Well, here we are with another chapter! I'm sorry for the delay yet again, but at least this one took me less than a week instead of more than a week. To tell you the truth, I've started fangirling over OUAT. By the way, did any of you oncers (OUAT fans) see the latest episode of OUAT Sunday night? I did! I must say, I was surprised but quite pleased with how Anna handled Rumplestiltskin, using his own dagger to trick him into giving her what she wanted and to send her back to Arendelle. Her and Kristoff's reunion (and KISS!) was absolutely PERFECT! It's what we Frozen fans have been waiting for! If they get married on the show, my life will be complete. :) And how about Hook and Emma's date? Eek! :D But anyway, enough of my fangirling! :) Thanks as always for the lovely faves, follows, and reviews! You guys keep me going! Hope you enjoy, and keep reviewing!
Chapter 6
Elsa – 7; Anna – 4
It was a frigid day in Arendelle. Though the sun was shining in a clear blue sky, it didn't provide much warmth, if any at all. For yes, winter had arrived. The citizens had woken up to a thick blanket of fresh snow covering the ground. But the cold didn't deter anyone, especially the children, from going outside, whether it was to sled down the village hill, skate on the frozen pond, or just to have a good old-fashioned snowball fight. Their excited shrieks and yells sounded unnaturally shrill in the frigid arctic air.
The one good thing about the cold is that Christmas would soon be there. Inside the castle, there was a buzz of excitement for the coming holiday season. Most of it, of course, came from Anna, as it was her favorite time of year, apart from her and Elsa's joined birthday celebration.
They were currently helping Gerda put up Christmas decorations. Right now, they were working on the stair railing, twining garland around it. Well, Elsa was helping. Anna was just running around and jumping up and down in excitement. Elsa had promised her that after putting up decorations, she'd take her out to the little pond on the castle gardens and teach her to ice skate. Anna had never skated before and was anxious to learn how, and who better to teach her than her sister and best friend?
"Essie, are you done yet?" she asked, almost tripping down the stairs because she was too busy watching Elsa and Gerda and not watching where she was going.
Elsa sighed. "No, Anna, I'm not done yet," she answered. Anna had been asking the same question almost every five minutes. At least, that's how it seemed. "I gotta finish the garland and then help Gerda with lights. If you're not gonna help, why don't you get your doll and play with it while you're waiting?"
Anna plopped down on a step and pouted. "Don't wanna play with Essie doll," she said sadly. "Wanna play with Essie."
Elsa sighed and looked up at Gerda. "I'm sorry, Gerda," she said. "I did promise her."
"That's all right, dear," said Gerda, smiling back at her. "I can finish up here."
"Are you sure?" Elsa asked, looking down at all the garland that still littered the floor.
"Of course, dear, I've done this dozens of times," Gerda answered. "Now go on. Childhood goes by too fast. Enjoy it while you can."
"Thanks Gerda," Elsa said, hugging her. She then held her hand out to Anna. "Come on, Anna, let's go get our skates."
"Really?" Anna asked, popping up, her eyes wide with excitement again.
"Really," Elsa said, smiling.
"Yay!" said Anna, grabbing her sister's hand and almost dragging her back to their room.
On their way there, they passed by the library, where they heard their parents conversing in low voices behind the closed doors. Elsa froze when she heard her name, accidentally causing Anna to stagger back into her, knocking her over. "Essie," Anna said, but Elsa shushed her and moved closer to the door so she could hear better.
"—starting to get out of hand," their father was saying. "She needs to start learning to control them."
"Agdar, we've already discussed this," their mother said. "She will in her own time. She's still a little girl."
"Idun, she's almost eight years old," the king said. "Hardly a little girl anymore. She needs to start learning to take responsibility for her actions."
"Her actions?" said the queen. "You make her sound like a criminal! She's just a child! She needs this time to be a child, for as long as she can."
"She also needs this time to learn how to be a good ruler," the king said. "She is our heir, you know."
"I realize that," the queen replied. "But we are not going anywhere anytime soon, so we do not need to push this on her until we are absolutely sure she is ready. With any luck, she won't have to inherit the throne until well after she turns of age."
"And what if something happens to us before she's of age?" the king asked quietly.
There was silence in the library. Elsa scooted closer to the door, not wanting to miss anything, ignoring Anna's insistent tugging.
Finally, the queen said, "Agdar, don't even think such a thing. What could possibly take us away from our children before Elsa is of age?"
"I don't know, but that is why she needs to start learning as early as possible," the king replied. "In case something like that was to happen."
"Agdar, no," said the queen firmly. "For once, I am putting my foot down. Give her another few years at least to let her be a child. Then we can discuss whether or not she's ready to learn the ways of a ruler."
The king sighed. His wife could be so stubborn and determined sometimes, but interestingly enough, it was one of the things that he admired about her. "Fine," he conceded. "But if something happens and An—someone gets hurt, then she will have to learn control."
"How could she possibly hurt anyone?" the queen asked, surprise and disbelief apparent in her voice. "She is the kindest, sweetest girl we know."
The king was silent for a moment. Then he said quietly, "You never know."
Elsa was so stunned and shocked by what she had just heard that she almost didn't register that footsteps were coming towards the door. Apparently, Anna did, as she gave her hand a fierce tug and pulled her down the hall and around the corner just in time to not be seen by their parents as they left the library and headed in the opposite direction.
Elsa couldn't breathe, but it wasn't just because she was short of breath. Her parents had been talking about her. Why? And why was it so important that she learn to control her magic? She loved it, and Anna did, too. And besides, she loved Anna and her parents too much to hurt them with it. But the way they, especially her father, had been talking about it, it sounded like they were scared of her magic and what it could do. But why would they be scared of it? She was able to create beautiful things with it. She thought about asking them about it, but then decided against it. If they had been speaking behind closed doors and in hushed voices, it probably meant that they hadn't wanted anyone, especially her and Anna, to hear.
Anna started tugging on her again. "Essie, you okay?" she asked in a quiet voice.
Elsa looked down at her and smiled reassuringly. "Yes, I'm okay, Anna," she replied. "I was just thinking, that's all. Now, let's go get our skates. I promised I'd teach you to ice skate and that's what we're gonna do."
A short while later, Anna and Elsa were bundled up in coats, hats, mittens, and scarves and were running around to the back of the castle gardens where the frozen pond was. Elsa had Anna sit down while she strapped on her skates, a tedious process made even more so by Anna's excited fidgeting.
"Hold still, Anna!" Elsa scolded. "I have to get these on you." She finally managed to buckle the last strap and then sat down to strap hers on. Once they were ready, she took Anna's hand and guided her to the edge of the pond. "Now, watch carefully," she said. She eased herself onto the ice, glided across to the other side, and then came back. "Now it's your turn."
Elsa gently took Anna's hands and helped her onto the ice. Anna skittered for a second, but Elsa gripped her tighter and she stayed on her feet. "Okay," said Elsa encouragingly. "Now put one foot forward. That's it. Now the other one. Good, Anna!"
Slowly but surely, they made their way around the small pond, Elsa steadying Anna whenever she looked about to topple. Eventually, feeling that she had the hang of it, Elsa let go of Anna's hands. She watched as her sister took a few ungainly steps before easing into a simple glide. She went a few feet and then turned around and came back to Elsa. She was grinning from ear to ear as Elsa caught her in her arms.
"Essie, I did it!" she said, laughing.
"Good job, Anna!" Elsa praised, also smiling big. "I knew you could do it!"
"Again?" Anna asked, looking up at her with those big blue eyes of hers.
"Sure, we can go again," Elsa answered, still smiling. "We can go as many times as you want."
"Yay!" Anna said, and Elsa just laughed. She took Anna's hand again and they made a few more circuits around the edge of the pond, Anna laughing the whole time.
"You're doing so good, Anna!" Elsa continued praising. "I'm so proud of you!"
"Mama and Papa proud?" Anna asked.
"Yeah, I'm sure Mama and Papa would be proud if they could see you," Elsa replied.
Once Anna was able to skate by herself in somewhat of a straight line, Elsa decided to try to teach her how to spin. Unfortunately, this didn't work out quite as well as she hoped. Anna fell more often than she turned, so Elsa decided to call it quits for the day. Besides, they had stayed out a little longer than they probably should have.
The two sisters made their way back into the castle and up to their room, trying to make the least amount of noise possible. Finally, they reached it, and Elsa breathed a sigh of relief she hadn't realized she'd been holding in. She removed her mittens, hat, coat, and scarf, helped Anna off with hers, and put them and their skates away in their shared wardrobe.
"Essie, I still cold," said Anna, rubbing her little hands together and hopping up and down to regain feeling in her feet.
"Me, too, a little," said Elsa, also rubbing her hands together. "Wanna go down to the kitchen to see if Gerda will make us some hot cocoa?"
"Yeah! Yeah!" Anna said, jumping up and down again, but this time out of excitement.
"Okay, let's go," said Elsa, and she held out her hand and led Anna from the room.
It didn't take them as long to find the right door this time, as they already knew where it was, having made frequent visits since their first. As they approached, they could smell the familiar scent of spices and freshly baked bread. Anna sniffed happily.
"Gerda's making bread!" she said excitedly, pulling on Elsa's hand. "Let's go see!"
"Hold on, Anna," said Elsa, gently pulling her back. "We have to knock first, remember? We can't just go barging in."
"Okay!" said Anna, and she knocked on the door – two slow knocks, two quick ones, and another slow one. Before waiting for an answer, she pulled open the door (with Elsa's help) and bounded into the kitchen.
It was empty, just like it had been the first time they had visited. Anna sniffed again and followed the smell to a big oven at the other end of the room, where there were a few loaves of bread baking. She moved forward to peek inside, but Elsa stopped her.
"Essie!" she protested, squirming in her sister's arms. "I want bread!"
"It's not done baking yet," Elsa said, trying to keep a hold on Anna. "Besides, it'd be too hot to eat right away, anyway."
"Aw," Anna said. She stopped fighting to get loose and Elsa let her go. She plopped down in a nearby chair and pouted at her obvious defeat.
They heard a chuckle behind them and turned around to see Gerda standing in the doorway. "Now, then," she said, starting towards them. "Which two little girls have blond and strawberry-blonde hair, just came in from outside, and are trying to sneak a snack?"
Anna looked at Elsa and then back at Gerda. "Us! Us!" she said, raising one of her hands above her head and bouncing up and down on her chair.
Elsa just smiled and shook her head; sometimes, Anna took things so literally.
"Well," said Gerda, crouching down in front of them. "Now that I know who's in my kitchen, I need to know why there are two little girls in my kitchen."
Before Elsa could say anything, Anna piped up, "Me and Essie want cocoa!"
"Really?" said Gerda, sounding amused. "Is that so?"
"Uh-huh!" said Anna, still bouncing on her seat.
"Well, it just so happens that I might have some left," Gerda said. She stood up and went over to one of the many cabinets lining the wall. She took out a small can of cocoa powder and two small mugs, which she set on the table. She then went over to the icebox and took out a bottle of milk. She poured the milk into a small pot, which she heated on the stove. Once it was hot enough, she stirred in a couple teaspoons of the cocoa powder. When it was all mixed in, she poured the steaming hot beverage into the two mugs on the table.
Elsa sat down in the chair next to Anna and Gerda put a mug in front of each of them. Anna immediately reached for hers, but Elsa stopped her and said, "Be careful, Anna. It's very hot. Blow on it first."
Anna did as she was told and blew on it, and then took a sip. "Mmm!" she said, smacking her lips.
"Is it good?" Elsa asked, smiling because she already knew the answer. As usual, she wasn't disappointed.
"Gerda make the best cocoa ever!" Anna said, before taking another sip.
Elsa couldn't stop smiling while she sipped her own cocoa. The sound of her sister's laughter was her most favorite sound in the world. She hoped to hear it every day for the rest of her life.
I know I've said this about other chapters in my other stories, but I feel that this one isn't one of my best, at least for this particular story. I apologize for the not-so-happy conversation between the king and queen, but it was one I wanted them to have since at least the previous chapter.
I know this will sadden you, but chapter 7 will the last chapter of this story. Anna and Elsa will now be the ages they started at in the movie - 8 and 5, respectively. And I think I have the perfect idea for this particular chapter. I won't say more here, but I think you can guess what it is. ;)
Again, hope you enjoyed! Last chapter coming soon! :)