Winter Moon (Jelsa)

Chapter 7: Elsa

"It's so great to meet you!" a blonde girl exclaimed, beaming at me.

I smiled weakly. "You as well."

She spun me around to face a group of people. "Everyone, meet Ella!"

I gave them an awkward half-smile. It had been years since I'd talked to anyone other than servants and the king and queen. I hadn't even seen Anna for months. Before I accidentally almost killed her, we had been best friends. After that, Iduna and Agnarr were determined to separate us, but we found ways to keep in touch. Notes slipped under each other's doors, midnight conversations, smiles from across the hall. When I found out about my magic and rejected the enchantment, I stopped seeking her companionship in fear of losing control and hurting her again.

"I'm Rapunzel, but you can call me Punzie," Rapunzel told be, tossing her seventy-foot-long curtain of hair over her shoulder. I didn't recognize her.

"That's Flynn Rider. His real name is Eugene, but everyone calls him Flynn. Except me," Rapunzel gestured to a guy with brown hair, hazel eyes, and a mischievous smirk. The beginnings of a beard were apparent on his chin.

"That's Merida. She's my bestie," Merida waved. She had an unruly cascade of scarlet curls and a rather wild appearance about her. I knew her as the princess of DunBroch. I had a faint memory of meeting her when I was six at a diplomatic occasion that Iduna and Agnarr had dragged me to.

"Over there is Astrid. Astrid Hofferson," A girl with blonde hair in a braid and sparkling blue eyes winked at me. I didn't know who she was, but if I had to guess, she was probably a Viking.

"Here we have Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third," Rapunzel announced with some satisfaction in her voice. Him, I knew from hours of studying the Barbaric Archipelago. He was the son of the chief of Berk. With a tousle of brown hair and large, innocent eyes, Hiccup didn't seem at all like a Viking chief-to-be. He was also rather short.

"And lastly, this is Jack Frost," Rapunzel dramatically gestured at a boy.

I froze. He seemed familiar. Like I had met him once. He wasn't royalty, at least not one I knew of, so how could I recognize him? Schooling my face into neutrality, I curtsied, "Thank you from the introductions, my name is Ella Dunai," I said, using my fake name, even though I had been introduced already.

The group exchanged amused looks. 

"We don't really do formalities here. You can call any royalty by their first name. They don't mind. There's no need to curtsy or anything fancy like that," Rapunzel explained and quickly added, "I'm not a princess. Merida is though."

"Oh, I see," I felt slightly embarrassed but also intrigued. I knew Arendelle had always been technologically behind, but were we socially incompetent as well? I noted that everyone was wearing casual clothes. In fact, hardly anyone was wearing a dress or any sort of formal clothing. Most people were in jeans and sweatshirts. It was a fairly new trend that had been itnroduced to Arendelle a while ago, but had not been adopted in our kingdom. Iduna thought it was scandalous.

"Come on," Rapunzel grabbed my gloved hand and pulled me along. 

"Where are we going?" I asked, subtly easing my hand out of hers.

"Tour," she responded.

"I see. Might I inquire where to leave my belongings?"

"You're so formal. Don't worry. We have servants who will deliver your things to our room. We're roommates by the way."

"What a pleasant surprise."

Rapunzel laughed at my formalities. It sounded so carefree and unhurried. It sounded to real. I wondered when I had last laughed like that.