Chapter 8: … Promises Kept
Anna lay in Elsa's bed watching her box collection of "The Pacific" as she waited on Elsa to get home. She was on her stomach, blankets draped over her as she kicked her legs in the air at opposite times as each other. She looked over to the clock as a bloody battle scene erupted onto the television screen, seeing that it was 2:21.
Jesus Christ, just come home already.
Anna felt a vibration make its way through the bed frame, and looked around for her phone. She threw the blanket off of her, and her phone flew up into the air along with it, covering over half of Elsa's room before crashing to the ground with a considerable amount of force.
"God fucking dammit!" Anna yelled as she shot up out of her sister's bed, running to go check on her phone. She reached down to pick up her phone off of the ground, closing her eyes and grimacing as she did so, expecting the worst. As she turned it over, she saw that nothing had happened to her phone, not even a single scratch, and breathed out a deep sigh.
Thank you, Apple, for making a nearly indestructible phone. She clicked on the screen and saw that she had a text message from Elsa that read, "I'll be home soon. Expect a movie night. XO"
Anna smiled, thinking of how she would get to spend another night with her sister.
Anna replied, "Hurry home, love you," and turned off her phone, throwing it back onto the bed. Anna put a hand on the table where she kneeled beside, and pushed herself up using the table for balance. Her fingers stretched long enough across the table to come into contact with a slip of paper, causing her hand to glide slightly across the wooden desktop. Anna stood up, and studied the folded sheet, holding it in her hands as she read the postage information in the top corner.
NG? What the hell is NG? And why is a Sergeant Royce sending letters to my sister?
Anna's eyes widened with worry and a sense of realization.
No.
Anna turned around, making sure that nobody was in the room with her, and reached her hand into the already opened envelope.
Elsa washed her hair as it draped down her back, Rapunzel by her side in the shower head adjacent to her. There were other females there, some of which were in the same battalion as Elsa, showered along with them, washing away the stench of a long, hard day.
"Alright, so I've come to a conclusion," Elsa said as she looked over at Rapunzel who let down her hair from her bun, causing it to cascade over her body like a golden river of hair.
"And what might your conclusion be?"
Elsa started to wash her body, making sure to cover everything in the sweet smelling soap bubbles. "It's really unfair that you look like that," Elsa said, lathering herself.
Rapunzel laughed, washing her hair all the while. "What do you mean 'it's unfair that I look like that'?"
Elsa shrugged, smiling. "I mean, you're blonde, tall, skinny, you have long, gorgeous blonde hair. I dunno, it's just like a girls dream to look like you."
Rapunzel looked over at Elsa and laughed. "But you're toned, tall-ish, you're freakin' hilarious, and I haven't met anybody else who cares as much as you do. In all honesty, I wanna be like you," Rapunzel said as she turned to face Elsa. "Even if you're pale as hell."
Elsa smiled, feeling her cheeks flare up with heat. "Let's hurry up and get out of here, I have a date with my sister."
Elsa drove into her driveway, the sun shining down into her eyes as she opened her garage door.
Jesus, I'll probably end up running into the damn house at this rate.
The garage door glided upwards as Elsa eased her way up. Finally, the sun was blocked by the top part of Elsa's house, and she could see where she was going, realizing that she had veered off course due to the blinding light from the sun.
Jeez, I wasn't kidding, I would have totally hit the house at that rate.
Elsa straightened her car up with the open doors of the garage, pulling her vehicle in. The doors started to close as her car passed the sensors on the other side of the garage doors, closing them off entirely as Elsa turned off her Altima. She sat there in her seat, looking at the pale drywall of the garage as she sighed and cupped her hands to her face.
Alright, this is it. I'm gonna tell Anna.
Elsa opened her car door, and stepped out, grabbing all of her bags out of the back seat before shutting the car's doors. She sat her bags by the door that led to the utility room, and grasped the handle.
Elsa sighed.
You better hope that she isn't gonna end up fucking hating you.
Elsa's mom gave her a big hug, welcoming her daughter home after a long hard day.
"How'd it go, sweetie?" Her mom asked in an unusual tone.
Elsa raised an eyebrow, noticing that her mother's tone wasn't the honey-like sweet voice that she had grown to be comforted by.
"Eh, it went about as good as you'd think," Elsa said, releasing her mother from her grasp. Elsa looked at her mother in her blue-green eyes. "Um… Are you okay?"
The mother nodded her head, "I'm fine," but then shook it soon after the first initial nods. "But your sister isn't."
Elsa felt her eyes widen with worry.
"She's been crying all afternoon," Elsa's mother said. "She found out about your enlistment. Why didn't you tell her?"
No.
Elsa felt her heart sink into her gut as she stepped away from her mom. Her eyes were stricken with guilt, and her hands were trembling.
Anna. I was going to tell you. I was…
Elsa broke from her trance and ran to the stairs, tears welling in her eyes.
YOU FUCKING IDIOT! WHY DIDN'T YOU JUST FUCKING TELL HER?!
Elsa practically sprinted up the steps, encroaching nearer and nearer to her sister's room as she felt a few tears roll off her cheeks as she bounded up the staircase.
She's gonna hate your fucking guts, and it's all your fault! You should've told her! Why can't you just be the big sister? Why can't you jus-
Elsa stopped dead in her tracks as she stood before her sister's room, clenching her fists so that her knuckles were more pale than snow. She heard Anna sobbing quietly, and with each saddened noise that emitted from her sister, Elsa felt more and more like she meant nothing. Elsa raised a weak, trembling hand to her sister's bedroom door.
You better hope she doesn't hate you… Please just understand…
Elsa rapped her hand weakly on the bedroom door. "Anna?..."
Anna's bedroom door opened, and revealed a scene of sadness as Anna was sprawled over her bed, face down into the pillow as her body convulsed to her sniffles. A box of tissues lay on the ground by her bed; remnants of the box's product were strewn about in crumpled messes. Elsa poked her head in to the bedroom to see what she had made Anna succumb to, and burst into tears.
"Anna," Elsa felt her breath become heavy as her sister turned over in her bed to face her sister; Anna's face was pale and her eyes were red from tears. Elsa felt her face tighten at the sight of what she made her sister give way to. "I'm so sorry Anna, I was going to tell you today, and I know I should have told you way before but I never did because I was scared, and now that we've gotten so close…" Elsa shook her head and pushed her hands to her face. "I don't want to lose that… I don't want to lose you."
Elsa stood before her younger sister, feeling more and more like she was undeserving of the title of older sister, when all at once she felt a warm embrace engulfing her entirely, holding on to her tightly like never before, heat radiating off of the being that held her close. Elsa felt warm tears fall onto her shoulder and neck as Anna brushed her cheek against her older sister's.
"Elsa," Anna sniffled. "I'm so proud of you. And I love you so much…" Elsa felt Anna tighten up, and let out a small whimper. "But promise me you won't leave…" Anna moved in front of Elsa, still holding her sister tightly, searching Elsa's eyes with her own saddened and searching eyes. "Promise me."
Elsa looked up at her sister, tears streaming equally to the floor from both sisters. "I promise. I'm so sorry…"
Anna pushed a finger to Elsa's lips.
"Look," said the younger sister. "It's okay. I just wish I had known sooner."
Elsa smiled and hugged her sister, pulling her in for a long embrace. "I wanted to tell you sooner. I just didn't want you to hate me."
Anna smiled and rubbed her sister's back, sniffling all the while. "You don't understand sis," Anna said. "It's impossible for me to hate you."
Elsa smiled, and wiped a tear from her left cheek.
I love you so much.
Elsa held Anna's hand as she strolled to her room with her younger sister. "What kinda movie are you in for tonight?" Elsa asked as she broke her grasp from Anna's hand, searching the rack of movies she had against a wall. "Horror? Western?"
Anna let her eyes search around her sister's room, and then she shifted her weight to her opposite leg; Elsa sensed a bit of an uncomfortable vibe from her younger sister, and raised an eyebrow inquisitively.
"C'mon sis," Elsa laughed." Which one?"
Anna looked up at her older sister, cheeks reddened with discomfiture. "Can… Can we watch a romance?"
Elsa blinked at her sister's question, but then smiled and chuckled. "Of course we can. How about 'Loving Annabelle?'" Elsa asked as she looked at the movie questioningly, as she had never seen it before.
Anna's eyes brightened and her cheeks became less pigmented at the mention of her favorite romance movie ever. "Yes!" She squealed, causing her to laugh a little and scratch the back of her head, regaining her composure. "It's my favorite."
Elsa smiled. "We'll then, I'm sure I'll love it. What's it about?"
Anna chuckled at her sister's question, sparking an interest in the older girl. "Oh you'll see. C'mon." Anna grabbed Elsa's hand, helping her up off of the ground in front of the conglomeration of movies. "We're going to my room to watch movies tonight."
Elsa smiled, and held her sister's hand as she matched her steps to Anna's room.
"I can spend the night tonight?" Elsa halfway asked.
Anna looked at her older sister and smiled. "It'd be my pleasure."
AFTER NOTE: I'm terribly sorry about the wait, as I have had a lot on my plate lately. Some issues have been resolved, and I can finally get this to you all. Thank you for the wait.
