Disclaimer:
Frozen, The Hunchback of Notredame, Tangled, The Little Mermaid, Cinderella (c) Disney.
Brave (c) Pixar
Dragons of Berk (c) Dreamworks
I do, however, own the OCs Mikkel, Vegar, King Marcus, Frida, Kasia and Harmonia.
Thank you to everyone who has read/favorite/alert/reviewed my story so far!
Warnings: Foul Language, OOC-ness, Background OCs, Cameo/Name Drops
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Guess what readers? I have finished writing the story! The good news is: I don't have to worry about writer's block and push out chapters like a maniac. The bad news is: Burned only has 3 chapters left before it ends.
I have an idea to write another story in the same universe as Burned, but I'm still sitting on the idea. I don't know if I should pursue it since it's kind of like a side story for shits and giggles.
Anyway, THE FESTIVAL IS HERE! Enjoy the festivities~
Chapter Nine
Elsa rubbed her aching temples soothingly.
Her day had only just began and already the stress was hammering against her skull. Anna had forgo breakfast with her and the Corona couple. Though, Elsa wasn't surprised, she expected it even, but still, she had held onto the sliver of hope that Anna would be present for Rapunzel's sake.
Alas, she was wrong.
Another troubling manner came from her report of the town Mikkel had given her. The summer heat in Arendelle was at the highest it had ever been. Elsa could not recall a time in which the kingdom had been so hot and dry. The heat was so intense, the ice walls Elsa created for Anna in the courtyard were thin and brittle now—even without her sister's assault. (Not that Anna had been able to practice since the festival began, of course.)
Worse yet, Arendelle was becoming too hot for Olaf. There was only so much Elsa could do to keep him cool, but not even the mini blizzards his cloud produced could keep the snowman from leaving a trail of puddles wherever he went.
Elsa had plans to send him to the Ice Palace with Marshmallow until the heat wave passed. With the amount of ice and snow left on the Northern Mountains, she was certain both brothers would be able to survive the rest of the summer.
That brought up another problem. Maintaining the frozen wonderland concept Anna wanted to incorporate for the festival would be difficult. With her sister performing a fiery dance with Esmeralda, Elsa didn't think she could handle the stress of maintaining the ice and keeping watch on her rumbustious little sister. It all made her want to scream in frustration.
She dropped her head with a groan, pushing aside the aggravating reports of heat waves, water supply shortages and festival funding shortcomings.
She was frustrated, irritated and exhausted with the world.
She didn't quite feel as hot as the others did, but just the fact that she felt muggy and uncomfortable sitting in the study was enough to alarm her how truly hot Arendelle must be on the outside.
Kristoff's ice business must be making him a fortune right about now.
"Ugh, it's so hot!"
Elsa raised her head in time to see Rapunzel and Eugene step into the room holding three bowls of shaved ice covered in red syrup. Rapunzel fanned herself futilely with her hand as she plopped down on the chair in front of Elsa's desk, using that same hand to dig into her frozen treat with a silver spoon.
"I thought you might want one so we brought you a treat." Rapunzel explained as Eugene handed the platinum blonde her own bowl. "It's cherry flavored!"
"Thank you." Elsa said, pulling the confection close.
"I didn't know Arendelle could get so hot this time of year." Eugene commented, greedily devouring his treat.
"It doesn't." The Queen admitted.
"It must be one of those years. You know, it's so hot you can fry eggs on the floor." The ex-thief smirked, looking as though that were the very thing he did that morning. (Elsa wouldn't be surprised. She did vaguely remember Olaf commenting about making breakfast in the courtyard.) "Which is ironic considering the last time we were here, we could make eggcicles. I'm starting to think Arendelle doesn't know how to have a normal summer."
"No, I don't think it does." She chuckled. "Not a lot of people know what the weather is supposed to be like in Arendelle."
"Which is why we're having this festival." Rapunzel smiled, lips, teeth and tongue red from the cherry flavored syrup. "We're going to show the world what this Kingdom is made of!"
That was what worried Elsa.
Anna had been practicing, on the little time she managed to grab, with Esmeralda for their dance. Luckily for her, Esmeralda kept it relatively simple for the sake of time.
The gypsy worked mainly with torches and staffs. Sometimes she demonstrated with wires thick enough for her to hold, but thin enough that it appeared as though the fire were just hovering in the air. It was usually those times Anna marveled at how enchanting and beautiful fire could be. She had always known it to be, but watching somebody else play with fire cemented the thought wholly in her mind.
Originally, Anna was only meant to have a small role in Esmeralda's pyro display, but after having watched what the princess could do—under false pretenses of course—Esmeralda offered her a dance of her very own, which was why Anna and Esmeralda were together on that scorching summer afternoon.
They practiced mostly by the docks where water was abundant should anything happen. (It often did thanks to Djali's and Anna's clumsiness.)
Esmeralda had just finished practicing the entirety of her routine for any kinks and errors when Djali bleated in complaint. The black haired gypsy wiped the sweat off her brow as she dipped the flaming torch into the water. It extinguished with a loud sizzle.
"I know Djali, but we're almost done." She soothed, sprinkling the goat with water she cupped in her hand. He bleated again happily before jumping into the ocean, cooling off his poor overheated body.
Anna laughed.
"What did you think of the performance?"
"It's fantastic!" She clasped her hands excitedly. "Everyone is going to love it, I'm sure!"
"I'm glad," She smiled. "How is your dance coming along? Do you want to show me what you have so far or keep it as a surprise for the festival?"
"I think I've worked out all the kinks. I've been practicing it when I can but I don't think it'll be as beautiful as your performance."
"You have a way with fire, Anna," Esmeralda said encouragingly. "I'm sure you'll do amazingly. I look forward to seeing it."
At least someone is. Anna thought glumly.
Arendelle castle was bustling by the time nightfall fell. Many monarchs and families of high social standing had arrived by ship as the sun was setting beyond the horizon. Most of the maids were doing their best to accommodate the new arrivals as quickly as they could, while Elsa, Anna, Rapunzel and Eugene gathered in the council room with Mikkel.
"This is so exciting!" Rapunzel grinned, watching more ships pull into the harbor in spite of the darkness making difficult to see from where the ships originated. "There hasn't been this large of a gathering since… well I don't know, but I'm pretty sure we're making history here."
"Yes my lady," Mikkel replied. "We are most certainly making history."
"Are all the guests accounted for?" Elsa asked the adviser.
The tall man glanced down at his notes, dark brown eyes skimming along the list of names he had marked off as present.
"Most have arrived safely, Your Majesty. As well as a few unwanted officials."
Elsa ignored her sister's less than pleased eye roll. They both knew from where this unwanted official had come from.
"Don't you just hate it when that happens?" Eugene quipped, eying a world map posted to the wall. "You throw an invitation only party and boom, you've got party crashers."
"We did make it an open invitation festival." Anna said, despite feeling irritated that a Southern Isle representative would be in attendance and temporarily living in their very castle.
"How many royals from the neighboring countries are we talking about here?"
Mikkel glanced at his list. "Lots."
Eugene snorted. "That's informative. Give me names, Mik."
With a slightly repulsed frown at being nicknamed 'Mik', the Royal Adviser turned his attention toward the Queen, who smiled in amusement and nodded her head. Mikkel refocused on the list of dignitaries and cleared his throat.
"We have Her Majesty Queen Ariel, her daughter Melody and Princess Melody's most precious child, Princess Harmony—"
"Princess Harmony is the cutest baby ever." Rapunzel gushed. "Well, she was a baby the last time I saw her. She's like, what, two now?"
"King Eric wasn't with them?" Anna asked.
Mikkel shook his head. "Her Majesty Queen Ariel explained he had very important and time sensitive matters to attend to back in their kingdom, but he expresses his apologies and wishes you all a wonderful time."
"I guess King Eric won't wage war against us then." Elsa whispered beside her sister. Anna gave her a playful roll of her eyes.
Eugene nodded at the names, vaguely recalling a Melody and Harmony at their wedding day and Rapunzel making funny faces at a child in a black haired dignitaries arms. He signaled Mikkel to continue, light brown eyes still focused on the world map more out of boredom than actual interest. (Although, he did vaguely wonder what it was like in the Americas.)
"Her Majesty Queen Cinderella was set to make the voyage to Arendelle, but due to her age, it was best she not attempt the arduous journey. She has sent her daughter, the crown Princess Alexandria and her husband as representatives of their kingdom."
"That's a shame. I would have loved to see her again." Rapunzel sighed. "Cinderella is an inspiring woman."
"We'll see her soon enough." Elsa stated, taking a quick sip of her drink. "Princess Alexandria's coronation will be in the fall."
"Oh, that's right."
Princess Anna suddenly sighed. She propped her chin against her palm, languid blue eyes on Mikkel as he continued to read off the names of people she only knew through her lessons as a child.
No wonder Elsa kept her out of politics, even going over the guest list was boring!
Anna found it impossible to sleep that night, which wasn't surprising seeing as how she rarely got a good night's rest these last few weeks. (Or month, actually. Anna hadn't been able to sleep a full cycle since the manifestation of her powers. What with all the late night practices that sometimes kept her up until dawn and the overwhelming blanket of heat coursing through her veins, Anna was surprised she'd been able to function for this long without some sort of negative affect.)
Tonight wasn't like all the other nights. She wasn't up late because she was practicing for the festival or releasing her powers. She wasn't going over last minute festival plans or giving Elsa another list of things shed need for the festival.
She was up simply for one reason: it stared down at her in a vast sea of black with a shimmering curtain of stars.
The sky was awake and so was she.
Anna stood in the center of the frozen courtyard, well, formerly frozen courtyard. The air might have been less hazy and hot with the sun gone, but the atmosphere was still muggy and thick. It was too hot for Elsa's ice walls to stay intact; large chunks had already fallen from the top and shattered in a spectacular mess across the yard. The floor was wet with melted ice, but Anna knew, once the sun returned to the sky, there would be no trace of the puddles.
"I had a feeling you would be out here."
Anna spared her sister a glance before gazing up at the sky.
"The sky is awake," was her only reply.
Elsa joined her side, wintery blue orbs gazing into the heavens.
"The ice is melting." Anna stated after a while.
The Queen briefly inspected the patchy walls of ice. "The air is too hot for my ice."
"How are you going to manage the frozen wonderland?"
"I'll figure something out." Elsa retorted.
Anna turned to her sister.
"Will you watch my performance, Elsa?" She asked quietly.
Elsa gazed into Anna's blue eyes.
"Yes," She replied, equally quiet.
The sound of music filled the air that morning as herds of people from across the lands came to celebrate Arendelle's very first multicultural festival. The colors of multiple kingdoms dotted sections of the town and various smells from various different cultures permeated through the air.
Anna dawned on a simple summer dress in the colors of Arendelle royalty then hurried out of the castle to watch her sister create the frozen wonderland. She met up with Eugene at the castle gates then watched as the Snow Queen transformed their castle courtyard into a winter wonderland. She added a few more features that led out into the castle square: a skating rink for those who couldn't get enough of it, an ice slide for the children to play on and lined the bridge with beautiful sculptures of frozen mythical creatures.
Anna eyed Elsa's beautiful creations with a mixture of awe and jealousy. She dragged the Queen away the moment she was done and followed up with Eugene, who had joined Rapunzel and Olaf's side the moment Elsa had finished the slide.
With anticipatory smiles, the group wandered into the crowd.
"This is incredible!" Rapunzel breathed, clutching onto her husband's arm. "You did a great job Anna."
The red head blushed modestly.
"It was your idea."
"Actually, it was Eugene's idea." She grinned, giggling at the embarrassed look on the former thief's face.
"Then thank you, Eugene, for such a magnificent idea." Elsa smiled sweetly.
Eugene cleared his throat. "Yeah, well, you're welcome."
"Look! It's Kristoff and Sven!" Olaf cried suddenly. "Hi Kristoff! Hi Sven!" He waved fanatically at the approaching pair.
Once the blond and the reindeer joined up with the group, Anna decided to take them around booth by booth.
Rapunzel and Pascal tried the various dishes the world had to offer while Eugene and Kristoff wandered off to a trader merchant's booth, having seen a few gold colored trinkets gleaming in the sun's light.
Olaf followed Sven's nose elsewhere, the reindeer having caught a particular scent he desperately wanted to follow.
Elsa and Anna and Anna walked side by side, their elbows brushing every now and then thanks to the crowded street. They came across familiar and not so familiar faces during their stroll. They ran into little Princess Harmony, who tripped over her dress and fell into Anna's knees in an ungracious tumble. Melody came to the toddler's rescue, apologizing for her daughter's clumsiness despite the amusement and praised the Arendelle sisters for such a marvelous festival. Queen Ariel gave the young women a gracious bow out of respect and gratitude then followed her granddaughter toward the ice slide, Melody in tow.
The girls didn't stop again until they came across a particular merchant with a bushy greying mane of hair and a large hooked nose. His eyes were slate gray; his clothes weather worn and ragged. He appeared to be sweating beneath his various layers, but he held a kind, friendly smile on his glistening face.
Another person inspected his wares. A young woman by the look of it, with the wildest bush of curly red-orange hair. Her dress was thin compared to some of the other outfits they had seen; it was the color of teal with golden trimmings and beadery along the hems. Strapped to her back was a long bow and quiver—a definite sight considering she was a young woman in a dress.
"How much for the bow?" The young woman asked, pointing to a nicely designed bow just behind the merchant.
"Ah, fine choice lass, very fine choice indeed…"
"You've brought people from far off places, Anna." Elsa mused as they continued back the way they came. "The DunBroch tribe don't often travel far from their land."
"Scotland isn't that far from Arendelle."
"Far enough that they don't trouble themselves with our affairs." The Snow Queen remarked.
Elsa and Anna met up with Rapunzel once more. She offered them a mound of food from her plate as they waited for Eugene and Kristoff to finish arguing over the existence of genies and magic lamps.
"Wait, wait, wait! Are you telling me that after fighting a witch and marrying a girl with healing hair you DON'T believe genies could exist?!"
"You're trying to convince me into believing in a guy with semi-phenomenal, nearly cosmic powers." Eugene re-stated. "How can anyone believe in that?"
Kristoff brought a hand to his forehead. "Because you fought a witch!"
"That's different."
"They're the same!"
"How are they the same? That's like saying there's such a thing as dragons or, or a wizarding academy for witches. It's absolutely ridiculous. You're ridiculous. Why am I even talking to you?" Eugene laughed, turning away from Kristoff.
Kristoff followed behind him, sputtering incredulously. "Dragons do exist! I've seen one!"
"Oh come on!"
"I'm not sure what to make of this conversation." Anna commented, her mouth full of Danish chocolate.
Elsa and Rapunzel nodded in agreement.
When night returned to Arendelle and the searing heat of the sun cooled off just a little, the festival performances were kicking off with a bang.
Anna joined up with Esmeralda an hour before the gypsies were set to perform. In spite of the bubbling anxiety Anna knew was gnawing in her sister because of her performance, she was looking forward to it.
Elsa was not.
And it showed.
There was a small flurry of snow drifting down around her. Kristoff, Olaf, Sven and Rapunzel didn't mind the light dusting. It kept them cool from the mugginess of the day. Eugene, on the other hand, eyed the light snowfall almost jealously. He wanted to cool down too.
"Where's Anna?" Olaf whispered to Elsa.
The Snow Queen heaved a resigned sigh. "She's going to perform with the gypsies."
"Oh."
Kristoff's eyes suddenly widened "She's what?!"
Anna paced outside of Esmeralda's caravan nervously, wringing her hands habitually, her hair caressing her arms. She had freed majority of her hair specifically for this performance and had braided thin yellow-orange ribbons into small segments of her hair.
She had changed out of her summer's dress for something a little more proper. She had donned on a tight fitting outfit one of the kind gypsies had created specifically for her, thanks to Esmeralda's quick thinking of course. She wore black pants that hugged her legs, but left enough room to maneuver comfortably in. Along the length of her legs was a flame in hues of red and orange that shimmered with just a hint of gold along the edges of the stitched in flame.
Her stomach was bare, save for the black-ashy design of smoke crawling from her waist all the way toward her chest. (Esmeralda had thought that because Anna had felt so shy about revealing so much bare skin, she'd paint along the girl's flesh to give the allusion that she wasn't entirely bare skinned.) The smoke design crawled all the way up to Anna's left breast, ending in a swirl where her heart lay beneath. She wore a halter top of the same black and red design. That too shimmered with the smallest hint of gold glitter.
Her lips were colored the shade of the brightest red while her eyes, surprisingly enough, were shaded in blacks and grays. It reminded her of falling ash from a volcano.
Anna was ready for the performance of a life time, but her nerves were getting the best of her.
She took in a deep breath, expelling the steam from inside her like a cooking pot. She wiggled the heat from her fingers, sending out sparks of light from her nails and clenched her hands into fists.
"Are you ready?" Esmeralda asked, stepping out of the caravan. She too was dressed for the performance, although her outfit was more conservative than Anna's.
The red head nodded. "Ready as I'll ever be."
Esmeralda smiled. "Good. Let's go."
Anna's outfit in the last section of this chapter is based on an actual costume design I saw a fire performer wear in one of my various video searches on Fire Performances. She had like this insanely awesome make up design on her skin that looked like bellowing smoke from a volcano, so I thought "Yep, Anna's wearing that." and viola! Incorporated into the story.
Here are some Mini Fun Facts for the end of this chapter:
- Harmonia is an OC (but that's kind of obvious)
- Technically speaking, the only Disney movies that could probably exist in the same era is Cinderella, The Little Mermaid, Tangled and Frozen, as all four stories take place in the 1800s and 1840s respectively. (I know there was some argument about Tangled taking place in the 1700s, but I'm sticking with the 1800s for the simple fact that they had them cameo in the movie as an Easter Egg-so! Writer's Privilege.)
- Cinderella's daughter, Alexandria, is also an OC, but I took her name from Cinderella's baby in Once Upon a Time
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Next Chapter is Anna's fire performance, YAAAAAAAAAY!