Author Notes: This story contains themes that may make some readers uncomfortable. If femslash or the thought of two consenting adults engaging in a relationship that is considered taboo in the real world offends you, then this story is not for you. I welcome reviews and critiques, but the world already has enough hate, so please keep your flames to yourself. There are many other wonderful stories on this site, and I won't be offended if you choose one of them instead. Standard Disclaimer: I don't make claims on any Disney trademarks/copyrights and mean no infringement on them or anybody else.
Chapter 3.
The book in Elsa's lap was open, but she'd been staring at the same page for half an hour. Reading was her way of relaxing, letting go of her worries and fears by immersing herself in a different world, a world existing only in her mind. Now, all she saw was a blur of letters that spelled no words and brought no comfort at all.
The meeting went rather smoothly, considering that the two envoys sitting across the desk from her held obvious enmity toward each other in a personal as well as diplomatic sense. Nearly half the time they allotted for the conference was taken up by the two arguing with one another over just about every question that was asked.
As Bridgette warned her, the envoy from Grottony was abrupt and somewhat confrontational, and only slightly less rude when speaking to her than he was to the others. The envoy from Farson, meanwhile, referred to her powers as an 'affliction', and seemed to think that in matters of trade Mister Johansen was the one who held the power in the room. Neither of the men was openly disrespectful, though it was clear that her age, gender and, not surprisingly, her ability to freeze her country solid, combined to convince them both that there was a worrisome chance she would not hold the throne for long.
The first topic of discussion, of course, was the Eternal Winter, and it took some time to convince the two that there was no chance of a repeat of that unfortunate accident. Between Herr Karlsbaad's not-quite-insulting barbs and Monsieur Salomé speaking in a tone that suggested he pitied her as though she her dying, by the time the subject moved on to more mundane matters Elsa wasn't sure whether to be angry or burst into tears. She later received a couple of approving nods from Mister Johansen for keeping the meeting from wandering off into matters that had nothing to do with trade, which balanced her emotions enough that she was able to maintain a neutral tone throughout. Even so, she still felt wrung dry by the time things began to wrap up.
Suddenly, Herr Karlsbaad brought up the coronation again, speaking off-handedly as though he was merely passing along gossip. He suggested that certain people felt that someone who would unleash a storm of such force upon the country she ruled, and turn her own sister into ice for trying to stop it, could not be wholly human. He didn't use the word monster, but that was what he meant, and everyone in the room knew it. An uncomfortable silence followed as the other two men looked at her with the slightest hint of fear in their eyes.
Elsa highly doubted he knew how hard his statement actually hit her, and it took everything she had not to let her powers express her response before her words did. If there was one thing Elsa practiced more than any other, however, it was not to respond to the word she hated most. Instead, she smiled sweetly at him and responded that it was rash to make assumptions about such things without knowing the entire story. She then turned and answered a question that Monsieur Salomé had asked just prior, leaving the Grottnian envoy looking annoyed but also slightly impressed that she hadn't taken his bait.
Mister Johansen stepped in and quickly changed the subject, closing the meeting by informing the envoys that the Queen would be joining them tomorrow for a tour of Arendelle's most productive farms, which allowed Elsa to express her great pleasure at the trip and wish to finish other pressing matters so that she would be free to devote as much time as possible to the two gentlemen before her. It made her slightly nauseous to lie so blatantly, but she did and everyone was pleasant as they left the room.
It was the final exchange with Herr Karlsbaad, however, that kept her from being able to lose herself in the novel sitting in her lap. She truly hated the word monster. She hated it as much as she hated the troll who told her that's how she'd be seen if she didn't control her magic. It was also the word she feared most — that others would eventually come to see her as something not human, something dangerous, no matter how hard she tried to keep her powers controlled.
She feared it even more than she feared her sister discovering her secret. Is that what Anna would call me if she knew? The thought of Anna calling her a monster brought tears to her eyes. Will she come to see me that way someday? Will she come to hate me — to fear me? Anna already had plenty of reasons to hate her. Starting with almost killing her when they were children, then all the years of ignoring her pleas to open the door, and finally freezing her heart and turning her to ice when all Anna wanted was to help her—most of Anna's life gave her a reason to hate her older sister. That she didn't still amazed Elsa, though it didn't help with the guilt and fear Elsa felt herself.
She doesn't remember the accident, at least. It was a small comfort, but unless Anna found out what was done to her as a child, first by Elsa and then the trolls, at least she wouldn't be hated for it. If Anna did find out…. That was something Elsa didn't dare contemplate; every time she ever had, it always ended with her unleashing her powers on the nearest inanimate object in a fury born of fear.
She'd gained greater self-control over the years, but even if she weren't already feeling fragile, she wouldn't risk Bridgette witnessing such a display of anger now — or the risk that it might spiral out of control as it had the night of the coronation. Anna's half-pleading, half-angry insistence on knowing why she'd been shut out of her sister's life was what broke her then. The fear that she might actually find out exploded with a force Elsa was still trying to comprehend she was capable of.
While she might be able to keep that out of her thoughts, Anna wasn't so easily dismissed. Elsa remembered that afternoon. Even though imagining her sister on top of her, imagining her lips and her fingers and what they could do to her, always felt so wrong, Elsa did it anyway. It was the first time she'd done it in the middle of the day, which made it feel even more wrong, but the pleasure of climaxing to the vision of Anna's head between her legs wiped out any guilt she may have had.
That guilt was very present now, however, fueled by the exchange that came shortly after in the hall. As much as she wanted to do as her sister asked she was terrified of what might happen. Anna would insist on sitting next to her, leaning against her and stroking her arm, never knowing that every touch made Elsa even wetter in the place that she wanted Anna to be stroking instead. Anna would talk about her day, and about Kristoff, never knowing that every mention of his name was a glowing hot knife plunging into Elsa's heart. Tea with Anna was the greatest of pleasures and the greatest of pains. Yet, she still yearned for it.
The woman Anna had said knew her sister best of all stepped through the doorway from the Queen's bedroom quietly, sensing that her mistress was upset about something, but not sure how to ask what it was. Bridgette had served the Royal Family for most of her life, long enough that hearing her last name felt foreign to her. She was an orphan, and over the years her family had become the staff of the castle and the nobility she served. She was fiercely loyal, and fiercely protective of the young woman she was now watching carefully.
She was waiting for the right moment to intercede in Elsa's thoughts, before they grew worrisome and started to express themselves physically. Since the events of the coronation, Elsa had learned a great deal more control over the magic that coursed through her body; recently, however, it seemed she was losing that ground again. She'd apparently managed to contain the worst of it to her rooms, but outside her refuge the simple flurries and cold spots that the staff had become accustomed to were growing more severe, signs that Elsa was letting an increasing number of things get to her.
It concerned Bridgette some, though she hadn't expected the transition from cloistered girl to Queen of Arendelle would be without setbacks. Even so, Elsa was having greater difficulty finding her place in the world outside her chambers then she'd thought. She was still hesitant and shy, far too often uncertain of how she should act and what she should say. Bridgette was glad her mistress still turned to her for advice when she felt lost, and she gave it readily; as long as Elsa relied on her, she would be there with her support. Bridgette didn't know what the Queen was struggling with now, but when Elsa closed her book sharply and let out a frustrated noise, she decided it was time to find out.
"Excuse me, Your Majesty. Is there something on your mind?" Bridgette knew Elsa's body language well enough to know that her mistress was on edge and might react with magic first if she asked too directly. As she expected, the Queen jumped and the temperature began to drop slightly. "I only ask so that I may assist if possible."
Elsa drew in a deep breath and let it out, stilling the energy she could feel pulsing through her body. It was a routine she had been practicing with uncomfortable regularity over the last several days, and far more today than usual. After a long moment, she was able to answer with some degree of calm.
"I'm just tired," she said, not looking at the older woman standing beside the settee. "Between Farson and Grottony, the pile of paperwork sitting on my desk, and worrying about Anna, I'm worn thin." She realized a fraction of a second too late that Bridgette would know which of the three was most concerning. "About Anna and Kristoff," she amended, getting to her feet and facing her handmaiden with a weak smile.
She wasn't wrong; Bridgette instantly recognized not only that the Queen's sister weighed most heavily on her mind, but also that it was Anna alone and only peripherally her relationship with the Royal Ice Cutter. It wasn't much of a surprise, given that the Queen had been worried about Anna for most of her life, but something about the way she said it caught Bridgette's attention. The words were clearly unintended, and her attempt to correct herself only made it more obvious. Not only that, but the temperature was becoming uncomfortably cold and Elsa's gaze darted nervously around the room instead of focusing on her.
"Are you concerned about the amount of time she spends outside of the castle without a guard?" It was the most logical reason, though Bridgette doubted it was the real one. The Princess had been gallivanting about the countryside since the moment the gates were opened, and Elsa hadn't seemed worried about it before.
"No. I'm sure Kristoff is the best guard she could have." The fact that this was true made Elsa wince; once again, she was forced to remember that it was Kristoff who held Anna's heart and likely would forever. A few snowflakes drifted down around her, and she quickly dispelled them, along with the cold air she realized she'd created.
Bridgette narrowed her eyes. She could tell that the statement pained her charge, though she couldn't guess why. She knew Elsa well, but given she was the only one that the young woman had interacted with for so many years, she found it difficult to decipher Elsa's true feelings about other people.
"That's true," she responded. "Perhaps you are worried that she is not spending enough time practicing her etiquette?" Bridgette had learned of Astrid's attempts at reminding the Princess how she was supposed to act; at first, she wasn't pleased, but if Anna would listen to anyone about such things, Astrid was the likeliest — other than the Queen, who had been ignoring her sister for more than a week. She certainly wasn't paying attention to the woman actually tasked with the job.
"No," Elsa replied quietly, "though she definitely needs to focus more on that." There hadn't been any major incidents, but Anna had come close to insulting several people with inappropriate questions. Only her cheerful personality, coupled with the fact that she was clearly asking innocently, prevented anyone from becoming too upset. Even so, she was the Queen's sister and eventually something bad would happen if she didn't learn to control her mouth. Anna's mouth … Elsa shuddered as a wisp of fantasy floated into her vision.
"Is there anything I could pass along to Astrid, then, to ease your —"
"NO!" Her voice was loud and harsh, but Elsa couldn't stand thinking about Anna anymore — especially given where her mind was quickly going — and Bridgette didn't seem willing to let go of it. She clenched her fists as the snow started again, heavier this time. "I am not a child and I do not need to tell you the reasons for everything I do. Stop asking questions."
Bridgette blinked several times. The outburst was very unlike Elsa, who was now surrounded by a swirl of heavy snowflakes. It wasn't the first time she'd grown so tense when talking about her sister in recent weeks, but it was the first time her control over her powers had slipped so visibly. That Anna could cause such a drastic response from the usually calm Queen worried her more than anything, but it was clearly not the time to press the issue.
"My apologies, Your Majesty." The relationship between them may be more like parent and child than master and servant, but Bridgette knew that now was the time was to assume the latter role. "You have some time before I must dress you for dinner. Would you like a glass of port while I finish preparing your clothes?"
Elsa closed her eyes and forced the snow to dissipate. Getting angry would only confirm to Bridgette that something was very wrong, and the last thing she wanted was for the older woman to try to comfort her. Despite only a nine-year gap in their ages, Bridgette was more like a mother than her own mother had been, and the thought of accidentally disclosing the reason for her foul mood was that much more terrifying because of it.
She didn't even want to imagine what would happen if her mother knew what she wanted to do to her sister; Idrun had been very strict — contrary to her public persona — and the idea that Elsa had feelings for anyone she had not hand-selected would infuriate her. If she discovered those feelings were for Anna, she would break the door down regardless of Elsa's powers and beat her senseless.
When she asked, at around thirteen, about the changes in her body and the feelings she was beginning to have, she could feel her mother's disapproval, even through the thick door, that she would dare think about something like romance or marriage without permission. Idrun gave a strict order forbidding her daughter from thinking about such things, and a stricter one that Elsa was not to explore her body, regardless of how good it might feel.
She spent a great deal of time reiterating that such behavior was unfit for a girl who would become Queen and with nothing to convince her otherwise, Elsa followed her mother's instructions. Not doing anything about her urges didn't mean she'd never had them, however. She'd even touched herself once or twice, curious about how parts of her body could react so differently simply because of an odd dream, but the vehemence with which her mother disapproved of it prevented her from going any further.
Elsa was thus completely unprepared for the first time a true orgasm ripped through her, and the shock was even greater because it came in response to a fantasy about her little sister. When she regained her breath, she realized what she'd done and swore that she would not do it again, only to seek the pleasure the next night, and the night after that. Even though she was now an adult, even though she was now Queen, she still didn't dare reveal to her handmaiden she'd been engaging in the forbidden activity with unsettling regularity—and certainly not that it was because she was thinking about Anna.
"My Lady?" Bridgette watched the color spreading across her mistress's face in confusion, wondering what Elsa could possibly be thinking about to cause the deep red blush that reached even the tips of her ears.
The Queen shook herself and brought her attention back to the present. "Port. Yes. I mean … A small one, thank you Bridgette." She liked the taste most wines, but didn't like the way she felt after more than a small glass. She'd overindulged once, and the loss of self-control that followed nearly ended in disaster when she cornered Anna with the intention of kissing her. At the last second, she realized what she was doing and somehow turned it into a hug. The next morning the memory, combined with a splitting headache, convinced her not to drink that much ever again.
Once Bridgette gave her the drink and left the room, Elsa crossed to a window and stared out over the courtyard. It was still strange seeing the gates wide open, but every time Anna came home with a tale of seeing deer in the forest or touring a new farm, it made her glad she had not shut them again after the disaster of her coronation. Anything that made Anna happy, if it were within Elsa's abilities to provide, she would provide — regardless of the pain it might cause her. Anything was worth seeing her sister smile, hearing her giggle excitedly, feeling their bodies pressed together when Anna gave her a huge hug as a thank you —
Elsa shook herself to stop the train of thought that was leading to that afternoon yet again, to the terror of thinking Anna might have heard her, and the short replies that clearly hurt her sister's feelings. All she wanted was to talk and I bit her head off. She missed their nightly ritual as much as her sister did, but the fear that she might accidentally reveal her secret overwhelmed her loneliness. Is it really worth it? If I keep pushing her away, eventually she'll stop asking. Just like she stopped knocking on my door.
She hung her head; after telling Anna they'd never be apart again, she was pushing her away with all her might and once again ignoring her sister's pleas not to do so. What do I do? How do I fix this? Can I fix it? The questions swirled around in her mind, and she stared blankly out over the courtyard, sipped her wine, and wondered if she and Anna would ever regain the close relationship they enjoyed for an all-too-brief time after being reunited.
While Elsa was deep within her thoughts, Bridgette was laying out the clothes the Queen would be wearing to dinner. It was only in the last week or so that she'd been doing it; until then Elsa simply conjured up whatever design she chose. Those dresses were a source of irritation for several of the older men on the Royal Council, who felt it was outrageous that their Queen thought nothing of what she revealed when wearing them, especially that her thigh showed as she walked.
It was only a glimpse of skin above the knee, but the slit of her skirt revealed more than many of them had ever seen of their own wives, much less of a 21-year-old platinum blonde with more curves than Arendelle's coastline. The scandalously tight, revealing attire didn't thrill Bridgette, either, which was the only way Elsa had been convinced to return to her more sedate attire—during the day, at least. She still insisted on dressing herself for dinner, but the compromise appeared to calm everyone's complaints.
Then, nearly two weeks ago, she suddenly asked Bridgette to start choosing her clothes again. The shimmering, form-fitting ice dresses vanished and hadn't been seen since. She still wore her hair down in a thick braid unless she had official business to take care of, but her entire demeanor was reverting more and more noticeably to that she held before her coronation. Something had rattled the young Queen, something that Bridgette couldn't discover no matter how hard she tried. All she knew was that Elsa went to bed one night the cheerful woman she had become and woke the next morning the frightened girl she'd been three months earlier.
Since Elsa was young, there had been sporadic episodes of her having extremely vivid nightmares, and at first, Bridgette assumed that a particularly frightening dream had put her mistress on edge. After four days, it became clear that wasn't the case; if anything, Elsa was withdrawing more. Even her sister wasn't immune from her sudden change.
That the Queen had been avoiding Anna was particularly worrisome; her sister served as a balance to the stresses she was facing as she took on the burden of ruling a country, and without Anna's presence to relax her, she was spiraling into a dangerous depression. Despite the Princess's attempts to get her to open up, Elsa was curling into an ever-tighter ball of energy that Bridgette was afraid would explode catastrophically should the Queen not soon find a way to release the heavy tension so obvious on her face.
It's as though she hasn't grown at all. Elsa had become far more comfortable moving among other people, and she was making remarkable strides in the ease with which she communicated with them. Now, it was as if all that effort had been erased. In the last few days, Elsa isolated herself in her rooms when it wasn't absolutely necessary that she be elsewhere, and there were signs that she'd either been losing control of her powers on a larger scale than Bridgette had thus seen or, more troublingly, been intentionally hurling ice at things.
Elsa had a temper, and when she was younger, it sometimes expressed itself through magic that resulted in destroyed pillows, books, and the occasional piece of furniture. It had been years since she resorted to that kind of violence, and Bridgette realized what had been the last cause. Her parents' deaths sent her into a tailspin; this situation is coming dangerously close to that.
The thought that the Queen might be intentionally using her powers in anger made Bridgette nervous, especially given the evidence that her control was slipping. It worried her that the young woman was angry—or frustrated, or afraid, or whatever was pulling her back into her shell—enough to express her emotions physically. It was still a minor enough concern that Bridgette didn't consider it imperative to address the issue, but she certainly wanted to do anything she could to keep it that way.
Checking her watch, Bridgette saw she had run out of time for consideration of how to help her charge. She'd intended to make one last trip across the hall to remind Astrid that time was growing short, but in her distraction, she'd left herself no spare moment to do so. With a sigh, she walked to the doorway intending to inform the Queen that it was time to dress. When she got there, she stopped dead and gasped.
Elsa was leaning her forehead against the glass of the window, which was frosted over; rime coated every surface within ten feet of the Queen's form. She was muttering, occasionally pulling back and banging her head against the window with enough force to rattle it. It was snowing lightly, but even without the flurry the scene was alarming enough.
What in Freya's name is going on? "Your Majesty?" Bridgette kept her voice calm and quiet; she had experienced many situations like this before, though not for some months, and she knew that if Elsa was distracted enough to allow her magic to show itself this strongly, startling her could be a dangerous matter. "It's time."
Elsa didn't register the words at first, too busy fighting an all-too-common battle with her emotions. She'd starting thinking about Anna, the past, and how her sister must feel about being ignored for no apparent reason, and the guilt that gripped her was familiar and hard to escape. The second time Bridgette called she shook herself and opened her eyes, looking around in disbelief.
"Oh, shit!" It was a word she'd picked up from Kristoff and found very satisfying to say when the situation called for it. How didn't I notice I was doing this?
"I'm sorry?" Bridgette heard the curse with shock; only the fact that Elsa immediately dispelled the ice and cold kept her from asking where she'd learned it. "Are you not feeling well?"
"No," Elsa responded, fighting the blush of embarrassment at being heard using a profanity she shouldn't know. "I'm fine — as fine as I'm going to be."
Bridgette coughed. It was an obvious lie, but given Elsa's unusually fragile state, she decided against pressing the matter. "If you wish, I will prepare your tea for earlier so that you may go to bed sooner. You don't seem to have been sleeping well."
Not sleeping at all. Elsa didn't dare tell her handmaiden that fact. "Unfortunately, I have a great deal of work to do, so as much as I'd love to retire early, I can't."
"Perhaps I could rearrange your schedule for tomorrow so that you can take the morning to yourself; I can move your tour with Herr Karlsbaad and Monsieur Salomé to the afternoon with minimal trouble."
"I put them off today," Elsa replied quietly. Bridgette was pushing her again, but she knew the older woman was acting on her mother's instructions and when it didn't pertain to Anna, she usually didn't get particularly annoyed. Even if she did explode not too much earlier, she wasn't going to complain about it this time. "It wouldn't look good for me to do it again tomorrow. Thank you, though. I appreciate the thought."
Glancing down, Bridgette marshaled her thoughts. Finally, she spoke again. "It would look worse for you to cause a snowstorm by accident, My Lady. You are clearly under more stress than is healthy for you, and showing something in public like what just happened —"
"There is nothing wrong with me!" Elsa interrupted sharply. The comment threatened to bring back the emotions she was just now letting go of and her mother's instructions or not, she wasn't going to let that happen. "Being tired does not justify postponing something that is already scheduled. You are the one who taught me that, if you recall."
"Indeed, I do." Bridgette shook her head slightly. "Very well, I will have tea sent to your office at the usual time. For now, I need to get you dressed or you might be late."
Elsa started towards her and then paused, the chaos in her mind clearing long enough for her to remember she'd made a promise to Anna, and she realized now it was a promise she needed to keep. Not only was it unfair to her sister to be ignored with no explanation, it was doing more harm than good to Elsa herself. Anna was the reason for her mood, but Anna was also the only one who could lift the stress from her shoulders. Clearly, Bridgette knew that she was having more than a little trouble with her powers, and if Bridgette knew, it was time to find a solution.
"On second thought, I have a task for you." She started walking again.
"What is that, My Lady?" Bridgette stepped aside to let her into the bedroom, and then began helping her undress. Elsa's clothing had always been simple, and was far more suited for someone in mourning than the Queen of Arendelle — in some ways, she still was mourning her parents' deaths — but it made it quicker to get her changed.
Elsa bit her lip. Am I really going to do this? "Please go through my correspondence while I'm at dinner and sort it so that I will only have to deal with the most important tonight. I'd like to have tea with Anna." She felt Bridgette's fingers go still. "I promised I would try."
It took several seconds longer for Bridgette to start working again. "Of course, Your Majesty. I'm sure the Princess will be happy to hear it." She didn't even try to keep her voice neutral.
"Make sure there are chocolate truffles," Elsa said, glancing over her shoulder to see if her handmaiden looked as relieved as she sounded. She felt far from relieved herself, but unless she wanted things to get much worse, she had to figure out a way to control herself around her sister, and she needed to do it quickly. "You know the kinds of tarts she likes."
"I'll take care of everything."
Elsa drew in her breath. "We'll have it in the parlor." She was highly doubtful that being in a small, closed room, with Anna wanting to cuddle, would be good for anything but raising her blood pressure, but the parlor was not connected to either of their chambers and she needed to keep things as neutral as she could.
They usually had tea in her sitting room, but Elsa couldn't spend an hour looking at Anna in her nightclothes, a few feet from the bedroom door, and not lose her mind. Even so, she couldn't keep avoiding her sister forever, and reestablishing a normal routine — after removing as much temptation as possible first — might help ease the frustrating ache she felt every time she saw the redhead smile.
"Yes, My Lady." Bridgette heard the hesitation in her charge's voice, and wondered why she would request tea in the tiny parlor at the end of the hall, which saw almost no use, but the fact she was having tea at all was a sign that her mood was starting to improve. "I think it will be good for you," she added quietly.
"I'm sure it will be." Elsa was already half-regretting the decision, all the things that could go wrong crowding into her mind like a thousand swords ready to cut her into pieces at the slightest mistake. She would have to be more alert than she ever had been in Anna's presence, while somehow keeping her sister from realizing how uncomfortable she was. She wasn't going to change her mind, however, no matter what excuses she made to herself.
Starting to get nervous, she changed the subject. "I don't suppose your remarkable skill at hearing things you shouldn't has turned up anything I should know before dinner?"
"Things didn't go poorly, My Lady," Bridgette responded, giving her a stern look. Elsa was tense when she came out of the conference that afternoon, apparently overwhelmed by her first face-to-face meeting with two of Arendelle's most important and most contentious trade envoys. Bridgette said nothing then and allowed her to process what had happened on her own.
When Elsa brought it up, and Bridgette knew that was what she was referring to, she was more than prepared to discuss the matter. She didn't hesitate to be firm now; one of the last conversations she'd had with Queen Idrun was about Elsa's lack of confidence that she could handle the burden of ruling when the time came.
"Should something happen to us, she won't have long before she is forced to come out of her room. Please do all that you can to remind her that she is the Crown Princess, and if it comes to it, the Queen of Arendelle. She cannot be afraid of anyone at court, regardless if they're foreign diplomats or her own Council. You are my surrogate in this; use the same force I would if it is required."
Bridgette was baffled as to why her mistress would make such a statement. "Your journey isn't dangerous, Your Majesty. I'm sure you'll return safely."
The Queen looked at her with an oddly resigned expression, as if she knew the trip wouldn't go as smoothly as it should. "I'm certain we'll return safely as well, but with both of us at sea together, the risk is much greater, and so the precautions are more important than if one of us went alone."
"Of course, My Lady." Bridgette was still confused. "The sea has always been kind to Arendelle, though. I have no doubts that it will be kind to its rulers as well."
"There are things far more dangerous than ocean currents, Bridgette," Idrun replied calmly, the look in her eyes intensifying. "And we may only take so many precautions. Please remember what I said. She will be Queen eventually, whether it is in decades, or days. I expect you to prepare her to assume that role sooner rather than later."
The Queen's instructions were unusual; Elsa had a tutor whose sole purpose was to instruct her in the legal procedures and court etiquette that would be required of her when she took the throne. While Bridgette, having served Queen Idrun for more than half of her life, was well acquainted with how both the Queen and the King were expected to behave in court and elsewhere, she was far less knowledgeable than he was.
She couldn't think of any reason the Queen would want her to instruct the Princess beyond those lessons, but she agreed with the order. Seeing how the Princess withdrew after the unthinkable did come to pass made her understand why Queen Idrun was worried. Elsa often refused to meet with her tutors, even though it was still through a closed door, and Bridgette was the only one she would listen to. She stepped in as the Queen had requested, and had been guiding her new mistress as best she could since.
Even now that the girl had become Queen herself, Bridgette continued to teach her mistress when she was struggling with how to do what was expected of her. It often required her to be far sterner than a servant would normally be allowed without strong reproach, but Elsa seemed to understand the reasons and rarely complained about it.
"Are you sure about that?" Elsa left the meeting with an uncomfortable feeling that she'd done things very wrong in a few critical places and was not convinced that she passed inspection, particularly where Herr Karlsbaad was concerned.
"I'm sure Mister Johansen would've mentioned anything that went badly," Bridgette replied. "And I don't know what skill you're referring to."
Elsa made a noise. "You know exactly what skill. The one that let you tell me Sir Mallory intended to suggest a meeting between myself and Prince Thomas, before he had even left his ship."
"When you have been in service as long as I have, it is only natural that you learn to pay attention to your surroundings." The older woman drew in her breath, and then thought better of saying anything more specific about why she'd honed her attention so thoroughly. "I merely overheard Sir Mallory's manservant mention it to the porter as we passed in the courtyard. That hardly qualifies as a skill."
"I think it does," Elsa responded. "Whatever it is, did it find anything interesting that I should know about?" Bridgette had always been a bit cryptic about how she learned so much regarding the more closely held thoughts and intentions of Arendelle's nobility and the many visitors who passed through the castle gates, but Elsa was glad for the information, regardless of where it came from. It made her feel a little more confident that she wouldn't inadvertently cause a war, or some other disaster, through her relative naïveté in even the most basic of court intrigues.
Bridgette knew her charge well enough to have a good idea what she was hoping to hear. "The consensus is that you handled yourself quite well, but that you clearly aren't familiar with the ongoing tensions between Farson and Grottony. If I might suggest, you should try to avoid the subject during dinner."
"I had already planned to." That was one subject Elsa had no qualms about avoiding further discussion of. "I have enough of a headache from listening to them bicker about every question they asked as it is." She paused and looked away, her voice a little unsteady as she continued, "Did you happen to hear what Lord Fritzen thought of my performance?"
Exactly what I thought she would ask. "Unfortunately, no, Your Majesty." Bridgette coughed. "I doubt he'll find anything to complain about, however; not that you should be so concerned about what he thinks, if you'll excuse me for saying so." She had seen how timid her charge was around the Vice-Chair, but despite the skill she denied having to the Queen, she had not been able to find out why. It was true that he and her father had often been at odds — usually loudly — but that did not explain why she seemed so afraid of him.
"His job is to teach me the finer points of diplomacy," Elsa replied somewhat woodenly. "The sooner I learn those, the sooner I can be rid of him."
"I wouldn't worry that he'll find fault with anything you did this afternoon, Your Majesty." Bridgette smiled gently. "No one expects a newly crowned monarch be thoroughly familiar with everything that is going on throughout Eraulia, and neither Herr Karlsbaad nor Monsieur Salomé made any fuss about feeling slighted or insulted. They have issue with each other over a few things that were said, but it would be remarkable if they didn't."
Elsa managed to smile. "I'm glad to hear that, and I'm very pleased that you don't have a skill that allows you to know such details." She always felt relieved when Bridgette approved of something she'd done; it was as close to hearing praise from her father as she would ever get, and it almost balanced the negative things she was certain to hear later. Sighing, she looked sideways at Bridgette. "Perhaps I should appoint you to Lord Fritzen's position; I learn far more from you than I do from him, and you're much more pleasant company." And then I wouldn't have to see him every day.
The thought of Lord Fritzen threatened to drag her down again, but she refused to allow him to have that much control over her emotions. She was trying every day to lessen the discomfort she felt in his presence, though it was a struggle given that she wasn't completely certain why she was so afraid of him. She had only snippets of memory and an overwhelming feeling of panic whenever he entered her presence. He was not in her presence now, and she gritted her teeth until the rapid beating of her heart slowed to normal, and then smiled again — though weakly.
"I believe the Royal Council requires you to be a peer," Bridgette responded calmly. She saw the flashes of emotion that always crossed her mistress's face when she mentioned her cousin, though the temperature didn't drop as it often did. Hoping to keep her from dwelling on her fear, she added wryly, "While I do not know who my parents were, I can say with some certainty that they did not leave me with a title."
"I could give you one."
Bridgette rolled her eyes. "I have absolutely no interest in an extra word before my name. Once you have one of those, no one wants to talk to you about what's going on in court, unless they expect something in return."
Unable to keep from laughing, Elsa shook her head and rolled her eyes back. "I thought you didn't have that skill."
"Right now, if my skill at getting you dressed doesn't come into play in the next five minutes, you're going to be late, Your Majesty."
Elsa nodded and gestured for Bridgette to continue. "I certainly don't want to be late," she said with a slight smirk, feeling better than she had half an hour ago. "If I was, it would be the first time Anna was early and she'd never let me live it down." Bridgette had always been able to make her smile, though it was a challenge for her lately. She was particularly glad for the ability today, and hoped the humor would last her though until bedtime.
"I wouldn't worry about that," Bridgette replied with a chuckle. "You won't be late, and Her Highness hasn't been on time to anything for as long as I can remember."
"That's what Astrid should be focusing on, though I think she should be paid more for it, poor girl."
Bridgette finished the buttons on the back of the Queen's dress and stepped away. "I can discuss that with Kai if you wish, Your Majesty. As for now, you're ready with five minutes to spare. I will ensure that the kitchen knows what to send for your tea and get on your correspondence right away."
"Thank you Bridgette, for everything." Elsa hesitated, and then turned and walked out of the bedroom. She would have tea with Anna and somehow come to terms with the fact that her sister was not hers, and never would be. Suffering in her presence was far preferable to suffering from her absence, and if having tea would bring back the smile that Elsa loved, then she would learn to accept the pain and smile back.
Author's Footnotes: Well, so much for 4,000 word chapters. The next chapter starts the real Elsanna interaction, but the relationship will develop slowly over several installments. I'll keep the angst to a minimum, though, promise!