Chapter Text

Infinity Plus one:

Mistletoe

The servants of the Royal Palace of Arendelle were worried.

It had all started early on Christmas morning when Charles, the senior butler, began his task of opening all windows and doors on the first floor of the castle. The sun was bright and the wind chilly and he was eager to allow it to spread throughout the mansion. He achieved his commitment on most of the building; the only place missing was the grand hall where the Christmas ball was to be held that evening. He quickened his pace, as it was necessary to commence with the preparations at once. Yet, when he reached the entrance to the dance hall he noticed that the huge oak doors had already been opened, the window’s curtains pulled back and the Christmas tree lit. He had been delighted at the find, even more so at not having to wonder who had been his eager helping hand. He moved to hurriedly thank his aide, but as he neared the figure sitting on the framework of the door he realized that she was everything but jovial on that morning.

“Princess Anna, are you alright?” He asked, kneeling to her level. He frowned in curiosity at the strange expression on the princess’s features.

Princess Anna had both her legs and arms crossed and her face was unusually serious although her eyes held a shine of petulant determination. She stared straight ahead, granting the butler a swift glance to answer his question with a nod.

A silent princess Anna, that was even more bizarre. He stood, and wondered how to approach the subject of her odd behavior as well as her inconvenient choice for lounging; he had to decorate the dance hall after all.

Unluckily, or luckily as his relieved sigh would reveal, a whisper prevented him from addressing those issues.

“Psst!” He heard from a corner. Searching for the source, he found two maids prying around the wall. He would have deemed their actions improper, but their expressions were full of apprehension and their eyes which switched from him to the princess and back again, spiked his curiosity more than his desire to scold them.

He opted to leave the princess, who was ignoring him anyway, in place of obeying the gesture that beckoned him. Pulled by impatient servant’s hands, he found himself hidden from the princess’s view. Charles turned to the impertinent women with an expectant raised eyebrow.

“You shouldn’t bother her.” The tallest, blond woman said.

“Excuse me?” Charles replied, his frown deepening. He looked between the two maids who insisted with their mouths as with their anxious body gestures that the princess should remain unperturbed; it was something that he could not comprehend.“What’s going on?”

“We don’t exactly know.” Spoke the shorter, redheaded one. “But the guards say that Princess Anna has been sitting in that same spot since a minute after twelve at dawn.”

“What?” He wondered, his eyes shrinking in suspicion.

“We know. It’s very odd.” The redhead added, while the blond one nodded in accord.

And with that he could agree, the action was very odd, but then Princess Anna had always been an odd one. As a child the princess had a knack for startling the serving staff with her findings of the most disgusting worms. She had also enjoyed conversations with wall paintings and the staring of doors; her sister’s door to be more specific. So perhaps, this new quirk shouldn’t surprise them much.

However, it was still very inopportune.

“Well, either way, she still has to move if we are to redecorate the hall.” Charles replied.

“I wouldn’t advise to even suggest her moving.” The blond shook her head rapidly, like the idea was nefarious.

“Or nearing her too much.” The ginger added.

“And why is that?” Charles asked, crossing his arms over his broad chest.

“Because she gets a little…brutal, when someone tries to go inside the dance hall.” The blond whispered.

“Did you just call your princess a savage?” Charles questioned angrily.

“Oh no, no! I would never!” The blond defended herself.

“No sir, she would never, and neither would I, we would never!” The redhead sputtered quickly. “It’s just that, we already tried and she… well, let’s not speak of that.” She shook her head. “We just think it might be best to get someone who could reach her better, emotionally speaking I mean.” She explained.

Charles exhaled gravely, he gave the princess another glance. She still sat there, looking like an unmoving Indian in a trance, muttering under her breath and glaring daggers at the wall before her.

“Very well then.” He acquiesced, returning his gaze to the maids. “Go fetch the Ice Deliverer.” He said, turning his back on them to keep an eye on the princess. The maids scurried away to follow his orders. “Who could be more emotionally close to her than him?” He mumbled to himself, glad that if he were correct all would be done with before lunch.

By the time Kristoff made it to the royal palace – around 11:45am – it was clear to Charles that the schedule had been thrown through the window. To make it worst, the ice deliverer took all the time in the world to make it to the hidden corner closest to the dance hall.

“What’s the problem?” Kristoff asked at once as he chewed on a carrot. The butler adjusted his suit, as if with it he could also press his frustrations down. “Sadly, I regret to say that the princess, your girlfriend, is the problem.”

Kristoff nodded, completely unsurprised. It was not the first time he had heard that. He leaned around the wall to where the servant was pointing, and found his girlfriend lying on her back under the doorway.

“Hum.” He said simply, taking another bite from the carrot.

“Is that all you have to say?” The butler frowned.

Kristoff swallowed. “What do you want me to say?” He shrugged.

“Nothing!” Charles hissed. “I want you to do something about her. We need to go into the hall to prepare everything for tonight’s ball and the maids said she’s been somewhat…uncooperative.”

The blond man nodded. He raised his shoulders again before saying in a rather nonchalant voice. “I’ll see what I can do.”

Charles wondered if the ice deliverer could take a more leisure pace on his way to the princess. He suspected the man could achieve only tree velocities with his body: slow, slower, and stopped. Nonetheless, as the blond man finally stood before the princess, Charles decided to ignore each offense he could be spewing to him at that moment. He stared from behind the corner as Kristoff spoke with his girlfriend.

“Hey Anna.” He said.

Princess Anna looked up to him and acknowledged him by raising her right hand in a peace sign, but she neither said nor did anything else.

Kristoff held in a snort.

“Yeah, so…want to get lunch? It’s past twelve and I’m starving.” He said, gesturing with his head towards the invisible dining hall.

She shook her head rejecting the invitation.

“Come on Anna, you have to eat.” The blond man countered. He took a step forward but was quickly halted by the glare and extended arms of the princess.

Kristoff coked his head, confused. “You…don’t want me to come closer?

Anna swayed her head from side to side, as if that should have been obvious.

Kristoff nodded, “I see.” And kept nodding as he walked back to the butler.

“That’s it?” Charles glared at him.

“Yes. Approaching a woman who doesn’t want you in her personal space is called harassment you know?”

The butler looked at him drily. “I know the queen signed that law shortly after you and the princess became official, but you might be exaggerating a bit.”

“Tell that to the queen.” Kristoff refuted. He still remembered the last time the queen had almost pierced his foot with an icicle when he had tried to give Anna a surprised hug from behind; the subdued tone in which she threated to lock him up for eternity was the king of his nightmares to this day.

The butler huffed, trying to think of another way in which he could draw the princess away from the dancehall, and although Kristoff smirked at his helplessness, he decided to try a little bit harder at helping the poor servant.

“Alright man, wait here.” Kristoff said.

The next time Charles saw him, an hour and twenty five minutes later (he had been counting), Kristoff was accompanied by Olaf the snowman and a reindeer. The stress had suddenly reached his nape.

“You can’t come into the palace with a reindeer!” He almost shouted.

“His name is Sven.” Kristoff said calmly, sharing yet another carrot with the reindeer.

“Whatever, get him out!” He demanded.

“Now easy there, I could take him out, but then Olaf would follow me, and these two are your last hope.” Kristoff shrugged, ready to retract his help. He was quite uncaring about his issues, actually.

Charles looked from Kristoff, to Olaf to the reindeer. He sighed, knowing full well his left eyebrow was twitching by now.

“Fine.” He stood aside, motioning with his hand for them to proceed.

Kristoff grinned, before turning to the snowman. “Go Olaf.”

“This is not going to work.” Olaf replied, shaking his head.

“Just go.” The blond man replied.

“Okay but, it won’t work.” Olaf restated, extricating himself from the corner. He put on a big smile and opened his arms as he made his way over to Anna, judging that his best action would be to warm her heart first.

…he couldn’t even warm her foot as it pressed against his small body.

Instantly, he deflated. “No hugs?” He asked. Anna shook her head in negative. Crestfallen, he returned to the corner.

“We might have to be a bit more forceful.” Kristoff concluded. “Sven!” He called, taking out another carrot.

The reindeer ate it in one bite before backtracking.

“What is he doing?” Charles asked, alarmed.

“Just watch.” Kristoff dismissed him with a wave of his hand.

After backtracking some more, Sven took off, doubling the corner at full speed. He galloped with the absolute intention of running Anna over, or so it seemed. But Anna stood, placing her feet firmly on the floor and, crossing her arms over her chest, glared down at Sven. She kept her ground and Sven, afraid that Anna would never step out of his path, tripped over his front legs sliding the rest of the way to the door.

Gravely, Anna shook a finger at him, and with a whine Sven ran back to his best friend.

“Oh, my God, what am I going to do now?” Charles whined, rubbing a hand over his frustrated face while his supposed helpers laughed at his misfortune.

“I told you it wouldn’t work.” Olaf said, which managed to make Kristoff laugh even more.

“Stop laughing! This is a catastrophe! It’s already five in the afternoon, how am I going to get this place settled before everyone arrives?” The butler shouted, glaring at Kristoff.

The ice deliverer brushed a tear of mirth away. “Why don’t you ask the queen?” He smirked.

Charles eyes widened at the suggestion. Of course! Who better to deal with the princess than the queen herself? He took off to the queen’s study at once, while Kristoff continued to chuckle behind him.

Charles had been muttering to the queen since she had retrieved her, all the way down to the dancehall. Elsa listened attentively, although mostly amusedly. That her sister had camped under a door since dawn, prohibiting anyone from entering the hall as if she were a petulant child, well it was certainly humorous, be it true or not; she knew her sister enough to know of her curious habits though.

The queen hid her smile as she followed the man to the lower floor. A divert glint found home in her eyes at the sight of her sister exactly how her servant had described her. The princess had her legs crossed underneath her and her hands tapping at her thighs in a very impatient manner.

“You see your Highness?” The butler whispered.

“Indeed.” The queen replied, filled with curiosity at her sister’s behavior.

“Well then, will you retrieve her? Your ball is supposed to commence but in a few hours.” Charles said, his voice taking a frantic tone. To think of all he would have to do in such a short time; his hair was sure to fall off.

“Let me talk to her.” Elsa said, moving towards her sister.

“Go at ‘em tiger!” Kristoff said through a mouthful of carrot.

“This will work.” Olaf commented.

She ignored them both as she neared her sister. Elsa held onto her dress when she bended to look at Anna’s face. The princess, who had been lost in thought, was surprised to see her sister before her.

“Anna, the servants say you are being a nuisance.” She teased, a smirk on her lips. “What’s going on?”

Anna gave a quick glare towards the corner. Then, with a single finger, she invited her sister closer. A curious frown on her face, Elsa lowered a knee to the ground and leaned closer towards Anna. When she was but a breath away, Anna pointed to the ceiling. Following the finger, the queen glanced up to see a mistletoe hanging from the doorframe.

‘Oh!’ Was all the queen had time to think, because as soon as her gaze dropped back to her little sister’s faint blue eyes Anna captured her lips between her own. The princess pressed her mouth against her sister’s firmly, soundly, allowing nothing to come between them in that precise moment. She felt her sister gasp and used the opportunity to probe within the queen’s mouth with her tongue, quickly but expertly. She finished the kiss a pop of their lips.

That being done, Anna stood, leaving her sister stupefied in her kneeled position, and released a sigh of satisfaction.

“Finally! I can’t believe I had to wait all day for you to come down.” Anna said, reaching to help her sister onto her feet. She grinned, and wiped some of her lipstick from below the queen’s lip. “Merry Christmas Anna!” She said to herself, chirpily, before rounding the corner from where all the boys were watching. She patted a smirking Kristoff on the shoulder, ignored the dumfounded butler, and continued to skip down the hallway.

The end