While Anna took a quick, after-lunch nap, Elise decided to explore the castle. She walked around up until she was in the throne room. She saw no one around, so, feeling adventurous, she walked right up to her throne, climbing up and sitting down on it, giggling cutely.
"I'm Queen Elsa of Arendelle. Bow down to me!" Elise imitated her mother's voice to the best of her ability without lisping before laughing at her own antics.
After stepping down from the throne, she immediately went outside before she got caught. She saw a familiar figure in the distance and she all but ran towards him.
"Hi, Uncle Kristoff!" Elise lisped, raising her hands up. Kristoff looked taken aback for a while before complying with the silent request, picking her up.
"Hey there, squirt. You seem happy." Kristoff smiled, noticing the shift of emotion from yesterday. Elise giggled.
"I am happy!" She said, hugging him around his neck. "I'm gonna look like mama."
"What do you mean?"
"Aunt Anna said I'm gonna get my dress later." Elise lisped, her r's sounding like w's from excitement. Kristoff could only chuckle. "She said it's gonna look like mama's ice one."
"Really now," He said, smiling. While they were talking, he was slowly walking towards Anna's quarters, knowing that she would be looking for Elise once she wakes up.
"Yeah! I wanna look like mama 'cause mama's not here." Elise smiled, proud of her logic.
"Okay, so let me get this straight." Kristoff said, putting on a serious face, making Elise giggle. "You want to be some sort of stand-in Elsa while she's not here?" Kristoff asked, and Elise nodded. Kristoff held back a laugh; this kid is too adorable, he thought.
"Sounds good to me." Kristoff said casually before flipping Elise over, holding her by her feet, making her scream and laugh loudly.
"Whoops, wrong side," Kristoff laughed before flipping her right side up again. Finding himself in front of his girlfriend's door, his knuckles barely even touched the wood before it flew open, revealing a frazzled Anna.
"Dear goodness, You almost gave me a heart attack." Anna breathed, taking Elise from his arms and holding her close. "Your mother would have my head on a plate if you got lost. You know, again."
"Sorry," Elise muttered into her aunt's neck, and Anna all but crooned at how adorable she was.
"I'm just about to get your dress from Gerda. Would you like to come with me?" Anna asked the toddler, and she all but nodded her head as she excitedly bounced in her arms.
"Come with us, Uncle Kristoff!" Elise said, reaching for his hand. "So you can tell me how pretty I look."
"You're always pretty, squirt, but alright." Kristoff laughed, walking with them towards Gerda's private quarters.
Kristoff was walking towards Anna's quarters to fetch her for their stroll out of the castle walls with Sven when he heard little sobs coming from the portrait room. Inching cautiously towards it, he opened the doors to reveal Elise in her blue, sparkly dress crying in front of her mother's portrait.
It was only the third day since Elsa's departure and she was already in hysterics.
"Elise?" Kristoff asked in a soft voice, walking slowly towards her. Elise's head shot up and looked at her uncle, looking completely heartbroken with fat tears rolling down her cheeks.
"I want mama," Elise sobbed, running towards Kristoff and clinging to his calf. Kristoff looked down at the child, slightly disgusted at the mix of tears, saliva and snot that was unconsciously wiped on his pant leg, but immediately felt sorry for her.
"Hey, hey now," Kristoff awkwardly soothed, but picked her up anyway. He wiped her tears with his thumb, bouncing her slightly. "I know you miss her, squirt."
"I want her back here," Elise sniffled, burying her face in his chest. "My old mama and papa didn't come back for me. I don't want mama to not come back for me."
"Don't talk like that," Kristoff said, immediately empathizing with his niece. He understood exactly what she meant. "I'm sure that she misses you just as much and couldn't wait to come back to you and your Aunt Anna."
Elise only nods. Kristoff knew that Anna was waiting for him, but he couldn't help but feel like he should do something for the little girl.
He was just going to have to explain everything to Anna after.
"Hey, you want to come with me for a while? I'm going to feed Sven, maybe take him for a ride." Kristoff said encouragingly, and at the sound of the reindeer's name, she cracked a small smile and nodded her head. She loved Sven as much as Kristoff did, and sometimes Sven even favored the little girl over him.
"Alright, then." He grinned, making his way to the stables with a slight bounce to his step so as to appease his niece. Once he opened the doors, he said, "Good afternoon, Sven! I have the squirt with me."
Sven spotted Elise and he started to get excited, jumping up and down at the sight of his little friend. Elise giggled and walked up to him, hugging his snout when he lowered his head down for a pat. He licked her face, making her squeal loudly.
"Calm down, boy. Don't overwhelm the princess." Kristoff said, taking the bag of carrots that was resting on a small haystack, pulling one out and giving it to Elise.
"Would you like to do the honors?" He smiled, and Elise nodded, taking the carrot from his hand. She held the carrot out to her reindeer friend and he looked elated first before taking it from her hand, munching on it happily.
"Again, again!" Elise smiled, running towards Kristoff and reaching for the bag of carrots. He chuckled before obliging with her wishes, allowing her to feed Sven five more.
"Uncle Kristoff, can we go for a ride on Sven?" Elise asked pulling out the big guns and hugging his leg, looking up at him with the cutest puppy-dog look a child could pull off.
"Oh, um, of course," Kristoff said, quickly preparing the custom-made saddle for Sven. He wasn't used to using one, but since Elise was in the picture, he had to use it for safety precautions.
Once the saddle was properly placed, Kristoff lifted Elise up on Sven, and then followed suit, placing himself right behind her. Elise was holding on the the reins, clutching it tightly. Kristoff had one hand on the reins and the other wrapped around Elise since he couldn't possibly risk her getting hurt on his watch.
"Go, Sven," Kristoff commanded, and the reindeer started walking at a normal pace, making his way out of the stables. They roamed around the castle, and Kristoff would make Sven gallop occasionally, eliciting loud giggles from the toddler. They walked within the premises of the castle twice, and during that second time, Kristoff spotted Anna by a balcony, smiling fondly at them.
"I thought I heard giggles," Anna said loudly to them. Kristoff didn't say anything, and Elise waved cutely at her aunt, prompting a wave back.
"Hi, Aunt Anna!" Elise yelled, sending Anna a flying kiss. It was something that she had taught her yesterday. Anna laughed heartily and pretended to catch it, placing her hand over her heart.
"Hello, sweetheart! Go enjoy your ride with Uncle Kristoff and Sven; I'll come and get you in a while." Anna said to Elise, and she gave Kristoff a pointed look that clearly meant 'we'll talk about this later'.
Kristoff grinned at her, jokingly sending her a flying kiss as well before they made Sven walk again for their last round before going back to the stables.
"Thank you, Sven!" Elise said, petting his head after she got off of him. Sven sort of smiled and licked her face, making her laugh.
"Thanks, buddy. I'll see you in a while." Kristoff grinned, petting the reindeer and feeding him a carrot before picking Elise up in his arms and walking back inside the castle.
"When's mama coming back?" Elise asked, hugging her Christine doll to her chest. Anna had just finished giving Elise a bath and she was currently combing her wet hair by the furnace, since she told her that it was something that she and Elsa did every night.
"In four days. From what I know, she'll be back by the time you wake up." Anna reassured, humming a little tune as she continued to comb her hair.
"When mama comes back, I wanna wear my blue, sparkly dress so we can match." Elise smiled, already excited at the thought. Anna grinned, kissing the crown of her head.
"I think she'd like that very much." Anna agreed. "Are you going to tell your mama about today?"
"Oh, yes! Did you know I fed Sven a lot of carrots?" Elise said, proud of that fact.
"You did, now?" Anna mused, putting the comb down. She placed her on her lap and swayed her body back and forth, resting her chin on top of her head.
"Yeah," Elise yawned.
"I'm sure that you'll have a lot of stories to tell her by the time she gets back, won't you?"
Elise nodded dutifully. She was starting to get drowsy, and Anna seemed to have sensed this since she had stopped her actions and picked her up, walked towards the bed and pulled the covers over them after laying Elise and herself under them.
"Good night, sleep tight. Don't let the bed bugs bite," Anna whispered, kissing her on the forehead.
"Good night," Elise yawned, kissing Anna on the cheek. She then sat up on the bed and turned towards the window. Anna also sat up, confused at her actions.
"What's wrong?" Anna asked, putting a hand on her back. Elise smiled a bit before answering.
"I'm gonna kiss mama goodnight." Elise stated simply. She sent a flying kiss towards the window before whispering, "Good night, mama. I love you."
Anna only shook her head at her niece, but she couldn't stop smiling. With a quiet chuckle, she also sent a flying kiss towards the window, saying, "Good night, Elsa."
Sorry about the month long delay. I've been going through some stuff.
Thank you so much for sticking with this story despite the really irregular updates. I'm glad that you like my version of mama Elsa (who will be making an appearance in the next chapter. I promise.)
Please do tell me what you think. Wishing you all the best!