Anna happily skipped along the soil-covered path. Kristoff sighed and constantly chewed on his lip. Anxiety enriched his core as they got closer to their destination.
It was going to be a long night...
Merida stopped when she saw a bright light emitting from the center of the woods. She glanced over her shoulder to make sure that the lovebirds were still behind her. One looked excited, while the other appeared slightly stressed. The ginger smirked to herself and continued on her way. Anna slowed down so her boyfriend could catch up.
"Are you gonna be okay?" She asked.
"I'll be fine," Kristoff replied, but his words and expression showed no sort of confidence.
She squeezed his arm and smiled, resting her head on his shoulder. "You'll be okay. Remember, I'm right by your side."
"...Right."
The three of them approached the area. Several campers were gathered around a small fire. A girl with everlastingly long blonde hair was throwing things into the flames to get the heat to increase, but to no avail. Merida cleared her throat and had everyone looking up. She stepped aside to reveal the guests she'd invited to the group event.
"Everybody, meet Anna, princess of Arendelle, and Kristoff-..."
"Bjorgman."
"Right," she responded with a smile. "Make sure you let them feel at home. Play nice, don't bite, all that jazz." The rebellious teen delivered a hard smack to both the newcomers' backs. "Have fun, you guys. I'm off to go hunt."
Anna rubbed her sore spine and glanced up at Kristoff, who looked mortified. He was just about ready to turn around and run back to their campsite, until the blonde from before rose to her feet. She, like Merida earlier, had cleared her throat loud enough for the anti-social iceman to hear.
"What's his name again?" The girl mouthed to Anna. She mouthed it back. "Kristoff! Leaving so soon?" He nodded without turning around. "You just got here!"
"I don't feel comfortable here," he murmured and began walking away.
"Kristoff, wait!" Anna ran after him and grabbed his wrist. "Please don't do this. These guys are letting us in without even knowing us first." She smiled down at the ground. "It's nice..."
"It's suspicious, Anna," he corrected her and pulled away. "I'm going back to the site."
She looked defeated and backed away slightly; then, the thought of her sister being left alone at the cabin came to mind. Her blue eyes widened. It wasn't like Elsa couldn't be trusted to be by herself. It just bugged the latter that she wanted to be isolated, within or without company. Anna turned to the party of a twenty and told them she'd return.
"I'm coming with you," she said to Kristoff.
"What for? No." He turned to face her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Stay and have fun. Don't leave just because of-"
"I have to check on Elsa!"
His brows dropped back to normal, eyes half-lidded. "Oh."
Anna rushed past him. She wasn't going to allow her sister to miss out on any more social events. If the Queen of Arendelle was going to be a great ruler, she had to begin it all by speaking up. Isolation was no longer an option. Queens don't hide from their people (even though these guys were all born from different areas of the world).
"Elsa!"
Anna's expression turned from one of determination to disappointment. The woman with platinum blonde hair was dressed down in her pajamas, hidden under the covers. It was obvious that she was pretending to be asleep; funny thing was—her acting skills were horrible.
"Elsa, please come to the bonfire, at least for a little while," Anna pleaded. The latter did not reply. She was so focused on getting her sister to leave her setting that she spent about an hour sticking around. After an additional thirty minutes of trying, she gave up. "Fine! Stay here, then! All I wanted to do was help better your leadership skills, but it's clear that you won't even try yourself!" Anna whirled around and slammed the wood door closed.
Elsa sighed and sat up in the upper bunk bed. Whether or not she wanted to admit it aloud, Anna was right. She wasn't trying. The very thought of meeting new people frightened her. A lot of people still despised her for leaving an entire town to freeze to death, all because of her selfish need to terminate her fears. Unfortunately, Elsa was taught all her life to conceal how she felt, because her powers were somehow connected to her emotions. Even as she grew older, and once her parents passed away, the Queen was stuck with that mentality ever since. Being incognito was the best way Elsa knew how to protect others from herself.
Meanwhile, Anna was making her way back to the bonfire, and she was pleasantly surprised to see that-after some convincing from the blonde girl-Kristoff had joined what was previously the circle of twenty of more. She smiled and plopped down between he and the girl. There was a slight spark of jealousy that coursed through Anna's veins, but it wasn't anything she couldn't control.
"Glad you changed your mind," she whispered to her boyfriend. He smiled and threw his arm over her shoulders. Everyone was staring at her expectantly. "We should probably start over." She slipped in a giggle before proceeding with her introduction. "Hi, everyone! I'm-"
"Anna!"
The redhead whipped her head around so quick that her neck almost cracked. Elsa was jogging her way over, hair in a messy, loose braid; clothes all frumpy and wrinkled. She smiled and rose to her feet so she could give the older one a hug.
"Thanks," Anna whispered before pulling back. Elsa shrugged with her trademark lopsided smile. The younger female turned to face the others once more. "Before I introduce myself, I'd like you all to meet someone special. I'm sure most of you may already know her, but-"
"It's okay, Anna," Elsa assured her sister with a pat on the shoulder. "I've got this." She stood straight and folded her hands in front of her. "Hello, everyone. My name is Elsa." She didn't think it was important to add her royal title in there.
The blonde girl who sat next to Kristoff gasped. "Elsa!"
Said woman peeked over Anna's shoulder and gasped. "Rapunzel?"
"You two know each other?" A man near the two blonde-headed individuals asked.
Rapunzel turned to face him. "Elsa, Anna, and I are cousins." His eyes widened in disbelief. She then looked to the younger sister of Arendelle. "I know you don't remember me, otherwise you would've said something." Anna's jaw was dropped, eyes wide. "But I used to visit before you were born. By the time you grew older, Elsa had already-..." Rapunzel stopped. She didn't think that everyone around her needed to know the actual cause of Elsa's confinement. "Never mind... Anyways! It's good to see you guys again!" She leapt to her bare feet and hugged her cousins.
"You, too, Punzie," Elsa replied quietly and hugged her back just as hard.
The youngest of the three took a step back and faced the group again. "Guys! Meet my cousins!"
"We got that already," a young-looking man mumbled under his breath.
"Thanks, Hiccup," Rapunzel retorted sarcastically, then continued. "Anyways, I made friends with all of these people throughout my journey." She pointed at each of them, though most of them complained that they could introduced themselves. "Meet my husband Flynn Rider, the twins Ruffnut and Tuffnut, Mavis and her boyfriend Jonathan, Flint Lockwood and his news reporter girlfriend Sam, Violet and Dash Parr, Once-ler, Ted, Audrey, Vanellope, Ralph, Felix, Sergeant Calhoun, Eep and her boyfriend Guy, Hiccup and his girlfriend Astrid, the Tooth Fairy, Jack Frost-"
Right as she got down to the last two, Merida stumbled through the bushes, only to come out with scratches on her face.
"And Merida!" Rapunzel added with a huge grin.
The gang's eyes were locked on Queen Elsa, including Merida's, since she had never met her in person previously. Within a matter of seconds, the whole group swarmed around her, blocking out Kristoff and his girlfriend.
"I forgot to introduce myself!" Anna tried to yell as loud as she could. "I'm Anna, princess of Arendelle! Y'know, Elsa's sister!" Nobody was paying attention to her. She slowly backed away into the darkness, considering it wouldn't make a difference whether they could see her or not. "And I guess I'll be going now..."
Elsa turned around at the sound of her sister's voice. "Anna-"
"It's okay," she insisted and rubbed her forearm, eyes downcast. "I'm just glad you finally fit in somewhere." The Queen opened her mouth to respond, but Anna cut her off again. "I'm getting tired anyway." She turned around and walked back to the cabin.
Kristoff took note of this, but wasn't exactly sure what to do. Should he do the same as Elsa-stay and get to know those people-or do the right thing and check on Anna?
During his contemplation, a loud growl erupted through the easygoing atmosphere. Everyone gasped and exchanged terrified glances. Rapunzel's eyes grew the widest when she saw a tan, four-legged creature prowling towards the group. For a moment, nobody moved, with the exception of fearful shuddering or shaking here and there. A mountain lion was their opponent, one that no one dared to challenge. The feline's gold eyes glowed beneath the luminescent moonlight as a growl escaped its throat.
"On the count of three, we're all gonna split up," Flynn Rider murmured to anyone who could hear him.
"What?!" Kristoff hissed. "No! That'll make it angrier! We have to scare it off somehow!"
"How the hell are we supposed to scare off a wild animal?!" The brunette husband hissed back.
"Make a lot of noise," the blonde replied. "Trust me, I know what I'm doing. We're camping near the mountains; this is a mountain lion, and I've lived in the mountains of Arendelle all my life."
"Stop saying mountains!"
The wild cat released a ferocious growl. Everybody instinctively screamed and scrambled. Ironically, Flynn was the first one that the feline was after.
(A/N: I know I kept Rapunzel a blonde, and that I'm not referring to Flynn as Eugene, which I know is his real name. Eventually, her hair will be cut at some point in the story. Fret not. I know what I'm doing.
That aside, I seriously hope you're enjoying this so far! :D stay tuned!)