#❛ ✧ ┊ life's too short to even have you in it. runeard. | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

lelitachay · 4 years ago

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Frozen fanfiction: Søsken

Summary: An accident in the North mountain forces Elsa to spend several weeks in her brother’s apartment under Anna’s care. And during this time, Anna begins to notice there are peculiar things about Elsa’s life she wished she could understand. Everything starts to make sense after a family reunion.

Modern AU. Kristanna - Frohana - Kristoff & Elsa BrOTP. Chapters 1 to 10 - Here Chapters 11 to 20 - Here Chapter 21 - What to do Chapter 22 - What’s there to lose? Chapter 23 - Seek the truth Chapter 24 - An abrupt end Chapter 25 - A fresh start

A promising future

Anna turned her head around and tried to peek into the living room. She wanted to see her mother's face but the door frame was annoyingly blocking her view. Her mother had asked to be left alone while she read Elsa's letter. And for that reason, she and her father had to go into the kitchen to wait for her. To Anna's dismay, her mother was taking way longer than she imagined to finish reading the letter, putting her patience to the test.

She leant against the back of the chair, hoping to rock it just enough to see her mother for a second. At least, enough to try and guess if the content of the letter was either good or bad by her mother's expressions. She was finally able to see the armchair and her mother's hand holding the letter, when the voice of her father startled her. "Stop spying on your mother," said Agdar, almost making her fall.

"I wasn't- I'm not…" She tried in vain to explain, but Agdar's amused expression let her see he didn't believe a word of it. Sighing in defeat, she confessed, "I'm just curious."

"I am too," he admitted as he walked towards the kitchen table. "But as you said, that letter belongs to Idunn. We should let her read it in peace."

"She could read faster." Anna knew she sounded like the impatient child she had once been, but she couldn't help it. Ever since she found out she had an older sister; she had hoped for her family to be reunited again. At least, for just one night. Long enough for her parents and sister to talk things through. She simply couldn't wait anymore. She needed to know if Elsa was willing to make her dream come true.

Agdar laughed and sat down in the opposite chair. Once he was properly seated, he handed her one of the two tea cups he had brought with him. “Here.”

“Thank you,” answered Anna with a small smile. The way her father returned the smile made her feel guilty for the things she had said to him only an hour earlier. It was true she had been mad at her father’s reprimands for not being present at dinner, but it didn’t justify her behaviour. The last thing she wanted was to be on bad terms with him, even if part of her still believed he could have done things differently in the past.

Agdar cleared his throat, calling Anna's attention for a second time. “I didn't choose the company over your sister," said Agdar, as if he had read her mind. He took a sip from his tea and continued, “You may not believe me, but I swear I didn't.”

Guilt washed over Anna once again, and she thought it was best if she learnt once and for all to think before she talked. "Dad, I didn't mean to-”

“Let me finish,” he asked. “I'm aware my decisions have hurt your sister and our family in many ways. But please, don't ever think Elsa was second best." His eyes were focused on the cup he was holding, but Anna knew he was thinking about the past. "I was so happy when your mother told me she was pregnant. I'm sure I cried when I held Elsa in my arms for the first time. Same with you," he clarified. "The two of you put my world upside down by just existing."

"We did?" Her father was a loving man, though he seldom expressed it orally.

"Of course. You mean the world to me." He looked her in the eye and smiled. "It broke my heart to leave Elsa behind. Truth is, we had run out of ideas. We couldn't take care of her, Anna. And to be honest… I–" Agdar sighed, stopping himself mid-sentence.

Something told Anna he was having second thoughts about talking about his past once again. And even if Anna was trying hard to remain calm, her father's overprotection usually drove her mad. "Not sharing things is what put us in this situation to begin with. What happened?"

"I didn't trust my father."

"What?" The sadness in her father's voice surprised her. She wasn't sure what he was going to say, but that certainly was not it.

"My father was a strange man. Full of anger and resentment," he said. "All he cared about was power."

"Power?"

"Money and social recognition, mostly. Sadly, everything he considered an obstacle to his ambition was something that should be taken care of — gotten rid of." The way he wrung his hands showed Anna he was nervous about sharing the truth. He even seemed ashamed of his father's actions. "I feared Elsa would become an obstacle in his eyes. You should have seen the way he looked at me when I told him she existed…"

"Did you tell him about–?"

"Her powers?" he interrupted. "No. I wanted to see how he reacted to the news that she existed first…” He took a sip of his tea and said, “not to tell him was the right call. To this day, I don't know what he would have done to Elsa if he had known."

Father and daughter stayed silent for a while, not knowing what to say. Anna could see a mixture of relief and guilt in her father's eyes. It was clear he had wanted to tell her about Runeard for a long time. "I never thought grandfather was like that."

"I respected him, but I guess it was a respect born out of fear." He looked at the mug in his hands once again, avoiding Anna's gaze. "I never truly loved him. Not the way I love you, your sister and your mother."

The way he included Elsa in the list didn't go unnoticed by Anna, who smiled at the fact her parents were, little by little, trying to make Elsa part of the family once again. "I can't imagine myself in your situation. I love you and mum so much."

"I guess we receive the love we give."

In a subtle way, Agdar said what she had been wondering since the conversation started. Runeard had never shown him love. At least not in the way a good loving father should.

"You know, Anna," Agdar said, calling her attention once again. "When Elsa was born, I promised myself I wouldn't make the same mistakes my father did. I said I wouldn't raise my child to fear me. I wanted her to love me and respect me. I also promised to do everything in my power to give her a good future…”

Anna could only imagine how much Agdar regretted ever leaving Elsa behind. She could hear the guilt in his voice as he spoke.

“I failed Elsa terribly, and there isn't a day I don't beat myself over it. I made a similar promise the day you were born. This time, I swore I wouldn't leave you alone. I also promised to let you follow your own path.” He grabbed her hand and gave it a small squeeze. “Sometimes I feel I'm failing you too. I'm sorry if I let my workaholic nature get in the way. I'm sorry if I'm too overbearing about the business too.”

Anna held his hand a little tighter in return and offered him a smile. “I don't think you've ever failed me, dad. You've always been there for me. And you were the first person to tell me I should follow a career in education if that's what I wanted.” She took a deep breath and hoped her father wouldn’t ask too many questions about the previous night. “Last night was my fault, something unfair happened to Marshall and I thought he could use my help. That’s the reason I was late and I’m sorry. I did say I'd be here, I should've kept my promise…”

“What exactly happened last night?”

“Well, you see… It's a long story.” She had no idea how to explain she had tried to stop Marshall from smashing Hans face, only for her to end up knocking him out. “Marshall’s a private person and-”

“It's fine,” Agdar interrupted, giving her the easy way out. “You don't need to tell me. I trust you made the right choice.”

“That I did.” She looked at her foundation covered knuckles and smiled to herself.

“Tell me… Should I be concerned?”

“Concerned?”

“You mentioned this Marshall fellow is Elsa's friend and I-”

She gaped already knowing where her father was going. “No. No. I won't let you do this,” she said, pointing an accusatory finger in her father’s direction. “You almost freaked Kristoff out when we started dating. I won't let freak Marshall out.”

“So, they are together.”

“No, they are not. Though, I'm rooting for Marshall.”

“He looked like he had been involved in a fight recently,” he said, serious about the situation.

She rolled her eyes, annoyed by her father’s overprotection. “Leave the man alone, dad.”

“Elsa's been through a lot in her life. I won't let a hooligan get anywhere near her.”

For a moment, Anna wondered if had said anything that could make her father think Marshall a hooligan, but the memories of the day he met Kristoff came to mind. “Marshall’s not a hooligan. The same way Kristoff was not one either- Are you listening to yourself right now?”

“Does Kristoff approve of him? Kristoff's a sensible man in that regard.”

“Leave the man alone.”

Resting his chin on one of his fists, he asked, “What's his last name, again?”

“Dad, I'm serious.” For a moment Anna thought her father had finally lost it, when she noticed a playful smirk drew on his face. “You were being annoying on purpose, weren’t you?”

Agdar’s and Anna’s playful smiles were short-lived however. Idunn entered the kitchen with red, puffy eyes which were hard for them to ignore.

“Idunn?”

“Mum? What's wrong?”

They both asked, almost instantly; and soon after they shared a worried look.

“Everything’s okay,” she assured them. “I'm a little overwhelmed, that’s all.”

“So…” said Anna once her mother took a seat between them both. “Did she say anything? Will she give you guys a second chance?”

“She doesn't say.”

Agdar’s disappointment was obvious when he asked, “what did she write about?”

“I wrote about our past in my letters, and I asked her to share hers with me…” Idunn explained.

“And, did she…?”

She shook her head. “Not the past you're thinking about. She doesn't mention anything about Romsdal or the time she spent inside the clinic. She wrote about Kristoff and the Bjorgmans, instead.”

Anna smiled at that, at least she was certain Elsa hadn’t had a hard time writing the letter. She understood perfectly well why her sister had avoided more serious topics.

“She talks about the day she met Kristoff and everything they did together - how they became friends,” Idunn continued. “She then jumps to the day she was officially adopted by the Bjorgmans.”

“She doesn't mention Weselton at all?” asked Agdar, clearly as interested as Anna in the content of the letter.

“I think she avoided it on purpose,” she said. “Maybe Gerda's right, maybe she's pretending it didn't happen.”

That last comment called Anna’s attention, but she didn’t say anything. After all, she knew her parents had met the Bjorgmans a couple of times. It wasn’t a surprise they had shared their worries with her parents.

“Do you think so?” Agdar said, being unable to hide the concern from his voice.

Looking at the different pages of the letter in her hand, Idunn explained, “she avoids talking about it. She jumps from one topic to the other… It's as if she picked certain parts of her childhood and mixed them together in a way she doesn't mention Romsdal nor the clinic at all.”

“It hurts too much,” Anna said, surprising even herself. She hadn’t meant to say it out loud, but the words had slipped from her mouth faster than she could stop them.

“What?” her parents asked, looking at her.

Anna had mentioned Elsa’s mental breakdown, but she hadn’t talked to them about her past. Elsa had opened up in a moment of weakness and stress, and Anna thought it was wrong to share what she had said to her. But now that she had her parents’ attention, she couldn’t pretend she didn’t know some parts of it. “It hurts too much,” she chose to say. “If I were Elsa, I wouldn't like talking about it either.”

“You know about her past?” The answer to the question was quite obvious, but Agdar asked it anyway.

“The night she found Kai's petition, she seemed terrified of facing Weselton again. I saw her so distressed, I had to ask about it. I was lucky she told me…” Anna sighed as she tried to find the right words to explain it. Finding none, she said, “It's- it's bad.”

Idunn and Agdar shared a painful look. “Gerda and Kai told us about it,” said Idunn. “They didn't know all the details, but… Well, they met her right after she was found. Her health condition gave them a clear idea of what she went through.”

Anna grimaced, not once she had stopped to think about the aftermath of everything her sister went through. The way Elsa had explained Gerda and Kai had rescued her had made it seem everything was okay after it. But now, Anna could only wonder how much time it had taken Elsa to recover from her time in Weselton’s hands. Shaking her head, she uselessly tried to erase the idea of Elsa in a hospital bed.

“What did she tell you?” Agdar asked her.

“It's not my place to tell you really – not that she told me everything about it either. But I think she should be the one to talk about it with you. At her own time. I guess only Elsa can say what really happened.” Anna wasn’t trying to be mysterious, she hadn’t liked when Kristoff did the same to her; but she truly believed it was best for Elsa to be the one to share her past with their parents, if she ever wanted to.

Idunn’s sigh drew Anna’s attention back at her. “She must have been so scared. So lonely,” her mother said. And not for the first time, Anna wondered how much the guilt of leaving Elsa behind was going to affect her mother.

“What else did she tell you?” asked Agdar once again. This time, he was pointing at the letter in Idunn’s hands. “In her letter, I mean.”

"Mainly stories about her days with Kristoff. She also told me about a book, which was her favourite. She couldn't read at the time so she doesn't know its name. She said she was hoping I may have an idea." A smile appeared on Idunn's face and Anna felt more at ease knowing Elsa had really tried to establish some sort of relationship with their mother.

"The one she transcribed?" asked Anna, already knowing the answer. Elsa must have truly loved that book.

"That's the one!" Idunn exclaimed, happily. "I wish I could see her transcription. Does she still have it?"

"She never said." Anna thought it was funny how she had never thought of asking Elsa about it. Maybe the drawings could help them realise which book she was talking about.

"You could ask Helga," offered Agdar. "The owner of the bookshop two blocks from here. She can always help you, even with the briefest description of a story."

"You should definitely ask her, mum." Anna was certain her mother would do everything she could to find the book.

Idunn nodded with a smile and looked at the different pages again until she found the part where Elsa described the book. She put it aside as a reminder.

"She didn't say anything else?"

It was clear her father wanted to find out as much as possible about Elsa, and that fact made Anna truly happy. Her parents hadn't lied about loving and wanting to get to know Elsa once again. She hoped Elsa could see that side of them and actually realise how much they cared.

"She talked about Gerda and Kai too," answered Idunn, unaware of Anna's excitement. "She enjoyed getting to know them and becoming part of their family, even if at the beginning she felt like an intruder in their house. She talks a lot about them, actually. It's clear she loves them."

"She once said to me they're her heroes," said Anna.

"It's good to know she found a good family after everything she went through," Agdar said honestly.

Idunn nodded with a smile. Looking at the letter once again, she tried to order the pages before offering it to Anna. "Would you like to read some of her stories? There's one about Kristoff's old truck that you'd like."

"Are you serious?! Kristoff always avoids talking about his old truck! Give me that."

Idunn handed her the letter, and even though she was excited about Elsa's stories, she couldn't hide her disappointment when she first looked at the content of the letter. "Oh, Elsa…"

"What? What is it?" asked Idunn, worried she had missed something important.

"This handwriting is terrible even for her standards. I guess she must have written it in a hurry." Anna gave the rest of the pages a quick look and sighed tiredly. "This is messy as hell."

"Let me see that," said Agdar, curious to finally see Elsa's disastrous handwriting. "Oh… No wonder you took more than an hour to read this."

"She apologises about her handwriting at the end," Idunn was quick to say, trying to justify Elsa's work. "She says she's trying to learn and improve. The two of you should be more understanding. Especially you, Anna."

"Oh, please, she always avoids practicing her handwriting all the time. She's just being lazy," laughed Anna. She knew perfectly well Elsa hadn't tried to improve one bit in the last few months. If Anna was honest, she was starting to believe her sister's handwriting was beyond saving.

---

Idunn smiled at Anna's eagerness to read Elsa's letter. She was happy her youngest daughter had not only found someone like Kristoff to share her life with, but also had found her long lost sister. Even if things with Elsa didn't work out and she never forgave them, at least Idunn could rest assured her girls could enjoy each other's company.

Once Anna became absorbed in the stories Elsa had to tell, Idunn turned to her husband. Agdar looked happy and peaceful, and she felt bad for ruining his good mood, but she needed to share what Elsa had also explained in the letter; even if it hurt him.

"She was there, Agdar," she said all of a sudden, calling his attention. It was best to let him know.

"What?"

"The day we visited the orphanage here in Trolheim. She was there." She took a deep breath to calm herself. "They lied to us so we wouldn't find her."

Agdar looked at her for a minute, not uttering a word. Idunn was beginning to think he hadn't really understood her when he asked, "are you sure?"

She confirmed the bad news with a nod of her head. "She says it herself."

"Do you mean this?" Anna said, surprising both of them. Before Idunn could pay a look at the letter, Anna began reading…

"When I was eight I was living in Trolheim's orphanage. I can't be sure, but I guess I was there when you and Agdar went looking for me. I re-read your letters. I wrote down the dates you mentioned. I counted the years… It all adds up. I wish the nurses would have said something. I was so lonely at the time. I would have given anything to meet you. No-one knew I existed; and those who did, didn't care about me.

I'm thankful Kristoff found me around that time though. For some reason I cannot understand, Kristoff did care and he stayed by my side until the day he was adopted… "

A bang startled mother and daughter, who turned to look at Agdar who had hit the table with his fist.

"They fucking lied!" He yelled. "Right in our faces. We were desperately looking for our missing daughter and they lied. They forced us to stop looking. I can't believe this!"

Idunn tried to grab his hand to calm him down, but he stood up before she had the chance.

He walked a few steps away from the table and began pacing as he covered his face with his hands. "How could I've been so stupid – so gullible! Weselton and those 'caregivers' need to rot in hell."

"Calm down, Agdar."

"No. They will rot in hell. I'll make sure of it!" he yelled once again, not paying attention to his wife.

"We won't get involved, Agdar. And that's final." She knew he wasn't going to take the news lightly, for that reason she had tried to tell him the good things Elsa had shared with her.

He stopped pacing to look at her with a painful expression. "Idunn, she was there. Elsa was a few walls away from us! Don't tell me you're okay with this!"

Trying hard to remain calm, Idunn took a deep breath that she hoped could help Agdar calm down too. "Of course I'm not okay with this, Agdar. But I won't go against Elsa's wishes. Too many people have already done that…"

He opened his mouth to argue, but he closed it. It was clear he agreed with her in that regard, but still his anger was palpable. "I just wish for them to pay," he said in a low voice.

Idunn could only agree with him, but she didn't say anything. Instead, she looked at Anna and reassured her they were not going to do anything stupid.

---

Kristoff sighed as he climbed the stairs to his apartment after a long day. The last thing he had wanted to do that day was to work, but to his dismay his boss had called him soon after he had picked his truck in the early morning. He had apologised to a sleepy Elsa, and he had left in a hurry.

What he had hoped to be a short working day, had stretched and became an even-longer-than-usual day. He was exhausted; and what was worse, he hadn't been able to spend the previous night nor that morning with his sister. But at least, his boss had rewarded him with an off-day the following day.

As he opened the door, he wondered why Sven wasn't barking or jumping all over him, but he soon realised why. Against all odds, his sister had decided to stay in the city.

"Elsa?" he said, calling her attention. "What are you doing?"

Elsa looked around herself and then at Sven, who was by her side, before finally asking, "Setting the table?"

"I mean here!" said Kristoff with a smile.

"Did you have plans? I can leave if your friends are coming."

"You don't need to go anywhere," said Kristoff patiently, though he already wanted to smack her in the head. "And you know I wouldn't kick you out if my drunkard friends were coming. I didn't expect you to be here, that's all. I thought you had gone back to the mountain."

"I decided to stay and visit mum and dad. I wanted to have dinner with them but they had plans," she answered with a shrug. "So, I thought it was a good opportunity to have dinner together."

"Mum told you no? That's hard to believe." It wasn't a secret his mother had soft spot for Elsa after all.

"They had the anual dinner at the police station," Elsa explained while she arranged the dishes.

He left his jacket on the couch and walked to the kitchen ready to ask his sister what she had ordered, when he realised the stove was on and a tempting smell was coming from the pot. "Did you- did you cook dinner?"

"I tried. I hope it tastes as good as it smells."

Elsa seemed proud of her achievement, that was clear. The fact her food didn't smell like a burning building was in itself a miracle. "You cooked dinner."

"Don't start," she warned.

He looked inside the pot and was surprised to see a mouth-watering stew. In all their years together as brother and sister, Elsa had never been able to cook something that could be considered tempting, and Kristoff was not going to miss the opportunity to make fun of her. "Who are you and what have you done with my sister?"

Elsa pushed him to the side so she could have access to the food. "Stop goofing around and hand me those bowls."

"What did you cook?" Stew was the obvious answer, but it didn't look or smell like Gerda's typical.

"Hunter's stew."

"Where did you learn to cook that?"

"Just a recipe I found…"

Kristoff could hear the hesitation in his sister's voice. She wasn't being completely honest, but he had no idea why. "You aren't trying to poison me, are you?"

"Shut up and eat your food," said Elsa as she pushed the hot bowl against his chest.

"Alright, alright!" He laughed and sat down in his usual place. He took a cautious first bite. It didn't matter how much he loved his sister, he could never be careful enough while trying food she had made herself. This time, however, the food was the complete opposite of what he was expecting. It wasn't the best dish he had ever tried, it wasn't even in the top twenty. But the fact it tasted good and it wasn't burnt was in itself a great achievement. "Unbelievable."

"What?" asked Elsa, worried she had messed up once again.

"This is edible."

"You're an arse."

Kristoff laughed loudly, making fun of her was too easy at times. "It's a compliment."

"Sure, tell Anna she doesn't look hideous one day. I'm sure she'll love the compliment." She sat down and took a bite herself. A small smile drew on her face, for the first time in forever her food wasn't a total waste.

"I'm messing with you," said Kristoff with a smile of his own when he noticed how pleased his sister was with the dish she had made. "Thank you. I know you hate cooking, it means a lot you took the time to cook something for me. A warm meal was all I needed."

"I wanted to thank you for last night."

He looked at her with a curious expression. “Thank me?”

She played with her food as she tried to find the right words. “I know you hate fights and getting involved in them. You helped Marshmallow last night in spite of that.”

He tried not to read too much into Elsa’s gratitude. He was sure if Anna were there with them, she’d be making several conjectures about Elsa and Marshall’s relationship; but he was not going to. If his sister ever felt something for the mountaineer, he was sure he’d be the first person to find out. “I guess what Hans did to him was unfair,” said Kristoff . “Anna getting involved herself had a lot to do too.”

“He feels awful for dragging you and Anna into it. He said he'll try to repay you.”

“Tell him I appreciate the feeling, but all I want is for him to be more level-headed next time. I won't tolerate him yelling at you for his problems ever again.” He wasn’t sure how he felt about Marshall if he were honest. It was true he didn’t like him at the beginning, but with time Kristoff had realised the big guy didn’t have ulterior motives and he seemed to honestly care about Elsa. But the previous night, his concerns had returned. It was clear Marshall wasn’t himself when he got angry. “Tell me, Elsa, do you trust the guy?”

Elsa stopped eating and raised an eyebrow. “Of course I do.”

“Aren't you afraid of him?” Noticing the worry in his sister’s face he clarified, “I'm not saying he's a bad guy, it's just- he's even stronger than he seems. The guy's unstoppable. And he clearly can’t control his anger.”

“He once told me he has problems controlling his anger,” Elsa admitted. “He asked me to try and keep him grounded anyway I could if he ever lost his temper around me. I didn't think much of it at the time.”

Elsa’s explanation did nothing to calm his nerves. How could she stay so calm around a man like him. “You’re not doing a good job convincing me I shouldn’t be concerned, sister.”

Contrary to what he expected, a small smile appeared on his sister’s face. “Last night I understood what you and Gerda have been trying to explain to me all these years. I can't blame myself – or Marshall in this case – for things we can't control. Marshall has anger management problems, but he tries hard to be a better person. I see guilt written on his face whenever he realises he has lost control…”

Kristoff gaped at his sister and all of a sudden understood her reasons. It didn’t take a genius to see why Elsa could relate so much with him.

“I see no reason not to trust him,” she concluded with a shrug. “You trusted me from the start, didn’t you?”

“Yeah… I did.” He felt like an idiot for not giving his sister more credit. After all, she was his shitty people detector, it was ridiculous not to trust her in this situation too. “Anna mentioned something similar last night. She said not helping Marshall would be like not helping you. Needless to say, it changed my mind about helping him immediately.” Maybe Anna hadn’t meant for him to share that information with Elsa, but it was the truth.

“No matter the reason, you helped him and that means a lot to me. Thank you.”

Brother and sister finished their food, but stayed at the table talking for a while. It had been a long time since they had had the chance to spend some time together, so they took the opportunity to talk about each other’s life, about Sven, and the family; just the way they used to do when they were still living together.

It didn’t take long for them to start talking about work. Kristoff told her about his relationship with his boss and how he was sure he’d get a promotion in the near future. It wasn’t a sure deal, but he was certain he was the best guy for the job. Elsa, on her part, told him about her plans for the season, and how her leg was practically at its full capacity once again.

“Are you still thinking about Marshall becoming your business partner?” asked Kristoff when he noticed Elsa didn’t seem so worried about the way she was going to organise her business.

“About that…” she said with a nervous smile. “We talked about it last night.”

“What?”

“He said yes in a heartbeat.”

“Didn't you say you were going to think about it a bit more?”

“We work well together. I think we can help each other out,” she said matter-of-factly.

“Are you sure concealing your powers won’t become a problem in the long run?”

“It'll be fine.” Elsa gave him a knowing look. It was obvious she could see he was more worried than it was necessary. “I promise.”

Raising his hands in the air, he said, “If you think it’s a good idea, then I trust you. Just take care of yourself. I know it's physically challenging to keep your powers under control sometimes.”

He felt like a nuisance with his overprotectiveness, but all he wanted was the best for his family; but Elsa’s grin told him she wasn’t annoyed at all. They had come a long way together since they met and they both understood the other’s concerns.

“I truly think this arrangement is for the best. I know for a fact I can't keep working on my own, and Marshmallow will take a lot of responsibilities off my shoulders. Especially the business part. He knows more than me about this.”

He was surprised to see Elsa so eager for what was to come. For the first time, he saw her completely relaxed about what was to come and how her powers could affect her plans. Who was he to ruin her happiness with his concerns? “Then, I'm glad you found a way to keep working on your own. I'd hate to see you working for someone like Hans.”

She scoffed at the mere idea. “I wouldn’t work for him, not even for all the chocolate in the world after what he did to Marshmallow.”

“That’s all I wanted to hear.”

---

After an emotionally taxing day, Agdar entered his bedroom ready to call it a night. He wanted to forget for a moment the injustices of life and rest before he needed to face another week. Ever since Elsa had shown up in their life, he had tried to bury himself in work, hoping to find some distraction from the guilt that was eating him alive. But that unhealthy solution had only worked for a short time; lately, he found himself getting more and more distracted at work, and every new week was a challenge.

He was certain this new week was going to be even more difficult than the previous one. This time he was angry about the fact people in Trolheim’s orphanage had lied to his face. And what was worse, he could only blame himself for it. He had trusted Weselton, he had abandoned his daughter and, what was worse, he was the one who had bought their lies. Whenever he thought about how utterly stupid he had been, he wanted to punch himself in the face. Sadly, he needed to keep a formal appearance for his company, if not, he was sure he would have already done it.

He closed his bedroom door silently, thinking his wife was already asleep. But to his surprise, she was still up, sitting on his desk. “You're already writing a new letter, aren't you?” he asked, already knowing the answer. The thrill of receiving Elsa’s letter had given his wife renewed energy, and she had been talking about it all day.

“Yes! I'm so excited. I never imagined she would answer.”

She didn’t need to say it for him to notice. Anna and Idunn were two sides of the same coin, especially when they were excited.

“And you were right about Helga! It took her some time, but she was able to find the book Elsa was talking about,” she said, as she handed him a brown paper bag.

“Really?” he asked. He knew Helga was really good at identifying books and stories, the old woman had read more stories than she could tell, but he never thought she was going to find it so soon. “That was fast.”

He took the book from inside the bag and paid a good look at it. For a moment he pondered about the different ways perceived the world based on their experiences. To him, children's books were nothing but that. Children’s books. It was clear that for Elsa, however, a children’s book could mean so much more. He smiled sadly, as he guessed that for her it was going to be like meeting an old friend. Pain and guilt washed over him once again at that realisation.

“She spent over an hour looking at the old children's books in her deposit,” Idunn continued, unaware of her husband’s sadness. “I'll send the book with this letter, see? I'm sure she'll like the surprise.”

He smiled at her and handed her the book. It was nice to see one of them was looking at the glass half full. “It's the happiest I've seen you in a very long time,” he commented.

“Why do you say it as if it were a bad thing?” she asked, turning around in her chair to look at him.

“No reason.” He hadn’t meant to sound pessimistic.

“Agdar…”

Finding no good reason to lie to his wife, he said, “I don't want you or Anna to get hurt. Elsa's got her reasons to be weary of us.” It pained him to know it was true. “And we can't force her to meet us if she doesn't want to. I'd hate the idea of seeing the two of you disappointed if things don't end up the way you're hoping.”

Idunn stayed silent for a minute, giving Agdar enough time to beat himself internally several times for giving her a reason to worry.

“Then let's try to prove Elsa she can trust us. She might surprise us,” she said enthusiastically, not letting his worries affect her.

He leaned down and kissed her temple. Her strength had always helped him in the bad times, and this time in particular was no exception. “Weren't you the one who said we should give Elsa some time?” he asked, honestly curious.

“I won't pressure her to meet us. I only want to talk to her. Let her know who we are… and get to know her better…” She turned to him and asked, “is that a bad thing?”

“No, of course not.” It was the perfect thing to do in his opinion, as long as they didn’t overwhelm Elsa. “What are you writing about?”

Idunn picked the letter she had been writing and paid a look. “I told her about Helga and how we found the book. Now I'm recommending some books to her. In her letter, she said she spent hours on end reading stories as a teenager.”

“I thought she was just learning how to read and write…”

“She learnt when she was fifteen years old, Agdar.” He chuckled at the tiredness in her tone of voice. She was talking to him the way she used to when Anna was a kid and he forgot every single detail about her dance classes. “Anna says she only struggles with more difficult academic words or concepts.”

Idunn then looked at him and asked, “Is there anything you'd like to ask her?”

“Me? Are you sure?” For some reason he couldn’t explain, he was certain Elsa wouldn’t like to hear from him.

“Of course. Why don’t you ask her if she likes hockey?”

“What kind of question is that?” he laughed.

“She’s a ski instructor,” Idunn said as if it was the most obvious reason in the world. “I’m sure she enjoys all kinds of sports. Besides, Anna never paid attention to the game. Weren’t you the one who always complained she wouldn’t accompany you to the arena?”

“Yes, but-”

“Just talk to her, Agdar,” she said, noticing her husband’s hesitation. “Let her know you care. Sometimes, a simple question means more than you think.”

“I guess I could write to her…” If he was honest with himself, there were so many things he wanted to learn about her. Her hobbies, favourite kind of music, about her business… Everything. He wanted to learn everything about her. He wanted to made up for all those years they weren’t there for her too.

As if she had read his mind, Idunn said, “you’ll feel better if you do, trust me. Just, don’t pressure her.”

“I won’t,” he reassured her.

“I know you won’t.” She stood up from the chair and kissed him on the top of his head. “I’m going to bed.”

---

After cleaning the dishes, Kristoff and Elsa lay on the couch with Sven and continued talking about everything and nothing. It was as if they were back to their younger years without a worry in the world; whenever Kai and Gerda had to leave town, they’d stay up late into the night just spending time together. Playing cards or simply listening to music.

The memory made Elsa realise the opportunity was perfect for her to learn how to play truco. More importantly, to learn how to beat Anna.

“Do you know how to play Truco?” she asked her brother all of a sudden.

“The card game Anna loves so much?” he asked. “Sure.”

“Can you teach me how to play?”

“I thought you already knew how to play.”

“I know the rules,” she clarified. “But I can't beat Anna. No matter how hard I try.”

Kristoff laughed wholeheartedly, clearly aware of her competitiveness. “I can't believe you're putting more effort into this than improving your handwriting.”

Elsa scoffed, faking annoyance. “Why is everyone so obsessed with my handwriting?”

“It's illegible.”

“Will you teach me how to play or not?” she asked, wanting to avoid talking about the fact she hadn’t tried to improve her handwriting in months.

“Go fetch the deck, it's inside my desk’s drawer,” answered Kristoff, as he pointed to the door of his room. “I'll teach you how to read Anna's expressions. She's easy to read once you know what to expect from her.”

“Thank you!” Elsa jumped from her seat and went into the room not wanting to waste any second. She was going to surprise Anna next time they played.

She opened the drawer and had to rummage through his things to find it. When she finally did, she was nonplussed to see the velvet box which was behind the deck of cards.

“Is this…?” she murmured to herself and picked it up to examine it. Inside the black box there was a golden ring with the most beautiful orange stone Elsa had ever seen.

Not being able to stop her curiosity, she walked out the room and surprised her brother with the question, “Kristoff… Are you planning to propose to Anna?” As she showed him the box she had found.

“What?!” Kristoff stood from the couch and walked towards Elsa, taking the box from her hands. “Where did you get this?”

Her brother’s anger called her attention. “It was inside the drawer.”

“And you thought it was okay to open the box?” he said in anger.

“It was open,” Elsa said, excusing herself. “You can't blame me when you leave an engagement ring lying around.” She saw him sigh and sat down once again. “Are you going to propose?”

“I was…” he said after a minute in silence. “A couple of months ago.”

“You were?” That didn’t sound okay. At first Elsa was hurt Kristoff hadn’t shared his intentions with her, but now she was truly curious and a little concerned. “What made you change your mind? I thought things were okay between you two…”

“Things are fine. Don't worry.”

“Why did you change your mind then?”

“It doesn't matter,” he answered in a low voice.

Elsa knew something wasn’t right. Kristoff wouldn’t buy an engagement ring only to change his mind. Something had happened, and it worried her. “It does matter.”

“I don't want to talk about it, Els.”

The nickname he rarely used let her see he was actually begging her not to ask too many questions. “Fine…” she agreed, letting him off the hook. But still, she had to ask her original question. “Why didn't you tell me? I would have loved helping you pick the ring. Though you clearly didn’t need my help, it’s beautiful.”

Kristoff smiled. “It was months ago. You couldn't move or leave the house at the time.”

Thinking about his answer, Elsa realised the only time she was unable to move was the first month after the accident. “You've had the ring since January? I can't believe you haven't said anything in over–” She stopped herself mid sentence when she realised the reason Kristoff didn’t want to talk about the ring. “You changed your mind after you found out Anna is my sister, didn't you?”

“As I said, it doesn't matter.” He closed the velvet box and put it inside his pocket.

Elsa opened her mouth in astonishment . “I can't believe this… You threw away your plans because of what happened? Why would you do that?”

“Why would I?” he exclaimed. “Are you listening to yourself? The world came crashing down on you and Anna, Elsa. I couldn't ask her to marry me when I couldn't look Agdar in the face anymore.” He was surprised his sister didn’t see the obvious reason. “I couldn't ask for the man's blessing when all I wanted to do was punch him in the face.”

“But Anna and you love each other.” That was all that mattered. Elsa walked to the couch and sat by his side. “You don't need to put your life on hold for me or Agdar… You don't need to punch him in the face either.,” she murmured as an afterthought.

“I know but–” A tired sigh stopped him. “You mean a lot to me. All I want is to see you happy.”

“And I want to see you happy.” Elsa couldn’t understand why he was being so dense. “I know for a fact Anna makes you happy. Don't be an idiot and ask her to marry you.”

“If I do, I’ll need to give the Arendelles a second chance,” he said, looking her in the eye.

“So?”

“So?” he repeated. “Don’t you mind?”

“Of course not, Kristoff. They are Anna's parents,” said Elsa with a small laugh. “It’s as if you stopped talking to them just because of me.” His sheepish smile told Elsa all she needed to know. “You haven't talked to them all this time, have you?”

“No.”

“For goodness sake, Kristoff!” Her brother’s loyalty was truly unbelievable. “I knew you were on my side on this, but I never thought you stopped talking to them altogether!” Elsa pinched the bridge of her nose, exasperated. “Please, stop making things harder for you and Anna. Go talk to them.”

“Are you sure?”

Her heart warmed at Kristoff’s hesitation. She wasn’t sure what she had done to have someone like him in her life. “They care about you, Kristoff. I noticed it the night we had dinner together. You're part of their family.”

“What are you going to do?” he asked, surprising her.

“About what?”

“About your birth parents…” He scratched the back of his head, unsure if it was okay for him to ask. “Will you give them a second chance? I know you gave Anna a letter addressed to them.”

“Oh… I- I don’t know” she hesitated. “Idunn sent me some letters which let me see things in a different light. I'm still not sure what to do, but I guess answering back was a start.” She took a deep breath, “If I have to be honest, I only read them because I knew it would make Anna happy.”

A grin appeared on his face as he gave Elsa a side hug, “You're a great sister, did you know that?”

Elsa wasn’t sure if he was talking about him or Anna, or both. But she answered anyway. “Anna’s the reason I didn't burn those letters. I'm glad I didn't, though. I guess I needed to hear their side of things…”

---

Guess who’s back, people?! That’s right, my inspiration!

I am so, so sorry for the delay. When I uploaded the previous chapter in February I knew I was going to take some time off. I didn’t have many things written at the time, and I was about to start working on an entrepreneurship I want to start officially in a few months. The thing is, to be able to meet my own personal deadlines I have to work whenever I have free time from my regular job, which as you may guess isn’t a lot. So, all things combined, resulted in this delay.

I want to assure you I am not planning on abandoning this story. Every night, before I go to bed, I try to write one or two lines. I always end up changing some things, and correcting others. But rest assured that I always devote some time to Søsken (I even have some things written for an after story, which also took a lot of time from my hands.)

I also want to let you know that I read each and every comment and I love them. I treasure them a lot! I will try to answer all of you in the following days.

BTW, that entrepreneurship I was telling you about has some things to do with Frozen and Fandoms in general. I’m working on my own art toys collection, so if any of you are interested in seeing my main hobby, just send me a message.

Anyway, that’s all for now folks! Please leave a review saying what you loved / hated about the chapter. I was definitely rusty this time and I wouldn’t be surprised if you find several mistakes, but I didn’t want to delay this any longer.

Stay safe, everyone! Tagging time: @swimmingnewsie @melody-fox @kristoffxannafanatic @kristannafictionals @neptrabbit @skneez @ellacarter13 @wondering-in-life @who-i-am-8 @fanfictionrecommendations-com @815-allisnotlost @khartxo @joannevixxon @betweenthedreams @burbobah @rileysfs @earlvessalius @blood-jewel @disneydreamer8901 @the-sky-is-awake @disneyfan103 @the-magic-one-is-you @anamaria8garcia @welovefrozenfanfiction @bigfrozenfan-archive @bigfrozenfan @frozen-snips @deisymendoza @zackhaikal123 @cornstarch @roostercrowedatmidnight @showurselfelsa @fuzzyelsalikeiduna @when-dawn-arrives @drafteedragon @snowycrocus @tare8chan @localarendellian@wabitham @roostercrowedatmidnight @just-your-local-history-nerd@dontrunintofirexoxo @daphmckinnon @poketin @bruni-is-love @luna-and-mars @anotherpersondrawing @lovelucywilde @shimmeringsunsets @aries1708 @wabitham @agentphilindaisy @anotherpersondrawing @spkfrozen Let me know if the tags work!

#Søsken #sosken #frozen #frozen fanfiction #Elsa #Kristoff #Elsa & Kristoff BroTP #frozen modern au #Kristanna #frohana #anna #Chapter 26 #Iduna #agnar

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painted-starlight · 4 years ago

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Frozen 2:The Impression of Accountability, Iduna and Agnar Characterization Analysis

Warning: LONG POST, Anti-Frozen, spoilers for Frozen 2, swearing, talking about racism and mentions child abuse. If I get anything wrong on the issue of accountability, please don’t hesitate to correct me.

Summary: Examining the inconsistencies between Frozen 2′s depiction of the behavior of Iduna and Agnarr and how this affects the overall themes of Frozen.

Introduction

I’ve let myself sit on Frozen 2 and how I feel about it for a couple of months now. I’ve mostly focused on the meta-aspects of the film, from it’s character design to the early spoilers, but nothing too in depth until recently.

And I’ve come to this conclusion that Frozen 2 is almost accountable, but backs away from any true accountability on the part of Arendelle and, most controversially from the response from my posts, Elsa and Anna’s parents.

Arendelle: The Spirits Hate Them But Not Really

Frozen 2 is often praised for it’s handling of holding Arendelle accountable for it’s crimes. The spirits are angry with Arendelle for the previous king, Agnarr’s father Runeard for killing the leader of Northuldra. It is up to Anna and Elsa to right the wrongs of the past and destroy the damn that brought only grief to the Northuldra and the spirits of the Enchanted forest.

So, I have a question. If the spirits were so angry with Arendelle, then why trap the Northuldra and allow Agnarr to leave to rule Arendelle without any real repercussions? Sure, King Runeard is killed in battle, an immediate consequence for his actions but that was ultimately a good thing because he sucked. Only a few soldiers were left behind as well. And King Runeard was later succeeded by king Agnarr, his son, who sucked slightly less than him.

Arendelle was allowed to prosper with a better king, and Iduna is rewarded for saving his life by the spirits by having her child be gifted with magic.

For saving the son of the man who murdered the Northuldra leader.

Because that is something to reward...??

I’m starting to think that the concept of accountability is kind of twisted in Frozen 2. Arendelle is explicitly in the wrong, and yet, they are rewarded constantly for no reason.

The entire Northuldra community, who have a good relationship with the spirits and were merely acting in self defense, were collectively punished and forcibly kept in a magic barrier for 34 years. That doesn’t sound very fair to me.

Arendelle is Rewarded Rather Than Truly Punished

Yeah, Arendelle is wrong, but they get more benefits than punishments in long run. In fact, you could argue they were exponentially REWARDED for their heinous actions because as a result of the battle they have:

A super powerful monarch who wields magic (which no one else has because Elsa is special)

A better king than the one who died in battle to succeed him (King Agnarr) and who is married to the woman who is the favored child of the spirits

Citizens allowed to go anywhere they want and do trade with other countries to their benefit

Any consequence of said powerful monarchs magical actions (eternal winter) maybe only lasted three days, TOPS. After that she is immediately accepted for her powers and now Arendelle is essentially bulletproof because they have a magic ice queen to defend them.

Allowed to get a warning before the flood of Arendelle, but the Northuldra didn’t get any.

Allowed Elsa to stop the flood to spare Arendelle, because for some reason the spirits are super cool with Arendelle now?

Like, how fucking crazy would it have been if the spirits woke up and immediately destroyed the dam while everyone in Arendelle was sleeping? THAT would’ve been a life or death conflict.

But the movie is determined to deal with accountability with kid gloves, or weasel out at the last minute.

Part 2: Iduna and Agnarr

Now, the aspect I want to talk about is the way that the story frames Iduna and Agnarr and how this contrasts with what we know about them up until the most recent movie.

This is an examination of the theatrical installments of Frozen because they are the most canonical. Extra stories in books or supplemental material that wasn’t widely released or accessible don’t really count. And not to mention, the consistency between the theatrically released movies and shorts are mostly made by the same team. Therefore, have most canonical elements to them.

Iduna and Agnarr’s Relationship with their Children

Up until Frozen 2, the general consensus was that Iduna and Agnarr’s parents was...misguided.

Misguided being a very soft term in my opinion because I truly feel that what they did was completely out of line and extreme, crossing the border of abuse. But that’s my personal opinion and it’s not how they are framed in the movie.

Control vs. Love Theme

Iduna and Agnarr love Elsa and Anna. That much is true. However, Frozen, like a lot white disney princess movies believes that good intentions means benevolent actions. (Please note: I’m going to refer to Elsa and Anna as white coded, because that appears to be the most appropriate given that they are canonically white passing Indigenous characters. Yet, all the white disney princess tropes definitely apply to how they are framed and their characterization in the first film).

However, this is not true whatsoever in reality, but most importantly, it’s not consistent with what is shown as a result of their desire to control Elsa.

And yes, their desire to control and contain her meant that their “love” for Elsa-- least the impression they gave her and never made her feel otherwise--was conditional love. It means that as long as she controlled her powers they approved of her and gave positive reinforcement.

Iduna and Agnarr’s Love Had Conditions, Anna’s Didn’t

Their approach love can be compared to Prince Hans, because he is another extreme: He wouldn’t be interested in Anna if she didn’t have the power he desired. Many characters in Frozen are compared in whether their love comes with conditions, or is unconditional.

Iduna and Agnarr, unwittingly, proved to Elsa that their love for her was conditional. Yes, they loved her, but they didn’t love every part of her. And that, in of itself, is placing conditions on their love.

If we go by the narrative context of Anna’s love in comparison, hers comes without condition. Elsa’s powers are at their most controlled when she is given love without strings. Which is why the solution was (admittedly very cheesy and somewhat out of place) “love.”

The more specific kind is the love Anna has for her sister. She never stops loving Elsa, even after she is hurt by her. She might be angry, frustrated, but in the end loves Elsa the right way.

Frozen Fever

Subsequent installments drive home this point even further. In Frozen Fever, more is revealed in implications about their parents without directly referring to them by name.

Iduna and Agnarr don’t celebrate Anna’s birthday after the incident. Elsa cannot recognize when she is sick and in need of medical attention. She feels like she needs to go overboard in celebrating Anna’s birthday, is highly self critical, because their parents never allowed either of them to celebrate it.

Olaf’s Frozen Adventure

Olaf’s Frozen Adventure goes even further into the theme that Anna and Elsa are moving away from their parents traditions and expectations.

Elsa laments not having a Christmas tradition, because her parents only rung the bell in front of the citizens as a superficial way to signal “everything’s just fine,” when it wasn’t. When all the mandated bell ringing was done, they went back to separating the sisters.

At the end, Elsa and Anna make their own unique traditions, and that ringing the bell doesn’t matter anymore. Their bond is what makes Christmas special for them. This is narrative cue that they are moving away from their parents and looking toward the future.

Frozen 2: Iduna and Agnarr’s Love is Depicted as Unconditional

And then we get to Frozen 2.

I have problems with the way they portray Iduna and Agnarr as parents in Frozen 2. It started when the film opened with Elsa and Anna playing with Elsa’s magic while their parents look on smiling.

That’s confusing, and a little out of character. I didn’t get the impression in the first movie or shorts that Iduna nor Agnarr particularly cared for Elsa’s powers, and I also didn’t think they would be so cool with her using them so blatantly.

Elsa’s ice powers were the bond that kept Anna and her together. That’s why they had to go and play in secret. Because Elsa’s powers were supposed to be something that couldn’t be played with out in front of their parents. That was the first cue that something was very different about this Iduna and Agnarr.

And Frozen 2 is telling it’s audience that the parents would be supportive? Then why would Elsa feel so anxious about using them and locking herself away for so long after her parents explicitly made changes to the staff, the access to the outside, and refusing to tell Anna about Elsa’s powers? Her actions didn’t come from nowhere. Their negative reaction to Elsa’s powers was a common occurrence.

In fact, that very same night where he looks on lovingly at Elsa’s ice magic, we hear Agnarr immediately placing blame on Elsa for an accident and exacerbating her trauma. This is a reprimanding that has been done before. Her ice powers were something to be hidden.

Agnarr: “Elsa, what have you done? This is getting out of hand.”

Elsa “It was an accident, (to Anna) I’m sorry Anna.”

Iduna: “She’s ice cold.”

Agnarr: “I know where we have to go.”

Does this sound like the same man and woman who, just hours earlier looked on with happiness at his child using her ice powers to play pretend with her sister? It really doesn’t.

King Agnarr and Queen Iduna specifically decide to “Lock the gates, reduce the staff, and limit her [Elsa’s] contact with people. Keep her powers hidden from everyone...including Anna.”

The filmmakers really pulled out all the stops in the sequel to make sure that all the pain and suffering Elsa went through was actually totally just her own decisions, and the not the decisions that her parents made for a young child.

I’m not going to lie, I get why they made so many changes. They wanted to expand on Iduna’s heritage and explain Agnarr’s view of magic without complicating the story too much.

But these morally gray elements to their characters and the revelations on their backstories didn’t need to be mutually exclusive. If the filmmakers held Agnarr and Iduna accountable, we could’ve had a very unique set of parents in disney canon.

Personally, I think that portraying them without the morally gray areas of their actions and having with an unambiguously supportive relationship with their children in Frozen 2 conflicts with their earlier actions. It makes the story flow a little bit better in the sequel to uncomplicate their relationship, but I think the way they set them up would’ve been interesting too.

Olaf’s Recap Removes the Parent’s Decision to Lock Elsa Away

I was also tipped off that the whole framing of the parents was being twisted when I saw Olaf’s recap in Frozen 2.

Olaf: [As Elsa] Anna, no too high! Blast! [a Anna] Ohhh! [as Elsa] Mama Papa Help! Slam, doors shutting everywhere, sisters torn apart. Well, at least they have their parents. [beat] Their parents are dead.

The way he describes the situation is bizzare to say the least. He doesn’t mention “conceal, don’t feel” even once. He mentions the parents positively, stripping their role in Elsa and Anna’s separation and only leaving it between the lines. I think this is because if they remind the audience about the things the parents did, the audience would have a harder time accepting their sudden support for Elsa’s powers.

If the parents actions weren’t controversial, then I think that they wouldn’t have this problem. But it’s like they went out of their way to make it appear that it was actually all Elsa’s decision to lock herself away instead of her parents expecting her to do so without protest.

It Was Iduna and Agnarr’s Decision to Isolate Elsa, Not Elsa Herself

When we really look into the specifics of Elsa’s isolation, we can’t ignore Iduna and Agnarr’s role. The only reason why Elsa became so secretive is because she was conditioned to do so by her parents.

How many times did Anna go to her parents and ask what was wrong with Elsa, only to be turned away to the point where she doesn’t bother anymore?

How could they look at this situation for more than a week, and just allow this to happen? Easily, because it was a solution that worked for them. It honestly looks like they got used to the situation after years of Elsa’s isolation.

Just look at the body language of Elsa’s farewell to her parents, Elsa is NOT happy. Unlike Anna, she remains a good distance away from them. She is nervous and sad without her parents to direct her.

This is reaction they are most likely expecting. Her parents smile on, almost as if to say “she’ll be ok for a couple of weeks, then we’ll be right back to normal and keep her in check.” It’s a reassuring smile, that things will go back to the way they were once they come back. And they don’t.

Elsa Hiding Things is Learned

Look man, I feel like Elsa should be held accountable for a lot of things. Abandoning her people, twice, in the middle of a storm she created. Not getting help for Anna when she was injured and kicking her out of the ice castle instead. All things she should get shit for.

However, I also think that her parents shouldn’t be let off the hook.

My other problem comes from Frozen 2′s emphasis on Elsa hiding things from Anna. The constant references to Elsa shutting Anna out, making decisions without her, would definitely lead a more casual viewer under the impression that it was all Elsa’s decision to lock herself away for years at a time when this simply wasn’t true.

On a meta note, I’ve seen people place all the blame on Elsa to lock herself away to in order to prop up her parents and give them the benefit of the doubt. That they were trying their best in a situation they didn’t have any knowledge of. However, this is an extremely inappropriate reaction to a character who is depicted as a child under the care of her parents.

I think that there is an intrinsic desire for people to believe the framing of movies, and that good intent creates good results. But the text of Frozen shows this isn’t true either. Iduna and Agnarr should be able to be morally gray characters who made decisions that aren’t always beneficial, even with the best intentions.

Elsa and Anna, like most siblings, have wildly different feelings toward them. For example, Anna insists to Elsa after finding out the truth about their death that she is not responsible for their decisions when Elsa blames herself.

On one hand, this seems to be an acceptance by the story that they were not perfect people and that Elsa needs to take into consideration that she is not responsible for their actions.

However, the way that this conversation is framed shows that this is a different conversation altogether. Anna means that they gave their lives to HELP Elsa, and that she is a gift for Iduna saving Agnarr. It martyrs their sacrifice, something that most fictional parents, who are portrayed as ultimately good, would be. They died to help her, because they were good parents who made good decisions.

They are Flawed Characters

But...they didn’t make good decisions. They were very flawed individuals. Once something is portrayed as flawed, it can’t be flawless. You can’t just dump their decisions on how they grew up, or say it’s all Elsa’s fault they treated her that way because mature writing means that you accept that your characters need to be held accountable for their decisions.

No matter how many sad looks they give to convey their sympathetic nature in Frozen, the reason Agnarr and Iduna used the gloves and kept Elsa in a constant state of fear so much was because it was working. It wasn’t a good long term plan, nor ideal for them, but it was the one they went along with because it kept Elsa’s powers in check.

I personally don’t like how the filmmakers made them the idea of parents. Iduna is the idea of a mother and Agnarr, the idea of a father. We are supposed to put fond memories of good parents into their characterization because they rely on audiences not really remembering them in the first movie. The biggest scene with them is their death in the original movie.

If they simply were just parents who died, then the characterization is Frozen 2 would be a welcome expansion of underdeveloped characters with little screen time.And within the vaccum of the sequel, their unconditional love for their daughters makes sense. If we place the generic idea of a mother into Iduna’s role, we get to know the mother who always loved her daughter finally reconnecting with her after her tragic death. With Agnarr we get a loving father who only wanted what was best for his daughters, who was misguided on the truth of the past.

But Iduna’s big duet with Elsa, “Show Yourself” only highlights the parents role in her involvement with making Elsa suppress her powers with “conceal, don’t feel” since it’s a direct response.

Agnarr’s misremembering of the past is used to highlight the truth that needed to be revealed. It’s portrayed as tragic, since we can assume he never learns the truth. And their treatment of Elsa’s powers is never brought up in detail, just glossed over.

Even Parents With the Best Intentions Can Hurt Their Children

The problem is that we could’ve really examined how Iduna, forced with suppressing her identity, made mistakes in trying to protect her daughter. Sometimes people from marginalized groups who have no choice but to assimilate force their children to hide their identity to protect them from harm.

Agnarr’s upbringing is often pointed to as the source of his extreme views on magic, and that he inherited it from his father. But ultimately he is responsible for his actions, and he hurt his daughters. Sometimes people who seek to do better than their parents end up making the same mistakes.

Maybe Iduna regrets hurting Elsa but felt it was a better alternative than being killed for who she is, or Agnarr so focused on protecting her he never realizes it was doing her more harm than good because it was controlling her and giving him the results he wanted.

This could’ve been parallel with his lack of critical thinking when recounting the enchanted forest story. He doesn’t question why the conflict started, even though he has the pieces to put it together himself. He told it in a way that benefited him the most, without considering the people around him.

Both parents could still be held accountable for the pain they caused Elsa and they would also be characters who inspire different feelings from both daughters. This could also be a turning point in Frozen 2′s theme that the sisters are on different paths.

Final Thoughts

Like I said, I understand why the filmmakers of Frozen 2 decided to tone down the harsher implications of the parents actions. And maybe in the end, people really prefer this version of Iduna and Agnarr. But I can’t really ignore what they’ve done because their actions permeate the very themes of Frozen’s views on love and control.

However, these are personal feelings toward this subject and I think it could’ve been handled a little better.

#long post #anti frozen

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annaofthenorthernlights · 4 years ago

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It´s your life

Chapter 5

High and low

A short drop of a sweet Kristanna surprising trip (Modern AU)

Rating: G

Word counting: 2057

Previous chapters (on AO3)

Summary: That day had been great – no, it had been splendid! It had been a dream and she was wondering if she would even wake up again! But then, life can sometimes be cruel and switch within seconds... from high to low...

Anna plopped down onto the bed, sighing contentedly and simply happy.

That day had been great – no, it had been splendid! It had been a dream and she was wondering if she would even wake up again! Kristoff had laid down next to her. So, here they were again, like the evening before when they had arrived. Anna turned to face him, beaming with sparkling eyes, her hand on his chest. Kristoff reached out and covered her fingers with his own hand, glancing at her with a grin. He was exhausted, but her radiant smile sent a warm satisfaction through his mind and body.

“Okay, tonight is yours and you´ll set the program, or maybe NO program anymore for us?!” Anna giggled and rested her head on Kristoff shoulders. “You were amazing, and this day was just soooo… wonderful! I won´t ask anything from you on my behalf, believe me!”

“Hey feisty pants,” Kristoff stroked her hand and reassured her quietly, “honestly it was pretty fun for me, too. I swear – I must admit I got more intrigued than I had expected.” He mused over all the shows, exhibits, and the rides they had attended. Not to mention their participation in the parade. He would even think to feel sort of excited about another go the next day.

Anna chuckled next to him and fumbled for her mobile out of her jeans pocket. She pushed herself up on her elbow and started flipping through the taken pics of the day. She laughed and shook her head, when she´d just found the one she was looking for especially.

“I think we should enlarge this one and hang it framed in your kitchen.” She held it up for him to see. Kristoff grimaced and then brushed his hand over his face. “Yeah right, thanks – now I can´t get the picture out of my head anymore.”

He stood grinning broadly, standing enclosed by a oversized Mickey and Minnie Mouse.

All the while, Anna had pranced and laughed, taking that photo…

There were many more lovely pictures, mostly involving some gigantic plushie figures for which Anna couldn´t pass without hugging.

Now, she was tired – but happily tired.

*****

Hey Anna – hope you´re having a good time. Things are quiet here. Please let me know when you´re back home, okay? Enjoy!

Anna sat on the edge of the bed, waiting for Kristoff to emerge from the bathroom, when Elsa´s message popped up on her screen. She wasn´t sure how to respond at all. Yes, she did enjoy herself immensely. But would Elsa understand? Should she inquire about “the quiet things”? She felt like in a dream and would love to last it at least to the moment when she had to face her grandfather…

Hi sis, thanks I´m overwhelmed with all. Will text you when I get home. Love x

She turned the mobile off and threw it on the bed, when just at that moment Kristoff´s phone started vibrating and buzzing on his nightstand. Startled for the moment, Anna leaned over to notice Sven´s contact shown on the screen. She reached for it before it hopped of the little table.

“Hey Sven!” Anna chirped into the phone. It was always good to have Kristoff´s best friend to talk to. For some reason he seemed to take Anna as his “best friend” along with Kristoff. He was so nice.

“Hey Anna! Sorry, to come at you guys on your romantic weekend. I wouldn´t intrude on you if there weren´t great news. I thought of leaving a note, but this is to amazing. Is Kris around?”

“Don´t apologise Sven! You know, you never disturb – at least not at this hour!” Anna laughed. “Hang on, Kristoff will be right there, just a second.” She held the mobile to her chest to turn, just when Kristoff came out, with his trousers on and shirt half buttoned up.

He sat down next to Anna and took the phone with one hand, trying to finish his buttoning with the other. Anna gave a hand to this task.

“Hey buddy, what´s up?”

“Hey Kris, sorry for the interruption – but I had to tell you personally. You would not believe what happened!”

Then Sven would tell his partner that they got the application confirmed to involve in a building complex construction of ten new family homes. That project announced, approx. 20 miles from their place. The builder of this developing family site project had been specific on choosing local companies to construct the houses. The competition should be a fair one with no oversized companies that dumped their prizes to get the most job calls.

“So, I´ve signed the pre-contract in the name of us both. We´re good in time if you can sign it yourself on Monday. So, enjoy the rest of your trip with the princess of the year, will ye?”

Silence.

“Kris, you´re still on?”

“He is!” Anna giggled into the phone. Kristoff had turned on the speakers and Anna had overheard it all. She was so excited about that news, that she had practically crawled onto Kristoff´s back, kneeling behind him and having laid her arms around his neck. She felt like steading him, as Kristoff sat in a stare, glaring down on the phone.

“I…. I…. I don´t believe it! We got ourselves in ´North-valley side´? That´s not some bad joke, is it?” By now, Kristoff had clasped a hand around Anna´s wrist, to make sure, he was not alone on this.

“No. Buddy. It´s true. Okay? We´ll be fine. And hey, I´m proud to be your partner! Now, please promise me, to take Anna to Dinner and treat yourselves with a good bottle of the best wine and lavish in your time that you have! Love you two!”

Kristoff swallowed hard. Sven was a true friend, had always been. He wondered if Sven knew that… but yes, that pal knew more than he sometimes showed…

“We will! Thank you, Sven. We love you, too!” Anna replied softly.

“Thanks buddy!” Kristoff whispered huskily.

Later at dinner, Honeymaren would take a picture with Anna´s mobile of them sitting together, close cheek to cheek, happily smiling with a good glass of red wine in their hands.

Anna enjoyed so much sending this pic to Sven! So much more, than the text message she had to send to her sister before…

*****

2 days later…

Anna sat on the couch, staring at what was left that would belong to her.

One box full of books and stationary for her studies. Two suitcases with her clothes. A travel bag with little this and that which she had bought from her own money. The little money that she had rightfully earned during her summer jobs at her family´s company.

There was no more left.

Elsa had just left, after she had helped Anna to sort out her few belongings.

“Call me, if you need anything”, she had said. But both knew, there was little range for Elsa to help. Their grandfather had been clear. Anna knew, Elsa wanted to help, to be there, to talk… But Anna had catapulted herself out of that realm. And she had signed that dreadful document.

Reflecting on those last few hours, she wondered if she had the courage and the wits to stick to her decision she had made.

She had faced her grandfather, while Elsa had to attend as witness in the room. He had sharply reminded her of their family tradition, of the many hard worked years of several generations to get their name where they were today. He had asked her if she were aware of how lucky Anna could call herself being born into such a secure nest. And if she truly decided to step out into “her life”, if she had a sense of what would await her?

Anna hadn´t denied this all. She had been privileged. Yes, all good work deserved respect and to be honoured. All good work, especially those who started from zero. By this she thought so much of Kristoff and Sven and their less fortunate backgrounds.

Runeard Rendelle then got at her with his deal. It had all been arranged by the solicitor that took care of the Rendelle´s private affairs. Anna could choose, either to stay with them and go along with their business, or she could leave on her wish. If the latter were the case, she would be denied her monthly support nor any dowry. Of course, Runeard would not be the monster that he seemed and the college fees that had been paid already, he would not withdraw. Not that he would be told to be ungratifying to his own offspring. He wished Anna to complete her final term and go through her exams with merit or not. But at least she would have the title that was worth her name. After that, it was up to her what to do.

Before she would say anything, he was giving her a last speech. Anna should consider the fact that in this world she would land nowhere without money. Her so called friends would soon get rid of her if she couldn´t show off her financial safety. He had sat across the mahogany desk, with a blank face and stated, “of course, it´s up to you, since it´s your life!”. He had emphasised on the last phrase and raised an eyebrow.

Elsa had sat all quiet, but the agony raging within her could be sensed through the room. She was so loyal and dutiful. Anna knew that and she would not blame her sister. But it would not work for her. She thought for an instant, but her mind went numb, her abdomen crinched and all she could think of was to make a fast exit out of this room.

“Thank you, Sir, for letting me finish my finals. I´ll do best I can, I promise. About my decision to follow your advice and this business… I can´t. You might not like my friends, especially Kristoff. But this doesn´t matter to me anymore, your world is not my world.”

After that, she signed the prepared document.

Therefore, Anna Rendelle denied all rights of heritage and support from her family side.

Should she decide to return into the Rendelle business, that´s when she was to withdraw from her former contacts that had been of bad influence upon her person. Then, she would be welcomed back into contract.

It had been disgusting…

She had underestimated the impact this disconnecting step would bestow upon her. Not that she wanted to go back. But then, where would she belong to from now on. Kristoff was on his way to pick her up, to take her home with him. To his home. There was no other place she could rather think of to feel mor home that with him. But she didn´t want to burden him with her scattered self. She had nothing to bring, nothing to offer him for support on rent or making for living for the moment. It would still be a few weeks till her finals and up then…

She felt sort of lost in space, dangling between two worlds. One, she didn´t want to return to and the other, that she didn´t mean to intrude…

Anna had not heard the knock on the front door and looked up weary when Kristoff stood in front of her, his head tilted, concern in his eyes. She would stand up slowly and gesture to her packed stuff.

“This is all. There´s not much left… I´ve nothing to bring, Kristoff… Nothing to offer you that makes me great catch to be taken home with. Will you still have me?” She had clenched her hands in front of her belly, pressing them to her middle, unsure of how to move on from this point. What if her grandfather might had been right and she would lose her friends – and most of all, her boyfriend – because she was stripped of all that wealth and financial backup?

Kristoff had barely noticeable shook his head, replying with a silent crooked smile and opening his arms for her to step closer, directly into his hold. He whispered some loving words into her hair, soothing words. Of course, he would take her home!

So Runeard Rendelle was wrong after all…

#Frozen #Fanfiction #Kristanna #surprise trip to Disneyland #step of change #decisions #true friendship #feelings....

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gryfon-spanish-werewolf · 4 years ago

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okay @themountainsays I’m more awake now and can write the thing. The thing being my tags regarding this post by @hella-amberpricefield about Anna leaping from the collapsing dam in Frozen 2 and being caught on the other side by Lt. Matthias

I think there’s something significant about how it’s Lt. Matthias who catches Anna, and not Kristoff. I wouldn’t say I have a ‘correct’ answer as to why that is, but narratively speaking, I DO think it’s intentional that it was Lt. Matthias

To be fair, he was right there. The last thing we see Matthias do is rescue a fellow soldier from being crushed by the thrown rocks, which actually puts him marginally closer to the dam than it did when he was banging his shield. In comparison, Kristoff is left off screen needing to find a way up to Anna after boosting her onto the ledge level with the dam. She has a full (though brief) conversation with Lt. Matthias, THEN runs onto the dam itself, then it starts breaking, and then she jumps. This, by the way, takes 1m35s in the movie: from when Anna reaches to top of the ledge, converses, rushes past Lt. Matthias onto the dam, and is then successfully rescued and pulled to safety. We have no way of knowing how difficult the terrain was to navigate, or what Kristoff and Sven had to do to reach Anna in time but...

But it’s also... irrelevant. Because if the writers had wanted Kristoff to be the one catching Anna then they would have just done it. We would have accepted the fact that he’d found a way up in time to save her. In fact you could easily argue that it would have made MORE SENSE for Kristoff to save her because it could have culminated into this moment of, “I’m here for you, I’ve got you, you can lean on and trust me,” and then later on, the proposal would have had an even deeper meaning to it. He already had the, “I’m here, what do you need?” line from before and then he has the, “My love is not fragile” line like - I find it very clear that they wanted Kristoff to be putting Anna’s needs and wants above his own when it mattered most, regardless of his own insecurities and fears.

I can see an alternate scene in my head where Kristoff is the one whose hand saves her and Lt. Matthias is secondary, helping pull her up into Kristoff’s secure embrace. In fact it’s so easy to imagine it, that I think people forget that it WASN’T Kristoff at all!

So why is it Lt. Matthias?

Could be a couple of reasons

For starters, he is (or was) the Captain of the Guard for Arendelle. It’s literally his job to protect Arendellian Royalty and the town itself. In his failure to protect King Runeard the day of the betrayal (not that he knew it was Runeard’s fault) and being uncertain of Prince Agnarr’s location post-fight, his mission became the abstraction of “Arendelle” as a whole, which can I think fairly be summed up as his troops and the dam. To him the dam symbolizes the protection of Arendelle, so damage to the dam is damage to his purpose, the thing that has kept him going for 30 years. When Anna requests that one of these things be taken from him too, he’s understandably distraught. He questions her information (though just as easily accepts Anna’s “my sister [the queen] gave her life for the truth [which puts me in charge by default]” which... sure okay, the plot’s gotta keep pace, we DO have Earth Giants inbound). Saving Anna from falling re-establishes Lt. Matthias’ role as a protecter of the living Arendelle; not the past, not the symbol, but the present and the TRUTH

Also, Lt. Matthias could be interpreted as one of the last remaining personifications of Old Arendelle. Of Runeard’s Arendelle. He is quite literally the last person that needs to be convinced of Runeard’s selfish and horrendous acts against the Northuldra. Old Arendelle physically stands in front of Anna as her final barrier to “fixing the past”

There’s a lot going on here! There’s informational conflict, there’s loyalty conflict, there’s rank and power conflict, there’s personal bias conflict, there’s lived experience and just plain age conflict, there’s generational conflict, LIKE?!?!

It’s literally a conversation that stuffs,

“What you believe is painfully wrong but you didn’t know,”

and,

“This new information is correct, comes at great sacrificial cost, and damages what you know about yourself and your country,”

and,

“I need you to reconcile this and the last 30 years of belief ASAP because that dam needs to come down NOW”

into 55 seconds. ANYONE would have some strong feelings about that xD

But you know what? Shout out to Matthias, because he not only decides to believe Anna, but to facilitate the destruction of the dam (WHICH HE WAS GOING TO STOP HER FROM DOING, may I remind y’all), FASTER, by personally getting the giants’ attention

It is significant that Lt. Matthias catches Anna because it is literally the past reaching out to the present in order to seek the future. It is the past obliterating itself to clutch tightly to the present, hoping for a better tomorrow. Lt. Matthias makes the difficult choice to ACT in the face of his country’s wrong-doing by physically grasping the future of Arendelle by the hand so as to not drown in the mistakes of the past

Kristoff saving Anna removes all of that context and subtextual weight, and I for one and so SO glad that it is not Kristoff who saves Anna. It’s not that, as a character, Kristoff doesn’t deserve to save the love of his life, it’s what we’d expect, actually

But it’s not. It’s Lt. Matthias. It’s the old guard, the father figure, the proud and the traditional

The man who says to do the Next Right Thing

Even when it’s hard. Even when you may not have all the facts. Even when the facts fly in the face of everything you thought was true

When you see the future struggling to escape the flood of the past, of mistakes and lies, and what might feel like an impossible weight to overcome... make the choice. Act

Lt. Matthias, in a few short moments, shows that: he acknowledges Arendelle’s dark past, acknowledges the part he played in it (both in a leadership and follower role aka active and passive), acknowledges his continued participation in inflicting pain on the Northuldran people and land, and acknowledges that all of that requires him to act justly, here and now

And I really hope that the writers were trying to convey that sentiment by having Lt. Matthias, and not Kristoff, save Anna. To say: “You have can have pride in your past and understand that it is filled with harm towards others, intentional or not. And you can recognize that the structures that give you power and status can and have harmed others, with or without your consent. But none of that should paralyze you from acting towards the proper course of action now.”

Lt. Matthias saves Anna because Arendelle cannot be saved otherwise. It’s.. it’s kind of the whole premise for the movie, actually. The past MUST be reconciled with the present for there to be a future, but the past cannot simply be forgotten or swept away. Acknowledgement is key. Past AND Present are key. Kristoff carries none of that weight on his shoulders, and therefore the only remaining option is to have Lt. Matthias there, arm out, waiting to grasp the future

#this has been Stream of Consciousness About Frozen 2 Themes with your host: me #look I actually think Lt. Matthias is actually a REALLY symbolic character despite his extremely small amount of screentime and ALL of it #has to do with with how he represents Old Arendelle #this whole thing is a very thinly veiled metaphor for historical reparations #which Disney could hardly pull the trigger on loudly bc... well.. money and profit #but some of it still made it in I swear - even if it wasn't executed all that well over all #anyway uhhhh I hope this #satisfies your curiosity #themountainsays #apparently I had a lot to say about it HAHA #Frozen 2 meta #Lt. Matthias #Anna #Kristoff #the dam scene #Frozen 2 themes

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hafanforever · 5 years ago

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Pride and Prejudice

WOW!!! I am so, SO thrilled about the reception of my previous analysis “Keep Your Hands to Yourself”! I only submitted it one week ago, and it’s already reached over 1K notes! Thank you SO much to all my friends, followers, and other users who have checked it out! It is this kind of response to my analyses that motivates me to keep writing, especially for Frozen II right now, so here is my next one on said film! 😁😄

This analysis is my second one about King Runeard and his villainy. Like the first one I wrote about him and all the other Frozen II analyses I wrote after seeing the movie, I came up with a pun for the title: “Pride and Prejudice”. This analysis focuses solely on my thoughts and interpretations of his real nature, which Elsa discovers when she sees the snowy ice figure of him in Ahtohallan. This moment is only 15 seconds long and Runeard barely says more than 30 words in it; yet he displays pride and prejudice VERY well here, and that’s how I came up with this title! 😆

Although I previously talked about such detailed thoughts about Runeard, I can’t help but single out this one scene to discuss again because even though it’s brief, this scene alone provides enough about him that I can describe what he was really like. Now I don’t want to repeat my descriptions about him too much…but at the same time, it feels a little hard to do. 😉

So while Runeard was briefly seen and had only a couple of lines of dialogue in Agnarr’s story in the prologue, it is while Elsa is in Ahtohallan and sees figures of him and of other people from moments in the past, both in and near Arendelle, that Runeard’s true colors are finally exposed.

In summary, while Runeard was revered as a kind, noble, generous ruler in his lifetime, Elsa and Anna discover that he was actually an arrogant, manipulative, ruthless tyrant who detested magic and distrusted the Northuldra solely because they associated with magic. Runeard constructed the dam in the Enchanted Forest with a claim to the Northuldra that it was a gift of peace and would bring prosperity to their land. But in truth, he plotted to seize control of and eliminate the Northuldra using the dam with its true purpose of weakening the forest and starving the people of their resources so that they would be desperately forced to turn to Runeard.

As I described him before, Runeard’s lines in this short scene provide plenty of information for me to translate just what kind of person he really was in life. Runeard was in the highest social rank since he was a king, which gave him the most amount of power over everyone else. He was at the very top in society, and he wanted to make sure he remained at the top. In being a king, he had a VERY high opinion of himself. He saw himself as supreme, superior, the greatest person of all in regards to his social rank. He believed that all the power he ever needed was in his own status as a monarch. Runeard’s position as a king made him very arrogant and inflated his ego so much that he was determined not to let anything or anyone stand in his way of power. His determination was such that he was willing go to any lengths he considered necessary to prevent his authority and legacy as a monarch from being challenged, threatened, or ruined.

When the manifestation of Runeard appears in Ahtohallan, he is walking alongside his second-in-command officer, who says that he doesn’t understand what Runeard is trying to tell him. He orders the officer to round up Arendelle’s whole army and bring them to the Enchanted Forest, which the officer questions by wisely pointing out that there is no reason for the Northuldra to be distrusted. Immediately after these words are spoken, Runeard stops dead in his tracks before he states his reason why the Northuldra can never be trusted. When Runeard stops walking, he scowls as he turns to the officer, who immediately recoils. The man looks surprised as he does, but his face also shows fear, which is aimed at the king’s expression. Runeard’s scowl suggests that he is very displeased that the officer disagrees with him and is trying to argue about his decision. It suggests that Runeard was extremely intolerant and unaccepting of his judgment and kingly authority being questioned, particularly by someone below him in rank. It’s also clear to me by his scowl that he thinks that the officer should know better than to argue and disagree with him about anything. As quoted by my friend @victortky, the way Runeard’s tone of voice sounds as he says his next line is like he’s actually saying to the officer, “I’m always right and you are a fool for questioning me.”

Then Runeard says his infamous words that the Northuldra can never be trusted, simply because they follow magic, and he goes on by explaining what magic does to people, or rather, what he believes magic does to people. The fact that Runeard says “never” in this sentence underlines the concept that he was definitely set in his bigoted views about magic, that these views of his were conclusive and final, and that nothing could ever be said or done to make him believe otherwise. This theory is supported by his scowl before he makes his declaration; he immediately, clearly, and absolutely refuses to take the officer’s advice, AND he adamantly refuses to even CONSIDER doing so, just because he despises magic. The subtle revelation of his supremacy and arrogance here also emphasizes his severe stubbornness and flat-out refusal to ever give a chance to anyone magical, and all simply because he hates and fears magic.

Now it’s not known what Runeard’s motives are for hating magic, but I believe that one of his reasons is because magic is the only form of power some people consider to be greater than that of a monarch. It is the only kind of power that would be his competition, the only kind that could stand in his way as a ruler. Hearing him speak these words out loud is evident that Runeard feared and hated magic so much that it corrupted his judgment to the point that he would develop instant distrust towards any beings who either possess magical powers or have any kind of associations with magic. With this kind of judgment, Runeard presumably believed that anyone and anything with magical connections would view themselves as superior, as the most powerful beings of all, and thus far superior and more powerful than a king like him. I even think that Runeard was severely consumed by his fear of magic that it stretched further into feelings of paranoia. Such extremities would have made him develop a false concept that the Northuldra would believe that their relations with the forest’s elemental spirits made them more powerful than him. And who knows? Maybe Runeard actually wanted to eliminate the Northuldra because he thought that they might one day try to usurp him and take over his kingdom. If he saw them and their magic connections as a threat to his rule, then that, besides his coldblooded murder of the Northuldra leader, reinforces the idea that Runeard truly would have gone to any lengths he viewed as necessary to avoid having his kingly authority and legacy destroyed.

But Runeard’s final sentence of “It makes them think they can defy the will of a king!” is the one that I consider the most vital in deciphering his character. In particular, the deep scowl, head shake, and gruff tone of voice he exhibits as he says “of a king” really support my idea of what Runeard was truly like: power-hungry, arrogant, egotistical, mighty, hateful, callous, spiteful, superior, bigoted, and haughty. Furthermore, only seconds ago, Runeard said that magic makes people feel too powerful and entitled; yet when he says these last three words, HE is acting very entitled, like HE’S the most powerful person of all! He just looks and sounds VERY full of himself! He speaks as if he has a superiority complex. He also gives an impression of being a complete hypocrite. And even though he may realize this hypocrisy, he probably doesn’t care at all! Like I said before, Runeard apparently viewed himself as supreme and superior to all others, as the greatest person ever just because he was a king. And he PROVES all of these beliefs of mine with these words and the expressions on his face! Heck, I also think that Runeard’s monarch status went to his head so much that he wrongly believed that he was ALWAYS right in any situation, which, again, shows his arrogance, supremacy, and superiority.

But at least poetic justice was met when Runeard fell to his death during the battle that HE started between the Northuldra and Arendelle after murdering formers’ leader. And even though it took over 34 years, Runeard’s evil legacy is finally destroyed when Elsa and Anna discover his crimes, have the dam successfully broken, and form a true alliance of peace between the Arendellians and Northuldrans.

In life, Runeard was desperate to prevent his legacy as a king from being destroyed in the first place; yet ironically, his pride and prejudice are what led to his downfall and ultimately brought his terrible legacy to an end, effectively proving that in the long run, crime doesn’t pay. 😉

#Frozen 2 analyses #Frozen analyses #Disney #Disney Frozen 2 #Disney Frozen #Frozen 2 #Frozen #King Runeard #Disney Villain #villain #pride #prejudice #my stuff #mine

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yumeka36 · 5 years ago

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I just got home from the Frozen 2 advanced screening at Disney Studios (as pictured above, got more swag than I thought I would). Gonna give my immediate thoughts and comments, with a more coherent post at a later date. Obviously, if you don’t want to be spoiled, don’t read below:

WARNING! MAJOR FROZEN 2 SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT!

-I’ve been listening to “Show Yourself” non stop since the soundtrack came out and it was gorgeous seeing the accompanying animation. The song starts as Elsa is riding Nokk towards Ahtohallan and continues as she makes her way through the cave. What was also unexpected for me is that she transforms into her “final form” at the end of the song, so she’s wearing that outfit throughout a good portion of the movie, not just the epilogue, so I hope that means there will be more merchandise for it!

-After that, she wanders through Ahtohallan which is made up of moving “sculptures” made of snow/ice that show memories: she sees some of herself and Anna when they were young playing with Olaf, various people in Arendelle, and of Iduna and Agnarr (I believe Iduna was saying something about being afraid to reveal what she really is, a Northuldra). Some funny parts, Elsa walks by a memory of herself at the end of “Let It Go” and makes a face like “yeah, I was silly back then” XD But the best part was when she walks by a scene of Anna and Hans about to dance at the coronation. She gives it a cold look and then breaks the Hans sculpture, lol.

-The important memory she finds is that King Runeard was using the dam against the Northuldra - something about cutting off their resources so they’d be forced to trade with Arendelle, or something like that, I don’t remember exactly. A poignant part was when Elsa first sees the memory of Runeard and he’s talking about how he hates and doesn’t trust anyone who uses magic, to which she says angrily that his fear is blinding him. And again, Elsa is wearing her final outfit during all this, so there was so much time to ogle it XD

-The “gone too far” part is when she follows the memory of Runeard as it fades down into a deep abyss. He was talking about something suspicious regarding the Northuldra, so she decided to jump down into the depths to find out even though she remembers the song’s warning. She sees that Runeard attacked (and likely killed) the Northuldra leader. She begins freezing as she’s down there and before she gets completely frozen, she sends a burst of magic up above, calling out to Anna (and the fact that Elsa “dies” here is proof that she’s not immortal even after becoming the fifth spirit). Her magic reaches Anna and Olaf in the cave and shows them what happened. They realize they have to destroy the dam but Olaf starts to “flurry” - pieces of snowflakes peel off him and drift away, and he tells Anna that Elsa isn’t okay. Anna pulls Olaf into her lap and holds him there as he fades away. He doesn’t melt exactly and we don’t see the full process: we see his flurries gently flow out of the cave and land in a pile somewhere else. Bruhni watches sadly from a ledge below.

-The saddest thing to me was that, after the aforementioned scene of Olaf’s “death,” the scene fades to black, then opens up again overlooking the same cave but it looks like a different time of day, then cuts to Anna crying inside - so she was literally crying alone in the cave for what could have been hours! I thought right after Olaf melts is when she’d start singing The Next Right Thing, but she spends who knows how long grieving. That is just too sad 8_8 Before she starts singing, she says “Olaf...Elsa...what do I do?” My heart shattered then. Another part that shattered it more was when Anna confronts Matthias and the soldiers as they try to prevent her from approaching the dam. When they ask her why it has to be destroyed, she tells them and says “My sister gave her life for the truth, we can’t lose anyone else.”

-Oh my gosh, the reunion at the end was my favorite part and so sweet~ After the mist around the forest fades, Anna and Kristoff approach the pillars with Anna looking like she’s ready to burst into tears...until some snow crystals flutter around her and then behind to where the shore is (not sure if it’s the shore of the Dark Sea since it’s daylight at this time, or it could just be a nearby beach). She sees Elsa riding Nokk - she starts running toward her but then stops because she’s still not sure it’s really Elsa. When Elsa says her name and holds out her arms, she runs to her and they share a beautiful hug (while Anna is sobbing). Honestly I can’t remember exactly what was said because I was an emotional wreck at that point, but Elsa tells Anna that she’s the fifth spirit, that Anna saved her, and that the bridge has two sides: herself here and Anna in Arendelle, and they’d fix the past wrongs together. And I also loved the fact that Kristoff comes over and is relieved that Elsa’s okay: he says “Elsa, you’re alright!” and gives her a hug, then (humorously) says “ you look different...did you cut your hair?” She also gives Sven a little pet. I’m so glad they included this part as it shows that Kristoff doesn’t just see Elsa as a cockblock to Anna, lol. Kristoff proposes to Anna here as well (Sven tears up a little seeing it XD)

-As for Olaf’s revival, Elsa tells Anna “I have a question for you” “What is it?” “Do you want to build a snowman?” She then concentrates and we see the pile of Olaf’s “flurries” come flying down from the cave to become Olaf again. Elsa says it’s a good thing water has memory, implying that he still remembers everything despite being “resurrected.” The epilogue just had so many cute moments - Anna and Elsa share another hug as they walk back to the stone pillars, Elsa wipes away a tear on Anna’s face, they put there foreheads together at one point when they’re talking, Elsa takes Anna’s hand and leads her to one of the now tamed earth giants and they both gently touch his giant nose, and Frohana share a warm hug. I cannot wait to get HD screenshots of it all!

-And for Anna’s coronation? To be honest, it didn’t seem like a coronation to me - it literally just had Kai announcing Anna as she walks outside (onto a stage I think? Don’t remember exactly) but right after that she’s out in the streets with Olaf, Kristoff, and Sven, who are dressed up. So it must have been some kind of event, but wouldn’t the coronation have a party in the castle and a ceremony, like Elsa had? We then see Matthias outside with another Arendelle citizen (he’s discovering the new technology of photograph, lol) - wouldn’t they be part of the ceremony if there was a coronation, and not just out in the streets doing whatever. It just didn’t seem like a major event was happening, I’ll have to see the movie again. Regardless, they reveal statues of young Iduna and Agnarr (they should have had statues of Anna and Elsa too!) and Anna notices Gale flying about and asks if he/she (does Gale have a gender?) to deliver a letter to Elsa. Gale carries it over to the forest and Elsa reads it. As we know, it’s a reminder about charades. Anna ends the letter saying “I love you” to which Elsa says “I love you too, sis” (that’s where this line that we heard in one of the teasers came from - pretty crazy they’d use a line from the very end of the movie, knowing we wouldn’t figure it out!)

-I mostly talked about the ending here but I’ll say a few things that stood out in the rest of the movie to me: Some Things Never Change was adorable. Anna and Elsa share a sweet hug at the end, during the “holding on tight to you” lines. And I absolutely cracked up during Kristoff’s verse when he’s doing Sven’s voice and telling him about getting down on one knee with the ring - some nearby townspeople see him and it looks like he’s proposing to Sven and they get the most awkward looks on their faces XD The scene in their parents’ ship was really emotional: Anna and Elsa clinging to each other with tears in their eyes as they see the memory of their parents take shape...my heart was breaking. The ensuing scene where Elsa’s overcome with guilt and runs outside with Anna telling her she’s not responsible for their actions, and she believes in her more than anything, etc., More was said between them here and I’m having trouble remembering it exactly but it was deep.

-Oh, and the post-credits scene was hilarious: it’s Olaf telling the events of the story to Marshmallow and the Snowgies (Frozen Fever is canon!) just like he does earlier when he describes the first Frozen to Matthias and the others (”it began with two sisters...”) The funniest part was his dramatizing lines of the latter part of the story - ”Elsa is dead,” “Olaf is dead,” “Anna’s crying alone” - it’s hard to describe, it’s funnier when you see it.

Later I’ll write a post with more coherent thoughts about the movie itself and not just a spoiler list - I might do that soon or wait until I see it again this weekend. But I will say that I loved it - having seen it for myself, I truly believe there’s no “tragic separation” that we’ve been fearing. There’s really nothing bittersweet about it, nothing like Anna saying “will I ever see you again?” because it’s a given that they can still be a family and nothing is keeping them from seeing each other whenever they want. At this point, it’s not that I dislike the ending as it is “I want to see what happens next!” It left me even hungrier for more Frozen, like a short reassuring us that they’re still a family by having another charades scene or something like that. Or another movie is always welcome! There was also some lore/plot-wise things I’m a little confused about, but that’ll be for another post. It’s 1am here and I need to decide if I can sleep or not, lol. If you have any questions, please send them via direct message. I’ll either answer them right away, or tomorrow if I do manage to sleep tonight.

The shock of finally seeing this movie after six years of pining hasn’t sunk in yet but it will soon.

#frozen 2 spoilers #frozen 2 #frozen #disney frozen

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snowfall-fanfictions · 4 years ago

Text

When All Is Lost, All Is Found Ch.1- The Sailor

Ao3 Link

FFN Link

No one was to set foot on the island, that was the decree from King Runeard. And for over 40 years, that decree was followed. Now, when a stranded sailor washes up on Arendelle's shores, claiming he survived the Island, that decree is about to be broken.

Sequel to "Beware the Frozen Heart"

I’m BACK BABEY!!!!!

The waters of Corona Bay glistened under the full moon. Few people were still out and about at this ungodly hour: drunkards stumbling out of pubs to return to their wives, women of the evening strutting about offering their services, and a few homeless children scurrying the empty streets like the rats they slept with. Down by the docks, several shady and hooded figures darted from shadow to shadow, avoiding the numerous guard patrols along the way. One by one, they slid silently into one of the warehouses on the north side. Closing the door behind them, they each removed their hoods and breathed a sigh of relief. One of the men, a thin bald man with cold silver eyes, walked forward to inspect the large crates before him while a still hooded man walked up beside him.

“You two,” he called out, pointing to two men, “get these things open!” The men walked forward as they brandished crowbars. With a loud *clunk*, the two men sank their crowbars in between the wood covering and yanked with all of their might, producing a loud squeaking sound as the nails were pulled out of the wood.

“This’d better be worth it,” he mumbled to the man beside him.

“Yesss, much worth here,” the hooded figure said in a thick Eastern European accent, “I’ve been watching this place for weeks, these crates are full of Chinese jade. Worth millions.”

“Let’s just hope you're right…”

As he finished talking, the crate opened with the loud clattering of wood on stone. All of the men gathered around the opening, ready to collect the precious materials inside, only to be surprised when the crate was empty. Frustrated murmurs filled the warehouse.

“What the-!?” The bald man shouted, turning to the hooded figure, “you said it’d be here!”

His anger was cut short by the sound of guns cocking from behind the crate. Several guards filed out to meet the group with pistols raised. One of them, a young man with a thick red hair and mustache, approached the bald man with a fearful scowl.

“Johann Üstag,” he announced, raising his pistol to his chest, “you’re under arrest in the name of Arendelle and Corona!”

“What?! But how?!”

“Me, you old dumbass!” The hooded figure shouted, dropping his accent. He pulled his hood back to reveal his gaunt face, jet black hair, and scar traveling down the left side of his face. His brown eyes met the man’s silver ones.

“ERYN?!”

“Hello, Johann,” Eryn sneered, “miss me?”

“I-I thought you were in Istanbul, looking for-”

“- for Liam? He’s long gone, I’m afraid. Leapt off the Hagia Sophia rather than come quietly.”

Johann’s body shook at Eryn’s words, “You bastard! Turning on your own friends like this!”

“Don’t pretend you didn’t turn on me, Johann! I still remember when you ruined damn near a month of prep with a bomb.”

“That was Alius, and from what I’ve heard you already got him back.”

“Your right, I did,” Eryn pulled out a revolver from his cloak and aimed it at Johann’s head, “but you didn’t do shit to stop him, so I’m considering this ‘tying up loose ends.’ Now, hands where I can see them, will you?”

Johann glared at him as he raised his hands.

“He’s all yours, Lenny,” Eryn said. Linaeus walked up to Johann and slapped a pair of shackles around the old man’s wrists. One by one, the guards moved through the mob of criminals, restraining them in a similar fashion. Eryn and Linaeus walked through the crowd until they passed through the doors of the warehouse.

“Well,” Linaeus said, “that should be the last of them, right Eryn?”

“Yep,” Eryn sighed, “He’s all that was left.”

“Then why so grim looking? You should be glad this is over now.”

“I still think that I could’ve taken care of it mys-”

Eryn’s sentence was interrupted by a series of rough, dry coughs. He brought his hand up to his face as he tried to force whatever was in his lungs out. Linaeus leaped as Eryn’s coughing fit started up.

“Eryn, are you alright?!” Linaeus said startled.

“I-I’m fine,” Eryn panted as he recomposed himself, “nothing to worry about.”

“Those coughs have been plaguing you for the last two years! There has to be something wrong.”

“It’s. Nothing. Lenny. We need to focus on the job at hand and get these bastards back to Arendelle.”

“Eryn…”

“Trust me, Lenny,” Eryn placed his hand on Linaeus’s shoulder, giving him a half smile, “I’m fine.” Linaeus gave Eryn a worried expression, “Can you at least promise me you’ll get it checked out when we get back?”

“Fine. Now, shall we get going?”

“I have to sort this out with Captain Fitzherbert first. These criminals are also Corona’s problem.”

“Rrright…” Eryn rolled his eyes. He’d grown a rather serious distaste for the husband of the Princess of Corona. At times, the man gave off this air of arrogance and romanticism, something that grated Eryn’s nerves only slightly. It was when Linaeus introduced him to Captain Fitzherbert that their relationship soured.

“I still don’t understand how you two don’t get along. You two are almost identical.”

“We would’ve gotten along if someone didn’t mention the whole ‘pledged my life to an ancient evil to be an assassin’ bit.”

Linaeus cringed at Eryn’s retort, “Look, I said I was sorry.” “It was the first thing you said when introducing m-” a rapid series of coughs interrupted Eryn as he doubled over.

“Why don’t you just… head back to the ship. I’ll talk with Eugune myself.”

“F-fine,” Eryn sputtered, regaining his composure. He hobbled past Linaeus, trying to stifle any remaining coughs.

Linaeus did nothing but shake his head as he watched Eryn slowly return to the ship. Ever since Skyne’s death, Eryn had been acting… strange. When he wasn’t chasing down a lead on one of his former colleagues, he was distancing himself from everyone. He would eat by himself, deliberately avoid the guards assigned to him, and, strangest of all, would take long lonely walks in the dead of night. Any attempt to find out what was wrong was met with a grumbled “nothing” followed by a mild to severe coughing fit. Linaeus couldn’t help but feel worried for his old friend. He let out a sigh, turning back to the warehouse to discuss the transfer of prisoners with Captain Fitzherbert.

He was concerned for Eryn, but Arendelle always had to come first.

XXXXXX

Eryn slumped against the door to his cabin before letting out another coughing fit. It felt as if he gargled seawater and chased it down with wood shavings. All he wanted to do at this point was rip his throat out and toss it into the ocean. Two godforsaken years had these coughs been plaguing him. Eryn lost count of how many sleepless nights he endured, jolted awake by the intrusion in his throat and lungs. As the coughing passed, he let out an exasperated groan. In a way, he felt like this was some kind of cosmic punishment for thinking he could face Skyne alone. Linaeus told him the whole ordeal a few days after apprehending Markus, how Skyne struck him down and how the queen managed to intervene and kill the monster. The one chance he had to prove himself and he blew it.

You really are an ass, aren’t you? He thought to himself, the whole world could’ve ended because of you, and you’re sitting here pissed because you didn’t get the fame for saving it. How the hell did you convince Elsa to spare you…

Eryn let loose a loud sigh. In his mind, Elsa was being far too kind to him. The two of them met all because of a few sacks of gold and the request of her head on a silver platter. Secretly, he’d been dreading the day the final member of the old gang was in chains. That meant he’d have to return to Arendelle and face her again. Eryn wasn’t sure what would await him upon the delivery of Johann. He fully expected to be thrown in the dungeons once again, or even put on the gallows immediately.

Mustering the little strength he had gathered in the past few minutes, Eryn lifted himself off of the floor and fumbled over to his hammock. Perhaps some sleep would clear his mind and conscience. He flopped onto the hammock as he let his eyelids go heavy before drifting to sleep…

He was back on the North Mountain, his hands covered in blood. Elsa laid before him, her throat slit and her eyes still and glassy. Anna sobbed loudly as she cradled her elder sister in her arms. Linaeus approached him with his sword drawn, pointing it towards Eryn.

“ERYN!” Linaeus shouted, “WHY?!”

Before he had a chance to respond, an inky black tentacle pierced Linaeus’s chest. Eryn could feel the blood splatter onto his face as his friend slumped to the floor with a loud gurgling noise. Looking up, Eryn saw… him. The crimson eyes that pierced his soul. The inky black skin that blotted out the night sky behind him. The serpentine head, a maniacal grin overtaking it. The antlers, now stained with blood. The canine-like legs sinking into the snow. The wretched smell of death and decay. Skyne lifted Anna into the air, who was begging to stay with her sister. In an instant, Anna was enveloped in an orb of darkness. All Eryn could hear was the shrill shrieking of the princess followed by the sound of crunching bones. Skyne let out a wicked chortle as he lifted Eryn off of the ground and brought him to face level.

Come now, Odrikson, the monster growled, Isn’t this what you wanted?

“N-no!” Eryn gasped, clawing at the beast’s grasp, “I want out!”

I’m afraid that’s no longer an option. You’ve signed away your freedom the second you swore allegiance to me!

“Let. Me. GO!” Eryn’s heart raced as he felt Skyne tighten his grip around him.

T̷̬̍H̷̺̓Ë̵͓́R̵̥̓È̵̬'̵̩͐S̸͖̍ ̵̜͐N̵̤͆O̸̦͘ ̷͔͝T̶̻͗U̷͛͜Ř̵͈N̸͈̎I̷͈͒N̶̦̋G̷͗ͅ ̶̢͐B̷̭͐A̵̯̽C̶̭̏K̴͚͊ ̶͇͒N̶̤͌Ő̴͓W̶̝͐!̷̘̑

Skyne’s grip became tighter and tighter. Eryn struggled to free himself, only enticing the spirit to squeeze harder until he could hear his bones crack under the immense pressure…

“Eryn! Wake up!”

Eryn bolted upright in his bed, panting as if he ran a marathon. A sheen of sweat covered his forehead as his heart raced. Eryn snapped his head to the left, only to be greeted by a concerned Linaeus kneeling by his bedside.

“L-Lenny!” Eryn gasped, “Wh-what happened?”

“What happened?” Linaeus gawked, “I overheard you shouting in your sleep, that’s what happened. Something about ‘wanting out.’”

Eryn buried his face in his hand as his panting subsided. It was just a nightmare, he thought, Everyone is-

As soon as his breathing stabilized, Eryn was greeted by another bout of coughing. This time felt much harder and more fierce than any before. It felt as if his throat was on fire.

“Here, drink some of this,” Linaeus said as he handed Eryn a small flask. Without hesitation, Eryn grabbed the drink and eagerly gulped it down. As he drank, he could feel Linaeus’s gaze boring a hole into him.

“Th-thank you,” Eryn said, returning the flask to Linaeus. The general’s look of concern didn’t change as he took the container from Eryn’s hand.

“You know what I’m going to ask, right?” Linaeus asked.

“It was nothing. Don’t worry about it.” Eryn quickly responded as he attempted to get out of bed.

“You had that nightmare again, didn’t you? With… him?”

Eryn winced at Linaeus’s question. “Y-yeah…”

“Eryn, this isn’t ‘nothing.’ You’ve been having those nightmares since--” “I can deal with them myself,” Eryn snapped, “A few bad dreams haven’t hurt anyone.”

“But if it’s the same bad dream for two years? That’s not normal, Eryn.”

“We work for a woman who controls ice and snow, what do we know about ‘normal?’”

“Even Elsa’s magic can’t manipulate dreams, Eryn,” Linaeus folded his arms as he rose from the floor, “You shouldn’t be ignoring this, you know…”

Eryn flopped his head back onto his pillow. “Ugh, fine,” he groaned, “I’ll see what help I can get once we get back to Arendelle.”

“We are back in Arendelle.”

Eryn shot back up from the bed, “What?! A nonstop trip from Corona to Arendelle takes at least two days! Are you telling me that I slept the entire trip?”

“Indeed you did. Had to fight to keep the captain from tossing you overboard.”

Eryn could overhear the crew shouting and moving objects above. His heart sank as he realized that Linaeus wasn’t joking.

“Er, thanks, I guess?” Eryn let out a weak chuckle.

“Wouldn’t want to miss out on your audience with the queen, now would you?” A small smile formed on Linaeus’s face. Eryn returned the smile, but could feel his anxiety creep through his body.

“What’s got you so worried?” Linaeus chuckled, “She’s not going to bite, y’know?”

As far as you know, Eryn thought, but resisted the urge to say anything. He knew of Linaeus’s feelings towards the queen (well, everyone knew except for Elsa) so Eryn wished to avoid insulting her in front of him.

“I’ll leave you be so you can ready yourself,” Linaeus walked over to the door and swung it open before turning back to Eryn and adding, “And don’t forget about… well, you know.”

“R-right. Thanks, Lenny.”

Linaeus nodded and closed the door behind him. Eryn let out an audible gulp. This was it: the day he both awaited and dreaded. Once he left this boat, his fate was up to the queen. Might as well get this over with, he thought to himself as he got out of bed.

XXXXXX

“Wait,” Olaf said, scanning the large map of North America laid out on the desk. He stood next to Anna upon Elsa’s chair as he smoothed out the map with his twig hands. “They want to take all that land?”

“Yep,” Anna said, looking over the map, “Well, it’s a little more complicated than that. From what I’ve heard Elsa talk about, Texas wants to be a part of America but some Americans don’t want it.”

“But it’s so big! You could fit like... a hundred Arendelles in it!” Think of all the snowmen you could make in there.”

“Ehhhh, seeing how it’s mostly desert, you won’t get a lot of snowmen out there.”

“Then why take so much?”

Anna quickly rolled up the map before saying, “How about we take a break for now? I’ll go check on Elsa if you can go down to the docks to wait for Linaeus and Eryn. I promise that we’ll keep talking about this later.”

“Oooh! I can do that! I missed Derri-- I mean Eryn.” With that, Olaf hopped off the chair and scurried out of the room. Anna placed the map under her arm as she walked out with him, only to be immediately greeted by Kristoff, her fiancé, leaning against the wall in his normal fur outfit. Anna ran towards him as he caught her in a warm embrace.

“Hey,” she said against his shirt, “I missed you.”

“Hey yourself,” he replied, “How’s the current events lesson going?”

“I’m not sure how to describe slavery to a snowman,” Anna detached herself from Kristoff, “Wow, that’s an odd sentence.”

“Odder than ‘My sister can sneeze life?’”

“Okay, that’s valid. Speaking of which, have you seen Elsa?”

“Heard some of the staff say she was in the library. Not sure what she’s doing there, though.”

Anna pursed her lips. Ever since Elsa came back from the North Mountain, she started getting borderline obsessed with ancient myths and legends. Anna always found her curled up on a chair somewhere with a massive book of mythology either resting on her lap or collapsed on the floor. Anna couldn’t get any answers out of her, all she would get was an “I’m fine, Anna,” or “Don’t worry, Anna.” But that’s all she could do. She worried that her sister was falling back into her old habits. Worried that she was going to lose Elsa again. How could she do anything but worry when she didn’t have the whole story?

“Hey,” Kristoff placed a loving hand on her shoulder, “You wanna go check on her?”

Anna gave him a warm smile, “Yeah, thanks.”

The two of them made their way down the hall when Anna jerked to a stop. She knelt down and began hiking up her dress when Kristoff came and knelt beside her.

“Is your leg acting up again?” He asked as she hiked up enough of her dress to reveal her wooden prosthetic. He was still impressed as to how fast that came in after the attack. What impressed him further is that, rather than just a pegleg, it closely resembled an actual human leg and foot, even matching Anna’s creamy skin color.

“Yes,” Anna groaned, “Can you… uh… push that in?” Anna pointed to a small metal piece jutting out of where the artificial ankle was. Without hesitation, Kristoff shoved the protruding piece back into place.

“I thought this thing was ‘state of the art,’ why does it feel like it breaks every other day?” Kristoff asked, standing up while helping Anna off of the floor.

“Well, the doctors did say that I shouldn’t do too much ‘strenuous activity’ with it, but you know me, Miss Strenuous Activity herself.”

Kristoff lightly chuckled, “Heh, you’re right on that. Let’s just get to the library before that thing breaks again.”

“I’ll race ya.” Anna gave him a cheeky wink.

“I’m not sure if that leg of yours is gonna--” before Kristoff could finish his sentence, Anna flew down the corridor and off to the left. Kristoff simply sighed as he bolted down the corridor in a vain attempt to catch up to his beloved.

XXXXXX

“Alright, let’s look through this again,” Elsa told herself, dipping her quil in the inkwell. Before her on the mahogany desk laid out some parchment paper, a book that translates from Latin to English, and a worn old book she found on accident two years ago, hidden behind one of the bookshelves. She couldn’t believe her eyes when she read through the passages. An authentic skald poem, thought to be lost hundreds of years ago, about magic! After months of fruitless searching about Skyne, Ahtohallan, or even Aren the First, this writing was a godsend. What wasn’t a godsend, however, was attempting to translate the illegible writings. She’d lost track of how many nights she spent trying to decipher the ancient texts. To her left, a small piece of parchment where she wrote down some translations of the text into something more legible. Relaying her sight between the book of translations and the skald poem, Elsa diligently printed line after line onto the parchment paper, careful as to not misspell or miss any words. Once she fully translated the passage, Elsa placed the quill back into the inkwell and began to read over the passage:

A thousand years ago,

When magic roamed these lands,

Man and myth together

Lived in fair harmony

From Ahtohallan’s shores

To southern lands most far

The four masters roamed wide

Where North Wind met the sea

Elsa paused at the last phrase. She heard it before, in her mother’s lullaby about the source of all magic. Elsa absentmindedly bounced her foot as she contemplated this information. It’s a start, at least, she thought to herself before retrieving her quill and starting again. Perhaps the rest of the poem would have more informa-

“ELSA!”

Elsa jumped at the shouting of her name, encasing her quill in ice. She quickly around, her blue eyes narrowed in anger, to find Anna and Kristoff standing before her.

“Please just knock next time, Anna,” Elsa sighed as she tried prying the quill out of her hand.

“I did,” her sister replied, “you were just so busy with… whatever it is you’re doing, you just didn’t hear.” As Elsa listened to Anna’s explanation, she waved her open hand over the icy quill, vanishing the cold before setting it back into her inkwell

“Is everything alright? Is it your leg again?”

“No, no. It’s just…”

“We were a little concerned about you,” Kristoff interjected.

“There’s nothing to be concerned about. I’m perfectly— ANNA!”

Anna held Elsa’s work in her hands, reading it silently to herself. Once she was done, Anna looked up to Elsa with a look of confusion.

“Elsa, what is this?”

Elsa sighed in defeat. “I-”

Before she could explain, Elsa was interrupted by a knock on the door. Gerda meekly entered the room, giving the queen a small curtsey.

“Sorry to interrupt, your majesty, but General Torvond and Mr. Odrikson have arrived from Corona.”

“O-oh,” Elsa felt a wave of both relief and anxiety rush over her. Even two years later, she was still kicking herself for letting her guard down and allowing an assassin so close to her, let alone growing attracted to him. Ever since the day she found out the truth, Elsa swore she’d never be duped like that again. For her sake, and for Anna’s.

Elsa shook off the feeling as she regained her composure. “Good,” she said, “do they have Mr. Üstag with them?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. They’re on their way to the castle now.”

Elsa nodded, “Very well, I’ll meet them in the courtyard in a bit. Thank you, Gerda.”

As Gerda left the room, Elsa turned to face a slightly annoyed Anna, pouting disapprovingly.

“So are you going to tell us what’s with the books?” Anna asked.

“I’ll… tell you after we deal with Eryn and Linaeus.”

“Promise?”

“Super sister promise. Now, let’s head to the courtyard.” Elsa briskly walked out of the library as Anna and Kristoff exchanged worried looks.

“She’s doing it again,” Anna said.

“But she at least promised to tell you,” Kristoff replied, “that’s more than any other time.”

“But is she serious about it or is she just saying that?”

“Only one way to find out.” Kristoff gestured to the hallway as the two of them casually walked down to the courtyard.

XXXXXX

“All this for what, Eryn? To become some royal’s pet?” Johann sneered.

“Oh, shut it, you old bastard,” Eryn grunted as he shoved him through the streets. Throughout the city, people stared quizzically at the three men as they made their way towards the castle. Just a few steps ahead of them, Olaf was skipping merrily across the cobblestones prattling on about whatever was on his mind. All of them were flanked by stone faced guards, brandishing their rifles like a living set of tin soldiers. While Linaeus humored the snowman, Eryn fixated his attention on the castle looming in the distance. He knew what was to happen to Johann, a night in the dungeons before he hung, but it was his own fate Eryn wasn’t sure of. Anxiety shot through his body with every step towards the castle. Eryn shook off these feelings as he tightened his grip on the man in his grasp, who struggled with each step.

“So she really let you off after you swore to bring us all in? I knew she was a whore, but not a stupid wh-”

Eryn struck Johann in his stomach, who fell to the ground whimpering like a dog. With no hesitation, Eryn hoisted the man off the ground and brought him to eye level.

“You’re lucky I don’t have a sword on me,” he growled, “because if I did, I’d cut that tongue out of your damn head!”

Johann formed a weak smile, “Seems I’ve struck a raw nerve, eh, Ery-”

Johann was silenced by yet another strike to his stomach.

“I just got tired of hearing you speak, you-” Before Eryn could finish his insult, he was cut off by a series of sharp, dry coughs.

“And here I thought I’d be the one to die first, but judging by that cough, you just might drop before me.” Johann gave Eryn a sly grin before Eryn hooked his right hand into the old man’s face. The sudden blow forced the man onto the ground as Eryn hoisted him back onto his feet.

“Any more out of you and I’ll knock the rest of your teeth out, now move!” Eryn roared, shoving Johann towards the castle. The two of them managed to catch up with both Linaeus and Olaf as they passed through the castle gates.

”...and I said ‘you can eat as much as you want but you’ll never get enough Vitamin D,” Olaf said, “Oh! We’re here!”

Before the men stood Elsa, flanked by two emerald clad guards, her expression regal and poised. Eryn steeled himself as he shoved Johann through the courtyard. Linaeus greeted the Üqueen with a quick salute as Eryn followed behind.

“Your Majesty,” Linaeus said, “It’s good to see you again.” “You as well, Linaeus,” Elsa replied, “I assume your mission in Corona was a success?”

“I’d say it was,” Eryn chimed in, shoving Johann up to the two of them, “May I present Johann Üstag, anarchist, traitor, and would be assassin.”

“Well isn’t that pot calling the kettle black?” Johann mumbled. Eryn was half tempted to give him another blow to the stomach, but resisted the urge in front of the queen.

Elsa strode up to the man as her expression soon turned to an icy glare, “You have a lot to answer for, Mr. Üstag.”

“Well, it looks like all I have to do is say I’m sorry and all is forgiven. I mean, that’s what you did with the mastermind behind all this.” “He’s done more than enough to repay his debt. Unlike you, who shows no remorse.”

“Why would I show remorse for a loathsome whore like y-”

Eryn quickly interrupted his sentence with a jab to the man’s jaw.

“Christ, could any of you come up with anything original?” Eryn groaned, “I’ve heard more ‘whore’ from you lot than a brothel can carry. Er- pardon the analogy, your majesty.”

Elsa waved her hand, “It’s fine, Eryn.” She then turned to Linaeus, “Escort Mr. Üstag to the dungeons. We’ll arrange for his execution later.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Linaeus said as he took Johann from Eryn and dragged him through the castle doors. Eryn attempted to follow his friend, but was immediately stopped by the queen.

“I would like to speak to you personally, Mr. Odrikson,” She said. Eryn could feel his anxiety flare up throughout his entire body.

“O-of course, your majesty,” Eryn replied, masking his nervousness. Elsa’s icy glare faded to a warm smile.

“I’d first like to thank you personally. For doing this.”

“Ah, well, it was nothing. Didn’t like half of them anyway.”

“And the other half?”

“The other half didn’t like me.”

Elsa stifled a giggle, easing Eryn’s nerves a bit.

“I was surprised you even came back at all. Everyone in the council thought you’d disappear after I sent you off. Even Anna and Kristoff.” “Well, what can I say? I’m full of surprises.” The two of them started chuckling amongst each other. Eryn cringed internally. That’s what you say? He thought to himself, of course she knows you’re full of surprises, you ‘surprised’ her by trying to kill her! Their laughter soon died out, bringing about an awkward silence only broken by the sound of birds and the waves of the Arenfjord.

“Anyway…” Elsa continued, “With Mr. Üstag in custody now, I guess that means you’re debt free.”

“Indeed.”

“Did you… have any plans now?”

Eryn thought long and hard, “I had a… vague idea. Probably live out my days back in Karnisvarne. Become a farmer or something…”

This couldn’t have been farther from the truth. He’d actually planned to catch the next boat to Romania or something, far away from Arendelle, where he’d hopefully die a nobody. It’s what he deserved after fucking up as horribly as he did.

“Well, I’d like to make you a job offer, one that might sound better than being a farmer.”

Eryn cocked an eyebrow, “Oh?”

“I’d like to give you your old job back. Well, Derrick’s job, that is.”

Eryn’s eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. Surely she wasn’t serious, right?

“Wait, what?”

“You’ve not only proven that you're loyal to Arendelle, but also worthy enough to stand as my bodyguard. So, do you accept?”

Before Eryn had a chance to answer, Anna and Kristoff barreled through the front gates towards them.

“How are you so fast?” Anna panted before turning her attention to Eryn, “Oh, hello Eryn!”

“Greetings, Your Highness,” Eryn gave the princess a small bow, careful to avoid staring at the false leg his old colleagues gave her, “And you too, Mr. Bjorgman.”

“Right,” Kristoff said coldly, “So, I’m guessing that was the last of them being hauled to the dungeons?”

“Yes,” Elsa interjected, “We can all rest a little easier now, thanks to Eryn.”

“Well, it’s because of Eryn all this happened,” Kristoff grumbled under his breath, earning a slap on the shoulder from Anna.

“It doesn’t matter who caused it, it’s all in the past now. Now, Eryn, what do you think?”

“Well-”

“YOUR MAJESTY!”

“Oh, for fuck’s sa-” Eryn turned sharply to see what else was interrupting them. A young guard came bolting across the bridge, panting like a dog. He nearly tripped over his own feet as he tried to stop and catch his breath.

“What’s going on? Is something wrong?” Elsa asked, visibly concerned about the young man’s safety.

“A- a body… washed in from the fjord…” he panted.

Elsa’s jaw fell open, with Eryn’s following suit. “Where is it?” Elsa asked

“On the docks… one of the fisherman found him…”

“Alright, I’ll see to it. Thank you.” With no hesitation, Elsa made her way towards the docks.

“She really needs to learn to delegate,” Eryn said as he followed after her, followed by Anna, Kristoff and Olaf.

XXXXXX

Elsa, Anna, Kristoff, and Olaf tore through the massive crowd as if they were traversing through thick grass. When they reached the center of the mass of people, they saw a few doctors huddled around what appeared to be a rather muscular man, clothed in a white and blue striped shirt and navy blue pants. He was visibly breathing, though it was shallow and sporadic. As Elsa approached, Eryn made his way behind her.

“Oh, God,” Elsa said under her breath, “I-is he okay?”

“He appears to be alive, that’s the good news,” one of the doctors piped up, pumping a large pair of furnace bellows in the man’s throat. In an instant, a geyser of water erupted from the unconscious man’s mouth, causing the whole crowd to gasp in surprise.

“Оstrov Smerti! Ostrov Smerti!” he gasped between coughing bouts.

“He’s Russian?!” Eryn said, “What are the Russians doing here?”

“Who’s ‘Austin Smitty?’” Olaf asked, “Is that his name?”

“No,” Eryn replied, “He’s saying ‘Isle of Death…’” Eryn knelt down beside the man and began speaking to him.

“Chto s toboy sluchilos'?” he asked, “What happened?”

“Sh-shipwreck…” the man gasped, “w-we got stranded on some island… They… they slaughtered us like animals.”

“Who? What island?”

The man said nothing as he weakly raised his hand to point out towards the Arenfjord. His finger landed on the massive island just beyond the waters of Arendelle, thick with trees and mist.

“You were on Jӧrmundskala Island??!” Eryn and Elsa shouted. A murmur erupted from the crowd as the man was lifted off the ground by a few guards and doctors.

“Jӧrmundskala Island?” Anna said, “No one’s been on that island for years! Who would even think about going there?!” “I don’t know, but it’s something I need to look into,” Elsa said, not taking her eyes off of the island.

“Woah, woah, woah,” Kristoff said, “‘I?’”

“The island is Arendellian, inhabited or not. And I’d rather not get involved in an international incident with the Russian Empire.”

“I don’t think that’s what he meant,” Eryn interjected, “You made it sound like you were going there personally…”

“I am.”

“What?!” Anna blurted out, “You are not doing this alone.”

“Anna, no. I have my powers to protect me, plus I can’t have you injured again on my behalf…”

“I’ll manage. I’ve been through hell and back at least twice and without powers, so, y’know, I’m coming.”

“Me too,” Kristoff added.

“Jӧrmundskala?!” a voice shouted from the crowd. The four of them turned their attention to see Linaeus making his way through the crowd. “You can’t be serious, Elsa!”

“I am, Linaeus.”

“You aren’t going without me, or a proper military detachment.”

Elsa was taken aback by Linaeus’s demand before nodding. “Alright. Whatever guarantees a safe and quick procedure.”

“I’m going too,” Eryn said as he looked on towards the island, stifling a cough. All that were present stared at him confused as they all gave a synchronized “What?”

Eryn let his gaze linger on the island before turning to the group, “If I’m to take up a job as royal bodyguard, I should accompany you on this journey, shouldn’t I?”

Elsa smiled weakly as Kristoff, Anna, and Linaeus stared on in disbelief. As they talked amongst themselves, Eryn stared back at the island. He couldn’t describe what it was, but something inside of him was goading him there, drawing him to the island. Whether it was good or bad, he couldn’t tell yet.

All he knew was that he needed to go to that island.

#frozen fanfiction #disney frozen #OC #queen elsa #princess anna #olaf #kristoff #hans #fanfiction #Eryn Odrikson #blood tw #gore tw #mature

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