AN: Hey everyone, so this is my first fic ever, I hope you all enjoy :)
I've planned for this to be fairly long, and will try to update as often as time will allow.
Please do review, tell me what you think!

EDIT: I ended up re-uploading this chapter, there were a few parts which didn't quite coincide with what I had planned for the rest of the story, mainly in Elsa's bit at the end.

I don't own anything to do with frozen.

-Smithy

Anna woke with a start as the sun slipped out from behind the top of a tree in the distance.

Blinking as the sun's rays burned holes in her corneas, she gracefully slid her upper body out over the side of the bed before landing with a thud as her legs came free of the covers.

A knock on the door snapped her out of her irritated muttering.

"Lady Anna?" came the voice of the staff through the door. "I'm sorry to disturb you, but Lord Henrik requests your presence in his study."

Lord Henrik Jörgen was in charge of all of the northern fiefs of Arendelle, King Alexander's closest friend, along with his most treasured role, young Anna's father. He performed his duties in the city of Belemere, the home town of the entire Jörgen family.

The Royal family had been friends with theirs for generations, and this one was no exception. A young Alex and Henry would play together as children, wooden swords clashing together as they ran through the vast corridors of the grand castle in the kingdoms capital. Henrik had been present during a young Alexander's coronation, and his wedding, the knight making frequent visits to his friend's home in the capital, and when the time came, the King and his new wife stood by proudly as Henrik was appointed the new Lord of Belemere.

Sighing, Anna scrambled to her feet to open the door, politely responding, "Thank you, I'll be with him shortly." Before closing the door a little too loudly for her sleep-addled brain and turned to face her room. As she padded over the smooth floorboards to her wardrobe, she wondered at what her father could have possibly summoned her for, and decided it was most probably to lecture her about the dangerous nature of her new archery lessons.

Pulling out a green summer dress and changing clothes she made her way to the door of her room before nearly tripping over her own feet once she caught her reflection in a mirror as she past. Tired eyes widening as she took in the state of her lion-like mane of bed hair, Anna scrambled to retrieve a brush from the dresser before her.

Huffing in frustration and eventually accepting the notion that her hair was not going to give in to her demands today, she tied it into two braids which hung in front of her shoulders, and left the room.

Anna smiled and greeted their few servants as she past them in the corridors of their modest home. Not a castle by any means, but a manor large enough to house those of their position. The family was well-liked by the serving staff, and in return the family treated them as friends, many of them watching Anna's bubbly spirit grow and follow her from childhood to her early adult years.

She knocked and entered her father's study, a small frown of confusion sparking her smooth face as she found it devoid of life.

Assuming he had taken his leave for a bathroom break, Anna made her way over to the large window which took up the majority of the wall on the far side of the room, and had breathtaking view of the surrounding town and countryside. Looking past the bustling streets of Belemere, she could see the rolling grassy hills which led far off into the distance to the white capped mountains in the north. The Northern Mountains served as a border for her father's lands. For anyone's lands really. The men and women of Arendelle feared those mountains; no-one ever dared go near them.

Anna had heard stories of giant ice monsters and wolves which left chills running down the length of her spine.

Her lessons in geography had not gone to waste, and even though Anna hated them endlessly and her tutor tried her hardest to avoid the tidal wave of pranks sent her way by the young lady, Anna knew from studying maps of the entire kingdom that to the west of her homestead lay Stonegate, a valley made up entirely of large rocks and boulders. To continue south from there you would reach Weselton, home to the Duke of Weselton, a tiny man with a toupee almost as fake as his friendship with her father. He was tolerated however, as his knowledge of trade was insurmountable. Further South from here, past the southern coast of the nation, sat the Southern Isles and a handful of small fishing villages.

On the coast directly east of Weselton lay the fjord that guarded the kingdoms capital city. Arendelle's capital is where King Alexander and Queen Helena reside, with their two children, Erik and Elsa. Despite the royal family being close family friends of theirs, there was one member who remained somewhat of an enigma to Anna.

Elsa.

To be fair Anna had seen the girl a handful of times, but only at a distance and usually involved Elsa ducking away into her room without a word.

Even those few instances had been years ago, when Elsa and herself were only small children, and Anna found herself wondering at what the girl would look like now, after all those years of growing up.

Prince Erik had always been very kind to her, and would often offer tours of the castle or rides on horseback, which she sometimes accepted, even though the one she really wanted to hang out with remained locked away inside the castle. Not that she didn't enjoy the prince's company, she just felt that she would rather spend her time running around with the young princess instead.

The door opening behind her broke her from her musings, and she turned to face the form of her father entering with a sheepish look on his face.

"Sorry to keep you, I hope you weren't waiting too long?"He inquired.

"Not at all," Anna responded with a small smile.

Anna sighed inwardly as she took in the sagging lines of the man's face. The past few months proving difficult for the whole of her family, but the passing of her mother had affected him worst. He stood by silently as the fever finally took her last breaths, and had become almost reclusive in the days and eventually weeks after the funeral. Everyone had their own ways of grieving, she supposed as she reached the closet and began rifling through her clothes.

He's better now though. Despite his earlier state, her father had eventually returned to his post, without however, that familiar light behind his eyes.

Her brother Kristoff, wasn't so successful in his recovery. Stealing away like a common thief in the night on the night their mother had taken ill, he wasn't even present when she had succumbed to the sickness.

They hadn't heard from him since.

"I summoned you here to tell you that we are leaving tomorrow," Anna's father explained. "Alex and Helen are holding a party for Erik, he's coming of age in a few days."

The journey was long arduous, but the procession had finally reached the outskirts of the familiar city. As they reached the top of the incline, the fjord came into view. Blue, glistening water spanning for miles gave way to the walls protecting the fjord, and Castle Arendelle situated on a tiny island, connected to the rest of the town by multiple bridges over the water.

The scene was stunning to say the least. Anna often envied the royal family for their proximity to the ocean, Belemere being located about as in-land as you could get.

The journey to castle was long and winding, but the town was beautiful, so Anna didn't mind. When passing the town centre, some citizens were even able to greet her by name, as they had sold bread and other assorted goods to her during past visits. Anna and her father crossed the wide bridge to castle and greeted the guards waiting to open the gates at the other end. The King and Queen had become rather protective over the years, and rarely left the gates open to anyone any more, save for parties and other events where security could be doubled just in case.

Henrik and Anna had never learned the reasons for this precaution, and had never really asked, as they were welcome inside the castle at any time. The series of tall gates opened in succession as he Lord of the north passed through with his family, and Anna cracked a grin as she laid eyes on the small group awaiting their arrival on the other side.

Standing with equally wide smiles were the King and Queen and Prince Erik, along with their two closest servants, Kai and Gerda. Anna frowned slightly at the glaring absence of the fourth member of the family.

"Alexander!" Henrik practically bellowed across the courtyard. He swung over the side of his horse with all the grace of an elephant, before stepping before his childhood friend and embracing him.

"It's wonderful to see you Henry," the King replied warmly.

Anna could feel a pair of eyes on her as watched the men begin catching up on each other's activities and swivelled to face a much taller Prince Erik smiling at her shyly. The boy had very much grown into a man in her absence, where once puppy fat and flawless skin was, there now were chiselled jawbones and minor scars nestled into the man's skin. His hair matching Elsa's in blondness, along with same shockingly blue eyes she remembered adorned the other girls face. Anna had to admit, Erik had become quite a handsome young man.

"It's great to see you too Anna," Erik beamed.

"And you, Erik. How have you been?" Anna replied with a small smile gracing her lips.

"Fantastic," Erik answered as he reached for Anna's hand and kissed it on the back.

Anna's cheeks coloured slightly before she retrieved her hand, and the two chatted as they headed off into the castle together, with Kai and Gerda following wordlessly behind, knowing smiles sent at each other.

Later that evening, Anna was shown to her quarters by one of the castle staff, who she thanked with a smile before entering to find her luggage already situated by the dresser. She flopped down backwards on the bed with a content sigh. The rest of the day had been rather lovely, Erik showing her the various renovations completed on the castle in the time she'd been gone, the two laughing and catching up on lost time.

Any sign of the princess however, was lost on Anna.

Elsa was lying on her bed, staring at the ceiling. She had narrowly avoided dinner with a flimsy excuse about being tired after riding all day, which she was, but probably not enough to miss the chocolate cake dessert she knew they had served tonight.

Really, it was because of Anna.

She had always admired younger girl, and had wanted so badly to introduce herself as children so they could play together. But at the discovery of her powers, the King and Queen ordered that she teach herself control before she was allowed to interact with others for their own safety. And so she did, she spent hours teaching herself the control and skill she had today, and her parents couldn't have been prouder if they tried.

The truth was that Elsa was nervous. What if Anna resented her for shutting her out all those years ago, and didn't want to see her? Regardless the King and Queen left her there, accepting her excuses and left to greet their guests.

Elsa did watch though, from a window high up in her quarters.

She stood there stunned and the auburn-haired girl greeted the rest of her family. Her height and hair length nearly doubled since she last saw her. Long graceful limbs moved to greet her family with a smile that sent little butterflies abuzz in Elsa's stomach. She was beautiful. What?

Elsa sat back from the windowsill as confusion knotted her eyebrows. What am I thinking?

She leaned forward again to peer out at the exchange, eyes narrowing at Erik's actions. What is he doing? She watched the two disappear into the castle and returned to her bed after a moment.

Shaking her head as though to clear her thoughts, she resolved to ask him about it tomorrow, before the party.