In hindsight, Anna could've done a lot of things better. Now, steps away from the grandiose palace her sister had made out of pure ice, she was regretting a lot of her choices.
Her plan, even if it sounded interesting, had proven too convoluted. A lot of variables that she hadn't counted for. A lot of decisions that could have (and, maybe, would in the future) slapped her in the face with their failure. In hindsight, it was too convoluted. But… perhaps… it couldn't be helped.
It was only now that she realized how much luck had been on her side. If Hans hadn't proven the gullible helpful lad he'd ended up being, if The timely arrival of Kristoff and his slowly growing puppy love hadn't aided her in her quest. If Corona hadn't fallen to a sudden magical epidemic all of the sudden…
A lot of things had been out of her control, and she could not have reached the gates of her sister's 'kingdom of isolation' without them. For her first convoluted plan, this was a failure of epic proportions.
"knock" came from behind her. "just knock."
By Skadi, was the snowman annoying. Anna couldn't believe it. Of course, a small part of her had an affection to him, merely out of her childhood memories. But the gullible, naïve, loyal snowman could occasionally annoy her. Like now.
"why isn't she knocking?" he stage-whispered to the young man next to him. "do you think she knows how to knock?"
Anna rolled her eyes, before knocking six times, in the very same rhythm she always had, back then.
The door opened with a groan. Anna took a step back, more out of shock than anything, as she witnessed the hall in front of her.
"Heh, it opened!" she chuckled, "That's a first."
She turned towards the snowman and the snow-man, "oh, you should probably stay out here."
"what?"
"last time I introduced her to a guy she kinda froze everything."
"but-but" Kristoff protested, "come on. It's a palace made of ice! Ice is my life!"
The Snowman, Olaf, waved "bye Sven!"
Oh for the love of-
"you too, Olaf" she said softly as she knelt to his level, as the snowman said shakily "m-me?"
"just- give us a minute" she said, as she turned towards the palace. Hopefully they wouldn't follow. It wouldn't do well if they knew.
And… if she had found out anything, those idiots would definitely try to get in after the one-minute mark had passed. She didn't have time.
The Palace was… empty. Minimalist, if she was honest. Don't get her wrong, it was definitely grandiose, with magnificent stairs, a frozen fount just like back in home (well, it was frozen now). A gigantic hall reaching to the skies. Elsa hadn't spared anything while building this. Then again, she had made it from ice she herself had produced…
But it was dull. Only a single color, with light barely brightening the halls.
"Elsa?" she called loudly, "it's me, Anna." She said, as she slipped on the slippery ice. Barely holding herself together, she gasped as a voice called back.
"Anna!" her sister said, walking towards the stairs from a level higher than her.
"Whoa! Elsa… you look, different!" Anna said. Elsa may have taken her amusement for amazement.
The woman did look different. She'd foregone has regal, royal apparel, instead donning a dress made of ice. She looked more comfortable in it than Anna felt in any dress. She was smiling. Anna hadn't seen her smiling for a long time.
Actually, Anna hadn't seen her for a long time period. Damn good king Angmar and his ineptness.
"I'm so- sorry about what happened" she tried. She had to keep up the facade for as long as she could. "If I'd known-"
"no-no-no. you don't have to apologize!" Elsa said, awkwardly, "but you should probably go. Please."
"but I just got here" Anna responded, "you belong down in Arendelle"
"Yeah. So do you." Anna responded.
"No, Anna." Elsa shook her head, "I belong here. Alone. Where I can be who I am without hurting anybody."
"Actually about that-" Anna tried to say, before the cheery voice of Olaf responded "sixty!"
Oh for the love of-
"I don't have time for this, Elsa. I haven't come all this way only to be pushed out again." She snapped, "Your little journey for self-discovery has absolutely demolished our home! it seems, sister dearest, that in your anger, you pushed our fatherland, Arendelle, in deep deep deep deep snow-"
"what?"
"and it's just like you, isn't it?" she laughed bitterly, "escaping, locking yourself out, and leaving me, of all people, to deal with its fallout. You set off an eternal winter all over Arendelle, I'm not sure yet, as I had to leave home and hearth to come and drag you back to fix it." She paused. "you can fix it, right?"
"I-" Elsa gulped in terror, "I don't know how!"
"Oh come on" Anna said, suddenly amazed at the irony. "The only person in the entire kingdom with these powers… and you don't know how to fix your own mistakes? There's no way that's true" she chuckled, "you built a palace like this, on your first try. There's no way you didn't make any mistakes you had to fix."
"No-I just willed it to be and-"
"-and it did? The only person in the entire kingdom with that power, and all you have to offer is 'I don't know'?"
"What do you want me to do, Anna?" she asked, frustrated, "turn back time?"
"No!" She snapped back, "I want you to, for the first time in your entire life, stop running from the shit you do, and do something about it. You're the only person in this kingdom with the power to do anything, and all you're doing is making everyone die. Do you know how lucky we are that our neighbors aren't attacking us right now?"
"I-"
"Do you even know how much it's going to take to fix this mess?"
"uh-"
"are you even sorry about it?"
Anna continued, drilling on and on, failing to notice her sister's paling, her hands slowly shaking, and the fact that everything started getting colder.
She didn't, but her companions did. Well, one of her companions.
"You don't even get it, do you? How are you going to be a queen if you shy away from responsibility every time?"
"said the girl who wanted to marry a man, five hours after meeting him"
"That was just a joke!" Anna blurted out.
Everyone paused.
Anna smiled. Had no idea I was such a good actor.
"You really think I fell in love with that man that quickly? And what makes you think I'd ask for your blessing when I do fall in love? That was just a test. To see if you were fit to be queen. And you're not."
"Get out." Elsa said, stony and eyes narrowed, she turned towards the stairs, beginning to climb them and go back to whenever she went.
"No, I'm-" Anna took a step forward. Elsa twisted around, screaming "I said get out!"
c-cold
Cold
Anna opened her eyes. It was white. Everything was white.
White?
She tried concentrating. She was sure everything was supposed to be blue, what was white doing in the middle of Elsa's-
Elsa.
She suddenly remembered. Elsa twisting and turning towards her.
Her eyes turned blue, her face clenched in anger and frustration.
Frost moving towards her faster than her eyes could figure.
Falling to her knees, and then…
Nothing.
Huh.
It had happened again. Elsa had hit her again.
"Was it true, what you said?"
Anna blinked. That was Kristoff. Kristoff wasn't supposed to be in Elsa's Palace.
She wasn't in Elsa's palace.
"W-" her voice sounded rough. "What happened?" She rose, wincing in pain as she tried to look around.
They were around fire. Olaf was nowhere to be found.
"We're in the Fjords. Close to the Northern Mountain. As close as we could get, without making that snow giant thing angry. Had to make camp until you were better." Or else left unsaid, which was something Anna appreciated.
"Now, was what you said to the Snow Queen true?" Kristoff asked, "That-"
"it was a test?" Anna laughed, coughing as she felt her throat hurt, "y-yes. Yes it was. One I was… uh… forced to give."
"then it was all a lie? You don't actually-"
"Love Hans?" Anna asked, smirking. "Of course not, Kris. He was in on it too. At least, I hope."
She looked at the fire. "where's Olaf? Don't tell me-"
"Oh no. I couldn't tell him. Sent him to 'scout ahead'" Kristoff laughed, rubbing the back of his neck, "just before I set the campfire, actually. But you were saying?"
"right" Anna rolled her eyes, attempt to divert the discussion failed, "yes. Yes it was a test. Well, a mandatory test that I already knew the answer to." She started explaining,
"You see, I had to be sure Elsa was fit for her spot as a queen. So I decided that I'd test her. I had to see if she could, for a day, act like a newly-crowned queen. So I decided to put her under stress. And what stress better than letting her think the sister she doesn't even know anymore has fallen in love with a foreign prince, less than a day after meeting him?" she laughed bitterly, looking at the fire.
"now mind, I knew she'd fail. I knew she wouldn't be able to act like a queen for that long, especially with how annoying and bratty I acted, but I sincerely had no idea she would-"
"she would start fimbulvinter?" Kristoff joked.
"Yes" Anna sighed, frowning at how that sigh made her heart hurt. "I thought she'd just make a scene, go hide in her room like the last fourteen years or something. I sincerely did not think she was this untrained."
"so, now what?"
"Well, I can't bring Elsa Back to Arendelle. And even if I could, she doesn't know how to fix it and I doubt she'd even try to learn, after how she treated me in her palace." Anna mused, "I suppose I need to-" she paused as her heart started aching again. This was getting strange. "Hold on. Where did Elsa strike me?"
"Uh" Kristoff raised her eyebrow, "your heart, actually. I think. Why?"
Anna blinked. "Well. Then I'm fucked." And ignored Kristoff's gasp at her sudden show of vulgarity.
AN: 1- I believe you guys know this, but for those who dont:
Fimbulvinter (or Fimbulvetr or Fimbulwinter) is a mythical great winter that is one of the omens of the Norse Armageddon, Ragnarök.
2- Yes, I am aware of how Loki-ish Anna acts, and I am more than aware that her plot is basically a knock-off of Loki's plot in the first Thor movie.
3- As explained, I don't have an update schedule. I might post another update today, I might post it a week later, I might post it in a month. consider this story to be complete, as the different chapters are not in chronological order.