Chapter 3. You are in my spot

The next days had become very boring for Anna. According to Elsa their parents were busier due to the visit of the other nation's guests.

Anna wanted more than anything to play in the Great Hall and build a snowman maybe. But even she knew that would have to wait. Elsa had promised they would play with the snow as soon as everything would come back to normal.

So, in order to lose her boredom the little Princess had now the intention to ask her older sister to play whatever game with her. Elsa was never too busy for her.

The little Princess was trotting around the corridor when she bumped into something and she fell on her bottom.

"Ow!" she said.

She heard a grunt. It was another voice Anna didn't recognized at first.

She opened her eyes saw a boy also sitting in the floor. She recognized him then. He was her papa's best friend's son.

The Prince stood up and so did she.

"Sorry" Anna apologized.

"Me too."

"You are Prince Something of the Somewhere Islands right?"

He laughed.

"Derek." He said. "I'm from Rosendelle."

"Oh! I'm Anna, and I'm from here. Well not here" she pointed out at the carpet "but from here."

"Nice to meet you." He said. "I'm sorry again. See you later."

He was already starting to walk when the Princess shouted.

"Wait!"

He stopped to look at her.

"Uhm, I was about to ask Elsa if she wanted to play. Do you want to play with us?"

"Me?"

"Duh, yeah you."

"Your sister would not mind?"

"Elsa? Are you kidding? She is the kindest person ever."

"Uhm…"

But Princess Anna would never take a no for an answer. And she grabbed him by his arm.

"Come on. Let's find Elsa."

And the two of them ran along the corridor.

...

Thought the first remnants of the first assessments of residents in the fjord are registered since the third siècle before Christ, the land of Aren Dal would not be founded and named Arendelle until the siècle fourteenth when all the land lords joined forces in the War of the Fjords.

It was not until the coronation of King Olaf the First (siècle sixteenth) that the capital of Arendelle was set at the corner of the region, in the main Fjord. It was also his Majesty King Olaf the First reign that the construction of the Royal Castle took place.

With the finest materials, the Castle was built to become the city's most attractive piece of architecture, and to also become the home of the Royal family. The King, being a lover of mazes and puzzles, added to the Castle a set of passages that would communicate almost every chamber of the building. Unfortunately the original planes and designs of the set were lost along many other documents in the Great Fire of 1789 (see Chapter XVII) that took place during the reign of her Majesty the Queen Ingrid.

"Elsa!"

The blonde Princess who was sitting in the corner of the window raised her head. She met a pair of blue eyes.

"What is it Anna?"

"What are you doing?"

"Just reading a book I just got out from the library."

"Great!"

Elsa raised both her eyebrows in surprise. Since when did Anna found it great that Elsa was reading a book?

Her sister must have understood her unspoken question and smiled.

"You can read later. Now we can play."

Elsa could never say no to those puppy eyes her sister would always made when she wanted something.

"Alright." She said as she closed her book. She would read it later. "What do you want to play?"

"Something we can play with three people."

"Three?"

"Yeah. You, he and me of course."

"He?"

"Hi."

Elsa turned and for the first time noticed there was actually another person in the room. It was the Prince of Rosendelle.

"Hi." She said.

She wasn't that willing to play with him. They hadn't speak much to each other since the first time they met. And she was sure the "Could you pass me the toast please?" and "Can you tell me where the washroom is?" could not be considered as conversation at all.

"So any ideas of a game?" asked her little sister to her.

"Uhm." She wanted to say that she would prefer to play only with her but she didn't want to be rude to the boy.

"Maybe" said the voice of the boy.

Elsa and Anna turned to look at him. He was rubbing his hair as he spoke.

"Maybe what?" said Anna excited.

"Maybe we can play hide and seek?" his statement sounding more of a question than a suggestion.

"Hide and seek! Yay! Elsa say yes!"

Again with those puppy eyes.

"Sounds fun Anna." She said smiling.

...

They had been playing for a while when Anna's turn to count came once more. Elsa felt kind of relieved that it was her sister's turn now. When it was her turn she would always find her sister kind of quickly. Anna needed to learn to stop giggling while hiding.

The other reason that she felt relieved that it was Anna's turn to look was that she would finally remain in a hiding spot in more than three minutes. She didn't know how he'd do it but the Prince of Rosendelle had a natural talent to find her.

She was starting to get sick of being found so quickly by him. When her turn to count would come she would start to look for him as quickly as possible. But when his turn would come, he would find her in less time and so on.

At least this time he can be caught first.

Elsa entered the painting room and looked for a place to hide. Then she saw a hiding spot under the green sofa.

Pleased with herself she ran to it.

But as soon as she arrived the Prince got there at the same place.

Where did he come from?!

"Sorry" he said.

"Me too." She admitted.

"You are in my spot." He said.

"This is my spot." she said at the same time.

Wait what?

"I think you don't get it. This is where I'm hiding." She explained.

"No it's not. You are the one who doesn't get it. I saw this place first." He argued.

"No you didn't. And I chose to hide here. You can find somewhere else."

"What if I don't want to? Maybe you can find other place instead?"

"What? No!"

"Well I'm not moving." He said crossing his arms.

"Well, me neither." She said also crossing her arms.

"TEN! READY OR NOT I'M COMING!"

Both of them jumped. That was Anna's voice. And it came from the other room nonetheless.

I don't care what he says I'm hiding here. She thought as she put herself in her knees in order to crawl under the sofa.

But as soon as she tried to get under, her head bumped into something hard. His head.

She turned to look at him. He was also in his hands and knees, crawling under the sofa.

"Hey" she whispered. "Go somewhere else."

"Nay, you go." He whispered back.

"Where are you?" Anna's voice was coming very near.

Maybe it would be wiser to find another spot but Elsa would not permit him to keep the hiding spot and let him win.

It seemed the Prince was thinking something similar since he also fought to enter under the sofa.

At the end both the Princess and Prince managed to get under the sofa. Not without trying to earn as much space from the other as they could.

"Ow! My hair" she said in a low voice. "Get off!"

"Only if you move your skirt from my shoes!"

"Maybe if you weren't so stubborn." She said frowning at him.

"Me?" he laughed. "Look who's talking."

"Didn't your parents told you to be a gentlemen?"

"Yes they did. But only if she happens to be a lady. Not a weird girl who likes boring parties and can't accept that I saw this place first."

"You can't prove that."

"Yes I can. I decided this would be a fine spot ever since we started playing. So it was already reserved since then."

"You cannot do that."

"Yes I can. I saw it first so I win."

"I live here." She said.

"So?" he said raising an eyebrow.

"So I win. Since you say that the first one to saw this spot wins, then that'll be me. Since I live here. I've been in this room before."

"Ah,..I..." he mumbled.

Elsa gave him a half smile. "Check mate! I win."

"No I win!"

Elsa and the Prince blinked in confusion. None of them had said that. If it hadn't been one of them then…

"Anna?"

"Hi." Said the cherry blond Princess.

The Prince got out of their hiding spot and so did Elsa.

Anna was jumping in the sofa making funny poses in the air. "I won, I won! I found both of you at the same time. That makes me the better."

"The best" Corrected her both and Elsa and the boy.

They turned to look at each other. But before one of them could say "I said that first!"

Anna jumped and landed in the middle of them.

"Really what were you thinking? A whole castle and you two chose to hide in the room next to where I was. And under the same sofa. And I bet your voices arguing could be heard by Jill in the Kitchen."

Elsa wanted to say something but the happiness of her sister and the realization of the foolish thing she had actually done made a laugh escape from her lips.

Another person's laugh was heard too. It was the Prince's.

They stopped for a moment and looked at each other. Somehow they both understood what they were thinking without words.

Suddenly they both started laughing.

The only one who didn't seem to understand what was happening was poor Anna who was looking from her sister to the Prince.

"Weren't they fighting a few minutes ago?" the little Princess wondered in a low voice.