This Love is Difficult, but it's Real

Chapter 14

Hey, guys! Nothing except the plot belongs to me. Happy reading!

The next day, Elsa woke up early despite not getting any sleep the night before. To pass the time, Elsa went back to reading her novel, waiting for the rest of her family to wake up. Anna was the first to rise. She almost jumped out of her skin when she noticed Elsa in the parlor.

"Elsa, you scared the living daylights out of me!" Anna exclaimed.

"Sorry," Elsa smiled briefly before going back to her book.

Anna sighed and looked out the window. Even though the sun was beginning to rise, the sky was still dark. "I hope it's going to be sunny today," she said.

"Another outing with Hans, I presume?" Elsa asked without looking up from her book.

"Yep!" Anna said. "We're going fishing today!"

"Fishing?" Now Elsa looked up from her book. She chuckled at the thought of what antics Anna could get into with fishing.

Perhaps the maids will have to prepare some towels beforehand. Elsa thought, chuckling.

"Hey, why are you laughing?" Anna frowned.

"Just imagining what kind of troubles you'll be getting into today, that's all," Elsa giggled.

"For your information, I can be just as graceful as you!" Anna said, dancing elegantly before knocking into an expensive vase. "Oops."

"I don't think you'll need to be graceful for fishing," Elsa said. "Just be careful to not fall into the water. Gerda complained about you leaving muddy footprints the last time you went out."

Anna waved her hand dismissively. "Okay, okay, I got it. Try not to look like a mess when I get home. Check."

"Is Kristoff coming with you?" Elsa asked slyly.

"Oh of course!" Anna gushed. "Even though we're not going horseback riding, he's still going to tag along. He's so fun to talk to! He may seem gruff and rude, but once you get to know him, he's so wonderful! Oh, and you know what? He's even going to bring Sven too! That little guy is so ador-" Anna stopped her rambling when she noticed Elsa giving her a smug look. "Heeeyyy," she said.

"What?" Elsa asked innocently.

"You tricked me into talking about Kristoff!" Anna said.

"And what's wrong with that?" Elsa smiled teasingly.

"It's just that- You know- Er- I- I mean-" Anna sputtered, her face going a deep red. "Oh never mind!"

Elsa laughed until she heard her father's voice. "Hello, girls. You're up certainly early."

"The early birds get the worms!" Anna singsonged.

Their father chuckled. "Why don't the early birds go into the dining room and eat some real food?"

The three laughed and headed for the breakfast.

During breakfast, Anna talked animatedly about yesterday's events. Elsa noticed that she left out the parts about Kristoff she had mentioned to her. Their mother complimented on how Prince Hans was such a gentleman and that Anna and him were so good together. Meanwhile, their father was reading an article. He frowned suddenly.

"What's wrong, dear?" their mother asked, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"There's been more disappearances of people," their father said. "Not to mention those strange marking on trees. They're almost spotted everywhere. And now there's reports of homes and buildings getting destroyed."

Anna and the queen gasped. Elsa shrunk in her chair, feeling worried and guilty.

"I'm going to send some men to scout the kingdom," their father rubbed his temples. "Hopefully they'll find out who's causing it.

"Oh, and Elsa," their father said, changing the subject as if to say the matter was over, "Prince Alexander is coming over today, just to give you a reminder."

Elsa nodded. Maybe spending time with Alexander will distract me from all this. Elsa thought to herself.

 ..~..

"Something's up."

"Pardon?"

"I know when something's going on with you."

"There's nothing going on with me," Elsa mumbled. Today she was watching Alexander practice his archery and despite her hopes, she couldn't stop thinking about Pitch and his army getting closer and closer to Arendelle.

Alexander gave her a look saying that he didn't believe her. She avoided meeting his eyes. She knew she would break and tell him everything if she saw the worried look on his face. After all, he was like a brother to her now.

Alexander sighed and went back to his training. "Fine," he shot an arrow, getting another bullseye.

Keeping this big secret was crushing Elsa. It hurt her that she had to lie to everybody she knew but she would hate to see them get hurt because of her.

Alexander sat next to her and ruffled her hair. "Hey, stop looking so blue. Come on, It's a nice day today! You don't want to cause rain clouds, do you?" he teased.

Elsa smiled. "No, I guess not."

"Then let's make that smile stay there for a while!" Alexander cheered. "Come on, let's go riding!"

Elsa followed the running Alexander to where their horses were tied. They got on their horses and started cantering around the archery field. Whilst riding, they talked about their day, their family, what their siblings were up to. Alexander had laughed when Elsa told him about the time Anna came in with mud all over her.

"Your sister's something else, huh?" Alexander said, shaking his head.

"You bet," Elsa chuckled.

"Man, that reminds me of the time when my little brother tried to trick me into eat mud pie," Alexander chuckled.

"Wouldn't you have known that it was mud pie by its odor?" Elsa teased.

Alexander grinned and shrugged. "Hey, in my defense, I had just come home that day from an intense archery practice."

"So did you actually fall for it?" Elsa said.

Alexander smiled mischievously. "My lips are sealed."

They then rode on in contented silence for a few minutes. Elsa glanced at Alexander's calm and serene face. She took a deep breath.

Well, here goes nothing. Elsa thought. Hopefully this doesn't turn out to be something that I'll regret.

"Alex," she started, "What would you do if you couldn't tell your loved ones something? Because you're afraid that they might get hurt in the process?"

Alexander glanced at her. "Well, if it was something small, of course I'd tell them no matter what. But if it was something very important, I'd have to think about telling them or not. But in my point of view, I would tell them. No matter how hard it is, they need to know. Whether it's good or bad, at least they'll be prepared for the future."

Elsa nodded, grateful for the piece of advice.

"Why?" Alexander turned to her. "Is there something wrong, Elsa?"

Elsa smiled. "Don't worry about it. It's just something that's been on my mind for the past couple of hours."

Alexander nodded, but the look of worry never left his face. "If there's something troubling you, Elsa, you can tell me."

"Thank you, Alex, I appreciate the kind gesture," Elsa smiled gratefully, "But...this battle isn't yours. It's mine."

Elsa now knew what she needed to do now. And she knew exactly who to tell first.

AN: Hope you enjoyed this chapter! This chapter was hard to write because I'm not very good with small details and what goes in between the big events. Anyways, thanks for reading and see you in the next chapter!