Even the head chef Alfred, who kept erratic sleeping hours and was often awake when Elsa came in late for a meal she'd missed, needed light to navigate his own station.

There was a brush of cold by her knee as Olaf poked his head in. "Is this a bad time to remind you that I'm still scared of the dark?"

"It's okay." Elsa glanced towards the ceiling and reached up to unhook a lantern from behind the doorway. When she came back down, Olaf had already been to the bucket of matches and was holding one up to her. Elsa gave him a curious look. "Do you come here with Anna often?"

"I'm not sure. How often is often?"

Elsa just shook her head and struck the match. She'd asked because she knew, sensibly, that Anna was sixteen, coming to seventeen years old now. But the last time they had snuck into the kitchen together, her sister had only been five years old; too small to reach the lanterns, even with a stool and Elsa boosting her from below.

Carrying the light, Elsa moved between the counters and crouched in front of the stores, where the following day's ingredients were already set out. Olaf leaned over her shoulder as Elsa lifted the cover.

She sifted through the crate's contents. "Can I ask you something, Olaf?"

"Sure!"

"Did I really make you?"

"Yup."

"And you're alive?"

"I think so!"

"But… how?"

"No idea!"

Elsa spotted a familiar shape beneath a shock of spinach.

"And can I ask you something, Elsa?" Olaf cupped his hands around her ear conspiratorially. "What's your ideal Prince Charming?"

The snort escaped before she could even try to withhold it. Elsa cleared her throat, but that didn't stifle all the laughter. "Did Anna really tell you to ask me that?"

Olaf stared blankly for all of three seconds. Then he shook his head so hard it was dizzying. " Anna? No! No way, nuh uh. Nada. Zip."

Elsa's lips curved. She reached in and took out a single carrot. "Close your eyes, Olaf."

She didn't think she would ever tire of the pure delight on Olaf's face when he saw his new nose. "Oh, I love this one even more—it's like a personal salad!"

OoOoO

Olaf wanted to show his new nose to his painted friends in the gallery. Elsa half-heartedly reminded him to stay out of sight, then stifled a yawn. In a couple more hours, the sky wouldn't be the only one awake. And Elsa had her first formal meeting with the governing council in the morning. It had kept her anxious all week, on top of worrying about Olaf, and Elsa thought she would be lucky to fall back asleep at all. But she had to. Her own health was a part of her duties, too.

So she wasn't sure why she knocked on Anna's door.

There was a scrambling sound, then a muffled thump, a stifled yelp. And her sister's voice squeaking: "I'm asleep!"

Elsa looked down at the chocolate bunny in her hands. She place it on the floor by the door, where she sometimes still found one outside hers, and she thought that was enough for one night, too much already. She hoped Anna was in bed, at least.

Then she heard hasty footsteps. "Actually, no I'm not!"

Ice flew from Elsa's fingertips and into the keyhole.

There was a battering crash on the other side of the door.

"Sorry, I'm sorry—are you alright? Anna?"

Nothing. Elsa's heart skipped once; twice—

And then she heard a crumpled groan. "Ow… if you didn't want to see me, sis, you could have just told me."

"I'm sorry," Elsa said again. "It was… reflex."

"Does that come with the powers, too? Magic ice reflexes? Will you freeze all of Arendelle if I tickle you? You're still ticklish, right?"

"Please don't try."

Anna was quiet for a moment. Elsa pictured her rubbing a sore spot, probably an elbow. "That hurts, Elsa," her sister said finally.

"I know. I'm sorry."

"Can you let me out now?"

Elsa lifted a hand… then paused. "No."

"Very funny, Elsa, I didn't know you had comedy in you. Give us another one."

"Anna, you need to sleep… I need to sleep."

"No, really, I'd love to see how funny you… oh. You're being serious. Okay. Um. Can you let me out an inch to say goodnight? Or good morning?"

"If I do, we'll stay up all night."

"We will?" Anna sounded more hopeful than surprised.

Elsa brought her hands up to her mouth and blew softly into them. In the mornings, she would stand dressed before her cabinet mirror and smooth a hand over the box containing her collection of gloves. She still had the very first pair her father had given her, because they were the ones she had believed in most. Then Elsa would look down at her hands, study the swirl of her own fingerprints, and recall the first brush of air when her own powers had pulled off her gloves.

She took a deep breath. "My favourite season is autumn. I admire any animal that can fly one with the wind and sky. I believe naps should be rewards for fruitful effort… and I think that a princess' happy ending shouldn't hinge on being loved by a prince. Also, black ink is easier to come by."

There was silence as Anna absorbed this, and Elsa thought that this was so different; the wrong side of the door. She hoped that all good things didn't require repayment because recently, Elsa had too many in debt.

Anna said in a sheepish voice, "Did he ask you which language you wished the world spoke more of?"

"Latin."

"Ew."

Elsa smiled, because she could hear a grin in Anna's voice.

"I think you would make a very elegant swan," her sister mused. "At least, I think they can fly. They should, right? I mean, I know there are emus and ostriches—and chickens! But swans? Is that even allowed?"

Elsa touched the frozen fractals on the door and wondered if thawing should come just as easily to her. Because at times like these, Elsa wished they did. "Anna?"

Playfully, Anna rapped a familiar rhythm on the wood between them. Knock knock kno-knock knock.

Elsa asked, "What else would you like to know?"

"M-Me? About you? Um…" Anna laughed, surprised. "You probably want to sit down for this. Olaf had a lot of ideas. We actually wrote a list and gosh, my handwriting is just ooft. Tragic."

Elsa thought of a long conference table and the dress Gerda had set aside in her wardrobe.

"It's alright," she said, as a trickle of water slid down the door.

"Hmm?"

Elsa opened the door.

Anna was sitting right beside the opening, still in her day dress and hugging two pillows. She stared as Elsa closed the door quietly behind her, and sat down against it.

Elsa placed the chocolate bunny between them. Anna blinked at it, and back at Elsa. Then she shuffled closer and handed Elsa a pillow, grinning.

They had time.

A/N: I got my mum to watch Frozen today and she laughed and nodded along with her limited English. And then she wanted to watch it again. Mamabear, you da magic.