Trials of Fire and Ice
Author: Addie Price (Pretzel)
Summary: No one ever said growing up would be easy. And for the Princesses of Arendelle, it was anything but.
Author's Note: Hey everyone! I know it's been a while, but Frozen has definitely rekindled my love for writing! This story is going to focus mainly on Elsa and Anna's relationship as they grow up and on Kristoff's childhood, set before, during, and after the film. Frozen was an absolutely amazing film. Thanks to everyone for reading! As always, reviews are greatly appreciated!
Disclaimer: FROZEN and its characters are the property of The Walt Disney Company and its associates. I am in no way affiliated with Disney nor do I own any of the characters in this story.
Elsa's magic didn't reveal itself until Anna was a year old.
It was the dead of winter and her baby sister was sick. And this wasn't just the kind of sick that Elsa got when she spent too much time outside in the cold. This was really-really sick. This was worry-over-your-baby-sister-because-your-papa-has-to-get-medicine-from-the-trolls kind of sick. And Elsa didn't know what to do.
Her father had left an hour ago, concern and fear in his eyes as he saddled his horse. Elsa was scared too. She had never seen her mama and papa so worried. And Anna was so quiet. Her baby sister was never quiet. That was what worried Elsa the most.
Anna was in her crib, sleeping softly. Elsa and their mother watched over her, worry etched into the queen's face.
"Mama?" Elsa's voice was quiet, the young princess refusing to take her eyes off her sister. "What's wrong with Anna?"
"She's warm," her mother said, reaching over to brush the back of her hand against Anna's forehead. "She's very warm."
"Is that why Papa went to go get medicine?"
The queen looked up at her with a watery smile. "Yes, baby. He's heard of these people called Trolls, who have strange magic and medicines. He thinks they'll be able to help Anna."
Elsa nodded. She knew about the trolls but she still didn't know why it was so bad for Anna to be warm. Her parents always fussed over her because she was always a little colder than she was supposed to be. Wouldn't it be okay if Anna were a little warmer than normal?
"Can I hold her?" Elsa asked, looking up from the crib. Her mother shook her head softy.
"No, baby. She needs to stay in bed so she can cool off."
"But you and Papa said that I'm always colder than normal. Can't I cool her?"
"It doesn't work that way."
Looking back down at her sister, Elsa disagreed. She was scared and worried and she could feel herself becoming colder the longer they sat there by the crib. Eventually, her mother dozed off in the rocking chair that was in the nursery, but Elsa kept watch over her sister.
Anna woke up, giving small murmurings of discomfort. Elsa looked to her mother for help, but the queen was still fast asleep. Anna fixed her blue eyes on her older sister and Elsa carefully reached into the crib, picking up the baby just like her parents had taught her to.
Anna wriggled in her arms as Elsa stepped down from the stool next to the crib, sitting so that she wouldn't drop her little sister and hurt her further. She knew she could cool Anna down, she just knew it. So she cross-legged sat on the floor with her sister in her lap, looking down at her as she brushed her hand across her forehead, just like she'd seen their mother do. The queen was right; Anna did feel warm. But Elsa felt cool. So she put her hands on Anna's cheeks and focused on the cold she had always felt within her, trying to bring it out so that Anna would feel it, too.
It took a few minutes of intense concentration (which was really, really difficult for a four year old) and lots of wishing but eventually, Elsa could feel the cold that was in her moving out to her fingertips. She held them on Anna's cheeks for only a moment before pulling them away, not wanting her baby sister to get too cold. After a minute, she felt the cold radiating from more than just her hands. Anna scrunched up her face in a look Elsa recognized before she began crying, the noise jarring their mother awake.
Elsa looked up at the queen. "Mama! Mama, look! Anna's better! She's loud again! I made her better!"
It took the queen a moment to process what was happening before she rushed over to her two daughters, kneeling before them. She felt the temperature drop as she neared the princesses, but brushed it off, placing the back of her hand on Anna's forehead. "Her- her fever's broke," she muttered in disbelief as Anna quieted. She looked at Elsa, who was grinning broadly. Suddenly, she put two-and-two together. The cold air. Elsa's lower-than-average body temperature. Anna's fever. "Elsa. What are you doing?"
"You said Anna was too warm, so I wished that she would be a little colder, like me! And now she is!"
The queen didn't know what was happening, but it was clear that Elsa had something to do with it. Magic was prevalent in their land and if Elsa got a little bit of that magic, she was grateful. Anna was going to get better. The queen smiled broadly, pulling Elsa into a hug. "You saved her, Elsa." A tear escaped her eye.
Elsa smiled back, happy to have helped her sister. "Don't cry, Mama," she said, reaching towards the tear that shimmered on the queen's cheek. "Everyone's okay." She brushed at the tear with her index finger and the water immediately froze. "Mama.." She was scared. Had she frozen the tear?
"It's okay, Elsa," the queen muttered, taking her daughter's hand. But her hand was cold, very cold. And Anna began to cry again, this time in protest. The air around them grew colder and colder and the queen snatched Anna from Elsa's lap, cradling her baby to her chest. Elsa watched them, confusion in her eyes. "What did I do?"
"Nothing, Elsa, it's fine." But it wasn't fine and the queen knew it. Elsa had broken Anna's fever, but now she was too cold. The queen pulled her youngest daughter close, trying to keep her body temperature normal. She rocked Anna back and forth, trying to soothe her. Looking back at Elsa, she could see that her eldest was frightened. She reached out a hand to the oldest princess, giving her a smile. "Hey, Elsa, it's okay."
Elsa stood, reaching out to take her mother's hand. "Did I do something wrong?"
The queen could feel that Elsa was starting to warm up again, to a temperature that was normal for her. "No, baby. You did everything right."
"Can I hold Anna again?"
Anna had begun to quiet, falling asleep again. "Not right now. Anna needs to sleep."
Elsa looked at the ground, dejected. "Okay."
"Do you want to go play with Gerda?"
"No. Gerda's not fun anymore. I like playing with Anna now."
The queen smiled, putting Anna in her crib. "How about you and I go play while we wait for your father to get back?" This perked Elsa up. She rarely got to play with her parents since they were always so busy. "Okay! Let's build a snowman!"
