Frozen
The Dragon Princess
(Dragon) Sword and (Dragon) Sorcery
Disclaimer: I do not own frozen
It had been a week since Anna returned from Dun Broch and she ached to go back and see Merida. Elsa was so cold and formal when they interacted, so stiff and poised that all Anna could think of was Merida and how she would be a better sister than Elsa. Of course all their tutors though the world of her, of her intelligence and grace and poise. Always so prim and proper, like now. They were currently in their etiquette lesson, and Elsa was ram rod straight her hands elegantly gloved in front of her as she finished reciting the prose she had been assigned. This was after Anna had stumbled and fidgeted through her own assignment.
"Excellent, excellent Elsa. You are wonderful" Their gray haired tutor Astrid said clapping. Anna kept her eyes forward, thinking about the other Astrid she had met.
"Anna" Grey Astrid said her smile faltering into a frown, and Anna could practically smell the disapproval and disappointment rolling off her.
"I will see you both tomorrow" She said giving Elsa another warm smile. The two left the room and Elsa immediately turned going back to her room. Anna watched her go, her heart filled with a mix of emotions she couldn't even begin to sort out.
"Two more. Just two more and it'll be how it was" Anna thought watching her sisters retreating back. That thought filling her with resolve she went back to her room. Her lessons were over for today, so she had some free time to play with her newest possession. She took the blade she had found in the earth hearts tomb out from under her bed. She had been studying it since she had come back, not even letting Borealis see it. It was the size of a dagger with a silver filigree handle. The cross guard and hilt had dragon's heads on it, with white cloth wrapped around the handle to make it easy to grip. She snuck down to the portrait room with her new blade and shut the doors behind her.
"Hey Joan, guess what?" She asked her favorite portrait of the woman with her sword and shield.
"I found my own sword" she said holding up the dagger.
"Well, it was a sword when I first found it, but it shrunk. Don't know how" Anna said as she swung the blade a few times.
"But if it shrunk it can grow again. Maybe if I fed to magic through it?" Anna wondered and tried it, feeding pure magic into it. She felt something take hold and begin to draw magic from her. She tried to stop it, but it wouldn't let go as the sword became wreathed in fire. She fell to her knees as she felt the magic and life drain out of her. Her vision narrowed to a pinpoint, blackness closing in, and she thought that she was be drained dry, when she felt strength flowing back into her along with something else, something reaching into her soul, examining it and weighing it. Whatever "it" was must have liked what it saw because a wave of warmth and approval flowed through her along with the strength. Her vision cleared and she pushed herself to her knees, the sword held in her grip, now grown to the size of a broadsword. She got to her feet, holding the blade out in front of her still wreathed in flame. Breathing hard she slowly sung the sword in a wide arch watching mesmerized as it left an arc of flame in the air.
"I knew you were magic" She breathed.
"Heh, I did not think my next bearer would be so young" A deep warm voice said in her mind. She started, very nearly dropping the blade, but sunk to her knees instead.
"You can talk. I mean I've talked to inanimate objects my whole life, but none ever talked back, unless I've gone crazy. Wait, maybe I have gone crazy, maybe this is all just a dream?" she rambled until the sword sent a shock up her arm.
"Ow" She said letting go.
"You are not dreaming child, and you are not crazy" The sword said kindly.
"Okay" Anna said.
"Can I pick you up without you biting me again?" Anna asked.
"Consider that my way of keeping you calm and focused" the sword said. Anna picked up the blade, and stood again.
"Your pretty light for such a big sword" Anna said swinging it around one handed.
"You are naturally strong, even for a dragon born. The magic I took from you to forge our bond should have killed you" the blade said.
"That's a cheery thought" Anna replied.
"Um, do you have a name?" Anna asked.
"In day's past I was called Aschelon" The sword said.
"Can I call you Ask?" Anna asked.
"I do not dislike that nickname. Very well" The sword said.
"Okay ask. I'm Anna" She introduced herself.
"I know, I have been through your mind and soul. I know of your family troubles, and your quest for the Queens heart. It is a noble pursuit and there are many dangers, but I know your soul is unwavering. That is why I have chosen to bond with you and aid you on your quest" The blade said. At that moment, the door burst open and a gust of wind swirled around her.
"Anna, what is going on?" Borealis demanded, and woman Anna had never seen before striding in behind him. At the sight of the sword, he stumbled back his face going even whiter than usual.
"Ashkelon?" He whispered.
"Borealis wind writer" The sword said and Borealis flinched as if he had been struck.
"you two know each other?" Anna asked.
"The guardian of the heart air, the Trismigistus and master of the four winds" Ask said.
"And Terra Ursa, The earthen pillar, guardian of the realm and the heart of earth" he said of the brown haired woman. She was tall and heavily muscled in a leather jerkin and pants with dark brown hair in a long braid with a broad sword slung over her shoulder with a dagger at her hip.
"So the holy sword rises again" The woman said, her voice deep and sonorous. Anna looked from the sword to the two of them and back again.
"I don't understand" Anna said.
"Greetings young one. Since Ashkelon had introduced me, I will not bother with my name. I will say that I am a warrior who has taught many a young dragonborn the art of the sword. Since the most holy of weapons has chosen you, I think it would be prudent of you learned how to use him" She said smiling. Anna blinked and then a large smile drew itself across her face as excitement filled her.
"Yes, Yes, Yes" Anna shouted. The next day her training began. It wasn't just sword training, it was physical training. Weight training, exercises, running, and climbing on various strange contraptions that appeared in an empty room overnight. She also learned to fight with a number of weapons from her sword, to knives, to hand to hand. She even learned how to shoot a bow and arrow. Between her magic lessons, her academic lessons, and her combat training, she didn't have time to even think about the next heart or her family troubles. From morning to night she was learning until both her mind and body were exhausted. Even her eighth and ninth birthday's were spent with Borealis and Terra, both times some "incident" had come up that her parents had to see too, both having her gifts given to her by servants. Both Borealis and Terra had given her gifts as well. On her eighth birthday Borealis had begun to teach her thunder magic, the skill of combining fire and air to create bolts of electricity. Terra's present had been to teach her a special fighting style, combining her magic with physical blows, so that her punches and kicks had a burning quality.
"This style is most effective when in dragon form, wreathing your claws in fire to give them more destructive power"Terra had explained. However, it was during a sparring match with her mentor when something had clicked inside of her and she aimed a blow at the women in a fist charged with electricity. The woman dodged, the electricity jumping from Anna's fist, arching across the floor and hitting the wall with a sound like thunder. Both stood still, staring at the scorch mark on the wall, until Anna turned to Terra and said
"Oops" Rubbing her head with the back of her hand.
"I think that's enough for today" She said. The next day Borealis said it was time for her to search out the next heart.
"This one will be particularly difficult to obtain" He explained as he brought out a map.
"The heart is in this kingdom" He said.
"That's Corona. Our aunt and uncle rule there, though they never come to visit. No one does" Anna said sadly.
"That is part of the reason why it this will be tricky to accomplish. Your aunt, Primrose, was a dragonborn" Borealis said.
"Wait, what?" Anna asked.
"You heard me" Borealis said.
"Wait, is my mother a dragonborn?" Anna asked. The look on her master's face was all the answer she needed.
"Wow" Was all she could say as she sat on the floor, her mind in a daze.
"Focus child. If you wish to speak with your mother about this, we shall once you have retrieved the heart of fire" Borealis said.
"Right" Anna said stowing away all her questions for later.
"And one more thing. This is the first time traveling a short distance into your future" He said.
"How far?" Anna asked, gulping. She had never tried traveling into the future before.
"I didn't even think I could go into the future. I mean, It's the future, it hasn't happened yet" Anna said voicing her thoughts. Borealis gave her an indulgent smile before replying.
"To those you visit in the past, even past versions of your sister that is true of your present. When viewed from the highest dimension, past present and future are all happening at the same time" He said going into his lecture mode. Anna tried to grasp what he was talking about, but couldn't even begin to understand.
"Elsa would understand" Anna said shaking her head.
"What it means child is that you can travel into the future as you can travel into the past, but it is more dangerous" Terra said.
"How?" Anna asked.
"To be specific, it is not traveling into the future that is dangerous, but traveling short distances into the future or past. Traveling such short distances increases the chances of changing and damaging both" Borealis said.
"Wait, I think I understand. Going back to the past likes say four or five years, I can make it so that my powers don't wake up, or that I don't go find the heart of wind, but I don't understand how going into my future can change things?" She asked. Borealis smiled at her proudly. "Going into the future, you can encounter whatever good or ill fortune is yet to come to the you of now, and that can be a terrible temptation to return and change your own future, which can make things worse than they were meant to be" Borealis said.
"Ok, my brain hurts, but I think I get it. But what about Hiccup and Merida? Didn't I change their futures by going into the past?" Anna asked and her master chuckled.
"As to that, who's to say you weren't meant to go back and meet them? That your destiny isn't already tied into theirs?" Borealis explained.
"But it's that's true, that sounds like everything is already written?" Anna asked.
"In a way. The further you go into the past and future, the more you step into immutable history that weaves you into its web more easily"
"But…if I mess around with my personal history, I could end up hurting myself…or worse. The further I go the less damage I can actually do, unless I you know decided to burn down a town or something. Come to think of it, I really didn't do anything really. I never even show that many people my dragon form" She said remembering her adventures.
"Ok, I understand. Keep a low profile like I've done the last times. Make sure as few people as possible see my magic or my dragon form, and try not to wreck everything when I find the heart" She said.
"Exactly, now let's get you prepared for departure" Borealis said. Anna nodded and enveloping herself in red energy, changed her cloths, which now included a sheath for Ask in his dagger form. With her pack over her shoulder and a blade on her hip dressed in pants and a shirt and cloak she turned to a mirror and froze in shock. Over the past two years the exercise and a growth spurt had begun to strip the baby fat off her, leaving a lean and wiry looking girl.
"Is something wrong child?" Terra asked.
"No" Anna said, but in her mind she was comparing her lean form to the quickly developing womanly curves of her sister. She shook the thoughts from her mind and focused on the task at hand.
"Corona is only a few hours flight from here with your speed" Borealis said as the two became invisible and walked through the castle. They kept completely silent until they reached the garden. Borealis cast a bubble of silence around them as he became visible.
"I would wish you good luck my student, but you have your magic, your weapon, and your training. I do not think luck is needed" Borealis said.
"Thank you master, I will not fail" Anna said.
"I can't" She added silently as she transformed and took flight south and east. True to her masters words it only took her about three hours flight before she was in the green country of Corona. It was a green country of gently rolling hills and thick forests, so unlike her beautiful yet mountainous home. She was flying over a ravine when her eyes caught something she couldn't quite believe.
"It couldn't' be" She thought, her natural curiosity moving her wings downward. She dropped down into the gorge and hovered above the top of a tower.
"What is a tower doing here?" She wondered as she landed softly in front of it and transformed. She walked up to the tower to find it was covered in vines with no way up to the top where she could see a wooden window. She was about to transform and fly away when she saw the shutters pushed open and a girl lean out. With her eyes Ann could see she was about her sister's age with blonde hair.
"Hello?" Anna called and the girl started. She looked down at Anna blinked, and then pulled the shutters to her window closed. Anna huffed and her stubbornness and curiosity got the better of her again. She transformed and leapt up to the window, catching it with her claws and transforming back. Hanging on with one hand she put her other up to one of the shutters and using wind magic created a suction that drew the window open. She opened the other and climbed inside. She hopped off the sill to the floor and looked around. The tower was small but cozy, with tables, chairs, bookshelves and even a kitchen. What drew Anna's gaze were the beautiful paintings on the walls, murals of stars and night skies and lights covering the walls and ceilings.
"Wow, did you make these?" Anna asked looking up into the rafters where the girl was hiding.
"Who are you?" She asked peeking her head out.
"I'm Anna" She introduced herself smiling up at the girl. She emerged further from her hiding place and sat on the rafter. Just like Anna thought, she was about her sister's age, but their similarity ended. Where Elsa always had a cold and reserved demeanor that showed nothing of what she was feeling, this girl had an open face that showed her uncertainty and fear. Where Elsa was covered head to toe in thick dark clothing, including gloves, this girls hands were uncovered her dress was a light pink and the feet hanging off the rafter were bare.
"Who are you?" She asked.
"I'm Rapunzel" She said.
"Hi Rapunzel. That's a pretty name" Anna said.
"Thanks" She said smiling nervously.
"Don't you want to come down and talk?" Anna asked
"I don't know, are you here to rob me?" She asked.
"No" Anna said.
"Why would you think that?" She asked.
"Because you're dressed like a bandit" Rapunzel said.
"I am not" Anna said.
"I'm dressed like an adventurer" Anna said.
"Same thing" Rapunzel said.
"Na ha" Anna said.
"Yes ha" Rapunzel replied.
"Come down here and say that" Anna shot at her.
"Okay, I will" Rapunzel said and grabbing onto a yellow rope swung down to the floor.
"You, look like a bandit" She said right to Anna's face. All the younger girl did was sticking out her tongue at the older girl. Rapunzel blinked and laughed.
"Okay, I'm just teasing you. You're too young to be a bandit, and you're a girl" Rapunzel said turning her back on Anna.
"Hey, what does being a girl had to do with anything?" Anna asked walking beside the older girl.
"Girls aren't bandits" Rapunzel said.
"I'm not a bandit" Anna said.
"My point exactly" Rapunzel said and realizing what she walked into Anna spluttered before turning red and stamping her foot in anger. Rapunzel giggled.
"So, what do you do for fun around here, besides tease visitors?" Anna asked.
"Well, you're the first visitor I've ever had" Rapunzel said.
"Really, you've never met anyone else?" Anna asked.
"No. For as long as I can remember it's been mother and I" She said when a green chameleon dropped down on her shoulder.
"And Pascal of course" She said and begin to hum.
7 AM, the usual morning lineup:
Start on the chores and sweep 'til the floor's all clean
Polish and wax, do laundry, and mop and shine up
Sweep again, and by then it's like 7:15.
And so I'll read a book
Or maybe two or three
I'll add a few new paintings to my gallery
I'll play guitar and knit
And cook and basically
Just wonder when will my life begin?
She sang and danced around the room, briefly doing the chores she described as Anna followed her.
Then after lunch it's puzzles and darts and baking
Paper Mache, a bit of ballet and chess
Pottery and ventriloquy, candle making
Then I'll stretch, maybe sketch, take a climb,
Sew a dress!
And I'll reread the books
If I have time to spare
I'll paint the walls some more,
I'm sure there's room somewhere.
And then I'll brush and brush,
and brush and brush my hair
Stuck in the same place I've always been.
And I'll keep wonderin' and wonderin'
And wonderin' and wonderin'
When will my life begin?
She continued to sing, Amazing Anna with all of her skills as well as copying her, playing darts and reading on the floor next to her as well as trying music and sewing watching the girl giggle and smile warmly at her when she made mistakes. She even helped Rapunzel brush her seventy feet of golden hair, which she used to swing from the rafters of the roof and helped her paint. she was so like and unlike Elsa, or at least like Elsa used to be, warm and kind and so, so smart, but also shut up in this small place all on her own, with only her parent for company.
Tomorrow night,
Lights will appear
Just like they do on my birthday each year.
What is it like
Out there where they glow?
Now that I'm older,
Mother might just
Let me go
She finished, showing Anna a mural of the lights rising over the water from the view of the tower window.
"I can take you" Anna said.
"You can?" Rapunzel asked.
"I can change into a dragon. I can fly you away from here" Anna said taking the girls hands and dragging her to the window.
"Anna wait" Rapunzel said tearing her hands away.
"What?" Anna asked.
"Why are you doing this for me? We just met" Rapunzel asked. Anna rubbed her head, blushing at her feelings, but speaking them anyway.
"You remind me of my sister, or at least the way she used to be. You're nice and smart and kind like she was, and your locked up, like she is, like I'm supposed to be. Not being able to go out and see the world, the lights. I escape. I go out and see new places, meet people, and so should you" Anna said, and a song clawed its way out of her throat.
For the first time in forever, you'll see magic, you'll see light.
For the first time in forever, you'll be dancing through the night,
and I know it may sound crazy, to dream about romance,
but for the first time in forever, at least you've got a chance
Anna sang as she took the girls hands and danced her around the room.
"You said you and your sister are shut up in your home. Why?" Rapunzel asked.
"My parents say it's for our protection" Anna said as they sat on the floor together.
"My mom say's the same thing" Rapunzel stated.
"But that's doesn't explain why Elsa shut me out. Why she ignores me when we're forced to be together" Anna said as another song emerged from her.
"I just want to build a snow man, for us to go and play
I never see her any more, behind her door, it's like she's gone away.
We used to be best buddies but now were not
I wish she would tell me why
I just want to build a snow man
It doesn't have to be a snow man
Anna sang sadly, causing Rapunzel to wrap her in a hug.
"Rapunzel?" A voice called from the bottom of the tower.
"Rapunzel let down your hair" The voice called.
"It's my mother. You have to hide" Rapunzel said.
"Come on, let's go, I can take you to see the lights" Anna said dragging the girl to the window.
"Rapunzel?" The voice called, anger tinging it.
"Coming mother" The blond said.
"Anna I can't. I can't leave" Rapunzel said, jerking her hands away.
"But why?" Anna asked reaching for her only to have the girl draw away.
"Please Anna" She said turning her back on the younger girl. Anna saw the closed posture, and smelled the fear.
"Rapunzel!" The voice shrieked and the girl ran to the window. Anna beat her their perching on the window.
"You really are like my sister" She said sadly turning invisible.
"Goodbye Rapunzel" Anna said and climbed to the top of the tower. She looked down to see the girl dump her hair over the side of the tower where a dark haired woman was impatiently waiting. Sighing she transformed and took to the air, making her way to the capital of the country. She landed on the outskirts of the city and transforming back wandered the streets. It was the first time she had actually been to one of the other kingdoms, and she marveled at the beauty. She heard music, and raced to a square to find people dancing, celebrating on paved flagstones that had a picture of the sun on it.
"The capital of Corona is famous for its murals of the sun found all around the city, enhancing its beauty and warmth"
Her tutor had said. The words didn't do the city justice. She resisted the urge to join in the dance, remembering her mission and moved on. Next she came across a mural of what must have been the queen and king holding a baby with long blond hair, with the two monarchs being brunettes. Again she was reminded of Elsa, whose platinum blond hair was so different from the brown and red of her and her parents. She shook the thought from her mind and found an out of the way corner to make her jump. Gripping her chrono stone she planted her destination firmly in her mind and made the leap.
Again sorry for the delay but with life and figuring out where this story is going, delays are going to be a little long until after the holidays. Reviews always welcome, they let me know I'm doing a good job and that you all are still interested.