A/N: Thanks to everyone who's followed/favorited and/or is reading but not reviewing!:)
Thanks to CieloFede for beta-ing!:)
johnpatgillespie-Anna and Elsa are awesome. They'll be happy as long as they have each other.:)
Protoestrella1-I figured Elsa would still want to be close to Anna, even if she feels okay on her own. Elsa loves being around her sister.:) Thank you! I completely agree. Elsa was definitely not 'cold' (well, she probably is temperature-wise, but her personality certainly isn't :P) even in the movie; you can just watch her expressions to see that. "Can I talk to you, please? Alone?" And that one short scene when Elsa is twelve and she's accidentally iced half the wall in her room she looks absolutely terrified. :( She makes me just want to give her a hug, but I know twelve-year-old Elsa wouldn't even let anyone close enough to her to even touch her, let alone give her a hug.:/ And yeah, I'm sure those mercenaries weren't pleased one bit when they found out what Elsa's punishment for them was.;)
BellaCullen931-I was just thinking of what Elsa could do with a storm is she is consciously controlling it since she froze the whole place without even knowing it. Elsa's technically a superhero if you think about it...:)
rachel-Thank you!:)
Fatten Saad-I'm glad you liked it!:) Yep, Elsa saved Arendelle (again), all on her own this time.:) Well, that's in this chapter:)
On to the story!:)
Anna woke up in the middle of the night a few hours later because the entire room and Elsa herself were completely freezing. Oh, Elsa, not again. You were fine in the cellar, and you seemed fine when I found you in the ice palace. Never mind that, I'm gonna help Elsa right this second. Anna turned the lamp on and bit her lip when she heard the crackle of frost all over the comforter.
"Too much…too much…not strong enough…" Elsa's scared voice cut through the crackling sounds, and Anna promptly began shaking her awake.
"Elsa, wake up! Whatever it is isn't real. It's a dream, Elsa. Just a dream…" Anna quickly pulled her sister close and held her freezing hands tightly. "It's all right, Elsa…we're safe together at home. Remember?"
Elsa sleepily blinked her blue eyes open and then immediately shot out of bed. "Anna, the hurricane! It's stuck-I couldn't move it-I, that is…the mudslide smothered us, and…wait a minute. Are you real? Why am I at h-home? I got to help, and…and…" What's going on? I can't tell what's real and what isn't…
Anna shook her head and simply guided a very confused Elsa back into bed. "Elsa, the storm's over. You took it up to the North Mountain. We're safe at home in the castle. It's all right now. It was a dream, Elsa. Just a dream."
I forgot. I got scared and had a bad dream again… Elsa let her sister tuck her back under the covers and then tried to reach her gloves on the nightstand. I should have known it was too good to be true. I'm not in control when I'm sleeping… "I guess I wasn't ready," she whispered.
"No, Elsa. You can't have those. Look. I'm holding your hands right this second. You feel cold to the touch but not excessively so. Just try again, sis." Anna released one of Elsa's hands and grabbed the two dolls off the nightstand instead. "Here. Hold them instead of putting on your stupid gloves, all right?"
Elsa hid her hands under the covers and glanced at the dolls nervously. "What if I mess them up?" I don't want to ruin Anna's present. I love those dolls. Anna put so much thought into everything she gave and did for me.
"Then I'll ask Gerda to fix them. But you won't mess them up, Elsa," Anna replied. "And they're supposed to help you feel better anyways. If that includes accidentally freezing them in the process, that's all right. Easily fixed."
Elsa considered this for a moment, and then snatched both dolls and curled up under the covers in a ball, clutching both dolls close. Thank you, Anna. It is nice to be able to hug something that won't get permanently injured if I accidentally hurt it.
Anna climbed back into bed and didn't say anything for a long minute. She watched Elsa closely to make sure she wasn't getting upset again, although all Anna could see of Elsa was her platinum hair peeking out from under the covers. "Do you feel better now, Elsa?" she asked quietly.
"Mmhmm…shoulder hurts…no hurt inside…" Elsa said sleepily. You make me happy, Anna… "I'm sorry I messed up again…"
Anna scowled at that, but then she turned the lamp out and then gently put one arm around her sister. Well, I'd rather Elsa's shoulder be hurting her than anything hurting her inside. But I'd still prefer neither! "I love you, Elsa," she whispered. "And it's all right. Don't apologize for making a little mistake. No big deal."
"I love 'ou too…" Elsa snuggled closer to Anna, not caring that every movement she made caused her shoulder to hurt worse. That she could easily deal with. Things that hurt her on the inside were more difficult for her to handle. But I have Anna. And she takes care of me…which is embarrassing, but it makes me feel happy and loved. So there.
"Anna, I'm still n-not completely sure about this…" Elsa said hesitantly the next morning after breakfast. She and Anna were getting ready to go visit the school, but Elsa still felt uncertain about the whole thing. And she regretted suggesting that Anna ride a horse instead of walking, because that meant Elsa had to ride a horse too. Elsa had only the most rudimentary riding skills; she hadn't been on a horse since she was eight years old. What if I just fall off right in the middle of Arendelle in public? I'm no elite rider. At all.
Anna frowned. "Are you scared of riding a horse or is it the idea of visiting a bunch of children that's bothering you?" she asked. "Or something else? I'll help you with whatever it is, I promise."
Elsa turned her gaze away from her sister and clasped her hands behind her back. Anna knows I'm scared… "Both, but right now it's the idea of riding a horse. I haven't been on a horse s-since I was eight," she said quietly. The horses might be scared of me for all I know…
Anna limped into the stables, holding Elsa's cold hand tightly. Elsa's nervous. That's why she's chilly to the touch right now… And I'm not telling her that. "Come on, Elsa. You don't have your own horse for some reason…well, I guess technically all the horses in the royal stables are yours, but you know what I mean. So you can pick one that'll be yours and yours alone, 'kay?"
That's because Dad never assigned me one, most likely. I remember when I was five or six he told me I could have my own when I turned twelve. That never happened. Elsa sighed and walked along next to her sister; then stopped in her tracks when she saw a solid black horse that seemed to be looking right at her. "Do you think he'd m-mind if I pet him?" Elsa asked, pointing at the black horse.
"It's a girl horse, silly. A mare. But sure! I've ridden Lorin before. She's nice and calm," Anna said. "Here, feed her a sugar cube. Hold it like this so she doesn't bite you by accident," she added, showing Elsa how to hold the sugar cube on her flat palm.
Elsa stood stiff as a board as she held the treat out to the horse, but then she smiled when Lorin nuzzled her hand looking for more. "She's not scared of me!" Elsa said happily. "This one," she said firmly. "I want Lorin to be my horse." Elsa hesitantly pet the mare's nose and then just hugged her before Anna could tell Elsa not to do that so fast. Lorin doesn't hate me. I was afraid all the horses would be scared of me or bite or kick me or something.
Anna smiled in relief when calm Lorin didn't react negatively to her sister's hug. That would have been a disaster if Elsa had done that to some of the livelier horses. Good thing Elsa picked a quiet friendly horse. "Are you ready to ride Lorin now, sis?"
"I think so."
Anna grinned as she watched Elsa ride around the courtyard a short while later. "You're doing great, Elsa! I think you're better at riding than you think!" she called out encouragingly.
"Well, I'm not falling off anyways," Elsa replied. That was enough for her. As long as she wasn't going to fall flat on her face in public, she didn't care how she looked. She'd already gotten into a discussion with Gerda about how she was supposed to be riding sidesaddle, especially since she was the queen; but Elsa had honest-to-goodness tried, and she just couldn't stay on balance properly. Elsa thought that might have had something to do with her injured shoulder, which was still bothering her, although she hadn't told anyone about it. Maybe she would try again another time. I'd better try again another time… Elsa smiled and stopped next to Anna. "I think I can make it to the school n-now," she announced.
"Awesome. Let's go!" Anna reached over to her sister and gave her hand a squeeze. "You're doing fine, Elsa. We'll go slow…I won't go galloping off without you or anything."
Elsa couldn't help giggling at that. "You do that and I'll s-steal all the chocolate out of the kitchen," she threatened good-naturedly.
"Stinker!"
"I know. That's nice," Elsa deadpanned.
Anna grinned. Elsa's actually joking around right now. She must be really happy.
When the two sisters arrived at the school, it was nearly lunchtime, and the kids seemed to be on recess. At least, that was what Elsa assumed since there were so many kids playing in the schoolyard and on the playground. She awkwardly dismounted Lorin; then helped Anna down from her horse so Anna wouldn't hurt her ankle by jumping down on it. Elsa jerked around when she heard a child's taunting voice behind her. That wasn't at me. I don't know how I know, but I just do.
"You can't play with us!" the same child announced.
"Why…not?" a little girl asked shakily.
"Oh look, dumb Daisy can't even figure that out? She's such a freak!" a little boy shouted.
The little girl burst into tears when someone slapped her, and she ran off under a tree.
"That's enough!" Elsa exclaimed firmly. I hate bullying. What did that little girl do that they don't want to play with her? Probably absolutely nothing…
"But Queen Elsa, she's so stupid," the little boy protested. "She doesn't care. It's just dumb Daisy. She can't even talk right!"
Elsa's heart twisted, and she suddenly found herself blinking back tears and running over to the little girl sitting under the tree crying. That little girl doesn't talk right? She sounded okay when she asked the one question. That could be me if I weren't queen or if I were younger or something. She knelt next to the little girl and hesitantly laid a hand on her shoulder. "Daisy?" she said softly.
The little girl slowly looked up at Elsa; then just shook her head, as if to say Elsa shouldn't bother talking to her.
Elsa held a small piece of ice out to the little girl and gave her a small smile. "You don't want a shiner like m-mine, do you?" she asked.
Daisy jerked her gaze toward Elsa the second she stumbled over 'mine', took the piece of ice, and threw her small arms around Elsa without thinking. Then a second later, "S-sorry, Queen Elsa! I-I…I just, um, w-wasn't thinking, a-and…" her voice trailed off, not wanting Elsa to hear her talk anymore.
Elsa tensed up all over when Daisy hugged her, but quickly got over her nervousness and pulled the little girl onto her lap. "No 'sorry' needed," Elsa assured the little girl. "Why do those kids pick on you?" she asked, already certain of the answer but wanting to make sure.
"They s-say I'm a freak b-because I s-stutter all the time," Daisy whispered. "Dumb Daisy. S-stupid. Whatever else th-they think of."
Thought so. "Do you think I'm a freak?" Elsa asked. Daisy shook her head hard. "Can you keep a secret?" Elsa continued. (Daisy nodded and smiled.) "Well, guess who else stutters s-sometimes?" Elsa asked, somehow not feeling embarrassed at all at her admittance of doing it herself.
Daisy's eyes grew big as she realized just what Elsa meant. "You? But y-you're…everyone l-likes…you're the S-Snow Queen! Y-you saved m-my family's h-house and shop in the s-storm! You have s-super awesome m-magic! And you've d-done it only t-twice since you s-said anything. I was c-counting."
Elsa gave Daisy a lopsided smile. Daisy reminds me of myself. If her blonde hair was significantly lighter and her skin was paler, she could be me. She even has blue eyes similar to mine. "I've gotten better. You just need to practice. That's what m-my sister tells me. And even if it doesn't get b-better, it doesn't make you stupid," she said firmly. Wait…that's the truth, Elsa. You thought yourself was stupid for being unable to talk properly, but you don't think Daisy is stupid. That means you aren't stupid either. "How old are you, Daisy?"
"S-seven and a h-half. And my t-teacher said I h-had a s-speech 'pediment. I h-heard her t-tell Mommy and D-Daddy."
"Well…you do," Elsa said slowly. And so do I. Who comes up with technical terms like that? Stupid. "'Speech impediment' is just a fancy term for s-stuttering, Daisy. But it doesn't make you stupid…or a freak…or any other bad name. Now tell me which kids d-don't make fun of you. They can't all be bullies. Just some of them…right?"
Daisy pointed at two girls and a boy playing marbles several feet away. "They're s-sometimes nice. When the other k-kids aren't a-around."
Elsa stood up and helped Daisy to her feet; then smiled a bit when the little girl insisted on clutching her hand. Daisy isn't scared of touching me. She's just treating me like a normal older girl. "Daisy here would like to play marbles with you," she said to the three children.
The older girl glanced up at Elsa, at the large group of kids on the other side of the schoolyard, and then back at Elsa. "Daisy's nice, but we'll get picked on too if we play with her right now, Queen Elsa," the girl protested.
"No, you will not," Elsa said firmly. "They will not pick on y-you or Daisy or anyone else. I promise. Queen's word," she finished, giving the girl a smile.
The boy, who Elsa thought was probably about nine or ten, looked up from shooting a marble and grinned. "If those kids start picking on us, will you make some snow for a snowball fight? That would be awesome! By the way, my parents like you. They said you're the best thing that's happened for Arendelle in ages. Or to be exact, 'Queen Elsa has bizarre abilities, but she's the best thing I've seen from the castle in over twenty years.'"
Elsa wasn't quite sure what to say to that. That's basically implying that I'm doing a better job than Dad…okay then. I'm happy to know people are comfortable with me on the throne though. "Well…tell them I said thank you, please," she said finally. "And I'll be happy to m-make snow for a snowball fight anyway. But those kids will n-not pick on you. I promise." She gave Daisy a gentle push towards the other three children, and then turned to head over to talk to the kids who had been picking on Daisy.
"She's cool, even though she's a girl. Queen Elsa has a shiner and doesn't seem to care. I wonder if whoever tried to fight with her got their butt frozen," Elsa heard the boy say as she walked away. Elsa stifled a giggle at that. No, I definitely didn't freeze anyone's butt. Figures a little boy is impressed by a girl in public with a shiner. Okay, then. She grinned when she saw Anna right in the center of the group of children with her hands covering her eyes counting to…something, Elsa wasn't sure what. Anyways, she did know they were playing hide'n'seek. "Okay, game paused," she announced. Anna and all of the children looked disappointed, so Elsa added, "Just for a minute."
Wait…how do I say this without sounding like a complete tyrant? I don't want to force them to play with Daisy or anything; I just want them to understand that they shouldn't bully her and that they need to stop. Elsa suddenly felt terrified. She had one chance to say something; she needed to say it right the first time. And while she dearly wanted the children to like and accept her, she wasn't sure that playing a game was the right thing to do, either. Those children would run home and tell their parents about the queen playing games with them. Elsa was a hundred percent sure that while some parents might think it cute or be happy that Elsa was willing to mingle with her subjects, others would think she was being immature and not retaining proper decorum. Where is the line, then? I'm sure some monarchs wouldn't have comforted a little girl in public, either. But I know that wasn't wrong. Daisy was upset. If our places had been switched, I'd want "Queen Daisy" to comfort little girl me.
Anna quickly caught on to her sister's feelings and limped over to Elsa. "Go ahead and say whatever it was you were going to say, Elsa," she whispered, giving Elsa's hand a squeeze.
"I…I'm…that is, I think…" Elsa winced and scrunched her eyes shut, and it wasn't because of her aching shoulder. Yeah, great job, Elsa. That sounded terrific. Deserve lots of attention and respect for that. Not. She heard a few whispers from the gaggle of children around her and Anna, but most of them stayed completely quiet, just looking at her, waiting for whatever it was she was going to say. "Okay, I apologize for that. I don't want t-to lecture all of you, but bullying another person like that is unacceptable. Why-"
"But Queen Elsa, Daisy doesn't care," one child interrupted. "We were just playing around."
Elsa shook her head. "Yes, she does. Why do you think Daisy r-ran off crying like she did? Everyone has…feelings inside…" I sound stupid, don't I? But it's the truth. Everyone has feelings inside. Anna taught me that.
"Daisy was just crying for nothing. She can't play with us!"
"One of you slapped her, for goodness sakes!" Elsa exclaimed, forcing herself not to raise her voice. That little girl was not crying for nothing! "And answer this. Were you playing a game that involved making speeches?" she asked.
No response.
"I said, were you playing a game that involved m-making speeches?!" Elsa asked again.
"Nooo…we were just playing tag," another child spoke up.
"Then why would you say Daisy c-can't play?" Elsa continued, dearly wishing her own self would quit stuttering entirely, although she was happy her own problem had helped a little girl feel better. I do speak better now, though. Anna and Gerda told me so, and I can hear it myself. "You don't have to say a word to play tag. What you were doing was bullying. How would you f-feel if someone else treated…you like that?"
The same boy that had shouted the insults in the first place spoke up now. "Uh, you guys? If Queen Elsa stutters herself, just, like, not nearly as bad as Daisy, maybe Daisy's not stupid. 'Cause the queen has to take care of all the government stuff. Which means she isn't stupid. But I bet Daisy's still stupid compared to Queen Elsa. And Daisy doesn't have awesome ice magic."
"Perhaps Daisy deserves an apology?" Elsa suggested, trying to get the children to do it on their own. Well, I'm glad my own speech problems aren't making me look incapable anyways. That's good.
All the children but two ran over to where Daisy was playing marbles. The remaining two scowled at Elsa and didn't say anything.
"If you mistreat Daisy or anyone else again, I w-will personally contact your parents," Elsa said quietly but firmly. "That is unacceptable behavior. You d-don't have to like Daisy, or even play with her. Just don't bully her. Understand?" She felt ice forming on her palms and quickly tried to jerk her hand away from Anna, but Anna just held on tighter. Okay, calm down, Elsa. They're just kids. No big deal. No ice. Conceal, d-no, that's wrong. Just stay in control.
Elsa gave the two children a friendly and very relieved smile when they reluctantly nodded and ran off. Well, at least they agreed. They kind of had to, I suppose…I am the queen. And I'm going to be the best monarch I can be, with Anna's help. So there.
A/N: Next chapter coming soon!:)