Anna bounded up the portside gangway with an equally excited Olaf and a grumpy Kristoff in tow. While the princess and her newly assigned squire ran around the deck squealing as they ran their hands across the polished rails, Kristoff distractedly watched a pair of men load up some last minute supplies.
To say the ship was huge was an understatement.
The flagship of the fleet, it was quickly apparent just how much had been invested into its construction and maintenance. The deck was polished to a shine, the rich red wood gleaming even with the faintest of light from the rising sun barely peeking from the horizon. As Anna watched intently, sailors lowered the black sails, heaving and pulling in perfect synchronisation as they secured the riggings. Anna herself knew absolutely nothing about ships but she was still impressed.
"Yoo hoo!" A large man emerged from the quarterdeck, his large frame so tall that he had to bend forwards and awkwardly shuffle through the door. At his greeting, far too chirpy considering it was barely day break in Kristoff's opinion; Anna and Olaf guiltily stepped away from the main mast that they had been attempting to climb.
"Velcome aboard the Vandering Oaken's. I am your captain, Oaken. Any questions, just ask, ja?" He steeple his fingers, grinning broadly down at the trio.
Oaken was probably the second biggest man, the first being Marshmallow that she had ever met, Anna thought to herself. Easily towering over all of them, the man was well…huge. Blond hair with impressive sideburns framed a chubby face made all the more imposing by a large moustache. Light blue eyes stared down at them, the clearness of his eyes brought out by the mismatched colours of his sweater.
"How about some sun balm of my own invention, ya?" Oaken pulled out a glass bottle containing a suspicious yellow liquid from a back pocket of his hideously yellow pants.
"Thanks, but I'll pass." Anna politely declined, inadvertently eyeing the bottle.
Oaken looked like he was about to insist when Elsa stepped around his large frame.
"I see you've met Princess Anna." Elsa began coolly.
"Elsa!" The princess in question exclaimed, unconsciously closing the distance in a few short strides, about to pull the blonde into crushing hug before she stopped short, dropping her outstretched arms awkwardly.
To Anna's surprise, Elsa played along. Taking her hand in gloved ones, she pressed a light kiss against the back of Anna's hand that sent the redhead's nerves tingling.
"Your Highness. Thank you for joining us. If it'd please you, allow me to escort you to your private quarters for the journey." Elsa did not look up as she spoke, keeping her eyes fixated on a smattering of pale freckles on the redhead's wrist.
Anna nodded before it dawn on her that the blonde could not see her. "Yes. It would most certainly please me." She squeaked, inwardly slapping herself on the head for the unintended innuendo behind her words. She usually did a fairly great job at embarrassing herself on a daily basis but her recent interactions with the blonde had definitely redefined her standards.
Ducking her head, Anna avoided meeting the bemused gaze of Kristoff or the hopeful looks that Olaf and Oaken sent her way as she took Elsa's proffered arm and followed the blonde into the quarterdeck.
xxx
"I'm sorry." The words were soft, almost lost in the blaring of a horn as the ship began moving.
Anna turned to watch the blonde through wide eyes, surprised at the sudden apology.
Staring ahead of her and avoiding making eye contact with the redhead, Elsa continued in a sombre tone. "I'm sorry for everything, Anna. For disappearing, for avoiding you, for lying to you." She halted in the middle of the narrow passage, almost causing Anna to walk straight into her.
"I'm sorry for being…me…"
"Don't you dare apologise for that." Anna spat out harshly, a little too much perhaps for the blonde visibly recoiled.
"If it weren't for you, I wouldn't even be here." Anna tentatively slid her hand down the blonde's arm, gingerly lacing their fingers. "You saved me. Even if you feel otherwise, it doesn't change the fact that you did what you did to protect me." She tugged lightly on Elsa's arm, urging the resolute woman to face her.
"You haven't changed one bit. You're still so…optimistic. Always giving the benefit of the doubt." Elsa smiled ruefully. "How certain are you that I wasn't just running away from my problems?" The blonde turned then, meeting the princess gentle gaze with an intense one of her own.
"Because if you are, you wouldn't have stopped running." Anna tilted her head, staring down her nose in challenge.
"Perhaps, Anna. Perhaps." Elsa began walking again, her arm stiffening when she remembered her hand was firmly clasped within the redhead's. She wanted to break the contact, fearful that she might lose control over the frost and worse yet, fearful that she would be addicted to the warmth radiating from the redhead.
As if she could read the blonde's thoughts, Anna tightened her hold. "I'm not afraid of you, Elsa. I know you would never intentionally hurt me."
"Doesn't mean I can't accidently hurt you." Elsa muttered.
"That's out of your control."
"And that's the problem isn't it? I should have control over my own abilities! But around you, it's always a struggle and I can't risk it!" Elsa was shouting now, her voice echoing down the passageway, face beet-red from trying to keep her anger in check. Anna did not deserve such behaviour, so why can't she just stop?
"So what do you propose? We stay out of each other's way? Avoid each other like the plague?" Anna's voice was growing louder, heat rising into her cheeks as she glared belligerently at the blonde. "A reprise of the last ten years except this time we are doing it based on some warped sense of mutual agreement?" Anna wrenched her hand from Elsa's loose grasp.
Jabbing a finger into the blonde's chest and punctuating each word with a hard poke that made the blonde wince, Anna continued bellowing. "Because it clearly worked perfectly well the first time, didn't it?!"
Elsa had averted her eyes, choosing to stare down on the wooden floor, literally trying to bore a hole through the wood with a cold glare. A light frost had begun creeping onto every surface of the passageway, bringing about a chill to the air that stung Anna's flushed cheeks.
Anna breathed heavily, her heart pounding loudly in her ears. It vaguely registered in her brain that she had just lost her temper with the blonde. She wasn't necessary hot-tempered, maybe prone to reacting with reckless abandon in the face of injustice; but Elsa's idea of selflessness was downright infuriating.
"Look around you, Elsa. You think you have no control?" Anna waved an arm, pointing out the thick layer of frost on the walls, her voice significantly lower. "You are wrong, Elsa. You have control. The entire passage looks like it was carved from ice, yet I'm still standing right here. Unharmed." Anna tentatively touched the taller woman on the shoulder, gently sliding both hands to cup the blonde's face when Elsa did not flinch from the contact.
Elsa drew in a shaky breath when Anna rose on tiptoes to press their foreheads together as they so often did as children. Her hands twitched by the redhead's sides, uncertain as to what she should do with them. She wanted desperately to embrace the younger woman that she had so missed, but she was afraid she would lose whatever fragile composure she still had.
Conceal. Don't feel. Don't let it show.
Elsa repeated the mantra in her mind, willing herself to rein in her pent-up emotions. It wouldn't do for her to lose control now. Not over her powers but over her emotions. It wouldn't do for the men to see that their Grand Marshal was not as infallible as they believed or subjected to emotional turmoil like everyone else. Worse yet, no can know that Elsa Frost had a weakness in the form of a redhead Princess of Arendelle. There was already enough assassination attempts on the princess's life, all of which that Elsa herself had thwarted; there was no need to add another reason to the list.
Gently pushing the redhead back, Elsa mumbled. "We can't do this here. No one can know."
Anna blushed furiously, clearly missing the context of the blonde's words. "Wait – what? What are you suggesting?" Did she miss something?
Elsa blinked blankly before realisation dawned on her and her mouth formed an 'O' in surprise. A faint blush tinted her cheeks and she hastily looked away. "That's not – I don't mean – we uh…" She trailed off, another layer of ice spreading out beneath her feet in her panic.
"Let's just get you settled in your quarters." Elsa abruptly changed the subject, quickly putting some distance between herself and the redhead.
A heavy thud and a surprised grunt sounded from behind her and Elsa spun around quickly, concern written all over her features. Anna was sprawled on the iced over floor, having slipped and fallen backwards.
"Owww…" The redhead grimaced, tenderly rubbing her pelvis where she had landed on.
Elsa rushed to the redhead's side, sliding gracefully across the ice, even managing to drop to one knee as she skidded to a stop.
"I am so sorry, Anna. I completely forgot about the ice." Elsa gushed, already mentally berating herself as she helped the redhead to her feet.
"Guess I still need more of those snow drills." Anna smiled weakly, eyes widening in alarm when she nearly slipped again had Elsa not pulled her into a secure hold.
"I got you."
"Don't let go this time." Anna murmured as she snaked her arms around the blonde's waist and tucked her head beneath the blonde's chin.
For once, Elsa ignored the rational voice in her brain and gave in to the comforting feeling of Anna pressed against her. She had missed this.
After years of running, she was finally home.
xxx
"Elsa?" Anna called out, rapping out a rhythm against the closed door of the navigation room. She had spent the past hour exploring the ship, getting told off by the workers in the boiler room before being directed by one of the ship's crew to where the grand marshal was last seen.
Hearing no response, Anna announced her attention before she gripped the door knob. "I'm coming in." Surprisingly, the handle turned and caught off guard that the door was actually unlocked; the redhead stumbled into its tiny confines.
Cerulean eyes glanced up in mild annoyance at the disturbance, softening immediately when they focused on the awkwardly waving redhead.
"The door wasn't locked." Anna mumbled by way of explanation as she made her way carefully around the cluttered desk that occupied majority of the space. "I didn't see you at lunch so I thought I'd bring you something." Anna prattled on, pulling out a slightly squashed sandwich from the inside of her coat, placing the badly wrapped package into the blonde's hands. "Sorry, it's probably cold now. Maybe you shouldn't eat it…"
Elsa twisted her torso away from the redhead's outstretched arms. "It's fine. I appreciate it, Anna." As if to reassure the princess, Elsa hastily unwrapped the package and took a huge bite of the sandwich.
It wasn't as cold as Anna had claimed. Even though it was essentially a soggy mess of bread stuffed with several slices of cured meat and cheese, it was strangely warm; possibly due to the fact it might have spent a significant amount of time tucked securely in the redhead's clothes.
"It's really good." Elsa exaggerated through mouthfuls of the sandwich, eliciting a surprise giggle from the redhead.
"What are you up to?" Anna asked, peering over the blonde's shoulder.
A nautical map of the area was spread across the desk, held down at the corners by makeshift paperweights that ranged from a brass compass, a silver pocket watch and a pair of ink wells. Ship replicas carved from wood and no bigger than Anna's thumb were clustered a wooden ruler near the centre of the map. On the other end of the measuring rule was a carved replica of a tower, completed with battlements.
"Oh, are you planning the attack?" Anna asked, perching herself on the arm of Elsa's chair; oblivious to the blonde's discomfort at the sudden closeness. "Is this our ship?" She continued, pointing to a slightly larger ship replica made from glistening ice that stood out from its wooden counterparts.
"Yeah." Elsa shifted in her seat, leaning away from the redhead as far as she could manage without being too obvious.
"I'm glad you are here. There are several things that I'd like to go over with you." Finding an excuse to stand, Elsa quickly rose to her feet and moved around the desk to stand across from the redhead.
Anna pouted at the blonde's movements, an expression that said blonde noticed and flushed with embarrassment. For all of Elsa's indiscretion, she may as well have vaulted over the desk or fled to an adjacent room.
Clearing her throat, Elsa tapped her forefinger against the map, redirecting the redhead's attention. "At moon rise, the Wandering Oaken will move ahead of the fleet." She deftly rearranged the tiny replicas to resemble an arrow formation with the ice ship at its point.
"Assuming that conditions continue to be favourable, we should be able to spot our target within three hours and will drop anchor. At this point, I need you to remain in the safety of the captain's cabin while –"
"Wait, what?" Anna interrupted, shaking her head in disdain. "You expect me to hide like a coward? Isn't the whole point of my being here is to encourage our men by fighting alongside them?"
"Well, yeah. But if you'd recall, not many know that the Princess of Arendelle is within our ranks…" Elsa reminded gently. As far as she was aware, only her immediate circle of trusted officers knew of Anna's royal status. To others, the redhead was simply a skilled knight of noble upbringing enlisted into the ranks for the time being.
Anna gaped like a fish out of water; she had completely overlooked that fact. True, she had insisted on hiding her identity in order for her to better integrate into the army. Besides, she also wanted to be treated like an equal and earn the respect of her comrades through her skills and not due to obligation.
"Fine. You win this one. But, Pappa expects me to learn from you. So I won't be hiding in the safety of the captain's cabin while you lead us into battle." Anna crossed her arms, huffing indignantly.
"Fine. You can stay on the quarter deck." Elsa conceded, annoyed at herself that she would even consider such a weak argument. Then again, it was Anna and Elsa had never been able to resist. "But I have several conditions."
Anna inclined her head, attempting to appear haughty and failing miserably by squinting a little too much and appearing as if she had impaired vision. "I consider myself a reasonable lady. List your terms Grand Marshal." She gave herself a mental clap on the back for pulling off the snobbish attitude. This was certainly becoming a bit of a game between them and Anna had to admit she was enjoying herself tremendously; plus she had an inkling Elsa was too.
The blonde quirked a perfectly arched eyebrow in amusement but wisely did not comment on the redhead's behaviour. Two can play at this game. "Very well, Your Highness." She bowed mockingly, fighting back a smirk at the affronted glare from the redhead.
"First and foremost, Sir Kristoff Bjorgman will be your escort. He will be your shadow and I beseech Your Highness to remain within his sight at all times, no exceptions. Secondly, Your Highness is ill advised to leave the confines of the quarterdeck until it is deemed safe by myself or in the event of siege where it is no longer in Your Highness's safety to remain. Lastly…" Elsa broke character then; averting her eyes in what Anna could tell was shame.
"Don't judge me too harshly for what I have to do." Elsa's words were soft and filled with so much self-loathing that Anna was almost convinced it would rip the blonde apart.
It dawned on Anna then that all rumours of how Elsa was the devil himself on wings of ice were simply nonsense. All Anna saw before her was a broken woman who hated herself for being the weapon that only left death and destruction in its path.
A/N:
While writing this, I was painfully aware of just how little I know about ships... So if anyone knows of any good sites for reference, do drop me a mail! I've spent far more time researching and reading nearly everything about medieval ship construction that Google provided than actually writing this chapter. Have to say I was a little disappointed at how this one turned out... Not my best but I promise I WILL redeem myself! SOON-ish!
On a lighter note, a big, heartfelt THANK YOU to each and every single reader! Every morning, I wake up to notifications of new followers and new reviews; seeing them makes it worth writing.
"Write not for yourself, but for others."