Work Text:
“We would like your blessing for our marriage!!”
Fits of giggles erupted out of Anna as she glanced up to the handsome Prince Hans. Her prince! What a whirlwind day this was! The events checked off so many of her own personal desires. While she couldn’t exactly say that she expected to meet a handsome stranger, fall in love with him —and he in return with her!— and be proposed to, all in the span of twelve hours, she certainly hoped, dreamed, something like this would happen once the gates opened. And they certainly did. She couldn’t have asked for a better man to accidentally-almost knock her into the fjords. Hans was a true god among men. So handsome and strong, kind and compassionate, a true chivalrous gentleman. And not only that, he and her were two sides of the same coin. What were the odds that he too shared an equally lonely and painful upbringing? Well no more. They would have each other, and once they wed, they would never feel the pain of their pasts ever again!
Once Elsa gave her congratulations, that is.
The Queen blinked in surprise and nearly took a step back. “M-marriage??”
“Yes!!” Anna giggled some more and squeezed Hans’ arm tighter.
The immense joy and excitement that was on Anna and Hans’ faces didn’t transfer over to Elsa’s. Instead, her brow furrowed, though the rest of her face remained fairly stoic. “I’m sorry, I’m confused.”
“O-oh!” Anna waved an innocent hand, completely oblivious to her sister’s less than enthusiastic response. “I don’t mean right now! We’ll still need a few days to plan the ceremony…” she immediately started to ramble as the adrenaline buzz made the words come out of her mouth before she could even think twice, “…we’ll have soup, roast and ice cream! And—“ she suddenly gasped as a most wonderful thought came to her. “And we’ll live here—“
“—here?!” Elsa’s frantic voice was only marginally heard.
“Absolutely!” Hans spoke up now and grasped Anna’s hands warmly. “Where else? This is your home!”
“Anna, wait—“
“Oooh, we can invite all twelve of your brothers to stay with us!” Anna had fully turned to Hans now and ran her hands gently down his torso. “I’m sure they’d love to come for the wedding! Arendelle is such a beautiful place that—“
“Anna, stop!” Elsa said much louder and stepped forward, waving her hands to get Anna’s attention. “No one’s brothers are going to stay here. And no one is getting married.”
It suddenly felt as everything came to a grinding halt as Anna tore her eyes from her fiancé and stared at Elsa in shock. How could she say that? Couldn’t she see how happy she and Hans were? “Wait… what?”
“Can I talk to you, please?” Elsa asked. Her eyes shifted briefly, warily, to Hans. “Alone?”
“N-no!” Anna shook her head and latched back onto Hans’ arm. This involved him too. How could they discuss the fate of his proposal, of his future, without him?? “Whatever you have to say, you can say to both of us.”
Elsa sighed. Her shoulders instantly pulled back and she stood tall with her head held high. It was the most regal pose that she made all evening. “Fine. You can’t marry a man you just met.”
“You can if it’s true love!”
“Anna, what do you know about true love?”
“More than you…” Anna responded back confidently. She spent all her life in the libraries reading every single fairytale book on the shelf. Those stories were what kept her going for thirteen long years. They became the source of all of her hopes and dreams… of finding that one special person to share such a connection with, to find love in her life, to be loved in return… that was her and Hans. She couldn’t explain that bubbling feeling she got deep down whenever Hans would smile at her, laugh with her, especially when he touched her… but she knew whatever it was, it was special. It was magic. And that’s what true love was.
But what did Elsa know about any of that? She spent every day locked in her room with no one to talk to but her own reflection, especially after their parents died. And how dare Elsa try to insinuate to her that she knew nothing about love? It seemed highly hypocritical. Did Elsa even love her at all? Because if she did, she would have at least talked to her through the door. Or better still, come out of that room.
But no. Elsa was all about closed doors. Maybe it was time she fired something just as hurtful back. “All you know how to do is shut people out!!”
It seemed to have the right effect at first. Elsa’s eyes widened in shock and she recoiled backwards. But instead of the message working to change her mind and reconsider, it only cemented her decision. Her mouth opened and closed briefly to come up with something to say. “You asked for my blessing, but my answer is no. Now, if you’ll excuse me—“ She immediately stepped away and brushed past her sister towards the open ballroom floor.
Anna looked up to Hans with a tearful expression, and was thankful that he found the courage to take over in her place. He gave her one hand a hopeful squeeze before making a single step forward to try and bring Elsa back. “Please, Your Majesty, if I could just ease your—“
“No! You may not!” Elsa snapped back harshly and glared at him— at both he and Anna. “And I think you should go! The party is over,” Elsa said sternly to a nearby attendant, “Close the gates!”
Anna quickly shook her head. This was the last thing that she wanted to hear. Close the gates?? But the night wasn’t over, nor was she ready for it to end. That would mean letting go of all of the freedoms that this one day had given her. That would mean… letting go of sunshine! Laughter! And Hans! Closing the gates meant he would have to go home…. She glanced up to her fiancé. He shared an equally saddened and worrisome expression.
“Elsa, no, wait!!” Without a second thought, she detached herself from Hans’ arm and rushed after her sister. Elsa didn’t even acknowledge her as she stormed to the ballroom exit, so Anna did the only thing she could think of– she grabbed hold of her sister's forearm and tried to pull her back. But, instead of Elsa coming to a complete stop, the teal satin glove that she wore slid right off her arm and hung limp and loose in Anna’s grasp.
That certainly got Elsa’s attention, and immediately she spun around in a panic. Her eyes didn’t meet Anna’s but instead focused on her missing garment. “Give me back my glove!” She commanded desperately and tried to reach for it.
Anna immediately shifted it away from Elsa’s snatching hand and clutched it against her chest. “Elsa, please…please!! I can’t live like this anymore!” She cried. Perhaps this was the only way to get through to her. She had to try.
Elsa stared at the glove, then her eyes rose to finally look at Anna’s face. Her lips pressed to a thin line as she stared at her sister, then finally found the words to respond. “Then leave…”
Anna gasped and recoiled back. Thirteen years worth of hurt and neglect showed across her face as she clutched the glove tighter in her hands, “You don’t really mean that.” Her heart started thumping harder in her chest at the implication of Elsa’s words. How could she possibly leave? This was her home! And Elsa was still her family– her only family. Why would she want to throw her out like this?
“Yes, Anna, I do.” Elsa replied sharply. Her shoulders slouched as she hunched over, hugging her arms to her chest as she turned to walk away once more.
Anna fought hard to keep her emotions in check. She could feel tears starting to well up. How could Elsa possibly do this to her?? Didn’t the obsessive loneliness and prison of her four bedroom walls get to her at all? How could Elsa be so heartless and cruel to not consider her own sister’s feelings? Did she hate her? Is that why she was being so unfair? Is that why they suddenly grew apart? But why?? She couldn’t remember a single instance in her youth when she actually made her sister angry. They were so close, practically inseparable. And suddenly one morning everything changed with no explanation.
“What… what did I ever do to you?!” Anna shot back angrily. “Why are you treating me like this?!”
Elsa barely turned her head enough to glance over her shoulder and when she spoke, it was in an agitated huff, “enough, Anna.”
“No!! Why do you shut me out?? Why do you shut the world out?? For God’s sake, Elsa, what are—” Anna lost her voice when a set of strong arms gently pulled her back. She glanced up to see Hans holding her close. His eyes were full of sorrow as he subtly shook his head at her.
“Anna, please. Not here…” He whispered quietly to her as his eyes shifted off to the side.
There were quiet murmurs all around her, and Anna’s cheeks immediately pinkened when she realized that nearly everyone in the ballroom had eyes on her–not Elsa– for her outbursts. She was embarrassing herself in public, and was starting to regret not taking Elsa up on the suggestion to talk in private. Her whole body started to tremble as her composure slipped. She leaned more into Hans’ side to hide herself from everyone’s prying eyes. Her prince tried to console her, rubbing a hand up and down her back, and while she appreciated the gesture it did little to make her feel better.
She sniffled and used her free hand to wipe her tears away before they left marks on his crème tailcoat. This was not at all how she envisioned the evening playing out. She and Elsa were supposed to reconnect as sisters. Elsa was supposed to be happy with the marriage proposal and welcome Prince Hans with open arms! What difference did it make that she only just met him that morning? What they had was a special kind of bond. She could feel it deep down in her soul that the affection she and Hans shared was honest and true.
But Elsa didn’t seem to care about any of that. She didn’t even want to give Hans a chance! To give them a chance. Anna couldn’t bear to have him leave, never to be seen again… not now that he gave her so much life and energy. But Elsa’s position was made bluntly clear. If she wanted Hans, she would have to go, too. It devastated her to think this way, but if this was how she was going to be treated, to be thrown out of her own home on a whim, then so be it. She glanced down to the glove in her hands. It seemed that her sister cared more about an accessory and concealing every aspect of her life than the happiness and well-being of her own flesh and blood. That acknowledgement brought her so much pain that every rapid heartbeat felt as if she were being stabbed in the chest.
Who needed Elsa, anyway? After all… she managed to survive for thirteen years without her.
“Fine…” Anna sniffled, her trembling voice much softer than her previous outburst, “I’ll go. I’ll go to the Southern Isles and live with Hans. We’ll get married with or without your blessing, and I’ll spend my days in the warm sunlight surrounded by actual people. For the first time in forever, I’ll have a real family again, and I’ll be happy.”
That got Elsa to stop in her tracks. Her remaining glove-covered hand had rested on the ornate doorknob, and she turned to look back at her younger sister. Her eyebrows creased upon seeing all of the anguish over Anna’s face. Her head shook slightly and her mouth opened and closed as if she was struggling to come up with something to say. “Anna, I–”
“Here. Take this back. It means more to you than I ever did.” Anna took a deep breath and in one movement, she tossed the glove across the ballroom. It landed on the polished floor a few feet away from where Elsa was standing. “Hans and I will leave first thing in the morning. Good luck being the queen, Elsa. I pray you won’t treat our people as coldly as you’ve always treated me.”
Without another word, she covered her mouth with her hands and fled right past Elsa out of the ballroom. Barely remembering to lift her skirts in time, she stumbled her way up the grand staircase and didn’t stop until she made it to the privacy of her own bedroom. And only then did she collapse onto her knees and cry for the family and home she would never see again.