Frozen: Heart's Reflections

by Sigrid the Sky-Witch

Six months after the events of the film, Elsa has taken up her duties as Queen of Arendelle. Finding the balance of her royal responsibilities and her own anxieties a more more daunting task than she might have realized. Things don't get any easier when she has to deal with a thief, a powerful mirror, and a vengeful troll. Rated T for mild voilence.

1. Prologue

Yay! it's time for the premiere of my newest fic! I hope everyone enjoys reading and for more information about this fanfic, please visit my profile.

Frozen is owned by Disney.

Also the music I used to inspire the song in this chapter is Sovngarde from the Skyrim OST, so feel free to listen to that if you wanna get a sense of what I wanted the music to sound like.

Frozen: Reflections

Prologue

The young woman suddenly opened her eyes, her senses flooding back to her after spending so long in meditation. She became aware of herself in the present moment; the sounds of the forest around her, the rustling of the leaves, the smell of the crisp, autumn air, the feeling the soft cloth of her white robes against her skin, and the pressure on her knees as they were pressed against the cold, stony earth all came flooding back to her. The last sensation to return was an all too familiar feeling of frustration.

Once again, she had failed to receive a vision.

The young woman grimaced and blew a strand of black hair out of her face in annoyance; she never understood why the gift of foresight didn't come as easily to her as it did her grandmother. Did the spirits see her as unworthy? Or was she simply not ready? On such a pivotal, life-changing day, she couldn't receive guidance when she needed it the most?

The girl let out soft, but perturbed sigh, for she knew that she was needed back at camp. She did what she could to push her disappointment out of her mind and quickly stood back up, brushing off the few torn leaves that were caught on her robes as she rose and recovered her effects from where they rested; a thin, wooden staff with a polished round knob at the top, and a small tool that resembled a spindle, though somewhat longer, bulkier, and more square-shaped near the top.

The girl gathered her tools and made sure to pull her hood over her head before making her way back to the nearby encampment. She only walked a short pace before she saw a tall, burly man come into view. She recognized his face once she saw it, and smiled warmly, but the man simply continued to stare, his stoic expression unchanging even as the young woman walked toward him. She walked up to the man and stopped, and the man remained where he stood, his face stern and stoic, showing no emotion as he simply looked at the young girl half his size.

"Bo," she said, keeping up her warm smile, even as her nerves were starting to get to her. "I'm ready."

The man bowed his head, dipping his face just slightly downward, but when he turned his gaze back on the girl, he wore a smile to match the warmth of her own. He then graciously stepped aside revealing to the girl the path that lay before her. Two long rows of glowing torches stood on either side of her, like a fence to herd her down the path she had to take. Behind them were men with drums, beginning to beat them in a steady rhythm as soon as the girl was in sight. At the end of the path was a lone, black tent, simple enough in appearance, but it was ultimately where her journey would end.

Beginning to feel butterflies in her stomach, the girl, took a deep breath and began to walk down the path, trying to remember the words she needed to sing. Though she tried to maintain a calm demeanor as she walked slowly down the path, in her mind she was starting to panic, the words having escaped her mind. The banging of the drums, were ringing in her head as she wracked her brain trying to remember. The sound of drums was soon joined by a low pitched, melodious humming chant being sung by all the men present. They had all begun to start the ritual song and she wasn't ready at all! She struggled to remember before her part in the song arrived. Seconds later, the men began to sing with booming, baritone voices. Their resonance was so strong she could feel the bass reverberating through her body. They sang in the Ancient Tongue, which she had still not fully picked up yet, which only served to make her feel more anxious. Her staff and spindle were starting to quiver in her hands and her heart was beating faster than the drums; she was mere seconds away from her time to sing! If she didn't remember soon the initiation would be ruined!

Then, in the midst of the turmoil in her head, a thought, no, more of an instinct, swept over her. The constant barrage of panic and fear beating on her skull were drained away as she cleared her mind and surrendered to the music. She let go of her feelings of trepidation and let herself find peace with the rhythm of the thundering drums and booming voices around her. She could suddenly feel herself adapting, becoming one with the flow of the music. Then at they very instant, the time came for her verse to be sung, and she found the words she had been looking for:

"From the cold, mountain winds

To the sea's rising tide,

To the heart, of this land, I shall call.

By my blood and my kin shall my oath soon decide

If I be hope and wisdom for all."

The Initiate's voice was shaky at first, but as she continued to let the music flow through her and become guided by instinct, her song became clearer. By the next verse, she had found a sense of peace, and her light resonance harmonized almost perfectly with the booming voices of the men around her.

To the soul of the earth

May my binding vow reach

May it cross, o'er the veil, to reach thee.

Bless this heart within me

Through my voice, may you teach

Humble servant is what I shall be.

Her voice began to falter as she said her final line, and the feelings of dread and anxiety returned. She began to realize it was more than failure that made her fearful. It was the idea of succeeding that frightened her more

And with that, the Initiate's part in the song was done, the drumming and chanting continued around her, but for her it was over. She now stood right in front of the tent, her singing and flow with the music having pulled her away from conscious thought for those brief few seconds that she hadn't noticed she had walked all the way there. She bent forward and pushed the flap aside, making her way in.

Inside was a small fire resting simply on the bare earth inside the tent, but surrounding the fire were sets of large stones with runes on them. They were placed in a circle around the fire and pressed into the soil, and, judging by their seamless fit in the ground most like filled in with dirt and packed together neatly. On the other side of the fire was a figure in black robes, similar to the white robes the Initiate was wearing, only they showed more age and wear on them, despite being in relatively good condition. The figure even wore a hood like the girl, and like the rest of the garment, it was black, covering her face so well that not even the light of the fire seemed to illuminate it. Still, for the Initiate there was no sense of mystery here, for she knew the figure well.

"Grandmother," she said plainly, trying to hide her worries. Immediately the figure pulled back their hood, revealing an aged woman with long flowing gray hair. Her skin showed the signs of age, but she had somewhat younger features of a woman perhaps ten or twenty years younger, and her eyes were an even lighter shade of blue than the girl's. As their eyes met, the old woman beamed, her eyes lighting up as the younger girl's presence and wore a comforting smile before she began to speak.

"My child," she said, her voice was somewhat deep, yet soothing. "Today, your initiation begins. Today, we ask the blessing of the spirits of this land for your journey into the fold of the Vala."

The Initiate simply nodded, her expression remained blank and she took a shuddering breath. Noticing this, the older woman spoke up again.

"Feeling nervous?" she asked, her former ceremonious tone replaced with a concerned, comforting one. At once, the Initiate tried to grin, only managing to grimace again, and nodded.

"A bit, yes…" she replied, her eyes meeting the ground, feeling guilty for her nervousness. She saw long bony fingers come into her field of view and watched as they gently tapped on the bottom of her chin, compelling her to lift her gaze, meeting the warm smile of her grandmother again, as the woman moved her hand to the girl's cheek.

"Everything will be alright," she assured her. "Even if you're not chosen, and I have no reason to believe you wouldn't be, you will always be a part of this family. I promise."

Her grandmother's words comforted the girl, but only somewhat. Honestly, not being chosen seemed like the easier choice, but she would never say such a thing to her grandmother, especially not on the day of her initiation. She managed a half-grin and tried to calm herself down.

"Hold your head high, dear," said her grandmother still as warm as before. "You don't want the Spirits to think you've gotten cold feel do you?"

The Initiate blinked in surprise for a moment; her grandmother said that so casually, like it was a joke, but it was just too convenient for it to be just that, and the grin that crept along one side of her face confirmed it. The girl was amazed that her grandmother was able to see through her so easily. Still, things had been this way since she had known her grandmother; the woman just had a way of seeing into people's hearts, even when you didn't want her to.

Nevertheless, the grandmother made no comment about the girl's reaction and simply continued on. "Do you remember this next part?"

The Initiate nodded and moved to a nearby corned of the tent, placing her staff and spindle in the corner before returning to her place across from her grandmother. The old woman nodded in approval held out her open hands. Not wanting to appear hesitant again, the Initiate quickly placed her hands in her grandmother's and felt her long fingers close around them gently. The girl could hear the men outside reduce their singing back to low hums. It was now time for her to take the next step. Her grandmother smiled in anticipation, and the girl took a deep breath and began to recite the Binding Oath:

"I hereby make my solemn vow as a humble initiate to take up the duties of the Vala," she recited, continuing to stare into her grandmother's eyes, hoping somehow that would keep her from messing up. "I will stand as a servant of the spirits and of my people. I shall be as a bridge between our worlds, and convey the wisdom of the Spirit World into our own."

As she spoke the words, she could feel a tingling sensation spreading throughout her body, like some otherworldly force was touching her, inspecting her to see if she was truthful and honest. Was this a spirit? If it was, would it be able to sense the doubts and anxiety within her? Nevertheless she continued.

"I shall be as the earth: steadfast and strong, the foundation of my people. I shall be as the sea: the embodiment of calm and serenity, but also fierce and powerful when times are dire. I shall be as the wind; my voice and my songs breathing life into the blessed power of the Vala, and using that power to protect my people. I shall be as the flame; my passion for kin and kind burning within my heart."

Remembering the next part of the ritual she removed her hands from her grandmother's and retrieved her staff and spindle from their place in the corner. She placed one tool in each hand and returned to the fire holding her staff and spindle together before returning to her oath.

"With this Vow I bind myself to the spirits, and to my people. If I be worthy, I shall be known as one of the Vala. So let it be."

With her final words she slowly moved the spindle away from the top of the staff, as she did, a faint hint of magic glowed dimly from the spindle. As the spindle moved further away from the staff, a small thread appeared in between them; a thread that looked like it was made of blue light that seemed to originate from the staff and entwine itself around the spindle. The further she pulled the spindle away from the staff, the longer the thread grew. The girl had performed this kind of magic before so this wasn't new to her, but the next part of the ritual was to place the magic-entwined spindle on the runes surrounding the fire, transferring the magic from the spindle to the rune, which was something she had not done until now.

Beginning to tremble slightly, the Initiate slowly moved the spindle downwards to the nearest rune at her feet, careful not to move too fast and risk breaking the thread, thus ruining the ritual. She bent forward, being as slow and careful as she could, until she managed to tap the tip spindle on the rune. The thread suddenly disappeared and the magic glow on her spindle dimmed and died. However, the rune remained dark. The girl started to panic a little, thinking she had made a mistake of that she had been found unworthy, but after a few seconds she saw the rune begin to glow. It was dim at first, but then began to glow brightly. She had managed to perform the ritual properly at least. She smirked in satisfaction for a minute, but then realized there was one last step in her initiation.

And it was going to involve plenty of "stepping."

With another sigh, she lifted herself back up and returned her tools to their place in the corner, and went to face her grandmother again. The old woman simply smiled and held her arms out to her sides. The initiate reluctantly did the same, knowing that this was the hardest part of the ritual: the circle dance.

This was easily the most complicated part of the ritual, mainly because it involved dancing along the runes while spinning around and chanting. That would be hard enough, but she had to do it with her eyes closed as well! She had been practicing this for weeks, making fake runes in the dirt and dancing on them while her eyes were shut. More than once she fell over and almost always felt dizzy afterward, and she would at best have danced all around the runes, looking more like a the footprints of rambunctious children playing in a circle than the proper steps in an important ritual. If there was any part of this to truly worry about, it was the dancing.

Her grandmother lifted her head up and closed her eyes, and spun around to face the opposite direction. The initiate gulped and reluctantly followed suit, beginning to shake even more for fear of messing up. Her grandmother began to chant, her voice raising and lowering in pitch. It was a wordless chant, but even so it carried a lot of emotion and power behind it. The initiate began to chant similarly and heard the men outside return to their chanting as well, but this time faster and louder than before.

This was the initiate's cue to begin the dance. She struggled to move her feel towards where the thought the runes were as she danced and spun and chanted all at once, trying to keep her head held high and her eyes closed as she kept trying to guess at where the runes were. The only indication that she had made the right step was when the saw a faint white glow shine through the darkness in her eyes, meaning the runes had been activated by her touch. To make things even more difficult, she had to move in rhythm with the music, and the faster pace meant she couldn't take her time. She tried to do what she did earlier and let the flow carry her around, but with all the steps she had to take it only helped marginally. Soon she started feeling nauseous and nearly slipped on one of the runes, but managed to regain her balance just in time. Eventually, the Initiate knew the song was nearing its close and heard the chant change once more as the men outside held on one long, powerful note. This meant it was time to stop and face forward, but she still wasn't allowed to open her eyes yet. She lifted her arms high up in the air, her head still facing upwards and her eyes still closed as the long note was still held, trying to stand still despite her lightheadedness, then, as the long note was finally broken, the men ended the song with one final loud "Hrah!"

Finally, the Initiate dropped her arms down to her sides. The drums had stopped and the chanting had ceased. The only sounds left were the crackling of the fire, the various sounds of nature outside the camp, and the initiate's own heavy breathing. At long last, the ritual was finished.

Cautiously the Initiate opened her eyes and saw her grandmother standing on the other side of the fire, smiling.

"Well done," she said, her eyes looking glossed over as though she were about to cry. "You have completed your initiation trials."

The Initiate looked down and the runes and was amazed to see all of them were lit? Had she really managed to step on them all correctly, or were some of them lit up by her grandmother as she danced atop them? It was impossible to tell either way. Maybe that was part of the ritual as well.

"Now, I must commune with the spirits of this land," the grandmother continued. "If they accept your oath, then you will at last become one of the Vala."

And now it was the moment of truth: would the Initiate become one of the Vala? Or would she be deemed unworthy? The initiate and her grandmother both reached for a stool in the tent and sat top them still facing each other.

"Now, I will soon go into a state of trance," her grandmother explained, taking a small cup of dirt and pouring some it over the fire, dousing the flames somewhat to make it smaller. "Once I do, you will not be able to speak to me until it is finished. Eventually I will hold out my hands and you will need to take them and we will receive a vision together. If the spirits accept you, you will know it."

"But what if they reject me?" the Initiate thought to herself. "I guess I'd know then too…"

The initiate watched as her grandmother closed her eyes and began to chant once again. The initiate's heart sank, like she was waiting for a verdict to be passed. Even now, after all she had done to get to this point she still had doubts and fears about joining the ranks of the Vala. She felt conflicted, both with the need to have a purpose, and the desire for her freedom. Even though her fate decided for her in mere moments, she still had no idea where her life was going to go from here. Is this really what she wanted?

Just then, her grandmother opened her eyes. The initiate thought she had finished her vision at first, but this wasn't right; it wasn't at all like what her grandmother had explained would happen.

"Grandma?" the initiate asked, but there was no response. Her grandmother's eyes suddenly widened and her mouth was agape, she began to shake and tremble and gasp in terror, like she was being choked to death.

"Grandma? Grandma!" cried the Initiate, grabbing the old woman by the shoulders and shaking her, trying desperately to rouse her from her trance, but it was no use, she was still in trance and wouldn't come out until the vision was done. The Initiate began to panic again; this was not how the ritual was supposed to go, something was very wrong here. "No-no-no…what do I do?" she muttered frantically. She had no way of rousing her grandmother. The only thing the initiate could do was to try and see what her grandmother was seeing. Even though it would probably completely ruin the initiation, her grandmother's wellbeing was more important.

"I'm sorry…" she said before grabbing hold of her grandmother's hands and clasping her own around them. The initiate then tried to relax and center herself, trying to open a spiritual connection to her grandmother. At first, the Initiate only saw blackness, but soon the images started to pour into her mind.

First, she saw a large snowflake before her eyes. It was beautiful, as thought it had been sculpted by an artist. Then suddenly it turned red and twisted around itself, like someone was trying to destroy or corrupt it. Then she saw what looked like a tall mirror, simple yet beautiful and elegant, like it was made with the finest glass, or carved out of ice. Then it shattered, the pieces flying every direction and vanishing into the void. Finally she saw two terrifying sickly yellow eyes before her, malice and anger radiating forth from them and seemed to be starting into her heart. Suddenly, the eyes rushed toward her with unimaginable speed as though she was about to be pounced upon by whatever dark creature they belonged to.

The Initiate heard herself scream and suddenly found herself back in the tent with the dying flame and her grandmother in front of her. The Initiate was breathing heavily and sweating. The eyes she had seen had all but been burned into her mind. She suddenly felt her grandmother's hands clasp around her own. The Initiate looked up to see her grandmother moving again. She was awake! Her eyes were no longer blank, but still help great terror behind them.

"You…you saw it, didn't you?" she asked, still panting heavily. The Initiate was stunned, but finally nodded her head.

"Then you know we have no time!" her grandmother exclaimed. "It's coming!"

The girl was still shaken but also slightly confused. "What's coming?" she asked.

Her grandmother immediately stood up and went to a corner of the tent to retrieve her tools. "That vision was not part of the ritual," she said as sifted through her effects. "It was a warning. Something terrible is approaching!"

The Initiate gasped, was it that thing she saw in the vision? Those eyes…what could they have belonged to?

"What do we do?" she asked her grandmother. The older woman stood up, her staff and spindle in hand.

"Tell everyone we will be moving the camp immediately. I will gather the other Vala and tell them of this news" She said, as she turned to look at the Initiate her look of panic turned to sadness. "I'm sorry my dear, but I'm afraid you will not become a Vala this day."

The Initiate didn't know whether to feel sad or relieved at this news, but it was quickly overpowered by a sense of urgency. "I understand."

"Good, now go!" her grandmother commanded as she began to leave out of the other tent flap. "We don't have much time!"

Immediately, the Initiate got up and ran out of the tent, not even bothering to put her hood back up as it fell. She saw Bo standing outside, at first he was smiling, but his mood changed when he saw the Initiate's fear.

"We need to leave now." The initiate gasped. "Something's about to…"

her words were interrupted by the sudden gust of wind that blew through the camp, causing her to cover her face as the powerful winds blasted through the camp. The wind then stopped as suddenly as it had appeared, followed by rolling fog that began to seep slowly into the area.

"Is that fog from the swamps?" thought the Initiate. "Why is it all the way over here?"

The fog seemed to bring with it an empty silence as the sounds of the forest seemed to completely stop. Even the rustling of the leaves seemed to cease. Bo motioned to the other men and they stood up from where they were sitting and immediately went to the weapons rack, grabbing swords and axes and spears and starting to position themselves in front of the oncoming fog. The silence crept in again for a moment, leaving everyone to stare into the fog, awaiting whatever evil was prepared to crawl out of it.

Just then, they got what they were waiting for.

There was a huge crashing sound that shook the earth and the Initiate stumbled. Using her staff to stay upright she pulled herself back up and saw something huge suddenly appeared from the fog. It didn't completely leave the fog though, so no one could get a good look at whatever it was, but it looked dark colored, dense and somewhat round in some places, while being more square-shaped in others. Suddenly it moved, sounding like two rocks being grinded against one another. Was this thing made of stone? As it moved the warriors all readied their weapons. The Initiate was prepared to use her magic as well, but Bo put his spear in front of her like a barricade, silently urging her to stay back, and moved to join the others as they began to converge on the creature. As they inched closer, it moved again, lifting its massive body up and back slightly, as if it were rearing back. The warriors stopped in their tracks, those with shields brought them up to their faces, preparing for whatever attack this thing was going to throw at them. The Initiate, now crippled with fear, could only watch. Without warning she saw a column of flame erupt out from the fog, coming from the top of the creature. It blazed over the heads of the warriors and flew above the Initiate, finding its mark on one of the tents behind them. The initiate could hear screams of panic and terror, coming from men and women, but she didn't dare to turn around and see the damage. Her eyes were fixed on the monster before her.

The warriors cried out with fury and charged the creature, Bo included. They didn't get far when the creature moved again, and the Initiate saw the monster's arm, which looked like a giant stone slab emerge from the fog and smash the ground in front of them. The warriors stopped in their tracks as the giant arm smashed into the earth, and when they recovered, rushed forward again, trying in vain to strike at the creature's arm. The monster then pulled its arm back slightly and then swept it across the ground, colliding with the group of warriors and swatting them aside. Some of them managed to bring their shields up to block the attack, but the creature's arm was too massive to prevent the lot of them from being flung out of the way, screaming as they disappeared into the fog.

"No!" Screamed the Initiate, horrified at the sight of people she had known for years suddenly being tossed aside like they were nothing.

The Initiate saw figures appear from behind her, young and old women in robes of white and black. Vala and fellow initiates alike had emerged to fend of this beast. Yet even as they charged forward, the Initiate found she could not move, her legs only buckled as she fell to her knees in terror at what she had just seen. Her sisters pressed forward, reading their own weapons against the monster and preparing their incantations. The Initiate then saw one of her sisters who had gone the furthest suddenly stop trying to cast her magic and began to struggle in place. What looked like vines, or roots, had burst out of the earth around her and wrapped themselves around her legs and arms, rendering her immobile. The creature then moved its arm again and the Initiate could see a large, stony hand open up and grab the girl, wrapping its fingers around her and lifted her up, plants and all, and pulled her into the fog.

The Initiate covered her face with her hands, letting her weapons fall to the ground, and cowered as she heard the sounds of magic meeting stone. She felt so helpless and cowardly, shaking in fear as her sisters were captured or killed. But she couldn't move. She could hear lightning striking rock, and heard little pieces of stone falling to the ground, followed by loud thumping, like the creature was walking, but instead of moving closer, like the Initiate was expecting, it sounded like the creature was getting farther away.

Then, there was only silence.

The Initiate opened her eyes and saw that the creature was no longer there, but the fog remained. She saw the sights of her sisters around her, some of them looking confused and afraid, and some were mourning the loss of one of their own. The initiate tried to pull herself together, but she was still trembling. The creature had easily dispatched many of her tribe's warriors and had taken one of her fellow initiates, and then simply left. Maybe her sisters had managed to damage it, forcing it to retreat, but she couldn't be sure now. Did the creature attack simply to take one of the Vala? If so, then for what purpose?

One thing the Initiate was sure about was that if the rock creature was after the Vala, then it probably would return.

And none of her people were safe.

A/N: Whaaaa? a Frozen fanfic with no characters from the film? No worries! They'll be in the next chapter, I promise! Chapter 1 should be out sometime next Friday or Saturday, so if you enjoyed this prologue, I hope you'll stick around the the rest!