Chapter 1
A chilly breeze ran through the air, blowing the late autumn leaves across the cool stoney path that Anna walked along. She took in a deep breath, appreciating the changing season. The secluded path she was on ended as she came into full view of the beautiful city of Arendelle. The whole of the city is enclosed by both the natural bowl-like formation of the land, and the massive wall that surrounds it. Anna overlooked the descending hills littered with the houses of Arendelle's numerous residents. This drew her eye down to the port, bustling with activity as the fishermen and merchants who made up the majority of Arendelle's populace went about their business. All of this culminated with the stunning view that was the royal castle, its many towers and impressive height made it imposing and yet also somehow inviting. Anna smiled as she strolled slowly down towards the beautiful city.
Anna was surprised she didn't get recognized right away, though she supposed that it made some sense. The town was abuzz with activity, adults hurrying about purchasing goods and striking up conversation about the upcoming event. Their excited energy was infectious it seemed, as the children who ran about appeared extra rambunctious. After all, her coronation was only two months away and there was so much to prepare.
"Which is probably what you should be working on instead of wandering around town."
The annoying voice of responsibility in her head did have a point, but it wouldn't hurt to look around a little longer. She decided to take the scenic route home, just so that she could escape the mind-numbingly boring lessons she had to sit through to catch her up to speed on how to be a queen. Since Elsa had been destined for the throne, Anna had never paid too much attention to all the lessons that were about ruling Arendelle. So when Elsa had abdicated the throne she decided she needed a refresher course on how to run the whole country, it seemed like a good idea.
"I think we were going over the history of the Southern Isles last." Anna thought. Which she immediately regretted because the next thing that came to mind was Han's.
So she instead decided to think of something far more pleasant: her upcoming marriage with Kristoff. Even just the thought of him was enough to make her heart beat just a bit quicker, and thinking about the fact she was going to marry him filled her with more joy than she had ever thought possible. It was agonizing though, knowing that they had to wait till after her coronation. They had talked and they both agreed that there was too much going on, and that they wanted to wait till their marriage could be the number one priority.
Anna sighed, a bit saddened at the idea. "Well in the meantime I can think about how we want it planned out. Like what kind of food do we want to serve? Of course there's going be chocolate but what is Kristoff going to want?"
"Princess! Princess!" A shout broke her out from her reverie as she turned around to find the source of the voice.
The source turned out to be a heavyset middle aged man. His frame was barely contained by a set of gaudy clothes, betraying his station as that of a wealthy merchant. He was running up to her followed closely by a thin very serious looking attendant with a hawk beak nose. When the merchant finally caught up to her he had to stop and bend over, trying to catch his breath. Obviously he didn't get much exercise. When he finally managed to get his breath back he drew up to his full height, which appeared to be a diminutive five and a half feet.
"First off let me tell you how much of an honor it is to make your acquaintance Princess." A wide smile spread across chubby face. "My name is Angolias Aaberg the third." His accent was thick and Anna couldn't quite place it.
"The honor is all mine Mr. Aaberg" Anna replied, doing her best impression of a proper lady she could manage and then remembering her etiquette training, she held out her hand.
Angolias grasped her hand with both of his and shook it enthusiastically.
"I cannot express how wonderful it is to finally meet the future queen of this amazing country, I mean just the other day while I was on my return trip from the Frykt region me and Henrik here were talking about how amazing it would be to be here. Right Henrik?"
"Right you are sir" said Henrik, his expression stoic and emotionless.
All while this exchange was going on Angolias was continuing to shake Anna's hand, and she was growing more and more uncomfortable by the moment.
"Well it was nice meeting with you Mr. Aaberg but I really must be going, I still have so much to do." Anna said while she extricated her hand from his sweaty grasp."
"Of course of course there must be so much to do for the upcoming coronation." Angolias laughed. "Royalty, woof. Now there's a job you'd never see me doing!"
Anna looked at him confused. "You make it sound like a bad thing."
"Oh don't get me wrong, having all that respect and wealth would be amazing. But I don't think that I could deal with all that, ugh, responsibility." Angolias said with a somewhat sickened tone.
"I mean I'd have to make all those important decisions and meet with all those important people and that stress would not be good for my skin." Angolis said, rubbing his pockmarked face.
"I'd… never thought about it like that before, I am going to have to make a lot of important decisions. For the entire kingdom." Anna thought, becoming increasingly concerned.
Before she could delve any deeper into thought Angolias's attendant Henrik spoke up.
"Pardon me sir but I must remind you that you have another engagement you must attend to."
"What? Oh, yes I had all but forgotten! Thank you so much for your time my lady, and I wish you the best of luck!" Angolias bowed as far as his considerable mass allowed him and waddled away.
Anna resumed walking but at a much slower pace than before, slowly becoming lost in thought as she made her way towards the castle.
"Being queen isn't going to be that bad." Anna reasoned with herself "I mean, yeah it's going to be difficult but it comes with a lot of perks. Like how …!"
Her thoughts trailed off as she struggled to think of one good thing that would come out of her being queen. She felt a sudden sense of urgency, as if she was wasting too much time out here, and that she needed to return to the castle immediately. She began to run but was almost immediately stopped as she ran into someone, causing them both to fall over.
"Oh gosh I'm so sorry, I wasn't looking where I was-." She stopped mid sentence as she realized who she'd run into.
It was Kristoff, his messy blonde hair ruffled from the fall and his eyes filled with concern as he looked up at Anna. She quickly got off of top of him and began to help him up, her mouth filling with apologies. But before she could say a word to him he gently grabbed her shoulders, steadying her.
"Are you alright?" He asked
"Yup! I'm totally alright" Anna lied, the sense of urgency within her turning into anxious energy. "I actually have to go, you know with all that super important coronation prep that needs to be done" She let out a nervous laugh.
"Ok." He said, sounding unconvinced. "Well if there's anything I can-."
"Great! Love you honey! You're the best, bye!" Anna said quickly as she turned quickly to run towards the castle, the magnificent structure no longer seemed quite as inviting.
Anna was worried. Of course she was, she was going to be crowned as queen in only two agonizingly short months. The sound of her shoes clacking on her bedroom's hardwood floor as she paced only served to agitate her more. A thousand worries swirled in her head about the looming responsibility.
"What if I'm not a good queen? What if I let the kingdom down? Let Elsa down! What if..?"
Her anxious spiral was interrupted by a knock on her door and she stopped pacing as her sister Elsa walked through.
"Are you doing alright in here?" her sister said, concern in her tone.
"Yep! I'm all good!" Anna said, trying to hide the anxiousness in her voice. "What do you need?"
"Kristoff sent me, he said that he'd run into you earlier, literally. He also said that you were acting strange. We're both concerned about you."
Anna mentally kicked herself. "Darn it, now I've got Kristoff AND Elsa worrying about me."
"There's nothing to worry about here, I am doing A-OK!" Anna gave her two thumbs up, and then immediately cringed at how she was acting so obviously not "a-ok".
"Anna please, we promised that we wouldn't shut each other out." Elsa pleaded, her concern now obvious.
Anna sighed "I'm sorry, it's just that… there's so much going on."
"Tell me about it." Elsa asked.
Anna hesitated for a moment looking conflicted before she caved. She began pacing again, her movements more agitated than before. "The coronation is only two months away and there's still so much to do, all the invitations need to be sent out, the meal courses organized, and a hundred other things." She fumed. "I'm not even queen yet and I'm already behind!"
Anna dropped down onto her bed, a tense knot of anxiety making her stomach churn. Burying her head in her hands, she felt as if she was on the verge of crying.
"You need to slow down and take this one step at a time." Elsa said, wrapping her arms around her in a comforting embrace.
Anna rested her head on Elsa's shoulder with a deep sigh "It just feels like it's all going to be a disaster."
Elsa thought carefully for a moment before she responded.
"I remember the week of my coronation. It was so busy and I barely had enough time to think about the coronation itself." She said softly. "But then the day came and I was overwhelmed with worries and with self doubt."
"It took me a very long time to figure out how to be a good queen."
"Exactly! You prepared your entire life to take over as ruler and you had a hard time of it! I don't know how I'll ever rule as well as you did." Anna interjected
"Let me finish." Elsa spoke softly. "While it did take me a while to figure out how to be a good ruler, I don't think you'll struggle like I did."
"Why's that?" Anna asked irritatedly.
"Because you have something I didn't have. Arrendale's trust."
Anna looked at her sister, confused.
"You have proven to the people of this land time and time again that you will do right by them." Elsa held both of her sister's hands in hers. "You've taken insane risk's for them, putting yourself in harm's way to protect them, much to my dismay." Elsa glared at her sister, though it had no sharpness.
Anna giggled and sniffled, brushing away her unshed tears.
"So no, I don't think you'll rule as well as I did." Elsa said, resting her forehead upon Anna's. "I think you'll do better."
Anna's fear and anxiety began to loosen, it didn't completely leave her but just for the moment she wasn't as worried for the future.
"Thank you Elsa. I love you." Anna said, a shuddering sigh escaping her.
"I love you too."
Two months later. The day of the coronation.
Anna stood before the priest, the choir having just finished their heavenly chorus. The old oak walls of the chapel carrying their final note just a bit longer. Behind her sat in the rows of cushioned pews were all of the most powerful and important figures in the realm. Duke's, prince's, and dozens of foreign dignitaries, even a king or two, each a reminder of the stage of incredible superpowers she was about to step onto.
"Oh god I can't do this!" Anna's breath quickening as the feeling of panic set in.
"I- I can't breathe!" She was hyperventilating now and time seemed to slow as her numerous fears invaded her mind. But just as her fear reached its height she felt a hand grab onto her arm.
Anna turned her head to see Elsa standing beside her, the firm grip of her sister's hand grounding her. Elsa's eyes were filled with a gentle kindness and absolute faith.
"You can do this." Elsa mouthed "I believe in you."
Anna felt her breathing slow. Her panic subsiding, her worries seeming just a bit less overwhelming.
"Are you ready, your majesty?" The priest's whispered question brought Anna's focus back onto the ceremony at hand. Anna bowed her head and he placed the crown upon her head. It was heavier than she expected, the solid gold felt cool against her scalp. The priest then proffered the Sovereign's scepter and orb, both sitting upon their velvet pillow.
"I can do this, I can do this" Anna thought, doing her best to convince herself as she took up the golden scepter and orb. Anna turned around and looked upon the crowd as they stood and the priest began speaking.
"Sem hón heldr inum helgum eignum…"
Anna stared out at the imposing crowd. But even as she scanned the stern faces of the foreign visitors she saw BLANK. Looking back at her were her friends, her subjects, even Kristoff in that silly suit that she knew did not fit him at all but he wore anyway. Her people were here, here to support her.
She then came to a realization at that moment. "I'm not alone in this." Anna thought. "I don't have to do this alone. I don't have to take on these challenges by myself."
"...ok krýnd í þessum helga stað ek té fram fyrir yðr..." The priest continued.
"I don't think I'll be perfect, I don't even think I'll be good at this for a while. But that's ok I think." Anna thought, the revelation making her head swim. "Because I have so many amazing people here to help me up if I fall down, or put me on the right path if I make a mistake."
"Queen Anna of Arendale!" The priest finished, shouting out his last line with gusto.
The crowd erupted into applause and even some cheers.
"I don't need to worry." Anna looked out at her subject-, no her family she mentally corrected herself, with a wide grin. "After all, what could possibly go wrong?"
Things were going so very wrong. Erik's job was supposed to be simple, just deliver a letter to some little kingdom beyond the Black Mountains. Apparently some stupid merchant had discovered a way past the previously unpassable mountain range a couple years back, and lo and behold there was a kingdom. So now due to courtesy he had to deliver a letter to this stupid barren desert region.
"Roy-al coo- cor- cur-?" said the bandit who currently had his sword at Erik's neck. He was struggling to read Erik's badge which he'd snatched off of Erik's shirt.
"It's courier dumbass." Said one of the other bandits, he was currently wiping the blood of Eriks escort off of his sword. "It means he delivers letters."
"I knew dat!" The first bandit sniffed indignantly.
Erick was shaking, it had happened all so fast. He'd been riding along with Fredrik and Johannes, who'd been assigned to guard him and the letter on the trip here. They'd been old friends of his ever since they'd all traveled on their first assignment together years ago and they'd been a team ever since, delivering letters to every corner of Arendelle. One moment they were joking and chatting like they always did and the next a group of bandits appeared out of nowhere and attacked.
Fredrik went down first, an arrow catching him in the throat. Johannes cried out and began turning his horse to face the attackers. He was torn down before he could even draw his sword and viciously stabbed to death by two of the bandits until it seemed that every drop of his blood painted the sand.
The whole encounter lasted less than 30 seconds.
Erik's horse had gotten spooked from the sudden violence and had bucked him before running off, stranding him here. He took stock of his attackers now, there were a total of four. Farthest from him was a short hooded person who held the bow. He couldn't get a good look at their face. Next was the two men who had taken Johannes down. One was tall, the tallest of the group and shirtless showing off his defined musculature. The other was lanky and wearing loose fitting thin clothing, he'd been the one to correct the bandit now threatening him Erik now realized. Finally was the man with his sword to Eriks throat. He was an ugly bastard, his face covered in scars and it appeared that at some point someone had cut off his nose.
"The question is what letter was this puta delivering?" Erik couldn't place the lanky bandits' accent, it was obviously from somewhere that he hadn't been. Which was concerning because he'd been to ALOT of places.
At the mention of the letter his hand unconsciously drifted towards where it was hidden inside his jacket pocket. The lanky bandit smiled and Erik's eye's widened as he realized his mistake too late. He turned to run but had only made it a few feet before he felt a sharp pain in his back. He fell face first into the dirt, an arrow having sprouted in between his shoulder blades. He laid there for a moment before he felt someone turn him over and reach into his coat, pulling out the small metal cylinder that held the letter.
There was a pop and a shuffle of paper, and a moment later the bandit with the odd accent spoke. "Ah looks like there's a coronation, for one Queen Anna of Arendelle."
"Ooo big boss is going to be so happy!" Erik heard the scarred bandit say excitedly.
His vision began to dim as he felt the warmth of his blood dripping down his shoulders.
"Ay yi yi, estúpido how many times do I have to tell you he's not a big boss anymore." Said the lanky bandit. "He's the KING…"
Erik heard the vague noises of an argument but it all seemed so far away as everything faded to black.