This oneshot is mainly based off the movie, some parts and people are altered to fit this story better.
Summary:after she ruined her coronation gala, she flees into the mountains thinking that she would spend the rest of her life in winter and solitude. She was right about the first part...
A monster, Weselton had called her as he had cowardly hidden himself behind his two massive guards. Finger pointing at her accusingly. Mouth set in a grim line. Eyes as dark as the night and that felt as if they were piercing right through her body. Had she ever seen a human being looking at her like he did, she wondered. Her father had looked utterly shocked once he found out about her curse. Though it was years ago and his image had already started to fade in her mind, she still could remember his gaze clearly. He always watched her so intensely. She felt as if she would burn up in front of him. How ironic. She couldn't remember much of her mother, other than that she always seemed to be occupied with something. She would often stare out of the window, dreaming the days away. No, her mother had never shot a glare at her, nor a look of empathy or kindness for that matter. The only one who had really looked at her was her darling sister Anna. Her sister, who became the victim of her curse. Her sister, who was always there for her, even after the doors had been locked. And what had she done in return?
"Elsa-"
Anna's whisper rang through her ears long after that. Elsa blinked. She saw the ballroom full of people and fear crept back into her chest, thightening her stomach muscles and making her shiver. What had she done? The shards of black ice had put up a wall between her and everyone else, separating her from the world and everybody else once again. She gulped. She had to get out of here, and quick. If anyone had common sense, they would hunt her down for the witch that she was. But the look in Anna's eyes froze her on the spot. So pleading, so yearning. Tears in her green eyes, but still, Elsa could see no hint of hatred.
Inhaling sharply, Elsa made a turn and bolted for the door. She took a quick glance at her right and locked her eyes with her sister's 'fiance' for a split second. She wasn't sure what she read off of his face in that short moment, but she could swear that she saw curiosity and then joy flashing in his eyes for just one moment. Elsa hestitated. Why? She turned and reached for her sister but Anna mistook it for another attack and backed away. The longing in her eyes were immediately overtaken by clouded fear, along with tears of anger and confusion.
And Elsa fled.
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Her skirt dragged over the thick carpets in the hallways. The cape flew behind her. She couldn't see very well, everything was out of focus. The ever growing voices behind her informed her that she had to keep running faster. Doors flew by and soon, she felt herself pushing open the doors to the courtyard where hundreds of guests were gathered to light up the sky with celebratory lampions. Elsa halted. The guests cheered and clapped. Some children ran up to her and danced around her. Smiling faces everywhere, as if nothing had happened. Elsa's heart skipped a beat. They didn't know yet.
But they would soon. Dread engulfed her heart.
Far behind her, a vague order of Weselton made her move once again and she ran down the steps, trying to brush past several people. In her haze, she stumbled and almost collided with a woman who held a baby in her arms. But instead of crying, the baby cooed at her. Elsa felt herself staring into eyes that were still filled with blissful wonder and ignorance. Soon, that will change, Elsa thought. Things will always change...
"Stop her!" A second order blared through the courtyard.
Her time was up. Weselton and his small hunting party had caught up with her and were now barricading the gates, trying to prevent her from escaping. Elsa quickly scanned the erea. There were two other ways to leave the courtyard but the amount of people gathered made it impossible for her to swiftly disappear into the night. She cursed under her breath for what she was about to do next.
"Get away from the gates, Weselton." She snared. Her hands were in front of her, prepared for a warning blast of ice.
The old fool stuck his nose into the air as he ordered his guards to draw out their crossbows. Elsa raised one eyebrow. Where they really going to kill her in front of everyone? Where they that stupid? Weselton grimaced.
Without hesitating, Elsa fired directly. A ball of white snow exploded in front of the gate's entrance, creating a fog on the spot. Elsa lifted her skirts and ran into the dark night. She commanded every fiber in her body not to look back, to not see the probable hurt in her sister's eyes as she made the final decision to run out of her life for good. She commanded every fiber in her body to not listen to Anna's frantic calls for her and to ignore the sobs that immediately came after them. She ran until her lungs were on fire and she thought her legs would fall off.
All alone and far up into the mountains, Elsa ran towards her salvation.
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The snow was thick and it was as if the world was cleansed into nothingness with a white sheet. As if everything was given a clean slate, including her. She struggled to make her way up the mountain. The air was thin and the winds were merciless, hitting her square in the face as if they too were accusing her of the very thing that had sent her fleeing up the mountains in the first place.
She was such a fool, thinking that her curse would stay hidden if she hid too. Of course it would not, it wouldn't be called a curse if it did. Elsa wringed her hands and only then noticed that her left hand was naked. Her glove was still with Anna... A pang of guilt went through her heart as she tried to forget about her sister. Here she wouldn't have to think of hurting Anna at least. With her being here, Anna would be safe down there.
For some reason, she studied her hand and let out a gasp when she turned the palm upward. Frost was slowly creeping out of her hand, damaging the skin and leaving it red and blistered. It was painful and she wondered why this was the first time that she felt more besides the rush of the cold in her veins, waiting to be released. Her lips formed a thin line and she turned her hand away. No. She could not release it, she could never release it. Conceal, and most importantly, do not feel. Monsters didn't feel.
Ice creaked under her feet as she strutted on. This would be her home now, this lonely mountain in the middle of her kingdom. Here, no one would mind if her curse would occasionally spring out of control. The eternal blizzards would serve as cover and as her protection. Not a soul lived here, not a soul would get hurt because of her. A tear ran down her cheek but she wiped it away angrily. Pity came too late, the deed had already been done. It was best to forget everything and start anew. She would no longer be queen Elsa of Arendelle, she would leave that behind. Anna would make a better queen anyway. With her kind heart and bright spirit, she would guide the kingdom towards prosperity and happiness. They would forget about Elsa. They would eventually forget about her curse. Maybe Anna would erect some sort of memorial place in honour of her. But then again, she and Anna had never spoken again after the first accident, so why would Anna care about her now.
The winds were howling around Elsa as she got higher up the mountain. The cape swung behind her aggressively, dragging her into every direction. Aggravated, she unbuttoned it and carelessly let it go.
"Take the damn thing!" She cried out to no one in particular.
She stared after the cape as it flew away with the winds. Her gaze then turned to the small lights at the foot of the mountain and she felt her heart aching. Arendelle. The city which she just had fled from looked small, fragile and lonely. Endless darkness surrounded the small cosy lights. Elsa's heart suddenly yearned to go home, to lock herself up in her rooms again and to dream the days away in front of her windows... Like her mother, she realised. Elsa wanted nothing more than to see the familiar palace walls again, to hear the staff preparing dinner and to smell the warm wooden scent of her furniture. No matter how much the people hated her, no matter how alone she might have felt growing up there; it was still her home. She had grown up there, she was one of those people. Except, she was not. A single tear ran over her cheek. She was cursed. And she was alone. Elsa pressed her hands against her chest. No matter how long the years had been that she had grown up alone in the prison that she called home, it was now, up here in the mountain that she truly felt lonely.
Elsa turned around. She needed to forget about home, about Arendelle. And about Anna. Solitude was her only friend. She had been alone for so many years and she had survived. No one could take that away from her, she was a warrior, a fighter and a survivor. The chains that had held her down for so many years had finally been loosened. Now, they needed to be broken!
She ripped off the glove from her other hand and threw it in the air rather joyfully. Having lived the majority of her life wearing gloves, it was fantastic to feel the cold embracing her hands, hugging her fingers. Immediately, frost sprung out of her other palm, covering her hand with a jagged icy surface. Breathing heavily, she tried to keep it in but found out that it was impossible. Uncontrollable bursts of ice and snow shot out of her palms and exploded in the cold winter air, leaving now both of her hands raw and open. Elsa pressed them tightly against her chest and tried to think of anything but the pain that came with it. Tears ran over her cheeks as her hands started burning and shaking aggressively. A certain pressure in her chest slowly built up and she felt like choking. Dizzy with pain and confusion, she fell onto her knees. Everything was a haze, the world was spinning and the ice was slowly encasing her veins, freezing her to the core. Her head ached and her ears drummed. She had to do something, she knew, or she would explode.
Hestitantly but determined, she lifted her head and tried to concentrate on the rocky wall of the mountain. Maybe it would withstand that what was about to happen, she hoped. Slowly, she pushed her hands in front of her. A deep breath, eyes closed. Then, she opened her fists and with a cry, allowed it to be released.
The ice rushed with a hundred miles an hour through her veins and left her body with such force that she had to use all of her strength to keep herself standing. While all of the built up ice was now released, something else was released too. Emotions came pouring out of her body as she continued to bombard the mountain's wall. All of her sadness, all of her guilt and anger flooded through her veins and hands to be exploded against the hard rocks. Soon, the wall of rocks was covered with a thick layer of dark ice, spreading upwards rapidly. It felt as if she had lost a thousand pounds and she was exhausted but continued to blast against the mountain until she was sure that there was nothing else left. Slowly, the ice was replaced by gentle, fluffy, white snow that covered the dark angry ice and created a soft padding on the mountain wall. New emotions replaced her old ones and she slowly started feeling better. She felt satisfied for having allowed herself to let it loose for once. It wasn't a big step, but it was a step nevertheless and she felt content.
When her hands could only produce soft light snowflakes that floated through the air, and her body felt drained and exhausted, Elsa slumped against the wall of snow and let out a huf. Her lungs were cooled down, her mind clear and she actually felt herself smiling.
The insides of her hands slowly returned to normal, leaving no trace of frost and snow. All the red blisters and jagged edges were gone. Her hands were smooth again, the skin restored and looking more vibrant than ever.
Elsa leaned her head back, closed her eyes and sighed. She celebrated her victory all alone, but this time, she didn't mind.
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It was the first time in decades that he heard sounds that indicated another living being on this part of the mountain. His ears turned at the distant sounds of someone shouting. His mind sprang back to life and he slowly sat up, massaging his protesting back. That's what you get when you decide to sleep in a tree, his cynical self commented somewhere deep in his mind. Another shout in the wind and he was up on his feet, curious but also careful. Who dared to venture up this mountain? Hadn't he made sure that the boarders were wide enough to hide him? To protect him?
Carefully, he stayed in the shadows of the trees, his staff showing him the places where the snow would not creak under his feet. The shouting stopped but had been replaced by the sound of something else. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, though it sounded familiar in his ears. Quickly, he checked the traps. They were still set. Good. Then, he slowly made his way to the outer boarders of his dome that he had so carefully placed, making a mental note to himself to widen them once he had gotten rid of this noisy creature.
When he reached the edge of the forest, he could see the faint figure of a woman plugging through the snow. His alarm bells died out. She was just another human being. Though one glance at her poor outfit made him scoff under his breath. What fool hiked up a mountain during a blizzard, dressed in nothing but a dress? And, was she dancing in the snow? His dismissal was quickly replaced by a different feeling.
Curious.
He crept close enough to be able to understand that her shouts were actually shrieks. Shrieks and exclamations of joy and happiness as she danced in circles in the snow. All these emotions tumbled out of her as she kept throwing her hands in the air, making weird and funny motions. He shook his head, maybe she was some deluded mad woman whose husband would eventually come to fetch her, calm her down and take her back down. If that were the case, he decided that she wasn't worth more of his time. He wrapped his cloak around his shoulders and was about to make his way back when a certain motion made him stop dead in his tracks. He turned fully around and saw her doing the motion a second time.
"Can this be?" He whispered breathlessly as he witnessed the snow and ice bursting in the air. Snow. And Ice. Her moves were hestitant and wild, showing him she was inexperienced and perhaps a young witch. But a witch nonetheless. It had been so long since he had encountered another magical being, almost too long. Decades had passed after the last witch had been hunted down and he was forced into hiding. All alone, up in the mountains, he had created his own little sanctuary where he knew no ordinairy person could enter. Maybe he had created it in the hopes of meeting someone like him one day, or maybe he had created it to make sure he was granted solitude. He liked to think the latter.
Solitude was his only friend. It had stayed by his side ever since he had turned. Everyone else had left him, abandoned him to fend for his own. No, he had given up hope a long time ago.
Yet, here he was, and here she was, sprouting the same magic out of her hands as his. And only then it dawned upon him that he was not alone anymore. She was like him. And he was interested enough to show himself to her.
The trees had served their purpose of hiding him well but now he had to leave his safe boarders and make himself known. It could be dangerous, he didn't know if her magic was exactly like his so he had to keep his distance. Her back was turned to him when he approached silently. She gasped and swirled around when the snow betrayed his arrival. Instantly, she held out her hands, prepared to blast the life out of him. But he was prepared too and blocked her attack with his staff, creating a thin, clear wall of snow that engulfed her deadly ice.
She gasped once more and ceased her attack for some reason. Out of breath, she whispered more to herself than to him. "I'm... I- You are like me?"
He felt himself staring directly into her eyes. Large, bright and aqua blue. Like the sea, he thought fondly.
Curious indeed.
She seemed entranced by their magical encounter but then snapped out of it, fear flashing in her eyes. For a moment, he thought that she would flee. For who else wouldn't when a stranger appeared behind them out of nowhere. But she didn't run away from him. The fear in her eyes had been replaced by curiosity. Her eyes travelled up and down his body and lingered for too long at his feet. His naked feet. Her hands she held carefully behind her back when she murmured. "Aren't you cold, sir?"
A chuckle escaped his lips. "Do you realise, that I am not the only one who is poorly dressed, madam?"
Red flushed over her cheeks and she wrapped her arms around her upperbody, not because she was cold but because he was right. He smiled when he noticed her staring at him again, taking in every detail of him, starting at his feet to the shoulders where his cloak hung from, to end at his staff. His frosted staff. "You are like me," she repeated and rocked herself back and forth gently.
He decided that it was time. Gently, as not to scare her, he held out his hand in front of her face. Palm turned upwards. Then, he summoned and let out another chuckle upon seeing her expression. Yes, she was inexperienced for sure, he now knew.
A large, single snowflake floated above the palm of his hand as he spoke. "Correction; you are like me," he smiled even brighter and squared his shoulders proudly. "And I can teach you."