Disclaimer: I don't own Frozen or RoTG
Chapter 1- The Experiment
It was just a family trip. At least that's what her parents had told her.
Her cousin had just gotten engaged. And as Princess of the neighboring kingdom of Corona, her cousin's engagement was a cause for celebration. The Queen and King of Corona, were overjoyed and like any good parents had decided to celebrate by throwing a Summer-long festival in honor of their daughter and her fiance, as well as inviting all of the neighboring monarchs to share in this joyous occasion. The just and beloved rulers of the neighboring Kingdom of Arendelle wanted to express their congratulations in person and pay a visit to their relatives. Therefore, Arendelle's entire royal family would be in attendance, the king, the queen, and their two daughters.
All this seems perfectly in order, a good monarch should always keep up foreign relations. But for the Arendelle royal family the attendance of the two princesses was odd. Especially the Crown Princess who was rumored to have never left her room let alone the palace gates. It was not unheard of for a royal to be home schooled or kept sheltered, but for a princess to have never made a public appearance in the last decade sparked the curiosity of many. Crown Princess Elsa of Arendelle was a mystery and her appearance would cause a stir during the festivities.
Elsa herself was anxious about the coming celebration. Not because this would be her first public appearance to high society in years, nor because she possessed a delicate and shy constitution. Behind her neatly pinned back platinum blonde hair, breathtaking blue eyes, and smooth pearlescent skin, this beautiful princess hid a secret. A secret who very few, even in her own family, had the privilege of knowing. For the young princess had the power of winter, the power to bend ice and snow to her will. But, the miraculous power had plagued the young princess like a curse. She was unable to control the immense power that resided within her, and her lack of control caused her to isolate herself from those around her out of fear of harming those she cared for deeply.
However, because of recent developments with the princess's powers and new found information, The King and Queen had made the decision to bring both of their socially isolated children along with them to attend the festivities. Elsa had been improving her control. She could go through the day without showing any signs of her power, so long as she kept calm or remained indifferent. But, for a girl who craved to express her emotions and be free of her burden, keeping a calm demeanor was a daily battle. Expressed instead in numerous burst of emotions where her powers would slip out and cover her room in dangerously beautiful ice. These lapse in Elsa's control were unbearably frightening to the young princess, even with the occurrences diminishing in frequency. Nonetheless, Elsa's parents were convinced that the trip would be beneficial for her powers.
So there she sat watching the waves rise and fall from the window in her private quarters. Even though they could have flown to Corona Elsa's parents had decided to sail there. They had told her it was strictly because of her father's love of the ocean, but she felt they had done it more for her benefit. On a plane she would have to be in the company of numerous people for an extended period of time, and even if they took the royal jet her father's advisors would be aboard. On the ship she was given her own private quarters, which would give her the peace she needed to calm her mind and an escape from her sister's constant questioning.
Although Elsa had made progress with controlling her powers, she was still not particularly close with her one and only sibling, Princess Anna of Arendelle. The rift had started in their early adolescents and still lingered in their present relationship. To the younger sister the separation had been abrupt and incomprehensible. But, to the older, the reason behind their broken relationship was painfully scarring. The crown princess had once been unbelievably close with her sweet younger sister, strawberry blonde locks tied into neat pigtails, twinkling teal eyes, and a warm smile that had followed her elder sister around endlessly. They would play, study, laugh, and cry together, Elsa had even willingly used her powers to bring her younger sister joy. But, one night, in an accident that would change their lives, Elsa had hurt Anna with her powers. When Anna had fully healed it was found that she did not recall any of the events of her injury nor her sisters abilities. By then Elsa's parents, out of concern for both their children had taken steps to separate the two, leaving Anna confused and hurt over the loss of her best friend and Elsa isolated and drowning in the guilt of harming her own sister.
Through the years Anna had tried to reach out to her sister and mend the broken bond, but Elsa, still bound by guilt and unable to contain her powers, could only push her sister away. In more recent years, with Elsa's growing level of control, their parents had allowed their estranged children to interact. But, these interaction were always short and under constant supervision. With this Anna would at least feel that her sister was no longer ignoring her, but she still craved the closeness of their past relationship. Elsa was glad to have her sister in her life, even if she could not be open with her sister about her powers or her own desire to spend time with one another.
Even though Elsa did want to spend time with her sister she needed solitary time if she was going to restrain her powers for the duration of this trip. That was another reason Elsa felt her parents had decided to sail rather than fly. The ship would provide her with the privacy she needed to use her powers. And although her parents did not know, this small freedom allowed Elsa to relieve some of the tension that concealing her powers brought upon her.
It was the last night of their journey, and Elsa knew that except for the necessary crew members everyone would be asleep at this late hour. They would arrive to Corona at dawn and this was the last night Elsa would be able to release her powers without the fear of someone discovering them. Sitting in her private quarters Elsa gently removed the satin gloves that covered her slender fingers. They had been a gift from her father, one of the many attempts her parents had made to help her conceal her powers. The gloves did little more than conceal Elsa's cool touch, but she wore them anyway as personal reassurance that she could control her powers. As the last of the fabric slipped from her fingers Elsa breathed a sigh of relief. Although the gloves helped her keep calm they were a constant reminder of her parents expectations, and they weighed heavily on her. But, as she sat in her room with her hands bare in the dark of night, she felt free. At least from the expectations, if not from her powers, if only for a moment.
She let small delicate snowflakes escape from her fingertips, smiling as they reflected the pure moon light. Even in the dark she could hear the constant lull of the ocean and smell the salt air. It seemed so strange juxtaposed with the ice crystals she created. She relaxed into the ocean's rhythmic current, allowing her powers to frost over the room. Not enough for anyone who might be near by to feel the cold from her room, but enough so the once darkened room gleamed. Elsa sighed, listening to ocean waves beat against the boat and watching her own snow fall around the room. The princess admitted her powers could be quite beautiful, but only to her for no one really liked the cold.
Sitting in the calm night gave her time to ponder her position. This had been the first time she had left the castle since the incident, the first time she would see her cousin, and the farthest she had ever been from Arendelle. The princess wondered why now? Her parents had visited Corona before without either Anna or herself, and for more than just business. Corona was a kingdom that loved to celebrate and Elsa's parents would attend many of their the young princess had made significant progress in concealing her powers, but her parents were still visibly and incredibly concerned. Honestly, she had been shocked when her parents had informed her that she and Anna would accompany them on this journey. With these thoughts running through her mind, she let the soothing sounds of the ocean carry her off to sleep.
They arrived at dawn, as expected, but Elsa had been up long beforehand. The anxiety that the coming morning would bring refused the princess to sleep in late. She used the time before their arrival to calm her mind and make herself look the part of the perfect princess she portrayed to everyone around her. Now morning had arrived and Elsa held her breath, praying to God that she would be able to get through this day and fulfill whatever expectations her parents had for her and for this trip.
The port their ship was docked in was bustling with business, but there was a small crowd surrounding the end of their ship's gangplank. In the front of the crowd stood four people. Two based on their regal posture and noble clothing, Elsa assumed to be the King and Queen. She had not ever met her aunt and uncle even in childhood, but aside from the clothing their faces were soft and friendly. Beside them stood a girl with a short brunette pixie cut whose features reflected the man and woman next to her. She must have been no older than Elsa, but her expression reminded her of Anna with all the excitement that her smiling face portrayed, she was also dressed in fine clothing, but her posture was not as formal and even as Elsa walked down the gangplank she could see that the girl was practically gushing with excitement. Elsa had assumed that this giddy girl was her cousin, princess Rapunzel of Corona. Next to her stood a young man, clearly a few years older than Elsa, with well kept hair and a trimmed goatee. He stood tall and while he looked overall passive at their arrival when his eyes drifted to the gushing girl beside him his gaze softened. This must have been the lucky man who Rapunzel would one day marry.
Elsa's parents were ahead of her, and Anna behind her equally as excited to meet the people on the dock as the girl Elsa took to be Rapunzel was to meet all of them. Elsa had just stepped onto the dock when she was engulfed in a hug from the enthusiastic brunette girl who a mere second ago had been standing next to her parents. No sooner had Elsa realized what was going on had the girl then gone to embrace Anna, who readily reciprocated the hug and then began jumping along with the girl out of pure excitement. Elsa quickly composed herself, the lapse in her facade would not have been seen except by a closely watching eye. The crown princess of Arendelle then turned to Corona's monarchs and curtsied before exchanging pleasantries. She displayed the perfect princess and as Elsa turned to her parents for approval she saw it on their faces. However, Elsa was not calmed by their gentle expressions, for there was something else in their eyes she saw. They were watching her. Watching her every move, emotion and reaction, observing how it all affected her. Elsa's shock did not reach her face, she had finally realized what this trip really was.
It was an experiment.
A test to see how the outside world would affect her and whether she could really control the winter storm that dwelled within her.
End of Chapter 1
Thank you to my sister and friends for reading this and helping me edit. Sorry for any grammar mistakes, please tell me if there is something wrong.
Thank you for reading this in general. This is my first fanfic so I'm sure I have tons to learn. Sorry again if this is terrible.