And we're back with another chapter; hopefully this one is a little more satisfying than the last one. Because let's face it the last chapter was more of a needless filler wasn't it? Let me know in the comments below if you agree, don't worry you can be perfectly honest with me.
I don't even think the recap will be that long or great, but here we go.
In the last chapter it was late at night and Astrid couldn't sleep. So – like she normally does – she got out of bed and started to wander through the halls. She came across Elsa's room and noticed that something must've been wrong; she went inside and saw that her aunt was having a nightmare. After waking her up Astrid wanted to see if she could play with her. Elsa refused telling her that the next day was going to be busy, and then she proceeded to tell her about your coronation. After hearing about it Astrid begged for a bedtime story about you, Elsa accepted and told her the story and Astrid fell asleep. Elsa fell asleep soon after with a bit of struggle due to her thoughts on her nightmare. The next day Elsa told the others the news about all of them leaving for your coronation, and after a long(be it funny) scene in a their closest finding dresses they had packed everything up and left looking forward to seeing you again.
Okay, that recap was actually a lot longer than I expected it to be…I am seriously underestimating myself here.
Alright, now before we begin I see that some of you were kind enough to vote on my poll thus finalizing the ending for this story. It was actually quite obvious what the deciding vote was, it won with a 4:1 ratio. Now the ending won't come for another few chapters, but just thought I'd let you know. If you don't like the ending to this story, remember that those who voted set in stone which ending I would write, so be mad at them.
Also this story has over 30,000 views, man you guys are just awesome. I want to give all the guy readers a hug and I could kiss all the girl readers.
Alright, now let's get to the story. I don't own Frozen.
-*X*x*X*-
You, Mallory and Brute were walking around the city overseeing the preparations for your coronation. Things were going perfectly smoothly, but every now and then you had to make a correction or two. "try to level out that banner and make sure it's properly secure." You said to the men hanging up a large banner as you point.
"Right away your highness." One of them said and you felt the corner of your mouth twitch slightly at being called that. You turned and walked away and Mallory and Brute followed.
"Well people are certainly treating you like their king." Mallory commented.
Brute grunted in agreement, "(Y/N) make good king." You looked back at them with a smile before looking back to what was ahead of you and your smile slightly dropped. You were happy that you had taken back what was yours, and you couldn't have done it without them, but still…something was missing, and that certain something was what you left behind a little over five years ago.
You continued to walk down the streets of the town surveying the area when a large building caught your eye, it was roughly the size of an inn and was three stories tall, but hat caught your attention was the amount of darkness you felt emanating from that place. It gave off a grim aura of sadness; the building looked old and was in desperate need of repair, it looked like even the slightest action would cause it to collapse. There was a sign above the door, but it was battered and the letters were faded or barely intelligible. 'Or-na-e' was all you could make out, but you could figure what the sign used to say. It was an orphanage.
"(Y/N), what's wrong?" Mallory asked seeing the grin look on your face. You didn't answer; you only walked to the door and went inside.
When you stepped inside you were greeted by an elderly woman wearing a brown dress, had light grey hair tied up in a bun and old yet kind green eyes. She curtsied before she spoke, "Your highness," she said is a slightly raspy voice, "I'm honored to have you here." You nodded and looked around the old, seemingly forgotten building.
"I remember this place when I was young," You said, "My father would sometimes let me play with the kids my age. It was a joyous and happy place." You said in a sad tone. You turned your attention back to the old woman, "What happened to it?"
"The funding from the castle was cut when Horvath took the throne, then things started getting rougher. More kids were coming and we didn't have the money to properly feed and clothe all of them. We were running out of room, but we couldn't turn them away. Some of kids that were old enough were forced to join the military, but they were no better off there." She said. "Things have been very hard, and they just couldn't keep themselves happy."
"That's so sad," Mallory said as she walked up next to you. You nodded, you had really enjoyed your visits to this place, and it hurt to see it come to this.
'Perhaps this is a time for you to show what a great king you are.' Shade's voice echoed in your head. You mentally agreed.
"Mallory," you said looking at her, "The South-western wing of the castle, what was it used for?" Mallory was caught off guard by the question.
"My father used it as his private quarters; he never put anything in there. He would just go there when he just needed to vent out. Which was pretty often, why?" she asked.
"Perfect," You said before turning to the old woman, "How would you feel if I commanded some of my men and women to come and restore this orphanage, maybe even make it bigger?" the old woman gasped. She thought she might have a heart attack then and there.
"I would feel forever indebted to you, but what about the children?" she asked, "They can't stay here while the building is getting worked on." She said.
"Already thought of that, they will be moved to the South-western Wing of the castle where they will be well taken care of until their new home is complete." Now Mallory could see what you were doing and smiled at the kindness and generosity you were showing.
About ten minutes of 'thank yous' later you and Mallory left the orphanage. "That was a very kind thing you did back there." Mallory said. "But, are you allowed to do that? Don't you need the approval of the council?"
You looked at her with a smile that could've seemed smug, "Well I figured I would run the idea by them once I replaced all the members still loyal to Horvath." You said, "Besides, after tomorrow once they put that crown over my head, there won't be much that I can't do." You said. "Speaking of which, let's get back to the castle, I still have to prepare for the ceremony."
"Kristoff are you sure you know the way?" Anna asked in a bored tone.
Kristoff rolled his eyes, "Yes Anna, I know where I'm going. This is the route to Frostridge and we're almost there." They had been traveling for a few weeks now, Sven was currently pulling the sled along a very bumpy and uncomfortable path what was weaving in, around and between mountains that would make the North Mountain seem like a grassy hill. Anna was getting bored and impatient; she had hoped they would be in Frostridge by now. Astrid was currently sleeping in her arms; surprisingly the little girl hadn't complained once the entire trip.
"Anna I think he may be right," Hans said from the back of the sled, "I did some research and discovered that Frostridge is named after the large mountains in which it resides in, so I actually think we're a lot closer than you or Kristoff may think." He said, Anna sighed and looked back at Elsa to see what she was doing.
Elsa had actually come prepared for the long journey; she had managed to bring a couple books with her to keep her occupied. She was so into them that she didn't really take notice to the bumps and jolt of the sled. She was currently reading an old book that held stories about demons and the underworld. It was a dark and interesting choice, but Elsa said it was a good read when Anna questioned her about it. Anna turned her attention to the two snowmen (or snowman and darkness-girl) to see how they were holding up. Olaf and Sara were looking over the side of the sled doing their own way of entertaining themselves.
"Okay, I spy…something grey…" Olaf said seeming to concentrate on the area around them.
Sara sighed, "A rock." She said in a monotone voice. Olaf still smiled.
"Right!" He said, "Okay, now I spy something...rough and-"
"A rock," she said.
"Right again, you are good at this." He said. Olaf was totally unaware of the fact that rocks were currently the only thing he could spy. "Okay now I spy-" Sara interrupted.
"A rock." Sara said getting a little bored and she rested her cheek on one of her hands.
Olaf looked at her, "Okay Ms. Smarty-pants, you'll never get this one." He said, "I spy something craggy-"
"A rock and the next one. Just a guess," She said, "rock." She said causing Olaf to give her a perplexed look.
"Okay that's just scary." Olaf said. Anna tried not to laugh. Olaf began to think and look around, Sara sighed think how long it would take for him to give up, she enjoyed the time she spent with Olaf, but sometimes the extent of his cluelessness annoyed her somewhat. Olaf used his arms to pop his head off to get a better view.
No sooner than he did the path Sven was pulling the sled along began to widen a bit, "Okay I got one, I spy something large, grey and-"
"A rock." Sara said hopefully for the last time, but Olaf shook his head.
"No, a castle." He said and everyone's head perked up, what Olaf said was even enough to bring Elsa out of her book.
"WHAT?!" they all shouted – which woke Astrid up – and they looked forward, sure enough just ahead was a very large section of land surrounded by the mountains, almost seeming to bend around it leave a great amount of space. In it was a large kingdom capital with several houses and a village. North of the village was a road paved with stone slabs that lead to an immense castle made from grey stone that almost blended into the mountains themselves. Actually it would've been more accurate to say that the castle had been carved from and lead into the mountain itself. (A.N. The village is based off of Dale and your castle is sort of based on Erebor from The Hobbit)
Astrid rubbed her eyes, "What happened? Are we there yet?" she asked.
Anna smiled down at her, "Yes Astrid, we're here."
When they approached the walls and the front gates of Frostridge they were approached by a guard wearing a full suit of dark grey metal armor, on the breastplate of the armor was what they assumed to be the symbol of Frostridge; a snowflake in front of the outline of a mountain surrounded by a slithering snake. There was a sword attached to his hip and there was a spear in his hand.
The guard raised a hand for them to halt, Kristoff complied, "State your business." He said in a gruff voice.
Elsa was the one that answered, "We are the Royal Family of Arendelle, we've come to Frostridge in response to an invitation sent to us for Prince (Y/N) (L/N)'s coronation." She said in a regal voice.
The words 'Royal Family' and 'Arendelle' and the mention of your name certainly struck a chord in the guard, but he still had a job to do, and his job was to be suspicious. "Invitation please." He requested.
"I got it," Hans said reaching into his pocket and pulling out the letter, he handed it to the guard when he reached for it.
Still keeping a grip on his spear the guard unfolded the letter and looked it over, "Very well, it seems like everything checks out." He said before he turned around, "Open the gates!" he ordered and the large – and apparently thick and heavy – doors slowly opened. The guard handed the letter back to Hans, "Enjoy your time in Frostridge, but don't go causing any trouble. Or you'll have to answer to me and my comrades." He said in a serious tone. Kristoff almost gulped before whipping Sven's reins and urging him forward.
The interior of the city was bustling with festive people, several shops lined the sides of the city and people were visiting the different shops and having a really good time. "Wow, everything looks like so much fun." Astrid said in an excited tone.
Kristoff chuckled, "Let's find a place to put the sled. Then we can go and enjoy ourselves." He said.
"Perhaps I could be of some assistance." A voice with a slight accent said. They all turned towards the voice to see an elderly man in an expensive outfit and neatly combed white hair walking toward them, "Welcome Royals of Arendelle." He said.
"You know who we are?" Anna asked and he nodded.
"My name is Albus, I'm one of the head servants at the castle and I've been charged with welcoming some of our guests, I took the liberty to learn what I could about them." He said, "You and your sister are rather recognizable. Right this way please, I'll lead you to where you can put your sled and then I'll show you were you will be staying." He said before turning around.
Albus lead them to the stables where they left Sven and put the Sled in a safe place. A couple more servants took care of their bags and they brought them to a set of rooms in the North-eastern part of the castle. As they settled in Elsa couldn't help but notice Hans constantly rubbing his arm. "Are you okay?" she asked him.
"I'm fine. It's just that my arm has been feeling weird ever since we walked into the castle." He replied, "I think it's because of (Y/N), he's close." He said, that information seemed to make Elsa a little happier.
"Oh he's definitely close." Sara said, "I can feel it when he's around and I'm almost getting goose bumps
"Hey guys," Olaf said bringing everyone's attention towards him, "Not sure if this is going to make any difference, but where's Astrid?" Everyone looked around, Astrid wasn't in the room, but the door was partially open.
"Someone needs to keep that girl on a lease." Hans grumbled.
Astrid wandered the halls admiring everything she could. Your castle was much bigger and very different from Arendelle's. There were many hallways and corridors, there was even a suspended pathway several hundred feet above a grand ballroom, where she could see servants setting up for the Coronation Ball. She walked across the pathway with great care, but couldn't help but look over the edge to get a good look at what was below her. When she reached the other side she leaned over for one last look, but she leaned a little too far and she began to lose her balance.
She tried to lean back to stable herself, but it was no use. She was about to fall to her death when someone or something grabbed her and pulled her to safety. Astrid was breathing heavily and almost out of impulse she hugged whoever it was that saved her as she sobbed into them.
"Hey it's okay, you're fine." A gentle male voice said as a hand patted her on the back. "Good thing I caught you though, that would've been a rather nasty fall." The man said pulling her away from him, now Astrid could fully see his face. He has (H/C) hair and a neatly trimmed beard of the same color, he has (S/C) skin that looked unmarked except for a long gash scar running over one of his eyes. The scar was a little frightening, but Astrid saw warmth and concern in both his smile and his (E/C) eyes. "I don't think I've seen you before, are you one of the orphans?" he asked.
Astrid sniffed as she shook her head, "No, I'm here with my family." She said as she wiped the tears from her eyes, "We're here for the coronation." She said in a more excited tone.
The stranger nodded, "Well, maybe I can help you find your parents. Tell me, what is your name?" he asked.
Astrid smiled. Whoever this was; he seemed nice and trustworthy, "My name is-" she began to say, but she was interrupted.
"Astrid!" Astrid turned around as the stranger stood up straight. Anna and the rest of them were walking down that pathway and toward them.
"Mama!" Astrid said as she ran towards Anna. Anna caught her daughter in a hug and held her close.
"Don't you scare me like that." She said, "Are you alright, you're not hurt are you?" she said as she put her down.
Astrid shook her head, "No I'm fine, all thanks to him." she said pointing behind her as the stranger approached. They looked up and their eyes widened.
The man smiled a familiar lopsided grin, "Hello everyone." He said, Anna's hands went to her mouth and she let out a sound that sounded like a mix between a laugh and a sob.
"(Y/N)." Anna said.
A carriage approached the gate and the guard halted them, "State your business sir." He said and a man came out of the carriage and handed the guard his invitation.
"I trust this will explain everything." He said as the guard looked it over.
The guard nodded, "Open the gates!" he ordered over his shoulder as he handed the letter back to the man, "Enjoy your stay in Frostridge Mr. Duke of Weselton." He said. The Duke nodded and got back into his carriage.
"Thank you and I plan to. I plan to enjoy Frostridge greatly." He said and the carriage began to go through the now open gates. "Oh Frostridge, what secrets do you hold?"
-*X*x*X*-
I feel bad for ending it there, but I felt that was all I could write for this chapter. Be sure to leave a review telling me your thoughts. Speaking of reviews…
Draconus S: What is this reference that you speak of? Is it Astrid's name? If so, then that wasn't intentional. I was looking up names from that time period and region and Astrid seemed like the most likely. If I had decided to give them a son he would've been named Bjorn with Teddy as a nickname(because he would love hugs).
Shawn Raven: I think you should be thinking what's going to happen now that you've run into each other after not seeing one another for almost 6 years. I am glad you have such faith in my story.
Fenix Fireblaze: You better hope that you were joking, because that's what I think you were doing, and your joking antics might just cause me to shut this story down. Food for thought.
NTYTekHTTYDFan: Well try not to think of HTTYD when you read about Astrid, think of a little blonde version of Anna. I am glad you're still enjoying this though.
Danny Nightshade: Well it looks like you're not going to be stabbing anyone anytime soon. In the meantime you can think of possible reactions to seeing Elsa after so many years and pitch me your ideas.
Stylin80: I'm glad you thought the last chapter was a good one, hopefully this one was better.
TheDinseyFan365: Well you were able to get a small taste of it so I hope you're not too disappointed.
Eclipse: Well whether or not your predictions are true, I do appreciate that you're trying to make guesses.
E.N.D. the fire demon: An interesting question, but I would have to say my favorite is the Gray/Juvia pairing.
Mickhe11: I'm not exactly sure what or where you're going with those statements/observations. Perhaps you'd care to explain them a bit.
Alright that's out of the way. Now that's all I have time for, I'll see you next time.
This is W. R. Winters signing off.