Tightrope
The moment Kristoff decided to have dinner with his family, he had pictured a nice, pleasant evening together. It wasn't usual to have his whole family reunited at one place and he thought of making the best of that opportunity. To his disappointment, the moment he entered his parents' house, he realised something was not right.
They greeted them with a warm smile that didn't quite reach their eyes. His mother seemed more quiet than usual and his father more tense. It was something he wasn't used to seeing. Kai and Gerda rarely showed him when something was bothering them. They had always tried their best to hide their problems so as not to worry him, or Elsa for that matter. This time, however, they couldn't quite hide it, and it worried him.
He was certain Anna had sensed something was off too. The side look she gave him as soon as they entered the house was a clear indicator. And for a short moment, Kristoff thought about the possibility of addressing the elephant in the room, hoping things could be discussed right then and there. But it wasn't really his place to do so. He wasn't sure what was going on and, even though it was clearly affecting them both, he wasn't sure it was correct to expose them like that. He guessed it was for the best not to get involved, at least not until they decided to share what was going on.
For that reason, Anna and Kristoff tried their best to pretend things were okay. Not perfect, but okay. They talked about the rain the previous day. They talked about the city. About the restaurant where they had picked the food from. They even commented about Elsa's injury briefly. Both of them had noticed the bandages around her hand and the topic soon arose, but they stopped discussing it as soon as Elsa insisted on shrugging it off as another simple accident. They talked about anything they could come up with in order to distract the rest of the family from whatever was in their mind.
It took a bit longer than usual, but after some minutes, when they finally sat down to enjoy their meal, things came back to a more normal state. And given the awkward mood in the Bjorgman household, Kristoff and Anna didn't mention anything about their decision to go live together until the dinner was over and Kai began picking up the dishes to make some room in the table for dessert.
"You're moving in together?" asked Gerda, clearly surprised at the news the moment Kristoff decided to share them out of the blue.
"Yes," Anna exclaimed, thrilled about sharing the good news with her in-laws at last.
"We talked about it and it feels just right." The smile Kristoff sent Anna showed the rest of the family how honest he was. After all, it was no secret that spending the rest of his life with Anna felt just right. Of course, he'd kept that part to himself for the time being. They still needed to figure out what to do about the Arendelles and Elsa.
The previous night they had shared the news with Agdar and Idunn, and even though they seemed happy for them, he couldn't help but feel something was off with them too. For a second, Kristoff wondered if it wasn't just his mind playing tricks. What were the odds of both families acting strangely so suddenly? But he decided to ignore that part and focus on the good side of things. His in-laws were happy for them and now his own parents seemed to be delighted about the news. It was all he needed for the time being.
"That's wonderful news, son. I'm happy you two are moving forward." Kai congratulated them as he continued picking the remaining dishes and headed to the kitchen.
"Is Anna moving into your apartment?" asked Gerda with enthusiasm.
"No," he said, happy his mother was smiling genuinely for the first time that evening. "I suggested finding a new place. One we both can call our own."
"It'd be a new start for the both of us, I guess." Anna smiled back at him and once again Kristoff felt his spirits rise. He couldn't really understand how a girl, so sweet and simple — in the best way — could make him so happy. The mere idea of her spending the next few days in his apartment while they arranged their ideas and found an apartment was exciting, and a nice in-between. He couldn't imagine how amazing the feeling would be the moment they finally had a place to call home. Their home.
"Do your parents know?" Kai asked Anna as he returned to the dining room with dessert.
She nodded with a smile. "We told them last night, actually. They were quite sad about me 'leaving the nest' and all. But they seemed genuinely happy for us."
Kristoff couldn't help but look at Elsa when Anna told the rest of the family about her parent's reaction. At first he hadn't been sure he wanted Elsa to know about that detail. Agdar's and Idunn's faces had shown deep sadness when they realised Anna was leaving the house for good. A kind of sadness Kristoff doubted was only about Anna. She was not the first daughter to leave after all.
To his surprise, Elsa was absentmindedly looking at a glass in front of her. Simply staring, emotionless, as if the water in it held an answer she had been looking for. He was relieved she hadn't thought much about her biological parents' reaction; but still, it was strange to see her so oblivious to the conversation taking place.
"It might not seem like it," Kai said to Anna, calling Kristoff's attention back again to their conversation. "But children moving is a big change for parents too. Gerda was devastated when these two left the house."
Kristoff smiled, knowing it was the truth. Gerda had asked him over a hundred times if he didn't want to give it a second thought. Elsa had already left the house by the time he moved to his own apartment and the poor woman had tried her best to convince him to live with them another couple of years.
"They were too young when they left," Gerda said, defensively. "Elsa was only eighteen."
"But I was twenty-two, mum," laughed Kristoff. He then looked at Elsa hoping to see a reaction of some kind, but once again nothing happened.
It wasn't normal for her to be totally out of it. Feeling it was time she started taking part in the conversation, he took the opportunity to call her attention.
"Talking about the devil," Kristoff said, as he threw his sister a napkin. "Sis, any thoughts?"
Elsa looked at him annoyed the moment the paper projectile landed on her cheek.
"About the news," Kristoff said, amused by her expression.
"News?"
He stayed silent for a few seconds hoping she was either trying to process the last few things the family said, or simply joking. When he understood she was honestly confused he said, "were you even listening to us? Anna and I are moving in together."
"Oh, yes, that." She looked down and picked at the bandages around her hand before she muttered a robotic congratulations.
All of a sudden, Kristoff's concern turned into annoyance. Elsa was never so cold towards them, no matter what was in her mind. He wasn't an idiot, he had noticed she wasn't in the best mood that evening; but even so, it didn't give her the right to act like an arse. "You could pretend a little, you know? Anna and I are excited about it."
Elsa raised an eyebrow as if he was acting like a fool and said, "I'm happy for you two, Kristoff."
Once again, her tone told him she just wanted to be over with it, and it irked him. "An honest smile wouldn't hurt."
"I said I'm happy," Elsa repeated before she pulled at her bandages once again. Not raising her eyes to look at him, she said, "I don't see what the problem is."
"What's wrong with you today?"
"Kristoff," Gerda said, trying to stop him from raising his voice.
"No, no. Seriously." He looked at his mother to make sure she understood he was being serious before he addressed Elsa again. If she wanted to act as if she didn't care, then fine by him. But at least she owed him an explanation. "We're trying to have a nice family dinner. We're celebrating something good. It's like you don't even care."
She became annoyed at the accusation. "I do care."
"You could show some enthusiasm."
"What do you want me to say?" she asked, her patience running thinner, faster than Kristoff expected.
"Anything," he said, honestly. He hadn't thought about it before, but Elsa's silence throughout dinner had made him feel out of place at his own parents' house and he hated it. As if his and Anna's presence was not welcomed. "It's a big step for Anna and me. I'd like to hear what my sister has to say."
"She already said she's happy for us," Anna intervened before Elsa could retort and things blew out of proportion.
"Not like she meant it."
"I do mean—"
"Okay. Okay! Enough," Gerda interrupted Elsa before anything hurtful could be said between the siblings. It wasn't usual, but she had been in the middle of their quarrels a few times to know when it was best to stop them. "Don't fight over silly misunderstandings. Kristoff, I'm sure Elsa's truly happy for you. Are you not?"
The last question was directed at Elsa who nodded her head. "Yes, of course I am."
"Then that's settled," Gerda said, patting Kristoff's hand. "Does anyone want dessert?"
Anna was quick to understand his mother's intention of distracting them and quickly answered, "I'd love some."
After Kai nodded, accepting the offer, Gerda looked at Kristoff and he couldn't do much more than to agree. "Sure, there's always room for it."
"Dear? Dessert?"
Kristoff waited in silence hoping Elsa would be more aware of the things going on around her, but once again she had got lost in her own thoughts. When his patience ran out, he called out her name. His mother could tell him off if she wanted, but at least he'd make sure his sister listened to Gerda.
"No. Uhm…" she said, after she noticed the rest of the family looking at her. "No, thanks."
Kristoff thought it was good enough of an answer, and he offered to slice the lemon pie for his mother.
Gerda nodded and gave the knife. Not without calling Elsa's attention once again. "Could you help me in the kitchen, Elsa?"
Kristoff knew it was his mother's cue for Elsa to follow her and talk in private, and he wasn't surprised. He was certain even Anna had noticed Elsa was not herself that night.
Gerda barely gave Elsa the time to enter the kitchen before she closed the door and asked, "are you okay?"
A short nod was Elsa's only answer, which told Gerda a lot more than she believed. "I'd like an honest answer for once." If she hadn't seen her daughter crumble the day before and Kai hadn't told her what he suspected, she was certain she'd have had less patience with her daughter at that moment. "I'll ask again. Are you okay?"
"Yes, Gerda. I am." Elsa said, clearly tired of being the target of so many questions. For all she knew, she was simply being quieter than usual that day. "I'm just distracted."
Sighing tiredly, Gerda put her hand on Elsa's shoulder before she said, "It wouldn't kill you to show your brother a smile when he's sharing good news with the family."
"I'm happy for Kristoff."
"Then try to show it," Gerdad said sternly. "Your opinion matters to him and he can't help—"
"Okay. I get it," Elsa said, interrupting her mother. She wasn't in the mood to keep hearing how she constantly screwed things up. "I'm sorry I'm not very good company."
"You're not bad company." Tightening her hold on her daughter's shoulder, Gerda made sure Elsa paid attention to her. "You're feeling a little under the weather and I get that. But maybe talk to him before he leaves."
Not wanting to upset her mother further, Elsa nodded yes.
Gerda looked at her for a few seconds, trying in vain to get more information about her. She hadn't been able to shake the idea of Elsa hurting someone she loved out of her mind. She desperately needed to know what had happened. But so far their family reunion had proved it was not the right time and place to question her daughter. It was a good thing Kai had been patient enough and decided not to corner Elsa that evening.
Not wanting to alert Elsa that something was wrong, she cleared her throat, picked some small plates and handed them to her. "Could you take these, please?" She then pointed to the closed door that led to the dining room.
Elsa nodded once again, but as soon as she held the plates she hissed in pain. "Damn it."
"What is it?"
"Nothing." She held the plates with her good hand as she shook her injured one to help ease the pain. "I keep forgetting my hand is injured."
"Does it hurt badly?" For all Gerda knew, Elsa's stitches shouldn't make her wince that way at the mere movement of her hand.
"No. Don't worry. I'll take the plates." And with that Elsa disappeared through the door.
Gerda couldn't help but think about Elsa's reaction. Maybe her injured hand was a bigger distraction than Gerda had originally imagined. She had seen her pull at her bandages and try to rearrange them several times during dinner. She'd tried to diminish it as Elsa being uncomfortable at the table, but maybe she should make a mental note to check on her daughter's injury later that night.
The rest of their time together that night went by without any more incidents or quarrels. Elsa tried her best to pretend she was okay and she made an effort to pay attention to every conversation taking place. It took a lot more energy from her than usual, since her mind was clearly distracted by the events from the previous days and their repercussions; but even so, she tried to make the best of her time with the people she loved. It wasn't usual for her to be present at family dinners and it was a nice distraction from her turbulent mind.
There was one thing she wasn't expecting to become a bother to her that day, though. And that was her left hand. What had been an almost nonexistent pain the day before, had transformed into dull pain during the day, and now was steadily progressing. It was becoming more and more uncomfortable as the hours went by. But she made an effort to ignore it. She wasn't feeling comfortable enough with her powers to ask her mother to look at her hand again. She wasn't sure she'd be able to contain them if Gerda had to open up the wound or treat her a second time. The previous day she'd been so tired and so drained emotionally, her powers hadn't done more than twitch while Gerda helped her. Now she wasn't so sure her body would obey her and it was unsettling to think what could happen.
Getting lost in her own world, Elsa once again forgot about the people around her. She lost track of the conversation. And by the time she realised it, Kristoff and Anna were already standing up, excusing themselves. They were leaving as they both had to start their days early the following day. Elsa cursed herself for not paying more attention and the guilt of ignoring her siblings returned in full force. Thinking it was best to ignore her problems for a while and put her family first, she walked to the door where her family was saying their goodbyes and waited for Kristoff and Anna to walk out of the house before she called her brother's name.
"Kristoff, wait."
Both Krisotff and Anna turned around to see her walking out of the house after them, and they stopped on their way to their car. Elsa pointed to the side with her head and Kristoff understood she needed to talk to him in private. Anna got the silent message and asked for Kristoff's keys to wait for him in the car.
"What's up?" asked Kristoff as he watched Anna get in the car.
Elsa could see he was still mad at her and the guilt resurfaced. She had planned to talk to him and explain herself, but the moment she saw his annoyed expression, all she felt like doing was giving him a hug. And she did. She rarely expressed herself with her body and, as it was expected, Kristoff froze in place when he felt her arms hugging him tightly around his torso.
"Wow… hey," he said, unsure of what to say. "Alright. I wasn't expecting that."
"I'm sorry I'm a pain in the arse sometimes. I'm really truly happy for you," said Elsa, as she buried her face in his chest.
"Don't worry about it," Kristoff said with a sad smile and hugged her back. "I just want to know that you're comfortable with this and—"
"I already told you how I feel." She put some distance between them so he could see her eyes. "You two are meant to be together. Anna is the right girl. She's always been. The fact she's my sister doesn't change a thing." His sad smile transformed into a big and honest one. Elsa could even notice he was feeling something close to relief at her words.
"Thanks," he said and hugged her even tighter.
Their hug lasted a bit longer than it was usual, making Elsa wonder when had been the last time she had hugged her brother like that. She knew he was probably feeling how cold her body was, but she didn't care too much. It wasn't a secret she wasn't feeling well that day.
When they finally pulled apart, Kristoff put his hand on her shoulders, forcing Elsa to look at him once again. "Do you want to talk?"
"Huh?"
"Whatever it is that's going on… It'll be alright. Okay?"
She wasn't ready to talk, of that she was sure, but the tenderness in her brother's eyes made her tear up. "Don't worry. I'm fine."
"Stop hiding behind those words. You're not fine. At least not today."
Elsa averted her eyes before he noticed she was about to cry. She wanted to tell him everything that had happened, but the fear paralysed her.
"Let me know if you—" He stopped mid sentence and then started again. "Try to talk to someone, okay?"
Elsa nodded, still not looking at him.
"Anna's got to meet her study group in the morning. I think she's free after that. She meets them every Tuesday and Wednesday at Frigjører library near campus."
Not understanding the shift in conversation, she dared look at him with one brow raised.
"I'm just saying…" he said with a shrug. "Anyway, I've got to go. Anna's waiting for me."
Still thinking about what he had just said, Elsa nodded absentmindedly. "Yes. Go… go. Your girlfriend is waiting."
With a smile, Kristoff hugged her once again before he jogged to the truck and got in. The couple waved at Elsa before they drove away.
Elsa stayed outside for a while, watching the street lights while she tried to pull herself together. The last thing she wanted was to worry her parents more than she had already done. She thought about Kristoff's advice, but she couldn't talk to Kai or Gerda yet. It was best for her to go to bed and see what she could do in the morning.
To her disappointment, the world kept conspiring against her, and as soon as she entered the house, Kai stopped her.
"Elsa, can we talk?"
"Talk?" she said, pretending to be surprised by the request. If she was honest with herself, the only surprising thing was it had taken more than a day for her parents to ask her what was truly wrong with her.
"Yes. Your mother and I…" He paused and looked at her. Trying to make up his mind about it. "We wanted to talk to you."
"If that's okay with you, dear," Gerda said, standing behind Kai.
Unsure of what to say, Elsa tried to make up her mind. She went over the pros and cons of talking to her parents at that moment. To her dismay, there seemed to be more cons than pros, and her inability to control her powers was one of the main ones. "I— Umm… I was going to feed Olaf and go to bed."
"I'm sure Olaf can wait a few more minutes, don't you think?" Kai insisted.
Something in her father's eyes told her she shouldn't accept. She wasn't sure if it was paranoia setting in, or if there was something wrong for real. Anyhow, she couldn't pretend she didn't see the way he kept looking at her hands. "Can we talk tomorrow?"
"I'd rather we—"
"Tomorrow sounds fine, dear." Gerda interrupted Kai, helping her escape her predicament. "Have a good night's sleep."
She nodded and bid them goodnight too, before she disappeared into her room. She didn't turn around to look at them, she'd rather deal with them in the morning after she came up with a good explanation to everything that was going on in her life.
She closed the door and leaned into it, letting her body slide until she found the floor. Once again, she found herself on the floor and Olaf a mere metre away from her, looking at her as if she was the most interesting thing he had ever seen. Being honest with herself, she concluded that she probably was. She extended her good arm and snapped her fingers, encouraging the cat to get closer. The first real smile of the day spread on her face when his nose rubbed against her hand.
"I don't know why you aren't afraid of me at this point…" she said, her voice barely over a whisper. "Thanks for keeping me company."
Olaf rubbed against her hand a couple more times before he climbed onto her lap.
"How am I supposed to talk to them?" she asked the cat, hoping he'd have the answers she needed. Her brother talked to Sven quite often, maybe she could do the same.
"Meow."
She chuckled when she heard the cat. It almost seemed as if he was trying to help. "Yes. I know… I should tell them what I did at some point."
"Mrow."
Once again she smiled at the ball of fur purring in her lap. "I got you something. Don't tell Gerda I stole some meat for you earlier today, okay?"
She stood up with the cat in her arms and walked to the tiny desk in the room. There she had left a bag of red meat. It was cut into small pieces for Olaf to enjoy.
At the sight of the bag, he tossed and turned in her arms, wishing to be put down on the floor. Elsa chuckled once again and finally let him go so he could enjoy his food. She emptied a small plastic bowl that was lying around and filled it with his food.
"I'm sorry I left you alone," she said to him before she left the bowl on the floor. "I'm sure Marshmallow would have never left you like I did. I hope this makes up for it."
Olaf's purrs as he ate let her know it was actually a good start.
The night dragged on as Kai couldn't get out of his head his argument with Hålkesen and the things the boy had implied. The more he thought about their conversation, the more Kai convinced himself Marshall was not going to talk to anyone, at least not immediately. And it gave him some peace of mind to know so. It gave him enough time to talk to Elsa and find out what had exactly happened between them. But even if he trusted the mountaineer to keep his mouth shut for a couple more days, he was bound to talk to someone at some point. His whole forearm was bandaged; it wasn't a minor injury. His friends or family would ask questions and he would only lie to them if he felt it was necessary. What was the point of lying when you had no reason to. Elsa had been lucky the man had been as understanding as he was, and she needed to take advantage of it before the truth would come to light.
When morning came, Kai thought there was no reason for him to stay in bed. It was better to get up and wait for Elsa. He understood Gerda's concern, but the accident had already happened and it was best to talk and help their daughter.
With a tired sigh, he sat at the kitchen table. A cup of coffee in his hands tried in vain to erase the heaviness of his restless night. Hålkesen and his injury were not the only things that had kept him tossing in bed all night. Elsa's behaviour the previous night had only made him fear something else was going on. Something outside his capabilities. And it worried him.
He watched Gerda get up and make breakfast for herself. A cup of tea and some toasts, nothing extraordinary. But her expression and the way she moved around the kitchen told him she hadn't been able to sleep much either. Both of them had one thing on their mind, and it was clear what it was.
"I'd like to talk to her before I leave for work," he said to his wife as soon as she sat down in front of him.
"Kai, are you sure—?"
"Gerda, stop it." He didn't want to dismiss Gerda's worries, but time was an important factor and he couldn't keep beating around the bush. "She needs help. I have no idea what exactly happened to her the other day, but whatever it is Elsa needs to talk to us."
Gerda took a sip from her mug, buying herself some time to think things through. "Pushing her has never worked."
"Leaving her on her own isn't working either." He knew he sounded harsher than usual, even accusatory. But this wasn't the first time Elsa had let her powers slip in front of other people. If he was honest, it had been a blessing that the Arendelles had turned out to be her birth parents. At least they didn't need to convince them Elsa wasn't a dangerous person, and they knew how to keep a secret. "We need to find some common ground. You saw her last night. She clearly needs help this time. Maybe she has always needed it."
"Kai…" Her voice was tight with unshed tears.
"What if it's like the telephone?"
"What?"
"She's been living with us for over ten years," He began to explain. "And she's still afraid of using the damn phone without our consent."
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"There's some logic behind those two things." Or so he wanted to believe. "What if she's not talking to us for the same reason, huh? What if she's afraid of fucking things up? What if she doesn't trust us?"
Gerda didn't answer immediately. She took some time to think about his words. Something told Kai she understood the logic behind his reasoning. Sadly, it didn't mean she saw his point of view. "Maybe she doesn't trust us because we've been stepping over her boundaries lately."
"You're still at it?" he said, annoyed at the implication. "I ripped the petition in front of her. I only made what I thought was right at the time."
"It almost cost us her trust."
He stayed silent, thinking if it was best to sit there and argue or to move on. They had quarrelled about it several times since it happened, and he knew there was no way Gerda would see eye to eye with him on that matter. Looking at the clock, he realised in a few minutes he'd need to go to work. "Go wake her up. We need to talk to her."
"You're the one who won't wait for her to come to us, not me. You go and wake her up. I still think we should give her some more time."
"Elsa's an adult, Gerda. We need to start treating her like one." Gerda could be mad at him, he didn't mind it too much. But he was not going to let her love cloud her judgement. "And that includes taking accountability for the things she does. We have only asked one thing of her since she came to live with us."
The anger was written on her face; but surprisingly, she didn't let it show in her tone of voice. "And it's the hardest thing we could have asked of her."
Sighing tiredly for what felt like the tenth time that morning, Kai pushed himself off the chair and walked out of the kitchen. Before he crossed the door, he turned around and said, "I'm going to wake her up and talk. You're welcome to join us if you want."
Gerda stayed at the kitchen table, waiting. For what, she wasn't sure. All she knew was she was going to leave the kitchen as soon as she heard them quarrel or the house became impossibly cold for that time of the year. Those were her cues. She'd get involved only if it was necessary. After all, she wasn't ready to face Elsa at that moment. She wasn't sure how the girl would react once she was cornered by Kai in that way. But she knew it wasn't going to be pretty.
Even if she wasn't afraid of Elsa's powers, deep down she knew they were a physical manifestation of the way she felt. Forcing her to talk would only make things worse and she didn't want Elsa to believe she had agreed with Kai's idea. The girl would need someone to talk to after everything was over, and she preferred she talked to her rather than bottle things up.
She stayed silent, trying to listen and find out when it was better for her to join them. But to her surprise, she couldn't hear anything. Thinking it was strange, she stood up and walked out of the kitchen only to find Kai walking around the house searching every room.
"Goddammit," he said as he walked past her into the kitchen and out into their yard.
"What?" Gerda asked, her worry taking over. "What is it?"
"She's not here."
"What do you mean she's not—?"
"Elsa." Kai called as he entered the house again, interrupting Gerda's question. "Elsa?"
"Did you talk to her?" She wasn't sure if Elsa had gone missing after their conversation or not; but then again, what could Kai have said in such a short amount of time to make her disappear.
"She's not in the house."
"What do you mean she's not in the house?" At first Gerda had been worried something had happened between the two of them. A fight of some sort. Now she was simply confused.
"I went to her room to wake her up," Kai said, stopping for the first time since Gerda started following him. "She wasn't in there. I've searched the house. She isn't here."
"Are her things in there? What about Olaf?"
"The cat's sleeping on her bed. Her bag's in there too."
Looking inside the room, Gerda made sure the things were in fact inside the room. It was really odd for Elsa to disappear like that. "Where could she be?"
"Anywhere she can avoid facing her problems," Kai said, sounding a lot more displeased at their daughter than ever. "She's going out of her way to avoid talking to us."
"Don't be ridiculous." Gerda wouldn't believe that was the case. Elsa wouldn't do something like that. She was a private person, that was true. But she knew they were there to help her. Coming to a more plausible answer, she said, "she talked to Kristoff last night, maybe she agreed to—"
"I'm going to work," Kai interrupted her, not wanting to hear it. "If she shows up, you call me, okay?"
Gerda watched him grab his gear before he headed towards the door.
"Okay?" he repeated.
"Yes. Just go." She was incredibly irritated at Kai at that moment. But she thought it was best to let him go to work. Maybe he'd think things through after he had calmed down. "I'll call Kristoff, maybe he knows where she is."
"Call me." And with that he was out of the door, leaving Gerda on her own wondering where Elsa had gone.
Not feeling good enough to sleep, Elsa had tossed and turned in bed for hours until she decided it was best to stop trying to fall asleep. All she had achieved during the night was wake Olaf up more times that she could count and allow her mind to wander into stupid scenarios. Scenarios she didn't want to think about. And by staying in bed, she was doing herself more damage than good. So, in the early morning, she had left her parents' house to walk the city and think.
The coastal area was usually deserted on weekdays, and it gave Elsa the opportunity to spend some time on her own before she faced her parents. She was dreading the conversation with Kai and Gerda. She wasn't sure what to tell them since it was more than clear that things were not okay in her life.
The most logical part of her believed it was best to sit down with them and come clean about everything that was going on. Come clean about the fact she was doubting her capability of keeping her powers under control; and more importantly, come clean about Marshall. She had hurt someone dear to her and she wasn't sure she should keep that to herself. Her secret was out and there weren't many options left for her. She either faced the consequences of her actions, risking losing the life she had found with the Bjorgmans; or she kept hiding away.
To her disappointment, the most logical part of her brain was almost constantly overruled by her fear of ending up alone. She couldn't stand the idea of disappointing her parents; and so, whenever she tried to make up her mind to go back home, the fear paralysed her and she found herself walking in the opposite direction.
By midday, Elsa got tired of walking the streets of Trolheim on her own and wondered what was safe for her to do. Going to Kristoff's place was not an option. For starters, her brother was working, and she wasn't sure it'd be any easier to talk to him than her parents. This situation left her with only two options: She could walk all the way back home and hope she'd be brave enough to face her parents' disappointment, or she could go back to the mountain and face Marshall. None of those options was something she was mentally prepared to do.
"What am I going to do?" Elsa said to herself as she turned a new corner.
She was getting farther and farther away from her parents' house and she wasn't entirely sure where she was going. She looked around, trying to find some sort of sign that could tell her where she was, when she realised she was standing in front of the university campus.
Anna constantly talked about the place and the long hours she spent there every week. She talked about professors and classmates. She talked about so many different things Elsa could barely keep up with her. It was a world so different from her own, she was suddenly overwhelmed by the idea of getting to know it. She walked through the main gates into the tiny 'town' Anna called campus. The enormous park and old buildings were a sight worth admiring, and she thought it wouldn't hurt to explore the place. No-one seemed to care if people came and went, after all. Everyone inside had a place to go and she could pretend she was just another student trying to get somewhere. As long as she didn't walk inside any building, she'd be okay.
Elsa walked the pathways that connected the different buildings for some time until a familiar voice called her attention. Looking around, she noticed Anna was walking out of a brick building with a group of people. A girl and a guy. Elsa had no idea who they were, but she guessed she'd run into Anna's study group by chance.
"No, I won't accept it," said Anna to her friend, Lena, not agreeing with what she was saying. "You should've passed that test."
"It is what it is," Lena said, shrugging. "I should've studied more."
Anna wanted to argue with that, she knew how much Lena had studied for her final exam the week before and in her opinion, it was incredibly unfair she hadn't passed. For all she knew, Lena was the best in that class. She could only wish to know as much as she did about history.
"Hey, Anna?" Ryder, one of the members of her study group, called her attention before she had the time to voice her disapproval.
"Yeah?" Anna asked, turning around to see what he wanted. He was looking into the park, opposite of where they had stopped to say their goodbyes before the argument about Lena's final mark started. There was a girl who looked oddly familiar standing in the distance.
"Do you know her? She's been looking at us for a while and she just waved. I think she was waving at you."
"Elsa?" Anna said in a low voice, more to herself than the others. It was impossible for her to imagine Elsa standing in the middle of the university campus on her own, but to her surprise there she was.
"She studies here?" Lena asked, not recognising the girl. "I haven't seen her before."
Shaking her head, Anna turned to her friends and said, "she doesn't. She's… my sister." She hadn't talked about her long lost sister to her friends before then, and calling Elsa her sister for the first time made her ridiculously happy.
"Sister? But I thought—"
"It's a long story," Anna said quickly. She knew what was coming. Lena knew she was an only child. Or at least she had been until everything happened. "I'll tell you guys about it. Now I need to see if everything's alright. She doesn't go out much."
Understanding there was more than met the eye, her friends let her go knowing whatever it was, Anna would explain in due time.
"Will you meet us here tomorrow?" Ryder asked as Anna began to walk away from them.
"Yes! I'll call you later today," she said with a smile.
"Don't forget your notes, Arendelle!" Lena said in a loud voice, hoping Anna would remember they couldn't study without them.
Anna only raised her hand with a thumbs up, not turning to look at them as she hurried down the pathway that led to where Elsa was standing.
"Hey!" Anna said with a grin as soon as she was close enough for her sister to hear.
"Hi," Elsa answered with a shy smile. "I'm sorry. It wasn't my intention to interrupt."
"It's fine." She waved her hand in front of her downplaying the situation. "We've finished for the day. We were leaving, actually. What are you doing here? Not that I mind, it's just so…" She knew she was talking fast, but she couldn't hide her excitement. She always wanted to invite Elsa to hang out with her. To visit her in the city and to spend time together as sisters. But she had never dared. She knew how uncomfortable Elsa was in town. And after their conversation by the waterfront the night before, she doubted Elsa would ever accept hanging out in town with her.
"...Odd to see me here?" Elsa completed her idea for her.
"Well, yes," Anna admitted. She didn't want to be so upfront, but it was truly strange to find Elsa there. "It doesn't mean it's bad. It's just… I'm glad you're here."
Elsa smiled and tried to justify what she was doing there. She didn't want to accept that she had ended up in that part of town by chance. If she did, she'd need to confess to Anna she was avoiding her problems. Suddenly remembering her conversation with Kristoff the previous night, she said, "Kristoff told me you were free after your study group and I thought maybe we could spend some time together?"
"Are you serious?"
"Umm… yes."
"You came all the way here so we could spend time together?" Anna's smile became impossible bigger as she realised Elsa was there offering her a day out. Just the two of them.
"I wanted to see you, I guess." It wasn't the truth. But it didn't mean Elsa wasn't happy to find Anna. She could use her company and forget about her problems, at least for a while. It didn't mean she wasn't going to have a hard time pretending things were okay. But at least now she had a real distraction in front of her. She knew Anna could talk for hours on her own, barely noticing she didn't take part in the conversation.
"I always wanted to hit the town with you!" Exclaimed Anna happily, no longer bothering to hide her enthusiasm. "Where do you want to go? I've got the rest of the day off. We can do whatever you want! What do you want to do?"
It was hard for Elsa to follow Anna's questions and it made her laugh for the first time in what felt like days. "I hardly ever go out," she said, shrugging. "What options do we have?
"Well…" Anna took some time to think about their real options. Even if Elsa had come all the way there, she knew it was best not to push her and force her to go where she'd be uncomfortable. "I'm starving. How 'bout you?"
"I could eat." What she truly meant was, 'I should eat'. Elsa hadn't eaten much the night before and she hadn't eaten anything that morning. She wasn't hungry in the least, but deep down knew she should force herself to eat something. Even when the idea of eating something made her stomach turn.
"Oh! There's a great coffee shop near the docks." Anna said, happy she had come up with a good plan. "We could go there! Most people I know talk about it."
"Is it too crowded?" The last thing Elsa wanted was to get inside a place like the restaurant they had gone to the previous night.
"People from university like it. But I wouldn't say it's crowded. Come on! It will be fun."
Before Elsa could suggest doing something different, Anna was already leading the way to the 'famous' coffee shop. With a sigh, Elsa started following her.
First of all, let me apologise for the long wait. I know I posted the previous chapter with the promise of updating soon, since I had several scenes written down and all, but life happened.
I won't go into many details, but my grandmother got sick (sicker, actually, she was already fighting her battles) by the end of October and so the whole family had to adapt. She passed the first days of December, and even if it sounds harsh to say it this way. It was for the best given her situation. I'm thankful I got to enjoy her company for thirty years. I know I'm one of the lucky ones who gets to adulthood with grandmothers still around.
Anyway, everything that happened didn't leave me in the best mood to write the kind of chapters that followed this story. Summer was just beginning and so I chose to enjoy my days outside. I barely wrote during December and January. But I've got to admit time helped me think a few things about the story. Things I wasn't sure about. So, in a way it was good I took some time off.
Well, that's a little bit about me. I hope you guys are doing okay and that you're still in the shadows waiting to see what happens next in this story. I hope the Frozen fandom is still strong, especially now that we know for sure that Frozen 3 is the making!
Please, let me know what you think of this chapter and feel free to comment or share this story! It's always nice to hear from you guys. I appreciate your patience and all the love you have given this story.
