This is a Frozen AU of the graphic novel The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang and I do not take any credit for the premise and storyline she has created. I totally recommend reading the original graphic novel because it's a great story and the art is amazing! In this fic, Elsa is an intersex genderqueer character and there is eventual explicit smut between her and Anna (but no incest), so if that's something you're not into, feel free to stop reading.

"Where did you even manage to find these?" Elsa asked, admiring the sepia dress shoes on her feet in the mirror. With every step she took, the heels of her feet rose up. She'd have to shove socks in the toes of the shoes to make them fit. She felt a little bit like a girl playing dress up in clothes way too big for her, but in a sense, she was. The shoes were slightly worn, the leather cracked, but that just meant that, much to Elsa's relief, she wouldn't have to break them in herself. She absolutely couldn't stand blisters.

Honeymaren, her best friend and lady in waiting, gave a small shrug, trying to hide her growing pride at the princess' amazement. "Same as always. They belonged to the king. Gerda was clearing out another section of their bedroom."

Elsa's levelled expression was almost cracked by a frown, but she kept it together. Her father had been dead for almost three years. She had her time to mourn. No point in dwelling on the past. "I think a balthus knot would suit the outfit, wouldn't you?"

"Remind me which one that is?" Honeymaren didn't always understand Elsa's taste in fashion, but she was still going to support her in it.

"The tie with the largest knot, bigger than the full Windsor," Elsa explained, sorting through the assortment of rolled up ties in one of the drawers before picking out one that matched her shoes. She folded up the collar of her shirt and was about to add the finishing touch to the outfit when there was a faint knock at the door.

"Your Highness?" Kai could be heard from outside. He had the keys to that room, but preferred knocking instead so he wouldn't accidentally walk in on Elsa changing. "The queen requests your company for tea. She's on the garden patio."

Elsa let out a disappointed sigh, her shoulders sagging slightly. "Tell her I'll be with her shortly."

The two ladies could hear Kai's receding footsteps. Reluctantly, Elsa shrugged off her navy blue coat and undid her belt while Honeymaren helped tackle her button-down shirt. "You could always tell her you'll see her for supper—"

"And risk her coming to find me herself if she can't bear to wait?" Elsa shuddered. "Not a chance." She raised her arms above her head and Honeymaren grabbed one end of the cloth that was wound tightly around her midsection. The princess spinned, letting the material unravel, her chest regaining their curves and dimension. Men's clothing wasn't made for people with breasts, so she had to improvise. It made her feel good too. More… herself. Sometimes.

Honeymaren helped Elsa into a corset. It was uncomfortable, but it was nothing compared to the binder she wore for at least an hour almost every day. Barely a pinch in her side. She slipped into one of her casual day dresses for when she had the privilege of lounging around the castle without needing to entertain royal visitors or government officials. "What prim and proper royal activity have I been partaking in this time?" she asked.

Her lady in waiting considered her question. "Horseback riding?"

She wrinkled her nose. "I'm not sweaty enough to pull that off."

"You could say you rode sidesaddle."

"Still, we're right in the middle of summer. She would see right through me."

"Reading?"

Elsa gave a halfhearted hand gesture. "She might ask me what book and I would panic and not be able to come up with a lie."

"Embroidery? The queen has no interest in embroidery so it's unlikely she'd ask you to elaborate."

"That's perfect." She slipped a simple pair of heels on her feet while Honeymaren began folding up the binder and pieces of the suit to put away. "Could you lock the door once you're done? I don't want to keep her waiting."

"You got it," Honeymaren replied with a kind smile.

"Thank you," Elsa said gratefully before leaving her private dressing room, her safe haven, the only place she could truly be every version of herself.

Her dressing room was situated on the far side of the castle, near the servants' quarters, and far out of her mother's reach. She made her way through the winding halls of the castle. The royal estate was so mass and expansive that Elsa sometimes wished she hadn't grown up there so she could get lost entirely in its walls, newly experiencing its grandeur. It was a privilege to be able to walk a new path or see new sights, and a privilege Elsa did not possess within the castle.

She wandered away from the southern wing and towards the central area, past the kitchens where dinner was being prepared and the stables where the steeds were being tended to. The smell of freshly baked bread wafted through the halls and she hoped the cooks were making bidos, even though it was unlikely since that was traditionally a dish that was served in the winter. Her heels echoed off the polished floors of the Great Hall as her feet led her through the back gates and towards the garden patio. She immediately caught sight of her mother, Queen Iduna, at one of the tables.

"Elsa, dear, come sit."

With every bit of grace and poise expected of a princess, Elsa sat in the seat opposite the queen, taking the cup of tea she was offered with gratitude. She brought it to her lips, savouring its earthy tones.

"What have you been occupying yourself with today?" Iduna asked.

"Embroidery," the princess answered without missing a beat.

"That's nice." The queen added a splash of milk to her tea, watching it lighten the brown liquid while she idly stirred. "That hat. Is it new?"

Elsa could feel herself blush. She'd found that particular hat in the far reaches of her father's closet, so it was no wonder her mother didn't remember it used to be his. "No. Just one I don't wear very often," she lied.

"I don't usually see you wearing your hair like that," Iduna commented.

The blonde's hair had been piled atop her head in a way that was fairly messy. Her logic had been that it didn't matter since she was wearing the hat over it anyway. She had a love-hate relationship with her hair length. Some days, she loved brushing out the long fair locks and feeling it run through her fingers, but other days, she just wanted to hide it all. Cutting it off would have been too severe, so Elsa often settled for tying it up in that way. But only in private. She had been careless when her mother summoned her so suddenly. "It's a warm day today," Elsa said, making up another excuse. "I just wanted to keep my hair away from my neck. It's more comfortable."

"Yes, I suppose it is," she agreed.

"So why did you ask for me?"

Iduna feigned offence, placing a hand over her chest. "Can't a mother just have tea with her daughter without there needing to be a reason behind it?"

The corner of Elsa's lips tugged up into a grin. "So there's no reason?"

"Well I didn't say that." She leaned forward slightly in her chair. "You know you're turning twenty one this winter."

"Yes…" Elsa had a feeling she knew where this conversation was going.

"Which means it's almost time for you to take the throne."

There it is, the princess thought with disdain. "I still don't understand, Mother. You're here. You're alive. You hold the throne."

Iduna bristled slightly when her daughter used the word 'alive'. Agnarr had passed a few years ago, when Elsa was barely eighteen, but his death still stung. Seeing herself present just reminded Iduna of his absence. "I married into the throne," she corrected. "But according to the law, the throne must be held by a royal with Arendellian blood, and I must give it up once a viable candidate presents themself. That royal is you, my dear."

She frowned into her cup of tea that had begun to tremor along with her hands. "I'm not ready."

"Which is why I've been preparing you," her mother consoled. "And I'll still be around to help you along in those first few months. The adjustment period. Your father didn't have that help, you know?"

Yes, Elsa was very aware of that story. Her grandfather. King Runeard, Arendelle's brave and valiant protector, had died at war, leaving his only son, a young Prince Agnarr, to take the throne years before he was ready and with no living relatives to guide him.

"And that's another thing," Iduna continued. "We need to start looking into the matter of your betrothal."

Elsa choked on her tea, spluttering dramatically as flecks of dark liquid stained the front of her dress. "What?"

Her mother tsked lightly, handing her a napkin. "Why are you so surprised at that? You always knew you'd have to one day. It's the role of a princess and future queen."

"Because I didn't think I'd need to think about it so soon," she admitted, dabbing at the splotches on her dress.

"You're going to be twenty one in less than six months, Elsa. In some kingdoms, a princess is married off at fifteen."

"That seems immoral."

"Which is why you weren't married off at fifteen," Iduna replied with a wry smile. "Anyway, the decision doesn't have to be made immediately. This is what I wanted to speak to you about. Courting arrangements."

Elsa threw her head back and let out a very un-royal groan. "Mother…"

"Oh, don't be so dramatic!" her mother chided playfully. "There are plenty of fine young men who would love the chance to get to know you. And you never know; you might just find your perfect match. You'll never know unless you try."

"Why can't I just rule as a matriarch like you?"

"Because a queen needs her king."

She felt her annoyance flare up into anger. "But you don't have one, so why don't you—" she began before quickly stopping herself and looking down into her lap. She knew she'd almost taken it too far. Her mother did have a king. A husband, whom she loved, and whose death almost destroyed her. To say that suggesting she should have remarried when he'd died not even three years ago was out of line was a gross understatement. "Sorry," Elsa mumbled.

Iduna let out a tired sigh, her regal posture slipping for a moment. "We're not traditional here," she said softly. "No arranged marriages, no only marrying nobility. Your father was royalty, but he married for love. He married a girl from some small, nowhere village. He made his own choices, and you can too."

But I can't make the choice you want me to make, Elsa thought glumly. "I have no interest in finding a king to rule alongside me," she said as pragmatically as she could manage. "Boys are just such loud bumbling idiots who play violent sports and get into fights. I didn't meet a single boy at Nix that I actually liked."

Elsa had attended a boarding school for royals and nobles when she was fifteen. It was terrible. She was shy, didn't have any friends, and the boys would always pull on her braid when the teachers weren't looking. She dreaded having to go back every term, and after her father died, returning to school was even harder. Within the first few days, she withdrew herself from school entirely. She skipped classes, feigned being ill and wandered aimlessly around campus to the point where her mother decided to just bring her home. Elsa was homeschooled from then on, in an academic sense as well as learning how to run Arendelle when she would take the throne.

"The people you went to school with were boys," Iduna agreed. "Young. Immature. But they would have grown up now. Adult men are very different from young boys. Like Kai."

"Way too old for me," Elsa said quickly.

"I was just using him as an example!" she defended with a light laugh. "Of course you wouldn't marry Kai, but men your age have matured too. They can be sensible. What about your guard Kristoff? He's a fine young man. Very strong too for any heir-making activities," she added with a mischievous look.

"Gross." Elsa wrinkled her nose. "I wouldn't marry Kristoff. He's my friend." My friend who knows I wear my father's clothes in secret, and who wouldn't want a wife like that. "And anyway, physical strength for heir-making activities is of no importance to me. I can't even have children."

"We don't know that."

"I definitely can't have children with Kristoff that's for sure, or any man for that matter. You know the biology doesn't work out."

Iduna ignored that statement, glancing at her pocket watch. "I need to be in a meeting soon, but this conversation is not over. What I wanted to say was that we're going to have a ball next weekend."

Elsa stiffened. "A ball?"

"We're going to have a ball," she repeated. "I'll manage all the arrangements, but this will be your opportunity to meet people from outside the castle. Marriage isn't all about children. It's about forming a lifelong bond with someone, and you'll never know about marriage until you explore your options. You need to get yourself out there instead of isolating yourself in the castle doing embroidery all day. It's a queen's duty." Iduna's voice was firm as she rose from her seat to go to her meeting, but her expression softened slightly at her final words to her daughter. "Just… try to keep an open mind? It can't hurt to try, right?"

The princess forced a smile, if only to please her mother. "Of course," she begrudgingly agreed. "I suppose… it won't hurt to try."

A/N - Hello dear reader! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. As I said before, this is an AU of a graphic novel so the stories will be fairly similar, just with different characters and my own smutty twists along the way. As always, let me know what you think and until next time, stay safe :)

This story is also available on AO3. I also have a Twitter where I post behind the scenes content, polls, writing updates and more. Both are under the same username kalesalad003 and the links are in my bio!