Hi, everyone. This is a series of fluffy sisterly one-shots inspired by the lyrics of each non-instrumental song in Frozen. The titles are the lyrics that inspired each story They are mostly too short to be single fics, so I'm putting them in a collection. They are canonverse, unrelated, and there are nine of them - all completed. I'll be uploading these stories over the upcoming two weeks and I hope you enjoy them!
From "Frozen Heart"
"Watch Your Step" – My headcanon about Elsa having very good hearing. Shortly after the thaw, she hears Anna fall and is finally able to be there for her after years of listening helplessly from behind a door.
The servants wondered if there were spies in the castle. Nobody understood how Elsa seemed to know everything that was going on. She knew who was at the door before they spoke, and even before they knocked. She knew the servants' gossip despite not speaking to anyone about it – ever. It boggled their minds. It wasn't until one summer day a few weeks after the thaw that everyone found out how.
Skipping cheerily down the halls, Anna smiled at guards and servants alike as she passed them. She was on her way to see Elsa, and she was in a delightful mood. She vaulted up the last of the stairs before her sister's study, and then she broke into a jog as she prepared to traverse the last two hallways. Suddenly her foot caught on the rug and she felt herself falling. She was going too fast to stop or catch herself, and she didn't have time to brace for impact. There wasn't even time to scream.
In the study, Elsa was waiting. She knew Anna was coming. It wasn't a magical talent, though. Elsa knew it unnerved the staff, but this ability was completely natural. Elsa had simply developed very good hearing. She had spent years, after all, listening to Anna crashing about the castle. Yearning to hear her sister talking to the paintings, she had become accustomed to breathing silently and being very still so she could listen. Because of this, Elsa knew more about Anna than the girl herself realized. Elsa could not always distinguish Anna's words, but she could identify that voice anywhere within three hallways and two floors in any direction.
Elsa's listening skills had progressed to where she could recognize other sounds as well. She knew the gaits of all the castle staff, but none more so than Anna's. Whether the princess was skipping, running, walking, or dancing, Elsa knew those footfalls and held them closer than her own heartbeat. Even when Anna would walk silently past her door, Elsa knew she was there. So when Elsa heard a cheerful voice greeting people on the floor below and pounding footsteps coming up the stairs, she smiled wide because she knew Anna was coming for her.
And when she heard the unmistakable sound of a foot catching on carpet two hallways down and a familiar shocked gasp, Elsa's blood ran cold. Before she could even think, she was sprinting down the hall with ice trailing in her wake.
"Anna!" the panicked voice rang in the princess's ears as she returned to her senses. She was shocked when cold hands and strong arms lifted her up. She blinked her eyes back into focus and found herself face to face with her frightened sister. Ice was swirling up the wall behind Elsa, who was searching Anna's face with frantic and terrified eyes.
"Elsa?" she mumbled in brief confusion. The arms tightened their grip on her and she smiled. "I'm all right, Elsa. I just tripped, that's all."
"You hit your head! Anna…" the worry in Elsa's eyes made Anna's heart flutter.
"Elsa, I'm fine! It happens all the time."
"I know," Elsa replied, "but it sounded way worse than usual. Are you sure you're okay? What month is it?"
"It's still July. Wait, what? What makes you think I fall all the time?" Anna was indignant, but she stayed still. She was rather enjoying the way Elsa held her with her upper body cradled in Elsa's rapidly-warming arms. It hadn't been very long since their reunion and Anna wasn't sure if she'd ever take physical contact with Elsa for granted ever again.
"I… I heard you. I heard your foot catch."
"What are you talking about? That doesn't even make a sound. Were you right around the corner?"
"No, I was in the study. I heard you coming. How bad does it hurt?" Elsa asked, turning her attention to Anna's head.
"How did you know it was me?" Anna ignored her sister's question as the older girl probed her scalp with soothingly chilled fingers.
"I know you," Elsa replied, focusing on the rising lump. "I know your footsteps. I could hear you, and I knew what happened. So I came as fast as I could but I couldn't… I couldn't catch you. I'm sorry, Anna." Tears started in the queen's eyes as she held a cold hand over the bump hidden by red hair.
"Elsa…" Anna whispered in awe. She could hear me?! The pain was melting away. Elsa bent her head and gently kissed the swollen spot. Her lips sealed a couple hours of cold onto the area and Anna's pain was gone. Tears rolled down Elsa's cheeks as she leaned back and looked guiltily into Anna's eyes again.
"Elsa," Anna repeated and sat up. She gently wiped the queen's tears away. "Please… please don't feel guilty anymore. I forgive you for what happened all those years ago. You know I do. Please don't keep hating yourself for a thirteen-year-old accident. It's not your job to catch me always. It's okay. I'm okay. Oh Elsa," she murmured. This release of emotion had broken some sort of dam in the older girl and she was crying into Anna's shoulder. Anna didn't know if words would help, so she just held her sister close and soothingly rubbed her back. Any pain she had in her head was gone, replaced by overwhelming worry for Elsa.
"Elsa, it's all right. Shh," Anna tried to soothe her sister. "You're… you're starting to scare me, Elsa. Are you okay?" To her great relief, Elsa nodded against her shoulder and pulled back to wipe her eyes.
"I didn't mean to scare you," she mumbled. "I just… I've heard you fall so many times. I've always wanted to… to…" Anna interrupted before Elsa could dissolve into tears again.
"It's okay, Elsa. You… you did exactly what I needed you to. You came to me. That's all I ever wanted. I just wanted you here, and now here you are!" Anna was smiling and Elsa finally lost that distraught look. "And whatever you did to my head just now? That's amazing! It doesn't hurt at all anymore! Thank you, Elsa."
"You're welcome," Elsa replied with a small smile. Anna grinned at the sight of it and got to her feet. She still felt a little dizzy – it was a harder fall than usual. Though Anna tried to stand on her own, Elsa clearly noticed her swaying and wound an arm around her waist to support her. Walking slowly, Elsa led her dazed sister down the hall.
"Will you promise to lie down and not move for a while," Elsa asked as they made their way to Anna's bedroom.
"Only if you stay with me," Anna grinned. "Otherwise I might wander out."
"I'd hear you," Elsa warned.
"I know," Anna retorted with a smile. "And you'd come for me."
"I would," Elsa replied, smiling too. "So I suppose I'd better stay with you and save us the trouble."
"There you go."