Frozen Not Her Usual Follower

**Not Her Usual Follower**

Elsa was not an especially demanding goddess. Indeed, she was more than happy with the one festival she got each year. However, that hadn't stopped people from building temples in her name or setting up a millennia-old clergy.

Of course, there were some advantages to having thousands of followers. She enjoyed helping people and making them happy, but her duties left her with precious little time for the simple things like creating just enough snow for children to make snowmen or sending a cooling wind during the middle of summer.

However, she could – and did – order her followers to act in her stead. No temple of hers would ever turn away someone in need of shelter, and her priests and priestesses had been told in no uncertain terms to care for any orphaned children they found. Elsa knew better than anyone what it was like to be alone, and she would not wish that sorrow upon anyone else.

Still, it was depressing to see how many people still feared her despite the fact that it had been centuries since she'd actually had to smite people on a large scale. As the goddess of ice and winter, she had a very big say on what the weather and seasons were like. If she wanted, she could lock entire nations into an endless winter, or she could crush armies under avalanches and blizzards. She could even freeze the ocean solid although she wasn't sure how long that would last. The god of the oceans was not one who took kindly to others interfering with his domain.

Elsa liked to think that she was one of the kinder gods, albeit somewhat remote. She wasn't as outgoing and friendly as someone like Rapunzel, but it wasn't like she went around slinging lightning bolts and raining fire down from the sky. On the few occasions that mortals managed to anger her, it was usually enough to send a brief snowstorm or two.

Oh well. If being one of the gods were easy, there would probably be more of them. Besides, she couldn't afford to dwell on such thoughts any longer. She had somewhere to be.

The prayers from her followers in Arendelle filled her mind. They were calling out to her, inviting her to join them at the festival held in her honour each winter solstice. There were thousands of them, their souls shimmering at the edges of her awareness like a constellation of stars. They prayed for many things, but most of all, for a mild winter that would give way to a bountiful spring.

Elsa smiled faintly, savouring the warmth of her followers' souls.

This was the one time each year that she allowed herself to linger amongst the mortals. Her appearance was a reward for their faith, an assurance that she heard their prayers and would answer them. She closed her eyes, pictured where she wanted to be, and then vanished in a swirl of snowflakes.

She reappeared at the heart of her temple in Arendelle, clothed in a dress made of blue ice. The clergy around her dropped to their knees at once – well, almost all of them. She caught sight of a red-haired priestess-in-training that was slower to bow than the others. In fact, the redhead seemed to be staring out the window.

Elsa followed the redhead's gaze, and her lips twitched in amusement. As usual, she had allowed Olaf to attend the festival ahead of her. The little snowman was the oldest of her creations, but he was as cheerful and playful as the day she'd made him. He loved the festival, and he arrived early each year, so that he could play in all the snow with the children who attended.

Right now, he was hiding behind a tree as a gaggle of children unleashed a torrent of snowballs in his direction. The priestess-in-training giggled and then froze as she finally realised what everyone else was doing. With a muffled squeak of horror, she dropped to her knees as well.

Elsa had to bite back a laugh. Another god might have taken offence, but she thought it was rather funny. It wasn't everyday that someone managed to miss her entrance.

"Most Honoured Goddess." The high priest rose from his knees, careful to avert his gaze and bow his head. "Welcome to your feast."

"It is good to be here," Elsa replied, keeping her voice suitably solemn. The first few times she'd attended, she'd been hard-pressed to keep from laughing at how formal it all was. Unfortunately, that had only terrified everyone. She studied the old man more intently. "Are you well?"

He flinched, clearly not expecting the deviation from protocol. Still, she felt it was necessary. He had served in her clergy since he was a boy, but the years were beginning to wear on him. She touched his mind as gently as she could, taking careful note of the aches and pains that troubled him on a regular basis. "I am well, Most Honoured Goddess. Thank you for your concern."

"I will ask Rapunzel to soothe your pains." Elsa felt a twinge of sorrow. She'd grown fond of him over the years, stuffy and formal as he was. But mortals never lasted long in the eyes of the gods.

He froze. Rapunzel was the goddess of healing, the arts, and chameleons – a most eclectic mix. She was also one of Elsa's closest friends amongst her divine kin. "Thank… thank you, Most Honoured Goddess." He looked at her for a moment and then looked away. "Please, follow me. Your people await you."

In accordance with Elsa's wishes, the festival took place in the massive courtyard in front of her ridiculously huge main temple. Everyone in the city had been invited to enjoy the feast – not even the poor and downtrodden were turned away. Indeed, she insisted on them being given a place of honour. Not even a god could change everything. But for one night at least, they could leave their cares and worries behind.

As she walked out onto the steps overlooking the courtyard, a hush fell over the crowd. The mortals waited with bated breath for her to speak. She smiled. She would keep this short. There was no need to keep them waiting any longer.

"You have all been faithful," Elsa said. "It will be a good winter – a kind one. And the spring that follows will be bountiful. On this, you have my word."

Cheers rang out, and Elsa waited patiently for one of the members of her clergy to bring her a goblet of wine. It was custom for her to take the first drink of wine after which the feast could begin in earnest. That was how it had been for centuries – but not today.

Today, she ended up with wine all over her dress.

X X X

Anna had done a lot of silly things before, but she had never, in her entire life (which probably wouldn't last much longer), spilt wine on a goddess before. It was bad enough that she hadn't been paying attention when the goddess arrived, but why did she have to be so clumsy as well?

A horrified silence fell over the entire festival.

"You just spilt wine on me." The goddess of ice and winter sounded more startled than angry.

Anna's mouth opened and closed a few times as she searched vainly for something – anything – to say. It wasn't supposed to be this way. She had begged – actually gotten down on her knees and begged – the high priest to choose someone else to carry the wine that the goddess would drink to begin the festival. It was the one time each year that the goddess deigned to join her followers, and Anna had known that she'd find a way to muck it up somehow.

But the high priest had insisted, and Anna had tried with all her might not to mess things up. Surely, she could fight off her innate clumsiness for a few minutes. But somehow, one of her shoelaces had come undone, and then she'd tripped over her robe, and then she'd spilled wine all over the goddess.

And now the goddess was looking right at her, and Anna couldn't tell if she was angry or not, and she was probably going to turn Anna into a big block of ice, or maybe she'd make all her blood freeze, or maybe she'd summon a humongous ice dragon that would eat her and –

"Grargh!" Anna covered her mouth with her hands. Had that sound really just come out of her mouth? Oh, her mouth was getting ahead of her brain again, and if the goddess hadn't already been angry with her before, she would definitely be angry with her now. Anna had ignored her, spilled wine on her, and now she was speaking gibberish at her. Anna searched for something to say. She could do this. She could apologise and – "Gah!"

The goddess's lips twitched – and Anna prepared to die horribly and messily – and then she began to laugh. It was a beautiful sound, like cool water bubbling through a mountain stream. Gently, the goddess reached out with one hand and closed Anna's mouth before the priestess-in-training could further embarrass herself – as if that was even possible! Then the goddess gestured at her dress, which was really the most impossibly beautiful thing made out of ice that Anna had ever seen – and the wine stain vanished.

"There, no harm done." The goddess's voice filled the courtyard despite how soft it was. She didn't sound angry either. She sounded amused.

Anna just stared, eyes wide and her brain going a mile a second. The goddess had spoken to her. The goddess had touched her. The goddess had told her that it was all going to be okay. Naturally, she then did what any other young priestess-in-training would have done. She fainted – and ended up right in the goddess's arms.

And that was how Elsa, goddess of ice and winter, met Anna, priestess-in-training.

X X X

**Author's Notes**

As always, I do not own Frozen. I'm not making any money off of this either.

So, yeah, the second half of this (Anna's point of view) was something I posted as a rough idea on my Tumblr. After receiving a few requests and doing some tinkering, I thought I'd post a longer version including Elsa's view of things.

Now, I'm going to be completely honest here. I have absolutely no idea where this is going. It's really just a snippet that I've fleshed out a bit. That said I hope you guys enjoyed it – I'm fairly confident that I can throw together a plot with a bit more thinking. Also, if you're worried about what's happening with _The Bargain_, the delay is largely due to my being very busy with stuff over the past month or so combined with my needing to put together some stuff for Halloween (this year it was for RWBY). Anyway, I hope to get _The Bargain_ going again soon.

I also write original fiction, mostly fantasy. You can find links to it in my profile. If you're looking for something fun to read try _Two Necromancers, a Bureaucrat, and an Elf_, or, if you want something more serious, try _The Last Huntress._

As always, I appreciate feedback. Reviews and comments are welcome.


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