Chapter 7
Snow and Letters
Over dinner that evening, Elsa and Anna summarized the minutes of their Council meeting to the others, and Eugene told them how he and Rapunzel went sightseeing in Arendelle.
"Arendelle is smaller than Corona," Rapunzel was saying, "but from what I've seen, it's no less lively when it comes to celebrations."
"Oh, come on," Eugene argued. "Do you Arendellans have any events that can match our Lantern Festival?"
"I... I don't remember." Elsa admitted. "My coronation was the only party I can recall being at in the last thirteen years."
"Well, maybe we can do something about that," Anna said, "We're already having that ice-skating thing tomorrow afternoon, but maybe a ball, or something for your birthday..."
"Anna, my birthday is over five and a half months away," Elsa pointed out. But Anna's was two weeks ago... and I didn't do anything for her! she thought guiltily.
"All the more time for me to prepare, sister!" Anna replied, clearly excited about the prospect. She frowned, then turned to Kristoff and asked, "Uh... where were we?"
"Arendelle," Kristoff whispered to her.
"Oh, right," the strawberry-blonde said. Turning back to the Coronans, she said, "Did you have a good time looking around?"
"Yup!" Rapunzel replied. "We saw and did pretty much everything."
"At least you didn't start dancing in the middle of the square," Eugene joked.
Rapunzel huffed. "Yes, well, I bet they would have joined in if I had!" Pascal, sitting on Rapunzel's shoulder, nodded in agreement.
Anna apparently decided it was time to change the subject, because she said, "You know, Elsa said to me earlier that she'd like to take a trip up to the North Mountain, to look for her crown. And I suggested she invite the rest of us along, so she can give us a tour of the ice palace."
"I was thinking a good time would be the day after tomorrow," Elsa informed them. "Would any of you like to go with me and Anna?"
"You know I'm in," Kristoff said, grinning. "Ice is my life, and I'm not about to let feisty pants here go up in those mountains again without someone to keep an eye on her." He ignored Anna's indignant glare, and added, "And where I go, Sven goes. Olaf, too, I guess."
"We would love to go with you, Elsa," Rapunzel began sadly, "but... it's almost time for me and Eugene to head home."
"Aw, come on, Blondie," Eugene said. "Another day or two couldn't hurt. Besides, if it's danger you're worried about, you'll have me and Max to watch your back."
"Oh, all right," Rapunzel said. Turning to Elsa, she asked, "Day after tomorrow, then?"
"Yeah," Elsa agreed. "It'll take the better part of a day to get to the ice palace, and again coming back. Though, I might be able to help us along on the way up the mountains."
"But how will we travel?" Kristoff asked. "I don't have a sled, remember?"
"You just let me and Anna worry about that, Kristoff," Elsa replied, winking at Anna.
"So Elsa," Anna said, jumping a little when she saw Pascal hop onto her shoulder, "what did you do today, after our little snowman-building time?"
"You built snowmen without us?" Rapunzel said, pouting. Anna shrugged her shoulders in apology, biting her lip, but Elsa saw her mouth the word "later" to Rapunzel. Elsa didn't know what that was about, but wasn't going to ask now.
"Well..." the blonde began, still a little ashamed for not telling her sister. "I went to speak with the... Southern Isles prince," she settled on, deciding not to name him.
"Wait, what?" Anna yelped. "By yourself? In the dungeon?" Her face twitched, and she said, "Explains why you didn't want to go down there..." For some reason, she and Eugene then both burst into laughter.
"No, I had an escort, Anna," Elsa said, "and we didn't go to the dungeons because they're not part of the tour." Her sister only laughed harder; annoyed, she asked, "Why on Earth are you laughing?"
"Well," Eugene said, "Blondie and I had been asking after you, to talk trade stuff, 'cause Anna said you'd like to. She didn't know where you'd gone, and I sort of mentioned offhandedly that you couldn't possibly be in the dungeon..."
"Yes, well, I was," the Queen said. "I didn't stay there for long. I told him how grateful he should be that I am being merciful and deporting him, and I asked him about the shackles."
"What did he say?" Anna wondered.
"He confirmed what I had suspected, that they were already there," Elsa replied, "and that the cell has been unused since they were made, I'm guessing not more than eight or ten years ago."
"Are you saying that Papa really did have that cell rebuilt, just for you?" Anna said, looking horrified.
"It seems likely," Elsa said sadly. "I doubt Hans would have been able to do a thing like that on such short notice. But neither he nor Papa anticipated how strong my powers would become, or they might have reinforced the walls more than they had been." She paused, then said, "I have sealed it off for the time being, until the outer wall can be repaired. The broken shackles, however, I will have melted. We all know now that concealing my power is not the answer."
Turning to Rapunzel and Eugene, she opened her mouth to speak, but then noticed that Pascal was no longer on her sister's shoulder. Looking around, she yelped in surprise when she discovered that the chameleon had moved to her shoulder. Forcing herself to calm down, she took a deep breath and said, "I guess... we can talk about opening trade, if you'd like."
"Pascal," Rapunzel said in a commanding tone, and the chameleon hopped down and skittered toward Rapunzel, crawling back onto her shoulder. To Elsa, she said, "Better?"
"Much," Elsa said. Calling a servant to bring pen, ink, and parchment, she said, "This shouldn't take too long."
The rest of the meal was spent setting up a trade proposal between Arendelle and Corona, to be reviewed by the King of Corona upon Rapunzel and Eugene's return home. Anna suggested some things, but let Elsa do most of the talking.
I'll teach you these things soon enough, Anna, the Queen thought. She knew that setting up trade with Corona meant that she would probably have to visit it herself, both to observe their goods, and to sign the paperwork. And travel to Corona meant sailing. Elsa grimaced, and thought, Well, that's something to worry about another day.
After dinner, Anna asked them to all follow her to the ballroom. "C'mon, I've got something to show you!" she said excitedly. When they got to the ballroom, she led them inside. Time for a little fun, she thought, then turned to Elsa and said, "Okay, sister, do the magic!"
"Wait, what?" Elsa said, looking confused. After a moment, though, she must have realized this was why Anna brought them here, and said, "All right." Forming a ball of ice in her hands, she threw it toward the ceiling, before letting it burst into a light snowfall.
"Hang on," Eugene said, shivering. "Blondie and I didn't bring coats or anything. And we're from a warmer climate than you..."
"Way ahead of you," Anna said, gesturing to the pile of winter wear she had stacked on the throne. While she had been searching for Olaf earlier, she had found the coats, mittens, and scarves from the storage closet upstairs, and brought them down here—after making sure that Elsa had left the room.
"Have you been planning this all day?" Elsa asked, as Anna, Kristoff, Rapunzel, and Eugene shuffled into the winter clothing (Pascal, not liking the cold, chose to hide inside Rapunzel's coat). Elsa waved her hands a bit, which caused the snowfall to increase slightly.
"Yup!" Anna said as innocently as possible. Almost enough snow now, she thought. "Since before breakfast, actually." There, perfect!
Before Elsa had time to work out what she meant by that remark, Anna crouched down, balled up some snow in her hands, leaped up, and threw the snowball at her unsuspecting sister, causing Elsa to scream in surprise when it hit her in the back of the head.
"Anna!" Elsa shrieked, brushing the snow from her hair. "You... you...!"
"I bet you thought I'd forgotten, huh?" Anna said, smirking. "I got you good, sister! That's for dropping a snowball on my head this morning! And that other one last night!"
"This means war, Anna!" Elsa shouted. "Who's with me?"
The others quickly moved to stand next to Anna, making it four against one. "But... but I'm the Queen!" Elsa protested. "I demand to have someone else on my team."
"Sorry, Elsa," Anna said, "but I forgot to invite Olaf. Besides, with your magic, it's only fair that I have more people on my team."
"Okay, but don't expect me to hold back!" Elsa told her, blanketing the room with a heavy snowfall with a wave of her hand, sending Anna and the others diving for cover.
Conjuring a crude snow fort with her magic, Elsa quickly went to work making snowballs—by hand, to be more fair. She just had to get even, Elsa thought. She doesn't realize what she's getting into. I am the queen of ice and snow! And even though Anna hadn't invited Olaf, Elsa had a feeling he was nearby. She couldn't say how she knew, exactly, but there wasn't time to dwell on it now.
While she already had a fort, Anna and the others had to scramble to build a fort of their own before Elsa could finish forming ammunition. Which won't be long now, Elsa thought. They don't stand a chance!
Eventually, she finished with her task, and peered over the top of her fort. Her opponents had managed to build a decent-sized fort, and Eugene and Kristoff had apparently been tasked with piling up ammunition for the girls. Anna and Rapunzel, in turn, attempted to hit Elsa. Elsa was fast, though, and was able to dodge most of their attempts. Returning fire, the Queen nailed her sister on her first try.
"Ha!" Elsa cried. "Got you back, sister!" She quickly ducked as Anna sent a return throw that missed her by inches.
This continued for some time, and eventually the fighters started to tire. They seemed evenly matched, mostly because Anna and Rapunzel had better aim than Elsa gave them credit for, and were getting better at predicting her movements. Unless one side or the other tried something devious, the fight would probably end in a stalemate.
As Elsa expected, Olaf did eventually show up, and immediately joined Elsa's side, not knowing what the fight was about. The little snowman didn't have much of an arm (his throws went no more than a dozen feet from their fort which, while exceptional for such a little snowman, was still well short of their opponents), so it wasn't much of an improvement for her side. That meant Elsa was back to thinking of something clever to try.
Well, Elsa thought, they didn't say I couldn't use my magic, though I haven't much so far. Hmm... A thought came to her, and she formed a small ball of ice in her hand. It was like the one she made the snowfall with: about the same size, only denser and intended for a smaller area. I hope this works, she thought.
She flung the ice ball in a high arc—not at her opponents, but over them. When it passed over their heads, Elsa snapped her fingers, making the ball explode into a heavy snowfall on top of them! Unsurprisingly, the first word she heard was Anna's squeal of "COLD!"
Her sister managed to dig herself out, and sent a glare at Elsa. "That was very clever, sister," Anna said, "but I'm clever, too!" Turning to her comrades, who by now had dug themselves out as well, she said, "Okay, everyone gets a turn now! Fire at will!"
Now it really was four against one—the guys had joined the girls, and a hail of snowballs came flying Elsa's way, faster than she could easily dodge. She ducked down behind the wall of her fort, and thought of how she could get out of this, short of overwhelming her opponents with her magic.
I still have Olaf, she thought. But what good can he do? That exploding ice ball was the best idea I've had, and they'll be expecting it. Unless... they aren't. Waving Olaf over, Elsa whispered, "I've got a job for you, Olaf."
"Oh, boy!" Olaf exclaimed, causing Elsa to shush him. "What can I do?" he asked more quietly.
The Queen made another dense ball of ice, but this time rolled it in the snow, so it looked like an ordinary snowball. Think you're clever, sister? I'm the queen of clever!
Elsa handed the fake snowball to Olaf, and whispered, "Listen. I'm going to distract them, and while I'm doing that, you take this snowball over there, and give it to them. Tell them it's special."
"Uh, okay, but I don't see how..." Elsa put a finger to her lips, shushing him. "Okay, got it! Secret plan!"
"Hey, Anna!" Elsa yelled, leaping up and throwing snowball after snowball at her sister. These magic snowballs split into two or three smaller balls in mid-flight, managing to intercept some of the return fire as well as hit her opponents. She had to keep this up for a bit to give Olaf, who was waddling over toward them, time to deliver his "gift".
When he got there, Elsa ceased her assault and ducked down again. She listened in as Anna said, "What have we here? Are you here to surrender, Olaf, or join us?"
"Uhh..." Olaf faltered, going silent for a moment. Finally he said, "The second one!" Elsa facepalmed. That wasn't part of the plan, Olaf! Well, it's not like he can do them much good. She got on her knees and peeked over the top of the fort to watch.
"What's this?" Anna asked Olaf.
"Oh, this? It's a gift from Elsa. It's special!" Olaf replied cheerfully, handing it to her.
"Hey, this is pretty heavy," Anna complained, hefting the ball in her hand.
"That's because it's special," Olaf repeated.
"I've got a bad feeling about this," Anna said. Handing the ball to Kristoff, she asked him, "How far do you think you can throw this?"
Kristoff weighed the ball in his hand, and said, "All the way to Elsa... why?"
"Do it... quick!" Anna cried. But they were too late; Elsa snapped her fingers, making the hidden ice ball explode into another large pile of snow, burying the group. "AH! Elsa!" Elsa laughed.
"You've made a mistake, sister!" Anna shouted, as soon as she dug herself out. "Now we have your snowman pal as a hostage!"
"What are you going to do, Anna?" Elsa said, smirking. "Throw him?"
"Yeah, right," Anna said. Turning to her teammates, she asked them, "Any of you have a catapult?"
"Afraid not, Ginger," Eugene replied. "However, I do have"—he pulled out the frying pan she had procured earlier—"this frying pan."
"Great!" Anna said. "But how does that help?"
"Let me try something," Eugene said. Picking up a snowball, he packed it as much as he could, tossed it in the air, and hit it with the frying pan. It promptly fell apart on impact with the pan, making Elsa giggle. "Well, it was worth a shot."
"Hang on," Anna said. "You may be on to something. Hold the pan right side up." Eugene did as instructed, and Elsa watched as her sister dropped a handful of snowballs in the bowl of the pan. "How much do you think we can fling at her this way?"
"I don't know, but let's give these a shot, first," the former thief replied. He held the frying pan back at a slight angle, careful not to let any of the snowballs fall out, and swung with all his might. The snowballs flew faster than Elsa expected from being thrown in such a manner, and her moment's surprise cost her; the snowballs hit her and knocked her backward.
"Oof," she grunted on impact with the snow-covered floor. Picking herself up, she waved her arms, saying, "Okay, I surrender! You got me."
"Really?" Anna said in disbelief. "After all that, you're just going to give up?"
"I'm out of ideas," Elsa said, suddenly feeling tired. "The only other option would be for me to overpower you by using more magic." Covering a yawn, she added, "I'm not sure I could, anyway. I don't know about you, but I'm pretty tired."
"Yeah, we should probably get some rest," Eugene said. "Rapunzel's going to take me into town again tomorrow before we come back for that thing in the afternoon."
"Me too," Kristoff said, yawning. "I'm going to go check on Sven first, though."
"Oh!" Olaf piped up, and trotted after him. "I'll go with you!"
"Well, good night then, everyone," Elsa said, and, with a wave of her hands, eliminated the snow from the ballroom. She left, and made her way through the halls to her room, with Anna following behind her.
When they got to Elsa's room, Anna followed her inside silently. Elsa finally noticed she was there, and turned to face her, a worried look on her face. "Is everything all right, Anna?" she asked.
"Yeah," the strawberry-blonde said, fiddling idly with one braid. "I was just thinking about what I promised Kristoff, about getting him a new sled."
"Well, Anna," Elsa replied, "I've been thinking, too. We ought to give him a suitable reward, for helping you during the freeze." Leading Anna over to her desk, she handed her sister the piece of folded parchment sitting there.
Anna unfolded the paper carefully, and read:
'By decree of Queen Elsa of Arendelle, the position of Royal Ice Master and Deliverer is hereby established. By order of the Queen, the duties and privileges of Royal Ice Master and Deliverer are hereby awarded to Mr. Kristoff Bjorgman for his generous assistance to the Royal Family during the Great Freeze.'
The document went on to briefly describe the Royal Ice Master's duties, obligations, and pay. "Wow, Elsa... I'm impressed," Anna said finally. "You really thought this out."
"It's the least I could do, after all he did to help you," Elsa said, settling in the chair at the desk. "As for the sled, in the morning I will give you enough money to buy one, and any other equipment that is needed to get him back in business."
"Can I buy him a new lute?" Anna asked.
"Of course you can, Anna," Elsa replied, smiling. "I know you care for him, Anna, whether you're ready to admit it or not."
"I know," Anna said, gloomily. "To be honest, I'm kind of nervous. What if things d-don't work out? What if this relationship turns out like... like..." Elsa was out of her seat and grasping her by the shoulders before she could finish the thought.
"Anna, please," the blonde pleaded. "Don't even think it! Not everyone is as cold-hearted as that man is. Even in the short time I've known Kristoff, I can tell that he is as warm and kind as me and you." Elsa led Anna over to the bed and they both sat on the edge, Elsa giving her hand a squeeze. "You don't have to rush into this. We'll help him find a place of his own, and so long as the gates remain open, you can see him as often as you like. But please, Anna, take things slow, okay?"
"Okay," Anna said, feeling a little better.
"By the way, Anna," Elsa said, smirking, "when I visited the prisoner earlier today, I got a look at his face." She smashed her nose against her face with a finger, mimicking Hans' new complexion. "You did good, sister."
Anna grinned widely, her good spirits returning. "Never mess with the Princess of Arendelle, or face the wrath of her mighty right hook!" Elsa laughed.
Anna embraced her sister in a hug. "Good night, Elsa," she said, then stood. "I'll see you in the morning." After a moment, she added, "I love you."
"I love you too, Anna. Pleasant dreams," she heard her sister say as she left the room.
Elsa watched her sister leave, and brushed a tear from her eye. She was grateful to have Anna back in her life, and wished the best for her prospective relationship with Kristoff. I hope my other gifts for Kristoff and Sven will please them, she thought.
Turning back to her desk, she glanced over the other papers on it. There was the formal declaration of the trade embargo with Weselton, to be given to the men accompanying the Duke tomorrow. Her gaze fell on the letter she had recently finished, addressed to the King of the Southern Isles, concerning his youngest son:
'5 July 1845
HM King Anders of the Southern Isles,
I write this letter regarding your youngest son, Prince Hans, and his treasonous actions in Arendelle following my coronation four days ago. As I am returning him to you in chains, in the custody of a foreign dignitary, it is only proper that I tell you everything.
If the rumors have not reached you already, you should know that I was born with magical powers of ice and snow. Due to an unfortunate accident with my sister when we were children, the castle gates were closed and the royal family was isolated from the public for thirteen years.
As far as I have been able to determine, Prince Hans arrived here in Arendelle for the purpose of wooing either myself or Princess Anna, with the intent to marry and usurp the throne by any means, including murder. Anna, having been isolated for so long and desperate for attention, was understandably drawn to him, and allowed him to propose to her that same day.
I denied her my blessing, prompting a heated argument that caused me to lose control and reveal my powers to the public. I fled Arendelle to the mountains, accidentally plunging the kingdom into winter, and stayed there for two days. My sister found me and tried to convince me to return, but I refused. Prince Hans, arriving the next morning with a search party looking for Anna, saved my life from two Weselton thugs intent on killing me. I was knocked unconscious, however, and taken prisoner back to Arendelle.
I was locked up in the dungeon, and Prince Hans asked me to end the winter, but I did not know how at that time. I begged him to let me go, citing my being a danger to Arendelle, but he refused. Princess Anna returned shortly after, our confrontation in the mountains having accidentally injured her with my powers, and she sought Hans' comfort to heal her slowly freezing heart.
Hans then revealed to her his plans: to leave her to freeze to death, kill me, and be hailed a hero and crowned King for saving Arendelle from the winter. He proceeded to tell the council that I had killed her, claimed that they married before she died, and sentenced me to death. I only just escaped captivity as a fierce blizzard began, but Hans caught up to me on the frozen fjord.
He told me that my sister was dead, and I collapsed on the ice in grief, waiting for the killing blow from his sword. But Anna was still alive, and by a miracle was able to escape confinement and get out to the fjord in time to reach me. Her body froze solid just as Hans swung his sword down, causing the sword to shatter and throw him back. Anna's act of love and self-sacrifice broke the icy curse on her, revealing to me the means to control my powers, with love, and thaw the winter. Prince Hans, after being unceremoniously deposited in the newly-thawed fjord by Princess Anna, was locked in the dungeon.
That was yesterday afternoon. While I have enough evidence to imprison Prince Hans for the rest of his life, or try him for treason and execute him, I have chosen to be merciful and return him to you for his punishment. Hans Westerguard is, however, by my order banished from Arendelle for life, and will face serious consequences if he should ever return.
I do not hold you, King Anders, or the Southern Isles to blame for Hans's actions. I also wish to assure you that my powers pose no threat to you or your country, as they are now fully in my control, and I abhor the very notion of using them for anything other than peaceful purposes. I hope that we can both put this affair behind us, and that we can continue to trade without incident. Thank you for your understanding.
Sincerely,
HM Queen Elsa of Arendelle'
She hoped it would be enough to convince the King of Hans' wrongdoings, and she very much hoped that showing Hans mercy was the wisest choice. Despite her assurances of "serious consequences", Elsa was not a killer. She had come too close to doing just that the other night, for very different reasons, and did not wish to tread that slippery slope of rage again.
Now that the ink was dry, Elsa carefully folded the parchment, dribbled some heated green wax over it, and pressed her signet ring, bearing the Arendelle crocus, into it. She would entrust the letter to the French ambassador, to be delivered with the prisoner on their arrival at the Southern Isles. Writing "HM King Anders of the Southern Isles" on the outside, she set it aside and proceeded to sign and stamp, with the Royal Seal of Arendelle, the Weselton trade embargo document, which she planned to give to Kai in the morning.
Now quite tired, Elsa went to the wardrobe and changed into a nightgown, then all but dropped into bed. She fell asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow, thinking of Anna.
A/N: This chapter was originally where I was going to put the end-of-movie scenes, but I quickly realized, when I came up with the snowball fight, that it would be much too long if I did. So I broke it up.
–According to screenwriter/co-director Jennifer Lee, Elsa was born on the winter solstice (21 Dec) and Anna on the summer solstice (21 Jun). Anna thus turned 18 a mere two weeks prior to the coronation, while Elsa turned 21 over six months prior. (The only logical explanation for this I can think of is that they were waiting for optimal weather for the festivities.) Anna's next birthday will be depicted in the upcoming short film from Disney, Frozen Fever.
–The snowball fight was a sort of spur-of-the-moment thing, though I admit I may have gotten a little carried away. It was really an exercise in creativity; I wanted to see what I could come up with as far as snowball fight tactics go. Alas, the "snow bomb" and splitting snowballs were the best I could come up with.
–I decided to play with the idea of Elsa being able to "feel" her living creations—to know if they're nearby, for example. I may have her make use of this ability later on.
–I actually did a bit of research to find out what system of measurement was in use in 1840s Norway. (Wikipedia: Norwegian units of measurement.) Thus, my use of the words 'feet' and 'inches' are appropriate, more or less.
–Can a firmly-packed snowball withstand being hit with a frying pan? That's what I get for living in a non-snowing climate—I have no idea! For now, though, I will assume the answer is 'no'.
–The letter was originally going to be at the beginning of what is now chapter 8, but it fit here better. And hey, look, I named another character. Go me!
Next chapter: to the movie's end!