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People in brightly-colored dress milled around the room in chaotic eddies; a man in a white mask asked Elsa for a dance and Elsa declined, distracted.
Elsa sighed, sliding her Venetian mask back into place. Anna still wasn't here. In all the bustle of the day's preparations, Elsa hadn't run into her all day, and it was odd for Anna to be anything but the first to arrive to a party.
Elsa wished she were here. There were a lot of people here who wanted to talk to Elsa, and Elsa had admittedly been hoping to deflect at least some of them onto Anna—parties and talking to people were always much more her thing, even now. It was true that a lot of what Anna might tell their guests about the current state of Arendelle was likely to be flat-out wrong... but it was sure to be entertaining at the very least.
Something bad hadn't happened to Anna, had it? The anxious thought was interrupted by yet another visitor coming to pay their respects, taking a deep bow in front of Elsa. She'd had so many men coming up to introduce themselves to her—young nobles for whom marriage to the queen of even a small kingdom like Arendelle would be a desirable match. Elsa was about to curtsy and give her standard welcome when she came to the sudden realization that her newest guest was, in fact, Anna—except Anna dressed in a dark wool jacket and light trousers with her hair fastened close to her head and a black mask on her face and—partially obscured by it—an absurd-looking mustache. "Anna!" Elsa exclaimed in surprise.
"Anna?" Anna said in an affectedly deep voice. "Um, no, my name is Georg—baron of uh... Chocoland."
Elsa suppressed a laugh. "Chocoland?"
"Don't tell me you haven't heard of Chocoland!" Anna exclaimed. "How tragic that word of our illustrious country hasn't reached Arendelle!"
Laughing, Elsa held out her hand for Anna to take. "Charmed to make your acquaintance, Baron Georg of Chocoland."
"Equally charmed, Queen Elsa of Arendelle!" Anna said, bending to give it a kiss. When she straightened again, she didn't let go of Elsa's hand but continued in that silly fake-deep voice of hers, "May I have the honor of a dance, Your Majesty? I hear there are too many men wanting to dance in the room, and a pretty lady joining would help even out the numbers a bit."
"Too many men indeed," Elsa said with a smile. "Well, I suppose I ought to do my best to help. Lead on!"
The two of them joined the dance floor and Anna led them in an enthusiastic dance. Like with chatting with strangers at parties, dancing was much more Anna's thing rather than Elsa's, but Elsa had to admit she was having a good time. Anna always made her feel calm and at home, and she was constantly pulling antics that had Elsa snorting with laughter in a most undignified manner.
As they spun and whirled around the floor, Elsa felt herself flush. Anna looked quite dashing in the well-tailored outfit she was wearing—well, she always looked dashing; this was just a new and unexpected way of looking dashing, she supposed. When had Anna gotten such a suit made? Just for this party?
Over time, Elsa increasingly felt the crowd's eyes on the two of them. She suddenly felt nervous, wondering if people recognized the crown princess, or if the costume had succeeded in disguising her identity. Either way, she could feel the murmur of gossip arising in pockets around them at seeing the queen dancing with the newcomer.
Maybe sensing her discomfort, Anna asked her if she wanted to leave the party for a stroll. Elsa suspected that would only increase the gossip—but at least they wouldn't be physically surrounded by it. "Yes. Let's go." Grabbing Anna by the hand, she slipped out of the ballroom and out of the palace into the gardens.
Once outside, strolling hand in hand, picking their way slowly through the garden paths, Elsa felt how much easier it was to breathe. It was always that way with Anna—she was the only one that Elsa felt like she could truly be herself around, finally let down the tense walls she kept up most of the time.
"What's up with all this?" Elsa asked, gesturing at Anna's costume.
Dropping the masculine voice now that they were alone, Anna replied, "Well, I just figured you might want a break from all the party stuff, and all the suitors too. You know they say that you're the most eligible bachelorette in Europe?"
"Who says that?"
"I read it somewhere."
Elsa laughed. "Well, thanks. I am definitely not going to get married, though."
Anna folded her free arm behind her back. "You might find someone."
I have someone, Elsa thought, squeezing Anna's hand.
The walk through the garden was beautiful, lit as it was by a full moon. They passed under a topiary arch, and Elsa turned to look at Anna who looked both strange and also undeniably Anna in the moonlight. All at once she was struck by the strange thought, of what if they could walk together like this every night, temporarily not themselves. Something other than sisters. Elsa would give anything for that.
"Elsa." Before Elsa knew what was happening, Anna had let go of her hand to cup her cheek and then kissed her on the lips.
Elsa recoiled as if burned, turning away, her hands nervously finding her braid to tug at it.
"Ah, I... I guess I got too much into the role," Anna stammered out, quick and apologetic.
It was a lie, hastily produced to save face. But why should Anna have to do that? Anna always risking, putting herself out there while Elsa did nothing, pretending she didn't feel the things she did. That was always the way in their family: conceal, don't feel, suppress everything. But Elsa had a different way of living her life now.
Turning back towards Anna, she threw her arms around her sister and kissed her, putting everything she had into that kiss, tears pricking the edges of her eyes as she just let all the feelings flow out. If people saw them, she hoped they wouldn't see the queen and the crown princess kissing in the garden; if they did, she hoped they would turn away and pretend they hadn't seen anything.
Why was Anna the only one who made her feel this way? That constant simmering flame under her skin, passion ready to flare up at a moment's notice. Dangerous feelings.
Growing up in that cold, dark castle, she had expended so much of her energy avoiding Anna's bright glances, shutting herself in her room so nothing on her face could give away what she felt in her heart. Trying to be a good girl, the perfect daughter, not a monster.
Don't think about Anna like that. Don't feel the way you feel about her. Don't let it show; she can't ever know. Well, now she knew, and the joy of being able to kiss her now was more than worth each moment of repression, that muscle flexed every day for years.
That was, until she felt the crunch as ice crystals blossomed like flowers on Anna's lips. This time, Elsa shot backward for a different reason, panic constricting her chest. Stammering out an apology, Elsa's mind went back to the other reason she had kept her distance from Anna for so many years, her mind falling down a dark well into vivid imaginings of death and coldness, injuries inflicted by her own hands. The dark spiral was cut short when Anna held her tightly, their lips meeting again, cold snowflakes melting away against warm skin, warm blood flowing beneath it. And gradually Elsa felt her anxiety quiet from an ever-present tempest to a light drift of snow.
She loved that Anna could have this effect on her. She loved Anna.
A breath in; a breath out.
Elsa wasn't afraid to feel, not anymore.
*
As the night grew old, they walked back to the castle with their hands clasped together, Elsa sad for the night to be over.
"If only we could always be like this," she sighed.
"There'll be other parties," Anna said cheerfully. "...Perhaps more visits from Baron Georg of Chocolandia?"
"Oh, is it Chocolandia now?" Elsa said, her mouth quirking upward.
"Chocolan... Oh, Chocoland! That's what I said!"
Elsa giggled. "And maybe the crown princess will get a visit from... hm, Duke Jarl, of Parsniptown."
Anna made a face. "Does it have to be parsnips?"
They both laughed.
Fingers interlaced with Anna's, Elsa knew that as long as it was the two of them in the castle together, everything would be fine. Both of them would be all right.