Too Much of a Good Thing
When I was maybe four years old, I used to dream of riding away on a white stallion into the sunset, only to find a beautiful and gigantic castle made out of lollipops that would have rainbows sprouting from the towers.
After I grew a bit older and decided that a lollipop castle would be very inconvenient, messy, and also aesthetically unpleasing, I decided to entertain myself with thoughts of Elsa and I having fun and being best friends.
The dining scene was where most of my daydreams took place; after all, it was the only time of the day Elsa and I were in the same room for a reason. Even then, in reality, we hardly ever exchanged words. I woke up far too late to see her at breakfast, and due to my late breakfast, I have a late lunch so I never saw her then. My parents, however, saw dinner as a great time for a family to convene, so there it was.
I haven't thought about these silly daydreams in years, of course, but today, I found myself planning out exactly how this dinner was going to work out, because today, I found myself wanting something.
Something really badly.
I want to go to the Southern Isles and see Hans.
I even planned out the script and everything. Every response expected from Elsa had been calculated and taken into consideration, which will then be followed by an appropriate response from me. I also braced myself mentally for Elsa's anger when she finds out that I had already RSVP'd Hans's invitation.
But that's not all I have done.
Secretly, I have also been looking into the palace records.
This birth condition that Frederic mentioned has been grinding on my nerves. Amathophobia, on second thought, seems like a silly thing to be ashamed of. If Elsa had amathophobia, the staff would know at least.
But they didn't.
Something about Elsa just didn't match up, starting with her hair. I've looked back on centuries of royalty in Arendelle, and not one had the glowing platinum hair Elsa seems to be able to pull off so nicely. I even looked on my mother's side of the family, and while there was a strawberry blond cousin, nobody had Elsa's hair color.
Elsa seems to be always surrounded by cold. Her room is like a freezer, even with the curtains drawn and the windows open. I questioned Gerda and she says that the fireplace has never been used in her room; not even during the famous blizzard that happened when I was 11. I've seen my mother and father go into her room before; they had look concerned, loving, and apprehensive, clutching their cloaks and shutting the door quickly behind them, and yet, a blast of frosty air still greets me every time the door opens and closes. If this frozen air thing was something that was just a fluke, I am sure Mom and Dad would have put a stop to it a long time ago.
The last point leads to another question. Why on Earth would they be concerned, or apprehensive? The love, I understand, but a simple fear of dust would not instill apprehension or concern in a parent who does not wish for their daughter to become a farmer or a builder.
Another thing seems to be worthy of notice. A large amount of staff was fired on November the 15th.
That was also the first day of Elsa shutting me out.
All of this has been swirling in my head for the past week, and even though I wish this was not true, I have to find out.
Is Elsa even my sister?
I hate myself for even doubting my parents, or Elsa, but this conclusion basically answers every single question I have ever had for the Universe.
Why did Elsa shut me out?
I'm not her real sister.
Why does she have hair that nobody in the family ever had?
She's not from this family.
Why was the staff lowered?
My parents probably wanted to keep a closer watch on Elsa.
Why is her room always so cold?
I haven't come up with a satisfactory answer to this one yet. I briefly thought about my parents wanting to teach her a lesson and all that garbage about family unity and her being an outsider, but I quickly brushed that off. My parents would never do that.
Plus, this is also, technically, a birth condition; a condition of one's birth, and this condition is that Elsa is not part of this family.
All of this put together is why I am currently up at two fifty-six in the morning with a candle, in the library, reading the palace logs.
But even then, nothing in this whole situation makes sense. All the palace logs check out. There were no late-night visitors from cloaked men, and there was no indication of a baby ever being brought in to the castle, to be raised as the Queen, no less. Even if this whole thing was true, how does Frederic know?
I perused the last page of the records carefully, and something isn't working here.
Frederic last entered the castle precisely a week ago, but he hasn't yet left it.
OOoOo
Prince Hans,
Thank you for extending this kind offer. My sister and I would love to join you for a lovely vacation at the Southern Isles. I am sure this visit will be the most relaxing and recreational.
I hope, once we are there, we will discuss in more detail your relationship with Anna.
Once again, thank you for the invitation,
Queen Elsa of Arendelle
I read over the letter once again, staring at it doubtfully.
"Are you sure taking a vacation will help?" I ask, glancing up at Frederic.
"It will make all the difference in the world," He answered, grinning. "Honestly, I imagine it will be fun! The Southern Isles are known for their impeccable taste in food and wine, as well as their fantastic and over the top parties."
"Over the top parties are a waste of time," I deadpanned.
"At le-"
"Elsa!" It was Anna.
OOoOo
I cannot believe it.
I just cannot believe it.
Frederic.
The jerkish doctor.
Elsa.
The mysterious sister.
Room.
Together.
"Oh my…you and him, him and you, what is going on here?" I accuse loudly, looking back between their red faces. Elsa's blush, especially, stood out from her pale skin.
"Anna," Elsa spluttered, standing up awkwardly, "Haven't you ever heard of knocking?"
Hah. That's a good one. I just write that down in my joke book somewhere.
"Elsa, you never open the door when I knock so I just dismiss the tradition as habitual brainwashing," I answer.
Okay, good, that shut her up for a bit. I turn to Frederic.
"So, is this why you haven't left the castle in a week? You know, you may be this creepy egotistic mad scientist but you need a place to stay too, and there is no way in h-"
"I asked him to stay," Elsa blurted out.
My world just exploded.
My least favorite Doctor and my only sister…together?
I refuse to believe it.
"This has to do with medicine," I say, looking around the room- Elsa was sitting at her desk, and Frederic was standing, holding a glass of some sort of red liquid. "Someone please tell me this has to do with medicine."
Frederic shrugged. "It's not medicine, per se, but treatment of some sort, nonetheless." His face curled into a mischievous grin
"You were talking about over the top parties!" I accuse, pointing a finger at his face.
"Well then, why did you ask the question in the first place if you knew the answer?" He shot back, stepping forward.
"Well excuse me for trying to come up of a reason for me finding you in my sister's bedroom!" I yell, shooting a glare at him.
"Anna, this is all just a misun-"
"Oh, how nice of you Elsa, to finally show how much you care about me. You know, I have only been in your room once, and you were asleep for more than three quarters of the time!" I scream, moving my finger from Frederic's face to hers.
"Anna-" Elsa stood up; for what reason, I have no idea. It makes no difference to me whether or not she's standing up or not, because for all I know and care, it's not making any difference.
"I'm your sister!" I yell, for the final time. In that short, electrifying moment, my head suddenly went out of the window, and my heart took over.
"Oh, but guess what, that might not even be true anymore!" I add, screaming at her.
If I had any doubt that my conclusion was wrong, or not true, they all disappeared. The look on her face was just enough. She was shocked at me for finding out, fearful for her life now that I do know, and confused as to how I discovered her and my parent's little secret.
"So, let me ask a question," I say as I pace around the room. My thoughts have never been clearer, and every nerve on my body feels numb. "How hard was it to just tell me?" I ask quietly. "Oh Anna," I imitate, "I'm not your biological sister so I can't hang out with you anymore, but hey, let's be secret pen pals; that okay?"
"Anna, what in the world are you talking about?" Elsa yells, striding over. "I am your sister, and don't you dare say anything that may contradict that. How did you even come to the conclusion that we're not related? Who fed you this nonsense?"
"You know," I say as I walk over to the door, "For strangers, we spend an awful lot of time living in the same place."
I open the door and walk out, before sticking my head in again. "I'll be leaving for the Southern Isles in the morning. I've had Gerda pack my furniture. See you at dinner."
OOoOo
As soon as Anna left, I turned on to Frederic. Everything didn't seem to make sense. Truth be told, Anna's entire outburst just had one reaction from me: "What?"
"What was that about?" I asked, outraged, fingering the edges of my desk for a pen. "I swear, I didn't understand a single thing that she just said."
Frederic shrugged. "It's probably just an eighteen year old thing, you know. She probably went out and smelled a flower that reminded her of a cookie that she and you used to eat."
I shot a withering look at him. "That's a twelve year old thing, not an eighteen year old thing. Besides, she was going around saying I'm not her sister!" I got up and paced around, fingering the loose blond hair that hung around my face.
"Y-"
"Of course I'm her sister! I know we're not the closest of siblings but I am her sister! We've grown up together our whole life! You know, I saw her moments after she was born and I remember I said she looked like a baby puppy!" I ranted on. My hands flew up to my head. "And how on Earth did she know you weren't leaving the castle anyway? She hasn't left the libr-" I stop.
That's it. She's been in the library this entire week.
How did she find out Frederic wasn't leaving? She was looking at the palace records.
"Why is she looking at the palace records?" I ask out loud, and looking in the mirror. My hair was disheveled, and my face was flushed from Anna's shouting match. Most people would look in that mirror and see a young woman who probably had a little too much to drink.
I see the real me.
This is the real Elsa, queen of Arendelle. A cowardly mess of a human being that doesn't even know how to say three nice words strung together to form a sentence to her only sister.
As much as I hate it, Elsa is right. Frederic is probably closer to me than Anna, but that's only because he knows my secret, and I will stop at nothing to make sure he doesn't divulge it to a single soul.
"She suspects something," I muse, turning around to look at the Doctor. "She's getting suspicious. She's going to find out about my powers. I need to protect her." I start pacing again. "She's going to the Southern Isles."
"Yes, about that, Queen Elsa, she did say she was packing her furniture, so she probably-"
"-Is leaving. Yes. I understand that. That's perfect. She'll be safe from me her whole life," I finished thoughtfully. "She'll live happily ever after without ever having to see her freak of a sister ever again. Now, leave, Frederic, I have some affairs to catch up on."
"As you wish."
OOoOo
After Frederic left, I poured myself a glass of water and sat down, and thought.
Even though I ought to trust Frederic, after all, there is no secret bigger than the one he manipulated me into telling him, but I needed some time alone to sort out everything that had just happened.
The first point; Anna believes that I'm seeing Frederic. That notion must be dispelled of as soon as possible. I'm not sure what little hate thing seems to be going on between her and the Doctor, but it isn't helping this situation at all.
I also feel a bit disappointed, though, to believe that Anna would think so lowly of me as to have a relationship with a man of lower class than myself. That is not proper behavior expected of a Queen, and I am personally shocked with her.
The biggest shock is, though, the fact that Anna has been looking at the palace records.
The palace records are only available to members of the immediate royal family, and if permission was given, court advisors and occasionally, members of the staff. Getting her hands on them would have been as easy as eating a whole slice of Gerda's lemon pie.
But this is Anna we're talking about. She's had no interest in political affairs or the going on's of this castle ever. She's never cared about ruling a country or signing peace treaties. In fact, when my parent's first told her about the palace records, she just ran off to go find some chocolate in the kitchen.
As far as I'm concerned, there is only one reason why Anna would look at the palace records.
She thinks I'm adopted.
Which is completely absurd, I reassured myself as I slowly walked out the door to dinner.
OOoOo
Princess Anna has got to be one of the most idiotic people to ever walk this Earth.
Not only does she make hasty assumptions, but she also sticks her nose into other's people business.
When she assumed that I was courting Elsa, (heaven forbid that idea), it took nearly all my self-restraint to resist flinging myself off of a high tower in total exasperation.
For now, however, I don't see Anna as a potential threat for my plan. A simple plan, really. I'm quite a famous Doctor. After all, only the most talented of medical men are chosen as Doctors for the royal house of Arendelle. I have a large network of scientists and like-minded men who are interested in the benefits of discovery and advancements in the scientific world.
Ever since I was a little boy, I wanted to be something in this world. The first time I read a book, I thought, "It must be nice to leave something particular to you. It will be like you will live forever."
I, however, didn't want to write a mere book. Books don't change lives. Books don't alter the course of humanity.
Innovations and discoveries do.
I entertained myself with daydreams of becoming a world famous scientist or a meticulous Doctor who would find miraculous cures to some of the world's deadliest diseases.
As I grew older, however, I soon discovered that changing such a large course of fate required an opportunity, and I didn't have one of those.
Sure, I was one of the greatest Doctors. Kings and Dukes called on me to look at their sick child, but there have been countless other Doctors who did that.
I want to be special.
I want to be known.
So, enter Arendelle. Two years ago, I was just separated from my son, my daughter, and my deceased wife in favor of a life dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge. I set up my own hospital, and for several months, flourished.
My fame spread, and one day, a visit from a messenger that came bearing the seal of the kingdom of Arendelle changed my life forever.
No, it wasn't the job that changed my life.
It was my meeting with Queen Elsa.
This is the opportunity I have been waiting for my entire life. This is the anomaly that is simply begging to be analyzed. Queen Elsa is my key to success, and I somehow manage to understand her, I will be the most important Doctor in the world.
I won't simply be a Doctor anymore. I will be the Doctor- the Doctor that will figure out the secrets to the human heart. I will be the Doctor that will introduce a whole other world of science; one controlled by the body.
I need to analyze Queen Elsa's heart.
To do so, Anna cannot be allowed to donate her heart to her sister.
OOoOo
"Anna?" I ask, knocking on the door of her room. "It's me, Frederic."
I heard some fumbling around the room, a loud splat, and some slamming of doors before the large block of wood in front of me finally opened. "What do you want?" Anna scowled, putting her hand on her hip.
"I need to clarify some things with you," I answer nonchalantly, walking into the room and shutting the door behind me, much to the anger of my rather angry companion next to me. I turned around on my heel, and crossed my arms. "Elsa and I are not seeing each other."
"You were in her room!"
"I'm a Doctor for heaven's sakes!" I retorted, exasperated.
"You're not leaving the palace!"
"She gets head pains in the middle of the night!" I lied.
"You were talking about parties!"
"Elsa was discussing with me the benefits of going to the Southern Isles with you," I answered honestly.
Anna blinked.
OOoOo
Elsa wanted to go to the Southern Isles with me?
She wanted to go stay with Prince Hans, with me?
But she hates Prince Hans! And the Southern Isles! And I'm sure she hates parties!
"Oh," I say finally. Tears sprung to my eyes and clouded my vision. The room spun around and quickly came into focus again once I hastily wiped away my tears. "Is…is she still coming?"
"I have no idea," He replied, putting his hand on the door knob. "I just thought you should know," He said, and he left.
OOoOo
"I'm not going to the Southern Isles anymore," I announced as Frederic walked into my room. "Anna and I aren't exactly on speaking terms."
"Queen Elsa you are dying," Frederic announced as he sat down on the armchair by the French windows.
There comes a time in life where you can actually see into the future. It's a small glimpse, but for a sudden moment, everything flashes before you and you have no idea what to make of it because all the images went by so fast.
When someone says that your life is ending, one tends to have a moment like this.
I looked around the room slowly. I looked at the large painting of my father on his coronation day. Did he know that he was going to die some nineteen years after that? I looked at the miniature bust of my mother that was atop a bookshelf. When she posed for that, did she know that she was going to drown at sea?
They say "fear death", but I don't see what there is to be afraid of.
Perhaps, Mom and Dad, I am a broken toy.
But I don't want to be fixed.
"How long left?" I ask, standing up.
"A month at most," Frederic replies. "But, your majesty, I have several things to tell you, so sit tight."
I nod.
"I have already discussed this with Princess Anna, and there is a way to save you," He starts, looking at me straight in the eye.
"Oh?" I ask, tilting my head. "What's that?"
"A heart transplant could be in store for you, and of course, for lowest mortality rates, the donor would have to be from the family. In your case, Anna," Frederic answered, standing up. "The problem is with your own heart. It's almost completely frozen; literally. The blood is having a hard time pumping and soon it will become ice. And when it does, you will die along with it."
I opened my mouth, but Frederic held up his hand, as if to stop me from talking. "Of course, I haven't yet received a yes or a no from your sister so far, and the situation is getting critical, so I have another proposition for you." He sat down again. "I want to be immortal, Elsa. I want to live forever," He admitted, crossing his arms.
I raise my eyebrows. "That's hardly relevant," I remind him.
"I don't want to actually live forever, though. I want my name to be uttered throughout the generations as a man who altered the course of history," He continued.
"That's great," I comment.
"So I have a deal for you, Queen Elsa of Arendelle. You must keep Anna from allowing herself to be a donor, and when you die, I will be allowed to use your heart for research purposes."
Although a normal person might thing this is a horrible thing, I don't actually find it that bad. For once, I can be used for the greater good, instead of being a horrible shame to the human race. My heart, analyzed. Just imagine how great that would be! Humanity would have a whole other aspect of life revealed to them.
"That would be great," I say. "But…since I am dying, I wish to spend the rest of my life with my sister."
Frederic opened his mouth to say something, but closed it. "That's very thoughtful of you, but she is going to the Southern Isles tomorrow morning." He reminded.
"I will go with her," I answer, standing up and stretching. "Lately, my powers have had some trouble executing. I think in my weakened state, I can finally try to fix everything wrong between us."
"That would be great."
OOoOo
Dinner was an interesting affair. Separated by platters of food and large bowls of soup, Elsa and I would occasionally shoot awkward glances towards each other, but we would quickly look away when the other would notice the gazes.
"Elsa," I start, fingering the hem of my robe. "I am so, so, so sorry for everything the past few weeks. It's just, that coronation and everything was a really big thing and then there was you passing out and then going out to town with you and I understand why you avoid me, I really do, I mean, I would feel awkward hanging out with someone who isn't my sister either because, you know, I'm kind of antisocial but all that aside, I am so, so sorry for screaming at you, and I am sorry for accusing you and Frederic, well, sort of because I still hate Frederic but I still think you are a great sister- I mean, you are a great friend and I would just like to apologize." I finish, taking a deep breath. "Do you accept my apology?"
"Anna-"
"No! No! I completely understand if you don't. I have acted completely out of the line, and I deserve to be punished. I won't even go to the Southern Isles. That's it. I will never ever leave the castle ever again and I will never talk to anybody ever again and I will spend the rest of my life in my room learning how to sew because honestly I cannot sew even if my life depended on it but I ruin my clothes so often I almost feel embarrassed to ask Gerda to fix them for me and the-"
"Anna, I wanted to go to the Southern Isles with you," Elsa finally interjected.
I shut my mouth.
"Y-you do?" I ask suspiciously. "But…I'm such a horrible person! You know, the other day, I even snuck out of the castle! And then I witnessed a dog ruin a boat, long story, you know, but if you must, the fisherman wasn't there and then the apprentice took his spot and-"
"Anna?" Elsa asked, cutting off my story.
"Yes?" I ask quickly.
"There's a bug in your soup."
Guest reviewer: Anorexia Nervosa was a crazy thing that Anna just thought of. I guess you could say it was just used to complete the list. Thanks for reviewing!
Please review, favorite, and follow.
New story arc next chapter, and it focuses more on character development. :D