The rest of lunch went by rather quickly, and to Anna's delight, the weather cleared up as well.
"ELSA! Let's go riding!" she said as she got up from her seat and walked towards the older girl.
"Anna, I can't go riding in this dress, and as much as it would please me to change, I didn't bring a change of clothes with me," Elsa replied, an apologetic smile tugging at the corner of her lips.
"Nonsense."
The two princess turned to the queen at her word.
"Elsa, dear. You've barely visited in the past few years, and it's not your fault. However, since you are, finally, here, it's only right that you spend as much time with Anna as possible. The poor girl has been nagging me for the last three months, begging to see you," she said calmly, as if Elsa was her niece rather than a princess of another country.
"Mother!" Anna's cheeks brightened with the blush that she thought had finally gone away, this time creeping back from embarrassment.
"I didn't beg her...that much," she tried to explain, though it was clearly not working as her voice trailed off almost inaudibly towards the end and Elsa simply giggled with a hand over her mouth.
"It's quite alright, dear. You can borrow some of my old riding breeches. Anna's are much too short for you," the queen stated as if it was only natural for someone to just borrow her things.
"Your Majesty, I couldn't-" Elsa began before a hand in the air silenced her.
"I won't hear it, Elsa," the queen said before looking at the head maid.
"Ingrid, please bring Elsa my old riding breeches. It should still be in my closet."
Ingrid was thin for such an old maid, but her experience and surprising strength made her much more qualified than others for her position. With a silent nod, the elderly woman disappeared behind the doors.
"So, you'll go riding with me?" Anna asked, mainly just for reassurance though her mother took care of that quite nicely.
"Of course," the blonde replied, joy twinkling in her eyes so obviously that Anna couldn't help but smile back.
Elated, Anna grabbed the blonde by the wrist and began pulling her out of the dining room.
"We'll be upstairs!" she called back to her mother, ignoring the older princess's plea to slow down.
They could hear a faint chuckle from the queen as they reached the stairs, with Anna leading her elder up the steps and towards her bedroom.
Fortunately, Ingrid also seemed to be fast on her feet. The queen's riding breeches were already laid out on Anna's bed, though the size of the breeches did make Anna wonder how her mother used to fit in such thin clothes. While the queen wasn't chubby and most certainly not fat, the breeches made it seem like she was anorexic in the past. And Elsa. How did her mother ever expect Elsa to fit in clothes that seemed to be made for a stick?
"Anna, it's fine. The material is stretchable and I'm sure it's only the age of the clothes that makes it look so small."
The redhead turned to the blonde, eyes wide in surprise.
"How...did you turn into a psychic while you were away?" she demanded.
"No, Anna. You were saying your thoughts out loud for the world to hear."
"Oh...oops..."
Anna tried to cover her embarrassment with a smile, only to realize that Elsa wasn't changing.
"So...Are you going to put them on?"
"Anna...I need you out of the room so I can change."
"Oh! Oh...um...sorry. I'll be just outside!"
If Anna's face wasn't red before, it was definitely the color of her hair by now. Why did she ever think Elsa would let her see her change? It was almost impossible. While it would've been acceptable as a child, Anna knew it wasn't going to happen, especially since they've outgrown that stage of their lives.
Time ticked away impossibly slowly and just as Anna was growing tired of the wait, the door opened, revealing Elsa who now wore her mother's old breeches instead of the magnificent dress she had on earlier. Anna, unfortunately, couldn't help but stare. Clearly Elsa had stretched the clothes out first to make sure they didn't actually shrink with age, but it almost seemed as if Elsa was even thinner than Anna had expected. The breeches were a nice fit, but still hung loosely off the blonde's hips. The clothes were a nice fit around the chest area, but was definitely loose around the waist. Yet the look was surprisingly good on the blonde. It almost made her look like this one prince in one of her old picture books. His hair was loose and so were his clothes, and her mother said it was because the prince cared too little about his looks and too much about the safety of the princess he wanted to save. It had been her favorite picture of all her fairy tale stories, and while she wanted to keep comparing Elsa to that prince, a cough from the elder princess pulled her out of her thoughts.
"Well?"
"Uh...i-it...it looks...a-amazing..." Anna trailed off, eyes still staring at Elsa's chest. While it certainly wasn't large, it still stood out considering it was the only part of her body where the clothes weren't too loose.
"Anna..."
"Yes?"
"My eyes are up here."
"RIGHT!"
Anna jerked her head up to meet Elsa in the eyes, but before she could get a good look at the look in the blonde's eyes, she quickly turned away and ran past her, shutting the door so that now Elsa's the one waiting outside and she's the one inside.
"I'll just change into my breeches and we can head out!" she said as she pulled open her closet, digging through the multitude of dresses to find her favorite breeches.
As much as she wanted to say the breeches were hers, they were actually her older brother's. At least, they were his before he went and got married and left to live who knows where. Anna pulled herself out of her thoughts, as she got dressed, her thoughts now going to where she wanted to go with Elsa. Her first thought was the tree she loved so much, and the thought immediately brought back El, the mysterious writer of those letters. Maybe she should tell Elsa. There was no way the blonde would tell the queen. Impossible, especially if Anna tells her not to. Silently, she opened the doors and there stood Elsa, her hands up in the air as if she was about to knock. Just as quickly, the blonde brought her hand down and smiled.
"Ready?"
"Born ready!"
Anna pulled Elsa by the arms as they hurried down the stairs and towards the outdoors where the stables were. Anna knew which horse she wanted, but gave Elsa a moment to pick one out. As much as she loved horses, Anna knew that Elsa could care less about the creatures. Anna knew which horses were fastest and which were strongest, but all Elsa saw were creatures she could ride, regardless of speed or strength. Luckily, Elsa wasn't too picky. The blonde had picked a black horse in the back and quickly climbed on, her feet gave the horse a light kick before bringing the creature next to Anna's so they were next to each other. It was only then that Anna realized how they matched, with clothes slightly too baggy to fit them. Of course, the thought procured a laugh from the redhead, which in turn earned a confused look from the blonde.
"Anna?"
"Nothing. Just thinking about how we match."
Anna turned her attention towards the field before looking at Elsa, not realizing that the blonde was trying her hardest not to create an obvious blush.
"Let's go," Elsa said as she urged her horse to trot forward, with Anna soon passing her and taking the lead.
Soon enough, they had reached the tree where Anna hid her secrets. Elsa knew, of course, but Anna knew Elsa would never tell. Anna tied the two horses to a low branch after they both dismounted, climbing the tree after Elsa soon after.
"You still keep your secrets here?" the elder princess teased as she settled on the branch slightly away from the trunk so Anna had a place to sit.
"Of course!" the redhead confirmed, chest pushed out in pride, which only brought another chuckle from the blonde.
They sat there in a comfortable silence for a while before Anna broke it, as she usually did.
"So...how have you been? My mother's clothes are too loose for you and I'm afraid it's not an issue with her size," Anna said, now taking another good look at the blonde's figure.
"I'm fine, really. There's no need to worry," Elsa replied simply, but Anna knew better. It was faint but there were bags under Elsa's eyes. They weren't obvious, but definitely there if you stare long enough.
"Anna?" Elsa raised an eyebrow at the redhead.
"You're too thin for your own good."
"I can take care of myself."
"That's not what your body's saying."
"And you know what my body needs?"
"Of course!"
"Do tell."
"FOOD!"
The sudden proclamation left Elsa speechless for a good three seconds before she began laughing. Not a quiet giggle or chuckle behind soft fingers. Not gentle laugh brought about simply with the up and down movement of shoulders. An actual laugh in which Elsa is holding her abdomen and hunching over because of it.
"What?! I'm serious!"
"I know, Anna, but I'm fine."
Anna gave the older princess a doubtful look before the blonde changed the subject.
"So how have you been? I see your mother has introduced you to quite a few suitors at the party."
The thought of suitors brought Anna back to the reason she wanted to talk to Elsa in the first place.
"RIGHT! There's actually something I need to show you!"
Anna's hands reached into her spot in the trunk and pulled out the box, opening it to reveal the letters.
"I got the first letter soon after the party ended, and the second one the day after. There was no name, no signature, no seal...absolutely NOTHING to show who it was from!" the redhead exclaimed in frustration. "I just wish he'd at least say his name..."
Anna turned her head to look at Elsa.
"H...he?"
Elsa's face was nothing short of shock. It was as if she was still trying to process Anna's words, except her mind was stuck at "he".
"Um...yeah...he...Why?"
"Nothing! Nothing..." Elsa's voice trailed off. Something was definitely wrong.
"Elsa?"
"Yes?"
"The guy who wrote these letters...I want to know who he is. I'm sure he's a dazzling prince and handsome at that. I mean, I was literally blushing just reading these even though all it says is a promise of meeting soon...do you know who wrote these?"
Anna handed the letters to Elsa, who's face only pales as she reads them.
"I'm...I..."
"Elsa?"
"I don't know."
"Yes you do."
"No, Anna. I don't know which prince wrote these letters."
"Oh..."
The disappointment was clear in Anna's voice, though it was also deliberate. She wanted the older princess to tell her which prince wrote these letters. She just had to know and she was hoping the disappointment would help her make the blonde tell her.
"Anna..."
"Yes?" Anna replied, her voice almost elated that her disappointment worked.
"I honestly don't know which prince wrote them."
"Oh..."
The redhead sighed. There goes another hope of finding her prince charming. She was really hoping Elsa would be able to tell her. It was fine if she didn't know, but why did the older princess keep stressing the word prince?
Before she could continue that thought, the sun was almost gone and Anna realized it was time to head back.
"Anyways! Let's go back before we dinner gets cold!"
Anna jumped off the branch and landed smoothly on her feet, stretching her back before turning to Elsa, who still hadn't come down.
"Elsa?"
"Yes?"
"You coming?"
"Yeah."
Slowly, Elsa began her climb down, but her pace was so slow that Anna took things into her own hands. Without suspicion, she reached her arms up and wrapped them around the blonde, only to pull backwards. A scream erupted from the lungs of the older princess just as Anna fell backwards, pulling her elder with her.
"ANNA!" Elsa screamed, scrambling to her feet to glare at the redhead.
"Yes?" Anna looked up at the blonde with the most innocent face she could pull off.
As Elsa raised her hand to pinch the bridge of her nose and shake her head, a grin made its way onto Anna's face, so wide it stretched from ear to ear.
"Take that!" she yelled as she grabbed Elsa by the wrist and jumped, pushing the older princess onto her back before Anna scrambled off and climbed on her horse.
"Race ya!" she called back the moment she freed her horse from the branch it was tied to, quickly galloping its way back home. She couldn't hear what Elsa was screaming, but it wasn't long before she heard the sound of the blonde's horse trying its hardest to catch up. Unfortunately, Anna's horse was much faster and the distance between them only increased. Laughing, Anna pushed her horse to go faster until they reached the stables, with Anna quickly dismounting and a look of pride creeping across her face.
"Anna, that was very childish of you!" Elsa scolded, coming to a halt before dismounting.
"Maybe, but it was fun~"
Elsa simply shook her head and headed inside the estate, only to have Anna pull her into a hug from behind.
"Sorry Elsa."
Silence greeted Anna's apology and the redhead only felt worse.
"I'm really...really sorry..." she muttered, her face now buried in the back of Elsa's neck. Luckily, the blonde submitted soon enough.
"I forgive you," she whispered gently, turning in Anna's arms to embrace the younger princess.
A smile tugged at Anna's lips as she held onto Elsa tighter.
"Come. We're late for dinner as is," Elsa smiled back, pulling away to lead Anna toward the dining room.
A/N: Phew! This one is longer than I had expected, and certainly exceeded my other chapters in length. I tried to keep it as straight to the point as possible, probably because it's the type of person I am, lol. That and I'm not good at making things go round and round in circles without end. I'm still trying to follow the general outline of the story I had set for myself, but...I don't know...this world has a lot of temptations and they are very hard to resist. Anyways, all reviews are welcome and I apologize for any poor grammar. None of my work have been beta'd and I can only see so much of my own mistakes. Anyways, thank you all for your reviews, and for those who are somewhat confused about why Anna couldn't figure out it was Elsa, keep in mind that when she was first introduced to Hans, there were a lot of other people there as well (cuz it's supposed to be a party where she gets introduced to every possible suitor). Why doesn't Elsa just say it's her? Well...because there's no fun in that :D