Reunion at Sea

Rallying Call

The hot-air balloon touched down and people crowded around it in curiosity. Arianna opened the door that Varian had installed on it to make it easier to leave it and stepped out, Rapunzel's letter in a satchel at her side.

"Aunt Arianna!" She looked up as the royal sisters came running to see her. "Aunt Arianna, is it really you?!"

"Hello, Anna." She said with a tired smile, feeling a bit of the weight from what she was here to do lifting from her a little at the sight of the younger sister's smile, so much like her sister's. "And Elsa." She greeted the older girl with a gentle smile, then giggled a bit. "Are you both in your nightwear?"

Elsa blushed and fidgeted with her hands and the ends of her sleeves. "We...we got...excited." She explained.

"Well, why don't we go inside and I can sit down for a while while you both get dressed?" Arianna suggested.

"Right! Let's go!" Anna hugged her and pulled her along as they headed into the castle together.

Once inside, they released her and went to get dressed, leaving Arianna to look around and get lost in her memories. She could remember running around this building with her own sister, Agnarr chasing them to try to keep them out of trouble. He was always such a good older brother, she recalled that she and Willow had cried together when they heard of his death, more heartbreak for an already distressed Arianna. But, she imagined it must have been so much harder for their children, who could not even comfort each other because of Elsa's out of control powers.

According to Rapunzel, who had gone to Elsa's coronation a few months before her own with Eugene, she had finally grown confident in her powers to control them, enough that she was able to create ice sculptures and even clothes with her powers, as well as bringing a snowman to life. Which was way beyond the ice powers they thought she had, so she could only guess that there was more to Elsa than anyone knew.

But, it was because she had control now that they had sent her here to ask her to leave the safety of Arendelle and join the fight against the cultists before the demon is summoned and everywhere is at risk.

She was alerted to the sisters' return by the sound of their footsteps and turned to face them from where she had been looking at a picture of her family when she was young. "Queen Arianna." Elsa greeted.

"Oh, please, just 'Aunt Arianna'. Besides..." She sighed, walking over to them. "I...am no longer a Queen."

"How come?" Anna asked.

"It's..." Arianna sighed. "It's...difficult to say. But, Rapunzel is Queen now, and she sent me here with a letter for you." She pulled out the letter and the sisters moved closer to look at it together as she handed it to Anna.

"'Dear Anna', hmmmhmmmhmm...what?" Anna looked at it with confusion.

"'Magic-using evil cultists'?" Elsa frowned and they read on.

"'My father was recently revealed to have been conspiring with them'...what?" Anna's brow furrowed.

"That is why I am no longer Queen. When he was removed from the throne, so was I." Arianna sighed. "But, I was on the side of the revolution, and I stand by Rapunzel and Varian."

"Who's Varian?" Anna asked as Elsa read on silently.

"He's Rapunzel's counterpart, and a very smart boy." Arianna smiled fondly. "He's just..." she sighed, "he's made some mistakes."

"Who hasn't?" Anna shrugged, looking back at the letter. "Wait, counterpart? What happened to Eugene?" She looked back up at her.

"Not that kind of counterpart. He is the Moon to her Sun. Literally, she is the Sundrop and he's the Moonstone. Pieces of the Sun and Moon." Arianna explained.