"On a slow summer's day..."
Upon hearing the first barely audible words of a folk song, Elsa shot a mortified glance at her sister. Here they were, seated at table with a dozen nobles and delegates, and Anna was staring at the ceiling, swinging her legs under the table, and singing softly to herself.
Elsa nearly chastised her sister, but thought better of it. Anna wasn't doing anyone any harm, and she had enough to deal with as was.
The young queen folded her hands in her lap, resisting the urge to groan. Five hours of discussion had passed with no meaningful conclusion, the committee had begun to tire, and she was at her wit's end.
Regarding the issue of re-opening Arendelle to trade, her advisors had clearly divided themselves into two camps: those who favoured swift and comprehensive action, and those who preferred the change to come in small steps. Elsa had barely even had enough time to consider which opinion she held--she'd been too busy attempting to balance both sides and calm the growing animosity. Neither side was willing to back down.
And so Elsa found herself caught between the two, unusually frazzled. She had no idea how to go about encouraging compromise, not this time, when her usual detached reasoning failed to move any and when she knew that using her complete authority would only heighten the tension.
Once again she glanced at Anna. She wondered why her sister had come. Normally Anna spent her time roaming about the grounds rather than concerning herself with affairs of state, but she had insisted, today of all days, that she wanted to see what Elsa's days were like.
Days like this? Excruciatingly complex and insufferably dull.
Finally Elsa stood, motioning for servants to separate two of the men who looked dangerously close to coming to blows. "Let us take a short break," she suggested. "We can return to the issue later."
The committee disbanded with much muttering and a few sighs of relief. Elsa herself walked out to the balcony, anxious for some time alone. This break was a rare indulgence, and she silently berated herself for allowing it, but for some reason she felt like she honestly needed it today.
Poking stray strands of hair back into her bun, Anna followed her sister out. "Wow," she began. "That was...something else."
"I'm afraid you were bored," Elsa answered, looking off into the harbour where the summer sunshine glinted off the water. "My job isn't always the most exciting one in the world." Feeling her head throb, she carefully placed her fingers against her temple, rubbing gently to ease the pain.
"No, no, it was great," Anna said hastily, not sounding convinced. She stopped and peered in concern at her sister. "Hey, are you okay?"
"Fine, fine." Elsa brushed off Anna's inquiry, but winced, crinkling up her face. Her head hurt.
"You are not fine," Anna pressed, placing her hands on her hips. "Elsa, you were up till almost three last night. I saw the candle in your room. Your eye bags are the biggest I've ever seen."
Elsa shook her head, attempting in vain to think clearly. "I was busy. I had letters to answer. Important letters." She once again placed a hand on the side of her aching head. The world seemed to spin slightly about her, and she placed a hand on the balustrade to steady herself.
"And you were up at six. That's not enough rest for anybody, much less a queen," Anna said, not to be beaten by the importance of Elsa's letters. "Answering more letters at breakfast, and five hours straight of meetings today--Elsa, you need to rest."
"I can't." Elsa leant against the balustrade, trying to stand straight, trying to think straight. She hastily suppressed a yawn. "I--I have things to do. I'm the queen."
"All the more reasons for you to rest now," Anna said firmly, taking her sister by the shoulders and steering her back into the palace, towards the door of the meeting room. "This meeting is postponed until tomorrow," she called to the milling diplomats. "The Queen needs her rest."
"Anna, stop, you can't--I can't--" Elsa protested feebly, but her advisors looked not displeased by the prospect of a half-day off, and Anna was now dragging her towards her quarters, a bedroom dark and cool, and the bed seemed, oh, so wonderfully soft and inviting--
"That's the way." Anna nodded, satisfied, as her sister mechanically took off her stiff jacket, undid her elaborate bun, and all but collapsed onto her bed. She closed the thick, heavy curtains. "You just rest for a minute there. I'll keep all the stuffed shirts happy. Throw a party, or something, yes?"
"Anna, you can't just throw a party like that," Elsa mumbled into her pillow, already half asleep.
"Try me," Anna whispered, a fond smile on her lips, and she opened the door and crept out.
~~~
Elsa awoke several hours later, for a moment startled and disoriented to find herself in bed. Then she remembered, and hurriedly made to clamber out. Never mind that Anna had put the meeting off until tomorrow. The sooner they settled this issue, the better.
Still, she allowed herself to relish the silence and coolness of the room for a few seconds as she dressed herself hastily but meticulously. And she had to admit that the rest had done her good--she felt wonderfully refreshed and clear-headed.
Steeling herself, she headed back to the meeting room, only to be taken aback by the sound of bubbling laughter and cordial chatter emanating from it.
Laughter? It felt like she hadn't laughed in days.
Confused, she entered, and was greeted with a scene of startling merriment. Amandus, a staunch member of the camp favouring immediate reform, was smiling and clinking glasses with an opponent. Derik, a man normally almost ghoulish in his sobriety, was standing in the front of the room delivering a hearty, enthusiastic speech that nobody was paying any attention to. In the thick of the hubbub, Anna flitted about from person to person like a cheerful hummingbird, but when she espied her sister she quickly darted over with a huge smile on her face.
"Anna, what on earth is going on?" Elsa was pleasantly surprised to see her previously stressed and tense advisors having a nice time, but she couldn't help wondering how the sudden air of friendship in the room had come about.
"Oh, we've made a decision!" Anna said brightly. "Arendelle's going to open to trade from everywhere--isn't that nice, Elsa--but we're only going to allow a certain number of ships in the first week. And then the second week, we'll let in more, and the third--"
Elsa cut her off before she could ramble more. "Wait, it's decided? Just like that?"
"Well, Klaus said that he would elect a committee to do all the paperwork, but everyone seems pretty happy! So, just like that." Bored with the subject, Anna plucked a pastry from the desserts table and offered it to Elsa. "Skolebrød?"
With a vague motion, Elsa declined the cream pastry, and Anna bit into it herself with little regret. Still nonplussed, the elder sister had no intention to give up the topic just yet. "Anna, we've been debating this topic for days with no decision. And you just snap your fingers and it's settled? How?"
"Oh, it was easy," Anna said around a full mouth. She swallowed. "Just had to make them see that either way would work, really--as long as we got more trade in--and figured out a plan that would please everyone."
"That's what I've been trying to do," Elsa said, simultaneously greatly pleased and slightly annoyed. "But it wasn't easy, not at all."
"Really? I thought it was easy," Anna said, without pride, only with innocent surprise. "They're all very reasonable people once you get to know them. Nice, too."
Elsa gave up prodding further, and laughed softly. Of course Anna would think it easy, with her surprising gift of winning everybody she met. The princess probably knew the barest minimum of state affairs, but somehow she'd managed to smooth ruffled feathers and fix rifts once again. If it wasn't for her scatterbrained carelessness, Elsa realised, in many ways Anna was far more suited to be queen than she. How did she do it?
"Anna," she began, cautiously, "how would you like to attend more of my meetings? I could use your help."
"Really?" Anna said again. Politics was Elsa's domain, not hers. And some of it flew right over her head, and bored her. Endless documents and paperwork and discussions. But some of it was fun: talking to people, and helping them to agree. She liked that part.
"Really." Elsa smiled, with sincerity. There was plenty of room in the castle for both a queen and a princess.
No comments:
Post a Comment