Befriending Elsa

AN: This is my first Frozen AU. It pretty much follows the same timeline, being set in the same century, but with some major differences. For instance, Anna and Elsa will not be related in this story. This may seem a little awkward at first but bear with me it will make more sense as the story goes along. Rest assured, there will be plenty of friendly fluff between the two in later chapters. Also, Anna is a commoner in this story. If you have any questions regarding any changes, let me know, I'll be happy to answer them.


As Anna walked down the cobblestone streets of Arendelle, she looked up at the castle that towered above her. For her entire life, the castle had been a mystery to her. No one knew why the queen of Arendelle never came out. It was almost as if she didn't exist. But Anna knew that this wasn't true. Whenever she would walk by the gates, she could see someone looking out from the window of one of the towers. It was as if the queen, whatever her name was, was watching her. Anna often dreamt what it would be like to live a life of royalty. It would be impressive to wear fancy clothes, have people waiting on you hand and foot, and getting to rule over an entire kingdom. Who's to say if it was really like that though? All the things that Anna knew about royalty came from the books she read. For all she knew, it could be a very boring life. Either way, it couldn't possibly be any more boring than her own life. Anna lived alone with her mother, in the village of Arendelle. Anna's father had died years ago when she was a child, leaving the two of them to make ends meet. Her mother worked as a seamstress, saving every coin she earned on her and Anna. They were very poor, but still Anna was grateful to have a roof over her head. Still, one day she hoped to get out there and explore the world. There was nothing for her in the kingdom of Arendelle. The only thing interesting about Arendelle was the castle, but the gates were closed to the public.

Late one afternoon, as Anna was taking her walk, she noticed a sleigh being pulled by a reindeer driving up to the castle gates. The man driving the carriage pulled back on the reins, signaling the reindeer to stop. He waited for a minute, expecting the guards to come and open the gates for him. In the meantime, Anna walked up to talk to him. She had seen the man coming and going from the castle many times. He didn't look like someone from the upper class. His clothes were raggedy and covered with dirt. But every time he came to the castle, he had a bunch of packages on his sled. Anna struck up a conversation.

"Hi there," she said.

The man looked at her, giving her a polite smile. "Hey," he said.

"What's you got there?" Anna said, pointing to the packages in the back of the sleigh.

"Oh, just some ice. I make a delivery to the castle once a week," the man explained.

"Ice?" Anna asked, confused.

"I'm an ice harvester. I harvest ice and then sell it to people."

"Wow! You sell ice to the queen? What's she like?" Anna asked. She jumped at the chance of getting to know what the mysterious Queen of Arendelle was like.

The man sighed. He was getting annoyed with this young woman.

"I don't know," he said. "I never see her."

"So, you just deliver ice to her every week, but you never actually see her?" Anna asked.

"No," the man replied.

"That's weird. I'd love to meet her. I bet she's really pretty," Anna said.

"No telling," the man said. "Look, could you please leave? I got to unload all of these crates, and I really don't need someone distracting me."

Well, so much for that conversation. The man clearly didn't care for her company, so the only thing Anna could do was leave.

"Oh, sorry to bother you. I'm Anna by the way," Anna said, reaching out her hand for the man to shake.

The man rolled his eyes. "Kristoff Bjorgmann," he said.

"Nice to meet you, Kristoff," Anna said. "I'll see you around!"

"Not likely," Kristoff said.

The guards had arrived and began opening the gates. Anna watched in awe as the reindeer pulled Kristoff's sleigh into the castle grounds. Within seconds, the gates were closed again, leaving Anna to watch as the guards returned to their posts.

The encounter with Kristoff had only further intensified Anna's curiosity about the castle and the queen. How interesting it was that the queen made orders for ice, but she never saw the man who delivered it. Anna had mixed feelings about Kristoff. He was very standoffish without much kindness to him. On the other hand, he was a very attractive man. Moreover, he seemed to be around her age. Oh, what was she kidding. A man like Kristoff didn't have time for her. He was much too busy. It was pointless even talking to him.

As Anna walked away from the gates, she gazed up at the window of one of the towers. There she could see a woman staring back at her. It was only for a few seconds, before the curtains fell back over the window, concealing what was inside. Anna didn't get a good look at the woman who was watching her, but she could tell that the woman wasn't old, but rather young.

Could this woman be the Queen of Arendelle? Anna didn't know much about her, other than the fact that she was extremely reclusive. If this was the queen, why would a young woman want to keep herself locked up all the time? Mysteries upon mysteries surrounded the Arendelle castle. Who knew if anyone would ever learn anything.