Note:

As promised, here's the other spliced chapter. Sixteen is on the way, but not sure when it will be up exactly.

[x] Song 1: "Better To Have Loved" (acoustic version), Idina Menzel (The acoustic version is from her 'Acoustic EP' from 2008; but the song itself was off of her album 'I Stand' from 2007)

[x] Song 2: "All That You Are", Sinéad Harnett (From her 2019 album 'Lessons in Love') – this is the other singer that I would like to imagine Tina's voice as.

Disclaimer: I do not own Frozen.

Happy Reading!

-JQ

Chapter Fifteen: Points of View

[x]

It was morning now and Elsa felt a little bit better after talking things through with Anna. She didn't sleep as well as she would have liked, but she'd take a short dreamless sleep over restlessness any day of the week.

The ice wielder was looking at herself in the mirror, brushing out her hair, when she started to reflect on the events of the last few days (and weeks). It wasn't that she didn't think she'd be capable of romantic feelings – Elsa was just very sure that she didn't need them. Even now, the blonde was infinitely sure that she didn't need – or want – any romantic feelings to get in the way of how she had been living lately. She loved her family, her friends, and her life. She loved her new role as the protector of magic and the enchanted forest. She loved herself way more than she had ever loved herself in the past. Elsa was beginning to feel free, and she didn't want any added stresses or complications to impede any of that.

While liking Tina had given her a rush of excitement and new feelings that felt...good, overall – Elsa was still hesitant to fully embrace what any of that really meant. She was thankful, overall, for the experience that liking Tina had brought into her life. After all, new life experiences was considered new knowledge and no one loved learning things more than Elsa. Regardless of what was to come, the ice wielder was thankful for the new experience and was just ready to move on from it.

What was that saying? Elsa pondered, 'Better to have loved than to never have loved at all'? Or something like that?

Ultimately, she knew what she had to do: she had to apologize to Tina and set things straight. They obviously could not act on their mutual feelings for one another, with the brunette's impending marriage on the horizon. But Anna was right – Elsa would hate to lose a good friend over something like this. However, these feelings had developed fairly quickly, and the thought of just how quickly they came scared Elsa to her core. While she didn't want to lose a friend, she also didn't want to think about it ever again. Alas, the former queen decided that she will apologize to Tina, for making things complicated, and that will be the end of that. They could possibly remain friends, in the distant future, but not right now.

Yes, Elsa thought, this is for the best.

...

It was almost time for breakfast and Tina still had yet to get out of bed.

She couldn't even say that she had trouble sleeping last night as she couldn't even get settled enough to even think about closing her eyes. Since being cleared for travel, by Dr. Halvorson, Arnold had been making preparations for her and the rest of the Botarskal gang to leave for Vennesvurg by Wednesday (it was currently Sunday). While she didn't enjoy being confined to a wheelchair for most of the time, Tina did enjoy the slight delay in her plans. As known by almost everyone that knew her, Tina was dreading her marriage to the King of Vennesvurg. Sure, this kind of thing happened all the time in royal society, but that didn't mean that she was okay with everything.

Tina had dreams for herself – she knew she was far enough from the throne (in terms of her birth order) that she could afford the luxury of imagining herself doing something completely different with her life. She loved learning and spending time with children, so she dreamed of one day starting her own school and travelling the world to explore new ideas. As of late, however, those dreams had been crushed into dust.

She was going to get married before the end of the year.

She was going to become the Queen of a land she had never visited.

She was no longer free.

She could no longer dream.

And on top of that, she had to go and have feelings for one – former – ice queen of Arendelle. She could have pulled away from the kiss – she could have stopped it – but the truth? She didn't want to. She wanted to hold onto her freedom for just a moment more. She wanted to dream. She wanted to imagine herself in a position where she could – at the very least – entertain the thought of being with Elsa. She wanted to pretend.

Even for just a moment.

But that was even more difficult than what it was worth. Elsa was...an interesting character. Everything that she had ever been told by the ice wielder's friend and sister were...less than flattering. Anna warned her that Elsa was standoffish and incapable of reciprocating romance while Honeymaren told her that the ice wielder hated talking about feelings. However, Tina was able to discern a few things on her own.

Elsa was fully capable of flirting back.

Elsa was capable of kissing her.

And Elsa was certainly capable of sharing feelings.

While she did them in her own way, of course, Elsa was still able to do those things. It was a little disheartening to think that the people who were so close to the blonde were still walking on eggshells around her – protecting her and shielding her from things.

Tina knew how that felt.

She wasn't the youngest, but she was young. Because she had three older sisters, she felt that she was always seen as naive or someone to be protected. In a way, standing up for Finn – in this arrangement – had been her truest act of autonomy. She was able to sacrifice her own freedom for someone she loved and that was worth it to her. While Tina would hate being confined to a queen's role, she would have detested herself for not doing all she could for her baby sister.

Either way, whether or not Elsa was capable of experiencing romance was not something that was even up for discussion at this point. They could never explore what they had – not with Tina being married off to King Karl of Vennesvurg.

Despite that reality, Tina hoped that a mature and honest discussion would lead the two women to a happy median – perhaps they could remain friends. Elsa was an intelligent and caring individual – someone that Tina definitely wanted to learn more about. She wanted to know everything about the ice wielder – about her dislikes, about her wishes and desires – anything at all. Surely, writing letters to one another about books and such would be enough to quell their desires and allow them to explore something more meaningful and fulsome together.

Yes, Tina thought to herself, they could remain friends. It would be for the best.

...

As of late, breakfasts at Arendelle castle had become rather eventful. Everyone would promptly meet for breakfast together, at nine a.m. sharp. The conversation between everyone would slowly build until there was a soft buzz over the sounds of cutlery and plates being moved about. Then, towards the very end of breakfast service, something ridiculous would happen and everyone else, at the table, would be forced to endure something against their better judgment.

Today was no exception.

Ryder and Gunn-Britt – as a result of their new found rivalry – decided that it was a good idea to have a juice drinking competition. Each person would have to finish three glasses of orange juice as fast as possible. The winner would be crowned...the 'orange maestro', or something equally as absurd.

"Hey – that's not fair!" cried out Ryder, as he watched Gunn-Britt finish chugging her last glass orange juice before him. He then turned to Nolan, who was supposedly the referee of the competition. "Princey Pants – call a redo!"

"Nuh-uh!" Nolan said, "This was the second time I had to judge the both of you and she was fastest! Fair and square!" the little prince stuck his tongue out to emphasize his point.

"He got you there," Ingrid commented, picking at the leftovers on her plate. The handmaiden winked while Ryder just scoffed back at her. From his seat beside the handmaiden, Arnold just rolled his eyes and carefully dabbed his napkin at the corners of his mouth.

"Don't encourage them, Ingrid." he advised, "It will just validate the behaviour."

Princess Tina just shoved her advisor lightly. "Oh come on, Arnie," she said, "let the kid be a kid. He's only five."

"I'm not talking about the kid." Arnold corrected, pointing at Gunn-Britt and Ryder. "They need to set a better example for him."

"Pfft." Ryder scoffed, folding his arms over his chest, "Says you. Gunn-Britt and I are fantastic examples of professional sportsmanship."

"Yes," the viking girl agreed, "we are pinnacles of a healthy rivalry."

"Sure," Arnold stated, "but he doesn't need that. He's only five – I doubt he's got any rivals."

While that end of the table argued about the subject of 'good examples' for Nolan, the other end of the table was focused on getting Elsa to make amends with Tina. Elsa was aimlessly pushing around her soup and Honeymaren decided to nudge her. When Elsa looked up to look at her friend, the woman just shrugged in the general direction of where Tina was seated.

"She's just over there..." the raven-haired woman said, "...go ask her to go on a walk, or something."

Elsa shook her head. "The last time I asked her on a walk...things-uh-didn't go too well..."

"You've got to talk to her soon, Elsa," Honeymaren advised, "she's leaving in two and a half days."

"I know that," the blonde replied through gritted teeth, "I just need to wait for a good time to bring it up." just as Elsa finished her sentence, Honeymaren watched as Ryder, Gunn-Britt, Nolan, Stella, Olaf, and Kristoff left the table to go and do something with sticks (honestly, it was best that no one knew exactly what was taking place). The only people who remained at the table were Elsa, Ingrid, Tina, Honeymaren, Arnold, and Anna.

"Oh – wow," Anna suddenly said, stretching her arms out dramatically, "I believe that there was some kind of thing that Arnold and I had to plan for their voyage to Vennesvurg."

After Ingrid nudged him in the sides, Arnold pushed himself away from the table. "Why yes, Queen Anna. We did have some things to sort out before our next voyage." he promptly got out of his seat and began to set his napkin down. "Shall we venture to discuss the matters, Your Majesty?"

"Why certainly, Mr. Arnold," Anna said, mirroring his actions, "let us go and venture to discuss."

Elsa rolled her eyes and Tina just pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Oh – look at that outside, Ingrid," Honeymaren said, pointing to the window. Of course, when Tina and Elsa looked at the window, there was nothing outside. "Was that a rare bird?"

"Oh, my..." Ingrid groaned, somehow in an even less convincing tone than the others, "...it seems as though it was." the handmaiden then took a piece of paper out of her pocket and unravelled it so she could read it's instructions.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Tina commented, clearly more pissed by her friend's terrible acting skills than the obvious plan to get her and Elsa alone.

"...quick, Honey...let's go and see it before it leaves...never to be..." Ingrid started squinting at the paper. Tina groaned in frustration and yanked the handmaiden's hand towards her to help her friend.

"It says 'seen again'." the princess deadpanned.

"Right – never to be seen again – thanks, Tee." Ingrid then crumpled the paper up again and tossed it over her shoulder. "Quick, Honey; let's bounce." and before anything else could be said, Elsa and Tina found themselves alone at the breakfast table.

Sighing, Elsa started getting ready to leave the table. "Walk with me, Princess?" she asked. Now that they were alone (due to outside factors), Elsa felt that it was a good time to suggest it.

Tina echoed the older woman's sigh and slowly looked up to meet her eyes. She offered her a shy smile. "Sure – let's go."

...

A few moments later, the princess and the ice queen found themselves in one of their favourite meeting places throughout the whole castle – the small book room at the back of the library. Elsa was standing by the window, looking out at the trees, and Tina was seated at the desk, flipping through a book about architecture and the dark ages. They would have individually described the scene as a 'comfortable silence', but that would have been a blatant lie. With all that had transpired between them during the last few days, nothing was comfortable about their silence.

Tina chanced a glance up at the blonde woman and she couldn't help but marvel at her features. Elsa's mere presence was powerful in itself – her soft features in tandem with the sharpness of her eyes were what always got to Tina first. Ice blue – piercing into the fabric of her very being. Elsa's platinum blonde hair – while not a rarity, it was certainly fitting for someone with ice powers. Anyone would be a fool to think that Elsa was anything but attractive.

And don't even get me started on her smile, Tina thought. Her lips...yeah, not right now, Tina.

Wait – shoot – Elsa's mouth was moving.

"Huh?" Tina asked, shaking her head and bringing herself back to reality.

Elsa just raised an inquisitive eyebrow at the younger woman. "I, uh, asked how your morning was."

"Oh," Tina said, feeling silly, "I'm feeling okay. Didn't really have a great sleep, but I'm fine." the brunette admitted.

The blonde's eyes furrowed. "Oh – sorry about that."

Tina shook her head again. "It's alright – it can't have been your fault."

"I mean...it may have been." Elsa said with a shrug. When Tina didn't answer, the blonde decided that she should be the one to start things off. "I-I'm sorry for my behaviour, over the last few days." she said sheepishly. "A-A-And for...uh...and for –!"

"Kissing me?" Tina tried.

The blonde woman coughed nervously. "Um – ahem! – yes, sorry. Um-sorry for that."

The brunette just shrugged, looking away from Elsa. "I-It's fine. I mean...not exactly...but I'm not mad that it...happened." Tina fidgeted with her fingers a little before reinstating her eye contact with the blonde. "I feel things for you, Elsa." she admitted, bashfully. "Things that I know we cannot think about under – um – these particular circumstances."

"Right." Elsa huffed. "I feel the same – I think." no, she was a little more certain than that. "I'm almost positive I do, but I don't have anything else to compare it to." she admitted carefully, trying to be as honest as she could. "Nevertheless, you're right Tina; we cannot do anything about these feelings. It would be inappropriate and we just can't."

"Yeah." Tina sighed. "I'm sorry about that."

"No – that's no one's fault. I-I mean...not ours, anyway."

Both women just sat in silence for a few more minutes before anything else could be said. They had both been relatively honest with one another and nothing seemed to be going wrong, which was a good sign.

"Well...I think we should discuss moving forward." Elsa stated, a little more confidently (now that everything was out in the open). Tina sat up a little straighter and nodded eagerly.

"Yes – that's what I was thinking." the brunette said hopefully.

"Excellent." Elsa said with a sad smile. She had a strong feeling that both she and Tina would be on the exact same page. It was the only logical solution, after all. "I was thinking –!"

"Maybe we could –!"

"Just forget about everything –!"

"Write to one another every so often –!"

"And move on."

"And stay friends."

Wait.

That didn't sound like the same page at all.

"I'm sorry?" Elsa asked first, still trying to process what the princess had suggested.

"Um..." Tina began, slightly less confident than she had been a bit ago, "...I was hoping that we could keep...in touch...? You know? Stay friends?" the blonde still had yet to react, so Tina just kept explaining herself. "I mean – we have a decent amount in common, and I really enjoy talking about literature with you. So...I guess I kind of figured that we could just keep that going."

"I..." Elsa started slowly, "I...don't think that's a good idea."

"What?" Tina asked, "Why not?"

Elsa was incredulous. "Did we not just have a conversation about this?" she questioned, "We shouldn't be feeling this way about one another and we shouldn't be interacting any longer."

"I...I'm not following." Tina replied, genuinely confused at the turn their conversation was taking. "I'm not suggesting we be lovers in secret, Elsa. I want to remain friends with you."

"And I'm telling you that's not a great idea." the blonde said again, with a tad bit more malice than she would have liked. "I have friends – you have friends – we don't need to be making this any more complicated than it has to be."

"What are you even going on about?" the brunette inquired, absolutely confused at what was transpiring. "If you don't want to remain friends, just say that."

Elsa laughed a little. "I am saying that because with these feelings around, our 'friendship' would be a bad idea!" at the raise in volume, Tina's expression went from confused to defensive. The princess slowly stood from her chair and moved to be right in front of the ice wielder.

"Hang on," Tina said carefully, trying not to raise her own voice, "You don't get to raise your voice at me like that."

Elsa inhaled slowly, trying to keep her temper in check. "Well I wouldn't have raised my voice if you had just listened to me in the first place."

"I was simply offering my thoughts – I wasn't exactly disagreeing with you." Tina clarified. "You're the one who isn't listening to me."

Elsa laughed again, absolutely beside herself with how ridiculous this whole situation had become. "Well I just think it's useless to entertain the thought of a friendship between us, when we have already crossed that line."

Suddenly, Tina's expression became cross. She narrowed her eyes at the taller woman and folded her arms over her chest. She didn't like the tone that Elsa was using with her at all. "I don't think it's useless to offer an opinion."

"Well I'd rather not hear such a naive suggestion over something that cannot be helped." Elsa stated, "We should just move on and forget about any of this – it's the best option for the both of us." Elsa began to get ready to leave the room. She managed to open the door and started to hold it open for the brunette. However, Tina had not moved from her spot. "Tina?" Elsa asked.

After a few seconds of silence, the blonde could make out the soft sounds of sniffles that was usually indicative of crying. Immediately, Elsa's resolve softened. She began to make her way back towards the brunette but it was too late. When Tina's amber eyes met Elsa's, there was a completely new person staring back at her. Someone that Elsa knew she wasn't ready to confront.

"You're right." Tina said through her sniffles. "It was just a naive suggestion from such a young and stupid girl who doesn't know any better." the brunette began wiping away at her tear-stained cheeks with the heel of her palm, "Just because I am less travelled than most, or younger for that matter, does not mean that I should be overlooked." immediately, Elsa had regretted what she had said. She shouldn't have been so hasty – she should have listened a little better. She shouldn't have panicked.

"No..." Elsa tried to say, "Tina that's not what I –!"

"And to think I thought you had understood me, after all we talked about." Tina continued, "The isolation we both experienced – different but similar – I thought you had understood." the brunette then pushed her way passed the taller woman to stand in the door's threshold, "Whatever – I'm just too naive and foolish. I guess that's the most logical explanation then; I was hoping and wishing – making things complicated. Silly me, after all."

Elsa started shaking her head, feeling as if her heart was sinking. "That's – I didn't mean –!"

"If that's all then, I wish you a good day." Tina said in a very regal tone.

"Tina –!"

"That's Princess Hrafntinna, Your Highness." the brunette corrected, straightening her posture. She then turned around, not bothering to face Elsa again. "I bid you a good day, Elsa." and with that, the brunette began to make her way out of the library, leaving a dazed and bewildered ice wielder behind.

Now, in all of her years, Elsa was not one for cussing. However, only one word danced through her mind, at this specific juncture:

"Shit."

[x]