(A/N: Originally posted on AO3, I've decided to also post this here in the hopes to get higher traffic. Also, hoping this encourages me to be more productive with writing. Eheh.)
Queen Elsa couldn't believe this. According to her army's scouts, flying monsters had been sighted just beyond the North Mountains. And like any other normal human being, she was terrified of them.
But she did her best not to show it. The last time she unleashed her fears - well, it hadn't gone down very well for the kingdom.
She tried to think of other things. Cheerful things. Fortunately, there had been one thing in particular keeping her spirits up for the past few weeks and it was sitting right on the top of her head... literally.
Just a few months ago she had been presented with a new crown. Of course, it had been no shameless affair after everyone found out she practically threw her old crown away in the mountains - but then her people surprised her. Not only did Arendalle's metalworkers replace it, but they had taken the opportunity to carve snowflakes on the frame around each jewel in recognition of their queen. The jewels sparkled and gleamed radiant blue, her favorite color.
Elsa loved it. And apparently, she wasn't the only one who felt that way - according to Anna, quite a lot of townsfolk had taken to modifying their clothing with snowflake patterns, and blue was in for the latest winter fashion trend.
Elsa sighed and closed her eyes. Crowns and acceptance were fine and all, but time to return to the terrors at hand. What did she have so far?
An entire morning, spent just listening to updates about the swarms. Right.
The individual creatures were specks in the horizon, but they must've been massive to be seen at this distance. Arendalle's leading university still couldn't identify the creatures, leading to a job for the defense sector: for the past few weeks she had been sending her best men and women to retrieve whatever samples they could get.
So far, none of them have returned. Elsa knew that sooner or later, she was going to have to put her kingdom under a state of national emergency.
There were whispers across the hall and Elsa opened her weary eyes. The only other people in the throne room were the four guards by the entrance doors. One of them was shaking his head insistently, another two arguing, and the fourth trying to stand as still as possible.
Even as a child she had rarely seen the entrymen break formation. Whatever the matter, it had to be urgent enough to agitate them in her presence.
She leaned forward on her throne. "Please, speak freely."
They gave no indication to hearing her - to no surprise, with an upbringing that had her unused to talking in large spaces. She had to repeat it, louder. Realizing they were caught, the guards' expressions changed and gave her the notion this was related to some certain mystical powers she was capable of.
She was right. One of the younger guards rubbed his forearms. "It's just that, Your Majesty…" His voice echoed across easily, having no trouble with his own social communicating skills. "… don't you think it's getting rather cold in here?"
White fog escaped from his mouth as he spoke.
Elsa blinked and realized that in her distress, the temperature had dropped by at least twenty degrees. She disguised her growing alarm with an uncertain smile, and, in a tiny intake of breath, sucked all the cold back into her being. The guards visibly relaxed.
"Forgive me," she said meaningfully. "I was... lost in thought. I wasn't aware that I must've lowered the temperature in the process."
A bow of her head and the steady gaze of her blue, seemingly unwavering eyes won the men back over instantly.
"We did not mean to cause you grief, Your Majesty," the same young one cried. "We are, err, aware it must be hard on you as well."
Intrigued, Elsa asked him how so.
"Well," the guard replied. "I couldn't imagine how I'd cope with a curse like that. It must be horrible. To think how you manage, it's just..."
The other guards shushed him quickly, but the damage was done. Elsa lifted one dark eyebrow, an undecipherable expression on her face.
"A 'curse'?"
Fortunately, the sudden tension was broken by frantic knocking on the front doors.
"Elsa, would you let us in? It's urgent!"
Princess Anna of Arendalle swooped into the throne room accompanied by two grown men, one of which had recently become a frequent visitor of the palace. The housekeepers would've wept at the sight – all three were accompanied by a huge reindeer of a dark brown coat and massive antlers.
Personally, Elsa didn't mind the reindeer. What did bother her was the presence of the other man.
Bloodied and bruised all over, this stranger hung limp on Sven's back, eyes half-open with pupils dilated and unresponsive. But there was still movement; his chest rose and fell at each breath. Even so, Elsa began to fear he would drop dead at any second.
But miraculously, just as Sven the reindeer stopped before the throne's platform and gave a little shake, the man straightened up. This also revealed the fact that he was dressed in full battle armor. Two of the entrance guards quickly began to approach.
Elsa rose from her throne. "Anna, what's going on?"
Kristoff Bjorgmann, her sister's second (and much more preferable) boyfriend, answered promptly. "We – Sven and me, I mean – found him coming down from the mountains, Your Majesty. Tried bringing him to a doctor, but he insisted to see you instead.
"Anna – the Princess, sorry…" The girl in question shot him an amused glance, and he quickly scrunched his nose back at her. "… helped us bring him here. He lost his horse. Said it happened when he ran into Marshmellow."
Elsa frowned. By the armor and insignias, clearly this man wasn't a citizen of Arendalle. He didn't even look like a proper soldier. The form of his plates fit too big for his frame, and the empty scabbard at his side appeared to have carried a sword far greater than what he could have handled with ease. There was another empty scabbard at the other side of his belt, but its looked far too wide for the usual dagger.
It took a moment for Elsa to realize its purpose; it was the holster, oddly enough, of the golden hammer held tight in one of the man's hands. A blue well-worn, wide-rimmed hat sat askew on his head and clashed violently with the outfit.
Ever since the treason of Prince Hans of the Southern Isles, these days there had been an increased wariness towards strangers to the Kingdom and the lies they might spew. However, there was no doubt this man had been attacked by the golem. The dents in his armor corresponded with the shape and size of the creature's fists, and she could make out the parts that may have been stabbed by ice crystals.
Even if the man could've in some way mimicked the damage the creature was capable of, there was no way he would have even known the golem existed without encountering it himself. Marshmellow had become one of the closely guarded secrets of the kingdom. Not even a quarter of Arendalle's residents were aware of the ten feet tall bogeyman right in their backyard.
So it only stood to reason that this was most certainly her fault.
The man's eyes met Elsa's. He gave a cry, shuffled off the reindeer, and lowered himself to a proper bow. In an accent too strange to be believed, he exclaimed, "Sorry for the intrusion, ma'am."
He turned to Anna and Kristoff and nodded to them too. "I didn't' think ya'll would take me straight to the queen. Golly, thank you very much. And to you, fella," he added after a faintly annoyed grunt from Sven.
Struggling to remain calm with thoughts of a rampaging snowman in her mind, Elsa stepped forward, extending a gracious hand. "It seems you've been through quite the journey just to get here. I should send one of my staff to get you a chair."
"No, um... I would much rather you hear me out first."
"Very well." Elsa waved one of the soldiers to fetch a chair anyway. "Where do you come from? What brings you here?"
The man realized he was wearing his hat in the presence of royalty. Aghast, he tore it off and clutched it tightly to his chest. "Yessum. I'm Felix Fixer Jr. from Niceland, a village way up north just outside the boundaries of your kingdom. I'm here to… err…"
His face turned ashen and, grimly, he looked to the side. "Truth is, I'm a scout sent ahead of my group. I'd like to ask for Arendalle's help, ma'am, in our fight against the approaching infestation, and for a safe place for our survivors to stay at. If it wouldn't be too much trouble, maybe some of the inns would be so kind to…"
He trailed off, aware of the alarmed reactions coming from almost everyone in the room. Anna was the first to respond, and yanked Felix around by the shoulder. He was only a few inches taller than her.
"Survivors? Civilians? Up in the mountains?"
Felix winced a little at her sudden touch, but managed a few nods.
With that Anna stormed back to the entrance, demanding that someone fetch her a fresh horse. Fortunately, she only managed to get halfway there by the time Kristoff caught up, lifted her several feet into the air, and planted her on her original spot next to his reindeer. Sven eyed her sternly and shifted position to block the path to the exit.
"Hold up. We need to find out what exactly's going on. Wouldn't want to end up slipping on thin ice later." Kristoff's tone was calm and rational, but his face spoke of definite concern. He glanced at Elsa. Receiving a nod that told him it was fine to proceed, he redirected that concern to Felix. "Can you tell us how many of your people are up there? Are they safe from the swarms?"
Felix paused, then a soft, self-assured grin stretched his cheeks. "There are around thirty regular folks up there. But they're safe, I guarantee it. They've a troop of Heriopian soldiers with them. And even if they come across that hefty snow giant y'all call 'Marshmellow', I'm sure her men can handle it."
Elsa wasn't so sure about that last part, but the rest of the room had been more impressed by another part in his reply. Everyone in Arendalle grew up with stories of the Heropian army – knights in shining armor who dedicated their lives to protecting the rest of the world from the monster-ridden isle across the Western Sea. As tales went, those monsters were the magical creations of uncontrolled sorcery long ago.
Elsa blinked. The swarms – of course! They were monsters from Heropia. Monsters of magic. And, Elsa realized with increasing horror, monsters just like Marshmellow, which just proved itself this close to capable of killing a fully grown man.
"Your Majesty?"
Elsa returned to the present. Anna had been questioning more about the Heropian soldiers. Felix must have had enough of explaining how his people managed to tag along with them – he was now staring at the queen expectantly for her final decision.
"I see," she said. Unconsciously, her hands folded over her lap and she rubbed her bare knuckles. "I'm afraid I cannot ask any inn to provide the shelter you need for the night. A blizzard is brewing – I am sure all the rooms will be occupied by now."
The hopeful gleam in Felix's eyes began to fade.
"However, as far as I am aware, our kitchen is fully stocked and my palace has a number of guest rooms currently unused. If they will be sufficient to your needs…"
A grin began to stretch Anna's freckled cheeks at the realization of what her sister was implying. Felix gaped as well.
"Y-Yes! Yes, of course!" he exclaimed. "Why wouldn't they be sufficient?"
"Well, they haven't been used in quite some time…"
In a flash, Anna rushed out through a side door.
"… but I'm sure my sister will get the staff right on it," Elsa finished. There was no one who loved having company over more than the queen's little sister. She spared a moment to share a smile with Kristoff and Sven, the latter two buckling down in silent laughter.
Then towards the nearest guard, she instructed, "Get me General Frankfurt and tell him to prepare a dozen of his soldiers for immediate departure. They are to meet Sir Felix's party on their way here, and to provide additional assistance if necessary. They might need it," she added gravely. "Storms in the North Mountains are not to be treated lightly."
She was aware that Kristoff and Sven were giving each other looks again, and cleared her throat. "Additionally," she continued, "kindly inform Gourda to prepare a feast for about thirty to forty people tonight. Make sure we use our best salad plates. Oh, and prepare a room, a bath, and a change of fresh clothes for Sir Felix. It's the least our guest deserves."
Felix began to protest. Elsa ignored him. After all, it was her monster that maimed him. He deserved their hospitality. Soon enough, the family butler, Kai, whisked into the throne room to gently coerce their new guest towards the same side door that Anna exited.
However, Felix refused to move from his spot.
"Your Majesty," he declared firmly. "I… insist to go back out there with your folk. Ya'll might know the terrain better than I do, but I sure know the exact place I last left them, and the path they're probably taking to go down here. I'd like to make sure they get here safe. Especially..."
He hesitated. "… Especially since my wife's there too, ma'am. She can take care of herself, but I'd like to make sure."
There wasn't much that could argue against changed her orders, and only then did Felix from Niceland allow himself to be led away. Except this time, he was headed towards the stables.
Elsa dismissed the rest of the guards and descended from the platform. At the same time, Anna was carrying her skirts back into the room, panting heavily and exclaiming something about how they were taking the salad plates out again. The princess took a big gulp of air and sprang to her sister's side, grabbing her hands.
"... and they're cleaning the rooms as we speak. Elsa, wait. This is about the people up in the mountains."
Anna paused. Then, carefully, she said, "How do you want us to explain your powers once they get here? You want to handle it by yourself? I mean, it's your show..." She pursed her lips anxiously. "... but I can do a little intro or something. I-If you want me to. I don't want you getting nervous. I had no idea things were so bad back in your coronation - so if there's anything I can do for you now, just say the word."
Elsa smiled. Anna was a lot like this these days, as if trying to make up for not having her sister's back for so many years. It was never her fault; Elsa just wouldn't let her into her life.
This time, she knew not to make the same mistake. "Go ahead with the introduction. I can tell you're just itching to get them worked up."
Anna's eyebrows lifted and she shared her sister's smile.
But despite the warm words, a tiny, nagging feeling persisted at the back of Elsa's mind. After a long pause, Elsa eyed the three – her sister, the sister's boyfriend, and the reindeer – with a fierce determination. "Would you mind accompanying me to the North Mountains? I believe it's time I cleaned up the mess I left behind."