NOTES: Sorry for the delays in keeping up regular posting! It's partly because I've been a little under the weather, and partly just life getting in the way. I'm going to try not to let that happen too often again. A lot more of this story to come!
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
That Monday was one of those days that seemed to drag on forever. Anna and Elsa avoided each other as much as possible, keeping themselves busy with other tasks and with the kids. As if they hadn't been awkward and fidgety with one another enough the last few days, now the atmosphere was downright unbearable.
It reminded Anna of the day after she confessed to being gay….only it was a lot worse than that. Anna cursed and kicked herself inwardly for her brash actions back at the ice cream parlour. How stupid, how pathetic and just how low she had gotten when she thought up that stupid stunt she called a dare! This was much more than just a simple kiss; Anna had practically violated her sister's mouth.
And she hated just how amazing it had been in that brief moment. How her lips still tingled at the memory of those sweet tasting lips against them and her nose was still assaulted by her sister's wintery scent even though it had been almost twenty four hours since it happened. She hated how much she wanted to do it again, and again and again until she passed out from oxygen deprivation.
At least she had the canoeing to distract her from her inner demons. Out there on the lake, sitting in one end of the boat while the campers did most of the paddling, gazing around at the reflection of tall trees in the glassy surface of the water that their wake interrupted… it was quite tranquil. Even with Carver and Lor shouting back and forth at each other, it was still able to bring her some modicum of peace.
And then there was Elsa, a few meters away in another boat, issuing orders, occasionally lavishing praise when a camper did something correctly. She seemed a bit less energetic than usual, but then again, that was probably from lack of sleep. Both of them had spent a lot of time tossing and turning. Anna was guiltily aware of how little Elsa slept and how hard she had tried to keep all the noises she made to a minimum.
Anna sighed and forced herself to look away from her older sister, instead keeping track of how her rowers were doing. Most of them were faring well, though Olaf and Mark occasionally missed their cues to row and sent them off course.
"Put your backs into it!" she heard Elsa order. "That's it, a little harder on my left!"
"Olaf! Mark!" Anna called. "Come on boys, pay attention! You row together when Max rings the bell, not one after another!" Olaf blushed while Mark gave Anna a quick glare but they both worked to correct themselves. Anna smiled at the effort. "Good job, guys! It's almost about time to head back to shore so get ready to start turning on my signal."
Elsa was also looking out for them as they began to ready to turn back. At first, she was content to simply watch, until she shouted, "Sofia, it's only a little water! Your shoes aren't ruined!"
Anna was about to say something when there was a violent rocking. Instantly the kids in her canoe began to panic as they clung to the sides of the wood and when Anna did a headcount, her heart stopped to see one of the seats empty. They were in a deeper section of the lake and while Anna was confident that most of her group knew how to swim, she definitely knew that the missing child… didn't.
A splash alerted her to look and she just caught a glimpse of a flailing limb and Alice's terrified face amongst the spray before she went under again.
"What's going on over there?!" Elsa demanded in a tense voice, gripping the edge of the other canoe.
"Alice fell in!" Anna hollered back, trying to very quickly maneuver herself so that she could slip out of the boat without panicking the rest of her campers. She cursed herself for not having the foresight to give them life jackets, since the original plan was to not let them get this deep in the first place. It was only from the insistence of the other kids that Anna and Elsa relented and allowed them to go farther than planned with the promise of being extra careful.
Finally, Anna managed to get herself in the water without disturbing the canoe too much and in an instant, she was underwater close to where Alice has been briefly emerging for air.
"Hel-" that was as much as the poor girl could get out before she went under again. The rest of the kids were murmuring in terror, watching the water where their campmate and counsellor disappeared.
However, it didn't take long for Anna to emerge, Alice clinging desperately onto her back. The small blonde girl was coughing and gasping for breath while Anna simply paddled to keep them both afloat.
"I'm sorry!" Alice was gasping, flailing her arms and trying to help.
Anna tossed a reassuring smile over her shoulder. "Don't worry about it," she soothed the young blonde and with a free hand, helped hike her higher up her back so that Alice's head was even farther out of the water. "Elsa! Come get her, please!" she called to her sister.
"Alright!" Elsa called to her team in the canoe, glancing in Anna's direction every so often to make sure she and her young charge were still treading water. "I'm going to need you to all cooperate with me; this is very important! All of you stroke with your left! No, your other left, Tish! We're turning back to get Anna and Alice, alright? And… go!"
Anna's arms were rapidly starting to tire and even though the water made holding Alice easier, she could feel the muscles in her back and shoulders beginning to ache terribly under the continuous strain. Still, she kept it up until her sister's group made it too them.
"Hold steady!" Elsa was saying as the canoe got closer. "I need you all to sit still! Spinelli, I need you and only you to lean in the opposite direction of Alice, you got that!"
"Got it, chief!" the girl said with a salute.
"Alright!" Then she was leaning over Anna and Alice, lying as flat as she could in the canoe. "Pass her up to me as best you can!"
Anna nodded. It was hard to lift her much, seeing as she couldn't touch the bottom, but she grabbed the edge of the canoe, being mindful not to tip it, and lifted herself just enough so that Elsa could grab the girl and hoist her inside her boat.
"That's it," Elsa said in soothing tones to the whimpering camper. "You're fine. Nobody's going to let you go. Just keep still, spit out the water and then take deep breaths. There you go." Her eyes flicked toward Anna, the crease of worry still between her brows despite having rescued the child. "Can you manage to pull up into your canoe or do you want to swim alongside until we reach the dock?"
Anna grinned at her concern. "I'll just swim." She turned to her campers, who were peering at her anxiously. "Come on, guys, turn around and head back to shore now. I'll swim with you and make sure you stay on course."
Obediently, the two teams fell to rowing and got the canoes back safe and sound. Once ashore and having made sure Alice was doing okay, Elsa quickly stripped off her boots and socks and waded into the water to help Anna up onto the dock.
Anna looked up at her sister, raising an eyebrow before she lifted herself onto her legs, ignoring the heaviness in her arms as they were no longer supported by the water. "I'm okay, Elsa," she said quietly. She tried to ignore the pain in her chest, the memory of her stupidity crashing into her again and making her embarrassed and anxious in the blonde's presence. "I don't need help."
"W-well, I only…" For once, her sister also seemed embarrassed by her sudden unsolicited offer, and her hands still twitched as if to help support Anna. "Your clothes and shoes will make you heavier, soaked like that, and you just did all that swimming…"
Anna smiled despite herself at Elsa's concern. "I'll be fine," she dismissed. A shiver passed through her as a cold breeze swept past. "G-Get the kids to the dining hall for me while I g-get changed, that's all. I'll catch up."
With a nod, Elsa turned back to shore. Anna had thought that would be it, but she had only taken a few steps before a hand was on her shoulder, lips on her chilly cheek.
"That was very brave of you," Elsa whispered in a rush. Then she really was running back to the docks to retrieve her shoes and begin herding the campers.
Anna stood there in mild shock as she watched Elsa and the kids start making their way towards the dining hall, the kids crowding around Elsa's legs and talking in excited voices all at once. Slowly, ever so slowly, she lifted a hand to touch the spot where Elsa's cool lips had kissed her and a bright blush erupted over her cheeks.
Her heart fluttered all the way back to the cabin.
~ o ~
It took almost a half hour for Anna to get to the dining hall. Her hair was freshly cleaned and brushed, no longer bound into twin braids and instead falling over her shoulders in soft waves. She looked warm and dry in a pair of loose, dark blue sweatpants and a long sleeved, black shirt, however she winced with every movement of her arms and back as she gathered up her food and went to find a seat.
"Hey!" Rapunzel called out as she waved to her animatedly. "Over here!"
Elsa was seated with Aurora and her other Peterhouse legacies, even though she wasn't speaking to any of them; just staring down at her tray as she ate. So Anna smiled and sat down across from her friend.
"Hey Punzie," she greeted the brunette warmly.
"So I heard you pulled some girl out of the pond," she gushed immediately, eyes wide. She was smiling, but there was also a bit of belated concern in her voice. "She gonna be okay?"
"She'll be fine, I asked a dean about her on my way here and he said she was in the infirmary resting and that she's going to be A-okay come morning." Anna chuckled, but it quickly morphed into a quiet hiss when she accidentally jerked her shoulder. "Ugh… and it was Elsa who technically got her out of the pond."
"Yeah, but you dove in like an action hero, right?!" The bubbly girl mimed the motion, accidentally knocking over her juice. "Oh, cheeseburgers, I'm sorry! Crap, crappity crap!"
Anna laughed at the goofy brunette. "I couldn't dive in or else I would've knocked the rest of the poor kids in the water. I slipped out and got her on my back and lifted her to Elsa, that's all." Grinning, she handed the poor girl one of her napkins.
"Thank you," she sighed, mopping up the juice. Luckily, it had been nearly empty by that point. "Anyway, you still did a wonderful thing, and we both know Jesus is giving you a big thumbs up right now!"
Anna hid her face in her hands and groaned, however her shoulders shook with mirth. "You are such a dork! Why would you say that?"
"Because it's true, obviously. Why wouldn't He be really glad you could help that girl? Like, I know we're supposed to be teaching them how to be good stewards and all that other good stuff, but it's kinda hard to do that if they don't even live through camp, right? So keeping them alive and healthy is goal number one. And you pulled that off today."
The redhead couldn't help the embarrassed flush that forced its way to her cheeks at Rapunzel's words. "I did what anyone would do, Punzie, It's not like I put my life on the line helping her… She can't swim, I can. Simple logic."
"Well, I'm still proud of you, anyway." Then she leaned in and muttered, "And some of the other girls are talking about the big kiss you got from Elsa. Guess they don't know you're sisters, huh?"
Anna froze up. "B-big kiss?" she questioned. "What big kiss? What are they saying?" She felt panic form a tight ball in her chest. Did someone see them in the ice cream parlour? She didn't care about rumours against her since they were true anyway, but she worried about how they would view Elsa.
"You know… after you got back to the shore," Rapunzel elaborated, looking confused at how nervous Anna was. "Showing her gratitude for you helping the kid."
The breath of relief escaped with enough force to make Anna sink into her chair. "Oh, that kiss. It was just on the cheek so I don't get why anyone would make a deal out of it." She forced a chuckle and said, "Even if we were just friends, kissing another girl's cheek isn't that weird, is it?"
Rapunzel gave a little shrug, stirring her peas. "Guess not, if you're European. Here it is, but still not that weird. But you know how kids gossip."
"Yeah..." Anna shrugged and took a bite of her food, no longer having as strong of an appetite as before but not wanting to have Punzie worry. Instead, she changed the subject; "So, any plans tonight?"
"Just hanging out. Wanna come over and play Uno? Or Apples To Apples? It's… hard to play those by yourself."
Her friend sounded only the slightest bit lonely, but was most likely doing a reasonably good job of covering up precisely how lonely she was. The redhead eyed her, taking note of the drooped shoulders and distinctive tone of her voice that was all too familiar to Anna. Her own voice held that tone often before Kristoff walked into her life. She gave the brunette's shoulder a pat.
"Sure Punzie," she said with a warm smile, "I'd love to."
The smile she got in return was worth its weight in gold. "Great!"
Then Anna perked up further. "Would I be able to invite Elsa? I'm sure she'd be happy to join us!" Despite the fact that being in the same room as her sister still gave her terrified butterflies, she hoped that Rapunzel's presence would keep the atmosphere from getting too terribly awkward.
"Oh… Elsa?" That easily, the smile vanished. "Um… I guess so. Yeah, why not?"
"She's not that bad Punzie, honest." Anna reached out to give her friend's hand a squeeze. "I promise, we'll have a lot of fun together, okay?"
"Well…" The girl looked highly unconvinced, but she nodded and smiled again. Her excitement was not quite as high as it had been before, but she still said, "Sounds like a blast!"
To Be Continued…