Queen of Arendelle
It was the first day of summer in Arendelle, exactly a year ago since her coronation last summer. The season was exceptionally good this year, and the kingdom would be able to do much trade with the neighboring kingdoms. Despite giving up the kingdom of Weselton as their primary trader, they ended up prospering even more. She and Anna would joke between them both about the Duke of Weselton, specifically how Elsa made Anna dance with him. It was hardly dancing as the Duke pranced around Anna in the ballroom, with other people watching. To say he was a bit eccentric was an understatement.
She chuckled to herself about the funny memory she and her sister shared together. She and Anna grew much closer after her coronation, after releasing Arendelle’s curse of eternal winter. To say those few days were chaos was an understatement. Ultimately it was her sister’s sacrifice for her, which saved her life and Arendelle. It also changed her life. In the past year, she and Anna made up for all the times lost as siblings, when they were not able to be with each other.
Last winter on Christmas Eve, Anna’s boyfriend Kristoff proposed to her. And of course, she excitedly said yes to him. After Anna’s prior false engagement to Prince Hans of the Southern Isles, she was determined to date at least for half a year before getting engaged again. Kristoff who was very much in love with Anna, but horribly hid it, took to what Anna said seriously. And exactly half a year later, he waited to propose.
Currently they were planning on getting married in the summer; this summer. How the time had quickly passed.
Being queen was easy enough, she knew that being the eldest she would eventually take the throne. That was not her initial problem when she became queen. During her coronation ball, she gave away to everyone that she had magical powers. She could freeze anything with just a touch of her fingertip, make it snow wherever and whenever she wanted, and control ice and snow altogether. She even brought life to a snowman named Olaf from her childhood.
Everyone at the ball found out, when Anna came up to her and claimed she was getting married to a man she met just that night. In her fear and frustration, she unintentionally created a giant wall of ice spikes, after Anna grabbed her glove. She ran away to the North mountain, where she could start over and finally be who she was. She created a giant ice castle herself, changed her dress, and her entire look.
However Anna came after her, persuading her to come back and put an end to the eternal winter in Arendelle. Not knowing at the time how to fully control her powers, she accidentally struck her sister in the heart because of her fear. Sometime later, Prince Hans and some knights came after her to bring her back by force. The Duke of Weselton sent two of his men to assassinate her, but she stopped them just in time. During the assault she blacked out, and woke up in an Arendelle castle’s prison cell.
She was able to escape in the nick of time to search for her sister, when she saw Hans. He fed her a lie that Anna had already died, because of being struck in the heart. In grief, she fell to the ground sobbing, which in turn stopped the storm but not the winter. Just as Hans was sneaking up behind to assassinate her, Anna came in between them becoming frozen solid, knocking Hans out. Realizing her sister died saving her life, she cried in her frozen arms. Then a miracle happened. Anna unthawed and became alive once again. Only an act of true love could reverse the curse, which Anna had done to save the sister she loved. That’s when it hit her, love could undo the winter she had created. It was love that was the opposite of fear, her true enemy.
The kingdom fully accepted her once again as queen, after she proved to them that she could fully control her powers. She and Anna agreed to never live alone in isolation again, like they did their whole childhood. They would always keep the gates open, and welcome visitors. She no longer hid in her room anymore, in fact it was the opposite. She was always too busy to be in her room, and hurried around the castle taking care of duties. She even traveled to neighboring kingdoms to talk about trade. Finally she was living life not in isolation, and was surrounded by people who loved her.
But sometimes she would watch Anna and Kristoff together, and see how happy they were. Though she was not the type to get jealous, she often wished she could share an extra special connection with someone. Even after all the balls she and Anna held and went to, she never met anyone who caught her eye. Of course once in a while she danced with gentlemen who asked her to. But never did she experience that spark of romance. It was all very dull, and all men seemed the same to her. It saddened Elsa to know she probably had a very slim chance of finding someone. Many people accepted her, but were still a bit intimidated by her powers. She longed for someone who could keep up with her, who was her equal. But she had started to accept the fact that she would be alone, yet in a different way.
The cold never bothered me anyway, she jokingly thought to herself. However that was a half-truth. The physical coldness she loved. It was the loneliness of the cold, which left her empty.
Suddenly there was a knock on the door. She was sitting in her study room, where she kept all her papers, contracts, letters, agreements, and what not. Realizing she was slouching in her seat, she quickly sat up straight and fixed her hair, making sure she was at least presentable. The same time she heard herself say, “Come in,” her three foot tall friend walked right into her office.
“Hi Elsa!” The snowman exclaimed with a big grin on his face, and waving his hand up in the air. By the voice, Elsa could immediately tell who it was.
“Oh Olaf, come in and sit with me,” just being around the friendly snowman brought a smile to her face. She had made him for Anna as kids whenever they played, and pretended that he was real. Olaf was something that bonded the two young sisters, and created the happiest childhood memories. When Elsa ran away after her coronation, she tested the might of her powers on the north mountain, freeing all her pent up emotion and magic. Unknowingly, Elsa had made Olaf while creating her previous ice castle. But she had actually brought life into him, and infused the pretend personality she and Anna created for him.
Olaf grabbed the chair closest to her, and scooted in as close as he could get. “So what are you working on now huh?” Olaf said enthusiastically.
She chuckled. “Just the usual, paperwork, letters, making sure everything is in order,” Elsa was cut off.
“What’s that right there?”
“This is a letter to a neighboring kingdom west of here. I’m writing to thank them for their generosity and for welcoming our kingdom’s representative. I need to make sure I maintain good connections with all our people and neighbors as well.”
“Does that include snow people too?”
“Yes it certainly does,” Elsa gave the snowman a frosty hug.
Then she remembered. “Do you know where my sister is at right now?”
“I think she’s over in the library reading with Kristoff. At least that’s where she was an hour ago when I was admiring all the lit candles.”
Even still to today, it did not click in Olaf's head that technically heat was a bad thing for him. He was always sitting by the fire, inspecting the castle kitchen oven, or outside playing in the sun, but it never dawned on him once that it was heat which turned snow into liquid water. Like a child he was naïve in the same way. But for his safety, Elsa created his own personal snow flurry. That way, he could enjoy warmth without melting into a puddle. Whenever the snowman was around his creator Elsa, there was no fear of him melting, so having his flurry with her was optional.
“Do you think you could do me a favor?” She asked.
“Of course!” His mouth held agape with a smile.
“Could you find my sister and ask her to come see me? I have a question to ask her before I finish off this letter.”
“Of course!” Olaf jumped off the chair and headed for the door, while Elsa created a new flurry over him.
As he opened the door, a messenger was just about to knock.
“Oh hi there, I’m Olaf and I like warm hugs!” He held out his stick hand.
The startled messenger shook hands with the optimistic snowman, and proceeded to say, “Nice to meet you Olaf, my name is Geir. If you’ll excuse me, I have something to deliver to the queen.”
Olaf happily left the room, while Niel the messenger walked over to Elsa’s desk. In his hand was a letter, and on the front was a detailed red wax seal with a symbol of a bird.
“For you my queen. Another messenger from outside the castle rode up on his steed, and told me to relay this letter back to you. He said it was urgent, and that he would wait for a response letter. I invited our guest in to spend the night, to regain his strength for the trip back. The staff set up a guest room upstairs, and took his horse to the stalls to be groomed. By the appearance of his garb, he doesn’t look like he’s from around here. He told me that he didn’t know what the contents of the message. Only that it was between you and the royal family of Aldyn.”
“Thank you Geir, you did everything appropriately. I will look into it right away.”
Niel quickly bowed, handing the surprisingly lightweight letter to her, and exited the room. Elsa was alone once more.
Let’s see what this letter is all about, she thought to herself.
Inspecting the unfamiliar seal closer, it was blood red in color, and the bird had a handsome design to it. Pulling the letter opener out of the drawer, she slit the envelope on the top. A single paged letter fell out. She wondered why, if it was so urgent, it was only one page long.
It was addressed to her, To Her Majesty Queen Elsa of Arendelle, and only her. The letter started by saying, we are sending this letter out of hope and out of desperation… She continued down. Dumbstruck by what she just read, Elsa read it through a second time, and then a third. Pausing for a good few minutes, she pondered over the letter she held in her hands.
Elsa grabbed a piece of paper from her drawer, dipped her pen in the black ink, and began to write. After a few attempts of hashing out what she was going to write, the letter said this.
To the Royal Family of Aldyn,
I have received your letter with amazement, and mixed emotions. This summer to celebrate my sister, Princess Anna of Arendelle, and her fiancé for their marriage, we are holding a ball. The whole royal family of Aldyn is invited to stay here in Arendelle for as long as needed. During your stay, we will then discuss the contents of your letter, and the situation that needs to be addressed. The marriage ceremony and ball will be taking place from July 20th through the 22nd.
I will personally have rooms prepared in the castle for your stay, and am awaiting your arrival to Arendelle.
Sincerely,
Queen Elsa of Arendelle
Elsa finished by signing her name on the bottom, and sealing the letter with her stamp. She would give this letter to the messenger from Aldyn by this evening.
She sat in her chair for some time before Anna came in, to give Elsa advice she needed. The queen did not mention the contents of the letter to her sister. Because it was meant only for her, she could not tell Anna before consulting the King and Queen of Aldyn.
For the rest of the day, she could not get her mind off of the letter. After sending off the final letter to her guest for Anna’s marriage ceremony, Elsa decided to get some fresh air outside. She grabbed a cloak for her ice dress she made the other day, and took a solitary walk out in the castle garden. Her favorite spot to think was at the bench by the roses. There she could find peace and quiet, and reflect on her thoughts. Another plus about it was that it smelled amazing.
Elsa sat down on the bench, and held a rose in her right hand. She allowed it to frost over, becoming a beautifully carved ice sculpture. She broke the flower off of the bush and held it in her hand, as she watched it slowly melt away.
I am not alone anymore.