Chapter eleven

Return to progress

Elsa woke up in a sea of red. Not a bad thing in itself, but a few clumps had ended up in her mouth.

Careful not to pull on any of the numerous hairs in her mouth, she delicately pulled them out, one by one. Once this delicate maneuver was complete, she allowed herself to contemplate the rest of the picture presented to her.

Anna's hair, it seemed, had a mind of its own. Freed from its twin plaits, it exploded from her head, seeking out every crack and crevice of its surroundings, snarling and tangling of its own accord. She had observed this phenomenon before, of course, but she had never been so…intimately close to it.

Safely freed from the scarlet tangle, Elsa climbed out of the bed, taking care not to wake Anna. This time, rather than returning in one big burst, memories of the previous day slowly trickled back into her conscious mind.

After her big promise, they had spent most of the rest of the day in Anna's room, and a lot of that time in her bed. Talking, laughing, crying, kissing, and eventually cuddling, the hours had seemed to fly by, the joy of being on speaking terms again steadily mending the damage they had caused each other.

Unfortunately, Elsa realized, the smell of the room – and of the two of them – had started to reflect the time they had spent in it. No magic on earth – even the magic of true love – could prevent that. A bath would work wonders on her, in more ways than one.

While she regretted leaving Anna, even for the short time it would take to draw a bath, the voice of reason pointed out that Anna probably wouldn't be awake for hours. At any rate, if she was going to be the first thing Anna saw when she woke up, it wouldn't hurt to be as attractive as possible at that point. She quickly scribbled down an explanation on a scrap piece of paper in case Anna woke before she returned, then tiptoed to the door, sliding it open as quietly as possible.

As she stepped out, she looked back at Anna. Still sprawled over her side of the bed, with her tangle of red hair and cute yellow nightgown, she looked nothing short of adorable. Elsa stifled a giggle.

That was the amazing thing about Anna, Elsa thought as she eased the door closed behind her. No matter what the situation, she never failed to look adorable.

xxxxxxx

That was the amazing thing about Elsa, Anna thought as she watched her slip out through nearly closed eyes. No matter what the situation, she never failed to look gorgeous.

Anna sat up, stretching. Her muscles were sore from her deliberately holding herself in place for so long, but she simply hadn't wanted to break away from the magic that was their closeness.

She twisted her back, relishing the popping noise her spine made. Once this vital task was complete, she picked up the note Elsa had left her.

Went to take a bath, will be back as soon as I can. Love you! 3

Anna smiled. She sniffed the underside of her armpit. Come to think of it, she could use a bath, too.

Maybe I should join her.

Anna dismissed the thought quickly. As pleasing as the thought of seeing Elsa naked was to her, she wasn't sure they were back to that point yet.

Hell, she wasn't at that point before.

The only recourse now, it seemed, was to wait for Elsa to return, then go take a bath herself. Which meant that, for most of the next hour or so, she'd be pretty much alone again.

She felt her heart growing heavy with this thought, a tide of sadness rising within her. Angrily, she forced it down.

No. I am not going to dissolve into a puddle of tears every time I'm alone for fifteen seconds.

If she had an hour to herself, that just meant an hour to plan out the perfect date for her and Elsa. Some of her best ideas had come in half that time.

But after twenty minutes, Anna still hadn't come up with anything.

Where could they possibly go from here? What was the logical next step for them? What do couples normally do after a big fight?

She chuckled. Normally? As if there could ever be such a thing with us.

She walked to the open window. Maybe some fresh air would help clear her mind.

Looking out at the countryside, Anna reviewed the criteria today's date would have to meet. Informal, but not lazy. Relaxed, but at least a little intimate. Probably outside, after the day they'd spent cooped up. Maybe something they could invite friends to, but not exactly-

"Hey! Anna!" came a voice from far, far below. She looked down.

There, standing in the grassy field outside their windows, stood Kristoff, holding up a cardboard sign with writing scrawled on it. When he saw that she was looking, he started waving the sign back and forth. This, combined with the sloppy handwriting, made it very hard for her to read what was actually written on the sign.

HOW DID IT WORK OUT BETWEEN YOU TWO, she managed to make out.

Anna felt a pang of guilt. She hadn't talked to him for two days – he must have been worried sick.

She gave two thumbs up gestures, spreading her arms as wide as she could to make sure he saw. Instantly, she saw him jump a couple feet in the air, causing him to drop his sign.

She giggled. Even from this distance, she recognized a jump for joy when she saw one.

Kristoff picked the sign up again, then flipped it over.

THAT'S GREAT! DO YOU GUYS WANT TO GO ON A PICNIC WITH US?

Anna had to read the sign again, to make sure she understood it correctly.

A picnic? Of all the things to suggest, why that? What about the scenario suggested they would want to…

Her mind went back to what she had just been thinking. She smiled. Looking back down at Kristoff, she shot him another double thumbs up.

The man was a genius.

xxxxxxx

"This looks like a nice place," Kristoff remarked, gesturing at the flat, grassy ground in front of them.

"Sure," Anna agreed, unrolling the checkered cloth they had brought.

Elsa, ever pragmatic, looked around for anthills, but there didn't seem to be any nearby. It seemed, for all the world, like the perfect place for the five of them to eat.

"All right," said Kristoff, opening up the large basket he had brought. "There's two sandwiches for each of us to start, with a couple extra. I also packed some pink lemonade, a few apples, and…"

He trailed off, looking into the basket. He reached inside and pulled out an empty plate, with crumbs on top of it. "Carrot cake," he finished. He glared at the other two who had followed them.

Olaf quickly pointed at Sven. Sven, bereft of fingers, could only stare back at Olaf in an accusatory manner.

Kristoff turned to the girls, sighing. "Well, I guess we won't be having the carrot cake, after all."

Anna giggled. "Relax, Kristoff. It's fine."

"But this happens every time we…" He sighed again. "Fine."

He started to unpack the basket. "Olaf," he said, "What kind of sandwich would you like to start with?"

"Oh, none for me, thanks," Olaf said. "I'm full."

Kristoff stopped, mid-motion. He glared at Olaf.

Olaf stared back, clueless. "What?"

xxxxxxx

Kristoff kept glowering at Olaf as they ate. Elsa and Anna kept telling him to let it slide, but he remained adamant. Apparently, this wasn't the first time a cake had gone missing, and Kristoff himself had been blamed once before. Olaf, of course, was completely oblivious to his ire, failing to register the invisible death rays emanating from Kristoff's eyes. Eventually, he gave up and simply dropped the matter.

Outside of Kristoff's lingering resentment, it was a very pleasant meal. There wasn't a cloud in the sky – Elsa made sure of it – and a calm breeze ensured the perfect temperature. The food was delicious, the view was beautiful – and, of course, the company was wonderful.

"This," Elsa proclaimed, "is nice."

"Glad you like it," Kristoff said. "I wasn't sure what you guys liked, so I asked the kitchen staff…"

"No, I mean, this picnic," she clarified. "Just us, hanging out together."

"Oh," he said. "Thanks."

"When was the last time we did something like this together?" Anna asked. "Just the five of us."

"Your birthday," Elsa answered. "We had a party, there was cake…" She pressed her hand to her forehead. "I can't remember what else happened, but we had a lot of fun, right?"

"Some of us," Kristoff said, "more than others."

"You had a cold, remember?" Anna prompted. "And all of us were only together for, like, a couple minutes."

"Plus, your little snow guys ate all the cake," Kristoff pointed out. Raising his voice, he added, "Behavior that their older brother seems to have picked up as well!" He looked back at Olaf.

"You don't have to shout, Kristoff," Olaf said. "We're right here."

Kristoff sighed, defeated. Elsa scratched her head.

"So, if all that happened," she said, "why do I remember being so happy?"

Anna grinned. "Because I was there with you, doofus!"

Elsa laughed. "Oh, right, duh. That would do it."

They both giggled again. Elsa, in fact, had done more giggling than eating during the picnic. There was just something about today that made her feel uncontrollably happy.

Then Anna placed her hand on top of Elsa's, sending a brief jolt of electricity up her arm and into her spine. Elsa turned to look at her, smiling.

Her. I'm guessing it's her.

Anna smiled back, and to Elsa, that sight alone was more beautiful than anything around them. Yep, there was no doubt about it – it was Anna that was lifting her spirits.

They hadn't even kissed – okay, they had kissed once, at the start of the picnic, but it was agreed that they'd do their best to not make it awkward for the guys – but it didn't seem to matter. Just being near her, holding hands, was enough.

How could I have ever thought she'd want to skip this?

Regret flared within her, but the sickening feeling that accompanied it was quickly extinguished. So was any negative feeling that so much as threatened to come between her and Anna.

Kristoff watched the two, smiling.

"Are they having a staring contest?" Olaf piped up.

This comment broke Kristoff out of it, though the girls seemed oblivious.

"What? No," he answered quietly. "They're just in love."

"True love?" Olaf offered.

Kristoff chuckled. "You'd better believe it."