The Sky's Awake

by vvinterqueen

Elsa, the lost princess of Arendelle and rightful heir to the throne has longed for nothing more her whole life than to see the floating lights that shimmer in the sky above the icy fortress in which she was locked away as a child. When a mysterious man stumbles in one night, will she be able to convince him to help her dream come true? { Helsa Tangled!AU }

1. Prologue

Blue. Green. Yellow.

The lights altered in glorious shades, as always.

Pink. Purple.

A soft sigh and a puff of cold breath escaped the girl's lips as she took in the glorious wonder that was the night sky. There was no sight more beautiful than when the sky was awake and shining.

Over her years of isolation, it had become the one dwindling light of happiness for her… the last bit of hope. She longed to admire them from more than just her window. She wanted to share their beauty with the eyes of others. As a child, she recalled going to festivals in her kingdom. She remembered what it was like to sing and dance beneath the stars, the lights shimmering magnificently overhead.

But that was a very, very long time ago. That was before she had been sent here, to this fortress in the mountains.

Was it her fault that her mother had been so sick while carrying her? No. Was it her fault that the magical flower that had been used to heal her mother had also given her strange powers? No. Was it even her fault that they had gone out of control one night? No.

And yet she had received the blame for it all. No one wanted a freak for a princess or a queen. No one wanted a monster for a daughter.

And so she stayed away. Locked up in her icy palace.

She didn't dare return to the kingdom that had cast her out, that had abandoned her. They probably didn't even remember her. After all, they had a spare heiress to the throne.

Yes. They could all go ahead and forget about her, the freak with powers of ice and snow and thick, platinum hair that possessed strange magic. Yes. They would all be perfectly content with her safe, sweet, normal sister.

But she couldn't really blame them. And though she feared venturing beyond the walls of her bastion, she could not help but long to return. Though she understood that she was dangerous, she could not control her unending desire to see the world as she had when she was young. It was what she most yearned for in her heart of hearts: freedom; freedom from the fear that bound her in her frozen citadel and freedom from the fear of others that would misunderstand her.

Another sigh and frosty puff of breath.

Elsa— the lost princess of Arendelle —left her bedroom window to prepare herself for bed.