A/N: So yeah, this is the big confession chapter. Elsa's attire is on the polyvore.
Elsa awoke to part of her mattress sagging. She was curled into a fetal position, her blankets pulled over her head, facing the noise machine emitting the sound of a natural heartbeat. This sleeping position felt safest to her, as she felt protected. This was especially so when she didn't face the window. She hadn't yet opened her eyes, but she knew it was Nico who had awoken her by sitting on her bed. He had the key to the room. Only he had the key, apart from Elsa and Chiron. She liked to feel secure and safe while she slept. This was an after effect of everything that had happened when she was thirteen.
Nico just pulled a book from the bookshelf, and began looking through it. Most likely, it was one of the books made of mainly pictures, as to allow Elsa to wake up fully by occupying himself while she woke up. The two were getting up early, as they had a lot that they wanted to do together that day. She sighed happily, glad that her sixteenth birthday—like every birthday—was an improvement from her fourteenth birthday. Her fifteenth birthday was a nice day off from working, but this year, they were going to do a lot of Elsa's favorite things in one day, as to make it special. To make it enjoyable.
Eventually, she sat up and yawned.
"Happy birthday, Elsa." Nico said with a nod. "Sixteen."
"My sweet sixteen, you mean." She jokingly corrected as she rubbed her eyes. She got out of bed, and went to her closet and dresser to select what she would wear for the day. She selected a lavender button up blouse with a ruffled collar. The front of it, over her chest, was pleated, and the sleeves went just past her elbows. Previous to putting it into her closet, Elsa had ironed the top, so that it was wrinkle free. (She'd needed to be taught how to wash her own clothes, as well as iron them when she first began living in the modern world.) Next, Elsa picked a beautiful skirt with Van Gough's 'Starry Night' printed on it. It didn't quite reach her knees, so she was going to wear some white leggings with it. For shoes, she chose a pair of shiny silver ballet flats with a dark blue seam at the top and fake sapphires and diamonds over the toes.
Elsa braided her hair over her shoulder, and pinned her bangs out of her face with her snowflake bobby pins before putting on her diadem. She donned her pearl earrings, and the pearl necklace with the snowflake with the rhinestones—the one she hadn't worn since her coronation. Elsa straightened the ring Nico had given her to perfection. She then moved onto her makeup. She started with silver eyeshadow. Midway up her eyelid, Elsa added black—making it get lighter the closer to her eyebrow it was. She added black eyeliner all the way around her eyelid, and black mascara. She put on a bit of lipstick, but not much. She smiled triumphantly at her reflection. She looked beautiful.
"I'm ready to go." She announced. Nico nodded; smiling at her appearance.
"Nice." He said. "Calypso would have to be blind not to like it."
"I'm not just dressing for her." Elsa rolled her eyes. "I'm dressing for myself too. I want to look beautiful today, and I do."
"You really do look amazing." Nico agreed. "I feel so… Plain looking next to you." He grinned.
"Now I feel a bit ostentatious." Elsa said with a laugh.
"You're a queen." Nico reminded her. "A queen is never overdressed; everyone else is just underdressed." She smiled wider. "Anyway, we have to go. We have a lot planned today." The friends departed. They talked animatedly on their way to the café. This was one that was kind of Scandinavian without being obvious about it. In fact, most people who went there did not notice the Scandinavian theme. Elsa and Nico had seen it one day, and decided to go in. It looked cozy and nice, and was without a large line, so they tried it. They found out that they loved that café, and kept returning to it again and again, growing to love it even more each time. They went so much that they didn't even need to look at the menu except for a quick glance to help them figure out what they wanted.
Elsa got hot chocolate with school bread and a lefse cake with cinnamon kling spread and powdered sugar. She'd always loved all kinds of lefse, especially as a young child. It reminded her of happy times.
"How's the lefse?" Nico asked halfway through their breakfast.
"Deilig." Elsa moaned in Norwegian, mouth full, her ice blue eyes rolling into the back of her head. Nico chuckled. This café was a real treat for them, because not only was the food delectable, but the café was cozy, and it reminded Elsa of the real thing.
Elsa remembered how much she loved it when Gerda gave her lefse. She wondered if she'd ever have a child to introduce to it. She recalled how worried she was, once she'd started living a more normal life, that she might be pregnant. She literally cried with relief every time she took a pregnancy test to see if she was, but she didn't fully believe it until she got her period again. If she cried with relief before, she sobbed with it then. Nico had to hold her in his arms to help her calm down, which took a long time.
She shook the memories off, and went back to enjoying her breakfast with her brother. When the two finished, they strolled over to a park. The two held hands as they commented on the things they saw, not a care in the world.
At Camp Jupiter, they stayed for a few hours, catching up with their friends. Reyna, Frank, Hazel, and Jason were celebrating with them. Hazel produced a tray of cupcakes that she'd made herself for Elsa's birthday. They were chocolate with thick and delicious frosting. The frosting was mainly white with blue swirled into it. Nico encouraged Elsa to put a candle in one cupcake and the blow it out. Elsa laughed, and then agreed to do it.
Elsa's wish was the same as every wish she'd made since she'd come back to Nico. To let her frozen heart thaw before her eighteenth birthday. The only wish… Not even for Calypso to love her back. Not that specific.
The six of them just fooled around, eating cupcakes and drinking lemonade until Nico regretfully told Elsa that it was time to go. Neither of them really wanted to go. They both loved Camp Jupiter and the people there. It was easier for them to be there. But sometimes, the things that are easiest are not the best things to do. Both of them had needed to thaw their frozen hearts, so they'd moved to Camp Half-Blood. They told others that it was so that Elsa could see Greek influence too, and because Chiron was a good teacher for her. Those reasons were true, but in reality it was just so that they could love again.
"Do I look okay?" Elsa asked nervously. She was fixing her clothes, hair, and makeup to perfection. She was also stalling. But she did want to look perfect for when she'd tell Calypso.
"You look like you did this morning, which was beautiful and amazing." Nico replied.
"Piper?" Elsa pleaded, looking to her.
"You look perfect." The daughter of Aphrodite assured the young queen. "Do you know what you're going to say?" Elsa nodded. "Good. I think you're ready." Piper smiled at Elsa who put on one last layer of lipstick. The daughter of Khione took a breath and exited the bathroom.
"Best of luck, Elsa." Nico nodded at her. She smiled back at him nervously. Her heart was pounding in her chest as she left her bedroom to find Calypso. She looked all around, unable to see her. She wasn't walking particularly quickly, so of course Elsa was slow to find her. She was still stalling, and kept thinking of scenarios.
If Calypso accepted, Elsa decided that she would make an ice rose for Calypso as a romantic gesture.
Elsa finally saw Calypso standing on the beach, overlooking the waves. She put on a nervous smile and walked up to her, tapping the caramel haired girl on the shoulder.
"Hello Calypso." Elsa greeted her friend.
"Hello, Elsa." Calypso nodded at the platinum blonde. "How are you today?"
"It's my birthday." Elsa was doing her very best to sound breezy and calm. "I'm sixteen today."
"That's wonderful!" Calypso clapped her hands together. "Happy birthday, Elsa."
"Thank you." Elsa bobbed her head. "Um, there's something else I wanted to tell you, Calypso."
"What is it?" The caramel haired girl asked. Elsa took a deep breath. Her heart was pounding.
"Calypso… Ever since we met for the first time… I… I've liked you. I think you're beautiful and wonderful. Especially your personality. You're smart, you appreciate your jokes, and you love art… Calypso… I have feelings for you." Elsa managed. There was a stunned silence from Calypso. Then there was a loud smack, and a sting on Elsa's cheek. She clutched her now pink cheek, a gasp escaping her lips. She looked at Calypso; shocked. The other girl looked furious. Her hands were balled into fists by her sides.
"How dare you." Calypso sounded like she was on the verge of tears. In fact, they began to form in her dark eyes. "How very dare you, Elsa." Calypso's lips were trembling. "You knew I gave up romance and relationships. You knew! And yet… You tell me this? How dare, you Elsa?!" A sob escaped Elsa's lips, as tears spilled over her cheeks, ruining her makeup. "Oh, now you're going to act all sad, like you didn't expect this? Now you're going to cry? Well, you deserve this, Elsa. All this time… I thought you were my friend!" Calypso stormed off. Elsa choked out another sob, and buried her face in her hands. She didn't care anymore, and just let herself cry.
She sank down to the ground, unable to hold herself up for too much longer. Her body wracked with sobs. Tears created a muddy mess on her face. Her crying drove the few campers walking by to steer clear.
Eventually, Nico began to worry about her, and then found her crouched on the beach, sobbing. Her cheek was pink. He guessed what had happened, and carefully escorted her back to her room. He knew that the party he'd put together at the pavilion wouldn't do anything.
Nothing could heal this broken heart. Nothing but time.
A/N: Not based off any of my own experiences, by the way, in case you remember my raving about my crush. She didn't slap me or yell at me. She's actually my friend, whom I love to joke with. But you should pity Elsa, not me. (Btw, my birthday is on Tuesday, but please don't dedicate your entire review to birthday wishes.)