Bind Us Together, Lord

Chapter 10

Friday dawned with an overcast sky. The campers were all clearly unhappy about that, but they continued their activities as usual, hoping for no rain.

And they all loved Anna's braid. Especially when they saw the braid was the same as Elsa's; that drove them crazy. The sisters could see Olaf straining to say things, but apparently, their reprimand had at least temporarily headed him off from saying things like "marriage" in reference to the two of them. Instead he simply told Anna that she looked pretty with Elsa's braid and asked Elsa when she was going to copy Anna's usual hairstyle.

While their interactions were nowhere near as frequent or friendly as the last few days, Anna was relieved that her sister was at least talking to her. Even if it was just to briefly comment on her braid and to explain what that day's agendas were. However, to keep her distance from Elsa, Anna kept herself as busy as possible with the kids, patiently allowing them to play with her braid and helping them with whatever problems they were having.

It was nearing noon and while the sky was still gray and dreary, there was a brief glimpse of the sun peeking through the clouds. Their group were inside the crafts building again, but instead of birdhouses and clay, the kids were all making hats and tie-dyeing shirts. The room was filled with chatter and a mix of colour that brought life where the sky was dull.

Anna stood near the back wall to watch, arms crossed and a slight smile on her lips as she watched Elsa show some of the kids the various ways to dye the shirts. Her hands gestured so emphatically that Anna could even tell what she was demonstrating from across the room. When one of the little girls raised up her shirt to ask a question, she patted her on the head, and the girl beamed with gratitude.

A minute or so later, Elsa approached her spot by the wall, face completely passive. Leaning up against it a foot or so away, she observed, "You've been quiet today."

"Yeah, sorry." Anna subconsciously began to fidget with her hands. She smiled at Elsa but she couldn't help feeling a touch nervous under those bright blue eyes. "I'm just a little tired today, that's all."

"Oh. Well... I guess."

Anna felt a tug on her shirt and almost sighed in relief when she looked down to see Max, one of the camp owner's kids, standing in front of her with a sheepish grin. "Hmm?"

"Miss Anna, can you help me with my hat?" She ruffled his hair and nodded, watching him as he dashed back to his table before walking after him with an apologetic look towards Elsa.

She ended up staying there for a bit, watching as Elsa went back to helping the kids, however there was a slight frown gracing her beautiful features that made Anna's gut twist in guilt. She didn't mean to lie, but she wasn't sure how else to respond to the question without making the kids curious.

~ o ~

Elsa didn't try again until they were in the mess hall for supper. She had apparently been chewing on what she would say all throughout the entire crafts activity, because she spoke as if there had been no gap in their conversation.

"Of course you're tired. Where... did you sleep last night?"

The question made her blink in surprise. She was sitting alone today, seeing as Rapunzel was busy elsewhere, and hadn't expected her sister to join her. "I stayed with Rapunzel," she answered, lowering her gaze to her platter. "Her roomie, Snow, was sleeping over with the other girls so Punzie offered her bed to me. Snow was surprisingly nice about it this morning, too," she sighed slightly. "Did... you sleep okay?"

"No. I didn't. Too many thoughts running around in my head." She moved around to sit, even though she had been waiting before. Apparently, Anna's not asking her to leave was approval enough. "I have a feeling I... didn't say the right things last night. When you told me."