—{Princess Anna}—
I sat in the chair, unconsciously playing with my food, stabbing it with my fork. My mind was occupied with the current situation.
My sister is finally going to leave her room. I haven't seen her for years. I wonder what she looks like right now. Does she still have her beautiful white hair?
As usual, I'm eating alone at the table, with the maids and servants standing on each corner of the dining room, waiting for me to ask for something.
Others might get jealous of me for living such a lavish lifestyle but to me, I've grown tired of it.
Just as the egg on my plate turned into a mushy mess, the door to the dining room suddenly creaked open and what entered made me freeze on the spot.
It's my sister, Elsa followed by Henry behind her. However, my focus was not on the latter but on the former. My sister looks just as pretty as the last time I saw her, if not prettier.
I unconsciously straightened my back as I cursed myself under my breath for making the food on my plate look like it had been stepped on by a horse.
Just as I gestured for Gerda to fetch me another plate, I watched Elsa sit on the head of the table. And where did I sat, you might ask?
On the further end of the table!
I'm literally sitting in front of my sister but we're like miles apart!
If I knew this would've happened I should've sat near the head of the table. But alas, there's no medicine for regret so I could only watch as Elsa gets handed a plate filled with rice and sausages along with a steaming hot milk.
Finally, Gerda came back with the new plate and I quickly handed her the messy one while filling the new one with chicken and eggs.
As for Henry, he just ate the same thing that my sister had on her plate.
Silence ensued in the entire dining room, aside from the constant noises of plates and utensils as we ate, I have a feeling that a small drop of a needle would turn into the loudest sound I've ever heard.
I awkwardly cleared my throat, hoping to get her attention first before greeting her, "E-Ehem! G-Good afternoon, Elsa…" I saw the look of surprise on her face before settling in with hidden warmth as she replied to me.
"Good afternoon to you too…Anna." Then after that, silence again.
But I wouldn't let such a thing happen, so I followed up, "S-So how are you doing? Getting busy later huh? Haha~" In my mind, I was screaming, 'Please reply. Say something please.'
Elsa didn't reply much to my disappointment, she just nodded her head and went back to eating. Damn it, Anna! Stop making it more awkward than it already is.
Thankfully, I was not alone in this predicament as Henry, for the love of the gods above, decided to lend a helping hand.
"We're going out after this, Anna. Your sister can't be held too long in her room. She needs to be released outside temporarily."
"C-Can I ask why?" I asked but it's more like a question towards my sister rather than Henry. He already told me it's not in his place to reveal it but rather, only Elsa.
My older sister seemed to have caught my look and I can see the contemplation in her eyes, like she's being slightly indecisive.
"…I-I'm not actually sick, Anna. I…possessed something that could accidentally hurt you or anyone if I lose control."
"Like a flu?" I asked and she deadpanned at me. Alright, that was a dumb question, Anna. She just said she's not sick!
I can see Henry on the side trying to stifle a laugh. Great, he must think I'm an idiot now. I just can't help it when I'm nervous, I just say the first thing that comes to my mind without much thinking.
Embarrassed, I can only try to divert the topic to something else, "W-Well I hope you get well, Elsa. And…maybe we can finally build a snowman together…" I can only whisper the last few words to myself.
And now, we're back to silence. Gosh, I hate this.
———
After finishing with the awkward dinner, Elsa's tensed shoulders finally relaxed. Only she knows how much she wanted to see her sister again and talk to her.
However, after years of isolation and no contact, she's unable to say the things that she wanted to say. Such as to tell Anna how much she loves her, tell her how sorry she is for ignoring her all these years. Admit to her that she indeed wants to build a snowman again with her.
Unfortunately, she wasn't able to and now she's back in her room, packing her things with the help of Gerda. Thankfully, with the fireballs rotating around her, the room was no longer as frozen as it used to be. It's now a little bit damp but warm and fuzzy.
She thanked the woman who had been serving the castle for nearly 40 years, "Thank you for everything, Gerda."
Gerda turned around to look at her, warmth and concern flashing across her face, "It has always been a pleasure taking care of you, Princess Elsa. And I'll make sure to keep doing so until the end of my years."
"Gerda, don't say that. After all of this is over, I'll make sure you're properly compensated for all the trouble I've put you through. I heard you and Kai are quite close…" Elsa softly smiled, a teasing look appearing in her eyes.
She can see Gerda suddenly freeze up in shock, obviously not expecting Elsa to be aware of her relationship with the castle's steward.
After all, it's quite a bit illegal to form relationships with your fellow staff in the castle. So Gerda and Kai placed a lid on their bubbling relationship.
"P-Princess Elsa, I…" The old maid doesn't know what to say. She should be sorry and apologize for having a love affair with the steward.
Fortunately for her, Elsa is not exactly concerned with the private lives of the castle's servants, "I'm not my father, Gerda. I'm not going to punish you for wanting to be with someone you love."
Elsa fell into a brief contemplation for a few seconds before asking, "Can I ask what made you fall in love with Kai?"
A gleam flashed in Gerda's eyes as she eagerly shared her passionate meeting with her new lover, "Well, it was twenty years ago, when I was out to visit my sister's bakery shop from the capital." Gerda had the look of reminiscing on her face, "Let's just say I was cornered by a few thugs on my way there and then all of a sudden, Kai was there. I'm not sure about what happened next because I had my eyes closed out of fear and by the time I opened them, all the thugs were gone and Kai was standing alone, with a swollen eye and a cut on the lip."
Elsa croaked, "Like a knight in a shining armor. From the stories."
Gerda nodded her head, still starstruck as she continued, "That's right. And since then, Kai and I have started having these private meetings with each other every night. Either to share our stories or simply to keep each other warm for the night." By the end of her sentence, her face turned beet red as the realization of what she just said settled in and she quickly looked away.
Elsa could only confusingly tilt her head, "What do you mean keep each other warm? Like hugging?"
Instead of answering, Gerda nervously grabbed the bag where she was storing Elsa's clothes and placed it on the bed, "T-This is everything you're going to need for the next few days, my lady. I-I have to go!"
Before Elsa could even stop her, Gerda was already out of the room, face flushed and with shivering shoulders.
"What's got into her?" Elsa creased her brows in confusion.
———
Outside Elsa's room, Henry was leaning on the wall, closing his eyes as he practiced maintaining focus over the two fireballs that he kept revolving around Elsa all while casting a different magic spell.
It's quite a bit hard and requires extreme focus, hence he failed to notice Gerda running out of Elsa's room as if she had just seen a ghost.
"Focus, Henry. Remember your training. Learn to separate your thoughts to multitask." Henry mumbled to himself.
Before he knew it, a Wind Barrier spell appeared in front of him, he can still sense the presence of the two fireballs he placed around Elsa, meaning he was successful. Finally casting two different spells at the same time.
Just as he was about to celebrate, the door to Elsa's room opened and she finally emerged, carrying a bag filled with her clothes.
When he saw this, Henry raised an eyebrow. They're not exactly going out for weeks, just two to three days at most. He forgot to tell her about it.
When Elsa saw him, she nodded her head at him, "I'm ready."
"Alright then. Let's go." Henry approached her and took the heavy bag, "Let me carry them for you."
She was surprised at first but appreciated the gentlemanly gesture.
As they descended the stairs, Anna was already waiting at the front door, carrying a pair of white gloves in her hand.
When they met, Anna quickly approached her sister, "Here. I just noticed earlier that you're wearing gloves…So I thought I might as well give you mine."
Seeing the gloves, Elsa's face warmed up and she took them, "Thank you, Anna."
If she weren't standing in front of her, Anna might've squealed in excitement. But first things first, she must keep calm.
She then shifted her attention to Henry on the side, "Take care of her alright, Henry?" When he nodded his head, she continued with a whisper threat, "If you don't, I'm going to punch you in the face!"
Elsa refrained from chuckling, pretending as if she didn't hear her. 'She hasn't changed one bit. Still the boyish Anna I used to know.'
This reminded her of how Anna threatened to punch the noble boys who wanted to play with her during her tenth birthday celebration. It's also the same day that the tragedy happened after the birthday party.
Waking past the front door, Elsa took a deep breath to herself. This is her first time being outside the castle and finally breathing fresh air.
Kai also arrived with two horses in each hand, guiding them by their leather reins.
One was a white hair that complements Elsa's beautiful white hair while the other is black, a common color among horses.
Obviously, Elsa gets the white one, "Her name is Snow, she's the horse that your father wanted to gift you for this year's birthday. Take good care of her, Princess Elsa." Kai introduced the horse, mesmerizing Elsa who was taken aback by the information.
A gift from her father this year. It wasn't her birthday yet.
On the other hand, the black horse was handed to Henry, "He's nameless. Fast and sturdy, but quite a bit unruly when you don't feed him in time. Take care of him, Magician Henry."
Just as Henry was about to grab the reins, the horse spoke, "Oh please. Unruly? Seriously? I just kicked that man's balls for not being able to fill this great one's belly!"
Henry quivered his lips, speaking of the horse, according to Polynesia, all animals understand human language, but only humans don't understand animal language, "Kicking someone in the balls is not a great way to be fed, stupid one."
This time, everyone stared at him in surprise, Kai and Anna were the only ones who weren't affected since they already knew that Henry performed in the plaza with a bunch of animals.
The only ones that are truly shocked are the horse and Elsa, "Are you…talking to a horse?"
Henry shrugged his shoulders, "It's a long story, I'll tell you on the way." Before shifting his attention back to the gobsmacked horse.
"Alright listen to me. From what I just heard about you and what you just said, you'll definitely cause me trouble. So how about this, you'll be a good boy for the next few days but if you don't, you're going to the kitchen and it's not about feeding you, I'm sure you know what I mean, right?" Seeing the horse nod his head with wide eyes, Henry smiled in satisfaction while caressing his mane, "Good boy."
"Let's go hit the road then."
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[A little bit boring for a chapter, I know. But the next few chapters will be training arc for both Henry and Elsa. Of course, it won't just be their training arc.]