Scorched

Chapter 1

Chapter One

'Ayla, the Princes of the Southern Isle will be here soon' Elsa mentioned impatiently throwing open the heavy oak doors leading to Ayla's study. 'What in the world are you doing, you need to be getting ready. Come on now' Elsa complained as she saw Ayla sitting at her desk playing with a candle which stood before her. 'Do we have to meet them today? It's so cold outside' Ayla mentioned towards the window showing the ice and snow which lay outside. 'It is winter... and that should not be an excuse to not meet with the princes' Elsa folded her arms over her chest, 'but why couldn't they have come in summer when we could actually go outside to show the princes around Erendelle. Nobody can go anywhere in this dismal weather' Ayla screwed up her nose at the sight of the snow covered ground outside, due to her powers she never cared for the cold she only preferred the heat of summer and the changing of the leaves and the colours of autumn.

'I happen to think winter is rather beautiful' Elsa insisted smiling out of the window, during winter she always made sure that there was enough snow on the ground to make the children happen. 'You would, that's why your element is ice.' 'That's enough Ayla; you do not hear me complaining when its summer and you make it unbearable hot every day. You just have to get used to it... now get ready the princes will be here any minute now' and with that Elsa left the room. Ayla turned and launched a fireball at the closed door 'how can I get used to these freezing conditions' she whispered to herself.

She took one last look outside before making her way behind her changing screen so that she could change out of her casual brown and orange dress and into her classic red elemental dress; however she made sure that this one was made from slightly thicker material and had longer sleeves to keep her warm. She styled her hair and applied her make-up then made her way out of the room and towards the great hall where she knew Elsa would be waiting.

As she neared the door she heard a booming voice from the other side 'presenting Queen Ayla of Erendelle' then the doors opened for her to saunter through. It always confused her as to how the staff always knew that her and Elsa were coming and were able to announce and open the doors before they even reached the doors.

Standing in the middle of the room were Elsa and an elderly gentleman wearing a crown, both were looking over at Ayla as she descended the few steps towards them. 'May I present King Sven of the Southern Isle' Elsa introduced, 'my lady... it is a great honour for myself and my sons to be here, although I must confess I am a little confused as to why both of you were introduced as Queen' King Sven admitted 'my sister and I have an arrangement where we both rule over the kingdom, I rule through summer and autumn, Elsa through winter and spring' Ayla explained politely. The King continued to stare at the girls with confusion etched upon his elderly features since he had never heard of such an arrangement before.

'What a backwards kingdom' came the whispered insult of one of the princes. Ayla spun around to see who dared to speak such a remark. 'I apologise, that is my youngest son Prince Hans' King Sven introduced with a shamed look in his eyes. The young prince leaned against the wall with his arms folded across his chest, he only lifted his head when his father had finished speaking and only then could Ayla see the smirk that was plastered on his face. 'Your highnesses, may I introduce my other sons' King Sven mentioned in an attempt to recapture Elsa and Ayla's attention. He motioned to each of his sons in turn 'Gautrek, Frei, Karel, Melkior, Erlend, Alrik, Mikael, Mats, Reid, Enzo, Isaac and Adam' 'it is a pleasure to meet you all and my sister and I welcome you to Erendelle and hope you will enjoy your stay here with us. I will arrange for housekeeping to show you to your private accommodations as I expect you are all tired from your journey. If there is anything you require please do not hesitate to let us know' Elsa explained, always the natural hostess.

Moments later three of the palace maids entered the room, Elsa nodded at them 'these are three members of the housekeeping staff, Helga, Greta and Ellen, they will show you to your rooms' and with that the maids whisked the princes and King Sven out of the room. 'Well I don't really know if that went well or not' Elsa muttered as she glanced at Ayla, 'what's wrong' 'I don't like that Prince Hans, how rude of him to call our kingdom backwards. Just because we have a unique way of ruling does not mean we are a backwards kingdom. Ugh, I ought to throw burning embers into his eyes, that would show him not to mess with me' Ayla paced the floor as she ranted leaving flamed footsteps in her wake, 'Ayla you're making the room heat up' Elsa mentioned to which Ayla turned to face her mid walk and stopped dead in her tracks. 'Sorry' she muttered. 'Not many people do know of the way we rule Erendelle so obviously we're going to get criticised. But we just have to keep our chin up and impress these princes' Elsa smiled to which Ayla returned it with a smirk of her own.