Prompt: Elsa is a squire training under Anna to become a knight → someone insults Anna and Elsa challenges them to a duel for her honor CUZ CHIVALRY

For Her Honor

Unlike a few of their more conservative neighbors, Arendelle had quite a few female knights among their ranks. And although the title of 'Lady' was bestowed upon them rather than 'Sir', these women vastly differed from the usual 'Ladies' found at court and elsewhere. For there were Ladies...but then there were Ladies. Indeed, it would not be inaccurate to say that there was little difference between Sirs and Ladies. While some certainly had a softer side and enjoyed a few of the more traditional pursuits in their spare time, all of these women were knights in every sense of the word.

Loyal. Honorable. Worthy. Capable of performing impressive feats of arms.

After all...they wouldn't have earned their status otherwise.

Among these female knights was Lady Anna of the Crocus—a feisty redhead whose jousting skills were unmatched throughout the land. While she was not the most skilled knight on foot, she could hold her own well enough to still be a formidable foe. Her true strength, however, rested in fighting on horseback.

...Unfortunately for Elsa, Lady Anna's lovestruck squire, the blonde had what felt like the poorest luck with horses imaginable.

"Oof!" Elsa cried out as she introduced her back to the hard, unforgiving earth below. Her horse—a spawn of the devil, no doubt!—merely snorted at her and trotted away further into the training field, leaving her sprawled on the ground.

Laughter reached her ears, and a part of Elsa wanted no more than to sink into the earth out of shame. Instead, she resigned herself to simply laying there, running a gloved hand down her face.

"I think you beat your last record with that, squire." The voice was far off, but she would recognize it from anywhere. The same with the laughter.

Lady Anna...Oh, God. Elsa stifled a groan as footsteps approached. Lowering her hand, she saw her mentor coming to a stop beside her, hands on her hips as a broad grin curled its way onto her freckled face. She had forgone her armor for the day, as there was no need for it with today's training focusing on helping Elsa improve her skills on horseback.

Elsa herself had requested it, after all—bringing dishonor upon Anna with her deplorable abilities in a field her mentor was so proficient at was...unacceptable.

"Now, now, no need for that look." Anna chuckled at her and it took every ounce of willpower for Elsa to keep the embarrassed blush off of her cheeks, "You'll get the hang of it eventually, not everyone is good at horseback at first and this is only your fourth time attempting it."

Fourth time attempting it with each attempt being from crack of dawn to setting sun and I still can barely get on the horse before being thrown… Elsa thought with a huff as she painstakingly sat back up. Her body was bruised and sore all over. 'I haven't been in this much pain since Milady first started teaching me the sword…'

The knight reached a hand out, smiling good-naturedly. "It's tough work to get through, but I'm sure you'll be riding as good as me in no time at all."

Elsa gratefully took the hand and let out a surprised sound as she was effortlessly yanked up. Even after all this time, the strength in the shorter woman still both stunned Elsa and filled her with awe. She managed to get herself balanced on her feet before she could stumble into Anna like she did almost too often...not every time by accident. "Thank you, mi'lady."

"Not a problem, squire," Anna answered with a laugh, "Alright, I think that's enough for today—let's go down to the pub! I'm starving!"

The thought of food was certainly an agreeable one—nothing warmed the belly faster than a plate of hot food and good drink. Already, Elsa's stomach wanted to rumble in approval at the idea, however…

"If you do not mind, mi'lady...I wish to stay here for a while longer," she said, managing a smile and praying it did not reflect how sore she felt right now. "I am certain the other squires training today would be envious if I were to leave much earlier than they."

The knight frowned, her brow furrowing with the action. "Are you sure?" she asked, and Elsa's heart ached at the concern leaking into her mentor's voice.

"I am sure," the blonde said with a nod. Earnestly, she continued, "Please, do not let my desire to learn hinder you, Lady Anna."

It took another moment of staring; of the redhead working her jaw, and teal eyes sliding up to look at the sky in thought before the knight finally heaved a great sigh. "You'll be a great squire—I know that. I just wish you'd loosen up from time to time…" Anna reached a hand up to rub behind her neck, looking almost nervous. "Er...don't push yourself too hard...understood? And don't hesitate to ask Kristoff for help or questions while I'm gone. I mean...you're three years older than me and can probably hold your own just fine, but...I can't help but…erm..."

Elsa's smile grew, her gaze softening. "I think I understand, mi'lady," she said softly despite the growing ache in her heart. The knight really was too kind.

Anna smiled. "Well, I think I'll get us food; I'm sure you're starving."

"Very." Elsa watched the woman leave for the crowd of people ordering their own food and drinks. And as soon as the redhead disappeared into the crowd, she sighed to herself. Training with Anna… was especially exhausting. Hard. Frustrating. And she had only been with her for just a few weeks.

Oh, where did all her manners go? Her grace? Sophistication?

Elsa had almost forgotten that she had once been the daughter of a wealthy nobleman before she became Anna's faithful squire. When was the last time she had seen her father's face? To taste the family cook's wonderful meals? To actually wear those cumbersome dresses, and really like them? She couldn't recall, knowing how low she had gone classwise.

It was a small sacrifice to make.

But that was alright. She wanted to become a knight—dreamt of it, and Anna was trying her very best to make her newly changed life as comfortable as she possibly can. It was a hard life, really, but other than that… it was surprisingly comfortable.

Nobody could judge her for the way she could act… say…

Elsa blinked. "Shit, my horse!"

...She could swear, for one.

The stallion was already half way across the field by the time Elsa noticed him. She could hear the snickers of some of the other squires at her expense and her ears burned as she ran after him. Lady Anna only had two horses: her own and the one she had loaned Elsa for practice, and she would be damned if she let the animal escape and hurt himself.

It took her almost twenty minutes to finally catch the beast and if she had been sore before, she hurt like hell now. Still, his reins were in her hands and while he looked irritated and would throw his head up on occasion, he followed along behind her calmly enough. It took a relatively short time for them to get back to where her and Anna were previously training and Elsa felt relieved that the knight was still nowhere to be found.

"—ill can't believe she took her as a squire. Then again, Lady Anna does have poor taste."

...What?

Elsa wasn't sure when she stopped in her tracks.

She wasn't sure exactly when she had walked up to the other squires, either. All she knew was the fury thundering along her veins, her blood pounding in her ears as she narrowed her eyes at the squire that had made the remark. "What did you say?" the blonde hissed, voice as cold as the ice others had likened her eyes to.

The squire who spoke up gave her a weary glare. "Didn't your master ever teach you that it's rude to eavesdrop?" He grunted. He puffed out his chest and stood at his full height in an attempt to intimidate Elsa but the blonde was far too riled up to even bat an eye at the display.

"Didn't yours ever teach you that talking poorly about one of the castle's best knights is severely frowned upon?" She shot back. Her gauntleted fists clenched at her side.

The man laughed. "What are you going to do, lady? Go to your mum and cry about it?"

Elsa's eye twitched. "Unfortunately, I don't have a mum, so no. But you will."

She yanked off her gauntlet, throwing it down in front of the squire that had insulted Lady Anna. Not once did her gaze leave his. The other squires immediately ceased in their chuckling as a more serious air descended upon all of them. Joking was one thing...but a duel for another's honor was an entirely different matter.

"O-Oi, just leave it be, Gideon," one of the other squires said, all bravado gone. "Sir Kristoff might notice if we start dueling—"

"To hell what Sir Kristoff might think!" Gideon hissed, glaring at them before turning back to fix that very glare on Elsa. "If Lady Anna's bitch wants to fight, then I can't argue with that!"

Elsa could feel the familiar rush of blood; adrenaline rushing in her veins as she watched Gideon pick the gauntlet up and stride over to hand it back to her. Excitement and anger both coursed through her as she took it—one at the upcoming duel and the other at the smug smirk on Gideon's face. She was very much looking forward to wiping it off when she sent him sprawling to the ground.

Elsa put her gauntlet back on and the two readied themselves, drawing their swords. Gideon's stance was almost perfect; she could tell he trained hard under Sir Kristoff's tutelage. And Sir Kristoff was an excellent knight.

But not as excellent as Lady Anna, she thought with a grin.

The tips of their swords tapped together briefly...and so their duel began.

"You know...when I said to 'loosen up', I didn't think it would mean like this," Anna joked, a small chuckle passing through her lips. "Picking fights? Doesn't seem like you, squire."

Elsa winced, though she wasn't sure if it was simply Anna tightening the bandages on her leg...or the fear of disappointing her mentor with her reckless challenge earlier. At least outwardly, the knight didn't seem too upset over the turn of events in her absence…

"Still," said knight continued, nudging Elsa out of her thoughts, "I'm impressed you managed to give Gideon a good thrashing with your sword before Kristoff came over to stop you two."

"He...didn't really stop us," the blonde mumbled, turning her head to the side to avoid looking into Anna's curious gaze. "For all his words, Gideon panicked when he saw Sir Kristoff approaching. He yielded right away."

Anna chuckled again, and Elsa resisted the urge to shiver when she felt the knight trail a finger along her bandages. Her wounds were still sensitive.

"Did I hurt you?" the redhead asked, retreating her finger briefly as concern furrowed her brow. Elsa shook her head.

"Doesn't hurt...just sensitive," she answered, and she blushed faintly as she felt Anna's warm hand rest against her bare shoulder. The redhead's eyes were surprisingly tender; an expression she had yet to see on the confident, cheerful knight.

"Thank you, Elsa."

The sudden gratitude—along with the use of her actual name instead of just 'squire'—took her aback, and Elsa was not able to entirely fight back the blush overtaking her face. The tips of her ears burned as well, and it took all she had not to simply hide her reddening visage behind her hands.

"Why...Why are you thanking me?" Surprisingly, she somehow didn't stutter over her own words. Anna smiled broadly, giving her shoulder a squeeze.

"Kristoff told me what Gideon told him. How you wanted to defend my honor," she said, voice taking on a surprisingly tender tone as well. Her gaze softened as she continued, "So thank you...Elsa."

There it was again. Her name on Anna's lips.

Elsa merely nodded, not trusting herself to speak without accidentally slipping out her feelings for the redheaded knight tending to her wounds.

"You know, not a whole lot of people would bother doing what you did," Anna confessed softly. "I am known as strange among the nobility. Unorthodox in the ways of the knight. It's not nearly as uncommon as you think for someone to say something behind my back, Elsa."

Elsa blinked at the unexpected words. "B-But you're so well known! Practically a legend on horseback! Why would they find talking down to you acceptable?"

The hand on her shoulder rubbed the skin very subtly and the chill she had tried so hard to suppress finally shot it's way down her spine and made her shiver. "The other nobles care for my prowess and loyalty, which is why I am mostly allowed to do as I please, but it doesn't mean they have much respect for me beyond that," The words that passed her lips weren't sad nor pained. They were simply accepting of the truth, "After all, having a liking for women is frowned upon in these parts."

"That doesn't give them the right to disres—" Elsa's words ended abruptly and she jerked her head up fast, her jaw flopping open unattractively as she gawked at her mentor, "You… oh." She swallowed heavily and croaked, "Women…?"

Anna laughed gaily at Elsa's stupefied expression. "This is news to you, is it?" she teased.

A strong blush tinted Elsa's cheeks and she nibbled on her lower lip, averting her gaze briefly before returning it back to the red-headed knight's mesmerizing teal eyes. "As a matter of fact, yes," she admitted, and then hastily added, "But knowing this does not change how I think of you! Nor should it affect how other people treat you… and why should it? S-so you like women. Well, who doesn't like women? I'm a woman and I like women and I definitely like you a lot. I mean, you're so agile and strong, smart, wonderful, and so incredibly brave. Any woman lucky enough to catch your eye would be considered the luckiest woman on this earth!"

Silence.

Elsa could hear the feasting down below on the first floor of their quarters, and Sir Kristoff's faint urgings to quell the chaos just a little. Sir Gaston's loud singing easily drifted through the floorboards...and yet, none of these sounds mattered to her. Not when Anna had yet to remark on Elsa's passionate words, uttered unthinkingly and without her usual reserve.

To Elsa, it felt that time had both sped up and stopped all at once. As the seconds passed into well over a minute she felt her heart begin to tug painfully down into her stomach, and she clasped her hands together—left over right—against her chest. "I-I'm sorry…" she began, her speech fragile and meek. "I m-meant no dis-disrespect, Lady Anna." Her voice cracked upon saying the name aloud.

"Hm. I'll accept your apology," Anna said seriously, "on one condition." She rubbed her chin thoughtfully, her mouth quirking to the side and then her eyes lit up. "No, wait! Make that two!"

Nervously nodding, Elsa wondered what conditions she would be expected to meet. Whatever Lady Anna had planned for her, she would do it without hesitation. No matter how ridiculous or mundane the task may be, even if she ordered her to ride a horse upside down… She would likely fail miserably but she would damn well keep trying until she got it right. "Whatever you wish, Lady Anna."

Anna frowned ever so slightly and raised a finger. "First condition: drop the Lady when you're addressing me if we're alone. Just call me Anna, please."

Puzzled, Elsa's eyes widened at the unusual request. Addressing Anna by her title was a sign of respect, and to do otherwise would be doing the opposite of that. But… her mentor made herself clear so she decided not to question it. "If that's what you prefer, La —Anna."

Anna beamed brilliantly and patted Elsa carefully on the back. "I do prefer that. Thank you. I know it'll take some getting used to so I won't give you a hard time when you slip up," she promised with a wink.

Ducking her head in a vain attempt to hide her blossoming blush spurred on by the wink, Elsa meagerly said, "That's much appreciated. Thank you… Anna." Strange as it seemed, she actually liked the sound of the other knight's name slipping from her lips without the title preceding it.

"Now for my second condition." Anna leaned in, bringing her face closer to Elsa's.

She was so close that Elsa stopped breathing when the other woman's breath brushed across her face, her heart skipping crazily within her chest. "Y-yes?" she managed to squeak out.

Eyes trained squarely on Elsa's lips, Anna said decisively, "Kiss me."

Elsa glanced around the empty room, as though expecting to find somebody else in there with them, before she returned her gaze to that of the auburn beauty in front of her. As she dropped her right hand to her side, she pointed her index finger at her chest and queried, "M-Me?"

Anna chortled mirthfully in response, only to coyly follow up with "Yes, Elsa. You."

With that reassurance, she laid her hand upon the Knight's cheek and leaned in, head canted to the right, and pressed her lips against those she had dreamed of kissing for so long.

Anna's supple lips were heavenly soft, and warm as the beams of sunlight that caressed their uncovered skin during the day. Wanting to immerse herself in Anna completely, Elsa pressed insistently closer. Deepening the kiss, she lifted one hand to tenderly cup the side of the younger knight's face.

She felt Anna's other hand come to rest on her shoulder, and soon Elsa found herself pushed onto the bed as Anna returned her kiss with greater fervor...but unfortunately, the moment was ruined when the blonde flinched from the sensitivity of her wounds. The knight hastily scrambled off of her.

"S-Sorry! I'm so sorry!" Apologies immediately spilled from her mentor's lips, somewhat swollen from their kissing. "I got a little too excited there, haha...Hah…I-I didn't hurt you too much, did I?"

"No!" Elsa hastily exclaimed. She sat up part-way and rested her weight upon her left elbow to face Anna. "No, you didn't hurt me. I'm just a bit… sensitive still." She stretched her right arm to grab hold of the knight's left hand, and gently pulled on it. With a hesitant tremble she uttered, "I can slide over, and you could… lay beside me? I mean… i-if you… want to?"

At the sight of Anna's nod Elsa smiled and shifted to the side. The redhead lay down next to her as carefully as she could, trying not to aggravate Elsa's wounds too much. It made the blonde's smile widen and she eagerly snuggled into the warm side.

Anna's cheeks turned pink.

"S-So…" Elsa gulped. "W-Why did you want to… You know… Kiss me, all of the sudden?" She stared down at her fumbling fingers, unable to even look at Anna in the eyes. She heard a deep sigh coming from the redhead and Elsa tensed, immediately assuming that it was a frustrated one.

"I thought you've wanted to kiss me for a while now." Anna chuckled. "I assumed you were just too shy to actually do it."

"B-But I did it."

"Well, of course you did. You were only listening to your mentor, not acting at your own will." There was a slight disappointment in her voice.

"Sorry!" she exclaimed loudly, startling Anna who jumped slightly at the sudden outburst. "I'm so sorry. It's not that I didn't want to kiss you—I assure you, I most certainly did. But, yes, I was shy, and… I kept making a fool of myself in front of you, and I thought… well, I didn't know you liked women for starters. But even if you did, why would you ever want to be with your lowly squire who can't even ride a horse? And…" Elsa's voice trailed off.

Anna merely smiled at her. "And?"

Elsa felt her cheeks begin to burn, and tried to bury her face in her hands. But her movement was halted by the firm grip of freckled hands upon her own, as tanned fingers intertwined with pale ivory ones.

"What else were you going to say, Elsa?" Anna prodded.

"And… and…" To her dismay, Elsa had completely forgotten the rest of what she had wanted to say, distracted by the solid touch of the beautiful woman laying mere inches away from her, as well as the sound of her name so wonderfully uttered from between her precious lips. Lips that were increasingly drawing closer and closer to her own once again, but not quite reaching hers.

This time when Elsa attempted to close the distance she was disappointed to find Anna moving away from her. Taking the evasion as a sign that she had overstepped her boundaries, she apologized profusely, only shutting up when Anna leveled her with a look and squeezed her hand.

"We really need to work on your confidence, Elsa," Anna stated disapprovingly. "You need to be more assertive and daring. Remember, you are training to be a courageous knight! I know you have it in you! Challenging Gideon to a duel in my honor when you're not at your optimum skill level is proof of your brave and noble heart."

If a knight needs to be assertive and daring, then I...I…

A knock on the door nearly had them falling off the bed with how quickly they jerked away from each other. Thankfully they didn't, though Elsa's wounds began to sting a little from her sudden movement.

"Erm...Anna? Are you and Elsa still in there?" Sir Kristoff's muffled voice sounded through the wooden door.

"Yes! We'll be out in just a second!" Anna called out, sounding slightly miffed by the interruption. Turning back to Elsa, she offered a smile and said, "I suppose we should head on down to eat. After all that training plus your little impromptu duel, I bet you're famished!"

Elsa was apprehensive knowing that Kristoff may still be in the hallway. Yet, she still endeavoured to display to her mentor, her—well, she didn't know exactly what they were at this point—that she could be brave and assertive. She took Anna's hand in hers, raised it to her mouth, and pressed her lips lightly against freckled knuckles. "We shall continue our conversation after we eat then?"

She had kept her eyes trained on her companion's visage the entire time. Anna's already flushed cheeks further reddened, masking the freckles scattered across them, and followed by her pink lips forming a small "o", accompanied by the widening of teal eyes before those lips turned upward into a wide smile once more.

The squire felt a chill run up her spine as the younger woman purred, "Yes, this conversation certainly shall continue after supper. I'll return to my quarters for an hour after we eat to give us both some time to clean up after the day, then rejoin you back here?"

Elsa merely settled for a nod, her throat running dry at the thought of later and whatever would come their way. Anna's smile grew, and the knight leaned forward—quick as lightning—to press a kiss to Elsa's cheek before standing up to walk over to the door. Elsa sat up, reaching for her tunic to cover her bandaged torso as Anna opened the door a little to greet her fellow knight.

Supper was of the usual. Wine accompanied with delicious variety of food, loud chattering—mostly Kristoff taking every little chance to get himself and others drunk for the night. It was quite a festive evening, but Elsa didn't feel quite up for it tonight.

She'd been thinking about the words that Anna had spoken to her, and trying to get rid of the pain that surfaced around her torso for the day. Usually, she was quiet… but not this quiet.

"Hey, are you alright?" Anna questioned, her eyebrows quirking with worries. She held Elsa's hand.

Surprisingly, the blonde didn't flinch away from her touch. "I'm… fine," she smiled, uneasily.

"Thinking about before?" Anna took a big gulp of wine.

The blonde shrugged. "I guess…"

"Don't worry about it for now, we'll talk after dinner and we can make sure that… we've gotten our feelings straightened up."

Anna smiled as she gave Elsa's hand a squeeze. She looked like she was about to say more, but one of her fellow knights called for her across the spacious hall, urging her to join them in some contest. "I suppose I should go humor them for a bit," the redhead sighed when more of her peers joined in.

Elsa hid a smile behind her hand, chuckling a little at her mentor's enthusiastic friends. "I'll be cheering for you, then. Whatever it is."

Sticking her tongue out, Anna stood up from where they were sitting and made her way across the dining hall to her fellow knights. Elsa watched her go, propping her elbow on the table and resting her chin on her palm. The memory of their kiss flashed through her mind, and she couldn't help but giggle quietly to herself, nearly using her other hand to cover her face from the blush threatening to rise to her cheeks.

Someone sat down next to her, loudly setting down two tankards of mead. Elsa almost jumped at the suddenness of it all, head whipping around to take stock of the newcomer, only to relax a little upon seeing that it was only Sir Kristoff.

"Well someone looks happy. Kind of. Drink some mead!" he laughed loudly, his arm slung around Elsa's shoulders.

She rolled her eyes at him. "Sir Kristoff, I think you've drunk too much." Turning to him, she could already smell the scent of alcohol all over him, his cheeks getting redder with every gulp he'd taken. He still had those tankards in his hands, filled with the amber liquid.

He grumbled, "Come on, it's a party, you're supposed to drink! And why aren't you? What are you thinking, hm?" He wiggled his eyebrows, his eyes roaming around the crowded room. "You fancy someone here? Ooh, he looks cute, go talk to him."

With every little slurred words that came out of his mouth, the more irritated and bothered Elsa was getting.

"No, I don't fancy someone here."

Elsa didn't know what he was laughing about, but she was pretty sure it was another one of his odd behaviors, getting drunk. "Well then, whoooo?"

"I'm...I'm not telling you," she said, attempting to sound more assertive. While she respected Sir Kristoff, his questions were dancing a little too close to—

"Anna's lucky she's got someone so loyal. Treat her well, promise?" the blond knight whispered, leaning towards her, and Elsa couldn't help but startle at the change in demeanor. His cheeks were still red from drink, posture relaxed and loose...but his eyes were clear. Sir Kristoff angled his head, grinning broadly as he raised his voice. "Good job today, squire! We'll make a knight out of you yet!" Laughing loudly, he gave her a hefty pat on the back and walked away from her table, leaving her the other tankard of mead.

Elsa merely stared after the burly blond, dumbfounded.

Does he… Does he know?

But it didn't matter if he knew or not. She had more things to worry about than her feelings for Anna getting too easily exposed to others.

Getting up from her seat, she searched around the dining hall to find that the familiar redhead was gone. She didn't have that great of an appetite, anyway. Making her way through all these knights to the main hall was nearly impossible when half of them were drunk as hell and the other half just didn't bother to move.

Eventually she found her way back to her room… where Anna was waiting, sitting by the bed.

She smiled at the stunned blonde. "Hey. We need to talk, don't we?"

"W-we do," Elsa said, ducking her head and, when Anna patted the bed beside her, taking a seat. Her heart beat so loudly in her chest it was a wonder the knight couldn't hear it.

"Relax, Elsa." It was more Anna's smile than her words that made Elsa calm slightly. But still, her hands wrung tightly in her lap, and her gaze zeroed in on the floor until she felt the tip of Anna's finger on her chin. Elsa turned her head towards Anna, her eyes falling to Anna's lips, which were quirked in an odd smile. "I suppose you have good reason to be nervous." Anna's expression grew more serious. "I want to… apologize to you, Elsa."

"Apologize?" Elsa repeated breathlessly, stopping herself from leaning into Anna's hand as it drew away.

"I fear I may have taken advantage of you, as your mentor."

Elsa had to remind herself how to breathe.

In. Out.

You can do this. Talking is… Talking is good, yes? She thought as she tried to control her breathing, tried not to panic as scenarios upon scenarios raced through her mind, growing progressively worse. Of all the words to begin with, she hadn't expected that of Anna.

"Elsa?"

Those words probably shocked her to the point, that she wasn't even listening. "U-Um… I…" Neither could she concentrate with those fingers caressing the bottom of her jaw. The feeling of her warm skin against hers was… comforting, somehow. As if she'd been with her mentor for years, nothing felt better than to have her hands placed on her after a long, hard day.

That smile was warming, but Elsa just didn't know how to deal with the words that came out of it.

Anna sighed, "I've… not been a very good mentor to you… concealing these feelings and then, trying to show it by commanding you to kiss me."

"B-But I—"

She shook her head. "It's not about whether you wanted to do it or not… rather, it should be about something that you should do on your own without anybody telling you to. And for that, I'm sorry."

Still stunned, Elsa managed a small appreciative smile, her hand coming up to the one caressing her jaw. "But now we're clear about how we feel about each other… right?"

Anna's gaze softened. "Are we really? I believe...perhaps it would be best to take things at a slower pace, yes? After all, you're still my squire—we can't allow your training to slack!" She chuckled a little at her own words before the serious air returned. "And… I don't want there to be any suspicion once you get knighted. I don't want others to think that you'll get your title because...well…"

"Because they'll think I cheated," Elsa said flatly. "Because they wouldn't believe someone like me could—"

"No, no!" Anna cut her off quickly, clasping her hands reassuringly. "It has nothing to do with your ability, Elsa. I told you before, I don't exactly garner respect from my fellow nobles due to my… proclivities. Not only would they accuse me of corrupting you, but of being an immoral mentor who manipulated my way into giving you a knighthood to better my own name. Or any other vicious lie that may cross their minds. It is why, at first, I was…"

"You were?" Elsa prodded, and Anna grimaced, but continued.

"...Hesitant to take you on as my squire. There was already such talk among the less honorable knights, who want to see me fail regardless of the actions I take."

Elsa knew of such knights. Sir Hans, for one. With his ridiculous sideburns, calculating eyes and condescending sneers. He belonged to a noble family that had first objected to the inclusion of female knights centuries ago, claiming they wouldn't be fit to uphold the honor—a sentiment that apparently persisted even until today.

"But... you haven't. You've trained me so well." Elsa didn't know she had this thought in her mind, worrying herself that she wasn't good enough. Never would she have thought her bubbly mentor would have these kind of thoughts… concealing whatever feeling that she deemed unnecessary. "You… really shouldn't be listening to what these people… you're my mentor and only I can judge whether or not you fail."

She chuckled. "I guess."

Elsa smiled, letting her fingers entwine with Anna's. "Then… I guess, you're right about one thing… we really should take things slow, right?"

The knight gave a smile of her own. "And here I thought I was the more impulsive and impatient of us…"

"There are things for which I can be patient and logical…" Elsa murmured, tracing the back of Anna's palm with reverence before catching and holding Anna's gaze. "Your affection has never really been one of them."

Her mentor ducked her head at those words, a blush spreading across her freckled cheeks, and Elsa's heart swelled with pride. After concealing it for so long, it felt...freeing to say it aloud. The thoughts once confined to her own mind.

Sir Kristoff's earlier words flitted through her head, to look after Anna, and Elsa silently swore she would make good on that promise. As a squire, as a knight, as a noble's daughter...it didn't matter.

No one would harm Anna, or tarnish her name, as long as Elsa was there to put a stop to it.

THE END

Contributors for this round: The Wandering Quill, Issandri, iamrottingunman, CanITellUSmthin, Cyrianu, Pankite, a-kind-of-truth, therewillbesparkles