Winter Rose: An Isabella Madrigal x Queen Elsa ship-fic.

(Continuity: This story is meant to take place five years after the events of Encanto and eight years after the first Frozen. It does not account for Frozen II, but doesn't necessarily conflict with it either)

Chapter 1

A mysterious snowstorm arrives in the Madrigal valley, and with it arrives a mysterious woman.

Isabella and her little sister visited a field at edge of town. It had been years since Isabella realised she could grow more than just flowers, but even now she was still eager for new things to try. Though she had to admit, when Mirabel suggested agriculture this morning, it didn't sound as exciting as what she hoped for.

But she understood this was important, and she was at least a little curious. The town was always growing larger, and soon they'd need to grow more food. Yesterday Luisa had ploughed out the field with her strength, so now Isabella would see if she could give the crops a head start with her own powers. Though she preferred wild natural beauty over an orderly farm field. Too similar to the old perfect façade.

And of course, overseeing it all was their sister Mirabel. A year after the collapse of the first Casita Madrigal, their Abuela had died peacefully in her sleep, the natural course of old age, and since then Mirabel had stepped in and filled the void, becoming the new pillar of the community.

"You ready Isa?" Mirabel asked.

Isabella loosened up and rolled her shoulders, "Let's see what I can do with this."

She closed her eyes and focused, and the ground around her erupted with corn stalks, unnaturally tall and towering over the sisters' heads.

"Nice!" Mirabel gave her two thumbs up, "But maybe too much?"

Isabella shrugged, "You can still eat it."

Suddenly a chill came over her, and she noticed that Mirabel shivered too. "You feel that Mira? Is it just me or did it just get really cold?"

"Yeah, it did seem like… whoa," both girls looked around them in bewilderment as a fine white powder began falling from the sky around them, "Is this snow?"

"We haven't had snow since Tia Pepa was getting stressed over Dolores' wedding. And she's never covered the whole valley before." Something about this seemed different. Isabella had a feeling.

"We should get back," Mirabel suggested, "Something must have happened."

"No, wait," Isabella held out a hand and grew a large leaf, letting it blow in the breeze, "I knew something was strange. That snow is falling in the opposite direction to the wind. This isn't Tia. Where's it coming from?"

The sisters followed the snow to its source, and the temperature grew colder and colder, until they reached the mountains that border their valley. There was still a crack in the stone where the mountain range had split open after the miracle failed, and though the breach had been sealed when the magic returned the seam was still there. And now a flurry of snow was billowing out of the tiny crack.

Then the ground beneath them began to rumble, and the crack began to split open. Inside the crack, the rock on either side was covered by a thin layer of ice. Once it was wide enough to be a walkway the crack stopped widening, and cold white mist billowed out of the opening. In the mist, a silhouette started to emerge.

Isabella acted instantly. The miracle created those mountains to protect them, if someone was breaking in, they were a threat. She summoned gigantic venus fly traps from the ground and sent their slavering mouths hurtling to devour whoever was coming through. But the silhouette lazily raised a hand and stalactites of ice fell from the sky and impaled her plants, pinning them down and tearing them to shreds.

The ice on the walls of the crack melted away and the white mist in the gap evaporated. And out stepped a woman; tall, pale, snowy white hair tied in a braid. She walked perfectly poised, it reminded Isabella of how she used to act, and as she stepped out she raised a dainty hand and waved.

"Hello. My name's Elsa."

X

When the first thing Elsa saw on the other side of the mountains was people, excitement swelled in her heart. The rumours she heard in nearby villages were all stories from fifty years ago. But a new mountain range that just appeared overnight sounded like a sure sign of magic, if it only were true.

In the years since she froze Arendelle, Elsa had been increasingly travelling the world, leaving Anna in charge of the kingdom in her absence, to search out stories of magic. Surely she couldn't be the only person like herself in the world. Yet in all that searching she'd had no luck, until now.

When that girl had summoned the plant life to attack her, she knew she'd found it. Other people like her. Or at very least just this one. She stepped carefully through the mess of ice and vegetation their scuffle had created and approached the women cautiously.

"I'm sorry for breaking through your mountain. I promise I'm not here to hurt anyone. I just heard old stories that there was magic in this valley."

The younger woman hesitantly stepped towards Elsa, letting her guard drop into a more welcoming posture, and outstretched a hand to shake. "Well if you're looking for magic you're in the right place. I'm Mirabel, of the Amazing Madrigals, and this is my sister Isabella. Sound like you've heard of us," Mirabel casually leaned in to mutter, "Don't wanna boast but we really are as great as everyone says," then she came back out to normal, "but you seem plenty magical yourself, whadaya need us for?"

"A whole family?" Elsa asked, "There are more of you with magic? I've never met anyone like myself before. This is more than I ever hoped for."

"Guess we better introduce to everyone then, huh Isa? Isa?" Mirabel looked over at her older sister, who was silently glaring at Elsa, armed crossed and scowling. "You ok there?"

"Fine," the older girl replied, "Let's just get back home."

Chapter 2

Isabella and Elsa get to know each other and realise just how much they have in common.

Isabella entered the nursery room to check on Elsa, and instead found two Elsas sitting across from each other. She glared at the Elsa on the left. "Camilo, change back."

Her cousin shape shifted back to his regular form. "How'd you know?"

"The real one's prettier."

"Oh?" the real Elsa flushed pink, the first blemish on her porcelain skin that Isabella had seen.

The family hadn't known what to do with Elsa when she arrived. For now, she was confined to the nursery while they decided what to do with her, since these days the room was left empty and unused, now that Antonio and Mirabel had their own rooms. The Madrigals were taking turns watching her while they discussed what to do. So now Isabella was coming to take over from her cousin Camilo.

"Damn, you're colder than the ice girl," Camilo said as he headed out, "She's all yours."

Elsa called after him, "Hey Camilo," he looked back and she flicked her wrist, and right in front of him a perfectly lifelike ice sculpture of himself appeared. "Who makes better copies?"

He laughed, "Wow, I really look like that? I gotta show this to everyone." He wrapped his arms around the sculpture and started slowly dragging it away.

Isabella shut the door behind him then sat down next to Elsa. "So you came here, what, looking for us?" she asked.

"Looking for magic," Elsa answered, "I've never met anyone like myself before. I wish I could've grown up with a family like yours. Hiding it from my sister nearly tore us apart."

Isabella glanced away, a wave of guilt washing over her. "I don't know we're much better. You didn't see what we used to be like. There was a lot of expectation on me, on all of us, to be the right kind of person, no matter what we actually want."

"Conceal, don't feel," Elsa murmured, just loud enough for Isabella to catch it.

"How did you deal with it?" Isabella asked.

"Shut myself away from the world. Turned out to be the worst thing I could have done."

"Sounds familiar," Isabella sighed, "I got catty with people, so they'd leave me alone, since I didn't need to pretend when I was by myself. I was especially bad with… Mirabel says she's forgiven me for how I used to treat her but…"

Elsa gave her a sad smile. "But you feel like nothing you do can make up for hurting her?"

"Yeah,"

"What changed it for you?"

"Like I said, I was always supposed to be pretty and perfect. So I always thought my magic could just grow flowers. But then one day Mirabel was pushing me, and all the buried feeling came flooding out and, well…" Isabella tapped a foot on the floor and a small cactus popped up from the floorboards.

"Prickly," Elsa noted.

Isabella bent down and took up the cactus in her palm, "Prickly, unpleasant to touch, but beautiful in its own way? Don't you think?"

"Yes, it is. Like you."

Isabella felt her face flush and she started fidgeting with her hair, "Wha- no- I mean. I'm not pretty. The old me was pretty. Look at me, I'm a wildergirl covered in dirt and splotches of multicoloured pollen."

"I didn't say pretty. We said beautiful. And if you're finally the person you want to be, I wouldn't dare change a thing."

Elsa had shifted to sit closer to Isabella, who did her best to shake off her fluster, "A-anyway, after that first cactus popped up, something just clicked, and all my facades didn't matter anymore and all I wanted was to find my real potential. I owe Mirabel everything for that. So what about you? How did you stop hiding?"

"I accidentally plunged the kingdom into never-ending winter," Elsa shrugged, "no way to keep it secret after that."

"Wow."

"I never did learn to control my powers, I was too busy keeping them hidden. But eventually there was a day when I had to be out in the open, just a little while. I was trying to just go through the motions, put on the right show,"

Isabella quietly laughed to herself, "Making perfect, practiced poses?"

"Exactly. I must have rehearsed everything a dozen times in my head," Elsa said, "But I could never have prepared for my sister Anna. She was angry, and I wanted to run away, and the whole thing just poured out until, oops, I've frozen a country. Yet, even after everything I'd done, Anna came and helped me fix it. Like your Mirabel."

Isabella put her hand over Elsa's, "That must have been hard."

"It was," Elsa interlaced her fingers with Isabella's, "but it taught me so much. And after that it's like you said, once I stopped being afraid of my powers all I wanted was to know more and discover what I was capable of. That's why I went searching for other people with magic."

"Well then I'm…" Isabella had started to feel a closeness with this woman, like nothing she felt with anyone, not even her family, "…I'm glad you found us."

X

Mirabel was doing her best to direct the discussion when Camilo came back from watch duty.

"How are thing up there?" she asked.

"Isabella's in love," Camilo transformed into Isabella and started making mocking smooching sounds, "Oh you're so pretty, snow lady."

Mirabel shook her head at him, "Camilo focus, what…" she noticed the thing behind him, "What is that?"

"Oh, just a present from our guest," he stepped aside and showed off the ice sculpture of himself that he'd just dragged down the stairs.

Before Mirabel could even begin to process her bewilderment, Tio Bruno burst into the room carrying a gigantic green plate. "Alright, here we go, I finished the vision."

He dropped the vision plate on the table, and the whole family gathered around. One half of the image was taken up by the familiar shape of Casita Madrigal. The other half was unfamiliar, but it looked like a palace made of ice. Between the two buildings was a bridge, and on the bridge stood Elsa.

"What does it mean?" little Antonio piped up from the edge of the table.

Bruno nervously fidgeted his fingers, "Looks like this Elsa is going to connect our valley back to the outside world. Don't know if I like that," he knocked on the wooden table then threw salt and sugar over each shoulder, "The Encanto made a mountain range to protect us, maybe we don't want to go back." Suddenly he pulled the hood up from his poncho and spoke in a falsely deep voice, "No. I am Hernando and I fear nothing, not even the outside."

Camilo stifled a laugh, "What does Jorge think?"

"Um…" Bruno patted himself down then looked around the room, "Anyone have a bucket?"

Mirabel nudged Camilo with her elbow. "Never mind Jorge. What do we all think of Elsa? She seems harmless to me."

Her mother Julietta made an uneasy grimace. "Bruno's right though. It is dangerous outside the valley, that's why your Abuela first led us here."

"It was fifty-five years ago now," Pepa said, "We were babies then. Maybe it's different now. Elsa seems nice. Anyone who controls the weather can't be all bad."

"I think she just makes snow Tia." The family turned around to see Isabella standing in the doorway.

"Aren't you meant to be watching her?" Mirabel asked.

"And I came down her to tell you she doesn't need to be watched," said Isabella, "I trust her. I think we should let her stay."

Chapter 3

Elsa joins the community and gets closer with everyone, most of all Isabella

Now that she was welcome in the community, Elsa did what she could to help in the town, just as the Madrigal's would.

She animated some small snowmen, which joined Camilo to entertain the village children. She also made a new giant, like Marshmallow guarding her palace back home, strong enough to assist Luisa with manual labour. Olaf would be so excited to hear how many more of his siblings she'd made. And some days she went with Pepa out to the farms, it was a particularly hot summer this year, so the two of them worked to lower the temperature slightly and keep the plants and animals healthy.

But most of all she would her time with Isabella, whenever they both were free.

One day, it was hotter even than all the other days of this unusually hot summer. The town was quiet, everyone stayed indoors to escape the sweltering heat. That is, everyone except Isabella and Elsa. Isabella kept some large leaves following her, some providing shade and other swaying to fan her with air. Meanwhile Elsa stood directly under the sunlight yet seemed entirely unaffected by its rays.

So the two of them strolled the streets, making the most of every moment after Elsa's recent announcement.

"I wish you didn't have to leave," said Isabella.

"I know. And I'll miss you too," Elsa replied, "but I've already been away so long and I can't abandon Anna, not again. No more than you would abandon your family if I asked you to leave the valley."

Elsa had been saying for a while that she intended to leave soon. She hadn't said exactly when, but knowing it was coming, Isabella had been all but clinging to every moment with her she could get. She wouldn't dare ask Elsa to stay, for exactly the reason she just said, but the thought that their brief together would end was devastating.

The two women kept walking, with nothing more to say but unwilling to part, until they came upon the empty central square. Elsa looked around, bemused, "Is it really that hot out? It's even deserted here."

Isabella wiped a layer of sweat off her brow, "Yeah. You really can't tell?"

Elsa extended a hand to her. Isabella tentatively touched her forearm then recoiled immediately, shocked at the sensation of Elsa's skin, freezing cold under her fingers. Elsa gave her a knowing smile. "Even the sun can't melt me, but I could warm up for you Isabella."

Isabella was already flush from the heat, but she could fell her blush worsening from Elsa's attention. "Keep that up and I might lose my cool," she flirted back.

"Don't tempt me," Elsa reached out and took both of Isabella's hands, and now her palms weren't so deathly cold anymore, "How about we liven things up here." She pulled Isabella in close, and then tapped her heel against the ground, and a perfectly smooth layer of ice covered the ground of the entire square.

Elsa had no trouble balances on the slippery surface, and when Isabella began to teeter she steadied her, and magically created small blades of ice under her shoes. "Have you ever ice skated before?" Elsa asked, and Isabella shook her head. So Elsa took a step backwards and started pulling Isabella with her, "Just follow my lead."

They started slow, a leisurely circle around the edges of the ice field, but Elsa kept pulling her along faster and faster. She led Isabella through more and more frenzied patterns, like the most fast-paced dance in the world, until Elsa pulled Isabella in for a twirl and set her spinning on the spot.

In all the motion and excitement, Isabella laughed as she span and in releasing that energy all the roofs in the village erupted with a wild jungle of tangled flora. Attracted by the commotion outside, the people of the village and the other Madrigals started coming out and gathering around the edge of the square to watch Elsa and Isabella's skated dance.

The two women shared a look and an understanding passed between them. Elsa and Isabella linked arms again and took another circuit around the edges, and as they went Elsa created skates under all their shoes too. Then Isabella stopped in front of Mirabel and took her hand and pulled her out onto the ice too, "Come join us Mira, this is amazing!"

Isabella let Mirabel go, and as she glided along she joyously whooped. "Hey everyone, get on out here!"

Mirabel whipped up a frenzy and soon half the town and all the Madrigals were out stumbling and slipping and slowly learning to skate, the coolness of the ice countering the heat of the day. Elsa and Isabella re-joined and clung onto each other as they slid along together, until eventually they found that the sun was beginning to set. "Elsa," Isabella said softly, "Thank you. That was wonderful."

"I just wanted a nice send off," Elsa said, then she leaned in and whispered, "Also, you know the best thing about ice skating? Because it's so easy to slip, if you want to get close with someone it's a great excuse to hold onto them."

Isabella pretended to be scandalised. "Now Elsa, you couldn't be saying you were trying to get close to me, could you?"

Elsa smiled back, and they silently looked into each other's eyes, until Isabella leant in and softly pressed her lips against Elsa's. Elsa began to kiss back immediately, and they held their embrace for as long as they could. When finally they separated, Isabella had come to a decision. "Elsa, when you go, I want to come with you."

Chapter 4

On the voyage to Arendelle, Isabella comforts Elsa and her tragic memories of sea voyages. When they arrive, Isabella finally gets to meet Anna.

"Don't think you're getting rid of me that easily," Isabella said to Mirabel as the sisters hugged goodbye, "You'll see me again. Promise."

"Oh no need to burry back, I've been dreaming about this for years," Mirabel teased.

Isabella playfully shoved her, "Brat."

The voyage to Arendelle alone was going to take months, the ocean was a big place. She'd said her goodbyes to everyone else at the edge of the valley, but Mirabel had insisted on following them all the way to the coastal town where Elsa had docked the royal galleon.

Elsa was on deck giving instructions to her crew while Isabella and her sister said their goodbyes. They pulled out of their hug and Isabella started up the gangplank.

"This new girlfriend of yours better not be as much of a mess as last time," Mirabel said.

Isabella shook her head, "Oh Mariano was fine, Dolores seems happy enough with him. Just not my type…" she skipped up onto the deck and pulled Elsa into a kiss. "We ready to go?"

Elsa smiled at her, then turned and yelled to the crew, "Cast off!"

The ship began rolling out to sea, and Isabella truly left her home for the very first time.

X

Not hours into the sea journey things were already weird. The ship was gorgeous, was the ocean was wondrous, but Elsa was missing. The moment the shoreline was out of sight, the queen had vanished to her cabin and left Isabella alone on deck. She'd instructed the crew that she wasn't to be disturbed.

But Isabella wasn't part of the crew. Her girlfriend was acting strange, if anything she was obligated to get involved. Also she was getting really bored up here. She could only watch the empty for so long.

When Isabella knocked on Elsa's cabin door there was no response, and when she put her hand on the handle the metal was so cold it burned. She went and found a glove in her luggage then tried the door again, and she found it hadn't been locked.

The inside of the room was covered in a thin layer of frost and the air was frigid. Elsa sat on the floor, legs crossed, eyes closed, taking steady controlled breaths.

Isabella shivered but pushed through the temperature to move in and sit next to Elsa. "You ok down here?"

"Just fine," Elsa dismissed, "You should go back on deck. Watch the waves, talk to the sailors, feel the wind on your face. I'm sure that'll be nicer to freezing down here with me."

Isabella refused to budge. "Nope, did all that already, and something is clearly up with you."

"I told you, I'm fine." Elsa insisted.

"You're locking yourself away from the world," Isabella pointed out, "You told me you don't do that anymore."

"I don't, I just…" Elsa looked away, "I make an exception on ships."

Isabella took Elsa's hand, "Elsa please, I want to be here for you if you'll let me."

Elsa shut her eyes and leaned against Isabella. "Ok," she quietly sighed and the frost in the room began fading, "My parents died in a shipwreck. Anna and I were teenagers. After we shut the castle, they were the only people I ever spoke to, and the only ones who knew what I was…" she paused, "…and my father was the one who taught me I needed to hide. Knowing the damage that caused, I'm not sure how I feel about him anymore but… sea voyages are just hard for me, they always will be. I know you want to fix this for me but it can't be. So go, enjoy the trip, don't worry about me, and I'll be just fine again as soon as we're in Arendelle."

"No Elsa," Isabella tightened her grip on Elsa's hands and pulled her in closer, "I didn't say I'd fix it, I said I'd help. And if that means I have to stay down here with you for the whole journey then that's what I'll do. Ok?"

Elsa kissed her on the cheek and snuggled into her. "Ok."

X

Anna was out in the palace garden when she heard the bells in the city tolling. As the clangs rand out the palace staff burst into a frenzy, and one young servant ran up to her, and informed her between gasps, "She's back! The queen! Queen Elsa has returned!"

Rushing inside, Anna found her sister in the throne room. She had her arm linked with a woman Anna didn't know, with long streaks of messy blue and green running through her hair. While the new woman looked about the room with an awestruck look on her face, Elsa instructed the head steward, "…and warn the gardeners."

The steward gave the new woman a nervous look, "And will we require a guest suite prepared, Your Majesty?"

"No, take Isabella's luggage to my room."

The steward bowed and hurried out. As he left, Anna stepped aside and let him through the doorway, then went in to greet her sister.

"Ooh, that sounds intimate," she teased.

Elsa gave her an excited smile. "Anna, I'm honoured to introduce you to Isabella Madrigal," Elsa looked over at Isabella fondly, "my girlfriend."

Anna burst. She squealed and ran over wrapped a shocked Isabella in a bear hug. "Ahhhh! She found someone!"

Elsa rolled her eyes affectionately, "Isa, this is my sister Anna."

"Elsa's told me so much about you already," Isabella carefully extricated herself from Anna's arms. "You did warn me she was like Mirabel. What is it with little sisters and forcing you to hug them?"

"Not sure, but I can't say I mind," Elsa said as she stepped to hug her sister too. "Is it just you here Anna or is Kristoff around?"

Anna shook her head, "He's out doing snow stuff. You know him."

"And how's the future queen?"

"Your niece is sleeping, thank goodness," Anna grumbled. Her and Kristoff's daughter got to be very loud, and Anna herself was often the only one who could calm her, much to dismay of both herself and nurse. "I love little Iduna but wow she can be a brat sometimes."

Elsa nudged Anna, "Wonder where she gets that from."

"Don't you even," Anna started, but then an infant's cry echoed though the room. Anna sighed, "I better go check on her. I'm sure you're dying to give Isabella the tour. See ya."

X

As the last stop on their castle tour, Elsa led Isabella out into the castle gardens. "I think you'll like this place most of all," the queen led her girlfriend to a bench where they sat down.

Isabella idly grew a vine and wound it around her arm. "You said you lived in a palace but I never realised it would be so big."

"Well, you remember your Casita was big enough to host your whole town for celebrations?" Elsa explained, "Arendelle is a bigger town."

"How long are we staying?" Isabella asked.

In the end they stayed much longer than they planned, there was always something more about Arendelle for Elsa to show her. But in the end they moved on, Elsa had more stops on her journey and Isabella was eager to follow. Anna had heard a rumour about a princess in another kingdom whose unnaturally long hair had healing properties. So Elsa and Isabella left together to investigate, and continue the search for more magic in the world.

Chapter 5

Two years later, the lovers' homes and families are joined forever

Two years since Elsa first arrived in the valley, the mountains split open again. This time it wasn't ice that forced them open, but a walking tree taller even than the mountain range, with Elsa and Isabella riding on its back.

The two women had returned armed with magical knowledge and a plan, and Mirabel reluctantly gave her permission for them to try it.

Elsa placed her hand on the doorknob of the Casita's front door, the new anchor of the magic since the candle burned out, and she focused. The Madrigal family looked on astonished as a new door appeared inside the house. Instead of glowing gold like all the other room doors, this door shone faintly blue.

Elsa's theory had been correct, she could connect her magic to the magic in the house. The question was how strong that bridge could be. She hesitated before her new door, took a breath, then unlatched it and pulled it open, and out of it poured the dozens of snowlings Elsa accidentally birthed that day she caught the flu. And behind them flew out Anna, running to grab ahold of her big sister. "Elsa! You're here! It worked!"

The Madrigal's went through the door and looked around in wonder at the enormous building made of ice that they emerged inside. "Where are we?" Mirabel asked.

"This is Elsa's ice palace," Isabella answered, "She created it as her own retreat, about a day's journey from her home in Arendelle."

"And now it has a magical door to your home," Elsa added.

"Elsa," Isabella took her girlfriend's hands, "Now we can be together and neither of us has to leave our family."

"I thought it was time to stop wandering, I've found what I wanted," Elsa reached into her pocket, "And now that everyone is here with us I have something to ask you."

Elsa took out a ring and offered it to Isabella. It was made of two bands, one of woven grass and the other unmelting ice, intertwined into a single loop.

"Isabella Madrigal, will yoAAGH!" before Elsa could finish asking, Isabella had tackled her to the floor.

"Took you long enough, your majesty. Put it on me."

As Elsa slipped the ring onto Isabella's finger and the couple stood up, Mirabel started gathering everyone together. A milestone like this called for a family photograph, as it always did. "Elsa and Isabella in the middle obviously," she instructed, "Everyone else come around them. Anna, get in here with me and Luisa, you're our sister too now."

Anna excitedly clung onto both Mirabel and Luisa. Elsa and Isabella leaned on each other, pressed between Isabella's parents. As the flash went off Elsa snuck a kiss against Isabella's cheek. And in unison everyone called out, "La Familia Madrigal!" Now and forever with new members.