You'll never be normal.
Running. Sharp panting.
You'll never be like them.
Looking back.
You'll always be
A dead end.
A mistake.
Turn around and face it.
-break-
Elsa's eyes flashed open, expecting to see a stark forest instead of the blinding sunlight that assaulted her. She heard rustling off to the side as Olaf bounded into view, gaily twirling around with his personal snowstorm.
It was just a dream. Elsa closed her eyes and huffed out her breath. She could feel ice creeping around the edges of her fingertips, but quickly she thought about her sister, Anna, and it melted away. In the many months since her entire kingdom found out about her icy burden, she had nearly mastered complete control over her powers. It wasn't about holding in her emotions; it was about letting them run free. By understanding her feelings, she was able to control her body's reactions to them.
What she couldn't control though, was the nightmares.
They constantly plagued her, fearsome images plastered across her eyelids, even when she blinked. And she was always running away, from something, someone. Why.
Elsa shook her head to clear the last tendrils of darkness out of her mind and felt something tug at the thick braid that trailed down her back. She whipped around, startled, until she saw a pair of green eyes, lit with good humor. Her muscles relaxed as she smiled back at her sister, turning her body to face her. Anna reached around her and slowly pried apart Elsa's braid.
"You should leave your hair down, Elsa, it's spring," Anna said, her voice bubbly. When Elsa closed her eyes as Anna talked, she imagined polka dots in bright spring colors. She wished her own voice were less husky and more like her sister's.
Anna leaned back on her hands, appreciating the warmth that graced her skin. She was wearing a light blue summer dress, thin and wispy, just brushing her legs mid-thigh. "What are you going to do all day?" she asked, gazing expectantly at her sister.
"Don't you have a date with Kristoff?" Elsa answered, teasing.
Anna's smile widened even more. "Yes," she said, "but that's not till tonight. We're having dinner at some special little restaurant he likes. It's going to be so cute."
Elsa loved it when Anna talked about Kristoff. The innocent love that emanated from her slight frame was so powerful that it wrapped Elsa in a warm blanket, pushing all of her iciness into the confines of her heart. This was truly the best feeling, warmth from the sun and warmth from within. Elsa fiddled with a few strands of grass for a while.
"That's great, Anna, I'm so glad you guys are going on all these dates." She looked up and saw a short flicker of pain cross Anna's eyes. The ice in her heart shot out and froze the tips of the grasses she was touching, but her control quickly stopped the ice from spreading. Slowly she pulled the ice back into her chest, disappointed in herself for undoubtedly reminding Anna of the mistake known as Hans.
Mistake.
Elsa's eyes widened, suddenly remembering her nightmare. Anna leaned forward and peered at her with concern, her eyebrows arching together. "Are you okay?" she asked.
"Yeah," Elsa said, fidgeting with the grass again.
"Did you have another nightmare?"
"Of course," Elsa said, smiling a little, hoping to lighten the mood. But Anna's face was unchanging, worry still drawn across her face like her faint freckles. Elsa sighed. "I've gotten my ... abilities in check, but I can't seem to shake these nightmares." She looked up at Anna. Her face had formed into one of sympathy and comforting.
"Don't worry, Elsa. It'll probably just take a little more time." Anna moved to hold Elsa's hand and they smiled at each other. Hope warmed her chest and spiraled down her arms. She had always known she'd missed her sister, but had never realized just how much until they'd started spending time together.
"Come on," Elsa said, pulling Anna to stand up with her. "Let's go find you the perfect outfit to wear on your date." She waggled her eyebrows for effect, and Anna giggled. They walked back to their castle, hand in hand, Olaf trailing close behind them.
-break-
"Well?"
Anna came out of her changing room, wearing a yellow summer dress, her hair half braided and half loose around her shoulders.
"What do you think?" Anna spun around. The skirt of the dress lifted up softly.
"It looks perfect, Anna," Elsa exclaimed, rejoicing in being able to act as a real older sister. "You look so cute."
Anna beamed at Elsa, tugging at the edges of skirt. "Thanks for picking this dress out for me."
"No problem," Elsa said, pulling Anna into a hug. Suddenly, an idea seemed to spark in Elsa's mind, and she led Anna to her room. She spent the next twenty minutes weaving ribbons into Anna's hair, and then Anna had to go.
"Be safe!" Elsa called after Kristoff and her sister, smiling when Anna turned to wave back at her one last time.
-break-
Elsa sat curled up in the large armchair of her father's old study, reading a book. Her eyelids were getting heavy, but she wanted to finish at least thirty more pages today. She heard the door softly creak open as her family's faithful servant, Kai, plodded in.
"It's late, Elsa," Kai said, softly. "Probably time to be sleeping?"
"I'm almost done reading," Elsa said, smiling gently up at him.
"Could it be you are waiting for your sister to return?"
Elsa blushed softly; she hadn't thought of that. "M-maybe," she admitted, sheepishly. She thought about Anna coming home and chattering excitedly about her date with Kristoff. "Probably," she nodded.
Kai walked over and patted Elsa on the head. "You don't have to worry about her. She's grown up now."
"I know," Elsa sighed. "I just want to be there for her, since..." She knew she didn't have to finish her sentence for Kai to understand.
"Alright," Kai said, walking away. "Good night, Elsa. Don't stay up too late." With one last smile, Kai slipped out of the room, gently closing the door after himself.
Elsa felt warm, filled with love for this man. He was like a father to her, probably more so than her own father. The pages of her book turned crisp with frost as she felt a slap of guilt. Her father was gone now. She shouldn't be having negative thoughts about him.
But all those years alone.
Elsa shook the thoughts out of her mind, returning her attention to the novel she was reading. Just as the protagonist was about to face her fears and turn on the villain she heard a light knocking at her window. Elsa stiffened. She was on the third story of the castle... what could be?
The knocking came again.
Slowly, Elsa placed her book down on the side-table. She inched toward the window, and with each step she realized there was a sound outside, like furious wind. With more surprise, she saw that the window was frosting over. What the ...
Elsa placed her fingertips against the windowpane and it shattered into tiny pieces that were immediately swept up by the wind outside. The air current was so strong that it ripped locks of her hair from their neat placement in her braid. Before she could react, a figure threw itself through the empty window frame, toppling over onto a pile of broken glass on the floor.
It was a young man, crouched on all floors, retching and coughing up blood onto the glass pieces.
Elsa stepped back, terrified. "K-Kai!" she yelled. She raised her hands to her cheeks as she screamed her servant's name again, ice shooting out from her hands and hitting the strange man in the chest. Horrified, Elsa squeezed her eyes shut as Kai pushed with all his strength to open the door and brave the snowstorm that encased her.
