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Mal didn’t think that it was safe for Ben to be traveling so far north. He mentioned that it probably wasn’t safe for her to steal the Fairy Godmother’s wand and use it to fight her mother Maleficent, but she had done that anyways.
“That was different,” she said. “That was me.”
“Well, what made you think that I was going by myself?” he asked.
The queen found that answer acceptable and they started out for Arendelle that day.
Ben knew that his parents had spoken with the previous Queen of Arendelle about joining the United States of Auradon. That it would relieve her of some of the duties of governance and they had even offered to place Prince Hans of the Southern Isles in her custody, as opposed to being sent to the Isle of the Lost. From what they had told Ben, Arendelle had… politely, but insistently refused. Something about ‘cultural incompatibilities’. Ben had hoped to open up a dialogue when the regime changed, but the next queen had said much the same thing.
Now, those incompatibilities seemed to be spreading.
It had started with a few states opting to leave Auradon. Corona. Then Agrabah. South Riding had been a blow— Aurora had been among the first to champion Auradon, but Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather had much more sway over Audrey and had never been satisfied with the requirements. It was South Riding’s secession that made Ben and Mal realize that this was about magic.
Then the museum was attacked.
Almost every magical artifact was stolen. In their place, the thieves had left a green and violet flower, spray-painted on the walls.
Ben and Mal arrived at the gates of Arendelle castle, greeted by a walking snowman.
“Hi! I’m Olaf!” he said. “I like warm hugs!”
“Hello, Olaf,” Ben said. “I’m King Ben, this is Queen Mal. We’re here to see the Queen.”
Olaf took them to the throne room. The king’s throne was empty. Queen Anna sat in hers.
“Thank you, Olaf,” Anna said. “I need to speak with them alone.”
“Okay!”
Olaf left and the door shut slowly with a dull thud.
“You weren’t invited,” Anna said.
“It was my understanding that Arendelle had an open door policy,” Ben said.
“Not to everyone.” Anna stood. “Why are you here?”
“You can’t say you don’t know why we’re here,” Mal said, stepping forward. “Auradon is being terrorized. And whether or not it is your wish, they’re doing it in your name.”
“I resent that.” Anna’s voice was quiet and she glared daggers at Mal. “I have nothing to do with this. Were it not for trade, we would have nothing to do with your country.”
“You already cut off Weselton,” Ben said. “We don’t need ice that bad.”
“Tell that to your member states,” Anna said. “They’re the ones buying it.”
“Will you tell them to stand down?” Mal asked.
Anna paused. “Ben, do you know why countries are leaving Auradon?”
“Because of magic,” Ben said.
“No,” Anna said. “Well, not quite. It’s because of her.”
Anna looked to Mal. Mal blinked.
“We worked through accepting the VKs,” Ben said. “And she gave up her magic, for good.”
“Did she?” Anna asked. “She said that once, after your coronation. And then she turned into a dragon. How much do you think the daughter of Maleficent can hide from you?”
Mal looked away.
“I’ll guess, ‘quite a lot’,” Anna said. “But the fact is, the King of Auradon married a magic user. How do you think that made the rest of them feel? The ones who had given it all up? Who had concealed a part of themselves and shut the door? ‘Conceal, don’t feel. Don’t let it show.’ And I’m sure you know how well that ended up for us.”
“We did it for a reason,” Ben said.
“I know,” Anna said. “So did my parents. Did yours think about children? Born with powers? Or cursed with them? How they might be ostracized in such an anti-magic environment?”
“We didn’t—”
“No,” Anna said. “You didn’t.”
“Anna,” Mal said. “Where is your sister?”
Anna walked back to her throne. “I am not responsible for the actions against your kingdom, Benjamin. You’ll have to look somewhere else.”
“Where is Elsa?”
Anna paused. “I don’t know.”
She sat on her throne and her skirts flowed down in violet and green around her feet.
“But I hope for your sake you don’t find her,” Anna said. “You might have to break your own laws again.”