CHAPTER 7
The previous evening had ended as many others had. During their conversation in the portrait room, Anna had made it clear that her pragmatism towards the betrothal would not alter how she felt about Elsa. However, the Princess wanted to make sure that her elder sister understood completely. So the Queen once again found herself being dragged to her bedroom by her younger sibling.
Now, Elsa sat in bed reflecting on the previous night's activities as the light of a new day shone through her window.
The two had made love with the same passion and fervor as usual, but the driving force behind the passion was something new. Elsa had felt a desperation that she hadn't felt before, almost as if she needed to make sure her sister was still real, still there, still hers. At the same time, she could feel Anna reassuring her that she was, in fact, still hers with every touch, kiss, and caress. Elsa had found it overwhelming and a few rogue tears had fallen from her eyes as the two intertwined their beings, reaffirming their undying love for each other. A chill ran down Elsa's spine at the memory.
The Queen sighed before finally opening her eyes to the new day. She looked down to see the Princess, still completely nude, haphazardly sprawled across her body. Elsa clapped a hand over her mouth. Anna was an enthusiastic cuddler, to say the least, and it took all the willpower the Queen could muster to stifle the laugh that threatened to escape and wake her lover.
Elsa managed to stop the laugh from becoming audible, but she couldn't stop her chest from heaving as she held it in. The Princess stirred slightly before letting out a yawn. The younger girl smiled and spoke without opening her eyes.
"G'mornin' Els."
Elsa giggled at her sister's sleep-laden voice before reaching down to stroke Anna's unruly copper mane.
"Good morning, my love." Elsa replied, voice elegant and poised despite the early hour. "I hope you slept well."
Anna huffed and stretched her arms over her head before responding to the elder sister.
"Mmmyea. Very well." The Princess smiled, eyes still closed. She adjusted herself so that she was facing the Queen and finally opened her eyes. Teal met ice as Anna looked at her lover.
"You're beautiful." She said with a smile. Elsa's own smile grew to a toothy grin.
"You're beautifuller." The Queen replied mockingly.
"Hmph." Anna frowned before hitting her sister with a pillow. "S'not nice to tease people."
"Oomph!" Elsa cried as the pillow hit her head. "Well, it's not nice to hit people with pillows, especially Queens."
Now grinning devilishly, the aforementioned Queen formed a thin layer of ice on her hand. She took her revenge by placing the now-freezing appendage on Anna's bare lower back.
"EEK!" The redhead screamed as she immediately shot up from the bed, a look of shock plastered on her face.
Elsa was grabbing her stomach as she laughed at the nude, shivering woman before her.
"Not. F-f-fa-fair." Anna complained through chattering teeth. "N-not f-fair at all."
Elsa calmed herself and rose from the bed as well.
"All's fair in love and war, my dear sister. And if I recall correctly, you fired the first shot." she said with a mischievous smile on her face.
The Princess rolled her eyes and stepped into her nightgown while Elsa conjured herself a beautiful ice dress. Anna beamed at the sight.
"I'm never going to get over that." she sighed, eyes filled with wonder.
Elsa smiled. "Good." she said. "I wouldn't want you getting bored with me."
The Queen placed a kiss on Anna's lips, eliciting a squeal of delight from the younger woman.
Pulling away, Elsa continued. "Now go get ready and meet me in the dining hall for breakfast. We have a long, busy day ahead of us."
Anna groaned. The last thing she wanted to do was work. Elsa heard her sister's complaint and tried to ease her worry.
"Don't worry, darling. No politics today. Until you are married, you are mine to do with as I please. So starting today, we are spending as much time together as humanly possible, doing whatever you want."
Anna's eyes lit up with excitement before she threw herself at Elsa.
"Oh thank you thank you thank you! We are going to have so much fun!" said Anna.
Elsa laughed and returned the hug. "Just go get ready. The faster you do, the sooner we can start our day."
Anna smiled excitedly and kissed her sister's lips in thanks. She skipped out of Elsa's room to her own, saying out loud all of the things they were going to do. Elsa smiled. She could feel her sister's enthusiasm from down the long hallway.
Queen Elsa ate her breakfast with a smile on her face, all the while listening to her sister describe everything they were going to do together. She sat quietly, simply nodding in agreement every so often, as the Princess outlined her plans for the two of them. It seemed like an eternity before Anna finally ran out of ideas, and by that time the Queen wasn't sure if they could complete Anna's list in a lifetime, let alone before the King and Prince arrived.
"It sounds like you've got the planning well under your control." Elsa said as she put her fork down.
Anna grinned. "Did you ever doubt me, dear sister?" This elicited a giggle from the Queen.
"Of course not. So what's first?" Elsa asked, lifting a cup of tea to her lips.
"Hmm..." Anna pondered, before her eyes widened in realization. "Oh, I know! We need to go to your ice palace!"
Tea sputtered out of Elsa's mouth and she coughed in surprise. Anna looked at her sister with growing concern.
"What's wrong, Elsa? Do you not want to go there?" the Princess queried.
Elsa gathered her composure and wiped her face with her napkin before speaking.
"No, no it's not that I don't want to go. Well... I just never thought that you would want to, after everything that... happened... there." Her eyes fell away from Anna's gaze, full of shame and regret. "After- After I struck you with my magic... after I shut you out again..."
Elsa suddenly found herself engulfed in a hug from her sister, who had hurried over to her side the moment Elsa had broken eye contact with her.
"Elsa, I want to go visit despite what happened there. You can't get over your problems unless you confront them head on." Anna broke the hug and put a hand on each of the Queen's shoulders.
"And despite what you think about the palace, I think it's beautiful. It's a true testament to how amazing your powers are."
Elsa looked up at her sister and smiled weakly before the Princess continued.
"Plus, a giant snowman threw me out before I could take the grand tour." Anna said with a taunting smile on her face. Elsa frowned, and Anna suddenly found herself covered with powdery snow.
Anna whimpered, paralyzed by the sudden cold. An evil grin formed on Elsa's face as she stood up and walked towards the door.
"You said it yourself, Princess. It's not nice to tease people."
Elsa looked over her shoulder to offer some parting words, and chuckled as she saw Anna brushing snow off of her hair.
"Once you dry off, you can find me in the garden."
Elsa was still cackling as she closed the door to the dining hall. She headed for the foyer of the castle, intent on waiting for Anna in the garden. As she reached the door, she was stopped by Kai, the castle's head servant.
"Your Majesty." The man bowed quickly before continuing. "A correspondence from Ørnhavn arrived this morning." He offered Elsa the parchment in his hands and she took it.
"Thank you, Kai. You are dismissed." The man bowed again before taking his leave. Elsa looked down at the sealed letter with dread.
The Queen continued her journey to the garden, coming to rest on a bench under a trellis. With a sigh, she broke the seal on the letter and began to read.
To Her Royal Majesty Queen Elsa of Arendelle,
Let it be known that HRM King Aleksander of Ørnhavn and HRH Prince Mattias of Ørnhavn shall arrive in Arendelle in one week's time from the sending date of this correspondence.
HRH Prince Mattias shall stay in Arendelle until the nuptials between himself and HRH Princess Anna of Arendelle, which shall take place on a date to be discussed upon the arrival of the King.
Elsa frowned. The letter seemed curt and impersonal, much unlike the boy she remembered Aleksander to be. It made her nervous. Perhaps Mattias had become a cold and calculating ruler as well. She remembered the boy he was; kind, loyal, and sweet. But that was so many years ago.
Elsa's brow furrowed and she sighed. The date on the letter indicated it had been sent the previous day, meaning the King and Prince would arrive in six day's time.
"Not nearly enough time..." she thought out loud. She jumped as she heard Anna call her name and looked to see the younger woman bounding towards her. In a panic, she crumpled the letter and threw it into a nearby rosebush.
The Queen stood up and straightened her gown while forcing a smile to her face.
"Are you ready to go?" she asked the Princess, who seemed to not have noticed her disposal of the letter.
"I was born ready!" Anna replied excitedly. The two sisters locked hands and made their way towards Elsa's ice palace.
The Queen and Princess arrived at the massive staircase leading up to the ice palace after a rather pleasant carriage ride. The Queen insisted that guards weren't necessary, so only the driver accompanied them. Elsa's motives for dismissing the guards were not completely altruistic; the sisters had spent the ride passionately kissing each other in the privacy of the passenger compartment.
Elsa joined her sister at the base of the stairs after dismissing the carriage driver with instructions to return at sunset. The Queen latched on to Anna's arm as the Princess stared up at the palace.
"Elsa, I forgot how incredible this place was!" Anna said, wonder evident in her voice.
Elsa smiled and cuddled closer to her sister. Suddenly the contact was broken and the Princess was bounding up the stairs.
"C'mon!" Anna said, turning back to face her sister. "We're wasting daylight standing out here!"
The smile on the blonde's face grew as she joined Anna on the stairs. Hand in hand, the sisters ascended the icy steps.
As they neared the top, Elsa felt a light rumble in the steps.
"Did you feel that?" she asked Anna.
"Yeah, I think I-"
The Princess's reply was cut short as the rumbling grew stronger. Elsa looked up to see the doors of the palace opening. The sisters gasped as a large shadow began to slowly emerge from the palace's maw.
"Stand back, Anna!" Elsa reflexively conjured a wall of ice to shield her and her sister from whatever was emerging from the castle.
Anna, now behind her sister, peered over the Queen's shoulder and through the ice. She noticed the shadow was shrinking as the figure got closer. Suddenly, a thought popped into her head.
"Elsa, I think that might be-"
"Hi guys!" She was cut off by the figure as it waddled out from the shadows it was casting. She saw a twig-arm raised in greeting and laughed as Elsa let out a sigh of relief. The ice barrier disappeared.
"Olaf." The sisters said in unison, Anna with glee and Elsa with exasperation.
The tiny snowman smiled. "Oh, that's me!" He replied eagerly and spread his arms in anticipation of a hug.
Elsa couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of the situation. She climbed the rest of the stairs along with her sister and met the animated snowman with open arms, taking him in to a warm hug. After releasing the hug, Anna spoke.
"What are you doing all the way up here, Olaf? I expected you to be down in the city with Kristoff and Sven."
The snowman giggled and responded.
"Yeah, I was with Kristoff and Sven! But after I broke Kristoff's sled again, he told me that he would 'put each part of my body on a different continent' if I didn't leave." Olaf seemed unfazed by the threat, however, and the smile remained on his face. "So I left! I didn't know where to go, so I thought, where do snowmen live? And then I remembered Marshmallow lived here at the ice castle, so I came here!"
Elsa was smiling with a hand on her forehead as Anna held back a laugh.
"Speaking of Marshmallow, where is-"
"MAMMA!"
Elsa was cut off by the rumbling of large footsteps as the snow golem turned a corner and ran towards her. She closed her eyes and braced for the impact, but luckily it never came. She silently thanked the gods as she opened her eyes.
"Hi, Marshmallow!" She said with a smile and a wave. She laughed as she noticed the tiara on the beast's head.
"Hi, Mamma! Welcome back!" He replied, his voice a deep rumble. He shot a glare at Anna, who returned the look without hesitation.
Elsa saw the interaction and laughed as Olaf spoke again.
"So yeah! We've been here, hanging out, you know, doing snowman stuff. We cleaned up the mess that Hans and those weasel jerks made!"
Elsa smiled. "Good work, you two. Now I need you to go on a special assignment for me."
"Oh!" Olaf gasped. "I love special assignments!"
Elsa giggled at his enthusiasm. "Good. I need you two to guard the palace while me and Anna conduct Royal business inside. Can you do that for me?"
Olaf shot to attention and saluted the Queen. "Yes sir! Nothing will get through us!" He motioned for the giant snowman to follow him. "C'mon Marshmallow! Let's guard the castle!"
Marshmallow looked over his shoulder and waved at the women as the two snow creatures made their way down the ice steps. Elsa returned the wave and shut the doors before she heard Anna's voice.
"'Royal Business', huh? Is that what we're calling it now?" She playfully nudged the Queen's shoulder.
Elsa returned the nudge. "Yes." she replied. A coy grin stretched across her face. "And I take 'Royal Business' very seriously."
Anna let out a throaty giggle and kissed the older woman on her cool lips.
"I know you do." She said. "But there will be no 'business', Royal or otherwise, until you show me the castle."
Anna turned abruptly and headed deeper into the castle, leaving a flustered Queen standing in the doorway.
The two women found themselves on the balcony of Elsa's palace after several hours of touring the building, as well as conducting plenty of 'Royal Business' in the Queen's chambers. Anna had to admit that while strange at first, the snow mattress added a certain something to the experience.
They sat in each others arms, watching the sun set in comfortable silence. At least, Elsa was comfortable. Anna seemed to be agitated; she was fidgeting constantly and her eyes were darting back and forth, focusing on nothing in particular. Elsa grew anxious.
"Is something wrong, Anna?" She asked.
"No, it's-" she started to reply, but the words fell short, and she sighed.
"I saw you reading the letter."
Elsa tensed her muscles reflexively. Anna noticed the movement.
"It was from the King of Ørnhavn." she stated. She didn't need to ask the question because she already knew the answer.
Elsa could only nod sadly. "Yes." she replied. "They'll be here in six days."
Anna frowned. Six days was nothing. She would have to use her time with her sister wisely. She looked up at the Queen and noticed tears welling up in her eyes. She raised a hand to wipe them away.
"Don't be sad, my love. We'll make the most of it. And don't forget, I'm never leaving. He can't take me away from you."
Elsa wiped a tear from her cheek and smiled down at her sister.
"I know." she nodded. "I know you'll always be here for me."
"I love you, Elsa." Anna said, cuddling further into the blonde's side.
Elsa tightened her grasp on her younger sister. She looked up at the sunset and admired the way the rays of light reflected off of the still surface of the fjord. Brilliant beams of red and gold sparkled and danced across the water. It was an incredibly beautiful sight, but it was nothing compared to the woman in her arms.
She smiled contentedly.
"I love you too, my Anna."
A/N
Hiya folks! See? Fluffy as hell, as promised. And it's gonna get fluffier in chapter 8.
Happy Labor day to my American comrades. For those of you that aren't American, Labor Day is a holiday where we celebrate the American Worker by not working.
I've decided to dedicate the chapter to explaining the circumstances surrounding how the sisters got together. I figured out a way to make it actually relevant to the story and not just fluffy filler. So everybody wins!
Also, the incredible fanfic "Stolen Ice" by Aesla came to a spectacular end last night. If you like ElsAnna and haven't read that story yet, you're doing it wrong.
Anyways, stay beautiful and keep the reviews coming. I love to hear from you. You can yell at me on reddit too if you'd like. Same username and everything.
One love, one heart,
-Cosmic
EDIT: Thanks to Revaq for pointing out an error I made. I believe I've fixed it; let me know if I didn't