Chapter 1 - Under The Sea
Queen Elsa stood on the deck of her sailing ship as it made its way back towards her home, the kingdom of Arendelle. She was returning from a trade visit to the nearby kingdom of Corona. It had been six months since she had been crowned queen of her homeland, beginning a reign that she believed would bring peace and prosperity to her people, and she hoped would be helped by the wondrous gift she possessed.
She was born with the power to manipulate ice and snow, and used this gift to benefit her people. No one knew why she had these powers or where they came from, but that didn't bother the young queen. She knew that, powers or not, she would lead her land into a golden age.
Her aide, Kristoff Bjorgman, walked up beside her. "We'll be home soon, Elsa." Kristoff was a childhood friend of Elsa's, and the moment Elsa became queen, she had appointed him as her right-hand man. Kristoff was wise beyond his youthful age, and as such, provided the best advice.
Elsa turned around, resplendent in a gown of her own creation, made using her magic. It was blue, one of her favourite colours, with a long transparent cape that flowed behind her, and sleeves covering her arms.
She smiled, brushing a stray lock of her platinum blonde hair out of her eyes. "Good. I was starting to get a bit sick of the ocean," she remarked, before looking down. Only three years ago now, her parents had passed away during a voyage on these very waters. Now, travelling them alone, it almost brought a tear to her eye.
But Elsa wasn't that emotional. She was the queen of Arendelle, proud and strong, and yet…besides Kristoff, Elsa never really had anyone to talk to.
She stroked the side of the deck as she gazed out at the open, rather calm water, a faint trail of snow coming from her fingertip. "Do you think anyone has been missing me, Kristoff?" she asked.
"I doubt it," Kristoff said matter-of-factly. "You've only been gone a week, and not many people have really gotten to know you."
Elsa sighed. "Stupid council meetings. When I was a child, I thought studying and learning to be Queen would be the greatest thing of my life. And now, here I am, bored to tears by it all."
Kristoff gave her a reassuring pat on the back. "You still have me."
The queen smiled, looking up at her dear old friend. "Yes, I do. But you often have duties as well…and my advisors just push me about like I'm still a child."
"Don't worry about those old geezers, Elsa," Kristoff reminded her. "You'll probably outlive them anyway. And remember, your birthday's coming up in a few days."
Elsa smiled. "Yes, you're right. Maybe I should throw a party, and invite everyone in the kingdom. Maybe that will give me a chance to meet someone new."
"That's the spirit, Elsa!" Kristoff encouraged, patting her on the back.
Elsa giggled, a blush creeping onto her cheeks. "Maybe I could finally meet a cute girl." Ever since she had been a child, Elsa had known she liked girls instead of boys. In most kingdoms, such relations were forbidden, but Arendelle was one of the few exceptions. In fact, it had a higher population of same-gender couples than anywhere else in the Northern Kingdoms.
"Slow down, Elsa," Kristoff said playfully. "You're getting a bit ahead of yourself."
"Kristoff, not every woman is born knowing they prefer the same gender," Elsa reminded him, in an equally playful tone. "Besides, I need some excitement in my life."
Her aide rolled his eyes. "How do you know you'll find the one? I mean, fair enough, you like girls, but you've turned down every single princess, baroness, and noblewoman you've met so far. How will you know which girl is right for you?"
"Intuition," Elsa remarked. "Love is like art, Kristoff. It's difficult to describe, but I'll know it when I see it."
As Kristoff and Elsa looked over the water, two of the ship's crew walked past them, wearing the usual dark green uniforms of the Arendelle navy.
"Good sailing weather today, lad," one of them stated in a Scottish accent. "No bad winds or storms on the horizon."
"King Adgar must be smiling upon us, sir," the other sailor replied. "He must have sent one of his messengers to guide us safely back to friendly shores."
Elsa couldn't help overhearing the sailors talking, and she looked at Kristoff, raising her eyebrows. "What's that all about?"
"What's what?" Kristoff asked, having been gazing over at the ocean.
"Those two sailors. They were talking about someone named King Adgar."
"Oh!" Kristoff answered. "That's some old sailor's tale. Apparently, there's this undersea kingdom called Atlantica, where mermaids and mermen live. And the king of Atlantica is named Adgar. According to legend, he carved out the world so the oceans and land would coexist in harmony…or something like that."
Elsa giggled. "You don't believe it, do you, Kristoff? Surely it's some sort of fairy tale."
Kristoff laughed as well. "Nah, I wasn't much for believing in magic as a kid. My folks tried to push it on me all the time, but I just kinda ignored them."
"Well, I wasn't one for fairy tales either," Elsa admitted. "But I suppose that if my powers can exist…then maybe this King Adgar and his city exist as well."
"Hey, your ice powers are one thing, but merpeople? That's a whole other mess."
Elsa sighed. "I suppose you're right. I mean, I was just randomly born with my powers, and I've never heard of anyone else with them."
"Exactly, and no one has ever actually seen a mermaid, have they?" Kristoff pointed out.
"No, no one really has," Elsa agreed. She sighed. "Alright, you made your point: mermaids probably don't exist. But a girl can dream, can't she?"
"Girls can dream all they want, Elsa," Kristoff said. "Whether or not those dreams come true depends on how badly they want it."
"Yes," Elsa agreed, "that's very true."
Kristoff then smirked. "But just to prove your point, why don't I throw a stone in the ocean, and if it hits a merperson, you owe me half of your royal estate."
"Kristoff!" Elsa chastised him.
"I was kidding!" Kristoff chuckled. "Don't get your braid in a twist."
Elsa groaned. "You're a real pain in the ass sometimes, you know that?"
"I know," Kristoff replied, folding his arms and smiling with a hint of smug pride. "But I'm still your best friend, right?"
Elsa patted his shoulder, smirking. "Yeah, you are."
"Your Majesty!" the ship's captain called to them. "We're approaching Arendelle now!"
"Good, captain!" Elsa called back, turning around. "Put us into dock as soon as we arrive, and arrange for a carriage to take myself and Mr. Bjorgman back to the castle."
"Aye, ma'am," the captain acknowledged, saluting her.
Kristoff and Elsa turned around, seeing the beautiful city of Arendelle appear through the fog in front of them, drenched in sunlight. The beautiful fjord almost sparkled in the light, and the green of the immense mountains behind the city towered above them all.
Elsa smiled as she looked at her kingdom. "It's so good to be home again."
xXx
Deep beneath the ocean, not too far from Arendelle, there was indeed a massive city under the waves. This city was indeed Atlantica, home to merfolk from across the vast northern seas.
As the lights of the city shone brightly in the cool blue water, several merpeople swam through the ocean, families of mermaids and mermen heading towards the light of the grand palace that was the centrepiece of the entire kingdom. That palace was home to King Adgar, ruler of Atlantica. And on this day, a great concert was to be put on in celebration of his youngest daughter Anna's coming of age.
Adgar himself had seven children, each of whom he loved and cared for deeply, but today was his youngest's day; today, she would become an adult mermaid.
"Kai?" the king asked a slightly elderly merman, his loyal butler and confidante. "Is everything ready to begin?"
"Yes, my king," Kai confirmed. "Your daughters are taking their place on the main stage right now…well, six of them are, anyway."
"Six?" Adgar inquired. "Who's late? Is it Ashildr with her sword practice again?"
"No, my lord."
"Adrienne with her vocal training?"
"No," Kai repeated. "It is Anna, sire. She's…gone again."
The ocean king sighed, placing his hand on his face in a show of disapproval. Anna had always been a bit too headstrong for her own good, always going off on her own. But she was eighteen now, and King Adgar felt that it was time she started to act like it.
"Is there a chance she might be back in time?" Adgar asked Kai.
"If I may be frank, Your Highness, that chance grows increasingly slimmer by the moment," the elderly merman answered dutifully. "Shall I have the concert called off?"
"No. My subjects came here for a show, and we shall give them one," Adgar said. "I'll just tell my daughters that there's going to be a slight change in plans."
"Very well, sire," Kai agreed, before swimming off towards the auditorium.
Adgar sat on his throne, sighing. "Anna, when will you learn?"
xXx
Meanwhile, on the furthest outskirts of Atlantica, a young mermaid with a green fin and strawberry blonde hair was swimming towards the wreck of a sunken ship in the middle of a wide patch of dirty water.
This was Anna, youngest of Adgar's daughters, and this was what she did best. Ever since she was a young child, Anna had been curious about the world above the surface, and the creatures that lived there: creatures that her father called "humans".
Most other merpeople didn't think too highly of the surface world, but Anna didn't care. She thought wrecks like these were the most fascinating places of all, full of so many mysterious and wonderful things.
As she neared the wreck, she twirled around the water, her two braids floating beside her head. "Come on, Olaf!" She called out.
A little white grouper fish swam towards her from behind a set of rocks, a smile on his face. His name was Olaf, and he had been Anna's best friend for as long as either of them could remember. They were able to talk thanks to a power that all merfolk shared, the ability to communicate with other sea creatures.
Anna and Olaf were constant companions, although Olaf was always rather skittish when it came to exploring new places, as he wasn't certain if there were predators lurking around.
"Coming, Anna!" he called to her, flipping his smaller fins as he hurried towards her. "I'm not as fast as you, you know."
Anna giggled. "Sorry, but I just get so excited when I'm exploring." She looked up at the massive wreck of the ship, smiling in excitement. "So, what do you think we'll find in this one?"
"Maybe jewellery?" the little fish theorised, stroking his chin with his front fin. "I mean, it looks real fancy with all those shiny golden bits." At this, he pointed to the gold trim on the hull of the vessel.
Anna smirked mischievously. "Well, there's only one way to find out, isn't there?"
The two of them swam upwards, travelling along the deck of the sunken vessel. There was no life onboard, obviously, but both of them could still feel a presence on the vessel, like the crew of the ship were still around, their ghosts haunting the wreck.
They entered one of the flooded cabins, the bones of several sailors littering the room.
"Woah, freaky," Anna admitted, taking in the rather morbid sight.
"I know, right? Who thought human ships were so dusty?" Olaf remarked rather obliviously.
"I was referring to the skeletons," Anna pointed out before swimming forward. "Come on, you spread out and maybe we can find something worth taking."
"Right-a-roony!" Olaf chirped before heading in the other direction.
Anna swam over around the room, admiring drawers and shelves full of strange human objects, things she couldn't even begin to describe. Ever since she was a young mermaid, Anna had always had a natural curiosity for the surface world, despite such things being taboo amongst her people.
She often assumed she had inherited this wonder from her mother, who was tragically caught in a sea battle not long after she was born.
Partly because of what happened to her mother as well as countless other merfolk, her father didn't approve of her going out on her own like this, especially at such a young age, Anna didn't care. She was nearly an adult now and free to make her own choices in life.
She then swam close to a small chair, upon which sat a skeleton. Unlike many of the other skeletons on the ship, this one was still wearing the same clothes he had drowned in, although they were so torn and mouldy from being underwater for so long, Anna couldn't make out what they were supposed to be.
On the skeleton's head was a large golden crown, with several jewels encrusted in it. It was perfectly persevered in the water, not even a bit of rust on it.
"Huh, this was certainly made to last," Anna remarked. She took the crown and placed it on her own head, feeling it very heavy. "Oooh, I can see why."
Meanwhile, Olaf swam around the shelves happily. "I can't believe all this stuff is just lying here! Humans really are a lazy bunch."
"I know, right?" Anna replied, placing her crown onto the floor. "You'd think they'd take better care of their shit."
She then swam over to the shelves Olaf was investigating, opening the various drawers and cupboards for anything of value.
"Find anything?" Olaf inquired.
Anna suddenly opened one of the drawers and picked up a small metal object with three prongs. "Wow, Olaf! look at this thing! I don't think I've seen one of these before!" she exclaimed with wonder.
"Wow!" Olaf echoed. After a moment's pause, he asked, "Um…what is it?"
Anna looked closely at the object, feeling it with her hand. It was cold, inferring that it was made of metal. "Hmmm, not sure."
"Maybe humans eat with it?" Olaf suggested. "They might use those pointy bits to scoop up food?"
"That's stupid," Anna denied. "These are way too pointy. Anyone trying to eat with it could get stabbed. Maybe it's some kind of weapon, used for quickly attacking people?"
"Why do you always think of the crazy suggestions?" Olaf then wondered.
"Because it's my middle name," Anna joked.
"I thought your middle name was Aquata."
Anna then booped her friend on the nose, giggling. "I was making a joke, you silly little seastar." She then placed the fork into a satchel bag that was slung over her shoulder. "Come on, we can just take it to Oaken later."
"Oh yeah!" Olaf cheered, swimming around Anna. "He knows all about human stuff."
"Exactly and it's better to ask an expert than worrying about figuring it out by ourselves," Anna pointed out.
As Anna began to search the shelves some more, Olaf discovered a peculiar wooden object lying on a desk. "Oooh, what's this do?"
Anna swam to his side. "Let me see." Shen the picked up the item and examined it. It looks kinda like one of those shells we use to make music. Do you think it's some kind of instrument?" Anna blew into it and coughed slightly. "Okay, maybe that isn't supposed to be an instrument," she stated as puffs of smoke came from the end of the pipe. "Jeez, that stuff is nasty."
"What is it?" Olaf asked.
"I don't know, but it's making my lungs feel like they're on fire," Anna said before sputtering again. "That thing definitely is not an instrument."
As Anna said those words, they triggered a memory in the back of her mind, one she had put to one side from earlier that morning, a memory that held very dire consequences.
"Oh crap!" Anna exclaimed loudly, quickly shoving the pipe into her bag. "I was supposed to sing at the concert today!"
"You were?" Olaf wondered. "Oh dear... your papa isn't going to be happy."
Anna groaned. "I know... gosh, I'm such an idiot." She then threw the bag over her shoulder. "Come on, little guy. If we're lucky, my dad and Kai won't chew us out so badly."
"I hope so," Olaf agreed. "I hear I give people indigestion if they chew me."
Anna rolled her eyes and swam out of the ship's cabin with Olaf in pursuit, the two of them racing across the seabed back to Atlantica and hopefully, to somewhere safe.
xXx
King Adgar sat at on his throne, not in a good mood. He was disappointed that his youngest daughter had basically missed out on her big concert, her first big moment as part of the royal family. Now, he had to make up for the fact that the day's celebrations were all ruined.
As he pondered in thought alone in the chamber, Anna swam into the room, a rather sombre look on her face. "Hey, Papa," she said in a voice barely above a whisper.
The king looked at his child, frowning. "Anna, dearest, where have you been?" He asked her.
"I was exploring again, with Olaf." She sighed. "Look, I'm sorry I forgot about the concert. I know it was a big deal, but I got so invested in searching and stuff and lost track of time." She held up her hands together. "I'm super duper sorry."
"That was your big debut, Anna," Adgar told her. "You missed out on a great opportunity; one which you may not get again."
"Papa, everyone knows I'm a great singer. I've heard people saying that I have the most beautiful voice in the sea."
"I know, I know, but you need to understand that there is more to life than just collecting human trinkets..." he groaned. "You are my daughter, and there are responsibilities you must uphold. One day, it might be you holding this trident instead of me."
"Papa, there is more to my life!" Anna argued. "I've found so many amazing things scavenging those wrecks! Things that are so much better than the crap over here!"
"Anna, watch your tongue," The sea king scowled. "You really should give up that habit you know... there is no good that can come from being around humans."
"Papa... I..." Anna sighed. "I'm sorry, I'll go."
As his daughter swam out of his chamber, King Adgar let out a sigh, knowing his daughter, while she was now an adult, still had much to learn about life in Atlantica.
Outside of the palace, Anna swam out onto the steps and sat on her fin, sulking gloomily. Her life of adventure had gotten her trouble once again and she hated it. Part of her wished she wasn't a princess-or had a family for that matter.
She then looked down, realising how silly thoughts like that were.
As she sat alone on the marble steps, Olaf swam over to her, placing a fin on her shoulder. "Anna? Are you okay?"
Anna looked forward, before taking a deep breath. "I don't know, Olaf... I just wish I could be freer than my dad lets me, like I had no responsibility and stuff like that."
"Hey, don't feel bad about it," Olaf said, smiling. "Why don't we go up and see Oaken? He usually cheers you up and plus you wanted to find out about the stuff we got from the wreck anyway."
Anna looked up at the sunlight filtering through the water, realising her little fish friend was right. She needed to cheer herself up and a certain friend of hers would do just that. "Yeah, let's go see him."
"Yay!" Olaf cheered, before swimming away. "Race ya!"
Anna giggled. "You're on!"
xXx
A few minutes later, Anna and Olaf breached the surface of the water, the young mermaid opening her mouth to feel the taste of air, a refreshing alternative to the water she usually breathed. She felt the sunlight stroke her skin, warm summer heat tickling her.
Olaf then surfaced beside her, panting deeply. "You beat me... again. Seriously, next time we're racing, I'm tying you to a very big piece of coral."
"Don't be such a sore loser, Olaf," Anna smirked. "Besides, my fins are bigger than yours."
Olaf then walked around, moving his whole body side to side. "So... where's Oaken?"
As Olaf asked that question, a large bird flew over their heads at great speed, spreading its wings above them in a majestic fashion. It was a seagull, another one of the fellow creatures that merfolk co-existed with. "Hoo hoo!"
"Oaken!" Anna cheered, recognising the familiar voice of the seagull.
The seagull then descended upon them, landing on a small rocky atoll nearby. As he shook his feathers and strutted his webbed feet, he smiled. "Good morning to you, Princess!"
Anna and Olaf swam over to the rocky atoll, Anna resting her arms upon the small shore. "Hey Oaken, we brought some things."
"Oooh! Been scavenging have you?" He remarked, in his rather peculiar accent. "Let me take a look at what ya got!"
Anna put her satchel up on the rock and emptied it out. "This is what we found," she said.
Oaken took the four-pronged metal object that Anna had found in the drawer of the ship, taking a few moments to examine it with his beady eyes. "Oh! What's this?"
"Well...we were hoping you could tell us," Anna admitted. "I thought it was a dagger, and Olaf thought it was something humans used to eat stuff."
"I think my idea is the most logical," Olaf put in.
"Well... you're both wrong," Oaken told them. "See... this here little doohickey is called a dinglehopper. Human women use them to brush and straighten their hair. It's surprisingly effective."
"Wait let me see," Anna said, taking the object from Oaken. She quickly undid her two braids, before using the dinglehopper on her hair, straightening and brushing it out. "Oh yeah! It totally works!"
"Told ya!" Oaken cawed with pride.
"But... why is it called a dinglehopper?" Olaf then asked.
"Hmmm..." The seagull thought for a brief moment before speaking again. "You know, I never figured that out myself actually."
"What about this Oaken?" Anna wondered, picking up the pipe she had blown into on the ship. "What's this supposed to be?"
Oaken took the pipe from Anna, examining it closely as well. "Ah, you found a snarfblat as well!
"Snarfblat?"
"It's a musical instrument," Oaken informed her. "You blow into it, and it makes music."
"I knew it!" Anna cheered. "Well, I didn't think it was at first, but I do now."
Oaken chuckled. "Maybe there's hope for you as a scavenger yet, Princess," he said, patting his feathered wing on Anna's arm.
Olak yawned. "Man, I'm getting tired. Anna, do you think we should take this back to your grotto and call it a day?"
"Sure, Olaf," Anna agreed. "Well, you heard my best buddy, I gotta get going," she then said to Oaken. "Thanks for teaching us about this dinglehopper, Oaken. It's really gonna help me with my hair in the mornings."
"My pleasure, princess," he agreed. "Take care!" And with that, he took off into the sky and Anna and Olaf descended back into the blue water
xXx
Down under the ocean, Anna and Olaf swam towards a small cave in the side of a large boulder, a small little secret hideaway that Anna kept secret from her father.
As they entered the inner chamber, they were greeted with the familiar sight of Anna's hoard. Treasures and various items, all collected from Anna's scavenging trips were strewn about across the room, all on display for Anna's personal sense of pride.
As Anna placed the dinglehopper on a shelf of other, similar looking objects, she said. "You know... I don't get what makes humans so bad to dad. I mean yeah... we lost mom because of humans, but they can't all be bad right? I mean they make wicked cool stuff, like this thing."
"I know, right?" Olaf agreed. "You know, I once heard that merpeople were once humans themselves, so hating yourselves doesn't make sense!"
"Exactly," Anna stated. "If we're all the same, why should we hate each other? Why can't we just coexist peacefully? I mean, dad calls humans "Barbaric fish eaters", but we eat fish all the time. Hell, we had tuna for dinner last night."
"It's all so... weird," Olaf said, resting his fins on a cushion. "Honestly, humans are an amazing people, Anna,"
"And yet we've never even met one," Anna admitted, sighing. "But god, I'd love to be up there with them, just standing on my own two legs."
"You don't have legs."
"I was speaking metaphorically, Olaf," Anna pointed out, the grouper fish having broken her concentration. She sighed. "Someday," she said dreamily, "I'll go up there and meet a human."
Olaf lay his head on a cushion. "Well, right now we both need some rest. Goodnight, Anna."
"Night, Olaf," Anna said softly. "You're my best friend."
"You too," the little grouper fish agreed, before the two of them closed their eyes in Anna's grotto.
xXx
A few days later, Anna and Olaf were out on another one of their scavenging trips, having just brought back a few items from an old ship graveyard on the far side of the ocean.
"Hey, Olaf!" Anna called to him. "How far do you think we are from home?"
"Probably not too far," Olaf remarked. "We've been swimming for quite a while."
As they swam forwards, a large, dark shadow loomed over their heads, blocking out the light from the moon above them. It was massive and wide, longer than anything Anna had ever seen.
"What's that?" She asked. "Is it a whale?"
"Don't think so," Olaf said. "Pretty sure whales are supposed to sing underwater."
Anna nudged her friend's fin. "Come on, we better go and have a look. It might be something interesting." And with that, she took off towards the surface of the ocean.
As she broke through the surface, Anna found herself in the darkened seas near Arendelle. There was a beautiful full moon in the sky and stars shone in the heavens. Looking to her left, Anna saw that the shadow she and Olaf had seen under the ocean belonged to a massive sailing vessel, one of immense size and width.
There was a streaking cry and Anna looked up, seeing fireworks shooting from the ship and exploding in a dazzling spectacle of colour. "What are those?" she said in awe.
Olaf burst up from the water. "Did you find out what the shadow was?!" He asked excitedly.
Anna merely pointed towards the giant ship, silently telling Olaf the answer to his question.
Olaf's eyes widened. "Wow! I've never seen one before it's sunk before! And there are so many lights and sounds! What's going on here?"
"I think this is what the human equivalent of a party is," Anna mused.
"Let's get a closer look!" Olaf stated, before swimming over to the large ship.
The two of them climbed up a long rope that was dangling off the side of the ship, gently getting into a position so they could see what was happening on the deck of the mighty vessel.
As Anna had said, there was indeed a party going on. There were various nobles and common folk dancing together, all enjoying their drinks and talking to each other. It seemed to be a rather happy gathering indeed.
"Woah..." Anna whispered in awe, not wanting her and Olaf to be caught by the humans. "So this is what a real party looks like."
"And those humans!" Olaf quietly cheered. "I've never seen so many in one place!"
As Anna surveyed the scene, something then caught her attention, something that made her heart skip a beat before slowly stopping as time began to move slowly around her.
In the corner of the ship, there stood a woman, wearing a rather formal looking suit with gold and red trim. Her hair was blonde and flowed down her arm in a braid and she was holding a glass of wine in her hand. Anna had never seen a human or any other creature like her before. She seemed so... captivating, so... attractive.
Next to the woman was a man wearing a similar suit, drinking with her. "Happy Birthday Elsa! Good ol twenty-two years of age!"
"Yay for me," the woman, Elsa, replied, her voice sounding rather flat and disinterested.
Anna could feel the woman was sad, rather down in a way. She wished she was a human right there and then. She would gladly do anything to put a smile on her face.
"C'mon, you should be happy," the man said, nudging her shoulder in a manner to try and cheer her up. "It is your birthday after all and you know what they say, if the queen of Arendelle is unhappy, then no one in Arendelle is happy."
"No one really says that," Elsa remarked, trying her best not to make her depression more apparent than it already was.
"I'm saying that," Kristoff told her. "You need to lighten up. This is a party. You should be happy. I mean... why else would you be wearing your dad's old suit?"
Elsa sighed. She had thought by wearing this suit, she would be more attractive to women, but even that seemed pointless. "I know, Kristoff, I know. It's just...I have all of these people around me, and yet... I still haven't found anyone. No cute girl has asked me out once. Does no one find a queen attractive anymore?"
"Elsa, girls are shy, no matter if they're into boys or girls... and considering you're the biggest lesbian I know, girls are gonna be quite intimidated."
Elsa sighed. "I'm not that scary. It's not like I'd bite them."
Watching from the side, having swum over to the other side of the ship, was Anna, eavesdropping in on everything Elsa and Kristoff had been saying. When Elsa confessed her sexuality, Anna's heart skipped a beat.
S-she's gay? Her mind tried to process. Until that moment, she thought she was the only creature in the entire world, human or mermaid, who was gay. She wished she could say hello, but feared how everyone on the ship would react to a fish girl flirting with their queen.
Suddenly, Anna felt the boat gently rock in the ocean as the wind started to pick up. A howling gale started to blow across the ship. There was a storm coming in and it was closing fast on the ship.
"Anna!" Olaf cried. "Get off the ship!"
Anna didn't know how to react. She couldn't just abandon Elsa in this storm, couldn't bear the thought of her ending up like all those skeletons she had seen in many a shipwreck.
"There's a storm coming in!" A sailor on the ship cried to the guests, alerting them of the oncoming danger. "Hold on!"
"What the?!" Elsa exclaimed. "Pull us away! Get us back to Arendelle!"
But it was too late. A massive wave then crashed into the ship, slamming into the hull and knocking Elsa off balance. She grabbed a section of rigging, seeing the other passengers being blown and knocked about in the wind.
I have to save them, she thought. She quickly pulled off her glove and fired a beam of ice across the ship, creating barriers so no one would fall off the ship.
Anna's eyes widened as she saw Elsa's power in action. "Woah... that's amazing."
Elsa took a breath for a moment, knowing using her powers in a situation like this would often stress her out. She then looked to the side, her eyes widening as another wave started to close in.
"Elsa!" Kristoff called to her. "Get down! There's another wave coming!"
Elsa tried to let go of the rigging in time, hoping to fling herself across to behind one of the barriers she had created from her ice, when suddenly the massive wave buffeted the vessel, rocking the ship from side to side.
The queen panicked, feeling her grip on the rope slipping as the waves drenched her in water. The torrent quickly overcame her and with the current, she was knocked overboard.
"Elsa!" Kristoff cried, running to the side of the ship.
Elsa fell towards the ocean, screaming in fear until her body hit the water with a loud smack, the shockwave knocking Elsa unconscious.
"No..." Anna said, looking over from the water beside the ship. She wouldn't let this woman die. No one else deserved to die such a fate. She quickly dove under the water, the currents making it difficult to swim.
Where was she? Where was Elsa?
Anna looked forward, seeing Elsa's unconscious form drifting under the waves. She darted over to her, grabbing the queen under her arm and dragging her towards the shore.
Anna had half expected Elsa to be quite heavy, but thankfully, she was very light for her size.
Dumping Elsa onto the shore, Anna looked on as she saw Elsa's suit had been torn off from the waves, various parts of her skin being shown and several burn marks from the rope on her hands.
Anna felt worried as Oaken landed at her side, having seen the commotion from afar.
"What's the trouble, princess?" He asked, but then he saw Elsa. "Oh... Oh dear."
Anna started to tear up. This woman couldn't be dead. She had to be alive. "Was I... Was I too late?"
Her seagull friend pressed his head against Elsa's barefoot, listening closely. "Nope, no heartbeat, she's a goner."
Just then, Anna saw Elsa's chest begin to rise and fall. "No, wait—she's breathing!" Anna smiled, seeing that Elsa was alive, but barely. As she felt relief for Elsa's recovery, a new feeling started to overcome her, a feeling born from that sensation she had felt when she first laid eyes on the dashing queen.
Up close there and then, Elsa was the most beautiful creature she had ever seen. Her face, her skin, her hair, she was the definition of gorgeous. Anna was in love and she knew it. "She's beautiful."
Brushing her fingers along Elsa's cheek, she softly began to sing to the queen.
What would I give to live where you are
What would I pay to stay here beside you
What would I do to see you smiling at me
Where would we walk
Where would we run
If we could stay all day in the sun
Just you and me
And I could be
Part of your world.
As Anna's song finished, Elsa's eyes slowly began to open. In her dazed state, all she could see was a woman-the most beautiful woman she had ever seen-silhouetted by the light of the sun rising up from behind her.
Elsa felt her whole body as weak as a kitten, but in this moment she believed that there was an angel in front of her.
Anna wanted to keep singing to Elsa, wanted her to see her in full, but then she heard the sounds of footsteps walking down the beach. She had to run, now, before she was caught by Elsa's soldiers.
As Anna dove back under the waves, Kristoff and a group of Arendelle guards arrived. "It's the queen!" he exclaimed. "Thank God; she's still alive." Kristoff knelt beside his friend, laying her head on his thigh. "Elsa? Elsa, it's me, Kristoff. Can you hear me?"
Elsa winced slightly before she started to cough and splutter, lurching up violently as a small dribble of seawater came from her mouth. After she had cleared her throat. she then asked. "Where... am I?"
"On a beach near Arendelle," Kristoff said. "You must have been caught up in the storm current. Thank god you're safe."
"No... it wasn't the storm that brought me here," Elsa told him, her memory very clear of how she was saved. "I was rescued... by the most beautiful woman I had ever seen."
Kristoff rolled her eyes. "Elsa... how much seawater did you drink? a litre? a gallon?"
"Kristoff, I'm serious," Elsa told him standing up on her own two feet. "I was just rescued by the girl of my dreams." She sighed dreamily, feeling love for the first time in forever fill her heart. "Kristoff, I think I found the one."
Kristoff sighed. "Come on, Elsa. We better get you home and into some clean clothes... or you make yourself some ice ones, however way you want."
Elsa looked down. "But... Oh, fine, let's go."
At a distance from the beach, sitting on a rock watching Elsa and Kristoff head back to their hometown, was Anna, her heart glowing with love, her eyes wide with happiness and joy. With all her passion, she started to sing once more.
I don't know when
I don't know how
But I know something's starting right now
Watch and you'll see
Someday I'll be
Part of your world!
xXx
Down under the ocean, in a cave most foul and dark, a slithering mass of tentacles oozed out from an opening, being illuminated in the dark light of am eerie green flame.
The coils started to form into a shape, a dark, evil, humanoid figure. The figure opened his eyes, cackling with glee.
He slithered over to an opening in the walls of his lair, a circle of green energy forming around the opening. The circled transformed into a portal, displaying Anna on the rocks staring at Elsa.
The figure cackled. "So... daddy dearest's little spawn has fallen for the famous snow queen. What perfect timing indeed." He opened out his hand, gently stroking the sides of the portal.
He sneered, malice forming in his demonic eyes. "Now, I believe it's time for a long overdue family reunion and my long awaited revenge!"
The figure then burst into maniacal laughter, as his dark plans for the world began to come to fruition within his mind, his body coursing with the dark power he threatened to unleash on Atlantica, Arendelle... and the world.
xXx
Author's note: This fic was written quite some time ago, in fact over a year ago. I originally wanted to make a one-shot collection called Elsanna Fairy Tales, but I kinda gave up on it. So I decided to remake the two fics that I did for it into small multi-chaps of their own! (With their own new twists of course and the possibility of being expanded to their own AUs)
Now, I know that I'm not the first to do this sort of thing for Elsanna, I'll admit that, but hey I know you'll like it anyway.
See you soon!
