January, 1846
Linnea Castle,
Arendelle
With child, again.
It was quite evident by now that the queen was once more with child; she had, like her first pregnancy, been able to hide it the majority of her pregnancy, and had chosen to- managing to go seven months before anyone outside of her trusted few realized anything was amiss. She had hidden it to avoid the fight with her council that was inevitable, deciding that if she was already so far along within her pregnancy by the time they found out, they would back down from demanding to know who was the father- and it had worked, for they refused to pick a fight with a heavily pregnant woman who could wield powers over ice and snow.
Working up until the final weeks before the birth, she had managed to get several laws written into existence, as well as making sure the stores were good in regards to harvest for the coming weeks, because it was anyone's guess as to when she would go into labor, much like when she'd had Milla. Hans had made regular visits to Arendelle over the months, spending time with his family, rejoicing in the expansion of their family. At one point, she had received a notice of congratulations on from Victoria of Britain, who herself was due to have her fifth child in May.
By the time January of the new year rolled around, she was already tired of the waiting game, and passed the time going over laws or reading, or, more often, writing letters to Hans, detailing her day, how Milla had grown, how she herself was feeling, and how she could not wait for the babe to come.
... Our beloved Milla is growing more every day, just as her sibling grows within me. Oh, Hans, my love, how I wish we could spend more than a few clandestine nights together- real nights, true nights, together, as a family. I know it's impossible now, with the babe due to come any day, but still. The midwife has informed me that I have dropped, and our little one is preparing to be born. I can breathe easier, but there is much more pressure between my hips; it feels as though I am carrying a boulder between my legs sometimes- oh, how I wish he would come now! And I know you say that I am carrying a daughter, but dearest, I feel as though I am carrying a son; Milla did not produce this much pressure when I carried her! Though, we shall have to wait to see which of us is correct-
She sighed, setting her pen down when she could not longer think of anything to write. As she moved to climb into bed, she stopped, reaching down to rest a hand to her side. A moment passed, before the pain subsided, and sighing, she climbed into bed, settling down among the blankets. Despite her discomfort, sleep came quickly, but it would not last long.
She let out a squeal.
The pains had awoken her in the hour just before midnight; at the hour when, as a girl, she would sneak from her room and dash off to meet Hans in the dark of the castle during the Tercentenary-
She let out a grunt, pushing herself to a sitting position as best she could despite the pain in her belly. She could tell, from the building pressure within her womb, that this second babe of hers was not willing to wait until the daylight hours, when the castle was bustling with the sounds of the household. Another contraction worked its way around her belly, and she pushed the blankets of her bed away, knees pulling up and legs spreading on instinct. A whimper escaped her, and she snapped her eyes shut, automatically curling around her belly as she felt the now-familiar urge to push with the contraction.
The midwife had told her before Milla's birth to follow her body, for it would know what to do, that as women, they were built to birth children. And so she tried, and for a while, it was easier to deal with the contractions. But eventually, the pain became too much, the contractions too great, and she could no longer keep quiet; she let out a squeal, not hearing the knock on the door or the footsteps that followed after it opened and closed. "Lise? Lise, are you-" The princess gasped in shock as she realized that her sister was in the midst of labor, and she hurried back to the door. "I'll go wake Gerda-"
"Anna!" She turned to see her sister stop. "There's no time... it's coming... I can't stop it..." She let out another squeal, knuckles turning white as she dug her nails into the fabric of the sheets beneath her. Anna turned back, hurrying to the bed.
"Are you su-" The young queen nodded, bearing down as she did so, screeching as she pushed. "I... I'll grab some water... to... to clean it... once... once it's..." But Elsa didn't acknowledge her as she rushed to the bathroom to get what they would need.
"Annaliese!" The princess jumped, before hurrying back into the bedroom with her things; her sister only ever called her by her full name unless it was either urgent or she was truly displeased. She stumbled over her own feet, the water sloshing slightly over the side of the basin. After a moment, she set it on the window seat, before returning to her sister's side with a handful of cloths. Climbing up so that she was at her sister's feet, she set them aside, and then turned towards her sister, nervously reaching for the edge of her nightdress, only to realize that the nightdress was already pulled back, and that her sister's legs were up, and parted.
Elsa had reached a hand down between her thighs briefly, before returning her hand to gather in the sheets. She let her head loll to the right in exhaustion, gaze going to the window, but it was white out, due to the storm thanks to her powers. She turned back to her sister. "Please, tell me it's... coming..."
Anna finally let her gaze flick to between her sister's legs and she paled. "Um... it... I don't know what it is, but... but it's... it's bulg... um... it... it..." She stopped, flustered, before realizing that her sister wasn't paying attention.
Over the next three hours, the Queen of Arendelle labored; her sister helping her as best she could as she birthed.
Anna looked up at one point, watching as Elsa pressed both hands against her belly as she pushed. "Come on, baby please... you have to come out... it's time for you to come out..." She let out a gasp, gasping for air before resuming pushing. "... and be born... you have to be born... please!" The young queen let out a squeal as she felt something pop! and Anna watched as what had been the sac she'd seen earlier... well, exploded was the only appropriate word she could think of... as the baby's head, which had been acting like a cork, finally appeared with the next push, along with fluid and blood alike.
She smiled softly, glancing at her sister. "The head's out, Lise! And it's got such thick curls, just like you have-"
But her sister ignored her, bearing down again, chin pushed into her chest as she pushed, and Anna watched as the baby continued to slowly slide out of her sister each time Elsa bore down. "Gods, why does my husband have to be King of the Isles? I want him here! Why isn't he here?"
"Because there is an ancient Arendellian law that states a princess bound to be queen cannot marry into the Isles lest she leave her throne and country to chaos and be accused of treason and put to death." Anna stated matter-of-factly, as she wrung out the wet cloth and then nervously and gently cleaned the fluid and blood from the mass of curls between her sister's legs; it was slow, the process of childbirth, and the baby had only moved a few inches with each contraction and push Elsa went through.
The queen didn't bother dignifying her sister's statement with a response; instead, she pushed herself up, pressed her chin to her chest, and bore down again with a grunt, face contorting in pain and concentration. She let out a squeal as she continued to push, and taking several quick, shallow breaths to regain her strength again before repeating the process. "Is it coming?!"
Anna quickly wrung out the cloth she'd been using; she didn't say a word, so awestruck was she at the sight of her sister in the process of birth. Elsa's so strong, to be able to go through this twice-
"Anna!" She jumped at her sister's scream, dropping the cloth.
"What?"
Elsa let out a grunt as she pushed. "Is it coming out? Gods alive, please tell me it's coming out-"
She nodded. "It's coming out, Elsa."
"Promise?"
"I promise."
Finally, four hours past midnight, Elsa pushed herself up, bearing down with all her strength. "... time to... be... born... little one... Oh, Gods alive, get it out!" It was this last heart-wrenching, painful scream that finally awoke members of the household; as many of them, half asleep, all still in their nightclothes, came bursting into the queen's bedchamber. How they had slept through the majority of the birth, no one could say- except that their chambers were on the other side of the castle from the Royal Family's- and they stopped, laying eyes on a sight none of them would soon forget.
They watched in now wide-awake surprise, as with that last push, the Queen of Arendelle finally, after hours of hard labor, delivered her second heir to the throne at the tender age of twenty-four. As the princess gently lifted the screaming newborn, still slick from coming out of its mother, from between her sister's legs for the Queen to see, she choked on a sob, meeting her sister's gaze. "Oh, Lise, you did it! You birthed your second baby! And it's a healthy boy!"
Her sister didn't bother responding, as she let her gaze drift to the window, working on catching her breath and letting her heartrate return to normal, thoughts of her husband clouding her mind.