Chapter 16 - Becoming A Princess
Within a few weeks, news of Anna's engagement had spread across both Elsa's time and her own. All of Anna's friends were very happy for her, although some were also a bit surprised to find out that the once-flighty young woman was now going to settle down.
However, Anna soon found that there was an important challenge which she would have to overcome before she could marry Elsa: she had to learn to be a princess.
In one of the many dressing rooms of the Arendelle castle, Anna was being taught her first lesson of being a royal, how to dress like a true princess. As Elsa stood behind a dressing rack, waiting for Anna, the strawberry blonde was being assisted by two maids, being helped into a dress.
They had been going at this for over 2 hours now, possibly more if Anna was still going to be as fidgety as she was. Elsa didn't mind, she was starting to find Anna's awkward grunts and stressful noises a little humorous. Although, she knew she shouldn't make fun of her fiance in such a manner.
Groaning behind the dressing rack, Anna sighed, holding her arms up in the air. "Okay, this is hopeless. How do you people dress like this? I've never had to put on so many freaking corsets in my whole life?!"
Elsa laughed. "Oh come on Anna. You said it yourself that you always wanted to dress up in the fashion of my era."
"Yeah, but now I regret it, just like I'm starting to regret popping the question to you!" Anna complained. "Ah, this strap is way too tight!"
It was an effort for Elsa not to burst out laughing at Anna's misery. Her reactions, her frustrations, they were a sight to behold. No one was as animated, yet as adorable as Anna was. Elsa knew she could have gone to help her, but this was something that Anna had to learn.
Anna sighed. She should have been back home today, writing more of her fantasy novel, but instead, Elsa had to drag her here to play dress up. No, she shouldn't have been complaining. After all, one of her dreams as a child was being a beautiful princess.
But right now, she was wishing she hadn't had such dreams. The dress Elsa was forcing her to wear was practically impossible to put on, even with the two maids helping her. Granted, Anna respected their effort in putting up with her like this. Most would have likely fled in terror from trying to deal with her like this.
Sitting in the corner of the room, Elsa remained sat on a stool, waiting patiently for Anna to walk out so they could fully begin her lessons as a princess.
"Elsa!" Anna shouted. "I think I broke one of the straps on my dress! No, no, I haven't!" She sighed. "God, why couldn't I wear pants. You find me sexier in pants after all."
"Anna, this isn't for me, it's for the kingdom. You need to show the kingdom, my people that you are worthy of being my wife and consort," Elsa reminded her. "Besides, I know you'll look good in this dress."
"Easy for you to say!" Anna remarked. A few seconds of fidgeting later and Anna called out again. "Okay... I think I'm ready."
Elsa smiled. "Then let's see you, my love. Come out and show me how you look. I'm practically dying to see you." She sighed dreamily.
A few seconds later, Anna stumbled out in her new dress, with the two maids standing at her sides. The dress was a wide green ball gown, with rosemaling on the skirt and black bodice. There were two straps on her shoulders, exposing Anna's many freckles. Her ginger hair had been done up in a bun and there was a beautiful green clip in it.
Feeling a bit of a dork, Anna stared at Elsa, knowing she looked ridiculous. "Come on, just say it. I look crap in this dress."
"On the contrary," Elsa told her. "You look the most beautiful princess in all the world, both timelines included."
"Oh hah hah," Anna retorted. "Very, very funny. You at least look good in dresses like this. You look good in pretty much everything."
Elsa smiled. "Thank you, girls," she said politely to the maids. "You can go now."
Both maids bowed, then walked quickly out of the room. Once they had left, Elsa turned her attention to her fiancée. "Now, Anna, it's time for your lessons. You certainly look like a princess, but you have to learn how to act like one as well."
"Okay, what's my first lesson?" Anna wondered. "Can I do this in my normal clothes? I mean the servants are gone now."
"No, you must learn this in that dress," Elsa insisted. "You'll need to be able to act like a royal in time for our engagement ball in a few days."
Rolling her eyes, Anna reluctantly agreed. "Fine, fine, what's my first lesson, Miss Elsa?"
"I'm glad you asked," Elsa responded, holding her arms behind her back in a rather tutorly fashion. Some small part of her was starting to enjoy putting her fiancee through all of this suffering. "First, you'll need to learn to bow and curtsey when introducing yourself or I introduce you to someone. It is a show of politeness and-"
"I know what it is, Elsa," Anna groaned. "I did study history for most of my school life, you know." She sighed. "Sorry I'm just... this is a bit much for me."
"It was a lot for me too, Anna," Elsa reminded her. "When I was a child, I had to go through a lot of lessons like this. I wished I could be doing better things, but these days, I'm glad I was put through this, and so will you." She smiled. "Now... please curtsey for me. Bend your knees just slightly, bow just a little and raise up your skirt just a little bit off the ground."
Demonstrating what she meant, Elsa bowed just a little for Anna, raising up her cape in lieu of her skirt. Once she had completed her demonstration, she let Anna have a go.
Anna carefully lifted her skirt and bent her knees, starting to bow as Elsa had shown her. However, when she was about halfway down, her knees began to wobble, and she quickly lost her balance and fell over. Elsa caught her in her arms before she could hit the floor.
"Oops!" Anna giggled, brushing her hair out of her eyes. "My bad." She looked closer at Elsa. "Have I ever told you how much I love your dreamy blue eyes?"
"Many, many times," Elsa said, before putting Anna back on her feet. "Now come on, let's try that again. Without falling over."
"Okay, okay," Anna took a deep breath. She then lifted her skirt again, bowing slightly. Thankfully now, she didn't fall flat on her face. She then closed her eyes and breathed easy, before letting go of her skirt and it dropping to the floor.
Elsa was very impressed. She knew Anna could master the art of curtseying. However, she knew there was still much to do in the new princess's education.
She walked over to Anna and kissed her on the cheek. "Very good, Anna. Now, for your next lesson, I wish for you to speak to me in a polite manner."
"Speak to you?" Anna wondered. "But Um... don't I already do that?"
"No, royals have a particular way of speaking. Just... try and talk to me like I would talk to you." Elsa hoped Anna would understand this.
Anna then cleared her throat before speaking again, in her best impression of Elsa. "Hello, my name is Elsa. I'm a queen and I talk like this because I'm so posh and I have a big fancy castle." She giggled. "Was that good?"
"No, not at all," Elsa replied, unamused. "And for the record... I do not sound like that."
Laughing, Anna smirked. "Oh Elsa, you do sound like that." She took a deep breath. "Okay, I'll try this again." She then curtseyed again. "Good evening to you, sir or madam. I am Princess Anna, soon-to-be wife of Queen Elsa of Arendelle. It is a pleasure to meet you."
Beaming, Elsa smiled. "That was... perfect!"
Nudging Elsa's arm, Anna winked at her. "I'm not just a pretty face Elsa," she replied, before Elsa led her onto more lessons of nobility.
xXx
A good while later, Anna was standing in the centre of the castle ballroom, waiting for Elsa to join her. Her fiancée had told her that her next lesson was a dancing one and to meet her there.
However, Elsa was nowhere to be found. Of course, Elsa was a busy queen, meaning she could likely have run into some royal business on the way to the ballroom. Whatever the reason Anna would gladly wait for her beloved.
As she stood patiently, Anna took a moment to adjust her dress. It still felt a little tight on her, but she was starting to enjoy it. She wouldn't admit it to Elsa though. Denying the blonde the chance to say I told you so felt very satisfying.
Just then, Elsa's voice called to Anna from the doorway. The Queen had arrived. "Anna, I'm here!"
Anna turned around, expecting to see Elsa striding towards her in her blue sparkly dress, but on the contrary, Elsa was wearing something much, much more different.
Instead of her usual dress, Elsa was now wearing a long, dark blue open waistcoat with silver pants. She also wore a navy undershirt and tie as well as wearing gloves. Her hair was styled differently too. Rather than the long braids or short buns Anna was used to, Elsa's platinum blonde hair was in a ponytail with a blue bow.
Staring in disbelief, Anna's jaw dropped. If she had looked hot in pants, then Elsa looked drop dead gorgeous.
Seeing Anna in awe of her new appearance, Elsa chuckled. "I see you noticed my change of attire."
"How could I not notice?" Anna remarked, blinking for a few seconds to confirm she wasn't dreaming. She knew there was no way a woman as perfect as Elsa was right now could exist, yet here she was.
Elsa then held Anna's hand. " I just thought it would be appropriate. I mean every princess needs a dashing prince after all."
"Well, dashing is the right word to describe you," Anna admitted, flushing red. "But... do I really need to dance like this? I mean, I can dance normally, you know."
"I know, but I'm pretty sure most of the guests at the party will probably think of you as a maniac flailing her arms about," Elsa responded. She held Anna close to her. "Don't worry, I can guide you. Just follow my lead."
The two of them began to waltz, but Anna's footwork was very clumsy, and she had a hard time keeping up with Elsa. She tried to focus and mimic what the queen was doing, but all that ended up happening was her getting lost in Elsa's cool blue eyes.
Anna tried her best to follow Elsa across the room, but Elsa was just so beautiful. Dancing with her was like some dream come true. However, the dream was shattered when she heard Elsa grunt in pain.
"Ahhh!" Elsa cried out. "You stepped on my toe!"
"Oh, I'm sorry!" Anna insisted. "Jeez, I'm so sorry, Elsa. I just didn't look where my feet were going."
Sighing, Elsa smiled. "It's okay. Come on, let's try again." She pulled Anna close to her and the two started to waltz again across the ballroom. This time, Anna concentrated and focused more on her movements rather than her partner.
The room was silent, save for the noises of their feet dancing along the surface of the floor. As Anna closed her eyes, she could hear her's and Elsa's heartbeats perfectly in sync. It was a magical moment, one that she was happy to share with Elsa.
Just then, they parted before Elsa walked closer and took Anna's hand, twirling her around with her gloved palm. Anna spun around, before landing and being dipped by Elsa slightly dramatically. As she lay in Elsa's grasp, she blushed.
Elsa smiled. Anna was so adorable. She then leaned down and gave Anna a soft kiss before pulling her back up and waltzing with her again.
Her heart in elation, Anna let Elsa guide her across the room. She was getting the hang of it now, her movements mirroring Elsa's almost perfectly. She could get used to dancing like this, especially if she was going to be dancing with such... beautiful company.
As Elsa batted her eyelashes at Anna, the young redhead could feel her heart flutter. Elsa was every girl's dream, a dashing woman in a splendid suit, whisking Anna off her feet. Eat your heart out, Cinderella, Anna remarked in her thoughts.
Parting from Anna, Elsa bowed in respect, concluding their first dance. She then smiled, her heart swelling with pride. "That was most impressive Anna. You're a quicker learner than I thought."
"Well, I had a good teacher," Anna remarked, blushing a little. "So... can we go get some chocolate? I'm getting kinda hungry."
The Queen giggled. "Sure, I suppose you've earned a little break, especially for all the hard work you've done today." She then took Anna's hand. "May I escort you to the kitchen for some chocolate fondue, Soon-to-be Princess Anna?"
Nodding with pride, Anna agreed. "You may, beautifully handsome queen Elsa." And with that, the two of them left the ballroom hand in hand, Anna a few steps closer to becoming a true princess, one who would gladly serve at Elsa's side.
xXx
Author's note: A short fluffy chapter for you all this time! If anyone is wondering, Elsa's dancing outfit is based on the design of A Formal Arrangment!Elsa :3 I figured it would be appropriate here.
Anyway, see you all at the weekend for a double bill!