Disclaimer: I do not own Frozen or its respected characters. I do, however, own Finn and this story. R&R!
One Year Earlier
"Now, Finn, I'll only be gone for just a few days." said the Queen, turning away from a servant holding up a parchment of paper to see her young son. Perfectly perched on the edge of her bed, swinging his legs up and down, he smiled without a hint of sadness. He was very much used to her scattered travelling.
"I know, mama." He giggled, receiving a quick peck to his forehead before she turned back to her packing.
"Anna and Kristoff will be here, like usual, and you'll have your cousins of course." Her voice rose with concern, and perhaps a bit of worry, but nothing he was not used to hearing. Ever since her first trip away from the Kingdom without the young Prince trailing behind, she had developed an overly irrational fear brought on by motherhood…which was unexpected for her. Finn, on the other hand, enjoyed his mother's brief moments of silliness. She was much more forgetful around the time of departure that she often forgot to pack certain items, though she never forgot to give him plenty of hugs and kisses.
First priority: smother the crowned Prince.
Second priority: smother him some more…then pack.
After slipping a candlestick, sans the candle, into her loaded trunk and closing it, Finn howled with laughter.
"Mama! You can't take candlestick with you!" He cried out, pointing at the long golden ornament.
The Queen sighed, "I'm losing my mind."
Falling back on the bed with a deep breath, the Queen's eyes closed. Finn took full advantage of her statuesque state and poked her head, shifting her hair back and forth until she laughed.
"What are you doing?"
"You said you lost your mind! I'm trying to find it for you." Knocking gently on her forehead, she opened her eyes and met his. The smallest boy hovered over her face, a soft, childish version of hers with the same mess of hair framing his chubby cheeks.
The Queen rolled onto her side and reached for him, "Come here you!"
Delighted by the sudden gesture, Finn was pulled into her arms for a warm embrace and wrapped himself around her as much as he could. Buried in the crook of her neck, he accustomed himself to the smell of her: fresh, powdery snow and a hint of chocolate. She always smelled like something sweet or minty. It was the best combination of smells.
"Mama?"
"Yes Finn?" She hummed. Her voice vibrated against his cheek, whereupon he placed a tiny hand against her neck to feel the beating of her heart. Slow and steady.
"Are you going to miss me?"
"I haven't even left yet and I already do." They snuggled for just a few moments longer, completely uninterrupted until there was a knock at the door.
"Elsa?"
"Anna? Come in." The two did not move, not even as the Princess entered with Edith leading the way.
"Aw. Look at the two of you! All bundled up and cuddling." Anna cooed. Her babytalk was a force of habit by now, but she only used it teasingly. A result, as Finn observed, of motherhood. That's when his own mother took her cue and sat up, though she did not release him.
"Oh shush. Is the sled ready to leave?"
"On your orders, Majesty!" Both Anna and Edith bowed deeply. Unlike Finn and his mother, Edith resembled more of her father than Anna. In fact, Thomas did as well. They were not much older than the Prince, but they were larger still. Taller, blonder, and all hazel-eyes.
"Alright then, let them know I'm ready to go." As Anna left, Elsa slid gracefully from the bed to her feet and set Finn down on his own. Two guards and a few servants awaited their Queen and crowned Prince in the hallway. At full attention, the then guards accompanied the royal pair to the large doors in the Grand Hall with Elsa's travelling trunk in tow.
"Elsa." Kristoff greeted politely. Beside him, Thomas bowed his head in respect the same way that his father did. Anna was not quite so formal as she barreled towards Elsa for a big hug. She could only laugh and hug back.
"Your majesty, we have your sled ready. You should get going before nightfall." Coughed Kai, a round older gentleman with graying hair. He had been in service to the royal family since Finn's late grandfather, as had Gerda, a female servant that often brought him breakfast.
"Of course. Bring me my wrap, would you?" Kai disappeared for a moment, only to return seconds later with a long white fur that he positioned along Elsa's shoulders. It had been a gift from her husband on their wedding day nearly nine years ago. His place beside her was nearly as absent as often as Finn was following behind her, which was a good majority of always. A father figure that was constantly at sea, though he did write and send along gifts from various countries and Kingdoms. Last Thursday had been the most recent post and it would be another long while until his next. Finn did not much mind though and it appeared that it was a mutual thought for Elsa as well.
According to his royal lessons, Finn's mother married for "political gain", which did not make much sense to him. He never asked her about it though because he did not think it was important enough. If she was ever upset about his father's absence, he did not notice it.
"Make sure he gets to bed on time, no fussing, and absolutely no scary stories..Edith…Thomas. And Anna, just be sure to make an appearance in public while I'm gone. I'm counting on you to keep things in order until I come back."
Anna snorted and flicked both of her hands downwards, "Duh. I've done this before."
"Alright," she bit her lip and glanced at Finn. "I'm going now."
"Okay, I love you." He said confidently. She just smiled and squeezed his hand before disappearing behind the closed doors of the Great Hall.
She would come back. She always did.
She had been gone for five full days before a courier caught up with the royal guard and the Queen's sled about fifteen miles from Arendelle. They had bidden their time with a noble family to negotiate trade agreements and investments. It was a less than stressful visit and the Queen was relaxed for the time being, so the courier was a surprise. At first it seemed like an ordinary letter, until she caught the twisted look in her Captain's expression as he skimmed over the words. Was her husband home already? Had someone broken in? An assassination attempt! What about Finn? Was the Prince okay? Anna? Kristoff? Edith and Thomas? Maybe the village was buried under ten feet of snow again.
Not funny. She thought as the letter made its way to her.
"It's from the Princess. Urgent, your Majesty." He held it out to her.
"What's happened?" Dread. Absolute fear and worry took hold of her better senses as she ripped the letter away from him. In those few seconds the wind had picked up and the flurry of snow that settled upon old powder signaled a lack of control. The entire guard waited as she read, rising from her seat with every breath until she stood stock still.
"My Queen?"
"Take me back!" She ordered the Captain. He held out his hand for hers and drew the Queen up onto the saddle.
"Continue on, men. I will see you at the castle!" He shouted as he gripped the reins of the horse and began to race off towards the castle. In her head, Elsa could hear Anna's panicked voice in the words scrawled on the paper:
Elsa,
It's Finn. There was an accident. He won't come out of his room. Please hurry home. I don't know what to do.
Anna
Accident. What accident? Her mind raced with every possibility, but she could not shake the one idea that scared her the most: He had developed a gift of his own. There was a fifty-fifty chance that he would inherit her lineage and for it to happen while she was away-of all things!-was surely the most frightening thing her poor child was experiencing. She would know.
Oh! If only Anna had given me more to go on than this! No, it was not her fault. If it was as urgent as it read, then Anna had done everything right. Zero time to explain, just send word.
Faster than they had left, Elsa arrived at the open gates and dismounted the horse as quickly as she could. Anna waited for her, a grim expression of desperation in her freckled face.
"Take me to him." Elsa strained to hold back the flurry of a storm she could feel brewing inside of her.
"Come on." Anna flew into the corridor that led to Finn's bedroom. A scruffy Kristoff waited outside of the door, sunk beside the frame with Edith wrapped around his torso and Thomas leaning on his shoulder (well, arm really). They all looked so exhausted.
"We couldn't sleep." Kristoff grinned, answering the question before Elsa could get a word out.
"He made it rain, Ellie." Edith yawned. "Ellie" was her affectionate combination of 'Elsa + Auntie' and only way of referencing the Queen.
"Rain? Are you sure it wasn't snow?"
"There was some of that, too." Thomas chimed in suddenly.
"Snow and rain. Alright, well let's try and get him out, shall we?" Elsa breathed and turned to face the door. The built up anxiety of the unknown in her gut told her that this is what it must have felt like for Anna all those years ago. Then, as if her sister could be any more spectacular, Anna took Elsa's shaking hand and lifted it between them. She was determined, not afraid.
"Together." She said. Elsa nodded. And just like she said, they both knocked gently on the door and began in harmonic unison:
Finn..
Please, we know you're in there.
We're just as scared as you have been.
Have courage, we know it's hard for you
We're right out here for you, so let us in
Nothing. Anna squeezed Elsa's hand tighter and this time, everyone joined in (even Kristoff).
Do you wanna build a snowman?
Please come out and play
We just can't stand it anymore
Come out the door
We can make this go away-
Not one verse later did a red-faced Finn open his door, completely soaked and covered in a light frost from head-to-toe. Elsa was too relieved to care about the water logged bedroom or the ice stalagmites hanging from the ceiling and his bed. He opened the door. He let them in. He had powers, a gift, just like she did.
"Can you really make it go away?" He sniffled as she dropped to her knees and took his pruned fingers in hers.
"We can, yes. I can teach you how to control it, but you just can't be afraid." His eyes widened with new fear. Perhaps he thought she meant that they could make his powers go away, for good.
"I don't want to control it," he gasped. "I don't want it at all!"
It began to sprinkle in the corridor. Edith squealed, which caused Finn to flinch and make it rain harder.
"Shh. Watch this." Elsa held out her palm to him and he watched with amazement as the magic danced along her hand, winding elegantly around her arm until she stopped and it disappeared.
"You can teach me to do that?" He asked with round eyes.
"I can teach you everything."
A beat.
"Okay." The suddenly shy Prince mumbled as he rubbed his tired eyes.
"Okay!" Elsa clapped her hands together elatedly. Relief flooded in a silent wave as the tension unwound from each person holed up in the small corridor. Kristoff, whose chest was still occupied by his sleepy daughter, attempted to stand when she began to murmur in her exhaustion.
"I want powers, too, papa." She groaned, slinking almost limply in his arms as he managed to get himself up onto his two feet. Beside him, Thomas' cheeks flooded with air as he tried to hold back his laughter.
"You do, Edith, you and your mother have the ability to snore loudly. Really loudly." He breathed, exaggerating every last syllable in a rumbling, humorous voice. Finn was the first to laugh, which in turn caused a raucous from everyone else as they joined in. The laughter resonated through the castle, warming it more than it had been before.
It was the type of laughter that entailed the relief of a mother, the happiness of a sister, and the excitement of a Prince.
I wasn't going to resume this but I wanted to explore the first time that Finn experienced his powers. Hopefully this satisfies any thoughts someone may have had. Hope you enjoyed!
Special thanks to all of those who left a review, favorited, and followed!