A/N: Thank you for clicking on my story!:)
Disclaimer: I don't own Frozen, obviously.
While this story is on the same timeline as all my other Frozen stories, it is COMPLETELY stand-alone. Since Elsa is a baby, this is 'where everything began', so to speak. This story will probably be much shorter than my others, I think. I hope you like it.:)
A special thanks to Mandy for mentioning the idea to write about Elsa's life before Anna was born.:)
On to the story!
"Agdar, there is something wrong with the baby," Idun repeated seriously for the umpteenth time. "I don't know what it is, but something is wrong with it."
Agdar didn't even look up from his desk where he was working on a trade agreement. "Idun, this is our first child. Nothing is going to be wrong with him. He'll be fine. Gerda said babies often make a mother-to-be feel ill, remember?"
"I do not feel ill. The morning sickness is gone and has been for awhile, Agdar. Something is the matter, and I don't like it. And how do you know our baby will be a boy? It might be a little girl," Idun replied, frowning as she held one hand to her tummy. Soon after the misnamed 'morning sickness' had ceased (it had actually bothered her far more often than just in the mornings), Idun had begun to feel cold very easily. Always, always, the cold sensation began in her tummy. It wasn't painful, but it was unnerving to say the least. "You'll still love our baby if it's a girl, right?" she asked hopefully.
"Of course. I would just prefer a little boy," Agdar said truthfully. While he hoped that the baby would be a boy, he didn't mind the thought of a little crown princess instead of a prince. "Idun, please, I am busy. Go rest or eat something since you're maintaining two now."
Idun sighed and left.
A MONTH LATER…
"Gerda…it's…freezing…in here," Idun gasped again. She wished that baby would hurry up and come out already, even though it hadn't been due for another four weeks. Idun was still terrified that the baby would end up dying. What if it were sick? What if it couldn't breathe?
"Your majesty, it's nearly eighty degrees outside and the fire is going strong," Gerda told her. "There is nothing else I can do. I'm sorry. One more push and you and King Agdar should have a beautiful new prince or princess," she said, trying to stay calm. I do not understand this…it must be ninety-plus degrees in here.
"It's a girl," Gerda announced a few minutes later, wrapping up the new princess in a warm blanket. "And yes, she is…alive," she assured the worried queen.
Idun stared at the baby, half in fright and half in excitement. I don't feel cold anymore. What is wrong with my little girl?! "My baby…please," she whispered in exhaustion.
Gerda frowned as she handed the tiny baby to Idun. The little thing still hadn't made a sound, although she had immediately stuck her thumb in her mouth. I hope there's nothing wrong with her… "What are you going to name her, Queen Idun?"
"Elsa. Her name is Elsa," Idun said softly. She thought her baby girl was absolutely perfect, despite the fact that baby Elsa was very, very skinny and that she looked so pale her skin was almost translucent. "Agdar…come look at her." She's ours and we'll do everything we can to take care of her and make sure she isn't sickly.
Agdar did a double take when he noticed the baby's hair. Little Elsa had hair so light it was nearly white. Platinum. Cold. What if….?! "Elsa is not Ingrid. She's not," he muttered to himself; then jerked his gaze toward Gerda to see if she had heard him. Good, she didn't. "May I hold her, please?" he asked his wife, who was still holding the tiny baby protectively in her arms.
Idun willingly handed Elsa to her husband as her eyes drifted shut. "Take…good care…of her…"
"Gerda, she can't be five pounds," Agdar commented worriedly as he cradled Elsa in his arms. "I don't know much about babies, but this one is too small. I know she is." Elsa better not be sick. Or have other…problems. He quickly handed the tiny girl back to Gerda a second later. "Gerda, fix my child. She isn't breathing now!"
Instantly Gerda laid the princess in the canopied cradle-crib thing, and then gently tickled her foot still hidden in the blanket. Little Elsa blinked up at Gerda and Agdar with big blue eyes and then promptly began crying a second later, trying to get that warm blanket off of her. "Shh, princess, your mommy's trying to sleep," Gerda said softly, rocking the cradle gently. "Well, King Agdar, it appears Princess Elsa can breathe just fine. She wouldn't be able to make all that noise otherwise. Also she is tiny because she was born early," she told the king.
Agdar frowned as he gently touched his daughter's head. The baby girl was downright freezing, although she had immediately calmed down once the blanket wasn't wrapped around her anymore. "Gerda…keep an eye on her for anything…unusual. I think Elsa might have something else the matter with her besides being born prematurely," Agdar told his trusted servant.
"Such as what, may I ask, your majesty? The princess appears normal for a newborn to me, and I have seen plenty of babies. She looks like an angel," Gerda said firmly. "Only thing the matter with Princess Elsa is that she's tiny. She'll grow and no one would ever be able to tell she was this little."
"I think you will know," Agdar said cryptically. I don't want Elsa to be like Ingrid. She can't be.
"You are not going to have Elsa christened until she's a little bigger," Idun announced firmly a few days later. "She's far too little and I will not risk her getting sick. Gerda said premature babies are more susceptible to falling ill. So no. No, no, no." She held baby Elsa close and refused to release her. Idun was happy that Elsa had taken to nursing easily. Already the baby girl looked visibly healthier, although she was still pale, just not sickly so. Little Elsa had had a few more of the disturbing episodes of not breathing for a few seconds, but tickling her tiny feet always woke her up and prodded her into breathing properly again. (Idun and Gerda took turns watching her during the night.)
Agdar sighed. "Idun, Elsa's christening is on Sunday. That's six days from now. She'll be nearly two weeks old by then. If she continues like she's been doing, Elsa will be fine." Hopefully. Agdar hadn't seen anything odd from the baby girl, aside from disliking being too warm and becoming physically colder than she usually was when she cried, but he was worried that the older Elsa became, the more likely she would show…other things. "Idun, have you noticed anything…weird about Elsa?" he asked carefully.
"Just that she's cold all the time and seems happy about it," Idun replied. "Why?"
"I think she may have…something wrong with her," Agdar said awkwardly, forcing a smile at his wife. "Idun, look at her hair, for one thing. Her skin. I think she has a curse on her."
To Agdar's chagrin, Idun just laughed. "Agdar, what nonsense are you talking about?! One or both of us probably have a recessive gene for platinum hair. So what? And Gerda said Elsa is pale because she's a little preemie baby. I think that's what I'll call her regarding her being born early. She's a preemie." Idun paused and looked up at her husband, all laughing playfulness gone. "Agdar, what gave you the idea about a curse, for goodness sakes? How could a baby have a curse?"
"Not a curse, exactly. More like…magic. Idun, Elsa is cold constantly. And she likes it. Her little body is downright freezing when she cries," Agdar said quietly.
Idun considered that for a moment, remembering how the coldness she had felt abruptly disappeared after Elsa's birth. "Maybe Elsa's body temperature is just abnormal," she suggested. "Agdar, I don't think Elsa has magic. Wouldn't it be more obvious?" Unless it hasn't shown up much because she was born too early, a little voice told her.
"I think we should get Raske to look at her," Agdar said finally. "Don't mention any of these suspicions to him, though. Let's just see what he says."
"The princess appears normal in every way, aside from her low body temperature," Dr. Raske told the worried king and queen. "I could not get a clear reading on the thermometer. It fluctuates up and down, although it always remains far below average. Would you permit a blood test? That could help to see if there is something wrong, perhaps."
Idun was about to say no the second Agdar said a firm yes. "Agdar, it'll scare her!" she hissed in Agdar's ear. "We don't even know if it will help!"
"It might help," Agdar replied. "Idun, just hold Elsa still. That little baby won't cry unless she's too hot." Agdar had already noticed that Elsa was pretty quiet most of the time…unless someone put too many clothes or blankets on her.
Little Elsa remained completely quiet and cooperative until she felt something poking or pinching her. That hurt, so she screamed. It had frightened her more than anything else; it didn't hurt too much; the baby girl just didn't understand why the big people she trusted would hurt her. Frost coated the needle and the skin on her arm where she'd been poked, and a few tiny snowflakes floated around her.
All three adults just stared at what Elsa had done. Raske recovered from the shock first and quickly bandaged the princess's arm, although it seemed that Elsa had stopped the bleeding herself with the frost. "Ah…King Agdar, Queen Idun…I think you have your answer. Princess Elsa has some sort of cold magic, evidently…I've heard rumors of such things being possible, but I always considered it to be most likely a legend. I suppose not," he said awkwardly. The doctor squinted as he held Elsa's blood sample up to the light. "She has tiny blue sparks in her blood. Look."
The nervous parents looked.
Elsa tried to tear the bandage off her arm; then just blinked up at her mother when her tiny fingers wouldn't cooperate.
"Elsa is a natural mage," Agdar said darkly.
"Elsa is still just our daughter," Idun replied firmly. I will always keep you safe, Elsa.
A/N: Ack, I still think baby Elsa is adorable. :P
I'm trying to make it clear that Agdar and Idun do care about Elsa; they're just unnerved about the ice powers.:)
Also I am very sorry if any of the birth/premature baby things are inaccurate. I did look things up and I think everything is okay, but still.:P
Next chapter coming soon!