Day 9

扫一扫收听英文朗读

Hewaved at me. Hans waved. At me.

Anna stood up straighter, determined to look confident in front of the room full of strangers. And in front of Hans. Of course she had spotted him the moment he walked into the chapel. She had watched as he took a seat, and had been impressed when he seemed to strike up an easy conversation with two men sitting next to him.

Anna had tried not to look at Hans too much. She'd made sure to keep her gaze bouncing around the room, and when the bishop began the ceremony in earnest, she had honestly been too preoccupied watching her sister to give Hans another thought.

Until he had waved at her.

Anna dragged her eyes away and focused back on her sister—who, she realized with a start, seemed terrified. Elsa's face was pale and she seemed to be shaking. Thoughts of Hans fled Anna's mind and she took a step closer, willing her sister to be calm as the bishop began the part of the ceremony that would make Elsa queen.

If Anna knew her sister—and granted, there was very little she did know about her these days—Elsa had probably gone over every part of the ceremony repeatedly to make sure she was ready for her big day. At this moment, Elsa was supposed to remove her gloves and then take the scepter and the orb. That would be the bishop's cue to move on to the final part of the coronation. But Elsa didn't remove her gloves. That's odd,Anna thought, watching her sister reach out toward the pillow. The bishop seemed to agree and in a stage whisper said, “Your Majesty, the gloves.”

Elsa hesitated. Anna could see that Elsa's face had grown even paler and she was trying desperately to keep her breathing steady. Anna took a step forward, nervous that something bad was going to happen. But then her sister took off her gloves and placed them on the pillow. In return, she picked up the orb and scepter.

Anna let out a breath. That had been oddly tense. Maybe Elsa is even more nervous than I thought.

And then, just like that, Elsa became queen of Arendelle.

Just like that, her whole world changed.

And my life will probably stay exactly the same,Anna thought, unless I decide to change it ...

“I have to do what now?” Anna had asked when Kai had informed the queen and the princess that they must wait to enter the room.

“You must wait until your name is announced and then make your way into the center of the awning we have set up in the ballroom. Then you will stand near your sister and you will wave and you will wait.”

“Wait?” Anna had repeated. “For what?”

Kai had smiled then, making Anna oddly nervous. “To be asked to dance, of course.”

Of course, he says,Anna thought, peering around her sister. A small platform had been set up in the ballroom, and Kai stood on it. Looking at the leader of the band, he nodded and the music stopped. Instantly, everyone's attention turned toward Kai. With another nod, trumpets blared, and then, in the deepest and most important voice the man could muster, he announced the arrival of “Queen Elsa of Arendelle!”

Elsa's hands were no longer shaking, and the color had returned to her cheeks. Her new crown rested on her head, glinting in the golden candlelight, and as she waved to the gathered crowd, the intricate stitching on her gown twinkled. She's so calm,Anna thought, surprised.

“Princess Anna of Arendelle!”

Popping through the door, she raced into the room. But she had completely overthought her entrance, and instead of slowly, gracefully entering the room, she practically ran onto the platform. Smiling sheepishly, she stopped a few feet from Elsa. Then she began to wave—awkwardly—until Kai jerked his head to the side.

Does he want me to stand right next to Elsa?Anna wondered.

Apparently, he did.

“Are you sure?” she whispered. Kai was clearly sure. He ushered her over so that they stood shoulder to shoulder, and then he left the two sisters alone.

This was the first time in a very long while that Elsa and Anna had been next to each other for any length of time. Standing beside each other in front of a roomful of people and watching them while they laughed and danced was just weird.

“Hi ...”

Elsa beat her to it. Eyes wide, Anna looked at her sister. “Hi, me ...?” she said, looking down at her feet and then nervously back at her sister. “Oh. Um. Hi!”

“You look beautiful,” Elsa said, her voice soft and her tone kind.

“Thank you,” Anna said bashfully. “You look beautifuller. I mean, not fuller. You don't look fuller, but more beautiful ...” Anna snapped her mouth shut. She couldn't believe that Elsa had been the one to reach out to her. Maybe things really would be different now. Maybe this was the beginning of something new. If it was, Anna really didn't want to ruin this moment by babbling nonsense.

And, apparently, so was Elsa. “So, this is what a party looks like?” she said.

“It's warmer than I thought,” Anna finally said. And I don't just mean the room,she added silently. Forcing her arms to stay at her sides even though she wanted to throw them around Elsa, Anna noticed that Elsa's nose was twitching in a rather unqueenly way.