Antic

Anna found ways to get attention. Giving up knocking on Elsa's door, even after their parents died, and getting tired of talking to portraits all day Anna found ways to illicit responses out of her sister. One day when Elsa's was focused on the snow outside the window Anna spilled tea on her dress.

"Oh!" she let out a dramatic gasp and Elsa turned to see the stain on the purple dress.

"Get changed and have Erik take the dress to Helga for cleaning, it'll come out of they wash it right away," Elsa sighed and rose to her feet.

"Should I come back and finish tea with you?" Anna asked.

"No, I'll be studying in my room all afternoon."

And Elsa was out the door. Well that hadn't worked out entirely the way Anna wanted but she got more than three words out of Elsa, and besides she hated this purple dress.

She gave this a few more goes. She spilled things, knocked things over, tripped, and more often than not it wasn't entirely accidental.

But try as Anna might Elsa always slipped out of her grip. The woman was born to be a queen with the way she said a few neutral phrases and left the room, leaving Anna with no way to rebut. And she got more and more frustrated at being outwitted by Elsa who as always was determined to sit alone in any corner of the castle Anna was not in.

And at dinner one night, Anna knew before she even finished that she'd taken it too far. As Sigurd was bringing in the main course of their dinner Anna let her foot slip out in his path and the man stumbled just enough to dump the stew all over the table and into Anna's lap. She jumped up but Elsa remained seated.

A pale and very deadly gaze watched Anna from the other side of the table. Elsa's back was straight, her hands calmly on the arms of the chair as if she was sitting in a throne. Her fingers tapped pointedly and her left eyebrow curled upward dangerously and Anna knew she had been caught.

"My deepest apologies Your Highness, I'll have it cleaned immediately," Sigurd said, already moving to clean the ruined dinner.

"No," Elsa said. Anna and Sigurd looked at her in surprise, "Sigurd get a bucket of warm water, a mop and some rags and leave them out here. Then you make take your leave for the night."

"Yes, Princess," he obeyed, if confused. Elsa's eyes continued to glare at Anna who felt herself beginning to sweat under the gaze. Elsa only finally turned her gaze away when Sigurd brought in the cleaning supplies. Anna took the opportunity lightly begin to step away from the table.

"Anna," Elsa said sharply, oh great she eyes in the back of her head, "Go wait for me in the library."

"But—"

"Now."

Anna had no choice but to obey and huffed from the room while Elsa remained seated. In the library she paced, occasionally flinging drops of dinner over the carpet as the stain began to dry into the dress. As much as Anna knew she shouldn't have taken it to far it was Elsa fault for not paying any attention to her ever.

And then the queen-in-waiting herself strode into the room with a stern look plastered in Anna's direction. And all the words Anna had intended to fling at her sister died in her throat under the chill of Elsa's gaze.

"You have 30 seconds, explain," Elsa said. She was nothing if not always calm.

"You never pay any attention to me!"

It came out blurted as if Anna had let the cork out of a clogged Champaign bottle. It was unladylike and aggressive and messy but she couldn't stop now, she had twenty-five more seconds to lay into her sister.

"You're always rushing out of rooms and spend 15 hours a day studying in the library or locked in your room. You barely ever eat with me or say hi to me. You've done it since we were kids and I don't know why because you were my best friend and now with Mama and Papa gone you're all I have and I know I'm all you have too and you just-ugh!" Anna finally took a breath.

"Are you done?"

Anna could kill her. Elsa was serene, her gloves hands clasped in front of her. Her perfect posture unaffected by how close Anna had gotten to her, up on tiptoes to try to match Elsa in height but still her sister looked down her nose at Anna's level devoid of any emotion.

"Your frustration is no excuse to cause possible harm to others, further," she cut off Anna's opening mouth, "Those others are responsible for cleaning up that mess you made with your childish antic. You will clean it up yourself, then you will retire to your room for the night."

"You're treating me like a child!"

"You are fifteen."

"And you're not queen yet!"

That had been a mistake. Flashing through Elsa's blue eyes was the iciest gaze Anna had ever seen and if looks could kill they'd be organizing her state funeral as they spoke. Elsa's glared remained and she did not speak, clearly waiting for Anna to correct herself.

"I just mean," And said, much weaker than before, "You act like I don't even exist. It's like you never know I'm there."

"I always know you're there."

A strange emotion replaced Elsa's glare. It was anger and something like sadness. And suddenly she was so much older and so much farther away. Anna was tempted to place a hand on her arm.

"I have my reasons for what I do," Elsa said, straightening. "And maybe…one day…you can understand." The tiniest of smiles grazed Elsa's face but then it was gone. "Clean up the dinning room. Go to bed. And do not do it again."

And Elsa was out the door. Anna picked up a pillow, shoved it into her face and screamed. She then tossed the pillow as hard as she could back at the couch. She wanted so badly to hate Elsa. She wanted to just say "Well she's the Princess of Arendelle and one day she'll be my queen and that's it" but Elsa would always and forever be her older sister. It was too late to hate her. She already loved her.