Staying Warm
A/N: Set after Frozen but before Frozen Fever. I'm sure I'm not the only one that had this exact same idea, but as I don't read Frozen fanfic and this is actually the first fanfic I felt confident enough to actually finish (and it still took me forever because I'm a pro procrastinator), please don't hate me too much for my unoriginal idea. Rated K+ for safety. Please read on and I hope you enjoy! :3
It was the beginning of Fall and Anna could not get comfortable. Usually her bed was toasty warm, but tonight her sheets seemed to be made of ice. Although she had fallen asleep rather quickly, she had woken up to go to the bathroom and hadn't yet been able to fall asleep again. She curled into an even tighter ball and tugged on the sheets, trying to draw the warmth out of them with sheer will. No luck. She sighed and flipped over onto her stomach, burying her face in her pillow. I bet Elsa never has to worry about not having enough blankets on her bed, she grumbled internally. Anna had no less than four down comforters on top of her and twice as many feather pillows surrounding her. Her bed looked as though it had grown a giant, fluffy mountain in the middle of it. It was like she had built a blanket fort using pillows instead of furniture. If only she had a cup of hot chocolate right now. That would cheer her up immensely.
After wallowing in self pity and trying several different sleeping positions under the blankets, Anna let out a groan of exasperation and sat up quickly, flinging the sheets off of her. She immediately regretted it. It was infinitely colder in her humongous room than in the tiny bubble of relative warmth beneath her comforters. She hurriedly covered herself with the blankets again and lay back down. All the warmth was gone; ice remained.
Anna let out a growl of frustration and flailed under the sheets in a small tantrum. She was never going to be able to go back to sleep at this rate. It's colder than ice, she complained to herself. And then was struck by an idea. Ice! She grinned and scrambled out of bed, fighting for freedom against the pillows and blankets. Stuffing her feet inside her slippers, she ran out the door, into the hallway, and towards Elsa's room. It was in the same place it had been since Elsa had moved out all those years ago. It wasn't far down the hallway, but had always seemed leagues away whenever Anna had thought about it in the past. Moonlight filtered in from the high windows, lighting her path.
When she reached the door, Anna knocked the same way she always did and called, "Elsa?" She panicked briefly while she waited for a response. She always had small flashbacks from her childhood whenever she knocked on a door. Just as she was gathering the courage to knock again, the door opened and relief flooded through her. Elsa's hair was as tousled as her own and she was wearing an even thinner nightgown.
"Aren't you cold?" Anna blurted. Elsa gave her a confused and slightly incredulous look. "Right, right. Sorry."
"Anna, what are you doing u-uhhhp?" Elsa yawned.
She smiled sheepishly. "I was cold and I couldn't sleep."
Now Elsa looked apologetic and bewildered. "I'm-" She yawned again. "Sorry. Do you want some of my blankets?"
Anna snorted. She could smother herself in blankets and still be freezing. "No. I had an idea." Elsa blinked at her slowly. "I want you to come with me to the ballroom." She looked like she wasn't understanding a word. "To do the magic." Anna prompted her.
Elsa suddenly seemed wide awake. "I don't think-"
Anna interrupted her. She remembered everything from that night now that she had been unfrozen and didn't blame Elsa in the slightest. "It'll be fine! You can control it better, now." Her face scrunched up into a grin and she took Elsa's hand. Without waiting for assent, she started to walk toward the ballroom, pulling Elsa along. "It'll warm me up!"
The only light in the ballroom came from the high windows up above, leaving small squares of blue light on the wooden floor and the rest of the room in shadow. The only light in the ballroom came from the high windows up above, leaving small squares of blue light on the wooden floor and the rest of the room in shadow. Anna's eyes lit up. It looked just as magical as it had that night so many years ago. She pulled Elsa into the center of the room and turned to her with a gleeful expression on her face. "Ready?"
Elsa smiled at her enthusiasm and nodded slowly. "Okay." She rubbed her fingers together as she had that night and flung the snowball into the air, making the snow begin to fall all over the room. Then, as before, she covered the floor in a thick layer of ice.
Anna grabbed Elsa's hands and started to skate backwards with her. Then, after a moment, she laughed. "I'll race you to the other end of the room!" She let go of Elsa's hands and turned on the spot, sliding a little in her slippers. She glanced at Elsa and saw her starting to get into a skating position. "Go!"
Elsa wasn't ready. "Cheater!" Elsa laughed as Anna raced ahead of her. Anna reached the edge of the ballroom floor long before Elsa. She let out a whoop of joy and started to lean backwards in an effort to slow down. But Anna had forgotten that she wasn't wearing her skates. By the time she realized that she wasn't slowing down, she had leaned too far backwards and felt her legs sliding out from under her, her slippers unable to gain any more traction on the ice. She hit the floor with a grunt and the ice carried her several more feet forward before she stopped, arms and legs spread wide as though she was making a snow angel. As the shock wore off and feeling rushed back into her limbs, she gasped. As she had fallen, the skirt of her nightgown had ridden up, allowing her bared legs to hit the cold surface of the ice and her partially bare arms in their short sleeves to follow suit. She had only felt as cold as this once before, when she had accidentally dunked herself into the stream outside of Wandering Oaken's Trading Post and Sauna. Granted, this time she wasn't soaked in freezing cold water, but she seemed to feel cold even more intensely after her "sculpture-hood".
"Are you okay?" Elsa asked, sliding around her to stop in front of her.
"I'm fine!" She sat up slowly and shifted a little on her butt as she realized that the cold was starting to sting her, now. "I just tried to stop too fast, that's all." She gave Elsa a reassuring smile. She shifted again, uncomfortably. How could anything be so COLD!
Elsa looked a little unsure. The fall was bringing back too many bad memories. "I'll feel better as soon as you're standing again." She stretched out her hand towards Anna.
As Anna moved to take the hand, her legs felt warm. Had she gotten numb? She looked down and noticed a puddle of water starting to form around her legs. And then she was sinking. Anna looked up at Elsa in confusion and fear and saw a similar expression on Elsa's face. It was no longer cold around her legs, but pleasantly warm, almost hot, in fact. The water began to bubble. Elsa grabbed Anna's still outstretched hand and yanked her to her feet. The water stopped boiling. There were two steaming puddles of water in the ice in the shape of Anna's legs.
"What...?" Anna frowned. The girls looked at each other.
"My ice doesn't usually melt unless I want it to." Elsa said. "And it's cold enough in here that it shouldn't have melted." She looked back down at the puddle. "Unless someone decides to build a fire on the ice or something..." She let out a huff of laughter without any feeling behind it.
Anna laughed nervously. "You don't think all that frozen heart stuff did something to me, right?"
Elsa looked at her contemplatively. "Maybe..."
"What?"
"Let's try something." Elsa took a step back and held her hands out in front of her with the palms out as though to ward something off. Her eyes narrowed and her lips pressed together in concentration. A wall of ice began to form in front of her hands. "Put your hands on the ice."
Anna looked skeptical, but did as she asked. Nothing happened. She looked pointedly at Elsa, keeping her hands on the ice in front of her.
Elsa bit her lip. "What were you thinking when you fell?"
"Besides 'Oh, crap'?"
Elsa laughed. "Yes, besides that."
Anna shrugged. "I was just thinking about how cold it was." She shivered a little at the thought. Her hands felt like they were starting to turn into the ice she was touching. She looked at them to double check and her eyes widened. "Oh... my..." Anna whispered involuntarily. She took her hands from the ice and looked at the palms.
Elsa furrowed her eyebrows. "Did it work?" Her side of the ice looked completely untouched.
"Uhm... I think so?" Anna's hands were wet and felt warmer than they had a moment ago. There were slight indentations about the size of her hands in the ice wall. "I'm gonna try it again," Anna said cautiously to her hands. "Let's see if it happens a third time." She paused, trying to figure out what her train of thought had been. "Uhm... Really cold…. Right." She concentrated on how cold her arms were feeling compared to her legs and hands. Nothing. Obviously she wasn't feeling cold enough. She frowned. And then she remembered how cold she had felt in the creek outside Oaken's and concentrated on that, letting her body react. She shivered involuntarily and this time, because she was concentrating, she felt a small spark of heat near what felt like her heart. Then, her hands warmed slightly and the wall of ice started to melt under her fingertips.
Elsa let out a cry of surprise as the ice softened against her hands and then her hands were palm to palm with Anna's. She gaped.
"I think it worked." Anna said, unnecessarily.
"Wow." Elsa looked at Anna, her face full of surprise. "That's amazing, Anna! You have magic, too!"
Anna blushed. "Well, it looks that way at least." A small smile was forming on her face.
Elsa dissolved the rest of the ice wall, thinking. "I don't know what your magic is. You can melt my ice, but I wonder what else you could do if you practiced."
"I'm not tired anymore." Anna's eyes were alight with excitement and she bounced a little on her toes. "Before, I was too cold to sleep, and now I'm too excited."
Elsa smiled. "That's how I felt this summer when I realized I could control the magic. I was thrilled."
Anna hugged her. "Let's go see the trolls. It'll be a happier midnight visit this time." She squeezed Elsa comfortingly, knowing that Elsa felt anxious at the reminder.
"Alright," Elsa squeezed back, appreciating the gesture. "They'll be able to answer some of our questions, at least."
The stablemaster was reluctant to let them leave so late at night, but Elsa was insistent. And one look at Anna's elated face was all that was needed to make him cave in to their request for their two horses. Soon, they were riding across the bridge and through town towards the forest. Anna had gone to visit the trolls a few times since the day she'd met them that summer, so they were able to find the path to the troll clearing fairly easily.
"Anna!" Several of the trolls rolled up to her as soon as she dismounted from her horse. "It's so good to see you!" "You haven't visited in a while!" "Kristoff is off collecting ice, but I bet he would be so happy you're here!" A very hard and cold elbow attacked her ribs at that statement.
Anna, used to the trolls' excitement by now, laughed and responded happily, accepting all the cheek pinching with a grin. It wasn't until a small troll sitting on their father's shoulder pointed and said, "Who's she?" and Anna turned to look, that she realised Elsa hadn't joined in.
Elsa had dismounted from her horse but was standing as close as possible to it with an anxious look on her face, her hands clasped and held to her breastbone and her elbows tucked into her sides. She had put on one of her plainer dresses and a pair of slippers back at the castle and her hair was loosely braided, so that wisps of hair had come free during their ride to float about her face. In this plain and slightly disheveled look, the trolls had not recognized her.
"Elsa? What's-?" On instinct, Anna moved to Elsa's side and hooked her arm around Elsa's. She felt Elsa relax slightly in response.
The troll whose child had spoken bowed as low as could while keeping the child still on his shoulders and said, "Queen Elsa, it's an honor to have you here."
The other trolls' eyes widened surprise and they all bowed as well.
Elsa flushed at her unqueenly behavior and unhooked her arm from Anna's. She stepped away from the horse slowly, as if with great difficulty, and bowed, forcing a small smile onto her face. "It's an honor to be here once again."
Anna stepped up from behind Elsa and said, "Everyone, this is Elsa. Elsa, these are the trolls. I know you've all met before, but..." She trailed off awkwardly, losing her confidence. "Anyway, we're here to talk to Grand Pabbie." Her smile came back quickly as she remembered why they were there.
There was a gravelly groan from the hill on the other side of the valley and a rock rolled slowly and then faster toward them, unfolding into an old troll just as the rock reached their feet. Grand Pabbie. "Born with the powers or cursed?" He creaked.
"Oh!" Elsa gave an involuntary gasp at the words, memories flooding back.
Anna blinked. "I don't think either one of us are cursed, Grand Pabbie."
Grand Pabbie looked at each of them in the face for long moments. Finally, he ground out, "No..." His mossy brow furrowed and he studied them a moment. "No, I suppose not." He picked up one of Elsa's hands with both of his own and closed his eyes as though concentrating. "You have grown stronger. More confident. Good." He nodded in satisfaction and let go of Elsa's hand to take hold of Anna's hand this time. His eyebrows rose. "I did not foresee this."
Anna let out a soft squeal of excitement before she could stop herself. "What? Do I have, like, explode-y powers or, like, can I make a tropical beach appear out of nowhere? Or maybe-" She was bouncing on her heels now, though the fact that her hands were still in Grand Pabbie's grasp prevented her from jumping as much as she might have liked.
Grand Pabbie coughed to stop her, a deep, cavernous sound, and released her hands. "I will explain." He threw his magic up into the air to show them the story as he recounted. "As a coronation present, your father was given a very small crystal, set in a ring, from the trolls. When your mother was ailing and on the verge of death, your father searched far and wide for a cure, but was unable to find one. However, as he scoured the books in the castle library for more information, he came across a map that led to our clearing along with some information about our crystals and the healing properties that they sometimes possess. He did not think to consult with us about the knowledge he had gained."
Grand Pabbie shook his head in disapproval. "He immediately called for the crystal's careful removal from the ring and had it ground into a powder for the queen to drink in her tea. This could have killed her, but the queen recovered. However, no mere human had ever used a crystal before, let alone ingested one. No one knew what the side effects would be. The kingdom worried for her, but after a time with no visible consequences, the queen gave birth to a healthy baby girl. And a little while after that, she gave birth to another." He gestured at the royal women, a grim smile on his face. Anna nodded eagerly in response. Her hands were clasped to her chest and she was leaning forward slightly, as though to hear his gravelly voice better.
"Everyone thought the danger had passed and they promptly forgot about any consequences that might occur. But there were rumors of strange things going on in the castle that seemed to revolve around the eldest daughter. So, when your parents brought you to us that night, we were not surprised. Because of that night, I now know that the crystals changed you somehow as a baby and awakened these powers inside you, My Queen." He removed his magic from the sky and nodded slowly at Elsa in acknowledgement. He turned to Anna. "However, I did not expect you to develop powers as well, princess."
He gestured for Anna to bend down and, when she had, placed a hand on Anna's forehead, closing his eyes as he did so. "I can see that the frozen mind and a frozen heart have been mended. But, it looks to me as though your magic did not spring from them." His eyes opened and he looked at her with a slightly amazed expression. "I believe you have always had the magic inside you."
Anna's eyes widened surprise and disbelief. "But then why didn't they appear until now?"
Grand Pabbie's expression relaxed into a small smile. "Only an act of true love can thaw a frozen heart."
Anna nodded impatiently and straightened. "Yeah, but-"
"That love came from you. Your body fought against your frozen heart long enough for you to protect your sister from Prince Hans. That struggle brought your magic to the surface and gave it strength. You chose to save your sister instead of yourself, but in the process, you saved yourself as well."
Elsa smiled at Anna, tears forming in her eyes at the memory of how she had almost lost her sister. "Thank you so much for saving me."
Anna blinked at her. "Of course. You're my sister." Seeing that Elsa wouldn't be able to stop the tears from falling, she stepped to toward her and pulled her into a hug.
Elsa held onto her tightly and didn't let go until she had thoroughly soaked the shoulder of Anna's coat. Keeping one of her arms around Anna, she turned to look at Grand Pabbie. He was still standing in the same spot, analyzing them.
"So," Elsa croaked. She cleared her throat and continued on with a stronger voice this time, "Anna has magic, now?"
Grand Pabbie nodded. "That is why you came here, isn't it?"
Anna nodded and explained everything that had happened so far that night. Her hands gestured and she even mimed falling down to prove her point. The other trolls listened eagerly and gasped at all the right moments. "So then, we decided to come see you!" She finished happily, hooking her arm through Elsa's once more.
Grand Pabbie looked wary. "These new powers can be dangerous. You must learn to control them as your sister did."
She immediately looked properly chastised. "Hopefully without causing everything to burn." Anna chuckled awkwardly.
Elsa looked down at her hands guiltily.
"Do not be ashamed, Elsa. Learn from your mistakes. Because you now know how to use your own power, you can help Anna with her own. Do not be afraid to make a mistake. Fear is your enemy, but love is the source of your power. And I believe love is also the source of Anna's."
Anna grinned and hugged Elsa. "I've got plenty of that."
"Me too." Elsa laughed and then yawned. "I'm sorry," she apologized. "I'm just so tired. We've stayed up half the night."
Bulda piped up from off to the side. "Oh, well don't let us keep you, dears!" She chuckled. "Go on home and get some sleep!" The other trolls nodded in agreement.
The two girls sighed gratefully and looked at Grand Pabbie for confirmation. He nodded sagely and bowed to them both. "Thank you for coming, Your Highnesses."
"Thank you for your help, Grand Pabbie," they chorused. They mounted their horses and Anna gave one final wave to the trolls. "It was great to see you all! I promise I'll visit again, soon!"
They made it back safely to the castle just as the sun was starting to glow against the tips of the mountains. After handing over the reins of their horses to a relieved looking stablemaster, Anna and Elsa trudged slowly up to their rooms. A peaceful silence had settled over the two royals on the ride back as their minds mulled over the events of the night. Both were exhausted; the exhilaration and travel had taken a lot out of them. They reached Elsa's door first and Anna stopped to say goodnight to her sister.
Elsa pulled Anna in for a hug. "I'm glad you woke me up." She said softly. She leaned back to look at Anna, her arms outstretched to keep her hands on Anna's shoulders. Her smile as she said her next words was mischievous. "I'm going to beat you next time we skate. And without cheating!"
"Who, me?" Anna's eyes glinted with suppressed mirth and her grin was impish. "I didn't cheat!"
"Uh hunh." Elsa dropped her hands from Anna's shoulders and crossed her arms in mock disapproval.
"I just used your unpreparedness to my advantage!"
Elsa let out a small huff of laughter. "Fine, if that's what you want to call it…." She trailed off, letting her disbelief show.
Anna folded her hands together behind her back and tried to look contrite, but her face betrayed her and left a trace of glee in her expression.
Elsa laughed for real this time, a full-bodied laugh of true elation. Anna's heart leapt at the sound. After so many years being apart, during these last few months Anna had felt as though she was just starting to figure out who her sister was. Making her sister laugh was the best part and she went out of her way to evoke that beautiful sound over and over again. Elsa laughed as though surprised and delighted that she could; as though she had forgotten what laughter was during her years of solitude.
Anna's face morphed into broad smile, her face unable to keep its previous expression as it heard Elsa's laugh. Once Elsa had stopped laughing, however, a small silence fell and Anna's smile faded into an awkward grimace. She still was not used to saying goodbye to her sister.
"Well... I'm gonna head to bed." Anna said hesitantly, taking a step backward towards her room.
"Me too." Elsa took a step backward as well, her hand reaching out and brushing at her door handle.
"G'night, sis!" Anna took another step backward, her hands clasped behind her back in awkwardness.
Elsa's face softened into a gentle smile. "Goodnight, Anna." She turned and disappeared into her room.
As the door shut, Anna called out, "I love you!"
The door cracked open enough for Elsa's head to peak out. She looked slightly amused. "Am I not allowed to go to sleep?"
Anna blushed and looked down at her feet. "No, I just-"
"I'm kidding!" Anna looked up to see Elsa beaming at her. "I love you, too." Her head cocked to the side and she continued. "Of course!" She huffed in mock annoyance. "Now may I go to sleep?" Her smile widened and she yawned for effect, though it quickly turned into a real one.
When she had finished yawning, which took longer than Anna had been expecting, Anna replied, "Fine, you can go to sleep." She pointed her finger at Elsa. "But! We're going ice skating tomorrow, so rest up!"
"Sounds like a plan." Elsa agreed and then said, "G'night, Anna."
"Goodnight!" The door closed.
Anna walked back to her bedroom and changed into her nightgown, then grabbed a blanket from the mass of them that were still sitting on her bed in a large pile. She wrapped it around herself quickly, already starting to shiver against the cold. It would be a few hours before the rays of sun coming through the window really started to warm up the room. She sat cross legged on the rug in front of her fireplace and looked at the latter contemplatively. The wood pile consisted of half-burnt logs. The fire must have gone out during the night. Perhaps that was why she had been so cold?
She stretched a hand out to one of the logs and bit her lip in concentration. Would this work? She scooched closer to the fireplace, her hand still out stretched, until her palm touched the rough bark of the cold wood. She shivered. She felt a spark of heat near her heart where it had happened before, and the log grew warm under her palm. Her eyes widened in surprise and she recoiled, drawing her hand back towards her chest. She hadn't meant to heat the log. Anna frowned. But at least she hadn't accidentally set it ablaze. "Okay. Let's try that again."
She reached her hand out one more time and set it upon the now warm bark. She conjured an image of her frozen skirt outside Oaken's and how her legs had felt like there was a layer of ice on them. And then she thought about how nice it would feel to be in the sauna right now, surrounded by warm air and the slight smell of smoke.
As the memory made her shiver once more, she felt the palm of her hand heat up once again and suddenly the log was ablaze beneath her fingers. Anna gave a shout of surprise and scrambled backward awkwardly, tripping over the blanket in her haste to get away from the flames. She watched, dumbstruck, as the other logs caught and blazed as well. The initial blast of heat and light had gone and in its wake, a calm, crackling warmth was left. Anna stared in disbelief. She had made a fire! She looked down at her hand wonderingly. It looked no different. There weren't any scorch marks or pink tenderness, just her normal, unblemished skin.
"This is more than just 'heating magic'", she whispered. Her eyes were wide with lingering shock. She took a few calming breaths. All of sudden the weight of everything that had happened that night hit her and she was overwhelmed with weariness. Her eyelids drooped and she gave a humongous yawn. Briefly, she thought about how soft her bed was, but she couldn't bring herself to move. Instead, too tired to make her way to the bed, she flopped onto her side on the rug not even feeling the uncomfortable floor beneath her. She grabbed the blanket and pulled it up and over her body, curling up into a ball underneath.
Anna fought against the inevitable close of her extremely heavy eyelids, but to no avail. As they closed for good, she caught one last glimpse of the merrily crackling fire and smiled tiredly. It had been a long night. The fire left flickering visions of orange and yellow on her eyelids and the warmth of the flames enveloped her even from underneath the covers. Her last lingering thought before sleep pulled her under was, I don't think I'll have to worry about being cold anymore.