A/N: A little random oneshot fic that seemingly appeared out of nowhere. I've only seen Frozen once so forgive me of the slight OOCness!
Here's Chocolates and Cherries!
Chocolates and Cherries
"Come on, Elsa!" Anna grabbed her sister by the hands excitedly and promptly flew the both of them across the bridge, passing their subjects in a blur of green and ice-cold blue, with poor Kristoff and Sven in tow. Olaf the snowman was nowhere to be seen.
It was their weekly trip into the town to buy chocolates to satisfy Anna's sweet tooth and some carrots for Sven, the reindeer only eating them nearly almost every day now, as well as for Elsa to continue to grow accustomed to the fact that being a queen, a young one nonetheless, still had to be in touch with the people she was ruling over.
Albeit a tad too slowly for some of the city folk, who had been readily expecting the royal party at the other end of the bridge with exquisite gifts, some hailing from neighbouring lands and countries with unpronounceable names.
"Anna! We were out yesterday getting you chocolates too!" Elsa huffed, successfully pulling her weight so that her sister wouldn't drag her any further. "What happened to those?"
"I kinda…ate them…all?" an innocent smile made its way across Anna's face. The smile only lasted a few seconds, before her cheeks blushed red and her brows furrowed to reveal the mischievous and playful nature that was Princess Anna.
"All six boxes of chocolate?!" gaped Elsa. Kristoff appeared behind her shoulder just in time to receive a lecture from the queen.
"How could you do that?!" she slapped him across the shoulder.
"Do what?!" he cringed.
Truly unlucky to be caught in the moment.
"How did you not control my sister? You know she has a near obsessive addiction with chocolate!" the queen placed her hands on her hips, her lips in a pout at her sister's soulmate.
"I…um…uh…don't know?" he replied hopefully, hoping that he would be spared from some form of punishment.
"I hope you can take good care of Anna, Kristoff," Elsa warned him, "even if it means holding back on some of the things that she likes."
"Hey! I'm still here!" Anna waved her arms at the both of them.
"Alright then," the queen's mood took a lighter tone in an instant. "Shall we get you only one box of chocolates?" a coy smile escaped her lips.
"But Elsa!" her sister whined as the trio plus one reindeer began mingling with the city folk.
"Your highness!" several of the Arendelle citizens chimed. "Here's a scarf all the way from India. Here's a rug carpet from the nation of Turkey. A bowl and a pair of chopsticks from the orient!"
"Thank you- Thanks! Um, excuse me- Oh! Wow, that looks- Wait, give me a minute-"
The queen seems to be overwhelmed, but nothing her sibling and the royal ice harvester cannot handle.
In the midst of all the mingling, an eye kept watch over the peaceful scene that was playing down below in the market square, seeing the young monarch happily conversing with her subjects. If anything, she was far from haughty compared to the man Hans, who had been excommunicated from the Southern Isles and began appearing up in more dangerous parts of the underground world, dealing in dangerous narcotics.
The skulking form of Princess Anna also did not go unnoticed by this keen eye, now trained on her physique and instantly following her from its vantage point.
"I hope Elsa doesn't realise I've gone off to buy more chocolates," the princess was heard musing quietly to herself. Slinking out of the crowd (who had somehow not noticed), Anna stole towards the general direction of the confectionery and turned into an alley to take a shortcut through the blocks of buildings.
"A right turn here, and another left…" Anna continued whispering to herself, her mind now entirely focused on the end goal that was chocolates. Lots and lots of chocolate.
She was so focused that she passed a rather rowdy bar and caught the eyes of many burly and pissed drunk fellows who saw her skitter past the windows.
"Oi! Isn't that the princess?" slurs could be heard pouring into the alleys and the streets.
"Aye, and what a fi' lass she is."
"She seems lost, see."
"See what?" replied an indignant slur. "She seemed focused on somethin' though."
"Focused on getting' into me pants! Haha!"
"What say we be her escort fer tha' day?!" the last voice was met with raucous cheers.
"I call dibs on tha' lassie's sister!"
The sound of sweet humming and the occasional squeal of glee resonated through the alley and there was a mad rush of bodies, limbs, and the smell of alcohol desperately trying to file out of the door.
She's has the mind of a child, this one. Who runs past a rowdy bar forth and back?
"If it isn't yer 'ighness!" a lanky man bowed to the Princess Anna, stopping her in her tracks. The rest began blocking off all the exits.
Anna began to notice this but decided to play it cool. "Yes! Um, what can I do for you gentlemen?"
"Gentlemen she calls us!" a few roared with laughter. "We are anything but gentlemen, yer highness, but we figured that you needed an escort back to the castle, yea?"
"Yea…?" she gripped the handle of the basket tighter in her hands, beginning to regret sneaking off on her own. Elsa would surely be worrying herself mad by now. As a last resolve, she put the basket down and clenched her fists.
The men began closing in on her and she swung wildly at the closest one, who swerved out of the way and let his friend beside him catch her by the wrist with a vice-like grip. The next thing she knew, Anna was being spun around into a headlock and a hand had already covered her mouth. She bit on it, eliciting a shriek of pain and broke free, rushing back to the basket of chocolates.
Yea, no one got between her and her chocolates.
The fool…
"Tha' bitch bit me! Get her-"
BOOM.
"Wha' was tha' noise?!"
"Over there, it sounded like it came from this way! Quickly men!" The people in the alley heard orders being barked out and scattered like flies. Soldiers immediately poured into the alley and chased the bar patrons away and in the middle of the mess, Queen Elsa had frantically run in and hugged her sister, nearly killing her by the sheer intensity of the hug as Kristoff and Sven pulled up the rear, Olaf on the reindeer's back , all heaving sighs of relief.
"Anna! Where did you go? You could have been kidnapped! Or killed!"
"I'm fine Elsa, I didn't get hurt, see?" said Anna as Elsa released her from the bone crushing hug.
"But you could have, Anna." Elsa placed a hand on her shoulder, "I don't want to lose you like I nearly did. And certainly not over something as trivial as- IS THAT CHOCOLATE?"
"It's only seven boxes," the princess explained, holding up the basket a little too hopefully.
"Seven! Don't you think that's going too far?"
"Guys? There's something that you should see," Kristoff called from the exit.
When the girls had caught up with the man, the reindeer, and the snowman, all eyes were immediately fixed onto a distinct pattern that was blackened into the cobblestone. Although never having seen a real one before, the group instantly recognised the mark; a black powdered star with rounded inner edges.
"Someone let loose a bomb here?" Kristoff was the first to speak.
"I thought they were banned in Arendelle?" Anna spoke.
"They are," eyes rounded on Elsa, whose own eyes were now slits. "Only members of the royal guard are allowed weapons. Whoever did this is either one of them, or someone who has found a way to break the law."
Just then, a shadow passed overhead, startling the five of them, and Elsa was the only one to catch a glimpse of a dark, worn, brown, two-tailed vest slowly retreat across the rooftops and out of sight.
"Over there! Stop!" Elsa shouted. "Stop! You up there! Guards! Apprehend the figure on the rooftops!"
A nearby squad quickly scurried to find a ladder, while the rest began cordoning off the block and kept their peeled skywards.
After some time… they will give up this search, most likely in a matter of ten minutes.
The royal party had taken their leave and began to head back to the castle Arendelle while the royal guard were keeping a close watch on the single block.
However, Elsa could not shake the feeling that they were being followed by something. Occasionally, she would look over her shoulder to see no one life threatening nor would there be anyone rushing her with some dangerous weapon or worse, seeing a firearm being aimed at her from the rooftops.
There was one detail though.
The more times she turned to watch her back, there was always a Phrygian cap-styled white hood not far from where she would turn her head. A beak's point adorned the temple of the hood. This particular hood stood out in the mid-April spring not only because it was white, but also because it was deep, there was no way anyone would be able to see the owner's face without going up to him directly and bending low just to get a glimpse of his face that would be enshrouded in shadow.
It would always be there in the first moment, and when she blinked again to water her eyes against the spring breeze, the hood would be gone in an instant.
It was at one corner of the square before the bridge into the castle where Elsa saw him again, this time sitting on a bench in between two strangers. His hands were clasped together; his right over his left and his torso was resting on his knees by the elbows. It wasn't the position that startled her royal majesty but the armour with which this hooded man wore.
The dark brown vest that had the coattails was terribly worn out and frayed at the edges. A red sash wrapped around the waist, the excess length hanging off the left side. Numerous belts went over the cloth sash which pouches hung fittingly, its contents within unknown to the ice queen. There were holsters on the man's thighs, two across the chest and there was an indication that there were at least two more on his lower back. His right arm sported a sleeve of tattoos of which majority was hidden by the long sleeve white shirt that was pulled over. His right hand was gloved, presumably to keep out the cold. His left leg wore a black leather greave that fitted him tightly.
However, his left arm and right leg were the parts of his body that frightened her the most. The armour(?) was devilish looking, black and spiking in many different directions. To Elsa, the fingers were more like claws that were lusting to sink into flesh and draw blood. The black thorny spikes continued to reaffirm that thought, even if what she was thinking was typically stereotypical.
"Elsa, what are you looking at?" Anna addressed her elder sister, wondering at what had gotten her so worried which was evidenced by the interlocking of fingers over her chest and her quivering lower lip.
"Do you see that man?" Elsa turned back to look at her friends before turning back to look at the scary figure to see that disappeared without a trace.
"Your highness, are you sure you're okay? We can get the doctor to see you once we reach the castle," said Kristoff concernedly.
"I'm fine," Elsa tried to brush it off, "I must be seeing too many things after being so worried. I'll just need some rest."
"I don't think so, you look like you're ready to run off into the mountains again," commented Anna.
Anna knew her so well, so well that sometimes lying to her was like lying to her mother; she always knew when something was up and would persistently try and break through the ice shell to get to the heart of the problem.
Once inside the castle grounds and the guards had returned to the barracks to prepare for the evening meal, Anna proceeded to stash the chocolates that had been forgotten by the queen and her soulmate in her chambers while Kristoff tended to Sven. Olaf went roaming around the halls as usual and the queen retired to her own bedchamber to wash up for dinner.
After having washed up, Elsa proceeded to pick a suitable dress to wear to dinner when a draught blew through the window. She made no motion to do anything about it, normally keeping it open since her chambers were so high up and there was no need to worry about peeping toms coming in through the window.
That was until she felt a malevolent presence enter the room and stopped at the window.
"The towel never suited you, your majesty," came a quiet, baritone voice.
At once she spun around on her heel and shot a blast of magic at the source of the voice at the window. The blast of snow sailed past the head of the hooded man that she had seen earlier all day.
"You!" she gasped, unable to say anything else.
The shadow that was cast from him conjured the impression that the man standing before her was truly a devil.
"As I was saying," the figure took a look around the room, "the towel look does not suit you at all."
A strong silence ensued.
"Forgive the bad pun, your majesty," the man apologised. He spotted a table and procured a basket that look vividly familiar.
"Isn't that-"
"Your sister's chocolates. I took the liberty of lifting them to keep your sister's sweet tooth in check."
"Um…thanks?"
"How appropriate." The man scoffed into the air, before Elsa saw him looking at her. He was only half a head taller than her but his demeanour and sudden appearance had rendered her frozen with fear quite literally. Frost was emanating from her body, slowly creeping across the floor and yet the hooded stranger in front of her was still unfazed, even as she shot another blast of ice magic which he expertly sidestepped to let it fly out the window.
"What do you want? What do you want with me?" Elsa squeaked.
"So the stories are true," the hooded man mused to himself as he looked around the frost that had gathered. As he looked up, Elsa tried to get a look of his face only to see that the hood had done a very good job of concealing his identity, coupled with the light coming from the window and casting a dark shadow over his features.
"Are-are you satisfied now then? Can you please go?"
"As the lady wishes then," he turned to face the window. "You should know that the cherry that was set off was mine. If it weren't for that distraction, Anna would not even be here within the castle walls. And then Arendelle would undergo an eternal winter unlike the last unnatural one.
"I have stayed too long but know that Arendelle is in more than capable hands that you can trust should you falter."
With that, he approached the window, climbed onto the window sill. Elsa made to reach for the door when he spoke one more time, freezing her into place once more.
"You should probably try something a little more risqué, maybe a tube dress would match your hair," he said as he leapt off.
The ice queen hung on to every word of the conversation but something did not make sense.
She ran to the window, her towel dropping to the ground, practically yelling to the sky, "What do you mean by the cherry?!"