Elsa Comes Out: A Call for Aid

        The halls of Arendelle’s castle seemed a little bigger, a little roomier, a little darker, to Anna. Like a little bit of life had gone out of the place. Nearly three weeks ago her cousin Rapunzel and her husband had left, taking with them all of their own house guards and attendants and, Anna found out later, more than a few candlesticks.

        Early morning frosts had already been happening for some time when the couple had announced that they would be leaving and their departure was well timed, a week the harbor had its first freeze. It had been an easy task for the dock workers to clear out the ice, it was barely any kind of thickness, but Elsa was right, winter was coming early this year.

        It had been sad to see their family go. Even Elsa who’d been, at best, agitated by Auntie’s stay seemed genuinely sad to see them go. At the ship sailed to the horizon the two sisters had stood there on the dock. Anna couldn’t help but notice her sister smiling the whole time.

        In the days since Anna walked through the castle and through the streets doing her best to fend off the nagging feeling that she was missing something. She seemed… bored. But that wasn’t right. She had plenty to do and she enjoyed it. Just a few days ago she’d enlisted Olaf and took a bunch of the town kids up into the woods and they built snowmen and snow forts and had snowball fights. But when those things were done it felt like it wasn’t really important. So she invariably found herself walking the halls.

        Anna did take some solace in the fact that Elsa seemed far happier these days. She wasn’t sure yet if it was because of, or in spite of Kristoff being gone for so long. Anna knew her sister still had eyes for him; her troubles dancing had been obvious on that. Anna did have herself to blame for that, of course. She remembered seeing the two of them in bed and she couldn’t help but feel they looked cute together.

        Anna loved Kristoff, she wanted to marry him. Really all she was waiting for was for him to ask. She couldn’t imagine what Elsa would do when they finally came to her with that news. She truly wished she’d agree to the marriage, when and if it happened, but she couldn’t help that nagging thorn of a thought: ‘What would Elsa do then?’

        They both had been alone for so long, Anna couldn’t help but feel like she was betraying her sister by finding someone. But Elsa was practically all smiles these days. If Anna hadn’t known any better she’d think that Elsa had found someone.

        Even knowing all that Anna couldn’t help that nagging feeling she carried.

She’d rid herself of that feeling with the news that had just reached the ears of Arendelle’s queen.

        “The Duke of Weselton has been overthrown?” her sister said.

        “That is close enough, your grace,” the messenger bowed. He was from the Grand Duchy, though he hadn’t announced it until he was in the queen’s presence. He never would have been allowed off his ship if he said otherwise, he reasoned. Elsa had relented and told him he was right, but his news changed everything, “He is currently held in his home, and unable to participate in court, your majesty. The Duke’s rule had turned sour in recent years, and the people call for his head. The other nobles of Weselton cannot decide on the duke’s fate.”

        “So why, exactly, have you come here?”

        “We have no successor, your grace,” the man said, “The Duke has no children and the people will not allow him to leave his castle or allow the court to enter for him to officially name one. We are left without a statehead. I and my fellow royal messengers have been sent out to either gather aid in naming a successor, or to bring one back. We are desperate, your grace.”

        Elsa had thanked the messenger, and allowed him to stay in the castle for as long as it took her to reach a decision on the matter.

        “What are we going to do?” Anna asked her sister as the messenger was escorted from the audience chamber.

        “I don’t know, Anna. We don’t have a stake in Weselton anymore. What they do is none of our business,” Elsa said.

        “Why do they even need our help?”

        “Weselton was part of a larger kingdom some time ago,” Elsa told her sister, “When the king died, he didn’t have an heir, so by succession law, his territories were split between his relatives. The majority went to the Prussians. But a small part was awarded to the king’s uncle. This turned Weselton into a Duchy. If they can’t find an heir now, or have the Duke name a successor, then Weselton would have to be awarded down the line to the closest heir of the duke’s family line.”

        “So?”

        “So, Prussia will lay claim to the duchy based on their awardment years ago, but Aunties family also has a claim to the place, and by extension, so do we. It could be war, Anna.”

        Anna looked from her sister to the retreating form of Weselton’s messenger. She’d been doing her best to learn from her sister about all of this politicking and something about this situation was sticking to her. The gap between the sisters felt more and more like Elsa was waiting for something.

        And it struck Anna.

        “Let me go,” she said.

        “What?”

        “I can go. You wanted me to be part of these things right? I agreed didn’t I? This is what that is, isn’t it? Let me go,” she said quickly, “I can try and make sure that whoever ends up in the duke’s seat would look favorably on us.”

        “Anna, this is too much, you’ve never-”

Anna took her sister’s hands excitedly, “I know I can do it. And besides, I’ve never seen Weselton.”

        “You’ve never seen anyplace, Anna.”

        “Okay, yeah but that’s what this is about isn’t it? Please Elsa? I’ve felt so… so cooped up, I don’t know.”

        Elsa looked at her, Elsa wasn’t sure if she was sad or proud, or maybe both, “What about Kristoff?”

        “I’m sure he can manage without me.”

The girls shared a laugh.

 

        It was decided to allow a few days for the messenger and the men that crewed his schooner time to rest and resupply, as well as form a cadre to escort Arendelle’s most beloved princess. A few thing freezes of the harbor made some think that the send off would be delayed, but the ice was so thin that the harbor master said it was no danger to anything.

        Anna, Elsa, Kai, and the rest of the household that had watched the two girls grow up crowded the docks as bailiffs hauled supplies onboard the ship that would bear her to the distant duchy. The barquentine had a total of ten fifteen pound guns. It and the schooner and brig that would escort them, Elsa hoped, would be enough to see her sister there and back safely.

        Anna was practically buzzing. This would be her first real adventure away from home. Her first time seeing a whole new land. She’d wondered if it was warm in Weselton. It wasn’t that far away, she knew. She’d made sure a few lighter dresses had been packed. She had her luggage before her, watching the men move to and fro. She wished Kristoff could have been here to see this, they’d sent out a message to him but they didn’t have the time to wait for him.

        “Are you sure about this Anna?”

        Anna looked to the blond girl, “Oh I’ll be fine. I’ll be more then fine. I’ll be the best… Wait, what do I call myself?”

        “Princess of Arendell will suffice I’m sure,” Elsa said.

        “Ah okay,” Anna laughed nervously, pushing some hear from her face. It felt like her and Elsa were alone on the dock, with how she was looking at her.

        “We’re ready to board, your majesty,” came the captain’s voice. He was a seasoned sailor, never lost a boat and, as Kai had told them, was fiercely loyal to Arandelle. When Elsa had summoned him, he boldly told her that he would die rather than see the princess lost to pirates.

        “Thank you captain,” Elsa said to him.

Anna lifted her bag, swaying from side to side, “Well, I guess this is it.”

        Elsa’s breath was quicker, more ragged, nearly panting before she hugged her sister. Anna was sure there were tears in her eyes.

        “Whatever you do, Anna, I forbid you to let them bully you. You understand?” Elsa’s voice was muffled, “You go and you speak your peace, you come right home.”

        Anna was stunned when her sister pulled away from her. Elsa was smiling, “I’m going to miss you,” she said.

        “I’ll only be gone for a few weeks…” Anna said, suddenly a little unsure of this whole idea.

        “I’ll still miss you.”

        “I’ll miss you too.”

Anna pulled her luggage up the gangway and onto the ship before some deck hands took it below decks. The cables were set free from the docks, the sails unfurled, and gangway pulled up. Slowly the canvas caught the wind and the boat began to pull away from the dock.

        The very moment the gangway had hit the deck, Anna realized what she was doing. She was leaving Elsa behind, leaving Arendelle, leaving the only place she knew. She ran to the deck and called her goodbyes to her sister, her caretakers. God she wished Kristoff was there.

 

        Elsa waved until she couldn’t raise her arm anymore, and stayed on the pier until Anna’s ship was well out of sight and the sun began to set. There was a feeling in her that if she moved from that spot Anna would be gone forever. It would be her fault if anything happened to her. She shouldn’t have told her she could help her like that. She shouldn’t have agreed to let her attend this meeting or council or whatever it was. She shouldn’t have let her get on that ship. She shouldn’t have let go of the hug.

        “Elsa?”

She gasped at the break in her running thoughts and turned. It was Kristoff, still in the heavier snow gear for the mountains. She felt the tears well up in her eyes and she threw herself at him, crying into his chest and repeating over and over that she’d let her go.

        Kristoff gathered the girl up, letting her lean on him as he and the rest of her house brought her through the harbor and into the castle gates.