Wow, yes, my first story, I'm a little nervous but that's okay, I guess. This is a Frozen pirate AU, yeah, I read come headcanons of this on tumblr and decided to give it a shot. Hope you guys will like it, I deeply do. It's gonna have some smut later on. Feel free to review!
Prologue
It's a splendid day in Arandelle, absolutely beautiful, it truly is. Flowers sprout, birds sing, love is in the air, citizens talk and giggle, and everyone seems to be happy and excited. Every single tree in the reign has been decorated according to the special situation, even the porches of the houses have flags with the royal crocus, and families have made special efforts in choosing the right clothing to go out.
Well, after all, is that day.
The day when Princess Anna of Arandelle will finally get in her ship, and travel alongside her fiancé, Hans, the said most feared Southern Isles captain, younger brother of the twelve ferocious pirates that lurked the seven seas. Even though it was going to be long trip (and gods, how the King had opposed to it at first), everyone was happy for her. The young girl had been all her life willing to travel by sea.
The true meaning behind this little trip was only told to a few people, though. Hans had asked the King for the princess' hand, and the monarch wasn't going to let the possibility of peace between Arandelle and the pirates slip between his fingers. He had already lost her wife and so many valuable ships trying to keep them far away from his shore. He would have forced his daughter to marry the slightly trustworthy man if she didn't agree, but luckily, the girl had fallen in love with him the same day they met.
Her fiancé had been given the title of Royal Corsair of Arandelle and Protector of The Kingdom, a new ship, and a small amount of goods only because he had asked the filthy pirates that he called brothers for a peace promise. None of that was told to Anna, of course.
So, according with the plan, the once brave pirate had planned to propose at midnight, when they were alone on board, bathed by the silver light of the moon, as far as possible from Arandelle. Or so he had said to Anna's father. In fact, hopefully before dawn they'd have arrived to Crocus Island, a little piece of sand with a cottage that would allow them to... talk, yes, talk properly for a few days before visiting Hans' home village for the upcoming long holidays.
The couple was going to be out for two months.
"Oh... wha... m-my god!"
It was the first thing that Anna could muster when she saw the barquentine prepared for her, Arandelle beloved princess. She nearly choked on her spit. It was the impressive size of it nor the fascinating wooden carved little hearts that decorated the ship from the mast till the tail that made her gasp in search of air. The most heart-warming detail was that she could almost touch the love that artisans had put on it, emanating from the mahogany. They needed to receive the approbation of the young girl.
She slid her hand over the wood, entranced, almost caressing it with her fingers, when an exquisite aroma reached her nose, making her involuntarily sneeze. They had put the most fragrant flowers of Arandelle's gardens all over the deck; roses and dandelions were tangled over the foremast and the sails, violets covering the bowsprit, plus, she could see even some lilacs inside the cannons.
'Cannons?' thought the strawberry blonde, confused, but as soon as she sensed how the artisans' mood decayed when she remained silent, she squealed with all her might, running to the workers and hugging every single one of them.
"Thank, thank you, thank you so much!" she repeated constantly, in absolute bliss.
The flustered group was delighted for the joy that glimmered in Anna's turquoise eyes, and slow and carefully, they began reciprocating the hugs and sharing little giggles with the princess. Everything was perfect until her blue prince, Hans, jumped to the fjord, leaving three comrades inside his battle ship. The embarkation seemed tiny and poorly made in comparison of the one that Anna was so proud of.
"Hans!" she greeted cheerfully, running into the arms of her beloved. "Look how beautiful it is! Can you- can you believe this? I love it!"
The corsair smiled stiffly before kissing Anna's nose, pulling back when she tiptoed, trying to kiss him. Hans' nose crinkled a little and his brows furrowed, almost like he was displeased, but none of the citizens said anything about it, too scared.
"It's a nice touch, the flowers." he said, coughing as he guided the Princess away from the workers.
"I know! I just... look all the hard work...! So many details! They even perfumed the rooms inside! And yes, it has rooms inside, with beds and cabinets! Do you think they'd put chocolate under my sheets?" Hans laughed when Anna started hyperventating, but her face abruptly turned pale. "Do you think it'll attract... p-pirates?"
The corsair smiled, but the happiness didn't reach his eyes. It never did, actually, if you looked carefully.
"Of course not, Anna. If any pirate known by my brothers attacked that ship, they would immediately be taken as their enemies. And trust me, no one wants that." a smirk tugged his lips as his irises darkened a little. "Every single smelly pirate that I have known fears your father's navy, and they will stay far away. Not even once the Ice Queen has been seen near."
"A-and that means...?" asked Anna, getting a little shaky when she heard the nearly unsaid name of the mythical ship.
There was something in its title that always made the heart of the princess skip a beat, like something connected her with it. It was a weird thing, but every time she tried to remember, she felt a strong, almost paralyzing headache, and was forced to give up.
Of course she wasn't going to search stories about the legendary ship in every book in Arandelle looking for answers... thing that she totally did when she was bored. As expected, it was only an old story that grandparents used to convince their children to never run away looking for other lands and seeking prices, because the Ice Queen was known for destroying small boats that unknowingly went to its figurehead, equipped with blinding lights that made people lose their minds. Anna shivered.
"Means that if the true pirate's leader has ran away, so have his subjects." Hans explained, shrugging. "We have..."
"Nothing to worry about." finished the sentence the redhead, smiling, just a little unconvinced.
"Indeed. But, well..." began his prince, clearing his throat and fixing his tie. "Then..."
They walked along the harbour, joining hands and entwining fingers. A group of girls followed them from afar, commenting every single interaction between the cute couple, how the beautiful dress of Anna was almost as blue as her eyes, the perfect cut of the velvet bodice, how the braids made her seem even younger, and how glorious her freckles were. They even laughed a little of the corsair's way of walking, like he was always so confident of himself, even though he was wearing a suit ridiculously creamy and fancy (it almost looked like he was the bride). Well, at least he wasn't using the stupid white wig that he had to wear when he was inside the castle.
The poor guy was a dishonour for the pirates, truly.
"Then what?" the Princess questioned back dreamily, still in ecstasy, looking at her barquentine over her shoulder.
"Shall we go?" he whispered, voice low and fruity.
"Go where?" Anna arched an eyebrow. her cheeks turning pink. "Papa said that departure time is after the feast."
"I know what your father said." the corsair replied, sharply, and his expression softened when the girl tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, a gesture that she did when she was distressed or nervous. "But... Anna, look at the sky."
The Princess did as told, but couldn't follow Hans' intentions. The sky was awake and radiant, no clouds messing things up. Everything was perfect just like she had dreamt. Some birds flied up in the sky, and the sunlight reflected in Anna's boat; it sparkled wonderfully. The citizens of Arandelle more than surely were going to be amazed in a couple hours, when the banquet finished, and they followed them there to say goodbye.
Her gaze went back to his prince after a while, interrogating.
"Maybe, my dear, we could... run away?" he asked.
Anna blinked, once, twice, and tried to remember how her heart was supposed to pulse.
"Wait, r-run away?" she repeated when the words sank in. She scowled, her brows nearly touching in her forehead. "Do you want to run away with me?"
"Yes, well n-no, I mean, we could... before the feast... I..." the corsair started blabbering. He hadn't thought too much of how he was going to convince her to do so, because from the very beginning he had planned that the girl would accept without further questioning.
No, no, no, he was messing things up. At this rate he would never claim the land of Arand...
"Of course!" she bounced around, marvelled, and grabbed Hans' epaulettes to give him a peck on the lips. "I'd love to!"
Breath in, breath out, calm yourself. The corsair put on a mischievous smile, and his facade broke for a second, showing something dark, broken. Anna couldn't see, trapped in his arms, oblivious. They stood like that for a while, until the corsair pulled back and kissed the Princess between laughs.
A mild breeze of cold air rushed between the ships, sliding as softly as the music that the orchestra was playing in front of Arandelle's Castle doors. The King announced that the feast was going to start in a few minutes, and the reign remained silent. It was so very calm.
As calm as it is before the storm.
