NEW CHAPTER! There's an easter egg hidden in this chapter, although you won't recognize it because this is my first posted story...I'll post more soon so you can understand the easter egg...and I know technically it was the fjord, not a lake that froze in the movie, but for the purposes of a good title, I called it a lake. Please don't be critical about that. I was kinda trying to tie in the Open Gates of Frozen to the Frozen Lake in Rise of the Guardians.
ANYWAY! I love getting reviews, because I don't know what you guys think about my story. I love it (because it's so much fun to write) and my sister loves it, but I don't know about all of you. I love seeing all the views my story gets, and seeing the Follow and Favorite emails, but I don't know what you guys actually think! So, if you have any comments whatsoever, send me a review!
Now, without further ado...(intense drumroll please!)...Chapter 4! Enjoy, my snowflakes!
Chapter 4: Open Gates and Frozen Lakes
Exactly one week after Elsa's eighteenth birthday, the castle was buzzing with activity. It was the day of her coronation, and everything had to be perfect. The chefs were busy preparing the food for the celebration while the servants were cleaning and decorating. There was even a rumor that there would be a giant backup cake just in case something happened to the first one or there were too many guests. Both princesses were woken up early to prepare themselves for the event.
Gerda came in at the agreed time to wake Elsa, only to find that the princess was already awake and was holding the locket Jack and Emma had given her. She came over and rested a hand on the young queen's shoulder, giving her a reassuring squeeze. This was Gerda's signal to Elsa that she could tell her whatever was on her mind. After a moment, the princess of winter—in a matter of hours, the queen of winter—sighed and put the locket back in the box.
"What if I can't keep it together today? What if something happens and I lose control during the ceremony? Then everyone would find out and the vision Grand Pabbie showed my parents and I when Anna was hurt would come true because they would all know I'm a monster and I'll have let my parents and Jack and everyone down and—" the nervous girl rambled before Gerda was able to interrupt her.
"Miss Elsa, calm down. You've controlled your powers before. You made the box for your necklace. You can do this. I believe in you, Kai believes in you, Jack and Emma believe in you, and I know your parents are looking down on you from wherever they are, and they're proud of you. They always have been proud of you, and they've always believed you can learn to control your powers. Now you have to believe in yourself," the older woman advised Elsa. She had always been the one giving Elsa advice, and each time the princess followed Gerda's advice, things ended positively. Elsa nodded and hugged the woman who had become like a mother to her, then went to shower.
When Elsa got out of the shower, Gerda had prepared her gown for the coronation and was standing by to help her get dressed. Elsa rested her hand on top of her snowflake box and debated putting on her locket, then decided against it, leaving it where it was, safe and sound in her box of ice. An hour later, Elsa was dressed and ready—appearance-wise—for the coronation. Gerda left to allow the princess some privacy to prepare herself mentally for becoming queen, saying the gates would open as soon as she was ready. She spent the next few minutes practicing how she would hold the scepter and traditional Globus cruciger with a small blue and gold jar and a candlestick while the grey skinned man watched. She realized she was only scaring herself more when the jar and candle completely froze over, so she put her long blue gloves on, took a breath, and gave the order to open up the gates.
The coronation ceremony had gone well. Ice began to form on the traditional scepter and Globus cruciger, but not enough that anyone noticed. Elsa was now standing next to Anna at the celebratory ball, and immediately noticed how beautiful and grown up her younger sister looked, and also how awkward.
Anna wasn't sure how to act around Elsa, and it showed, breaking Elsa's heart. She wanted Anna to be comfortable around her, since they were sisters, but they had grown up worlds apart. Elsa had grown up with Gerda, Jack, and Emma helping her, and Anna had grown up with their parents and the castle servants. True, Anna had always tried to talk to her through the door, but Elsa was never able to respond. It would have been too difficult to talk through the door when they could never enjoy the quality, face-to-face time they so desperately needed growing up. However, maybe things could start to change. Maybe, just maybe, she could get closer to her sister now. They were old enough now that Anna could understand Elsa's powers, and why their parents locked her away, and Elsa could protect her sister the way she did before the accident. Using that hope to give her courage, she turned to her sister and started their first conversation in ten years.
Moments later, Kai introduced a very short, grey-haired, mousey looking man who apparently was the Duke of Weselton. Kai had unfortunately mispronounced as Weasel-Town, earning him a rather harsh correction from the Duke. Elsa remembered going over the guest list to see that this Duke was the representative of one of Arendelle's most prominent trading partners. Little did she know then, however, that the Duke would make such a big deal of reminding everyone that Weselton and Arendelle were close trading partners.
"Your Majesty, as your closest partner in trade," the short man started, "it seems only fitting that I offer you your first dance as queen." He did a strange little dance ending with a bow, which caused his toupee to fall forward, drawing a laugh from the two royal girls. Elsa cleared her throat before giving him her answer.
"Um, thank you. Only, I don't dance," the queen informed him, not entirely regrettably, but when he seemed disappointed, she looked over at her sister and an idea popped into her head so she continued. "But my sister does." Anna started laughing, as if to brush off the fact that she dances, then realized what Elsa had gotten her into as the overly zealous duke dragged her off. Elsa felt bad about tricking her sister into dancing with him, but she had already promised her first dance as queen to Jack, and she planned on keeping that promise.
While Anna was off dancing, Elsa tried to spot Jack in the crowd. Instead she noticed a petit girl with choppy, short brown hair wandering around with a muscular man who had well-groomed dark brown hair and a scruffy goatee. Elsa felt as though she knew the girl from somewhere, but she knew they had never met before. She looked to be about three years older than Elsa was, and a huge smile appeared on her face when the song changed. She took her escort, a man who Elsa was certain she had never seen before, into the center of the dance floor and began twirling and dancing with him in a way that held so much freedom and happiness, Elsa couldn't help but smile too.
Minutes later, Anna reappeared, wincing as she tried to walk with her now stepped-on toes, and Elsa laughed lightly. The two spoke with ease, at least until Anna said she wanted life to be like this all the time, and Elsa agreed. Catching herself, she turned her back to Anna and told her what they wanted could never happen. Anna excused herself sadly, and Elsa wanted things to be different, but she had known for years that wishing on stars never helps. She repeated a mantra in her mind she had created for herself after Anna had been hurt. Don't wish, don't start. Wishing only ruins the heart. Elsa knew she wasn't born to live a life surrounded by people, so making wishes would never help her.
She took a breath and decided to mingle more with the guests, and found Jack standing next to the refreshments table, intently watching the dancers twirling across the floor of the giant ballroom. As she drew closer, she noticed Anna dancing with a tall, slender, well-built man with red hair and quite large sideburns, and she noticed a shy but happy smile on her sister's face. Elsa smiled seeing the young redhead happy, but worried about her being hurt by the man. As she reached Jack, she turned to follow his line of sight, and saw Emma dancing with a handsome young man who appeared to be about two years older than Jack and Elsa, with wind-blown brown hair similar to Jack's and bright, emerald green eyes. He was several feet taller than the young teen he was dancing with, and was a graceful dancer despite missing his left foot. Emma was having a marvelous time with the mystery man, and Jack was watching the two of them tensely, causing Elsa to giggle softly before resting her hand on her best friend's shoulder.
"Jack, you are becoming too invested in your sister's love life without even developing your own. It's sweet that you're protecting her, but let her enjoy her first ball tonight," she persuaded the older brother, and he looked over at her with a knowing smile.
"Like what you're doing for Anna tonight?" he queried, causing Elsa to nod.
"Love is about putting someone else's needs above your own. I've always shut her out to protect her from myself, and now, despite me not being thrilled about having a party, Anna needs a night of having fun and interacting with other people, so this party is for really for her, not me. Emma will be completely safe tonight, I promise. As queen, if anyone tries to hurt her, they will be severely punished and you will have full rights to hurt them however you wish," she swore to him, making him laugh gratefully.
"Thanks, Queen Elsa," he replied with a smirk. Elsa wanted to slap him, because she had told him time and time again to just call her Elsa.
"Jackson, we've known each other for ten years, and I've never let you call me Princess Elsa. What makes you think I'll let you call me Queen Elsa?" she asked him, causing the trickster to laugh.
"Fine, Snowflake. You win. Anyway," he said, turning to her with his hand held out, "it would be my honor to lead you in your first dance as queen, if I may?" She laughed quietly, secretly quite impressed by his manners, and was about to accept when Kai came over, leading the petit girl with the wild haircut and her escort that Elsa had seen earlier. Jack, realizing this was a bad time, excused himself, saying he would find her when she was free for their dance. She smiled and nodded to him before turning to Kai and the couple standing before her.
"Queen Elsa, may I present Princess Rapunzel of Corona and her husband, Prince Eugene of Corona," Kai introduced and the couple bowed, and when the princess straightened up, Elsa gasped, suddenly feeling tears stinging her blue eyes. The petit princess noticed and came over quickly with concern filling her eyes.
"Your Majesty? Are you alright?" she inquired, while her husband stood watching awkwardly. Elsa nodded and took a breath before answering.
"Yes, it's just, you look like my father. Your hair is brown where his was blonde, but you look just like him…" the new queen trailed off, and Rapunzel watched her curiously.
"Queen Elsa, I look like your father because he's my uncle. My mom is his sister. Your parents were on their way to our wedding three years ago, but never made it. I'm so sorry," the princess told the shocked queen apologetically. Elsa had to take a moment to process what she had just heard. I have a cousin…? she thought, stunned, before taking a closer look at the princess. Rapunzel had the same build as Elsa and Anna, and a similar face shape, although Anna's was slightly rounder, and they had a similar smile and Anna's eyebrow shape, which was a trait Anna got from their father.
"So, you're my cousin?" she asked hesitantly, and had to think fast to fend off Rapunzel's hug. The princess began speaking quickly and eagerly, saying the queen can call her Punzie, before getting distracted by the changing music and dragging her confused husband off to dance once again. Elsa decided to shrug off the encounter, deciding Anna and Rapunzel would get along quite well, then went to go find Jack again. Before she could, a line of visiting dignitaries had formed to greet her—including the green-eyed man Emma had been dancing with and a free-spirited, Scottish princess with wild, red curly hair—keeping her distracted until Anna came over to introduce the redheaded man she had been dancing with earlier. His name was Hans, and they wanted Elsa to approve their marriage when they had only just met that day, claiming it was true love. Elsa refused telling Anna she couldn't marry a man she just met and asking her what she knew about true love, and was deeply hurt when her younger sister claimed to know more about true love than the new queen. She denied their marriage one more time and called for the gates to close, ending the party, and her sister pulled off her glove to get her attention. They argued, and when Anna refused to listen to Elsa when she asked her to stop, Elsa yelled at her sister, throwing her left hand in front of her as she spun on her heels, causing her magic to shoot from her hand and form giant spikes of ice that almost struck Anna, Jack, Emma, and the other party guests. She ran away from the palace, creating a bridge of ice to cross the fjords, and never noticed the young man with brown hair and deep brown eyes chasing after her across the magical ice.
The next few hours passed in a blur of snow and ice. She reached the North Mountain with inhuman speed and ease, and when she realized she was well away from anyone she could accidentally hurt, she finally freed herself from every mental chain she had used to control her powers and herself her entire life. She threw away her one remaining glove, created a new snowman—Olaf—then continued running up the mountain and created an elaborate palace out of ice, fit for a snow queen. She threw away her crown and let her hair out of the tight bun she had crafted for her coronation, choosing to leave it in the braid it had been twisted into and froze it in place over her left shoulder, then pushed her bangs off her face and froze them in place too. Finally, she crafted an entirely new dress out of ice, and walked onto the balcony of her new palace as the sun began to rise in front of her, and accepted who she was, letting everything go and deciding to be herself.
She was alone, but she was free, or so she thought. Moments after she came back inside, shutting the balcony door behind her and looking around to admire the masterpiece she had created using the magic she had always feared, she heard a low whistle behind her and spun around, ready to attack whoever it was, should she have to. She relaxed quickly, however, when she realized who had followed her.
"Jack!" she exclaimed happily. She ran over to where he was, and he pulled her into a hug.
"Hey, Snowflake. You look amazing, and I watched you build the castle and that was just incredible. Your powers have always been able to impress me, but watching you be happy and truly test your limits was just, breathtaking," he trailed off, and Elsa ducked her head to hide the blush that was creeping into her cheeks.
"Thanks, Jack. Do you, want a tour of the palace?" she asked shyly. She was proud of her handiwork, but was slightly worried that it wouldn't meet his expectations of her. He nodded eagerly, and she took his hand and showed him every room and every little detail her powers had invented, all while chattering eagerly about what it had felt like to build a palace out of ice. They ended in the ballroom, where an orchestra made entirely of ice was magically playing on a stage tucked against the far wall. They walked in as one song ended and a new song began, this one a fast-paced song about a girl who spread her wings, learned to fly, and broke away, all without forgetting her family and her home. Jack smiled as he looked around the ballroom, then turned to her and held out his hand with a slight bow.
"My queen, I know your coronation ball ended, but you never got your first dance as the new queen of Arendelle as we were interrupted earlier. Now that we're in your new palace and you are not only queen of Arendelle, but a Snow Queen as well, may I have the honor of leading you in your first dance?" he asked, and Elsa thought his offer couldn't have been more perfect. She accepted, and Jack pulled her into a perfect dance frame. The couple began twirling around the room to the timing of the song, and Jack added daring lifts and tricks wherever he felt they fit. Elsa had never felt freer or happier in her entire life, and something told her that she may never feel as free or happy again, so she cherished the moment even more, and understood what it meant to fly.
Two days later, Elsa was fighting her way through a powerful blizzard after breaking out of a cell in the palace she had grown up in. She wanted to find Jack, but instead she found Prince Hans. Since Elsa just wanted to get away to keep those she cared about safe, she told him to take care of her sister, finally giving her blessing on their marriage. He seemed confused, then told her that she had frozen the younger princess's heart, explaining that her hair was white and her skin was cold as ice, and that he was too late to save her. He told Elsa she had killed her, and that fact almost killed Elsa. She collapsed to the ground in tears, immediately stopping the blizzard, and while she heard the metallic swoosh of Hans's sword leaving its sheath, she didn't care. She truly was a monster, she had killed her sister and cursed her kingdom, and she deserved to die. Suddenly there was someone behind her, and she heard the sound of metal hitting ice, then nothing.
She turned and gasped in horror to see her sister standing over her, now turned into a statue of solid ice. The Snow Queen rushed to her feet and stood in front of the frozen princess, then draped herself over her sister's icy body and began to weep. Unexpectedly, she felt arms wrap around her and realized the girl's body had moved, and straightened up to look at her smiling little sister.
"Anna," she said quietly, as is afraid she would freeze again, or worse, disappear completely. Anna smiled more and the two sisters shared a hug for the first time in ten years.
"Oh, Elsa," Anna whispered happily. Elsa noticed a very tall and very strong man around Elsa's age with disheveled blonde hair, warm brown eyes, and a caring smile coming closer with Olaf the Snowman, who Elsa decided must have come to life due to being created on the feast day of the saint he was named for, and Elsa's sudden, happy release of emotions as she freed herself. She pulled back from the hug to look at her maturing baby sister, and couldn't believe how strong her sister had become in ten years.
"You sacrificed yourself, for me?" the queen asked girl who was now barely fifteen years old, causing her to smile.
"I love you," Anna told her big sister honestly, and Olaf's face lit up as he repeated what sounded like a prophecy about love thawing a frozen heart. When Elsa realized exactly what he had said, all of the broken, messy puzzle pieces in the queen's mind suddenly slid into place.
"Love. Of course!" the Snow Queen exclaimed, and although Anna looked at Elsa blankly, obviously not understanding why Elsa was excited, she ignored her sister's stare, choosing to focus on her magic and her heart. She thought of everything she loved: Anna, Olaf, Emma, her parents, her people, Marshmallow, using her powers to have fun, the feeling of freedom she had when she was building her ice castle, the way the light from the full moon shines on the untouched snow at the top of the North Mountain, the feeling of flying she felt as she finally had her first dance, and ultimately, Jack, her best friend who she know realized was more than a best friend. She loved Jack, and she always had, which was how she had always controlled her powers while she was around him. Her love for him overcame her fear of herself, and she was always happy. She focused on every memory she had of him, and everything she loved about him, and used this new power to finally lift the curse her fear had cast on the kingdom of Arendelle. As she watched the grey skinned man she now realized was just an embodiment of her strong fears, Elsa knew she was finally in control of her own life.
So, any ideas about what my easter egg might be?
Question! Or actually a challenge, I guess. Whatever! Anyone who can tell me where her little mantra came from, send me a review or PM me and include something you'd like to see in one of my stories! If I like it, I will thank you in the next chapter, and tell you which story I'm going to be using it in! If you don't have any ideas, but understand my reference, leave a review anyway! I'd love to know what you guys think of my writing style!
Snowflakes of fun and love to you all!