A/N: trigger warning: death
The Sun was setting on a warm August day, the last of its rays illuminating the stack of parchments on Elsa's desk. Eyes darting over a paper she held, likely a report from a minister, it sagged downwards. With a flick of a wrist, the paper was securely pinched between her thumb and forefinger. The sleeve of her icy blue dress was up at her elbow. She continued reading with less haste than before.
Ignoring the hefty ending remarks of the writer's never ending submission to the throne, Elsa lightly put the paper next to herself and picked up another from the pile. Yet another message from the same minister, but seemingly written in haste, answering her reply that indeed, the previous message was correct. The author was once again expressing his unadulterated joy of serving the Queen. The young woman's expression soured a tan. The ministers weren't too fond of her and the quantity of their written displays of affection showed just that. She put the message on the previous one and dipped her quill, reaching for a clear parchment on the left.
The quill wasn't accepting the liquid as quite as it should have, so Elsa drained it and set it aside, searching for another. There were none on her desk; could Kai have forgotten to supply her? Smiling for letting herself doubt him, she closed the lengthy drawer on the left with a quill in hand. No wonder that the old one wasn't behaving – its stem felt firm, but was too dry and brittle. The new feather shimmered with beautiful iridescence under the sunlight.
A servant would soon come and light the candles. Sighing, she centered the parchment, then dropped the tip of the beautiful accessory in ink with a stern expression. And started writing.
Anna sat relaxed against an apple tree in the courtyard, arms at her sides. Her tree. Clothed in a simple green dress and slightly yellow pants, she basked in the afternoon Sun after an enjoyable ride around the castle. The slight breeze played with her bangs and brought sweet smells of numerous, groomed roses that bordered every paved path. Taking an intoxicating breath of bliss, Anna shifted just so that her shoulder blades rested in a nook of the tree. From where she was sitting, she could oversee the yard and hear the horses in the nearby stables. Somehow, the roses weren't affected by her sister's attempts at fame. She tried to be content with the thought. Apple trees, her favorite, weren't destined to bear fruit this year.
What about Elsa? A thought she pushed away in the morning, during her ride, and once again, which she now couldn't shake off completely. Since their last fight, Elsa has been avoiding her. In a flash of anger that evening, Anna raided the castle's pantry and emerged victorious with a bottle. Today, she brought one with her during her ride. Kristoff was appalled and threatened to tell Elsa. Anna fought back that it calmed her nerves and provided her solace from thinking about her sister. In turn, Kristoff made her promise that she would stop drinking - and here she was, the drink still lingering in her mouth.
A part of her was scared and crying out how low she's fallen. For heaven's sake, now she couldn't recall how she made her way to the tree! The other part would just chug the bottle.
So what if she's the Queen of Arendelle? Is she not allowed to relax? Anna already imagined her sister's expression. Locked in the moment, unyielding as ever with a look that Anna could only read as slight pity, she would graciously stop her activity and relay to her that no, she couldn't, and that as the Queen she took on a selfless duty to rule by serving. Anna never probed further. As amusing as the thought was, reminding Elsa of her selfless avoidance of her duties the very day of her coronation would lead to interesting discussions. Probably. With a good bit of ice.
Elsa could definitely feel anger and fear. And show something akin to love, though Anna sometimes wondered if that was just her not being regal in full force at a rare occasion. Maybe, just maybe, she enjoyed being broken, unwilling to give up the things that made her sick. Anna's intoxicated mind couldn't exactly define.
She yawned, covering her mouth with her left palm. Too much thoughts about Elsa. Looks like she fell asleep.
The Sun was beginning to set. A servant passed by in a hurry, stealing a glance at the Princess. Anna sighed. There was so much about Elsa that she didn't understand. The servant was moving in the direction of the kitchen and she had to take a bath. Pushing herself away from the tree, her stomach growled with her. A very warm bath, for more reasons than one.
"Should I light these, Your Majesty?"
Elsa looked up to see a woman, dressed in the usual dark clothes, asking whether to light the three candles at each side of her table.
"Yes, if you don't mind."
The woman did as told. The candles were long and intended for night sessions. Gradually, Elsa stopped squinting at the report. All the candles were now lit and she looked up with a slight smile.
"Thank you. Is dinner ready?"
"It is, Your Majesty."
Elsa glanced at the window, a pointless gesture. It was obvious that night fell. "Has my sister returned?"
The woman nodded. "Last I heard, Your Majesty, is that Princess Anna is enjoying a bath."
"Thank you. Enjoy your evening." The servant smiled and bowed, then headed for the door.
Elsa glanced at the remaining paper and pinched the bridge of her nose. The reports were unsettling. The Great Freeze, as the ministers took upon calling that, had destroyed most of the crops. Thankfully, under her father's rule Arendelle had amassed decent commodity reserves, but they were chipping. According to the paper she read earlier, as of yesterday they could last for a month. Maybe a week more at the current rate.
Her eyes started watering, a sign that it was enough. She trudged on, thinking. The affected regions rallied for tax breaks and the shipments from a few less affected ones were scarce and irregular. The reports again suggested that they kept the harvest for themselves, silently probing for a response from the new Queen. What would her father do? What should she do? She still hadn't decided and the clock was ticking. Tomorrow, she would visit the library to investigate previous wide-spread hunger. Surely someone from the past managed? In two days she had to present a plan of action to the ministers.
Wiping newly formed tears from her eyes with her sleeve, Elsa blinked and tried to focus. Non-queenly behavior, but she was alone. The candles helped immensely and she soon found herself doing a double take of what she read. The paper indicated an unusual number of uncounted for dissapereances of beverage.
"Three bottles of wine this week. That's for red wine… Two bottles of white? And... one champagne from 1793?", she muttered to herself incredulously.
The paper detailed the castle's weekly usage of beverages, one of the many reports she requested be delivered on a weekly basis. Elsa frowned. The last celebration was Anna's birthday some time ago. And she never let her sister know that a painful amount of fruit juice reserves were slashed that day. Who could have used up this much and not reported it? And why the champagne from almost fifty years ago? She turned the parchment over, but it was empty. This was probably a counting mistake; she'd have to ask the writer to reevaluate.
A yawn took over and she slumped in her chair, suddenly too tired to care. Looking over her desk with a glassy gaze, Elsa decided to call it a night. A few murky ideas swirled in her mind as she left the report in the second drawer. Did Kai put this report last on purpose?
Whoever was perusing all that alcohol could be investigated tomorrow. This was one of the rare nights when she felt a need to eat.
Elsa yawned as she slowly closed the door to her study. It was late, Anna should have already finished dinner.
Still feeling a little bit fuzzy from the bath, Anna dove into the delicious meal with a healthy appetite. Her hair was a bit of a mess and somewhat wet; she had to thoroughly soap it to get rid of the smell of horse. She didn't mind it much, but her sister did. Mouth half open, Anna cringed at the memory of Elsa finally sitting down with her to dine and seeing her disappointed gaze, listening to carefully crafted sentences conveying her expectations. Since then, she hasn't skipped hair washing. Even after what happened.
She squelched the thought with a healthy gulp of alcohol. The taste wasn't so bad now.
Sitting on a large plate, Elsa's bowl of soup was letting off steam, positioned in front of the empty chair at the head of the table. Beside it was a vegetable salad and a bowl of perfectly juicy and crisp chicken legs, the same amount Anna was served. Except that Anna made a small deal with the chef to get a few pralines in place of the salad. And by few, she meant twenty or so. The chef couldn't say no. The wine bottle, Anna brought herself.
Soon she finished her soup and egged forward just a bit to look at Elsa's portion of the chicken, pondering. They seemed a bit more crisp than hers. She cocked her head. And a little bigger…
Carefully, she stood over and grabbed Elsa's plate from the side, bringing it next to hers. Then, she slid her plate over to where her sister was supposed to sit. The plate screeched a bit. Anna let out a small sigh of relief that her clumsiness didn't invade at the opportune moment. But now the chocolates were a bit too far away, so Anna took the plate, looking where to put it.
The door suddenly opened, revealing Elsa. Anna panicked and put the plate in front of the steaming bowl of soup with a bit of force. The sound reverberated through the room. Anna sheepishly let go and turned to face her sister, not hiding her surprise.
"Elsa!"
Her sister approached the table, wearily smiling. "Um.. hi, Anna."
Anna quickly sat down, a bit flustered. "Well… Um… It's so good to see you! Have you… eaten anything today?", she said looking at Elsa. This was one of the main points of their recent qualm.
Elsa pulled the chair and sat down. "Yes, a bit of what you've left me." She frowned, noticing the bottle. Wine? Anna? Her face wavered between concern and surprise.
Anna frowned. She did leave a portion in her room, but not today. "But that was… that was yesterday, Elsa." Her voice became concerned. "Don't tell me you went a whole day without eating..."
Elsa decided to retort, not hiding the disgust in her tone. "Don't tell me that you have been drinking."
Anna's expression darkened. "So what… what if I have decided to indulge a little bit?" Elsa didn't miss that she clasped her hands. To stop them from shaking?
Elsa decided to feign interest. "Anna… Is this wine?"
Anna bit her tongue, trying not to explode with anger."I think that you can check that for yourself."
Elsa raised an eyebrow and reached for the bottle. It was half empty. At that moment, she wished she had her gloves on.
"Oh, I see. Champagne from 1793. How wonderful." That resolved that mystery. She put the bottle directly in front of Anna. "A quite illustrious one. You have a great taste, Anna. I'm proud.", she said flatly.
Anna slowly grabbed the bottle and angled it to read the fine print. "It's from… 1793?" She slurred the words slightly, then put the bottle to rest. "So what if it's not wine. You want some?"
Elsa shook her head. "No, thank you. In fact, I don't feel like eating. Not with you wafting like a drunk!"
Anna decided to gloss over the last part. "None of that. You're the Queen and you have to eat. I don't want to have a fight with you again."
To her surprise, Elsa covered her mouth to yawn. "I guess…" She yawned the second time. "I guess I have to after all.", she said acceptingly, glossing over what she heard. The second yawn was fake, just to see if Anna would notice.
Elsa looked over the plates and bowls. Full and fresh, as if nothing was brewing. What is she thinking with the alcohol?
Seemingly, Anna noticed. "Oh, the champagne chocolates are for me, you know."
Elsa barely controlled herself. Even the chocolates are spiked? Her mind was racing. Is Anna becoming an alcoholic?
Picking up her spoon, she tried to make conversation. Attack is the best defense. "So, Anna, how was your day?"
Anna flinched, bowing over her plate, mouth already full of Elsa's chicken. Her eyes grew wide. "Ahhh… Fuwt giwe me a nomemt…", came out a barely intelligible reply, motioning with her left hand.
Notably, Elsa didn't smile at her sister's antics, just swallowed a spoonful of soup. The spices burned a bit, but in a good way. Her insides felt reinvigorated. Content, she directed her gaze at it, wondering what herbs were floating around. The liquid had such a nice tint to it.
Anna soon recovered. "Oh, so first I woke up and ate. Then I went to the stables to see Sven, and Olaf was there and they were playing. The weather was so nice that I decided to ride my horse a little around town, just to stretch her legs, then Kristoff showed up and decided to join me." She dug into the chicken again.
Inbetween two sips, Elsa spoke. "And what did you two do for the rest of the day?" Her voice became one of concern. "Kristoff hasn't been drinking, I hope?"
"We rode through the gates - I love that they are open again, Elsa - and first we went around the castle. And Sven-", she swallowed and looked at her, "Sven is so much stronger than Bella, that it's not even- are you even listening?"
Elsa realized that the now empty bowl she's been staring at has a slight crack in the bottom. She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts and looked longingly at other plates. The soup was really good.
Anna, an alcoholic? For heaven's sake…
Suddenly she realized that Anna wasn't talking and turned to her. "Ah, I'm sorry, Anna. I didn't quite…" She paused. "Is the chicken good?"
Anna looked at her quizzically before taking a bite. "Yes, it is. Anyway, where was I?"
Elsa took a chicken leg, noticing that it crunched just slightly. "You went riding, right?", she offered.
Anna remembered, picking up her second part of what was once an animal that ran about somewhere. "Ah. So me and Kristoff first rode around the castle.", she mouthed, stopping only to wipe her chin. "He was riding Sven, of course, who is so much stronger than a regular horse. Not that that's weird, I mean-", she shrugged, "Sven's a reindeer. Anyway, we got bored and went riding in the woods. Bella got a little scared, so we stopped and Kristoff kissed me and then we returned, and I guess I slept under a tree in the yard for a while. Much nicer than laying down in the woods, you know. You should try it.", she said earnestly. Looked up at her sister, then froze, realizing what she just drunkenly revealed.
Elsa choked, lowering the chicken as the image entered her mind. And started coughing wide eyed, covering her mouth. Anna slowly curled her legs under the chair and sat straight. Elsa soon recovered.
"Are you two that close already?", she spoke quietly. Or is that alcohol talking?
Anna squirmed under her sister's astonished gaze, feeling the grease on her fingers. "I said… that you should try laying down on the…", she gulped, "Um, as for Kristoff…"
For what felt like an eternity, Elsa stared at Anna, frozen in the moment. And then shook her head. Anna felt as if her sister was looking through her.
"I'm sorry, Anna.", she muttered, wordlessly placing the food remains onto her plate. She reached for a napkin to wipe her hands, then looked her sister in the eye. "We'll continue this conversation some other time when you sober up."
Elsa carefully set the napkin into the bowl and rose up, headed for the door. Surprised, Anna quickly freed her hands and got up from her chair, which screeched. "Elsa, wait."
The blonde stopped for a moment, halfway to the door. "Good night, Anna.", she said with a trembling voice.
"No, Elsa, no." Anna ran to the door and got in the way. Her sister stopped, looking down. "We are not going through this, again!"
"Anna, please move."
The strawberry blonde didn't move. Instead, her voice grew more determined. It reminded Elsa of that fateful day.
"No, Elsa. I won't move. If-if I move, all you are going to do is lock yourself in that queenly, icy room and pretend that I don't exist, just like you did last week." She took a breath and warily pointed at Elsa, noticing her frown. "All because you decided that you overstepped our bounds. Well guess what, Elsa, I have a say in that as much as you do!"
Elsa clutched her hands, dearly wishing that she had her gloves on. For the sake of her sister. Anna continued her barrage. The smell of alcohol mingled the air. Elsa scoffed.
"Anna, you are drunk! You're disguisting and you need serious help if you mean to go on like this!"
Anna panted. "No! You need help. Do you have any idea how much it hurts to see you bring yourself to the brink of exhaustion?" A tear appeared and she glanced at the table, then back at Elsa, who appeared to tremble. "To see you fading? To see you reject meals, to wake up and race to your study to see if you're even alive? Do you?" She paused for a moment, tears welled up. Elsa's mind wandered to the champagne from… was it 1817?
"Look at your hair, your face. Or do you just not care? Is that it? Should I just excuse myself to my room all day and also start playing the martyr, wailing in self-pity of I-almost-killed-my-sister?" That struck a nerve. Elsa looked up, hugging herself.
Anna responded in kind, nodding. "Is that it, Elsa? Deep inside, you couldn't wait to show your suffering to the world, and being the heir", she said mockingly, "gave you a platform. You didn't just shout it from the rooftops. You have the whole of Arendelle as your audience. You want this. You are the cause of my drinking." She sobbed. "You are making me do this…!" Her mocking voice rang in Elsa's mind.
"Anna… I am through with you. I order you to move!"
Her sister laughed. Anna laughed, heartily.
"Or what? Or what? Will you call for the guards, your Highness?", she said with a slight drunken disbelief. "Will you throw me into a dungeon? Will you run to the mountains? Or, or-", she imitated an excited voice of a little girl, "do you want to build a snowman out of me, Elsa?" The blonde's expression was unreadable. Anna continued. "If you want, I'm alright with that."
"Anna…", Elsa almost growled, frost erupting around her.
The redhead started tearing her nightgown with strength she didn't know she possessed, revealing her bra. "Here. I will let you. I give you permission. Freeze my tongue first, for all I care. Make our hearts equal. Go ahead.", she nodded, with almost religious conviction. "Strike me. Show me how much you hate me since you won't even listen. Give me a way out."
Elsa shook her head. This was ridiculous, couldn't Anna see? None of this made sense. Arendelle could starve, and yet here she was, listening to this… blabbering. She felt a bit lightheaded and took a deep breath… It was as if her lungs filled up with less air than before. It was a weird feeling. Her upper left arm… she didn't remember bruising it, yet now it was hurting as if an animal stomped on it.
Anna was heaving, intently watching Elsa. Her sister had a pained expression and pressed her upper left arm. And took a step back. Her face took upon a confused, almost innocent expression. She stopped in the middle of her next rant, which Elsa barely registered.
Elsa tried to catch her breath, feeling funny. The pain was expanding through her chest, crawling up the left side of her neck. A cold sweat broke on her temples and she wiped it with her hand, confused.
Her sister was winding down and starting to feel cold without a full dress, still watching her for a reaction. Something clicked and gave way to the scared, pushed away, voice of reason.
"Uh, Elsa…?", Anna said weakly. "Are, are you mad?"
The ice around her slowly dissipated. Elsa clasped her hands above her chest and looked up at Anna. Her gaze was devoid of emotion. She took another step back, managing to utter a weak "no".
The pain was getting stronger, crushing and excruciating. Her only thought was that this must be similar to Marshmallow stepping on you.
A searing pain manifested, as if a cleaver cut her chest in half. Then both sides were being torn apart. Her lungs were on fire, unresponding, trying to regain air. Every particle of her chest was being torn apart to shreds. She managed to let out a quiet, surprised sound.
The next thing Anna remembered is that Elsa fell, still clutching her chest, gasping for air. Elsa's grip soon lost its strength.
By morning the whole castle was up in arms. It was apparent that something had happened. No one knew where Princess Anna and Queen Elsa were. Some claim that they heard shouting. Elsa's room was locked. Quiet whispers spread at every corner.
The Sun had started to rise. Outside of the city, a disheveled man in a half buttoned green winter coat spurred his horse even more. The animal huffed and tried to gallop faster towards the castle gates. The guards shifted, weapons in their hands, watching him approach.
The stranger barely contained his horse and quickly dismounted, almost falling over. "I bring news! You have to let me see the Queen! It's terrible!"
The guards were uneasy. His horse panicked, strutting around. "What news do you bear, man?" One of them pointed his spear towards him. "Speak! Why the Queen?"
The man was out of his mind. "You have to let me see her! Or Princess Anna! The, the-", he stuttered and finally yelled out, "the Queen's ice palace is gone!"
A guard grabbed him by the sleeve. "Are you sure? What have you seen? Speak!"
His eyes darted from one guard to another. He gulped. "I- I am just a lumberjack, p- please don't hurt me!" The guards exchanged worried glances. The man continued. "I- I was in the woods, and I- saw", he grabbed his head, "I saw it crumble. I saw it crack and crumble like it never existed!" He latched onto the guard's coat with his burly hands, a maniacal look in his eyes. "This is bad news, I'm telling you. Ooh, it is. Magic unbinds only if it's released by its weaver", he looked at the other guard, "or if the weaver is released." He nodded to himself, licking his lips. "Ooh, such it is, I'm telling you. Every child knows."
The poor guard managed to throw him off and he fell on the paved road, then scurried away. His horse panicked again. The other guard hesitated, then threw his spear away and ran towards the castle.
"Is this true, what you're telling?", the guard yelled.
The lumberjack hopped on his horse and said nothing, leaving the servant in a wake of dust.
"Mommy, will the Queen make the earth icy so we can skate?", a boy asked his mom, walking to the castle's yard.
"I don't know, dear." She smiled. "We'll see soon. They called everyone to gather no the castle grounds."
A formally clothed man appeared on the terrace and surveyed the crowd.
"The recently crowned Queen of Arendelle, princess Elsa, weaver of ice magic and rightful heir to the throne, suddenly fell ill two nights ago." The castle's messenger's flat voice boomed through the crowd, accentuating every word. He took a breath, waiting for the murmur to subside.
"With great sadness, Princess Anna of Arendelle announces that her sister, princess Elsa, died peacefully this morning."
The citizens looked at each other in shock. Brisk whispers erupted from the crowd.
Died?
I didn't hear.
Is this true?
What happened?
The messenger continued. "Princess Anna also hereby declares a six day mourning from this moment on."
Another wave of conversations erupted, this time a bit louder. Most that the law allowed was three.
"Her decision that the gates of the castle remain open will be honored and coded into law for all occasions, except in a state of war. May she be remembered for her beauty, wit, intellect and unique abilities. The funerals will be arranged in two weeks' time."
The messenger folded his scroll and put it aside. "She also wants everyone to know that Princess Elsa's last moments were spent with her family and that she died peacefully in her sleep.", he said in his normal voice, loud enough for everyone to hear.
"Mama, what does this mean?", the boy was tugging at his mother's dress. "Can I skate? Mama?"
The woman was staring at the terrace, watching the man retreat. "No, my son. Not anymore."
Anna relished in the knife's metallic glaze. She embraced the pain emanating from her left palm, clenching her fist. Blood dripped along her left arm. The test was successful. The knife was a work of art, embroidered with wooden patterns that could only be made by a few experienced craftsmen in Arendelle. Her right hand was covered in ink splotches. A quill she found in Elsa's study wasn't the best.
Numb, she looked through Elsa's window. The dawn was breaking, with the remaining Moon rays falling upon her sister on the bed. Pale, beautiful and unmovable, hands clasped at her waist, even now she was dignified. Anna knew that she couldn't match her sister. There would be no third person to fix the inevitable wrinkles on her dress. She wore the best one she had.
Love would thaw. But there was no love, and nothing to thaw. Nothing was frozen. Elsa, her ever unavailable sister, couldn't run away anymore. Anna bitterly laughed at the absurdity, raising the knife.
The mattress reduced the force of the fall. Death is what it took for them to be close.
A/N: Whew! I guess that the moral of the story is: be kind to each other. Even if you think you know someone, they may reach the point of no return in a flash and then it doesn't matter.
Inspired by a RL tragedy: a man went to the cardiologist, they looked over the papers. He got up to leave and said: "So, doctor, am I healthy?" The doctor shook his hand and said "Yes! Nothing here indicates that you're unwell in any way." As the man went to the door and grabbed his coat, he suddenly fell to the floor. It was a heart attack and he was in the ~60% who die immediately… just like Elsa here.
This is my first fanfic, review if you want! I probably could have detailed the preceding fight, but writing this is as emotionally taxing as it is and I'm no Robert Jordan. Peace out!