Okay, I'll admit it, I fell in love with Frozen as soon as I saw the first few minutes. And I started shipping Elsa with Jack Frost even before that. But what I really liked is the idea of sharing the same world, and worldblending in general. I wanted to see Elsa and Anna as dual spirits of winter, and Kristoff the Reindeer King.
Jack will come in later. Right now it's showing how the main cast became spirits, and a retelling of the story in more of a folklore twist... with an emphasis on twist.
A Frozen Heart (Is Not Always a Bad Thing).
Prologue: Revival
It was nearly impossible to get the true story of the Snow Queen and her sister, of what happened in Arendelle many years ago.
Legends spoke of the Queen callously freezing her kingdom when they refused to allow her heinous witchcraft, and then the princess's heart when her sympathetic spirit called her to try and help her older sister. To compound the cruelty, the wicked queen dragged the slowly freezing princess towards her, using her half frozen body as a shield from the valiant prince that came to fight her, wishing to save his lady love. However, he instead pieced her heart. He begged her for forgiveness, and with her last breath, she gave it. And with that act of true love, the Snow Queen exploded, unable to take such a pure emotion.
Of course, the trolls told a different story. Of a young lady with powers beyond her control, who spent years hiding and repressing her powers over ice, only to have them be unleashed at her own coronation. In a panic, she buried her kingdom in the snow, prompting her younger sister to go after her, accompanied by a humble ice carver she met up the mountain.
The two traversed the harsh weather, to make their way up to the evil queen's shimmering castle of ice, where the sister had her heart frozen by a stray burst, an accident alone. The ice carver took the sister down the mountain, to consult with those old and wise. They told him that only true love could break this spell, and prevent the sister from slowly turning into ice.
So, with a heavy heart, the ice carver returned the princess to her prince. For although he loved her dearly, he knew she was engaged to the prince from far off lands, and that her heart was his alone. Alas, the younger sister was foolish to place such an important part of herself in the prince's pristine hands, for under his white gloves there was something foul. He was a man, true, but a man without a heart. And the only thing a man without a heart can do to a woman who gave him hers… is to crush it.
He refused to even attempt the kiss, instead going off to kill the queen while her sister slowly froze. In his haste, or perhaps in his hubris, the prince underestimated the love her friends had for the princess, freeing her from the room that was nearly her tomb. Nor did he expect the princess's love for the ice carver, whose valiant journey through the storm gave her the strength to move on. And despite, or perhaps because he was the thirteenth son, the prince did not think that the love between the sisters was so strong that the princess intercepting the strike meant for the queen.
And the bitterest blow was that in her haste, the princess took the sword before her body was completely frozen, meaning the blade went into soft flesh, not harsh ice. Her frozen heart was not thawed by her act of love, but by the warm blood flowing over it.
The queen caught her sister's body, now stuck forever between ice and flesh. Cradling the husk of her once energetic and cheerful sister, she growled, a raw and primal noise. Then, be it by choice or simply by all the emotions overwhelming her, the full force of her powers were released, covering the land in a raging blizzard the likes that has never been seen before. The blizzard stormed on for many months, only coming to a stop at the anniversary of the princess's death.
Only once the last of the snow was cleared, and the once proud kingdom was covered in ice, that an elderly troll looked up at the full moon, and asked a favor of an old friend.
It was with this knowledge that the Man in the Moon, otherwise known as Manny to those close to him, looked down upon the frozen scene. The castle and all the villages glistened, everything to the tiniest leaf preserved in the thick ice. It was beautiful, if one did not know the sorrow and agony that caused it.
It did not take him long to find the tragic scene, frozen in time by the queen's lament. He only needed to look where the ice went deepest. It was much harder to pull the bodies up from beneath, breaking through the heavy layer of ice.
He pulled the man and his reindeer first, in part because he would be the hardest, but also so that he wouldn't have to make Pabbie wait long for his adopted child.
Kristoff had no powers to speak of, no magic in his blood, but he was raised by trolls, and that left his mind and heart open to the magical world while keeping him down to earth nevertheless. Furthermore, he showed great loyalty and sacrifice one would not expect of a simple ice carver. He would not have been Manny's first choice to raise as a spirit, but he would make a good one, nonetheless.
The man's eyes opened blearily as he slowly realized he was being raised in the air. When it truly struck, he struggled against whatever was holding him up, kicking and wriggling with more force than one first risen would normally have. His reindeer, Sven, soon followed suit.
Manny had to chuckle slightly at their response, and gently put them down on untouched ice. Then, with a gentle voice, he spoke to them.
"You are the Reindeer King."
He left them looking at one another, confused by their whereabouts, while he went to raise the younger of the sisters. Kristoff clearly noticed this, and fell to his knees, frantically shoving chunks of ice out of the way, with Sven quickly following.
Manny was touched by his actions, even if they were unnecessary, and only raised her so far, allowing Kristoff to chivalrously pull her from the ice. Kristoff then pointed out the moon to her, and she looked, her half frozen face alight with curiosity.
Manny liked Anna, even though he only knew her through stories and snippets seen through closed windows. The fact that she went up the mountain and back for her sister, even sacrificing herself to save her, showed the sort of love and commitment that is rarely found, especially coupled with her boundless energy and good cheer. Manny likely would have picked her to be a spirit regardless, if only she had been the one born with the powers, rather than her sister. Still, he hesitated when he thought of who she was… and who she would become.
"You are… you share the role of Snow Queen. And you have the power to help your sister."
Typically, he only told the newborn spirit their names, but seeing Anna's wide eyeslook from the moon to the it's reflection on the ice, and her sister underneath, he felt that she needed more encouragement than that for the years to come.
With Kristoff and Anna focused on each other, and the miracle that had happened to them, Manny focused on the last, and possibly most important figure in the ice.
Elsa. Her powers surprised even him. Manny had no idea of how she came to be born with such power, but it truly did not matter. What did matter was the way she had repressed them all her years, only to cause her own ruin by her panic and fear.
It would be the simplest of tasks to raise her. He would not even have to give her any powers. The only question was, should he?
She seemed like a nice enough girl, true, but could she control herself as a spirit as she did alive? Or would there be a repeat of what happened here, only on a global scale?
Manny was about to let the Kristoff, Anna, and Sven off, when he caught all three of them staring up at the moon introspectively, waiting for him to bring Elsa back. At once, he felt foolish for his doubts. Didn't he just tell Anna that she could now help her sister, when before she only had a closed door? Even if Elsa had problems controlling her powers, she had two spirits- and a reindeer- ready to coax her though it.
With that, he raised Elsa up, and placed her gently in the caring arms of her sister. And with one parting message to his newest spirit, he let them have their peace.
"You share the role of Snow Queen, and this is not your fault."
