Taking Over Me
Chapter 2 - Awake
The next day, Anna was tossed into the deep end of her newfound queenly duties. The first change was being woken up before sunrise; Anna could barely comprehend her surroundings, let alone manage to dress. The maids did their best to assist, but Anna kept slouching when her dress was being put on, yawning, and rubbing her eyes when the makeup was applied. Eventually, she reached the dining hall, but now she was late for breakfast.
Trying to eat without smudging her makeup or ruining her dress was something Anna was very much trained in doing by now, only this morning was different; she not only was half asleep, but she had company. The girl she found yesterday sat across her, stuffing food into her mouth like an animal. Anna was snickering at the girl between small bites of her food, watching her barely swallowing her mouthful before reaching for more. "Good morning, uh... you. Please, eat as much as you want. We have plenty of food here." Anna sipped her scolding hot chocolate, then lightly wiped her mouth with a napkin, muffling laughter when the girl ended up with butter on her nose. The maid in the back of the room slowly approached Anna. "Your majesty, she's finished fifteen plates of food" Her eyes not leaving the ravenous girl for a second. "It's okay. It's not like we're having guests anytime soon. As I said, she can eat as much as she wants." The girl looked up at Anna speaking, followed by an awkward silence as she stared at the maid.
Finally, the maid wandered off to help deliver more food to the table. The girl beamed at Anna with full cheeks and chuckled a little; Anna gave a warm smile and nodded. "The chefs here are amazing, I've lived here all my life, and I'm yet to be tired of their food." Anna lifted some Turkish toast to her mouth and bit down eagerly, humming happily with how good the food tasted.
The girl followed close behind as Anna left the table to clean up. "You full, are you? You ate quite a lot of food! Very impressed, actually" Anna slowed her pace to walk beside the girl who was now holding her arm. "Listen, I have a lot of things to do, so I'm sorry I can't spend too much time with you Today. But I promise we can meet and have fun once I'm done, okay?" Anna knew the girl didn't understand a word she was saying, but the girl nodded at her anyways. She was enjoying being around her. "I need to give you a name and address you with something. It's always killing me just calling you 'her' or 'you'!." Anna stopped in front of the girl to study her features. "Are you sure you don't remember your name?" Anna stood back, her index finger tapping her thumb as she thought of a name. "Let me get back to you on this one; I promise it'll be a great name;" Anna grabbed the girl's hand and kindly tapped the back, then turned to begin her long, troubling day. The girl watched her as she left, then slowly began to follow as swiftly as she could.
A few of Arendelle's advisors sat around a large table, eagerly awaiting Anna to join them. As the queen entered the room, they all stood and bowed; Anna awkwardly smiled and lightly waved. "I don't think I'll ever get used to this..." she thought as Gerda entered the room, carrying a rather large folder. Anna cleared her throat and adjusted her posture. "Be seated," She spoke as she sat down.
Everyone sat down and opened their notes. "My queen, firstly, we'd like to professionally and humbly express how delighted we are to serve you directly finally. We promise to do our best and help you throughout your long and prosperous reign." The older man speaking had a massive grin on his face; it appeared to be genuine. Anna nodded in return, trying to maintain a stern but professional expression. Gerda placed the folder in front of Anna, then opened it to Today's date. "Today's agenda is on the ice shortage we are currently facing. We have a few men in the northern mountains who bring back many kilograms of ice, but the supply and demand problem appears to be a trialing issue..." The older man from before continued. Anna was too busy examining the details written down in previous notes. The handwriting was Gerda's. As her guardian for many years, she continued her duties as Regent until Anna was of age. Having been the closest to Anna's parents, she knew the details from back to front, and it appears she was very good at it. Anna grew much more admiration for her head servant; this woman raised her and had also been watching over Arendelle.
After a few hours of mind-numbing gatherings and meetings with the advisors, Anna sat in her study, reviewing a file on missing persons. In Arendelle, the list wasn't long since the townsfolk were usually great people. But, unfortunately, only visitors cause the most problems. None of the people listed have the same features or even remotely resemble this mysterious girl. She put the files away and sat back in her chair, staring at the ceiling, 'Who are you?" Anna said out loud to herself. If this new girl has no one to claim her, then the next best thing is to make her a citizen for now. Get her back on her feet to give her purpose and direction. "Gerda, can you please find Governess Iva? Schedule a meeting tomorrow afternoon; I want to speak with her when possible. Tell her to meet me in the library when she arrives." Anna stood and made her way to the next meeting. "Of course, your majesty."
Toward the end of the day, Anna was still reading through the massive folder from earlier and reviewing written documents from Gerda to understand better how to perform her role more efficiently. She tried her best to stay focused, but her mind kept drifting to a certain silver-haired girl. She turned to a page with different handwriting, which caught her off-guard; she checked the signed name at the bottom, "King Agnarr." She froze and stared at the name for what seemed an eternity; throughout what had happened, she hadn't even thought she might find her parent's work from when they ruled as king and queen. Finally, she slammed the folder closed in a panic and backed away from her desk, beginning to hyperventilate. She ran for the door, and to her surprise, she found the girl sitting outside her door, staring up at her in confusion and concern. "Oh uhh, hey. Hi," Anna tried to slow her breathing, straightened out her clothes, and fixed her hair, "I wasn't expecting to see you here... Were you waiting all this time?" Anna knelt to the girl and tried her best to comfort her. "I guess it is time to play after all. I did promise."
Anna took the girl to the kitchen and excused the chefs for the evening. The kitchen was immaculate and smelt clean; the head chef refused to work in clutter and filth. "Today, we will make a simple dinner - Sausages, vegetables, and mashed potato! Then for dessert, we can have leftover cake. Any questions?" Anna turned on the spot to face the girl, apron tightened and a wooden spoon in hand. The girl tilted her head and smiled as she usually does. "Good, so first, we must prepare the ingredients. I asked Chef Rick to grab what we need before he left, so we should have everything right here." Anna stood to the side to reveal fresh ingredients laid out in order alongside a step-by-step guide written out. The girl stepped forward and grabbed a raw sausage, then immediately began eating it, "No! Wait! It's not cooked! You'll get a tummy ache!" Anna pried the half-eaten sausage from the girl's mouth and tossed it away. The girl was frustrated and clearly did not understand why her food was taken from her. "Silly head! We have to cook the food. Like this," Anna began prepping and cooking the food while reading the guide aloud. The girl watched on but was fixated on Anna's delicate features, unable to look away, unconsciously moving forward until she was definitely inside Anna's personal space. "Now the potatoes are all squishy and smell delightful" Anna turned to look at the girl, and the spoon covered in mashed potato smacked her in the face covering her in white mush. "I'm sorry! That was an accident. Let me fix that" Anna pulled her apron off and started wiping the potato away. The girl lightly placed a hand on Anna's and just stared at her, holding the hand to her cheek as it turned crimson. Anna slowly stopped and did the same thing, neither moving away from the other. Until a ball of potato collided with Anna's face, the girl snickered as Anna cleared her eyes. "Did you just... Oh, it's on". What began as a simple cooking lesson for fun turned into an all-out food war between them. Laughing with each other as they destroyed a once clean kitchen, then decided to stick with eating just dessert anyways.
After cleaning up and settling in for the night, Anna sat staring at the wall in her room. Her mind was racing a million miles an hour. Not even her daily talk with Elsa's portrait helped put her at ease. Finally, she laid herself down and attempted to get some sleep; eyes closed but unable to let herself drift off. Seeing her father's handwriting but cannot recall when he was king. Her parents were a distant memory. She acknowledged they existed, but beyond that, there was nothing to say, and it bothered her greatly. Why does she not care to remember all that much? They were her parents, after all. She should care... any average person would. She sat up again, deciding that she could head to her study and finish some more paperwork if she couldn't sleep. She had some letters to go over and stamp; the quicker she cleared her work, the sooner she could spend more time with her newfound friend. She began to leave but stopped when a brief shadow moved past the bottom of the door. She tried to rationalize that it may have been someone walking past, but it was too fast to be a guard or anyone else. There was also the lack of sound, no sound of footsteps or armor. Cautiously she opened the door, peeked outside, and looked around, but no one was seen. The hallway was long enough that if someone were walking past, you would still see them walking in either direction. The only door in sight was Elsa's, which Anna knew was empty. She closed her door again, now spooked by the potential of someone around. Work can wait until the large castle is full of life once again and not some imaginary ghost or assassin.
Later the next day, Anna approached the library. She looked around for any sign of the girl, having not seen her since breakfast. Again, she thought she'd be waiting like she typically is, but this time, she was nowhere to be seen. "It is pretty late; she's probably eating again" Anna turned around to head for the dining hall and bumped face-first into the girl in question, then fell backward onto her behind. "Ouch! Oh man, that's going to bruise!" Anna rubbed her back as she stood up. The girl in front of her was staring and had a massive blush. "Are you okay? I didn't hurt you, did I?" Anna inspected her closely; the girl raised her fingers to her lips. "Are you hurt here? " Anna moved her hand away and checked her lip. "No, it looks fine! What's wrong?" Then it dawned on Anna; she, too, then, raised a hand to her lips. "Oh... Did we?" Now they were both embarrassed. Anna grabbed her hand and began leading her to the library. "It's no big deal, right? It's not like it was my first kiss... even though it was." The girl behind Anna hadn't made a single noise the whole way, her mind in shambles on what just happened.
"My queen! Wonderful to see you!" Iva stood to greet Anna as she entered the room. "Hey! It's been too long! Thank you for meeting me. I know you've moved on from all this, but I have a request" Anna lightly hugged the woman and then welcomed her to sit. The girl that came in with Anna sat beside her and shuffled her chair into Anna as close as possible. "Iva, this is.. umm" Anna hadn't thought of a name yet. She hadn't found a good name yet; nothing she thought of seemed to suit. "Bianca. This is Bianca," Anna nodded to the newly named Bianca. "It's lovely to meet you, Bianca," Iva reached her hand towards Bianca to greet her, only for Bianca to pull away and lean toward Anna. "Hey, it's okay! Iva was the one who helped me learn how to read, write and learn all sorts of things! She's brilliant. I've known her since I was little; even though she was still a very young lady, she taught me so much," Anna said cheerily to Bianca. She eyed Iva for a few more seconds, her light blonde hair done up neatly, and her brown eyes seemed kind and welcoming. She didn't appear much older than Anna and wasn't as pretty, but if Anna trusted her, that mattered. Bianca extended her hand and then accepted her gesture. "Bianca, please take this sheet of paper and this quill. Try to draw me something, okay?" Anna grabbed the quill and showed Bianca how to use it on paper. "See? Give it a try. I need to speak to Iva for a moment".
Iva and Anna stepped away as Bianca started to draw something. "She can't talk, or she doesn't know how to. So I also assume she can't write either, so I need your help to assess and guide her, at least to the point of normalcy" Iva nodded to Anna as she watched Bianca. "I could tell she was frightened when she sat down, but she trusts you quite a bit. Her body language suggests she knows a little, but judging by eye assessment, she appears to have a childlike mindset and basic instincts. It won't be easy, but I'll give it my best and get her to her age." Iva bowed lightly to Anna. "No need to be so courteous; you've known me my entire life. She's in the best hands."
Anna returned to Bianca and lightly rubbed her shoulder to get her attention. "I have more things to do, but Iva will look after you. She'll show you how to write, speak, mannerisms, and even dance if you wish! I'll be back when I can." Anna quickly turned and walked away; Bianca watched her longingly until she was gone. "Queen Anna is an amazing woman, isn't she?" Iva sat across from Bianca and crossed her arms. She eyed Bianca intently, her friendly posture wholly gone now. "I can already see your intentions with Ms. Anna; even a blind man could see how much you stare at her with admiration and infatuation. I know you all too well, and it's been minutes since we met. Do you think I want some immature, brainless stranger to get close to a gem such as Anna? Not in this lifetime!" Her eye twitched with annoyance when she realized Bianca was not paying attention. She was too busy drawing on the sheet of paper from moments ago. Iva curiously stood, then walked around the table to get a better view of the drawing, expecting scribbles and blobs of ink. Instead, to her amazement, Bianca had drawn Anna in great detail; every freckle, every eyelash, and even the shine in her smile was drawn out on this piece of paper. "That... That's amazing. I thought you were childlike. I never would've anticipated this" Iva grabbed another piece of paper. "Please, draw another!" She pointed to the picture of Anna. "One like this." Bianca began drawing again; this time, she was drawing with one hand and had her other hand on her lips, lightly rubbing them.
After a few minutes, the picture was complete; Anna had an embarrassed complexion in the picture, and her hand was also raised to her lips. "Curious... What made you draw this?" Iva sat down beside Bianca; hesitantly, Bianca eventually brought the picture to her face like she was kissing it " I see... This must've happened already. You're drawing your memories." Iva reached for the picture, only for Bianca to scratch at her arm with the quill's point. "What was that for!?" Iva held her now bleeding arm, enraged at first until Bianca had the picture close to her chest and shed a tear, frightened of it being taken away. "Fantasies lead to obsession; it can be toxic to one's health. But, I should apologize; taking things without asking is rude." Iva stood to treat the wound; she was bleeding all over the table. Bianca reached forward, dripped her finger in the blood, and began to color Anna's hair, freckles, and lips. Iva just watched with shock and slight amusement. The picture was now more alive than before. Bianca then kissed the picture again, but more intensely. Licking away the blood and ink from her lips as he pulled away. "This is an interesting turn of events. I didn't even want to do this at first, but... I've had a change of heart, my dear Bianca". She reached forward, rubbed the last of the blood from the edge of Bianca's mouth, and licked off her thumb. "I see a future here."
A few hours later, Anna returned to the library expecting to find Bianca and Iva studying together. She was finally free for the rest of the afternoon, so it was time to play as usual. She walked through the doorway, but no one was present, only a note on the table. "We are in the ballroom" She read the letter aloud and smiled. Then, she hastily left the room and paced to the ballroom, the music getting louder and louder as she approached. She walked through the door slightly ajar; Bianca was being taught how to dance with Iva. In the corner was a music box, playing a tune Anna knew all too well - "We wish you a Merry Christmas."
Her footing was slightly clumsy, but she wasn't doing too badly. Bianca was picking up on dancing rather quickly, trying her best to concentrate but also enjoying herself. "One and two, one and two," Iva spoke as they moved back and forth; Anna sat on a chair nearby and happily watched. Once Iva noticed Anna, she let go of Bianca's hands and stopped the music box "My queen. I hope you weren't waiting too long" Iva bowed again, and Anna waved it off. "No, not at all. I enjoyed watching you two dance and the music, of course. You picked my favorite; we used to dance to this very song way back when". Bianca walked over to Anna and sat beside her, grabbing her arm and holding it contently. "She missed you," Iva interjected as she reset the music box. "Always staring at the door, just waiting for you to return. I only noticed you were here because Bianca looked away with a gleam in her eye" She approached them both, eyeing how Bianca held Anna so close. What was more peculiar was that Anna wasn't pulling away. "I missed you too, Bianca" Anna lightly bumped the girl with her side.
The music began playing again, filling the empty room with a great melody. Bianca stood and pulled Anna's arm, excited to continue practicing dancing. "Do you mind continuing from here, your majesty? It's been a long day, and I have errands to run. She's learned the basics, so it should be some light fun." Iva gathered her things in preparation to leave, and Bianca was already moving along to the music. Anna let go briefly to say goodbye to Iva, "It was great to see you. Are you still okay with this task?" As Anna hugged her old friend, Iva hissed in pain and pulled away.
Blood was now collecting on her arm under the bandage."Are you okay? What happened?" Anna gently lifted Iva's arm; there was too much blood for this to be a minor cut. "I'm fine, just slight clumsiness with dancing is all. We all have two left feet when we start. I know you did," Iva laughed, moving her arm away from Anna's view. Anna laughed as well; maybe she was okay. Iva has always been tough, never letting things get to her. Trying to teach Anna anything as a child while being a child herself was a challenge. "Hey, that's not fair! Some people need to work at it, while others know how to. Fortunately, you were the latter." Anna is modest as usual. She's always been energetic and knows how to let loose and move to the music. It's one of many things people admire about her. "I appreciate the compliment, your majesty. I am more than happy to continue to help Bianca. I already feel like we've become friends." Previous events playing in her mind, Iva smiled while looking over to Bianca, completely lost in the song. "She seems to have that effect on people," Anna agreed. Having only known this girl for a few days, she feels like she's known her for years. "Until next time, your majesty" Iva bowed, then exited the room. Anna headed over to Bianca, the girl becoming excited as Anna grabbed her hands and continued to dance with her.
The music box had run its course, but they continued dancing. Anna was humming the tune to the song, and Bianca was slowly moving with Anna, her head on Anna's shoulder. "Bianca, I just wanted to apologize for earlier. I didn't mean to kiss you, not that it's a bad thing. I know that kissing is meant to be done between two people who love each other, and while you seem like a wonderful person, I'd like to get to know you better before- if things seem to head that way." Anna stopped dancing, making Bianca pull her head away. "You can't understand me yet... But I do care for you already. I can't explain it, but I feel drawn to you. I know I shouldn't, you being another girl and all. Plus, being unable to speak is a big part of why this can't happen. But I promise to do whatever I can to help you through this. I can say for certain that we are friends." Bianca put a hand on Anna's face as Anna had done to her last night. "A... Ann... Anna," She stuttered; Anna's face lit up in excitement. "Oh my gosh! You spoke! You said my name!" She hugged Bianca as warmly as she could, and Bianca hugged back, burying her face into Anna's neck, taking in as much of her as she could.
Tonight's sleep claimed Anna almost instantly. Lack of sleep from previous nights, exhaustion, and excitement from earlier took it out of her. Then, as she was lightly snoring, a figure stood above her. Heavy breathing echoed through the room, one hand on their lips, the other massaging themselves below. They bit their lip to stifle a moan, their legs shaking as they knelt beside the bed. They put a hand on Anna's face, rubbing their thumb over her lips. "...Anna," they whispered.