Oh man, another Elsanna fic. What are we poor Elsanna shippers to do? Well, read Elsanna fanfiction all day, duh.
I'm a little rusty writing fanfiction, so bear with me here. Rated M for future chapters (nyahahaha) and guess what, if you don't like Elsanna, don't read it, easy peasy. Also, all nasty anti-Elsanna reviews with be deleted, but constructive reviews will naturally be embraced.
And please review! Reviews drive me to keep writing (and it's nice to know if someone likes the story so far).
I do not own Frozen, or any of its characters. Owned by Disney, re-imagined by me
It had been a year since the Freeze, as the citizens of Arendell liked to call it, and the townsfolk couldn't be in higher spirits. Merchants from all over sold their wares on street corners. Locals displayed their knit-craft with mittens and scarves bearing the Queens seal, as well as chocolate delicacies shaped like snowflakes. Bakers as far as Corona brought cupcakes and pastries made famous by their region, they were especially used to celebrations like this as of late, and brought plenty stock to last for the week.
Much like the yearly lighting of the lanterns for Princess Rapunzel's birthday (a tradition still continued to that day), Arendell had adopted a similar tradition of their own. Each year, on the anniversary of the Queen's coronation, Queen Elsa would bring snow to her kingdom for one week. At the sight of the first flurry, festivities would ensue, from dancing to ice skating, snowman-making to ice carving. People from far and wide came to witness the magic of Queen Elsa, including the twelve handsome brothers from the Southern Isles (the thirteenth being stripped of his title) and even the future Queen and King of Corona, who both held an insatiable curiosity with anything that involved magic, and sailed to witness the spectacle themselves.
It was quite the sight to see, people hefting heavy jackets and ice skates over their shoulders in mid-July. You could see the excitement in their faces, this being the first anniversary, and no one was quite sure what to expect. And all were excited it seemed, except for Queen Elsa herself, who gazed out of her chamber's window to her kingdom below. She wore her late mother's blue and purple long-sleeved ceremonial dress, slightly fitted to fit the girls taller frame, and had hair pulled up and braided atop her head, so unlike the wild Snow Queen she became exactly one year ago. She let her eyes adjust to the window in front of her, staring at her reflection, not quite sure what to think of what she saw in front of her.
Tap Tap Tap-Tap Tap
"Elsa?" A high-pitched, breathless voice sounded from behind the doorway, snapping Elsa out of her stupor.
The Queen cleared her throat and quickly turned away from the window, "Yes, please come in."
Anna, the Queen's sister, bounded into the room, out of breath and a bit disheveled. Normally she wouldn't have waited for a response and would have simply barged in, but today was special, and she had to 'behave' as the Queen liked the put to put it. She sported her traditional green ceremonial dress that brought out her emerald eyes, and her auburn hair hung loosely and lopsided atop her head.
A smile curled up on the Queen's painted lips as she eyed her sister, noting the tears and mud stains at the hem of her dress. She waited patiently as Anna attempted to catch her breath, and also mentally reminded herself to have a talk with Kristoff later about not taking his girlfriend on joy rides when she's already dressed in full regalia.
"Went riding again with Kristoff I presume?" The Queen asked, a hint of laughter in her eyes.
Anna skipped towards her sister and gave her a quick hug, "Just a short one. Sven may be stronger than my horse, but I'm sure as hell faster!"
"Language, Anna!" The Queen's cerulean eyes widened, "What if one of the visiting royals hear you? Please, just try and-"
"Behave," both girls said in unison, Anna rolling her eyes. "Yes, mother," she said sarcastically.
An awkward silence followed, Anna mentally slapping herself for bringing up their mother. It may had been four years since their parents death, but the scars hadn't fully healed, and both girls struggled with how to remember them. Yes, the late King and Queen had been great rulers and brought prosperity to the kingdom of Arendell, but they had also shut their children away from the world, fearing their eldest daughter would cause harm to anyone who approached her. Elsa grew up believing she would, and remembered a time when her father considered sending her away, naming Anna as the new heir, and ridding themselves of their cursed mistake. Elsa always wondered what would have happened to her if their parents had never drowned in the Western sea.
"So," Anna piqued in, breaking the silence, "Are we ready to party or what?"
"We?" Elsa asked, motioning to her sister's dress, "Anna, have you seen yourself?"
"Wut?" Anna quipped, and quickly turned towards Elsa's vanity. Her hair shifted and drooped to the side of her head as the Princess looked at her reflection in horror.
"It took so long to do…" Annie cried silently, gingerly reaching for her hair.
The Queen stepped behind the young girl and placed her hands on her shoulders, looking at her sister's reflection in the mirror. "You look beautiful," she breathed with a smile.
Anna sighed as her eyes shifted to the Queen's reflection. "You look beautifuller."
"Hey," Elsa reached for her sister's wrists and tugged them so Anna was facing her. The girl's expression dropped to the floor, and Elsa knelt down slightly to try and catch her gaze. "You're absolutely gorgeous Anna."
"But I'm a mess," she whined, loosening her wrists from Elsa's grip and pulling at her skirt, sighing at the mud stains and tears that she just seemed to notice.
Elsa laughed and placed her hand back on her sister's shoulder. "Nothing a new dress can't fix." Both girls turned back to the vanity mirror in tandem, and Elsa sighed slightly as she looked her sister up and down."…and maybe a few hairpins. And a makeup retouch. And-"
"-I get it Elsa, thanks."
Elsa cracked a smile, and both girls fell into a hysterical fit of giggles. Once they controlled themselves, Elsa sat her sister down on the plush stool in front of her vanity. "Now, let's get to work on this hair," the Queen began as she pulled hairpins out of her sister's collapsing hairstyle, letting the strands fall loosely onto the other girls' shoulders. Once it was free from its restraints, the Queen snuck a glance at the mirror, and her breath caught in her throat.
Elsa had never seen Anna with her hair down before. Normally it was either wrapped atop her head or separated in two braids, but with her hair free, it reached all the way down the middle of her back. The Queen let her fingers slowly comb through the girls hair, the sun reflecting off natural bronze highlights that waved lazily through the strands. The color of Anna's hair reminded her of a wild fox in the sun, and the Queen was struck with a sudden wave of jealousy.
"Is everything alright?" Anna asked quietly, looking slightly nervous as she eyed her sister in the mirror.
"Yes," Elsa breathed, reaching for a comb and gently pulling it through the auburn's hair. "I'm actually sort of jealous," she admitted honestly.
Anna made a very unladylike snorting noise and laughed. Elsa looked at the girl in the mirror, and when Anna caught her expression, she silenced herself, "Oh, you're serious?"
Elsa returned to the princess's hair, a trained smile on her face. "Your hair, it reminds me of…" she searched for something to say, "…Papa's."
Anna looked at herself in the mirror, then back at Elsa, who worked silently. "Your hair, it reminds me of the Moon in winter," Anna retorted, a sparkle in her eye.
Elsa laughed as she made final adjustments to her sister's hair, "So dramatic Anna, did Kristoff teach you that one?"
Anna stuck out her bottom lip and crossed her arms over her chest. "I do read, Elsa."
"Do you now?" Elsa asked in mock astonishment, crossing her arms over her chest. She was very aware of the girls' reading as of late, taking late nights in the library ever since she took over responsibility of all trade agreements, something Elsa wholeheartedly trusted her in.
The last year had been tough on the kingdom Arendell, and Anna had picked up some of Elsa's responsibilities to help ease some of her burden, duties normally shared between a Queen and King. The last Freeze had literally destroyed most of Arendell's crop and they became dependent on trade with other kingdoms to survive the following winter. Queen Elsa reopened trade with Weselton as well as the Southern Isles, who were more than happy to oblige after being fully embarrassed and dishonored by the youngest son, the former Prince Hans. Arendell reached farther West to other coastal kingdoms such as Corona, and this required all new trade agreements to be written, rewritten, approved and reapproved, something Elsa couldn't do alone along with her daily duties as Queen
Elsa had always excelled in the arts, whether it be painting or music, but it was the business side of her responsibilities that she inwardly struggled with. It was one night in her study when the Queen discovered her sister's skill for numbers and politics.
"Are you still pouring over that ledger?" Anna had asked, knocking five times but not waiting for an answer. She brought a glass of steaming hot chocolate and a fresh candle.
Elsa looked up from her curled position on the overstuffed sofa and rubbed her temples, "Weselton has so many demands…this is the fourth revision they've sent us."
"Let me see," Anna offered, sliding in next to her sister and exchanging her hot chocolate for the ledger.
The princess scanned the pages, flipping through the parchment and humming to herself softly. Elsa watched her with great interest, sipping from the glass thoughtfully.
"These demands are absolutely ridiculous," Anna murmured, reaching for a quill and scratching red ink onto the ledger.
"Anna wait-" Elsa tried to stop her but was quickly silenced.
"Elsa, Weselton is a very small country," Anna began, squinting into the parchment as she continued to scrawl.
"Yes, I'm aware-" Elsa began, but was quickly interrupted.
"They have plenty of crops to offer us, which is exactly what we need, but that's it. They have no stone, no precious metals, not even lumber. It's all farmland, and that's all they have to offer. They need us more than we need them. Worst case scenario, we can survive the winter on fish and bread without them. Yeah, we'll be a little malnourished, but we'll survive."
Anna finished her scribbles and exchanged Elsa's hot chocolate for the ledger, taking a swig with an unusually serious expression on her face.
"Anna…" Elsa breathed, shuffling through the parchment, "This is…how did you…?" The Queen was speechless, which was a rare event.
"Kristoff, actually," Anna explained, taking another sip of her sister's hot chocolate. "He does a lot of trade with the other kingdoms, and I've done some research to help him out."
"I-I don't know what to say," The Queen placed the ledger down and turned towards her sister.
"You say to the Duke that this is the final revision, and there will be no edits from this point on. If he doesn't accept the agreement, then the trade between our countries will continue to cease, and they can go without our wool which keeps his people warm, our lumber that puts roofs over his people's heads, and our fish that keep his people fed."
Elsa was blown away by the passion Anna suddenly displayed, and pride swelled inside her. She embraced her younger sister, who then characteristically spilled the hot chocolate she was holding on the both of them.
From that moment on, Anna met with Elsa's advisors daily and took charge of all trade agreements. Weselton accepted Arendell's agreements, and their kingdom survived the winter without a hitch.
"…and what novel has caught my dear sister's attention?" Elsa smiled, drifting back to the present.
"Ohhh that's not important!" Anna exclaimed, rising suddenly as blood rushed to her cheeks. Elsa jumped back as the girl whirled around and headed towards the door. "I'm going to get a new dress, and touch up my face, and…" Anna lifted her arm and sniffed her armpit, causing herself to wrinkle her nose, "…and take care of that, and I'll meet you in the courtyard!"
Elsa reached for her sister as she slipped through the door, "Wait Anna, please-"
"…don't be late," she finished to nothing but air as the door slammed shut. The Queen rolled her eyes and returned to her vanity where she sat down and absentmindedly reached for her comb. Her hand hovered over the object for a moment when a few strands of Anna's hair tangled in the comb caught her eye, glinting in what was left of the setting sun.
Tap Tap
"Your majesty? It's about time."
Servants.
Elsa released a heavy breath and gracefully rose from her seat. Her expression changed to that of the Queen of Arendell as she allowed the servants entrance to her chambers. They brought a long royal purple cloak, a replica of the original that had been lost in the North Mountain a year prior, and clasped it around their Queen's shoulders. Dressed their best, the four servants each took a side of the train and followed their Queen out the door to the courtyard below, where royalty and common folk alike mingled together to witness the Queen perform a miracle firsthand.