AN: A big thank you to those of you who took the time to review! Since there does seem to be some small interest in this story, I might as well expound a little on my vision for it. First and foremost, Moana is going to remain the heroine. It would be the easiest thing in the world to write a story about Elsa waving her hand and overpowering (or icing over) all the challenges in their path, but I think that would be a great disservice to Moana, and so I have contrived to ensure that the latter remains in the driver's seat despite her lack of superpowers. I also intend to maintain a relatively tight narrative focus; we'll be mostly following the events of the movie with Elsa's presence and chaos theory changing some things.

I am aware that there is a canonical discrepancy when it comes to the timing of the two films, but the dates are never mentioned in the movies themselves so I felt free to take some liberties. Also, it was hard enough to get Elsa into Polynesia, and I figured time travel would be pushing things a bit.

For anyone who cares, I do intend for this to be a Moana/Elsa story, but I want their relationship to be based on more than physical attraction so I have opted for a slower pace and careful development. I also reserve the right to change my mind if the chemistry isn't working out.

"We have one rule." Chief Tui of Motonui enunciated each word clearly for emphasis.

His daughter Moana turned to look at him from atop the fishing boat, an oar in one hand and an exasperated look on her face.

"An old rule, when there were fish!"

"A rule that keeps us safe!"

"But dad—"

"Instead of endangering our people, so you can run right back to the water!"

The Chief lifted Moana with his thick arms and placed her firmly back on the sand, glowering down at her. Their audience of village fishermen exhaled and looked at each other awkwardly. It felt like they were intruding on something deeply personal.

"Every time I think you're past this…" Tui snatched the oar from Moana and stormed off. "No one goes beyond the reef!"

Moana stalked down towards the beach with a long stick in hand, prepared to snap it into little pieces so that she could throw them like spears. It was childish, perhaps, but her father seemed to insist on treating her like a child when all she had been trying to do was suggest a solution for the village's problems. It's not like he'd had any better ideas. Accusing her of only wanting to explore the water, all but suggesting that she was selfish, that was uncalled for. It hurt.

With a frustrated sigh Moana pushed her way through the brush and towards her favorite palm tree, one of the ones that had tipped sideways and made for a comfortable seat. If she was honest with herself, the ocean did still call to her, and she did long to go beyond the reef, but she understood and embraced her responsibility to the tribe. She would never put herself above them. Why didn't her father get that? Why didn't he get her?

As the beach came into view Moana grumpily looked out at the waves again. She was about to sit down when something at the edge of the water caught her eye. Peering closer, a gasp escaped her throat. It was a person. A dead body. Her angst forgotten, Moana sprinted forward to investigate. It looked like the poor soul had probably been decomposing for a while. Why else would they be so pale? Yet there was no obvious sign or smell of rot as she drew closer.

It was a girl, Moana realized as she halted in front of the body, which was lying face down and had long since lost its clothes. Nudity was nothing to lose your head about on Motonui, and the Chief's daughter examined the body with a steady gaze. Unusually slender, frail in appearance if she was honest, with the most peculiar coloration of hair and skin. It actually appeared to be natural and not something that had happened after death. The girl had been around Moana's age, maybe a couple years older if she had to guess.

Moana blinked. The ocean waves were rippling around the body strangely, almost as though trying to nudge it towards her. Was that a sign? She lifted the stick she had brought to the beach and bravely used it to turn the body over, revealing delicate facial features and—

"You're alive!" Moana gasped.

Indeed the gentle heave of the stranger's chest was undeniable proof that she was still breathing. Hearing a cry from the tree line, Moana looked over her shoulder to see her mother Sina staring at them with her hand over her mouth.

"Get help! Tell father!" Moana yelled urgently. "I think we can still save her!"

As her mother ran off to do just that Moana crouched down to take a closer look. The girl wasn't from Motonui, that much was clear, which meant she had been out there on the open ocean, the place where Moana could never go but always longed to be. Her heart and mind raced. If the stranger survived, if she woke up, she would be able to tell them what was out there. It felt like a whole new world of possibilities had opened up and Moana now stood on its threshold.

"Hang in there, whoever you are," Moana muttered.

Voices. Unfamiliar and strangely accented. They drifted through Elsa's consciousness as if from far away.

"First the fish disappear and now this? It's a bad omen I tell you."

"You think she is the one who scared away the fish?"

"And poisoned the trees."

"She doesn't look dangerous."

"How would you know? We've never seen the likes of her before."

Elsa tried to speak but her words came out as little more than a faint groan. Still, it was enough that the voices fell silent. Where was she? Her head spun with indistinct memories of a terrible storm and a plunge into darkness. Somehow Elsa knew that she wasn't supposed to be awake, not ever again. Yet her throat was parched and bitter with the taste of the sea, and the weariness in her limbs could only belong to the realm of the living.

A cup of some kind was brought to her lips, and Elsa allowed its contents to be dribbled into her mouth. It felt like water, but it had a sweetness to it which, in that moment, seemed like the sweetest nectar she had ever tasted. With difficulty, she swallowed. More liquid came and she gulped it down greedily.

"There you go," said an elderly female voice, deep and soothing. "So at least you enjoy the water of the coconut as much as the rest of us, hm?"

With a herculean effort, the Queen of Arendelle managed to crack her eyes open. Through a blurry haze she could make out a wrinkled face, dark eyes, and white hair.

"I am Tala of Motonui," the woman said. "It has been many years, before even my time, since this island has had a visitor from beyond our shores. We find you very interesting indeed, strange one. Your hair is like the sun on the sands, and your skin is as white as bone itself."

"And look, her eyes are blue like the sea!"

Tala leaned close and spoke in a conspiratorial whisper. "Say, are you a ghost or a demon?"

Fearful now, Elsa shook her head.

"A demigoddess then? Or a magical creature in human form? Ah, a dolphin perhaps? A bird?"

"I am human," Elsa croaked at last. "But I fear that I'm very far from home."

"A pity," Tala declared. "I've always wanted to speak with the birds. They squawk so loud and interrupt my afternoon naps. I wish I could tell them to turn it down."

Before Elsa could begin to formulate a response to that, another voice spoke up, this one male and full of authority.

"That's enough, mother. I would speak with this stranger myself."

A man came into view, bare chested but as tall and strong as any that Elsa had ever seen. He wore a headdress decorated with shells and feathers, and around his neck was an impressive necklace of large fangs. It was obvious that he was a leader among these people, perhaps even the king.

"My name is Tui Waialiki. I am the Chief on this island of Motonui," he said evenly. "I wish to know who you are, how you came to our shores, and what your intentions are."

"I, I'm Elsa. I fell into the water." Elsa grimaced as she realized how silly that sounded. "The waves must have carried me here. I intend only to return home as soon as I can."

"Where is your home? You mentioned it was far."

"Arendelle. The Kingdom of Arendelle."

"I have never heard of such a place. How is it that you could have travelled such a distance?"

"We came by ship. A big one. Big enough to carry a hundred men across the oceans."

At that a low murmur ran through the room. To the left a teenage girl perked up, her eyes dancing with excitement. Elsa met her gaze for a lingering moment. There was something reassuring about seeing such eager acceptance from what appeared to be the youngest person in the room. Then the Chief cleared his throat, and Elsa realized that his jaw had tightened and expression darkened. Her heart sank.

"You should not have come. These are dangerous seas," Tui said. "And for what purpose would you need so many men, so close to our home? Did you mean to conquer the island?"

"No. No, we were on a mission of peace."

"There was already peace here without outsiders and their ships."

Disoriented, exhausted, and overwhelmed by the interrogation on top of everything else, Elsa suddenly found it difficult to breathe. Her life might depend on giving the right answers phrased the right way, but she was in no condition to think straight. To her horror, she felt a familiar crinkling of frost under her fingertips. Her fear was taking over. It was hidden by the blanket that covered her body, for now, but at any moment they would see it and know that she had magic and then—

"Dad, you're scaring her!"

"Stay back, Moana."

The teenager Elsa had spotted earlier ignored the warning and stepped around the Chief, her father. She looked to be some years younger than Elsa, but she moved with pride and was more solidly built than the women of Arendelle. Something about her expression, the determination in her eyes, reminded Elsa of Anna. Even the name bore a resemblance. Without conscious thought, Elsa relaxed and the frost receded.

"She just had a brush with death and you're treating her like an enemy!" Moana said. "Shouldn't we give her some room to breathe and a chance to explain herself?"

Old Tala lay a hand on the Chief's shoulder. "I think, my son, that your daughter speaks wisely in this." She turned and nodded at Elsa. "Tell us your story, strange one. At your own pace."

Elsa smiled gratefully and took a moment to gather her thoughts. Then, haltingly, but with growing confidence, she began to speak. She told them about the Kingdom of Arendelle, the diplomatic mission, the ship, their long journey, and finally the terrible storm. She told them everything, leaving out only the parts about her magic and being the Queen. When she was done the room was silent.

"You see now, Moana?" Chief Tui turned to his daughter. "There is nothing out there on the ocean but storm and sorrow. Even the mightiest ships with a hundred sailors will be overcome."

That wasn't quite what Elsa had said, but Moana looked a little more subdued anyway.

"Ever since the heart of Te Fiti was taken, our waters have been unsafe for a thousand years," Tala muttered. "The darkness continues to spread. It creeps ever closer. I think, strange one, that its jaws found your ship in that storm."

Elsa closed her eyes and furrowed her brow. Not all of what the old woman said made sense to her, but she understood enough; they had unwittingly sailed into dangerous waters and the storm had merely been a symptom of some greater curse.

"If that is the case," Elsa said sadly, "I hope that my companions will return to safety and not stay to look for me. Although that will mean I might never see my home again."

Moana knelt down and took Elsa's hand. "Don't worry. You can stay with us until we've figured something out."

"Moana!" Tui looked exasperated. "We know nothing about her! It might not be safe."

"Well what would you rather do? Throw her back in the water? She has nowhere else to go!"

Before the argument could escalate Tala stepped between the father and daughter, separating the two, although her eyes were fixed on Elsa.

"It is no coincidence that you washed up on our island, strange one," she declared. "The ocean itself delivered you from that storm and brought you to us. You are here to serve a greater purpose."

"Mother—"

"I am sure of that much," Tala insisted. "This has all happened for a reason."

Tui closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "All who stay in this village must play a role. She does not know our ways."

"I'll teach her!" Moana volunteered. "She can help me out around the island."

"You must be sure."

"I'm sure. I can do it. We can do it."

The Chief pressed his lips together into a thin line, thinking it over. At last he fixed Elsa with a serious look.

"You may stay, but so long as you are with our tribe you will follow our rules and do what my daughter tells you." He then turned to Moana. "Having a servant is not as easy as it sounds. You will be responsible for whatever happens to her, and for whatever she happens to do. Make sure that she does not become a burden on the village. We cannot afford one with the poor harvest and empty fish traps."

"I understand." Moana nodded and turned expectantly towards Elsa.

From Arendelle to Motonui, from frozen fjord to sunny shore, from Queen to servant. Elsa was still having trouble processing everything that had happened and was happening, but she had enough wits about her to recognize that she had little choice in the matter.

"I accept."

"Oaths are important among our people," Tui said meaningfully.

Elsa nodded. "As they are among mine."

"Will you swear one?"

Elsa hesitated and looked again at Moana. There was no guile on that face, just the kindness and encouragement that again reminded her so much of her sister. It was only temporary, she reasoned, and it could be so much worse.

"I will follow your rules and do as you say," Elsa promised her. "For as long as I am with you. I swear it."

AN: I think it'll take another chapter for Elsa to get settled in on Motonui, and then, assuming I continue with this, they'll be off to sea once more. Please continue to review and let me know your thoughts; I was only able to update this quickly because I was touched and motivated by your comments thus far.