Chapter 2:

The Letter

Within days, Queen Elsa had written over a dozen letters to princes across the globe. She was inviting them all to attend a dinner and ball that she was hosting as a social gathering to get to know the young princes. It didn't take long for every prince from the Northern Isles to Gladavir to RSVP to the event, and before she knew it, over twenty princes were planning on attending. Elsa made sure to inform everyone working in the castle that no one from the Southern Isles was invited. After Hans' recent attempt to seize the throne, she wanted nothing to do with the kingdom.

The ball was scheduled to take place one week from now, and there was much to be done. Since her last ball had turned into a disaster, Elsa was nervous about throwing another one at first. But Anna quickly convinced her that everything would go right this time, and that everyone was aware of her powers. It was also the best way to interact with princes from the other kingdoms.

One day, after a long meeting with the council about the upcoming ball, Elsa decided to take some time to relax by herself. Normally she wasn't keen on doing this, seeing as how she spent thirteen years in isolation, but Elsa needed time to clear her head. Preparation for the upcoming ball was driving her insane. She sat in her room drinking a cup a tea, and reading a good book. It was peaceful to have time to think. No meetings to attend, no having to order this person to that, making sure people were doing what they were supposed to be doing, this was definitely what she needed. As she turned a page in her book, she heard a knock on the door.

"Come in," she replied, hoping that whoever it was wouldn't take too much of her time.

The door opened and Olaf walked in with a big smile on his face.

"Hi Elsa!" he said.

Elsa smiled. As much as she wanted to be alone for the time being, she couldn't be mad at the happy go lucky snowman she and her sister built long ago.

"Well, hello to you, Olaf. How are you today?"

"I'm wonderful. I just got back from town with Anna, Kristoff, and Sven. We had a blast!" I thought I'd pay you a visit since I haven't seen you all day."

"That's nice. It's good to see you."

"What are you doing?" Olaf asked walking over to where Elsa sat at her desk.

"I'm just enjoying some "me time," she said.

"What's me time?" Olaf asked.

"It's when I take a break from being the ruler of Arendelle and just kick back and relax by myself."

"Oh. But it's always better to be with friends," Olaf said with a smile.

"Of course it is, Olaf. It's just that sometimes people need time to be by themselves. You understand, right?"

"I think so. You just want some peace and quiet right?

"Exactly. Peace and quiet is what I need right now."

Olaf looked at the book Elsa held in her hands, and pointed one of his stick arms toward it.

"What are you reading?"

"It's called "Oliver Twist" by Charles Dickens."

"How is it?"

"It's pretty good actually. A bit sad, but still good nonetheless."

"That's good. Hey, do you want to go with Anna and me to plant some flowers in the garden! It'll be a lot of fun!"

Elsa smiled. "Thank you for your offer, Olaf, but I think I'm going stay here and read for a little while longer, if that's OK."

"That's fine. You're the queen! You can do anything you want. Well, gotta go. Those flowers won't plant themselves." The happy snowman walked out of the room as quickly as he came in, leaving Elsa alone once more. "Such as cute little guy," she said to herself.

A few hours later Elsa found herself once again attending to her royal duties. She met with the party planning committee and together they discussed the kinds of food she wanted for the reception.

"From what I understand, the prince of Marion is a vegetarian so we must have plenty of things set aside for him to eat," she said.

"Of course, Your Majesty," said one of the members.

"And I think a traditional roast beef would go nicely with green bean casserole."

"What about dessert, Your Majesty?"

"I'm tempted to just ask for a big chocolate cake, but I think there should be more of a variety this time around. Have the chefs come up with some suggestions and notify me when they are ready."

She then dismissed the party planning committee and left to attend to other matters. Since she cut off trading ties with Westleton, she had been seeking a new trade partner. She had come across some worthy candidates such as the kingdom of Gladvir and the kingdom of Marion. Elsa hoped that the upcoming ball would also help her in deciding who she should open up trade with. In all honesty, she had been very wary of who to trust since the treachery of Westleton and the Southern Isles. Every time she came upon a potential candidate, she couldn't help but wonder if they would truly be a benefit to the kingdom. Anna told Elsa that sometimes rulers have to take chances, and see where they lead too. Elsa knew she was right, but she still wanted to make sure that she was doing the right thing for her people.

Later that evening, Kristoff attended dinner with the two sisters. He lived in a nice house not too far from the castle, and was well-known by everyone in the castle. Together they enjoyed a private meal together, a ritual that they frequently indulged in. Olaf and Sven were welcome to join them as well as long as they behaved themselves. They had truly become a family in the past five months, something that Elsa cherished, especially because of how happy it made Anna. As the three finished up dessert, they began to talk about their day. It was always fun to hear what each other had to say, and to see who had the most interesting day.

"I tell you, I had the rudest customer in my entire history of ice delivering today," Kristoff said, finishing off a glass of wine.

"What happened?" Anna asked.

"Well, this guy ordered a dozen blocks of ice, and when I got to his house and told him that it was worth ten copper coins, he told me he only had a five and insisted on me giving it to him anyway. I told him sorry, but the price is ten copper coins. He then gave me a hard time about that; saying that ten copper coins was a rip-off for a dozen blocks of ice, and I told him, "Hey that's the price, take it or leave it." He then slammed the door in my face. Needless to say, I didn't get paid for that shipment."

Anna laughed. "Now who does that sound like?"

"What do you mean?" Kristoff asked.

"Don't you remember at Oaken's Trading Post where you wanted to buy all that equipment for ten coins, but he wouldn't sell them to you. You gave him such a hard time about that!"

Kristoff held his hands up in defense. "Hey, that was a rip-off, OK? There is no reason on earth for a rope, an ax, and carrots to cost that much!"

"I'm just saying you acted exactly like that customer yourself once," Anna said with a smirk.

"Yeah, I did. But I had a good reason too. This guy didn't."

"Whatever you say," Anna said.

Elsa laughed. She really liked Kristoff. He was sweet and funny. More importantly he made Anna happy, and that alone was worth more than she ask.

"Well, don't sweat it, Kristoff. You still have plenty more deliveries ahead of you tomorrow," Elsa said. "Hopefully everyone will have enough money to pay this time."

Kristoff laughed. "I hope so. I do not want to go through that again."

Just then the door to the parlor swung open, and Kai walked in holding a letter in his hand.

"Your Majesty, I am sorry to interrupt, but this letter just came in from the kingdom of Urvea."

Elsa took the letter from his hand opened it up. "It's asking for permission to attend the ball next week." I didn't send them an invitation. More importantly, I've never even heard of Urvea."

She continued reading the letter, and in it she learned a little about its sender.

Dear Queen Elsa,

I do apologize for my lateness, my brother and I have been very busy attending other matters. We have heard word of your throwing a ball next week, and would be honored to have your permission for us to attend. We understand that you are doing this in order to get to know various suitors. I realize that it is way past the RSVP date, but we do sincerely ask that you grant us an invitation to your party. I also understand that you are in need of a new trading partner. Sometime during the ball next week, if you like we could possibly discuss doing business with Arendelle. We have heard so much about you; especially your power to create ice and snow. Another reason why I think we should meet is because I have something I want to personally show you. You may believe that you are the only person capable of powers such as these, but I assure you that you are not alone. Since I was young, I have had the ability to create and control fire. For years I too thought that I was alone, but when I heard of your powers, and how you learned to control them, I knew I had to meet you. So this will also be an opportunity for the both of us to get to understand someone who is like us, and maybe even learn more about our powers in the process. We will awaiting your answer soon.

Best wishes,

Aaron and Paul Clayworth

Elsa put the letter down; her mouth was agape, and snow started to trickle from her fingertips.

"Elsa, what's wrong?" Anna asked.

Snow started to fall from the ceiling as a wide grin appeared on Elsa's face. "This…this prince. He has powers similar to mine only he has the ability to control fire!" I'm not the only one anymore!"

The snow began to come down harder covering Kristoff, Anna, and Kai in the process. "Your Majesty?" Kai said, gesturing to the snow which now covered the floor.

"Oh my apologies" Elsa said, waving her hand to zip up all the snow.

"Really? A guy who can control fire? That's so awesome!" Anna said.

"I know. I have to meet him. I've wondered my whole life if I was the only person with magical abilities like this, and now I know!"

Elsa sprang up and ran to her bedroom, leaving a trail of ice in her wake. She quickly wrote a response to the two brothers, and handed it to Kai. "Deliver this ASAP," she said.

"Yes, Your Majesty,"

After he left, Elsa let out a loud cry of joy. "Oh I'm so excited for next week!"

"That'll be neat to see. A guy who can set things on fire," Kristoff said.

"I just hope he doesn't burn down the castle," Anna quipped.

"I'm sure he has control of his powers, Anna" Elsa said sternly.

"This is going to be so great. I can finally meet someone who understands me for who I am because they are just like me."

With that, the queen said her goodnights to her sister and Kristoff, and went to bed.

There will definitely be some OCs in this story as you can tell. The names of some of the kingdoms as well as the two brothers. Also, I read somewhere that "Frozen" takes place sometime in the 1840s, which is why I had Elsa reading Oliver Twist, a book that was published in 1837. Hope you all are enjoying so far!