A/N:
Owl: Well, finally, after more than two weeks, we managed to pull a rather long chapter! We apologize for the super delay of this one; we didn't expect the length, you see. XD Me and my writing partner also have cramped schedules because of work, so we can only discuss in a while. But since the Holy Week came, we were able to finalize this (God saved us I guess? lol).
*pushes Lark* I can't be the one speaking always, Lark! Say something!
Lark: F-fine! To make this super short... We updated this chapter (finally!) and hope you didn't wait that long. Fortunately for you readers, this chapter is effin' long. So, we hope you enjoy this new chapter.
CHAPTER 2: Secret Chambers, Troll Magic and Queenly Duties
"This is exactly what I thought would happen," Elsa sighed as she watched a snowman's head amazingly staying durable in Anna's crushing hug. And the big girl was wailing — a rather amusing sight for Elsa, given the context.
"I'm so sooorry Elsaaaaaa," the redhead plaintively drawled. "I sh-shouldn't have—"
"Please, Anna..." Elsa patted the now older girl's shoulder. Height didn't matter right then, though; Elsa was still the more mature sister. "Don't cry over it. This was unpredicted. Why don't you accompany me to the trolls, instead? We need to ask them how this happened."
True, the circumstance trapped them with walls and only drove them to one path. Even with two heads, they can't find any better answer. Logic was their best solution. Anna shot up, quickly wiping her slightly swollen face. "Of course," she positively replied, bouncing off her feet. She felt she was at fault, and there was no time for crying. They needed to resolve it sooner.
"Where will you exit, though? You're a bit too big to be unnoticeable, Anna," Olaf commented. Anna glanced at the snowman, finding a trace of slyness. "I hope you don't mind anything else with that."
"What do you mean?" Well, Olaf was too innocuous for his words.
"He's right. You're too conspicuous. Besides, I've been missing since morning... They will definitely ask about me if they spot you." It was funny to Anna how all the calculative statements came from someone she was looking down to, and with a voice not too convincing. She stifled a laugh that didn't go unnoticed. Elsa crossed her arms in silent response, eliciting a more audible laugh from her supposedly little sister.
"Elsa, how much do you know this castle? Aside from secret doors," Anna lifted Elsa up, surprising the little girl again. "Olaf, can you do us a favor? Please distract everyone from trying to find us."
"Of course!" Olaf bounced in agreement.
"Thank you!" Anna shouted as she carried Elsa across the hallway.
"Anna, we'll get caught!" Elsa sternly warned.
Anna grinned wider, not minding. "Oh, you don't know this castle as much as I do."
Admittedly, Elsa didn't. As Anna raced and slid along the wooden floors of the castle, Elsa couldn't help but laugh along with the wild antics of her sister albeit the worries of getting pinpointed. Never in her life did she slip the same way Anna did, having regality imposed upon her. She had to be the proper princess.
But Anna was a princess, too, at that time, yet none of it mattered to her. She stood alone for years, reflecting on herself only through a mirror, learning to stand on two feet without support, no models to look up to. Elsa suddenly found an amazing part of Anna — one of her great abilities — to cope up with her environment optimistically.
As Anna rounded the castle, Elsa learned that there were indeed more than just secret doors. There were trap doors, switches, pulleys, craters, basements — all that Anna versatilely slipped over, through, and under as she tried to lose sight of the staff as much as possible.
"Our castle is like the ones from the children's stories we've read," Anna said as she checked for any presence in the hallways and intersections.
"You're right," Elsa stated in awe. "How did you know about these, though?"
"I wanted to validate my curiosity. I thought the books presented some veracity. That pushed me to wonder and try finding if they were real. And then, I ended up exploring our castle and finding the best secret chambers!" Anna beamed as she told them to Elsa, particularly proud at her knowledge. "I'll show most of them to you, someday."
"Sounds interesting—kyaaaaa!" Elsa shrieked as Anna suddenly threw her under the round table. "What are you doing?!"
"Some of the staff are walking in." Elsa then realized they were in the staff's gathering room. Anna followed and crawled under.
"Then why did you choose to slip in the staff's room?" Elsa croaked.
"It's closer to the horse stables," Anna was giggling at the thought; Elsa wondered why.
However, soon, the staff sat one by one on their hiding place. "Whoops," Anna lifted Elsa away from a foot. The staff was talking about the disappearance of the queen and the princess. Though Kai dismissed that they might both be in Elsa's room, another argued that they haven't answered through the calls. Kai was asking everyone to calm down and assured them that the two ladies were in safety.
"Good going, Kai," Elsa complimented quietly. Anna then tapped her shoulder.
Signaling a shush, Anna's eyes glimmered in amusement as she pushed the wooden floor slightly. About a few centimeters of wood disengaged from all sides of the moving plank, making a noiseless glide as the secret door opened. Elsa gasped inaudibly. Anna motioned the little blonde to walk down the wooden stairs first. As they both arrived down, Anna grabbed a torch from the side that also triggered the trap door to close as quietly as it opened. Grabbing two stray rocks, Anna lit up the torch through friction.
"Being in this place is a great way to scare the staff sometimes!" Anna snickered as they walked along the tunnel, her voice slightly echoing from the depth of the distance.
"Don't tell me those old rumors of a wailing ghost at the staff room was just you crying in amusement down here?"
Anna gave an exuberant laugh. Elsa glared in exasperation. "Goodness, Anna, that room was almost abandoned if it didn't stop."
"I got a bit bored, so I did," Anna nonchalantly shrugged at her mischief.
Elsa sighed in a mix of annoyance and entertainment. "I can't believe what kind of unsupervised princess you were."
Anna shrugged again, her smile faltering a bit. "Unsupervised, indeed. But past is past!"
"You still carry them, though."
"Well, I don't think that's too bad."
"I guess not," Elsa smiled as Anna chortled. "I wonder why we have these secret tunnels, though."
"Dad once told me that our great grandpas used it as a hiding place when Arendelle went under attack," Anna brought the torch closer to the walls, dusting them off slightly. "Look, they even drew a few things and wrote some stuff here."
Elsa observed the messages. Some of them were funny, some were inspirational, some were sad. But promises were made here and then. "I'll protect you, so stay here until I return," she read out loud a promise of two siblings. Somehow it affected Elsa, memories suddenly rushing—
"We're here!" her sister exclaimed as they proceeded a concrete wall with a short ladder.
"Where does this lead?"
"You'll see," Anna excitedly replied as she helped Elsa climb. As the little girl pushed the trap door, the sun spilled light through the secrets of the dark tunnel, making Elsa squint and feel like she hasn't seen the brightness for so long. Finally getting out, lush greens greeted her.
"Quite the nice disguise, isn't it?" Anna remarked, closing the trap door and cramming it with soil. Crawling out of the bushes, Elsa was wide-eyed and stupefied at just how much she'd missed in her own home, like she was an alien at her own place.
There stood a small secret garden with the most beautiful flowers she had ever seen.
"Only Mom and Dad actually know this place, I believe," Anna danced around the rows of lilacs and sunflowers. "It's only them who I see around in here whenever I roamed these empty places."
Elsa stood by a small shaft of light that came through the roof blanketed by the trees.
"The trees branched out everywhere and engulfed this small compartment. Must be why no one knows of this place," Anna picked a blue flower from the festoon of lavenders and yellows. She tucked it behind Elsa's left ear, the blue complimenting the platinum blonde serenely. "You look cute with it."
A tinge of pink flooded Elsa's cheeks. The petite girl shied away a bit, her fists meeting at her chest.
Anna raised a brow, slightly perturbed. "You weren't that fazed with my compliment during your coronation day, but now you're shying away?" She was amused at Elsa's display. "Where'd you get that confidence, huh?" Anna teased as she neared an Elsa curling to herself. She huddled the young one in surprise. "Gosh, I can't get enough of you! You're too cute for your own good!" The redhead squashed the blonde into a hug over and over. Afterwards she pecked Elsa's chubby cheeks. Elsa jerked on the contact as she wasn't one who received as much kisses as a child her age did.
"Anna!" she protested in embarrassment while futilely pushing Anna's face away. Her cheeks were being tainted with a deeper red.
"Sorry, your current state is giving me all right to kiss your cute cheeks."
Elsa groaned, but not displaying annoyance in her face. In fact, fondness reflected in the eyes of both. They haven't had as much contact like that in a long time, and both knew they were far beyond enjoying this.
"Now where are the horse stables?" Elsa said, snapping Anna out of her adoration trance.
"Oh right!" Anna sheepishly grinned. She tapped the wall, finding a certain hollow. "Over here," she pushed as she felt it, revealing another secret door. Elsa had lost count on all the secret doors they've passed through.
It led to the storage room of the stables, so it was filled with stacks of hay. "Not the stealthiest place to be in, seeing that someone might be here once you get out," Elsa remarked.
"Oh, you didn't notice the little hole I was groping for? You can peek through it. The architecture of these secret chambers are flawless," Anna winked on sharing her wisdom. Elsa raised a brow, not quite impressed. Upon exiting the storage room, Anna approached a white horse with well-trimmed, checkered hair.
"Jørgen, my little pony, in case you missed," Anna introduced as she brushed her horse's mane.
"She's not a pony," Elsa deadpanned.
"He. Now, let's get you up here," Anna raised Elsa from the ground and placed her to the horse like some doll. Elsa wobbled as she did with Sven before, leaning forward and gripping on the hairs tightly.
"Do you still remember some equestrian lessons?" Anna was tilting her head to meet Elsa's face, her brows furrowing in interrogation.
"To be honest, I don't. I have never advanced in equestrianism," Elsa meekly responded.
"Well then," Anna grabbed the saddle and slipped her left foot to the stirrup, "Watch me," she continued, heaving herself atop Jørgen. But the stirrup suddenly snapped, causing Anna to curse ungracefully and slide straight to the ground.
"Anna! Are you okay?" Elsa wanted to reach out, but she couldn't get down from the horse.
"No, no, no, I'm fine," Anna supported herself with an elbow, chuckling a bit. "I'm used to these. I've fallen over bikes and stairs and horses and balconies over a thousand times already."
"That much?" Elsa gasped.
"That was a hyperbole," Anna dusted herself. Leaving for a bit, she took a spare and replaced the entire saddle with a more secure one. She got up the horse and yanked the stirrup around with her foot to check the integrity.
"Alright then," she breathed. "I'll keep my arms secured around you so you don't fall." She pulled the rein to start the horse. Jørgen trotted at first as he exited the stables. Then realization hit Elsa. She panicked and squiggled from Anna's security. "Wait, we're rushing out of the palace? Aren't there any more secret doors to get outside?" There had to be. With that amount of doors they passed through, it was impossible there wasn't any more.
"Actually, there is one passage that leads to an underwater tunnel. But Jørgen can't fit through there. It's made particularly for the size of crouching people."
It was hopeless, Elsa thought. Anna was certain of her decision, and her head wasn't easy to persuade once set onto something.
"But hey, do you know how I found out about that tunnel?" Anna had excitement in her voice.
"How?"
"There was one time I threw a tantrum because they wouldn't let me see you, and then they tried to ground me so I ran around the castle, even using the few secret doors I was familiar with. Then just out of the blue, I fell down from the bushes! I thought I was Alice for a moment, then I walked to the end of the tunnel, and found I was already in the forest! And I saw Arendelle across the waters."
Sure, the story was fascinating, but Elsa was more intrigued by the fact that Anna threw tantrums just to see her. She always thought the little girl may have been angry at her, but she was angrier at her separation from Elsa. It gave a very warm and endearing feeling.
Jørgen picked up his speed and Elsa's panic returned. "Are you sure about this?"
"Oh, let me demonstrate to you the actual use of a horse," the high-and-mighty air around Anna was giving Elsa some not-so-good vibes. "Anna? I think you read too many adventure stories."
"Particularly about mountain guys rescuing princesses in distress," Anna snapped the rein and the horse galloped.
The sudden force tugged Elsa from behind. She fell backwards to Anna. She couldn't balance herself well, but her sister made sure her arms caught her. The wind slapped to their faces, impelling Elsa's eyes to close. As the horse ran faster and faster, Anna screamed in delight for she loved horse-riding while Elsa was sank in fear for their lives.
As they neared the palace gates, Anna ducked her body both in anticipation and to cover Elsa. The guards screamed in surprise as they saw Jørgen rushing through. "Your Highness?!" They shouted in unison.
"Out of the way!" Anna commanded, the soldiers scampering in compliance, clearing the path for the princess. However, a horseless carriage blocked the way, but Anna smirked at the obstacle.
"Now let me demonstrate my equestrianism."
Elsa grabbed Anna's shirt tightly, preparing herself for some trouble.
Jørgen dashed full speed ahead, his hooves blurring and almost floating in the air. The gate became bigger and the wind whistled louder as they came closer. Inches away from the still carriage, Elsa shut her eyes and fastened herself to Anna. A few centimeters away, Jørgen stopped a split-second in front of the carriage to bend his knees and gather energy, boosting himself up as he sprung and leapt gracefully under Anna's command. It all seemed to be in slow-motion to Elsa, with her holding onto the sides of Anna's skirt for dear life. For a moment they were flying, the wind blocking out every other sound. Gravity pulled them back down, but Jørgen's trajectory was perfect and they successfully landed, his stomp resonating to the grounds. They ran ahead, not batting their heads back to the palace.
"Haha! We did it!" Anna shouted as they rushed through the bridge leading to the mountains. Elsa noticed the intensified brightness of Anna's countenance, the big smile, the wide, focused eyes. "I definitely love the open gates!"
Elsa, unbelieving of Anna's everyday life, slowly melted her frozen stupor with warm laughter. Soon, she found herself shouting happily with her sister for the newfound fun.
How Anna knew to navigate around the mountains were all thanks to her frequent visits to Kristoff. After her treasured reunion with her sister and reconciliation with all of Arendelle, picking up the mountain man from his comfortable home with the trolls had become a morning routine for her, in which she usually demanded his immediate attention.
"You're the right hand of the right hand, so it's only proper courtesy to follow my orders," Anna would retort whenever Kristoff refused due to tiredness from the previous day.
"I think you should quit your ice business already. We can always ask Elsa to build a humongous block of ice and let everyone harvest from it for free," she'd absentmindedly suggest sometimes, spreading her arms in explaining the size. It would always elicit a small quarrel with the blonde man.
"Are you serious? How about the people living on ice business? I'm pretty sure Elsa would've wanted your idea but let's get real here—"
"Ep-ep-ep," Anna silenced Kristoff with her palm. Kristoff would roll his eyes once she does that, for it was her way of saying 'I win this argument no matter.'
"Alright, then, since you are very passionate about your job, deliver thirty blocks of ice on the castle right now."
"What?" asked a flabbergasted Kristoff.
"As the Official Ice Master of Arendelle, I believe you comply with royal requests zealously without question," the redhead's head was practically in the air, her nose quite not looking down of Kristoff because of height differences.
"What?" The question dissipated in the air as Anna's distance increased. "Why do you have to call the ice master when you have the share the same roof with the literal ice master?" he mumbled sullenly as he reluctantly got out of his self-carpentered sluggish cabin.
"Because I can," Anna would answer back, usually annoying him. But as she turns, she was really just giggling inside with delight being able to drag someone whenever.
Jørgen's footsteps were like a natural sound of the forest for the trolls. Anna very rarely came by without her horse, only doing so sometime in the winter, claiming that she had to work herself out since it was difficult to extract sweat from a body near freezing point. Standing beside Elsa during her conquered season would make Anna question why her older sister didn't grow as much as she did when Elsa didn't metabolize at all. Or so she thought.
"It's Her Highness!" A toddler troll called out as Anna came to sight. The trolls rolled around the approaching horse.
"Her Highness is with Her Majesty!" one troll announced. When Elsa revealed herself, there was unison of questioning Elsa's presence and appearance. "What happened to Her Majesty?", "Did she time travel?", "Why had her body shrunk?", "Is she transforming to a troll, too?" Grand Pabbie came around in the middle of the commotion.
"Your Majesty," Grand Pabbie slightly bowed. The old troll looked at Elsa. He neared the little girl, scrutinizing as he moved around her. He sighed and faced Anna with apologetic eyes.
"I apologize for what happened, Your Highness, Your Majesty. I have not forewarned you about the possible side-effects of the medicine."
"Side-effects?" Elsa asked.
"Your body's reversion is the most visible one. But there are others. They might take effect some time sooner."
"Other side-effects?" Anna started to worry.
"Listen here, Elsa, Anna," Grand Pabbie beckoned them towards him. The trolls gathered around, all ears on the elder troll as if there was an ongoing lesson.
"As I told you from your previous visit, Her Majesty is suffering a disorder in her body resistance because of the seasons. And as Her Majesty had never gotten sick before this, her body defended rather weakly," he spoke with a pace Anna compared to a Sunday mass in Arendelle's church.
"That's why she had a cold," Anna finished, her flat tone asking for faster progression.
"Yes, caused mainly by the awakening of her powers. Her Majesty had fused with the essence of winter itself, therefore her attributes have associated with it. In a layman's definition, Her Majesty exists as the physical manifestation of winter, but she still has remnants of being human. Of course that also meant she was vulnerable to the elements of other seasons."
"Well, okay, we got that. No worries about it, though. So then, how do we return Elsa to—"
"Then why did my body turn into this?" Elsa interrupted an impatient Anna.
"Being unused to sickness, your body wasn't able to cope up easily and your resistance just began to work. What the medicine did was to hasten the development of your human body's immune system. But to do that your body had to conceal the ice powers to regain more of its humanness."
Elsa nodded. Anna stared agape.
"So she has no ice powers?" Anna interrupted, but as if on cue, Elsa tested herself and produced a tiny swirl of ice in her hands. "Wait, what?"
Grand Pabbie cleared his throat. "As I was saying, her powers have reset itself to a state when she was young, when it was still weaker. That explains why her body reverted to a child's. It will grow appropriately together with her age, and therefore letting her powers acknowledge the physical humanity of Her Majesty."
Then Elsa remembered. A flash of the past painfully played in her eyes. The time when she first met the trolls. The image of Anna held by her mother. Grand Pabbie warning her of the future. But the one that stood out — Anna in her arms, unconscious, freezing cold.
She snapped out of the abyss of her dark memories. "Will I lose control of my powers again?" Elsa's voice cracked, an existential fear she had thawed making its way back.
"With guidance... I guess not." It didn't make anything sound better, though. Anna wanted a way out of there sooner, concerned deeply for Elsa's well-being. "Aren't there any potions to reverse this?"
"We'll have it on the works. Perhaps within the entire day, we will be done with it."
"We can have it delivered to the castle!" a toddler troll shouted.
"Or make Kristoff deliver it instead in the next morning," a mother troll added. Anna and Elsa looked at each other. "It's bound to happen," Anna shrugged with an apologetic smile. Elsa simply smiled back. They had trusted Kristoff enough with such matters.
"Is that all that can really be done?" Anna inquired for the last time. The elder troll nodded. "I'm afraid so."
Somehow dismayed, she walked back and placed Elsa to her horse. But Anna was really unsatisfied with what she got, so she looked back to the elder troll, finding signs that there was something more to tell. Suddenly, Grand Pabbie beckoned Anna to come back to him seeing that Elsa was busy balancing herself to Jørgen.
"Anna, I apologize deeply for not foreseeing this side-effect," Grand Pabbie started. Anna shook her head gently. "It's alright. She'll eventually return, right?"
"Yes," he slightly nodded. "Take care of your sister," he advised, glancing over Anna's shoulder to check if Elsa was looking. Thankfully, the other trolls kept her attention away.
"Listen, Anna. Her current state would temporarily affect her memories. She will lose her current memories for a while, but she may recall only fragments of her childhood as well. Though, she will recover them all as time progresses. There will be mood swings depending on what she remembers. She will feel negative emotions, gradually. You have to guide her."
There was no question in Anna's eyes. She wholeheartedly took the advice and contemplated, her face relenting upon retrospect. Only Elsa and she knew the true bitterness of their childhood. And now Elsa will reminisce them. Anna was a bit fearful for the outcome, but shoved aside the unpleasant feeling.
Grand Pabbie chuckled and patted the princess's hand. He leaned closer to her ear.
"Stay closely with her and you might find something interesting from her past."
Anna stared a while to Pabbie, absorbing what he told her. Suddenly, Anna chimed softly. "Everything about her past is interesting," she grinned.
Grand Pabbie smiled warmly and shook his head a bit.
Anna stood and rode back to her horse, bidding the trolls farewell.
"Have fun, Your Highness," he bade.
Arendelle was tainted with yellow-orange light when Anna and Elsa returned. Anna managed to borrow one of the trolls' capes, draping it over the little girl to hide her. They approached the castle gates with moderate speed, so as to attempt avoiding talking with the guards as much as possible. However, servants were always enthusiastic upon a master's return, and they'd both been missing since morning.
"Princess Anna is back!" the guards rejoiced, news spreading like wildfire. Soon, some of the staff temporarily halted their work to gather and greet their princess. From the distance Anna was rolling her eyes. "Being a royalty is really problematic sometimes."
"I empathize with your woes very much," Elsa spoke through the thick cape. "Are we there yet? It's quite suffocating to be here."
"Almost there," Anna sped Jørgen up.
As respect for the reverence and concern of the servants, Anna stopped to greet them by the palace gates.
"Oh, dear, Your Highness, you had us worried sick!" one of the maids came by and touched Anna's hand. "And Her Majesty has not come out of her room yet."
Now she had to make an excuse. Kai must have done his best to stop the people's fret, but lies had a limit. "Oh, about that—"
"Your Highness, may I ask who this is?" A guard interrupted, pointing to the covered bulk in front of Anna.
Oh God. "Uh, some wounded girl I found outside..." she was never good at lying. Her eyes were wide and darting to the sides, her smile was faltering, and bit of sweat was forming in her forehead.
"Ah! Then, we'll tend her!" he said as he reached for the bulk. "Your Highness is truly a kind maiden—"
"No! No, no, no!" she grasped the guard's wrist. "I-I'll bring her to the infirmary myself!" She cut, slowly putting the hand away, her left hand waving frantically.
"But Your Highness—"
"Please!" she gritted. "Uhh... Sh-she's afraid of people," she slipped out, the worry in her chest making her sentence sound unfinished. Her blood was rising in panic. Quickly, she descended from Jørgen, carrying Elsa away from the baffled crowd.
"Please, return my horse to the stables, thank you!" she waved off, dashing to the castle's entrance.
"Thank goodness we got out of that," Anna panted as she slowed down in the main lobby, looking back outside to the servants disseminating. Taking a deep breath, she turned in relief, only to meet Kai and Gerda. She reflected the shock on their faces, dropping Elsa by accident.
"Ouch! Anna, what are you doing?" Elsa's muffled voice attracted the three's attention. Anna was too surprised that she didn't think of running, and instead exchanged glances quickly between Elsa and Kai and Gerda. Elsa squiggled in the large cape, reminding her of the blanket she woke up to.
"Anna? Anna?" Elsa repeated. Then, all of a sudden, a childish giggle erupted as she tried to find her way out. Soon, she was rolling, the three spectators conflicted with the wiggling mass.
Finally, she got out of the labyrinth, a big, bright smile plastered on her face. Kai and Gerda gasped loudly and Anna's heart sank in getting busted. Elsa looked up to the two servants, smirked, and ran away, squealing. "Catch me, Anna!"
Kai slowly turned to the princess who sent him an apologetic glance and started to her feet. "I'll explain later!"
The secret doors and passages were useless at that point as Elsa raced to the hallways making all turns of sort. Gods seemed to be with them as they managed to remain unseen by anyone. She followed no particular destination. She was simply getting away from Anna, desiring to just play. She looked behind and saw her sister catching up. "Elsa! Come back here!" Anna chased, and it only amplified the enjoyment for Elsa. But with a sharp turn to the left, Elsa reached a dead end of a single large window with no intersections visible.
"Aha! Got you cornered!" Anna skidded. She was panting but contained a big grin on her face. Elsa smirked, not letting Anna win. She suddenly ran towards the bigger girl and slid in between her legs, stumbling the off-guard redhead.
But Elsa's escape was hindered when she bumped to a stubby, endomorphic man. "Kai!" Anna called out. A staring contest ensued between a stunned Elsa and a wide-eyed Kai. He gasped inaudibly in awe and confusion. "It really is Her Majesty..." he whispered. He then faced Anna.
"Princess Anna, if I may, what happened to Her Majesty?" he helped the fallen princess to her feet. Smoothing her skirt, Anna breathed. Nothing can be done now."Let's take this discussion in Elsa's office," she sheepishly scratched her head.
Kai was the least bit fazed as Anna dragged the story out of a stutter-spluttering mouth. She frequently paused, trying to explain in the clearest way possible, but ending up with many digressions and rambling. Kai had been the Arendelle Royal Family's loyal servant ever since the former King's teenage years, in which the King treated him as a brother. He had actually helped the rather awkward but courageous young prince in courting an aloof young lady living amongst the village of commoners in Arendelle. Kai had been there in their royal betrothal, in the coming of the firstborn and the secondborn, in witnessing the emergence of Elsa's gift, and in the occasional encounters of magic all around the premises of the Kingdom.
Thus, those experiences had negated any shock that Anna's long, nearly incoherent story would have evoked.
"...And now we're not sure as to how long this will last. All we've got is that Elsa would eventually return to her normal body one of these days," Anna breathed, her body slightly slouched in exhaustion from storytelling. Elsa was simply seated in one of the chairs near her office desk, feet dangling and swaying in the air as she read the contents of the trade agreements, commenting on how flowery and romanticized the writing was. Kai would raise a brow in her direction every now and then.
"So we will keep this hidden from everyone until she's fine?" Kai queried.
"Yes, at least until she looks almost the same Queen Elsa everybody currently knows. I-I'll do all the paperwork for the moment," Anna limped a bit. She clutched Kai's arm. "Help us tell everyone that Elsa can't fulfill her duties until she's recovered from her illness."
"I will do, Your Highness," he reassured, placing a hand to Anna's. The princess sighed heavily.
"It's all my fault that the Kingdom won't have a proper queen for the next few days, or perhaps, longer..." she sighed again.
"Your Highness, you are right here to substitute for Her Majesty's absence," Kai persuaded gently.
"But I don't have much experience with this! Sure, I can talk out business with some, but I don't have enough knowledge with this... this paperwork at all!" Anna held her hands tight together, eyes looking ahead of Kai's. After a stretch of silence, the loyal servant patted the princess's shoulder.
"Have confidence, Your Highness. The Kingdom will be fine under your temporary reign," he smiled, the radiated warmth nostalgically reminding her of her father. "Gerda and I will be here to help you with everything."
Anna's eyes were brimming with tears. She hugged the stubby man back, small relief welling in her chest. "I really better start reading textbooks more after this," she laughed as they parted, wiping the tears that almost spilled. "As much as I hate books without fancy pictures," she sniffed a bit, alerting Elsa. The young girl got down from her chair and ran at her sister, placing little hands on Anna's lap.
"Anna, what's wrong?"
Elsa's concern struck Anna's heart with longing. For years and years before Elsa's coronation, she wished to hear her dearest sister's voice at least once, laced with affection and love. But the closest she ever had was a silent answer of refusal.
She brushed her hand through the top of Elsa's head tenderly. "No, I'm okay, Elsa. Just a little tired." The little girl pouted with her answer, but accepted nonetheless. Kai got up to leave, smiling down at both sisters.
"I shall take my leave now, Your Highnesses. Just call me if you need further assistance," he bowed and left. In Kai's departure, Anna stared long to the opaque door, absorbing all that happened and prepared herself.
She turned back to Elsa who did not break her earlier gaze. Anna patted her head again. "Well, Elsa, let's get started with work," Anna chirped to lighten the mood, clapping her hands together. Elsa squinted at her sister as she walked to the desk. "Well, okay," she responded.
It was Anna's first time to officially sit in Elsa's chair, as the previous ones were merely pretend of ruling Arendelle. By ruling, she defines, was sitting all day tiring your hands writing and picking up papers splayed all over the desk, obscuring your views of the outside world. The only possible source of comfort for her would be the cushions that supported the occupant's bottom and back. Elsa's ability to sit all day there continued to baffle Anna.
"I wish the chair would rotate or something, you know, like you can spin it. Maybe that's called a swiveling chair?" Anna absentmindedly commented.
"What's a swiveling chair?" Elsa quizzed, the term unheard of.
"Beats me," Anna shrugged. "I bet it's fun when you can spin around with your chair."
"I think that would only cause headache," Elsa deadpanned, earning a pout from Anna.
"So, anyway..." the temporary queen digressed, "...which trade agreements should I prioritize?" Anna asked Elsa as she sifted through the racks of papers competing for height. She was waiting for an answer. But after finishing reading the contents of one contract, no answer came, so she peered over to see a young child creating snow patterns on the desk.
"Uh... Elsa?" The snowflake disappeared as she caught the attention of the other.
"Yes?!"
"I was asking which trade agreement should I prioritize?" Anna's brows raised, expectant.
"Uh... uh..." Elsa pursued for a proper answer, but her memory betrayed her. She got upset, the stress writing itself on her face, disturbing Anna. Quickly, she patted Elsa's head. "It's okay, it's okay. Don't force yourself."
Staring longer in Elsa's eyes, Anna noticed a kind of flicker. In a few breaths, Elsa tilted her head and regained a more innocuous expression.
"Okay, so I'll just start from the latest business agreement you assigned to me a few days ago," Anna rummaged through the endless piles. After the third or fourth batch, she pulled out a paper with light remnants of coffee stains. She remembered accidentally knocking out Elsa's table the other day.
"A new business proposal with Arendelle's most loyal ally, Corona," of course. She was reminded of setting a meeting with the royalties of Corona — which, she was glad, were her relatives. It'll be her first time meeting them.
Having read the agreement a few days prior, she skimmed through and picked up her fountain pen.
But it was stuck.
She glanced at her right hand to see a frozen ink bottle.
"Wait, what?" Elsa then climbed on the table crawling on all fours towards Anna before sitting cross-legged in front of her. Again, more moments of staring — Elsa looking as if something was being forgotten, Anna quite slow on what's happening.
"Elsa? What is it?" Anna hesitantly asked.
A few seconds of silence. Elsa's eyes were downcast.
"Don't you want to play?"
"What?"
Elsa was expectantly looking at Anna with dejected eyes, and really, who wouldn't find it confusing?
"Wait, but we have these papers to deal with."
"Who cares about papers? I'm not yet the Queen!" the little blonde protested.
Then it clicked.
It was, rather, truly perplexing for Anna. Elsa has completely lost her twenty-one year old memories and reverted to the memories of her current age, but for some reason she can't seem to point out that Anna wasn't the five-year old enthusiastic child who always called out first for playtime.
Anna chuckled. She found the situation somehow frightening but she was mostly amused. "Looks like someone doesn't like her queenly duties," she mumbled. Sighing happily, she smiled at Elsa. "There's always tomorrow for these papers!" she chided and stood up, ditching paperwork, bringing the spark back to the little girl.
"So, where do you want to go?" Anna quizzed, lifting Elsa off the table. As if she said something wrong, Elsa gawked at her. Her mouth hung open, unsure of what to say.
"Didn't you like to play in the ballroom?" Elsa slowly asked, as if the most obvious thing in the world was being missed.
The conversation was leading to nothing but confusion on each other's ends.
"I don't remember."
"Anna, how could you not? You just played with me a few days ago! And you always drag me there every night."
What? In the ballroom? Night? What? She can't remember. Nothing's flashing. Was her memory that terrible she can't recount calling Elsa every night to play in the ballroom?
"W-well, let's go to the ballroom then!" Anna decided. She ran to the hallways as stealthily as possible, all the while attempting to recall anything from what Elsa had said. But all there were was blank. Like there was a gap. Like she was missing something. All that colored itself into her imaginations were playtime outside, in the daylight, in winter — coats, gloves, boots, sleds, inanimate Olaf. No matter how hard she pushed, it just didn't fall.
Reaching the ballroom, Elsa led Anna up to the center of the room, squealing in delight.
"Well, I'll show you what you're forgetting," Elsa smirked as she moved her hands around each other, slowly forming a snowball that increased its size in each round. Anna knelt down to watch Elsa. The snowball was glowing with ice blue aura, reflecting the magic from the eyes of the two. A familiar feeling grew into Anna's heart. She was always amazed by Elsa's magic. Even if she had seen her older sister do that many times a year after their reconciliation, it lacked. It lacked for those years they were never together.
"Ready?" Elsa anticipated, the snowball floating lively in her hands, ready for flight. Anna couldn't stop the grin from crawling in her face. She giggled, ostensibly unbelieving how she can't get over the ice magic. She nodded spiritedly. Elsa threw the snowball into the air, a beautiful sparkling magic trailing behind. It exploded like a soft, almost silent firework of pure blue and white lights, illuminating as the falling snow retained its glimmer. Anna couldn't contain the excitement and jumped to her feet, bursting with unexplainable joy, like everything was fresh, new, raw; the happiness sheer and clear from any other emotion. Anna hadn't felt as much in a long time, for even upon reconciliation she needed to watch herself around a sensitive Elsa.
But for now that restraint was gone.
Oh, just how much had she missed about her sister.
Elsa called out for Anna's attention.
"Watch this!" she stomped her right foot and ice began to coat the floor, creating an ice rink similar to what Elsa offered to every visitor of the Arendelle palace. Anna, mentally swooning, slipped as the ice glided to where she stood. She fell to her buttocks, bringing laughter to Elsa again. The little girl laughed politely, her fingers covering her mouth slightly.
"Why you little," Anna tried to stand, unfortunately stumbling back like the ice took away her bones. They were both being blithe, laughing at Anna's frustration and tough luck as Elsa skated around with effortless balancing, so contradictory to the Elsa who can't ride a horse.
To aid Anna, Elsa finally covered the ice with snow, providing support for standing.
"It's about time," Anna faked sarcasm and grabbed to huddle the little princess. "You little embodiment of mischief!"
Unexpectedly, Elsa shoved a handful of snow to Anna's eyes, freeing the princess of mischief from her redhead nanny. "Wait, what, Elsa, that's unfair!" she protested, brushing the snow off.
"No rules for me!" she ran off the snow.
The two continued to chase each other in game of tag around the snow-covered ballroom, Elsa finding ways to cheat Anna, but the redhead pursued and did not heed attention to the storm of snowballs flying from every direction. She chased and chased, even burying and wriggling her way out of the snow piles. She felt fine like this, chasing Elsa, interacting with her, just playing, nothing to fret about.
A big lump of snow stood between them, with each sister on opposite sides, waiting patiently for the first move like cats.
Suddenly, Anna jumped, unaware of the anticipating snowball. In a flash, it struck her straight to the temple with full force, bulldozing her head to the ground.
Thankfully, the snow was abundant enough to absorb the shock, but Anna admitted it hurt, even causing her slight concussion.
Rubbing her head, she scanned the place for Elsa, and when she found her, the view suddenly pushed back all the pain.
Elsa was staring at her wide-eyed, trembling, curling her hands into herself, clutching her heart tightly.
"Elsa?" Anna panicked. She immediately ran towards the shaking girl, stumbling multiple times due to dizziness. When she knelt down, she noticed Elsa wasn't staring at her. She was staring blankly into space.
"Elsa?" Anna's worries increased as she tried to snap Elsa out.
"Anna... Anna... wake up, I'm sorry. Oh no… Don't worry, Anna. You'll be okay!" Elsa muttered monotonously and repeatedly, her volume increasing bit by bit. She was very tense, stiff as board. Her breathing was erratic.
"Elsa?!" The sudden change sent adrenalines to Anna's brain, alarming her entirely. "Elsa, what's wrong?"
But Elsa wasn't hearing her.
"Anna! You'll be okay! I got you! Please, Anna, no, no, NO!" She screamed. Anna tried to muffle the noises as the people in the castle might hear. Elsa was growing more frantic every second. Anna couldn't understand; the happenings suddenly became terrifying. In a few moments the joyful events crumbled into dust, the years of isolation returning to Anna. It's as if she was being shut out again. Elsa was out of reach again.
The little girl began to cry, covering her ears with her small, frail hands. "Anna! Anna!" she called out desperately. Anna couldn't understand. She could only embrace the horrified and agonized girl tightly, muffling her sobs and screams and consoling her to the best she can. Ice was beginning to envelope everything in the room, freezing mercilessly. She had promised Elsa she'll never be afraid of her powers, but fear was trying to stain her will. Almost each and every corner was being frozen solid, and Anna didn't know if the ice was coming closer, but she felt colder, and colder, and colder...
Anna shut her eyes.
But it didn't come.
She opened one eye, only to see that everything was starting to thaw. She became aware of the weight pushing against her torso.
She glanced down to see Elsa's limp arms and body.
Elsa had fainted.
It wasn't this sudden outburst. It wasn't that Elsa was losing control of the powers again. It wasn't the worry that someone in the castle will find out Elsa's current situation.
What bothered Anna was that she couldn't remember anything from what Elsa had told her.
A/N:
So we had to name the horse. We decided to go with a Norwegian name XD
Well anyway, we hope that satisfied you! We are very grateful for the faves, follows and reviews! We appreciate the feedback and criticisms a lot!
Updating may take a while, though, but stay tuned for the next chapter! Cheers!
- Owl and Lark