Disclaimer: Frozen is owned by Walt Disney Animation Studios, a division of Walt Disney Studios and the Walt Disney Company. I own nothing except for the plot of this story. Feel free to rate and review. Enjoy my first fanfiction on Disney's adaptation of The Snow Queen!
Princess Anna could barely contain her excitement as she departed her room wearing the dress she had worn at her sister Elsa's coronation the week before and her hair in its usual two braids. It was still hard to believe that only last week, she was so lonely after thirteen years that she had wanted to marry that scoundrel Prince Hans and ended up saving her sister from him and allowed Elsa to free the kingdom from perpetual winter in doing so. Now she and Elsa had rekindled the bond of their sisterhood, and she had kept up her friendships with Kristoff the iceman and Olaf, the snowman she and Elsa had loved from their childhood.
Anna was so excited that she nearly ran into Kristoff, but just barely stopped herself. Noticing his new friend's bubbly expression, Kristoff asked her, "Where are you going in such a hurry?"
"Elsa wants to see me at once, Kristoff," Anna said enthusiastically. "She's proclaimed a day of celebration in Arendelle and wants me to help her with the preparations!"
Kristoff was amazed at how deep Anna and Elsa's bond went. He had always thought that having older or younger siblings would result in quarrels more often than not, but it was rarely that way between the royal sisters thanks to Anna saving Elsa from Hans. Moreover, Elsa depended on Anna to help her out around the castle when they weren't having catch-up time or Elsa wasn't busily engaged in her duties as queen.
"Well, Anna, I'm happy for you," Kristoff told her.
Anna blushed at the compliment, then said, "Why don't you join us, Kristoff? You'd be more than welcome."
"I dunno, Anna," he replied. "I don't think mountain men and royal parties mix."
"Of course they can," the princess insisted. "Besides, there'll be fine food and music and dancing, not to mention entertainment. And best of all, you get to spend the whole day with me."
Anna batted her eyelashes for added effect, and Kristoff's heart caved in. She's so cute, he thought. How can I possibly resist?
"You got me, Princess," Kristoff said with a blush of equal shyness. "I'll come. I've been wanting to meet your sister for a while anyway."
"Thanks, Kristoff," smiled Anna. She kissed him on the cheek and then hurried away to find Elsa.
...
In the throne room, Elsa was overseeing the preparations for the evening party. She watched as the crystal chandeliers were polished to a fine gleam, flowered wreaths were hung all around the room, and tapestries were hung in the rafters.
"Kai, see that some of the musicians from the castle are spared for the main events out in the town square," Elsa said to her steward.
"At once, Your Highness," Kai answered as he headed off to see to it.
Then Elsa called to Gerda and said, "Make sure the gates are promptly opened within the hour. We don't want to keep our guests waiting."
Gerda nodded in acquiescence and went to inform the castle guards of the queen's orders. Elsa then went to the castle kitchen to survey the smorgasbord. There were platters of salmon, meatballs, bread, various cheeses, potatoes, and gravlax* as well as a few gamebirds. The drinks consisted of ale, mead, and wine, and for the dessert course, there was krumkake, fish pie, and of course, platters of chocolate. But the centerpiece of the dessert course was a four-layer cake whose icing was a frosty blue color with rims of white.
"This cake looks good," Elsa said to herself. "But it could do with some personal styling from me."
With that, Elsa used her ice magic to add a dusting of snowflakes to the cake and caused a small ice sculpture of her and Anna in a side hug to form at the top.
"Nice use of your powers, Elsa," came a gentle voice from behind.
Elsa turned around to see Anna smiling at her, and the young queen happily embraced her little sister and greeted her most warmly.
"How are you feeling, Anna?" she asked.
"Wonderful, Elsa," replied Anna. "So, how can I be of assistance?"
Elsa tapped her chin for a moment, and then she had an idea. She whispered to Anna, "Why don't you try organizing the entertainment in the town square? We'll be spending the day there before the party tonight."
"I can do that," Anna said with a smile. "By the way, have you seen Olaf?"
"The last time I saw him, he was out in the gardens looking for you," replied Elsa. "I'll send for him while you're out and about."
Anna thanked Elsa and gave her a hug, then departed the castle to finish the preparations in the square. As she passed through the town, the citizens of Arendelle smiled and waved to her and the children cheered. Anna smiled at the thought of being a hero to even the children of Arendelle, for they had doubtlessly heard how she had saved the kingdom. Eventually, she found the town square and noticed that the area had the food market set up as well as the children's games as well as the puppet theatre and the stage for the musical entertainment.
In a short time, Anna found the workers whom Elsa had tasked with setting up the festival and told them her sister had sent her to aid them. So Anna helped the workers set up the wreath pole like the one used at Elsa's coronation and wrapped garlands of flowers around the lampposts. She helped take care of the dancers' costumes, helped set up the stage, and when it was only twenty minutes before the celebration began, she rang the assembly bell to invite the people of Arendelle to gather.
With her part of the work done, Anna went back to the castle and found Elsa, Kristoff, and Olaf waiting for her. She gave Kristoff and Olaf a hug each and then reported, "Everything's ready, Elsa."
"Excellent, Anna," her older sister said with a nod. Then she asked Kristoff, "Ever attended a party before, Kristoff?"
"Just the Northern Lights parties with the trolls every first night they come," he replied.
"Then this should be a real educational experience for you," smiled Elsa. "We'd best hurry now."
With that, Anna and Elsa mounted their horses and Kristoff helped Olaf onto Anna's horse Kjekk. Then Kristoff mounted Sven and together they journeyed to the town square. On their arrival, they dismounted, and Elsa and Anna led their friends to stand with their backs to the big stage to watch the opening procession.
The crowd waited for a moment, and after ten minutes, there came the blaring of trumpets. A procession of men and women dressed in purple and green (the colors of Arendelle's banner) approached bearing the royal standards singing "Heimr Arnadalr", which brought back the memories of the past week to Anna and her company. But Anna was put at ease when she saw Elsa was smiling, and the two sisters put a warm arm about each other. Then Elsa snapped her fingers, which caused snowflakes to dance over her hands, and the celebration began.
"Now who's up for some good clean fun?" chortled Anna.
"Let's go!" Olaf cheered.
"I'm in," replied Kristoff.
And with that, the four immediately joined the fun. The first thing Anna wanted to do was watch the performers on stage, so Elsa, Kristoff, and Olaf joined her in watching a troupe of dancers perform a springar* dance, followed by men on stilts dressed in multi-colored costumes and a handful of jugglers, acrobats, and even a highwire act.
Elsa and Anna watched the puppeteers put on a show telling about Anna's search for Elsa when she trapped the kingdom in her magical winter and how Anna's love for her big sister saved both of them. Remembering how brave Anna had been, Elsa couldn't help but get teary-eyed. When the puppet show ended, Elsa whispered, "Thank you, Anna," and Anna responded by gently squeezing her sister's hand.
The next thing the group did was share in a dance in which the participants linked hands with the person on either side of them and danced in a ring. Olaf didn't feel up to joining as he could easily be pulled apart due to his short stature and the fact that he was a snowman. But the others enjoyed it, and at the end, Anna and Kristoff shared a kiss while the other guest clapped for her and Elsa smiled.
The group then sampled some salmon, meatballs, and cheese for luncheon, and Kristoff had the bright idea to try and give Sven a taste of cheese. Of course, the poor reindeer spat the cheese out and plunged his head into a horse trough to cleanse his tongue of the unusual taste. Anna and Elsa clutched at their stomachs and held in their laughter before Elsa asked, "Shall we listen to some folk music?"
"Sure thing," agreed Kristoff.
"I like that," Anna added.
So the group listened to the musicians play a few tunes, and Kristoff surprised the onlookers by pulling out his lute and playing some songs of his own. He got a wonderful round of applause and Elsa commended him for having the courage to play for people he barely knew. Kristoff was new in Arendelle, after all.
Then Anna took the group to watch the children's games, which consisted of tig, blindman's bluff, and tug-of-war. The children were especially happy to meet Anna and Elsa: the boys bowed and the girls curtsied, and they greeted Kristoff and played with Olaf a little. Elsa even entertained the children with her ice magic, and then the girls made a crown of flowers for Anna and she thanked them prettily. The festival continued until the late afternoon, and then the group returned to the castle for the party.
...
As the finishing touches were being done, Anna helped the servers bring food to set up the smorgasbord in the throne room. Kristoff helped the musicians get ready for the event, and Elsa observed the setup with Kai and Gerda.
After one last check, Elsa nodded and said to Kai and Gerda, "The party is ready. Allow our guests to enter."
Kai and Gerda went to invite the guests in, and Elsa sprinkled some more snowflakes in her single frosty braid and on her ice gown to give herself a more radiant appearance. Soon Anna came to stand beside her, and they were the first to behold everyone of high or low estate in the kingdom who could attend. Soon the hall was filled with over two hundred people including children, and then Elsa proclaimed, "Let the feast begin!"
With that, several guests went to get their share of food and drink while others took to the floor to dance. A soft tune was played, and everyone was having a delightful time. Elsa and Anna walked the floor engaging in conversation with each other and occasionally with guests.
"I trust the party is to your liking, Anna?" said Elsa.
Anna nodded, then said, "It's even nicer than the party at your coronation was." Then she said rather awkwardly, "N-not that your coronation party wasn't good. I mean- it was where I went crazy for Hans and-and you caused a magical winter, but it was good."
Elsa chuckled at her sister's delightful chatter and replied, "Well, this really is better, Anna, and I know that because I owe it to you."
Anna smiled and said, "Thank you, Elsa."
Then Kristoff came over and got his chance to meet Elsa personally. She spoke kindly to the young mountain man and told him a great deal about Arendelle and its history, and he told Anna and Elsa about life in the mountains and his clan of ice harvesters.
Then Kristoff plucked up the courage to ask, "Would either of you like to try dancing with me this evening?"
"Thank you, Kristoff," Elsa said politely. "Only I don't actually dance. But Anna can dance beautifully."
"Come, Kristoff," Anna said in a voice meant to sound as elegant as her older sister's. "Let me show you how it is done."
And with that, she took Kristoff's hand and practically dragged him onto the dance floor. She danced quite well, but Kristoff was having some trouble getting the steps right, so Anna tried a makeshift waltz with him. Eventually, the two were having such fun that Kristoff forgot to worry about clumsiness, and after a good twenty minutes of dancing, Anna and her new friend rejoined Elsa, who was grinning gleefully.
"Well, well. An iceman who can dance," chortled Elsa.
"Especially considering he's only been here a week," agreed Anna.
"You having fun, Anna?"
"More than I've had in years."
Then Anna said something that Elsa really felt happy about. "I wish we could have this much fun every day."
Elsa smiled warmly and said, "Me too, Anna. And this time, I'll do the best I can to spend time with you as often as I can like I should've done a long time ago."
Anna's bright blue eyes widened and she asked, "You mean it, Elsa?"
"As surely as you're my little sister," Elsa replied.
Anna felt so happy she couldn't hold back the warm feelings brimming in her young heart. She hugged Elsa, who returned the warmth with equal gladness, and the two siblings held each other lovingly while Kristoff and Olaf looked on with smiles. Despite everything that had come before, Anna and Elsa's sisterhood was stronger than ever, and Anna's journey had taught them both how truly powerful love is. Best of all, the rest of this year would be the beginning of a celebration to last their whole lives long.
A/N: Gravlax is a Scandinavian appetizer composed of salmon which is thinly sliced and pickled and served on a slice of pumpernickel bread with dill butter. Also, the springar is a traditional dance mostly found in Sweden.
The festival is inspired by the Festival of Fools from The Hunchback of Notre Dame while the party in this fanfiction is inspired by Elsa's coronation party from the original movie. I own nothing that belongs to Disney, only the plot of this fanfiction. Feel free to write a review if you please, for it would make my day to have a fellow writer's opinion. Thank you.
