"Are you nervous?"
19. Engaged. White dress, blue shoes, every custom and charm followed because nothing would go, could go, wrong.
"Anxious." Anna nodded quickly, wrapping her gossamer veil around her fingers in an attempt to keep them busy, distract her mind.
Elsa smiled sweetly, paternally, at her, untwisting her fingers from her veil. "You have every right to be excited, and it's normal to be a little nervous. Are you hesitant at all?"
"No, no!" Anna said quickly, sitting down on a plush stool. "Even with Hans, I wasn't entirely sure, if that makes sense. I wanted to marry him, I thought I was in love, but I was more enamored with king sized beds and morning kisses, with family adventures and constant companionship than I was actually enamored with Hans. When we were running back to the castle to get your blessing, I wasn't picturing him. I was picturing a lavender room, and children, small, giggling, usually sticky, children. Dogs. Sunshine. With Kristoff…I keep seeing us together. Both of us as newlyweds. Vacationers. Royals. Parents. Friends. As cliché as it is, I see us as two old people in overstuffed chairs. I want to read to him."
"You're almost there." Elsa cupped her sister's face, holding back a few stray tears. "Any moment now Kai is going to tell me to get down to the altar, and you'll follow shortly thereafter."
Anna smiled and hugged her sister. "So I get your approval for this one?" she giggled a little.
Elsa grinned. "Second time's the charm, I guess." She went straightfaced for a moment. "He's a good man, I can tell. He'll be good to you. And you love him. You'll be good to him. I'm so happy for you Anna."
Kai opened the door and Elsa smiled at her, rising and bidding bachelorette Anna goodbye for the last time. She mouthed 'I love you, good luck', and then softly shut the door behind her.
22. New parent, after many, many attempts. A small boy keeps trying to climb up Kristoff's arm and he's smiling wider than ever before because Kristoff is a mountain and his son already has the instincts to scale. But, God, he's smiling wide like his mother and his blue eyes dart around and he cries all the time they need to get used to noise for when he learns to speak.
Anna began to pace. She wanted to bounce, sprint, throw herself down the aisle and into this new life she finally gets to lead! He's waiting for her, probably pulling at his collar. He'll mumble jokes to her while the pastor reads (She had seen the ceremony outline. It was long).
24. Parent, twice over. Another boy. Anna feels a pang of disappointment, but only for half a second because her bloody, smiling son is placed into her arms and instantly makes eye contact with her, growing to make contact with everything else. Contact with every human; friend. Contact with every object; athletic, adventurous. Contact with every animal, sense, spirit, feeling, moment, place. He absorbs himself in the world and continually reminds Anna and Kristoff to be there too. He centers them, he keeps them together.
Goodness, when was Kai going to find her way back? Surely they were ready now, it's been, what, forty minutes? Twelve hours? Something like that. She'd begin to tear at her veil again if they didn't get a move on, and that wouldn't be good for anybody.
32. Up to Kristoff's cabin. Anna had offered to send workers to expand, add more room for the children, a lounge, a dining room, but Kristoff had refused. He had built it all himself, and it was perfect the way it was: a home, a retreat, a tradition. Both boys sprinted around the woods, making up games and riding the eager (though aging) Sven. Lavender fields spilled out under the sun and Anna gathered bunches. They filled every hole and bowl, enveloping her family in something more tangible.
"Anna, sweetie, are you ready?" Kai finally peeked her head through the door and Anna all but sprinted at her. "Oh my, I suppose that's a yes."
Anna bounced on the balls of her feet, clutching her bouquet of lavender in front of her face and peeking out over it. This was it! Bells chimed, the music began, and two ornate doors were drawn open, revealing to Anna the crowd of people waiting eagerly for her, the most important one suit-clad, and just an aisle away.
46. Greying hair, softer steps. "Let's just go visit the boys, I miss them. Just for a bit." Anna had insisted the morning both boys moved out, but Kristoff had only laughed and looped both arms around her waist – partially for comfort, partially because she might make a break for it. "They've only just moved out this morning." He smirked down at her. "Besides, don't you want to spend time with me?"
She walked down the aisle too quickly, too eagerly. She was out of time with the music. She scampered up to the altar and took Kristoff's hands, dropping them after the priest raised his eyebrows at her.
"I'm excited, too." Kristoff mumbled, so quietly that only Anna could hear it.
58. Faltering, but resisting. Smile lines on cheeks. Anna insists she can still make the climb up the mountain, she hasn't seen Elsa's ice castle in forever, and she's going, with or without him. Well, that isn't going to happen, so Kristoff caves and packs supplies for the both of them, and they make the slow trek up the north mountain. On foot, for there's no one to pull the sled.
The priest could have been speaking French for all Anna was listening, as she was too focused on memorizing every detail of Kristoff at this exact moment. The wispy ballerina hairs that curled on his forehead. His attempt to keep down a smile. The lint on his broad shoulders. The red and magenta sash around his waist. His shoes were shined. Pants, pleated. He was there, and real, and whole, and beloved.
"Princess Anna of Arendelle, do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?"
"I do."
"Kristoff Bjorgman, do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?"
71. The west section of the library had more windows than any other part of the room, or any other part of the castle, really, and that's when Anna always wanted to be. Walking was getting more tiring, and as much as she wanted to go out and run in the fields, or trek up the mountain, she contented herself with at least being able to see them. She sat in an overstuffed plum chair, feet placed on the armrest of her husband's matching chair. She had selected Macbeth for her story today, and was reading aloud, still making up different voices for the characters and adding sound effects where she could. Kristoff chuckled and slid her feet into his lap. The story would be over too soon.
"-lawfully wedded wife?"
"-lawfully wedded wife?"
"-lawfully wedded wife?"
"I-I-I-I"
The room spun out of control and melded together, people whisking away like crickets and conversation melding together into a low roar. Anna gasped and shot up in bed, panting and clutching the pillow to her chest. The room was silent, with stars buzzing far out of reach and doors locked.
19. Engaged, formerly engaged? She wasn't sure how to put it. White nightgown, blue slippers. Lavender room, no sun. So son. She slipped her leg into Kristoff's si-the left side of the bed. Just the left side. It was cold and a bitter reminder, and she could still feel winds whipping and ice cracking and the mumbled insistence of 'I'll be fine, I'll be fine, it's just getting stuffy down here' turn to yells and screams for help while she's down the mountain and over-eagerly trying to make a baby blanket. She had sworn to 'til death do they part, but she had never imagined the qualification to come so soon.