Arendelle, 1842
Auroras in the northern climates are fairly common affairs; the beautiful blue and green lights in the sky have decorated the north since time immemorial. Queen Elsa of Arendelle stood on the balcony of the royal palace in her maroon night robe, her hands resting on the smooth wooden railing as she watched the northern lights dance across the sky like ribbons attached to an invisible dancer.
The auroras were her oldest friend, of sorts. She and her sister would stare at them as children, and then for thirteen long years, they were one of her few companions. She told them her secrets, her fears, her desires to live a normal life and to see her family again. They never answered, but at least they always appeared to listen, soothing her loneliness at least a little.
In the far distance, just above the rocky bluffs that made up the hills around the royal palace, she spotted something unusual. Nestled in the blue and green lights was a ribbon of vivid red light, looking almost like a knife had cut open the aurora itself. It moved and swayed with the rest of the aurora, high up in the sky.
Soft footsteps came up behind her. "Watching the skies awaken, sis?" came Anna's voice. Her sister Anna, Crown Princess of Arendelle, was dressed in her mossy green night robe as she padded beside her sister. Despite a difficult childhood filled with tragedy and separation, they'd reconciled two years ago after Elsa's disastrous coronation. Once Arendelle had thawed out, they'd worked hard to be sisters again, getting to know each other after more than a decade apart. Now, two years later, they were the closest of friends and sisters.
"That's usually your line, Anna," Elsa smiled. "The sky's awake, so I'm awake," she said, dramatically posing with the back of her hand resting against her forehead in imitation of her little sister.
Anna laughed and gently clapped her sister's upper arm before turning to admire the radiant skies, resting her elbows on the wooden railing. "Yeah, I suppose it is. What's got you so fascinated out here?"
Elsa pointed in the direction of the red aurora streak in the distance. "I've never seen quite that vivid a color in the sky before. It almost doesn't look natural." Something about the aurora unsettled her physically, made her feel the slightest bit nauseated and dizzy.
"Maybe it isn't? Maybe it's magic or something? I suppose we could always send word to Grand Pabbie and ask if he's ever seen something like that." Anna's brow furrowed. "It almost looks like it's slowly moving this way, doesn't it?"
Elsa inclined her head briefly. "Perhaps I'll send for Master Hansteen tomorrow. I would imagine our Royal Astronomer would have some insight into this unusual phenomenon."
Anna smiled softly. "Perhaps. But for now, we should probably turn in. You have open court in the morning, Your Majesty," she giggled, overemphasizing her sister's formal title. They held hands, walking back inside the palace and down the long, candlelit halls. "Good night, Elsa," she murmured in front of her door, holding her arms out.
Elsa hugged her sister before shooing Anna into her bedroom, then walked the rest of the way down the hall to her chambers. She smiled to herself the entire way, thankful and grateful that after all they'd been through, she and her sister finally had everything they could ever want together. After a bath, she lay in bed, looking out the lattice window at the northern lights. The red streak wasn't visible from her window, and the soft pulsing of the northern lights eased her to sleep.
Almost a full week passed as the sisters kept occupied with matters of state. A vigorous debate about waterway usage rights had come up in open court, with several neighbors needing to be restrained by Royal guards for a moment until tempers cooled. That debate had spilled over into arguments about goat grazing near the western edge of Arendelle's territory, with Elsa having to mediate days of recriminations in open court.
Open court was always challenging for her, especially when tempers were high. She had to play the role not only of monarch, but of judge and sometimes even barrister, depending on the case. Arendelle was such a small principality that there weren't more than a handful of barristers for the entire population, and less well-off citizens who needed to petition the Crown often had to rely on her counsel in the absence of their own.
"Thank goodness this week is over with," Elsa breathed as she sat down to dinner with Anna, the staff laying out a light repast of herring and potatoes on fine porcelain china. "I'm not sure I could deal with another day of the Jansens sniping at each other without having the lot of them put in the dungeon to cool off."
Anna giggled at the thought. "It wouldn't be the worst thing in the world for them to have a little space. Or maybe you could cast some magical ice hats on them… to help cooler heads prevail," she guffawed, accidentally sending a piece of potato flying across the table.
Elsa cast a long look at her sister. "That's… almost funny, Anna. Almost. You know I try not to use my powers in public except on special occasions."
"I know. But sometimes I swear people could use a bit of literal cooling off before their tempers get the best of them. It's hard to have a heated argument when you're shivering!" Anna chewed a forkful of potatoes before continuing, the gold-trimmed silverware glinting in the candlelight. "Oh, we got a messenger from Pabbie. He said he's been watching the skies and hasn't ever heard of this phenomenon either."
Elsa turned her head to look out the dining room windows. Eerie red light filtered in from the evening skies, light that should have faded with the sunset almost an hour ago. "I had a feeling that would be his answer. It's starting to alarm some of the townspeople."
The conversation moved onto other mundane matters until after they finished eating and retired to the sitting room. Elsa cast open the glass doors to the balcony and slowly wandered out, a silver-trimmed china teacup in her hand and Anna at her side.
"It's so much bigger now," Anna said, staring upwards. The red aurora was almost directly overhead, looking like an angry wound. She lost her train of thought, mesmerized by the swirling clouds that floated beneath the crimson skies, looking almost like drops of blood diffusing into a puddle.
"Does that… Anna, does that look like lightning to you? Inside it?"
Anna turned, craning her neck and squinting. "Yeah… yeah, it does. Like a thunderstorm inside it. Elsa, what kind of aurora has storms inside it?"
"I don't know but… I don't like the look of it. Would you go downstairs and send for the Royal Astronomer, please?"
"Sure thing," her sister affirmed with a soft smile before heading back inside.
Elsa placed her hands on the wooden railing as she stared up into the scarlet storms. Her stomach began to churn, and as she angled her head to take in the vastness of the aurora, dizziness washed over her. In another split second, a ruby bolt of lightning reached out from the storm and struck the entire balcony. The last thing Elsa heard was the shattering of wood around and beneath her, and then everything went black.
Author's NotesAll credit for the general concept for this story goes to AOS_Skimmons and their story Another Life. I read through that fic (it's a short one in the Agents of SHIELD fandom) and the general idea of taking a character and moving them to an AU through some mystical means, where they find themselves in an unexpected relationship change.
For reference, this story starts out post-Frozen canon, 2 years after Frozen and 1 year before Frozen 2.
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