Chapter Text
Isabella and her little sister visited a field at edge of town. It had been years since Isabella realised she could grow more than just flowers, but even now she was still eager for new things to try. Though she had to admit, when Mirabel suggested agriculture this morning, it didn’t sound as exciting as what she hoped for.
But she understood this was important, and she was at least a little curious. The town was always growing larger, and soon they’d need to grow more food. Yesterday Luisa had ploughed out the field with her strength, so now Isabella would see if she could give the crops a head start with her own powers. Though she preferred wild natural beauty over an orderly farm field. Too similar to the old perfect façade.
And of course, overseeing it all was their sister Mirabel. A year after the collapse of the first Casita Madrigal, their Abuela had died peacefully in her sleep, the natural course of old age, and since then Mirabel had stepped in and filled the void, becoming the new pillar of the community.
“You ready Isa?” Mirabel asked.
Isabella loosened up and rolled her shoulders, “Let’s see what I can do with this.”
She closed her eyes and focused, and the ground around her erupted with corn stalks, unnaturally tall and towering over the sisters’ heads.
“Nice!” Mirabel gave her two thumbs up, “But maybe too much?”
Isabella shrugged, “You can still eat it.”
Suddenly a chill came over her, and she noticed that Mirabel shivered too. “You feel that Mira? Is it just me or did it just get really cold?”
“Yeah, it did seem like… whoa,” both girls looked around them in bewilderment as a fine white powder began falling from the sky around them, “Is this snow?”
“We haven’t had snow since Tia Pepa was getting stressed over Dolores’ wedding. And she’s never covered the whole valley before.” Something about this seemed different. Isabella had a feeling.
“We should get back,” Mirabel suggested, “Something must have happened.”
“No, wait,” Isabella held out a hand and grew a large leaf, letting it blow in the breeze, “I knew something was strange. That snow is falling in the opposite direction to the wind. This isn’t Tia. Where’s it coming from?”
The sisters followed the snow to its source, and the temperature grew colder and colder, until they reached the mountains that border their valley. There was still a crack in the stone where the mountain range had split open after the miracle failed, and though the breach had been sealed when the magic returned the seam was still there. And now a flurry of snow was billowing out of the tiny crack.
Then the ground beneath them began to rumble, and the crack began to split open. Inside the crack, the rock on either side was covered by a thin layer of ice. Once it was wide enough to be a walkway the crack stopped widening, and cold white mist billowed out of the opening. In the mist, a silhouette started to emerge.
Isabella acted instantly. The miracle created those mountains to protect them, if someone was breaking in, they were a threat. She summoned gigantic venus fly traps from the ground and sent their slavering mouths hurtling to devour whoever was coming through. But the silhouette lazily raised a hand and stalactites of ice fell from the sky and impaled her plants, pinning them down and tearing them to shreds.
The ice on the walls of the crack melted away and the white mist in the gap evaporated. And out stepped a woman; tall, pale, snowy white hair tied in a braid. She walked perfectly poised, it reminded Isabella of how she used to act, and as she stepped out she raised a dainty hand and waved.
“Hello. My name’s Elsa.”
*
When the first thing Elsa saw on the other side of the mountains was people, excitement swelled in her heart. The rumours she heard in nearby villages were all stories from fifty years ago. But a new mountain range that just appeared overnight sounded like a sure sign of magic, if it only were true.
In the years since she froze Arendelle, Elsa had been increasingly travelling the world, leaving Anna in charge of the kingdom in her absence, to search out stories of magic. Surely she couldn’t be the only person like herself in the world. Yet in all that searching she’d had no luck, until now.
When that girl had summoned the plant life to attack her, she knew she’d found it. Other people like her. Or at very least just this one. She stepped carefully through the mess of ice and vegetation their scuffle had created and approached the women cautiously.
“I’m sorry for breaking through your mountain. I promise I’m not here to hurt anyone. I just heard old stories that there was magic in this valley.”
The younger woman hesitantly stepped towards Elsa, letting her guard drop into a more welcoming posture, and outstretched a hand to shake. “Well if you’re looking for magic you’re in the right place. I’m Mirabel, of the Amazing Madrigals, and this is my sister Isabella. Sound like you’ve heard of us,” Mirabel casually leaned in to mutter, “Don’t wanna boast but we really are as great as everyone says,” then she came back out to normal, “but you seem plenty magical yourself, whadaya need us for?”
“A whole family?” Elsa asked, “There are more of you with magic? I’ve never met anyone like myself before. This is more than I ever hoped for.”
“Guess we better introduce to everyone then, huh Isa? Isa?” Mirabel looked over at her older sister, who was silently glaring at Elsa, armed crossed and scowling. “You ok there?”
“Fine,” the older girl replied, “Let’s just get back home.”