New chapter and now we pick up the pace a little. All those preparations, how are they really going? You'll have to read to find out!
Laidyx: Haha I am too curious not to translate! ;) So happy you liked the chapter and Astrid really could be a problem should she choose to come. The drama which could unfold! ;)
IcyeyesBright99: Glad to hear you still like it! Who are coming with Hiccup will soon be reveled! When it comes to Hiccup and Astrid all I can say is: It's complicated. But don't worry soon you will find out why!
3.
"It looks wonderful Mrs. Andersson! If you need any more help with anything you just send for me. Also I wish that the food left after each day of celebration shall be given to the poorhouse." Elsa told the Head Cook who bowed her head before leaving Elsa in the great ballroom, which was in the process of being decorated.
The Head Cook, Elsa and Anna had put together the menus for the coming week and Elsa almost felt sorry for the kind cook for having to work with the lavish menus. Still Mrs. Andersson had assured Elsa that with the extra help that had been brought in, everything was under control. After all a royal wedding was a statement, and considering the great distances many would travel, it had to exceed every expectation.
All of the guests were invited to stay for the three day long ceremony, which would include a huge dinner the night before the wedding, the actual wedding itself with the wedding reception and another feast the day after.
However most of the guests would stay the full week since they had to arrive a day before the first party to accommodate themselves into their rooms and then stay a few days after the wedding to "recover" from the feast. Or as Anna said: "live on the good of their hosts."
The following days, however, would not be as grand as those of the wedding. Though Arendelle would of course still have to entertain their guests.
"Oh, there is no need for flowers to be draped around the pillars, master Rohlin. I will take care of those myself before the wedding." Elsa told the master gardener, as she was walking around in the ballroom to overlook the servants work.
"As you wish your majesty." Master Rohlin said with a bow as she passed. She gave him a smile before walking up to the nobleman standing in the huge doorway which led into the great ballroom.
"I leave you in charge now Ankarloo, remember I want everything to be perfect." Elsa told the man. He was very handsome despite being in his sixties. Sure he had little hair on top of his head, and that which he had had turned grey, but he was still tall and had a strong build despite his age. He was also one of the men on her council, an old friend to the family and the head of one of Arendelle's oldest noble families.
He was one of the few men Elsa trusted, and she often asked for his advice when she needed someone to talk to.
"I believe that is the queue for me then to send for my wife, my queen. But I do guarantee everything will be absolute perfection upon your return." The older man smiled at her with warm eyes and Elsa smiled back before leaving the crowded ballroom only to enter the even more crowded hallway. Here the servants and maids were running back and forth with sheets, towels and candles, all busy to get all the guestrooms ready for the next day.
There were also an enormous amount of servants working with cleaning and decorating the castle to perfection. As Elsa passed them, they interrupted their work to give her a small bow or a curtsey, before they continued with their work. Coming out of the hallway Elsa walked into one of the great halls where a grand staircase in oak lead up to the third floor of the castle.
Walking up the stairs Elsa saw the woman she was looking for standing on top of the staircase talking to one of the maids. The older woman was dressed in a dark blue strict dress and her hair was up in a perfect bun. Grey streaks could be seen in her black hair. The maid was dressed in the usual purple and dark green attire all maids wore, her brown hair up under her white cap.
"Mrs. Tomson, may I have a word?" Elsa asked as she reached the pair. At her voice the housekeeper and the servant girl both turned towards her, the housekeeper giving Elsa a warm smile while the young maid looked very nervous.
"That will be all then Miss. Olsen." The elderly housekeeper said to the young girl who, upon closer inspection, Elsa could see was fairly pretty.
"Yes thank you Madame. Your m-majesty." The young girl curtseyed to them both before hurrying down the stairs, looking at her feet the whole time while her face was beat red.
"Is everything in order, Mrs. Tomson?" Elsa enquired with the old trusted housekeeper, who looked very tired as she looked after the young maid.
"The poor girl just started here last week and have had some trouble finding her way around. Although no one would expect anything differently, I suppose, when you come from a small house and start here with a royal wedding only a week away. Otherwise everything is running just splendidly, no problems we have not been able to solve your majesty." Mrs. Tomson said turning to Elsa, her usually harsh face kind and with a soft gleam in her eyes as she looked at the queen.
"Thank you Mrs. Tomson, although you know that you are allowed to call me Elsa. There is no need for titles, after all you did take care of me all those years." At Elsa's words the old housekeeper simply scoffed and looked at her sternly.
"You are still my Queen, your majesty, and I am very proud to have you as my Queen, so I will call you what I like." Mrs. Tomson said with a tone that left no room for argument, a challenging look in her eyes.
At her words Elsa only chuckled. Few people dared or were allowed to speak freely to her, but the old housekeeper had looked after both Elsa and Anna since they were toddlers. Also Mrs. Tomson had been one of the few people Elsa had had any contact with during her years of isolation, and she had been a tremendous support to Elsa during those years.
This, in return, had created a special bond between the two. It was a bond they rarely addressed, but both cherished deeply.
"Very well, if you wish it I will not argue. Now, how is the preparation with the cottages to our Viking guests going?" Elsa asked.
When Elsa had received answer to the invite she had sent to Chief Haddock of Berk, she had been a little surprised that the Chief had actually accepted it. Still she had also been very pleased, knowing that it hopefully meant that Chief Haddock wanted to strengthen the relationship between Arendelle and Berk just as much as she wanted. After all their newest trading partner had turned out much better than anyone had expected.
Still the council had not liked the idea of inviting Vikings to the wedding, especially since said Vikings would arrive on dragons. The fact that not sending an invitation would have been an insult to the Vikings, most of them had chosen to ignore because they held a deep fear for the creatures.
However Elsa had soon closed the argument, saying it was a question which should not even need to be discussed. Making her decision Elsa had trusted solely on Anna and Kristoff who both had told her that the dragons were not vicious as they were portrayed in the old tales and that the Vikings knew how to control them.
Still the Vikings acceptance had made Elsa question her decision many times over the last few days. Her own logic and fear for her people was constantly struggling against the pure faith she had in her sister. But the correspondence she had had with Chief Haddock over the past weeks, during which he had appeared to be very understanding of the fact that bringing dragons to Arendelle would cause quite the commotion, helped reassure Elsa that she had, indeed, made the right decision.
At least she hoped she had.
One thing however had turned out very well, and it was that Chief Haddock had accepted her offer of other accommodations than the castle, telling her that the dragons would prefer the free space.
Therefore Elsa had ordered that three old cottages, which lay a small walk outside of the city, would be renovated to house the three Vikings during their stay.
"The cottages are coming along just splendidly your…" Mrs. Tomson began answering Elsa's question with a proud gleam in her eyes when she suddenly halted her speech. Looking thoughtful she gave Elsa a long look before she looked at the pocket watch in her hand. Looking up at Elsa again, now with a scolding look on her face, she then burst out: "Your majesty you are late for your own sister's last fitting!"
"Mrs. Tomson, I am on my way I just need…" Elsa started but at Mrs. Tomson's stern look she quickly quieted, feeling like a small child who was being scolded for doing something they very well knew they shouldn't.
"You do not need to do anything except to make sure you are there for Princess Anna! Everything is under control and if things start falling apart, I will send for you." Mrs. Tomson said as she began shooing Elsa towards the hallway which led to Anna's room.
"But you would only send for me if everything already was utter chaos, Mrs. Tomson." Elsa said, amused at how the housekeeper was now almost pushing her towards the hallway.
"And that is because I can solve everything else and you know it, young lady!" Mrs. Tomson said with a determined voice which left no room for argument.
"Now shoo! Everything here is under control! Oh and send Anna all my love your majesty." Mrs. Tomson added the last part in a soft tone as she finally seemed content as Elsa was standing in the hallway. At least she had stopped pushing her forward.
"I will, Mrs. Tomson." Elsa said, chuckling as she received one last shooing motion before she headed in the direction of Anna's bedroom where her sister was trying out her wedding dress.
When Anna had told her that Kristoff had finally proposed, Elsa had been so happy for her sister. However Elsa had been aware of Kristoff's plan a few weeks before the man had finally asked Anna for her hand.
The reason for this was that it was Elsa whom Kristoff had asked for permission to marry Anna. This was something which had made Elsa respect the young man even more. Not that Elsa had ever had anything against Kristoff, but in all honesty, he had never been an ideal match for Anna. At least not in the political sense.
Still Elsa had never spoken about this to either of them. She had seen how much they loved each other, and all she ever wished for was that Anna would be happy for the rest of her life.
As time passed Elsa had also found that she more and more had started to consider Kristoff a personal friend and not only the Ice Master or the man who happened to be in love with her sister. His dedication to learning the royal life had earned him Elsa's respect, and his pure dedication to Anna had earned over the years earned him her trust.
But it was still not until Kristoff came and asked Elsa for her permission to marry Anna that she had started to consider Kristoff as family. The reason was that Kristoff could have turned to the council for permission instead of her, in fact most young noble men would have done so.
Instead Kristoff had never approached her council at all. One evening he had asked to speak to Elsa alone and then he had asked her, not as Anna's queen, but as her sister, if she would grant him the honor of asking for Anna's hand. It was in that moment Kristoff had truly shown his considerate nature, and he had also shown that he understood the special bond shared between the two sisters.
And so, no matter the controversy, the two year old courting had finally turned into an engagement. An engagement which of course had set a new chain of events in motion: the planning of the royal wedding.
Anna had thrown her soul into her wedding, planning it now for a full year, and while Elsa had been part of the planning, she still did not hesitate to give Anna all of the credit.
Having finally reached Anna's room, Elsa knocked on the door waiting to see if she was yet allowed inside.
"Elsa? Is that you?" Anna voice was heard through the door and Elsa took that as her cue as she opened the door and walked inside. Anna was standing in front of the full length mirror, which had been placed in the middle of the room, all dressed in white.
"I am so sorry I am late! But there is so much going on right now and wow!" Elsa gasped as she took in thee full glory of her sister. "Anna you look stunning!"
In fact Anna looked more than stunning, she was magnificent.
The white dress was held together with a corset which went all the way down to the beginning of Anna's hips. From there the dress flowed down to the floor, an underskirt giving the skirt some volume. The skirt was also decorated with tiny white flowers which had all been sown by hand into the gown. It created a beautiful pattern which was not visible from afar, but it gave the dress life when you got closer.
The upper half of the gown sat snugly to Anna's body and the sleeves were the same as those of Anna's favorite dress which she had worn on Elsa's coronation. However unlike that dress, countless of pearls had been sown into the bodice of the wedding gown, all of them shining beautifully in the sunlight.
"So… Do you like it?" Anna asked with a happy smile, spinning around carefully as the seamstress took a few steps back and inspected how the gown moved along with Anna's movements.
"Anna I love it! You look amazing! Kristoff is going to faint from the sight of you." Elsa said taking her sisters hand, walking around Anna slowly so she could see the handiwork.
"This is stunningly done, Miss Potts." Elsa told the seamstress when she had finished her inspection.
"Thank you, your majesty! The veil is not yet done but it should be so by tomorrow." Miss Potts said, her cheeks a little red and her eyes glowing from the praise.
"That's good. Make sure to have it delivered here once it is." Elsa gave the seamstress a smile as the middle aged woman nodded and promised that the veil would be delivered as soon as possible.
"Now, Anna what do you think?" Elsa asked her sister who turned to the mirror inspecting herself with a huge smile. Her eyes were glowing and Elsa really had not needed to ask, Anna's expression said it all.
"I love it! You don't think it's too much?" Anna asked as she inspected herself in the mirror.
"Trust me it's not too much. If you had asked for a bigger skirt though I would have disapproved." Elsa said teasingly.
Anna answered by sticking her tongue out to her sister, Miss Pott's doing her best to hold back a smile at the sisters' antics.
"Well then I suppose we better put it away for now, I do not want to ruin it." Anna finally said with a voice full of longing after she had inspected herself a few moments more in the mirror. Miss Potts offered her assistance and together with Anna's lady's maid the dress was soon off and she left the room to hang it away safely.
"Frida, I think we will manage." Anna told her lady's maid who curtsied and left the room as well, closing the door behind her.
"Is everything working out downstairs, no accidents?" Anna asked Elsa as she helped her sister to get into her dress for non-formal days.
Elsa was trying to meet Anna's eyes in the mirror, knowing this could not have been what she wanted to talk about since she had sent Frida away. Still as Anna kept her eyes low, Elsa choose to wait and see if her sister would soon address what was troubling her.
"Everything is running without any accidents at all. The ballroom is looking wonderful, the food is in order and Mrs. Tomson has sworn that nothing but a major disaster will stand in her way of getting this wedding together. She sent her love as well." Elsa said, noting how Anna began fiddling with one of her braids at Elsa's last words.
"From the sound of it she had to force you away from all the planning." Anna said, meeting Elsa's eyes in the mirror for the first time as Elsa finished.
"No one forces a queen to do anything."
"So in other words she did force you away." Anna said smiling as Elsa chuckled.
"I'm not going to admit to anything except wanting this wedding to be perfect for you. You deserve it Anna, both of you does, and to be honest I think you will have the most stunning wedding this kingdom has seen in a long time." Elsa said and she could see how a troubled gleam entered Anna's eyes once more.
"Well it will be stunning once you start decorating that is for sure." Anna said, looking out the window.
"Ahh don't remind me." Elsa said with a groan, trying to ease the mood, but immediately getting serious when she saw that Anna had tears in her eyes.
"Anna what is wrong? Have you changed your mind? If you are we can cancel the whole wedding, no one…." Elsa began but was interrupted by Anna.
"NO!" She shouted before continuing in a calmer tone. "No I am not changing my mind. God, I love Kristoff and I want to marry him. I want it more than anything right now to be honest! It's just that…." Anna once again hesitated and so Elsa put a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"It's just what?" She asked in a soft tone. Anna looked up at Elsa with a mix of pain and sadness in her eyes.
"It's just that I wish mom and dad were here." Anna finally whispered and the words made it feel like time had frozen. Elsa could feel the pain rise in her chest, but the sorrow which radiated from Anna sister was something else entirely, but Anna had also had a very different relationship with their parents than Elsa.
"I know you do Anna, I wish that to." Elsa said guiding her sister to sit on the bed and as they sat down Anna's tears started to flow, Elsa putting her arm around Anna's shoulders so she could hold her close while fighting back her own tears.
"You know I miss them so much, but I used to miss them more. I used to miss them every single minute of every day, but I don't any more. Since I got you back and I fell in love with Kristoff, I don't think about them as often and I feel like I'm betraying them somehow. Do I do that? Am I terrible Elsa?" Anna asked, looking brokenly at Elsa, who could see how much Anna needed her to say that she was not a bad person.
Taking Anna's warm hands into her own Elsa pushed back a strand of hair behind Anna's ear as she spoke softly.
"Anna you are not a terrible person! You are the most loving, kind and compassionate person I know. You love freely and you spread light and happiness all around you. Not thinking about our parent's everyday does not make you terrible, as long as when you do you remember their love and who they were it's okay. It's okay not to stay in the past."
"But…"
"No buts!" Elsa said sternly. "Do you think you're the only one who sometimes find that a few days have passed without thinking about them?" Elsa added kindly, smiling a little as Anna's eyes widened a little and the tears stopped flowing not so fast.
"You mean…"
"Yes. I miss them so much, but I cannot wallow in the past." Elsa answered as she picked up a handkerchief lying on the table next to the bed and began drying her sister's tears.
"Anna, since I got you back, I do not think of them every minute when I'm awake. I haven't for some time, but what you need to know is that this is a part of the healing process, and our parents would have wanted us to heal. When the ones we love get hurt we cry, and when they leave us we mourn, but to stay there would never make us happy, nor would we be able to move on. With time we have to allow ourselves to think of other things and in these find a way to heal and find happiness."
Elsa put down the handkerchief, collecting her thoughts and her own swirling emotions. Anna was clinging to every word she said and Elsa took a deep breath before she continued.
"Not thinking about mama and papa every minute of every day does not make us love them less. That is simply a part of the healing process. There will be times, as I think you know, when something reminds us of them and then we will cry, scream and be sad for a few days. But after each time you will feel more whole, and in the end you will be able to smile at all the memories. Sure you'' be sad, but you will also be happy. Besides you know as well as I that mama and papa would have wanted us to move on, they would have wanted us to find love and be happy."
"I know you're right, but now I cannot ask them what they think of Kristoff. I mean, I think mama would have loved him, but dad? Would he have approved?" Seeing the slight fear and shame in Anna's eyes, Elsa felt her heart ache for her sister.
While Anna had always acted as if she never cared about the whispers about her relationship with Kristoff, Elsa had always known Anna was well aware of them and that they were saying that Kristoff was far from an ideal match. This, however, was the first time Anna had ever addressed the subject
"Mama would have loved him at once. Papa probably would have disapproved at the start but after some time he would have come to love him as family, just as I have." Elsa said honestly.
"You have?" Anna's eyes were full of hope and a small smile spread over her face in what felt like the first time in forever.
"Of course I have! How could I not? He loves you so much and he adores the ground you walk on. He is kind and charming in his own way. Although I have to admit that his relationship with Sven still disturbs me somewhat." Elsa said with a grin and Anna giggled "Also he has the outmost respect for you and he wants to learn this way of life only to be with you. I think it will be very hard to find a man like that, no matter how hard you look."
"You mean you only approve since he is the best choice around?" Anna asked with a smile.
"Of course I do." Elsa said as the two sisters giggled, before Anna got serious once more. This time however there was a light in her eyes, a light of hope.
"So you really think dad would have approved?" She asked, needing someone to say it just once more.
"I know he would. All he wanted was to see you happy, and Kristoff makes you shine like the sun." Elsa said no trace of doubt, her words so final no one would have questioned them. In response Anna threw her arms around her and hugged her fiercely, Elsa returning the hug.
"Thank you Elsa. I am so happy we are one again as when we were little, I could not have done this without you. I love you." At her words two tears fell from Elsa's eyes, the tears turning into ice crystals as they fell, landing as two icy pearls on Elsa's dress.
"So am I Anna and I love you too, I love you too."
Some wedding nerves and some sisterly bonding. I really wanted to address the sorrow many feel close to their wedding-day (or any big event in their lives) when you have lost someone very close to you, after all some moments only happen once and they therefore are a mix of happiness and sadness. So what did you think? Leave a comment, let me know and soon the next chapter will be up!
/Lysistrate