A few days later Elsa found herself watching yet another game of football played by the crew from Torandale. But this time it was Emily and Elsa sprawled on the grass watching the game. Nick had, after a lot of begging and persuasion, convinced Anna to play with them. And now the girl ran up and down the field, not really sure of what she was doing but having a lot of fun. Emily lay, not really watching the game so much as looking at the clouds, with her head near Elsa's feet. She grabbed Elsa's hand and began playing with her fingers absentmindedly while staring up at the bright blue sky.
"What are you doing?" Elsa asked while watching her sister trip and fall for the tenth time only to be picked up and brushed off yet again by Nick.
"Hmm? Oh, sorry." Emily said dropping the girl's hand and laughing. "I didn't even realize I was doing it."
"Well I didn't say stop." Elsa teased. She smiled when the girl grabbed her hand back and continued her fiddling. "Do you think there's…something going on with them?" Emily asked, glancing at the field to see Nick lightly toss the ball to Anna.
"Nick and Anna? I don't know, maybe, why? Are you jealous?" Elsa said only half kidding. She braced herself for Emily's answer, which didn't come right away. The girls face scrunched up a little, rather adorably Elsa thought, like she was considering her answer.
"I think so actually. But not in the way you think." Emily stopped before seeing the look on Elsa's face urging her to continue. "Well we grew up together and since im not the heir to the throne it's not required that I marry someone royal, so it was always just assumed, by my parents and the kingdom, that Nick and I would be married someday. I mean it's not what I would have chosen…necessarily but it's just what I have always been told. So now that it may not be true, I don't know, maybe im just a little scared of not being the number one girl in his life anymore."
The wave of jealousy that hit Elsa almost knocked her unconscious. But she knew that Emily needed her to say something, something supportive, something a friend would say.
What the hell do friends say?
"That's rough…" Elsa squeaked
Nailed it…
Emily stayed silent for a while, still playing with her fingers. She shifted and moved her head so that it rested on Elsa's legs.
"Do I make a good pillow?" Elsa joked, not being able to stop the smile that spread across her face. Emily laughed; her face lighting up in a way that made Elsa stop breathing for a few second.
"Yes you do actually. So who is actually winning the game?" Her attention turning back to the make shift field where their friends still played.
"I don't even understand the game let alone the point system." Elsa confessed.
"Sports not really your thing?"
"A big no to that one." The girls laughed and joked around until the game finished. At which point Nick, Anna and a couple other football players joined them on the grass. Emily sat up when Nick approached, much to Elsa dismay.
"Hey Blaze, how'd the game look from all the way over here." Nick said as he plopped down on the grass next to Emily. Before Emily could respond Elsa piped in, staring daggers at the boy.
"Blaze?" she asked with distain.
"Ya you know like fire? Blaze? It's just a nickname she has back home." Nick explained as he pulled Emily to him and she draped her legs across his.
"Well I think it cute." Anna said brightly as she sat. The friends talked and laughed for hours. One of the crew boys even flirted with Elsa the whole time but got almost no response from the queen except blank stares. They ended up staying out until the sun started to dip below the mountains and cast dark shadows over the group. It was the best day Elsa had had in a while.
Later that night Elsa and Anna walked through the halls towards the library.
"So is there something between you and Nick?" Elsa asked, wanting to find out not only for herself but also for Emily.
"Oh…Uh, What, why do you ask? I mean I guess he's kinda cute, and nice, and he kinda makes me laugh but I don't know if I would say there is something "going on" per say." Anna ranted until her sister cut her off.
"I only ask because of something Emily said today, im sorry I didn't mean to pry." Elsa stumbled on her words. She could tell by the look on Anna's face that she liked the boy. And who knows maybe the feelings were mutual, it sure seemed like it when they were playing football today.
"Good, less competition" Elsa thought before cursing herself for being so selfish. Their conversation was cut off by them walking into the library and seeing one of the most unusual sights the girls had ever seen. Emily was lying across one of the larger desks on her back, her shirt pulled up a little so that her skin was exposed. Nick knelt beside the desk facing the door and seemed to be concentrating very hard on Emily's skin, his eyes scrunched up and lips pressed together in concentration. Anna squealed, mistaking the situation for something else before apologizing profusely for making the two friends jump.
"Oh hi guys." Emily greeted, but she wasn't her usual chipper self and the way her fists were balled up made it seem like she was in pain.
"What's going on?" Elsa asked, growing more concerned by the second.
"Tattoo." Nick grunted, his eyes never leaving Emily's side.
"You are giving her a tattoo?" Anna screamed in delight bounding over to look at the work. "What is it?"
"Nothing yet, we just started." Nick explained
"Does it hurt?" Elsa asked with concern as she approached Emily, taking a seat beside the desk on the opposite side as Nick, Anna soon flopping into a chair near her.
"Well considering im puncturing her skin hundreds of times to permanently imbed ink in her skin, I would say yes, she is in pain." Nick joked.
"Why would you do it then?" Elsa asked
"What do you mean? I would do it in a second. It would be so cool to have something drawn on you that would never wash off." Anna squealed
"Well when im done with Emily, I could give you one." Nick offered.
"Im really not sure about that." Elsa said but was drowned out by a scream from her sister who broke into a huge grin, accepting the offer immediately. Elsa decided to drop the topic for now, deciding to deal with the problem when it arose. She then turned her attention to the girl on the desk, who was yet to chime into the conversation, her fist still balled up and eyes squeezed shut. Elsa reached out and took the girls hand. She was over the moon when Emily's hand opened to take hers and gripped it tightly.
Thirty minutes later Nick announced he was done. Grabbing a cup of water that sat nearby he gently washed the fresh tattoo before leaning back to admire his work.
"It looks amazing Nicky! Thank you" Emily squealed when she saw the finished product.
"What did you get?" asked Elsa who was yet to see the new ink. Emily smiled at the girl before answering.
"Well this trip and the friends I have made here have meant so much to me. And after seeing how far you have come with your powers since I have been teaching you, I wanted to get something to represent all that. So I asked Nick to do this." She said turning to show her hip to the girls. There on the girls hip sat a beautifully drawn snowflake. It was about an inch in diameter and seemed to move and fall when she moved. Elsa felt her eyes fill with tears as a smile painted her lips. "So…What do you think?"
"It's amazing!" Elsa exclaimed. "You are an artist Nickolia. Can I?" Elsa asked when she reached out to touch the small tattoo. Emily nodded as Elsa fingers moved to brush over the ink. Emily flinched at her touch. "Does that hurt?"
"No actually it feels nice because your fingers are so cold." Emily laughed as she smiled at the girl. Anna and Nick shared a look of amusement at their friend's flirty interaction before Nick cleared his throat to break to two girls of their stares and they both looked up red faced and embarrassed.
"So Anna? What do you say, is it your turn now?" Emily asked the red head who broke into a huge grin.
"Will you Nick?" Anna asked with her best puppy dog eyes.
"Of course! I love giving tattoos. What do you want and where?" Nick smiled.
"Well…" Anna started as she dragged Nick off to a nearby desk and grabbed some paper, starting to explain what she wanted in detail.
"You okay with this?" Emily asked as they claimed some chairs and settled in.
"Well I was hesitant before I saw yours, but now after seeing the work that Nick can do I figure it's up to Anna." Elsa said with a hesitant smile. Anna and Nick made their way back over to the desk Emily had been laying on and this time it was Anna who jumped up and lay down. Nick positioned himself and his supplies by her foot and sat down.
"Where exactly are you getting this thing?" Elsa asked her sister.
"On my ankle. Will you hold my hand Els? This is going to hurt." Anna pleaded. Elsa reached out and took the girls extended hand happily.
"Just try and go to your happy place and it will be over in no time. It's a few moments of pain and then you have this beautiful addition to your body for the rest of your life." Emily reassured the girl as Nick started.
"Taa Daa!" Nick exclaimed loudly, waking Emily and Elsa from there slumbers. They had both fallen asleep in their chairs as Anna was being tattooed, and Emily found she had slid down until she was almost on the floor. Sitting up she rubbed the sleep from her eyes and checked the clock on the wall. It was well past midnight now and they were all tired. "She was a trooper and only shed a couple of tears. Way better than Emily her first time, she bawled like a baby!"
"It's done! Let me see, let me see!" Anna yelled. "Ohh, its perfect Nick! Thank you!" She turned to show her sister who's hand flew up to cover her mouth as her eyes filled with tears again, and then to Emily who gasped and smiled from ear to ear. There on Anna's pale ankle was a beautiful rose, thorns and leafs extending from the stem framed a banner wrapped around the stem beautifully. But it was what was on the banner that had the queen in tears. On it printed in clear cursive letters were the names of her mother and father, along with Elsa's printed right in the middle.
"You have outdone yourself Nicky." Emily said standing to hug the boy, her head lolling on his shoulder. Elsa hugged her sister, her eyes still watering. They all stood in silence for a few moments letting the meaning and value of Anna's tattoo sink in before Emily chimed in.
"Well it's late and im tired." Emily stated. "Im going to turn in, you coming Nick?"
"Yep. It was a pleasure spending time with you ladies. And Elsa I can always give you a tattoo anytime if you change your mind." Nick joked, gathering his tools and heading for the hallway.
"I will keep it in mind Nickolia. Goodnight." Elsa said as the four went their separate ways to their warm beds.