Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognise; the elements taken from Frozen are obvious, and while this version of Zorro is taken mainly from Mask and Legend, I've incorporated elements of his history from other adaptations. Even the original idea for this fic was inspired by the artwork of shishyoukai on DeviantArt, although I have created my own narrative for it; the artwork only inspired the idea of a certain sister becoming Zorro.

Feedback: Always appreciated

The Frozen Fox

As much as Elsa regretted that she was the only member of the royal family who bothered to connect with her people, she would always appreciate the chance to see how people lived outside of the palace. Her grandfather might encourage her and her father to be aware of what the people were doing, but he always made it clear that he would have final say in anything that took place, which made it harder for them to just go out and do anything too big. Elsa could only lend out so much money to help people before it would become obvious, and she couldn't offer any more explicit help without having to deal with difficult questions from her grandfather. He was never openly against anything that helped Arendelle, but he always had a way of making Elsa doubt her methods that made her feel uncomfortable at best.

At the moment, Elsa wondered what had prompted her grandfather's bad mood this morning. He'd received a message from someone at the breakfast table that had left him with a particularly sullen expression, but then he'd walked off and left her and her father to finish the meal on their own. Elsa hadn't seen any particular need to press the issue, particularly when it left her free to go for another walk through the city and see where she could be of most assistance, but it left her concerned anyway. Her grandfather might be reluctant to help the people as much as he could, but she knew most of his moods and could predict how he would react under most circumstances. The idea that something had happened that drove him to lose that kind of control, even in private…

Elsa wasn't sure if she should be excited or apprehensive at the notion of something new that could affect her grandfather in such a manner. She had her share of questions about her grandfather's policies as king, but at the same time he had ruled Arendelle for so many years that the idea of actually speaking up against him felt wrong when she had no evidence that his methods caused any kind of problem. Potential threats to the kingdom were dealt with swiftly enough, the kingdom itself had been prosperous for years, the people all seemed happy…

Was Elsa being foolish to wonder if there could be more to the kingdom than everything they had right now? Her grandfather seemed so certain that everything was fine in Arendelle as it was, but was it so wrong for Elsa to wonder if there could be something else? Just because things had worked this way in Arendelle for so long didn't mean they couldn't change.

Elsa wasn't even aware of where she'd been going on this walk until she found herself outside the building that Anna Menzela had identified as the location of her shop during the ball. Elsa had been meaning to stop by for a while since the ball, but she had been busy with her grandfather's latest period of teaching her about the finer details of running the kingdom. Elsa recognised that it was important to keep track of trade agreements and how countries related to each other, but she just wanted time to go out and enjoy life among the people once in a while, and she was particularly interested in getting to know Anna Menzela again.

She couldn't explain what it was about this woman, but there was a certain spirit to the woman that the young proncess genuinely wanted to learn more about… and since she was here anyway…

Walking into the shop, she smiled in approval at the elaborate dresses and suits spread out around the room. She could see a few stiches in places where the clothes could be modified or adjusted to fit people of different sizes, and a couple of private changing rooms at the back of the store. From what she'd seen of the outside, Elsa guessed that the wall at the back was likely where Anna did her work, and there was a flight of stairs at the back that probably led up to Anna's personal rooms. As it was, her gaze was immediately directed to the sight of the redhead shop-owner standing at the counter, working away at an assemblage of cloth that Elsa assumed was some new clothing.

"Miss Menzela?" she said at last, after a few moments' waiting confirmed that Anna wasn't going to respond to Elsa's presence herself.

"Princess Elsa?" Anna looked up with a smile, immediately pushing the material aside.

"Please, no need for titles outside of the palace," Elsa waved a hand at the other woman. "I am content to waive formality when we are in… relative privacy."

"So long as you call me Anna in turn, I will accept that," Anna smiled back at her, walking out from behind the counter to stand in front of the princess. "It is a pleasure to see you here, although I admit that I would have liked to see you earlier."

"Things at the palace kept me busy, for which I apologise," Elsa observed with a smile. "In any case, I hope that life in Arendelle has been good to you so far?"

"Like any place, it has its ups and downs, but it's interesting to learn the ins and outs of the city," Anna replied with a smile. "Obviously Arendelle is colder than California was, but there's nothing wrong with that."

"Colder?" Elsa looked curiously at her.

"California has been warm for most of the year as long as I have lived there," Anna responded, still smiling at the memory. "Obviously I have had to adjust some of my designs to accommodate the greater variety of temperatures, but that's a minor detail in the grand scheme of things."

"Adjust your designs?" Elsa repeated hoping she didn't come across as some foolish woman to her possible new friend.

"Well… if I may be frank, I'm used to designing with a focus on style alone, but the varied weather here requires me to accommodate comfort as well," Anna explained, reaching behind the desk and taking out a few sheets of paper. "That said, I saw something recently that got me thinking, and I wondered what you could tell me about it…"

Curious at this turn in the conversation, Elsa took the offered paper from Elsa and studied the pictures on display. The outfits were only vaguely familiar to her at first, but as she studied the pictures more carefully certain details seemed to fall into place in her memory. Her grandfather had discouraged such clothing being worn on a regular basis, but the thin V-neck collar was fairly distinctive, and the fur trim around the edges…

"You… might want to be careful if you adopt these designs," she said at last, handing the papers back to Anna. "Such clothing has a… controversial history."

"Clothing?" Anna looked at her in surprise. "Clothing is controversial?"

"More for what it represents than the clothes themselves," Elsa clarified, realising as she spoke that there was actually no real justification for this particular excuse. "Those clothes were worn by the people of Northuldra before they became allied with Arendelle."

"And that means they abandoned their past?"

"More that… my grandfather discouraged certain old traditions that involved people wearing such clothes," Elsa explained, feeling the inadequacy of her words even before Anna gave her a sceptical look. "I don't know the full details myself, so I regret that I cannot tell you more…"

"I understand," Anna reflected, shaking her head and letting out a wistful sigh as she put the papers back in a drawer. "It is… well, that's the way things are, I suppose."

"What?"

"Old traditions get left behind as people move on," Anna said. "The de la Vegas have ties to the old Californian natives, but that was a few generations back and while those traditions were respected at the time, people just… stopped paying them due reverence over the years."

"I am… sorry?" Elsa looked uncertainly at Anna, lost for how she should respond to such a statement.

"It never affected my own opinions of them, and they lost track of those traditions for reasons outside of everyone's control, but they still regret the way things turned out," Anna said with a wistful smile. "It is a shame when people forget their pasts."

"I can agree with that," Elsa observed with a wistful smile. "I would like to know more about Northuldran life myself, but… well, things happen, and we cannot change how things are."

"Which is what makes it all the more important to keep track of the past when we can," Anna said, as her expression shifted to a wistful one. "I have heard several tales of California that show there are more things in the world than what we believe."

"Such as?"

"I didn't experience these events myself, but there are tales of a town that fought off a ruthless man out to claim the land for himself, the town consisting of the locals and seven hired men against an army, and even more mysterious rumours of a town that defeated a wave of demons with the aid of an angel…"

"An angel?" Elsa repeated in surprise.

"The tales say that this woman walked through fire and came from Heaven to warn others against their foes, but… well, the problem with such tales is you can't always know what has been changed before you heard them yourself," Anna shrugged. "Still, it's fascinating to consider what might be out there beyond our understanding."

"Such as those tales you mentioned?"

"Tales of heroes acting to protect the innocent," Anna said with a warm smile. "There is a saying that sometimes all that is required for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing, but for the de la Vegas, that means that all that is required for good to prevail is for a good man to do something."

Elsa wasn't sure how she'd entered into this kind of philosophical discussion with a woman who made clothes, but there was still something to think about in Anna's words.

As much as she wanted to help her people, how many times had she simply accepted the fact that she couldn't do more to help the common people because her grandfather wouldn't approve of what she was doing?

The rest of the conversation soon turned to lighter matters, discussing places of interest Anna should visit if she wanted to get to know Arendelle better and Elsa learning a few other tales of California, but Elsa knew that the first few minutes of this particular visit would be the moments she thought most about in the future.

Is there more I could do…?