Anna smiled, leaning up against the low fence surrounding the playground near the large, somewhat dreary-looking building. It had taken some effort for her to actually find the building, but luckily the citizens of Arendelle's capital were happy to point her in the right direction.
When she had asked Elsa, she had confirmed that Anna's childhood toys and playthings had been sent to the orphanage, as per her instructions. And even though she had absolutely no doubt about the fact that Elsa spoke the truth... well, she just wanted to see for herself.
Maybe it was out of a desire to see her old toys one final time, maybe she just wanted to forget about them being locked away in that chest, and make new, happy memories of little children having fun like she used to have herself.
Whatever it was, the desire found her standing at the edge of the orphanage's playground, elbows resting on the picket fence surrounding it, watching as the children - and their caretakers - poured out of the building to enjoy the dazzling summer's sun, the soft sea breeze, and the gentle whistling and chirping of the birds around them.
It was not long before one of the caretakers took a key from his belt, sauntered towards one of the sheds with a throng of little children following him, and unlocked the door. It was like a sloppy but well-performed vanishing trick, watching the children all cram into the tiny shed.
The magic was complete when all of the children came running out again, laughing and cackling, chattering and hollering with and at one another, carrying their chosen toys in their arms, or dragging them behind them.
The redhead did not have to wait long to see some of her toys making their appearance. That little blonde girl over there was definitely dragging Anna's old skipping rope behind her, two of her friends giggling as they both took one of the ends and started swinging and singing in a steady rhythm.
Anna remembered some of the villagers swinging the rope for her, oftentimes with her father on one end of the toy, chanting similar songs and laughing as she clumsily stumbled through the self-imposed routine.
And that boy over there was racing along on one of her old bikes, bright yellow and dark green, laughing and cheering at his own speed while a caretaker desperately attempted to slow him down, running behind the ecstatic boy with a face that belied amusement, despair, and resignation.
Anna clearly remembered zooming around the village on that little bike, saying hello and waving at everyone she encountered, getting free snacks from some of the merchants and vendors. Quite honestly, she had all but forgotten about it, only now realizing that it had been behind lock and key for almost a decade.
A familiar bag caught her eye as a group of several children walked by, carrying it between them to a little sandbox underneath a tree. It definitely held her old marble collection - or what was left of it after her supposed 'sisters' had pilfered it, making off with her most precious marbles and leaving her with only the plain ones. Still, those plain old marbles were cause for great joy amongst the little children, who were now organizing a true tournament to see who the best marble-player was.
And over there, Anna noticed two girls playing with her favourite spinning top - another toy that she had entirely forgotten over the years. The realization made her feel guilty towards her inanimate childhood companions, silly as she knew it was.
"Hello," a kind voice suddenly came from beside her. "Are you looking to adopt?"
The kind voice belonged to a kind-looking woman, standing next to her on the opposite side of the fence, looking at her expectantly and wearing a patient smile, hands folded in front of her.
"Oh, me? Oh, no, absolutely not! I mean, I'd love to have children, but I'm- I'm not... I don't have a husband. Or anyone, really. I'm not ready to be a parent. I'm just here to watch them."
At that final piece of information, the woman raised her eyebrows inquisitively, smile never wavering, even as Anna realized how that must have sounded.
"Um. I did not mean that the way it sounded. I'm not some kind of creep or anything. It's just... Heh, well... Some of the toys they're playing with used to belong to me... I donated them to the orphanage after I re-discovered them in my old childhood home... They'd been taken from me, a long time ago."
The woman's eyes suddenly lit up, the patient smile turning wider and more radiant. "Oh my, you must be the princess' esteemed guest, then. The only donation we have received in a while came from her..."
Anna laughed sheepishly, scratching her ear. "That would be me, yes. Anna Anderson, Princess Elsa's guest at the Royal Castle."
"Well, my name is Margaret," the woman smiled, opening the gate of the fence, "I'm the headmistress of Arendelle Orphanage. Why don't you come in and meet some of the children? I'm certain some of them would like to personally thank you for your kindness."
"Oh, no!" Anna blurted. "I mean, I wouldn't want to inconvenience anyone, and they all look like they are having so much fun, I would not want to keep them from that."
The woman laughed softly. "I assure you, it would not be an inconvenience to anyone, dear. If you really do not wish to come and say hello, I can hardly force you, of course. But I'm sure they would like to meet you, Miss Anderson."
"Well, if you are sure," Anna wavered, "I suppose it cannot hurt to come and say hello really quickly?"
"That is the spirit, dear," the woman smiled, waving her along towards a bench near the centre of the playground. She waved one of the caretakers over as well, motioning towards Anna. "Ingrid, this is Miss Anderson - the princess' guest who donated the new playthings. I'd like for the children to meet her, would you gather them, please."
The woman shook Anna's hand with an easy smile, before whistling loudly - which must have been some sort of signal, since all the children immediately dropped what they were doing and gathered in a half-circle in front of the bench.
"Alright, little ones," the headmistress said loudly, but not unkindly, "settle down, please. There's someone very special I would like you all to meet. This lovely young woman is Anna" - the redhead gave them a shy wave as the headmistress continued. - "She is staying at the castle as Princess Elsa's honoured guest. The chest with toys that the guard with the funny horse brought by used to belong to her. She decided that she has grown too old to play with them, and that you should all have a chance to enjoy them."
As the headmistress finished speaking, the little blonde Anna had seen before - skipping rope still clutched in her tiny hands - got up and stood before the redhead, giving a deep dip of her head. "Thank you for the toys, Miss Anna," she muttered, voice barely audible, before looking up again, a shy smile tugging at her lips as she nervously fiddled with the rope in her hands.
"You're very welcome," Anna smiled in return, watching as some of the other kids got up from their perch as well, stepping forward and either dipping their head or holding out their little hands for her to shake, thanking her for their new toys, and telling them which ones were their favourites.
Once all the children had thanked her, the headmistress smiled at them all proudly, telling them that they could go back to their activities, and reminding them that it would probably be rainy tomorrow, so if they wanted to do something outdoors, they should make use of the opportunity today.
"As you can see, Miss Anderson, the children are quite enchanted by our new acquisitions," the elderly woman smiled eventually.
"Clearly," Anna laughed lightly. "They're all so polite and well-behaved... Nothing like the kids in my village used to be..."
"They need to be, if they ever want to be adopted," the woman smiled sadly. "Some of them will, unfortunately, remain here until they are of age and go to one of the workhouses, or get hired by one of the businesses... Those that are lucky will find new parents and a new home... But only the polite and happy children have a chance at that."
Before she could respond, she felt something tugging at the back of her skirt. Turning around revealed the shy blonde with the skipping rope, one of her friends standing a few feet behind her, biting her lower lip. "What is it, Ellie?" the headmistress asked, eyes twinkling and apparently already knowing the answer.
"Maggie does not want to swing the rope anymore... Maybe Miss Anna wants to play with her skipping rope too?" the little girl asked shyly.
Anna only gave the question the briefest fraction of a moment of thought before nodding enthusiastically. She did not even have to pretend to be enthusiastic about the opportunity - the children were a delight, and she could not possibly refuse having fun with one of her favourite toys one last time.
And, while it had not been part of her plan for today at all, Anna somehow found herself swinging the skipping rope, singing and laughing along, for almost half an hour. Immediately after that, she was whisked away by some of the boys, apparently being the perfect final candidate for the marble-tournament. That lasted for an undetermined amount of time, after which Anna was pulled along again, this time to teach some of the girls how to keep the spinning tops spinning.
She had absolutely no idea how long Kristoff had already been watching her play with the children when she finally noticed him, standing just outside the fence, watching with a tilted smile, Sven the reindeer standing behind him, tongue lolling out of its mouth.
At the same time, the children also seemed to notice him, a chorus of 'Ser Kristoff!' and 'the funny horse!' resounding around Anna, pulling a laugh from her almost-sore throat.
"I'm sorry, kids," Kristoff smiled, patting some of them on their heads as they gathered near the fence. "I'm afraid I have to take Miss Anna away from her important duties on your playground."
This time, there was a resounding chorus of 'boo' and 'no' going around, the headmistress shushing them quickly. Anna smiled as she dusted off her skirt, kneeling in front of the gathered group.
"How about this?" she smiled. "I'll have to go to the castle now. The princess probably needs me, but I'll come back and visit as soon as I can, okay?"
"Tomorrow?" one of the boys immediately asked.
"I don't know, Timmy," Anna replied honestly. "But I'll come back and play with all of you when I can..."
Eventually, the children allowed her to leave their domain - albeit reluctantly - saying their goodbyes with frantic waves and loud screams and hoots. She and Kristoff were quite a ways down the street when the headmistress finally convinced the children to return to their games.
Anna took a deep breath, before releasing it slowly. "So, I am guessing Elsa requested my presence?"
"Yes," Kristoff nodded. "And before you ask: no, she did not specify why. Just that I was to find you and bring you to the art gallery."
"The art gallery?"
"Yes," Kristoff nodded again. "It's a large room in the east wing where they keep a lot of paintings."
However unbefitting of a lady - even if she wasn't nobility - Anna could not refrain from rolling her eyes. "I know what an art gallery is, Kristoff. I just don't know why Elsa would want me there."
"As I said," Kristoff smiled, "neither do I."
The door was closed.
Which was odd, because the door to the art gallery had not been closed for the entire duration of Anna's stay at the castle. In fact, prior to today, she had not even given the thought of the art gallery havingdoors a moment of her time.
She could hear voices inside. One was clearly Elsa's, the other appeared to belong to Princess Rapunzel. Should she just go in? Should she knock? She should totally knock. Anna gave herself a resolute nod, before rapping her knuckles against the dark wood.
It took a few moments for Elsa to actually open the door, one of her perfectly manicured eyebrows quirked. "The gallery is freely accessible for everyone, Anna. There is no need to knock."
The redhead shrugged. "The door was closed."
"How observant," Elsa drawled, voice dripping with playful sarcasm. As they walked into the gallery, Anna noticed a table in the middle of the room, chessboard set up in the middle of it. In one of the far corners, Rapunzel was working on some painting Anna could not see, looking fiercely concentrated, but still sparing Anna a quick smile and wave.
"Did no one ever teach you sarcasm is unbecoming for a lady, Elsa?" Anna asked teasingly, earning her a huff from the blonde.
"I'm among friends, now. I can do as I please. And it pleases me to have a game of chess with you, if you're amenable?"
Anna sat down with a quick nod. "Of course... Though I didn't think you enjoyed the game?"
Elsa's smile never faltered. "I don't like it when I do not get what I want," she shrugged. "I can never beat father, but I think I might be able to take you on well enough."
Three moves into the game, Anna finally asked the question on her mind. "So, you had me brought here from the city just because you wanted to play a game of chess?"
Elsa nodded quickly. "I really craved a proper opponent. Rapunzel never learned to play."
Anna raised her eyebrows sceptically - any proper lady knew how to play chess, especially royalty - and heard Rapunzel's laugh from across the room. "I was kept prisoner in a tower for most of my life. My primary pastimes were painting and stargazing. That and hair-brushing, which gets really boring after a year or two..."
Four turns later, Anna was relatively certain she had the princess backed into a corner - figuratively speaking, of course - and was assured of her victory. Elsa talked a big game, but when it came to actually playing... not so much...
Just as she was about to make her final move, the blonde surprised her by packing up the pieces and neatly placing them in their box. "Elsa, what are you-?"
"Making sure I do not lose," Elsa grinned slyly. "My method is always successful."
"I think that's called cheating," Anna pointed out dryly, crossing her arms and pouting playfully.
"Perhaps... Then again, I was not really interested in playing chess, anyway. I just need you to remain where you are and look pretty for a while, and playing chess seemed like a good way to keep you rooted in place... I just overestimated my own skills at the game. Grossly, it seems..."
Anna furrowed her brow in confusion. "Why do I need to sit here?"
Elsa gave her a small smile. "I can't tell you, but I would be very grateful if you could just do as I ask for a while. It should not take long..."
"What should not take long?"
The blonde shot her a tired glare. Getting the hint, Anna nodded and sat back in her chair. "Never mind. If you want me to sit here, I'll sit here," she smiled. "It's not like I cannot use the rest after the morning I've had..."
The princess tilted her head with an unspoken question, and Anna launched into a lengthy tale about the orphanage, her old toys, the children, the games they had played, how absolutely delightful all the little ones had been, how kind the headmistress was and how they had called Kristoff's reindeer a 'funny horse.'
Throughout the story, Anna entirely forgot about the concept of time. Elsa was an attentive listener, nodding and humming at the right moments, asking questions and elaborations when possible, and adding in some anecdotes of her own when pertinent to what Anna was telling.
The redhead was a little surprised when, after who-knows how long, Rapunzel got up from her stool and started shaking her arms out, stretching and bending to chase the stiffness from her joints. "Alright, Els. She's free to move again."
"Finally," Elsa sighed with a smile. "I did not think it possible for anyone to keep you still this long, Anna. It's a good thing you had so much to talk about..."
Anna furrowed her brow again, watching the setting sun outside. "I've been here for hours, haven't I?"
Elsa and Rapunzel both nodded yes at the same time.
"Care to tell me why?" the redhead ventured carefully.
Elsa smiled tightly, getting up from her seat. "I was planning to wait, but we might as well show you now, I suppose. Come on..." She took Anna's arm, slowly walking towards the end of the gallery. "Remember how I promised to get those paintings of your parents restored by a professional?"
Anna nodded, feeling both sad and hopeful. "Of course."
Elsa sighed warily. "Well, unfortunately, they all told me that the paintings were too damaged. Apparently, there are things that even a princess cannot make happen. I have them stored in the north wing now, where they are safe and won't be damaged any more than they already are..."
Anna nodded sadly. "I see... Well, you did what you could, Elsa. I'm grateful for that, at least."
Elsa gave her a patient smile. "The paintings could not be restored. However, knowing Rapunzel to be the artistic genius that she is, I asked her advice on the matter."
The other princess nodded now, falling in as Elsa stopped talking. "The professionals were right, of course. The paintings really were too damaged to be restored properly. I offered to simply re-do them entirely..."
At that bit of information, Anna suddenly jerked her head up, looking at the two princesses beside her with new hope. Elsa continued the story. "I agreed, because I figured that if you did not want them, and just wanted to keep the old ones, at least we would have tried. I also suggested a slight... change, though."
At that, the blonde gently took Anna's shoulders, turning her around and bringing her face to face with the canvas Rapunzel had been slaving over for the past few hours. The sight immediately robbed her of the air in her lungs, bringing prickly hot tears to the corners of her eyes.
It was a large, wide canvas, portraying both of her parents exactly the way they had been displayed on the original portraits. Rather than facing forward, though, they were both facing slightly inward. And there, in between the two of them, sat Anna.
She saw herself, clad in the very dress she was wearing right now, all fiery-haired and sun-kissed skin, and with one of the most happy and radiant smiles she'd ever seen anyone wear on a painting. The way Rapunzel had positioned everything, it looked as if her parents were looking at the image of their daughter, their eyes filled with happiness and pride.
Anna hiccupped slightly, trying to keep her tears inside, but not capable of stopping them from falling, but at the same time smiling widely. She abruptly turned around, wrapping her arms around both Elsa and Rapunzel, and pulling them close as she sobbed a barely audible 'thank you.'
Rapunzel muttered a soft response, voice catching and clearly feeling emotional as well. Elsa said nothing, merely pulling Anna closer, rubbing one hand up and down her back, the other firmly around her waist.
Anna could not possibly tell how long they stayed like that, and neither did she care. Both Rapunzel and Elsa seemed perfectly content to stay in their position for as long as Anna needed them to. And none of the servants passing by the gallery had the heart to disrupt them.