My Little Guardian

Chapter 1 - Beautiful Moonlight

"She is too young to understand, please rest my darling safe and sound."

A mother whispered softly as she prepared her eldest daughter to bed. Her brows were furrowed with concern which even a child would notice.

"Yes, Duchess."

The girls voice mumbled as she squeezed her arm. Her father kept staring from the dim corner of the room.

"Please Elsa, call me your mother. That's the only thing that matters."

Her mother voiced out, still not fully reaching her eight year old quite the way she wanted. She straightened the pillow under her daughters shoulders and softly touched her arm.

"Would you like me to sing to you?"

Duchess of Arendelle gave the softest of smiles there is but Elsa didn't see it because of just fidgeting with her fingers.

"I am sorry for taking your time, father and mother. You should see to Anna's needs for now. I will sleep as you requested."

Elsa said with raspy voice, letting out a few restrained coughs. Her mother kept smiling as she brushed a pale blonde curl from Elsa's cheek to behind her ear.

"As you wish. Rest well, let's go my dear."

Duch of Arendelle spoke and offered his hand to help his wife to stand. The duchess rose from the edge of the bed and straightened her dress. They shared a worried look as they left the room.

Elsa was holding it in until the door glasped shut. For a moment she heard her parents talking about how Elsa and Anna should be kept separate for now. She didn't hear the rest because a violent cough attack took over her. She muffled most of it to a handkerchief and finally she took a sip of water from the glass which her maid had placed there for the night.

Why am I like this?

She thought as she tossed and turned in the bed. Just the moon and the dim light from her bedside candle gave her some light.

She kept thinking over and over again what had happened after the dinner before. How her little sister,Anna, had come to get her to play with her. Just a year ago everything had been normal. Elsa had been taking her lessons and sometimes had time to spend with Anna but now.. now everything was different.

After having the severe cold last winter, and being bedridden for weeks her lungs were never the same. And the doctors didn't know a remedy to cure her. She could barely take her lessons and most of them were cut short, she was still sick.

But tonight she couldn't catch her sister who decided to climb on the bookshelves of the Grand Library and then slipped. As she had run towards her to stop her fall, she had fallen herself to gasp for breath and Anna had fallen, hitting her head badly. Of course Elsa had been scolded for acting so unlady-likely and neglecting her wellbeing as well as Anna's.

All of this made her feel herself unwanted and a burden. After all, she wouldn't be able to inherit the title and rule the dukedom in her current state. All of the time and faith that was put to her would be gone to waste.

It was hard for an eight year old to worry about her little sister as well as from her parents. And again she woke up a few hours after finally falling asleep. Her eyes were still swollen from the tears that she cried silently on her pillow before.

She needed some fresh air, to clear her thoughts no matter what. For a moment she listened to the silence before rising up from her bed and walking to the window bench. Slowly she pushed open the double windows and instantly she felt the cool wind brushing over her cheeks and soothing her aching eyes.