Eagle of the fjord
A/N: Hi, Everybody. This is the first fanfic I've published; well, first in English anyway. I've always felt there's something that haven't quite being addressed in Frozen, and I think it's something that would lend itself quite well to the Assassin's Creed theme, so I decided to write a story about those aspects. Chronologically this story is set six months after the movie's events, and there are inspirations gained from deleted scenes and outtakes, so there might be some OOC elements. The prologue is based on the deleted scene "Halt, You Swine!" which I've adapted it to fit the cannon and timeline.
I would greatly appreciate your opinions and feedbacks, constructive criticisms are welcome.
Disclaimer: Assassin's Creed belongs to Ubisoft, and Frozen belongs to Disney.
Prologue: Halt, You Swine!
That pig's a stinker!
Princess Anna climbed out of the freezing water, and pulled herself over the low seaside wall. She's soaking wet, even the slightest winter breeze can make her shiver.
Why is everything so hard? She just want to help a little boy find his lost pig, and so far she managed to trash the town's circus, ruined all the pies prepared by the royal chef, and fell into the fjord. She shivered again when the very thought of fjord crossed her mind.
She always thought that since she saved the kingdom from the Eternal Winter months ago, and became best buddies with her sister again after all these years, her life would take turn for the better, but reality clearly beg to differ.
This winter hit the kingdom especially hard, poor harvest had pushed everyone on their edge; people don't have enough to put on their plates, and there were rumours saying villages in some far-flung corners of the kingdom were facing starvation. Now her dearest sister, Queen Elsa, had to negotiate food trades with other countries in order to relieve the situation. Perhaps if they were lucky, some new diplomatic treaties can be signed tonight.
Politics! Anna scoffed as bad memories surfaced in her mind, bad memories of things she wish to undo; two weeks ago there was another diplomatic event, another effort to negotiate food trades, now famously joked as "The Huge Screw-up of Her Royal Highness" among diplomats, all thanks to the fact that she, the Princess of Arendelle, made the kingdom in to an international laughingstock; and if it wasn't for Elsa's saving throw, Anna had no idea how much worst things will turn out. Now these diplomats talk behind her back; she knew what they say about her: Not every king bears a prince,andcertainly not every queen bears a princess.
The princess shook her head, it was embarrassing enough, and everyone were disappointed, even Kristoff was angry with her at first, why wouldn't he? Leaving Sven at the palace's food storage on that day without tying his rein, and accidentally left the door open, of course the curious reindeer gonna find his way in, gorge on all those fudge cakes and suffer from… what was that word again? Theobromine poisoning. How could she never consider chocolates might be poisonous to animals when her boyfriend entrusted her to take care of his beloved reindeer? It's my fault! Anna thought to herself; now she could only wish that, with fresh mountain air and both Kristoff and Olaf at his side, Sven can make a speedy recovery in the vet's sanctuary.
Anna sighed, now she misses Kristoff even more.
The princess walked in the lighthouse's shadow, all along; her soaked clothes weighting down on her, a thin frost formed on the fabric, turning its surface in to an icy shell, now even breathing took her some extra efforts; Anna scoffed, stretched out her arms and broke the frost crust.
It will be fine! She assured herself, I'll turn this around; I'll get my chance and show them I can take care of things on my own! I'll show them I'mno lessa stateswoman than Elsa, and Iamtheright handmy sister deserves! I'll prove it, starting with that darn pig!
Anna glanced around; she finds the mud trail left behind by the pig, leading to the marketplace next to the harbor, and she strode along it with decisive steps. Turned around a corner, the swine she's after appeared in her sight, eating out of the hand of a hooded man, "Gotha!" Anna laughed in excitement, rushing at the pig with her full speed and exclaimed: "Halt! You swine!"
The pig squealed as it fled the charging princess, and squeezed itself under a wooden cart. Oh-no! Anna grasped, finding herself diving towards the same cart as well, she tried to stop, but momentum carried her forward, there's no stopping now. This is gonna hurt… the princess closed her eyes, her body tensed, and prepared for the impact.
And an impact came, not on her head, but on her belly. Wait, what? Anna felt an arm grabbed her at the waist and stopped her in the track, she opened her eyes in surprise, the momentum forced her to perch forward, nearly hit her head on the cart, but the arm dragged her back the last second. Phew! The princess sighed in relieve, and calmed her pounding heart, that's a close call. If she got hurt again, Elsa would be worried, and Anna didn't want to give her sister more trouble, the queen got enough problems to deal with already. The princess looked down, saw an arm engulfed in a brown-grey sleeve, and noticed there was something underneath the sleeve, pressing on her stomach.
"You alright?" she heard a voice asked , casual but concerned, yet somehow also sounded hoarse, as if the speaker had a sore throat.
"Uh… Oh! Me? I'm okay." Anna turned around and saw the hooded man, who held her up with a single hand, his shirt collar was sealed by a simple cravat—brand new and clean—with the initials A. H. stitched in red threads. And then there was a faint smell coming from him—a smell of burnt sugar mixed with something else which Anna can't quite place. The princess tried to get a glimpse of the man's face, but his features were made hard to discern by shadows casted from his hood, hidden in plain sight. Only his stubble and some fresh bruising on his nose grabbed most of the attentions.
Bruising? Was he in a fight? Or did I just accidentally hit someone again?
Anna clear her throat, felt embarrassed; she pulled herself back and blushed, but she soon caught herself again: "I'm… I'm great! Thank you"
"Ah, don't mention it." The hooded man weaved his hand and dismissed it, didn't seem to realize he's talking to a princess. Anna's curiosity rose further; the stranger stood in front of her, svelte and athletic, scratching the back of his gloved hand, while carrying a woven basket in one arm. The hood he was wearing—with a peak pointed down like a raptor's beak—was attached to his long coat, a overfrock similar to the ones worn by her middle-class subjects. The coat was dirty, a glaring contrast to his cravat, like it had been through a blizzard; he wore the coat casually, unbuttoned; a leather strap tied across his chest, securing acrossbow on his back. And the princess noticed a name carefully carved on the crossbow's side: Lucia.
Curious guy, Anna thought, What could Lucia mean? Luciadagen? Winter solstice? Lussekatt buns?
The princess glanced up, realizing the hooded man was also looking at her from above; his eyes swept across the princess, allowing no details to escape his sight; they reminded her of an eagle's gaze—an eagle of the fjord. Anna felt an unexpected chill, and shivered once more.
Okay…. Better be careful Anna, the princess cautioned herself, Last time you run into a stranger in the harbor, he turns out not who you think he is…. don't make the same mistake again…
And then the hooded man's voice broke her line of thought, he spoke with curiosity, tried to sound gentle as well, despite the hoarseness in his voice, but it came out awkward:
"Is that… pie in your hair?"
A/N: This story really isn't about pairing, but I don't plan on breaking any existing pairs at the end either.