Anna burst out through my bedroom doors, giggling in delight even though with her doing so she inconvenienced the servants that marched too close to the suddenly opened doors. They shuffled about momentarily fazed by Anna's playful squeals, then they bundled up the fabric they carried, in a hasty attempt to keep the cloth from flapping in the slight breeze. Every change of the season they went through the same thing, a simple assignment to change the curtains, turned to extra labor thanks to Anna. They'd never seem to get used to her wrinkling the materials, she'd just pop out of nowhere and danced through them when loose. This time was no different. Anna dashed through the many different colored cloth, arms out stretched on either side making any fabric she came near fly, which included skirts and all. I'd entered the halls immediately, if not quickly, after her, and seeing her disgraceful behavior yelled, "Anna, that's not lady-like in the slightest."
She started to run backwards, forcing the servants to dive out of the way, then crinkled her nose and stuck out her tongue in a mocking manner, teasingly she said, "Elsa, you're just saying that because you don't know how to have fun!"
"What!" I exclaimed, "of course I do."
She giggled some more and turned back to run properly, shouting over her small shoulders, "then come and catch me Elsa" it was easier said than done, I couldn't be as reckless. I greeted each person I passed, even helped the maids pick up the fallen materials, and apologized on my sister's behalf.
"What could you two possibly be up to?" asked one of the many handmaidens, as I ran by. I did not slow down as I said, "We're playing tag." And I was it. I spotted Anna already sliding down the rails of the steep staircase.
She might have had smaller legs than me but they sure could move. I chased her into the kitchens where the kitchen maids shrieked, and desperately tried to keep the stakes of plates they carried from falling down. One unfortunately did not move out of the way quickly enough and the many loafs of bread she carried on a silver tray spilled. Anna snatched a loaf from the air before it fell to the ground, then escaped out from the humid room into the back gardens. I followed behind, but just before leaving, I looked at the chaos Anna had left behind in her track and bowed deeply, "I'm terribly sorry."
Outside, the trees had yet to fully regain all their leaves, some flowers that climbed the castle's walls like vines still waited for their buds to bloom, and the grass shined from the sun's light reflected off the dew, a gift left behind from last night's late showers. I let out a sigh, grateful for her deciding to play in a place less likely to cause trouble for others. Although my breath soon came in short gasps, my forehead damp with sweat and my hair undone.
"Time to put an end to this." I thought.
I raised my hands and out through my fingertips came a wintery mix. An ice slit formed in Anna's path. She continued to run at full speed and she realized too late, swinging her arms around wild kept her from falling for a couple seconds but she eventually tripped forward. But I would never dream of purposefully harming my own sister. I swiftly created a large enough snow pile for her to land onto.
She popped her head out of the snow and laughed, then when she saw me calmly approaching, her eyes grew wide and she struggled to push herself out from the snow that held her captive. She must have notice it condensed slush much harder to get out of than freshly fallen snow. She looked down at it trying to find any way out. Her little pig-tails swung as she shook her head, mumbling, " .no."
I poked her on the cheeks, "you're it." I said. She threw back her head and wailed out in defeat, "NOOOO!"
"Oh, calm down Anna, it's just a game."
Anna pouted, "but it's not fair, you used you're powers." Then on that cute little face of hers grew a devious smirk, that one would never believe she was capable of making, "you're it." She said poking me in the side. "hey." I shout while I did the same back to her, then she did it to me and we went on like this for a while.
"Anna, this is getting us nowhere"
"Yeah it's no fun with only two people, huh." She agreed.
That's when I came up with an idea, "we could play another game, like hide-and-go-seek. I hide and you seek, what you say."
"Alright!"
We did just that, Anna started to count and I went to hide, but almost immediately after I'd sat down in my hiding place she found me.
"How'd you do that?" I asked, completely baffled by what little time it took for her to find me.
"You always hide in the same place, under this tree, to read one of your boring books."
"No I don't." I protested
"Yeah you do."
"Fine." I said while getting up, "my turn to find you." I covered my eyes and started counting but Anna stopped me.
"Wait, before you do, I have something to show you." Anna says as she dragged me by the sleeves.
"What is it?" she asked.
"I found it when I was going for you. Come I'll show you."
Anna brought me through a path lined with roses, as we came closer to the Castle's Wall however the roses thinned out and the thorns grew thicker and spiraled out into the open, as if warning to not go any further. I'd expected Anna to stop when the sharp thorns narrowed the path but she didn't. "What are you doing going through places like this Anna?" she did not reply but instead tugged at my sleeves more urgently. Finally, we came to a stop at a place where the sun did not reach. Dead trees towered over us curving inward to resemble that of a cave. The leaves from last fall still laid withered on the ground, obviously we had come to the abandon section of the garden. I could count on one hand the places in the castle where I'd never been, this was one of them. Anna brings my attention to rotting wooden doors, boards nailed them firmly shut, and it appeared that someone had come recently to board it up some more. The whole scene looked ominous, we were not welcome here.
"I'd never seen it before Elsa." Anna said, looking to me to explain it all. Of course I knew the answer,
"it's always been there, it's a secret escape route for if the royal family is ever in danger it hasn't been used in decades, that's way bushes have grown all over it, and why it's been sealed off, though of course, if it was visible to all it couldn't be much of a secret get away. But we don't need it anymore, we are loved by all our subjects."
"Wow, we should check it out." Anna said. She clapped her hands in excitement, then moved to pull one of the boards.
"Anna!" I pull her back, "no, weren't you listen to what I said, it lead outside the castle grounds."
She got that dreamy expression as she said, "But haven't you ever wondered what it's like out there."
"I'm sure it's no different from in here."
Anna folded her arms stubbornly but I would have not of it, just then one of our maids could be heard calling their names.
"Come on Anna." I said walking away, she reluctantly followed.