Disclaimer; I do not own Disney's "Frozen," nor do I attempt any sort of copyright infringement by publishing this work of fanfiction.
-x-
"I said, enough!"
With a strangled cry, Elsa swung her arm around in a physical gesture to show that she had been pushed too far, and wouldn't take it any longer. Unbidden, her bare hand tingled with magic, and before she could react, frost flew from her fingertips, landing on the ground where the arc of her wild swing sent them, sprouting into thick spikes.
The confusion in Anna's sea-green eyes was apparent, but despite the hurt hidden inside the emerald orbs, there was no fear.
Fear, however, was written across every other face in the Great Hall, upon every Lord and Lady's expression as they collectively took a few steps back. No one seemed to notice their own fear was mirrored on the face of their new queen, who trembled as her world fell apart around her.
"Elsa..."
She ran.
As fast as she could, weaving through the cheering crowd, until she was forced to stop by nearly running in to a mother with her newborn child.
"Your Majesty, are you alright?"
Of course it would be a mother who noticed her distress.
Fearfully taking a few steps back, she answered without meaning to by a slight shake of her head. Suddenly, her back hit something cold and hard, and without thinking she used her bare hand to steady herself.
Again, unwarranted magic sprung from her hands, turning the peacefully bubbling fountain into a jagged sculpture that gave form to the crippling fear inside Elsa's furiously pounding heart. Gasps of fright and confusion rang through the courtyard.
"There she is! Stop her!" Elsa whirled to see the Duke of Weaseltown pointing at her with a shaking finger, directing the gaze of his guards right to her.
"Please, just, stay away from me! Just stay away!" Lifting her hands defensively to her chest, her hand flinched and a bolt of frost shot from her palm, exploding against the stairs of the main doors and coating them in a thin layer of ice. The Duke and his guards lost their footing at the sudden change and slipped, falling heavily to the ice-coated stones.
All eyes on Elsa, she could feel every instinct inside her voiced a single word; over and over they screamed at her, that one word suddenly becoming very important.
"Run."
So she did.
Elsa ran for her life, ran for her soul, ran because there was nothing else she could do but flee. Anna called her name again and again, but Elsa kept running, an icy walkway appearing beneath her feet as she dashed across the water. She continued to run, even when her body threatened to collapse.
There was nothing else she could do.
When she finally had to stop, to slow to a reasonable pace and catch her breath, she was halfway up the North Mountain, and Arendelle was no more than a speck in the distance, as big as one of Elsa's fingernails.
It was so freeing, so incredibly wonderful, to see how small and insignificant those choking castle walls actually were. Finally, she was safe. Finally, those around her were safe.
Finally, she was free.
She should've felt guilty, twirling across the snow and sending swirls of icy crystals flying through the night sky, making her own stars as she made her ascent, but she felt no remorse as her heart, free of the cage that had been forced around it, danced beneath the open skies. She should've felt more inhibited, instead of flailing her arms and spinning in circles, laughing in bursts of relieved giggles.
Instead, she declared her defiance to the world around her and raised a castle from the earth, a beautiful wonder of creation that she shaped herself.
Inside this castle, she would be safe. Inside this castle, she wouldn't have to hide. Within the octagonal walls and upon the snowflake-shaped floors, she could finally feel. She deliberately made the entrance and her pavilion overlook the snow-capped mountains and hills to the north. She had seen Arendelle all her life, out of the cramped, frosty window that had been Elsa's whole world for too many years; she needed to see the empty expanse of land that was hers to enjoy.
A pang of guilt struck Elsa as she absently thought of how much Anna would've loved to have a castle of her own, built on a mountainside. She had left her little sister all on her own, but Elsa halted those thoughts before they could haunt her any longer.
Anna was strong, in both heart and soul, and she would be an excellent queen. She could marry that Prince Hans if she wanted to, and be the queen Arendelle needed. She would never have a reason to venture out to find her sister, hiding in a castle on the other side of the North Mountain.
Elsa found comfort in that thought. She had borne solitude well enough for the greater part of her life; she had no qualms about spending the remainder of her years in a similar manner.
After all, she was finally safe. She could feel all she wanted, now, and not have to worry about hurting anyone else ever again.
She was finally free.