The Return
A/N #1: Welcome to my first Frozen story.
A/N #2: This is perhaps my most challenging story as it will appear both within the Frozen fandom and the Tangled fandom, but with different points of view. Please look for it in both!
A/N #3: I do not own Frozen or Tangled, although I do own my OCs and this storyline…
A/N #4: This is a definite AU story…so please keep that in mind!
A/N #5: Finally, in this story, the queens of Arendelle and Corona are sisters.
A Princess Dreams, Part 1
"The story begins with a dream…?" Astrid asked as she took in the calm demeanor of Elsa as she prepared to tell the young princess of the 'Miracle of Arendelle,' occurring, as it did, a year after the Great Thaw. Crown Princess Elsa's telling of this remarkable story was interrupted, before it began, by the arrival of her father, still fit and hail at 58 years of age.
"Yes, my little one." King Christian stated as he approached.
"Grandfather!" Astrid respectfully exclaimed as she curtseyed.
"I suppose you are ready to hear the most amazing story to be told? Even more amazing than the story of the power of your Tante; a power that she now has full control over; thanks to her sister." King Christian remarked as he smiled at his boisterous granddaughter.
"Please grandfather. This Princess Rebecca seems like the most amazing individual on Sonnen III!"
"That is quite the fair assessment of the future crown princess of the Royal Kingdom of Corona-by-the-Sea. Her adoptive father, Prince Consort Eugene is also quite amazing in his own way. This said, the passing of the power of the sun from Rapunzel to Eugene, then to the young Rebecca set the stage for her ascension to be the most powerful individual on all of Sonnen III.
"Wow! So how did it all start?" Astrid asked as she totally did not understand some, or most, of her grandfather's words.
"Well, to cut to the chase as Eugene's story can be told much better by him when he arrives in two weeks' time, Princess Rebecca was once an orphan…"
"Ohhh." Astrid sadly remarked.
"…and on the eve of her ninth birthday, she was bitten by an infected rat that had entered Corona from a ship arriving from Cretania."
"A rat?! Ooooh! What happened?" Astrid asked.
"She became very sick with the Black Death…"
"…the Black Death!?" Astrid exclaimed. Her shock was understandable as almost everyone regardless of age or social position knew the impossibility of escaping its unyielding grip.
"Yes. Her illness appeared almost overnight, so strong was this very powerful strain of the disease," King Christian softly remarked as he considered the improbability of it all. "She should have passed from this world and taken many millions with her as the disease ran its inexorable course throughout the entire planet."
"What saved her?" Astrid asked.
"The power of the sun." Her grandfather replied.
"The WHAT?!"
King Christian gently chuckled at the boisterous response of his granddaughter. He gave a simple smile, yet one full of so much love for his family, to both Anna, who had stayed in the shadows with her mother who had arrived with her husband, and to his eldest daughter, Elsa. They, naturally, returned the smile with an equal amount of love. Love, after all, cured Elsa from the curse while leaving her in full control of her ice powers. He was forever thankful for the opportunity to learn the true meaning of love from she that was most expert in all its wonder; one Princess Anna.
"The power of the sun as contained within your Second Cousin, Prince Consort Eugene."
"How did…?" Astrid began. She suddenly trailed off as she had no idea, due to her young age, of how to continue. Fortunately for her, her grandfather did.
"…Eugene know what to do?" King Christian asked as he steered his granddaughter away from his remarkable origins.
"Yes, grandfather." Astrid politely remarked.
"Well, just as Rebecca did her magic in response to a dream, or vision, so too did Eugene. It all began about eight weeks after the return of Rapunzel…"
"…the return of Rapunzel…?"
"Yes, after the return of Rapunzel."
Eighteen Years Previous…
The dashing and heroic Sir Eugene Fitzherbert, newly appointed Knight of the Realm, and the permanent guest of the Royal Couple of Corona and adored by all was having a very bad night as he tried to sleep. His disturbed sleep resulted in a lot of tossing and turning as he dreamed the most horrible of dreams. The dream? A recurring scene of sickness and death repeating itself over and over again yet again this night. In his dream; no, the ultimate of nightmares; he found himself surrounded by sick children and adults, all with horrible sores and boils all over their bodies, crying out to him to save them.
In his dream, they were all saying the same thing, 'Eugene; please, only you can save us. The doctors know what afflicts us but are absolutely powerless to do anything to help us. The affliction came to us from Cretania and will spread through all Io without your help. His dream suddenly ended as he heard yet another voice calling out to his subconscious and waking him from the horror.
"Eugene… It soon will be time." A woman's voice called out.
"It soon will be time?" Eugene thought aloud as he tried to figure out what it was time for. He did not seem to recognize any of the people in his dream so he began to wonder if he was having some sort of vision of a future event.
He pulled the dagger he kept under his pillow free of its scabbard, and quickly scanned the room for any obvious sources for the sound and initially came up empty. It was, to say the least, becoming quite annoying to him, as he could never remember the dream, only the siren call for him to awake. He did not like to feel like someone was playing a joke on him for solely their entertainment unless, of course, it was at the hands of his new dream, Rapunzel as she was still learning the ins and outs of what was and what was not humorous, not that he minded at all as her joy was more powerful to him than the strongest ale. For the tenth time in as many nights, however, he found himself befuddled by the sound of his name as uttered by someone he somehow believed he knew, just not from where or when; or why they were calling to him.
This night, Eugene easily hearing the tower clock in the distant central square softly marking the 2 A.M. hour, was to be quite different. He was to receive the message that would send him unhesitantly and, more importantly, unerringly into action to save the happy citizens of not only the Royal Kingdom of Corona-by-the-Sea, but the entire continent of Io if not all of Sonnen III. His actions would cement his place in the annals of not only the history of the Royal Kingdom of Corona-by-the-Sea, but also the other kingdoms and principalities of Io. He would, in one simple action, become the hero of all of Sonnen III. As his eyes adjusted to the dimly lit bedchamber he was amazed at the sight before him.
A woman of about 46 or at least the semblance of a woman of about 46 stood before him at the foot of his bed. She appeared to be dressed in a fine black or navy blue flowing gown with white floral lace at the neckline and sleeves. Her gown flowed out from around her as if she was outside on a blustery spring day. She had flowing black hair, with light grey streaks throughout, done up in a body braid that moved in time with the ruffles of her skirt. Finally, she had perhaps the most piercing blue eyes that he had ever seen on any woman; eyes that seemed to fluoresce on their own in the darkness of his room. He would later swear that they glowed with some sort of internal fire.
Eugene; who also could not remember the last tankard of ale he had consumed as he had no need to imbibe anymore as he was completely devoted to the Coronian crown princess, his new dream; was not sure at first if he could truly believe what his eyes were telling him as she appeared to be transparent. As he looked ever more intently at her, he soon realized that the moonlight streaming through a slight opening in his window drapes was actually hitting the floor and his bed in front of her.
"The pestilence is soon to strike all Io and then the rest of Sonnen III. Only you have the power to stop this tragedy." The blue eyed spectral woman called out.
"Um, excuse me. Who…, or would it be better to ask, what are you? And, why are you here and come before me? Do I know of you? Are you a ghost or spirit of someone in my past? I seem to think that I might know you or of you, at least." Eugene asked rapid fire, as he rose from his bed to face his nocturnal visitor, somehow knowing the answers even before he asked them.
The woman did not answer his questions, but instead issued a warning of what was to come and that only he had the powers necessary to save his kingdom.
"Who I am matters not; though you are right to presume that we know of each other from the past. However, the events you dream of will soon occur, sooner than you may expect, although from an expected direction. I have been allowed to come before you, therefore, to give you this warning so that you may help your kingdom as my antecedents helped this wonderful kingdom in the past."
"Um; I guess I can live without knowing who you are, for now. What is this about some sort of warning?" Eugene calmly, or at least as calmly as could be expected given the circumstances.
"A pestilence is soon to strike the Kingdom of Corona-by-the-Sea and will rapidly spread throughout the entire continent of Io and will affect the neighboring kingdoms as well. Many hundreds of thousands, if not millions, may die…"
"DIE!?" Eugene shakily asked as he dropped to his knees in horror as he cupped his face in his hands, quite rightly terrified at the thought of those he loved suffering or dying, and somehow missing the key word in her warning.
"Yes, Eugene; they MAY die, if the current timeline is left unaltered. However, you and you alone have the power within you to not only stop the current timeline and end the pestilence even before it begins but also to bring untold prosperity to Sonnen III and more."
"Me?" Eugene asked, totally confused; no, not confused, absolutely terrified at the thought of such heady responsibility being foisted upon him.
"Yes, my dear Eugene, it is you. Just as you were preordained to perform yet another miracle at an earlier time, so shall it be for you now. You and you alone have the power of foresight and the ever powerful means to stop the pestilence."
"But, how?" Eugene asked, still trying to come to grips with the riddle of the spectral lady in black.
"You will know when it occurs and what you need to do, Eugene."
The Present…
"So…?" Astrid hesitantly began to ask.
"How did he know when it would occur, and what to do?" King Christian asked.
"Yes, grandfather."
"He awoke one morning bright and early and was heading out when he was summoned…"
"He was summoned? By who?" The young, and confused, Princess Astrid asked.
"Well…"
Eighteen Years Previous…
"Good morning Eugene, out and about so early?" Catherine asked, quite surprised to see him up before noon, as she happened upon the young man as he reached the front foyer of the palace.
"Eugene, hear me … soon it will come…" The siren voice called to him.
"I…, I tho…, I thought I would go out for a walk and get some fresh air, Catherine." Eugene stutteringly replied as he suddenly felt something that he was sure was very near.
"Are you going out far?" She asked, ever curious to see what was to happen next and wanting to be there to witness it first-hand.
"Eugene, the time has come; the weak shall suffer first…"
"I…, um. Yes. I thou…; I thought I might go to the orphanage to see the children. I haven't stopped by there in such a long time. They always seem to be most vulnerable despite the efforts we have recently made to improve their lot in life. If you will excuse me, I shall be on my way." Eugene abruptly replied as he turned and began to walk away, suddenly quite distracted by something or some…"
"Yes, Eugene. There is where you will find the pestilence's first victim. Be mindful of your surroundings…"
"Of course…" Eugene whispered to himself, almost silently.
Queen Catherine, always observant of changes to the norm and knowing that it had been quite recently when he had last visited the orphans and sensing something more, decided that she would remain with Eugene, at least for the morning, as he suddenly seemed quite distracted by something.
"Eugene, wait! I wish to come too." Catherine replied as she jogged up to him.
"Of course, my ladyship," Eugene replied as he held his arm for her, "if I may?"
"Always the gentleman..." Catherine giggled, amazed at the politeness of the former Flynn Rider, as he gracefully took her arm and walked the pair towards the compound gate.
"Good morning, your highness; Sir Eugene." Sergeant Major Samuel stated as he bowed in respect to the pair as they walked up to the front gate.
"Yes, it is, Samuel." Catherine replied.
"Going for a little stroll around the village?"
"Um…, well. No, not really. I mean…, it has been so long since I visited the orphanage and all…" Eugene, his cheeks reddening, stammered out, his garbled speech surprising the veteran Senior NCO.
"Are you alright, Eugene?" The concerned Samuel asked, he being perfectly aware of the orphanage visit made by both him and Rapunzel the day prior to her departure.
"Eugene, you must hurry…"
"Yes; of course." Eugene fibbed. He was not alright. He was downright terrified. How would he, by himself, stop the sickness and death?
"Take care, Eugene…" A concerned Samuel added as the pair walked off; he quickly and urgently heading towards the Royal Armory and the Office of the Commander, Royal Coronian Special Forces – Solaris, intent on finding Rupert and Amanda to report Eugene's unusual behaviours.
"Eugene, are you alright?" Catherine finally asked as the pair walked in silence.
"To be perfectly honest, Catherine, I am terrified."
"Why?"
"It is time…" Eugene mumbled, more to himself.
"It is time, Eugene?" Catherine asked, surprised that the time was already upon them and grateful that Rapunzel was not due back for another two and a half days.
"Yes, Catherine. I have voices in my head telling me that I must go to the orphanage right now to stop the pestilence."
"Oh, so it indeed is time." Catherine decisively stated, even though she did not feel all that confident at the moment.
"Yes. It is indeed the time for action…" Eugene replied before suddenly stopping as he heard yet again another important piece of information.
"…Eugene, the pestilence is arriving from the docks."
"Soldier!" Eugene suddenly called to a nearby guard, his epiphany and previous vision suddenly ringing out to him.
"Sir!"
"Go to the docks! Quickly! Tell them to kill all rodents they discover; with extreme prejudice! Set out all the traps you can. Burn the carcasses and ensure nothing, I repeat nothing remains! Destroy all the cargoes and ships arriving from Cretania; by fire; ensure nothing remains, not even ash! Quarantine the crews on the off shore islands until their health is evaluated."
"Yes sir. Of course, Sir Eugene." The guard replied as he ran off to carry out the order.
"Yes, Eugene, the vectors of the pestilence will be destroyed, you have all under control … except for one sick child; one will be all it takes …"
"Catherine! We must hurry!" Eugene cried as he suddenly took off running the vast distance between the city and the orphanage.
"GO! I will catch up!" Catherine stated, as she turned to borrow a nearby soldier's horse.
Running like the wind, Eugene quickly, after an astounding six minute run that covered the three miles between the palace and his destination, arrived at the orphanage, much to the surprise of Nan, still the able caretaker even after thirty plus years.
"NAN!" Eugene shouted, out of breath.
"Eugene? What are you…?" The quite shocked caretaker blurted out.
"There is no time. Are there any sick children?"
Nan, surprised by Eugene's question could only nod her head and gesture to a small room off the main hall.
"Little Becky must have been bitten by some sort of rodent during the night. I was quite shocked to see how rapidly she sickened." Nan sadly said as she gestured to the obviously quite ill little blond haired, blued-eyed girl.
"She is the one. You are just in time. You know what to do…"
"Nan, please excuse me for a moment." Eugene asked as he, entered the room and softly closed the door.
"Of course." Nan replied, knowing that Eugene would explain all when he had a chance.
"Rest easy little one. I am here to help you feel better, ok?" Eugene kindly said; he not even noticing the ugly boils beginning to form on her arms and legs.
"Um, ok…" Little Becky sadly sighed, the pain of the illness wracking her little body. She was, nevertheless, quite mesmerized by the one she once knew as Flynn Rider.
"Let's see. The tear is one way to heal. I wonder if my touch will work too; while I sing the song. I guess there is only one way to find out." Eugene softly spoke, more to himself, although Becky, Nan, and Catherine, who had just arrived, easily heard him. They all pondered the words spoken.
"Tear? Touch? Song? What song must he sing?" The three thought to themselves.
"Good, Eugene, good; you are listening to your heart and to your feelings. The power will flow through you unimpeded now…"
Catherine was standing there with Nan and lightly conversing, after finally catching up with Eugene and was to be as amazed by what was to follow as was Nan, the other children, and, perhaps all the citizens of Io.
Eugene, taking a deep cleansing breath to relax and to draw in a new found power, gently placed his hands on Becky's forehead, grimacing at the extremely feverish touch, and distended stomach and began to sing…
"Yes, Eugene; you are indeed one with the Wirkungen…"
"Flower gleam and glow…,"
As he began to sing, the awesome power of the universe began to gather around him and surge as it also funnelled through him; his normally hazel eyes began to glow with a surreal golden hue; as if his eyes were two miniature suns themselves. At first little Becky was frightened, but she soon relaxed as Eugene softly sang to her the song he had heard three times.
"…let your powers shine…,"
As he finished the second stanza, the glow of his eyes had spread to his entire head, lightly bathing the room in a golden light. Becky, completely amazed by the sight, was too awestruck to be frightened.
"…make the clock reverse…,"
The glow, spreading throughout his upper body and growing ever brighter, began to shine out the single window of the room and reflecting as many wonderful designs on the ground as a kaleidoscope would, and coming to the attention of Catherine and Nan as they softly conversed outside.
"What the…?" The two women asked, their eyes wide as they looked first to the other and then to the building, stunned into silence and immobilized by shock as they took in the sight of the eerily glowing Eugene visible, as he was, through the single window.
"…bring back once was mine…,"
The glow, now surpassing the brightness of the cloud obscured sun, had now spread from his upper body down his arms and hands, and into the young girl's body, causing her to begin to faintly glow as well. Becky could almost hear and feel the invasive bacteria's screams of agony and attempted flight as they were surely destroyed by the universe's ultimate creative power. The vacuum caused by the destruction of the sickening bacteria left room for the incoming cells of the sun to begin to interact with Becky's other cells.
"…heal what has been hurt…,"
With this phrase, the girl's entire body suddenly glowed as bright as the sun as the ultimate power of the universe found the last of the invasive bacteria and quickly isolated and completely and totally destroyed each and every sickening cell; all the while returning her health to better than normal. She involuntarily shuddered as the 105 degree fever suddenly left her little body along with all the sickening bacteria and her temperature returned to a healthy normal. Her flushed and scarred skin soon returned to its normal light complexion as well as the sores instantly healed. Finally, at the deepest molecular level, a reaction was taking place that once fully developed would leave little Becky even more miraculous and powerful than Eugene.
"…change the fates design…,"
As Eugene continued singing, his and Becky's glow grew brighter and spread out even further, soon encompassing the very ground on which the orphanage was sited and actually destroying the one remaining disease carrying rodent.
"You have done it Eugene! The final vector has been destroyed…"
"…save what has been lost…,"
The golden heavenly glow, now so bright as to make the light of the sun seem no brighter than the smallest candle, soon rapidly spread out even further afield into the many nearby villages. Citizens all over Io were soon stunned by its brightness and power; even those so far a field that the glow appeared as only a faint glow on the horizon although its effect brought forth bounty where only destitution had reigned. Needless to say, the poor residents living closer to the capital of Corona were first terrified and then amazed as their drought wilted crops, victims of the poor rains that year, grew out into their full glory, ever ready for the harvest. The slack jawed villagers, happily realizing that all was not lost and that the upcoming celebration would go on as planned, dropped everything and quickly made their way in the direction of the glow, curious as to its origin.
"…bring back what once was mine…,"
The glow, now so bright as to be seen even as far afield as Estrella, Constella, and Orion as well as coming to the attention of those citizens of Avandell, caused a surprised princess to state that she had to get back home, immediately, as she hurriedly packed, poor Pascal never more confused by his friend's actions than now.
"…what once was mine."
"You did it, Eugene! You saved all of Io! The pestilence has been obliterated; and far, far more! We knew you were noble enough to wield such power. You will soon be suitably rewarded…"
As the final phrase faded into silence the still glowing, yet slowly dimming, figure of Eugene looked down at the now quite healthy and brightly smiling eight year old Becky as she looked up so very lovingly at her savior.
"Eugene!" Becky called out, ecstatic that she was to live.
The Present…
The young Princess Astrid stood there stunned into silence, her mouth agape and her eyes as wide as dinner plates. She had had no inkling of the power of her Second Cousin, once removed. She thought such powers were the stuff of books and legends, not the real world. Her grandfather, grandmother, Anna, Elsa, along with Kai and Gerda all quietly waited as the youngster took in the very beginning of the most amazing of stories. Of course, as she was soon to learn, the real story would take place about five and a half years later.
"Wow!" Astrid whispered to herself, although her grandfather easily heard her.
"So, my little one," King Christian began in response to her comment. "Are you ready for the beginning of the most remarkable story ever told?"
A/N #6: Please read, enjoy and review…