Authors note: Welcome to the first chapter of the Firebird, which hopefully you will all enjoy.

This new story is based on The frog prince, the firebird ballet, The story of Master Frog and a couple of other stories. So well, enough of me blabbering lol please read, enjoy and review when done as I would like to know how you all like it so far or if you have any questions. :)

War. The word itself struck fear and dread into the hearts of men, and how could it not? It wreaked death and destruction, tore families apart, and brought anger, sorrow, and despair all throughout its reach. But unbeknownst to most people, war was not only limited to a show of physical strength or military might, but also the clash of words, wits, and ideals, and right now, one such war was occurring right inside the Arendelle Folkesthing.

"We do not approve."

"What! Why not?" Blue eyes blazed in outrage and frustration as Queen Elsa of Arendelle stared down at the noblemen gathered before her. Already, the temperature was beginning to drop due to the link between her emotions and her cryokinetic powers.

"You know very well that the union between the Princess Anna and Kristoff Bjorgman defies all protocols of royal tradition," spoke the lead councilman, "Not only is he an impoverished ice harvester and a commoner, but he is also an orphan with no inheritance to speak of; we cannot allow this marriage knowing well that he is unable to provide for your sister."

"So you'd rather have my sister marry a prince who would not love her over a commoner who does?" Elsa growled.

"With all due respect Your Majesty, we're only following what social protocol dictates," said the Duke of Weselton, a shrewd, oily man who served as one of Arendelle's vassal lords. "And speaking of marriage, it's high time you get married as well. It's not right that the younger sister should wed before the older; but luckily for you, I happen to know someone who is an excellent candidate to serve as your spouse."

"If it's your nephew, you can forget it," the queen spat. "I'm not interested."

But despite her frigid rejection, the duke was undaunted. "You could at the very least give him a chance. Not only is he the heir to the kingdom of Denmark, but he's also fabulously wealthy to boot."

"I'd sooner shoot an arrow at random and marry whoever finds it," she retorted.

"That can be arranged," said the lead councilman.

Elsa blinked, her anger giving way to bewilderment. "I beg your pardon?"

"You said that you'd much rather shoot an arrow at random and marry whoever finds it, so we'll do just that," the councilman clarified, "We have decided that you and your sister can use this method to choose your husbands."

Elsa could not believe her ears. Because of her youth and gender, the Folkesthing had never taken her seriously and often challenged her decisions, so for them to agree to her terms almost instantaneously was quite a surprising turn of events.

But even so, why did it feel like she got the short end of the stick?

Anna was ecstatic when Elsa broke the news. "That's a great idea!" she crowed, wrapping her sister in a hearty embrace.

"What do you mean?" the blonde asked, perplexed.

Anna's voice dropped down to a conspiratorial whisper. "Don't you see? It's perfect because all I have to do is tell Kristoff where to find the arrow and when he does, there's no way those old fogeys can object to our marriage then."

A small, hopeful smile graced Elsa's lips as she realized the implications of Anna's words. It was quite clever of her sister to discover this loophole, and if she played her cards right, she could use it to her full advantage as well. All she had to do was to make sure that not a single soul would ever find her arrow, and then she could be free of her obligation to wed.

Yes… If executed properly, this plan could just be crazy enough to work.

A week later, the royal sisters, the councilmen, and several other dignitaries gathered at the foot of North Mountain to proceed with the challenge. The rules were simple, each sister was to shoot a single arrow towards any direction, and whoever found the arrow would be deemed as her betrothed. To avoid cheating, each arrow shaft had been painted with a distinctive design – pink roses on a green background for Anna, and snowdrops on a field of blue for Elsa.

As she had practiced with Kristoff in the days prior to the challenge, Anna stepped forward, eager to go first. She nocked the arrow onto the bow and released it with confidence. It soared into the distance before disappearing over the horizon where she had instructed Kristoff to wait.

Once Anna was done, Elsa followed suit. 'Please, please, let no man find this,' she silently prayed. Aiming her arrow towards a heavily wooded area, she pulled the bowstring and let it fly.

Meanwhile, up in the skies above a bird with feathers of living flame soared, savoring the cool breeze as it darted over and under the clouds. In its eyes, to fly was to live free, unfettered, and no other emotion could come close to the joy it brought.

But even so, all living creatures, even one as dynamic as the Firebird, needed some repose, and as it flew over the pine forests of northern Scandinavia, it swooped down in search of an adequate rest stop. Dodging past the errant shrubs and branches, it finally found what it was looking for in the form of a tall and sturdy fir tree.

Spent from its journey, it made its perch on a branch high above the ground and closed its eyes for a quick nap. But just as it did so, it was startled awake by an arrow zipping towards it. Fortunately, it was able to evade the projectile in the nick of time, and as it hopped towards the arrow for closer inspection, it realized that it was no hunter's arrow based on its painted shaft.

Green eyes widened upon this discovery. 'Could it be her?'

Blue eyes carefully scanned the surrounding area as Elsa made her way through the forest. Here, the trees grew tall and close together that the canopy of leaves seemed to block out the sun; not to mention that the shrubbery was so thick that some areas were nigh impassable. But even so, she pressed on with her search, and so far there had been no sign of her arrow or a single human soul.

She smiled inwardly, feeling hopeful for the first time in forever. 'Maybe, I can pull through just yet!'

"Hey! Is this yours?"

Elsa felt her blood run cold. Judging by the tone and pitch of the voice, whoever had spoken was an adult male, most probably somewhere around her age group. Had he found her arrow? If so, she could potentially be in big trouble. She had absolutely no desire to marry, much less to some stranger she had just met. 'Maybe I can pay him off to pretend this never happened…' she said to herself as she quickly devised a fallback plan. 'Yes... That might just work!'

But as she looked around for the source of the voice, she found not a single soul, much to her confusion. 'Maybe I'm so overworked I'm actually hearing things.'

"Over here! Up in the fir tree," the voice called.

Craning her head towards the treetops, she was shocked to find a bird unlike any she had seen before. It was fairly large and looked like a cross between an eagle, peacock, and bird of paradise. Its plumage was a most vibrant blend of red and gold, almost as if it was on fire, and its eyes were a piercing green that seemed to stare into her soul. "I seriously do not appreciate waking up to an arrow trying to impale me," it spoke, pointing to the offending object jutting out from the fir tree's trunk.

Elsa gaped dumbly, unable to comprehend what she had just witnessed.

"Lady, I demand an apology for this," said the bird, still angry at having been disturbed.

"D-did you j-just talk?" she managed weakly. 'Okay, it's confirmed– I, Elsa Margrethe Solberg, have officially lost my mind.'

Seeing that he was getting nowhere, the bird sighed in exasperation. "Yes, I can talk."

"How?" Elsa demanded.

"Like everybody else, of course," he (Elsa was certain that the bird was male) said matter-of-factly. "You start with a mother, a father– all that basic stuff."

"But– But birds don't talk!" she sputtered.

He nodded in understanding. "Ahh… That's because I'm no ordinary bird. I take it that you've never seen a firebird before."

By this point, Elsa's eyes were almost as big as dinner plates. "A what?"

"A firebird– a phoenix," he clarified. "Same thing, different name."

"Oh…" Blue eyes looked at him apologetically. Despite her perceived frigidness, Elsa was a gentle soul who would never intentionally hurt anyone or anything. "Mr. Firebird, please trust me, when I say I wasn't aiming for you. It was a complete accident, and I truly apologize for that."

"Alright, I forgive you," said the Firebird. He ruffled his feathers and flapped his wings as he readied to depart. "Well, I'd best be off; I still have a long journey ahead of me."

"Wait!" she cried out.

"Yes?"

"Could you please retrieve my arrow?" she asked. "It's stuck so high up, and I can't climb."

The Firebird cocked his head at her strange request. "Why not just get another one?"

"Please help," she pleaded. "It's a very special arrow and I need it. If you retrieve it, I'll reward you handsomely."

"Very well," he said, "But I'll choose the reward."

"Sounds fair," Elsa told him. "What kind of reward do you have in mind?"

"Hmm… Now that I think about, it's been quite a while since I had a nice, decent meal," said the Firebird, "All I want is an invitation to dinner, provided you won't treat me like an animal."

"Yes, yes, of course!" the queen promised, "You'll be treated as a guest of honor."

He nodded approvingly. "Alright, it's a deal!" Grasping the arrow shaft with both his talons, he extracted it from where it was stuck and dropped it off at Elsa's feet.

No sooner than it hit the ground, she snatched the arrow up and ran as if the devil himself was behind her.

"Lady, wait! Stop!" she heard the Firebird call, but she paid him no heed and increased her velocity to shake him off. There was no way she was keeping that silly promise. If the Folkesthing ever caught wind that a bird had found her arrow, she would be forced to marry the creature in a heartbeat.

And in her eyes, that was the worst possible thing.

Despite his nervousness, Kristoff stood his ground as he faced the furious councilmen. They were greatly displeased with the fact that he had indeed found Anna's arrow, but in the end, there was nothing they could do. The terms and conditions had been set, and they had no choice but to uphold their end of the bargain.

Just then, the bushes rustled and Elsa came rushing out, looking particularly disheveled. "Everyone onto your mounts!" she commanded as she leapt onto her horse. "We're heading back now!"

Given that the queen was normally cool and composed, her harried behavior baffled her companions, but they followed her nonetheless.

Elsa tightened her grip on the reins as she urged her horse to gallop faster still. But even as she and her party drew further away from the forest, she had this nagging sensation that she was being watched. Though she could not see the bird, she could feel his eyes piercing through the trees, tracing her every move.

Nevertheless, a victory was a victory. As long as Elsa had the arrow, she was not obliged to marry, and she could continue to rule as a maiden queen. However, her hopes were dashed upon pulling the arrow out of her saddlebag. The arrowhead and shaft were quite identical, but upon closer inspection, it lacked one crucial detail – it did not have the painted snowdrops that marked the arrow as hers.

She could feel a chill forming in the pit of her stomach. Had the Firebird been smart enough to figure out that something was up and took that moment to switch the arrows?

'Don't be silly,' she mentally scoffed, 'It's just a dumb bird. It's not as if it could understand what's going on, much less track me down.' Shoving all thoughts of her earlier encounter to the back of her mind, she decided to focus her attention to more pressing matters, first and foremost, the dinner banquet to formally announce Anna's engagement to Kristoff.

But still, it did not hurt to shut the windows and draw the curtains closed.

'An arrow? Why make such a fuss over such a silly thing?'

The Firebird's green eyes narrowed in confusion as he studied Elsa's arrow. The young woman's skittish behavior had confounded him to no end, and even as they spoke, he had a hunch that she had no intention of keeping her promise. However, he had some tricks up his own sleeve, and with a little bit of magic, he conjured up a near-identical arrow which he then switched with the real one.

Clutching the arrow in his talons, he took to the skies, determined to find the truth. 'Just what are you hiding?'

Traversing over forests, fields, and farms, he quickly made his way towards Arendelle's capital city. Judging from the woman's appearance, she seemed to be quite highborn, a member of the aristocracy, and with that information, he deduced that she lived in the area. Stealthily, he made his way to the local tavern to listen in to its patrons' conversation, hoping to glean more information on that intriguing young lady and her mysterious arrow.

So far, the first few conversations had been of no particular interest, but just then someone brought up a topic that piqued the Firebird's attention. "Have you heard the news?" he said, "Princess Anna's going to marry an ice harvester."

"Really?" his companion asked, "How'd that happen? I thought princesses only married princes and kings."

"That's because he found her arrow," piped up a third patron. "Queen Elsa had issued a challenge where whoever finds the arrow she and the princess shoots will become their husband."

"That lucky sunuvabitch…" grumbled a younger man, slamming down his pint, "I wish I could've been that fortunate."

"Well, it's too late now…" said the man who had first spoken, "As Princess Anna has already been spoken for, only the queen remains single, and that's only because nobody found her arrow."

The Firebird's talons instinctively tightened around the arrow shaft. 'You little minx… So that's what's gotten you all wound up…' he murmured to himself as he took flight towards his next destination – Arendelle Castle.

Elsa winced as Gerda pushed the last hairpin into her coiffure, keeping her chignon in place. "There..." said the lady-in-waiting, pleased with her handiwork, "Picture perfect, Your Majesty."

"Thanks…" the blonde murmured, smiling wanly but appreciatively. Though the preparations for the engagement banquet had gone without a hitch, Elsa could not help but feel unnerved, no thanks to a certain Firebird. No matter how hard she tried to forget the encounter, she found herself staring back into those green eyes as they pierced into her very core.

Dismissing Gerda, she padded over to the windows to peer out at the snow-dusted landscape, hoping to calm her jittery nerves and scan the skies for any sign of the Firebird. So far, there had no sight of him, much to her relief. 'Honestly Elsa, stop being so paranoid!' she chided herself. 'It's not like he knows who I am or where I live.'

Comforted by that thought, she made her way to the dining hall to celebrate Anna and Kristoff's engagement. As she made her grand entrance, all those gathered were awestruck by her grace and beauty. She truly was the embodiment of elegance and poise.

Shortly after taking her seat at the head of the table, she raised her wineglass to propose a toast to congratulate the happy couple when the doors suddenly burst open as four palace guards rushed in, terrified out of their wits.

The Duke of Weselton was outraged by the men's sudden lack of discipline. "What is the meaning of this!?"

"It's coming!" one of the guards screamed.

"What is?" demanded the Duke, clearly not in the mood for this buffoonery "Speak up, man!"

"A b-bird!" sputtered another guard, his face ashen with fear. "A bird made out of fire!"

No sooner than he uttered those words, Elsa felt the blood drain from her face. 'No… No… It couldn't be…'

"Queen Elsa!" called an all-too familiar voice that shook her to her very core, "It's me, the Firebird! I have come for you to fulfill your promise to me."

Confused by this sudden turn of events, Anna whirled to face her sister. "Firebird? Promise? Elsa, what's going on?" However, all her questions were met with silence as the queen was too stunned to respond.

Just then, the bird in question finally made his entrance and landed right in the center of the table. He was a large specimen which looked like a cross between an eagle, peacock, and bird of paradise. He had feathers of living flame and his eyes were of a striking viridian shade that no green forest could compare. There was no denying it, it was him.

He bowed low, at least as much as his avian anatomy allowed. "I apologize for being so late, but I always did enjoy making a grand entrance."

"What the–? Who are you?" asked one of the councilmen, perplexed by the bird's ability to speak in the human tongue.

"I'm sorry," the Firebird told him, "I thought Elsa would've told you all who I was by now."

"How dare you refer to the queen in such a manner?" rebuked the Duke. "You will address her as Your Majesty and never by her name."

The Firebird cocked his head. "Why would I do that when we are soon to be man and wife?"

His proclamation sent the entire court into a collective uproar. "WHAT?!" they cried out.

Anna gazed at her sister with increasing concern. "Yes Elsa, what is he talking about?"

But before the blonde could reply, the Firebird spoke up once more. "You see…" he began, "Earlier today, I found something which belonged to the queen." With a sweep of his wing, he procured a painted arrow with the telltale snowdrops decorating its shaft. Murmurs rose up from all those present as the queen had presented a similar arrow earlier that day.

"She told me that if I gave it back to her, she would invite me to a banquet and treat me as her honored guest, so imagine my surprise when I heard that whoever found the arrow would be her husband! So assuming this party is a celebration of our engagement, I decided to show myself and let everybody know who her future husband will be, especially since she could've gotten lost trying to find me in the woods. Isn't that right, my dearest Elsa?

"Right…" she replied weakly. He had her cornered. There was no escape now.

The head steward, Kai bowed and coughed nervously. "In that case, we apologize for whatever inconvenience you may have encountered on your trip."

The flaming avian raised a wing. "No need to apologize, it's not your fault," he said reassuringly. "Although… I'll admit that I am rather parched and famished after such a long journey."

"Oh yes, of course!" Kai replied, nodding. "Please take a seat and make yourself comfortable. We hope the banquet will be to your liking."

"Do you mean I can sit wherever I want?" the Firebird inquired.

Elsa sucked in her breath at that. 'Oh no… He wouldn't…'

"Yes!" Kai affirmed.

Beneath her composed façade, the queen was practically hyperventilating. 'Conceal, don't feel…'

"Then seeing that I will be marrying the queen, shouldn't I be sitting next to her as her future spouse?" the Firebird pressed on.

Everyone turned to Elsa, gazing at her expectantly. She merely nodded and smiled, albeit weakly. 'Put on a show…' But inwardly, she was seething. He was playing this charade to torture her, that much she knew!

"Of course," said the steward, ushering him to the head of the table. "It would be very rude of us if we denied you the right to sit next to your lovely bride."

"I beg your pardon!?" Elsa yelped, leaping from her seat.

All eyes were trained on her, shocked by the sudden outburst from the normally reserved queen.

"Sorry… I, uhh…" She fidgeted nervously. 'Make one wrong move and everyone will know…' "I need to have a word with the Firebird." Hurriedly, she stepped out of the room with the Firebird trailing after her.

Once she was sure they were out of sight and far from prying ears, Elsa grabbed the Firebird by neck. "Hey! Careful!" he squawked, but she was far too angry to pay him any heed. She hauled him into her study and threw him in before entering the room herself. "What are you doing here?" she demanded, trembling with unbridled fury.

"I already told you," he said, unfazed by her hostility, "I'm merely here so you can keep your promise to me."

"Well, I refuse!"

"But you must. A promise is a promise."

"I will not marry you!" she snapped. "I refuse to marry someone I just met, and I definitely will not marry a bird."

Unblinking green eyes pinned their gaze at her. "You have no choice, Elsa. You made a promise, so now you must uphold your end of the bargain."

The blonde tilted her chin in defiance. "Never…" she hissed.

"It has already been predetermined," the Firebird went on. "You and I... …we are bound by fate. We were fated to meet, fated to love, and fated to wed."

Azure eyes shone with frozen fire. "Then I shall fight fate."

"Come on, I'm not that bad," he cajoled, "There are some benefits that come with marrying me– my undying loyalty. I would never try to usurp your reign and I can help you rule. And I would never cheat on you nor abandon you when you grow old."

Elsa glared at him, but otherwise said nothing. Because of her hasty promise, she was caught between a rock and a hard place. On one hand, she could reject the Firebird's suit, but with his revelation, she could be outed as a liar, and therefore untrustworthy. And then there was the option of marrying him and becoming a laughing stock among her people, or worse, to those from other countries. Either way, she was going to lose.

"Fine… I accept your suit…" she muttered, submitting to his terms. 'A fine pickle you got yourself into, Elsa,' she lamented. 'Something like this would've been more likely to happen to Anna, not me.'

"What was that?" the Firebird asked. He had heard her clearly; but at the same time, he wanted to teach her a lesson in humility, and what better way to do that than to make her swallow her pride?

"I said yes, I accept. I will keep my word and marry you!" she replied, grimacing as the words left her mouth.

His beak quirked up into the avian equivalent of a grin. "Glad to hear it; and don't worry, you won't regret marrying me. That is a promise I intend to keep.

"So…" he continued, "Shall we return to the banquet to celebrate our engagement with your sister and her beau?"

"No!" Elsa snapped. Turning on her heel, she left the study and slammed the door.

Her appetite lost, she strode down the hall towards her room, only to find that the Firebird had followed her, much to her dismay. "Haven't you done enough?" she demanded, "What do you want now?"

"As I'm going to be your husband, it's only fair that you and I will share a room," he told her. He landed on her bed, relishing in the softness of the mattress as he observed his surroundings with an appreciative eye.

"I highly doubt that," Elsa spat.

"Then where will I sleep?" he asked.

"Not in my bed, that's for sure," she muttered.

He looked at her in mock disapproval. "That's no way to treat your future husband," he said, scolding her as if she was but a wayward child.

There was a light gust as snowflakes swirled around her. "I can't stand you nor do I want you here, so count your lucky stars that I haven't turned you into an ice statue just yet."

The Firebird scoffed. "Dear Elsa, I would advise you not to play with fire. Then again, I doubt your ice magic would be able to harm me anyway. But since it's improper for a man and a woman to share a bed until they are wed, I'll let you be." With a flap of his wings, he glided over to the bay window. "You can take the bed, I'll sleep here."

"Fine by me," spat the queen.

"Now if you would kindly hand me a blanket and a pillow." He expertly dodged the requested items which had been thrown with every intention of hitting him. "Close, but not quite," he said patronizingly. "Thank you, my darling Elsa." Smirking, he took both items and arranged them into a nest of sorts before settling down to sleep.

Burning with anger and shame, Elsa grabbed another one of her pillows and screamed into it, inadvertently freezing it with her magic. She dropped it back on the bed, disgusted with her lack of control, with what she had become, but most especially, with a certain Firebird who deserved to die a slow and painful death.

To be continued...

Beta and cover image: Nightrain and Brownstone

Authors note: Well its a start. lol... Will Elsa and the Firebird get along soon? Maybe fall in love...who is the firebird any way...*Cough* Hans *Cough* *Cough*.

Any way, many thanks to my beta for betaing the chapter, also for the wonderful cover image made for the story.

Please hope you all enjoy this chapter and please review and stay tuned for the next one.

Fun Fact: The firebird/Phoenix looks like Fawkes the Phoenix only bigger in size and with green eyes.