Disclaimer: Frozen is in property of Disney, therefore I do not own the rights. Which is really stupid because pretty much everyone on this website knows we don't own these fandoms.
Title: Burned
Author: Nada
Rating: T for Teen
Genre: Drama, Adventure, Fantasy, Family
Pairings: None
Warnings: Foul Language, OOC-ness, Background OCs, Cameo/Name Drops
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3/27/14 UPDATE: There will officially be NO ROMANCE for this story.
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Hi there new fandom! Nada here. I never thought I'd write a story for "Frozen" but I guess those girls have just swept me away. So I'm actually breaking one of my major rules about uploading an incomplete story. I don't have a damn clue where this story is going to go or even if it's going to get completed, but I decided that I really wanted to hear what people had to say about the idea so far and decided I'd just upload the first chapter. I'm sorry for the blah summary and title, but like I said, I don't know where this story is going to go. I'm just following a "what if" that came to me while I was watching the movie. Maybe once I've finished the story, I'll write a better summary and title.
As for pairings, I don't ship Anna & Kristoff, so don't expect to find that here (or in any of my Frozen stories). I am an Elsanna shipper, but I will NOT be writing that for this story. So have no fear!
Chapter One
The first time she saw it was on a bright summer's day, when sleep addled eyes cracked and teared beneath the blinding ray of warm light. She'd moaned and whined; tried to curl beneath her covers for extra sleep, but the light of day proved persistent—that ray of light ever maddening. Princess Anna of Arendelle heaved a heavy defeated sigh and rose from the comfort of her sheets to embrace the dawn of a new day.
With a tangled nest of hair perched on her head like a faux crown and a trail of drool curling around the edge of her chin, she stiffly climbed out of her haven of warmth and stumbled toward her mirror. She sat with a plop on top of her cushioned stool and reached blindly for her brush. A few of her perfumes and lotions toppled over at her clumsiness, but her sleep fogged mind barely registered he loud clatter of noise. Her fingers grazed the bristle end of her brush, and, with a tired smile of victory, began the arduous task of disentangling her long locks of hair.
It was then, through the bleariness of her exhausted eyes, did she see it. Subtle, even beneath the ray of light, but shining bright like a beacon to all things wrong and unnatural, lay a strand of hair the color of the setting sun deeply entangled within strawberry locks.
Red hair against strawberry blonde.
She blinked.
That wasn't normal.
"Wha—?"
She ran the brush through, sorting out and disentangling the hair disaster until it finally fell into a frizzy, wavy curtain of hair. With a dab of oil to tame the frizz, Anna re-braided her hair into a low hanging tails. She examined her scalp, blue eyes tracing the strange sunset red streak into the intricate flow of her braid until it disappeared near the ends.
She bit her lip.
"That's not good." She muttered, her reflection suddenly worried. "Nope, not good at all. Ok, ok," she breathed.
She pulled away from the vanity, her legs wandering around in nervous energy. "Ok so my hair is changing colors again. That doesn't mean anything right?" She asked the mirror, her reflection's expression steadily growing terrified. But as she expected, her refection gave no response. She turned away from the vanity, her nails wedged between her teeth.
"I mean, it meant something bad the first time but that was… that was different! That was Elsa's magic. This—" she turned to the mirror again, blue eyes honing in on the strange of hair. "I don't know what this is." She admitted, her voice soft. Uncertain.
She approached the vanity, still focused on the discoloration until a knock on the door jolted her out of her daze. She knocked the stool into the vanity, letting out a squeak of surprise as she tried to keep her things from spilling all over the ground.
"Your Royal Highness, are you ok?" she heard the maid ask from beyond the door. "My apologies for the disturbance, but her Majesty the Queen has inquired of your presence. Will you be eating breakfast with her Majesty?"
"Oh, uh, give me—give me a moment!" Anna cried, juggling her hair products. She dropped the mess onto her vanity, wincing at the disorganization but decided the maids would sort out the mess once she was gone for breakfast.
With one last uncertain glance to the mirror, Anna hurried to the door and joined the maid out in the hall.
"Ye-yes," She stammered then cleared her throat. "I mean—yes. I will join my sister for breakfast."
The maid gave the girl a placating smile. "Very well princess."
Anna played with her bacon nervously, her eyes trained solely on the meal laid out before her. Beside her, at the end of the long table that was much too vacant for merely two people, sat Queen Elsa. She delicately sliced into her breakfast with as much grace and poise as any trained Queen would and sweetly, slowly, chewed on the piece as though savoring the flavor despite knowing its tastes. Anna knew the show was mainly done out of habit as it was only the two of them at the table today.
For the first time in forever, the sisters were left to themselves and although the thought of being alone with Elsa excited her, Anna couldn't help but feel a little nervous. Eating meals with each other was something the young women were only beginning to get used to, but enjoyed their time spent greatly and coveted the chances they could get. Elsa made it a priority to always share a meal with Anna, no matter how busy her schedule became, she always found the time.
Today, Anna's nervousness came for a different reason. The streak of red in her hair felt more prominent now than it did that morning. And although she was certain Elsa hadn't spotted it—because she was certain the older woman would have commented worriedly about it—Anna felt like it was only a matter of time. She would tell if Elsa didn't noticed. She planned on telling, but sharing it so early in the morning when Elsa seemed so pleased to be with her, Anna didn't have the heart to ruin it with such news.
She could wait.
She will wait, for Elsa's happiness.
But as she mulled over her decision, she failed to notice the subtle way her older sister watched her movements with careful scrutiny.
Elsa noticed the way her baby sister sat with her back straight and rigid instead of the carefree slouch Anna was usually prone to when she wasn't being heckled by her tutor.
She observed the way Anna's left hand seemed to clamp and unclamp against the table cloth, as though the princess were making a conscious effort to keep her fingers from clenching.
She noted the way her sister's teeth would worry at the bottom of her lip, her warm blue eyes seemingly glued to the food she barely ate and merely allowed to cool. That on its own was sign to worry.
Elsa frowned, convinced her sister was troubled. She set down her utensils with a soft clank and softly cleared her throat. "Anna," She began, surprised with the way her sister grew stiff at her voice. "Is there something wrong?"
Anna blinked. She bit her bottom lip; twirled the throngs of her fork into the egg yolk and thought. They sat in silence for a moment: Elsa unsure if her sister had heard her question or if she was just simply ignoring it and Anna mulling over her options. A few more seconds in silence, Anna came to a conclusion. She turned to her sister with troubled eyes, her lips set in a grim line.
"Elsa—" She began but found her thoughts stopped, her voice lost.
Elsa tilted her head curiously. "Anna?"
The princess suddenly shook her head, a small smile shaping her gnawed on lips. "Never mind. Don't worry about me, I didn't sleep well last night. I'm just tired."
Elsa's brows furrowed again, her concern growing. "Anna, are you sure? You look troubled."
She reached out toward the girl, but grew hesitant just as her fingers reached Anna's face. She was mere inches away from Anna's cheek, when the princess gave her an encouraging smile and filled the gap between them. Elsa gently caressed the girl's cheek, her cool fingers easing the tension Anna wasn't aware she had.
"I'm alright Elsa," She smiled, blue eyes bright for the first time that morning. "I just need better sleep tonight. Promise."
Elsa gave an apprehensive smile. "Alright, but if there's anything wrong, you can always come to me. You know that, Anna."
Anna's smile was more genuine this time. "I know." She replied.
The second thing she noticed was the heat. Summer time in Arendelle weren't always so blistering, but there were times the air became so muggy with heat, Anna felt like she couldn't breathe. Summer was only just beginning and the heat of the season had yet to set in. Today felt like a scorcher to the Princess of Arendelle. Anna found that merely walking across the bridge to the town was like running a hundred laps around the mouth of a volcano.
She was hot.
She was sweaty, but most of all, she could barely breathe.
It was the third time within a time span of twenty minutes that she had to wave away the guards from assisting her. She had to constantly pacify their worries with the excuse of wearing a too-tight-corset underneath her dress and that was why she seemed so out of breath. Most of the guards were embarrassed by such an explanation, but Anna didn't care. She just wanted to get across the bridge and into the square without having them breathing down her neck.
By the time she reached the fountain, Anna was ready to collapse. She perched herself at the edge of the fountain, hoping the water would be enough to cool the unbearable heat that seemed to bear down on her like a persistent ray of light. She wiped the sweat from her brow with the back of her hand and threw her head back, closing her eyes against the brightness of the sky.
"Wooooh," she exhaled, feeling slightly better. "Is it really hot or is it just me? Summer only just started, it can't be this hot already. I guess we're going to have a hot one this year." She murmured, relaxing against the sound of pouring water.
She gazed out toward the mountains, catching the shimmering gleam of the frozen palace perched near the top of North Mountain. Her mind wandered back to the events of last year, when summer had frozen over and she and her sister were nearly killed at the hands of Hans. She shook her head of the memories, not wanting to think of sadder times and decided staying cool in the castle was a better idea than wandering the town in such heat.
"I wonder if Elsa can suffer a heat stroke." She mused out loud, an amused smile crossing her lips. "Or if having ice powers protects her from that."
She rose from her spot and nearly tumbled into the water fountain as a wave of vertigo overcame her. Anna stilled herself against the stones of the fountain, her eyes snapping shut. She waited until the dizziness passed before she felt she was stable enough to stand without support. She took in a shaky breath to still the erratic beating of her heart.
"Ok, going home is probably for the best right now." She muttered.
With one last glance at the ice palace, Anna hurried back toward the gates, a small part of her mind niggling with worry again.
Even within the cool confines of the castle, Anna felt like she were on fire. It was like the rays of the sun were still beating down on her, warming her skin and constricting her lungs.
The first thing she did once she reached the cool shadow of the castle was slip off her stockings and shoes.
The second thing she did was pin up her braids to keep her hair from suffocating her anymore.
The last thing she did was in the privacy of her bedroom.
She stripped off the light summer's dress and substituted it for a silk night gown that was more flowy and free than anything else in her wardrobe. She plopped on top of her bed, still sweaty and tired from the heat, but comfortable enough that she found it rather difficult to keep her eyelids from shutting.
The air around her was still uncomfortably warm. Her skin continued to boil beneath an imaginary sun, but at least the cool comfort of her silk sheets eased the worry that ate at the back of her mind. And as she laid there, thinking, breathing, just being, the stress of the day melted from her muscles and lulled her into a quick an uneasy slumber.
Elsa stared down at the documents piled neatly on top of her desk, her fountain pen hovering mere inches away from signing a new trade agreement with a neighboring kingdom. She stared at the words, yes seeing but not quite reading. In fact, were anyone to come into the study right now and see her, they would have thought the Queen was busy, but in truth, Queen Elsa's mind was not on trade agreements with Corona or passing new tax laws. It was focused on her sister and Anna's strange behavior that morning.
She had tried to brush it aside; had tried to accept her sister's words and focus on her work, but no matter what she did, Elsa found it was simply an impossible task.
She was worried.
Anna's behavior this morning was not normal. She always remembered her sister being rather rambunctious and klutzy. Anna was always happy and seemed to run her mouth off on some story or another, but her sullen, nervous demeanor had struck Elsa to the core. Something was not right with Anna and it pained Elsa to know that her sister didn't want to talk about it.
Elsa set aside the fountain pen and gazed hard at the trade agreement. Perhaps Anna didn't want her to worry? Anna was always trying to keep Elsa from worrying about the "little" things, as Anna was wont to call it. Anna had always tried to keep her troubles to herself, but Elsa was not only the Queen, but her big sister as well, and it bothered her—saddened her even—when Anna felt she needed to keep her troubles private.
Whatever trouble her little sister was having, Elsa wanted to know.
And until I do, this will just have to wait. She thought, setting aside the documents.
Elsa rose from the uncomfortable chair and straightened her back, hearing it pop and crack in a few places that made her hum in relief. With an amused smile, she turned to glance at the sky, making note of the sheer beauty of the day.
Anna will probably be outside. She mused, straightening out her dress. "With Kristoff, perhaps." She chuckled, though the humor died just as quickly as it began. But, perhaps not. Her mind supplied, recalling the bouts of arguing, the disagreements and the tears that had been shed during Anna and Kristoff's time as a couple.
Their break up had not been recent—it'd occurred seven months ago if Elsa was correct—but even with the passage of time, Elsa had come to notice that Anna did not spend much of her time with the blond ice harvester since then. And despite being on friendly terms; despite having awkward but friendly conversations on the time Kristoff came over to the castle or a run-in in town, Elsa noticed that Anna did not appear to be quite as happy around the blond as she was around her.
Elsa sighed, brushing away the memories to tackle more important matters at hand.
Whatever is troubling her now, I'll be sure to be there, as promised. She determined, and with that thought, Elsa walked out of the study in search of her sister.
Anna tossed and turned in bed, her legs entangling themselves in silk blankets. She strained against the hold, kicking at an invisible force; her hands grasping at nothing. Her mouth opened to scream, but nothing came to her lips. Anna's hand shot into the air as though she were reaching for something when something bright illuminated the room and heat so intense flashed through her body.
Anna awoke with an ear piercing scream, her eyes wide and her heart racing. She grasped tightly to her heaving chest, sweat trickling down her brow despite the coolness of the room. Something flickered in the corner of her eye, another seemed to crackle by her ear. Anna glanced upward toward the ceiling and screamed again.
The canopy of her bed had caught fire.
"Oh no! Oh no!" She wailed, scrambling to get out of bed "Elsa! ELSA!" she screamed, tumbling to the floor in a tangled heap of sheets and freckled limbs. "Get off!" She struggled against the blankets, a part of her mind throwing obscenities at herself for her erratic sleep habits; another part seemed to shut down on all logical thinking as panic began to seep into her veins.
Before Anna could disentangle herself from the cocoon of blankets, a whoosh of cold wind blew past her and into the canopy. Frost crept along the wooden pillars as the cold wind and snow blew out the fire eating away at her bed curtain.
The princess heaved a thankful sigh as Elsa and a few guards came hurrying into the room.
"Anna!" Elsa cried, wrapping protective arms around the girl. "Are you hurt? Did you get burned? What happened? How did the bed catch fire? Anna, say something!"
Anna pushed Elsa away gently—at least enough to allow her to breathe—while the guards busied themselves with freeing the princess's legs from her trap of death.
"I don't know," the strawberry blonde admitted, still breathless from all the panicked screaming. "I was taking a nap and then, I guess I must have had a nightmare or something, because I woke up freaked out and terrified and then, just out of nowhere, I looked up and saw the canopy was on fire!" Anna pulled her sister close again, burying her face into the older girl's bosom, while missing the look of confused worry that had crossed everyone's faces. "I don't know how it started, it was just there." She finished.
"Shhh, easy there Anna," Elsa cooed, soothing the girl's head. "I'm just glad you're all right."
"Could it have been an attack?" One of the guards questioned in a barely hushed tone. "Here?"
"Impossible!" The other spoke, his lips in a scowl. "For an assassin to get past the front gates, let alone to the princess's room—"
"Enough!" Elsa commanded, her tone hard. Eyes cold. The temperature in the room seemed to follow her displeasure as a slight chill crept along their spines. "I will not hear any more of this. Sweep the castle for anything suspicious. I want a guard in every entrance way. No one gets in or out without my knowing, is that understood?"
"Yes your majesty!" the men recited, backs straight as a board, arms raised in salute.
Elsa carefully helped her sister to her feet, her arms still wrapped protectively around the young princess as she eyed the two men for a moment. She gave them a nod of approval then dismissed herself and Anna from their presence.
She led Anna down the hall, a part of her pleased with the guards' initiative to start investigating the fire despite not being instructed to do so.
The girls didn't speak until they reached Elsa's room and even then, no word was spoken until Elsa locked the door with a soft click. She turned to her sister, who was silently playing with a braid that had come loose during her fitful nap. Elsa remained by the door, her hands resting in front of her out of worry rather than habit and cleared her throat.
Anna glanced her way, her large blue eyes ever grateful. "Thank you," She sighed, her voice heavy with appreciation.
Elsa waved away the gratitude and joined her sister on the bed. She grabbed Anna's hands and stared deeply into the young girl's eyes for a moment. When seconds passed in silence in which Elsa merely stared into Anna's eyes, the princess of Arendelle felt the insistent heat plague her once more. This time, it didn't feel quite as suffocating and unbearable as the first time; it didn't boil the blood in her veins nor did it seem to burn her skin from inside out. It was warm, like the soft warm one would feel when surrounded by a fur coat, or sitting close to a freshly made fire.
It was nice. It was relaxing. And Anna couldn't help but think it was because of Elsa's natural aura of coolness. The cold of her sister balanced the unbearable heat that seemed to have found residence within Anna's body.
But why was that?
Why was she so unbearable hot lately?
Summer had only just begun, the heat couldn't have been so intense so soon.
"Anna," Her sister began, snapping the girl out of her thoughts. "I need you to tell me the truth. Please. Is there something wrong?"
Anna grasped tightly to her sister's hands, neither one of them noticing the way a small puff of steam seemed to escape their hold.
Blue eyes stared into wintery blue.
Silence and uncertainty hung thickly in the air.
Anna swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat and with hesitation, she said, "Elsa… I think… I think I've been cursed."
So, keeping up with tradition, I always seem to ask any readers out there if they have any suggestions or ideas they want to occur in the story. Normally, I can't accept most of the ideas because either the story has already taken shape or certain ideas just don't fit in with what's going on, but seeing as this story is practically a newborn with no literal direction, I'm asking any readers if they want a particular event to happen. I'm open to suggestions!
As with all my works, please comment, critic or just drop a line!
Leave a review/alert/favorite!
Because knowing if anyone is interested determines whether or not the story gets continued.