This was written for Frozen Fandom Month's AU week. It was originally meant to be a one-shot, but this story did not want to be written in that way. The second part is going to be written a little differently and have more times skips, which is why I chose to separate the story into parts. Hopefully it will only have 3 parts, but sometimes things grow longer than I intend for them to be. I hope you enjoy this first part of my Wicked AU :)
Disclaimer: I do not own Frozen and Wicked or any of their characters and plots.
The Ice Witch
[ Part I ]
Emerald City
A green glint in the distance, as it were. An Emerald speck that seized the attention of tourists. Its magnificent spires stood tall, piercing the bright blue, cloudless sky. The yellow brick road seemed to be swallowed by its great Emerald gates as horses of many colors—white, blue, pink, red—cantered and halted, allowing guests of all shapes and sizes to admire the City's flawless, Emerald architecture.
Casting its wide, dark eyes upon the large doors, the Animal flexed his white paws and shook himself, causing a flurry of snow that once clung to his fur to drift into the air—settling onto the yellow road like white specks of dust.
All stopped in shock and awe when the Fox rose on his white haunches and balanced himself upon the yellow brick road. When a tiny snowflake perched itself upon the tip of his muzzle, his nose twitched. Before he could contain it, a sneeze erupted, causing a light swirl of snow to flutter into the air.
His lips curled back into a smile, revealing pearl-white fangs. To his left, a group of girls wearing school uniforms, stilled. They blinked at him with wide, terrified eyes.
The Fox took a step and they shrieked. Spooked, a green horse reared and gave a shrill neigh.
The Fox frowned and took another, tentative step toward the two guardsmen posted on either side of the Emerald gates. Their eyes stared over him, down the path of the yellow brick road and glared toward the North.
The Fox lifted his paw and waved. They didn't move. Nor did their eyes flick to him in acknowledgement, as if his presence was nonexistent.
The snow that had fallen from his form swirled up and around him before resting back upon him, clinging to his white fur and gathering onto the tip of his tail. The Fox was unperturbed by the gasps and murmurs that echoed around him.
He cleared his throat.
"Excuse me," he began, feeling his face grow hot when all eyes had turned to him. The two guards shifted their steel eyes upon his shaky form. He resisted the urge to recoil. "Hi, I'm Olaf. Is this Emerald City?"
At his words, the guards lowered their spears and behind him the people screamed, scattering about, knocking over others who seemed frozen with shock.
"It's the witch!"
"The Ice Witch? Where?!"
"Animal! Get that wretched animal out of here!"
Olaf withdrew from the guards and held his front paws up, the smile had long since dropped from his muzzle. His wide eyes shifted from one long offending spear to another and he could only wish Anna were there to call them off.
"Hey! Stop!"
The courtyard came to a halt. All eyes turned to the red-haired woman whose braids seemed to fly behind her as she ran, almost tripping over her extravagant emerald dress. In her ascended arm, which had risen at an angle to point at the guards, was her wand.
"Anna!" Olaf called, his dark eyes alight with relief at the sight of her. He lowered himself back down to all fours and bounded over, leaving a trail of snow crystals behind him.
"Oh Olaf, there you are." Anna knelt down and scooped his shaking form into her arms, watching as he curled against her. "Did they hurt you?" she asked, her eyes glancing at the guards.
The Fox gave a shake of his head before nuzzling himself into the crook of her neck. Anna sighed and absently ran her fingers through his fur. White as snow. A pang of longing pulsed within her as she was reminded of her sister.
Elsa.
From the corner of her eye, she noticed Kristoff step up to her side when Hans made his way through the large gates of the Emerald City. His General badge glinted in the sun as he made his way to her, raising his hand for the guards to lower their spears.
"Hans," Anna breathed, a tinge of relief flooding through her and she relaxed her hold on Olaf. "Have you found any leads?"
Hans took one of her hands in his, caressing her knuckles with his thumb. She would have blushed if she weren't so desperate to find her sister.
"I'm afraid not. I will send out another search party in an hour. Anna," he paused and looked into her eyes, "I don't think Elsa wants to be found."
Anna furrowed her brows and gently pulled her hand from his grasp.
"I-I know but. . .we have to try."
Hans took her hand again and raised it to his lips, placing a chaste kiss upon her knuckles as he murmured, "I'll see what I can do." Then he was gone, leaving her with her heart racing within her chest and her hot cheeks aglow.
Kristoff placed a hand on her shoulder, ushering her to turn from the prying, poisoned eyes of the Emerald City and down the yellow brick path. To the North.
The Ice Witch of the North.
It wasn't that she never knew about her sister. Elsa was always an extraordinary woman. She was everything that Anna could only wish she was: beautiful, elegant, smart, patient—and did she mention smart?
"Like, really smart. Super smart. Is there a word for that?"
Kristoff snorted at her with a roll of his eyes, and though he tried to hide it, she could see the telltale sign of a faint smile from the twitch of his lips.
"I believe genius is the word you're looking for," he remarked with a sarcastic raise of his brow that made Anna want to punch him.
"Right, genius. My sister's a genius, you know that?"
"We already established this feistypants."
His comment had been meant to lighten the dreary mood, but instead Anna found her eyes casting down to stare at the wand Elsa had given her. Holding it tightly between her fingers, a frown etched on her face.
"I just wished she had told me about. . ." Anna trailed off, not daring to speak of her sister's eccentrics. No, not here. Yet, as her eyes glanced back at the Emerald City, a new fire burned deep within her chest and she pursed her lips as her eyes shined with a new determination. "I have to find her."
A/N: Please leave a review and let me know what you think! Also, I edited this on my own so if you catch any grammar mistakes, I would be most grateful so I can fix it right away :)