Disclaimer: Frozen and all recognizable characters are owned by Disney. (Though I'm pretty sure you all knew that, already. ^_^ )
Summary: Rather than talking to paintings, after Elsa shut her out, Anna took to playing with her invisible friend, Mara. Only, as she grew up, Mara didn't go away.
Author's Note: In answer to those of you wondering if, now that Anna knows Elsa's secret and is helping her deal with it, the story's just about over... No. Oh, my goodness, no. Not even close. :)
Waking up the next morning proved to be an... interesting affair.
Anna couldn't remember if she'd dreamed anything. She supposed she must have, she'd heard that dreaming was a normal part of the sleep cycle that happened to everyone. Everyone but her, it seemed like - she could barely ever remembered any of hers. She didn't feel quite as refreshed as she usually did, but knew that was mainly due to how emotionally wrung out she'd been by the end of the day, as well as the fact that she'd woken up so early the sun wasn't even clearing the horizon, yet. She began to stretch... then froze, as her limbs bumped into a surprisingly solid mass clinging to her.
It took her brain a moment to wake up enough to remember why, then she smiled.
She and Elsa had wound up walking late into the night about, well, everything. They had ten years to catch up on, after all. Even a few hours wouldn't be enough time to cover everything they'd missed. Elsa had even requested dinner for the both of them to be brought to her chambers, not feeling up to facing more people than she absolutely had to. Anna hadn't felt like sharing her sister, yet, so she'd been fine with that. (Mara had been staying quiet, letting the sisters bond.) Even after their dishes had been taken away, she hadn't wanted to leave, and suspected she'd ended up falling asleep leaning against Elsa. Her sister must not have felt up to either waking her up or getting the two of them changed for bed, as she'd simply thrown a blanket over the both of them and called it a night.
She'd stayed, though. More to the point, she'd let Anna stay. The younger princess still had trouble believing it, despite her sister's warm breath tickling her neck. As if aware of her thoughts, Elsa let out a quiet noise, burrowing her face closer... and jerked back in surprise as she was hit by a potent bolt of static electricity. She blinked at Anna in sleepy bewilderment, the few strands of hair that had escaped her bun during the night standing upright.
Anna sighed quietly, reaching up... Yep, sure enough, her braids had come partially undone, turning her hair into a frizzy halo around her head. She started to speak, paused, cleared her throat, and tried again. "Sorry about that," she muttered, rubbing at her eyes. "I'm dangerous in the mornings." It hit her, a moment later, that being dangerous really was not something she should be even joking about with Elsa, yet, but her sister either knew better than to take it too seriously, or hadn't woken up enough to understand what she'd said.
"Don't worry about it," Elsa insisted as she swallowed a yawn. "I think it's my fault that it's so dry in here, don't you?" she asked, smiling just a little.
Smiling. Elsa was smiling. It was small, but definitely there. She wished Mama and Papa could see it.
Indeed. You did more in the space of a few hours than they did in ten years.
That hadn't actually been what she'd meant... Though, thinking about it, she had, hadn't she? Her parents, their servants, maybe even that doctor... They'd all failed to help Elsa, over and over. Yet she, the Useless Spare, had done what none of them could do.
She smiled. "So, what's on the agenda for today?"
Elsa sighed, sitting up on the bed and losing her smile. She didn't push Anna away, though. "A number of meetings, I should think. I also need to go over matters with the Prime Minister. I won't need to meet with the Council, since you already took care of that for me - thank you for that, by the way - but I have a number of forms to fill out, papers to sign..." She grimaced. "...and official condolence messages to read."
Thinking about all that threatened to depress even Anna... but no! No, she would not allow that. "I think I can talk my tutors into cancelling lessons for a day or two so I can help you out with all that," she said, giving Elsa's hand a squeeze.
Elsa had a look on her face that Anna had begun becoming familiar with as they'd talked last night: that of someone afraid to believe she might be able to have something she wanted, but unable to stop wanting it all the same. "But-" she began.
"No," Anna interrupted. "It's okay. It would only be for a day or two, after all. Even after that, though, you should plan on seeing a lot of me. Maybe you could even come to meals." She smiled. Maybe she and Elsa had outgrown their old childhood games, but that didn't mean they couldn't find anything fun to do together. She made a mental note to discuss the matter with Mara later. "And don't worry, even there, it won't be much more than just the two of us."
"I think... I might be able to handle that," Elsa said slowly. "But you need to understand something. I may have started figuring out how to make my ice go away last night, but that isn't the same as being in control. If I'm having a bad day and tell you to stay back, I need you to listen to me."
Anna nodded. She didn't like it, but if she had a good, honest reason why - especially one as serious as that - she could do it. "I'll stay out of your rooms if I have to, but don't expect me to go away again." She'd talked to Elsa from the other side of a door for ten years, after all. Now that she knew to be careful to avoid certain topics, she knew she could help her sister all the more.
Elsa looked relieved. "That's fair." She looked at the window, where the sun was slowly creeping over the horizon. "Why don't you go wash up and get dressed, then meet me downstairs for breakfast?"
Anna blinked, then let out an excited squeal and gave Elsa a big hug. "You're on!" she declared, letting go and dashing for the door so abruptly Elsa had to brace herself against the mattress to avoid losing her balance. Anna heard her sister chuckling fondly behind her, and her own smile only grew.
"You're being awfully quiet," Anna observed as she finished re-braiding her hair. She'd selected a soft yellow dress with a black top and white blouse under it. (She'd decided, as much as she loved it, she couldn't wear green all the time.)
You and your sister had a lot to catch up on, Mara replied. I didn't want to interrupt. Besides, it's hard for three people to have a conversation that only two can hear.
Anna snorted. "Well, thank you for that. I just don't want you to start thinking I'm going to ignore you, now."
Anna's reflection blurred, then was replaced by a young woman with dark eyes and a mass of untamed, inky black curls spilling down her back and over her shoulders, falling to about mid-chest. Anna raised an eyebrow. Not so much about what Mara was doing - this wasn't the first time she'd pulled that trick with a mirror; she didn't do it a lot, since talking to your invisible friend was one thing, while addressing a real, solid object made it too tempting for people to try and "prove" Mara wasn't real - but what she was wearing: namely, the same dress Anna had worn to the funeral.
She very nearly started crying again as she thought it. She hadn't worked through her grief yet, after all, so much as it had been forced aside by the complicated mess of emotion that had come from beginning to reconnect with Elsa. Still, with Mara and Elsa to lean on, she knew she'd be okay, in time.
Mara shrugged, knowing, as always, what was on Anna's mind. (She'd said more than once that Anna didn't really need to speak to her aloud, if she didn't want to have to be explaining herself to everyone all the time, but that seemed too much like admitting she wasn't a real person. The more her parents had tried to get her to accept that, the more she'd believed the opposite.) "It seemed appropriate. Because you're right; you're not done, yet."
Her eyes narrowed. Something about Mara's expression... "What?"
Mara hesitated, then shook her head. "I don't want to make you upset."
Anna sighed. "Please tell me? You know how I feel about people keeping things from me. I don't want to add you to that list."
Mara winced. Actually seeing how she reacted was always a mixed blessing. "I know. I just... don't want you to get your hopes up too much."
"Huh?"
"I know you're happy to be reconnecting with your sister, but... Well, she shut you out for ten years. I just don't want you to get hurt again."
Anna clenched her jaws, refusing to say anything until she'd worked past her initial surge of anger at anyone speaking ill of her sister. Mara, as far as she knew, was right: Elsa had hurt her for ten years due to a lack of trust, and might well do so again. From an objective perspective, it was an entirely valid concern.
Anna had never managed to be objective where her sister was concerned. "I appreciate your concern," she began.
"-but you'll just do whatever you want anyway?" Mara finished, shaking her head. "I just think you shouldn't rush, is all."
"I know." Anna took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I won't be, I promise. I don't think Elsa will want to, either." After being isolated for so long, she would no doubt be awfully skittish around people.
"I suppose that's all I can ask." Mara's image disappeared, replaced with Anna's reflection once again. I just worry, is all.
"I know," Anna replied, feeling some of the tension drain out of her. Disagreements with Mara, even as rare as they were, always made her feel like that. "I do appreciate it, you know."
I hate it when you're in pain. You're the best friend I've ever had. A pause. Truthfully, you're the only friend I've ever had.
"You're my best friend, too." Even if she did have Elsa back, now. That was still a work-in-progress, in any event.
Speaking of whom...
She gave her reflection one more glance, nodded in satisfaction, then hurried out the door.
She nearly collided with Elsa as she reached the door to the dining room.
She wasn't quite sure whether her sister had been waiting there for her, or had been working up the nerve to go in. Either way, Anna solved the dilemma by looping her arm through Elsa's and leading her inside, the elder princess allowing a quiet, nervous huff of laughter.
Gerda looked up as she entered. "Good morning, Princess Anna. You're certainly up earlier tha-" She broke off as she realized Anna wasn't alone. "Princess Elsa! I- Ah, I hadn't expected..." Her expression warred between astonishment, alarm, shock, and utter confusion.
Maybe it made her a bad person, but given everything Gerda had hidden from her, Anna found her reaction immensely satisfying.
Elsa snapped out of her own uncertainty, retreating into Royal Mode. "Good morning, Gerda, I will be joining my sister for breakfast this morning. Please inform the cook, then set an extra place at the table."
As the still stunned servant hurried off to carry out her orders, Elsa, looking every inch the regal monarch, sat down at the table next to her sister.
Awkward silence ensued.