When Elsa woke up one morning, she felt refreshed and energized since she didn't have too much work the day before, allowing her to retire in her bed chambers earlier than normal.
With a happy sigh, she went off to her personal wash room to do her morning rituals before walking the short distance her daughter's room.
"Good morning, little love," Elsa chirped from the door, smiling as she walked towards the canopied bed. When Elise didn't stir like she normally did at her voice, Elsa's happy mood immediately diminished and panic took over.
"Elise?" Elsa pushed away the canopy and sat on the bed, placing the back of her hand on her daughter's forehead and gasped when it felt unnaturally warm. Elise had never been sick before, so for this to happen so suddenly was quite a surprise.
"Oh, my poor baby," Elsa crooned sadly, brushing the stray hair away from Elise's face. At that moment, Elise scrunched her little face and slowly opened her eyes, groaning at her pounding headache.
"Mama," Elise whimpered weakly, her eyelids fluttering. Elsa gave her a soft look before kissing her forehead. "Mama, it hurts."
"Where does it hurt?" Elsa asked patiently, ghosting her fingers over Elise's cheeks and forehead in hopes of cooling her down a bit.
Elise pointed at her head and her throat, whimpering again, trying not to strain her voice. Elsa also saw that her nose was clogged and she was heaving, in an attempt of breathing properly. She let out a frustrated yelp at her futile attempts, tears starting to escape her eyes.
"Come here," Elsa soothed, carefully picking Elise up from under the covers and settled her in her arms, holding her close to her body. She radiated coldness, and Elise sighed in temporary contentment.
Still holding her daughter close, Elsa stood up from the bed, taking a clean handkerchief from Elise's drawer and bringing up to her nose.
"Blow," Elsa instructed, slightly pinching her nose through the cloth. Elise did as told, effectively clearing away the obstruction. Elsa set her back on the bed, covering her with a thinner blanket.
"Are you hungry, little love?" Elsa asked, disposing of the used handkerchief in the laundry basket for collection later. Elise shook her head, closing her eyes in an attempt of sleeping again.
"But you have to eat something," Elsa gently pressed on, concerned for Elise's health. It didn't help that she was still quite thin, even though her slightly chubby face said otherwise. "Beef broth, perhaps? Isn't that your favorite?"
Elise finally caved in to her mother's wishes, nodding her head slightly. Kissing her forehead, Elsa stood up and went down to the dining hall, walking directly towards Gerda.
"Good morning, your majesty," Gerda greeted, a small smile on her plump face. When she saw Elsa's distraught expression, she straightened up. "What is wrong? Is it little miss?"
Elsa nodded sadly. "She is sick, though I have no idea what brought it on. Would you be so kind enough to bring a bowl of beef broth up to her quarters?"
"Oh, poor dear. I hope it's nothing serious. But, of course. I'll go work on it myself." Gerda said hastily, curtsying before scuttling towards the kitchen.
"Elise is sick?" Anna voiced out, overhearing their conversation. Elsa nodded grimly.
"I think it's a fever. I have no idea what to do, and it scares me." Elsa admitted. Sure, she's had fevers, but she's never had them as a child. She didn't know how long they would last or the things Elise should and should not be eating.
"Have you told the doctor?" Anna asked, and Elsa shook her head.
"Not yet. I'm about to, though." Elsa said. Before she could turn around to leave, Anna quickly downed the water from her goblet, wiping off her lips with her sleeve before standing up.
"Don't worry, I'll go there. You go to Elise; I'm sure she needs you right now." Anna said. Elsa flashed her sister a grateful smile before heading back towards her daughter's room.
Quietly opening the door, she saw that Gerda had already propped Elise upright on her bed, slowly feeding her the broth.
Elsa walked towards them, sitting down on the other side of Elise. She peeked at the bowl and saw that she barely made any progress with the soup.
"Last one, little miss," Gerda said, bringing up a spoonful of broth to Elise's lips. With a grimace, Elise accepted the spoon, feeling a bit too full for comfort.
Gerda set the bowl and spoon on the tray by her bedside before curtsying and going out of the room. Elsa looked down and saw that Elise's face was tinged a slight green, her queasiness evident.
"Hnghhh," Elise whimpered before releasing the contents of her stomach from today and the night before, staining her bed sheets, her night gown, and Elsa's dress. With a bit of vomit dribbling down her chin, she immediately burst into tears.
"Oh, baby," Elsa sympathized, picking Elise up and setting her on her hip, not exactly minding the vomit since she was covered in it as well, but, if she had to be honest, the smell was quite hard to ignore. "Let's get cleaned up."
Elsa collected Elise's undergarments and a fresh night gone first before going to her own quarters, making a beeline towards her personal bathroom. She quickly disposed of Elise's dress before her own, leaving her clad only in her chemise. She sat Elise on top of the table next to the basin before running a small towel under the water, squeezing the excess and wiping her daughter down. She started with her face before moving down to her body. She tried to be as gentle as possible; she didn't want to aggravate her condition further.
"I'm sorry, mama," Elise apologized solemnly, her eyes downcast. Elsa finished wiping her daughter clean first before looking into her eyes.
"Why are you apologizing? You didn't do anything wrong." Elsa said, helping Elise put on her undergarments before putting on her night gown.
"Yes, I did," Elise argued, a new batch of tears threatening to spill over. "I threw up on you and I gots sick and now you can't do queen stuff 'cause of me." She lisped, the silent tears finally falling.
"Well, I can't say that I like being thrown up on," Elsa admitted, but made sure that she was smiling so as not to offend her. "But you know I prefer taking care of you than doing queen stuff. Plus, it's not your fault for being sick, so don't apologize for that."
"Really?" Elise lisped, looking up at Elsa.
"Really." Elsa smiled down on her, wiping away the tear stains on her cheeks. Elsa had also taken the liberty of brushing Elise's little teeth; goodness knows how much she needed that.
"There, all fresh." Elsa smiled, kissing Elise on the lips, making her giggle a bit. Elsa freshened up a bit herself, but seeing that she would not be able to attend to anything other than her daughter, she decided not to wear anything over her chemise anymore.
Picking Elise up from the table, they went out of the bath room and set her down on her large bed, promising to come back after a short while. Elise nodded obediently before laying her head down on a pillow, slipping into slumber once more.
Elsa went out of her room and saw that the door to Elise's room was open. She looked inside curiously and saw that three servants were already changing the sheets, cleaning up and disinfecting the room.
"Elsa, there you are! We've been looking everywhere for you." Anna said, taking a hold of her sister's hand. "Here's the doctor, by the way."
"Your majesty," The doctor bowed before Elsa, one eyebrow slightly raised at her clothing, or rather, lack of it. Elsa waved her hand dismissively before leading them in her room where Elise was still fast asleep.
With an apologetic sigh, Elsa walked over to Elise and kissed her temple, whispering in her ear.
"Open your eyes, little love. Just for a while." At that moment, Elise groggily opened her eyes, trying to suppress her pounding headache. Elsa helped her sit up and the doctor took no time beating around the bush. He quickly checked her vitals and determined her temperature.
"Did she have anything to eat today?" He asked, checking his time piece. It was only half past ten in the morning. Elsa assisted her in lying back down, kissing her cheek and running her fingers through her hair.
"You can go back to sleep, baby. Rest well." Elsa whispered before turning her attention back to the doctor.
"A few sips of beef broth, but her stomach immediately rejected it," Elsa informed him. "Other than that, nothing."
"Her temperature is quite high, your majesty, but as long as you keep her hydrated and rested, she'll be healthy in no time." The doctor informed, Elsa taking mental notes. "It's good that you were able to feed her, but try not to feed her anything too heavy. Stick to bread and liquids. Everything may taste bland to her, though."
Elsa nodded, trying to remember everything. "What about milk? She drinks a glass every night."
The doctor shook his head. "Any dairy product would just curdle in her stomach. If she really needs it, though, give her only a small amount."
"How long do you think this would last?" Elsa asked. She wasn't asking as someone in authority anymore; she was asking as any concerned mother would.
"It's hard to tell." The doctor admitted. "But I'll be checking up on little miss tomorrow to check her temperature again."
"I see," Elsa said. "Alright. Thank you." Elsa gave the doctor a small smile, and he bowed before leaving the room. Anna walked over to her niece and sat down on the bed, brushing her bangs away from her face.
Elsa was lying down on her side, her elbow propping her torso up. Her other hand was on Elise's stomach, rubbing circles on it.
"You do that a lot," Anna said, her eyes on Elsa's hand. "Rub her stomach, I mean."
"It calms her down," Elsa replied, a small smile on her face. Anna couldn't tell if it was from the sun shining through the window, or from the pure, unadulterated love radiating from her, but Elsa appeared to be positively glowing. "During the first night she was here, she slept by my side, but she couldn't exactly sleep. I started rubbing her stomach and after a few minutes, she was knocked out."
"I see." Anna chuckled a bit, a serene expression on her face. She looked down again and watched her niece sleep, giggling silently when she saw her unconsciously bringing her thumb up to her mouth to suck on it.
"I know I should be stopping this but she looks too adorable," Elsa admitted, taking a hold of Elise's other hand. After a short while, Elise removed her thumb from her mouth and threw it around Elsa's waist, snuggling her face in her chest.
"Mama," Elise mumbled unconsciously, a small smile present on her face. Elsa grinned and rested her hand on the crown of her daughter's head, moving her thumb back and forth over it.
"I know Mama loved us very much, but she was never this close to us," Anna said, surprised at herself at bringing up the topic of their deceased parents after how many years of not doing so.
Elsa breathed deeply, holding Elise closer. She didn't comment on her sister's observation; she didn't know what to say.
"But I'm glad that Elise has you now. You always say that you don't know half of what you're doing when you're with Elise, but I beg to differ. You're a natural when it comes to her." Anna praised her sister, smiling at her encouragingly.
"I wouldn't call myself a natural." Elsa argued, remembering the first few weeks when she had to learn how to change her diapers and learning the little quirks Elise had. She knew that she was not obliged to, since servants and nurse maids and Gerda were available, but she wanted to feel the satisfaction of raising her on her own. Elise groaned, slowly opening her eyes up at Elsa.
"Keep sleeping, baby. I'm sorry I woke you." Elsa apologized, smiling down at her.
"Mama stay?" She lisped, her eyes already closing.
"Yes, mama's staying here." Elsa reassured, humming a bit to appease her. Anna raised an eyebrow at her sister.
"What?"
"Not a natural, she said!"
Sick Elise, at your service. I've always wanted to do this, but I didn't exactly know how to start this until now. But, at least you get super mama bear Elsa.
This was requested by an Anon, so I'm sorry I couldn't give you much recognition. I hope this meets your standards.
Please do tell me what you think. Wishing you all the best!