I do not own the rights to Disney. Contains spoilers for Frozen.

Breaking Tradition: Again

"Come on, Elsa, we're going to be late!"

Anna tugged on her sister's hand, leading the way into Cinderella's castle. Arendelle had traded with the other kingdoms for years, but it wasn't until the disaster that was her sister's coronation did Elsa and Anna finally decide to visit due to their invitation to join the Disney princesses. Elsa, while hesitant at venturing to a foreign land where she might not be accepted, eventually gave into her sister's pleads. Anna had been kept from the rest of the world for so long, and could do with some more friends. Olaf, Sven, and Kristoff were fine, but Elsa suspected it would do Anna some good to befriend some girls her own age- and perhaps for herself as well.

As they entered the castle, Elsa craned her neck around to take in the architecture all around her. Anna stood by her side, just as bug-eyed as her sister. This castle was unlike anything they had ever seen before. With the forests surrounding Arendelle, their castle and surrounding buildings were all made of wood. This castle was made of stone and marble and exulded a coolness and majestic atmosphere that even Elsa's ice palace couldn't compete with.

"The princesses are expecting you inside," said the older gentleman who had greeted them and lead them to a set of tall doors. While Anna did her best to the sight to stifle a giggle at the monocle which was precariously perched on his cheek, Elsa did her best to calm herself down. The last thing she needed was to cause an incident here. She may have had control of her powers at last, but there was still the lingering possibility of losing control.

The doors opened toward them, and their names were called. "Please welcome, Queen Elsa and Princess Anna of Arendelle."

As they entered the vast ballroom, both girls let out small gasps. Even their own ballroom wasn't as big or as shiny as this one. There was a long banquet table against the far wall with a bunch of young girls seated along it. Their advisers in Arendelle had given them a basic description of each princess they would be meeting. To their far left was a dark haired girl with fair skin that Elsa and Anna recognized as Snow White. From her, the princesses went in order of their introduction into the club. At the far right was a girl with a wild mane of red curls that hung in her face and seemed to be doing her best to hide the bow that was under her seat with her foot. Both Elsa and Anna recognized the brunette to her left- Rapunzel had been at Elsa's coronation, not that they got much of a chance to talk.

The princesses themselves were studying the newest additions. The tall blonde who was the queen, was wearing a form fitting blue dress with a transparent cape and her hair braided off to the side. She looked tall and regal, certainly befitting of the title, 'queen'. She also had a proper formal dress unlike their newest princess from a year ago. So did her sister, who was wearing a rather pretty green dress and had her reddish hair, which was not a wild mane, tied neatly up into a bun while she bounced up and down on her feet in excitement.

She gave a small wave of her hand at the group. "Hi," she said, "I'm Anna and this is my sister Elsa."

Elsa nodded at the group while they gave smiles of their own and nodded their heads in recognition. Anna sniffed the air and asked, "Is that chocolate?"

One of the redheads, Ariel, smiled. "Ever since we took seafood off of the menu, Chef Louis has been trying to perfect his truffle recipe to occupy his free time."

"Not that he's succeeded yet," said the dark-skinned princess next to Rapunzel, rather smugly. Elsa recalled that one of the princesses was a chef with her own restaurant, surely this was her, Princess Tiana.

"But don't let that stop you from trying one," said Ariel. "Nobody can cook as good as Tiana, but we can at least try."

Grateful, Anna made a small dash for one of the pieces of chocolate and did her best to eat it as daintily and princess-like as possible. Which is to say, she failed miserably. She tried her best and wiped her mouth with her hand while trying to hide the act by pretending she was yawning. Not that the other princesses commented on it, they were polite in that regard, though the redhead at the far end did chuckle.

Snow White made a little 'ahem' sound to clear her throat. "It's so nice to have you both here. We've never had two new members at the same time, let alone one being a queen."

"Yes," agreed Cinderella, "It is quite unusual, but we're no strangers to change here."

She gave a pointed look at Merida, who just shrugged. In the past year she had made friends with some of the Disney princesses and some non-princesses like Mulan. The majority of whom appreciated her uniqueness. There were some who were still a bit old-fashioned and had some unfavorable things to say about the newest the princess, but they didn't bother Merida. Growing up in the Scottish Highlands with the English to the south, Merida was used to being called a barbarian and other less than pleasant terms. She had been raised to take pride in her heritage and lifestyle, and anybody who took issue with it could answer to the end of a sword. Or in Merida's case, a bow. Her clan, along with the Dingwalls, Macintoshess, and MacGuffins, had banded together years ago to drive the English out of the Highlands, and had proved that they were a force to be reckoned with. So some unpleasant words being whispered about by a bunch of stuffy shirt nobles didn't faze her.

Elsa and Anna noticed the look, but didn't say anything. Obviously there was some sort of back story they were unaware of, and now probably wasn't the appropriate time to question it.

Continuing on, Snow White said, "Why don't you two tell us a little bit about yourselves."

Before Elsa could open her mouth to say anything, Anna spoke for her. "Elsa has magic with ice and snow," she said bobbing up and down excitedly. Elsa's face flushed scarlet, contrasting greatly against her pale skin. Did Anna really have to blurt that out suddenly? She suspected that the princesses might already know, especially since Rapunzel was at her coronation and experienced it first hand. But that didn't mean she wanted it to be one of the first things they learned about her in person.

She raised her eyes to study their reactions to the news. Judging by the majority of the expressions, either they didn't know about her powers or didn't believe what they had heard about her.

"Would you mind showing us?" asked one of the brunettes, Belle.

Realizing that there wasn't really a way around it, Elsa nodded. What could she do that was simple, would make them believe, and wouldn't bring about another winter? Coming up with a plan, Elsa put her hands together and created a small snowball. Then, she tossed it up in the air, letting the snow fly free. The snow slowly floated back down, the princesses' very own private and small snow flurry. Once it was over, Elsa moved her hand and caused the small trace amounts of snow in the room to disappear.

Throughout the display, the princesses had a look of amazement and wonder on their faces. Anna, who was used to Elsa's powers by now, merely clapped and said, "See? Isn't it cool? Well, I mean of course it's cool, it's snow, but wasn't it just amazing?"

"It was," agreed Jasmine, who had little experience with snow and winter due to living in a desert. From visiting the other's kingdoms she had more experience then she once did, but every time she saw it and felt snowflakes on her face, it was still as magical as the first time. The others nodded in agreement, touching their faces and hair as if they could hardly believe snow had been there a few seconds ago. None of them had any magic powers of their own, though magic had played a major role in each of their lives- sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worst.

While Anna may have become accustomed to Elsa's displays of magic, Elsa herself still wasn't used to showing off in front of others. For so long she had been taught to conceal, don't feel, don't let them know. Going against the biggest rules of her life in front of total strangers was hard. Anna, being by side, beaming up at her did make it easier though, and the princesses did seem to accept her powers rather than reject them.

"She can do more," piped up Rapunzel, "she made an entire ice rink." A wistful expression crossed her face. "It was the first time I ever went skating, I thought I'd have to wait a couple more months at least before I'd be able to. Flynn taught me how."

"It was my first time skating too," added Anna. "Elsa taught me and gave me my first pair skates."

"Rapunzel mentioned something about a terrible winter in the middle of summer," said one of the blondes, Aurora. The two princesses were rather close, both being taken from their parents at a young age and growing up without knowing they were royalty. Aurora had even helped Rapunzel reconnect with her parents and adjust to being a princess. When Rapunzel had returned from Arendelle, she had told Aurora all about her first time in winter weather.

"Uh..." said Elsa, unsure of what to say. What was the best way to explain losing control of your magic, running away from your royal duties, unleashing an endless winter on your own land, and nearly killing your sister in only a few days?

Once again though, Anna's bubbly and social nature made it so Elsa didn't have to say anything. "It was all my fault, really," insisted Anna, "Elsa wouldn't have lost control of her powers if I hadn't made her upset by getting engaged to Hans after only a day."

"And what exactly is wrong with getting engaged to a prince after only a day?" asked Cinderella. At least half of the princesses there had met and planned to marry their true loves in under twenty-four hours.

"You can't marry somebody you've only known for a day," explained Elsa, who was recalling having the same conversation with Anna, before things had gotten out of hand.

"Why not?" asked Snow White. "What if it's true love?"

Elsa rolled her eyes. These girls must have grown up just as isolated and lonely as Anna if they believe once chance encounter with a stranger was true love. The air in the room started to drop and Anna put her hand into Elsa's to calm her down. "Elsa was right," she said, defending her sister, "Prince Hans wasn't in love with me, he was in love with my title. He was going to arrange for Elsa to 'have an accident' after our marriage. Except we never got that far... instead he left me to freeze to death and nearly killed Elsa."

The temperature started to rise back to normal, and Elsa squeezed Anna's hand. "But he didn't, thanks to you."

"Wait," said Ariel, "So neither of you have princes?"

Anna blushed, her cheeks matching her hair. "I have Kristoff. He's not a prince, he's an ice harvester, not that I mind him not being a prince, I mean look how Hans turned out..." she stopped because she realized that she was rambling on.

"So, you're not married?" asked Merida, who was a bit impressed that she was no longer the only unwed princess.

"No," replied Anna, "we're taking time to get to know each other, and if things ever get that far, we'll then get married, someday, maybe."

"And I spent the majority of my life in a room afraid that if I'd touch anybody, I'd kill them," said Elsa. "I'm not ready for marriage, I'm still trying to reconnect with my sister. If I meet a guy and fall in love some day, great, but I have other duties to attend to at the moment."

"Well," began Cinderella, "that's certainly... different."

"Very different," added Snow White. "But that's okay, different is good. Queen Elsa, and Princess Anna I'd like to welcome you to the Official Disney Princess Club."

"But," protested Cinderella, "we didn't even ask them about their songs, their animal friends-"

"Which is okay, Cindy" interrupted Tiana, "different is good, remember?"

"Aye, what's wrong with change?" asked Merida. She turned her attention back to Elsa and Anna. "Some of the others are coming over to Dunlath after for archery lessons if you want to join."

"Oh, can we Elsa?" asked Anna. "I've never done archery before."

The image of her sister shooting somebody accidentally with an arrow flashed through Elsa's mind given her clutzy nature, but archery did sound like fun. "Alright, we can go Anna."

Anna's response was a squeal of delight.

The princesses started to disburse out and like last time, Snow White and Cinderella were the last two in the room.

"I guess I no longer have to guess what the next batch of princesses would be like," said Cinderella to Snow White. "They're even more independent than the last."

"True," agreed Snow White. "But admit it, you're glad they are."

"I suppose," mused Cinderella. "Charming certainly thought so last month when I went trap shooting with him for the first time. I imagined all clay pigeons were my stepmother... didn't miss a single one."

Snow White laughed. "I know, Ferdinand told me. He said he lost his good saddle in a bet with Charming over that."

"You were right after all," said Cinderella on her way out of the ballroom and toward her bedroom to change for the archery lessons. "breaking tradition has made me happier for the better after all."

**Author's Note**

After seeing Frozen, I really had to do another chapter because it did such a good job making Elsa and Anna complex characters and putting a new spin on classic Disney princess tropes. Also, I think some credit should be given to Kristoff since he's the first non-prince and non-thief among the guys who end up with the princesses. Snow White had her prince, Cinderella had hers, aurora had Prince Phillip, Ariel had Prince Eric, Belle had her Prince/Beast, Jasmine had Aladdin who was a thief, Tiana had Prince Naveen, and Rapunzel had Flynn, a thief. Anna did have Prince Hans at first, but ended up with/implied to be with Kristoff, a normal guy with a day job. Also did anybody else get the vibe that he ran away with Sven from an abusive home and then got adopted by the trolls? He's never really fond of humans, and even says, 'people will beat you, curse you, and cheat you'. I don't think he was just talking about Oaken.

Also, last time there were some reviewers who pointed out that I omitted Pocahontas and Mulan. As I stated last time, I know they're supposed to be part of the Disney Princess line up. However, you don't see them actually a part of the franchise. Go to the Disney princess aisle in Target, Toys 'R' Us and other stores that carry the merchandise and they are nowhere. No dolls, no dress up clothes, no posters, nothing. I think they were only included before Tiana, Rapunzel, Merida, Elsa, and Anna so the franchise would have more princesses. Now that more princess movies have come out, Disney isn't including them. Alice from Wonderland was included at one point even. This story reflects the princesses that Disney actually market, and also excludes Eilonwy and Kida, who are princesses but were never included in the line-up since their movies were considered flops.

It looks like Elsa and Anna might be the last princesses for a while. Disney's next animated movie is Big Hero Six which comes from Marvel Comics. As of today, December 7, 2013, there are no confirmed upcoming movies with princesses, but two future movies that could have some. One is Giants, which is supposedly based on Jack and the Beanstalk and has a 2016 release date. The other is Moana. According to the Disney wiki, Moana is set around 2000 years in the South Pacific and is about Moana Waialiki, a sea voyaging enthusiast, and the only daughter of a chief in a long line of navigators. When her family needs her help, she sets off on an epic journey. The film will also include demi-gods and spirits taken from real mythology, and will be a musical. The set release date is 2018. Personally, I'm okay with no more princesses. As long as the movies have strong characters and a decent story I'll be happy.

Finally, I was considering adding another chapter featuring Merida, but never got around to finishing it. The premise was that the princesses start learning archery and enjoy getting advice from Elinor on how to be a princess and queen that Merida always hated. Eventually Merida gets jealous of the attention, and has a heart-to-heart with her mother. I don't know if I'll ever get around to finishing it, but I'm tired of the portion that is done sitting on my computer, so I went ahead and posted it. Read if you feel like, just remember it's unfinished.