Screams in darkness
Loud and horrifying screams echoed through the castle's empty hallway, bouncing and reverberating, adding to the dread and horror that carried with them.
A young girl not more than 13 years old, still in her deep royal blue nightgown runs through the hallway to the direction of the screams. Screams from someone she did not know woke her up abruptly minutes ago, and she instantly run to where her parents might be in, she had retired early to rest for tomorrow lessons, but mother and father stay late for their work.
Pray, for guidance, toward hope
Her bare feet making dull thuds on the floor boards as she sprint down the hallway, her blonde hair flying behind her as she rushed, pushing on, unwilling to stop. Her lung burns from lack of oxygen but she cannot stop. If she stops now, she will have to deal with bodies. Lifeless bodies around each turns and corners around the hallway in the castle she called home.
Reaching the heavy and beautifully decorated door that open to the throne room, she forcefully opens it, fling it wide to rush in, just making it in time to see her father sitting in his own throne with a man standing behind him. The man with auburn hair with sideburns and green eye, someone she been introduced to a few days ago.
Fall into despair
Her father who always held himself proud in front of anyone, always have his chin high, now having a swords place across his neck. His eyes widen when he saw her rush in the room, instantly covered with love but drown by horror from their situation.
"What are you doing here, RUN, EL-" Her father does not even get the chance to finish his sentence, to usher her to safety before the sword had slit clean across his neck, splitting flesh and orifices underneath it.
"Look like you make it in time for little entertainment, how fortunate, or should I say, how unfortunate, your highness"
The man makes his way around the throne slowly, and walk down the dais toward the young girl. His charming smiles never leave his face, but in her eyes it is the most hideous thing she even laid her eyes on in her short life till today.
Anger, propelled her to charge toward him with her hand balled into fist fully intended to hurt him, but her petite frame was never a threat to the man in front of her. The man who slit her father's throat in front of her and left him die from bleeding.
His hand grabs on her wrist like a pair of iron vice, pulling her up from the ground. His other hand still holding the sword, covered with her father's blood, blood flowing through the razor edge to the tip of the sword, dripping on the floor, staining the carpet on it.
Locking her glazed eyes to the man's she tried to channel all her hatred and anger in it, hoping that her hard glare can kill this murdering bastard in front of her. Across his shoulder, she can still see her father sitting on the throne, his normally clean suit stained by blood flowing down from his opened throat. His deep blue jacket took an even deeper colour from the blood.
Impulsively she spit on his face, and the man is stunned on the spot, but he quickly recovered, dropping his sword on the floor and raise the hand high slap her heavily across her face.
It hurts, extremely. The force sent her head to turn, but she instantly turns back to stare back at him, defiant filled her eyes. Her cheek burn and sting from the slap, her lips cut and she feel the sticky yet warm liquid slowly flow from the corner of her lips down to her chin.
Blood's copper smell filled her nostrils and she tastes them on her tongue. Yet she is not afraid like she normally did, perhaps all those blood and lifeless bodies she saw from the corner of her eyes during her way numbed her fear, or because she is blinded by fury, she did not know nor care. She gather the blood in her mouth and spit on his face again.
As she watch his face turn from his annoyingly charming smile to a face of shock then disgust and angry, she cannot help but feel the corner of her mouth is lifting, a smirk make its way to her lips, when she inspecting her handiwork on his charming face, now stained with her spits and blood. Some even make its way down and stained his equally annoyingly perfect coat he worn.
He angrily slams his fist into her petite body, a full grown adult punch landed square in her stomach, sending bile up her throat. Releasing his hold on her hand, drop her back on her feet. A second punch to her stomach again, drops her knees on the floor, hands on her stomach holding the pain in. He stomp his boot on the girl's head on the floor, stepping and grinding her head with her ankle movement, smearing dirt across her beautiful blonde hair.
Moans, sweet and alluring moans suddenly filled her ears. Men's grunt filled with lustful desire assault her ear drums.
From her position with her face and cheek press painfully to ground by the man's boot, her eyes search the room. Finally found a group of men across the floor, surrounding someone. They all kneel there with their pants half way down their legs. Torn fabrics littered the floor, fabrics with the colour her mother wore that night, deep violet and blue representing her family colour.
Her eyes frantically darting around those men searching for something, anything to prove the dreadful image in her mind to be wrong, to tell her this is not happening, in front of her. Not to her kind and caring mother, not to the woman who comfort her when she is scare or when she is sad, not to the woman who smile brighter than the sun and warm her no matter how bleak the day is.
And her eyes widen the moment she saw a pair of leg, slender and fair, held apart with by men's bulky arm. Another man with his pants down, repeatedly move his hips in unsightly fashion between the parted legs, grunting now and then.
"Mother, no…. no…. no….."
As she move her hand to the group while she is still on the floor while her other hand still clutching her painful abdomen, she did not even noticed the boot has been lifted from her head, until it is stomp on her open hand across the floor. The Auburn hair man ground her hand with his boot but that does nothing to what she felt at the moment.
Her cheek is wet from tears that finally broke through her eyes, her mind filled by grief and sorrow from losing her father and seeing her mother experience the worst insult that send chills down any woman regardless of their social status. Such insults send plebeian girl throwing themselves to drown in river and ladies to hang themselves with white linen to escape the taint of such insult left on their mind and body.
In darkest hour
The group of men noticed the girl on the floor, some of them move their body to allow her a better view of the woman they lustfully and forcefully ravishing. Their face full of sadistic pleasure, their eyes filled with dark desires and their mouth curl into satisfied snigger.
None of that register in her eyes. All she can see is her mother's cheeks are wet with tears as they broke her, torn her pride and rip her dignity. Her beautiful eyes normally filled with love and warmth when they spend their time together is now dull and lifeless, showing no more sign nor desire to continue living.
She watched with anguish as the man tainted her mother. When her father's throat is cut open, she felt a huge hole has been open in her heart. Now watching her mother's living hell, she felt a thousand needles and knives are stabbing inside her. Each sound and moans from the group push the needles and knives cutting deeper and deeper inside her.
"Kill her, and torn her body apart" Come the voice from the man still stomping on the girl's hand
She watched in helpless, as the men lift their daggers and puncture her mother's body like a rag doll. As they slowly work their dagger around her slim limbs, splitting flesh, severe tendons, probe into joints between bones, some sicken bastards remove her flesh to play between his hand, and limbs by limbs, flesh by flesh she saw the body of her mother torn apart in front of her very eyes, all the while her mother is still alive. The pain coursing her as the cold steel intrude her body bring her mother mind back in to reality, and her screams rip the girl's heart into pieces while it spur those men further, driving them into new height of ecstasy.
When mother and daughter's eye locked on to each other, she saw regret, longing love and worry flashed behind the woman's eyes before her eyes roll back, faint in pain or die. The men did not stop until her body is totally torn, the floor is stained with bloods and the stench of dead fills the air. Various body parts such as fingers, arms, toes, flesh, eyes, hair, head, and flesh, scatter around the men after they carried out their order from their master.
Scream as I'm torn asunder
She screams, loudly, pouring every anguish, hatred, regret, guilt, and sorrow in it. Her voice is hoarse from the wailing at the sight of her mother's torn pieces, at her father lifeless body on his throne. Cursing her own weakness, berating her own powerless, swearing for her family's miserable fate, but most of all, at herself. She is supposed to be special, gifted with a unique ability, an extremely beautiful ability that brought joy to her father and mother during their time together. Playful mischievous play time with the staffs in castle and loved by children in the kingdom.
From her finger, she made light dusting cold powder, snow. Even during summer she can summon a small amount of snow before they melt. It is said her family is descendant from the powerful evil Ice queen many centuries ago. But she is the only person in centuries to have some similar with her ancestor for she can only make harmless snow but never ice.
Slamming her free hand into the floor board beside her, as she cry and scream, small amount of snow generated from her finger tips under the man's boot. Her pounding fist left small amount of snow on the wooden floor. She paid no mind to the men around her, their taunting and provokes goes unnoticed in her sadness and self- loathing.
Drown in sorrow, all alone
Pray for guidance, to Salvation
Take me away from this sorrow,
I have no desire to be left alone,
Only wish to join them above,
Deep in her own sorrow she did not even notice that all those noise stop. The time and space seems to suspend in motion, except her own cries and her BOTH hands slamming on the floor. She did not even saw the floor is now covered with ice humming from red to gold ember colour, nor noticed the clicking sound of a pair of heels walking for the dais, stopping in front of the girl.
An icy heel appeared in her vision, the pointed front of the heel lift her chin to look up at the new comer in the room. Through her teary eyes she saw the most beautiful and enigmatic woman in her life.
The woman wore an icy blue off shoulder dress, showing her collarbones and her slender arms, at the hems of her dress it is decorated with various spade shaped crystals arrange in a snowflake shape. She also wore a shawl over her exposed shoulder and arms make from some kind of transparent material that reflecting and glitter under lights. Over her sweetheart bodice, similar material made up additional 2 layers of cloth covering along her dress giving the woman a mysteries appearance to be cloth in the winter mist.
She also has an exceptionally long cape connect to the back of her bodice, the cape flung over the back of her throne. On her hand she wore a pair of evening glove with identical transparent material but the glove stop short after her wrist. Various designs of snowflake embroiled on the transparent material over the dress.
Her dress is exceptionally long reaching down to her ankle even when she sits in her throne, she cross one of her leg over the other and using her leg to lift the girl's chin. She wore heels made from pure ice that felt exceptionally cold to the girl's skin.
Looking up to the woman's face, the girl cannot help but gasp at her. She looks identical with one of her ancestor's portrait hung in the picture room, beside the differences in the cloth in portrait, compared to the woman in front of her now, the woman's hair is also longer, shines under the golden colour of the ice around them, the girl can barely remember that her ancestor is actually having platinum blonde hair that is more white then blonde. A very different kind of colour from what her family inherited for many generations now. Her hair is braided in to a single thick braid that just barely above the floor. Large blue crystalline snowflake decorated her braid. Her bangs swept back and glitter under lights, on the left side of her head, there is a large pin adore with deep blue linen strands and a large icy blue snowflakes.
The woman put her right arm on the arm rest of her icy throne to prop her head up while looking down at the girl in front of her. Her ice blue eyes are clear and boring into the girl's own. She can sense that there is cold fury just barely hidden behind the woman's ice.
When the woman opened her mouth to talk, her rose colour lips part and white cloud breathe out. Her voice is clear but sharp like fresh cut ice delivered by the ice harvester up North Mountain. Her tone is icy and devoid of warmth making the girl shiver. Not even the sight of her mother's horrible death makes her shiver and feel as much fear as the enigmatic woman in front of her.
"So I have drifted in ice and flurries for centuries just to see THIS!?" The woman gesture with her free hand to the queen's pieces around the floor
"Just to see the woman bearing my pure blood die like some cattle sent to slaughter house while my last descendant cries her eyes out like some stupid coward in this laughable situation!?"
"The very day you were born, the winter wind and ice whisper your name to your mother, I WHISPERED YOUR NAME TO HER, ELSA!"
Ice shoot out around her throne, all pointed toward the girl in front of her.
"Our blood has always carried great power, and for centuries I have been waited, believed that you will grow up to be my true heir, successions to my true power"
"And I know that you will show great kindness and compassion toward all while exercising our true power"
"But my child, the truest kindness is not refusing to taking life, but to stand up protecting those powerless against those who wield power like weapon."
Looking back down to the girl, the woman's eye soften and she lean forward to lift her up using her arms instead of her heel, she continued
"Look around you, those people have wronged you. Your father and mother, my child is innocent in this. These men wield their power because they can, but you, who refuse to wield your power because you think that is wrong, is in even bigger guilt then those men here."
"And to think the noblesse oblige I passed down, has faded with time, and will ended with you, I am disappointed in you, Elsa"
The girl jolt up from her feet as if she has been whip in her back, her eyes is wide, tears track dried. Her eyes brow furrowed and she look down at her hands. Her transparent hands and she saw she stand on top of her own body, with everything around men and object is coloured in grey colour. All except the ice and the woman in front of her.
"What do you want to do, Elsa?"
"I want to kill them all." The girl gritted her teeth and clenches her jaw
"Then kill them."
"I want them to suffer, I do not give a damn if they die, I only care about their suffering the same what I have gone through tenfold before they part from this world" She clenches her fist so tight and strong, that her nails dug crescent mark into her palms and her body trembles.
"Let them suffer then."
"I want them back, GIVE ME MY PARENTS BACK!" Her tears resurface and for the first time, she managed to cry freely, whole heartedly out of sadness, out of longing for her parents, not out of anger, in front of her ancestor, in front of the Ice queen.
The woman raises from her throne and hug the broken girl in her arms, collecting her piece, trying to hold her in place, ground her in this reality. Her hands rubbing circle behind the girl's back comforting her. For the girl, the illusion of her ancestor in front of her is her last family member.
"We cannot turn the hands of time, Elsa, for God has made time a cruel being. But you can prevent the same tragic you experience today from happening to other. You can show your kindness to others, by becoming the benevolent queen your father groom you to be, the kind and caring queen your mother believe you to be."
"I am not ready, and I do not know if I ever will be ready"
"I believe you will, we believe you will, and until then, I will guard your heart. I will protect you and keep you safe"
With that, the woman touches the girl's heart and she felt her heart is slowly freezing. Her emotion subsided and her mind has never been clearer before. She see thing sharp and clean like the mist been lifted from her vision
"I impart you my wisdoms and my power, and in turn I freeze your heart halting your body, until your mind is healed and ready"
"Remember this, I will always live inside you Elsa. They will always live inside you."
With that, the woman is gone and the room return to normal, her eyes is looking around the room. Her sensation is back, and she realized that she has returned to reality. Whether she just went to purgatory or hallucinated, that is something best left for later.
At her will, winter wind blast and pushed all the men, send them flying away from her, frost starting to coat her wounds over her body providing her some relief from the burning pain she experience in the last few tormenting moments. Raise to her feet, she looks down at her hands, her finger nails are blue in colour and she saw snowflakes puff out and she saw ice shards around on them. For the first time in forever, she made ice from her hand.
She heard men gasping beside her, and she saw her bangs loose on her forehead covering her visions, no doubt her hair is messing and unkempt, unfit for the crown princess. Laughing at herself, she sees her bangs slowly turning from the blonde colour she so used to for the past 13 years into something more white, the platinum blonde hair colour that she saw on her ancestor's portrait and envied for all the time she can remember.
She slowly spins on her heels, taking in everything in the throne room, she dares not linger at her parents' bodies for she know that no doubt that sight will send her into another wave of grieving and that is something that will have to wait for now.
Raising her right leg, she stomped on the wooden floor, ice erupts from her feet, instantly covering the room, sealing all windows and door, preventing enter or exit from the room. Snow with ice shards starting to swirl around her as she looks to the auburn hair man.
"You are a MONSTER!" He shouted to her face; if before, no doubt she will flinch and recoil, for someone direct such malicious accusation at her.
"I am princess ELSA, the famous SNOW princess in Arendelle, the true heir to the ICE queen of Arendelle"