Hi guys! I wrote another chapter!
Tbh, I'm not sure I love it. . . mainly because it's a fill chapter, so the next couple ones will be much more exciting than this one. I had to write a lot of emotional pregnant Anna before I could get to some *hint hint* adventure.
Hope you guys enjoy!
Please let me know what you think in the comments! (whether you hated it or not)
Hopefully the next chapter will be up by Friday or Saturday!
XOXO,
OceansAria :)
Anna was stumbling across the frozen wasteland of ice again, just as she had two years before, trying to get to Kristoff. She tried to scream his name, but it came out as a whisper that was caught by the wind and taken away. She'd already been let down by the man she thought had loved her. Now Kristoff was her only chance.
He was running towards her, slipping and stumbling on the ice to save her. And just as he was getting close enough to her, she turned to her left.
There stood Hans, the sword in his hand glinting in the blinding white around them. And at his feet sat the queen, crumpled in despair.
Why is Elsa here?
"Elsa . . . ?" she gasped. She watched with fear coiling in her gut as Hans raised the sword over her sister's back. No! She thought. Glancing to Kristoff, she held back tears. She couldn't be saved. She had to save her sister even if Elsa didn't care about her—even if Elsa didn't love her, she had to do it. I can't let her die.
Dashing as quickly as she possibly could with her frozen solid feet in Hans' direction, Anna prayed that she would make it in time.
But the sound of Elsa's scream pierced the icy air before Anna was even halfway there.
"Elsa!" Anna screeched, her voice ragged.
Her last glimpse was of Hans' eyes full of disgusting pride and joy over his accomplishment, and of Elsa falling to the ground, hands reaching for something, anything, to help her.
Midstride, Anna turned into ice.
And suddenly, she was back at the altar on her wedding day. She wore a gorgeous white dress that was simple yet elegant, spun by Elsa's own hands. Her veil was crafted of snowflakes and icicles, and she felt the giddiness growing inside of her as she turned to face her soon-to-be husband.
"You may kiss the bride," the priest droned.
Kristoff gently lifted her veil and draped it back around her shoulders. He smiled tenderly at her, as he always did, with that soft twinkle in his caramel eyes. She wanted to jump on him, but knew that wouldn't be appropriate in front of the entire congregation.
She began to rise up on her tiptoes, as she always had to do to reach his lips. She shut her eyes and waited for his mouth to brush hers. Just as he placed his large hands on her petite waist, and leaned in, she felt him pause.
Anna just barely cracked open her eyelids. She found Kristoff, his sweet face twisted into a horrible smirk that he would never sport in real life. His eyes were cold and dead, like a fish's. She recoiled in repulsion and fear.
"Oh, Anna," he said; his voice condescending and menacing. Nothing like the Kristoff she knew. He touched her cheek; Anna's heart dropped to her toes. She felt sick. "If only someone loved you."
A quiver went down her spine; then her world went completely black.
The princess jolted awake from her nightmares, tears fresh on her cheeks. Mary was there right away, hushing her and trying to calm her down. "Milady, you're alright. It's okay. It was all just a bad dream, dearie. All just a bad dream." The old maid rocked the princess back and forth in her embrace until Anna's sobs quieted to sniffles. She pushed the bangs back from Anna's eyes. "See, dearie? It was all just a dream. Nothing real. Now get some rest. You need your strength." A minute later, Mary was gone.
Anna slumped against the pillows and tried not to tremble. Her dreams had been horrible ever since Kristoff had left to trudge up the mountain to find his men. She dreamed that she hadn't been able to save Elsa; that Kristoff had lied just like Hans did and he didn't love her; and once, she'd even had a dream that Kristoff never returned from his quest up the mountain.
For the rest of the night, Anna tossed and turned until morning came. Mary entered after a while to bring her breakfast and braid her hair for the day. After breakfast, Olaf popped in with a box of chocolates (that she wasn't supposed to have) and sat and talked to her for a while.
"So when's Kristoff getting back?" Olaf asked, swinging his feet over the side of the bed.
Anna tried to keep a brave face, but her tongue went sandpaper dry. It was tough to swallow the chocolate and marshmallow truffle, which was her all-time favorite. "H-He should be back today. He said three days and today's the third day." She glanced out the window, to the mountains, praying for the millionth time that he was safe.
Olaf nodded cheerily. He leaned over and patted her knee. "Good. I know you and the baby miss him."
The princess smiled wearily. She rubbed her belly absentmindedly. "Yeah. We do."
Olaf left soon after, and Anna returned to "reading" a book. Really, she just skimmed because her mind was elsewhere and she now despised reading. She wished to speak with her sister, but every time she'd tried over the past forty-eight hours, Elsa was too busy looking over the preparations for a visiting dignitary. Anna was only told that it was a prince visiting from the far away land of England. He was the eldest prince of three, and he was only about four years older than Elsa. He was very handsome and was lusted after all of the women in his homeland. Anna hoped he wouldn't try anything on her sister; or she'd have to roll out of bed and wring his neck.
Finally, at around noon-ish, Anna ate lunch and requested to be rolled around the castle again. To get to the downstairs, a guard had to carry her down, but it was worth getting off the second floor to see the kitchens and the grand ballroom again. Mary chattered aimlessly as she wheeled Anna about. The princess was only half listening; really she was thinking of her husband, her sister, and her nightmares. Hopefully she wouldn't have any more of them.
Thinking of Kristoff reminded her of Sven, and thinking of Sven reminded her of the stables. She hadn't visited her horse, Sable, since she'd been put on bedrest. She knew that they took her out and let her run around every day, but still, Sable probably missed her owner.
Mary took Anna down to the stables, and at the princess's insistent request, left her alone with her horse for a little while. The princess talked to Sable and patted her nose; fed her carrots and sugar cubes until the horse was satisfied. Just as Anna was about to ring the bell for Mary to come get her, she caught sight of a stable boy and waved.
"Hi, Cal!"
"Oh, your Highness!" Cal stopped in his tracks and bowed. His white blond curls were full of hay. "How are you on this fair day, milady?"
"Cal, how many times have I told you?" Anna giggled. "You don't have to bow."
The lanky stable boy straightened up. "Yes, milady." His goofy smile reached his bizarre green and gold eyes. Meaning: he had one green, one gold. "Can I get you anything, princess? I am totally and completely at your service, madam."
Anna shook her head. Cal had always been such a sweetheart. He was barely sixteen, but had been fourteen when he'd started working in the royal stables two years before. He was an orphan, just like Kristoff, and Cal had stuck to Kristoff's side like a magnet from day one. The young boy really admired the prince consort and his gruff humor. All Cal ever talked about was getting out of Arendelle and traveling the world. Anna only hoped he could one day do as he wanted.
"No, Cal. I'm fine," the princess replied. "Thanks."
He gestured to her baby bump. "Getting closer and closer to having that little one, eh?"
"Yeah. Hopefully soon. She's weighing me down," Anna laughed.
Cal picked up a couple of brushes and came over to Sable's stall. Handing one to the princess, they began to stroke the horse's sides. "So it's a girl?"
"Well, not exactly. We won't find out till the baby's born."
They brushed Sable's light brown sides in silence. Anna made herself focus on the swishing of the brush's bristles and the steady breathing of the three of them. Then, Cal broke the quiet. "So you're husband's in the mountains to save his men?"
"He's supposed to be back today," Anna sighed, feeling the lighthearted mood dying. Her hand fell into her lap. "But it's already mid-afternoon, and I haven't heard anything . . . and I know it's probably just because of my hormones making me super emotional . . . but I'm so worried that something's happened to him . . ."
The princess burst into tears. The stable boy, stunned, didn't know what to do. He dropped the brush and knelt at her side. "Oh, princess, don't cry. Please, don't cry." He awkwardly patted her back. Anna buried her head in her palms, pushing the heels of her hands against her sockets to try in vain to make her stop sobbing. Stop it, Anna! She told herself. Stop. You're not helping anything by crying like a little girl.
"Princess, I'm sure that Kristoff is just fine," Cal assured her uneasily, continuing to pat her back. Anna looked up at him through watery eyes. "He's a tough guy. And he took Sven with him. It'll be easy."
"Yeah," Anna wiped her nose with the back of her hand sloppily."You're right. He's got Gerald and Sven with him. He should be fine."
Cal's forehead crinkled. "Gerald?"
"The head of the royal guard, remember?"
"Yeah, but . . ." Cal's eyes widened and he shut his mouth with a pop! He averted his gaze quickly, and dropped his hands from the princess's back.
Anna raised an eyebrow. Something wasn't right. "But, what?"
Cal turned his face away. His whole body tensed up - he was holding something back from her. She had to know. Impatient, Anna grabbed his arm a little rougher than she should have and shook him. "Tell me!" she cried. "I order you to tell me right this instant!" Anna hardly ever used her power over people, but this was one of those moments that she had to.
The stable boy turned and stared into her eyes for a solid minute—his mismatched gaze was dead serious - and Cal was hardly ever serious. "Kristoff . . . he didn't take Gerald with him, princess." Cal licked his lips nervously. "I helped him get ready to leave. When he left . . . it was just him, Sven, and the sleigh."
The news felt like a knife in the chest. Anna's grip loosened on his arm as she fell back against her wheelchair. Panic bloomed; anger set in. "How dare he!" Anna hissed. "I specifically told him to take at least one guard with him . . . and now he's out there all alone! Something could have happened to him! The robbers could have gotten to him! Or killed him, at the worst!"
"Princess!" Cal grabbed her once more, his skinny hands steady on both her arms. Anna hadn't realized she was trembling like an earthquake till Cal jolted her to attention. "Princess, calm down. You can't upset yourself over this. Kristoff will be fine." Anna, stubborn as ever, shook her head and began to protest but Cal called for the maid. "Mary! Milady needs you!"
"What's going on?" Mary asked as she rushed over. She eyed Cal accusingly as she took the wheelchair's handles into her hands, keeping a protective stance over the princess.
"Kristoff . . . he's out there alone . . ." Anna gasped.
"What?" Mary asked.
"The princess is simply worried about her husband, is all, Mary," Cal replied. Yet another person to treat Anna as a mere child to be coddled. "Please, take her back to her chambers. I believe Her Highness needs to lie down. Wouldn't want her to have that baby too early."
"Yes, of course," Mary answered uneasily. Anna, in a daze, only watched as the stable, kitchens, and halls blurred by. She didn't shake herself out of it until she was almost back to her own chambers. She saw Elsa up ahead, talking to a servant who had a bundle of fresh sheets in their arms.
"Elsa!" Anna called, happy to see her sister. "Elsa, I need to talk with you right this instant!"
The queen dismissed the servant she was speaking to before turning to face her sister. Elsa's beautiful eyes were framed by purple-gray half-moons. She seemed to be absolutely stressed to her limit. Upon seeing her younger sibling, she forced a tight smile. "Anna. Are you well?" her voice was lacking the usual warmth it carried—but then again, this was Elsa, the ice queen.
"Kristoff went alone!" Anna said in reply.
"Alone? Where?"
"To the mountains to find his men," Anna huffed in her duh voice.
Elsa raised her eyebrows. "And? Kristoff can take care of himself. He did so for almost two decades before he met you." The queen was not in the mood for her sister's hormonally-induced emotional rollercoaster at the moment. The prince was arriving in less than a day!
"That's not the point," Anna argued. "There's at least half a dozen men for him to rescue. And there's robbers out there! What if they got him, too? What if he's hurt and stuck up there all alone without any help—"
"Hush," Elsa snapped. She softened when she saw the still unshed tears gleaming in the corners of her sister's blue-green eyes. "Look. If he doesn't return in the next forty-eight hours, I'll send a group of guards after him and his men. Otherwise, I believe you have nothing to fret about." She smiled at her sister briefly. "Now, please. I have many things to attend to before Prince Lachlan's arrival." Before Anna could get another desperate word in, her sister sauntered away—leaving Anna to her thoughts.
Well if nobody's gonna help me, I guess I'll have to do it myself, she thought.
And with that, the princess began to form a plan.
Elsa hated herself for agreeing to let Prince Lachlan of England come to Arendelle.
There would be rumors flying from the minute his feet touched Arendelle shore. She'd have to put on her brave face and her polite manners. She'd have to wear her tight corsets and tight braids in her hair, instead of her usual loose plait and loose attire. The Prime Minister expected her to be putty in the prince's hands. To do his every will and word, and let him be the ruler of their future relationship.
All night long before the morning Prince Lachlan was to arrive, Elsa couldn't sleep. She paced back and forth, thinking of all the ways this courtship could play out. And more than once, Elsa hoped and prayed that it would go well. But at the same time, she prayed that she wouldn't have to be forced to marry a man she didn't love.
By the time dawn broke across the sky, the queen had made up her mind.
She would try her hardest to make the courtship work. If it didn't, well, they'd just have to find her another suitor. But Elsa would try and she wouldn't be half-hearted about it.
The servants came at seven to dress her. She bathed in lavender and vanilla. As her hair dried, they coated her body in more perfumes and lotions before dressing her in a newly sewn gown—it was much like the one she wore on her coronation day, but with more baby blue and white details than pink and green. They laced up her boots and snapped her cloak around her neck. Last but not least, they braided her hair in an intricate updo with colorful ribbons to make her look youthful. The final touch was her crown. But as the servants left, Elsa secretly pulled out a few wisps of hair to make it look more laid back and unruly—just the way she liked it.
And then, when the knock came at her door for her to come, she rose and said, "I'm coming."
But the door flew open and the old maid Mary stumbled in.
Confused, Elsa said, "Mary—"
"Anna's gone."
Elsa felt like she was going to explode. "What?"
"She snuck out last night and took Cal with her," Mary cried. "She's gone to help Kristoff."
As the news settled in, snow began to fall inside the queen's chambers. How could Anna do such a thing?
Anna, why do you always have to do something stupid?