- PROLOGUE -

Imagine a world that runs on the power of steam.

Imagine a world of horseless carriages, ships that sail on the clouds rather than on the water, mechanical servants and soot-filled skies where the magic of science renders the magic of fantasy obsolete. Instead of knights in shining armor, there are gun-slingers and fast-talkers; instead of beautiful princesses waiting in towers to be rescued, there are finely-clad, corseted ladies who speak for themselves and wait for no man. Here, the pen is mightier than the sword, and the fear of God has been replaced with the fear of what one man can do to another.

In this steam-powered wonderland, there are dark things, dark desires and ambitions that fill the hearts of men, and woe are those who have not partaken in this darkness, for they are the victims.

Listen well, my readers, and pay attention, for this story will move fast into the realm of gray, where the good become evil and the evil... Well, my friend, you will simply have to read on and see for yourself.

. . .

Our story takes place in a city called Arendelle, the mercantile capital of an unnamed country of eastern Europe, and takes place in the forgotten years when art belonged to scientific discovery and the wonders of modern invention had only just begun. Living in this capital at this certain time was a happily-married gentleman named Konrad Lyssinn, an inventor and well-known mechanical craftsman married to his loving wife, Gisela. Together they cared for their two daughters, Elsa, the oldest, and Anna, the youngest.

Anna was a cheerful and innocent little girl, with beautiful auburn hair and shining, sky-blue eyes. Like any child at her age, she was very affectionate and silly and loved to wake up with the sun and play until she, like that burning great orb, grew weary and slept through the night.

Elsa, however, was a logical child, collected and responsible even when she got into mischief with her baby sister. Her hair was an unusual platinum color, as white as snow, and her eyes were the color of the deep ocean and glittered like Austrian crystals. This, however, was not all that was abnormal about her. She also had a power, the origins of which were unexplainable, to connect with an unseen energy and bring her father's dead inventions to life. Mr. Lyssinn would often find his daughter entertaining her sister with manifestations of flying cranes and butterflies summoned from the metal scraps in his basement workroom.

Elsa and Anna were very close when they were young, and would often play together in the workroom when everyone else was asleep, despite their parents' wishes to the contrary. After all, there are dangerous things in a place where metal is carved into cams and spokes and chemicals are brought to a boil. However, nothing had so far happened to these happy little girls, so they paid their parents' warnings no heed and continued to play where they shouldn't.

One early morning as the sun was just beginning to peak over the chimneys and rooftops of Arendelle, Anna woke up and quickly threw back the bedclothes, running across the room to her sister's bed and pounced.

"Elsa!" she whispered, and then called a little louder, "Elsa! Wake up!"

Her sister stirred under the covers for a moment but made no indication that she had heard.

"Wake up, wake up, wake up!" Anna demanded, shaking her sister's should until finally she procured a response.

"Anna, go back to sleep."

"I just can't," Anna replied, laying down by her sister and throwing an arm against her forehead, "The sky's awake, so I'm awake... So we have to play!"

"Go play by yourself," Elsa responded, and with a shove derailed her sister from the bed. Anna fell on the floor with a thump and frowned for a moment, pouting until she gathered the spirit to try again. Crawling back onto the tall mattress, Anna gently brushed her sister's alabaster bangs from her eyes and leaned forward to whisper:

"Do you want to build a robot?"

. . .

AUTHOR'S NOTE

This is something new for me, and I would like to get as much honest feedback as possible on this. In case you haven't already guessed, this is a steampunk retailoring of the movie "Frozen", told in a style that is intended to mimic the literary style of the day. I grew up reading books that were written like this, from the short stories in the McGuffy Reader to collections of short stories by such 19th century legends as Mark Twain and Edgar Allen Poe.

This story is also intended to help me visualize a cosplay series I am designing, portraying each of the characters (including my least-favorite character, Olaf) as heroes and villains from the 1800s. I love the steampunk aesthetic with all my heart, so I hope that I can do this theme justice.

Don't read it if you don't want to. I understand that the 1800's weren't for everyone, and I'm not exactly a master of this style anyway. If you want to see more, please follow this story and leave a comment so I can do my best to meet your expectations!

I thank all of you.

The Curious Kills