The red dress
Elsa is focused on the huge pile of paperwork that always crowds her desk, she wonders why it always stays so high no matter how many of them she signs daily. The scraping noise of the pen she inherited from her father over the thick paper is the only sound in the desolate room.
Her office is completely covered in ice, a grey cloud hovers around her spewing a blizzard of snow, it's the middle of summer yet the temperature in her office is several degrees lower than the peak of her country's tallest mountain. She can't control the snow around her, not when she's in such a bad mood. The freezing temperature that would kill a normal human in minutes doesn't bother her, what bothers her is that after promising Anna that the doors of the castle will never be closed again she had to force them shut with much more severity than before.
She's angry that the staff had to be reduced again, that there is a dark secret hidden inside her home again, that the isolation that haunted her entire childhood came back with a vengeance and once more she has to hide behind closed doors paved with thick ice.
In her frustration she grabs a paperweight made of heavy wood and throws it right at the window, but the ice covering the glass panel is much denser than any man made substance so it bounces back and it falls right into the paper pile, scattering all the documents on the floor. In her frustration tears begin to fall down her cheeks but they freeze in the helid temperature of the room and stick to her face like sparkly jewels. Feeling too emotional to do anything productive she resolves to spend the rest of her day sitting on the floor with her back against the sturdy and sealed shut door.
There is knocking on the door, looking at the clock she knows who is behind it because the person on the other side is as punctual as determined.
-"Go away"- She yells while crying, all she wants is to be left alone
-"I'm not going away until you open this door! You can't keep doing this, it will tear you apart"- Kristoff's voice is gentle but also stern. He might be just a wild mountain man with no money and she might be his queen, but he won't obey her commands if that means he can't help her.
-"You can't see her okay? I told you a thousand times already!"- Her voice breaks but she doesn't care about composure anymore.
-"I know Elsa, you promised me I would be the first to know if there are any changes but I didn't come to see Anna, I came to see you."-
He does this all the time, twice a day if not more, and every time she has to open the door of her room to him and face her future brother in law even when he's the last person she wants to see.
Luckily he's always wearing his full winter garb when he comes to see her, otherwise he wouldn't be able to survive the cold.
-"How's your hand?"- Elsa asks concerned, she might be an emotional wreck but she still has manners, besides one way or another he's part of the family now.
-"I can move it now"- he says wiggling his fingers in front of her face proudly -"But i can't take off my gloves yet, he skin hasn't grown back"- He frowned a little at the memory of how the fire had consumed his entire right hand and a big chunk of his arm, if it wasn't for grand Pabbie's magical healing power there would be nothing but bones on that part of his body. -"How is she?"- He asked offering his healthy hand to Elsa so she could get up from the floor.
-"Better than both of us I guess, all things considered"- Composing herself a little she added -"At least she's making progress"-
-"Yeah, she's pretty strong for a tiny princess"- He said chuckling and she couldn't help to smile a little, it felt good to talk to someone who could understand how she feels, even when his presence was a constant reminder of how wrong things could go in a blink of an eye.
-"You're not alone you know? Kai and Gerda know about this and they want to help however they can , even the trolls are thinking of a possible solution for Anna"-
-"Could they find a cure?" She said hopeful
-"No Elsa, because she's not sick and you know it. But they think she'll improve if she keeps working on it"- He gives her a rose carved from stone with a message engraved, "hang in there" it reads, by the rugged look of the carving she guessed he made it himself.
She gives him a big hug and he hugs her back, both happy to have a friend they can trust.
Shortly after he leaves Elsa goes straight to the dungeon, there are no guards awaiting at the gates, there's no need for them since they are sealed by a wall of thick unbreakable ice. What's on the other side could only be contained that way.
As soon as she commands the ice to thaw and crosses the gates the temperature changes drastically, the winter cold is soon overpowered by scorching heat.
The queen has entered alone into the dungeon three times a day for the last two weeks but she still finds the sight in front of her quite eerie, the further she goes the brighter it gets, an orange glow shines from within the depths of the uninviting structure.
The temperature raises with every step she takes, Elsa hopes that the basket of food she carries with her doesn't burn down again. There is a fiery inferno waiting for her at the lowest level of the dungeon, into a dark pit constructed by some of her brutal ancestors who were born in a violent time, centuries ago.
The pit is a place devoid of windows deprived from natural light, a place so awful and inhospitable it was deemed unfit by her parents even for the worst criminals of Arendelle.
Yet she had to lock her sister in there.
Now the firestorm at the bottom of the pit rages in full glory, if Elsa hadn't casted a layer of permanent snow over her skin she would had burned to ashes, fire covers the walls and ceiling of the prison but the princess who's been living there isn't fazed by it.
-"Hi Elsa"- Anna tells her sister with a friendly smile. By the bubbling excitement in the younger woman's posture the queen knows her sister is dying to give her a hug, but both of them know that the last time Anna touched someone part of him spontaneously combusted so it's better to play it safe.
The ice queen wonders, how can Anna be so cheerful in a place like this? How can she be so optimistic while dealing with a curse more dangerous and violent that the one her ice sister was born with?
All Elsa can do is put on a brave face and smile while giving her sister the basket with her dinner and Kristoff's gift, ever since Anna developed the ability to manipulate fire she found herself doing this very often, there is something of a comforting routine about this.
Just like the snow on Elsa's fingers Anna's fire power materialized out of nowhere, but unlike ice that while potentially dangerous at least was stable, the fire that came from her sister was a force of pure destruction that could not be contained by any means. If Elsa hadn't stepped in with a wall of ice around the hell her sister unleashed when she first developed her powers, there was no knowing what catastrophe might have happened.
Anna couldn't afford to practice her powers outside like her sister did, since it could cause a forest fire or melt the snow from the mountain peaks and cause an avalanche, she also couldn't stay close to any other person aside from Elsa since she had magical powers of her own that would protect her.
So once again an Arendelle princess was forced into isolation for fear that her powers could harm others, hoping there would be a way to control the chaotic magic living inside of her.
While growing up at least Elsa could stay in her room without fear of destroying it, she could see the sun from her window and even go out to play sometimes (though alone and under the strict surveillance of her parents). Anna's fire on the other hand is so intense that nothing can stand on its way, the only safe place for her in the entire kingdom is an hermetic pit made of stone, and it breaks Elsa's heart to inflict on her sister a confinement much worse than the one she had to endure for her entire childhood.
At least in here Anna can play and experiment with her newfound powers without fear of hurting others, just like Elsa did a year ago on her ice palace. Maybe that's why she seemed happy in an awful place like this, maybe this prison was actually a liberating experience for her. If only they had a warning before her gift exploded all over the place and her boyfriend ended up hurt, the unpredictable element just showed up on her fingertips out of nowhere.
Changing the subject the queen settels for menial talk -"Nice dress"- She compliments staring at the sparkling attire Anna made for herself, at the compliment Anna proudly twirls in place showing off her latest creation.
Since normal clothing would be charred under this infernal temperatures Anna copied her sister's method of using a dress made of the element that chose her, but unlike ice, fire is not a stable structure so the form of her gown changes as much as her creator wants. It moves and sparkles like it's alive, creating intricate patterns around her form.
For now she made a tight bodice that hugs her torso with sparkling light while a wide skirt moves freely like the flames on a fireplace, delicate red lights dance around her bare shoulders exposing a demure cleavage. Just like Elsa's ice dress Anna's gown is a representation of who she really is, something powerful and magical capable of great beauty. Kristoff was right, her sister wasn't sick and there was nothing wrong with her, she is just who she is and that includes both the beauty and the danger that comes from a huge power.
As an ice oriented creature Elsa always feared and hated fire, but staring at her sister who shines like the blazing sun brightening this dark awful place she understands the mesmerizing beauty of it.
They eat in companionable silence for a while, until Anna notices the stone rose at the bottom of the basket, a wave of guilt invades her when she thinks about her boyfriend
-"is he okay?"- Her mood sinks into sullen regret in an instant, but the flames around her don't change. Whatever influences her power isn't related with her emotions, so what Elsa did to control her powers wouldn't work for Anna. The key to control the fire isn't love, otherwise Anna would have mastered it in a blink of an eye, but whatever she's doing is working given how the flames seem to form a more defined pattern around her, her dress is proof of the mastery she gained over the element.
-"Yes and he misses you, the trolls managed to heal most of his injuries by now and they assured me he won't even have a scar when they're done. As soon as you learn to control your powers you'll be able to see him"-
-"I think I'm getting there"- She says while holding up her palm in the air, a little dancing flame is brought to life and it floats around her like a butterfly, then it rests snugly over Elsa's lap. The ice queen feels warmth emanating from the creature but it doesn't burn or hurts since the fire floats a few centimeters from the surface of her dress. -"Her name is Amber, isn't she cute?"- Anna says giggling proud of her creation, she might not be as complex as Olaf but she was alive and special in her own way.
-"She's adorable"- Elsa responds with the first genuine laughter she had in weeks -"You are controlling it! You're finally controlling your fire!"-
Anna's smile turns into a sympathetic frown -"That's the thing Elsa, I don't think it can be controlled. Fire is not a static mass of crystals like ice is, fire is alive and has a will of its own. The best you can hope for is to find some kind of cooperation with it, but in the end it will always be very unpredictable"-
Elsa hoped she was wrong, but looking at the beautiful sparkling flame giggling in her ice cold hands she knew Anna was right, fire was too unstable to bend at a human's will regardless of how powerful she or he might be.
Even if the inferno at the bottom of this pit stopped burning, there would always be a chance that the element would burst from her sister at the worst possible time and a lot of people could get hurt. But what is she supposed to do? Keep Anna locked in here forever? She would rip her own heart from her chest before doing something like that.
So she takes a deep breath, looks at Anna and says -"I trust you, fire might be chaotic and unpredictable but so are you, and you would never let your powers go too far. Even after you burned Kristoff you managed to get away from everyone else and contained the situation so it wouldn't get worse."- Sighing she looks at Amber froliking all over the pit, a dancing light that shines in pretty warm colors -"There is beauty in your power, we can't let our fear of its danger control us or we'll miss the beauty as well"-
-"I love you Elsa"- Anna says giving her a big hug, fire meets ice and all that comes out those elements clashing is a comfortable warmth.
-"I love you too"- She says hugging her back, then she takes her hand and guides her up the stairs of the pit, up and outside.
The fire princess looks afraid and uncertain for a moment, but the ice queen won't back down -"You can do this, you're ready"- Her stern voice is practically a command and the blind trust in her light blue eyes gives Anna the courage to face the world once more.
The fire in the pit turns off and only Amber can provide enough light to guide them out. Elsa knows Kristoff will be waiting for her at the entrance of the dungeon, as he has always done since Anna had to be put in there, the queen throws a half smile to her sister, he'll probably love her new dress.