Elsa had calmed herself down enough to slap on the best fake smile she could muster for King Frederick and Queen Isabella's sake. When she got her seat, she noticed that Kristoff and Kirsten had been settled down with their tea and snacks had been brought out. Elsa looked at her cup in front of her and noticed a small plate was covering the cup. She gingerly removed it.
"Who did this?"
"I did, Your Majesty."
Elsa turned and spotted Kai. She gave him a genuine smile. "Thank you, Kai."
"My pleasure, Queen Elsa. You took longer than expected to return so I took the liberty of keeping your tea warm upon your arrival."
"Again, thank you, Kai."
Kai bowed respectfully. "You're welcome, Your Highness."
Anna had slinked by Kai and Elsa and, since there was no other option, she sat next to King Frederick and Queen Isabella while Kristoff and Kirsten sat next to Karen which left Elsa at the head of the long table. Kai quickly noticed Anna sitting down without any assistance and rushed with as much grace as he could produce to get Anna her cup of tea and offer tea snacks to her. She accepted the tea but politely refused the snacks. Kai went as far as offering Anna some chocolates. Even when Anna refused having any chocolate, certain people were confused and even worried.
Elsa couldn't help but notice how her sister refused chocolate. She noted in the past that no matter her mood, Anna was always up for chocolate, but she brushed off her concern for simply curiosity. She was set on being mad at her sister for the remainder of the day or at least until they got through trade agreement. But everyone turned their attention back to matter at hand once they saw Anna blowing on her tea and coolly sipping it like nothing was wrong. King Frederick leaned toward Elsa as she took a sip of her tea.
"My wife and I had just recently been talking with our daughter, Princess Kirsten, and yours and Princess Anna's charming friend, Master Kristoff."
Kristoff mumbled something that he could call him 'Kristoff', but King Frederick chose to ignore him.
"And let me say, it was wonderful to speak with our daughters and Master Kristoff while we waited for yours and Princess Anna's return. But may I ask about trade since we're all present?"
"Go ahead, King Frederick."
Before King Frederick went straight to business, he turned his head toward.
"Princess Anna, before we begin, would you like a say in the matter? I hear you have a weakness for our pastries and I would be willing to make certain arrangements at your request."
Anna had set down her tea cup and saucer and locked eyes with King Frederick. Her voice was broken underneath, but she did her best of covering it with a mask of cheerfulness and polite tone.
"Oh, no thank you, King Frederick. I do sincerely appreciate the offer, but as of late I can't seem to stand anything sweet right now. I must be going through a phase. But even so, please don't worry yourself with such a petty issue. The kingdom won't crumble because we lack a luxurious item such as Danish pastries."
King Frederick quirked an eyebrow up. His expression accurately represented the concern and confusion of the other party members except for Elsa. She couldn't figure out Anna's motives. She was still on guard from their fight beforehand.
"Are you sure, Princess Anna?"
"Oh, yes. I'm sure, King Frederick. Please, do talk trade with my sister, Queen Elsa."
"Alright then…" King Frederick turned to Elsa. "Queen Elsa."
Elsa took another sip of her tea before directing her gaze on the king of Denmark.
"Yes, King Frederick?"
"Let's talk a little bit about trade. I would like to get some things done, but I also don't want to neglect our friends during this lovely tea time."
"Of course. Go on."
Anna blurred everything out from that moment on. She just sat in her seat and occasionally sipped her tea. She watched on and saw everyone held a conversation with one another making her feel left out. But she didn't mind. To be more accurate, she didn't care. She didn't feel like having much in her stomach and listening to what the others to say. She didn't even care what Kristoff was saying about Sven, Olaf, and harvesting ice even when she typically cared about everything he did. It's that she wasn't in the mood to care about anything at that point in time. She just vaguely watched Kristoff carry on a conversation with Princess Kirsten and Princess Karen. She had no problem with Kristoff talking to Kirsten, but part her really didn't like it when Karen spoke with Kristoff especially when she had admiration twinkle in her eyes as she spoke to him. If Anna wasn't so emotionally incapacitated and she didn't have many witnesses, she wouldn't hesitate to lunge at Princes Karen and tell her to leave sister and boyfriend alone. As much she would have loved to fantasize strangling Princess Karen, she knew it wouldn't be right if she followed through with her plan simply for the fact that it was not dignified and that Princess Kirsten was her friend and by default she had to keep her hands off Princess Karen for her friend's sake. Anna also knew that Elsa would think even less of her than she already did if she assaulted Princess Karen, her precious tutee.
Anna abruptly snapped her head away from everyone else grimacing to herself. She stared at the blank space in front of her propped her right elbow on the table with her chin cupped in her hand. Anna proceeded to lightly tap the table with her free index finger in a steady rhythm. She did it just as she had done before when she tapped Elsa's stomach when everything was well in the world between the two of them. But this tapping went at a faster pace than previously done.
"Princess Anna."
A soft and gentle yet firm voice yanked Anna's mind back into reality. She turned her head until her eyes fell upon the loyal servant who stood behind her chair. It was Kai.
"Hmm?"
"I couldn't help notice that you seem drained of energy. Perhaps you would like something to eat to refuel you, Miss."
Anna realized that she was in a position most unsuitable for a princess. She straightened herself out and sat with a stiff back while smoothing out the skirt of her dress.
"Oh, no. I'm fine, Kai. Thank you though."
"Are you sure? You haven't eaten anything since breakfast and you're only half way done with your cup of tea. Is there something bothering you, Princess Anna?"
"Elsa's words hurt me and Karen most likely stolen my sister away from me without much effort. That's what's bothering me.", Anna thought bitterly.
Anna flashed Kai her best fake smile. "I'm fine, Kai."
"Princess Anna." This time the voice belonged to Queen Isabella. Anna's head snapped towards her. If her head had turned any faster, people would swear it could break off from her neck.
"Yes, Queen Isabella?"
"Forgive me for prying, Princess Anna, but you seem to be dismissing any offer of food. Are you sure you're not hungry? Maybe if you had something in you, you would feel better. Maybe tea snacks won't be enough for you. Our country has a new split soup recipe. I could tell it to one of your chefs and they prepare some for us. Would that make you feel better?"
"Oh, no. Please, don't try to accommodate me. I'm fine really. I'm just not that hungry is all."
"Are you sure? You seem like you need some nourishment and forgive me for sounding like your mother but I am a mother of two daughters after all. I just can't seem to stand to see that one of our hosts is depriving herself of basic nourishment from food."
"I told you, Queen Isabella. Besides, I'm not fond of soup right now. I don't feel like eating."
"Are you positive? We could take a little break and have soup or salad."
"No thank you. But if you want something, please, by all make yourselves comfortable and ask for anything you and your family may wish. You are our guests."
Queen Isabella wasn't satisfied with Anna's answers but she knew that if she tried again Anna would give her the same response. She chose not to further press the princess.
"I think we've talked enough trade for now. We can finish the trade agreement after tea."
Then Queen Isabella turned her attention to her husband and started a friendly conversation. Following her lead, the others silently assumed a break time.
All the while, Elsa watched with a curious eye as to why Anna refused any sort of food. She was first concerned when Anna didn't budge from King Frederick's offer of adding more Danish pastries to the trade, but she was simply irritated when Anna refused customary tea snacks. Then again, Elsa found it highly suspicion and a bit worrisome when Anna refused having chocolate and downright objected to having split pea soup. Elsa began to put the pieces together and found it disturbing that everything Anna refused where some of her favorite food items that she shared the information with Elsa the night they had their impromptu sleepover before the royal family of Denmark came for a visit and that she hardly wanted any food which was very odd to Elsa knowing full well that her sister was enthusiastic when it came to enjoying food. Even she noticed that she ate more food than Anna which was a rarity in itself. What was even more disturbing was that even Elsa made it clear to Anna as to not disturb her, which she was doing remarkably well, Elsa honestly was expecting for Anna to put on some sort of fight before giving up completely, but she did no such thing. She just gave up. It was unlike Anna is the worst way.
Elsa realized that despite her being mad at her sister she still couldn't stop worrying about Anna's well-being. Elsa was concerned for Anna's current condition and wondered why she was doing this to herself. Then Elsa recounted the polite words Anna uttered in the presence of company and how she insisted that she not be dotted on. And once more Anna tapping her finger on the table did not go unnoticed by the queen. Elsa had a sinking feeling that maybe Anna wasn't trying to pull any dirty tricks to get sympathy from her sister. No. She simply looked….miserable? Was Anna miserable? That was impossible. Why would someone like Anna who hated her sister be miserable? Elsa admitted to herself that people who have hatred in their hearts are miserable people because they don't know how to love, but they weren't miserable in a sad way. Anna looked miserable as if she was actually sad. But why would she be sad? The platinum blonde haired woman had a sinking feeling that she probably too harsh on her sister despite being so hurt herself before by Anna's harsh words. Maybe she should have listened to Anna and give her chance to explain her actions but Elsa was guided by her wounded heart and ignored Anna's pleas. She wish she take it back just so she didn't have witness Anna being punished in such a way. And the worst part was that, as Elsa had observed, Anna self-imposed her punishment.
Elsa's heart nearly cracked but she still didn't understand her sister's behavior. The one thing she knew for certain was that Anna wasn't being herself, not in the slightest. Elsa was on the edge of getting her sister's attention after Queen Isabella addressed her, but something caught her eye. She turned and saw that Kristoff had thrown a tea sandwich at her arm. She looked straight in her eyes and saw a kind of terror residing in his eyes. Elsa looked over at his tormentor and saw that Karen was practically flirting with him, yet in the most discreet way. Regardless how angry she was at Anna, she would not stand for Karen making Kristoff feel uncomfortable or let his and Anna's relationship crumble because of a misfortunate event. Elsa gently placed a hand on Karen's shoulder to get her attention.
"Princess Karen."
Karen relieved Kristoff of her attention and switched to Elsa. She smiled widely at the older girl.
"Yes, Queen Elsa?"
"I think you've talked Kristoff's ear off. Why don't you give him a break for now?"
"Oh! Of course, Queen Elsa. I'm sorry if I neglected to talk to you, but you were busy talking with my parents about trade."
"That's alright, Princess Karen. Have you talked with your sister, Princess Kirsten?"
"Yes, we have talked. But we didn't talk much. It would be rude of us to talk too long over Kristoff."
"I see."
Elsa slid her hand off Karen's shoulder and looked at Kirsten for an affirmation. She saw Kirsten roll her eyes as she sipped her tea. Elsa dared looking over at Anna. What she saw just astounded her. She couldn't tell if her eyes were failing her or if Anna appeared to be seething. Was Anna seething? If she was, what would be the cause of her reaction? It was possibly that Anna had noticed Karen flirting with her boyfriend in front of her. Elsa waited for Anna to do something else. Anna took a moment to compose herself, sat still and then excused herself from the table announcing she had to use the bathroom. When she was opposite of Kristoff, he called out to her. Stopping in her tracks, she turned her head to face Kristoff.
"Anna. I mean, Princess Anna."
"What is it, Kristoff?"
"May I walk with you?"
"Kristoff, I'm just using the bathroom."
"Please?"
"Kristoff, I'm not going to be for long."
"How do you know?"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Why would you even need to use the bathroom?"
"I would like to freshen up."
"You don't need to. But you could please bring me with you?"
"Why? Aren't you comfortable where you are? Sandwiched between two lovely princesses?"
"I'm quite comfortable, Anna. But are you comfortable? Is that why you want to use the bathroom? To get away from the discomfort in this room?"
Anna could tell Kristoff was just trying to irk her so she would let everything out in front of everybody. He wanted to help her even if it might he had to irritate her for her own good. But she would not let her get his way.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Kristoff. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'd like to use the bathroom to freshen up."
"Fine, Anna. Just don't take too long."
Anna rolled her eyes at Kristoff. Sometimes he could be such a pain, but she loved him anyway. Just as Anna passed by Elsa, she saw Karen place a hand over her sister's and gossiped about her behavior. Elsa didn't object nor did she add to the comment. Anna tried to ignore the bubbling rage inside her as she reached the door, but she could hardly contain herself. Anna heard Karen snicker and Elsa lightly laughed as well. Anna gripped the doorknob as to contain her anger. She completely forgot her depression of Elsa hating her when she swiftly turned around on her heels and slammed her hand in between Karen and Elsa's hands and glared at Karen.
"I. Don't. Like. You."
Karen pulled back and gasped in shock. King Frederick, Queen Isabella, and Elsa followed suit. Kristoff and Kirsten nonchalantly sipped their tea masking their grins.
To Be Continued…