I haven't abandoned your project, The Lazy Way. Part Four will be finished soon.
Well, technically you can consider Part One as my contest entry. I will have to make this a separate story now.
For any readers who are not familiar with me, why don't you check out my main work, Have Courage, Elsa? It might just be worth your while...
/s/10011159/1/Have-Courage-Elsa
Part One
"Papa, do you want to guess what day it is?"
Her father snapped out of his working trance, the one he had always slipped into whenever he was arranging documents and signing papers. While becoming a living automaton had always shielded Eirik from work-induced madness, but it never got easier to switch modes for him. Briefly questioning his whereabouts with a mutter, the King's eyes fell upon a smiling, chubby little girl poking her freckled face out of the mound of files.
"Hm?" King Eirik murmured, immediately recognizing his energetic second daughter. He idly wiped a thin trail of drool sliding down the side of his mouth with a thumb before it could stain paper. "Day? Anna, I don't suppose this is supposed to be a prank, is it?"
"No, not at all!" Anna squeaked. She violently shook her entire head, almost slapping herself repeatedly by swinging her pigtails from side to side.
The King chuckled lightly at her comical expression of denial, and placed his feather pen on the table so it wouldn't spread ink anywhere. "I have absolutely no idea, little one. Tell me, exactly what day is it?"
The girl spread her arms out wide, her face set in complete jubilation. "Why, it's Christmas Day, Papa!"
King Eirik stared at the little princess, blinking twice in rapid succession without saying a single word.
"Christmas?" The girl repeated tentatively, her happy pose faltering underneath his blank expression. She had hoped that her father would light up with glee and burst from his fortress of papers, sending sheets flying like pale panicky birds upon the revelation that today was that day.
Well, in all actuality, Anna would have been fine with any sort of response, no matter how lukewarm. Unfortunately, the little girl just wasn't expecting her father to only stare at her, his face painted with complete befuddlement; he looked more like a confused dog that just heard a new command for the first time.
"Christmas!" the redhead pushed. "You know, the holiday when people give each other presents and play and sing carols together and eat a big dinner together and everyone and their families actually try hanging out together for once?"
King Eirik exhaled long and slow through his nose, rubbing the bridge of his nose tiredly. He loves his daughter, but this is one of those rare moments where he'd very much prefer a less brazen Anna. A feigned gesture of understanding would not satisfy the girl into silence. No, such an answer would only send the little redhead into a flurry of incomprehensible gibberish relating to this particular "holiday", drowning Eirik in words and leaving him with absolutely zero chance of catching up to her.
The King opted to spare himself from the torture, and just tell the little princess the truth. "Anna, I've... never heard of this 'Christmas,' before. Are you sure you did not make this day up?"
"Nonono, it's real, I'm telling you, it's real!" the redhead exclaimed, pouting as she stomped the carpet floor with her little feet. "They used to celebrate it all the time in the countries south of Norway! Look, I even have the evidence here to prove it!" With that said, Princess Anna scampered to the edge of the King's doorway, and heaved with a grunt of effort. She brought forth into Eirik's sight several thick volumes and scriptures that were each nearly half her size, each almost as heavy, and certainly each at least thrice her age.
King Eirik gaped at his daughter in astonishment, not necessarily out of how the girl managed to find the strength to drag these cumbersome things all the way from the library, but from the implications written on the books' bindings; each one contained detailed studies about geography and foreign history that lasted and droned on to no end.
Anna had been studying.
"Okay, okay... It may not be celebrated in Arendelle, but it's real." Eirik announced in defeat, buckling underneath the child's intense glare. "Excuse me for my rudeness. So... you say that they give presents?"
"Uh-huh, uh-huh!"
"Ah, I see..." the King remarked, massaging his temples in consideration. Anna is a little girl, after all; no wonder the concept of Christmas would excite her. Smiling at the freckled child, he commented, "So it's like a second birthday, then. How about we celebrate Christmas tonight-"
"-No! Not this year!" Anna interjected.
Eirik froze in place, his mouth and tongue hanging slack and low, dumbfounded.
"It has to be perfect and prepared, not just some sort of lousy rush job!" Anna continued.
The little girl's erratic behavior was absolutely stupefying to her father. He knew Anna had always been more of a hasty sort, impatient and always running headfirst into whatever caught her fancy. She was the kind of person to find amusement in even her very own failings. What kind of factor could convince this girl into a playing a waiting game?
"But... don't you want the presents and feasting?" Eirik asked bemusedly.
"Ye-" Anna slapped her hands to her mouth, before another sound could slip through her lips. She held her head low, bringing her arms behind her, and crossed her feet shyly as she fidgeted in place. "No, that wasn't what I wanted to say! I mean, I do like presents, but you are still so busy, and so is everyone else... That's not how a holiday should work." Eirik's daughter pursed her lips, as her squeaky voice became even quieter. "I was hoping that here could be just one perfect time that I could celebrate an entire day with... everyone."
Ah, there it is, he entire reason why Eirik's daughter would bring up 'Christmas' to him; Anna had been talking about Elsa the entire time.
The King gave a painful, empathetic smile to the little girl. Ever since the Accident, Elsa had completely shut herself out from the servants, her parents, and even Anna, her very best friend.
He was the one who told her to do so. He commanded his own daughter, his eldest child and beautiful daughter, to isolate herself. His children's unhappiness were entirely his fault.
"Anna..." he said softly, climbing cautiously out of his clogged desk without knocking over piles of documents. "You are a very bright girl for one so small." He knelt down in front of her, taking in the sight of his beautiful daughter; she seemed to be growing taller by the minute in his eyes, and only accelerating when he wasn't paying attention. It won't be long before Anna would no longer be a happy innocent little girl, but a full-grown woman who possessed the sadness that all adults carry in their hearts.
No, scratch that. Anna wasn't entirely happy and content, or else she wouldn't have brought Christmas up to him. Because of Eirik, her heart was already saddled early with the sorrow of adulthood.
For once, Eirik could at least gift his own daughter with a little honesty, his very first "Christmas" gift.
"Look at you, you have become so considerate and mature..." he proudly told her. "Yes, your mother and I are very busy, and Elsa would be too bogged down by her studies to properly enjoy this... special Christmas." He patted her affectionately on her head. "She has a long road ahead of her, even before becoming a Queen... Elsa may seem so distant to you and everyone else, but she needs your support. I know for a fact that one day, she will no longer have to cut herself off from you, or anyone for that matter." King Eirik's face broke into a wide grin, genuine and full of anticipation. "Once that happens, I promise that we will have the greatest Christmas in the history of Arendelle! Got it?"
These words had the exact reaction he was hoping to see in Anna; the girl had forgotten all of her troubles, as if they had melted away with the hope he had brought her. The Princess' adorable little face beamed. bright enough to outshine the light emitted from the fireplace and the lamps. "Yay!" she squealed delightedly.
Then, Anna's voice trailed off, and she tilted her head in slight puzzlement. "But... I thought you said there was never a Christmas in Arendelle before. How are we supposed to have the best when we never even had a first?"
"Well, someone has to set the bar..." The King picked lifted his daughter up, and he made his way out of his study and into the halls with her in his arms. "When Elsa is finally ready to present herself to the world, we will celebrate Christmas, maybe with even the entire kingdom. Alright?"
"Okay!" She bent her head down to plant a kiss on his forehead. I love you, Papa."
A twinge of guilt nearly soured his expression, but his daughter's affection managed to stave off the worst of its bite. "I love you too..."
When Elsa is ready...
I suppose everyone will have to work harder from now on, Elsa.
Anna has one more reason to wait for you.