A/N: This is a crossover between Merida (Autumn) from Disney Pixar's Brave, Rapunzel (Summer) from Disney's Tangled, and Anna (Spring) and Elsa (Winter) from Disney's Frozen. Each chapter will rotate in the point of view of each princess, starting with Autumn or Merida as Chapter 1 and going through the cycles of the seasons (Next Winter, Spring, Summer, Autumn, etc.).
This story takes place three years after Brave, three years after Tangled, and a few months after Frozen. The time period will be consistent with Tangled/Frozen in the early 1800's. Brave is set well before this, but for the sake of the story, the characters will exist in this time period too.
I rated this T, though mostly for violence and action. Contains limited mild profanity and very mild romance scenes.
I am open to feedback!
Summer had just given way to autumn.
The light breeze caressed the grass and rustled the dying leaves, creating a small orchestra amid the silence of the forest. All was calm and peaceful and green, with red and orange hues of the fading sun penetrating the tree tops. A faint fog rolled in from the mountains.
A large horse thundered into the scene, disturbing the natural chorus as he galloped across the landscape. He was as dark as the growing evening shadows, in contrast to the unruly red hair of his rider that flowed and flickered behind them. The rider sat up and lifted her arms higher and higher into the air as if she were to touch the tree tops like the sun, watching her fingers dance in the light mist of the wind. She belted out a laugh and sat down again, hunching over and urging her horse to ride ever faster. Never had she been in this part of the forest before.
"Faster, Angus!" the rider commanded. She was in no hurry to go anywhere in particular, but the rush of the wind and passing trees made her heart pump with excitement. Free from her stale and grey old kingdom, she was a pretty bird released from its cage. She raised herself up again, opening her arms to either side as if spanning out wings to lift herself up from the world.
Her flight was cut short with a loud snap.
The horse's hoof had lodged under a protruding tree root reaching across the muddy ground. The rider was flung forward, screaming and flailing her arms to fly away from the approaching ground beneath her - but she could not.
The shock of the impact left her stunned. Her ears readjusted to the silence of the forest, now undisturbed by her horse's weighted feet. She sat up and surveyed her limbs to ensure nothing was broken. Luckily she had landed on a soft patch of earth, piled with mud and a few freshly fallen leaves.
"Oh, Angus, Mum is going to kill me!" she whimpered, glancing down in dismay at the muddy rags she wore that had once been a new silk dress. "Not that I haven't ruined one of her dresses before."
Trudging through the mud, she inspected her horse and checked his legs for damage, and with a relieved sigh finding none. She trekked around him until she spotted the offending root and kicked it lightly. "We got to make note of this dumb root, right Angus?" She chuckled, patting his side.
A hideous growl erupted from the shadows of the forest, interrupting the silence.
"We better get going," she muttered as she mounted the horse and rode back the way she came.
"Come on, just a little farther."
The princess tried to sneak into the hall unnoticed, hoping she could take off her crusted muddied dress before anyone, especially her mother, could see it. Already she had slipped past the kitchen and up the staircase; now all that remained was the obstacle of the main hall. After she had quickly glanced around to find the hall empty, she took a cautious step out from behind the corner.
Thud!
Not cautious enough, however, as her foot caught on a well-placed tripwire, causing her to land onto the hard wood floor and trigger a basket of sticky feathers to drop on top of her.
"BOYS!" she cried, pushing the basket off and picking herself up. She tried desperately to pluck the feathers from her tangled curls. Red tufts of hair caught her attention, peaking up above a nearby table and bouncing with stifled snickering.
She resisted her urge to stomp towards their direction in a rage, realizing her brothers might have done her a favor. Now she had an excuse to blame her mess of a dress on their incessant pranks.
"Oh, Mum! Look what the boys did to me!" she hollered in her thick Scottish accent down the hallways. Soon enough her mother emerged from a nearby room.
"Merida, there you are, I have something to tell – oh, what have you done to your dress?!" Queen Elinor exclaimed in horror at the sight of the tattered catastrophe Merida was in. It was unrecognizable from the neat and shiny green dress it was a few hours ago.
"It's the boys and their pranks again, Mum. This time they dumped feathers… and mud… on me and me dress," Merida said earnestly, complete with innocent eyes and hopeful pout.
"Oh dear, let me have a look at you." Elinor kneeled down and took the cloth in her hands, inspecting the damage. "Hmmm, and did the boys tear your dress too?" She eyed Merida suspiciously.
The girl swung her arms nervously by her side. "Um… what did you want to tell me, Mum?" Merida asked, as innocently as she could still manage.
Elinor let out a sigh and stood up. "Merida, you have to be more careful with new dresses. I made you another one for a special occasion. You must not ruin it." The queen reentered her room and reached towards her dresser, pulling out from it a sparkling purple dress lined with gold. "I want you to wear this dress at the upcoming Grand Masquerade Ball that's being hosted in a faraway kingdom."
Merida stared in awe before the dress. She was never one to appreciate her mother's handiwork, but she had outdone herself with this gilded masterpiece. Only after the sparkle of the golden border stitches gleamed in her eye had she absorbed what her mother had said.
"It's a beautiful dress, but what do you mean? Why must I go? You usually go to these things, right?" Merida asked, following her mother into the room.
"Merida, you are nineteen years old now, and a princess no less. You need to know how to be a respectable princess for your kingdom. And that means inside these walls and out." The queen turned away and neatly stored the dress into a sturdy leather bag reserved for diplomatic travels. "The meeting is in two weeks, and you must arrange an escort."
"An escort? I don't need an escort, Mum. I can take care of meself," Merida said, proudly displaying the bow that had been slung around her shoulders.
"Yes, I know that. But still, it is tradition to have an escort for a ball, and that is impossible for only you to do. Unless there are two of you. Thank heavens there isn't."
"I don't need an escort! You know tradition and I don't get along," Merida huffed, crossing her arms brazenly against her chest. That was that.
Elinor considered her words, knowing full well how tradition never did hold what was best for her daughter. Finally she sighed, "I know. Fine. You may leave without an escort. Just promise me you will wear the dress and keep it clean. No mud… or feathers."
Merida and her mother shared a small smile. The queen handed the princess her bag.
"Alright, I'll start packing your things. And who knows, maybe you will meet a nice young man there. Because heaven knows you're unimpressed with the ones here."
Merida rolled her eyes and took the bag under her arms. "We've gone through this, Mum. I'm not ready for love yet."
A hulking bearded man abruptly barged into the room, cleaning off his sword from a long day of training. Well, stuffed bear fighting. His booming voice echoed throughout the room.
"What's all this about love? Did our wee Merida find it yet, huh Darlin'?" He poked his daughter's side with a playful wink.
"No, Mum was just tellin' me about a fancy ball I have to go to."
"Ah, well in my day I was the best dancer in all the land, right until that bear –"
"Chomped your leg clean off!" Merida hurriedly finished, bursting into a laugh.
"I'm surprised I didn't hear you coming Fergus; that wooden leg of yours gives you away every time," Elinor said. "Why don't you come here and help me pack things for Merida's trip?"
"Ah Darlin', she's got her bow, what more does she need?" He winked at Merida again before resting his sword down and helping his wife lift another heavy bag.
Merida stared down at the bag in her hands, wondering what might be awaiting her at this new Kingdom. She had never been on her own before, at least not for foreign affairs. Perhaps she wasn't as prepared as she thought.
"What should I expect when I get there?" Merida asked, hoping at least her mother's lectures could ease her trepidation.
The queen had already fully distracted herself packing away more supplies for her daughter's journey, as focused as if she were stitching a tapestry, but answered her question nevertheless. "Well here dear, I'll show you."
She took a folded piece of paper out from a bookcase shelf and extended it to her. Merida opened the thin and aging parchment to reveal a glistening map, depicting a large island kingdom with sun icons forming the border.
"Corona is known for its warm weather, it is quite nice almost all year round. When you arrive you may meet the King and Queen of Corona, but most likely they will send out their princess first. She was recently found after her so-called magic hair had been cut. I hear her prince is quite handsome."
Merida was intrigued. She had never met another princess. "What's her name?"
Elinor wrinkled her nose. "Oh it is some strange name. I believe it was something like 'Rapunzel.'"
"Anyone else I need to know?" Merida pushed.
Elinor nodded as she continued, "This time there will be diplomats from the kingdom of Arendelle, a kingdom who had shut themselves out from the rest of the world until their queen's coronation this last summer, when it was revealed she possessed some sort of ice sorcery. If the rumors are true, her sister Princess Anna broke the accidental curse she put on her own kingdom. But last I heard all is well. They are fit to reenter the affairs of other kingdoms."
Merida's eyes widened. She had no idea the women from other kingdoms had such adventures and magic in their lives. She had figured they were all prim and proper like her mother. "I want to meet these princesses."
The King shook his head. "Those princesses and their magic. A bunch of silly tales, I say."
"Now Fergus," Elinor started, "I was turned into a bear and saw wisps with me very own eyes. Anything is possible."
Elinor paused from her packing to pluck a few more feathers from Merida's hair before she kissed her forehead goodnight.
