Chapter 10: Coronation
Elsa stood by her window dressed in the finest gown she owned. A long magenta cape was draped around her shoulders. She had yet to put on her deep blue gloves. She gently pushed the curtain back, watching as people from all over gathered at the gates. She let the curtain fall back into place as ice covered the curtain. She quickly placed her gloves on her hands.
"Everything will be fine, love. You look beautiful." Elsa turned to face Loki as he spoke. He wore his finest armor, with colors of green, gold, and black. His golden helmet was placed on his head.
"And you look like a cow." Elsa said smiling. She stood on her tip toes as she pulled the helmet off. She placed it gently on her bed and smiled wider. "That's better." Elsa walked to her dresser, where two necklaces were neatly laid out. One was the necklace she received from Loki for her sixteenth birthday, the other was a simple pendant that belonged to her mother.
"Wear your mothers. It's more fitting for the occasion." Loki said picking up the necklace and fastening it around her neck. He smiled softly at her, seeing the nervousness in her eyes.
"I'll wear them both." Elsa said picking up the other necklace. She placed it on her neck and tucked it beneath her collar hidden from view. She jumped as a knock was heard against the door.
"The people are getting restless, my lady. Shall we open the gates?" Elsa heard the servant say on the other side of the door. She took a deep breath her hands shaking visibly.
"Give me five more minutes. I want to practice once more." Elsa said. She pulled off her gloves and Loki handed her a mock scepter and orb. He gave her a small nod as she took the items. "Conceal, don't feel." She muttered to herself. She gasped as ice covered the items. She roughly handed the items back to Loki and put on her gloves.
"You must remain calm. Focus on something that will keep you calm." Loki said placing a hand on her shoulder. She shrugged it off and started pacing.
"I'm trying to!" Elsa said frustrated. She remembered the servants words and sighed. She knew she couldn't put it off any longer. She pushed her shoulders back and held her head high. "Tell the guards to open the gates." Elsa said positive the servant was still outside the door. Her suspicions were confirmed as she heard feet shuffling away. Loki walked over to Elsa pulling her into a hug.
"I will see you at the ceremony, love." Loki said placing a soft kiss against her lips. She nodded her head, overcome with nerves once again. She saw the worried look on his face and smiled.
"Go. I'm sure Thor and Anna are waiting for you." Elsa said gently pushing him away from her.
"Good luck. You'll do great." Loki said as he walked out the door. As Elsa had said Thor and Anna were waiting a little ways down the hall. Thor smiled brightly at his brother, while Anna took a more drastic approach. She ran towards Loki and threw her arms around him in a sisterly hug. "It's nice to see you too, Anna." Loki said returning the hug.
"Come on their about to open the gates!" Anna squealed excitedly. She pulled him over to where Thor stood, before grabbing thors hand. She pulled the brothers through the halls until they stood before the gates.
The gates opened and the crowd made their way inside, while the group of three made their way out. Anna ran ahead of the other two, excited to be out of the castle. Loki mumbled an "excuse me" as he bumped into a young couple. The girl had choppily cut dark brown hair and wore a simple pink and purple gown. The man had brown hair, as well, he was dressed more formally in a white suit. They nodded their heads and continued making their way in. As the crowd cleared Loki could see Thor but Anna was nowhere insight.
"It seems we lost her brother." Loki said turning to face Thor.
"It would seem so." Thor said staring ahead as if she would magically appear. He frowned when a deep growl sounded from his stomach. "Let's find something to eat, I'm absolutely starving." Thor said his stomach growling again.
"Yes Thor I'm sure your ruthless piano lessons must leave you just famished. Must your mind always be on food?" Loki said rolling his eyes. Thor shoved his little brother as they took off in search of something to eat.
A man stepped off his boat that had just docked in the harbor. He wore a blue shirt underneath his white coat, which was trimmed black. He shut the book he had been reading and lead his horse off the boat. A smile made its way onto his face, he took in his surroundings watching the people as they walked past him. He had waited a long time for this day. All the people had gathered today to witness the crowning of a queen, but he was here for the death of a god. He just hoped that the god of mischief had stayed in Arrendelle. He had practiced the spell multiple times making sure he had it down to perfection. He had used it on some of his servants back in his home. He was left in awe at the outcome. As he drained their energy and took it for himself, he felt stronger than ever. Soon he had become addicted to the power and lusted for it. He had killed multiple servants taking their power for himself, then he throw theirs bodies over the walls where no one would find them. Once he had killed the god of mischief he planned to drain Elsa of her powers as well, setting an example for all who should try and oppose him. He just needed a way to gain their trust. He tucked his book into a pouch attached to his horses saddle and continued to walk. He was shaken from his thoughts as a girl with red hair and a green ball gown ran into his horse, falling into a row boat. The horse stopped the boat from falling into the water by putting one hoof into the boat and planting it firmly to the ground. He stepped into the boat and offered his hand to the girl.
"I'm so sorry for running over you with my horse." He said, pulling her to her feet. He plastered a smile on his face trying to hide the fact that he was irritated. She smiled shyly at him, tucking a piece of loose hair behind her ear. "I'm Prince Hans of the southern isles." Hans said, hoping the girl would just get out of the boat already.
"Anna princess of Arrendelle." She said, pointing her thumb at the castle. Hans bowed to her as did his horse. The movement caused the boat to tip, causing Anna to fall on top of Hans. Anna scrambled up and tiptoed around Hans.
"I'm so sorry! Your gorgeous. Did I say that out loud?" Anna rambled, making her way out of the boat, trying to hide the blush that spread across her cheeks. She stared dreamily at Hans waiting for him to say something. He smiled back and Anna sighed.
"Anna!" Anna turned at her name being called. She saw Thor waving at her, his arms full of food. Loki stood behind Thor looking slightly irritated. Anna chuckled and waved them over.
"Come here, guys! I want you to meet someone!" Anna said, as the brothers made their way over. She smiled at Hans again and introduced the brothers. Thor waved and smiled brightly at Hans, as best as he could his mouth still full of food. Hans smiled back nodding his head in acknowledgement to Thor. Loki stood analyzing Hans, not bothering to smile.
"We should be on our way, the coronation will be starting soon." Loki said plainly. He turned and walked away. He knew Thor was appalled by his actions but he felt something was off about this Hans. He could feel a powerful magic coming from him but he couldn't pinpoint what exactly it was.
"Please excuse my brother." Thor said as he turned and followed Loki. "It was nice meeting you, Hans!" Thor yelled over his shoulder, waving once more. Thor caught up to Loki and opened his mouth to speak. Loki held up a hand silencing him.
"Before you say anything, Thor, let me explain. There's something off about that man. I cannot tell what it is but I can feel it." Loki said. He looked back to the harbor where Anna said goodbye to Hans and started running towards them. Thor clapped Loki on the back and laughed.
"Don't be foolish, brother! Hans is a perfectly acceptable lad. There is no need for you and Elsa to be so paranoid. Everything will go swimmingly today!" Thor said still smiling.
"Swimmingly?" Loki said cocking an eyebrow at his brother. Thor nodded his head rapidly.
"Yes brother, swimmingly! Anna taught me the word. She says it means extraordinarily well." Thor spread his arms out wide emphasizing his point. "Oops." Thor said as the food he had been carrying fell to the ground. Loki rolled his eyes and pulled Thor to their seats for the coronation.
Hans started making his way to the coronation, after tying his horse to a nearby post. He couldn't keep the smile off his face as he saw his plan falling into place. He could tell Anna was taken with him, she would be his way to gain Elsa's trust. He was happy to see the god of mischief had stuck around and better yet his brother was there as well. Perhaps he'd be able to trick Thor into helping him achieve his goal, he seemed gullible enough. Yes everything was falling into place for him.
Elsa stood at the alter taking deep breaths, not really hearing what was being said. She held her breath as she was told to remove her gloves. She did so and shakily picked up the scepter and orb. She smiled nervously at the crowd. Elsa glanced down and saw ice had begun to form on the objects. She held her breath for a few seconds, waiting for the ceremony to get closer to the end. She finally roughly shoved the objects onto the pillow they had previously been on, and threw her gloves back on. She turned to the crowd, smiling as they cheered. She breathed a sigh of relief, the hardest part was over, she just had to make it through the ball.
Elsa was standing in front of her new throne. She was too nervous to sit down as people came up to greet her. She fidgeted with her dress as Anna stood next to her. She lightly bit the inside of her cheek thinking of something to say to her sister. She glanced at the dress Anna was wearing and couldn't believe how much her sister had grown. She felt guilty for missing so much of her sisters life, but knew it had been for her own good.
"You look beautiful." Elsa said finally, hoping she the rest of the conversation wouldn't be so awkward. Anna jumped slightly at the words and turned to face Elsa.
"Me? Your talking to me?" Anna said stunned. Elsa nodded her head. "Oh you look beautifuller. Well not fuller but more beautiful." Anna said continuing to ramble on as Elsa laughed.
"Thank you." Elsa said. She smiled as her sister nodded. Elsa let out a quiet sigh of relief. She could tell Anna might have been older but she hardly changed. She filled with excitement of the possibility of rebuilding her relationship with Anna. Elsa's thoughts were interrupted when a wonderful smell filled her nostrils.
"What is that smell?" Anna said the same smell reaching her. Both lifted their heads slightly, scrunched up their noses, and took a deep breath of the air. "Chocolate." They both said. Both laughed and turned back to watch the people dancing. Elsa smiled as she saw Loki approach. She also saw a short man that looked like he was balding walking towards them as well. She recognized him as the duke of Weselton. Elsa tried to hide the annoyed look on her face as she saw Loki gesture for the duke to approach first. She rolled her eyes when Loki winked at her, his eyes gleaming with mischief.
"I would like to offer the queen her first dance." The duke said bowing to Elsa, as his hair flopped over the top of his head. Anna and Elsa laughed, stunned by the way his hair was. Elsa cleared her throat catching the dukes attention.
"Thank you for the offer, but I don't dance." Elsa said, trying her best to be polite. She saw the dukes face fall. "But my sister does." Elsa added, pushing Anna forward. Before Anna could protest the duke swept her off to the dance floor. Elsa mouthed a "sorry" to her sister and laughed.
"Fascinating fellow the duke is." Elsa turned her attention to Loki who stood next to her. He smiled as she nodded at his words.
"That he is. I just feel bad that Anna has to put up with him now." Elsa couldn't help but laugh again, as the duke dipped Anna. Anna took the opportunity to glare at her sister. Loki clasped his hands behind his back and rocked back and forth on his toes. Elsa eyed him suspiciously, taking in his actions. "What did you do?" Elsa asked. Loki laughed before answering.
"Me? Nothing really." Loki had a look of innocence on his face pretending to look shocked. Elsa lightly hit him, earning a few odd looks from the people nearby. She quickly regained her regal attitude and gestured for him to continue. "I was just having a nice conversation with the duke, when he mentioned your beauty was nothing like he had ever seen. I, of course agreed, then simply suggested he ask you to dance. He was a bit unsure at first, but I told him I had seen him dancing and there was no way you could deny him. He was absolutely heartbroken when you told him no. However he was just as taken with your sister, so it all worked out in the end, wouldn't you say?" Loki finished, raising his eyebrow at Elsa.
"You slimy snake." Elsa whispered, but she couldn't keep the slight laugh out of her voice. He laughed as well. His smile faded as he saw Thor approach still chewing the food he had shoved into his mouth.
"Congratulations, Elsa!" Thor said, lifting Elsa off the ground in a bear hug. Loki shook his head at thors actions. Thor didn't seem to notice as he continued to hug Elsa. "I'm so proud of you! You will make a fine queen." Thor said putting Elsa down. Elsa smoothed out her dress, feeling slightly lightheaded.
"Thank you, Thor." Elsa said. She smiled kindly at him and he smiled back at her. Thor turned as he felt a small hand on his shoulder. He laughed loudly as he took in Anna's disheveled appearance.
"Please don't ever make me do that again!" Anna said. She leaned against Thor and took in a deep breath. "That was the worst dance of my life! Did you see the way he was dancing! You, Elsa are a horrible sister!"
"Come, Thor let's leave the sisters to work out this little spat, shall we? You can show me those chocolates you were raving on about." Loki pulled Thor away from the sisters, winking at Elsa as he left. He knew Anna wasn't really mad but he didn't want the blame placed on him either. Elsa glared and shook her head as she watched them leave. Elsa looked back at Anna and laughed.
"I had no idea he would be such an enthusiastic dancer." Elsa said still laughing a little. Anna took her place next to Elsa and sighed. Elsa shifted her position knowing Anna was going make an abrupt subject change.
"I wish it could always be like this." Anna said. She looked to Elsa but saw she was looking at her feet.
"Me too." Elsa said quietly. Anna's eyes lit up but her excitement faded as Elsa continued. "But it can't." Anna turned to face Elsa, but Elsa had her back turned to her.
"But why not?" Anna questioned not willing to take no for an answer so quickly. Elsa shook her head, still not turning to face Anna.
"It just can't, Anna!" Elsa said. She turned to face her sister and saw her eyes glistened with tears. Elsa reached out to Anna, but Anna moved away.
"Excuse me." Anna said barely above a whisper, as she turned away from her sister and headed towards the dance floor. She wasn't paying attention to where she was going as she bumped into people. She tripped and almost hit the ground when a strong hand gripped hers, keeping her from hitting the ground. She looked up to see Hans and instantly smiled.
"Funny we keep meeting this way." Hans said smoothly, pulling Anna to her feet. Anna laughed quietly and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. A blush spread across her cheeks, as she saw his hand was still holding hers. She looked to the front of the room and saw Elsa greeting people as if their conversation hadn't taken place. Anna became angry once again and tugged on Hans's hand.
"Let's get out of here." Anna said pulling Hans from the ballroom. She needed to blow off some steam and she felt talking to Hans would help. Hans followed without question as she led him out of the ballroom. A smirk found its way onto his face as he saw his plan falling perfectly into place before his eyes.