Prompt: Brokenhearted!Anna goes to SnowQueen!Elsa to have her heart frozen, but melts Elsa's frozen heart.

Note: There are 4 parts to this fic and all of them have been written all in one go and in advance - therefore, decisions have already been made. We're simply staggering the uploads.


PART 1


"...You want me to do what?"

The hall is cold… cold as the white stone carvings on sepulchres, cold as the pale corpses entombed within them. Yet the hall is not so cold as that voice, that voice that issues from the farthest reaches of the room, curling like the mist of breath in frigid air. It rises and dies away like icy vapor, asking again, "You want me to do… what?"

Anna shudders, feeling very small and afraid. She wraps her cloak around herself more tightly, trying to shut out the sudden sound of her own teeth chattering in her head. Oh, she had been a fool to come… a fool to come…

But the moment of dread passes. The peasant girl raises her eyes to the figure on the great ice throne, a figure almost like the ice of the throne itself.

"I want you to freeze my heart, O Queen," she says, firmness growing in her voice with every word. She adds the "O, Queen" at the end because she thinks it sounds respectful. She wants to present herself well to this sorceress, to show that she is worthy of her time. Anna is not some silly rascal gone to seek out the Snow Queen for a lark, to laugh and mock at old legends. She… she knows her purpose…

Doesn't she?

On her high throne, the enchantress laughs bemusedly. "Oh, honestly!" And then the witch-woman's voice grows softer… soft as the rustle of snow that tumbles from barren branches. "Come closer, Anna," she says. "Anna is your name, isn't it? That's what you said?"

"Y-yes…" Anna approaches the throne awkwardly, and as she gets closer, she sees more clearly the wide blue eyes of the Snow Queen, sees her white-golden hair. The jewelry at her throat is sculpted ice. And the robe she wears… well, goodness! Ebony ferrets' eyes gleam out at Anna, for ferrets make up the robe in one teeming mass. They shift with their mistress, slide with her, twining around each other in a multitude of ways.

The Queen is... beautiful… Anna had not expected this. She had not known what to expect. The old stories say one thing, then they say another.

"Now tell me," the Snow Queen murmurs gravely, "why would you want me to do that?"

Tears pour down her rosy cheeks as she begins to recant the tale of her heart. "I… I was engaged to this man… Hans… but he didn't… he doesn't… he never loved me. He—" She broke down sobbing into her hands, trying to fight through her emotions to tell the Snow Queen why she had come. "He was only trying to marry me to gain information about my work. I… I discovered a letter… in which his father was asking for more details, and wondering... " She paused to wipe the tears from her eyes, even as they continued to stream without end. "He wanted to know why we weren't yet wed. So when he came home… I confronted him… and he tried to lie about it all. But I had the letter… and I showed it to him… and—"

"Enough." The words are spoken not unkindly, but in a tone that gets Anna to stop trying to force the words out of her mouth. She trembles terribly, not from the cold that surrounds her but from the relentless stream of emotion that she had kept bottled in since the confrontation with her fiance...ex-fiance. A necessary action for her to survive the trek to the Snow Queen's palace.

"This man hurt you…" The witch continues, "So you want to freeze your heart?"

"I just want the pain to stop." Anna answers with a bitterness that surprises even herself.

"I see." There is no indication of any particular reaction in her voice, nor on her face, which is as smooth as the ice that make up the foundation and walls of this frigid palace. "And why did you come to me?"

The question gives Anna pause, and she furrows her brow. "I heard of your abilities," she explains haltingly, her shoulders hunching as she speaks. "That you could—"

"Yes," the witch-queen interrupts, and Anna's words are a weak breeze in the gale of this sorceress' presence, petering out as she leans forward, eyes gleaming. "My powers are strong. I can do what you ask." Anna doesn't know whether to feel relief or terror. "My question is, why come to me? There are other ways to dull pain. Other ways to… stop a heart."

There is no doubt to the implications behind the Snow Queen's words, and something bitter settles upon Anna's tongue at the ghastly thought, almost on par to the bitterness she holds towards her unfortunate situation. She has...entertained the idea before, yes, but at the same time...she…

"I still desire to live. I simply don't want to feel the pain that comes with it," Anna carefully replies under the hawk-eyed scrutiny of the witch-queen before her. The air grows colder at the conclusion of her words, and the ferrets composing the woman's cloak shift restlessly. Anna fights back the primitive urge to shiver, to warm herself in this frigid fortress.

The Snow Queen taps a slender finger to her chin in thought.

With an even tone, she inquires of the peasant girl in front of her, "You are aware, Anna, that all magic comes with a price?"

"I am," Anna replies hastily, giving no thought to the consequences of what she is requesting—at that moment she simply does not care. "I cannot live with this pain, no matter what the cost—so long as I am still alive."

The sorceress simply sat staring at her for a long moment, sapphire blue eyes gazing piercingly as though they weren't merely looking at her, but looking through her.

Anna began to shiver under the unnervingly focused gaze which was resting on her without wavering.

The next call of her name comes so quietly that the icy walls don't catch the echo, brushing against her ears with intimate delicacy. All passing reminders of a world beyond those haunting blue eyes and emptiness fade away.

"Anna," the sorceress says, "tell me, what do you think that makes living?"

For the first time since walking into the chamber, Anna's uncertainty lifts. She meets the witch-queen's eyes without flinching, and steadies the limp shivers wracking her body. The sorceress rears back. Expectantly. Like she's waiting for someone to read the next part of the script.

"Better than this," Anna says.

"It's better than living with this god forsaken ache in my chest that serves as a constant reminder of him." Anna glares into the impassive eyes staring her down. "If my heart was frozen...if I can no longer feel for him—feel anything for that matter—perhaps I will be better off in the end."

The Snow Queen remains silent for several moments, merely staring at her with that cold, piercing gaze. And then, at last: "Would you really? Hm? I do wonder how beneficial this would be for you in the end."

The sorceress paused as if in thought for a moment, before continuing in a steady even voice. "Very well then, Anna. I shall do this, however… you must remain with me a fortnight before I will."

Anna raises an eyebrow, staring hard at the impassive face before her looking for any indicator as to why the woman needed her to remain for so long, yet it was for naught. "A fortnight?" She sighs resignedly. "Very well, if that is what you require of me, then that is what I shall do."

"Then it is settled. You shall accompany me for the next fortnight here in this palace. Once the fortnight has passed, then if you still desire that your heart be frozen forevermore I will do so."

Suspicion about the need to delay nudges against the edge of her thoughts, but for now, Anna merely holds her tongue and nods. The Snow Queen is a powerful being, after all. She's lucky the sorceress has allowed her to speak her case without killing her outright. Like some of the stories about her—the trail of bodies in her wake.

The idea of death brushes against her mind, as it had in nights past after the reveal of Hans' deception, and Anna's bottom lip trembles ever so slightly.

"Fear not, young Anna… if I wished to do you harm, I would not invite you to stay with me. Only those who give me cause are led to see the error in their judgement."

Anna blanches at the implication of the Snow Queen's final statement. If this sorceress is able to freeze a heart, what else might she be able to do to a person with her magic? Her imagination begins to fill in the blanks for her, images of bodies with spears of ice piercing them fill her thoughts. She clasps her hands at her waist, only to wring them together. Perhaps the legends are true…

"Ah. But you must be tired from the journey to my mountain," the sorceress says, rising up from her icy throne. The ferrets making up her coat shift with her, and one of them detaches itself from the furry mass, bounding towards Anna with its tiny paws. She bites back a squeak of surprise at the creature so close to her, circling her feet twice before heading for a hallway to the right. It stops a second later, turning its beady black eyes in her direction and flicking its tail as if to indicate that she follow.

"Her name is Jen. She will show you to your quarters," the Snow Queen's cool voice drifts to her ears, and the sound of ice heels clicking on an equally icy floor ring throughout the room. Anna turns her head in time to see the witch-queen making her way to the opposite hallway, not even bothering to glance back at her new...guest?

Is that what I am?

Anna ponders the thought as she follows the ferret… Jen… to her chambers for the next while. An entire fortnight? Forced to suffer through this tortuous existence that much longer…

She sighs as she enters the room before closing the door behind her when she sees Jen scurrying off back towards the throne room. With no care to examine her surroundings, she crawls up onto the bed and pulls her knees up to her chest as the wracking sobs she fought to contain in the presence of the Snow Queen consume her.


A few hours later she wakes groggily to a knocking at the door, her arms and legs splayed across the bed wildly. "I-I'm awake, I'm awake. Come in," she calls out in answer.

Without further prompting, the Snow Queen sweeps into her quarters, shoulders bare of her living cloak—or anything else. Her flesh is pale, but not deathly so; no, more like snow, or porcelain, smooth and unblemished. The only color on her is the shimmering blues of her evening dress—which match the sharp azure of her eyes—and the deep redness of her lips.

"How do you feel, Anna?"

How did she feel? "Cold," is what she says, although Anna is sure that is not what she was being asked. "My queen. Tired." In pain. Not quite dry of tears.

"My apologies for interrupting your rest," is what the ice witch replies, and this surprises Anna. "However, I did not wish for my guest to go hungry during her stay. I eat very little, and at odd hours, and I am unused to entertaining any human guests." Anna wonders what manner of inhuman guest the Snow Queen entertains. Then her stomach rumbles, quite audibly, and her cheeks grow pink.

"Ah. Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I am a little… peckish."

Anna is sure she is not imagining the amused twinkle in those eyes that had been so cold before. "Then I shall certainly provide for you."

Anna sees the sorceress raise her left arm, hand outstretched towards the doorway.

"If you will follow me, I will escort you to the dining hall. Once you're seated, I will bring you some food." The Snow Queen then turns to exit, though she glances back, watching for Anna to be ready.

Anna gets herself up off of the bed and straightens out her clothing after having slept in it. "Please, lead the way." For the moment, her hunger was overtaking her emotional distress for priority—as evidenced by another low rumble from her stomach. She ducks her head slightly, cheeks getting slightly darker as she mumbles, "Sorry…"

"Do not worry yourself over it. I left you sleep a rather lengthy period having forgotten that your needs likely differ greatly from my own with regards to eating."

The Snow Queen continues without further ado, and Anna finds herself mesmerized by the rhythmic swinging of her gold-white braid with every step. She follows behind, a careful five steps back.

She's being...awfully accommodating. All sorts of wild stories surround the witch-queen of the North Mountain, but none spoke of her allowing a human to live and dine in her fortress. Much less a simple peasant girl like Anna whose coordination had her tripping over tongs more often than not back in the smithy.

Anna had to wonder what exactly the price was that she would have to pay in order for the magic to be worked on her... And what it would feel like to have her heart frozen. Some claimed that the Snow Queen herself had frozen her own heart to procure more power, and possibly even immortality. Anna's eyes are drawn once again to her host's back; the confident, languid stride of her long legs. She looks like something out of time, supernatural as she calls ice from the atmosphere to whorl around her.

With each stride the blue gown shimmers, iridescent waves of colour splay from the skirt as it sways gently around her hostess' legs. Anna, so deeply fixated upon the wondrous spectacle fails to observe the sorceress halt in front of her as the dress continues to reflect the lighting, knocks right into the Snow Queen's back.

"Oh!" Anna exclaims as shock and fear brew within. "I-I'm… I'm so, so terribly sorry!" She frowns.

The sorceress turns to look upon her, a single eyebrow canted. "Was something distracting you? Or are you merely yet languishing over other matters?"

"No… no, it was your dress, actually…" she starts hesitantly, though raising her head such that she actually looks the other woman in the eye. "The way the light hits it when it moves, the material produces such an interesting array of colours—" She halts her speech, thinking back to some of the legends and yet does not wish to upset her hostess. Is it really crafted from ice like the tales say?

"Like everything in my palace, it is made of ice," the Snow Queen says, answering her unspoken question. "I see no reason to use the lesser material of those in the valley."

"Isn't it cold, though?" Anna blurts out unthinkingly. Stupidly.

The sorceress shakes her head gently from side to side for a moment. "Is water wet?" she asks of her guest, though there is no lilt of humour to her steady, almost calculated tone.

Anna ducks her head once more, cheeks warming as additional blood seeps into them from embarrassment. She stammers apologetically, "I-I'm… so sorry… I mean, of course it would be cold, right? It is ice, after all." A stilted, mirthless chuckle passes her lips. I am such an idiot… first I bump into her, then I ask her if her ice dress is cold.

"Please, have a seat, and I will fetch your supper."

Anna finds a seat on the side of the long table, pulls the chair out, and sits down to await the food.

Speaking of which...how does she get food up here? Anna stiffens in her seat, face paling. Unless...what if it's ice food? What if she just...chews on icicles or something like that? What if she eats the ferrets? Are the ferrets made of ice and snow too? What if

A set of doors open nearby, jolting her out of her panicked thoughts.

She turns to watch the queen approaching, carrying a plate. Once the plate is placed in front of her, she looks at the food upon it.

"I wasn't sure what you would want, so I gathered a bit of everything—dried meats, berries, carrots, cheeses, and bread. If you'll excuse me a moment, I shall go get you some tea as well."

"Thank you, that would be very nice." Anna turns to her plate, seeing the food before her and her stomach rumbles again much more loudly than the last time. She glances over her shoulder quickly to see that the sorceress has already left the room, and lets out a sigh of relief that her stomach was not heard that time. Returning her attention to the plate, she begins to eat—starting with some bread and cheese.

A few minutes pass before she hears the nearby doors opening again; this time she doesn't spare a glance their way, expecting the return of her hostess. She steps into view soon enough, carrying a tray with a large teapot, two cups with saucers and spoons, and two small bowls.

The Snow Queen sets the silverware down off to the side and begins pouring tea into the cups. Anna opts to watch her host in silence, not quite sure how to speak her thoughts on how nice the woman is being to her considering her circumstances. The redhead watches as an abundant amount of fresh steam billows out from the teapot to cup—no doubt from a freshly brewed batch of tea.

There's so much steam! Hmm...must have to do with the crazy temperature difference in this place. I wonder how she even heat the tea up to begin with…

Anna snaps out of her thoughts to the sound of sizzling and realizes that it's coming from the witch-queen's hand on one of the filled cups.

That must be blistering hot!

"Have you forgotten already that I am the true master upon ice and snow?" an amused voice speaks as their eyes briefly meet for a moment

Anna's face heats up at the thought of her inner musings being voiced out loud. God, I am a real dolt sometimes!

"W-Well, I assumed that the tea… would be cold, considering… you know." She gestures the whole room, and points at the fog coming out of her mouth. The Snow Queen doesn't seem amused at that, or a bit irritated. Anna remains silent at the threatening blue eyes.

A teacup slides over in front of her. "Drink, it's still quite warm."

Anna raises an eyebrow and takes it in her hand. It's not as hot as she expects it to be.

She takes a sip from the cup, and surprisingly, it's much better than she expected.

Wow, I've never had tea like this back home.

Even in such a cold place such as the Snow Queen's palace, Anna was feeling warmer than she ever had been before.

"You like the tea?" her host asks.

"It's...very good," she says, lowering the cup. "How...How did you make this?"

The Snow Queen, Witch Mistress of the Ice and Snow and All Things Tea, apparently, takes a slow sip, dead eyes set on Anna. "The usual method of mixing hot water with the appropriate leaves," she says. "I assume you saw some on your way up."

A different, unfortunately very familiar, flush of heat makes its way up to Anna's cheeks. "That isn't what I meant."

"Oh?" the sorceress queries, and something in her voice causes Anna to fidget.

Did she really not understand?

Anna was trying to formulate the question she wanted to ask in her head without making it sound stupid if she said it out loud.

"Like...how did you make this tea so hot?" She hesitated, "I don't know...I mean, for someone who's cold," she immediately felt embarrassed by the last sentence, "I mean, not that cold! Not as in super mean, since you've been really nice and considerate and…" she didn't know how to finish.

The Snow Queen says nothing, and Anna averts her eyes into the safety of her lap.

I feel like no matter which way I try to go in the conversation, it makes little difference. Anna's nerves thrum as she glances up to meet a pair of sharp, cobalt eyes.

"You are a...curious one. With what it is you fixate on," the witch-queen says at last, tapping her slender fingers idly against the side of her own teacup. "If you must know, I use a fire like anyone else. Mistress of the Ice and Snow I may be, but even I know that tea is best served warm. And in regards to your observations of my generosity and kindness...I simply find you curious, is all." Her lips curl into a smile that holds nothing. "Make no mistake, I am still very capable of killing you. Or freezing your heart right now."

Anna's brow furrows. "Then why—"

"Boredom. Curiosity. It has been so long since I've had a guest who wasn't attempting to kill me for the sake of some petty attempt at glory," the Snow Queen answers with a sigh, sipping at her tea and causing steam to waft around her from the hot liquid meeting her probably cold lips. Her equally chilly eyes meet Anna's over the cup's rim. "And I find you rather intriguing, indeed. It would be a shame to have you freeze so soon."

Instead of her cheeks flaring like they usually would with such words, Anna simply averts her eyes back to her food. To a palette far more colorful than her. "I'm...I'm not really all that intriguing, Your Majesty. If I was, then maybe Hans—"

Her breath catches at his name, and her bottom lip trembles. A vice clamps around her throat, robbing her of the ability to speak as the memories flash through her mind's eye once more.

It still hurts. Of course it does.

"There. Intrigue." The Snow Queen's voice is quiet, yet it ghosts over her ears like a chilly fog.

And much like a chilly fog—or cold in general, for that matter—Anna does not take the morbid fascination with her pain too kindly.

Anna snaps viciously, "My shattered heart INTRIGUES you? My pain?" She casts a hard glare at the sorceress.

The Snow Queen sits watching her for a moment in silence, seemingly to confirm that Anna is finished talking. She raises her hand in a placating fashion. "No. Pain—" she begins, but halts suddenly.

"No, Anna. It is not your pain or your broken heart which intrigues me." She pauses for a breath, then continues, "It is that you come to me willingly, with no visible inclination of threat or malice towards me. That you would request your heart frozen, rather than moving on—in one manner or another. That when I stipulated your stay prior to freezing your heart, you appeared to be bothered by it and yet you did not hesitate to acquiesce to my demand. That you seem to feel emotion so deeply, yet are willing to give it up over one man. These are the reasons you intrigue me."

Her eyes are like a blizzard in how Anna can't tell what's going on in the sorceress' head. Attempting to discern if such a trivial reason is really the...reason—there I go being redundant again...—for the delay would be like attempting to catch one particular snowflake amidst the storm.

"I do not understand why one would wish to freeze their heart over such a reason," the Snow Queen says, sighing once more and placing her teacup back down on the table. "By delaying it, perhaps the reasoning will make itself clear."

Anna sighs in exasperation, then she sobs out, "What more reasoning do I need? He lied to me, he was only using me, and he broke my heart." She pauses a moment to wipe the fresh tears from her eyes yet again this day. "And… the worst part… was when he said… 'Oh Anna. If only there was someone out there who loved you.' And… and… he was RIGHT..." She lets her face fall into her hands, sniffling through the body-shaking heaves of her sorrow. She mumbles from within her hands, "He was right… there is nobody out there who loves me. There never will be, either…"

"Hm. I'd say it's all a matter of finding the right person," she hears the Snow Queen muse, and Anna bristles at her flat tone. She takes her hands away from her face, glaring at the sorceress through her tears.

"Excuse me?"

"I find it difficult to believe that out of all of the humans in the world, you won't ever find one who can love you. The world is a rather big place, Anna. Stranger things exist beyond selfish men who care for nothing but their own advancement." Her host chuckles, but it is devoid of mirth. "I doubt the man even loved anyone. I don't understand why you would resort to such a measure over someone of that ilk. Far better to simply realize he is not worth another second and seek the company of those with...better quality."

"You make it sound so easy," Anna mumbles with a small bite to her voice.

"Is it not, though?"

"What would you know about love!?" Her voice rings through the dining hall and fades into a pregnant silence.

Oh, OH GOD...I can't believe I just raised my voice at the sorceress! I am as good as dead now. She will surely strike me dead after tha-

The Snow Queen's bitter laugh breaks the atmosphere and vibrates the air around them.

The sound is hollow and devoid of all mirth, plucking at a cord in Anna that almost pulls a gasp from her lips. Suddenly the air is thick and the room too warm and the redhead shifts uncomfortably in her seat. Anna watches as something she can't put a name to flashes across the woman's expression so fast that she isn't sure she'd seen it at all.

"Indeed," the Snow Queen hums, rising from her chair with an easy sort of grace that Anna knows she could never hope to match. "What would the ice witch of the North Mountain know about love. Goodnight, Anna."

Wait...what?

Her host is gone before her tongue can even unravel itself and form proper words, leaving her alone at the table with only her half-eaten food for company. The Snow Queen's teacup still sits on the other end, steam slowly wafting up and curling lazily in the frigid air.

So the Snow Queen does know how to love.

Anna's silent, staring at the cup of tea that she hasn't finished. Her words ring in her ears and she knows she's gotten out of line. The Snow Queen did love someone once… And she wonders, who would love someone like her… so beautiful and yet, dangerous—most importantly, who would hurt her that would make the queen isolate herself from the world?

It's strange. But as the blonde said… it's intriguing.

After dinner, she decides to explore the ice castle. There's really nothing to see. It's only ice, ice, and even more ice. There's a library as she wanders around, at some point. Anna's not really the type to be interested in books, but if there's anything that talks about this person that will be freezing her heart soon, she's more than interested.

She decides to stay and occupies herself for a while. At the same time, she also knows, that she should find the Snow Queen and apologize for saying such a thing. She sighs as she shuts a rusty old book together.

The redhead knows she also doesn't know anything about love, so it's not her position to be asking such a crude question. She should really apologize.

She looks down at her ferret escort. Jen's whiskers twitch. As reassuring sentiments go, it's not particularly uplifting. The best thing she can take from the ferret's expression is that maybe she'll find her heart frozen a lot faster than the sorceress promised. Or maybe she's projecting all over a ferret that used to be part of a coat.

"You can probably find her, right?" Anna asks resignedly.

Jen's tiny ferret head bobs up and down.

"Great."

She waits for the ferret to move and show her the way, but instead she simply continues to stare at her.

"Are you...going to show me where she is?"

Jen shakes her head and Anna nearly throws her hands in the air in exasperation. If she knew how infuriating being at the ice palace would be, perhaps she would've sought help elsewhere…

"I want to apologize for...for speaking out of line, alright? So can't you just help me fix things with your mistress?" she pleads, crouching down to keep her neck from aching at the height difference. At another shake of that furry head, Anna frowns. "Am I...not allowed where she is?"

A nod.

Oh. She could work with that.

"I'll try tomorrow then?"

She doesn't know why she's phrased it as a question, but the ferret nods all the same and scurries off, pausing in the doorway to look back at her. She blinks slowly, tilting her head, and Anna takes that as her cue to follow. Her guide leads her back to her chambers, leaping onto her bed instead of leaving.

"Oh? Are you staying with me tonight?" she asks, unable to help a small smile at the sight of Jen curling up on one of the pillows. Her heart still hurts, burdened by the weight of her unfortunate situation, but she can't help but feel it's a bit...lighter. In this moment.


Our contributors for Part 1: The Wandering Quill, glittering-snowfall, pankite, nopantsparade/Issandri, metaphoricalbutton/Immi, hogwarts-is-frozen, winterssummerallthefunner, iamrottingunman, and a-brown-turtle.