Elsa lost Tanya downstairs, trying to find her in the crowd of people. She felt awful, and yet at the same time she did not know what to feel. The queen did not even know why she was feeling these things. But one thing was sure, she was going to set things right. After all, Tanya was going to be staying there for a while. Regretfully, Elsa wished she had listened better to the princess.
"Queen Elsa," the king of Aldyn said officially, as he and his wife approached her from behind.
A startled Elsa spun around, as if she had just woken up.
"Can we speak to you in private?" They looked worried.
"Of course, let us go to my study." She assumed they wanted to talk about what just happened with their daughter.
Anxious thoughts ran through the ice queen's mind. Oh no, it was going to be about Tanya. Something happened to her. Or maybe I screwed everything up.
Why did she have to approach the girl in the first place? It's not like the girl wanted to talk to her, but Elsa just had to be persistent. The first time she felt confident enough to approach someone who intrigued her, she ruined everything. She should have known by the gloves, or by the look of anxiety she recognized too well. Images of fear in the younger girl's eyes, when the queen of Arendelle discovered her magic, flashed through her mind. In that moment, Elsa saw in Tanya the same person she was for the last seventeen years. Deep down, it scared her.
But she did not show it. She refused to pour her emotions out on her sleeve. Elsa was thankful she was good at concealing her thoughts in times like this. At least she thought so. Once again, Elsa left the party and took the royal couple to her study a few doors down. She brought two chairs over to her desk, and the three of them sat down.
"Is everything alright?" Elsa said concerned.
"We have just gotten message that our kingdom has fallen under attack. Our eldest son Anton is doing all he can to preserve Aldyn. He has yet to strike back in fear of starting a war. He's an adult now and can take care of himself, but refuses to make a decision without us present. Charlotte and I need to go back to resolve this conflict."
"I'm very sorry. This is very unfortunate, for all of us," Elsa replied in a queen-like tone. On one hand she was relieved it was not about her or Tanya at all. On the other hand, this was horrible news, and she did not wish for the king and queen to be this stressed out.
"Is there anything I can do to help?" Elsa was not necessarily going to give in to anything they wished, but if she could help in at least the smallest way, she would.
"That's another reason why we wanted to speak to you. We wish to ask of you one more favor Elsa." The king took his wife's hands as he spoke. "Will you please, watch over our Tanya for us? Can you still teach her how to control the magic inside of her?" The king looked anxious.
Did Elsa know what she was getting into? Maybe not. But it was the fact that she was so intrigued at the unknown, which led her to say, "I will," and added, "Have you talked to her about your plans?"
The queen Charlotte nodded, "We will talk to her before we leave. She is old and mature enough to understand." The royal couple looked relieved. "We are in your debt your majesty. Because of the urgency of the message, we will be leaving in the next couple hours."
"That soon?" Elsa was surprised. How could people have that much energy to travel? Was it even safe at this time?
"You just arrived here, shouldn't you rest first before traveling all the way back? You are more than welcome to stay the night."
"I'm afraid we can't. The assault on Aldyn was very severe, and our son needs us at once."
"Our guards have already started packing and preparing our horses," Charlotte added. "We can make it back in about a week, if we travel fast and take few breaks. That's enough time for Anton to hold the kingdom together in the state it is in."
Their look of worry was blatantly seen in both of their eyes. They could not be making this up. It clearly was more important and severe than they wanted to express. Elsa knew that if she were in their shoes, she would want to race back to Aldyn as well. It was all happening so fast. Her hopes of meeting the girl with magic like her, Anna's wedding ball, giving away her younger sister to a man, and now Aldyn's sudden departure. She was just trying to process everything one thing at a time.
"Well, I definitely won't hold you back from leaving. Are there any provisions I can provide you with for your travel?"
"Oh no, we are quite alright, we have everything we need. We saw to that we were prepared before we left. We are so sorry to take you away from your sister's party, there is probably so much you need to attend at once."
"It's really no problem at all," Elsa said though she was a bit overwhelmed. She continued to say, "If you decide to change your mind you are still welcome here. Before you and your men take off, I will meet you in the courtyard in the next hour."
Later that night most of the party had died off, though guests were still hanging around and talking to each other. However, many of them had retired for the night due to too many chocolates, and a little too much wine. Once Elsa got herself together and regained composure, she spoke with a few other gentlemen that wanted her attention.
Even Kurt came up to Elsa to strike conversation again. Though he was very charming, the queen did not try to lead him on. At least that is what she assumed he was doing, now that the alcohol had made his motives a little clearer. He definitely tried to grab and hold her hand, and asked twice to dance. Elsa made sure that when she turned him down, she would do it very respectfully.
Again, it was not like anything was wrong with Kurt in particular. And though he and Hans were brothers, she did not hold him accountable for his brother's actions. He did seem like a gentleman. But Elsa just was not interested, no matter how much she wanted to be. And she was not the type to lead anybody on, when she did not mean it. Nothing ever progressed much further than small talk acquaintances. That was the way Elsa wanted it to stay.
Elsa's mind though for the rest of the night was still on Tanya. The first moments of seeing the girl sitting all by herself, remembering the beauty in her face as she played the piano, as well as the panic in her face as she ran out the door.
While talking to people she found herself glancing around the room, to try to catch a sight of the elusive girl again. She felt more restless, much more than usual at least. But it got so distracting, she had to excuse herself once again to think in somewhere private.
In an empty hallway, Elsa paced back and forth with her hands on her head. A few lights were lit, though it was mostly dark. Perfect for this time in need of solitude. Her mind was racing all at once.
Okay Elsa, get a grip now, she thought. You don't even know what this feeling is, or why you're feeling it at all. But as queen you have to be a good representative of Arendelle tonight. You can't let your emotions get in the way of your sister's big night.
She needs you there, Elsa told herself. This is not your night.
Once she got herself somewhat together, she came back out. Elsa made herself appear like if she just needed to go take care of something important.
From the courtyard, the stars glittered in the sky. They were exceptionally bright for that night. Really thinking about it, there wasn't much difference between stars and snowflakes. Both of them glittered with light, were impossible to count, and each one had its unique design. And Elsa was a creator of snow and ice. She wondered if there was a creator for stars as well.
Maybe in her imagination.
The queen melted the ice rink on the ground, so her guests would not slip and fall. She had to remember though gliding on ice was as natural to her as walking, it was not so for other people. The ice sculptures in the fountains still kept their frozen form, as well as the ice structures around the walls.
She was standing with her sister Anna and Kristoff, as they conversed with Rapunzel and Eugene from the kingdom of Corona. They were talking about their latest adventure, which just so happened to be their honeymoon.
"At least Eugene and Max weren't fighting each other as usual during the trip," Rapunzel said sarcastically.
"Hey, we don't fight! We just don't agree all the time," Eugene said jokingly and shrugged.
Elsa saw the king and queen on their white horses, approach the front of the gate.
The three of them wrapped up their conversation with the couple from Corona, and headed to meet their departing guests. Viktor and Charlotte were accompanied by only a few other men.
"Thank you Anna for the lovely night, again we are so very sorry for leaving early," the queen Charlotte spoke.
"It's no worries, at all! We're glad to have you here!"
"Well, we wish you and your husband the best and a happy marriage. And thank you Elsa for watching over our daughter," she said a little more quietly.
"She was in her room when we said goodbye to her, she refused to come out."
"I'll help in whatever way I can," Elsa said in a matter of fact way. "We wish you a safe and swift journey back."
"We won't forget your hospitality or your help," King Viktor said. "Now we must be off," he jerked his rope to motion the horses it was time to take off.
The small band rode off away from the castle, and out of Arendelle heading west, until they were out of sight.
Anna held Elsa's arm. "Is Tanya really staying with us? Why then did they leave so soon?"
"Their kingdom is under conflict, so they need to get back to assist their son. They told me only two hours ago."
"It must be pretty bad," said Kristoff.
"I wonder how Tanya feels about this," Anna said sympathetically. She was such a caring person.
"She wasn't even here when her parents left. Elsa, I really think you should go talk to her."
"I tried to earlier, but she didn't seem like she was in the mood for talking." It was partially true. More than likely, the ice queen was the last person Tanya wanted to talk to. But Elsa did not want to have to explain everything that happened between them to Anna.
"You should still try again. She probably would listen to you since you both have something in common," and by 'something,' Elsa knew that Anna meant their magical abilities. But Anna had promised her sister she would not mention the girl's powers to anyone else. That included Kristoff. At least for the time being.
Elsa sighed. "I suppose you're right, I should go and check up on her."
"You have to talk to her eventually after all. She is staying here in the castle."
"How long will she be here?" Kristoff asked the queen.
"I don't know. The king and queen never specified a time-frame. Likely after she learns how to control her abilities."
He frowned. "You should have asked them beforehand."
"You're probably right. They looked so troubled when I spoke to them, and I was distracted.
"Hey," Anna piped up. "There's not much we can do now, obviously since the king and queen just rode off. But what we can do is make Tanya feel at home here. Before you know it, she won't want to leave!"
But little did Anna know, she spoke too soon. Because when Elsa had gone back in the castle and upstairs to check on the girl, she was gone.