Anticipation
Today was the day of the big summer ball Elsa had been planning for the past month. She had been up since seven in the morning, out of anticipation and just being a morning person. She let Anna sleep in, who snored soundly asleep and her hair a mess. Everyone in the castle seemed to be in an extra good mood that day, practically in sing song mode. There was not a cloud in the sky outside, and the sun shone bright through the window. Elsa opened the curtains of her room and the window completely, letting the warm air blow through. Though she was the queen of snow, she also loved the warmth of summer. In the air, she could smell a delicious waft from the castle kitchen below. The chefs on staff were working very hard that whole day, to accommodate for the party. All of Arendelle and kingdoms far and wide that she had connections with, were invited. In short, the castle was going to be a packed place that night.
But it was not the ball that made Elsa so antsy. Since she returned to the throne, she and Anna held balls and dances in the castle for many occasions. They always kept the gates open except for at night, and then they would have guards posted. Even so, they never had to keep them locked. The castle had become a very entertaining place. What made tonight so different, was the letter she received two weeks ago.
The letter went something like this.
To Her Majesty Queen Elsa of Arendelle,
We are sending this letter out of hope and a bit out of desperation. Word has spread across far and wide that you have magical powers, being able to turn things into snow and ice in one touch. We have heard the story about how you unthawed the eternal winter, which you unintentionally set upon your kingdom. We have also heard that you are a very wise, strong, and powerful queen. That is why we are begging for your help.
We have two children, a son and a daughter. When our son was born, he grew up normally like any other boy. But when our daughter was born afterwards, we noticed something was different about her. It started after she first learned how to walk. We were in our castle library reading, and she was near us playing with her dolls. We looked away for a moment, and when we looked back at her, her doll was on fire. We quickly extinguished the fire, unsure where it came from. Everyone tried to figure it out, for the next few months. Maybe perhaps a sorcerer used some sort of magic to threaten us, or tried to assassinate our daughter. However, we were wrong.
When she was a few years older, one evening our daughter became upset, and unintentionally set the table on fire. We were all stunned and frightened, but then put together the situation, that she was only a toddler. Immediately she was taken into the castle infirmary to be examined, but they claimed that nothing was wrong or unhealthy about her. We went to many healers and even a few magicians to see what was wrong, and if they could try to reverse her powerful curse. But no one knew how to help.
Now that she had become older, she’s grown much more powerful. We have had to fireproof her whole room, and give her gloves cast with a subduing enchantment, instead of setting the castle on fire. It has been mostly controlled so far. But the older she gets, the more dangerous she becomes. No one else outside family and trusted ones knows of her power. However we are very concerned of her going out of control, and becoming dangerous to herself and others.
Then we heard stories about you Queen Elsa, how you stopped a great winter from freezing Arendelle. Although we have never sent a letter like this before, we are pleading, you for the sake of our daughter, to teach and help her control her wild powers. Please, help our daughter.
With Best Regards,
The Royal King and Queen of Aldyn
There was someone out there with powers just like her. Never in her wildest dreams, did she think there was someone who shared similar magical powers. Despite what she thought earlier, she had to share this special news with somebody. Elsa knew who she would share it with.
“There you are Anna!”
The queen giggled. Her younger sister came around the corner riding a bicycle.
“Oh Elsa! Look I found, it’s your old bike! I told you that you had one as well, somewhere,” it was a little dusty, a little dirty, and a bit worn out from neglect.
“Where did you even find that thing?”
“In our family's private storage! That’s where Mom and Dad used to put away all our things from when we were kids.”
“I didn’t even know we had a private attic.”
“Of course this castle has one. I used to go up there all the time, it’s quite peaceful up there. Mom and Dad never gave anything away that was sentimental to them or to us. They always stored it up there.”
As long as Elsa could remember, her parents were always trying to conceal her and her power. She would have never thought of them being sentimental. Of course, she did not know them very well at all. Her parents never really talked to her about normal things, that parents usually tell their kids. They only wanted to talk about how to hide her powers better. They pretended like they knew her, and to a certain extent they did. Growing up they were the ones who knew her best, and that was not saying much. For sure she loved them, after all they were her parents. But they unknowingly damaged her more than they could understand. They taught her fear was the stronger force, and that having a healthy fear of herself would protect her. In reality, she was the stronger one.
“I had no idea they were sentimental about our things.”
“Well I’m glad they loved you enough to save your old bike,” Anna winked. “Now we can ride around together, hop on!”
There was only one seat on the bike, the one Anna was sitting on. “Um hop on where?”
“The handle bars silly!”
Elsa sat down on top of the handle bars, hoping her dress would not get caught in the wheels or gears.
“Now hold on, we’re off,” Anna started pedaling down the hallway.
Elsa was going to say to her sister she did not have time to goof off, and this was all very immature. But she quickly forgot when realizing how much fun Anna was having. Then Elsa remembered, she was going to tell her about the letter.
“Anna these past two weeks I’ve been really wanting to tell you something.”
“I knew something was up, I could just tell! You can tell me anything Elsa, you know that,” she said with a smile while still pedaling. “It must be pretty important then, if you were debating telling me for two weeks,” she said jokingly.
“Yeah it’s a pretty big deal, well, for me at least.”
“Ooh is it a boy? Tell me, is he tall? Is he handsome?”
Of course that would be the first thing Anna would think of.
“No it’s not about a boy!”
Thank goodness for that, she thought
“I haven’t met anyone, actually it’s about a letter I received. It came from a kingdom called Aldyn.”
“Oh darn. Well, I’ve never heard of them before around these parts.”
“That’s because they are a smaller kingdom out farther east. They’re not one of the kingdoms we do regular business with. The royal family is coming tonight for the ball, and staying here for a little while after.”
“Did something happen with them?”
“No, this involves other personal matters. Because you’re my sister, I wanted to tell you what was happening. I’m sure as long as it’s between us, them, and people they trust, its fine to tell you.”
“But Elsa, why are they staying here at the castle? You don’t know who these people are, or what they’re like. And why here, rather than any other kingdoms closer to them?”
Elsa was going to explain, but she turned her head around to see that Anna was heading towards the stairs.
“Anna!” The queen shouted and pointed. Her sister saw where they were heading for, but it was too late to swerve away.
The bike bounced all the way down the giant stair case, and Elsa and Anna screamed at the poor castle staff below. “Get out of the way!”
For a moment they were stunned to see the queen and princess in such a ridiculous situation. But they realized if they did not move, they would get run over. Hurriedly they scrambled to the sides, and Elsa, Anna, and her old bicycle crashed on the floor.
“Your majesties, are you alright?” A couple men came over to help, but the sisters got right up, laughing hard.
“Thank you, but I think we are fine,” Elsa said. “Did anyone get hurt?”
There was silence, but then one laugh broke out from the staff. The laughter spread and in moments, the whole room was in hysterics.
“Well I guess it’s not every day you see the queen and the princess riding down the halls on a bike.” The staff workers chuckled as they dispersed, and went back to their work.
“Your bike Elsa, it’s crushed!” Indeed the old bike was twisted and the wheels were bent.
“That’s okay, I’ll get a new bike not meant for a kid, and then we can ride around outside sometime.”
“That sounds great! But Elsa you never answered my question.” Anna set the bike against the wall, and she and Elsa sat down on the stair steps.
“Why is Aldyn coming here, specifically here, when they have other places to go to?”
“Well, long story short it’s about their daughter.” Elsa took her sister’s hands. “She’s like me Anna. She has powers just like I do.”
Anna gasped. “That’s amazing! She’s able to magically freeze things too?”
“Well, not quite.”
“What do you mean?”
“She doesn’t freeze things… she burns things.”
“You mean like fire? That sounds a little dangerous.”
“It’s only dangerous if you can’t control it. Sure it’s one thing to use my powers, it’s another thing to get them to do what I want.”
“So is Aldyn coming here then to get help, or advice from you?”
“They said their daughter’s powers are growing out of control. They believe I can somehow help, since I have powers as well.”
Elsa did not know how she felt about the tone of the letter. It reminded her of her deceased parents, who were afraid of her own ice magic. And that made her uncomfortable.
“But your powers are totally opposite! I mean, fire and snow? Those are the exact opposite of each other. How do you know you can help them?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know if I can do, what they want me to do. But there’s somebody like me out there Anna. I’m not the only one, I’m not alone,” Elsa said smiling.
“Oh Elsa,” Anna hugged her. “You are the last thing from alone! I’m here for you, Kristoff is here for you, and so are Olaf and Sven. There are people who care about you. Your kingdom cares about you. But still, that’s amazing! And she’s coming to the ball tonight, I wonder what her powers look like. I wonder, should I start fireproofing things?”
“We’ll be alright,” Elsa laughed. “She’s not going to burn the castle down, I’ll make sure of that. But make sure you don’t tell this to anyone else, until I get an 'okay' from them. I want to make sure I respect their privacy, as well as not give something for Arendelle to gossip about.”
“But I can tell Kristoff right?”
Elsa thought for a moment. “I guess it’s alright to tell Kristoff. After all, he will be part of the family soon. But nobody else, at least for now.”
“You can count on me,” Anna did a quirky salute.
“I know I can trust you Anna,” Elsa said with a big smile. “Now speaking of other important matters, are you going to show me the dress you’re wearing tonight?”