3 YEARS LATER

A new dawn rose over the fjords. Ships pulled up to Arendelle's docks, with guests from all over the neighboring kingdoms piling out. The gates were opening, for the first time in what seemed like forever, because Prince Elliott had come of age.

Allied kingdoms, friends, trade partners, the list went on with all the people attending. The townsfolk were excited, too, setting up all the decorations for the celebration. The proud banners with the profile picture of the Prince dance effortlessly in the summer breeze. It was a very important day in the history of Arendelle, and not one person wanted to miss it.

So naturally Prince Andy was so tangled up in his bed sheets it wouldn't be surprising if he never got out. The now 18 year old had grown into a slender young man, with a dimpled smile and freckles that seemed to cover most of his body. He had the worst case of bed hair, like a mouse had nested on it over the night, with his vibrant signature streak of white out of place like always.

"Prince Andy?" Kai rapped on the door, "Your majesty, sorry to wake you, but you must get ready."

Andy groaned and turned over, trying to blink sleep from his eyes, "Ready...? For what?"

"Your brother's coronation, sir."

Andy sat up, wiping the drool from his chin and scrunching up his nose, "Elliott's doing what...?"

"Sir, the gates will be opening-"

"The gates!" Andy's eyes snapped open and his face broke into a smile, "Why didn't you say something, Kai?"

Andy tried to struggle out of the cocoon of sheets he'd managed to get into in the night but when that failed, he just let himself fall to the floor face-first. It did the trick, and the prince scrambled to his feet and smiled at the nice green and black suit that had been set out for him.

•••

Fixing the lapels of his jacket, Andy rushed out to all the excitement, seeing all the hustle of preparations was a nice change. The windows were open, making the castle brighter than he ever remembered it being. He tried to walk with his head held high in calculated steps, like he'd been taught to, but he couldn't help skipping around all the people carrying plates and things Andy didn't even know they had.

Elated, he ran to the windows, trying to catch a glimpse of all the ships arriving. All of those people coming, here, to Arendelle! He felt giddy. How many princesses and daughters of lords would he meet? Lots, he hoped. His last suitor had turned out to actually be in love with Elliott- of course, the mysterious heir, but like always his brother didn't even give her the time of day. Pushing the bitter thoughts away, he remembered lots of guests meant lots of food, too, so that would be his next stop.

Andy stared, or more like ogled, at the beautiful three layer cake that was the center piece of all the other dishes. Smirking, and making sure no one was watching, he grabbed a handful of the blue frosting that decorated it.

He felt good about himself for about a minute, the approximate time it took him to lick the frosting off his fingers, but then he realized the really obvious spot where he took a taste would be noticed by the guests.

"For the love of..." he hesitated as he heard footsteps approaching, and in a desperate move, grabbed one of the fish entrée and stuck it to the side of the cake where he'd stolen. "There. Lovely decoration."

And he left the scene of the crime as fast as he could.

• • •

Elliott watched the coronation guests arrive through the library's window, all the people who would soon be stepping through actual open gates. A rare sight, that was. Granted he'd spent about 90% of his life inside these walls, with the gates closed. To protect him, the King had said.

Nervous was an understatement to what he was feeling. Today he would become King of Arendelle. Officially, that is, because he'd pretty much shouldered the responsibility ever since his parent's passing. Every country allied with Arendelle had sent people over the years to help him, but today, all that power and responsibility would all fall to him.

His parents had died before they could teach him how to run a kingdom. But to him, the most harmful part was that they'd left him without fully teaching him how to control his powers. The King had attempted to teach him, but his glove solution could only do so much. Elliott remembered what the troll had warned him so long ago, 'fear will be your enemy'. He mustn't let it consume him.

Taking a shaky breath, he decided to practice for what seemed the umpteenth time that morning, because he could not screw this up. If he made one wrong move, everyone would know.

He took off the gloves, and he immediately felt exposed, almost naked.

Don't let them in, don't let them see, he closed his eyes and repeated the mantra, picking up a candlestick and an ornament to practice instead of the actual orb and scepter. He opened his eyes to see the picture of his late Father, young and poised, holding those two same things in the painting, probably on the day of his own coronation.

Conceal, don't feel, he told himself, he had to put on a good show and control his powers. For a fleeting second, nothing happened, he held the ornament and the candlestick in each hand easily and he almost looked as calm as his father did in the painting.

But suddenly the cold started seeping from his fingers, and both things iced over. Elliott gasped, and slammed both of them down on the table, quickly putting on his gloves.

It's only for today! He assured himself. He'd be laughing about this tomorrow. But for now, it was agony to wait.

Composing himself, he stepped out of the library where he'd been all morning.

"Tell the guards to open up the gate!"

• • •

It's only for today, Andy thought as he ran along the bridge and into the village square, the gates were finally open! His chance to leave his brother's lonely world. Having the gates open was one of the most fantastic things he'd ever experienced. He could count in his fingers how many times he'd left the castle in the last years, came down here to interact with his people, to enjoy the little shops and just overall Arendelle goodness.

Nothing's in my way, he thought and actually laughed out loud, sprinting even faster. He'd have to go back in time for the coronation, of course, but that could wait because-

- because he slammed into the other person so hard he managed to knock them both to the ground. He had the breath knocked out of him, and it took Andy a few seconds to realize there was someone below him.

Angry hazel eyes stared up at him. "Do you mind?"

"I-I'm so sorry," he stammered, rolling off and quickly climbing to his feet, offering his hand, "I wasn't looking-I- I'm stupid-"

His apology got caught up in his throat at the sight of the girl he'd just barreled into. Her auburn hair was loose but gorgeously styled, her fancy dress was obviously for the coronation, it was an elegant white and purple, with elaborate designs in the front. She had the loveliest face he'd ever seen, prettier than Traitorous Crow, his affectionate nickname for the girl that had picked Elliott over him.

"I'm okay," she said, her tone much friendlier, "I wasn't looking either, Ser-?"

It took Andy a few seconds to process the fact that she was asking him his name. He bowed, "Prince Anders, of... well... Arendelle."

"Prince? My Lord," she curtseyed, lifting the sides of her dress slightly. She looked back up at him, "Princess Helena of the Southern Isles."

"Andy's fine," he said. "You're here for the coronation, then?"

"I am. I'm sorry for making the Prince of Arendelle late, and sorry for every moment after," she smiled at him. Definitely more pretty than Traitorous Crow, wow.

"Oh, it's fine. I'm not- not that prince," Andy blushed, "you're thinking my brother Elliott. He's the one, uh, you'd like best," he said, half-joking.

"I like Andy just fine," she replied, vowing her head and looking at him through her eyelashes.

Andy's jaw stopped working and he felt the heat rise to his cheeks. He tried to come up with a coherent sentence, but all that was heard was the sound of bells ringing. Bells...?

He gasped, "Oh! The coronation. Elliott will be...I-I-I better go!" he turned to run, but then looked back, smiling apologetically and giving her a little wave, "Bye!"

Helena waved back, a knowing smirk on her face.

• • •

Elliott was relieved to finally see his brother arrive at the church chapel, and a few moments of preparation later, the ceremony began. Elliott was at the altar with the Bishop, and Andy stood to the side. Out of the corner of his eye Elliott saw his little brother waving at someone in the pews. Elliott wondered if Traitorous Crow, how his brother called an ex-girlfriend, had come crawling back. It didn't matter, though, because right then Elliott had to bow as the crown of Arendelle was placed upon his head.

My father's crown, a tiny voice said in the back of his mind piped up. Conceal, be the good boy you always have to be.

Then the Bishop offered him the scepter and the orb on a pillow, and Elliott reached for them.

"Your Majesty," the Bishop whispered, "the gloves."

Elliott gritted his teeth, giving the Bishop a hard look, remind me to behead you later, he tried to joke inside his head to calm down his nerves but it was useless. His hands were shaking as he took the tip of the gloves in one hand and slowly pulled them off, placing them on the pillow.

He held his breath as he took the scepter and the orb in his now bare hands, turning to face the people. The Bishop started to pronounce words in formal Old Norse, about Elliott's duty to the kingdom and all that, but all Elliott could think about was the tingle in his fingertips as the scepter and orb slowly started to freeze over. Don't feel, don't let them know!

"...King Elliott of Arendelle," the Bishop said solemnly.

The crowd hadn't even finished replying with "King Elliott of Arendelle" and Elliott had already turned his back on them, exchanging the scepter and the orb for his trusty leather gloves before anyone could notice the ice. He let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding and smiled shakily at his people.

He did it.

+ thanks for the tumblr messages, tho i'd already picked some character names i liked some of the suggestions so i'll likely be using them in the future for new characters

++ differences will be hella more obvious in the next chapters, and from then on, i guess it'll take a different turn from disney's frozen

+++LASTLY i hope u enjoyed :) reviews make my day.