Chapter 2 - The Queen

Kristina Bjorgman was sitting in the living room of her apartment, sipping a glass of juice as she watched her hockey performance on the TV. She was glad to have some peace and quiet now that her best friend Anna Penrose had moved out to her own place.

She wanted to help her-and would have been more than enough assistance with her strong, muscular frame-but her career had taken priority in her life that day. Even so, she hoped her friend had made it to her new home safely. And that she was dry as well, considering the massive storm that had rolled in not long after Kristina had come back from the match.

Kristina had known Anna since both were very young; she had acted as a big sister to the younger girl. Anna was always getting picked on by the local bullies for being a nerdy girl, so Kristina would often protect her in exchange for Anna helping her with tests.

They had a good friendship over the years, but when they grew older, people began to suspect they were a couple. Anna and Kristina never had such feelings for each other though, preferring friendship over romance, and considering Anna's track record with women, it was probably for the best.

Glancing down at her phone, Kristina wondered if Anna had texted her back. She had promised to before she set off earlier that day. Starting to get worried, the burly blonde woman sent her friend a message, hoping she would respond.

Kristi: Feisty-pants? Are you okay?

No reply.

"Goddammit, Anna," she muttered. "Maybe the signal is really bad in that old place." As she was about to take another sip of drink from her sports bottle, she heard a massive banging at her apartment door. "What the-?"

She pulled herself out of her chair and rushed to the front door, unlocking it. "I'm coming! I'm coming!" Once she had undone the bolts, Kristina was met with a rather unexpected surprise.

Standing at the door, soaking wet, was Anna, wrapped in what appeared to be some white sheet. She was panting, and her eyes had been red from tears. She looked as if she had the living daylights scared from her.

"K-Kristi..." Anna groaned, before collapsing forward in a slump.

Kristina caught her friend, stroking her hair. "Anna? Anna!" She shook her gently. "What's wrong?" She brought her into the apartment, lying her down on the couch and getting as many of her wet clothes off from her body as she could.

Within moments, Anna was lying comfortably on the couch with a blanket and a pillow, and Kristina had provided her with a hot water bottle.

Sighing, Kristina stroked her friend's cheek. "Anna? Are you okay?"

Groaning, Anna's eyes slowly fluttered open, and a reassuring smile crossed her lips. "Hey, big sis," she affectionately called her in a weak voice. "Sorry to drop in..."

Kristina smiled, stroking Anna's cheek again. "No worries, Feisty-pants. You look like you've been through hell."

Anna sighed. "That's because I have…." She knew she had been a fool, running away from her home like that through the pouring rain. If her parents had seen her, she would've been lectured about how she could've gotten pneumonia or something.

"What happened to you?" Kristina then asked her, very worried.

The young redhead looked down, before looking back up at her friend. "Promise you won't laugh?"

"I won't," the blonde woman assured her. She mimicked a zipping motion across her mouth, implying that her lips were sealed.

Nodding nervously, Anna confessed the truth. "I think my new house might be haunted." She checked Kristina, seeing she was not laughing and taking the matter very seriously. "I figured that would've at least gotten a tiny bit of a giggle out of you."

"Not if it's the thing that made you run halfway across town to my house in the middle of a thunderstorm," Kristina remarked. "But…haunted? Are you serious?"

Regretfully, Anna nodded. "Yeah, haunted. Basically, I found this weird room in the house that looked nothing like any other room. It was daylight in there…when it was dark outside." She then saw Kristina's face had turned into one of confusion. "Look, when it was dark here, it was light there... and there was this strange woman who, I swear to God, looked like she was out of a Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale."

Kristina frowned sceptically. "Feisty-pants, are you sure you didn't just imagine this? I mean, did you break into the wine cellar at that joint? I'm trying to keep this serious, but…a weird room with a fairy tale girl? You've got to be making this up."

To be honest, Anna wished she were just making it up. She wished she could forget that strange woman, how her humming had entranced her and how she had panicked when their eyes met and she slammed a door in her face. She wanted so badly for it not to have been real, but she knew that it was; she had already pinched herself several times to make sure that she wasn't dreaming.

"I'm not making this up, Kristi," Anna asserted. "There was a strange woman in my house. I freaked out and slammed a door in her face, and then I heard her crying and I just…. God, I'm an idiot."

"Wait; she was crying?" Kristina's eyes widened. "Oh, good grief, Anna."

The strawberry blonde nodded. "I heard it through the wall…. Oh God, what if she's some angry spirit and she curses me?!" She then started to panic. "I don't wanna die of some stupid curse! I'm not even thirty yet!"

"Calm down, Anna," Kristina said in a soothing voice, stroking her friend's hair. "Whatever it is you saw, odds are it either can't or won't hurt you."

Covering herself with the blanket, Anna did as her friend recommended, focusing her breath and easing herself. She then started to wonder: did the being she'd seen have any bad intentions? It seemed that she was just as confused and frightened as Anna herself had been. She sighed, regret filling her heart.

Kristina then got up and started to walk towards the kitchen. "You just spend the night with me. I'll take you home in the morning." She stopped outside of the kitchen, looking back over her shoulder. "You want some coffee?"

Anna shook her head. "I'd rather have some hot cocoa, if that's okay. With...with marshmallows."

Kristina smiled. "Hot cocoa and marshmallows, coming right up."

"Thanks, big sis," Anna said, before lying down in her bed and closing her eyes, trying her best to get some sleep.

xXx

Queen Elsa sat on the armchair in her study, breathing softly. She was finally recovering from the horrible fright that the strange girl had given her; it was such a tremendous shock that she had been reduced to tears from the sheer panic and confusion that she had felt.

She inhaled and exhaled, easing her nerves. For most of her life, she had suffered from deep anxiety and worry over little things, but this had been nothing like the fears she had faced. While she was reading after a long day of royal duties, she had noticed a strange girl at her door. When she had moved to get a closer look at this girl, who was dressed in the strangest clothes she had ever seen, Elsa was met with a fright when the girl screamed and pushed her away before slamming the door in her face. It was truly a strange experience for both women involved.

Elsa eased her breathing when she heard a knock at the door, a polite rhythm that she recognised instantly. A warm smile crept on her lips.

"Your Majesty?" an English-accented voice asked.

She took a deep breath, then responded, "Come in, Kai." Kai was the castle's steward, and had served both Elsa and her parents faithfully for as long as the queen could remember.

Kai entered the study, a silver tray in hand. On the tray was a fine porcelain tea kettle, along with a cup and saucer. "The tea you requested," he said evenly.

"Thank you very much, Kai," Elsa replied gratefully, pouring the warm liquid into the cup. As far as she was concerned, nothing could soothe her frayed nerves quite like a cup of fresh chamomile tea.

Sipping the tea into her mouth, Elsa felt herself becoming relieved as the warm, herbal liquid ran down her throat, warming up her insides. She gulped and put the tea down, before sighing.

The old butler then sat in front of Elsa, trying to put on a reassuring face for the young queen. Kai was an older man, with receding grey hair, glasses, and a moustache. He had been very much like a second father to Elsa, and he felt it was his duty to be at her side.

With slight concern in his voice, he asked Elsa a question. "Is Her Majesty alright?"

That was a good question, and one for which Elsa didn't have an immediate answer. Yes, the initial shock had passed and she had dried the tears from her eyes, but she was still very unsure of how she truly felt. Part of her was relaxed, but another part of her felt some…concern for the stranger who had barged into her room. But she had to give her loyal butler some sort of answer.

"I'm fine," Elsa merely said before smiling softly at the old man.

Kai frowned, unconvinced. He sat back and folded his arms, giving Elsa a knowing look. "You know you can't fool me, Your Majesty. I've known you since you were as small as that table," he remarked, pointing to the table on which he had put Elsa's tea.

Elsa sighed, knowing her jig was up. She then confessed the truth. "I really don't know what to feel, Kai. I'm not scared anymore, but I feel bad for some reason….like I've missed something."

"Pardon, my lady?" Kai inquired.

The Queen then looked at her butler. "Did Gerda tell you all that happened to me?"

"She only said you were frightened by something and that you were in an awful state," Kai replied. "I didn't ask any further than that."

"Well…the reason that I was scared, Kai, was because of this girl…this strange girl with these strange clothes who suddenly appeared at the doorway to the study…and she screamed at me like a harpy."

Kai raised an eyebrow at Elsa. "A girl? What do you mean?"

"I mean there was a girl who somehow appeared at my door and screamed at me," Elsa repeated.

Sighing, the old butler looked at Elsa. "Your Majesty…Elsa, are you sure that this really happened? Perhaps you were stressed, or had something to drink? Maybe this was just a dream that you woke up from, and you still think it's real."

"It was real, Kai!" she insisted in a frustrated tone. "She was real, I'm certain of it. I felt her touch me. I don't make things up, Kai. I'm not a child anymore."

Kai was silent for a moment, taken aback by the queen's harsh response.

Groaning, Elsa removed her glove and placed her cold hand upon her forehead. "I'm sorry, Kai. I've just had a long morning... and you want to know the worst part? I feel bad about the whole thing."

"It's quite alright, Elsa," Kai replied. "It is natural to feel that way after something so awful happens. Everyone deals with regret, even royalty such as yourself."

"There is only one thing that I regret about this," Elsa stated.

Kai nodded. "You feel regret about scaring that poor girl…whoever she was."

"So you believe me now?" Elsa asked. "You aren't going to question my sanity?"

"I know you are an honest woman, Elsa," Kai stated. He had the utmost respect for Elsa, and wouldn't let that falter. "But how on Earth could a woman have gotten into this castle without anyone seeing her?"

"I don't know," Elsa replied. "But what I do know is that I want to see her again, if only so I can apologize for frightening her so."

With a smile creeping onto his face, Kai smiled at her. "Then I hope you see this girl again, my queen," he told her, before placing Elsa's now empty cup of tea back onto the tray. "And hopefully, this whole mess can be brushed under the rug."

"Let's hope so," Elsa said. She wanted to make amends with whatever strange figment of her imagination that girl had sprung from. "And remind me to alert my captain of the guard about a probable fault in castle security…just in case I learn how that young woman was able to enter my chambers."

"Of course, my queen," Kai agreed, before bowing. "Do you require me for anything else?"

Elsa shook her head, and the old butler then left the room, closing the door behind him. Once he was gone, Elsa sat down and sighed, putting her glove back on her hand. Her thoughts then dwelled on the strange girl once again, the girl whom Elsa felt she was starting to obsess over.

"Whoever you are, stranger," Elsa vowed quietly. "I will see you again."

xXx

The next morning, Anna and Kristina were driving down the road to Anna's new home in Kristina's little blue sedan, Anna resting her head against the window. She was very much feeling like an idiot after her experience the night before, but Kristina, loving best friend Kristina, had been very helpful in easing her worries.

"We're nearly there, Anna," Kristina said, looking over at her friend, who was staring out into the void. "You feeling okay?"

"Mmmm... wait, what?" Anna stuttered, having been lost in thought.

The big blonde girl chuckled. "Boy, that hot cocoa really knocked you out." She ruffled her hair. "I asked if you were feeling alright."

"I…I think so," Anna replied, leaning back in her seat. "Thanks for letting me crash with you for the night, big sis."

"No problem, Feisty-pants," Kristina replied in a friendly voice. "My door's always open to you, even when it's not."

Anna then lay back and thought again, wondering how much unpacking she had missed out on due to her little experience the night before. She probably needed to set up the Xbox and her Nintendo Wii, and probably had a few more paintings to hang up.

Kristina had offered to help out this time, but Anna had politely refused. She knew that doing the housework alone would help to clear her thoughts of…whoever or whatever that strange crying woman was. Anna knew she couldn't have been a ghost now. After all, the two of them had actually touched each other, if only for a brief moment.

The car pulled into the driveway of the old house and parked. Anna looked out at it for a second or two before unbuckling her seatbelt and climbing out.

"You sure you don't want any help unpacking?" Kristina asked from the driver's seat.

"No, I'll be fine," Anna replied. "But thanks anyway."

Nodding in response, Kristina then looked up at Anna. "Just… don't be freaking out again, okay?"

"I won't," Anna promised before making her way up to the house, watching her friend drive away. She then sighed, looking at the rental truck still parked in the yard. Everything was as it should have been, ready for Anna to continue where she had left off.

Anna walked inside the house, looking around for a moment until her eyes fell on a large plastic bin with the word "MOVIES" written on the side with a black Sharpie. She strode over and opened up the box, smiling at the sight of her collection of DVDs and Blu-Rays. She had always loved watching movies, and she had a very eclectic taste: her collection included everything from Star Wars to Back To The Future to the complete Nightmare on Elm Street series.

She couldn't help chuckling as she took out the copy of Nightmare on Elm Street 3. "Welcome to prime time, bitch," she quoted in as deep and gravelly a voice as she could manage. To be honest, Anna was glad she had only met a strange woman in this house and not Freddy Krueger himself.

She unpacked her movies and arranged them on an old bookshelf nearby-in alphabetical order, as she preferred them-humming a tune to herself. "Let's see," she muttered as she sorted the movies. "That's 'B' for Back To The Future, so you go up here...'H' for Halloween, you go down here...'T' for Terminator 2, you're over here...'G' for Ghostbusters, up here next to Halloween." And on she went, until all of her movies were placed neatly on the shelf.

Eventually, the young redhead had finally unpacked all of her belongings, and in record time as well. Anna knew she should have been proud of this, but as she finished putting the last of her clothes into the wardrobe in her bedroom, she could sense something was very off.

The only thing on her mind was that girl, and the door that led her to that strange room where it was day instead of night. As she glanced out of the door to her bedroom, she saw the same white door, still shut tight from the night before.

Don't think about it, Anna, she chastised herself, trying her best to ignore the door. Perhaps it had just been some weird dream. To her, it was seeming more likely that there was nothing unusual about that door at all, aside from the fact that it was painted differently.

But now that everything was unpacked and she was just about settled in, Anna couldn't help feeling curiosity tickling the base of her spine.

Anna walked up to the door, resting her hand on the frame. "It's just a stupid door," she said to herself. "How bad could it possibly be? Whatever spooked you before was just a hallucination or something." Did she believe a word she was saying? Not really, but it was enough to quell the inner voice telling her to leave the door alone.

But another, more curious little voice grew louder and louder, and Anna knew she couldn't keep it quiet anymore. One little peek, one little peep through a crack, that's all she would allow. She knew for a fact that there was probably just an empty room behind it. Just an empty room.

She closed her eyes and turned the knob, gently opening the door to what lay behind it. Taking in breath, Anna stepped forward into the unknown.

To her surprise, the room was completely different from before. It wasn't an empty room, nor was it the strange study she had found herself in the night before. This time, she was in some sort of bedroom, with a beautiful sunset casting an orange triangle of light through a window partially covered on either side by curtains.

"Woah…" Anna gasped in awe. This room was way bigger than any other room in her entire house. Or was this even her house? She didn't care, really. She'd had her peek, and now she wanted to go…but taking a quick look around first wouldn't hurt.

Anna ran her finger along what she assumed was an old clothes dresser, feeling the solid wood. It was official now: this definitely wasn't a dream. Her mind couldn't seem to process the grandness of everything, which gave her yet another excuse to stay a bit longer. The items here clearly weren't from the twenty-first century, and Anna felt her excitement continue to bubble up.

Judging by the wardrobe and, well, the actual bed in the room that was at least two and a half times as big as Anna's own twin-size bed, this was indeed a bedroom. This person must be rich. Or important. Or both. Expensive trinkets were placed around the room: pens, vases, and even a small painting of a snowy landscape. There was a small vanity that looked to be a bit cluttered, but everything else was immaculate.

Anna analyzed every surface she could, her eyes and hands wandering with almost complete abandon. She wasn't even aware how much time she was spending here because there was too much to look at in the large room.

"Ahem."

Anna spun around at the sound, nearly knocking a vase off of a small table. Her eyes widened simultaneously with the person staring back as realization fell over them both.

The blonde gasped and took a step back, bringing a hand up in protection. "You're…."

Anna gasped as well. "Oh my God."

The redhead was face to face with the same strange woman she had seen last night, both of them gazing at each other in pure disbelief.

Now that Anna had a chance to see the woman in full, she could see she was a very slender, elegant looking young woman. Her hair and clothes were in such a neat fashion that Anna felt almost embarrassed by her own simple appearance. Her face and hair seemed to radiate a strange warmth. This woman, whoever she was, was utterly beautiful.

Even when Anna had heard her voice, it sounded like an angel. What was she? Could she really have been some sort of divine spirit after all? Only one way to find out now.

She suddenly gulped and waved politely. "Um…hi there."

Swallowing, the blonde woman was clearly taken aback. "Who are you?" she asked. "How did you get into my bedroom?"

"Y-Your bedroom?" Anna stuttered slightly. "I thought this was my house."

"Your house?" the woman asked. "This is my castle…and you are clearly not one of my servants or my staff."

"Whoa, whoa, back up a second," Anna said, holding up her hands. "Who the hell even are you?"

"I should be asking you the same thing, considering you were the one who scared the living daylights out of me this morning," the woman retorted.

"Oh, that..." Anna blushed sheepishly. "Er…sorry about that."

"Think nothing of it," the blonde said. "Perhaps we should introduce ourselves."

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea." She smiled. "I'm Anna. And you are?"

"Queen Elsa of Arendelle," the blonde woman introduced herself.

"Wait-what?!" Anna exclaimed. "Queen who of what now?"

"Arendelle," Elsa repeated. "One of the most prosperous nations in the northern lands? The great white land of the north? Surely you've heard of us."

Anna thought for a moment. She had learned of a country called Arendelle during her college studies, but this surely couldn't be where she was. That country was on the other side of the world, and she was supposed to be in an old house in the middle of the United States…wasn't she?

Anna sat down on a chair, rubbing her temples. "Christ, this is like a fucking Twilight Zone episode. And not one of the good ones."

Elsa sighed, sitting on her bed. "Where exactly did you come from? The window isn't exactly open, and it's not like you could have walked through the door."

"I came through that door there," Anna replied, pointing to the still open door to her house.

Narrowing her eyes, Elsa looked closely at the door. "You came from my shower room?"

"Shower room?" Anna protested. "That door goes back out to my house!"

"No, that's my personal shower chamber," Elsa stated. "Here, I'll prove it!"

"No, wait!" Anna exclaimed, but Elsa had already started to march off towards the door. As she stepped through the open doorway and onto the landing, Anna saw Elsa's eyes widen.

The queen took a few steps in and out of the doorway, trying to get her bearings. She stared at daylight creeping in through an open window and then looked back at the sunset coming from her own room. This seemed like madness.

"What the-what kind of sorcery is this?!" Elsa exclaimed. "This is where my shower should be!"

Anna walked up behind her, stepping out into her house. "Look, Your Queenliness, I'm just as confused as you are."

Looking into Anna's bedroom, Elsa noticed Anna's phone lying down on her bed. She walked over to it and picked up, somehow turning it on. "Gah!"

"Please don't touch that!" Anna exclaimed, taking the phone away from Elsa.

"What is that? Is it some sort of strange lantern?"

Groaning, Anna looked over Elsa's shoulder. "No, you bimbo. It's my iPhone."

"Eye-phone?" Elsa asked, confused. "What in God's name is that?"

"I..." Anna sighed. Then it sort of hit her what might have been going on. It was a long shot, but it was the only way Anna could explain all of this and this strange woman's... mannerisms. She then rushed to the other room, looking out of the large window.

Out of the window was a small town, barely a city by modern standards. The buildings were mostly wood and stone, and of Nordic design. Several people were walking the streets and in the courtyard of the building Anna was currently in, and there were horses and carts about as frequently as there were cars outside the window of her own bedroom.

Needing one last piece of evidence, Anna looked at Elsa. "Um…excuse me, um…Elsa, was it? What year is it right now?"

"The year of our Lord, 1844," the queen replied. "Why do you ask?"

Anna sighed. Yep, she thought. This is Twilight Zone. All that's missing is Rod Serling.

"Is something the matter?" Elsa asked her.

The redhead nodded. "Elsa, I think what's happened here is…well, there's no easy way to put it. I think that somehow, that door there…is some kind of gateway that lets me travel through time."

"Travel through time? You mean, that house is in…the future?"

"Yes, exactly," Anna replied. "Your year of 18... whatever was more than 200 years ago for me. You've probably been dead for over a century, Elsa."

Elsa froze, her mouth agape in shock. "W-what...?"

"Oh, fuck-that came out very wrong," Anna said, facepalming.

The queen slowly sank to her knees, looking at her hands in silence. Her lower lip was trembling slightly; it looked as if she were about to cry.

Anna went to Elsa's side, putting a hand on her shoulder. She had probably just shattered this woman's entire world, not to mention probably royally screwed over history. She didn't know what would be best to do, but she realised now that she had to make the best of it.

"I…." Elsa murmured. "I'm…I'm dead."

"No you're not," Anna said, hoping to sound encouraging. "You're still alive. You're still here, right now."

"But…I'm not, am I?" Elsa responded. "If what you are saying is true…if any of this madness is true, I am destined to be dead."

"No," Anna groaned. "Look, I'm sorry for blurting all that out."

"My kingdom…my home…it's all going to be lost…." Finally, the queen threw her arms around Anna and burst into tears, her chest heaving with great sobs of pure anguish.

Anna wrapped her arms around the blonde, gently stroking her. "Shhh," she whispered. "It's okay, Your Majesty. It's okay. I'm here."

Elsa sighed, before wiping her tears on the sleeves of her jacket. "I'm sorry…I tend to get sad and worried very easily."

"S'okay," Anna replied. "I'm not upset or anything. I'm actually really happy right now."

"Y-You are?"

The redhead nodded, before smiling. "I just found out my house was a freaking time portal to a Victorian-era kingdom ruled by an actual monarch! This is a history nerds dream! Plus, said monarch is my new housemate!"

Anna's enthusiasm made Elsa chuckle slightly. "You make no sense, and yet you fascinate me…. What was your name again?"

"Anna, Your Majesty," Anna said, before bowing. "Anna Penrose."

Rolling her eyes, Elsa looked down. "Please don't bow. If we're going to be getting on like this, I would prefer you didn't use titles for me. I have a name, you know."

Anna smiled, blushing slightly. "All right then…Elsa."

The Queen then looked at the clock in her room, before sighing again. "You should probably get going. It will be my dinner time soon, and I'd prefer to keep this little arrangement of ours a secret."

"I understand," Anna said with a nod. She then started to walk towards the entrance to her own time, smiling at Elsa. "It was nice meeting you, Elsa."

"And you as well…Anna," Elsa said, smiling softly.

As Anna left through the door and back to her house, she felt a sense of happiness and relief swarm over her whole body. She had originally been in fear of that door and the strange world behind it, but now she had a chance to experience it. She had found a land of true wonder…and a woman whom Anna felt she could consider a friend.

And judging from the blush on her cheeks, maybe someone so much more.

xXx

Author's note: I was very happy about all the feedback I got on chapter 1! I hope you will all love this much longer instalment. I hopefully will have started writing the endings of this fic by the time this chapter goes up... yes there will be multiple endings, but that's gonna be a loooong while away yet, trust me. Anyhoo! I hope you all have a lovely day.

Oh yeah and Kristina is a fem!Kristoff. I just thought I would try things differently. Don't worry all you fangirls who love the usual burly iceman Kristoff, he'll show up eventually, I promise.

Oh! And all the movie stuff in this chapter, yeah that's all Matty's work, so praise to him and his love of horror and spooky stuff.

See ya next time!