12/24/23: Started
2/25/24: Completed
3/2/24: Let It Go lyric correction
3/5/24: Corrected day of the week
NONE
Chapter Summery: After a trip to Elsa's Ice Palace with their parents, Elsa and Anna get the opportunity to visit Juleka's village.
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of Frozen, Tangled or any other Disney characters or locations that appear or are mentioned in this work of fiction, Disney does.
NOTE: First chapter of the year! This will be a 3-parter.
- Two days later, September 16th, Thursday -
North Mountain, Elsa's Ice Palace, 1:37 p.m. -
"Oh my Goodness!"
"Wow!"
Those were the respective, awed words from Iduna and Agnarr as they stood in front of the ice stairs leading up to the frozen Palace before them. Elsa and Anna, meanwhile, smiled at their parents amazement as they stood to their left. While the sisters were dressed lightly thanks to their magic, Agnarr and Iduna were warmly dressed in a coat, thicker pants, gloves and boots.
"I know Anna said it was big..." commented Iduna. "But I wasn't expecting just HOW big!"
"Yeah..." added Agnarr. "It looks nearly as big as the castle back home." he commented, which prompted a blushing chuckle from Elsa.
"Heh, well, it's smaller than our home."
"This was all one attempt?" asked Iduna, looking at Elsa.
"Pretty much." answered Elsa. "I made some minor changes here and there, mostly on the inside, but what you see here is what I created initially." she added, before Agnarr whistled and added.
"You certainly have an architectural talent."
"I know, right!?" declared Anna. "Look at all the detail!" she added, which prompted Elsa's face to redden more.
"C-Come on, I don't have any REAL talent. It's magic. If an expert had a look at it, I'm sure they'd find tons of problems. Like being on a cliff, for one."
"Even so..." commented Agnarr with a smile. "You made it, and it's standing."
"Agnarr's right." added Iduna. "You've built an entire castle that's lasted how long?"
"A few months now." answered Anna.
"A few months." repeated Iduna with a smile and her hand on her hips, looking at Elsa, who chuckled, embarrassed at the praise, before Agnarr asked...
"Can we go in?"
"Sure!" quickly answered Elsa. "It's perfectly safe! You'll be able to meet Marshmallow too, he lives there." she added, before heading to the stairs. "The stairs could be a bit slippery for you though, so let me fix that..." she added, before placing a hand on the railing and causing a shimmer to travel up the steps, creating ridges in them for better traction.
The three began to walk towards Elsa, and Agnarr first placed his foot on the step to test the security, but Anna brought a gasp from her parents and Elsa from an excited gasp that left her.
"Oh, oh, oh! I just thought of something awesome! Elsa, since we're here, why don't you perform your song for us!?"
"R-Really?" asked Elsa as her face turned bright red, before Iduna added...
"Oh, that's right, Anna did say you sang a song here that lead to this beautiful castle."
"I'd be interested in hearing this song as well." added Agnarr, prompting a groan from Elsa as she placed a hand over her face.
"Fine... ok." muttered Elsa, prompting an excited 'YAY!' from Anna, which earned a smile from Elsa. "Since it's just us here, I'll do the whole show."
"Ohhh! The WHOLE thing!?" gasped Anna. "The act too!?"
"Heh, well, not the building of another palace, but I'll do the motions and the smaller things."
"Ohhhh! This is so awesome!" declared Anna. "Mom and Dad, you're in for a real treat! Elsa showed me a memory of her whole performance and it, was, incredible! It starts sad, but it picks up quick!"
"Hehe, well, we're looking forward to it then." commented Iduna, before Elsa sighed with a smile and placed a hand over her face.
"I'm only doing this once, so you better enjoy it." stated Elsa, before she walked past the trio and a couple yards away, before turning to face them, closed her eyes and took a deep breath and slow exhale to calm herself.
The trio waited patently, Anna excitedly, as Elsa prepared herself, who briefly looked up at the palace and appeared to think for a moment before speaking to the others...
"There's a part where I'll run up the stairs, you can just follow behind me and into the palace."
"Ok." answered Iduna and Agnarr.
"Alright..." sighed Elsa, before changing her clothing to an ice version of her coronation dress and cape, as well as the single glove on her right hand and a tiara that she placed on her head.
"Oh, you're even including the clothing change!?" asked Anna.
Elsa only smiled at the remark, before taking another breath, briefly clearing her throat.
Elsa then began the performance as she looked back longingly...
~Snow glows white on the mountain tonight, Not footprint to be seen.~
Anna was absolutely giddy being able to watch the live performance that she was nearly jumping in excitement, which not only prompted a light chuckle from Iduna and Agnarr, but a smile from Elsa as she looked ahead, singing her next line.
~A Kingdom of Isolation, and it looks like, I'm the Queen.~
Despite the sadness of the line, Elsa couldn't help a brief break in character as she looked at the smiling faces in front of her as a brief chuckle left her. She was certainly not isolated. Elsa recovered quickly though and returned to the sad persona of her past self and continued...
~The wind is howling like this swirling storm inside, couldn't keep it in, heaven knows I tried.~
"Oh right..." commented Agnarr lowly as to not disturb Elsa's performance as she lightly hugged herself. "This is after her secret is found out."
~Don't let them in, don't let them see. Be the good girl you always have to be. Conceal don't feel, don't left them knooow.~
With this line, Iduna and Agnarr both looked surprised and they both thought the same thing.
'That's how she saw it?'
Continued by Agnarr...
'And without us, that feeling grew.'
Meanwhile, Anna was excitedly, silently singing along, mouthing the words.
~Well now they knooow~ sung Elsa as she looked at her gloved hand, before repeating the lyric as she snatched the glove off with a spin as she tossed it into the air where it fluttered away, while Anna giddily commented lowly...
"Here it comes!"
~Let it go! Let it go!~ sung Elsa as she created a puff of magic from each hand, smiling at the small audience in front of her as she began to walk towards them, before creating an Olaf replica to her left as she continued, ~Can't hold me back anymore!~
Following a repeat, ~Let it go! Let it go!~ as she released larger puffs of magic from her hands into the air as she walked passed the trio, smiles returned to Iduna and Agnarr's faces as the mood of the song brightened considerably, while the group followed about a yard behind her, as Elsa displayed more of her magic to the left and right of her, before amusingly, following the line, which Anna couldn't help but sing along, ~The cold doesn't bother me anyway~ and Elsa detaching her cape to allow it to catch the wind and fly back, right into Iduna's face. Whose following gasp, prompting Elsa to look back and gasp out...
"Oh, sorry!"
"It's ok." replied Iduna with a chuckle as she pulled the cape from her face and let the wind take it. "Keep going, the performance is really good!"
"O-Ok, well, there's nothing else you have to worry about hitting you."
"Ok." answered Iduna, before Elsa chuckled nervously and turned around and commented...
"I was actually starting to get into it. Ahem, anyway..."
Elsa resumed and sang a few more lines, to the enjoyment of the others, before she arrived in front of the stairs.
~It's time to see what I can do, to test the limits and break through~ She sang as she thrusts both hands towards the stairs and covers the entire length in snow. ~No right, no wrong, no rules for meee~ she continued, before placing a foot on a step and clearing away the snow, before turning to the others with a big smile and singing as she gave a 'follow me' motion with a hand, ~I'm freeeee!~ before looking ahead and running up the stairs, arms extended ahead of her as she cleared away the snow as she delightfully sang...
~Let it go! Let it go! I'm one with the wind and sky!~
Rather than Anna, it was Iduna who first followed behind with a delighted giggle, then Anna and Agnarr brought up the rear, although he wasn't quite as expressive in his enjoyment as the two in front of him.
However, upon following Elsa into the palace, Iduna and Agnarr were distracted from the next few lines as they marveled at the interior of the mirror-like floor, the ice fountain in the center of the room, and the beautifully clear blue ice walls and double staircase that lead to a doorway that thanks to the transparency of the ice, revealed another double set of stairs that seemed to travel the whole vertical height of the palace.
The parents attention was only drawn back to Elsa when they saw a light quickly shimmer out from the floor and up the walls. Big smiles came to Iduna and Agnarr's faces, with the addition of a tear in Iduna's eye as they saw Elsa delightfully dancing as she sang...
~My power flurries through the air into the ground~
Elsa turned to face the trio with a smile, seeing the delighted smiles on their faces, and Anna still absolutely giddy, as she lifted her right hand and created a snowflake and sent it to the floor, its image encompassing the whole area beneath their feet.
~My soul is spiraling in frozen fractals all around~ continued Elsa before shooting a ball of magic towards the ceiling as she added, ~And one thought crystallizes like an icy blast~ before the ball bursts into a light snowfall around them, and Elsa reaching to and removing the icy tiara on her head, while Anna excitedly grabbed Iduna by the arm and shaking her as she commented...
"Here comes another great part!"
~I'm never going back, the past is in the paaaaast~ sung Elsa, before turning around and tossing the tiara away, but it nearly immediately flurries away.
However, amusingly, during the next line of ~Let it go! Let it go~ Elsa reached behind her head to grab hair that wasn't there and although the surprise was clear on her face and a brief giggle escaped her as well as the trio in front of her, Elsa carried on as her dress began to glow from the bottom up.
~And I'll rise like the break of dawn. Let it go! Let it go!~ With the end of the line, Elsa's previous dress had returned, before she happily finished the song, ~That perfect girl is gone, here I stand in the light of daaaaaay! Let the storm rage ooooooooon, the cold never bothered me anyway!~
All three quickly applauded the performance, to the immediate red-faced smile from Elsa as she curtsied, while Iduna and Anna cheered...
"Bravo! Bravo! Encore! Encore!"
"Heh, while I did enjoy that..." stated Elsa with a bright blush on her smiling face. "It'll be a one-time thing."
"Aww." replied Iduna and Anna, before Agnarr chuckled and commented.
"That was wonderful Elsa. Thanks for performing for us."
"You're welcome." Replied Elsa.
"Yeah..." added Iduna. "Thanks for the show, especially since you didn't plan on doing it."
"You were awesome!" cheered Anna, before hugging her.
"Heh, thanks." replied Elsa as she returned the embrace, before Agnarr looked up at the ceiling and commented...
"This place is just as impressive as you are, Elsa."
"Yeah." added Iduna, looking around. "This is beautiful!"
"Thanks." replied Elsa as Anna released her. "I can show you two arou-" she added, before noticing movement to her left and looking to see a door open beneath the stairs to reveal Marshmallow looking curious as to what's going on. "Oh, hey Marshmallow!" called Elsa, drawing their parents gaze, whom both eyes opened in surprise. "Come meet our guests!"
Following the large snowman walking through the door and walking towards them, Iduna and Agnarr's eyes widened more as they looked up at the sizable snowman.
"Wow, you're a big fella." commented Agnarr.
"Much bigger than Olaf." added Iduna.
"Don't worry!" stated Anna as she walked up to the snowman and hugged his right foot, showing that he was at least four times her height. "He looks intimidating, but he's a big softy. Aren't ya, Marshmallow?"
"Yes I am." answered the snowman with a smile, looking down at Anna, before Elsa walked up beside Anna and presented her left hand towards the snowman and looked at her parents.
"Mother, father, this is Marshmallow; Marshmallow, these are our parents."
"Parents?" asked Marshmallow, before he looked saddened and sheepishly asked. "But aren't you parents... yanno."
"Hehe, not anymore big guy." stated Anna. "A lot of stuff happened since our last visit, but the two in front of us are our genuine, real parents that have returned to us!" she added, which quickly brought a smile to the snowman's face.
"Then that means..." he commented, before Iduna and Agnarr gasped when Marshmallow happily scooped them up in his arms to hug them. "Grandma! Grandpa! Hehe, it's so nice to meet you!"
Elsa and Anna both giggled, while Elsa's face gained a shade of red.
"Well..." commented Anna, looking at Elsa. "Technically, he's not wrong." she added, which prompted an embarrassed chuckle from Elsa, before Iduna and Agnarr gave muffled chuckles from the enthusiastic embrace of the snowman.
"It's nice to meet you, too." stated Iduna.
"Same here." added Agnarr, before Anna chuckled and commented to Marshmallow.
"Let them down, Marshmallow."
"Oh, sorry." replied the snowman as he released the two, allowing them to drop to their feet. "I'm just so happy to meet you!"
"So are we, Marshmallow." replied Iduna, though with most of the surprise over at the large snowman's presence, something shiny on the top of his head caught her eyes. "Oh, what's that shiny thing on your head?"
"It's my crown." answered Marshmallow delightfully, as he delicately plucked the tiara from his hand with both hands to show it to Iduna.
"Ohh, very pretty." replied Iduna, quickly recognizing it to be of Arendelle design, while Agnarr gave a smirking glance at Elsa, who lightly chuckled.
"It makes me feel good when I wear it." added Marshmallow as he placed it on his head.
"You look very handsome too." praised Iduna, earning herself a delighted chuckle from Marshmallow, before Agnarr asked...
"So, what does a big guy like you like to do around here?"
"I like walking around the mountain." answered Marshmallow happily. "Meeting and talking to the animals and helping lost humans."
"Well, that's very kind of you." stated Iduna. "Oh, I have a friend that also likes to enjoy nature. Maybe you two could meet someday and enjoy a stroll together. His name's Mou'tan, he's an Earth Giant and is as big as a mountain."
"Ohhh, bigger than me? I'd like to meet him." replied Marshmallow delightfully, before Anna added...
"Yeah, and there's no snow there, so there would be a bunch of new stuff and animals you could see."
"It would be good to have you not stuck here." commented Elsa with a smile, before Agnarr asked...
"Why not invite him to Arendelle, Olaf's already there."
"Oh, well..." replied Elsa. "I never gave it any thought. Everyone likes Olaf, I'm sure they'd like you too Marshmallow." she added, before Anna chimed in...
"Especially the kids."
"Heh, right." replied Elsa. "So how about it big guy? I could build you a home too, if you'd like to stay."
"I'd love to visit." answered Marshmallow. "But here is my home, it's nice and quite here."
"Hehe, alright." replied Elsa. "Just a visit then." she added, before Agnarr commented to the snowman...
"Not a fan of crowds, huh?"
"No, I'm not." answered Marshmallow with a smile. "But I could handle it for a little while, especially if Olaf's with me. My brother is great at dealing with lots of people." he added, prompting a chuckle from Iduna.
"Well, maybe Olaf can show you around then." suggested Iduna.
"I'd like that." replied Marshmallow.
"Well then..." stated Elsa. "You can join us when we head back. Until then, you wanna join us in showing our parents around?"
"I'd love to." answered Marshmallow delightfully.
- Later that day, 3:32 P.M., Arendelle -
- Anna's Room -
"I gotta admit..." stated Anna with a smile as she and Elsa walked into her room, and Anna headed towards her bed as Elsa closed the door behind them. "I was a bit worried how people would respond to Marshmallow, but they like him." added Anna delightfully as she sat on her bed.
"Yeah, especially the kids." replied Elsa as she walked towards Anna, though not joining her on the bed. "Marshmallow clearly enjoyed himself too." she added, before sighing, "I can't believe I didn't think to invite him here though, some 'mom' I am, huh?"
"Heh, better late than never."
"Yeah, true." answered Elsa with a smile. "Anyway-" she added, before a knocking came from the closed door and Isabelle's voice came from the other side.
"Anna? It's Isabelle, you there?"
"Yeah." answered Anna, as she stood, walked to and opened her door to greet the handmaid. "Hey Izzy, what's up?"
"Hey Anna." replied Isabelle, as she noticed Elsa present and added. "I didn't mean to interrupt you two though. I can come back later."
"You weren't interrupting us." commented Elsa, "We were just talking about Marshmallow's visit."
"Yeah." added Anna. "So what did you come for? Is it something private?"
"Oh, no, nothing sensitive- well, kinda?" replied Isabelle, before looking left and right down the hall and pulling open the top of her blouse as she added. "You said to let you know when I meet Juleka again and I figured I could bring her to you." she added, before the fairy emerged from her top to greet the sisters.
"Hey, you two." greeted Juleka with a smile.
"Hi Juleka!" greeted Anna back happily, while Elsa simply gave a wave of the hand as she walked up to Anna's left.
"Well, I've done my job." stated Isabelle. "I'll see you later Juleka, Anna, Elsa." she added, giving a farewell wave of the hand as she left, returned by the others, before Anna closed the door and Juleka spoke to Anna.
"So, what's up? Got something you want to talk to me about?"
"Yes!" eagerly answered Anna before presenting her upturned right hand to Juleka, who took the silent offer to land on her hand and sit. "I wanna ask you about Fairy Circles."
"O-Oh." replied Juleka, clearly taken aback by the statement, which was not lost on Elsa. "Where did you hear that phrase?"
"A couple of days ago, from the trolls." answered Anna. "We were re-introducing out parents to them and the topic of our friendship with you came up."
"I see." commented Juleka, before Elsa commented...
"You seem a little distressed."
"Oh, no, no, I'm just very surprised, is all." quickly replied Juleka. "Hearing that phrase from Anna was just a shock. Fairy Circles aren't common knowledge among humans; As far as I know anyway, since it's not something we reveal to them."
"Why not?" asked Elsa curiously, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Whoa there, Elsa." commented Anna. "Don't start interrogating her yet. Anyway, Juleka, the trolls brought up Fairy Circles as a solution to us being able to visit your village, since us being our normal size would be a big issue, I assumed. So, if your fairies could shrink us to your size, then there'd be no problem, right?"
Following this, Juleka looked to be in dumbfounded awe.
"I-I, w-what!? You're willing to put that much trust in me!? Did the trolls not tell you how Fairy Circles work? We haven't known each other that long."
"Elsa also said the same thing about us not knowing each other for long." stated Anna, with a little pout that Juleka and Elsa seemed to share the same opinion.
"She's right!" declared Juleka.
"Thank you." commented Elsa with a look of satisfaction as she eyed Anna.
"Ugh, I just didn't want to disrespect you by possibly questioning our friendship or suggesting I don't trust you." stated Anna, which brought a smile to Juleka's face.
"Well, I appreciate that, but on the topic of using a Fairy Circle on you two, I would not be at all disrespected if you had concerns. The fact that you'd even be willing to put that kind of trust in me... in my village, just to visit us, means so much to me." replied Juleka as tears brimmed her eyes.
"We definitely have concerns." commented Elsa.
"I'd be happy to answer any questions you two have." replied Juleka. "First though, what did the trolls tell you about Fairy Circles?" she asked, which Anna answered...
"They said, the fairies form a circle, which they dance and sing. It's the one magic you have as a group that can do incredible things! The bigger the circle, the more powerful the magic."
"Well, that's mostly true." answered Juleka. "The singing and dancing isn't required, just something that tends to happen. The circles, like our poisons, is powered by our intent- our collective intent. It's exclusively a group magic, requiring at least three fairy's." she continued, before Elsa asked...
"Do all fairies participating need to have the same intent?"
"Yes." answered Juleka. "If even one fairy doesn't share the same intent or purpose as the rest, the circle will just not work."
"So, we'd need to put our trust in multiple fairies we've never met." stated Elsa. "And even if we went through with it, the fairies could simply refuse to return us to our normal sizes, right?"
"Ehh, that is a possibility, I won't deny that." admitted Juleka. "But the fairies in my village do like humans, and I've asked them about meeting you two, and they're willing to. Fairy Circles wasn't a topic that came up though, so I'm unsure if that's a route they're willing to entertain; I'll just have to ask."
"We can come with you!" declared Anna. "We don't have anything planned for now and, at the very least, we can meet a few other fairies, even if we don't enter the village. We can build a connection to them."
"Now?" asked Juleka.
"Sure." answered Anna. "Would today be a bad time?"
"Oh, no, it's not that, but..." replied Juleka, before looking at Elsa. "Your sister doesn't seem to share your willingness."
"Hmm..." hummed Elsa in thought, "I could be persuaded on one condition. Are you familiar with the term, 'collateral'?"
"To give something of value in an agreement that will be given back once the agreement is met, otherwise, the thing of value is kept by the other person. Yes, I'm familiar with it."
"Would you be willing to offer one of your fairies as collateral?"
"Elsa!?" gasped Anna, while Juleka also looked surprised, "You want to take one of her people as a prisoner!?"
"What!? No!" gasped Elsa. "The fairy would be a guest to the castle in the same capacity that Juleka is during our time in their home. Once we're safely returned to our normal sizes, the guest fairy would be free to return."
"Ugh, the proposal just seems incredibly rude, maybe even disrespectful." commented Anna.
"That would be up to Juleka." stated Elsa, before looking at the fairy.
"Well..." began Juleka. "I could ask if anyone would be willing, and even if not, I'll offer myself."
"Alright then." stated Elsa. "I'm willing to head out with you and find out." she added, before Anna commented with a groan.
"Ugh, using people as collateral feels icky to me, but if someones ok with it, then it's out of my hands. I am happy though we'll be able to visit Juleka's home... Oh! We should bring a gift to show our gratitude!"
"I appreciate the thought." commented Juleka with a smile. "But that's not necessary, your presence as the first human visitors would be enough of a gift."
"No, no, no, I insist." stated Anna with a big smile. "This is a big deal, humans and fairies coming together as friends. Oh, it's like two kingdoms becoming allies. Well, a kingdom and a village. But anyway, as the visitors, we need to bring a gift. Hmm, but what would be a good gift to bring a village of fairies..."
"Heh, alright, alright." replied Juleka with a smile.
"Oh, what about food!?" gasped Anna. "That's always appreciated. Do fairies like apples? I can bring a basket of apples!"
"Oh, no, no, no!" quickly answered Juleka, waving her hands and shaking her head to emphasize the point. "We do like apples, but a human-sized basket of apples would be way, WAY too much!"
"Really?" asked Anna. "But I don't want to bring too few."
"Hehe, no, no, you misunderstand." replied Juleka with a smile. "A single apple can feed the nearly the whole village."
"Seriously!?" gasped Anna and Elsa.
"Heh, imagine an apple half your size, at least, and how much of it you could eat." commented Juleka, prompting the sisters to look down and place a hand at their waist and their eyes widen as they both commented...
"Ohhhh."
"Heh, yeah." commented Juleka. "Apple-sized fruits are like center-pieces of celebration since they feed so many. Bringing a single apple as a gift would be plenty as a guest."
"OK then, we'll bring two apples!" stated Anna with a smile. "One from each of us. Two apples would last long enough for you all to enjoy before they go bad."
"Alright." replied Juleka with a smile as well. "The gift will be very welcomed by everyone."
"Great." commented Anna. "We just have to let our parents know, and we can leave."
- 4:12 P.M. -
- Forest, near the Fairy Village -
"This is the spot." commented Anna as she and Elsa walked through the icy doorway with Juleka into the area of the forest they first met.
The trio weren't alone as Iduna and Cassandra followed behind. Iduna wanted to meet more fairies and watch the event of Elsa and Anna shrinking. Cassandra, now dressed in official Arendelle Royal Guard attire, while also interested in the same thing, joined by Elsa's request, to provide a quick trip back to the castle with the chosen fairy that would be their guest while they were away.
"Yep." answered Juleka, "The village is a little ways in from the road." she added, pointing in the direction they needed to go.
"Alright then." stated Elsa with a smile. "Lead the way."
"Ok." replied Juleka, smiling, though looking hesitant as she averted her gaze, which prompted Iduna to ask...
"What's wrong?"
"N-Nothing, I'm just happy... and nervous." replied Juleka. "I'm about to lead a group of humans to my home as friends. This is something I hadn't even dreamed of happening. I'm happy, but I'm also scared. The fairies in my village are there because of me. I'm their leader. Whatever happens, it's my responsibility. What if my desire to be friends with humans is clouding my judgment? What if the others were right, and I'm just-"
"Hey, hey, it's ok." quickly interrupted Anna with a smile, seeing Juleka starting to panic, who looked at Anna and took a deep breath, "I have nothing but good intentions, I'll be on my best behavior, I promise. I won't tell anyone where your village is." she added, before the others also seconded Anna's statement, which brought a smile to Juleka's face, before Elsa further added...
"It's not like you're dictating that this is going to happen. You said yourself that you asked your people would they like us to visit."
"Heh, right." replied Juleka. "As much as I want this, it's a group decision." she added, before Cassandra chimed in...
"How about we wait here instead of you leading us to the 'front gates' of your village, you talk to your people, then come to us with the news?"
"Oh, ok, that works." replied Juleka. "I'll be back soon." she added, before departing into the trees.
"Heh, is it weird that I liked her doubt?" asked Elsa with a smile.
"Nope." answered Iduna. "Just means you realize she's taking this seriously." she added, before Cassandra smiled and commented...
"Well, you two will be the first humans to visit her home. She'll probably be a nervous wreck for the whole visit."
"Then we'll just have to be on our best behavior." stated Anna with a smile. "... And show her there's nothing to worry about."
"Heh, right." added Elsa with a smile.
After about a ten minute wait, and all four leaning back against a tree, they hear Juleka's voice.
"I'm back!"
Removing themselves from the trees, they all looked in the direction of the fairies' voice and all four got a surprise when Juleka was not alone and a crowd of fairies followed behind her.
"Whoa..." commented Anna as Juleka and the other fairies stopped in front of them, whose count was in the range of twenty or so. No children were present, and they all looked to be young adults, like Juleka, and Elsa and Anna; although, Juleka's girlfriend, Vivian, was also present, and only about a third of them wore clothes and those that did, looked to be wearing leaf clothing.
The fairies all stopped in awe of the four humans and Juleka flew ahead closer to Elsa and Anna and turned to face her fellow fairies with a smile and pointed to each sister as she introduced them.
"These are the sisters I mentioned; Elsa, the Queen." stated Juleka, prompting Elsa to give a greeting wave of the hand. "Anna, the Princess." followed Juleka, which prompted Anna to not only happily wave her hand but give a delighted "Hi!", before Juleka point to the two beside them, Iduna to Anna's left and Cassandra to Elsa's right, "And the two with them are Iduna, their mother and Cassandra, their friend."
Following the two also giving a greeting wave, there were only a few awkward seconds of delay from the fairies, before the four gasped in surprise and delight when the crowd happily swarmed around them, excitedly greeting and asking questions such as, "It's so nice to meet you!", I've never met royalty before!", "Do you really shoot fire!", "Did you really save Juleka!?", "Did you really change the seasons!?", "Your dress is really made of ice!"
Giggling, the group tried to answer what questions and comments they could, but they simply kept coming, Juleka and Vivian began to reel them back in, decreasing the rapid-fire series of questions and comments, enough for one particular comment to reach Elsa's ears...
"Hey, she doesn't wear ice all over!"
The comment came from below and Elsa gasped, red-faced, "Hey!" as she quickly shot her hands down to cover her crotch as she looked down to see a pair of fairies, a girl and boy, near her feet, looking up her dress.
"Come on guys!" declared Juleka. "First impressions!" she added, as Iduna, Anna and Cassandra chuckled at Elsa's embarrassment.
The crowd of fairies were soon reigned in though and returned to Juleka and Vivian.
"Sorry about that." stated Juleka to the four. "They're all just excited to meet you."
"We don't mind." commented Anna. "Just means they like us already. The best kind of greeting we could hope for." She added with a smile.
"Well, that's good." replied Juleka with a sigh, before Elsa asked...
"Is this everyone from your village?"
"No, it's not." answered Juleka. "We can't leave the children all alone."
"I see." commented Elsa, before Anna asked...
"So, since you've brought everyone, I'm assuming they're all willing to shrink us?"
Rather than Juleka, the crowd all gave their approval, before the sisters see Vivian fly in front of them, looking a little nervous and giving a brief bow.
"Hello again, you two."
Anna briefly frowned at the fairy, before sighing with a smile and greeting her back.
"Hello, it's nice to see you again."
"R-Really?" asked Vivian.
"Yeah." answered Anna. "You did introduce us to Juleka, so in a way, our friendship and potential visit is thanks to you. You were just trying to protect your home and loved one from a nosy human anyway. So, I forgive you."
"Thank you!" replied Vivian, clearly grateful. "And again, I'm sorry for what I did."
"Apology accepted." stated Anna, prompting a smile from Elsa and a relieved sigh from Juleka, before Vivian looked at Elsa and commented...
"Juli told us you want one of us as collateral. I'll volunteer to be your prison-"
"Guest!" declared Juleka, flying up beside Vivian nervously. "You'll be their GUEST Vi."
"Oh, right, sorry." replied Vivian, embarrassed and looking back to Elsa and bowing again. "Sorry."
"It's ok." replied Elsa, nervously as well that Vivian assumed she'd be considered a prisoner. "Like Juleka said, you'll be our guest, in the same capacity that Juleka is, just until we return."
"And what capacity is that?" asked Vivian.
"Well, only a few people in the castle know about Juleka." answered Elsa. "Those being, besides Anna and I; our Mother, Father, Cassandra, and Isabelle, whose Juleka's friend."
"And Elly." Chimed in Anna, before before adding, "But she's not currently working at the castle though... nevermind then." she commented, before a small chuckle left Elsa, before she continued.
"Heh, so you'll always be with one of them while you're there, and hidden in the presence of others."
"Well, that doesn't sound bad at all." commented Vivian, before Juleka added...
"Yea, plus, you'll be able to meet Isabelle. Wish I could join you, but, next time."
"Yeah." replied Vivian with a smile, "Maybe she has a few stories to tell about you." she added, prompting a chuckle from Juleka, before Elsa added...
"You'll leave with Cassandra and my Mother."
Following the comment, Iduna and Cassandra gave a wave of the hand towards Vivian, who returned the greeting, before Anna gasped happily and commented...
"Oh, by the way, we brought giiiifts!" stated Anna delightfully as she reached into the small bag hanging off her right shoulder, and pulled out two large, red apples and presented them to the crowd, who all gasped in delight. "Juleka told us how significant apples are to you all." she added, as the fairies swarmed around the apples, thanking her and as a group, taking three to four fairies an apple, lifted it from Anna's hands, who saw that the apples were nearly chest-high to the fairies. "An apple from me and Elsa. To show our appreciation for giving us a chance to visit your home."
"This is a great gift." commented one male, clothed Fairy, before another, nude female fairy added, "Yeah, thanks a lot!"
"You're welcome." replied Anna, before another clothed female fairy asked...
"So, unless you have any questions, we can do the circle now."
Following this, the fairies that carried the two apples, lowered them to the ground.
"Oh, ok!" answered Anna delightfully, before Elsa commented...
"Wait, I do have a question. Would it be possible for you to shrink one of us, then reverse it right after, or would you be too tired to do it back to back?"
"Circles don't tire us out, or need time in-between. We all just need to agree on what we want." Answered one nude male fairy, before another clothed female fairy added...
"I'm guessing you want the assurance we could change you back, right?"
"Right." answered Elsa, before Cassandra spoke up...
"I could volunteer as a test. Considering you all are royalty, it would be a big problem if something happened."
Elsa started to reply, before a male clothed fairy commented...
"We don't mind. This is new for us too."
"Yeah!" added a clothed female fairy, "The first friendly visit by humans! We're all excited, but we're a bit nervous too." she added, which prompted a round of agreements from the others, "So a few test runs is no problem to build trust."
"Alright." stated Elsa, before Cassandra walked ahead and faced Elsa, Anna and Iduna.
"So, do I need to do anything?" asked Cassandra.
"Nope." answered Vivian, flying in front of her. "Though you'll want to either close your eyes or sit down, the shrinking process can be disorienting."
"Alright." replied Cassandra, as she chose to sit cross-legged, and the fairies land in a circle around Cassandra, everyone but Juleka, before Anna asked...
"What would happen if she stumbled out of the circle?"
"Nothing dangerous." answered Vivian. "The process would just be interrupted, and she'd remain at the size she was during the interruption. The circle could just resume without issue though."
Elsa, noticing Juleka was not part of the circle, asked...
"Juleka, you're not going to participate?"
Following this, the other fairies also invited Juleka to join them, but Juleka looked nervous.
"I-I'll pass, I don't want to mess anything up." commented Juleka, prompting curious glances from Elsa, Anna, Cassandra and Iduna, as well as the other fairies, who soon after, chuckle and Vivian flies up to her with a smirk.
"Now that I think about it, you've never joined a Circle before. Have you never participated in one?"
"... No..." answered Juleka sheepishly, "Back in my original village, I never shared the intent the others had when performing one, and I didn't want to be the odd one out if I somehow messed up a circle when arriving here, so... I've avoided it."
"Heh, well you're not avoiding it this time." stated Vivian as she took Juleka's hand and pulled her down to join the others. "You want Cassandra to shrink to our size, right?"
"Of course." answered Juleka.
"Then that's all you need to do."
"Ok." replied Juleka with a smile, before Vivian looked up to Cassandra and asked...
"Ready?"
"Yeah." answered Cassandra. "Aside from disorientation, should I expect anything else?"
"Maybe some tingling throughout your body." answered Vivian. "But no pain."
"Alright, ready when you all are." stated Cassandra.
Elsa, Anna and Iduna watched attentively as the fairies all joined hands and just a few seconds pass before, with no fanfare or magical lights appearing, the three and Cassandra, noticed she began to slowly, but consistently shrink in size.
"Whoa!" gasped Anna delightfully. "You're actually shrinking! Does it feel weird!?"
"A bit of a tingling sensation." answered Cassandra, looking at her hands and her surroundings as they seemed to grow around her. "No disorientation, but, heh, it's weird seeing everything getting bigger around me."
"It's also a little weird that nothing visually is happening with the fairies." commented Elsa, which prompted a few chuckles from the fairies and a clothed female fairy commented...
"Expected a lot of flashy lights, huh?"
"Heh, kinda, yeah." admitted Elsa.
"Fairy magic isn't flashy or showy like human magic." stated the same clothed fairy.
Shortly after, Cassandra's size matched the other fairies around her as they released their hands and Cassandra stood with a smile as she looked around to the smiling fairies and then up to Elsa, Anna and Iduna.
"Wow." commented Cassandra.
"That's so awesome!" cheered Anna as she knelt down to look at Cassandra. "You're fairy-sized now!"
"I am." answered Cassandra with a smile as she looked around her to the other fairies, some walking up to her with a smile and one nude male asked...
"How are you feeling?"
"Fine, normal even." answered Cassandra. "Heh, but it is weird seeing a fairy the same size as me- well, I'm the size of a fairy."
"Oh!" gasped Anna. "What about your magic!? Can you still use magic?" she added, to the delighted gasps from the fairies as many quickly asked...
"You have magic!? Show us!"
"Hehe, yeah, I do." answered Cassandra with a chuckle, before lifting her right hand and creating a floating snowflake, to the awe of the fairies. "I have the same magic that Elsa has."
Elsa, Anna and Iduna watched Cassandra entertain the fairies for a few moments, creating things they requested, such as a sword, a set of steps, a localized snowfall around them, and lastly, a mound of snowballs that a few fairies immediately had a snowball fight with, which Cassandra was quickly brought into after dodging a snowball clearly aimed at her.
"Ok, I want in on this!" commented Anna eagerly. "Turn Cassandra back to normal, so we can have our turn!"
"Alright." commented Cassandra with a chuckle, before she dropped her recently created snowball and, with the last of the previously created snowballs reaching the end, the fairies also gave an "Alright." and "Ok." as they formed the same sized circle around Cassandra, who sat again.
Then, at the same speed that she shrunk, Cassandra grew to her normal size, to her delight and a small chuckle leaving her.
"Well, that was an exp-whoa!" commented Cassandra as she began to stand, but suddenly felt like everything was spinning and stumbled back, prompting the fairies to fly out of the way before Cassandra dropped to one knee. "Suddenly felt lightheaded."
"Well..." commented Anna. "Now we know not to immediately stand up after returning to normal."
"Heh, yeah, don't do that." replied Cassandra with a chuckle, before Elsa offered a hand to her which she took and slowly stood. "Or maybe start by standing instead." she added, before shaking her head. "Ok, it's fading. I'm good now." she continued, before standing beside Elsa, and Anna gasped and looked at the fairies and asked delightfully.
"Oh, would it be possible to turn us into fairies!?"
To Anna's curiosity, some of the fairies seemed hesitant or confused, before a clothed female fairy flew up to her and answered...
"We could, but you wouldn't be able to return to normal. Circles don't work us."
"Oh, really?" asked Anna curiously, before Elsa added...
"Well, that answers the question I had in the back of my mind of why Juleka suffered her illness so long if Fairy Circles were so powerful."
"Heh, yeah." replied the same fairy with a smile. "The Circles are powerful, but they still have limits, and one of those limits is not being effective on us directly."
"Alright then." replied Anna. "So would you be able to shrink Elsa and me together?"
"Yeah, but you have to be standing." answered the fairy. "We all need to be able to join hands, and with two of you sitting, I don't think we have enough fairies for a circle that big." she added, before another nearby clothed male fairy commented with a chuckle...
"Unless you don't mind sitting cuddled up to each other."
"Heh, we're fine standing." commented Elsa with a smile, before Anna gave a playful pout, with her hands on her hips and stated...
"Aww, you don't wanna cuddle?"
"Hehe, not now, no." answered Elsa, prompting a chuckle from Anna.
"Fine, fine. We'll stand." replied Anna, before stepping ahead to the same spot Cassandra stood and faced Elsa, who smiled again and stepped up to Anna.
"Alright, let's do this." commented Elsa, taking Anna's hand, who giggled excitedly and Elsa looked at Cassandra and her mother with a smile, then the fairies around her and added, "We're ready."
"Alright." stated Vivian. "Just close your eyes, so you don't get dizzy." she added, as the other fairies land in a circle around them.
Elsa took a deep breath before closing her eyes, followed by Anna, before the fairies all joined hands and the sisters both chuckled lightly as they felt a tingling throughout their bodies and Anna commented...
"Oh, it does tingle."
"Almost ticklish." commented Elsa.
"Hehe, yeah."
However, to Cassandra and Iduna watching, they saw quite an amusing development taking place that prompted them to reign in a chuckle. While Cassandra and Anna's shrinking was uneventful, Elsa's was not, as while the sisters both shrank at the same rate, Elsa's ice dress did not, at all.
"I'm feeling a bit weird." commented Elsa.
"A bad weird?" asked Anna, quickly tempted to open her eyes, although she did feel an approaching coolness as unknown to her, as they shrunk, the more relative space Elsa's falling dress took up.
"No, just, weird, I can't describe it. Oddly familiar though." answered Elsa, before she heard some of the fairies around them giggling, before she called to the others. "Hey Mother, Cassandra, is something weird happening?"
"Nope." answered Iduna with a smile. "Just the same thing that Cassandra experienced."
"Yep." added Cassandra, resisting a giggle, before continuing, "You're shrinking just fine."
"Huh, weird..." muttered Elsa. "Well, this is a new experience."
Eventually, given the difference in size, and Elsa's size no longer able to keep the dress up, fell away to cover not only her, but Anna as well, with a gasp from them both as they opened their eyes to see a mass of blue covering them.
"Hey, what's going on?" asked them both.
Anna was the first to uncover herself and quickly recognized what had covered her and seeing Elsa still covered up trying to free herself, stifled a chuckle, before quickly looking down at herself, seeing she was still clothed, before hearing Elsa comment...
"Ugh, finally! What in the world- AH!"
Looking up, Anna saw Elsa covering her nudity with her hands, before quickly diving under her dress again.
"Why am I naked?!" declared Elsa.
To be continued