Frozen Hearts

By- An Unknown Foreign Beauty

Chapter 7- Reunion

Rising from the grave.

It was the first thought occurred in Elsa Kingsley's mind when she got off the plane alone. She collected her luggage as the immigration cleared her off, and walked through the glass revolving door.

Returning home…. After so many years, it really felt so strange.

She promised to stay away from her family for the sake of her own sanity. Even she never visited them in the last seven years. Mrs. Kingsley, her step-mother cried, phoned her every week requesting her to come back. She said that she missed her, Anna missed emailed her every month. She never wrote anything. She only sent pictures- pictures of their parents, pictures of their old room, pictures of Anna smiling or their family sunbathing together in the beach.

They looked so happy, but Elsa knew they were not. They missed her; she could see that in their faces, in their deleted the pictures from her computer before emotion could overtake her determination.

Elsa missed them too. Her nightmares came back to haunt her often. She stayed awake for many nights, wrapping her arms around her knees. She talked with her father over telephone, she told him about her fears. Mr. Kingsley, her father told her to be strong. And she did.

She tried to become the good girl her father wanted her to be. She gave more attention to her studies and degrees. She began to spend most of her times in libraries or galleries. She avoided getting involved with people. Slowly she learned to forget the memories that tormented her; she found a new life in loneliness.

After the death of her parents, she packed her luggage to attend their funeral. But that night she was back in the old churchyard in her dreams surrounded by graves of her family. She threw away the plane ticket and cried.

She didn't respond the trusty board's inquiry about being the next president of the Arendelle Company.

After getting Anna's email, she spent many sleepless nights thinking about it. She visited her therapist at least a hundred times, argued with him, and she lost the count of times when she stopped herself from replying Anna's email.

Then another thought occupied her mind. Another nightmare began haunting her dreams. Another fear. A new one.

She brought nothing but sorrow to her parents. They died crying for her, begging for her return. What if same thing happened to Anna? She couldn't even imagine Anna's tearful eyes on her wedding day. Elsa sat in her bed in her little apartment in Norway, and wrapped her arms around herself, moving back and forth…back and forth…

Then one night, she didn't know why, she fetched her small travelling case and boarded the next plane to USA.

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Standing in the waiting room, Elsa looked about her surroundings. Things changed so much in the last seven years. What about Anna? What if she changed too? What if her return made her angry? Elsa was fighting a strange urge to run away unnoticed, then suddenly a voice from behind made her stop.

"Elsa!"

"Anna!" She recognized the voice instantly.

Swallowing the growing panic inside her, Elsa turned. She spotted Anna among the crowd in the lobby, waving at her. Anna pushed through the crowd, and walked near her sister.

"Hi." She greeted.

"Hi." Elsa greeted back hesitantly, gazing at her. She had grown quite tall in the last few years. She was no more the flat-chested teenager she remembered; instead she had grown into a true woman. Her curves became perfect and her messy strawberry hair became long and shiny. Now they were neatly arranged in twin braids. But her face didn't lose the innocence of the eleven years old girl she remembered. She had no idea what to say, neither had Anna. So the sisters stood in silence, gazing at each other.

Elsa was fighting a strong impulse to hug her sister, but strangely she remained standing where she was. Even Anna didn't make any move, possibly because she was too confused carry on the conversation.

"How are you, Anna?" At last, it was Elsa who broke the silence first.

The question startled Anna. Possibly she had never expected such question from her. After years of shutting her out, this question about her wellbeing was enough to surprise her. "Fine." She replied curtly, "How about you?"

Guilt overtook Elsa's whole being as she read the pain in her sister's eyes. She wanted to hold her hand and ask for her forgiveness. But now, it was too late. There was so much tension between them that Elsa could hardly breathe. She tried to fight the cry rising in her throat, as she spoke again avoiding Anna's eyes, "I'm fine."

She was so tired, so tired to bear the burden of guilt, that Elsa felt that she was going to faint. Possibly Anna understood that too, because she moved close to her, and touched her shoulder. Elsa was fighting a strong impulse to hug her, but she kept on her cold facade. Elsa was afraid that Anna would hug her, but she didn't. Years of distance didn't let her to do that.

Instead she gazed into her eyes for a while, and smiled. "Let's go home."

"Yes." Elsa agreed too.

Anna led her to the private car waiting for them outside the airport. Anna took the driver's seat. She looked so confident when she turned the key and the engine roared into life.

The sisters didn't exchange a single word while Anna drove car along the busy roads of the city of Florida. Elsa noticed an old photo lying on the backseat. Possibly it laid here forgotten for days, because dust gathered on it, giving it a slight yellowish hue. Hesitantly, she picked it up, and blew away the dust. It was an old photo taken during their first trip to Miami Beach. Both Anna and Elsa were wearing swimming costumes, and Anna was kissing Elsa's cheek. The memory was so tender that it brought a smile to Elsa's lips.

But it was so long ago. Elsa turned her gaze to Anna in the front seat. Things changed so much between them. Elsa held the photo close to her chest and closed her eyes. She wished go back to the old times, and set everything right. But she couldn't.

The car stopped with a jerk, bringing Elsa back to the reality.

"We are home." Anna announced, flinging open the car door. Elsa followed her to the gates. The Kingsley mansion, her childhood home, looked exactly like the day she left- big and polished, except the little garden in the front. It was full of roses, marigolds and other seasonal flowers. It was so vibrant with colors that made Elsa stop.

"It is beautiful." Elsa smiled, looking at Anna. Anna stared at her sister for a second, unable to believe that she was actually complementing her.

"Thank you." Anna smiled back hesitantly, and then fell silent, unable to decide what to say next. Both of them stood in the silence gazing at each other. Elsa eyed Anna, she had so many things in her mind to tell her, so many things to ask, but she couldn't. The wall of distance was so thick that none of them dared to break it.

"Let's go inside." This time it was Anna who broke the silence, noticing the tired look in Elsa's face, "You need rest."

There was too much tension in the air, and Elsa was happy that Anna ignored it. She picked up the luggage and agreed, "I also think so, Anna."

The girls were greeted by a new maid. Ignoring her curious glance, they walked near the staircase leading to the second floor. "You better take rest, Elsa." Anna said, before handing Elsa's luggage to a servant, "Marvin will show you your room."

Elsa was amazed with her sister's sense of responsibility. How much Elsa wanted to hold her, and kiss her cheeks like old times, and cheer her up.

"Thank you, Anna." Instead, she curtsied, and turned to follow the servant upstairs.

The servant led her to the familiar room in the second floor. "This is your room." He informed, "Miss Anna told us to prepare it before you come home." Then he put down the luggage and left.

The bedroom was furnished in antiques, including a graceful painted armoire and a canopy bed upholstered in blue chintz. Against the opposite wall was a writing desk, where she did her homework. Everything looked as the way it did ten years ago, not even a paper or pen was out of place. She put down her travel bag on the bed, and went into her old closet. She took off her blue cotton sweater, folded it neatly, and placed it on an empty shelf amid dozens of other identically folded sweaters that were all displayed and divided according to color hue. Of course they were much smaller than her current ones; she had grown a lot in the last seven years. Automatically she ran her fingers though the old piles of wool. They felt a bit brittle and soft due to years of uselessness, yet it felt like home again. Memories flooded her brain as she touched the worn out sweaters. Here it was- the red one, the one she wore on her first day at the school….then the purple one, which Anna gifted her on her fifteenth birthday… and the white one, mama knitted it for her before she left for Europe. All those days, all those beautiful days now felt like nothing but a beautiful dream.

But she couldn't think about anything anymore. She was tired, really tired. She tossed away her shirt and shoes, collapsed into the warmth of her old bed, and sleep consumed her almost immediately.

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Elsa didn't know how long she slept. When she finally opened her eyes, it was almost dark outside. Evening tea was served at her bedside table. Yawning, she took the cup, sipped the tea, and fell back to the pillows. Her head was aching from the journey and tension, and now drinking tea was really refreshing. Elsa closed her eyes and drained the cup. The caffeine eased the headache a bit. It felt really so strange, back in her old room, sleeping in her old bed. It felt very much unreal. Taking a deep breath, Elsa slipped from the bed, and stepped out of her bedroom. For a large house, the number of the inhabitants of the Kingsley Mansion was surprisingly low. Everyone was busy with their respective jobs. So now only silence was the permanent occupant of this house.

Third corridor to the left led straight to Anna's bedroom. The door was open, but she was nowhere in sight. The door to her bathroom was closed, however, and Elsa hesitantly picked her way toward it through the jungle of clothing, shoes, scarves, photo albums, camera equipment, and miscellaneous debris that covered every surface of the room. A fond smile laced her lips as she walked inside. Still so messy.

Elsa gingerly picked up the clothes lying on the floor. There were piles of them. Elsa sorted the used ones from the washed ones and began folding them neatly on Anna's bed. She used to do it when they were young. Anna loved the way Elsa arranged her things. Would she like this now?

She was startled by a sudden click of the bathroom door behind her. "This is horrible." Anna said, emerging from the bathroom with a wet towel around her head. Elsa quickly placed the clothes back on the bedside table and turned to leave.

"God I'm going to be late. Hans is going to kill me." Anna ran to the mirror over her dresser, and waved at the second person in her room, "Hey, hey, will you help me with my hair? It is getting horrible. You know Hans will…."

Elsa stopped. Did Anna just ask for her help? She turned and faced her sister. It had to be a mistake. "Are you asking me, Anna?" She asked, still confused.

Anna's face fell immediately as she realized her mistake. "I thought you were…" she stopped in the mid-sentence. Elsa could feel the hesitancy in her voice. She gazed at Anna. She just had had her shower, and water was still dipping from the end of her wet hair. She wanted to sit beside her and arrange her hair in twin braids like she used to do.

But the door was closed between them long ago.

"It is alright, Anna…" Elsa nodded, "I don't mind…."

Anna gazed at her newly tidied room, and then gazed back to her sister. It felt so unreal, she and Elsa standing together again, face to face. She wanted to run near her, to wrap her arms around her neck and tell her not to leave. Instead, she simply smiled, and shook her head, "Thank you."

Anna returned to the dresser and Elsa turned to the door. She glanced back at her sister; she was straggling with her hair in front of the mirror. Anna was always clumsy when it came to fashion, and Elsa knew it was going to be a bad hair day for Anna. Elsa tried to inhibit the growing impulse to go and help her little sister, but after several attempts she decided to give up. Letting a sigh to escape, she closed the door and walked near Anna.

Anna couldn't believe her eyes when she saw Elsa's refection in the mirror. Startled, she tilted her head to find her standing right behind her. "Let me…" Elsa picked up the brush from the table, undoing her messy bun.

"Of course." Anna smiled, looking back at the reflection of her and Elsa together.

Elsa tied Anna's hair in an elegant bun adorned with a bottle green ribbon at the end. They talked about current fashion for a while. Slowly Anna's façade of a responsible young lady began slipping away. Soon Elsa realized that, Anna hadn't grown up at all. She was still the child who admired her, loved her. She was still clumsy with dresses. She still saw her as her champion. She agreed almost immediately when Elsa selected a green-blue striped skirt with a matching black tee for her to wear.

A text from Anna's fiancé came when they were in the middle of the makeup session.

"Oh, Elsa. Are you sure he is going to like this?" Anna cried after finishing putting on her makeup, sounding as if she would die of disappointment if Elsa was wrong.

"Of course, he is going to like it." Elsa said, and the both girls laughed together for the first time since their reunion.

"Oh Elsa, you are an angel." Anna's eyes lit up with joy. Before Elsa could even respond she hugged her and kissed her cheeks. Elsa's body stiffened almost immediately. Hesitantly she placed her arms around her sister. She felt so warm under her cold fingertips. Warmer than she thought.

"Aren't you coming?" Anna asked before opening the door and gazing at Elsa with her big blue eyes, "He is dying to meet you."

Elsa hesitated, knowing she was involving herself with Anna again. To keep her sanity, to keep Anna's sanity, she had to stay away from her.

"No." She said, her voice sounded firm.

"Oh," Anna sighed, the smile disappeared from her face almost immediately. "Sorry. Never mind..." She looked so sad that Elsa immediately began to feel guilty for hurting her like that.

Anna didn't say another word, but simply turned the door handle, and walked outside without looking back.

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Elsa stood alone in the middle of the room. Her chest suddenly began to feel so tight that she could hardly breathe. The lightness of the evening was gone, replaced by the usual tension. Anna remained the child she was, easy to hurt. But what about herself?

She thought her heart froze over years. But now she realized she hadn't change at all. She was still the bad sister who used to hurt her little sister.

No, she couldn't do that again. She had caused enough hurt to her little sister. She came here for a short time, and she promised herself that she would do everything keep Anna happy until the wedding.

Letting a sigh to escape, Elsa walked back to her own room. She peeled off her pleated navy slacks and hung them on a pants hanger in the section with blue slacks and shorts; then she padded barefoot along the room, opened her traveling bag, and retrieved a simple pleated white skirt. Then she retrieved a navy shirt trimmed in white piping and pulled it over her head. After slipping her feet into a pair of white sandals, she stopped at her old dressing table and ran a brush through her hair. Opening her purse, she found a tube of light pink lipstick, used it, and stepped back to study her reflection. The face that looked back at her seemed extremely ordinary and unnoteworthy to her, and it wasn't a perfect getup to meet one's sister's fiancé. She had only brought a few dresses, because she intended to leave this place shortly after the wedding.

Elsa took a last critical glance at her reflection and raced down the steps of the giant staircase leading to the living room. The door was open, but Elsa had to pause at the entrance, because inside the room Anna was kissing her fiancé. They were in so awkward position that made Elsa blush.

It was a bit weird to meet her future brother-in-law for the first time in such awkward situation. She decided to give them some privacy right now. She was thinking about going back, but it seemed like that they sensed her presence somehow, because they stopped kissing and pulled apart.

"Elsa." Anna was surprised to see her sister standing at the doorway, "I…I…" she got up from the sofa and walked near her sister, blushing hard to be caught in such awkward position with her fiancé.

"I'm sorry." Elsa said, feeling embarrassed for interrupting her sister's privacy. "I'm leaving..."

"But we have not been introduced yet." The girls startled by a voice speaking from the sofa behind them. Elsa turned to meet the owner of the voice- the tall, auburn haired man with bright green eyes. He stood up from the sofa and walked near Elsa, trying hard to smooth his disheveled hair.

"Elsa Kingsley." He tried to smile, but failed miserably.

"Hans Westergard!" she whispered, shifting her gaze from Hans to Anna, "Is he your fiancé?"

"Yes." Anna replied shyly, moving closer to Hans, "Hans is my fiancé."

Elsa felt her heart stopped beating for a while.

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This chapter is partly based on the deleted scene "Dressing room".

Errors are all mine. Consider them nicely.