1,398An Uzumaki in Arendelle
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Disney's Frozen.
Key:
"Speaking Japanese"
"Speaking Norwegian"
"~Kristoff Speaking For Sven~"
-Chapter Start-
"The royal ball has been officially scheduled to happen in two weeks," Gerda said to both Naruto and Kristoff. "With this being a royal ball, the Queen and the Princess will be expected to show off who is courting them, with a dance."
As the older maid stood before the two blond men. Both of whom sat on the floor of the ballroom, where many dances would soon happen. Off to the side were Olaf and Sven, who did not need to learn how to dance, yet chose to watch. But the most excited for the oncoming display was Kai. Who sat in a chair near the bandstand, holding a baritone horn and wearing a devilish grin, as Gerda continued her lesson.
"We have one week to learn and perfect a few traditional dances, before the guests begin to arrive. Unless you want some young noble to sweep the girls off their feet," the head maid's own devilish grin began to match her cohort's. As she signaled Kai to ready his instrument. "We will start with a waltz."
Kai readied his instrument, and began to play. Letting a simple melody pass over the room. As Gerda began to sway in place.
"Watch how I move, and then try to follow along," the maid continued, moving her feet to the music. Her arms held out to an imaginary partner, as she began to instruct. "The waltz relies on several patterns of footwork. If you mix up the patterns, it is very easy to step on your partner's feet. Which I can promise you, neither the Queen nor the Princess will enjoy."
With her warning given, the maid motioned for the two men to stand. What followed was fifteen minutes of the two men attempting to follow the steps they had just been taught. With different levels of success. Kristoff stumbled around, flailing his arms to keep his balance. While Naruto was only a little more graceful.
Soon, Gerda began working with the displaced ninja on his posture and hand positioning. As the ice harvester continued to practice the dance steps.
The blond transplant struggled under the tutelage of the older woman, who found his posture lacking. His usual stance, born from years of training, was meant to be sleek and aerodynamic. Yet it was apparently insufficient by royal standards. Leaving the blond to be pushed around until he was standing in ways that were deemed: good enough.
"Alright," Gerda called out after another half hour of practice. "That's enough solo practice for today."
The mischievous smirk had returned to the head maid. As the moment she and Kai had been waiting for had arrived. The time where Naruto and Kristoff would need a partner to practice dancing with.
"Kristoff, try and copy Naruto's posture for this dance," she stated.
"This dance?" the ice harvester asked. Fearful of what was to come next.
"Yes, this dance," the elderly woman chuckled darkly. "The two of you will be practicing, dancing, together, and Naruto will be leading."
With a grumble the larger man approached his dance partner. Towering over the once superheated blond, who looked confused about the situation. With another grunt, he grabbed the shorter man's hand in his, and placed his other on his side. Five minutes later, after Gerda had corrected their positioning, the two were ready to dance. A minute after that, Kristoff had already managed to step on his partner's feet twice.
"Natuto, keep your feet moving in the correct patterns," Gerda called from the side of the room. A wicked laugh threatening to erupt from her. "Both of you need to learn these steps. And if you start moving your feet out of the way every time someone is about to step on them; not only are you not learning the proper steps, but you prevent your partner from learning from their own mistakes. And I am quite certain that the Queen and Princess will be very thankful if both of you learn to not step on their feet."
With her speech done, the head maid motioned for Kai to begin playing again. With the head of staff having developed a nasty chuckle as the two trainees tried to get rid of the pain in their feet.
*break*
Two hours later, Naruto limped out of the ballroom. While Kristoff had laid himself across Sven's back. Unwilling to walk, but unable to climb into the saddle with his sore feet. Olina and the other maids were always cautious about the large animal walking the halls, but rarely allowed anyone to ride him. The ice harvester didn't care at the moment.
"It wasn't that bad," the shinobi called, already regaining his lost energy.
"It was so much fun to watch," Olaf cheered as he danced behind them. His flurry chasing after him.
"You're not the one whose feet hurt," Kristoff groaned.
"But it's so easy to dance," Olaf said with a hop as his feet danced out from underneath the rest of his body. "See! Everyone and everything likes to dance. Including the Elsa statues."
"Elsa statues?" Naruto questioned.
"Yeah, there's a bunch of them in that room," the snowman said, as he danced past a set of slightly open doors.
Inside the sparsely furnished room, stood sixteen statues of the queen. Each made of pure ice, and frozen in a different pose. With several of the sculptures being mid-spin, while a few others had their hands raised as if waiting for a partner.
As he got closer, Naruto noticed that all of the faces were blank. With the only defining feature truly being the statues' hair was in a single braid. Just like the queen usually wore.
"What are these?" he questioned.
"I told you, they're Elsa statues," Olaf called from the hallway.
"Well it's obvious she made them," Kristoff commented to the snowman. "But why?"
Naruto didn't listen to the rest of the conversation. Choosing to instead go find his girlfriend, who he sensed in an adjacent room.
"Elsa?" the ninja called as he pushed open the door. Entering into a room with even more ice statues.
"Oh, Naruto. I thought you were practicing dancing," the queen yelped in surprise. While moving to stand in front of one of the statues with an embarrassed look on her face.
"We finished practicing a few minutes ago, and were wondering about the ice statues we found."
"What ice statues?" the blonde questioned, becoming more nervous by the second.
"The ones in the next room," Kristoff added. "And the ones in this room."
"I didn't think I made that many," Elsa said with a sigh, moving away from the statue she had pointlessly been trying to hide. "I was making statues to see the different poses."
"Why?" Naruto questioned, as he admired the different statues.
"Well…" the queen started. Embarrassed at being discovered, but knowing she should just explain everything. "I've never been a good dancer. When I was talking with Anna about it, she suggested that I look at how some of the moves are performed. But all of the drawings felt flat, so I made an ice statue based on one of the poses I saw. Then I made another, and another, and I got carried away at some point."
"You are the most graceful person I know," Naruto stated, looking away from the sculptures and towards his girlfriend. "I have seen you dance plenty of times when you are skating."
Elsa paused for a few seconds as she tried to get her blush under control. The thought of her boyfriend watching her intently when she had been skating by herself, made her entire body heat up.
"When I go skating, it feels like the wind itself keeps me upright," the queen said after a few moments. "But if I even try to twirl on dry land, I usually fall down."
"That is what training and practice are for," Naruto declared as he grabbed his girlfriend's hands. "I think it will be helpful for everyone if you joined Gerda's dance class. That way we can practice together."
Elsa smiled, knowing that her boyfriend only thought the best of her, and only wanted the best for her. While she had initially declined Gerda's invitation, thinking she would be fine on her own, but joining Naruto could be fun.
"Just, don't be mad if I step on your feet," she finally relented.
"I could never be mad with you," the blond said with a large grin. "But if it is really bad, you can stand on my feet, and I will dance for both of us."
The two laugh. Content with being close to each other. Knowing that whatever pain may come would only help them grow.
"I hate to ruin the moment," Kristoff interrupted the duo. "But we need to talk about the ice statues."
Naruto and Elsa quickly pulled away from each other. Having completely forgotten that Kristoff, Sven, and Olaf were also standing in the room. The troll-raised human gave them a minute to calm down before he continued.
"First, I was wondering if these statues are like the statues of Hedda and Ingrid, that you told me about?" the ice harvester asked.
"Not that I noticed," Elsa said. "I had to concentrate to make these take shape. But the statues of Hedda and Ingrid formed on their own once I sent some magic near their footprints."
"So we still don't know what causes those statues," Naruto added, closing his eyes in thought.
"No," Elsa admitted. "And I haven't had time to try and recreate it either."
"Something to work on another time," Kristoff said. "The more pressing problem is getting rid of these ice statues before they finish melting."
Reminded about the fragility of the queen's creations, and the summer heat, the next few minutes saw everyone moving to get rid of the statues before they were nothing more than a puddle. With Kristoff and Naruto running around to gather them up, while Elsa returned them back to the air.
*break*
"And, step one, two, three" Gerda counted out, letting Kai keep rhythm with his baritone.
Following their teacher's instructions, the group of four students began to dance by themselves. In the three days since Elsa, and by extension Anna, had joined the boys in the dance class, things had been progressing smoothly.
Gerda had decided to take things at a more gradual pace. With extra students it was better to take things slowly, as opposed to the quick method she had initially devised for Naruto and Kristoff. Although, amongst the group Anna didn't need any help dancing. Taking the lessons to help her sister and watch her boyfriend struggle. Elsa was improving, practice and constant encouragement from her loved ones helped, but she was still the weakest dancer of the group.
But today was going to be the first time the group would dance together. While it had been funny watching Kristoff and Naruto step on each other's feet. The new slower method required more individual practice before pairing up.
With the final solo practice out of the way, it was time to get close. Anna immediately ran and jumped into Kristoff's arms. While her sister was a little more subdued, she also made her way quickly to her sweetheart.
Elsa had been dreaming about this moment. With both excitement and dread. She had never been a good dancer, but the idea of dancing next to Naruto excited her. The two of them would often hug, and sometimes kiss, but this was something new. Longer lasting than a hug, and in front of more people. With the envoys from several nations watching as her intended held her close while they moved to the music.
Without hesitation, Naruto moved closer to her. Holding her hand in his, while his other hand sunk down to rest on her back. Just shy of cupping her posterior. Her hand settled at his waist.
With a dashing smile he waited for the music to start, while she took a few calming breaths. Soon the sound of Kai's baritone horn sounded alongside Gerda's counting. And then, they were dancing.
Things started well, Elsa followed the steps she had been practicing for the past few days. Naruto's natural grace carried them for a few minutes, helping them dance without trouble.
It was so smooth going, that her mind began to wander. Leading her to notice something about her boyfriend that she hadn't noticed before.
When Naruto had arrived in Arendelle less than a year ago, Elsa had only just realized that he was growing taller. A few months ago she had to look down slightly to meet his gaze, but now they were the same height. Her ice blue eyes easily able to look forward into his deep ocean blue eyes. She was so focused on his eyes, that she misstepped. Dropping her foot directly on top of his.
"Sorry," Elsa screamed, pulling back to try and stop the dance. Only for Naruto to hold her in place as he continued dancing. Forcing the queen to continue as well.
"I told you I would not be mad," the blond joked with a grin.
Elsa could only smile back. Content with the comfortable feeling of him holding her close. Especially with his arm looped around her, spreading a warm heat throughout her entire body, and reminding her of where his hand lay near the bottom of her back.
Another hour passed before Gerda called practice. "Everyone did well today," she praised. "And Naruto, continue to not use your clones. I don't want you practicing by yourself."
"Do not worry, my clones are all busy in the library," the blond man replied, much to the elderly woman's delight.
"Naruto," Elsa called her boyfriend over. Raising his hand to cup his cheek. "I noticed that you were heating up during our dance, and I was worried that you might be overheating again."
"I am fine," he blushed at the close distance. "I make sure to use a lot of chakra everyday, so I do not overheat again."
"That's good," the queen sighed in relief. "But I still worry about you."
"Thank you," Naruto responded. Happy that his girlfriend cared for him. Along with the pleasant way she rubbed his cheek.
"Excuse me," Anna called with a mischievous grin as she looked at the couple. "Before you two get too comfortable, Alf the court painter is here to finish Naruto's portrait."
"Ugh, more sitting," the blond complained. "Can I just send a clone?"
"Sorry, no," the redhead laughed. "Apparently your clones keep disappearing."
While everyone else chuckled, Elsa followed after her boyfriend. Both to make sure he went to have his portrait made, and because she had a few more things to talk with him about.
-Chapter End-
It has been almost a year since I last updated any of my stories. Things were rough earlier in the year, so hopefully now that things have calmed down I'll start writing more consistently. We can only hope at this point.
The idea for Elsa making ice statues to look at for dancing practice came directly from the "Frozen Adventure - Ice and Magic" comic book. The story is that Elsa is trying to learn to dance for an upcoming ball. So she makes ice statues to see the steps. But it turns out that the guest can't dance either, so Elsa makes an ice rink and everyone has fun skating around. Ever since I read that, my headcanon has been that Elsa is an amazing skater, but can't dance. Although that was fixed in this chapter.
For Elsa noticing Naruto's growth I just wanted to list Elsa and Naruto's heights
Elsa is 5'7" (170 cm) presumably without her heels.
Naruto is 5'6" (166 cm) at the end of Shippuden and the start of this story
Naruto is 5'11" (180 cm) during Boruto
Last chapter I mentioned that I was holding a poll for an upcoming story. Here's a quick summary of the results.
The Incredibles won, which isn't that big of a surprise. But it was closely followed by Aladdin and then Atlantis.
I'll go into more detail about the poll results in the next chapter of Pretty Maelstrom. Which will be out next week.
It's a chapter number divisible by 5, so here's the list of upcoming arcs.
1: The Princes' Ball (Summer year 2)
2: The Harvest Festival (Fall year 2)
3: "Pirates" with no association to the Caribbean (Fall year 2)
4: Elsa 1 (Winter year 2)
5: Ingrid and Headda part 2 (Spring year 3)
6: Anna 1 / Elsa 2 (Spring year 3)
7: Anna 2 (Summer year 3)
8: Frozen II (Fall year 3)
Cut content:
I decided early on that Naruto shouldn't use clones for dance practice. Mainly to keep things simple, but this meant I couldn't do any gags using the clones. Mainly having Naruko-chan dance with Kristoff.
That's it for this chapter, I've already started to work on the next chapter, but I want to focus on Pretty Maelstrom for a little bit since it's close to finished. Until the next chapter, thank you for reading, and take care.