As promised, ladies, gentlemen, and otherwise, here is the beginning of my Frozen musical fanfiction project, Blazed. I've been toying with this idea pretty much since the first Frozen movie came out, and the only reason I'm writing it now is out of my reaction to the sequel. Now, I'll admit Frozen II had some strong points. I will also freely admit that I've borrowed one or two smaller details from the movie, and I could very well end up borrowing more content as I continue to write my story. However, in terms of how the plot developed in Frozen II, I was actually pretty disappointed, so I used that to motivate me to write my idea of a sequel.
This fanfiction will rely on headcanon to some extent. In my mind, this story, and by extent, the original Frozen movie, will be framed in the context of an alternate universe, a world where the real-life countries of planet Earth do not exist. That way, I can take more creative liberties with the international world stage outside of Arendelle. The story will include songs, fictional countries, and as many Hamilton references as I can get away with (No rapping, though). I don't know how well the end result will go over with the public, and if it gets enough negative criticism, I may just take this whole thing down.
Only the first three chapters and the prologue have been completed so far. Understandably, I'll need more time to finish the rest of it, and God knows when that's gonna be. But for now, please enjoy my half-baked attempt at a Disney Sequel (most of which tend to be half-baked anyway), Blazed.
Prologue: The Exiles.
Eagle City, Aquila
July 7th, 1835
A new sun rose that morning, shining down on the twisted wreckage of the newly-liberated nation of Aquila. As the smoke cleared from the battle of the previous night, the long beaten-down inhabitants of Eagle City looked up to the sky in joyous rapture. After 57 years of systemic oppression, the Aquillians were once again free from the yoke of the Albinite Empire.
From the officer's quarters onboard a vessel in the city's harbor, one senior officer of the Albinite Navy, Fleet Admiral Victor Collingridge, looked upon the sight of his greatest failure. No warmth or light from the sun seemed to reach him on this dark day. In his 53 years, he had never known a time when this nation was not a faithful vassal under the authority of the Crown of Albion.
Victor scratched his flowing, white beard as he pondered what was to come next. A month traveling home on the open sea awaited the defeated Admiral and his surviving men. His every waking moment would be spent wondering how His Majesty the King would respond to this news. Only the fates seemed to know what would happen to him. If Victor were lucky, perhaps the King would be satisfied just to strip him of his rank. But for losing the entire war, he could very well be executed. He only hoped that his remaining subordinates would be allowed to continue serving His Majesty. They did not deserve to suffer for his poor command.
KNOCK-KNOCK!
Victor turned toward the door. "Enter!"
The door opened, and in walked the Fleet Admiral's son, Commodore Henry Collingridge. His blue eyes were weary, his short, blonde hair bedraggled, his red and white uniform in tatters. Like his father, he had spent many sleepless nights trying in vain to turn the tide of this relentless war.
"Henry. You're still alive. Thank God."
"Eagle City has been lost, sir. The war is lost. We have failed you. General Merryweather has granted us three days to depart from these shores."
"Then you know what to do. Order the evacuations. Spread the word."
"I can try again, sir. We still have superior numbers. If we petitioned for aid from across the sea, maybe we could regroup and—."
"No, my son. It's over. Perhaps someday, with proper planning and sound tactics, we could reclaim this territory. But we have already lost far too many good men. And reclaiming this territory could bankrupt the empire in the long run."
Even at a time as dark as this, when Victor looked upon his son, he felt nothing but pride for him and his years of unwavering loyalty to the Crown. But for all his experience and devotion, Henry never knew when to quit.
"I'm sorry father. I thought we could win this war."
"The blame does not lie with you, my son. You fought valiantly and wisely. There is no reason for you to feel any shame."
"I just wanted to make you proud."
"Then order the evacuations. Send these men back to their families, their homes."
"… Yes, sir."
"Dismissed."
After relaying the orders for the Albinite fleet to evacuate, Henry returned to his vessel, the HMS Mummichog, to speak with his quartermaster, John Wickham.
"Mister Wickham, come to my office."
"Yes, sir."
John followed Henry to the Captain's Quarters and shut the door behind them. Henry beckoned the quartermaster over to his desk, where a suspicious looking course had been charted that wouldn't take their vessel anywhere near the Kingdom of Albion.
"Um, sir? Are you sure this is the right map?"
"It's the right map for us. Let me explain… The Albinite Navy is in no position to continue fighting this war, so we have been ordered to evacuate these shores and return home."
"Then why have you plotted a course for the south?"
"Because we're not going back to Albion. We're going to the Gilded Coast."
"What?"
"We are going to stake a claim among the islands of the Gilded Coast in the name of His Majesty the King."
"But the Fleet Admiral said—."
"My father is an old fool, and he had no business leading this navy. If we are ever going to recover from this humiliating failure, we need to build our strength back up. We will take what forces are loyal to us and expand over the Gilded Coast. One of our best spies tells us of powerful artifacts that are buried on those islands. If what he says is true, we can use those artifacts to our advantage."
"You want to go chasing after something that may not even exist so we can re-invade Aquila? And another thing: The Gilded Coast is crawling with criminals and slavers, murderers and scoundrels like you've never seen!"
"We will build up our fleet with the strongest individuals we can find. The kind of people who will do whatever it takes to win. And when we're strong enough, we will return to the shores of Aquila and show them what it means to defy the Kingdom of Albion. It could take years to accomplish this, so I only have one question: Are you in or out?"
John considered the words of his captain. This whole plan was incredibly risky and could prove to be a huge mistake. But on the other hand, given the recent failure of the Albinite fleet, he and the rest of the crew would have very little waiting for him back in Albion. And if they could be a part of the naval force that managed to reclaim Aquila, perhaps the King would find a way to reward them for their service.
"What'll it be, John?"
"… I'm in."