Chapter fourteen

Red and white

The organist was playing Pachelbel's Canon in D.

Again.

Kristoff sighed, pulling at the collar of his suit again. Despite having found, over the past few weeks, 23 different florists, 78 caterers, 31 tailors, 16 decorators, and 41 bakers, it seemed that, in all of Arendelle, there was only one professional organist. And that organist only seemed to know one single tune.

It was anomalous. This was the wedding of the century. In every other way, they had been sure to spare no expense – the food, the decorations, everything was perfect – and yet, here the guests sat, bored to tears from listening to the same song 16 times in a row.

Kristoff glanced at the assembled guests.

Then again, considering all the bizarre guests gathered here today, I doubt there's ever a dull moment.

The left side of the aisle was normal enough – foreign dignitaries from neighboring kingdoms, as well as much of the castle staff. Kai and Gerda were in attendance, naturally, with several more of Anna's favorites in the first row. In the second, some of the most prominent royal guests. Rapunzel made polite conversation with Marisol, occasionally prodding Eugene in a futile effort to get him to sit up straight.

Surprisingly, even Weselton and the Southern Isles made an appearance, with a low ranking member of each one's royal family here. They had repeatedly stressed that they were here to 'put all that nasty business behind us,' which Kristoff was inclined to believe – after all, what country wants to be opposed to an ice queen? They were currently seated next to Angus, a rotund and boisterous king from a nearby island nation, and each was making an admirable effort to not appear upset about the arrangement.

The right side, on the other hand, was complete chaos.

It was perfectly reasonable to let Olaf be in attendance. He was, after all, Elsa's creation, and it was only fitting that he be here for the wedding. Marshmallow was a bit iffier, but Elsa had commanded him to not do anything even remotely violent, so mostly he just sat there quietly, shooting dark looks at the humans on the other side of the aisle. Thankfully, they had decided on an open air ceremony – who knows how much worse it might have been if they had to get him inside.

Problem was, once he had agreed to let those two attend, he also had to invite their…brothers, as well.

The best thing you could say about the little snowmen, or 'snowgies', as people had affectionately nicknamed them, was that they were very friendly. They had no compunctions about running up to the other guests, jumping into their laps, and cuddling, which everyone, of course, found charming and adorable.

The worst thing you could say about them was pretty much everything else.

For every minute he spent setting up any one part of the ceremony, he spent three more defending it from the snowgies. Banners, flowers, tables, food – nothing was safe from their wrath. Any time he cornered one of them and tried to reason with it, ten more would jump on something else.

Kristoff sighed, leaning back against Sven. I swear, if I have to spend one more minute wrangling those little-

"Kristoff?"

He wheeled around. "Yes, Elsa?" he said quickly.

Elsa looked positively radiant, her wedding dress a swirly mix of white and light blue. The slight frown on her face was the only thing that marred it somewhat.

"Could you talk to Anna?" she asked. "She hasn't come out of the dressing room, and she says she doesn't want me to see her just yet."

Kristoff smiled reassuringly. "She's just nervous, that's all," he said. "This is a big day – for both of you.

"I know that," Elsa fretted. "Could you just…make sure she's okay?"

Kristoff grinned. "Hey, no problem," he said. "Just, be a dear and make sure none of your snowgies make it to the cake, okay? They've tried a couple times already."

"Oh, sure thing," Elsa said. "They haven't been trouble, have they?"

"What? No, of course not!" Kristoff said quickly, laughing just a bit too hard. Quickly, he hurried off to find Anna.

Elsa frowned as he went. She turned to Sven. "Have they been trouble?"

Sven nodded so vigorously his antlers clapped together.

xxxxxxx

Kristoff made his way to the ornate tent designated as Anna's dressing room. He stepped inside and knocked gently on the thin divider set up.

"No!" Anna shouted from behind the barrier. "I told you it's bad luck for the bride to see me in my wedding dress before the ceremony!"

"Really?" he said. "I didn't realize I was the bride."

Anna pushed aside the divider. "Oh, Kristoff," she said, surprised. "I didn't expect you to come by."

"Elsa's worried about you," he said. "Can I come in?"

"Oh, sure, sure thing," Anna said distractedly.

Kristoff stepped into the little tent, ducking under the low ceiling.

"You have a really soft tap, you know," Anna said. "That's why I thought you were Elsa – uh, why I thought that you tapping was actually Elsa tapping. Uh, not that you tap like a girl, I didn't mean to say that either, although, if you did-"

Kristoff held up a hand to silence her. "You're nervous," he said.

"What?" Anna said, trying to sound casual. "Don't be silly, Kristoff. I'm not nervous. I'm marrying the best woman in the world, why would I possibly be…"

Kristoff raised an eyebrow.

Anna sighed. "Okay, you're right, Kristoff. I'm really nervous right now."

"That's fine," he assured. "Pre-wedding jitters are always-"

"It's not about the wedding," she said. "It's the people."

Kristoff was surprised. "The people?" he said. "You mean the guests?"

"Yes, the guests!" Anna said, frustrated by his lack of understanding. "What if I go out there and they all boo us? Or laugh at us? Or call us names, and -"

Kristoff put his hand on her shoulder. "Anna, it'll be fine."

She looked at him. "But how do you know?"

He smiled. "Because it's true love."

Anna stared at him, unsure how to respond. Kristoff continued.

"You two are perfect together. Your love for each other is the most powerful magic I've ever seen. It was obvious to everyone ever since that day on the lake. I promise you, nobody will be able to look at you two and say this marriage wasn't meant to be."

He could see the calming effect his words were having on her. "Well, maybe, but…"

Kristoff grinned. "Come on, Anna. You're getting married to Elsa, queen of all Arendelle! That makes you the second luckiest girl in the world today! I promise you, I won't let anything bad happen to either of you."

Anna smiled. "Thanks, Kristoff," she said, hugging him. "You're a great friend."

"Yeah, yeah," he said. "You already made me best man – you really don't need to flatter me anymore."

Anna giggled.

Kristoff pointed for the exit. "Now let's get this marriage started!"

She smiled. "Okay," she said. "Thanks again, Kristoff."

Kristoff watched her as she left, nearly stumbling over the hem of her wedding dress. The tailor said she'd get used to the longer skirt, but she didn't seem to have gotten the hang of it just yet.

Mainly white, the dress' main design was a ring of rose patterns, wrapping diagonally around the gown so they traveled down one of the sleeves. Each rose was intricate, a mixture of deep scarlet and paler pinks. Anna looked downright gorgeous in it.

And to think, there was a time when I would've…

He shook his head. No use thinking about that now. She's with Elsa, and she's happy.

And I wouldn't want it any other way.

xxxxxxx

The priest cleared his throat. The general chatter settled down quickly.

"Love conquers all bounds," he began. "We are gathered here today to celebrate this fact, with the union of Queen Elsa and Princess Anna in holy matrimony."

Anna shivered. Though they had rehearsed this several times, hearing these words, for real this time, sent a shiver down her spine.

This is really, actually happening.

In front of her, Elsa looked just as excited, though she seemed to be doing a better job of holding still. Beside her, Kristoff fidgeted, his itchy suit only made itchier by the large tufts of reindeer fur stuck to it.

As the priest continued through the ceremony, Anna couldn't help but steal a few nervous glances at the audience. All she saw was smiles. No scowls, no angry looks, nobody that looked like they were about to get up and protest.

She reprimanded herself. Nothing is going to happen to ruin this. Why do I insist on thinking something might?

The fact was, these last few weeks hadn't just been perfect – they had been too perfect. The fact that this was going to happen – that she was about to be allowed to do this, that she and Elsa would be together like this forever – it was almost too good to be true.

The priest's voice cut through her thought. "If anyone objects to this union, speak now, or forever hold your peace."

Anna stiffened. This is it.

But nobody said a word. Ten agonizingly long seconds of absolute silence passed, and then it was over.

The priest turned to her. "Princess Anna, do you take Elsa to be your lawfully wedded wife, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, for better or for worse, as long as you both shall live?"

Anna swallowed. "I-I do."

He turned to Elsa. "And Queen Elsa, do you take Anna to be your lawfully wedded wife, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, for better or for worse, as long as you both shall live?"

Elsa nodded. "I do."

"Then, by the power vested in me by the kingdom of Arendelle, I pronounce the two of you are married."

The guests applauded.

"The brides may now kiss," he finished.

Anna took a step forward, wrapped her arms around Elsa, and did just that.