5 Years Later

Arendelle, Southern Norway

Five years after the tragic death of the king and the queen of Arendelle at sea, and at the same time two years after the great winter that plunged the whole country under the snow, the kingdom of Arendelle was recovering little by little from the last winter dated and welcomed with great pleasure the arrival of the new spring. Finally the days of bright sun would come back, to illuminate the whole of the fjord, its high mountains of rock and its large pine forests surrounding the city and the castle, and also the beautiful bay and its crystal clear water where sail the ships of Arendelle, as well as others coming from other distant lands in business with the kingdom. At the port, the activity was in full swing while a ship coming straight from France had just docked. The first sailors took care of unloading crates containing wine, French bread and cheese, while the captain was discussing with the port master to complete the berthing form and to settle other necessary administrative details. In the bay, other ships arrived to come and unload their goods. For several years now, Arendelle has been doing everything to open its doors to other countries and kingdoms, to forge strong trade and political alliances and build a stable and vast world. Several countries such as France, Spain and the Netherlands had already signed trade treaties with the Kingdom of Norway, and rumors were that England and Japan were about to join this great alliance. The news of this newly discovered new world, called America, had also been around the world, and Arendelle had plans to send some pioneers in the years to come. All of this under the watch of the queen Elsa. However, not everything was rosy and some kingdoms were problematic, like the Southern Isles, whose prince, Hans, had tried to seize the throne of Arendelle by villainous means. Or Weselton, or Weasel Town, no matter, led by this horrible little duke, who had been trying since then to resume business with Arendelle.

The activity was just as abundant in the very heart of the city which had been growing for some time. New traders had sprung up and offered quality items for the inhabitants every day. The children enjoyed various games while their parents talked while keeping an eye on them. It was a market day and dozens of stalls had been set up in the streets of the city, merchants praising the quality of their products and encouraging people to come and have a look. But despite the sunny day and the feeling of prosperity and security that prevailed, the inhabitants did not forget that it was also a day of mourning for the whole kingdom. Today announced unfortunately the fifth anniversary of the death of the king and the queen.

Outside the city, situated on a hill of green grass bathed under the light of the sun and rocked by the wind, stood the two large tombstones which had been erected in their memory, and which had been bloomed with some flowers. Two young women came forward side by side, holding hands, up to the gravestones, and contemplated them in silence. Elsa, queen of Arendelle, and her sister Anna, princess of Arendelle. Elsa was dressed in her ice gown, which she had taken to wear as a symbol of strength and courage. His beautiful blond hair was combed as a ponytail falling on her shoulder. Anna was wearing her summer dress that Elsa had fashioned for her on her birthday when Elsa had caught a cold, what was pretty ironic for the snow queen. Anna had also combed her hair in a bun behind her head. Although many years had passed and tears had been shed for a long time, the two sisters could not come to this hill without feeling the same tear in the heart and the lump in the throat. But they were together, supporting each other. Holding a flower in their hands, they came to lay them in front of their parents' graves, always respecting the minute of silence they imposed on themselves. When the minute of silence passed, Elsa sighed.

- "They would be so proud of you, Anna." she said with an ounce of sadness. Anna turned to her.

- "They would be proud of both of us." Anna corrected her insistently. Elsa smiled at this gesture she could always expect to receive from her little sister. Anna gave her back that smile, and the two sisters hugged each other. Anna saw small flakes of snow begin to fall all around her and her sister.

- "Elsa?"

The young queen seemed to come back to reality, and wiping away the tears in the corner of her eyes, she went back on herself and the flakes disappeared immediately. Internally, Elsa blamed herself. When their parents died, she was kept locked in her room as usual, and did not even dare to attend the funeral, leaving Anna to face this painful ordeal alone. The young queen rubbed her hands nervously.

- "I ... I'm sorry. I let myself be dragged into my emotions and ...."

-"Don't worry. It doesn't matter." Anna reassured her by taking her by the hands and showing her that she doesn't have to apology. Despite sadness and pain, their sincere love allowed them to go through hardships. The same love that had helped Anna save Elsa from her torment and put an end to the great winter. A winter memory that Elsa did not like to talk about, especially when Anna had been turned into an ice statue when she wanted to protect her sister from a Hans attack from behind.

After gathering at the graves of their parents, the two sisters of Arendelle returned to the castle, crossing the main street of the city. The inhabitants who crossed their path bowed to salute them with respect. Elsa always felt relieved that despite what she had unwittingly done to the kingdom, the common people had accepted her as she is and loved her as a strong and righteous ruler. A young girl came forward and offered some flowers to Princess Anna, who accepted them with pleasure and thanked the child.

As they drew closer to the castle's entrance bridge, Elsa wrapped her arm around her sister's arm to talk to her about another, happier topic.

- "So .... He did it or not?"

- "Wh .... What do you mean?" Anna asked.

- "Oh, come on, you know ..." said Elsa with a small smile "... Kristoff... he asked you in marriage?"

Anna's cheeks turned red as apples and she looked away as if trying to change the subject. Elsa chuckled softly, amused and at the same time moved by her sister's reaction.

- "To say the truth, yes .... I mean no, finally yes, no.... In fact, I don't know."

Anna was again talking too fast and getting tangled in her words. She felt stupid when she reacted like this. Elsa reassured her, like the big sister she is.

-"Don't be worried, little sister. He'll find the courage to ask you. You know how he is."

- "And I hope this time, I'll have your blessing." Anna said in a soft mocking tone. Elsa looked at her with a sigh, this joke reviving a rather unpleasant memory. Anna realized this and felt a little silly.

- "Okay, I admit it was not very funny. Sorry."

A brief silence took place between the two sisters, then exchanging a look, then a smile bigger and bigger, they exchanged a laugh, bringing back a semblance of good humor between them.

Meanwhile, inside the courtyard of the castle, paved with smooth stone slabs and containing the marble fountain at its center, Kristoff seemed to be pacing up and down, turning anxiously in circles, under Sven's and Olaf gazes, who looked at each other with the same puzzled look.

- "Kristoff looks very worried lately. He's maybe sick..." Olaf asked Sven, which the reindeer answered with a sound that surely said "I don't know."

- "I hear you guys, you know?" Kristoff sighed, turning to them, before sitting down on the edge of the fountain, passing his hands on his face. Worried for their friend, Sven and Olaf came to his side to try to understand.

- "If you need a warm hug Kristoff, you can ask." Olaf said with a big smile and spreading his wooden arms. Kristoff seemed amused and thanked the little snowman for his proposal, but politely refused before come back more serious. He searched in the pocket of his trousers for a nice little silver ring adorned with a sapphire blue as shiny as the ocean. Kristoff had worked very hard and long, and without talking to Anna about, to buy this ring and offer her as a proposal for marriage. But until then, the young seller of ice blocks had not found the means nor the courage to make his request. He looked at the ring between his two fingers, looking pensive.

- "It looks so simple in the stories, but in reality ...." he says. Sven and Olaf then understood what torments their friend. Olaf gave a friendly pat on Kristoff's shoulder to support him, which he appreciated. Sven also showed his support and Kristoff stroked his head.

-"Kristoff!" Anna's voice was heard as she entered the castle courtyard, followed by her sister. Surprised, Kristoff hastened to hide the ring in his pocket. Olaf and Sven acted like if nothing happened. When she approached, Anna realized that all three looked agitated.

- "Guys, are you all right?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. Kristoff felt his heart pounding in his chest and did everything to not show his nervousness.

- "Yes, yes, nothing new, everything is fine."

He insisted a little too much in his sentence, which Anna noticed.

- "Kristoff?" asked the young princess again in a tone almost like that of a mother asking her son if he made a foolishness or not. Behind him, Kristoff felt Sven push him in the back by the tip of his muzzle. The young man gulped softly, calming himself inside, he walked over to Anna.

- "It's just that ..... I ..... I think you're so beautiful." he said the first thing that went through his head, even if in a sense he really meant it.

- "Awww, Kristoff." Anna was moved by the words of the young man and dropped a kiss on his lips. A few meters behind, Olaf and Sven had a simultaneous facepalm. A little apart, sitting on the fountain and touching the surface of the clear water with the palm of her hand, Elsa watched all this with a amused smile. The castle doors suddenly opened and Kai, a servant with half bald head and strong body, who had served Elsa and Anna's parents for many years, arrived with some eagerness as the young queen noticed and stood up to go to him.

- "Ah your highness, here you are." he said, catching his breath, as if he had been searching her for hours.

- "Kai, what's happening to you?" Elsa asked. Anna and the rest of the group also noticed the beginning of the discussion.

- "The council gathered, your highness, and you are expected." the servant said honestly. This sudden news somewhat surprised the queen, who immediately followed Kai inside the castle, followed by Anna, also intrigued. Kristoff was going to follow them, but first, he turned to see Sven and Olaf give him the same disappointed look.

-"What?" Kristoff asked, shrugging her shoulders.

The little group crossed the great entrance hall of the castle, as well as several corridors where they crossed the path of other servants, who moved on the sides and respectfully saluted their sovereign. Elsa showed a frustrated face, walking with a slight hurry and spoke with Kai.

-"What does that mean? I had not summoned any council meeting for today."

- "I know, majesty." Kai replied, looking embarrassed, "but it was commander Ulrik who gave the order. He said it was of great importance."

Ulrik! This commander of the royal guard did not lack any nerve. Known as a great military leader, he was serving Arendelle's royal family for more than a decade, but his rather rigid and cold character did not really attract sympathy. Ulrik had been one of those who turned against Elsa during the revelation of her powers. He had to apologize to the queen when she returned to power, and she decided to give him a second but last chance.

Arriving at the end of the corridor, Elsa pushed the doors open in a sudden and strong way, attracting the attention of all those already present in the room. Three people were seated around a large carved wooden table, in a square room of medium size but luxuriously appointed with a carpet-covered floor with Arendelle symbol, a chandelier on the ceiling and a fireplace. Two of the men got up from their seats and bowed respectfully. The third man was leaning in front of the fireplace, looking at the flames, but did not even bother to greet his queen, just glancing coldly over his shoulder.

The first man at the table had a rather round body, a double chin and graying hair. His name was Warden and he was Arendelle's master financier.

The second man was younger and slender, short hair and brown hair, a smart eye and a small goatee on his chin. Thoran was his name, and he was the appointed master ambassador of Arendelle. Having returned from a mission to England a short time ago, he was supposed to take a little rest.

While the two previous men wore rich outfits of fabrics, the third man with the athletic body sported a very solid armor in plates, whose plastron bore the blason of Arendelle. The semi-long blonde hair, a mustache and a beard around his chin, he had a rough face. A cape was hanging behind his back, and a sword was hanging from his belt. Although Arendelle's soldiers wore fabric uniforms, Ulrik preferred stronger armor. Ulrik's family was ancient and powerful, and his ancestors were vikings who lived in these lands many centuries before the kingdom of Arendelle was founded. Ulrik enjoyed to boast of the power and manhood of the men of his family, which made him even more slanderous. Elsa and he looked at each other coldly, and the others could felt it.

- "Queen Elsa ..." said the man in armor making a slight reverence that seemed very reserved. Anna and Kristoff exchanged the same suspicious look. They did not particularly like the commander too. Elsa did not bother to greet him back and went into the subject without further delay.

-"Commander Ulrik, can you tell me the reason that led you to reunite the royal council without my agreement?" the young queen asked curtly. The commander of the royal guard emitted a small smile at the corner of his lips, which made Elsa's fists slightly creak. Snow began to appear under her feet and spreading on the ground.

- "Elsa ..." Anna put her hand on the shoulder of her older sister, who noticed and calmed her emotions. Fortunately she could always count on her sister. Ulrik seemed almost amused of that when he went to sit on a chair at the council table. Olaf came into the room and went to sit in a corner where he would not disturb anyone. The captain looked at the snowman with a bad eye. For him, a magical creature like that had nothing to do in the kingdom, but he had to obey his queen and let Olaf. The commander returned his attention to the queen.

"I did not want to be offensive to you, your highness, but we have to talk of a matter that could concern the whole kingdom."

-"Wow," Olaf suddenly said, turning all the attention to him. The little snowman had approached the fireplace and stared at the flames with bright eyes of curiosity. "I see fire from time to time, and it always fascinates me so much."

Olaf suddenly felt himself becoming limp because of the heat and preferred to get away quickly. Elsa, Anna and Kristoff had amused laughter, but that did not seem to Ulrik.

- "This is a council meeting, not a circus." he said to Olaf with some contempt, which erased the snowman's smile who went to hide behind Anna.

- "Leave him alone, Commander, he did not anything wrong." retorted Elsa severely. Kristoff was staying further back, but in the depths of him he wanted to remove that pretentious smile from the face of this commander who was too sure of himself. Elsa ordered that nobody disturb them. Kai obeys and after a short reverence, leaves the room closing the doors behind him. Olaf had gone with him, wanting to join Sven who was staying alone in the courtyard of the castle, so that he would not be bored too much. Elsa, in the utmost silence, went to take her seat at the end of the table. Anna and Kristoff also took seats, side by side. The atmosphere of the room was very tense, almost palpable. Only the crackling of the flames in the chimney was heard for long seconds.

- "Well, what is it, commander?" Elsa finally asked, remaining calm.

- "Something strange is happening for some time, your majesty ..." began Ulrik in crossing his arms ".... Several of our coastal villages, as well as dozens of our merchant ships and military were attacked, and all this in the space of a few weeks. "

The news was a real shock to everyone around the table. Elsa put her hands on the wood of the table with a sharp blow.

"And I'm only informed now? You should have come to see me immediately!" said Elsa, at first shocked but now very upset that Ulrik or anyone else didn't warned her about this before. Anna and Kristoff both made sure that she did not trigger a snowstorm in the room. The commander was not affected by this reproach, and continued.

- "At first, we thought it was simple pirates, and I thought I could handle this situation. And then, you have been very busy a lot these last weeks, majesty, with all these trade meetings, these treaties to sign and these ambassadors to meet ...."

Elsa interrupted him immediately, taking a step forward.

- "I am the queen of Arendelle ..." she affirmed without restraint "And as such, I must protect my people and be warned of all the dangers that could threaten them .....Hmmm... I thought you were more knowledgeable than that, Commander."

The queen's remark slightly winced the veteran commander, but continued to be calm. Clarifying his voice, he spoke again.

- "As I said, I thought I was dealing with simple pirates attacking our ships and our coasts. But once we got there, we realized the seriousness of the situation."

- "How serious?" asked the master financier, worried.

- "I would say very much." Ulrik said frankly "the ships were all sunk and the villages reduced to ruins, and unfortunately we did not find any survivors. But the most troubling thing is that the ground itself on which the villages were standing had also been completely ransacked, as if a violent earthquake had shaken it."

- "Do we have more details about these mysterious incidents?" Thoran asked with the same anxiety as his colleague.

- "Well" Ulrik continued his description "Last week, farmers who were walking along a coastal path, said they saw one of the ships get literally sucked under the water, just like that, in one second. No more traces of the boat and its crew. They also say that at the same moment, they thought they heard a mysterious, terrifying sound coming from the ocean, like a kind of roar. "

These details added to the upheaval felt around this table. Anna was shocked, as was Kristoff. Warden and Thoran exchanged the same look of anxiety. Elsa, too, was speechless, leaning against her seat, thoughtful and deeply affected. She was the queen and protector of Arendelle, and the idea that hundreds of innocent citizens of her kingdom had perished without her being able to help them filled her heart with pain, but also anger. But what also worried her in this case was the mysterious rumble perceived by farmers and coming from underwater. Scandinavia was a land of legends, where giants creatures and gods lived thousands centuries ago. Was it possible that .... No, Elsa tried to rationalize all this in her head and avoid the too staggering theories.

- "Who can destroy dozens of large ships and several villages in just a few weeks? It makes nonsense." Anna said trying to rationalize the facts.

- "It may be that prince Hans of the southern isles who has returned to take revenge. He may have launched raids against Arendelle." said Kristoff in turn.

- "That could have been possible indeed," Elsa replied, "but since his attempt to usurp the throne, Hans has been severely punished by his father and is under house arrest for the moment. I also received a message from the King of the southern isles himself, who presented me with his most sincere apologies for the unworthy conduct of his son. I do not see why the king would endanger that already fragile peace."

-"And most importantly, I don't think an ordinary army can move underwater and take an entire boat in it." Anna added it as a rather important detail.

Elsa and Anna got a point, Kristoff had to recognize it. Suddenly, the door of the room opened, while Elsa had given the order that we do not disturb the assembly. A guard entered eagerly, and his face indicated a great anxiety. In his hand he was holding a scroll.

- "My queen! A message has just arrived by a raven! Another village has just been attacked, at few leagues from here! "

This sudden and shocking news was like an electroshock in Elsa's body. Rising from her seat, the queen went without further delay to the door, under the eyes of all. The young queen then turned to Ulrik and guarded him and looked at them with a firm eye.

- "Prepare my horse, as well as an escort, without losing a second. We must go and see!"

The commander and the guard stood at attention. Elsa left the room without looking back, walking down the hall with a determined air, and followed by her guard commander. Anna and Kristoff also followed. The princess did not say it, but deep in her, a bad feeling gnawed at her, as if something even more terrible was going to happen.

*********

Somewhere in the middle of the ocean

Meanwhile, at hundreds and hundreds of leagues from every civilization, deep in the ocean, to such an extent that daylight could not reach it, thunderous rumblings were heard, more and more stronger. A gigantic and scaly form, with a back dotted with huge dorsal spines, suddenly opened his two yellow eyes, with flaming irises and emitting a ferocious grunt. After five years asleep, the form rose from the depths of the abyss, lifting around it streams of sand and rocks, then began to swim very slowly towards the surface, then the northeast. He had felt something abnormal, a threat destroying everything in his path in the human world. But he also felt something else ... A very strong feeling, a very powerful power and of unknown nature but yet so attractive at the same time....