Magic is an unstable force.
Random and unpredictable, the inborn talent is both a gift and a curse, as Elsa, Queen of Arendelle, would strongly attest to. If one can bind it to their will, then all power in Heaven and Earth is theirs. If not, they become the Beast of Hell, and must be bound, gagged, and, in most instances, slain by the hands of those more masterful of their craft, if anything to prevent a further sliding into madness...
Elsa entered the Program when she was 7, her parents unable to hide her gift any longer. They gave her away to the Council before she was found out, before any harm could be done. They gave her away believing that because of her royal status, she would be better treated better and, at worse, they had her younger sister Anna to take the throne if something terrible would befall Elsa...
They were half-right.
The castle walls were quiet, smooth white marble and silence. Running her hand along the window sill, she left behind her a trace of shimmering ice.
From birth, she was special. An introvert with a brilliant mind, she could outwit the best. However, she lacked social confidence, and when she found herself in the world of the Programs, the once-pampered princess learned the hard way how to deal with the cruelties of the world.
Elsa's first fight was desperate, sudden, and quick – the result of upperclassman taunting the princess's birthright. The royal heir could handle the taunts, but mock her family-
And blood would be spilt.
To her surprise, the teacher applauded her for her power and will, only to chide her to handling the matter so upfrontly. Therefore, the punishment would be only half as severe.
Elsa barely survived the half.
There, in the Programs, the princess was remade to be a mage and a politician, a cruel and cunning mind lesser to none. There was no kindness, no warmth or affection, only work, and the rewards of it. There was no rule but to obey the masters and obey the Law of Subtlety, and Elsa excelled at both. The once loving heart of the royal lady turned to ice, and her powers and quiet, viciousness earned her the moniker...The Snow Queen.
The queen reminisced all this as she lit the hearth, though she was not cold. By her birthright she could not feel cold, but warmth was frighteningly strong for her. Even now, a simple hearth required several more steps back than a normal woman would need. Regardless, Elsa sat as close to the fire as she could and stared into it's shifting form. It was unbound by shape or design, it merely was, and would be, and was nothing more or less...
On her 16 birthday, she finally had her first contact with her parents...or, correction, news of her parents. They had perished in a freak hovercraft incident, leaving the province leaderless. A prodigy in political and mage-craft, the Council decided to let her assume power early, allowing Elsa to go home after only 9 years of ruthless competition and struggle.
The first thing that met her at the door was not the chamberlain, but Anna, with arms wide open. The surprise almost caused Elsa to revert to instinct and slay the sudden attacker, but Anna was faster than Elsa, and the hug grappled any anger out of Elsa.
"You're home!" Anna cried into Elsa's shoulder, as the royal guards stared in wonder. "You're finally home!"
Elsa could neither return the affection, or even acknowledge the joy of her sister, who was delighted beyond any past grief to see her sister again after all these years. The Snow Queen tried to stop her, but Anna's words shot out faster than the Queen's, and dumbfounded by the energy of her sibling she could only go limb and listen and follow along as her sister- even after all these years the talkative one- went on and on about life in the castle.
"And then you left, and I was alone, and Mom and Dad tried to find me friends, but there are only so many royal families, you know? And so I tried to be good and well-behaved, and it was so hard when you're alone-"
Elsa could only nod, the strange feeling of warmth filling her breast. What was this feeling, so familiar yet so distant? Even all these years, could she still care for another like so-
"And then..." Anna began to slow down, her leaping feet falling like flat notes to the floor. "They died...and it was just me again." At this, her whole body dropped, and it seemed to Elsa a magnificent cry would come her sister.
Instead, Anna turned back around to smile at her sister. "But you're back, and all is well again."
And for some reason, Elsa returned the smile.
Even now, looking into the fire, the memories made her countenance light up. Such happy days they were, those days of warmth and love – even if the shadow of of the Council always hung above them for Anna, naive and loving, could only make up the lost time with even that much more energy.
The process of healing was slow, but Anna, the opposite of Elsa in all regards, pulled the Snow Queen's heart strings. The queen had, after all these years, vague but loving memories of her younger sister, and the pain Anna felt along with her naturally open nature caused the callous Elsa to surrender to the new love she had found... or, mor exactly, rediscovered.
This new love, however, did not stop the Snow Queen from reigning as she knew best. Ruthless and efficient, she made sure that no one would hurt her, her kingdom...or her sister, who she kept hidden away from the evils of the world, a songbird in an invisible cage. If dignitaries of a certain sort where visiting, Elsa found an excuse to meet them somewhere else other than the castle. If the Council wanted to meet with Elsa, or call her in as a member of the Assembly, Elsa would make sure that Anna knew that some business – "Just some boring old business"- had come up of a stuffy and boring sort, and would be back this afternoon.
After some time, Anna began to get curious, and slightly upset at her being away from the ruling of the province. Elsa, however, foresaw this, and deflected Anna once more by allowing her to run the harmless of matters – the charity drives, the festivals, the banquets and parties. For a time, all was going well for Elsa.
Then Anna slipped up one day, and Elsa knew that all was too good to be true.
"Why are you keeping me out!" Anna shrieked at Elsa. The elderly sister had been gone for far too long again, and Elsa found it unusually hard to lie to Anna of all people. Elsa, you see, was not too fond of talking of the Programs, of what she had endured over the years of cruelty, and chose not to talk to it about Anna. Anna, however, was not only interested but willing to listen to Elsa, only wishing to hear the truth, to hear Elsa say what was really going on in her mind.
Elsa, however, only offered yet another excuse, another bit of innocent deceit. Sadly, this was the last straw, and Anna exploded-
Literally.
Elsa had her gift, and Anna had hers – the Power of the Flame. Once they lost one child, the girls' parents turned desperate with their final daughter, who on her seventh birthday began to exhibit her own signs of magical inclination. Using all the tricks and traps they could muster, they had kept Anna from the Programs and the Council, and in the process from society, practically locking her away from the outside world, leaving her ignorant and naive of much of what occurred outside the castle walls. Anna had promised, in returned, to work on controlling her gift. Sadly, she lacked Elsa's control and guidance, and the gift became a curse in which Anna was forced to conceal... until now.
Raw magic seething through her, she had let out a burst of flame in rage at Elsa, after years of holding the gift back. Elsa defended herself, and was accordingly fine, but Anna's heart knew too much strain. In shame, she begged her sister to help her, to teach her how to control her gift.
Elsa, unsure but lovingly, obliged, partially out of genuine care, partially glad to avoid telling her what she had gone through for her gift...
"Keep it in your hands Anna!" Elsa chided once more, as Anna struggled to expand the fire in her hands. Another round of lessons, another trial and error.
"I'm trying, Elsa! I'm trying!" Anna said, as she held the fire in front of her, trying to bring it out without creating another explosion.
"Then try harder!" Elsa found herself screaming, and Anna freaked. The fire blew out, and Elsa found herself at the last second narily escaping massive burns across her face.
Anna cried, rushing to her sister who could only stand there at first in shock.
"Anna," Elsa stuttered, regaining her senses. "We can't do this anymore..."
In the end, despite several months of hard work and effort, Anna's sensitive nature and the magic flowing through her proved too much handle. Elsa coincided defeat, and told Anna what she really thought.
"It can't be done." The words fell out of Elsa's mouth, and in a an instant Anna was screaming; emotional, big-hearted, loving Anna was screaming at her sister the same words over and over –
"Why! Why me?! Why can't I control my powers!? What is wrong with me!?" Anna gripped in head in rage, and threw her hands, fire shooting all around her. Elsa had expected this, and threw up a barrier to keep her safe.
"Anna, we must be reasonable!" she declared. "We must keep you safe from the Council, and at this rate you throwing fireballs will only catch their attention!"
Anna stopped throwing a fit, only to break down and cry again. Anna, of morning breakfasts cooked bad and little ducks painted on castle walls, was falling apart, and Elsa knew why...and what had to be done next...
The fire was dying down by now, and Elsa chose not to stoke it anymore. She had other matters to attend to, and a special someone to visit.
Walking over to the grandfather clock, Elsa froze the hands, activating a temperature-based lock. The grandfather clock, with an old groan, moved to the side, and Elsa slipped in alone, the secret door closing behind her.
The stares were short, a spiraling set of stone that she had a few poor, undistinguished folk carve out for her before slaying them and incinerating the bodies. Arriving to the room that laid directly below her own, she stopped at the glass.
"Hello Anna." she said politely, with a hopeful smile.
Anna looked up to her from her chair, her face blank. "Hello Elsa."
The room had been completely fireproofed, magically-made by an artificer to resist the mightiest of flames. It had all the trappings a noblewoman would want – carpet, chairs, table, bed, drawing board, piano, everything and all things Anna once loved and cherished.
Except freedom.
"How was your day?" the trapped princess inquired deadpan.
"It was..fine. And-" she almost asked out of natural courtesy before stopping. Both sisters knew how Anna's day had been.
"How's your training been going?" Elsa inquired hopefully.
Anna conjured a shifting, sapphire ball of flame in her hand. "What do you think, your majesty?"
Elsa took verbal slap with silence, her best trait. Still, the remark hurt, and Elsa was partially tempted to remove the glass herself and teach a lesson in manners.
Once again, both sisters knew how well that would go.
"You accepted this, Anna." Elsa stated boldly, trying to knock some sense into her sister. "You accepted this until we both agreed you could control your powers."
Anna growled, the first real expression on her face for the whole time, only to return with a sickeningly sweet smile. "Of course, your majesty. But, see, I can!" she laughed, creating 2 more fireballs and juggling them with delight. "See! Control!"
Elsa almost laughed, almost cried, almost screamed. Anna's hair was unkempt, her dress was unwashed, and her royal furnishings were all smashed with her bare hands. She looked like she hadn't slept in days, and all the food that had been offered was cooked to cinders by Anna's flames.
"Stop this! Stop this madness!" Elsa screamed. "I know you can control yourself! You know you can control yourself! All you have to do is-"
"Don't feel a thing!? Like what they taught you in the Programs!?" Anna cried back, flames rippling from her skin. "I'm not like you, Elsa, I can't not feel! I am who I am!" she screamed in rage. "What do you want me to be?! Someone else!? To be worse!? To be as heartless as you!?"
This blow was not only painful, but too much to bear.
"Do you know how much I have given up to be here with you?!" Elsa screamed back, the air around her thickening with frost. "Do you know how much I have done to keep you safe!? You know nothing of the depths of my love!"
"I know nothing of the depths of love!?" Anna screamed. "What about the love I held for you all these years later. What about the love I have still- oh, my bad!" she put her hands to lips in mock regret. "Had for our parents! According to you at least, since I shouldn't be caring as much anymore! Causes me to-"
Flames danced from the princess, reaching and pounding at the glass before her.
"Light up. All those years, of course, don't matter! All the time I spent alone doesn't matter! All I have to do now is forget that all the love I ever felt didn't exist and lock myself away from the world like you did! Oh, but I'm already CAGED!" she waved her hands over the length of the cell, trails of flame following her motion. "We're off to a mar-ve-lous start, aren't we?"
Elsa cried, a savage, animalistic cry of sorrow and pain. "You're caged? You're caged!? I am trapped too, Anna, by the Council's demands, by our – our people's needs! But I can't get out, unlike you! I've told you before, you just have to-"
Anna shrieked, and the room filled with white, blinding fire. Elsa recoiled from the light, covering her eyes, and instinctively raising a shield of ice from the ground. Lowering her limbs, she once again stood face to face with her sister, a shimmering force of destruction.
"I hate you." Anna said with two cold, empty eyes, lacking everything but hate and contempt. "I hate you and everything you stand for! I hate you, I hate you, I HATE YOU!"
This time, Elsa did not stay to argue, or fight, or anything. Elsa ran back up into the cool, night world above, as below her the fires of Hell burned below her in a furry of light and sound, clawing and howling away at the cell walls in perpetual, insane agony...