Anna knocked her signature knock, her heart heavy with the news she was about to tell her sister.
"Come in, Anna," Elsa said from inside, and when Anna opened the door, she saw her sister surrounded by stacks of books and periodicals of various topics, ranging from parenting to architecture.
"Hey, Elsa! So, how are you?" Anna stalled, her guilt eating her alive. Elsa raised an eyebrow as she looked up from her book, slightly confused at her sister's stranger-than-normal behavior.
"I am doing quite well," Elsa replied, playing along. "And you?"
"Great! Just, great. I mean, I'm not great-great, but I'm feeling great, y'know," Anna rambled, beads of swearing starting to roll down from her forehead.
"Alright, Anna. Tell me what's wrong." Elsa said, putting down her book and coming over to Anna. A thought then dawned on her, and she made no hesitation to voice it out. "You're taking care of Elise, right? Where is she right now?"
"About that, Elsa," Anna started, a nervous smile dancing on her lips, but tried controlling it so would not worry her sister. Elsa smiled softly, believing that is was another one of her daughter's surprises.
"She's waiting outside the door, isn't she?" Elsa giggled excitedly, walking over towards the door and opening it, but instead of her daughter's cheeky smile, she was welcomed by no one. Embarrassment washed over her, but it was immediately overtaken by concern. "Anna, where's Elise?"
"That's what I came here for," Anna revealed, her voice shrinking. "I sort of don't know where she is right now."
That was when Elsa saw red. Anna covered her ears, but her sister's voice was loud and clear.
"You lost my daughter?!" Elsa seethed, the temperature in her study dropping instantly. The windows frosted over and the walls were littered with shards of ice. She paced back and forth, something she usually did when she was in great stress.
"Kristoff and I were playing hide and seek with her. Turns out, Elise is a pretty good hider." Anna said, trying to lighten the mood. Elsa's face was hard as stone, her eyebrows looking permanently scrunched in anger and her teeth gritted. "But we already told the guards and the servants, even Kristoff to look for her. I mean, she's only like two and a half, she couldn't have gotten far!"
Two and two-thirds, Elsa wanted to correct her, but decided to let it be. With a deep breath, she defrosted the whole room before going out, Anna trailing closely behind. Her long string of apologies fell on deaf ears, so she decided to talk to her properly once she had cooled down, pun unintended.
Once Elsa reached the grand hall, she turned back and said, "Anna, stay here. Take charge while I am gone."
Before Anna could say another word, Elsa stepped out of the doors and started her search. She went through the gardens, the area by the fountains, the empty lot behind the castles, and even the stables, all the while yelling out her daughter's name. Desperate, she went out of the confines of the castle and searched. She asked every other person who walked on by, and they shook their head politely before carrying on, wondering if their queen had already lost her mind.
"Anybody, could you please help me?" Elsa asked passer-bys, not caring at what they thought of her at the moment. "Has anyone seen a little girl, brown hair, blue eyes, around two feet tall?"
When almost everyone responded that they haven't seen her daughter, it took all her might to appear composed, but her heart ached to have Elise near her. Tears rolled down her cheeks, running back to the castle, hoping that one of the guards or servants have already found her. They have searched every room of the castle, as well as the the outside of the castle, going farther than Elsa did.
Much to her dismay, they were all unsuccessful.
"Snowman!" Elise giggled, hugging the compacted mounds of snow but then immediately retreated when it moved.
"Aww, why'd you pull away?" The snowman sulked. He opened his stick arms for another try, and Elise, as accepting as a child could be, embraced him, both laughing as they hugged each other.
"Well, hello there. I'm Olaf, and I enjoyed your warm hug." He introduced, grinning as he did. The clearing they were both in was a beautiful meadow with green grass, an abundance of flowers and tall trees, almost reaching the sky, as Olaf would put it. His little flurry over him produced more snow than usual, working extra hard so as not to allow him to melt.
"I'm Elise," She replied, smiling her signature cheeky smile.
"Hey, you really should be with your parents. Where are they, anyway?" Olaf asked, taking her hand and leading her through the woods and towards 'where the people usually are', stopping near town square. Olaf presumed that the girl was from Arendelle; she couldn't have come from anywhere else.
"Mama," Elise blurted out, not to help Olaf, but because she wanted to be near her mother now. She hasn't seen Elsa since last night when she said good night to her, and now she's missing her terribly. Olaf paused when he heard this and thought for a while.
"Alright, let me sit on this. Who are the people I know who are called Mama?" Olaf thought long and hard, despite the fact that he didn't have a brain. Elise giggled at this. "There's Mama's Bakery, but I'm not really allowed there. Hmm..."
They were a good distance away from the castle, far enough to track a route towards it, but not too far to be reached by foot.
"Noooo, Mama's name not Mama." Elise corrected, laughing a bit. "Mama's name Elsa." Olaf widened his eyes in recognition, gasping when he heard his creator's name.
"Elsa's your mother?!" Olaf asked incredulously, his stick hands squeezing Elise's cheeks. "She never told me about you!"
Elise stared blankly, not exactly sure what or how to respond. Olaf took her hand and made a beeline towards the castle. "Come on, Elsa's this way!"
"What if she got kidnapped? What if she ran away?" Elsa conjured up a long list of things that could have possibly happened to her daughter. She paced back and forth, her arms wrapped around her stomach.
"I highly doubt that, your majesty." Kai reassured her. The guards were sent out once again, telling them to not give up until Elise was found. Despite having her gloves on, Elsa's powers were out of control since the walls were decorated with jagged spikes of ice, gradually enlarging and multiplying.
"What if she got hurt? What if..." Elsa trailed on, not even daring to continue. "Oh, dear goodness, what kind of mother am I?" Elsa wailed, finally allowing the best of her emotions to get to her as she dropped to the floor, sobbing loudly.
"You're a great mother," Anna butted in by the door, eavesdropping on her sister's mostly one-sided conversation. She went over to Elsa and knelt down next to her. "She absolutely adores you. It was completely my fault, Elsa. I'm really sorry that this happened. I'm not even expecting you to forgive me; just promise me that you won't shut me out."
Elsa wishes she could say that everything was alright, but the problem was, they weren't. "I swear to you I won't. Not again." Elsa settled on that promise, hopefully appeasing her little sister, wrapping her arms around her to confirm it.
The large door opened, the orange sunset illuminating the grand hall. Elsa and Anna immediately jerked their heads towards the door, both extremely hopeful that they had already found Elise. As if the gods were listening, Olaf came in, Elise following him inside.
"Elise!" Elsa cried out from her position on the floor, opening her arms out for her daughter, and Elise all but ran into them, hugging her just as tight. Elsa kissed her head repeatedly, holding her closer. "Oh, dear goodness, I'm glad you're safe."
"Can I join?" Olaf asked, and when Elsa laughed and opened her arm to welcome him, he immediately jumped in, and Anna joined in as well. When the group hug finally broke down, Elsa stood up with Elise in her arms, excusing them both before retreating to her quarters.
"You had no idea how worried I was about you," Elsa started. She removed Elise's shoes and cloak first before laying her down on her bed, and Elsa did the same. Propping herself on her side, she put her hand over her daughter's stomach, rubbing circles with her thumb. "Please don't wander out like that ever again, alright?"
Elise closed her eyes, relaxing at Elsa's little tummy rub. "Okay, Mama."
Elsa moved closer to her daughter so she was directly looking down on her. She stopped her tummy rubs. Humming a soft tune, she lifted her hand and then very carefully, she ghosted her finger over Elise's face. She lightly traced her forehead, her light purple eyelids. She traced her nose, her rosy cheeks, her tiny little lips. It was as if she was memorizing her face by touch.
Elsa resumed her tummy rubs. Elise smiled at the sensation, trying to open her heavy eyelids to look at her mother. Elsa's eyes were so caring and warm, and when she met her daughter's drowsy eyes, she smiled down on her.
"Sleep, little love." Elsa whispered, leaning down to kiss her forehead.
Elise yawned, cutely, if Elsa might add, and then whispered, "I love you, Mama."
It was the first time she had said it. Elsa's grin was no match for the Cheshire cat. She cried once again, but this time, they were of happiness, not grief. With a shaky voice, Elsa replied, "I love you too, Elise. I love you so much."
I was supposed to write something else, but when Guest (Twtfan01) suggested this idea, I couldn't say no. So, credits goes to him/her for the idea. I hope this reaches your expectations.
Also, allow me to enjoy Baby Elise for a tiny while. We'll see her age, no worries.
Please do tell me what you think. Wishing you all the best!