Prologue
"Anna! Hurry up, Anna!"
Princess Anna of Arendelle tugged on her left boot with a loud sigh. "I'm hurrying! Seriously, Elsa. We're about one minute late and you're already stressed."
Queen Elsa stared at the ceiling and groaned. "You're not even halfway ready."
Anna rushed into her other boot and yanked her fingers through her tangled hair. "Am so."
Elsa studied her sister's tousled appearance skeptically. "Um, okay. If you say so."
Anna grabbed a cookie from the plate on her nightstand. "I do say so. Let's do this!"
Together the royal sisters hurried through the halls, down the stairs, past the state rooms and through the inner gates. Spring was just starting, and the evenings were still chilly; Anna shivered as they crossed the open courtyard. "Should've brought a cloak," she muttered.
Elsa's royal carriage stood waiting for them near the front gate, and the footman bowed as they approached. "Your Majesty, your Highness."
"Thank you, Amund," Elsa said as he handed her into the carriage, followed by Anna. "Now it really isn't your fault, but if you could please hurry; we're a bit late."
"Would you relax with the 'we're late' already?" grumbled Anna. "This is the trolls. We don't stand on formality with them."
Elsa shifted in her seat. "That isn't the point. I'm the queen. I should never be late."
"No," Anna argued, "it's everyone else that shouldn't be late and you that should be. Or at least, you can be."
Elsa stayed quiet this time, looking out the window into the gathering dark. The carriage thundered along, taking the sisters along the worn, familiar path to Trolldalen. The trolls, although somewhat active during the day, preferred to be visited at night because that was when their magic was strongest; and so Elsa's monthly visits to Trolldalen were always at dusk.
She'd started coming here the first month of her reign, wanting some sort of advice. She'd only been eighteen when made queen, after all, and had also missed three important years of her monarch's training when her parents died. She had advisors, of course, but she knew that her father used to come here because of the unrivalled knowledge of the trolls.
"Their magic is the oldest kind, Elsa," he used to say. "It's drawn from the earth, from the trees, from the water, from the very air around us. Never underestimate the extent of their knowledge. And never, ever make them angry."
Elsa lived by those words. Her advisors could only...well, advise her; but the trolls could give her more than that. And that was why she paid them homage by visiting them regularly. They repaid her by telling her everything they knew. That was how Elsa found out about the small group of rebels that planned to impeach her with false information. That was how she knew of an assassination attempt from a neighboring kingdom a month before it happened. It was how she knew of a month long dry spell and how to prepare her farmers for it.
The people of Arendelle began to think Elsa had the gift of foresight, as well as her more obvious magical powers. They respected her and loved her fiercely, believing that she had the knowledge to protect them as no other ruler had. Traders boasted of her when they were in neighboring lands, and other monarchs came to visit her and create peaceful alliances. Arendelle was flourishing as it had not for several years.
And so Elsa continued to make it a priority to visit the trolls and ask their advice.
"We're here," Anna said, startling Elsa out of her thoughts. The footman was swinging open the carriage door, and the chilly night air poured in, opening Elsa's lungs and causing the humming power beneath her skin to spark.
Elsa smiled at Anna, who was looking at her anxiously. "I'm fine, love," Elsa said. "I was just thinking."
Anna smiled back, and the two sisters exited the carriage. The footman shut the door and moved back a respectful distance, out of earshot.
Elsa linked arms with Anna and they descended into Trolldalen quietly.
"Grand Pabbie!" Elsa called.
The rocks around the girls shook, rolled, opened up, became a beehive of activity. "It's Elsa!" "It's Anna!" "She brought Anna!" "My, what a beauty you're becoming!" "It's been too long!" "Love suits you well, my dear!"
Anna grinned at all the compliments. "Thank you, thank you!" she said. "It has been too long! Kristoff's always talking about you, but I miss you guys!"
In the midst of all the chattering, Grand Pabbie appeared, and the talking died to a murmur as the two leaders bowed to one another.
"Good evening, your Majesty," said the head troll. "Please, sit."
Elsa seated herself on a mossy stone, Anna next to her. Grand Pabbie bowed to her as well. "Your Highness," he said.
"Hi," Anna said cheerfully.
Grand Pabbie turned his attention back to Elsa, his expression grave. "We have much to discuss tonight, my queen," he said. "I've heard there's talk in the village of a new king?"
"There's always that sort of talk," said Elsa, with a short laugh. "I take little notice of it; it's just a rumor, started by the hopefuls that want me to fall in love."
"And you are not in love?"
"No," Elsa said. "And I don't plan to make a political match, either. It doesn't matter who I marry, or if I marry at all, because I'm queen regnant, and I don't need a king to keep the throne."
"That is true," said Pabbie. "Although it would be wise to make a marriage alliance with another kingdom. However, I am against any marriage that doesn't involve love, as you know."
Grand Pabbie had been saying this same thing for months on end: don't marry without love, don't marry without love, don't marry without love. Elsa understood his point, of course, and she agreed with him; but he had only to say it once for her to get it, for heaven's sake.
Besides, who said she wanted to marry at all? It would be nice, in theory, to have someone by her side while she ruled Arendelle, but she didn't need anyone, and anyway it seemed like a hard situation to put someone through, to have to be legally subject to his wife. If she got lonely, she had Anna.
Aloud, she said,"You don't really want to talk about me getting married, do you?"
"No," said Pabbie. "Not exactly, that is. But you do realize that the longer you go without marrying, the more restless the people become. They want to make sure you have an heir."
"That's ridiculous," said Elsa. "If I die without marrying, Anna and her progeny are in line for the throne. So it's not like I'd be leaving Arendelle rulerless. And the people love Anna and Kristoff, anyway."
"They do," said Pabbie, "but they love you more. They want your line on the throne, not Princess Anna's."
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," said Elsa firmly, hoping that Pabbie would take this as an end-of-discussion comment. "What else did you want to talk about?"
Pabbie bowed his head, and when he raised it his face was grave.
"Queen Elsa," he said, "We have read the stars. Arendelle is entering a period of great danger, perhaps its greatest danger yet."
Elsa's stomach dropped suddenly, leaving a hollow, empty feeling. "What do you mean?" she exclaimed.
Pabbie's large eyes looked into her own. "Beware the moon, Anna. Do not trust his wiles and ways. Put your faith only in the things you know." He paused.
"More than this, I cannot say."
Welcome to my story!
Just a few things you need to know before you read on:
In my fanon, Arendelle is a magical kingdom that is hidden in modern-day Norway on a fjord. In circa 1800, during some of the unrest and war in Norway, a little place called Arendelle was sealed off magically by the man in the moon to keep its people safe. It became its own kingdom and it remained untouched until the 2000s. It exists, like other places, in an alternate reality that is housed on earth.
Corona, home to Rapunzel from Tangled, exists on the coast of Jutland, the peninsula that makes up the majority of Denmark.
Also in this alternate reality lives Cinderella and Prince Charming, although as portrayed by the Frozen film they would be middle aged at this point. Their kingdom lies somewhere along the French-German border.
Please take note that this is not completely historically or geographically accurate, nor is it meant to be.
I will be updating this story at my leisure. There's about five parts written so far. Review if you like it; I appreciate criticism, constructive or otherwise. (Also, I do take reviews into consideration as to when I update).
-Kenzie
