The Three Musketeers

-M. Lauren

Summary: Queen Elsa is awoken mid-sleep by a childish duo. Does she give them the show they were expecting or does she throw them out to get her beauty sleep? How will Anna feel about her children being awake after midnight?

Rating: K

Disclaimer: Frozen belongs to Disney; not me. Oh darn.

Glass diamonds over looked the dark summer sky from their resting place amongst the royal bedroom. A gentle humid breeze filtered in through the open panes, drifting around the enclosure and caressing the purple walls. The halls inside the castle were dimly lit with warm glowing candles and the reflection of the full moon cascading through the skylights. The world was quiet, as to be expected at this late hour. The only sound came from the Grandfather Clock, like a metronome, humming from its familiar location at the bottom of the grand staircase.

The silence greeted the fat wall mouse with anticipated pleasure. He darted from his isolated home beneath the white wood paneling; housed under the painting of Fragonard's 'The Swing'. With quick feet, he scurried across the carpets in search of an untouched crumb fallen victim to the oak boarded floors of the dining hall. With a leap, he moved across the clearing and scampered down the stairs.

A creak echoed softly above his head. With a sigh of relief and a display of determination, he squeezed himself under the frame and found solstice amongst the baron banquet table and empty chairs. On the second floor, the noises continued. Four little feet tiptoed along the western hallway. Two nightwear adorned children crept against the pink wallpaper, lurking in ominously the shadows. They spoke at a whisper as their socked toes carried them the length of the palace. Their pursuit led them to stand in waiting in front of a large white door with Nordic blue accents.

With hesitant hands, the oldest child reached up to finger the knob. The entrance fell open without a sound as the glow from the clear night sky beckoned them foreword. Both siblings skulked to their adjacent positions on either side of the four-poster bed. The youngest held up a single finger, watching for the nod of approval from her cohort. They bobbed their head eagerly. A second finger raised, and then a third, before both adolescents jumped up into the air in assault. They landed with heavy limbs on their sleeping victim, digging their knees breathlessly into their abdomen.

Oomph!

A woman's ice blue eyes shot open as the air was thrust out of her lungs. Her slim body was held captive to the mattress by a forceful weight. In the radiance from the full moon she discerned her two young assailants, both resting against her stomach with a fervent expression displayed across their faces. One, a red headed boy with deep brown eyes and two, a sandy blonde pigtailed girl with dark blue orbs to match her mothers. Anders and Elisabeth brought their head's in close to the woman's, smiling like mad. They teased their mouths close to her ears, glancing at each other playfully.

"Do you wanna build a snowman?" They sang in unison.

With a quick flip of the comforter, both children were set flying backwards. With a heavy thud, they landed on their rears against the carpeted floor. After massaging out their aches in a hunched stance, they returned to the bedside. The white blonde haired woman was slumbering against her pillow with her eyelashes pressed tightly to her cheeks.

Elisabeth tentatively reached out to draw up one of the woman's lids, exposing a sleep hazed blue iris. "Aunt Elsa…" She whispered, a large grin coming back to play across her cheeks.

"Do the magic!" Anders finished for his sister, bringing himself back into a resting place against his Aunt's hip.

The thirty-year-old queen darted her glare back and forth between the four and six year old. She held her cross face, until the children's smiles began to fade. "Oh, alright!" She cheered as she kicked her legs out from under the comforter.

They dove for the floor in delight, coming to stand hand in hand with their Aunt at their center. Elsa led the children in a silent sprint from her bedroom and back out across the hall. Their giggles were silenced with a scolding hush as they descended the grand stairs and came to rest their feet on the landing to the great hall. She dropped her hold on their fingers as they took the lead, skipping gleefully through the archway to the royal throne room. The light from the many stars and the bright round moon was enough to make out the cathedral ceilings and the white cylinder pillars creating a perimeter around the rectangular space. Both children stilled inside the diamond crest at the center of the large room. They danced in excitement as their teasing Aunt walked slowly to their side.

As she came to rest in front of them, she raised her eyebrows playfully. Anders and Elisabeth drew their heads into impatient nods. With both hands drawn above her head, she watched as the children's eyes widened, their matching beams caressing their lush cheeks against their ears. She flicked both wrists upwards as a burst of snow ignited from her palms and cascaded down onto the floor around them. Elisabeth took off at a run, spiraling around the room as the gentle flakes creased into her braids. Anders cupped his hands in front of his face as his grasp was filled with white fluffy powder. He cheered as his fingers over filled. With enthusiasm, he scattered the snow above his head, giggling as it landed against his nose.

Anders shook off the dampness before he sprinted off to the far side of the room. He clambered up onto the frost covered Throne, standing with one fist outreached in front of him. "I am Aramis!" He exclaimed at a bellow. "Master swordsmen and member of the Queen's noble guard."

During his speech, Elisabeth had slinked behind the iron chair. With teasing fingers she pushed her brother from the throne, laughing as he landed in a pile of growing snow. She hurried up over the golden arms of the seat, relaxing with her knees bent over the arm. Anders dusted off his light blue sleep pants before coming to stand in front of his younger sister with his hands crossed over his chest. She smiled up at him innocently as she lulled her head back casually against the armrest.

"If you are Aramis," His Aunt questioned as she came to rest against the pillar closest to the throne. "Then who are we?"

"That's easy!" Anders batted his hand at Elsa, taking his fighting stance. "You are Queen Anne and I'm here to protect you!" He mocked a quick sword fight with his invisible foes before drawing his arm towards Elisabeth. "And you are Porthos, my gullible ally who eats too much."

Anders tongue darted out of his mouth teasingly as Elisabeth rose to her feet. "Hey!" She shouted as she leapt from the chair and tackled her brother into a pile of soft cold slush. The six year old raised his hands to retaliate, but not before his sister could scurry away, ducking behind her Aunt's backside. Her head eyed out from behind the woman's legs as she mimicked his last expression. Anders growled as he roared into his attack. With his arms out, he dove for the four year old only to be stilled by a comforting hand against his shoulder.

Queen Elsa looked down at him with glowering eyes. His lip dropped into a pout as he let his arms fall while he backed away. The woman snickered as she bent down to ball up a handful of snow. With careful precision she pelted his hip with her weapon, giggling as he stared back at her in shock. His grin returned as he retreated behind a barricade of frost and quickly produced his own balls of snow. Anders assailed the two women from behind his fortress, stains of his attack being left against the blue walls.

Elsa and Elisabeth hurried behind the throne, carefully avoiding his advances as they prepared their own attack. Snowballs flew through the air, whizzing past each other as they showered their enemies. Elisabeth struggled to keep up with her Aunt, shaping and throwing as many cold orbs as she could, a heavenly smile present across her face. Elsa leaned out from behind her hiding place, ready to bombard her nephew with her perfectly rounded ice sphere. Her vision was obscured by an oncoming strike. With a heavy smack, snow covered her face and dripped to the floor. With a quick hand, she wiped away the remains and lowered her brows, ready for revenge. Anders noted her stare as he emitted a small eep of concern before ducking back behind his barrier.

The two women hurried out from behind the throne, sprinting with their arms filled toward their rival. Elsa stood over the barricade, rising to look down at Anders. Elisabeth rose at her side. His eyes darted back and forth between the both of them before he cowered into a ball.

"Alright! Alright!" He called, raising his hands over his knee-tucked head. "You win!"

The sister dropped her snowballs into a broken pile on the floor as she danced in circles around Anders. "Yay!" She cheered excitedly.

"Two on one!" The redheaded six-year-old shouted. "It was hardly fair!"

Gracefully, Elsa fell back into the snow pile, landing with her head next to her defeated nephew. His anger remained present even as he sensed his Aunt's wandering stare. "I don't want to be the Queen." She explained as she rolled amongst the cold surface, resting with chin in her hands, perched up against her bent elbows. Her long blonde hair was tattered with frozen chunks of ice, the strands growing in volume across her shoulders.

Anders cocked his head at her in confusion. "In real life or in the story?"

Elsa smirked. "In the story, silly."

With a quick hop, Elisabeth pounced onto her Aunt's back, kneeling against her waist. She ignored the woman's gasp of protest as she folded her night-gowned arms across her chest. "Yeah, An!" She exclaimed, as she bounced against Elsa's ribs. "Aunt Elsa should be Athos so we can be the Three Musketeers!"

Anders glared at his sister. "Aunt Elsa can't be Athos." He rose to stand dominately above them.

"And why can't I?" The woman sung as she rolled once more, dumping Elisabeth into the pile besides her as she looked up at her nephew.

He came to hover over her head, staring down at her intently. "Because you're already a Queen." He explained nonchalantly. "And you already know how to play the part."

Elsa frowned in response. "But if this is pretend." She continued from her lax position amongst her snow lounge. "Then I should get to be whoever I want!"

Anders growled. "You can't be Athos, Aunt Elsa because Athos is a guy!" He shouted loudly. "You are a lady!"

Elisabeth rose to her feet. "But Porthos is a guy." She defended. "If I can be a man, so can Aunt Elsa!"

Anders pursed his lips menacingly. "You get to be a man because you already kind of look like one!" He beamed as his sister's face fueled with growing anger. A low growl barreled deep in her chest. With her feet in the air, she leapt over the barricade of snow, reaching out with her hands in a strangling fashion. Anders smirked as he jumped towards her, both siblings mid air in their attack.

Elsa scampered quickly to her feet, reacting immediately. She swept the children up in a swift gust of magical wind, bringing their ankles into the tight grasp of her hands. Anders and Elisabeth dangled upside down in the woman's hold. They reached around her legs punching the air in a missed assault against one another. "Enough!" The woman shouted scornfully. "I am Athos, Beth is Porthos, and Anders is Aramis." She squeezed their ankles, stilling their swinging arms. "We can all be musketeers and it's okay for girls to pretend to be men... And Beth-" She brought the child up higher in the air, looking down at her. "You don't look like a guy. Your brother was just teasing."

"What is going on in here?" A woman's voice shouted from across the room.

Queen Elsa followed her blue eyes to find a certain angry red head standing in the archway with her hands on her hips. Anders and Elisabeth grew silent as their brows rose in alarm. The blonde worked to duck the dangling children in hiding behind her back. She dropped them into the pile, cringing as snow puffed out at her feet as they landed. A sheepish smile rose with her shoulders as a light blush danced against her pale cheeks.

Princess Anna marched into the throne room, coming to stand above the two children. She glared down at their contorted limbs, Elisabeth wedged uncomfortably under her brother's weight a top her chest.

"Hi Momma." Both kids whispered shyly as they scurried back to their feet with their heads bowed toward the floor.

"What did I tell you two about waking up your Aunt after bedtime?" Her arms came to settle against her breasts as she held her stern demeanor.

"Don't do it." "Let her sleep." They answered in unison.

"Exactly." She continued. "So what are you doing down here…."

Elsa rocked back and forth on her heels as she averted her glance towards the ceiling with her hands clasped tightly against her back. Anders tipped his chin. "Playing Three Musketeers." He explained guiltily.

Anna creased her eyes at her son. "I think you know what I'm going to say next."

Elisabeth pouted sadly."It's time for bed."

"Right you are, little lady." Anna sung as she kicked at her daughter's rear with the heel of her foot. "Hop to it."

The children's hands dropped in defeat at their side as they stared at their wet socks to begin the trek back up to their bedrooms. "Good night, Aunt Elsa." Anders deadpanned.

"Yes, thank you, Aunt Elsa." The four year old sighed, lagging far behind her older brother. She shuffled her feet slowly against the oak floorboards until she reached the entrance to the hall. Quickly, she straightened her spine in distress and leapt into the air. She sprinted back to her Aunt's side, tugging her small hands against Elsa's nightgown. The queen's eyes dropped from the skylights and back to her eagerly appearing niece. She came to rest against her knees, bringing her head down to Elisabeth's height. The young girl pressed her warm lips against the woman's cheek. "I love you." She grinned happily.

"I love you too." Elsa whispered as she briefly squeezed the child's palms. "Now off to bed. It's my turn to get scolded by your mother." Elisabeth giggled madly as she dashed quickly out of the room.

The Queen rose to her feet, coming face to face with her unhappy looking younger sister. The twenty seven year olds expression softened once her children were out of sight. A small grin grew over her lips as she shook her head humorously. "If they're cranky tomorrow they're going to be Aunt Elsa's problem." She teased, ribbing her playfully with an elbow.

Elsa smirked. "I just can't say no to them." She defended. "They're too cute."

"You should try." Anna encouraged. "I do it all the time and they still like me."

The older woman giggled. "What fun would that be? I'm the Aunt. I am supposed to spoil my niece and nephew."

She glared jokingly in response. "They've been spoiled enough!" She ensured. "Beside's I'm starting to think all this time spent with the children is starting to have an adverse affect on your poised Queen exterior." Anna reached forward to detangle a clump of ice fastened into her sister's silky blonde locks.

The woman laughed as she shook out the remainder of her hair. "Only for my family..." She explained as she swirled her hair into its customary braid with her powers as she averted her glance toward the palace walls.

"Now…"Anna continued, a devious look plastered across her face. "Do you wanna build a snowman?" She sung, her irises brightening in excitement.

Elsa brought their eyes back together, staring at her sister curiously. Matching smiles rose to their lips as they gleefully skipped into the center of the room, hand in hand.

Cheers!

-M