Er right, I actually eked this out. I'd apologize for the lateness of this update, but then I'd be holding myself to a standard.
Nonetheless, I am so flattered by the overwhelming amount of reviews for the last chapter. They say motivation shouldn't be external, but shite, I'm human. There were also a good deal of suggestions made for the story, and I will probably disappoint all of you hoho!
This chapter starts really silly because it's more fun to write nonsense than drama. It is also not as exciting as some of your suggestions since I'm not very confident in my ability to write action/violence scenes.
shtoops: I'm sorry, but what's widely accepted heh? Since you like research ;), I direct you to read the opening to my Chapter I. This story is completely on the whim, no gameplan, no research. I stuck with a time period that made sense for the literary references I attempted. However, I am asking you to "go into it" despite the effort. Seems like others are curious, too!
Chapter VII
By the time Anna and Kristoff reached this "den," the sun had set, and the geysers paired with the moonlight were creating a myriad of colours on the large boulders.
And then Kristoff along with Sven started waving and greeting the boulders.
Anna wanted to breakdown in tears because she was just sure Kristoff was going to murder her with that lute in his sled, and then she'd never see Elsa again. He could have fooled he all along into believing he was sane. He had just been singing a song about reindeers being better than people as she held the reins on the sled.
"Hi, love experts! So nice to meet you!" Anna backed away noticeably as she said this.
Then the boulders started rolling of their own accord. Anna's eyes bulged as the boulders surrounded Kristoff and Sven and unfolded as some unidentified little creatures.
"Kristoff's home!" one female(?) boulder clucked.
"Kristoff! Kristoff's home! It's been too long! You're home!" A choir of them rang out.
Anna was pinching herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming.
"Oooh Kristoff, take off your clothes so I can wash'em. You stink!" One young troll tried yanking at his pants.
"Ah, no! I'm going to keep my clothes on, thank you," Kristoff held virtuously to the waist of his pants. "We have company," he jerked his head at Anna.
Silence. All boulder eyes were on Anna.
"He's brought a girl!" echoed all around. One "He doesn't like boys…or reindeer?" could be heard.
Suddenly the boulder critters all circled around Anna. That female-ish one piled on top of another and grabbed at Anna's face.
"Lemme see. Bright eyes. Working nose. Strong teeth. Yes, yes, yes—she'll do nicely for our Kristoff."
"Um, no," Anna said on reflex.
A "Isn't that like a reindeer?" could be heard, muttered from the dissenter.
"Guys, you've got the wrong idea. That's not why I brought her here. Where's grandpa?" Kristoff attempted.
"Right, I have a question about the Princ—" Anna began.
"—What's the issue, dear?" the sassy boulder said. "Why are you holding back from such a man? True love can fix anything. Is it the dumpy way he walks? Or how he smells stank even after a good scrub? Did you catch him eating his own boogers? Heavens, I hope you didn't catch him doing something with Sve—"
"—No, I've never noticed any of those things, but now that you mention it…" Anna gave Kristoff a skeptical look.
The Ice Master had just swallowed something and shrugged at her nonplussed.
"What? All men do it."
"What a man, what a man, what a mighty fine man!" the boulders chimed.
"I'm not here about a man!" Anna shouted.
Silence. The boulders blinked. Twice. They turned around and huddled, whispering loudly to one another so that everyone could hear.
"She's more of a fixer-upper than Kristoff."
"Can you even fix that up for their trollful union?"
"Does true love trump lady loving?"
"Do you mean does true love cure homosexuality?"
"I still think Kristoff wants to marry Sven."
The only consensus was that Kristoff and Anna would not be getting married. Their boulder shoulders deflated.
A majestic boulder rolled into the fray, drawing the attention of all.
"There's a queer aura here!" the elder boulder said.
"Grand Pabbie!" Kristoff exclaimed. "Please, knock some sense into these guys. I've brought my friend, Anna, and she—"
"I know, son. Bring her to me," Grand Pabbie said with eerie omniscience.
Anna walked nervously before the big boulder.
"Uh, so I wanted to know about the Princ—"
"There is beauty," Grand Pabbie murmured in a trance.
"Yes, that's right!" Anna nodded fervently, instantly convinced that he could only be speaking about her mistress.
"And great confusion. But also a terrible waste. She is meant to bring great change to these lands, but fear may prevail over her."
"Princess Elsa? She's meant to lead the kingdom, right? She shouldn't be hiding!" Anna spoke aloud, connecting the dots as quickly as she could whether right or wrong. Good thing it wasn't parenting advice.
"Elsa cannot bring about the change by herself. You, child," Grand Pabbie made direct eye contact with Anna. "You are the catalyst. You may bring her to her demise, or you will be part of that change."
"Me!?" Anna pointed dumbly at herself. It sounded like a lot of pressure.
"Kristoff." Grand Pabbie was lucid again. "Both of you should rest here tonight. It would not be wise for Anna to make a haste decision. It could spell destruction for Arendelle."
"What!?" Anna and Kristoff yelled.
"The geysers make for a wonderful temperature in this cold season. Oh, and 'true love' probably has something to do with the Elsa problem as well. It always does." Grand Pabbie looked pointedly at Kristoff, "My boy, don't take this personally, but you have nothing to do with this."
"With the Princess problem?" Kristoff asked.
"You are strong and supportive like a boulder. But play the hero, and you will only be moving backwards. This is a progressive story," Grand Pabbie spoke with age-old wisdom.
Kristoff's face scrunched at this. Even when Grand Pabbie spoke outside of trance form, it was still confusing. It almost seemed like a veiled insult, but Kristoff would learn his lesson later.
The pair helped the boulders forage for food, as was their nature as nocturnal creatures. The tribe was lucky enough to find a wild boar, so they returned to their campsite to have a luau of sorts. Yes, they were in northern Europe, but the trolls—Anna finally learned their species name—adopted the customs of Pacific islanders. Quite magically, coconuts appeared out of thin air, and everyone was drinking from them. It seemed many of the coconuts were spiked, too. Magical enhancement probably.
The trolls started dancing, some grinding even going on. It was an odd noise and even odder sight. The trolls were generations ahead of the times, and they knew how to get down. Hula hoops were distributed, and the trolls looked like celestial bodies in orbit. A limbo line was set-up, and Anna could not compete with the younger trolls who simply rolled into victory in their spherical forms. Raucous laughter followed brow-raising jokes, and the debauchery would have scarred Anna if the trolls had been humans instead.
But Anna laughed and danced along with them, caught up in their merriment. It was the most festive gathering she had experienced, and the fun was infectious.
"Your friends are energetic," Anna said.
"Yeah, they're kind of embarrassing, but they have my back," Kristoff responded.
"Must have been nice, growing up with them…" Anna murmured. "I wish—" Princess Elsa were here. My mistress. Princess Elsa. Elsa. Even though Anna's thoughts were slowed by the coconut concoctions, that regal face called to her, tempted her, haunted her.
Kristoff predicted where Anna was going with this, where Anna's thoughts always returned—
"So have you decided how to handle the problem?" Kristoff asked. He couldn't help avoiding saying "Elsa" because something within him was growing resentment towards the Princess. Despite Anna's reassurances that the Princess was a good person, Kristoff felt that perhaps he would still dislike the woman on a personal level. "My friends would gladly welcome you to the family, and they would keep you safe. I could visit after each harvest and when I'm walking the horses—or maybe, please—you could accompany me—"
"I…" Anna looked around at all the positive and kind faces of the trolls. Undoubtedly, they were a happy and peaceful tribe. She returned her gaze to Kristoff, a man who would seem to do anything for her. This life would be so easy. Travel Arendelle lands with Kristoff by day; roll around with the trolls at night. It clicked. Almost. It didn't feel quite right. Something was missing.
Anna held her hand to her heart. It was steady as a drum.
Then she thought of returning to the confines of her mistress's room. The poorly lit, suffocating walls of the castle chamber that held—Princess Elsa. Anna's heart rate picked up erratically. She thought of the Princess all alone. Reading. Sleeping. Crying. Anna had never seen that, but it came to her mind naturally. Of course the Princess would cry; she wasn't carved out of ice. Anna's heart beat wildly out of her chest.
Even as the trolls pulled the pair in their Congo line, Anna couldn't laugh anymore with them. What was the right thing to do? Live comfortably with Kristoff and the trolls, or live a second, no, lowest-class life with the Princess? How long would it be before the Princess replaced Anna with a younger, prettier slave? Then a husband? Was Anna really willing to return to such a pitiful existence? Would she rather be someone's trollfully-wedded wife or someone's aging pet? But could these someones even compare?
No, Anna admitted, no torch will ever match her.
And what if the Princess never left that room? Again, what was the right thing to do? Stay with this already happy family, or return to the lonesome Princess? Did Grand Pabbie mean that I am her hope? Can "hope" also mean her most cherished person? I would—oh god, Anna's eyes burned, I could, would love her so much. She wouldn't even have to ask! This is crazy. That stupid pretty fac—soul—has taken me over! Anna forgot what the right thing to do was. She only knew what felt right to her.
Kristoff turned around in the Congo line to glance at Anna, and he stopped the dance at her pained face. She looked so unhappy.
"You've made your decision," Kristoff said ruefully.
Anna nodded, her eyes a wet mixture of unspoken apologies and gratitude.
"I'll take you back the next morning," he said.
…
Before the pair made their journey back to the castle, Grand Pabbie had a word with them.
"Be careful. A little birdie tells me there is a search group out for Anna. They are not supposed to harm her, but their baser desires may win over them," Grand Pabbie said regretfully.
Somewhere, far away in the Princess's chambers, someone bristled murderously. It was not Gerda.
Kristoff gulped, fearing for Anna and also fearing for his aiding and abetting in her absence. They figured it would be best for Anna to lie low in the back of the sled. It turned out to be a very good idea because Anna had slept poorly at the troll camp for a second night in a row, added together with the restless night before in the castle. Though it was technically the Princess's fault, Anna had wonderful dreams of the reticent blonde smiling only for her.
The pair arrived without fuss at the gates a little after noon, Kristoff knowing the most direct and safest route. He nodded to all the castle staff as he rode in. He parked his sled by the stables and shook Anna awake.
She groggily rose but immediately perked up, knowing she would see her mistress shortly. Kristoff informed her of the most discrete path to Elsa's corner of the castle. When all was said and done, Kristoff eyed Anna sadly. She had, after all, been asleep the whole ride down.
"You'll come back and see me right? What if she hurts you?" Kristoff tested.
"She would never hurt me," Anna said with conviction. "Not physically, at least."
Kristoff grimaced at that.
"I'm sure I'll see you again, and hopefully I can introduce you to her one day! Kristoff, she's so lovely," Anna said with such earnest. Anna was so very beautiful in her openness. It made the man weak. Kristoff couldn't look at her anymore.
"Well, you don't want to keep her waiting, do you?" Kristoff said half-heartedly.
…
Anna was eager to return to her mistress. She miraculously managed to stealthily rush to the quiet quarter of the floor where Elsa resided. Upon reaching the long stretch of hallway, Anna spotted a young man exiting Elsa's bedroom. What in lutefisk.
She growled aloud, the idea of her mistress entertaining the company of a man absolutely vexing. She had not anticipated being replaced at this young an age! Anna sprinted towards the door and brazenly glared at the man.
"And you are—?" the handsome man asked politely with guarded curiosity. His neatly trimmed sideburns only addled Anna further.
"What were you doing in the Princess's room!?" Anna pointed a vicious finger at him.
"You are familiar with Elsa?" the dapper man quirked his brow innocently. So many annoying hairs on his face! thought Anna.
"That's Princess Elsa to you," Anna barked out.
"And that's Prince Hans to you," Hans said conversationally with a knowing smile. It certainly didn't appear contentious, and it was disarming. Charming bastard.
"Oh. You're her younger brother," Anna exhaled in relief.
"That's correct," Hans said, appraising Anna, categorizing every detail about her. Not to be mistaken; Hans knew who she was.
"So...why do you let your sister lock herself up?" Anna asked bluntly. She held her hands behind her back, averting eye contact, one foot drawing circles in the stone floor. She knew it was out of line to ask, but all the rumors paired together with Elsa's mysterious behavior were confounding!
"You know it's against the law for us to speak of her," Hans responded as if he were talking to a small child. They were the same age.
Anna bristled in agitation—fear of being imprisoned again. She did not pick up on his sly condescension.
"I see that you're attached to Elsa, but there is reason she is kept out of the public eye, removed from public affairs," Hans nodded sadly, eyes down-turned.
"I get that she's a little awkward but—"
"You misunderstand. She committed treason. Elsa killed the Queen, my mother, a long time ago. It was merciful father didn't sentence Elsa to death. She probably wasn't even mother's child!" Hans shouted, losing so much of his control even Anna could see it. The Prince seemed a little unstable.
"Father didn't even want to sequester her to this corner of the castle. Fortunately for us all, Elsa banished herself."
With hard eyes, too jaded to shed a tear, Hans walked solemnly away from Anna. He turned back with a polite sneer, an aristocratic ability in the Arendelle royal bloodline, "I'd be careful if I were you."
Learning that Elsa was some cold-blooded murderess was unsettling…to say the least. Her mistress had not just killed anyone, too—the Princess had killed her own mother. Or Han's mother. It was hard to tell. The Princess and the Prince did not share many similarities aside from their polite speaking and sneering, but even Princess Elsa managed to make it all seem more effortless. They certainly didn't look alike. Maybe the high cheekbones and smooth skin, but then Anna may have resembled the Princess even more. The thought was disconcerting. Anna wasn't a murderess.
If Anna had planned on escaping, there was no better reason than now.
Kristoff was the Royal Ice Master; he could protect her from the search squad. The trolls seemed far removed enough from kingdom life, and they seemed like a tough bunch in case of an ambush. Had Anna made the wrong decision coming back here?
And yet...Anna's soul seemed to cry foul. Imagining her mistress lay a violent finger on her was next to impossible, next to the blonde running down the city streets of Arrendelle, stark-naked and screaming. Nope, nope, you're not allowed to think about her naked because then you can't stop thinking about it, and you lose track of what you were thinking about before, and ahh, she'd be glorious naked…
For the past week, Anna had been waiting for the moment the Princess would defile her or at the very least, physically discipline Anna for her inherently rebellious nature. That's what body slave owners were supposed to do. Much to her horror, Anna was more the picture of violent perversion, while Elsa was storybook, sophisticated grace.
All the rumors Anna had ever heard about the Princess had been wildly inaccurate, but how could Anna discount Prince Hans' words? He had looked so resolute and solemn with his admission that his elder sister had slain their/his mother. Even the dirtiest scoundrel could not tell such a lie.
Anna was pivoting back and forth between running from and going to her mistress's chambers. Are you crazy? Why would you lock yourself away with a killer? Do you want to die? No! But. ...Even killers need things. Killers need friends. The Princess had Gerda. That was as much as Anna had observed. Gerda spent all of ten minutes a day in the blonde's room, busy with other duties.
She doesn't act like she's lonely, and maybe she isn't. But she's alone for all intents and purposes. She's alone in that cold, depressing room. She has the saddest blue eyes, and she touches me like I'm the Princess. Maybe it's worth risking my life if she's not alone.
Is it really a risk though? She's so gentle with me. I don't believe it. She's more tender than anyone I've ever met. I feel like she'd never intentionally hurt me. It'd have to be an accident, right?
So what if she accidentally kills me? I couldn't resist her if I tried...
And Anna placed her hand on Elsa's door handle, and pushed down on it to enter.
...
A/N: I really wanted to stop here, but I figured you would all kill me since this chapter has had no real ElsAnna…
And I definitely feel like I rushed to arrive to this point, but I bet some of you skipped the plot points anyway. Hopefully, my writing has kept some of you devotedly engaged.
For the otakus, if any of you have ever watched the anime Maria-sama ga Miteru, I ask you to envision when Yumi finally reunites with Sachiko after the grandmother's death. I totally ripped off Marimite for this scene:
…
"Princess?" Anna called softly into the room. Though midday, the room was as pitch-dark as the mood of its occupant. It was colder than Anna remembered it being, too.
"Anna?" Elsa's voice echoed weakly, frazzled. The Princess rose her upper body from the bed, having been prone from resignation of Anna's departure. She reached a limp hand out, fingers dangling. "Am I dreaming again?" Elsa's eyelids were heavy. The Princess had a very wan look.
"No, it's really me. Just Anna," Anna said breathlessly, taking timid, though large steps towards Elsa's bed. She stopped just short, hands behind her back, knuckles white from having to hold herself back from engulfing her mistress in her arms.
"Did the search group bring you back?" Elsa spoke, already needling for Anna's motivations. Anna did not suspect anything, and the redhead was not going to pick another fight. At least not for the remainder of today.
"I—no. I wanted to come back," Anna said, eyes owlish and so honest. The redhead's hands itched so fiendishly to touch the Princess.
Elsa was still half-prone, hair slightly mussed from lying down, and those tired, lidded eyes were terribly vulnerable—Anna nearly jumped the blonde, stomach so full of want.
"…You came back…for me?" Elsa whispered incredulously.
Suddenly, the blonde lifted to her knees and pulled the standing Anna down for a desperate embrace. Their bodies came together like the blonde's gloves over Anna's hands.
An abrupt shock of fear seized Anna, wondering if the murderous blonde might strangle her in this bed. But it passed as quickly as Anna was drawn to Elsa's lush bosom, hearing the surprisingly strong pound of the blonde's heart. Anna supposed that if the blonde were to kill her now, Anna would at least die happy.
"Oh Anna…"
Elsa sunk her face into the crown of Anna's head, inhaling the essence of the slightly smaller girl. She protectively cupped the base of Anna's head, drawing the girl even closer to her body. She possessively stroked Anna's back as if she would never let her go. Anna's hands were no less needy.
Elsa pulled away momentarily.
"Are you hurt anywhere? Did anyone harm you?" Elsa poked her face frantically around Anna's torso and limbs. It was akin to having a most invasive feline sniff about your body, and Anna flushed at the attention.
"No, I was safe," Anna answered. She pulled the pesky gloves off deftly to take the Princess's hands in her own. The brand wasn't so bad anymore—let the world know Princess Elsa owned her.
Elsa nodded, eyes twinkling with relief and affection for Anna. Quite suddenly, a sour look came over Elsa's face, like the blonde had just tasted some spoiled goat milk.
"What's wrong, Princess?" Anna asked in concern.
"You have an unkind odor," Elsa made to pinch at her pointed nose.
Anna silently cursed at Kristoff.
Elsa was already using her free hand to unbutton Anna out of her dress, the dress was discarded on the floor in less than a minute. It was bath time.
Anna knew that a sponge awaited her, and Elsa would massage that blessed item over every part of her body.
Anna took back her curse at Kristoff.
…
Reunited, and I didn't cliffhang you. Thank you all kind reviewers. Every review is kind, even if you're upset with how I directed this story. To stir feelings in readers is every writer's dream!