****This is a Repost!****
I just saw "Frozen" again and was reminded of this story so I went back to read it and realized I left out pretty much half of what I wanted to write, so I added bits and pieces. The plot is pretty much the same; it's mostly adding volume to the feelings and stuff. Hope you like it better now, because before it was a bit… meh, if you ask me. :D
Disclaimer: It's all Disney/Pixar's. Honestly.
Summary: What happens when the Arendelle girls go on an official visit to the Highlands and meet the feisty Merida? A cross-over between "Brave" and "Frozen".
Warnings: This is FemmSlash, i.e. two girls.
Author's Note: This takes place after both films end, so basically there are no real spoilers, but I'm assuming if you're reading this then you've already seen the movies so it's ok.
I've been on a bit of a loop of "Let it go" and "Defying gravity" lately (yeah, I know, original…) mostly because I think Idina Menzel is simply the best, so you can see where the title for this story comes from.
UNLIMITED
Chapter One
Merida shifted uncomfortably in her hard wooden seat. The past few months had been pure hell for her. Ever since she made peace with her mother and returned her to her human form things have improved vastly in the castle, but then the Queen, who clearly despaired of her daughter ever making the effort to find herself a suitor, decided instead that Merida was more than ready to take on the responsibilities of rulership, and so the poor princess was forced to sit through hours and hours of meetings with dignitaries from all over the kingdom and even further, having to listen and smile and occasionally venture an opinion. It was all made especially hard since most of them; particularly those from the kingdom itself, still remembered her as the bouncy child with the wild hair that was always running underfoot and trying to shoot her toy bow at them, which made earning their respect a whole lot harder. Her mother seemed to think it was some cosmic punishment for not taking her schooling seriously. Merida just thought it was unfair.
Today, for example, they were to greet the delegation from Arendelle coming to discuss liaisons of trade. Merida shifted miserably again, her mother had forced her into yet another uncomfortable, restricting dress and stuffed her hair under another one of those horrible head covers that made her look like an onion. She started drumming her fingers on the wooden armrest while waiting for the announcer to finally stop rolling his R's and get with the formal introductions, this was so boring Merida was honestly afraid she will be physically harmed from rolling her eyes and inwardly groaning, and she was practically counting the seconds until she could get out and vent some of her frustration in the form of hard riding and some serious bow shooting. Queen Elinor sent yet another scanting look at her daughter who slumped further in her seat and crossed her arms in petulant defiance. Just because she was supposed to be the leader of the four clans one day, did not mean she had to enjoy it! Her parents were young enough to have many more years of ruling ahead of them! She should be outside, with her bow, having fun and not being stuck in the stuffy castle waiting for yet another boring delegation of people she cared nothing for and smile and be cordial and princess like.
To make it all worse, her parents, or rather her mother had sent the triplets away to some relatives in the north until they were done with meeting all the important people who came through their kingdom over the summer, so Merida didn't even have the benefit of helping them pull pranks over the more obnoxious guests. She never fully appreciated having the triplets around but boy did she miss them right now!
"Queen Elsa and Princess Anna of Arendelle." The herald announced and Queen Elinor and King Fergus rose to their feet smiling benevolently at their guests. Merida leaned to peak behind her father's broad back. Queen and Princess, Arendelle had a queen and a princess, no king, no prince- well, that sure got her attention.
"Merida!" Queen Elinor's hiss carried through the hall, causing the flushed princess to shuffle to her feet looking embarrassed, before curiously looking at the Queen and Princess. Princess Anna had sweet, open face, and she kept looking around her with wide, curious eyes, she even had red hair- nowhere near as red as Merida's of course, and it behaved! Anna's hair was actually braided! Merida felt a tiny pang of jealousy at seeing the other princess' neat braids; after all, everyone in the kingdom, including herself has given up the struggle with her impossible hair after countless combs broke over her curls. When Princess Anna caught Merida's eye she gave her fellow princess a friendly wave and a shy smile and Merida knew she liked that one already.
Smiling back at Anna, Merida turned her attention to the queen and her breath caught in her throat, Queen Elsa was the most beautiful girl she'd ever seen. Her hair was such pale blond it was almost white and combined with her pale skin she looked like she was glowing and Merida couldn't take her eyes off her. She was vaguely aware of her mother saying something to the delegation but every sound in the room seemed to come from far away when Queen Elsa turned her head and their eyes locked. The Queen's eyes were icy blue and mesmerizing and Merida's mind was filled with images of lands far beyond her own, snowy peaks and glaciers. The Queen's eyes were glowing with some internal frozen fire and Merida felt like she could lose herself in them for days. The spell was broken when Anna shook her sister gently at the same time King Fergus oafishly tried to lightly elbow his daughter, causing her to stumble and fall gracelessly into her chair. Merida felt her face burning up and for the first time in her life was glad her hair was hidden away because she knew the effect of so much red was even more embarrassing than falling flat on your arse. Covering her face she shrank in her chair and prayed to any known god under the sun that the Arendelle Queen wouldn't think ill of her after such a pitiful display.
Queen Elinor took a deep breath, although she was used to her husband and daughter less than graceful ways it never ceased to amaze her how clumsy they could be- and especially in front of guests! She quickly stepped down from the throne, going over to the Arendelle delegation and started leading them towards their rooms, not before she sent another of her infamous scanting glares over her shoulder at her family. Both Fergus and Merida flinched a little under the Queen's gaze, before sharing a guilty grin,
"Well," Said the king, rubbing his huge hands together, "I think that went rather well."
Elsa stood in the middle of the room she was given, undoing her cloak. So far, things were definitely going well. Ever since the "Eternal Winter Incident" back home she's been extra cautious about traveling and meeting new people. Sure, the people of Arendelle thought her powers were wonderful and were ever so proud of their ice producing Queen but news of her power hadn't reached this far and she was determined not to let anything slip. Her dealings with Weaseltown taught her to be cautious as to whom she revealed her powers, and so once again she was wearing her trusty gloves. She sincerely hoped no one would notice if they didn't come off.
Looking out the window Elsa was mesmerized by the beauty of the highlands. The big stone castle stood on top of a hill, while all around it the land was green and lush, the meadows rolling and stretching around for miles, only to be cut by thick forests and deep lakes furrowing through the green. The water of the lakes were reflected perfectly by the cloudless sky above and sparkled clear and bright blue, just like the eyes of Princess Merida. Merida, whose name Elsa rolled softly on her tongue once or twice, just to get used to the sound of it. She was beautiful, Elsa thought with a soft smile, not traditionally so perhaps, but that what made her all the more interesting. The way Merida looked at her was something Elsa never experienced before and just thinking of Merida was making her cheeks grow warm and her whole body itch, but in a good way. Taking a deep breath Elsa realized she'd have to keep her distance from the young princess if she had any chance of maintaining any sort of decorum, because Merida had the ability to make her brain turn into goo with merely a glance.
Ever since her father closed the gates, back when she was still so young and scared of her own powers Elsa always knew she wasn't destined to fall in love. Sometimes she envied Anna's ability to fall in love with the drop of a hat, but then again, Anna was never very smart with her choices. Elsa herself always knew she'd be married, but she figured it would be a political match, destined to better both hers and her husband's kingdoms. This was why meeting Merida was sending so many confusing messages between her body and brain and Elsa closed her eyes and repeated her age old mantra "Conceal, don't feel" over and over again to calm herself down.
A knock came at the door, pulling Elsa from her musings with a start. She shook her head and took a deep breath to center herself before going over to the heavy oaken door and opening it. On the other side stood a beaming Anna bouncing on tips of her toes, and she pushed her way into Elsa's room as soon as the door opened skipping joyfully,
"Isn't it wonderful Elsa?" She cried, twirling in the center of the room with her arms spread wide and Elsa rolled her eyes in amusement. From the moment they opened the gates of Arendelle, Anna wanted nothing more than to travel and discover new places and meet new people. She passed her whole childhood in the closed castle with only the suits of armor and the paintings for company and she craved the intimacy brought on by making new friends. Sometimes it still surprised Elsa how much the two of them saw things differently, because she really didn't have any sort of people skills, which was precisely the reason Elsa decided to bring Anna along. Perhaps, in a few years, when Anna would finally learn curb her endless enthusiasm and control her wayward mouth; she could send her on these trading expeditions alone. "I can't wait to get out of the castle and see this place properly!" Anna danced her way to the window, breathing deep the cool and crisp Highlands air into her lungs, "I wonder if it's possible to go for a swim in one of these lakes." She wondered aloud, and Elsa chuckled,
"I'm afraid the water is too cold." She informed her sister, who looked crestfallen, that was just great- another place with lakes too cold to swim; will she ever go to a place that was really warm? She was starting to sound like Olaf! The thought made Anna chuckle as she turned back to her sister, determined to make the best of this new place, regardless of its weather.
"I bet Princess Merida could show us around, she seemed so lovely, don't you think?" Anna said brightly, and Elsa felt her cheeks growing warm again. Turning her head she tried to control her emotions and will the blush away, though her sister was too busy rambling about how much fun they were going to have to notice. This was going to be one hell of a visit if even the mere mentioning of Merida's name was making her blush like that. Another knock was heard and a servant's voice came through declaring it was dinner time. At the mention of food Anna perked up and practically bounced to the door, "Great! I'm starving." She declared happily. Elsa shook her head fondly and followed her. Dinner was going to be hell, she knew it- what with having to be polite to the Queen and King and trying not to ogle the princess too obviously. Elsa sent a small prayer to her lucky stars that all the control training she'd had over the years will hold now.
When they got to the Great Hall of the castle they found a big table was set in the middle of it, while servants were running to and fro to get everything ready for the meal. At the head of the huge wooden slab sat King Fergus, in all his vastness, flanked by his wife and daughter who were arguing about something or other in hushed voices. When a servant cleared his throat meaningfully all three of them looked up. Both Elsa and Anna stood rooted to the spot, their eyes glued to Merida, or rather her hair. Before it was all hidden but now it ran wild and free and red and there was just so much of it. Elsa could feel the heat rising to her face again, oh merciful gods, if she thought Merida was beautiful before…
"Your hair is amazing!" Anna was practically gushing as she made her way towards the Scottish Princess, who looked a little shocked at the reaction her hair was causing. From the corner of her eye she could see her mother rolling her eyes but she didn't care. She smiled at Anna, who took the seat next to her and was now pulling one of her curls to make it bounce, giggling like a child. Merida tried to sneak Queen Elsa a look from under her lashes but the pale queen was too busy glaring at her wayward sister.
"Anna!" Elsa hissed in shock. Anna looked around her, noticing that everyone's eyes were on her and grinned sheepishly, letting go of Merida's hair and sinking low in her seat. Elsa ran her hand over her own hair before she her mask slipped back on and she glided gracefully into the seat next to Queen Elinor. The tension around the table was almost palpable with Queen Elinor glaring at her daughter and Queen Elsa glaring at her sister until the servants hurried in carrying a huge tray of meats and placing it on the table, and the king booming voice calling for everyone to dig in broke it.
During dinner Merida tried to keep her eyes from sliding towards the Arendelle Queen, with partial success. She was chatting with Anna, who was both perky and clumsy and just too impossible not to like. The two girls decided to take a ride through the countryside the following day, and Merida couldn't be happier to be outside again. She knew her mother wouldn't approve of her skipping meetings like that but the way she saw it- Anna was a royal guest and she deserved nothing less than someone from the royal family to escort her around, and who was better for than job than her? She wanted to ask Queen Elsa if she would like to join them but the look on her mother's face told her she was already very close to crossing a line. She snuck another look at the beautiful queen, who was making polite conversation with her mother, both of them cutting their food daintily and looking like two peas in a pod of royal regality. She wanted to see Queen Elsa come undone so badly she could almost feel it in the tips of her fingers. Clenching her fists under the table Merida turned towards Anna again, trying to catch the thread of conversation again.
When dinner was finally over she escorted the Queen and Princess back to their rooms, promising to come and wake Anna tomorrow morning for their promised trip. She was glad Elsa didn't say anything against them going out together, but was slightly disappointed she didn't say she'd be joining them either. Merida was pretty sure that if only she could get the queen on her own she'd be able to break thought that icy façade, but unfortunately she didn't get a chance as Elsa refused to let Anna out of her sight. Oh, well, the delegation from Arendelle was scheduled to stay with them for at least a week, so there was plenty of time to woo the Queen into having fun. With that happy thought Merida fell asleep with a smile on her face.