"Hoorah! Hoorah! HooRAH!"
Cheerful cries rang throughout the clearing as the stone trolls rejoiced, hopping, cheering, and rolling into one another in celebration. Anna watched over the jubilation with a smile on her face, leaning into her long-time sweetheart – and recently, fiancé – Kristoff. Anna had learned her lesson from Hans quite well, and had made sure she and Kristoff had dated for a good long while before the thought of marriage even occurred to them. After a happy year of companionship, Kristoff had finally gotten down on one knee and proposed, and Anna giddily accepted – Elsa, too, was happy at the union, and had given her blessing. Now, Kristoff wrapped his arm around Anna and the two of them watched his family react to the news, both of them more elated than they could ever remember being.
Unfortunately, Anna had forgotten the troll's blatant disregard for personal space, and before she knew it the little rock creatures had hoisted both her and her beau into the air and started joyfully launching them skyward. Anna let out little yelps at first but slowly accepted it and started laughing along as the creatures carried them, moving them closer and closer to the middle of the group.
Soon enough, they were dropped off at the center of the crowd, which spread out to make room for the both of them. All at once, the trolls fell completely silent as a section of them opened up, allowing a larger troll with a grassy mane and bushy eyebrows to step before the two of them. "Grand Pabbie!" Kristoff greeted, watching as the wise old troll stepped up to the duo.
The troll king looked up at the two of them before a smile worked its way onto his aged, stony face. "So, you two are finally going to tie the knot?" he asked. "I speak for the entirety of the stone trolls when I say… well, it's about time."
The crowd burst into laughter as Anna chuckled, face turning hot as she took Kristoff's hand in hers. The king let the laughter die down before continuing. "All teasing aside, I truly speak for all of us when I give you the blessing of not only myself, but the entirety of the stone trolls as well. We've raised our young Kristoff with love and care, taking him into our family without a second thought, and now, we'd be honored to have you join our family as well, Anna."
More cheering rocked the forest as Anna nodded, taking a curt bow. "No, no, no, it's my honor, Pabbie," she assured him.
The king shot both of them a smile before turning fully to Anna. "My dear, to celebrate this joyous occasion, there's something I'd like to give to you. Please, kneel down so that I may give you an engagement gift."
A present? From the trolls? Anna wondered what that would entail – maybe a bouquet of dandelions? Whatever it was, she'd be more than happy with it. Anna obeyed the troll, getting down on her knees and sitting back on her feet. Still taller than the king, she looked down at him as he reached up and caressed her cheek gently in one large, rocky mitt. "Are you ready to receive your gift, my child?" he asked.
He was putting a lot of ceremony into something as simple as a present, Anna noted. Suddenly unsure, she looked to Kristoff, who only shrugged, just as confused about what was going on. Gingerly, Anna turned her head back to the troll. "Uh… sure?" she confirmed with a slight nod.
Nodding, the troll closed his eyes. He remained as silent as the crowd as he turned his head downwards, deep in concentration. Anna could only look at him with a baffled expression as his hand pressed into her cheek. Wind whistled through the clearing as moments passed, and nothing happened.
And then, it hit her – a searing, intense pain, flaring up in the center of her mind, and in her heart as well. Anna let out a scream, flinching and squirming in agony yet unable to pull away from the king's hand as images flashed before her eyes. Images flashed through her mind rapidly, images of her as a child. And it wasn't just her – Elsa was there as well. Anna was looking at her memories as though she was living them again, playing in the snow with her sister. In one, the two of them sledded downhill, and in another, they were building a snowman suspiciously similar to Olaf.
And then, the images began changing. Instead of the two of them building Olaf, she could see herself molding the snowman from snow that Elsa was conjuring herself. Just the same, their sledding adventure was now taking place on conjured powder as Elsa used icy winds to send them hurtling faster and faster. More and more memories shifted and changed until one last one appeared – Anna, dancing and leaping over pillars of icy that Elsa made. But Anna was going faster and faster, too fast for Elsa to keep up, and time itself seemed to freeze as Elsa, unable to keep up, misfired a shot – directly into Anna's face.
Anna felt cold, so cold, as the memories flooded her. But soon, the chill fell away as her heat returned, warming her up faster than she would've expected. Soon, the images fell away completely, and Anna let out a groan as her head slumped.
After taking a moment to compose herself, she looked up. The troll king was now across from her, being scolded by an angry Kristoff. "What were you doing to her, Pabbie?" he snarled, leaning over his father figure. "She was screaming! What did you do?"
"I assure she, she is fine, my boy," the king answered. "I am merely returning what was taken from her so long ago. Time has marched on, and she's recovered enough to be able to handle what she's lost."
Kristoff seemed unsatisfied, ready to yell again, but Anna silenced him by speaking up. "I'm… I'm fine, Kristoff," she assured him, rubbing at her aching head. She felt weak, oh so weak, and yet at the same time, fully energized. She'd already learned about Elsa's ice powers, but never had she known that their childhood had all been fabricated. Happy childhood memories were now seen in an entirely different light… and the incident that forced them to fall apart was now burned into her mind with perfect clarity.
Satisfied that she was alright, Kristoff jogged to her and kneeled, taking her hand in his and gently rubbing her forehead. Pabbie stepped back up to her, hands behind his back. "It is done, granddaughter. What has been long lost is now returned, yours forevermore."
Anna took a deep breath, centering herself. "So everything that happened, everything leading to me and my sister falling out… that was all because of an accident? And you… you're the one who hid these memories from me?"
"Correct. And not just those memories," the king responded.
"Huh?"
The king clucked his tongue, waving a finger towards Anna. "Let me ask you something, my child… since learning of your sister's gift, hasn't a certain question ever lingered in your mind?"
"Like… like what?"
"Why does she have powers, and you don't? Why do two sisters, born under the same parents and the same circumstances, have vastly differing abilities?"
Honestly, the thought had never occurred to Anna. "Not… really?"
Pabbie shook his head. "Let me tell you something. The world works in pairs, my child. For the earth, there is the sky… for the flowers in the meadow, there are the bees that pollinate them… and for every person and troll out there, there is another waiting to share their lives with them." His eyes shifted between the two of them, as if making a point. "In fact, this gift is a two-parter as well. Come, Anna, hold out your hand."
The troll reached out with his hand, motioning for Anna to give him hers. Confused, but curious, Anna slowly laid her hand in his. Pabbie took her hand and gently turned it palm upwards. "Forgive me for this, Anna," he muttered. Then, before anyone could react, the old troll reeled his free hand back, took aim, and struck her bluntly in her left shoulder.
"Ow!" Pain flared through her struck limb as stone collided with flesh. She loved Kristoff's family just as much as he did, but the troll king's stony fist really hurt, not to mention the fact how incredibly rude and unexpected it was. Anger and indignation filled her heart as she clutched at her shoulder with her free hand. "What is the matter with you?" she said, rubbing at the impact.
And then, her confusion and anger turned to shock as her hand suddenly burst into flames. Fire blazed skyward out of her palm as she screamed. The king held her hand firm, rubbing it soothingly with his other hand as fire continued to pour from hers. She screamed and screamed as fire burst from her, yet somehow didn't even warm her up. Soon enough, she managed to calm down, and the blaze receded back into her palm. Breathing heavily, Anna looked to Kristoff, who just looked as horrified and confused as she was.
The king, however, smiled at the girl. "I… uh… who… what?" Anna choked out, slowly balling her fist and pulling it from his grasp. She looked her hand over, suddenly feeling very unsafe while pointing it towards herself.
"When I had to take your memories, I had to remove all traces of magic from you if there was any hope of saving you from an icy fate. And by all magic, I truly mean all magic… even yours."
As his words sunk in, more memories flooded Anna's mind – memories so far repressed even she couldn't believe she'd experienced them. There she was, lighting a candle as a young girl with just a snap of her fingers. And as a baby, there was more than one occasion where she'd gripped her mother's gown too tightly and left it ashy and charred.
Horror and confusion raged through her as she gazed at the old king, silently begging him for answers. "Just as your sister uses her emotions to reign over ice, you too can use yours to have control over fire. At long last, your long dormant gift is returned to you." Ignoring her terrified look, the king simply smiled at the two sweethearts as the crowd around them shook the trees with their cheering. "Use these powers wisely, my child. And may you both live a long, prosperous life together."
A/N: Though it seems like it's setting up for future chapters, I'm just leaving this as a oneshot for now. Someone had posted a concept somewhere that I simply had to work with, so I just wanted to write it out. If I can think of a way to push the story forward I'll probably return to this and expand on it, but for now, I just hope ya liked it.