lessons start tomorrow /whines like Anna
forgot to write a disclaimer. Characters do not belong to me.
enjoy :)
The hills surrounding Arendelle gave a magnificent view of the royal castle. It was a breathtaking scene to behold—the frost-covered building set against the still blue waters of the lake. The frozen snowflake crest was raised high in the air, never fading in its brilliance. Rumor had it that the crest would cry when the queen was in distraught, its radiance dimming slightly but never darkness. Many would find themselves in awe of its splendor, stopping in their tracks to gaze upon the mighty castle from the vantage point.
Though the walls of the castle stood tall and impregnable, the iron gates were no longer shut to the outside world. Lords and ladies came through the gates bearing gifts and favors, hoping to get an audience with the young queen. News about the Great Thaw had spread to the Southern Isles and beyond, prompting the dispatch of envoys and dignitaries from foreign lands to secure an alliance or negotiate trading rights.
Throngs of merchants and tradesmen mingled in the open courtyard, wanting no more than a chance to present their finest goods and custom wares to Her Majesty. They had little luck with their endeavor today, as the queen was preoccupied with a matter that took her out of the castle grounds.
Anna weaved the soft stems of the wild flowers together, displaying a certain measure of finesse that belied her usual clumsiness. On the quiet hillside, she was able to spot the spires of the royal castle poking the blue sky. She grumbled in childish frustration and pivoted her body so that her back was facing the place that reminded her of her sister.
The strawberry blonde plunked down on the sloping field, feeling a little awkward with her lower body positioned above her rear, tipping her balance backwards. She tucked her legs in, wiggling herself as she tried to get comfortable in her position. When Anna was satisfied, she continued her weaving, channeling her stress into her craftwork.
It wasn't long before the number of flower crowns multiplied and the immediate area around the princess became bare. The girl was in deep concentration, fixing the knots on her fifth handicraft, when she heard, or rather felt, a cooling sensation that made her spine tingle.
"Whatcha doing?" said an enthusiastic voice from her right.
Startled, Anna let out a shriek. Her distress caused her hands slipped and the vines that were holding the flowers together snapped.
"This reminds me of the day we met, except my head is still on my body," the animated snowman named Olaf tittered as he looked at the standing princess.
Anna had half a mind to send his head flying far, far away.
"Oh! Oh! Flowers! Can we make flower mans?" Olaf asked in earnest, the perpetual buck-toothed grin in place. Elsa had molded him after a 5-year-old Anna, naivety and all.
Now that is just unfair. The princess sighed as her anger seeped away, "I don't think we can, Olaf."
The snowman bent his odd-shaped body and picked at the ground. "Oh! Anna! What are these?"
"They're called flower crowns. I used to make a lot of these when I was younger," Anna replied, remembering the times she spent in the gardens alone. She took the one in Olaf's stick-hand and placed it on top on his head. But the crown was intended to be worn by a human, so it fell to his neck instead of staying on his head.
The blue-eyed girl laughed as Olaf said, "It fits like a scarf."
"Come on. I'll teach you how to make one, we'll give that to Sven," Anna proposed after checking the sun. She was glad that she had changed into a pair of breeches before leaving the castle—it made climbing hills far more convenient.
Gathering the materials was an easy task; well, they were lounging on a hill in summertime. Olaf decided that he wanted the colors of the rainbow for his crown, though Anna doubted that he had actually seen a rainbow before.
Her doubts were confirmed when the flowers they had gathered consisted of only 4 colors and the snowman gave no comment on it. She found an oak tree not too far up the hill, its branches thick and full of tender leaves. Sitting down under the shade, she started to guide the snowman on the basics of knotting and weaving.
"Elsa would have liked to make this," Olaf said out of a blue. The little guy had a knack of bringing up the emotional turmoil that she was facing from time to time, making her think maybe he wasn't so innocent at all.
Disappointment showed on the strawberry blonde's face. She adjusted the sleeves of her olive-green tunic before saying, "The Queen is too busy to enjoy this fine weather."
"I think she's afraid of letting the people down…"
The snowman struggled with knotting. His stick-hands had some difficulty gripping the thin vines, so Anna provided assistance when needed.
"She wants to do good for the kingdom, give them a queen they deserve," the snowman said in a neutral tone, unaware that his master was zoning out.
Elsa. Oh how could I forget that she's carrying the burden of the kingdom alone? You fool, Anna. And she's just came out of hiding after 13 years. What did I expect her to be? Free-spirited like when she was in the North Mountains… She was stunning up in that ice palace of hers, the epitome of confidence. Like nature itself, wild and majestic.
Was it wrong for us to cage her in Arendelle?
The thought made her ill. She loved Elsa dearly, even after the 13 years of separation—her very being and presence, alive and not frozen, confirmed it. But maybe binding her sister to Arendelle—to Anna—was not the best of options for her, and Elsa did deserve the best. Maybe she was staying just for Anna's sake, even when she could be running free in the wintry mountains of the North. Doubts whispered cruel jests in the princess's mind, blaming Anna's dependence on her sister as the sole reason she remained here in misery.
"Anna?" Olaf didn't like the look on the girl's face, not one bit.
The sun was beginning its descent into the waters, taking with it the light. When the strawberry blonde failed to respond to the call, Olaf poked her in the sides, effectively snapping her out of her thoughts.
"Your face is sad, Anna. Do flower crowns make you sad?"
The girl wanted to cover up her face, to lie and say she was fine, but her traitorous heart demanded for her worries to be heard, even if it was by an animated pile of snow. "Do you think Elsa is happy here?" the first question that tumbled out had a twinge of hesitance.
"Do you know if she feels safe?" the voice grew louder, and the rest came out as a scream, "Does she know that she doesn't need to be perfect? That she's not alone? That I'm here?"
I should have asked her before.
The snowman stared at Anna; the sudden outburst had taken him by surprise.
A cold gust of wind swept across the field, rustling the leaves into an uproar. The 3 strands of twig-hairs on Olaf's head were whipping in the high current. The strength of the biting wind forced the princess and the snowman to shut their eyes.
Olaf was saved from answering when the subject of the princess's anxiety appeared before them.
"Anna…" the voice was breathless.
Elsa's cheeks were flushed due to physical exertion, the pink lips slightly apart as she panted. Her fair hair in a disheveled state due to the unintentional gale her powers had set off in response to the feelings swelling in her chest. At the sight (and sound) of her sister, the woman got down to her knees and cradled her little sister's face. Frost-blue eyes met the teary ones, a myriad of emotions reflecting in the pools of ice, but the one that burned the brightest was identified as regret.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Elsa said, over and over again as she pulled the girl into a tight embrace. Desperation was clawing at her insides to make things right.
"No. I'm sorry, Elsa," the princess interjected the repeating apologies. She returned the embrace, curling her arms across the slender back. Her fingers traced the fine details on the crystal bodice which the queen was so fond of wearing, hoping that it had the same calming effect on Elsa as it had on her.
"I'm the one who should be apologizing. I shouldn't have pushed. It was silly of me to get mad at you for being responsible. It was dumb." She wondered if the woman could feel her heartbeat quickening, how odd.
Elsa detached herself from her sister, wanting to explain her mistake, unknowingly making the younger girl's heart fall a little. "No. I should've made time for you. I promised I would make up for the lost years."
Wiping away the remnants of her tears, the girl shook her head and smiled wistfully, "You already are. We've been breaking our fasts together every day since you came back." You don't have to be perfect.
"B-but we-"
She stopped the queen with a finger to her rosy lips. "It's enough, for now."
The platinum blonde felt her sister linger for a while, the fingertip brushed against her lips like a phantom touch. Blood rushed to her cheeks, w-was I imagining things? She tried to catch those glittering blue eyes but they were already averted.
"Are you two making out now? Cause I don't like it when you two fight," their childhood creation said while giving them wary glances, completely ignorant of the verbal gaffe he made.
The blush on Elsa's face was intensifying, Anna noticed. A look of utter befuddlement had occupied the elder sister's face, her mouth hung open in silence. The princess concluded that only Elsa could wear a face of total bewilderment and embarrassment while still appearing somewhat cute.
Unable to hold her poker face, the girl let out a paroxysm of laughter and fell to her side.
The woman frowned at Anna, who was rolling on the grass, holding her tummy as her laughter filled the vacant hills. She watched as curls of strawberry blonde hair unwound from the two braided pigtails, fanning around her sister's head. She is summer—warmth and laughter.
A slow smile wormed its way across Elsa's face and soon, she joined her sister in her hysterics. The situation ended with her lying on the ground with Anna, Olaf sitting in between them. And they just stayed that way for a moment or two.
Looking past the leaves of the oak tree, she saw that the light was almost gone.
"Are you two done? We should head back to the castle soon," she called out to the two children of summer.
Anna adjusted the miniature flower crown on the snowman's head. "There you go, Olaf. Just right."
She then moved around to face the woman. Out of the four flower crowns looped around her arm, one was as white as the virgin snow. She parted the unkempt bangs aside to look at the pale blue eyes.
With all the grace that the princess could muster, she placed the circlet of flower on Elsa's head, "I crown thee, Queen of Love and Beauty, Goddess of Ice and Winter, Protector of Arendelle and sister of mine, eternally."
Elsa was reading in bed when the knocking came. The luminous moonlight filtered into the bedchamber, bathing the white walls in a silvery glow. A fat candle was burning on the bedside table, aiding the queen in her nightly perusals of scrolls and tomes.
She was wearing a purple nightdress of delicately-woven silk—a gift from her late mother. The garment still fitted her body accordingly after 3 years, albeit the hem was a finger width shorter than it used to be. Her hair was free from its usual French braid, cascading down her back with the likeness of a waterfall.
As Elsa had guessed, the door opened to her baby sister, who was modestly dressed in a cerulean nightie with lacey patterns around collar. On the crown of her head laid a ring of wildflowers.
There was a short pause as Anna gawked at her sister.
"Hi," the elder sibling said with an amused expression, when it was clear that Anna lacked the mental capacity to initiate a conversation.
"…um… Hi. You…you look beautiful," the girl replied with a nervous chuckle, "Not that you don't look beautiful other times, cause you do. I just meant that not everyone looks good in sleeping attire, but obviously you're not one of them… oh God, I'll just shut up now."
Elsa smiled serenely at her, knowing full well about her sister's tendency to blabber on in awkward situations. She stepped aside to let Anna into her bedchamber while returning the compliment, "You are beautiful, too, Anna."
The small smile on the freckled girl's face didn't go unnoticed. She went to the unoccupied side of the giant bed and crawled under the covers.
"I was hoping we could talk tonight…and I could sleep over like when we were kids."
The platinum blonde filed away the scrolls on her bed and sat with her sister. "Of course we can. My door is always open to you."
There was a palpable silence. She is unsure.
"Anna, whate-"
"Are you happy, Elsa?" Anna's gaze snapped to the blue eyes, demanding an honest answer.
"Yes." The reply came in a tone that brooked no dissent. Elsa had prepared herself for the questions that she had overheard that evening, fully intending to clear away the doubts once and for all.
"I am happy here, with you. There may be days where I am grouchy and ill-mannered but please do not take that as a sign of dissatisfaction with my life in Arendelle. Even the stacks of paperwork and vapid council meetings will not diminish the happiness in my heart knowing that you are here, safe. And the fault is mine that you have not known this until now."
"The duty of a monarch is…onerous. But it is a burden that has been passed down from our forefathers, and I think it would please our late father and mother very much if I could be a good ruler." Elsa closed her eyes to conjure the image of her parents—her last memory of them before they boarded the ship. You'll be fine, Elsa.
A hand covered her clenched fist. "Let me help you. I can read and write, maybe not as fast as you can, but still…" the princess offered.
The queen seemed unsure; she didn't want Anna to be burdened by the tedious tasks.
"Come on. This way, we can spend time together without putting off your duties. You know it's an excellent plan, even though I came up with it," the strawberry blonde pleaded, leaning her face closer to her sister.
Elsa didn't stand a chance.
"I will only allow it, if, you take classes with the tutors and go through your books again."
Her sister whined at the condition set. But in the end, she bobbed her head in resignation.
"Good, now your first lesson will be tomorrow, straight after breakfast. Arithmetic," the woman whispered the last term as if it was a dirty word, a grin playing on her face.
"Ugh. You are a jerk," Anna said. Turning away from the supercilious smirk, she buried herself under the silk covers.
Elsa giggled at her sister's antics and stretched her body over to extinguish the flickering flame, plunging them into the darkness. She slid under the covers and lay quiet for a while. Shifting to her side, her right hand sought out her sister's jaw and she sensed the sharp intake of breath when her fingers made contact.
"Does it hurt still?"
In the dead of night, the world faded away. Warm fingers laced together with the cold ones, bringing the hand over to the girl's heart. "No. Not anymore."
A frosty kiss on the tousled reddish-blond hair.
Sleep came to them instantly.
On the small table in the bedchamber, the two flower crowns lay side by side each other, the owners of them in similar position on the bed. Snuggled in the heat and cold of each other's embrace, a dream of everlasting spring drew an identical pair of sweet smiles on their faces.
END
Thanks for taking the time to read.
Happy New Year! Have a wonderful 2014!