Always You

xxxiv. Absentee Aunt

Anna

Elsa had gone missing. I knew it from the moment she didn't come out of her room one morning. She had disappeared, and something deep within me knew she wouldn't be back. I didn't want to admit it, of course, I wanted to remain cheerful and hope for the best, but I knew. I knew it just like I had known it when she first locked her door; I wouldn't be seeing my sister again for a very long time. 

While she was off wherever doing whatever, I was taking over her queenly responsibilities while putting up a happy facade and raising my daughter. I didn't want to, but I could feel the resentment I had thought disappeared settling back into my stomach and making me wish she had never come out of her room in the first place. It made me sick to hear my own thoughts, so I pushed them as far back as they could go. I had plenty of other things to worry about until late at night when I was alone and holding back tears wondering what had made her leave us. She had seemed so happy... It was the darndest thing, but often I felt like she was watching me, and the feeling unnerved me more than it should have. 

Meanwhile, I was watching Eleanor grow up before my eyes. Her hair was getting longer, she was getting bigger, her laughs and coos becoming more frequent. It was both terrifying and exciting to see something I made take form as a real little person. I couldn't begin to explain how much I loved her and how fufilling it was to hold her in my arms. BEing with Kristoff, married, and already raising our own little family made me feel like the luckiest girl in the entire world. They were my everything, and I was so happy that I could have both of them with me at all times. 

With more frequent contact due to trading, I didn't think that Hans would be an issue any time soon. He was being kept under surveillance, his kingdom ashamed of his crass behavior and the horrible actions he had taken against me and my kingdom. He was exactly where he should be; in deep trouble. It made me smile to think of. There had been no more paranormal activity of any kind, good or bad. The only loose end on my agenda was Elsa. Where was she? Why had she left and why couldn't I find her? The thoughts chased each other in circles and made me question every decision I made. I had never been a very confident person, but everything Elsa did seemed to make me question myself more and more and one day I wouldn't be able to take it anymore. I was going insane every day she wasn't here.

"Anna," Kristoff asked me one night as we were getting ready for bed, "where did Elsa go?" He seemed to think I knew Elsa well, like I hadn't just met her less than a year ago which was exactly what had happened. I knew very little about my sister besides the fact that she was scared of almost everything she could do and that she didn't seem to like me being around too often without her hiding or leaving. Okay, I knew that wasn't fair, but that was how it felt.

"I have no idea," I answered honestly, not crying like I had expected to. I held my straight face, tucking Eleanor into her crib and walking over to the bed to lay down. He nodded, just looking at me. 

"And you're... okay with that?" He chose his words carefully, not wanting to set me off. I had been having a lot of mood swings lately, it seemed.

"Yeah, I can't really control her. Ready for bed?" I asked him, trying to get off the subject. He seemed to take the hint, climbing under the covers and flicking off his lamp.

Kristoff

With Elsa missing and Anna taking over her duties behind closed doors, I was left to wonder what had happened to the seemingly happy white haired couple who had both disappeared. Sure, it had only been a week since I had seen Elsa, but for someone who hadn't left the castle for thirteen years that was a long time. Anna didn't show how big of a toll it was taking on her, but I knew it had to be a big one. Still, she was standing strong and that was something I loved about her.

I spent my days wandering through the castle, reading books and playing with Eleanor, taking Sven out for rides and basically biding my time before the next ice expedition. With winter just around the corner, the time when Eleanor should have been born, it couldn't be far off.

One day, one seemingly typical day, something happened. It was a strange event, something terrifying and intriguing at the same time. I was alone with Eleanor, who was now barely four months old, and she was sitting in her baby swing. She was being a typical baby, cooing and giggling when suddenly the room grew very cold. Before I could register what was happening, it was snowing. The library was being covered in a soft, shining blanket of fresh snow. As soon as I blinked, it stopped.

"Eleanor..." I whispered, cautiously walking closer to my daughter. She seemed unscathed by what had just happened. She looked at me, her big blue eyes full of innocence and joy, and I knew deep in my soul what Anna had feared was true. Our daughter had ice powers. 

This discovery lead to a thousand new questions, which only opened the doors to more and more after that. Would love wokr to control hers like they did Elsa's? Until she could control them, would she be dangerous? Could she hurt herself with them? Would she understand how not to use them? Everything grew more and more confusing as I thought about it. 

I knew that if Anna found out about this she would panic. Without Elsa here to help us, neither of us had any idea how to deal with our ice princess. The trolls would be of no help, their expertise in the reversal of curses and not the control of them. There were so many bumps in the road now and no foreseeable way over them. I sat down in the chair next to the now sleeping Eleanor and put my head in my hands.