Chapter 1 - New Beginnings
The bell on the clock tower in the town square stuck out twelve times as the moon reached its zenith in the night sky, shattering the silence that had fallen over the small city of Arendelle. As the minutes ticked on, the town fell into darkness as lanterns were extinguished, leaving the streets to the creatures of the night.
Yet in the castle above the city, a structure that had been closed to all and steeped in mystery for thirteen long years, a stubborn light burned brightly from a window high up within one of its towers, as if to keep a watchful eye over the peaceful town below. Earlier in the evening, conversations held in hushed, reverential whispers stated that the light belonged to the fearsome Snow Queen of Arendelle, who was standing watch in her tower throughout the night, ever ready to freeze anyone who would wish ill fortune on her subjects.
Had anybody the ability to see through that brightly lit window, they would have found the reality of the situation to be somewhat less terrifying. In fact, they would have discovered a slightly built young woman sitting on a window bay bench, her platinum blonde hair pinned up in an elaborate bun and her nose buried in a book.
While it was indeed true that the young woman in question was Elsa, the newly crowned monarch of Arendelle, she was hardly keeping watch over the city, her attention currently being totally consumed by the first book of Sir Isaac Newton's Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica. And while it was made clear to anybody who was in the city during the tumultuous events of her coronation that Elsa possessed the ability to summon ice and snow, it was also clear to those closest to the Queen that she had absolutely no intention of freezing anybody any time soon.
This came as a disappointment to the young monarch's sister Anna, as well as some members of the Arendelle Royal Guard, who had rather hoped to be adding a new ice sculpture in the royal gardens in the form of a certain Prince of the Southern Isles. Despite said Prince having unsuccessfully attempted to seize the throne of Arendelle by assassinating its entire line of succession, Elsa had argued that she couldn't simply go around freezing people she didn't like. Or even parts of their anatomy. As such, the thirteenth in line for the Southern Isles throne was to be escorted home at the earliest opportunity, and declared persona non grata in the Kingdom of Arendelle for his troubles.
High up in the library of Castle Arendelle, Elsa marked her place within the book and looked out the window, her attention having been drawn to a green light that flashed across the night sky. A few moments later, she was rewarded when the Aurora Borealis lit up the night sky once more.
"The sky's awake," Elsa mumbled to herself with a smile, recalling the carefree times she shared with her sister before the accident involving her magical ability that triggered thirteen long years of isolation. An isolation that had ended only with a disastrous coronation ball, and a near tragic second accident that would have claimed Anna's life if not for some sheer dumb luck and a good dose of love. As the aurora faded again, Elsa's gaze fell upon the large gates separating the castle courtyard from the bridge crossing the fjord.
In contrast to the previous years of isolation, the gates remained open, as per Elsa's order on the morning of coronation day. During the tumultuous events of the previous three days, it seems that the Royal Guard had forgotten that Elsa had ordered them shut, mere moments before her powers were revealed. Elsa had yet to repeat the order to close them, once more, mainly due to the devastating effect it would have on Anna, rather than any desire to walk through them herself. Looking out further across the fjord, Elsa turned her attention to the small city beyond.
On one hand, Elsa knew that the newly opened gates had been greeted with much enthusiasm by the townsfolk of Arendelle, who had come to view the closed-off fortification on the fjord and its rarely seen occupants as the nation's greatest mystery. On the other hand, while Arendelle was a peaceful kingdom, Elsa knew that acceptance of her rather unusual abilities would be somewhat less than universal. While Arendelle had cheered when the magical winter was lifted from the land, how long until disgruntled citizens who had lost livelihoods, property or even family members turned their anger towards the castle? With a sigh, Elsa looked at her gloved hands, before bringing her knees up to her chest and buried her face in her loosely crossed arms. Elsa needed no reminding that long unused statutes dating back to the days of the Kalmar Union declaring witchcraft as an offense were still technically on the books which could easily have her forced off the throne, if not burned at the stake. In fact, she could almost smell the smoke already.
Elsa was pulled out of her rather morbid ponderings by a series of five rhythmic taps on the library door. "Elsa? It's me, Anna," a quiet, tentative voice broke the silence.
Fighting the instinct to send Anna away as she had countless times over the years, Elsa turned her attention to the door, where she saw her strawberry blonde sister waiting outside cradling a small drinking bowl, with a hopeful, expectant look on her face.
"Come in, Anna," Elsa eventually called out, breaking the silence which had become increasingly uncomfortable and heavy as the seconds ticked by. Looking up, Elsa shot what she hoped would be an encouraging smile at her sister, beckoning her in, pushing her darker thoughts aside.
Elsa watched a smile break out across her younger sister's face, as she made her way happily across the room before pausing awkwardly, as if uncertain of what to do next.
"I was wondering if... I don't know..." Anna started.
"You were wondering if I'd let you in," Elsa interrupted gently, deciding to salvage what she could from the situation without it becoming any worse. Despite her best efforts, Elsa couldn't keep the sad, slightly resigned tone from her voice. She couldn't really blame Anna for working off thirteen years of prior form, though.
"Actually," Anna cut in with a brighter voice. "I was pretty sure you would. I mean, no more big secrets to hide any more, right?"
Elsa winced a little at exactly how wrong Anna was. There were certain secrets that remained hidden. Secrets that involved heads being frozen, and secrets involving rock trolls. Stealing a glance at her younger sister's hair, Elsa was surprised to find the white streak above Anna's right eye was no longer present. Having served as a constant reminder of the damage her magic could do if unleashed carelessly, its absence seemed to serve as a reminder that a fresh start beckoned. Still, it wouldn't hurt to be more careful.
"What I was wondering is if you wouldn't mind some company," Anna continued, before Elsa could get a word in edgewise. She had noticed the slightly pained look that had flashed across her estranged older sister's face, and decided that given recent events, it was best not to pry. At least for now. "Honestly, it looks like you could use some."
"That sounds nice," Elsa agreed. "I think I've had quite enough of being alone, for the time being."
Anna let out a relieved breath she didn't realise she was holding when she realised she wasn't being sent away. Glancing at the book sitting alongside her sister, Anna frowned a little. It was obvious to Anna that Elsa had been reading an older book from the library, its pages having that brown tint that suggested it was printed on animal skin rather than some of the more modern books printed on paper. The opened page was clearly printed in Latin, accompanied by a neatly hand-drawn diagram. Unfortunately, Anna's mastery of Latin was clearly not up to the same standard as her older sister's, so the contents of the book remained a mystery.
Anna stole another glance at the unintelligible contents of the opened page. "Is that important Queen business?"
"This?" Elsa asked, carefully closing the cover of the fragile old book, before turning her attention back to her sister, who nodded in response. "No, this isn't official business. This is fun."
"I'm pretty sure that's Latin," Anna stated deadpan, looking at the cover.
"That's because it is," Elsa confirmed. "I'm guessing you've forgotten your Latin lessons."
"Pretty much," Anna admitted. "It never seemed important. I figured French and German would be more useful."
Elsa's eyes widened slightly in surprise. While she hadn't interacted much with Anna over the years, Elsa had definitely overheard their parents lamenting over Anna's seemingly short attention span and lack of dedication to her studies. Anna's apparent linguistic talent therefore came as a surprise to Elsa, one that opened up the possibility that she might yet escape the immediate future with her head, even if the crown was probably a lost cause. "Can you still hold a conversation in French and German?"
"Mostly, I think,' Anna said, before a devious look crossed her features. "Pourquoi demandez-vous?"
"Tu peux me tutoyer," Elsa replied fondly. "Même si je suis la reine, je suis aussi ta soeur."
"I guess I'm a little rusty," Anna admitted, her cheeks flushing a little in embarrassment.
"Actually, that was perfect," Elsa interrupted, smiling at her sister. "Could I borrow a few hours of your time tomorrow for official business? I could do with some help smoothing things over with the dignitaries. If you're not too busy, that is..."
"Wait, what?" Anna exclaimed, almost dropping her bowl of chocolate. "Me? On Queen business?"
"I don't see anyone else here," Elsa said in a slightly amused voice as she watched Anna rescue her bowl of chocolate. "Perhaps you should put that down."
"You know I'm not going to say no," Anna responded, before continuing in a slightly uncertain voice. "But are you sure? I don't want to mess anything up."
Elsa groaned unhappily at her predicament, before slumping forward and burying her head in her arms dramatically. "Anna, how could you possibly mess things up any more than I already have? Even if freezing our entire country wasn't enough, I almost impaled the Duke of Weselton, the Belgian ambassador and his wife on those ice spikes in the ballroom!"
The temperature dropped noticeably as Elsa drew in a deep, shaky breath before continuing. "I almost impaled you, Anna! Then to top things off, I froze your heart!"
Elsa's voice trailed off, the silence broken only by Elsa sucking in deep breaths.
"While you're piling on the guilt, you can add having your giant snowman throw me, Kristoff and Olaf off the North Mountain to that list, too," Elsa heard Anna eventually add in a voice that sounded more light-hearted than upset. She'd known that the giant ice guard she'd created the day before had forcibly ejected Anna, her Laplander guide and Olaf from her ice palace in her panicked desire to be left alone, but not what happened after.
"Off... the North Mountain?" Elsa asked quietly, aghast at what she'd just heard. Turning to her sister, Elsa found Anna with her head cocked slightly to one side, seemingly calm and not at all upset about the situation.
"Off the really high cliff at the bottom of the hill," Anna confirmed, shrugging her shoulders nonchalantly as if it was nothing. "I may have provoked it by throwing a snowball in retaliation after you asked it to escort us out of the ice palace..."
"Anna, I'm so sorry!"
"Don't be," Anna waved dismissively, before walking across to the window bay bench. "It was kind of fun, actually."
Anna climbed onto the bench next to her sister, folding her legs underneath her and sitting on her heels. Feeling the temperature drop precipitously, Anna quickly looked up at Elsa, who seemed to shrink back into the bench, a look of extreme discomfort on her face. A look of confusion crept across the face of the younger, red-headed princess. What had just happened? As far as she could tell, they were having a normal conversation, or as normal a conversation as you could have with an ice-powered sister who had hidden herself away for thirteen years, right until the point Elsa had shrunk away as if she'd seen a ghost.
From the other side of the bench, Elsa had watched on in horror as her sister had rapidly closed the distance between them, before making herself comfortable on the bench a mere arms length away. Instinctively, Elsa tried to back away to open up some personal space, but her back was already against the side of the window bay. She had only succeeded in finding a few precious centimetres more space by drawing her legs closer to her chest.
The one thing Elsa refused to do, however, was stand up and walk away from her sister. After all they'd been through, the last thing she wanted was to give Anna the impression that life would go back to the way things were before the coronation. Trying to get her mind off exactly how close Anna was sitting to her, and how easily she could get injured should some magic leak out by accident, Elsa looked out the window. Her eyes were, once again, drawn to the opened gates. Arendelle was still resting peacefully. No mobs wielding torches and pitchforks, and no stakes being erected. Yet.
A few moments later, Elsa was once again drawn out of her woolgathering by her sister's voice. "Elsa?"
Turning to face her sister once more, Elsa found Anna holding out her bowl of chocolate like a peace offering, wearing a look on her face that Elsa couldn't quite place. Silently, Elsa raised an eyebrow, only to see her sister nod encouragingly. Tentatively, Elsa took the bowl, making very sure not to make any physical contact with Anna's hands. Even with the gloves, that was a step too far. This wasn't like those times earlier in the afternoon, when Anna had thrown her arms around her in reckless abandon and she'd returned the gesture in the heat of the moment, her head still spinning with adrenaline.
Elsa took a few small sips of the chocolate, savouring the sensation as the liquid worked some magic of its own, seemingly warming her from the inside out. Relaxing slightly, Elsa let out a small but audible sigh of satisfaction.
Elsa held the bowl back out, returning the chocolate to its rightful owner. "Thank you, Anna. I think I needed that."
As she reached back out to take the bowl back, Anna spread her fingers out and in a slow but deliberate motion, brushed them over Elsa's hands which were surprisingly warm. She had noticed Elsa staring out the window at the open gates, and she had certainly taken note of the way that Elsa had deliberately avoided even the possibility of physical contact when she'd accepted the chocolate bowl.
Having kept a close eye on her sister, Anna definitely didn't miss the sharp intake of breath as their fingers made contact, nor the way that Elsa had flinched slightly, before pulling her hand away and holding it to her chest. What she had missed until that moment, however, was the fact that Elsa was wearing gloves. With that last bit of information, it was clear as night and day to Anna what the problem was. What had made Elsa blanch as she'd sat down, the reason why Elsa had been staring blankly at the open gates. Elsa was clearly still scared of her own powers, and as far as Anna was concerned, that wouldn't do.
"Are you alright?" Elsa asked in worried voice, panic evident in the wild-eyed expression on her face. Frost started slowly spreading out from underneath her, heading straight for Anna.
"Oh no," Elsa gasped as she saw the ice approach her beloved sister. "No, no, no..."
"Elsa, I'm okay!" Anna yelped, quickly jumping off the bench as the ice approached her and a wind started to pick up within the castle. "Look at me, Elsa!"
As she watched Elsa turn her attention to her, Anna put the chocolate down on a nearby table and held her hands loosely out in front of her body, wiggling her fingers to reassure her jittery sister. "I'm perfectly fine, see?" Anna felt the wind gradually slow as she watched Elsa compose herself, sucking in deep breaths in an attempt to calm down.
"Anna, you need to be more careful," Elsa said slowly, in a quiet voice. "I still can't control it, not completely."
"I noticed," Anna said dryly, before crossing her arms and tilting her head slightly, indicating that she wasn't going anywhere. "I am slightly colder, and slightly wetter than I was a few minutes ago, after all. But that's okay."
"You know that's not the worst that could happen," Elsa stated, astounded at Anna's complete lack of fear.
"I know," Anna interrupted, cutting her sister off mid-sentence. As Elsa looked up at her, Anna smirked in response. "I simply choose not to care."
"Anna, please listen..." Elsa tried again..
"Elsa, I'm sorry, but no," Anna interrupted again, more firmly this time. "I know there's a risk I might get hurt by the ice again. I know that scares you."
Elsa nodded mutely. It seemed that Anna was far more perceptive than her carefree nature let on.
"The thing is, it doesn't scare me at all," Anna continued. "Perhaps it might, if you were someone else. You're not someone else though. You're, well... you."
"That doesn't sound like you're talking about the person who froze you the last time," Elsa muttered bitterly, bowing her head and looking back towards the floor, despondent. Unbidden, her mind was cast back to a time well before the events of the last twenty four hours. Back to the time when a innocent young girl playing in the snow had trusted her older sister to catch her as she fell, and had ended up with a frozen brain, magically altered memories and an essentially sister-less childhood and adolescence for her troubles.
As she closed her eyes to fight the tears that had started to form, Elsa was painfully aware that she was one small slip-up away from there being a next time too, and that Anna's luck might run out this time, too. The problem was that as of three days ago, she was no longer an underage monarch able to hide behind her regent, but the nation's sovereign Queen. Which meant that unless she intended to rule the nation from behind the locked doors of her bedroom and study, her old solution was no longer viable. Besides, if she was being honest with herself, Elsa didn't actually want to hide from Anna again. What she did want, however, was for her stubborn sister to trust her a little less, and to keep a safe distance away from any potentially disastrous ice-related slip-ups.
"Accidents happen, Elsa," Anna said in as patient a voice as she could muster at the moment, her face an outward picture of calm and understanding. Behind that facade, however, Anna felt frustrated to the point that she wanted nothing more than to shake her sister so hard that her teeth rattled. "Besides, that was as much my fault as it was yours. You did tell me to leave, you know. More than once, actually."
As she said this, it occurred to Anna that despite the minor ice mishap, Elsa hadn't asked her to leave this time. Anna decided that was a minor victory in itself, before ploughing on.
"Look, I know you didn't mean to do it," Anna said with conviction. "And I know you're going to say that isn't the point, but it is. Tell me, why should I be scared of you when I know you don't want to hurt me, and you're doing everything you possibly can to make sure you don't?"
Elsa didn't necessarily agree, but there was very little fault she could find with Anna's logic, either. Flummoxed by her sister's enduring optimism, Elsa was rendered speechless, simply not knowing what to say at all.
It took Anna to break the uneasy silence, once again. "It's okay Elsa," she said in a far gentler voice. "You're okay."
Elsa turned to face her sister, absently using the back of her gloved hands to wipe the tears from her eyes. "Anna, what am I going to do?"
"We, not I," Anna said simply. "There is no 'I' in this. You're not dealing with this alone."
Elsa shrugged, a hopeless look on her face. "I've really screwed things up, Anna. Me, not you. It may be that the only way out is for me to abdicate."
"The hell you will," Anna retorted in a voice that brooked no room for argument. "You were born to be Queen, and if I have anything to say about it, you're going to stay as Queen."
"You might not actually get a say in the matter."
"In which case, my first and only act as Queen will be to re-install you on the throne, you stinker. That's your job, not mine, and I don't want it."
Despite the seriousness of the situation, Elsa let out a small giggle. Abdications were a one-way process, so if she were to follow through with the abdication or be forced from the throne, Anna would be stuck with the job. At this point, however, Elsa decided that now wasn't the best time to educate her misguided sister on the finer points of Arendelle's laws of succession.
"Please tell me you haven't already abdicated," Anna asked, her eyes widening a little in alarm.
"No... no, I haven't."
"And have you talked about this nonsense to anyone else?"
"No, Anna..."
"And have you written a letter of abdication anywhere? Because I'll need to burn that!"
"Anna, you know very well that I've been poked and prodded by the royal physician all afternoon, then had dinner with you and some of the Storting straight after," Elsa replied, dramatically rolling her eyes. "I promise I've been here in the library since then."
"You didn't actually say no," Anna accused, her eyes narrowing slightly in suspicion.
Elsa didn't need to say anything, her guilty expression telling Anna more than words ever could. In truth, Elsa had written the letter a few years back, in the dark days after the death of their parents. At the time, Elsa had fully intended to occupy the throne for the three years it would take for Anna to come of age, before abdicating and living in the mountains alone, with her secret intact. In the letter, Elsa had proclaimed herself unfit to rule due to chronic ill health. While untrue, it was the same excuse she had given for her isolation and limited contact with Anna, and with the Storting. The letter was perfectly believable, or at least, it used to be perfectly believable until the moment Elsa froze the summer for a few days, and the true reason for her isolation became known.
Meanwhile, a horrified look crept over Anna's face. "Oh gods, you have, haven't you?"
"It... it was a long time ago, Anna. After Papa and Mama left," Elsa mumbled in response.
"Elsa, you can't do this," Anna pleaded. "Not when I just got you back. You have to promise."
Elsa looked at her sister sadly. "I can't promise that, Anna. The people of Arendelle may not accept me after what I have done. I may be sovereign ruler, but I won't stay on the throne as a tyrant. I won't..."
"Elsa, please don't give up," Anna tried again, her distress obvious from her wavering voice. "Promise me that you will at least try."
Elsa bowed her head, closed her eyes and sighed. "I'll try."
"Promise me?" Anna asked in a small voice.
"I promise, Anna, even if I think you'd make a far better Queen than I ever will..."
"Nonsense," Anna objected with a smile, effectively silencing Elsa's mutterings. "Like I said, you were born to be Queen. I, on the other hand, seem to have been born as comic relief..."
Anna's self deprecating humour had the desired effect of eliciting a slight chortle from Elsa, who turned to face Anna, a wan smile on her face.
"Don't sell yourself short, Anna," Elsa said after a few moments. "It's not like you could have done any worse than I have... and I'm still no closer to knowing what to do."
"Well, I know what you should do," Anna said in a confident, knowing voice. "Or at least, where to start."
Elsa raised a questioning eyebrow, a genuinely interested look on her face. "I'm happy to take any suggestions at this point."
"Let me in," Anna said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Anna, you do realise you're standing right next to me. I'm not sure how much more in you want to get..."
"No, silly," Anna chided with a giggle. "Not like that. I'll help you with the dignitaries, and I'll help you with the people. But before that, I want you to let me help you with you."
At that, Anna stepped forward and held her hands out in front of Elsa, beckoning her older sister to take them. When she saw Elsa hesitate and look at her sceptically, Anna encouraged her further. "You can't live the rest of your life terrified of yourself, or what you might do, Elsa. You can do this. I know you can!"
Inwardly beneath all her fears, Elsa knew she actually wanted this as much as Anna did. Drawing a deep breath, Elsa closed her eyes and reached out slowly towards her sister's outstretched hands. She had finally managed to work up the resolve to follow through when she was interrupted by Anna's voice again.
"Actually, wait," Elsa heard Anna's voice call out. Letting out a relieved breath at Anna's apparent change of plans, Elsa quickly pulled her hands back to her body, holding them to her chest, where she knew they couldn't hurt anyone. Elsa opened her eyes again, only to find Anna still in the same position.
"I don't understand," Elsa stated, pointedly looking at Anna's hands. "Do you want me to do this or not?"
"Of course I do," Anna stated, beaming at her sister. "But I want you to take the gloves off first."
The relieved look on Elsa's face was replaced by one of horror as soon as she realised what Anna was asking of her. "Definitely not. That's not a good idea, Anna."
Anna sighed, letting her hands drop to her side. "You do realise that they don't actually work, don't you?"
"Of course they work," Elsa said defensively. The gloves had been her faithful companions for years, shielding her unwanted powers from the world.
"But they don't," Anna protested. "When you ran away from the ball, you froze the fjord and ran across it. I'm pretty sure you didn't run all the way up the North Mountain without your shoes on."
"Well, no..."
"How about just before, when some ice slipped out and you accidentally froze the bench? The only part of you that isn't covered is your face and hair, and the ice didn't come from there."
Anna paused for a moment, before an amusing thought occurred to her. "Unless you're going regimental under that dress of yours..."
"What?" Elsa gasped, looking and feeling somewhat scandalised at the apparent accusation. "I would never!"
"I'm not sure if I believe you," Anna teased, amused at the reaction of her normally composed and closed-off sister. "That ice must have come from somewhere, after all. I guess I'll need to check." As she said this, Anna picked up a fold of Elsa's dress between two fingers and made a show of lifting it slightly, as if to look underneath.
Elsa immediately tugged her dress out of Anna's grasp, smoothing it back down firmly. "Anna!"
Anna burst out laughing at Elsa's completely flustered reaction, no longer able to hold it back. "I wasn't actually going to look, you know! What do you take me for? Oh gods, your face!"
Elsa let out a huff. "I will have you know that I am properly attired under there."
"I would expect so," Anna said, good naturedly, before getting back to the issue at hand. "The point being, there's nothing special about linen or silk that stops ice, whether you're wearing it under your dress, or on your hands."
"No," Elsa agreed. "I suppose you're right. Everyone else doesn't know that though, so I should probably keep them on in public. I don't need people to be even more scared of me than they likely already are."
"I think I can live with that," Anna agreed, imagining the reaction of the staff and the public to an ice-powered Queen they knew nothing about. "But this isn't public. it's just me in here, so you can take them off."
"Are you sure?" Elsa asked, still uncertain about touching Anna while ungloved. Even though she knew that Anna was a willing participant in what was effectively a crazy trust exercise, Elsa would never forgive herself should Anna be seriously harmed. The fear was no longer crippling, though. It seemed that Anna had chased it away.
"I've never been more sure of anything," Anna said, a look of complete trust in her eyes as she reached forward and grasped hold of one of Elsa's gloves.
Instinctively, Elsa flinched as Anna reached for and made contact with her hand, but she willed herself not to pull away as her glove smoothly slipped off. Unlike coronation night, there was no panic, and no ice. Perhaps there was hope for her after all.
Elsa's attention was brought back to the present by Anna gently tugging at her remaining glove, before it too was removed, leaving both her hands bare. Looking up from her reverie, Elsa found Anna standing over her once more, her arms open and hands out.
"You can do this, Elsa," Anna said earnestly, sensing Elsa's hesitation at breaching this final barrier. "Think about what you felt when you unfroze Arendelle. Think about what you felt when you unfroze me. Think about...oh!"
Anna's motivational ramble was abruptly cut short when she felt two warm hands tentatively slip into her own. Recovering from her surprise, Anna gave them a gentle squeeze, and was gratified when the gesture was returned.
"You did it," Anna said, absently rubbing her thumbs on the backs of Elsa's hands. "Like I knew you could. It's not so bad, is it?"
"No, I suppose it isn't," Elsa replied, savouring the unfamiliar sensation of having another person's hands on her own, something she hadn't experienced for over ten years. "It's quite pleasant, actually."
"You may as well get used to it," Anna said, not skipping a beat. "Because I'm never letting you go again."
Author's Notes
The one thing I've always found a little unsatisfying about Frozen is that its conclusion skips over how Elsa transformed from someone who had spent the majority of her life effectively scared of herself, to the person we see in the final ice-rink scene. I've always felt there was a song missing there charting Elsa's path to her own "happily ever after", showing sequences of her repairing her relationship with Anna and becoming more comfortable with the magic.
This small detail has finally bugged me enough to attempt to fill this small hole with fanfiction. I found this curiously difficult to write - in particular, I had some trouble writing Anna in a form that's representative of her animated Disney character's speech and mannerisms (as opposed to the Elizabeth Lail/'Once Upon a Time' TV version of Anna). Hopefully, I've done a good enough job to keep the fandom happy.
Below are some notes that might shed some light on some things I've referred to (either directly or implied) in this ficlet:
1. The book Elsa is reading when Anna enters is the first of three books of Sir Isaac Newton's famous work which, despite its name, relates more to physics than mathematics and is effectively the birthplace of the classical mechanics that many of us learn in high school. The first book contains Newton's famous three laws of motion. Like many important scientific works of the period, it was written in Latin. The early copies are likely to have been printed on vellum (an animal skin product) when the work was first published in 1687 - vellum was much more durable than the paper stock of the time, so this was a matter of practicality for long-term archival rather than anything sinister. I'm certainly not the first fanfic author to depict Elsa as a science nerd, but given her ice castle has flying buttresses supporting the outer walls, it's pretty much a given she has a decent understanding of statics - perhaps Elsa could have pursued a career as a structural engineer if she wasn't the Queen of Arendelle. For those who like their Frozen fanfiction laced with science, I recommend Magic Makes Fools by CrunchDeNumbers, which is also hosted on this site.
2. Elsa's fears about being burned at the stake by the people of Arendelle aren't completely unfounded. It seems to be common consensus that Frozen is set somewhere in Scandinavia around the time period of the 1830s or 1840s. This means it would only have been about 40-50 years since the last official witchcraft trial in Europe which resulted in two unfortunate women in the town of Poznań in Poland being burned at the stake in 1793. Unofficially, lynchings of accused witches continued well into the 1800s. Although witch burnings have captured the public imagination due to their barbarity (and likely the association with Jeanne d'Arc), accused witches were actually far more likely to have been tied up and thrown into the local river to "test" the accusation. Simply being accused of witchcraft was a death sentence - the accused would be declared innocent if they sank (and drowned), and guilty if they floated, in which case they'd probably end up being lynched anyway. Elsa, for all intents and purposes, is an actual ice witch - in this context, it's hardly surprising that her parents hid her inside the castle - they were actually right to interpret Pabbie's warning the way they did. After all, it's not like the people of Arendelle (apart from Anna) actually disagreed with the Duke of Weselton when he called her a monster.
3. Elsa's position as Queen wouldn't have saved her, either (although they'd have to get through Anna, first). The 1830-1840s setting of Frozen puts it right in the middle of a period of political upheaval and revolutions in Europe, so Elsa is more than justified in feeling rather uncomfortable on the throne given the disaster that was her coronation. For example, in 1830 alone, the Bourbons (who themselves had ruled for only fifteen years after the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo) would be deposed by the July Revolution in France, Belgium would secede from the Netherlands and declare independence, Greece would formally be declared independent from the Ottoman Empire while Poland would unsuccessfully attempt to secede from Russia.
4. The Storting is a real thing - it's the national parliament of Norway. Given the time period, it's unlikely that Elsa would have had absolute power over Arendelle, but as monarch, she would likely still have significant executive power closer to that wielded by the current-day role of the President of the United States, rather than the limited powers of the current-day role of the constitutional monarch of the Commonwealth realms (currently Queen Elizabeth II).
5. Royal abdications are serious business. While it seems commonplace in some countries for the monarch to retire by abdicating in favour of the Crown Prince/Princess, this practice is a recent phenomenon from post-World War II Europe (excluding the United Kingdom). Mostly, monarchs are expected to die on the throne, although there is some historical precedent to monarchs retiring due to extreme ill-health.
6. The phrase "going regimental" is almost certainly a reference to the attire (or the lack thereof) of the Scottish Regiments of the British Army, and is quite possibly period accurate, even if it's not geographically accurate.
7. Last, but not least - I'm hoping the question Anna asks in formal French can be translated as "Why are you asking?" (as opposed to the informal "Pourquois demandes-tu?"), with Elsa's response being "You can address me informally. Although I am the Queen, I am also your sister." I'm imagining that Anna would be far more familiar with formal French, given she would have been tutored to communicate with diplomats and other nobles. If the above is wrong (my working knowledge of French is rudimentary at best), I'm happy to take any corrections from any French speakers out there on notice and edit the chapter accordingly.