"It can't have been that bad."
Anna merely shook her head, exasperated that Kristoff failed to comprehend the disaster that she is. After finally making a clean escape from Elsa's courtroom, without too much of a mishap, Anna's feet swiftly carried her all the way over to the Royal Ice Deliverer's house without so much as a break to catch her breath.
"You…don't…understand," she puffed out, still winded, while collapsing onto his makeshift couch of blankets and hay. "I was…worse…than a…"
Kristoff chuckled. "Anna stop worrying so much, there's nothing wrong with you."
"That's the problem Kristoff!" The indignant wail resounded through the pillow that Anna was currently using as a shield. "I wasn't acting like my usual self!"
"Oh?"
He came out of the kitchen then, balancing a tray of tea and teacakes, and oddly enough carrots. Deftly maneuvering around the obstacle course he called a home; he settled the tray in front of her.
Kristoff was the ONLY person she trusted and felt completely comfortable around enough to know her sexuality – not to mention certain hard core crush on the very off-limits Queen. Well…more than a crush really, if the scene in the courtroom had any say.
It wasn't just lust that had filled the copper-haired girl's mind as she had gazed into those oh-so-deep soulful blue eyes. She worried about her whenever Elsa was cooped up in her office for long hours, wondering if she ate anything, or how she was feeling. She thought about Elsa during all random hours of the day, and knew that she really deeply cared for her even if she hadn't been able to show it lately – what with their busy schedules conflicting all the time. Anna had been surprised to catch even a moment of her time. It felt like the first time in forever they actually spoke to one another.
She peeked out from underneath the pillow then, eyeing the tray placed before her. It clashed with the cottage's homey and simplistic style. Kristoff may have received a royal title, but didn't seem too keen on changing his habitat, still preferring the simpler things. Anna was pretty sure he only splurged on pillows. And maybe this tray.
Catching her eye, he answered her unvoiced question. "This tray, is a hand me down from some nice townsfolk who couldn't afford to pay for their much needed ice. I felt that it was definitely worth its weight in gold – since they already had so little."
Anna grinned sheepishly. Kristoff always did have an uncanny ability to read her mind. She was probably just super obvious she surmised. "Well that was nice of you," She finally said, unsure of how to proceed with the change in topic.
He only nodded in acknowledgement and got right back into the heart of things; apparently, his curiosity overriding everything else. "So tell me, how were you not your usual self? I find this hard to believe." He chomped on a carrot and threw the other half over towards Sven the reindeer, who was camped out by Anna. Sven happily munched away, oblivious to Anna's inner turmoil.
Anna groaned and covered her face again at the memory. "Ah woosh erse zran a teem ay oye."
"Wait what was that?"
She threw the pillow off of her, leaping to her feet as she confessed, "I was worse than a teenage boy!" How is that not bad? I couldn't stop my thoughts, my roaming eyes, my…my social awkwardness!"
Kristoff took the rant in stride, not even blinking at the sudden movement. "And? You still managed to get a dinner date. I'd say that's a win right there." Sven looked like he was nodding in agreement.
Anna could feel her face draining of color. Ohmygawd. OH MY GAWD! How could she have forgotten that fact so soon? What the hell was she going to even wear? If she had been that bad in a private setting, how worse would she be, knowing the evening is tied to the word date – if she could even call it that?
"I'm doomed," she declared and flopped back down, causing the couch to shift its shape.
Kristoff only rolled his eyes. "You're not doomed. Look, I think it's just the fact that you guys haven't seen each other since…well since she unfroze you. I mean, you guys were best friends when you were little, so close you were like sisters, she shut you out, and then all that crap happened. And when she thawed your heart, all those memories and emotions came back tenfold from being separated for so long."
Anna worried her bottom lip. "So you think I may have been just hyper sensitive cuz we haven't seen each other in awhile?"
"Yeah, maybe. I'm sure she was nervous too."
A snort escaped her. "Pssssh Elsa nervous? Cuz of me? I highly doubt that."
Kristoff shrugged. "You never know. I mean, you could have easily have given her the cold shoulder, er well you know…." He trailed off sheepishly at the unintended pun.
The idea smacked her with sudden realization. Was that why she seemed so conflicted by my dinner offer? Did she really think she'd shut her out?
Almost instantly, she felt better. Well if that's the case….then she'd prove to Elsa it could be like before…well not too much like before. Anna definitely wanted to be more than just "sisters."
The burly blonde lightly punched her shoulder.
Anna punched him right back, smirking as it turned into a battle of the ages.
She definitely had to hand it to that boy; he certainly knew how to make her feel better.
The day suddenly had a count down. Ticking down the hours with remarkable speed despite her impatience and flip-flopping stomach. Five more hours she'd see that bright sunshine smile, filling up the room.
Four more before those teal eyes sparkled mischievously at her, full of life and energy.
Three more as her hands trembled in anticipation and nerves.
Two while going through the mountain sized stacks of paper.
One…
Elsa managed to find some time to herself, brushing her hair out absentmindedly. Her brows furrowing in concern. Maybe I can bring up the parchment at some point? I am going to have to eventually; if anything should befall on me…she would be rightfully next in line.
"Ugh," She exhaled in disgust to her reflection. Who did she think she was fooling? As if she could even form the words. Hi Anna. I'm your sister and I wish I wasn't so I could be with you. Les be friends shall we? What would Anna even say?
She clutched her chest as a horrifying thought overtook her. What if the thought of being sisters repulsed the younger girl? Sure they jokingly said they were all those many years ago, but time has a way of changing things. Maybe she looked down on Elsa for all those isolated months.
Her breath hitched as her thoughts grew more heinous with images of Anna shunning her both as either a lover or a sister.
The tell-tale wispy blue hue of her magick, alighted her fingers in a soft glow, as her emotions began to take on solid form. Panic-stricken, she hastily squeezed her eyes shut and forced her breathing to slow. She couldn't have another Eternal Winter on her hands, not after all that effort in proving she wasn't a monster she labored so hard for.
With a quick and determined mindset, she swiftly pulled her hair up into a braided bun – before walking briskly to the dining area, trying – and failing, to calm herself, as little snowflakes scurried in her wake.
It seemed that she hadn't been the first to arrive.
The younger girl had the cooks already laughing over her antics as she recounted her day, with over-animated zeal and dramatic gestures.
"And then I told him where to shove it, and WHAM!" She exclaimed with wide eyes, using her hands to emphasize the word. "A runaway wagon cart slammed into him from behind, taking him for a joy ride throughout the square."
Her audience howled with laughter at this, as they set the olive green dining table cloth and crystal white placemats. "Surely you jest, Your Highness!"
"Oh no. It's completely true. You should have seen the look on his face." Her self-satisfying smirk making her teal eyes darken with barely concealed mirth. "Serves him right for letting his ego get the better of him."
One of the kitchen maids waggled a teasing finger at her, much to Elsa's amusement to how easily they interacted with their princess. "And just who sent this cart into motion?"
Anna's cheeks suspiciously rose in color but acted nonchalant, "Nobody knoooooows," she replied mysteriously. The maids and cooks just chuckled, then upon noticing the time, curtsied apologetically, as they set about their tasks with a promise to wrangle the truth out of her later.
Anna chuckled to herself, once they were gone, and twirled one of the dinner knives expertly between her fingers. Elsa stopped just outside the door, transfixed as those fingers deftly spun the utensil in complicated maneuvers, tapping her knee lightly by the blunt edge and then completing another bout of twirls and spin; the moves looking oddly graceful yet also very deadly, as Elsa eyed the sharp blade whistling through the air –the speed marveling her.
Since when did Anna train?
The young woman looked up sharply in Elsa's direction, and she belatedly realized, she might have gasped aloud, if the look of alarm on the girl's face said anything. Anna's face instantly melted into a smile upon recognizing her. "Hey you. Er I mean, hi Elsa." She waved and then noticed she still held the knife, almost slamming it back down in her hurry; a pleasant blush betraying her, making her cute freckles stand out.
Elsa entered the room then, trying to quell any traces of nervousness or her overall excitement. She wasn't all too sure if she succeeded, the ghost of a smile tracing her lips.
"I didn't know you trained in the arts," She commented, surprising herself how quickly she latched onto that fact. Did she detect a hint of jealously in her voice? "I had no idea you had such skill," she added briskly, hoping that it eased the blow of the unspoken accusation.
Anna smiled softly and looked uncharacteristically timid, looking down at the floor instead of at her. "Yeah, I've trained with a lot of masters over the years. Took a LOT of time and practice to get these clumsy fingers to do my bidding," she showcased faint old scars Elsa never noticed before, and found herself having to suppress the oddest urge to kiss them. "And don't get me started on swordsmanship. That…well…that was several catalytic disasters to put it mildly."
Elsa sat down making sure her chair was at a respectable distance and marveled at the woman before her. "Do you have a favorite style or weapon you like to implement?"
Anna's brows came together as she thought about it. "Well I really love my jian, Blue Flower, as it requires great considerable skill to wield, however I also favor my butterfly swords, Somma and Vinter. They give me just enough breathing room to outmaneuver my opponent, and possibly even disarming them fairly promptly." She mimed a swift simple wrist flick and pretended to catch an invisible sword.
Elsa couldn't stop smiling as she noticed the younger woman's enthusiasm.
"I tend to think of it like a dance. The flow of energy can turn a sure-fire win into an unbearable defeat in a flash."
Elsa felt her cheeks flush as abiding thoughts of Anna dancing with sweat glistening off her muscle toned body, wielding her twin swords almost became too much to bear. She nonchalantly rubbed the back of her neck, sending icy trails down her back to cool herself off. That image will never leave her mind. Ever.
She thanked the gods as their first course settled in front of them, a comfortingly smell of potato soup, giving her more time to recover her wits.
"Well what about you?"
Elsa's fingers slipped, her spoon clattering into her soup unexpectedly, yet somehow avoided any back lash onto her clothes. "Ahem I'm sorry. What about myself?" For the second time that evening, Elsa's face colored demurely, much to her increasing embarrassment.
She had been far too preoccupied in her thoughts of Anna, and trying hard not to think about her, the parchment's warnings coming to mind. Why, oh why cruel gods would you torment me so? This seemed beyond fair as the girl in question stared at her in that cute, overly quizzical tilt of her head.
"What did you do for fun all those years?"
Elsa stared into her soup. What did she do for fun? Her sense of fun had been sucked out from under her. Having to grow up fearful of hurting others or Anna (again), and being deathly afraid of her own powers because of said incident, she didn't go outside her room very often.
"I'm sorry, that was stupid of me to ask." Elsa looked up sharply, the guilt washing over her.
"No it wasn't. Don't be upset," she replied softly. "It's true I didn't go out much, but I did immerse myself in the adventures of books. Studying all manner of things. I even drew –
She clamped a hand over her mouth. Her drawings were something she never disclosed to anyone, not even her own parents. Nevertheless, the damage had been done.
"You DRAW?!" The excited squeal was punctuated by Anna's chair scraping along the floor to sit closer to Elsa, who tried her hardest to cover up her discomfort at the sound and not to mention, the close proximity to the object of her affection.
What sweet misery….