Elsa’s Day

“And there, eight.”

Elsa rolled over, groaning in annoyance. She recognized the voice as her sister’s, very far away but still close enough to wake her up. She opened one eye and looked at the window to get an idea of what time it was. The sun was barely peaking over the eastern horizon.

She sighed. It’s time for me to get up, anyway. She stretched her arms and forced herself to sit up. It was almost painful to do; the mattress felt especially soft right now, as did her blankets, her pillows, her sheets…

Anna’s voice woke her up once more. She jerked her head back up; she had fallen back asleep. She now had to stand up to ensure she would stay awake—again, it was a painful process.

“Toss me number nine!” Anna’s voice sounded from the other side of her door. Elsa surmised that Anna, as usual, had been unable to stay asleep on such an important day, and was thus passing the time while waiting for Elsa to emerge from her bedroom.

Elsa drug herself to her wardrobe, begrudgingly ready to start the day. She hummed to herself, both to help settle her nerves and to help keep herself awake, as she scanned her clothes for the perfect outfit.

It had to be the perfect outfit. Everything today had to be perfect. The captain of Corona, a far-off country, was coming to Arendelle for a visit, and if he was impressed enough, he would sign a treaty unifying the two countries’ armies. Since both were quite peaceful, and war had not come in several hundred years, Elsa hoped that such a treaty would never have to be enforced, but Arendelle’s army was small, and she needed help from Corona, just in case.

“Are you sure you’re ready?”

That wasn’t Anna’s voice. Elsa looked over to her door, imagining Kristoff and Anna standing just outside. She was tempted to smile at the thought, but then the reality of their conversation hit her.

“Sure I’m ready,” Anna replied, though with some hesitancy. “I’ve been practicing for this, remember?”

Kristoff sighed. “Okay,” he lamented. “But if you break another window, it’s not my fault.”

Elsa quickly realized what was happening. She started running to the door, before remembering she was still in her nightgown. With great urgency, she rushed back to her wardrobe, ready to settle for anything decent—but if she had to change now, she might as well change into something she would wear for the rest of the day.

Suddenly, she heard Anna yell in fright, and almost immediately after, the sound of glass shattering. Just as suddenly, Elsa decided that her nightgown wasn’t too indecent, and ran to her bedroom door.

As she threw it open, she was met with Kristoff, standing a few feet to the right. He did not seem the least bit concerned; in fact, his expression indicated that he knew exactly what was happening, and had known it would happen for some time. He glanced over at Elsa, chuckled, and leaned his head to point down the hall.

Anna, still in her own nightgown, was lying on the floor. Several rubber balls lay on the floor around her, and a few were still bouncing. The window beside her had a very round hole in it.

Anna noticed Elsa and quickly stood up. She did not seem embarrassed or sorry at all; in fact, it was all she could do to stifle a laugh. “Good morning, Elsa,” she mumbled, hiding her mouth behind her hand. “I didn’t wake you, did I?”

Elsa looked from Anna to the window, then back to Anna. Then she carefully counted the number of rubber balls strewn on the floor. Then, with a sigh, she walked over to the window and placed a hand over the hole.

“You have to stop doing this,” she sighed. Using her magical powers, she created ice just large enough to cover the hole, with six snowy points extending over and past it. It was a temporary fix, but it would do for now. She turned back to Anna, who was still fighting to suppress a laugh. “These windows aren’t cheap, you know. And if I have to keep repairing them as often as you break them, I’ll end up freezing Arendelle. Again.”

Finally, Anna couldn’t contain herself. She put her hands on her knees and laughed. And kept laughing. In fact, it was only when Kristoff walked over and cleared his throat that she managed to stop. “Sorry, Elsa,” she managed to get out. “I have just been practicing my juggling, and I thought, well, maybe, I could try juggling ten balls tonight to impress the captain of Corona. I mean, after all, who wouldn’t want to see a juggling act? That has to be something everyone expects when they visit a castle, and since we don’t know anyone else who juggles—”

It was Elsa’s turn to clear her throat. She loved her sister, but sometimes Anna just would not stop talking. “Just be more careful next time,” she warned, but flashed a quick smile to assure Anna that she wasn’t angry. “I’m sure the captain will be impressed enough with just eight balls.” She turned around and began walking back to her room. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to find something appropriate to wear for the day.”

A tug from behind, however, stopped her, and it was soon apparent that Anna had other plans. “You need to loosen up!” her sister encouraged, pulling Elsa backwards down the hallway. Elsa tried to fight Anna, but no matter how hard she fought, Anna kept pulling her. Elsa could only look on helplessly as the hallway slid away from her; at the end of it, Kristoff slowly waved good-bye, realizing he was just as helpless to stop the situation as Elsa.

“I am the queen, Anna,” Elsa stated, trying to reason with her sister. “I have duties, and those duties require I get dressed.” She was already embarrassed from having Kristoff see her in her nightgown, and didn’t want anyone else to.

“Pfft.” Anna continued to drag Elsa down the hall. “You may be the queen, but you are also my sister, and I say you need to relax and have fun.” By now they reached the stairs, and Anna finally stopped dragging Elsa. She forced her sister to look her in the eye. “Just. Have. Fun,” she insisted.

Elsa quickly nodded. “And I will,” she agreed, before turning back around. “After I make sure this treaty is signed.” She raised her foot to begin walking back to her room, finally free of Anna’s clutches, but her foot caught the edge of her nightgown.

She barely had time to say “Uh-oh,” before she began falling down the stairs. In desperation, she reached out to grab something, anything, to stop her fall, but only succeeded in grabbing Anna’s arm. The two sisters fell down the stairs together, tumbling over themselves and each other, before finally stopping at the bottom.

Elsa, on her back, looked over at Anna, whose legs were pointed to the sky. Now, for the first time all morning, Anna showed concern. Afraid she had gone too far, she quickly righted herself and stood up, bowing her head in apology. “I’m sorry, Elsa,” she quickly jabbered. “I didn’t mean to embarrass you. I just wanted you to have fun, and now look at you. You’re…”

Elsa cracked a smile.

Anna raised an eyebrow. “You’re…” she tried to continue.

Then Elsa, unable to stop herself, closed her eyes and began to laugh. Despite her best intentions, Anna had succeeded: Elsa was having fun, and the stress of the day was going away.

Anna, to her amazement, did not join in with her laughing. She cleared her throat softly, then whispered, “Um, Elsa…”

Elsa stopped her laughing long enough to open her eyes, before her breath caught. Standing above her, having seen the whole thing, was the captain of Corona, along with three other men who had accompanied him.

Elsa jumped to her feet, suddenly embarrassed and tensed. The captain had not only seen her fall down the stairs, in her nightgown, he had just seen her laughing and playing with her sister as if she was a child.

Her cheeks had never felt so red. “Captain,” she quickly choked out.

The captain raised an eyebrow, obviously unimpressed with her childish display. “Queen Elsa,” he replied. He glanced over at Anna. “Princess Anna,” he added. The tip of his mustache twitched as he stared at Elsa. “Does this happen… all the time?”

Before Elsa could reply, Anna spoke up. “Oh, all the time,” she responded. “You would not believe all the stuff we do! There’s so much fun that we can…” She slowed to a stop when she realized that the stares in her direction were not as enthusiastic as she. She apologetically took a step back.

The captain returned his attention to Elsa. “My lady,” he said, his voice full of impatience, “I believe I came here to meet with you on a very important political matter. Do you intend to negotiate in your night clothes?”

Her cheeks flustering even redder, Elsa slowly gulped and turned to Anna. “Anna, please entertain our guests while I change into something a bit more appropriate.” Then she turned around and ran back up the stairs, as hurriedly as possible.

It took Anna several seconds to register what Elsa just said. She looked back up to the balcony and called, “What am I supposed to do?”

Kristoff was walking down the hall, eight balls in hand, as Elsa rushed to reach her room. “Anna needs those,” she announced as she ran past him. “And maybe a change of clothes.” Without waiting for a reply, Elsa ran into her room and shut the door behind