A Snow Queen's Tale- a Frozen Fanfiction

Chapter 19: The Royal Brat

🌨Elsa's Pov🌨
"His Grace, the Duke of Schleswig!" The herald announced. Anna stood on her tip toes to get a better look at the lovely woman in the yellow dress who was giving a graceful curtsey next to a bowing man. She gripped my hand and, from the corner of her eye, saw me give her a loving if slightly exasperated smile. There were so many ruffles and bows and . . .things that looked like balls of fabric – well, whatever they were, they were amazing. She had been begging since she was a baby to be allowed to greet guests in the Great Hall. Papa had warned her that she would have to stay still and silent and would probably get bored, but how could anyone get bored when there were so many people? It was so exciting she could barely contain herself! And best of all, the Duchess had a daughter who was only a little bit older than she was who could play Anna and me.
Now Papa and Mama were greeting them and exchanging gifts. She couldn't wait until later when they exchanged gifts with their new friend. Papa himself had taken Anna and me to pick out the delicate paper mache doll they would be presenting to – what was her name again?
"Elsa," Anna whispered, cupping her hand against my ear. "What's our new friends' name?"
"Shh," I hushed her. "It's Clara. She's about to be presented." Anna bounced on her toes and wiggled happily. Sure enough, because I knew everything, a girl who was a little taller than me stepped forward from behind my parents to pay her respects to Mama and Papa. She had the most delicate, frilly hat and her dress had even more ruffles and bows than her mother's.
"Wow," Anna breathed. She was so fancy. Like a princess in the illustrations of their fairy tale book. Not that Clara was a princess. Anna and I were princesses. But Clara really looked the part. Anna looked down at her green dress with its embroidered floral patterns. She had been so excited to get it, but now thought it was kind of boring. Anna saw me give her a confused look as she picked at the pattern on the edge of her sleeve. "Our dresses are boring!"
"Our dresses are fine," I whispered and gently bumped her shoulder. Anna grinned. "We're almost done. Then Papa will let us go play." I returned her smile and took her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.
"My daughters," Papa said as he turned and gently beckoned them. I  held Anna's hand as we walked a few feet to receive Clara's greeting. Kai followed us, carrying the box which held our gift. "Princess Elsa of Arendelle and Princess Anna of Arendelle. They have a gift for your Clara." Kai opened the box to display the doll with its pink face, brown curls and impeccably embroidered dress that displayed Arendelle's latest fashion. It was nearly as big as Anna.
"Thank you, Your Majesty. And, of course, Clara would like to present your daughters with a gift for each," two of the castle servants stepped forward as the Duke spoke and opened their own boxes. Anna gasped. The white porcelain shone in the light. "Wearing the latest fashions from Paris, we hope your two, beautiful girls will enjoy these."
After a few more boring pleasantries, Papa and Mama let us leave for our grown-up tea party. With real tea. Anna skipped down the hall, hugging her new doll to her chest as I demurely followed with Clara.
"You shouldn't hold it like that!" Clara called after her. "You'll just ruin the dress!" Anna paused and looked at the doll. Sure enough, the stiff fabric was wrinkled. "And you shouldn't touch her face. You'll only smudge it with your dirty hands." Anna held the doll up to examine its face and saw her finger prints. She saw me frown at our friend.
"Oh, our dolls don't wrinkle," she said. "D'you wanna see them? They look like me and Elsa!" And without waiting for an answer because, really, who wouldn't want to see our dolls, Anna ran to our bedroom, tossed her new doll onto her bed and grabbed the soft dolls she and I played with so often. She sprinted down the hallway and almost crashed into Gerda who was coming out of the room where the tea was to be served. She looked unusually cross.
"Your Highness," she said curtly. Anna could hear Clara talking.
"And our servants would never be so familiar with me while serving tea." I sat, watching the other girl over her cup of tea, the very picture of regal poise. But she wasn't smiling. I usually smiled when Mama let them have grown up tea parties.
"We're very close to most of the staff," I said in what Anna thought of as my 'Papa Voice'. "Gerda has known my parents for a long time. She and Mama were classmates briefly, after my father founded the Academy."
"Mama made us these!" Anna held up our dolls.
"Oh, handicrafts," Clara waved her hand dismissively. "Mother says that nobility should never do something as base as the commoners."
Anna frowned and looked the dolls, wondering what Clara was missing. "They look like me and Elsa."
"Our mother feels differently," I said cooly. Anna climbed into her chair and snatched one of the cakes at the table, happily stuffing it into her mouth. Clara snorted and placed her tea cup in the saucer.
"That doesn't surprise me. After all, my mother is the granddaughter of the Tsarina. Your mother has no lineage at all. No pedigree. Isn't that right? In some ways, I'm more royal than you."
"Haus Habsburg had quite the pedigree and look how that turned out." Anna stopped chewing. She had never heard my voice sound so hard and cold. She looked between me and Clara, both of the girls now glaring at one another with narrowed eyes.
"Lord Calder's favorite hunting hound has a pedigree," she offered. Clara snapped her head towards Anna.
"Do you even speak French?" She demanded.
"Oui," she said. Confused. "Bien sur." Mama had sat with Anna in her lap during lessons.
"Of course we do," I replied with a flawless accent. "Why wouldn't we? And mind your tone with my sister. She is a princess. And watch what you say about my mother. Your father is here to ask mine for a more favorable trade agreement." Clara flushed and rose to her feet.
"Well, my mother says that your mother is as common as the dirt under her finger nails," Clara hissed. Anna frowned. She didn't like the way Clara had said that.
"That's because Mama has a medicine garden. She says gloves don't let you feel the plants to know if they're healthy or ready for harvest," Anna said slowly. "And she sings to us while we help the flowers grow. Sometimes I put the worms in my pockets so they can help the dirt. We were gardening before you arrived."
"Do you have worms in your pocket now?" Clara gasped.
"No."
"Pity," I said. Clara sneered at me before turning back to Anna.
"Your mother isn't fit to be a queen!"
"You take that back!" Anna shouted, sliding off her chair and squaring off with the larger girl. From the corner of her eye, she could see me rising as well, raising a hand in warning.
"No!"
"I'll have to speak with Lieutenant Runde about not letting Anna watch the soldiers practice boxing any more," Agnarr sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "That little girl is going to have quite the shiner."
"Anna is very strong for her age," Iduna murmured as she pressed herself against his back, wrapping her arms around him and holding him tight. "I have to confess, I'm a little surprised that you're not as cross with Elsa for using her gift to make Clara slip in the hallway when she went running for her mother."
"I already spoke with her. She understands the dangers. She explained that she was angry with Clara for what she was saying to Anna. It won't happen again," he sighed. "Besides, it's not as though the child knows why she fell on her face." Iduna hummed.
"And what was she saying?" He didn't respond and Iduna chuckled, placing a kiss on his shoulder. "Alexsandra was never exactly subtle." Agnarr huffed a laugh.
"No. No, she was not." He rolled over and draped his arm over her hip, resting his forehead against hers. "But I wouldn't have thought she'd be careless enough to let her daughter speak to our girls like that."
"Still, I think we should keep them in their room for a day."
"Oh? I think we should give them an extra dessert." Agnarr kissed her again. "They love you. So do I. That girl had no cause to talk about you like that. And we both know where she got those ideas from."
"Alexsandra isn't the only one who thinks things like that, love," Iduna tapped his nose and smiled warmly. "And I don't want to teach the girls to think opinions like theirs are worth fretting over. It's the inbreeding. It makes the nobility weak in the head."
He laughed. "So that's what you really think of me."
"You did ask me for advice on how to woo women." They laughed and he cupped her cheek. "You also gave me that golden mortar and pestle that defied all logic and common sense."
"True. But I gave you another golden gift that I think made up for both those things," he murmured and kissed her wedding band. "And you only need give me the word, and I will happily discontinue all trade relations with Schleswig. It would only strengthen our ties with Holstein." He waggled his eyebrows at her and she laughed. Iduna stretched out against him, feeling the warmth of his skin against hers.
"That would only hurt our merchants, but I appreciate your offer to defend my honor through a trade war." She rested her head on his chest and closed her eyes. It had been a long and stifling day. He chuckled at her response and she could feel the rumble beneath his heart beat. "But an increase to an eight percent tariff wouldn't be uncalled for. And the proceeds could be put into the Sailors' Survivors and Orphan Fund."
"As my lady demands."