As she had expected, Anna did not get a wink of sleep after overhearing the conversation between Elsa and Rapunzel, her mind constantly whirring to discern the meaning of it, constantly wishing they'd just specifically said what they were talking about, and constantly wondering what could possibly have Elsa so anxious that she couldn't even talk about it to Anna, whom it apparently concerned.
Still, Anna considered herself to be someone who didn't shy away from problems, but rather faced them head-first. Even in her sleep-deprived state, she knew that the easiest way for her to find out the truth was to talk to Elsa. And if Elsa wouldn't come to her, then she would just go to Elsa.
And tonight was the big night, so there wasn't really any time to spare, either.
Which was exactly the reason she found herself standing in front of Elsa's study, having inquired and confirmed that the princess was in there, and was alone. Knowing there would be a good chance of the blonde attempting to evade her if she had informed her of the impromptu visit, Anna had made sure to do the exact opposite, and forced Olaf not to tell Elsa anything about her questioning.
Olaf was surprisingly amenable to keeping the information from Elsa. Apparently, he too thought they needed this little conversation...
Taking a deep breath and releasing it in a deep sigh, Anna raised her fist and gently rapped it against the wood in a melody she considered to be somewhat of a signature of hers.
"Come in," Elsa's voice drifted through the door, sounding distracted.
Anna slowly opened the door just far enough to side-step through the crack, before closing it silently. It took a few seconds for Elsa to look up from whatever paperwork she was reading, but when she did, her expression was almost comically surprised. "Anna? I... didn't expect to see you here..."
Anna grinned hesitantly. "If I'd told you I would come by, would you still have been here?" she asked shyly. "Because somehow we haven't seen each other for days, now, and I've been led to believe we have something of some importance to discuss..."
Elsa huffed a humourless laugh. "I suppose we do, yes. Please, have a seat."
Anna did as she was asked, not saying anything and merely raising an inquisitive eyebrow.
"I..." Elsa started slowly, clearly fumbling to find the right words. "I should have talked to you about this a lot sooner..."
"Then why didn't you?" Anna asked, instantly regretting the fact she interrupted the blonde, because they'd never get to the heart of the matter like this.
"I was gathering my wits, as well as my courage," Elsa responded after a thoughtful silence. "Normally, I'm quite good with words, but for some reason I could never quite work up the courage to do what needed to be done."
"Which is to throw me a ball?"
"Ah, so at least you've figured that much. That's... good."
"I had some help," Anna admitted reluctantly. "Rapunzel had to practically spell it out for me."
Elsa hummed softly. "My apologies for that. I should have been the one to tell you, of course. I dedicated the ball to you because... well..."
"Elsa," Anna interrupted again, seeing the blonde struggle with her words. "If you're throwing me a goodbye party because you want me to go back to my village, where I have a perfectly lovely mansion waiting for me, you can just come out and say it, okay? I won't be angry or upset..."
That was a lie, of course. She would be upset, but she'd be understanding too. She'd always known she couldn't live at the castle forever.
"What?! Anna, no! That's not it. Not even remotely close," Elsa bristled fiercely enough to startle the redhead. "Whatever gave you that idea?"
"Well, the whole avoiding me business, the whole not telling me business, you struggling to form proper sentences, and the fact that you're throwing a ball for me."
Elsa sighed deeply, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "You make a fair point. I really handled this entire situation quite poorly." She paused for a moment, looking out of the window before continuing. "I said it before and I'll say it again, Anna. I won't send you away from the castle if you don't want to go. You're not an inconvenience to anyone, and you can remain here for as long as you want."
"But?"
Elsa's lips quirked upwards slightly, for just the briefest of moments. "There's not 'but' to that statement. I simply miscalculated. For a while, I operated under the impression that you were as knowledgeable about the ways of the court as everyone in my environment. But you're not a lady, or a princess or a queen. So you had no way of knowing, or even suspecting, what I expected you to know and suspect. I only realized the error of my ways when Rapunzel pointed it out."
Anna bit her lip as she slowly nodded, urging Elsa to continue.
"Everyone kept telling me how foolish I had been. And, since I waited so long, it became only more difficult to tell you what I needed to tell you."
"Which is?" Anna urged, feeling an upsetting combination of anxiety and impatience.
Elsa heaved a deep sigh, staring out of the window again. "Foreign royalty and nobility would not have come to Arendelle just to say goodbye to a peasant, Anna. Even if she were the daughter of a rather successful international merchant."
Anna felt her eyebrows pulling together. "That... actually makes a lot of sense. Brings me to the question at hand, though: why would they come?"
Elsa smiled tightly. "There are a lot of reasons for a princess to throw someone a ball," she said slowly, as if to make sure Anna would understand every word she said. "The most prominent, however, is-"
A knocking on the door, followed by the door being opened and a redheaded, smartly dressed, well-carried man entering the study, interrupted Elsa and caused Anna to groan.
"Elsa," he smiled charmingly. "Terribly sorry to interrupt you, but your parents asked me to come and find you, and bring you to your father's study. They seemed... cross."
Elsa closed her eyes as she took a deep breath. "Was Rapunzel by any chance there as well?"
The redhead nodded mutely.
"Great," Elsa groaned.
"Your father bid you to come to his study post haste. It... did not seem like he was joking," the redhead continued hesitantly. "It might be best not to be rebellious."
"You have no idea," Elsa groaned as she got up. "Anna, this is Prince Hans from the Southern Isles. We've been friends for as long as I can recall. Hans, this is Anna."
The prince extended his hand with a bow, kissing Anna's knuckles as she proffered her own hand. "Miss Anna... It's a pleasure to finally meet you. I have heard so much about you that you seemed almost too good to be true."
Anna could merely raise her eyebrows before Hans continued. "Elsa, I really think that-"
"Yes, yes. I'm coming. Um, Anna, I hate to cut this conversation short like this, but we really do not want to see father upset. Shall I come to your chambers when I'm ready so we can... continue our conversation?"
"Um. Sure, works for me," Anna responded hesitantly. "Just don't take too long, please..."
"I'll do my best," Elsa promised before she and Hans scurried out of the study and out of Anna's sight.
The redhead dropped herself back into the chair she had just occupied, heaving a deep sigh and staring at the ceiling. "Now I still know diddly-squat."
Anna hated waiting. She preferred just being able to take action, set matters into motion, and ride along with whatever happened afterwards. Hence, sitting in her chambers and waiting for Elsa to show up was a jarring exercise in patience.
And Anna was quickly beginning to learn that she had very little of that to begin with. And, having been waiting for hours, and knowing that the ball would begin in hours, Anna had long since gotten the horrible feeling that Elsa had resumed her attempts to avoid Anna.
When there was finally a knocking at Anna's door, at five in the afternoon and thus only three hours before the ball was to start, Anna elatedly jumped off the bed she had been moping on to throw the door open. Only to find Gerda, the elderly servant that had showed her this room when she first arrived at the castle, and whom she had met several times since, smiling back at her.
"Good evening, dear," she smiled. "I've been asked to be your servant for tonight, and to make sure you have absolutely everything you need."
"Oh..." Anna muttered, trying her best not to let the disappointment seep into her voice. "Have you, by any chance, seen Elsa?"
"I believe she's still with her parents in the King's Study. Seems they're discussing some rather important issues. I brought you dinner, since I wasn't certain if the finger food and snacks at the ball would be able to sustain an energetic young thing like you."
The redhead smiled gratefully as Gerda placed the tray with food on her side-table and made her way into the bathroom. "You just go and enjoy your dinner, dear. I'll draw you a bath and prepare everything to get you ready in no-time at all. You'll be the belle of the ball tonight, you'll see."
Anna nodded her assent, foregoing a verbal response in favour of stuffing her face with the simple but delectable food Gerda had delivered - a simple vegetable stew with an assortment of sides. Despite the fact that she still hadn't talked to Elsa, and knew nothing of whatever was going on, she felt the nerves and excitement for tonight's ball grow in equal measures.
She'd never attended a ball, of course. There had been the occasional banquet, back when her father had still been with her, but that had just been with the other villagers, and every now and again a colleague her father had met through his trading.
Tonight would consist of princes and princesses, dukes and duchesses, barons and baronesses, possibly even kings and queens. Who could ever have expected little old Anna to be found in such company? She certainly hadn't envisioned such a scenario for herself... At least not before she'd had the good fortune of meeting Elsa.
And what a blessing that had been, Anna mused as she tidied up the plate that had, moments ago, contained her dinner and made her way to the bathroom, were Gerda was quietly humming to herself, testing the water temperature.
Not only had Elsa improved Anna's living conditions by, at least, a tenfold, she had also become a close friend. Someone who would listen when Anna needed to get something off her chest, and someone to whom she could go when she needed advice on something. Someone who would stand up for her whenever it came down to it, and someone who had, without hesitation or fault, taken her side.
But also someone with whom she could play games, or just silently sit and read, barely acknowledging one another but still taking comfort in the fact that they were sitting together. Someone with whom she could endlessly talk about every topic under the sun, but also someone she could comfortably watch while she worked in silence, taking in how her expressions changed while reading foreign letters or important documents.
Even if, at some point, Anna would have to return to her village and live in her childhood home, she had little doubt that there would always be some form of contact between her and Elsa. Despite not having known the blonde princess for all that long, it was almost impossible to envision a life completely devoid of her presence.
Just attempting to imagine such a life caused Anna's stomach to sink, and her insides to knot uncomfortably. She and Elsa had grown inexplicably close in the time she had spent at the castle, something of which Anna was still in awe. It was hard to believe that her best friend was the princess of the kingdom.
Though, at the very least, it made more sense than her also having befriended a princess from another kingdom. As well as a knight who shared carrots with his reindeer. The thought alone made her grimace, and she tried to focus on the hot water rinsing her body.
Yes, Anna realised... She was beyond lucky to be in the position she was in right now. She could only hope that tonight would not be an explosive end to what might as well have been a dream come true...
Anna stared at her reflection in the mirror, barely able to recognize herself in the image in front of her, even though she knew that the mirror couldn't lie.
The woman in front of her looked like a princess from a fairy tale, her fiery hair tamed and artfully manipulated into a stylish bun, leaving only a few tendrils to frame her face. Her make-up had been applied moderately, accentuating the blue hue of her eyes and the red of her lips, as well as making her eyebrows and eyelashes just a tad more pronounced.
The dress, a summer green skirt topped by a black bodice embroidered with golden floral patterns, must have cost at least a fortune and was made out of the softest and most high-quality cloth Anna had ever laid eyes on. She wore a simple silver bracelet on the one arm that wasn't covered with a sleeve, and from her neck dangled a delicate silver chain holding a shiny snowflake pendant.
"Are you ready, dear?" Gerda asked from behind her. "You certainly look ready, if I may be so free as to say so."
"Thank you, Gerda," Anna smiled earnestly. "You've done a great job."
"It was entirely my pleasure," Gerda smiled in return. "Come, I'll escort you to the ballroom."
She silently followed the matronly woman through the castle's corridors, which were all but deserted. Anna figured everyone had already migrated towards the ballroom, and her suspicions were confirmed when, after a few more turns, she could hear the soft din of dozens of conversations, which nearly drowned out the sound of music coming from the ballroom as well.
"I was instructed to let you enter the ballroom through the side entrance," Gerda explained as they took another turn. "It should allow you to enter relatively unnoticed. At least, for the time being. Princess Elsa felt you might not appreciate being announced, and having everyone gawking at you."
"She felt correctly," Anna muttered, though the sound quickly turned into a yelp when she felt herself being pulled sideways and around a corner.
"Gerda, I need to borrow Anna for a moment, please," Rapunzel's voice sounded airily. "I'll show her inside when we're done."
"Of course, Your Highness," Gerda responded with a kind smile and a curtsy.
As soon as they were alone, Rapunzel started staring at Anna intently, before releasing a frustrated puff of air. "She didn't talk to you."
It wasn't a question, but Anna shook her head in response nonetheless. "She started to, but we were interrupted."
Rapunzel shook her head with a frown - something that did not fit her features in the slightest. "It seems that, with all their good intentions, her parents only made matters worse," she brunette sighed. "God, she's such an idiot," she continued, grumbling to herself before turning towards Anna again.
"It's really not my place to tell you this... And, for heaven's sake, it should not have been me to tell you this... Obviously it should've been Elsa who told you... But because she's such a chicken, I guess I'll just have to... Can't let you walk in there unprepared... That would be cruel-"
"Rapunzel," Anna interrupted with a roll of her eyes. "Could you, perhaps, just tell me now?"
"Oh, right," the brunette responded sheepishly, before taking a deep breath. "Just don't freak out."
Anna nodded, silently urging the princess on.
"Elsa threw this ball to propose to you," Rapunzel blurted, words coming out so quickly Anna had to replay it mentally to figure out the meaning.
"Propose what to me?"
This time, Rapunzel was the one rolling her eyes. "Marriage, Anna. What else?"
Anna blinked dumbly. Once. Twice. Again, and again, just staring at the woman in front of her. After what felt like hours, but was probably minutes, she let go of a nervous little chuckle. "You're joking, right? Gosh, you looked so serious... That's-"
"I'm not joking, Anna," Rapunzel interrupted. "Honestly, it's glaringly obvious to anyone with eyes that Elsa is interested in you, Anna. Romantically interested."
Anna wavered for a moment, stepping backwards and leaning against the cold brick wall. "No... No, she's not..."
"She is," Rapunzel countered with an understanding look on her face. "She sends you flowers, Anna. She took you to a play that is, traditionally, a play people go to on dates. Elsa would move mountains for you, if you would ask her to..."
Anna could not do anything but shake her head feebly. "It's not... I don't..."
"By royal standards, Elsa has basically been courting you, Anna," Rapunzel continued, gentle but undeterred. "And like I said, she really should have told you this herself... But I did not want you going in that room, filled with people who believe the two of you to be in love and already gossiping about your marriage."
Anna's mind was frantically scampering around, trying to make sense of the information Rapunzel was providing her, and over-analysing everything that had occurred since she had met Elsa. Now, in hindsight, a lot of the blonde's actions could be viewed in an entirely different light, but the redhead still had trouble wrapping her mind around it.
At least everyone else's comments now made sense. Even Kristoff's vague hints were logical, now... Still, Anna's mind sought for any evidence to the contrary, any way out of the predicament she had somehow gotten herself into.
"But... Elsa was meeting with all those princes? Why would they be courting her if they were here for the-"
"They weren't courting her," Rapunzel interrupted gently. "It's just common decency for Arendelle royalty to properly welcome foreign royals when they come to Arendelle. The kings and queens have a little chat over coffee, or tea, or bourbon, and Elsa takes their children - princes, in these cases - out for a walk in the gardens."
"Oh..."
"Yeah," Rapunzel sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose firmly. "Listen, Anna... I know this is a lot for you to take in... I need to go inside, or I'll be missed. I think you should stay here and make sense of everything... Get your own feelings on the matter sorted out, okay? I'll let Elsa know that I've told you everything. When you're ready, just seek her out in there, alright? Or, if you think you'd be uncomfortable, come and find me. We'll work this out, I promise."
"Okay," Anna murmured softly, grateful for the strong hug Rapunzel wrapped her in. "I... I'll be right in."
As she watched Rapunzel retreating form duck into the ballroom via the small, non-assuming door, Anna felt her mind shifting into gear again. She turned around, taking the few steps towards the nearest window, and looked at the city below. "It really does, sort of, make sense," she muttered to her reflection. "All the doting, the promises, the notes, the flowers... How did I not see this before?"
Frowning at her reflection, she decided she needed to answer herself if she was to get any conversation going. "Of course you didn't notice," she grumbled, "what peasant girl would ever expect the princess to be courting her, right?"
"Right," she nodded to herself, rubbing her fingers over her chin. "The question now, though, is what I am going to do with the information now that I have it."
Again, her reflection nodded. "I suppose you should figure out how you feel about this, huh?"
"Yeah. I really should," she muttered. "But where to start?"
The reflection in the window frowned pensively, before looking positively enlightened. "How about this? For a moment, we pretend that Elsa is not a princess. Just imagine her being a regular woman..."
"That's kind of hard to do, though..." she muttered under her breath.
"But you like her, don't you?" her reflection asked with slightly narrowed eyes.
"Of course I do," Anna immediately nodded in response to her own question. "She's my best friend."
"And...?" she urged herself on.
"And she's kind and gracious, and polite and she's always there for me, and she's so beautiful and graceful and elegant and-"
"Let me stop you right there," she interrupted herself. "You're starting to sound like..."
There was a short silence as she looked at her reflection, waiting for the sentence to finish.
"Like you want to kiss her."
The mumbled words coming from her reflection - coming from her - gave Anna pause, hands gripping the windowsill tightly as she turned them over in her mind. Yes, she thought Elsa was a beautiful woman. But, then again, everyone would think that, right? It wasn't even an opinion. Just a fact, really...
Still, the words from her little conversation with herself caused her to imagine a vivid scenario of her and Elsa, walking around in the gardens, moonlight casting an ethereal glow on Elsa's pale skin. Their hands cradled together as they slowed to a stop near the large fountain, Elsa's free hand finding purchase on her hip, turning her towards her.
Being able to discern the faint freckles dotting the bridge of Elsa's nose, before drowning in those incredible blue eyes as Elsa pulled closer towards her. Her soft, minty breath warm against her own mouth. The whispered sound of her name, tumbling from those lips, just before they clasped together. Warm, soft lips sliding against her own and-
Her own gasp pulled her out of her own mind, and her reflection looked back at her, eyes wide and cheeks flushed. It took a few deep breaths before she looked and felt calm again. "Okay, so... I think it's safe to say I'm not opposed to that idea," she muttered at the window.
She was slightly surprised to find her reflection throwing her a smirk. "I'd say you're a little more than 'not opposed,' Anna..."
The redhead rolled her eyes, watching her reflection do the same. "So I find Elsa physically attractive, so what?"
The ensuing silence was longer, Anna and her reflection just staring at one another. Finally, she took a deep breath. "Physical attraction is all fine and well, but that's hardly what you build a marriage on, now is it?"
"So," her reflection responded immediately. "Let's go there, then. Can you see yourself living with Elsa?"
Closing her eyes again, Anna tried to picture it. Most of the images came quickly. Sharing breakfast with Elsa. Sitting in Elsa's office and working alongside her. Taking walks around the gardens, or the city, or the bay below. Having dinner together.
"But," she heard her reflection mutter. "These are things you already do now..."
"Maybe living with Elsa is not that different from what I am already doing..." Anna mused in response.
"Take it further," her reflection commanded gently. "Imagine a future."
Anna focused harder, the pictures changing rapidly behind her eyes. Going to bed with Elsa, snuggling up against her side as they kissed each other goodnight. Waking up together, day after day, and going about their business. Her and Elsa, chasing after a little girl, giggling as they ran laps through the throne room. Her and Elsa, sitting near this very window, overlooking the bay, old, wrinkled hands holding each other tightly.
As she opened her eyes again, her reflection looked back at her with a distinct look in her eyes that Anna could not really place. "What are you thinking?" she asked silently, already knowing the answer - she was talking to herself, after all.
With a deep breath, her reflection responded. "I'm thinking I just envisioned a whole life with Elsa, and the thought left me eerily giddy."
"Then I think you know what you - we - need to do."
Anna nodded once to her reflection, feeling silly about talking to herself for the first time. "Yeah. I need to get in there, and tell Elsa that she's an idiot."
"That too," the image in the mirror chuckled. "Go get your happy ending, Anna."
The redhead nodded again, turning towards the ballroom, before turning around to her reflection again. "Thanks, Anna."
As she took determined strides towards the small door, she mumbled a few last words to herself. "You're welcome. Don't mess this up."