A/N: There used to be a prologue. It was seriously subpar and I was not proud of it. It's gone now. I might rewrite it in the future.

Chapter One

Peace

Elsa sat, listening to the man drone on. She had made up her mind within the first few minutes of his spiel, yet he continued to speak. Why did I open up the gates again? Her queenly duties had proved to be less than glamorous, and mainly included signing papers, listening to diplomats ramble, and hearing everything that was wrong in her kingdom.

"...furthermore, Weselton has had a long and intimate history with Arendelle, much longer than the lives of either your Grace or our Duke, and while since the events of your coronation relations have been, pardon, cold, we see no reason why this highly reactionary trade embargo should continue…"

Elsa resisted squirming in her seat, as such behavior would be not befit her, so said Kai. She looked around the throne room instead, taking in the atmosphere of the most public part of her palace. There were few present today, given that thursdays were for foreigners and diplomats, not for the people of Arendelle. She eventually turned to Anna, who seemed to be having the same problems she was, only she was just sitting in the frontmost pew, not the Throne of Arendelle. Next to her was a gracelessly snoring Kristoff. Obviously, Elsa thought to herself, Anna got tired of waking him.

"And in conclusion, I insist the your majesty lift the trade ban with Weselton promptly."

Finally. Elsa stood and recited her by now perfectly practiced response to all merchants and lords who came requesting this.

"Thank you for your words, and I will take them into consideration, but at least for the time being, Arendelle shall continue to refuse trade with a kingdom whose leader conspired in the assassination of it's sovereign. Dismissed."

The man, draped in red and white clothing, gold and silver medals, with his dark brown, carefully kept hair rigid against his scalp, silently scowled. He muttered only some false pleasantry before turning and practically storming out of the doors that led to the outer gates. Elsa waited for several seconds, waiting for some decorated dignitary or outraged merchant to step forward to voice their endless complaints, yet when none came within the brief window Elsa decided to allot, she took the opportunity to end the day's proceeding's before she collapsed of boredom alone.

"Thank you, friends of Arendelle, and with that I end today's hearings."

Soon the hall was empty save for the Queen, the Princess, and a still noisily sleeping ice harvester. Anna gave him a shove, but when that failed to elicit a reaction, she gave up and walked over to her sister.

"Your majesty." Anna smiled and performed an over-exaggerated curtsy, making sure to twirl her new green dress as flamboyantly and obnoxiously as possible. Elsa laughed and returned the favor. "You know, Anna, you don't have to sit through these. And you certainly don't have to drag Kristoff along."

"Oh come on, that wouldn't be fair. Me going out and having fun with my boyfriend while you listen to old guys talk about money? I couldn't do that to you." Anna smiled that smile that only Anna can smile, the one that reminded Elsa that everything will be okay. "And besides, Kristoff loves to come to these things."

"No I don't."

Without even opening an eye or turning his head, Kristoff made his position quite clear on the subject. The sisters of Arendelle looked at each other and laughed some more. Elsa didn't know Kristoff very well, but she knew that it was he who had saved Anna, and for that alone she was in his debt. The sun was shining through the stained windows, and reflecting off of Elsa's dress. While she had decided that her Ice dress was not suitable for the everyday affairs of running a kingdom, Elsa like to add her own flair to her more conservative gowns.

"Want to go into the market, Anna? Five new cargo ships arrived this morning, there must be something interesting on them." In truth, Elsa knew what was on them, as she signed the receipts, but there was no need to spoil the surprises of the Arendelle Market for her companions.

"Sure, come on Kristoff!" With a groan and a yawn, Kristoff lumbered onto his feet. "Y'know, I wake up, like, five hours earlier than you girls. Cut me some slack."

"I don't know why, the ice won't melt if you wait a little longer to move it." Anna's retort was playful, but Kristoff didn't play when it came to ice.

"Okay Anna, you move the ice, I'll be the princess. I think I could pull off that dress." The three of them laughed, and Anna winked at Kristoff. The three of them resolved to venture down to the market before it got too late. Two guards accompanied the queen, insisted upon, and Sven had also been brought along by Kristoff. He really loves that reindeer. At first, Elsa had thought the omnipresent elk to be an oddity, but Sven had grown on her, and she eventually found herself jealous at Kristoff for having such a loyal friend, even in a reindeer.

The queen walked slightly ahead, guards on one side, Sven on the other, while the lovebirds trailed behind, snickering and whispering between themselves. The market was crowded, the new cargo had attracted most of the city to the stalls and counters. Elsa stopped at a large display belonging to a fruit vendor, showing the spectrum of sweet delights that had been shipped up from the south. The man behind the table was a short, older man, wearing a black cap and a billowy white shirt. Elsa'd not seen this particular seller amongst the usual crowd, so she assumed he was from one of the ships that had arrived.

"My beautiful queen! Look not upon this refuse! Come, come, see my special stock." Elsa smiled and followed the man to behind the counter, where he cracked open a crate full of straw and ice, and pulled out a perfectly round orange. "Your majesty, these delectable oranges are from the finest orchards of the shores of Aldormada, they have the flavor of summer itself imbued into their flesh! Truly, fit for a queen." Elsa laughed and looked back at Kristoff and Anna, perusing the flower bouquets from a nearby stall. "I'll take a few, how much are they?"

"Not cheap, I'm afraid, 90 per fruit, but once you taste the nectar on your tongue you'll remember nothing else." Elsa took four of them into her basket, and paid the man who had worked so hard to flatter her. When the oranges were safely under the cloth, she looked up to see the vendor with his hat in his hands, looking up at her with some sort of nervous anticipation. "Queen Elsa, before you leave, I beg of you, please, can you show a poor old man if what they say of you is true? I've heard such remarkable tales. I'll let you have your pick of my wares, no charge."

Elsa was worried this request would come, as it often did from foreigners who met her. She was not embarrassed of her abilities, but she was still uncomfortable with using it freely around so many people, especially off the cuff, like what was being asked of her now. Still, she wanted to oblige. She smiled at the man, and then lifted her hand and waved it across his counter. Spirals of frost swirled around the fruit, leaving alabaster patterns across each apple and pear, before gusting up the sides of the stall and releasing a puff of snow into the air above. The pale rosemaling that now tattooed the man's goods would keep them cold to the touch for quite some time.

It was a simple trick, one Elsa had been practicing, yet the man was nearly tearing up. "Thank you, my queen. That was beautiful." A small crowd had formed around Elsa, and were ooh-ing and ahh-ing, themselves. The guards instinctively moved to protective positions on either side of the queen, yet Elsa felt not afraid. Anna and Kristoff were in the crowd as well, and were smiling at her. She took a bunch of carrots from underneath the stall, and bid the vendor farewell.

Kristoff walked beside Elsa as they made the rounds of the last stalls. "How do you do that? It's amazing." Kristoff's fascination with Elsa's powers had not gone unnoticed by many, least of all Elsa herself, and questions like these were not uncommon to hear. In fact, they make up far too much of our conversation. "I don't know Kristoff, it's just something I can do." Elsa fed Sven another carrot, and laughed as his warm, wet mouth tickled her palms. She'd grown to love feeding the friendly reindeer, and Kristoff liked to lament on how she was making him fat and lazy.

"Pretty soon he isn't even going to want to pull the sled if you keep feeding him like this, Elsa." There it is. "But, I mean, do you feel anything as you do it? The ice?"

"Do you feel anything when you breathe, Kristoff?"

The sun was setting, and the three were idly chatting in the gardens, wasting time until they would head back towards the palace. It's no wonder Anna loves the gardens. Elsa took time to take in the view, beautifully cultivated beds of vibrant flowers, using more colors than most painters likely knew existed. The guards remained at a comfortable distance, but ever present. Sven was laying at their feet as they sat on a bench, Anna on Kristoff's lap, Elsa peeling one of the oranges she overpaid for.

"So, Elsa, where's the little guy?" Kristoff reminded Elsa of Olaf, who had been staying very close to Elsa ever since the Great Thaw. "I don't know, off somewhere. He never liked hearings. He's probably back at the palace by now…"

Just then, a shrill "Elsa!" came echoing through the air. The voice was clear enough. Anna looked to see Olaf running across the flowerbeds towards them, and she called out to him. "Hi Olaf!"

Elsa knew there was something wrong, though. Olaf was scared. She felt it.

Olaf, the little snowman that Elsa had given life finally stopped in front of their bench, panting. "Elsa, Anna, Kristoff, follow me." Anna was on her feet, and Kristoff looked concerned. Elsa was almost paralyzed, she'd never felt this amount of fear coming from Olaf before. Kristoff grabbed him before he could go too far, and put him on top of Sven.

"It'll be faster." Kristoff and Sven, led by Olaf started running towards the densely populated eastern Arendelle. Anna was about to follow them when she noticed Elsa. "Elsa? What's wrong?"

"I… I don't know. Olaf is terrified…" She struggled to put to words what she was experiencing. "And I feel it…"

Anna pulled Elsa to her feet, and the guards followed the two of them after Olaf.

Elsa ran as she could with Anna and her guards, only motivated forward by Anna's hand in hers. They ran through the main street, across the fjord bridge into the mainland. Instead of going towards the market, however, they followed Sven into the residential areas, well-to-do citizens on Arendelle had their townhomes here. Suddenly, they came to a stop.

"Oh no…"

Kristoff seemed to recognize it for what it was before anyone else. A fire was blazing in front of a large brick wall in the center square, and in the licking flames was some sort of mannequin, burned black and unidentifiable by now. The fire was grasping at the bricks, trying to climb up yet could ascend no higher. The words painted on the wall were too high to be touched by the heat, yet were bathed in it's orange light.

The guards immediately surrounded Elsa, searching for threats in the now dark night. Kristoff put his arms around Anna, who in turn put her arms around Elsa. The fire was soon quelled, unable to withstand the growing sheet of ice around the queen. In the darkness they could no longer read the words.

Only Olaf had the courage to speak them aloud. "Death to the Witch Queen"