Arendelle was happy. Over a year had pasted since the great freeze that plunged the kingdom into an eternal winter, an entire year since one brave soul, ventured up the mountain to save what all thought lost. One year, since Queen Elsa of Arendelle's reign began.
She was a beautiful Queen, still so young and youthful, just turned 19. Her hair, they say, is woven from the first snow that covers the meadows in the winter, her light blue eyes, carved from the ice that freezes the fountains, lakes and ponds. Her skin's as pale as snow, yet shines like the sun and her laugh rings like the jingle of icicles clinking together on the trees.
But with great beauty comes great consequence. The Queen was born and raised like any other, but with a burden she was forced to bare, too young for such responsibility. The power to freeze whatever she touched, unable to hold a sisters hand, to feel a parents embrace, not the slightest touch came without the fear. And so her isolation began, over a decade without physical contact, with no one except the servants and her parents for company, and even that came to a close.
How long can you hide away? How long until something smokes you out like a rat in a fire? How long can you remain a child? For Queen Elsa, this was never long enough. The night her parents died was all too clear. Sat alone, surrounded by her crystalline prison, frozen by her own fear and sorrow. Her sister arrived at some point; she could hear her sobs through the door.
We only have each other
It's just you and me
What are we gunna do?
Do you wanna build a snowman?
Never had she wanted to hold her sister so much, to cradle her strawberry blonde head in her lap, comfort her like a sister should, to whisper that she wasn't alone. Yes I want to build a snowman. she would have said. But Anna was always alone.
Elsa had not only doomed herself to a childhood of loneliness, but her sister too. No princess should be locked away, trapped in the confined corridors of a castle, no one but herself for company. It's no wonder she jumped at the first chance to connect with someone, to find that bond only to be shared between two people, the bond Elsa could never find.
One year by and nothing had changed, yet at the same time, everything had changed. Arendelle was under the rule of Queen Elsa, her sister, Anna, by her side, along with Anna's boyfriend, Kristoff. They worked together, lived together, laughed together. Every day went by and they grew closer, Elsa, though still guarded, let her own gates open, showing for once what she was feeling. Her mantra, no more than a distant memory.
It stayed this way until the day Kristoff proposed to Anna. She agreed, of course, and Elsa gave them her blessing, but still she felt her sister slipping from her grasp, falling through her fingers like the melting snow of spring. The days went by ad Elsa closed up more and more, her powers slipping and stumbling around her, people walking on egg shells, terrified of what might be lurking beneath her royal surface.
And so the day of the Wedding arrived. Elsa was in the throne room, not sat at the throne, that still remained her fathers, his portrait unmoved from where it had been four years ago. Elsa instead was pacing, a letter in one hand and she ran her pale fingers through her icy hair with the other.
"Elsa!" she heard and jumped at the sound of her sister lurking in the doorway wearing what looked like her night gown. "I've been looking for you" she said with a smile Elsa tried to return sincerely, and by the way Anna's eyes brightened, it had worked. Conceal don't feel. You're not losing her, not again. This was her mantra now, a reminder that Anna was still her sister, that she didn't have to be alone again.
"Anna" Elsa replied with a nod "Shouldn't you be getting ready? The wedding is in" glancing at the grandfather clock, "Six hours"
Anna gave a shy smile towards her sister. She'd noticed how Elsa was closing up again, shutting her self away. People barely saw her any more, only for formal duties and meetings she couldn't send her advisor to. She smiled again, a nostalgic smile to the Elsa she had been not long ago, the real Elsa, not this one, the one that hid away from her. Her thoughts returned to the night her parents died, how Elsa's absence at the funeral went far from unnoticed. Only one child stood by the parent's grave, only one pair of crying blue eyes. She remembered sitting outside her sister's door, begging to be let in, for the first time in what felt like forever she thought Elsa might open up.
Elsa.
Please, I know you're in there
People are asking where you've been
They say have courage and I'm trying to
I'm right out here for you
Just let me in. she thought before replying, watching how the beautiful aqua eyes were blocked and guarded again. "I was hoping you'd help me" Anna said, wringing her hands in front of her, her eyes cast downwards, towards the perfect marble floor.
Elsa opened her mouth to reply, to tell her sister she was too busy to help, but Anna cut her off.
"Hey, what's that?" she said pointing towards the letter Elsa was currently clutching to her chest, the parchment like page with the broken red seal of a sun.
"A letter" Elsa replied smoothly, not wanting to get Anna too excited.
"Who from?" she replied, too excitedly and too quickly for Elsa's liking. Before she could even respond Anna grabbed the letter from Elsa's hand, not noticing how Elsa flinched away before their fingers brushed, or the ice crystallized on the sides of the paper where Elsa had held it.
"Dear Queen Elsa of Arendelle" Anna began, "I am pleased to inform you that me and my husband shall be attending you sisters wedding and we thank you graciously for the invite." Elsa tried not to look at the bright, excited smile growing on Anna's face. "We shall hope to be sharing accommodation with you for the week we stay after the ceremony to both embrace a different kingdom, and also celebrate your paper coronation."
Anna stopped then, gazing up at Elsa with wide, expectant eyes, her mouth forming the perfect 'O' of either surprise or excitement Elsa couldn't tell, but is she knew her sister, it was both. "With regards, Princess Rapunzel and Prince Eugene of Corona." Suddenly Anna burst out laughing, causing Elsa to stare at her dubiously. "please tell me you read the last bit?" Anna said between gasps.
After she'd laughed herself out and still received nothing but a confused expression from her sister, Anna held the letter out, wiping a tear from her eye from laughing. Looking over it, Elsa saw nothing out of the ordinary. The page was crisp and immaculate, the writing a cursive, tidy script, a body of flowers and vines flowing around the page. It was only after Anna, still teary eyed and giggly, pointed it out did Elsa notice the messy scrawl at the bottom of the letter cramped into a space that curved around the corner of the page.
Sorry about the broken seal,
Mother wouldn't let me write my own reply, so I stole hers before it was sent.
Hello Queen Elsa, I'm Rapunzel.
I wanted to let you know I can't wait until the wedding!
and I can't wait to stay with you.
Did you know that we're cousins? I didn't. Mother just told me.
I've never had a cousin before, how do you talk to cousins?
Oh no, the messenger's noticed the letters missing, I can't wait to see you,
We'll be there on the day of the ceremony nice and early!
Rapunzel.
"Somehow I see the two of you getting along just fine" Elsa said with a smile at Anna, who smiled back brightly.
"A cousin, Elsa!" she exclaimed "We have cousin, and she'll be here any moment" a scared look suddenly passed Anna's face. "She'll be here any moment" she looked at Elsa with wide eyes, seeming to hope she shared the fear "I'm not dressed" and then she was gone, running out of the room and – surprisingly for Anna – only tripping twice. With a roll of her eyes, Elsa followed, walking out of the throne room. She stopped in the door way before taking one last look at her father. Conceal, don't feel, don't let it show. She thought to herself, curtseying to who Elsa believe to be the true ruler of Arendelle, even in death.
"I wish you could see her today, father." Elsa said to the portrait, the one of him at his own coronation. "She's all grown up" and with that Elsa left, ready to great the first guests from over seas, not noticing how the throne room began to chill, everything freezing, everything except her fathers portrait.
The ball room was filled with people, some from Arendelle, some not, all dressed in their finest awaiting the wedding to begin. Elsa was stood in front of the throne, gazing over the crowd to make sure everyone was settling. The wedding didn't start for anther two hours yet, and Anna was nowhere to be seen, neither was Kristoff.
Some royals of other lands came by and made their acquaintance with the Queen, bowing and curtseying when appropriate, no one touching her. She watched in content as everyone danced around the floor, their feet barely touching the ground as they danced, their smiling faces in every line of sight, their laughter almost drowning out the music.
It was only because of this routine every one was trapped in that Elsa noticed the commotion by the door. Lifting her line of sight ever so slightly she could see that it was someone trying to make their way through the crowd of people, a girl by the looks of it, with a man following on behind her.
Noticing the people were coming towards her, Elsa suddenly became very interested in her ice dress, or her snowflake decorated hair, or her crown.
"Omff" she heard a feminine voice say. Looking down the steps she saw a girl, about her age stumbling to her feet, she looked up at Elsa while rubbing her now banged head with wide green eyes filled with excitement. Her hair was a dark brown and crudely cut, a choppy and interesting look for someone in a royal ball room. She wore a pink dress that stopped above her ankles revealing her bare feet. The dress had three quarter length sleeves and a lavender lace trim around the neck line, cuffs and bottom. The corset was tied with lavender lace.
"I'm' sorry Queen Elsa" the girl bumbled, curtseying from the bottom step. Elsa nodded in the girl's direction, keeping her gloved hands clasped in front of her.
"Jeez Blondie" Elsa heard a male voice say as a man dressed very formally in a suit came tumbling through the crowd, a tiara in one hand, a chameleon in the other "Take the frog back" he said, holding the chameleon towards the girl.
"Pascal's a chameleon, and he doesn't appreciate you're mistake." She said with a huff, crossing her arms across her chest as Pascal crawled onto her shoulder, giving the man what looked like a death glare. Whether a chameleon could give a 'death glare' Elsa didn't know.
"Well sorry" he said, placing the tiara on the girls head "I won't make it again" he kissed her lightly on the cheek and she could suppress her smile. Suddenly everything clicked for Elsa, the strange girl, the man, the tiara. The lost princess.
"You must be Rapunzel" Elsa said in her soft, regal tone. The girl blushed and the man smiled.
"Yes your majesty" she said, curtseying again before elbowing the man in the ribs, gaining her an evil glare and pout from the man.
"And I am Prince Eugene, your majesty" he said, making a point to glare at Rapunzel.
"It's a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance." Elsa said, giving both Eugene and Rapunzel a nod in response. "Anna will surely want to meet you" she said with a light smile, wanting this conversation more than ever to end. She could feel the fabric of her gloves chilling already where her hands lay clasped in front of her. "I'll have Suzanne show you to hers, then to your own, room"
With a quick wave of her hand, a woman dressed in a floor length black dress with an apron, her greying hair in a bun and her brown eyes bored and irritated. "Suzanne, please show Prince Eugene and Princess Rapunzel to Anna's room and then to a guest room if you'll please" the woman nodded before curtseying towards Rapunzel who waved at her, a goofy smile lighting up her delicate features.
Once they were gone, Elsa returned to watching the ball room, her blue eyes trying to stay open despite the desperate lack of sleep. Every night Elsa would wake up, her breathing ragged and her room covered with ice. She didn't tell anyone of course; just let it be, why worry poor Anna when she has so much stress at the moment. Conceal. Don't feel., Don't let them know.
The grandfather clock chimed and Elsa looked towards the large wooden ornament to see it striking one. The wedding was to start in just under half an hour. Taking a deep breath, Elsa addressed the ballroom.
"Ladies and gentlemen." She said her regal and kind smile plastered across her face like the impenetrable mask she had created it to be. "If you would please make your way towards the cathedral, the Wedding of Anna and Kristoff shall be beginning shortly." With one last smile, Elsa descended the three steps in front of the ballrooms throne. The guest followed her as she left, not one of them noticing the icy footprints the queen left behind or the frosted handprint left on the window behind where the queen has been standing.