This is a "kind of, sort of" sequel to my first fan fiction called the "The Mirror" (which I will be making minor changes to maybe... so maybe stay tuned for that.) Hopefully you don't absolutely need to read the mirror to get what's going on here. And unfortunately this is not one that has as much of Elsa kicking trash as the other.
"An ice sculpting contest?" said Kristoff looking at the parchment of paper. "Yup. You know the winter is fun, but you kind of get sick of it, no offense to my sister who is, you know, literally winter incarnate, and I figured we can use the opportunity to announce that we're expecting too," said Anna with a shrug.
Made sense of course that they would announce it soon enough since Anna was starting to show enough for the eagle eyed passerby to see. "You know Elsa can whip anyone when it comes to ice sculpting, right?" said Kristoff.
"Nope. She can't. Says right there in the rules, 'No Magic'," said Anna pointing specifically to the line and read verbatim, "'All contestants will be required to use the traditional tools of ice sculpting. Use of nontraditional tools and magic strictly prohibited.' But Elsa will be judging and handing out the reward and providing the ice of course. And you can't enter because you know, being the brother-in-law to the queen would be just unfair. That's another rule, 'No relatives to the royal family may enter.'"
"You wrote this yourself, didn't you?" said Kristoff. "I did, I'm not stupid," said Anna.
"Yeah, you know how I can tell? ' The traditional ice sculpting tools'? You don't get much more vague than that," said Kristoff.
"Well, I didn't want Elsa to think I was singling her out," said Anna, snatching the paper back. "Who else do you know has ice magic? Did you even ask Elsa if you can do this before you officially announced it?"
"Of course not. Usually when I ask something, she says, 'no' but she's surprisingly forgiving even for the really stupid things I do, so I just figured, why bother to ask, when I can just do it and have her forgive me later?" said Anna. She then put her hands behind her back and whistled as she walked towards the castle. She then ran back to Kristoff and grabbed his hands.
"Let's go tell her now that it's official."
"An ice sculpting contest," said Elsa looking up from the parchment, carefully eying Anna from behind her desk.
"Yes," said Anna, excited. "I see you effectively singled me out of this competition," replied Elsa.
"Well not just you..." "Anna, how many people do you know have ice magic?" "No, look. It's also people not using traditional ice sculpting tools. And members of the royal family which would also include you..." Elsa continued to look at Anna, completely unimpressed.
"Look, it doesn't matter," said Anna snatching the paper. "The point is that it's going to be fun for everyone and you get to announce that there's now an heir to the throne. Well unless you get married or something."
"I don't think so Anna," said Elsa shaking her head. Truth be told, she had little interest in marriage for the time being. Her heart was elsewhere and still a little too tender to speak about. "I'd be fine with my niece or nephew inheriting the throne. So when are you planning on announcing this?"
"Oh it's already announced."
"Wait, I'm confused... You already announced it? Without asking me?" "Well, I'm asking you now."
"No, you're suppose to ask me before," began Elsa, but then she realized she was talking to Anna and shouldn't be in the least bit surprised by any of this "Okay, fine."
"Yea!" Anna cried, dancing out of the meeting hall.
"She said yes."
"That you can have it or that she's forgiving you for having this," said Kristoff.
"Oh it doesn't matter. She said 'fine', which in Elsa language is as good as straight 'yes'," said Anna. She then buckled over a bit, wincing in pain as she clutched her abdomen. The pain grew worse until Anna was forced to her knees with Kristoff rubbing her back.
"Anna?" said Kristoff helping her up. "The pain again?"
"Yeah. I think it's gone though," she said, still breathing heavily.
"Anna, this is getting bad," said Kristoff.
"I know, I know," she said. It wasn't as though Anna was ignoring the seriousness of it all. She consulted several midwives and a couple physicians about her condition. Even the trolls themselves examined her. None of them could give her a straight answer as to what was going on, though there were suggestions of severe morning sickness and perhaps stress. They recommended she take it easy. And in her own defense, she had. It was probably laying in bed, taking it easy, where Anna got the idea to have an ice sculpting contest. The worst of it was when the pain left her sick and practically bedridden for several weeks. There was even talk that she needed to tell Elsa, who was away to tend to some personal issues. Then for a time, the pain seemed to stop, and she decided there was no reason to needlessly worry Elsa.
"Look, I think I'm going to go lie down," said Anna slowly walking away.
Okay this part is probably where you need to read "The Mirror" but if you don't want to read it, here's the short, short, and totally lame summery. Elsa loses her powers to a man who possesses a magic mirror. In order to get them back she goes into a cave, but before entering she and Anna meet with the cave's keeper, who announces that Anna is pregnant and states that Anna's child isn't going to bare Elsa's burden, whatever that means. Well while in the cave Elsa goes off the deep end with her newly restored powers, which Anna rushes into the cave that grants people magical powers to stop her before she turns completely evil... I hope I don't have to put 1+1 together for you. And there you go... The totally lame version.
Kristoff waited outside the palace gates, going about his chores of cleaning his sled and Sven and trying not to think about Anna inside. He just hoped rest was all she needed and mostly he worried about the baby. He asked for Elsa, telling her steward that it was urgent and to meet him out by the stables since he needed the fresh air to keep his mind off things.
"Ah, there you are," said a skinny man followed by escorts. Rich looking, which meant Kristoff automatically had no trust for him. "I am told that you are Arendelle's official ice master and deliverer."
"Yeah, sort of. Really it's just a thing so I could date the queen's sister and not get the diplomats all angry," he joked.
"Well, I am Hansel," he said with a bow.
"And I'm suppose to know who you are?"
"Well you should. With your title you should know the greatest sculptor of all time."
"I'm sure that's Donatello actually," replied Kristoff wiping his hands with a cloth. Hansel looked insulted. "Look, I'm a little busy right now. I've got to meet with someone. It's important." "Certainly whoever you meet can't be more important than this..."
"I'm pretty sure she is," said Kristoff, playing off the fact the man was totally clueless that Kristoff had any connection with the queen herself.
"Well, after what I'm paying you for this job, you can afford to really sweep this girl off her feet, and make her heart truly melt, and her fall right into your arms," said Hansel.
"Uh..." said Kristoff, awkwardly as he stopped shoveling, and wondering how he could get the image out of his mind now that it was there.
"I am here for Arendelle's ice competition and I surely would like to employ your services. I would like to special order a piece of ice, in exactly these measurements. And it must be absolutely flawless, hence the reason I come to you," said Hansel handing him a piece of paper with a strange amount of poise.
"You do realize that the ice will be provided by the palace and it's actually free, right?" said Kristoff examining the paper. "And from what I understand, these measurements are bigger than what the competition allows."
"Bah," said Hansel. "Over stocked bits of ice that's not even good enough for ice tea. I need quality. And to have quality you must be willing to pay for it. Now, here's your funds. And go find me that piece of ice. Remember, it must be flawless. Do a good job and before you know it, I will be titled as Arendelle's official ice sculptor..."
"You don't have a clue why they call her the Snow Queen, do you?" said Kristoff as Hansel turned away. Hansel went swiftly around a corner where he bumped, not so politely into Elsa, and told her to move aside. Annoyed, yes, but she must have felt it wasn't worth it or was so surprised at someone not showing her respect she didn't say anything.
"He insulted your ice," said Kristoff, still staring in disbelief.
"And paid you full amount up front," said Elsa spotting the bag of coins in his hand. She then glanced at the paper. "I didn't think that you were allowed to start with a piece that big..."
"My sled won't even fit it."
"I'll make it for you, don't worry. And you can make up whatever story you want about where you got it," said Elsa.
"Thanks, and don't let that guy win."
"Believe me, he won't," said Elsa giving that playful sly look when she was up to something. She cleared her throat to quickly regained her poise though and continued, "But I imagine you didn't call me here to discuss the rules of the competition."
"Look, I'm sorry about calling you out here. I know you're the queen and all, and a dirty barn isn't exactly the best place to hold meetings..."
"It's okay. You said it was urgent, and Anna says you like to think things out in the fresh air. Not that I would call this fresh," said Elsa looking around, noticing the dust, straw, and manure everywhere. She then joked, "Maybe I should have my private meetings here... The ones where everyone complains I'm not asking for enough taxes."
"Well, it's about Anna. She's not well," said Kristoff, brushing the dust off Sven as the reindeer ate a carrot. Sven looked at Elsa and tried to sniff if she had anymore, which Elsa tactfully leaned back, almost humorously trying to maintain her queenly dignity.
"I know. The servants told me after I got back from... well it doesn't matter where I was," said Elsa gently pushing Sven a bit by the nose so he would stop sniffing at her.
"And you didn't say anything?"
"Neither did you. And I certainly don't expect Anna to despite me asking. So we might as well put that aside and talk," said Elsa calmly.
"Wow. You are forgiving. Okay. Moving on then. I just don't know. I don't think the pain she's feeling is normal... you know for a pregnancy."
"What do either of us know about pregnancy?" said Elsa giving up trying to keep Sven away from her, and compromised by petting his nose. A bit hesitant at first, using just her finger tips, but soon relaxed using the whole palm when she realized Sven didn't mind her unnaturally cold hands. Kristoff even caught a smile on her face when she reached around to pet his ears, despite the fact she putting everything into not showing it. However when Sven made a sudden move to lean in close, Elsa nervously pulled back, as though some primal part of her still refused to believe she could touch something living.
"Don't make her nervous, Sven," warned Kristoff, sensing Elsa's emotions peaking. Anna explained to him that while Elsa was wise and mature in many ways, she was emotionally still a child. Kristoff continued. "Well, what was it like with your mother?"
"I was three when my mother was pregnant with Anna. And my parents told me that I was the difficult..." she paused a moment to think. "No, that can't be true... We were assured that Anna's baby wouldn't have... No..."
"What?" said Kristoff as Elsa began to pace around the barn. Ice began to form as she paced, crawling up the poles and spooking several of the animals, and Kristoff too. "Uh... Elsa... the ice..."
"It's impossible... Her baby wasn't suppose to share my curse... that can't be right," she said.
"Okay, I don't know what you're talking about but you gotta get yourself under control..."
"Don't you understand!" snapped Elsa, causing the ice to be more violent, protruding shards. The animals went into a panic, "You can't control it. That baby will be a danger. To you. To Anna. To Arendelle. To everyone. Like I was and still am."
"Okay, this is why I don't talk to you a whole lot... You really are creepy when you get scared. And right now, you're scared of a baby. Just settle down," said Kristoff. She did, somehow after taking a deep breath, causing the ice to reseed and allowing them to discuss the matter more calmly.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean... I should go," said Elsa quietly, as she childishly looked around as often she did when she realized she did something wrong.
"Elsa wait," said Kristoff following after her. "Nothing was harmed. Come on talk to me for once..."
"Just leave me alone," she said.
"Come on Elsa. You care more about Anna than anything else. You gotta give me something."
"I don't know what else I can tell you Kristoff."
"Okay, so my kid has your curse. But what does that mean for Anna? And what do you mean everything is in danger? How do you keep control?"
"I don't," said Elsa, turning suddenly, to let out another burst of ice. Not much. Certainly far too little to ever hurt anyone. She then sighed, crossing her arms and slowly walking away.
Anna awoke, with the pain gone, but no idea how long she slept. Hours probably. The sun was out and she went to sleep around midday. The servants brought her a pitcher of water which she hastily gulped down.
"Your sister is vaguely cryptic, you know that?" said Kristoff suddenly, nearly causing Anna to drop the glass.
"Well, that's Elsa for you," said Anna with a shrug. "Yeah she's a little antisocial. It's kind of annoying actually. Especially when she doesn't want to really talk to you, but you keep trying to push her. Oh boy does she get mad... That's why she froze everything last time. So you just sort of have to give her her space."
"Does she have any control over her powers?"
"Uh... Define control," said Anna.
"I mean could she freeze the world again accidentally?"
"I'm sure she could if she, you know, really wanted to. Her powers are linked to her emotions so to keep from them, you know, gushing out, she just hid her emotions and just didn't feel anything. That's why she was so... 'yeesh'. And then one day she just blew her top, which was kind of my fault actually, and we got, you know, the eternal winter. So if she's mad at something, and you see ice forming everywhere, that's kind of a good thing because that means she's not holding things inside. But on the other hand, yeah it can sometimes get really creepy, but she's not going to hurt you, not even accidentally anymore. But when she's in a good mood, it's really kind of neat what she can do... " said Anna.
Okay, thought Kristoff. They're tamed not controlled. I get it.
"Or course she'd never brag about it..." said Anna continuing on. "Wait... why are you asking me this?"
"Well, she just froze my barn and I don't think it was on purpose."
"What was she doing in your barn?"
"We had a talk... About you. We're worried."
"Wait, you told her? No wonder she froze your barn, I bet she was worried sick... I hope she unfroze it, that stinker."
"Yes she unfroze it. She didn't do anything wrong. She froze the barn because she got a little scared, and quite frankly so am I."
"Look, Kristoff, I know you think I'm immature, but I promise you I'm not downplaying any of this. I know something's wrong, but we shouldn't all just panic here. So far I'm okay and the baby seems okay."
"Elsa has a good reason to think the baby might have her powers."
"No, no, no, no. That's completely ridiculous. I was assured..."
"You were assured by some scary old lady in a tent outside a cave that gives people magic powers. Then you ran into the same cave that probably cursed your family in the first place."
"Yeah, to help my sister not go off the deep end again. Don't you remember?" said Anna smugly. She then paused for a moment. "Oh no... What have I done? I ran into a cave that gives people powers... Elsa tried to tell me to stay away but..."
"Do you ever listen to Elsa?"
"Not when she tells me to do something," said Anna. "Oh no. Kristoff I cursed our baby. What are we going to do? Elsa says you can't control them..."
"But she won't hurt anyone either. Look, Anna, I admit, your sister has some... problems, and some bad emotional baggage... really bad emotional baggage. But she's doing okay, all things considered. Honestly, the way our baby is going to turn out is the least of my worries. We're not going to lock them away like your parents did Elsa. We already agreed on that. And they'll have someone, you know, just like them so they won't feel so alone. It's really you I'm worried about. Something Elsa said that just bothers me about when she was born. But she wouldn't..."
"She shut you out... Yeah, that's Elsa," said Anna laying down to go back to sleep.
"It doesn't help she doesn't like me," said Kristoff.
"Well, you're not exactly talking about her favorite topic. She doesn't even talk to me about that kind of stuff. I'm a little surprised she's talking to you about it," said Anna.
"And yes, because she's worried about you. She'd probably go through fire right now if she thought it'll save you. She's the Snow Queen! Does she even have a favorite topic besides ice?"
"Yes, geometry. Okay? Now I'm trying to sleep."
Okay confession. I'm a CSR and Hansel is actually a parody of some of the customers I deal with from time to time. He doesn't really have a pivotal plot point here other than to keep things interesting.
Finally being cleared by the doctor, Anna felt completely sublime being allowed out of the castle again. She walked arm in arm with Elsa. As Anna went on and on about how the competition will work, Elsa just politely nodded, obviously not nearly as excited about it as Anna was, but then she could make entire ice castles from will alone.
While they discussed matters further, things went to a more serious tone concerning Anna's health. She of course avoided Elsa's constant questions about whether she was okay or not by completely changing the subject.
"Ah, there you are," said Hansel marching down the courtyard straight towards the two women. He pushed Anna aside, which nearly set Elsa off as she looked sternly at him. But she maintained her composure, when Anna motioned her that she was okay. "I need to speak immediately to Arendelle's ice master."
"And you are?" said Elsa, breathing in deeply.
"Bah. Doesn't anyone in this entire town know anything about the greatest sculptor of all time?"
"I'm sorry, I'm confused. I believe Lorenzo Ghiberti has been dead for some time now," replied Elsa.
"Bah, what do you know? I was suppose to get some ice delivered by Arendelle's ice master and it's not here."
"If this is for the competition, then it won't start until next month and contestants won't be allowed to begin until then," said Elsa rattling off all the tedious details Anna just filled her in on.
"It doesn't matter. I need to but stare at the piece that I might envision what secrets the ice contains within, that I may let them free. But your boyfriend, has not returned despite the handsome sum I'm paying him," said Hansel.
"Boyfriend?" said Elsa in complete shock.
"Boyfriend? Wait, what?" said Anna.
"Yes, Boyfriend."
"No, you're mistaken," said Elsa.
"Of course I'm not. What woman would come to a dirty old barn dressed like some kind of queen unless she expects to be romanticizing?" said Hansel, showing that he apparently read far too many romance novels involving the beautiful woman meeting her lover in the barn.
"Um, how about the queen herself," Anna replied sharply.
"The queen? I am personally acquainted with some of the finest members of high society around. There is nothing queen about you madam. Now if you would excuse me and take that message to your boyfriend."
"Okay fine. But just go," said Elsa.
Hansel gave a "Humf" as he stuck his nose up and walked off. But not before Elsa, encouraged by Anna, formed a snowball and effectively launched it, hitting him square in the head. Both women turned quickly, crouched over in laughter as they covered their mouths, while Hansel stamped his feet, threatening that he will find the pesky little child that threw that. He got even more irrational when all the children insisted it was the queen, even pointing out the lack of snow and trying to explain how Elsa could make it with her magic. Elsa and Anna had to use all their will power not to double over.
"Well that was fun," Elsa said still chuckling.
"Yeah, but I think you should have definitely made it bigger, or oh, put a chunk of ice in it," said Anna.
She didn't realize Elsa had stopped laughing as she looked up at the top window of one of the buildings. Within it, she saw a man in the window aiming a cross bow.
"Anna," said Elsa.
"What?" Anna responded, completely oblivious to the fact her life was in danger. Frantic, Elsa formed an ice wall just as the bolt was shot. It stuck in, protruding at least three inches on the other side. "Whoa! That was close... Elsa?"
When Anna turned to where her sister was, she saw Elsa stuttering around as though disoriented. In her stomach, stuck a bolt which Elsa clasped onto before finally collapsing.
"Oh no Elsa. Please, stay with me," Anna cried cradling her sister. She gasped even, as the pain erupted through her body. But she forced herself to remain focused, biting back the pain. "Elsa!"
END OF PART 1