"You're doing it wrong."
Elsa's matter-of-fact tone makes her father chuckle, as he puts down the hairbrush in defeat.
"Your mother is better at this than I am." Elsa giggles and nods, ripping her white hair out of it's messy bondage.
"Maybe you should just stick to braiding," she suggests, poking fun at his mediocre styling skills.
He shakes his head with a small laugh.
"Maybe you should be content with wearing your hair down."
Elsa sticks out her tongue, playfully, and grabs up the hairbrush from off of the nightstand.
"A princess never leaves her hair down," she recites, sticking her nose up, jokingly. The king ruffles the top of her head.
"Maybe your cousin could learn a lesson from you about proper princess hair technique, today."
Elsa starts to smile, but a feeling of anxiety grips her heart and she winds her hands around the handle of the hairbrush. The thought of the coming birthday party makes her a nervous wreck. Even just the mention of Rapunzel sends her into a state of panic.
"El..." Her father places a warm hand over her own and sighs. Elsa looks down and realizes that in her panic, she has covered the hairbrush in a thick layer of ice.
"No! I didn't mean to..." She takes quick, shallow breaths as she jumps to her feet and backs away from her father. Throwing the brush away from herself, she stares at the king, eyes growing wild in despair. "I'm sorry! I-"
"It's only a hairbrush," he says in a soft voice. "You've done nothing wrong." But Elsa's mind is too far gone to think rationally. She wrings her hands together, nervously.
"I'm not going today. I can't! I'll ruin everything! I always do...everyone will hate me. Anna will hate me..." This terrifies her the most. Little, joyful, Anna, a bright, bouncing ray of sunshine, as opposed to herself, a wretched, stone-cold, storm. "I'm staying home! I'll ruin everyth-"
She is so shaken that she doesn't notice her father stand and move towards her. In one swift movement, he pulls her into a tight hug. Her head rests against his torso and she can feel his stomach rise and fall with each slow, steady, breath. The sensation is calming, yet her blood still fizzes, anxiety pulsing through her.
For a moment, they are silent, until finally,
"I will stay behind with you, and tell your mother and Anna to go along without us, if you really don't want to go." He strokes her hair, lovingly. "No one is going to make you do something that you don't want to do."
His words are comforting, and yet, Elsa can't help but feel a sense of sadness in his voice. He's been looking forward to the day in Corona with his Sister-in-law and her family, and she can't bring herself to ruin that for him. She swallows the lump in her throat.
"I am old enough to take care of myself..." Her father only chuckles and steps back, breaking their embrace. He looks down at her with an amused smile.
"You're ten years old," he reminds her. "You can hardly ride a bicycle." Elsa rolls her eyes and places her hands on her hips.
"I can hardly see how that would come in handy if I we're left alone." She gives her father a challenging look, but he remains composed.
"What if, while we're all away, an army invades and the only way out of the kingdom is by riding your bike."
"Then I will have one of the palace guards carry me in a bike basket and pedal me out." She is content with her quick-witted response and even smiles a little. Her father raises an eyebrow.
"What if the only bicycle in the kingdom is really small?"
"Then he will sure look silly doing so," Elsa says with a giggle. Her father must be amused as well, because he gives one of his hardy, "daddy laughs" as Anna had once called it; the ones where his eyes even seem to smile, as they crinkle at the corners.
"Are you two almost ready to go?"
The soft voice belongs to the queen, as she appears in the doorway to Elsa's room, dressed in a deep blue gown. Elsa can't help but gape in awe at the beauty that is her mother. She notices her father's face turn serious for a moment as he looks to the queen.
"Actually, Idun," he says, clearing his throat. "Elsa and I decided that-"
"That we need you to do my hair!"
Elsa throws herself into the conversation before she can stop herself. Her father gives her a surprised look, but doesn't question her. Idun chuckles and steps into the room, graceful as ever.
"Of course, sweetheart." She takes one look at her daughter's tangled mess of hair and smirks at her husband. "You should have called for me sooner, Agdar."
She must notice the frozen hairbrush, laying on the floor, but she doesn't make a mention of it as she scoops it up into her hands. All she does is shake the ice off and settle down on the edge of the bed, summoning Elsa. The girl complies and slides up into her mother's lap. Idun rakes the brush through her hair and hums a soft tune.
"Are you excited to see your cousin?" She asks. Elsa wrinkles her nose and looks to her father for some kind of assistance. He gives her a comforting smile and she bites her lip.
"Kind of..." She twiddles her thumbs as her mother pulls her hair up, into a braided bun.
"Your Aunt Amelia has been telling me that Rapunzel can't wait to see you and Anna." She pins the final strand of hair in place and turns Elsa around to face her. "You look beautiful." Elsa looks down at her feet and blushes, but says nothing. Instead, she turns to her father and gives him a half smile. He nods, understandingly and reaches into his coat pocket.
"Here," he says, holding out his hands to her. Draped across his palm are two, blue gloves, that seem just Elsa's size. She gives him an uneasy look and reaches out to touch them. Her hesitancy lingers in the frost on her finger tips as she grazes the fabric. She expects ice to sprout where her skin meets the gloves, and yet, nothing happens. Elsa looks to the king in astonishment.
"I got these from the mountain trolls," he explains, a smile in his eyes. "They are laced with ice crystals, so they will never freeze." Elsa's eyes widen in amazement as her father slips the gloves onto her hands.
"As long as you wear them, they should help you control your powers," the queen chimes in, standing up and sorting our her gown. "Your father went out to get them last night, so that you can still have fun at Rapunzel's party, without worrying about giving yourself away." Elsa smiles brightly at her parents.
"Thank you!" She beams and examines the gloves. "They're beautiful."
"Be careful, though," her father says in a stern voice. "You can still freeze things. These just make it easier to conceal." The princess nods, understandingly and rubs her hands together.
The sound of delicate footsteps rings through the halls, followed by a crash. Elsa jumps in surprise as a little giggle is heard from somewhere nearby.
"Be careful, Princess Anna," a guard calls. But the footsteps continue and seem to get louder.
"Mama!" Anna laughs as she runs through the halls. Elsa's eyes widen with anxiousness as she slides to stand behind her father's leg. He places a strong hand on the top of her head.
"We're in here, dear," he calls out to his youngest daughter.
"Where?" The seven year old's voice cracks as her footsteps start to slow.
"In Elsa's room," Idun replies with a soft chuckle. Anna slides to a stop as she reaches the doorway and stares at them in confusion.
"Elsa...?" She asks, tilting her head, her low-hanging pigtails, bobbing sideways. Elsa takes a short step out from behind her after and gives her little sister a half smile.
"Hi..."
It takes a moment for anyone to really process this moment, but after a short, couple of seconds, Anna gives a little leap of joy and giggles, bringing her hands together under her chin.
"Elsa!" She runs into the room, her hands out in front of her, ready to embrace her sister. Elsa shrinks back in fear.
I don't want to hurt you again!
But her father strokes her hair gently and her nerves seem to subside, just enough for her to take a step forward. Anna slows as she approaches the white haired girl and fidgets, nervously. Elsa is about to say something when the little girl speaks up. She reaches for Elsa's hands.
"I like your gloves!" Her face seems to light up as her fingers caress the fabric and she shivers. "They're cold!" Anna smiles at her sister. Elsa forces a smile in return, recoiling her hands, and slipping them behind her back.
"Uh...thank you." She doesn't address the last comment and instead, looks to her parents.
Her mother seems to understand her discomfort and reaches out to touch Anna's shoulder.
"Darling, are you ready to leave?" The little redhead grins.
"Yes yes yes!" She exclaims, turning her attention away from Elsa. "I wanna see Punzie, and Pascal!" She hops up and down, giggling. "Oh! And the lights! I wanna see the lights!"
"As do I," Idun chuckles. "Come along dear. We should be boarding the ship." With a guiding hand on Anna's shoulder, she leads her to the doorway. "We'll be waiting on the dock."
Elsa watches as they go, Anna skipping alongside their mother and babbling about nothing in particular. The white haired girl feels a hand on her shoulder and looks up.
"I hope you didn't do that for me," he says with a small smile. Elsa wrings her hands together and shrugs.
"I did it for me," she says plainly. Although it's partially a lie. Of course her father played into it, and Anna as well, but the main thing was the look of disappointment she knew her mother would wear all day. To see such a pretty face look so sad should be a crime.
"Well, I'm very proud of you." He kisses her forehead and turns toward the door, holding it open to her. "Shall we?" He extends his hand as an invitation for her to take it. Elsa giggles a bit and places her gloved-hand, gingerly, into her father's palms. For the first time in forever, she isn't afraid of hurting him.
"We shall."
Author's Notes:
Woah this is going faster than I'd anticipated. I guess once I start writing, the words just sort of move.
I've got chapter 1 of WCBH 2 already written but I'm debating on posting it now or later. What do you think?
Also, I used the parents names from the Disney Wiki site so yeah...
I really love the relationship between Elsa and her father. I think it'll be big here. And even her mother. It's gonna get better i promise :)