"Mama, park! Park!" Elise yelled, trudging through the thick layer of yellow and orange leaves towards the open space while dragging Elsa with her. Despite Anna and Kristoff's (and even Olaf's) offers on bringing Elise to a nearby park, Elsa politely declined. She wanted to be the first one who brings her there.
As children, Elsa and Anna were extremely sheltered, not at all given the freedom to interact and socialize with children their age on a daily basis. Elsa didn't want that for her daughter, even though she wasn't royalty. The body guard insisted on coming along, just in case something was to happen to any of them.
Elsa, knowing that she would stick out like a sore thumb in her ice dress during autumn, decided to cover up with a long sleeved dress in a deep shade of violet, stockings and lace up boots, but her hair was still in a loose side braid while Elise wore a brighter, thicker dress, bloomers underneath and oxfords.
"I'll just be here, Elise," Elsa said, sitting on a nearby bench. "Try and make new friends, okay?" She added. Elise nodded before running off to a group of children who were playing this game where they chase each other. She had no idea what the motives behind the game were, or what it tried to promote. It was all strange to her.
Elsa was sitting alone on the bench, and other mothers were sitting together on the other benches. They were most probably just chattering about mundane things, like how their child lost their first tooth, how they all encountered sleepless nights, how they never get to do what they want to do. Well, probably. Elsa only assumed, since they weren't staring at the Queen with her nose buried in a book.
It felt extremely normal doing this (sans the body guard)- being able to accompany her daughter to the park was something that she never would have imagined herself doing in ten years, and yet here she was.
Elsa sensed a presence beside her, and taking the opportunity to socialize, she put down the book to take a look at her new seat mate. She wasn't anyone who Elsa had seen before. "Hello," Elsa greeted, trying to spark a conversation. When the lady looked up at Elsa, her eyes widened as she immediately stood up and bowed.
"Oh, I'm sorry for sitting here, your majesty, I wasn't aware that-" The lady prattled on, clearly flustered.
"It's alright, really! Please, take a seat." Elsa smiled at her warmly. She knew that she had the woman cornered, but there were no other seats available. The woman thanked her before sitting down, as far away from a Elsa as possible.
"Oh, come on, I won't bite. Relax." Elsa laughed, trying to lighten the mood. The other mothers were already glancing their way, trying to figure out why the Queen was outside the premises of her castle, without an event to attend to. "I am presuming you are here with your child?"
"Just like everyone else, your majesty." The lady replied with a smile, loosening up, but only a bit. "I am Sara, by the way. And my child's Frederick; the little boy in the green sweater." She pointed at the group, and Elsa spotted Sara's son running around, curly blonde hair flying in the wind. "If I may ask, your majesty, what brings you here?"
With a small but proud smile, Elsa pointed at her little girl, spotting her immediately. "My daughter, Elise. She's the one in the light blue dress."
The woman gaped her mouth open, but Elsa continued. "I adopted her not so long ago." Realization dawned on Sara's face, and then blushed a deep shade of red.
"I apologize if this may sound direct, your highness," Sara said, then carried on when she saw Elsa nod her head. "But how come you never told the public?"
"I don't know, really." Elsa stated, thinking it over. "But I wouldn't want to shock her by presenting her before a large crowd. What kind of trauma would that bring her?" She added, a slightly bitter laugh escaping her lips.
"I see your point," Sara said. The two had nothing else to talk about, but the silence after their chat wasn't awkward.
Meanwhile, the group of kids where Elise joined in were currently casting her out in all of their games, saying that she was too little and too dumb to understand. She didn't let it dampen her mood as she continued to run around, just enjoying the breeze and the company of the other good kids.
"I play, I play!" Elise chimed in, eager to join in at least one game. The older ones shared a look, and then one of them said, "Fine, the new kid can join."
The kids played tag, maximizing the space they had. When one of the older girls spotted Elise toddling with all of her might, she easily caught up to her and pushed her down roughly in a dirt mound, yelling, "Tag, you're it!"
Elise pushed herself up from the ground, dusting her face and dress off from her fall, but only managed to spread it due to her dirty hands. She couldn't keep the tears at bay as they fell one by one, creating streak lines through the dirt on her cheeks.
"Aww, poor little baby. Are you gonna go run to your mommy?" The girl teased in a baby-ish tone, laughing with the girls behind her.
Elsa saw everything that happened and she ironically felt her blood boil over as she froze the nearest tree, trying to control her anger She couldn't believe the nerve of these children!
"Mama, mama!" Elise wailed loudly, running towards Elsa. She buried her face in her mother's dress, crying it out. She picked her daughter up from the ground, cleaning her face with her free hand. Sara offered a small face towel, in which Elsa graciously took and cleaned Elise's face more thoroughly. She figured that she would give her a bath when they come home.
The children were all wide eyed and extremely guilty, not knowing that the kid they were picking on was the queen's daughter. The girl who pushed Elise now gulped, tears starting to form in her eyes and began reciting the Our Father.
"Hush, now, little love. Mama's here," Elsa soothed, rubbing circles on her back. Elise hid her dirty face in Elsa's neck, her tiny body racking with sobs. The mothers were staring dumbfounded, all in shock from learning the queen's purpose in the park. "Who pushed you?"
When Elise shook her head, Elsa tried coaxing it out. "Mama won't hurt her, Elise." Elsa promised, but she had the urge to do so. "Just tell me who."
Elise sniffled and pointed towards the girl who looked like she was about to poop in her bloomers right now. Elsa marched over to the group of children, and they all bowed and curtsied. She didn't mind them and went directly towards the bully.
"What is your name?" Elsa asked sternly, making sure that she stood her full height to further intimidate the girl. She looked to be around nine or ten, with very tomboyish features.
"O-ophel-lia, y-your majesty." The girl stammered, not at all daring to look up at the queen.
"Ophelia, if I may ask, who told you that pushing younger children into dirt mounds is acceptable behavior? I even saw you laughing!" Elsa seethed, her voice low and calm, but with enough venom to make the girl ingrain it in her memory. At that time, Ophelia's mother came to the scene, but didn't have any power to intervene.
"No one, your majesty. I'm sorry, your majesty." Ophelia answered solemnly and hurriedly before running towards her mother in tears. Elsa turned to look at the two, and then hugging Elise in her arms tighter.
"Do you want to go back home now, little love?" Elsa asked, and she felt Elise nod eagerly in her arms. Now that all the mothers and their children knew about Elise, Elsa knew that they were going to respect Elise more, if ever they came back, that is. It was the royal touch.
"I sincerely apologize for my daughter's behavior. It won't happen again, your highness." Ophelia's mother quickly apologized on her daughter's behalf. Elsa nodded before walking towards the bench where she was previously seated, collecting her book and picking up the face towel, returning it to Sara.
"Thank you, Sara," Elsa said sincerely, placing the towel in Sara's hand before walking away, the bodyguard in tow.
"Would you like me to carry little miss, your majesty?" The bodyguard asked, seeing that Elsa had started waddling ever since Elise had put on a little more weight, but it wasn't stopping her from carrying her everywhere. She shook her head.
"It is quite alright," Elsa declined. "But here, kindly bring my book," she added, handing it over to him. Elsa walked a little forward, resting her chin on Elise's head as she walked.
"Would you like to take a bath once we get back?" Elsa asked. She felt Elise nod against her neck.
"Mama?" Elise said, making Elsa's insides warm. That tiny little word was enough to render Elsa completely powerless.
"Yes, little love?"
"Mama, park to-morrow?"
Ah, kids. Don't know when to stop. This chapter's shorter than usual, but I sort of like how this turned out.
Please to tell me what you think. Wishing you all the best!