"No! Please, stay away!" I was running. It was hot, my clothes were ripped and my hair was whipping behind me. I quickly ducked into an alley, desperately trying to get away from the mass behind me. I whirled around to find myself face to face with a mob of angry frightened townsfolk.
"Kill the witch!" I heard one of them cry over the roar of the group. I backed myself into a wall. I was cornered. "Please!" I tried again "I'm not hurting anybody!" My pleas fell on deaf ears. "Kill her!" "Burn the witch" they closed in on me. I was all alone. Completely defenseless against the raging fury of the people in front of me.
"Let me go!" I yelled as loud as I could. I raised my hands to shield my face as the mob of people raised their weapons, their eyes alight with savage fury. I screamed.
Then they attacked.
I snapped awake. I was panting hard and realized that I had a vice-like grip on the dark blue covers on my bed. I wiped away the beads of sweat that had formed on my pale forehead.
"Just a nightmare." I breathed "Calm down, Elsa." I scooted over to the edge of my bed and gently slid my feet into my slippers. I stood and walked over to the wash bowl to splash cold water on my face.
As I dipped my hands into the crystal clear water in the deep basin, I gazed at my reflection. My hair was a tangled mess of blonde. I had smudges of the makeup I hadn't completely removed all over my face, and bags under my eyes from the lack of sleep that I'd gotten over the past weeks.
Just a nightmare. Just a nightmare. I repeated it in my head, panting unevenly. Just a nightmare.
It was then I realized the water in the bowl had frozen over. Honestly Elsa... Get a grip! I thought to myself. I unfroze the water and ran it over my face, dried off and then started to return to bed. Halfway there, I realized I wouldn't be getting any more sleep tonight. I was too rattled after the nightmare. Instead, I turned towards the glass paneled doors that lead to my balcony. As I reached for the door, the handle grew a light covering of frost. I sighed and flicked my finger upwards to remove it.
I opened the door and stepped out onto the balcony and into the cool fall air. The light breeze made my waist length blonde hair blow gently behind me. I walked over to the carved stone bench near the railing and sat down. Rubbing my temples, I took deep breaths and tried to stop my knees from shaking so badly. I heard footsteps to my right and looked up.
On the balcony next to mine, was Anna standing in her night dress. I stood up quickly and attempted to make myself look even slightly presentable. "What are you doing up so late?" My voice quivered slightly. Stay calm.
"I could ask you the same thing." She replied. I could tell she was studying my face. Deep Breaths.
"My room was hot," I lied "I needed some cool air." Don't panic. You're okay.
She squinted as if she didn't believe me. "It was a nightmare," She said walking forward. "Wasn't it?" Caught.
"What? No. Of course not." I tried to sound genuine, but I knew I didn't. "It was just hot."
I knew she could tell. I looked like I hadn't slept in days (which I hadn't). "I can't sleep when it's hot," I figured if I didn't let her talk I wouldn't have to tell her, so I rambled on looking at my hands to avoid eye contact. "I get all sweaty and uncomfortable a-"
"Elsa." She raised her voice a little. I looked up and noticed she was climbing onto the railing of her balcony. "What are you do-?" I hadn't even finished the sentence before she had jumped across to my balcony and completely enveloped me in a hug.
"Elsa..." She whispered softly, massaging my lower back. "Please don't lie to me."
We stood like that for maybe a minute in complete silence. She pulled away and sat down on the bench motioning for me to do the same. I sat down next to her and tried again to convince her that I was just hot. "Honestly Anna, I just couldn't sleep."
Anna sighed. This wasn't the first time I had tried to use this excuse. I had had many nightmares like this since my ordeal in the mountain. You'd think that after almost two months that I would be okay. I acted like I was. But I wasn't.
"If... If you insist." She half smiled. "Are you sure there's nothing you want to tell me?"
"Yes." "Promise?" "I promise"
She stood up and hopped back over to her balcony. Before she went into her room, she turned back to look at me. Her face changed for a fraction of a second. Usually her face had a youthful, happy, sunshiny glow about it. But for the tiniest of moments, I thought I could see the face of someone who had been through more than I could possibly imagine. And then, that face was gone, and it was back to its normal self.
"Goodnight... Elsa." Then she walked into her room and closed the door.
I was alone again, on the cold stone bench on the balcony. I looked out over the sleeping city of Arendell. The only lights on were those in the smithies shop, and the night lights of the little children sleeping in their beds.
I sat there, feeling the cool fall breeze on my face, day dreaming (or night dreaming I suppose). It was maybe ten minutes later that I finally noticed the snow that had become piled on my lap and the seat around me. I must have been twiddling my fingers.
I sighed and brushed the snow aside. As I was brushing the snow away, I felt something hard hit my hand. I picked up the mysterious object and discovered that I had unknowingly created a small ice figurine.
Studying it more closely I noticed that not only had I made the figure, but I had made it incredibly detailed. It was a girl. The ice girl had waist length hair, and a beautiful flowing ball gown. She had tiny ice roses in her hair.
Hello there little friend. I said to myself. Seems that you're all alone too, we can't have that now can we…
Flicking my hand upwards towards the tiny sculpture, I made her a partner. The second figurine had on a suit, complete with the golden thread loops and medals. It also had a strong chin and short, flowy, slightly messy hair.
There... I thought. You don't need to be alone anymore.
I half smiled as I admired my handy work. I waved my hands to make the ice figures dance about above me. They moved gracefully through the air in perfect synchronization. They were undoubtedly perfect for each other.
As they danced, my mind was occupied by the little figures for a while. I lowered them slowly into my lap where the boy bowed and the girl curtsied. I picked up the two figures and looked at them a little more.
The boy's face was one I had never seen before, but he was very handsome. As I looked at him, I wondered if I could make him bigger. Big enough to dance with me for a little while. I giggled at this childish thought. Silly girl. I said to myself. Silly girl indeed.
I turned my attention to the girl figure. She was very beautiful, and her dress was amazing. How on earth did I make this accidentally! The more I looked at it, the more I began to think that it looked like someone I knew. I had been staring at the girl figure for about five minutes before it clicked in my head.
The small girls face was one I had seen many times in the reflection in my mirror, and the walls of my castle. I had made myself. What the heck, Elsa! Why on earth would you make such a silly thing!
I sighed heavily. Oh, I don't know. Probably because I wish I could be happy, and beautiful, and have nothing in the world to worry about. I thought, answering my own question. But of course, I do have things to worry about, I am a queen after all.
To attempt to distract myself from my saddening thoughts, I flicked my hands upward to make the little glass dolls dance once more. I wasn't really focused on them though. My hands almost seemed to move on their own. I was thinking, my mind was wandering.
As it did, the thoughts of terror that I had been trying to avoid returned to me. Remembering the vivid nightmare, all the sounds and smells and the overwhelming fear. The fear. It crashed into me like a hurricane. Every muscle in my body froze. The ice dancers fell into my lap.
Calm down. Calm down. Just a nightmare. It isn't real. I tried to get a grip on myself. You're okay. It's not real. Nothing can hurt you. After about five minutes of trying to calm myself down, my breathing slowed and my knees stopped shaking so badly.
I wanted to crawl into a small space and hide. Hide from everything. From my troubles, from my responsibilities, from my powers, and from my fear. I was sitting completely still, muscles tensed, completely enveloped in my thoughts.
I was snapped back into reality as the first rays of sun began to creep over the edges of the eastern hills. I lifted a hand to shield my eyes from the bright morning light. I yawned realizing how tired I was.
I hadn't realized how much time had passed while I was sitting outside. "Well, let's face the day shall we?" I said, rather unenthusiastically, to my new ice figures. I walked into my room set them in the drawer of my nightstand, and got ready for my day.