It was the morning of Anna and Kristoff's wedding. Freya walked towards Arendelle, taking in the views of the mountains, the grand castle, and the quaint little town. She stopped at a creek to have a quick wash and tend to her pleated hair. If she was going to greet the people of Arendelle, she wanted to look the part!
At the harbour, tall ships from all over the world docked. They were carrying kings and queens, dukes and duchesses, and all manner of invited wedding guests. They mingled with each other as they made their way to the castle.
"Bonjour mon ami!" an ambassador with a French accent said to an acquaintance. "I have not seen you since the coronation of Queen Elsa! How are you?"
"Oh grand, grand," replied a dignitary with an Irish accent. "Fine weather for a wedding today!"
"Absolutment!" enthused the French ambassador. "I am so excited to see Queen Anna! I bet her wedding dress will be beautiful!"
The Irish dignitary nodded in agreement.
"Tell me mon ami, what do you know about the groom?" the French ambassador asked.
"Ah, the mysterious Kristoff Bjorgman!" the Irish dignitary replied as he shrugged his shoulders. "Not much, but I know that he's a very lucky man!"
The two men laughed arm in arm as they made their way to the castle.
The invited guests brought extravagant wedding presents with them, all neatly wrapped up in pretty boxes. Royal footmen took all of the gifts into the picture gallery of the castle.
At the gates, security was tight. The guards had a long list of who was invited, and everyone had to confirm who they were before they were allowed to enter the castle.
Some of the townspeople had arrived early, eager to secure a good spot to see the newly-married royal couple. Despite the guards marching around in pairs and making their presence known, the excitement amongst the growing crowds was palpable.
Inside the castle, Anna was being made ready for her wedding. Her dressmaker was with her to make sure her wedding dress was absolutely perfect, and her hair and nails were endlessly fussed over by her ladies in waiting.
Elsa stood with her the whole time, very proud of her little sister.
"I hope the boys are okay," Anna pondered. "Hopefully they didn't party too much last night!"
As the wedding drew near, a wagon made its way to the castle. It was drawn by Sven, with Kristoff, Olaf, and Ryder on board, and they were late.
"Groom coming through!" Olaf shouted as the wagon hurtled towards the castle. A look of panic came across Sven's face as he realised the gates were closed. Luckily the soldiers recognised the groom and opened up the gates just in time. After breathing a sigh of relief, everyone in the wagon hurried into the castle to get themselves ready.
Just before the wedding began, the invited guests calmly filed into the chapel. It was lavishly decorated with flowers and tapestries, and gold-trimmed flags adorned the walls. Two soldiers checked the guests off against a final list as they went through the chapel door. Everything was running like clockwork.
Outside the castle, the whole town was waiting for the ceremony to finish so they could see their queen and her new husband. Merchants were wandering around the crowds selling souvenirs. It was the most significant event in Arendelle's history since Queen Anna's coronation.
Freya arrived in the town square to find it deserted except for a short, middle-aged man up a ladder attending to some bunting, hammering nails into a post. He was whistling a jolly tune while he set about his work.
"Hey! You! What's all this?" Freya barked at him while pointing to the bunting.
The man tutted to himself. "Aren't you late for the wedding?" he asked without turning round. He went back to his hammering.
"Wedding? What wedding?" Freya demanded to know.
The man sighed and turned to face Freya. He was struck by how elegant she looked, despite her bratty attitude. He started to make his way down the ladder.
"Let me guess," the man said confidently. "You're the daughter of an ambassador, you didn't get a wedding invite, and you got bored and left your ship?" he concluded.
"Just tell me who is getting married," Freya replied in frustration.
"Oh, sure," the man said. "Today is the wedding of our queen, Anna of Arendelle. She's marrying the love of her life, a mountain man by the name of Kristoff. It's a real rich-meets-poor fairy tale!" he enthused.
"Fascinating," Freya said sarcastically while rolling her eyes. "This 'Anna'," she continued, "is she any relation to a woman called Elsa?"
"Oh, so I see you know some of our history!" the man said. "Yes, Elsa is Anna's older sister," he declared.
Freya was confused. "Older sister?" she asked. "Then how come Anna is queen and Elsa isn't?"
"Oh that's a long story!" the man replied, scratching his head. "I don't understand it myself."
Freya sighed and folded her arms. "Just give me the gist of it," she said in exasperation while looking at her nails.
"Well, m'lady," the man said, starting to get a little nervous, "Elsa abdicated awhile ago so she could live up north. It's something to do with the Northuldra, spirits, er, I don't know..." the man said as he trailed off.
"So that's where Elsa is now? At her sister's wedding?" Freya asked.
"It's where everyone is!" the man quickly replied. "All the invited guests are in the castle, and all the townsfolk are waiting outside. It's just muggins here who's been given a few odd jobs to do."
Freya had heard enough. "Thank you," she said mockingly. "You've been very helpful. But I think you might want to check that bunting over there," she said while pointing. "It looks like it's on fire to me."
"What?" the man replied in shock as Freya fired a small fireball from her fingertips that set the bunting alight. The man rushed to put it out, but Freya used her powers to start more and more fires. She marched towards the castle, throwing fireballs into buildings as she went. She laughed to herself as building after building caught fire. She felt like a child in a sweet shop, setting fire to everything and anything she wanted to.
A menacing pride entered Freya as she watched everything around her burn. She laughed as she watched the man pitifully try and put out the fires. She stood in front of a toy shop. "That's it, burn!" she said out loud as she fired a jet of flame inside it. She watched as the dolls and toys burned to cinders. "No toys for anyone today!" she said as the flames in her eyes burned bright.
As Freya made her way to the castle, she could see and hear throngs of people waiting outside the shut gates, eagerly and patiently waiting to catch a glimpse of the newly married royal couple. Guards were on patrol, looking wary. She knew there were too many people to get past, so she looked for another way in.
She walked around the castle walls until the excited noises from the crowd became very distant. She looked up, jumped, and turned herself into a fireball to propel herself on top of the ramparts. She hid behind a parapet, and looked down onto the courtyard below. There, she could see two soldiers standing guard at the front door of the chapel, holding their lances across each other to block the door. She could hear music, and she knew that all the guests must be inside.
Meanwhile, Kristoff and Ryder stood at the altar with the bishop. Kristoff was looking incredibly smart, his guard's uniform impeccable and his hair neatly combed back. Ryder was in his traditional Northuldran dress. He felt overwhelmed by the occasion but he knew all he had to do at this point was stand still. To the side of the altar stood Sven, who had a box containing the rings dangling from his mouth.
The choir began to sing, and Anna walked into the chapel on Elsa's arm. She looked incredible in her wedding dress, and there were gasps from the congregation.
"Formidable!" the French ambassador whispered to his Irish counterpart.
"A rose, to be sure!" the Irish dignitary whispered in reply.
Anna's train was held up by children from Arendelle who had put in a lot of practice for the big day. Behind them was Olaf, who had got a little carried away and was throwing confetti out of a basket. Elsa turned to him and mouthed "Not yet Olaf!" and he stopped, looking a little embarrassed. Anna and Elsa joined Kristoff at the altar, and the bishop began the ceremony.
Outside the chapel, Freya had moved to a part of the ramparts where the guards couldn't see her. She jumped off, turned herself into a fireball, and landed safely on the ground. She then ran round the corner towards the guards, pretending that she was an invited guest who was running late.
"Wait for me!" Freya cried.
The guards saw her and thrust their lances in her direction. "Halt!" they bellowed.
Freya stopped in front of them and pretended to be out of breath. "I'm sorry," she said to them as she leaned forwards with her hand on her stomach, "I've been held up. Please let me in! I don't want to miss Queen Anna's wedding!"
The guards shouldered their lances and looked at each other, puzzled. After a couple of seconds, one of them looked at Freya. "Name?" he said officiously.
"How dare you talk to me like that!" Freya snapped at him. "I am the Queen of Rizucia, and I am not missing this wedding!"
The guard was insistent. "I'm sorry Your Majesty," he said, keeping his official tone, "but we are under strict orders to only let in guests who are on the list. And everyone on the list has been accounted for."
Freya shook her head. "No, no, no," she insisted, trying to do her best impression of a queen. "You must have made a mistake. Let me see that list!"
One guard nodded to the other and handed Freya the list, which was a long piece of parchment. She pretended to skim over it. "Ah, there I am!" she exclaimed while pointing at one of the names.
She held the list up to one of the guards, who leaned in to get a closer look. "I don't see your name anywhere," he said while shaking his head.
"It's right there !" Freya said through gritted teeth. As she did so, she set the parchment on fire with her fingertip, then handed it back to the guard. He panicked and threw it on the floor. The other guard quickly held up his lance to her, and she immediately set both lances on fire. The guards cast them aside. Not knowing what was happening, the guards panicked. Freya held out her palms and made fire appear in each of them before holding them in front of the face of each of the guards.
"Now you two, go," she commanded, "before I do to you what I just did to your lances!" The guards nodded and scurried off, leaving Freya alone in front of the door to the chapel. She put out the flames in her hands then looked up, smiled smugly, and snuck inside.
Freya saw Elsa with the bride and groom at the altar. She waited for the perfect moment to make her move.
The choir were singing a traditional Arendellian wedding hymn while Anna and Kristoff waited at the altar looking into each other's eyes, so happy that their big day had finally come. The hymn drew to a close, and the Bishop of Arendelle began the ceremony.
"Ladies and gentlemen," he began. "We are here today to join Kristoff Bjorgman and Queen Anna of Arendelle in marriage. On this joyous day, Arendelle welcomes royalty from all over the world to join us in celebration. Thank you all for being here with us."
The bishop paused, and a satisfied murmur came from the congregation. "But first, as tradition dictates, I have a formality to attend to," the bishop said with a slight smile. "If anyone knows any lawful reason why the bride and groom should not be married, let them speak now or forever hold their peace."
The bishop left a slight pause. Anna and Kristoff continued to look at each lovingly.
"Yes!" came a cry from the back of the chapel. Everyone gasped in shock and turned to where the voice was coming from. Freya marched to the middle of the aisle. She was relishing being the centre of attention.
Anna turned to Elsa. "Elsa...is this...?" she said nervously.
"Yes," Elsa replied, knowing what Anna was about to ask.
"How can you have a royal wedding without inviting Freya, the Fire Queen of Rizucia?" Freya asked everyone, holding her arms out to make a grand entrance.
"Who is this girl?" the Irish dignitary whispered to his French friend, who could only shrug his shoulders in reply.
The congregation sat and watched nervously. None of them knew who she was, but they were surprised by how such a young woman commanded an audience. A look of terror came over Anna's face as she looked at Freya, scared by what she might do next.
"Freya, you are not ruining my sister's wedding!" Elsa said under her breath as she started to walk towards her. Freya wagged her finger at Elsa, then turned into a fireball and jumped up into the rafters. The sight of this shocked the guests. Some got up, while others ran to the door.
"You can't possibly get married today," Freya scowled as she looked down and pointed at Anna. "You already have so much, it's not right."
Freya closed her eyes and paused for a second to compose herself. Then she started to chuckle.
"And besides, how can you get married in a chapel that's on fire?" Freya asked gleefully.
"Freya, dont!" Elsa commanded while staring up at Freya.
Freya looked right back at Elsa, then bit her bottom lip as she smirked. She snapped her fingers on both of her hands and fireballs shot from them, setting fire to the tapestries on the walls.
There were screams from the congregation and the guests scrambled over each other, desperate to get out of the chapel.
"Ah! Le feu!" the French ambassador screamed.
"Out of my way!" the Irish dignitary cried as he pushed past him.
Elsa used her powers to put out the burning tapestries, but Freya set fire to the beams in the rafters. She pointed a finger at Elsa. "You won't get me this time!" she shouted as Elsa shot a beam of ice in Freya's direction, trying to freeze her again. Freya jumped out of the way and turned herself into a fireball, flying around the chapel and setting fire to all she could before landing by the door.
"Catch me if you can!" Freya called to Elsa as she scuttled out. Elsa was struggling to extinguish the flames. Anna, Kristoff, Ryder and Olaf ran up to her.
"We need to find her!" Anna shouted.
"You need to get out of here, go! It's not safe!" Elsa called out to Anna and everyone else.
"I don't want to leave you!'' Anna replied.
"I'm the only one who can stop Freya," Elsa told her, "I need to find her before she does any more damage. Now go! Get to the courtyard!"
Kristoff took Anna and everyone else out of the chapel while Elsa desperately tried to find Freya. She looked up, and saw smoke from the town billowing over the walls of the castle. Screams could be heard from all around, as the fires Freya had started caused everyone to panic. Everyone was rushing towards the town, desperate to attend to their homes.
Just then, the wind spirit brought Elsa a note. It simply said "Freya has escaped". Elsa threw it onto the ground in frustration, then began to search for Freya. She knew that she needed to stop her before it was too late.