A/N: Inspired by gel-du-cerveau's brilliant fireverse AU, the one that kept me sane and happy during finals. I felt I owed a tribute, so I have a couple of chapters lined up with the hope that motivation will strike for me to finish up.

Also-background on those who don't know. Fireverse is an AU where Prince Hans has fire powers, ones that were actively suppressed by his family via 'Doctors' and regular visits to the water bath, suffocation style. The final battle between Elsa and Hans is dragged out at the end of the movie, so that he changes into a rather terrifying dragon-like creature that proceeds to duel it out between her ice powers.

My personal addition to this is that Elsa finds herself unable to reverse everything at the end with the snowstorm. She can stop it, yes, but the 'love as a reversal' thing just doesn't pan out. More on this later. Enjoy!

Suffice

Part I

Summary: After the aftermath of the Arendelle snowstorm, the sodden kingdom quickly settles into a sort of normalcy. Or normal it could be with the Dragon Prince imprisoned in the royal dungeons and the Snow Queen herself secretly visiting him when her nightmares became too much. See, it's easy to love a monster when you're one yourself.

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Elsa had never quite been sure where to limit her powers.

She knew how to keep them almost completely hidden, yes, to push the creeping chill down until her bones shook with the force of it, but holding back when they were already loose was a struggle. An avalanche she could manage with barely a snap of her fingers, but controlling its speed, its intensity—that was another feat altogether.

Nothing seemed to tire her and no warning signal seemed to exist for when she was pushing it a bit too far. She could summon palaces from the ground and bury countries in yards of snow with barely a thought, but it took far more concentration on her part to even begin to push it back. So it stood that the only way she could tell when she as pushing it too far were the reactions of those around her, a notoriously biased system.

Therefore, when Prince Hans of the Southern Isles screamed at the onslaught of her powers, it was her first instinct to stop right then.

And against all sense and repercussions, she did.

Her hands shook as she held them against her stomach. Gasping from the sudden fear, Elsa barely heard Kristoff's cries for her to keep going, to give the fire bastard what he had coming. She was half tempted to, but even her basest morals cried out at having to attack him again. The prince still hadn't stood up.

The ice around him was even now melting rapidly, a small pool forming where he stood. He laid curled there, shivering madly, as the light finally tore through the clouds of steam around them.

Their fight had been long, and the fronts of fire and ice had met explosively. Much of the town was damaged in some way, or from what she could see while busy dodging great currents of flame and the vicious claws of the prince.

Elsa clutched hers hands closer to herself, watching him. Would he stand? Conjure another ball of fire, another wall of flames, turn everything she built to shambles? Try and kill her again? Do worse?

Her worries appeared to be shared by everyone, as they all held their breaths in preparation for him to stand and roar flames again.

He didn't. He didn't even try.

All Hans, former prince of the Southern Isles, did was lay in the puddle of ice water, trembling and choking for breath.

Many minutes later, the more courageous of the royal guard stepped forward, weapons at the ready. The pathetic figure didn't so much as twitch. When one dared to take hold of his arm to pull him forward, there came one jerky punch that was easily dodged. Elsa shuddered at the sight. It wasn't resistance.

It was flailing.

When the guard attempted to again, grabbing harder this time, Hans barely even reacted, going limp in their arms. He only grunted when the other guard slapped him across the face. Then another hit. At the third time, he was completely silent and still, spare a dribble of blood oozing from his now split lip. Then again. Not even a twitch.

The crowd suddenly erupted in cheers. Elsa breathed a sigh of relief, feeling the tightness in her chest unclench. The guards heaved him up and dragged him forward towards the castle, sopping wet and dripping the entire way. They brought him past her in the fanfare.

She glanced quickly at his face, and then turned away sharply in a gesture the guards mistook as dismissal. Anna was next to look at him, and judging by the look on her face, it was all she could do not to punch her former paramour. Kristoff looked like he would do worse than that, taking a step forward as if to lunge. But Anna's arm linked in his kept him back.

Only when the guards and the crowd disappeared into the castle did Anna turn to her and smile, prompting her to return it. Elsa did, weakly.

Letting go of Kristoff, Anna moved forward, her eyes sparkling with excitement. "Elsa, Elsa you did it! You're the Queen! The people love you!" She came closer. "Elsa, you're fantastic!"

Elsa went rigid, but Anna didn't seem to notice. "It's amazing, everything you can do and I'm so, so happy that everyone sees it now. And I especially can't wait to make up all the time that I didn't now, and ooh! Can we—"

A hand reached out to grab hers. Elsa winced at the same time Anna let out a cry. Kristoff, who had been watching with a faint smile on his face, rushed over to wrap an arm around the younger sister. "Anna?"

Anna stared at her hand, ice crusted as it was.

Elsa curled her arms around herself, leaning away. Her voice was soft. "Sorry, I don't…I mean, I know how…but it's still…" It died off slowly and she averted her eyes. She didn't know how to…

Before Anna could open her mouth to say anything, Elsa shook her head slightly and turned to follow her subjects into the castle.

They smiled at her too, wide and bright and exactly the way they hadn't the first time they'd seen her powers.

She nodded her awareness and continued her slow walk, knowing Anna was right on her tail. Elsa didn't stop. She couldn't. Step by step, the memories of past poise lessons were all that kept her moving forward. Faces swam in and out of her vision, one specific image taking root in her mind and overlaying the rest.

Slitted eyes, jaw bloody and cracked.

Guileless eyes, mouth lowered in disappointment.

Green, both green and young and so, so easy to break.

Her breath was still fast, gasping from something that could almost be mistaken for exhilaration.

Flurries tingled the tips of her fingers as Elsa, Queen of all Arendelle and the lands immediately surrounding, told herself that everything was perfectly fine.

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Nightmares were a regular occurrence for Elsa.

Sometimes it felt more shocking when she woke up without gasping or finding she'd torn her sheets to shreds with ice shards in her thrashing. Dreams like this were the reason why she had to keep tidy the room herself. There was too much chance of the maids happening upon a remnant of one of her fits if they were allowed in.

Although truly, it was the dreamless nights she feared most. Because then Elsa just found herself waking up to an empty, clean room and remembered that any nightmare she could possibly have would never be quite as horrifying as this.

Tonight was no different, in the same way it was.

Queen now, Elsa retired to a room much too large for her and clenched her eyes. When sleep finally did fall upon them, it was a rehearsal of the day previous, the same voices and faces fading in and out of her mind. She seized from location to location in the dream, never actually moving but just finding herself fixed there like a figure drawn in only afterwards. Blurred people smiled at her and she resisted the urge to gag.

And then, a change. Like she'd blinked away a stray piece of dust from her eyes, the dream went clear. Her feet felt solid. Her hands, like they fit her. Just as she clenched them to test their solidness, the world screamed pain and a roar of anger followed.

Heat rushed through the air around her, her ears echoing with the steps of the beast and the scratch-scritch of his jagged claws. Her chest seized, terror forcing her heart to pound so, so fast. It was right before her now, hot breath ghosting over her hair, teeth sharp and ready, eyes…eyes…

Elsa looked up to see the beast.

And woke up.