Disclaimer: Obviously I don't own Frozen. It wouldn't ended a bit differently if I did.
Technically this is AU as Elsa and Anna aren't biologically related and I tweaked a couple things, but otherwise it's basically the same. Elsanna, so don't like, don't read. :P Also, I'm still getting used to writing the Frozen characters' personalities, so if I get a few things wrong or they seem a bit OOC, let me know how I can fix it. For the sake of this chapter, Elsa's quite OOC. (She's also seven so there's that.)
[also if the kids' interactions and parental ones seem weird it's because I'm not familiar with writing kids or parents of kids.]
I'll stop babbling now. xD
The birth of an heir was supposed to be a happy event. And for a small time, it was. Two years of a perfect baby girl, perhaps a bit pale, but normal. For two years, the king and queen of Arendelle had a normal, happy child. The mop of near-white hair on her head didn't escape their notice –nor the rest of Arendelle— but both simply attributed it to past ancestors. There was no need to worry over something as simple as a hair color, and so they left it alone.
The first time Elsa's powers manifested, it was in the middle of a tantrum over losing a beloved stuffed polar bear. The first cry had been weak, just a sad noise. The second was a shrill scream of anguish that only a two-year-old can manage, only hers was accompanied by shards of ice spiking out from her tiny body in a circle. Terrified of and for her child, the Queen had backed away from the toddler, at the same time calling for her husband.
By the time the tantrum ended, the room was covered in sheets of ice, and a very tired little princess had fallen into a deep sleep in the very center of it all, totally unaffected by the severe drop in temperature.
The second time, it was worse. Only a few months after her polar bear tantrum, Elsa had fallen prey to a common cold – and the rest of the castle was subject to her misery. At any point in time, floors froze over, icicles sprang from the ceiling and walls, and sheets of frozen water formed new walls before shattering and melting into the ground. It was a wonder the rugs didn't succumb to mold, and that small favor was owed to the maids who continually came to dry and replace them.
Elsa herself was cold to the touch, and with as much concern for her as fear of her, the worried parents rushed her to the only ones who could make sense of this mystery – the trolls. The trek to the Valley of the Living Rock is long and arduous, and by the time they arrive, they are both exhausted. Determination, however, is not so easily squashed, and the King, who had visited the trolls before, steps up to talk to them.
As usual, they are asleep. It takes several moments of calling, pleading, and shouting for them to wake at all, and once they do, they're not really sure what to make of the newcomers. Before any can start in on their usual antics, however, what appears to be a rock rolls down to them and reveals himself as the wise elder troll.
"Pabbie," the king murmurs.
"Ah. I see you've brought me your daughter – I admit I was curious to see the new heir of Arendelle." Without a moment's thought, he takes a closer look at the child, jolting slightly in surprise when the toddler sneezes and the icy breath that comes out with it blows into his face. "Oh, child, you're very cold."
The queen prods her daughter gently. "Elsa, love, wake up. Someone would like to meet you."
Blue eyes open slowly, groggily, and take a moment to adjust to what is surely nearing dusk. "Troll?" she asks innocently, staring at the figure before her.
Pabbie is surprised a moment before chuckling softly. "I shouldn't be surprised; as a future queen, of course she much know the different races of Arendelle."
The king exhales, pursing his lips before staring down at the troll and his daughter. "Something is wrong with her," he blurts out, before he can think of a better way to put it. "You can feel how cold she is, can't you?" When Pabbie nods, he continues. "She's always that way. We paid no attention to it when she was younger, but..."
The queen takes over, seeing her husband unable to articulate what has happened recently. "Lately it's been... different. The first time it happened, she had lost a favorite toy, and ice spikes exploded outward from where she was sitting along with her tantrum... and then just weeks ago, she fell under a common flu. The floors, the walls, the very air around her froze over, thawed, froze again. She's nearly taken out maids who disturb her when she's sleeping or feeling unwell, and we... we don't know what's wrong."
Pabbie's brow furrows, and he stares into the child's eyes, noticing her near-white hair, fair complexion, and ice blue eyes. "A cryokinetic... I've never met one before, and how strange that her powers are so strong at this age. Unfortunately, I have no solution for you."
Both parents stare in wide-eyed terror. "Then... then what should we do?" the queen asks, desperate for an answer.
"Teach her not to fear it. Not to let it get to her. Teach her to overcome her emotions, so that her unique... abilities won't get the best of her. There won't be any cure, only management." He glanced up at the sky. "You might want to take your leave now, if you wish to be back before midnight."
The next few years were spent solely on management. Elsa was far too young to learn to control her emotions –and by default, her powers— so the castle staff and her parents suffered indoor blizzards and slippery floors whenever the young heiress's emotions got away from her. For a six-year-old, that really didn't take much.
She was seven before her parents would allow her out of their sight, and even then, not for long. She was allowed to wander the courtyards and gardens, and enter the stables if she wished, but she was never to step out into Arendelle itself.
"Papa, when can I go into Arendelle? When can I meet the people?" she remembered asking, just last week at her seventh birthday celebration. At seven, she thought, she was more than capable of controlling her abilities.
"Maybe later," the king had replied. "It's just that... Elsa, you're not safe."
The statement confused her young mind, and her brow furrowed in reply. "Who would hurt me?" she wondered aloud.
The king hesitated, faltered, and sighed deeply. "It's not you getting hurt that we're afraid of. It's... your powers aren't controllable. Someone in the wrong place at the wrong time is all it would take to turn Arendelle against the royal family. You must understand that you're a danger."
She couldn't remember what she said afterward, only that those words felt as if they knocked the wind out of her. She was a danger. She was the problem, the complication. Her parents never hid from her that they were afraid of her, even spiteful at times, but to hear it so bluntly put that they were more concerned for the kingdom than their own daughter's well being... that was different.
She had frozen her bedroom solid that night, and nearly froze her own eyes shut with the sobs that wracked her small body. The maid found her curled in a ball, surrounded by circle after circle of ice spikes.
The following week had been nothing but misery. Elsa tried to avoid her parents as often as possible, and considering their royal duties, fear of their child, and insistence that she needed to play outside, it didn't take much effort. She made towering ice sculptures and brought them to life to play, only to destroy them by the end of the day when they were unneeded again. She attempted to pick flowers, but generally froze them over instead, and went to visit the horses in the stables. Most shied away, knowing something about her wasn't right, but a few would allow her to stroke their necks.
Today, though... today she was restless. She had been to the stables at least five times, and had constructed and destroyed ten or more sculptures. Elsa had lost count by now, and nothing could relieve her boredom. None of the servants' children would play with her for fear of being frozen over a game gone wrong, and even the adults of the castle steered clear of the ice girl.
The child let go of a deep sigh and sat up, glaring at the frost that had formed on the grass under her before turning to gaze longingly at the castle gates. They were always closed, except for special occasions such as today, when visitors from a nearby country had come to negotiate with the king and queen. Elsa knew better than to leave, and she had never disobeyed her parents, so there was little worry over her escaping.
But today, her curiosity trumped her morals and obligations. Blue eyes darted in all directions, looking out for anyone who could possibly see her – but when she found no one, she edged closer to the gates. One foot in front of the other, the princess made her way toward the entrance of the castle, before a sudden burst of courage overtook her and she bolted for the gates as if flames were licking at her heels.
She wasn't exactly sure how long she ran, only that she was out of breath by the time she stopped to stare at the sight before her.
Arendelle, in all its busy, loud, crowded glory rose in front of her, and for a moment, the seven-year-old wasn't sure that coming all this way was such a good idea. But if there was one thing Elsa was, it was determined, so she straightened her back, steeled herself, and strode nonchalantly into the bustling center of excitement.
It occurred to her that she hadn't brought any money, but that was the least of her concerns. Finally, finally, she got to step into Arendelle; to be face-to-face with all of her subjects, the people she would eventually rule. It filled her with a giddy sort of excitement, which was squashed a moment later as the girl recalled her old mantra; conceal, don't feel.
With an air of grace unusual for a seven-year-old, she strolled through the streets of the kingdom she would one day inherit, stopping along the way to watch some of the "normal" children play. It was... different. Nice, in a way, not to be noticed. How she escaped notice by the townsfolk was a mystery even to Elsa, but it was good to just blend in for once.
Eventually, though, she grew weary of the crowds and bustling people, and chose instead to make her escape into the nearby woods. If she remembered correctly, from her brief visits with her parents, there was a path to lead her back to the palace through the woods. If not, she could simply follow the road back.
As it turned out, there was no path, so the young princess stayed close enough to see the road as she made her way through brush and trees. The walk was peaceful and unexpectedly nice. Once in a while she stopped to observe some creature –reindeer, mostly– before continuing on with her journey home.
She couldn't have been far from the castle when, to her surprise, some loud noise sounded from nearby. Elsa hesitated for a moment, torn between curiosity and her duty to return home, before giving in to go investigate the sound. It seemed the woods served as a very good amplifier for sound, because she had gone much further than she intended before she found the source of the sound.
She nearly tripped over the source of the sound, in fact. Sitting directly in front of her, tears pouring down her face, was a small girl. She couldn't have been older than five years old, and the princess' brows furrowed in confusion as to why this young child was wandering around the woods all alone.
Forgoing the questions in her mind of why this little girl was in the woods all by herself –technically, so was she... but she was seven, not five– she knelt down in front of the child. "Are you okay?" she asked quietly, blue eyes worried.
To her surprise, blue eyes nearly identical to her own raised to look at her. There was a spattering of freckles across the girl's nose, and her hair –unkempt, un-brushed, and seemingly unwashed– appeared to be some shade of reddish-blonde. And the girl's pink lips were set in a dreaful pout. "I fell," she replied sadly. "And hurt my knee." As evidence, the girl showed her a knee that looked quite battered and bloodied. Elsa grimaced –in both disgust at the blood and sympathy for the girl's pain– and sighed.
"Oh, well..." The princess bit her lip, worried it between her teeth, and then smiled reluctantly. "Here. Let me help."
Conceal, don't feel. The mantra repeated inside her head as she allowed her fingertips to freeze over, placing her hands against the girl's knee and forming a shoddily-made ice bandage. "Better?" she asked when she was done, raising her eyes to the girl's. An awestruck expression greeted her, accompanied by a stupefied nod.
"How... how did you do that?" she asked, delighted, grinning. The princess blinked, shocked and unsure how to take this positive feedback.
"I was born with it," she said shyly, standing and extending a hand to the redhead. "What's your name?"
The younger one beamed as she grabbed the hand offered to her. "Anna!" she giggled. "What's your name?"
"Elsa."
"That's pretty. I like it."
"Anna's nice, too."
Without noticing, she had begun her trek back to the palace, and they walked in silence for a few moments. Finally, the blonde realized something. "Where's your family? I bet they're worried about you."
She immediately regretted it when Anna looked away, crestfallen. "I don't have a family," she said, shrugging as if it meant nothing.
But it did mean something. Elsa stared at her in shock and disbelief, her heart going out to this poor girl. "How can you have no family? Everyone has one."
"I just don't." Anna shrugged again. "It's okay."
They walked a while more in silence, the princess deep in thought, until finally she smiled and looked at the younger girl. "Then I guess you'll just be part of mine!"
Elsa wasn't sure if she had ever seen more hopeful eyes than Anna's when she looked up at the blonde. "Really?! You don't have to – I don't want to – I mean–"
The princess laughed softly and reached over to hesitantly wrap her arm around the girl's shoulders. She was always so stiff about physical contact, but somehow this was... different. Easier. It was new, but a good kind of new. "It's okay," she smiled.
The awestruck expression on Anna's face went away, but it came back the second the palace was in sight. "Um... Elsa?" she asked.
"Yeah?"
"... That's the palace."
"I know."
The redhead blinked. "So... why are we going there?"
The princess laughed as she remembered that she never told the girl who she was. "I live there!" she announced rather proudly.
The younger girl was clearly confused. "As a servant?"
Blue eyes rolled in amusement and the blonde chuckled. "No, silly. As the princess. Come on, you can meet my Mama and Papa."
"You're a princess?!" Anna exclaimed. "A real live one? With dresses and everything?!" The girl was grinning from ear to ear and her eyes were shining in both awe and adoration, and it made Elsa a little uncomfortable because she was used to that from everyone else. But Anna's expression was... different. It wasn't the same mindless respect paid to her by the servants and maids; it was more like awe and adoration at finding out that an already amazing person also lived an amazing life.
"With dresses and everything," she agreed, nodding as they stepped through the gates. She ruffled the younger girl's hair playfully, then straightened her back and headed for the palace entrance.
She was downright shocked to find her parents both lounging in the parlor. It was unusual, and the princess eyed them warily as she approached them, red-haired Anna in tow.
"Oh, who's this?" the king asked. Annd had hidden behind the older girl slightly, unsure of what else to do, but gave Elsa's parents a nervous smile.
The seven-year-old smiled slightly. "Her name is Anna," she replied. "She was all by herself in the woods."
"What on earth were you doing in the woods?" her mother frowned. "It's not very... ladylike."
Chewing her lip, Elsa bowed her head. "I was just bored," she murmured.
"She made my knee better!" Anna interjected, grinning. "With her cool icy stuff!"
The king and queen stared at their daughter in open horror. "Elsa, you showed her?" the king chastised. "You know better! What if someone else had seen? What if you lost control? What if-"
"But nobody did and I didn't and her she hurt her knee. What do you expect me to do?"
The queen sighed deeply. "At least you did something good with it," she muttered. "Now why did you bring Anna here? I'm sure her family's worried."
The princess opened her mouth to say something, but her feisty red-haired companion beat her to it. "I don't have one," she stated. "Elsa said she'd be my family!"
An awkward silence descended on the parlor, the king and queen glancing at each other, then the two children, in a silent sort of argument. Finally, Elsa's father cleared his throat. "That's... very noble of you, Elsa, but..." Knowing what was coming, the girl turned big blue eyes on him, staring up from under her lashes and deliberately looking as piteous as possible. A deep sigh escaped him and he glanced at his wife. "Well... It's not as if we're short for resources..."
"Have you lost your mind?" the queen replied. "That's... it's not a pet, it's a child!"
Elsa swallowed. "I'll keep her out of trouble," she promised. "And make sure she doesn't get in the way, and protect her."
Her mother stared down at the two of them for a long moment before finally sighing in defeat. "I guess we can take her in," she muttered, rolling her eyes. An amused smile touched her lips as she caught the awestruck expression on the little redhead's face. "You are a lucky little girl today."
Fighting hard not to just shout for joy, Elsa made a shallow bow, beaming the entire time. "Thank you!" Without a moment's hesitation, she grabbed her new sister's hand and dragged her up the stairs to figure out where she would stay.