Words echoed through her mind, taunting her and ushering her forward. She didn't belong there, and she never had. Her sister knew it, her kingdom knew it, and most of all; she knew it. There had been a time when she thought that maybe she had been wrong about herself, that she could change. It was a dream rooted in false hope. Since returning to Arendelle the darkness inside of her had only grown stronger, and darkness is not a thing easily concealed. That villager had been the breaking point; the cold skin, the black hair slowly fading to white, the expression of disbelief burning itself into her memory. That face haunted her, and accident or not, that face would continue to haunt her. She was not meant to be surrounded by people who loved her and believed in her, no matter how long she had been wishing for it to be so. Her entire life was full of nothing but unanswered questions, and it had finally come to a point where she was not certain what was reality and what was a lie. There was only one thing the Queen of Arendelle knew for certain. She was meant to be alone.
It was night when she set out, with only the stars as her companions. She took off running, but eventually slowed to a brisk walk as she reached the outer edges of her territory. She was not fit to be Queen. Raising an arm, she took the crown off her head and threw it behind her in one fluid motion. After that she only paused to erase her footsteps. This time she had to be sure she would not be followed. The familiarity of the situation astounded her, and yet she couldn't believe how different the circumstances had become. She tried to leave her memories with the wind, but one thought kept pushing her. It was the same thought that had ruined her only a year before, spoken by the one person in the world she truly loved. It had driven her to insanity in mere seconds, all control escaping from her body, and for one entire year those words plagued her mind and caused the darkness to grow.
"Elsa, please, I can't live like this anymore!" Anna's eyes were brimming with tears as she gripped the glove belonging to her sister, as if she believed her hold on the glove would serve as a tight hold on Elsa.
There were tears in the Queen's eyes as well, as the entirety of the only world she had ever known shattered to pieces. 'Conceal, don't feel.' She chided herself. "Then leave."
The horrified expression on Anna's face proved to her that she had said the wrong, yet somehow right, thing. The Queen of Arendelle turned away before she could see the horror on her sister's face turn to anger.
"What did I ever do to you?" Her voice raised considerably. Several nobles turned at stared at the unfolding scene.
Elsa knew she had to leave. "Enough, Anna."
"No! Why? Why do you shut me out? W-why do you shut the world out? What are you so afraid of?"
That was it. "I said ENOUGH!" Everything was over. She left.
All this time, and she had never forgotten. "Get a hold of yourself. You're being ridiculous." She took a deep breath, and continued to trudge on. "What are you so afraid of…" She laughed quietly. "What does she know?"
"Elsa." An unfamiliar voice called her name. "What are you so afraid of?"
She stopped in her tracks and slowly turned around. Elsa desperately turned her head from side to side, looking for the source of that cruel voice. "Who said that? Who are you?"
She heard a short laugh and began to back away slowly.
"What is the Queen of Arendelle doing out alone at night?"
"I want to be alone." She mentally reprimanded herself. Her voice was so shaky even she didn't believe herself. "Leave me alone."
She could almost feel the presence smirk. "You want to be alone? Fine. Be alone."
"Wait!" Elsa yelled out before she could stop herself. "Who are you?"
For a moment, everything was silent. She couldn't hear anything but the sounds of her own breathing. She frantically looked around once more, hoping whoever was there hadn't left. Something about that voice had been almost enticing. Suddenly, her eyes caught movement to the left of her and a tall man stepped out of the shadows.
"You don't have to be alone, Elsa."
