Light of the World
A/N: So, these are my chapters of a fic I'm writing with my cousin ProvidingTheAnswerToTheRiddle. You can read the full story on our joint account ThebTakWrites, or find the link to it on my profile page. These chapters are Carmen's perspective of events, and alternate with Elsa's. In the full fic, this is chapter two. The parts in italics are song, and all can eventually be found on the tumblr page for this fic, the url for which is kindlesplashh. Please review, and check out the full thing!
Chapter One
~ Light of the world, you stepped out into darkness ~
You are cordially invited to attend the marriage ceremony of
Queen Elsa of Arandelle
To
Prince Eirik of The Southern Isles
On the 18th July in the Kingdom of Arandelle
Carmen, Second Princess of the Eastern Isles, stared down at the heavy parchment in her hands. For years, her parents and older sisters had been trying to wed her to one of the Prince's from the Southern Isles, but she had kept refusing them. And now, the last eligible Southern Isler was to be married, to the Queen of Arandelle, no less! She was happy to think that her family would no lolnger entertain the idea of her being forced into a marriage with anyone, but knew that, in her heart, there were still others she could be encouraged to wed, such as those of the Northern Isles, but never of the Western Isles.
"Your highness." A simple knock accompanied the voice, and Carmen looked up from the paper, flicking her hair out of her eyes and frowning at the distraction. She placed the paper on her desk, and stood, smoothing out the skirt of her dress.
"Enter," she commanded, every inch the royal she was. The door creaked open to reveal her hand maid, Rae, who curtsied upon entering. "What is it, Rae?"
"If you please, your majesty, your brothers and sister request your presence in the library." Carmen's frown deepened, and she nodded at her servant, who withdrew hastily. Despite the young Princess never having a harsh word for her, she was still a little wary of what could happen should she disappoint her mistress. There were still scorch marks in the entrance hall from the last incident.
Walking towards her floor length mirror, Carmen picked up her tiara, knowing that her family would be disappointed to not see her wearing it. The metal warmed in her hands, and she quickly put it on her head, fitting on snuggly over the red strip of fabric she wore to stop the gold from touching her head. She examined herself in the mirror, twisting around to ensure that her dress was on straight, before picking up her red leather gloves. She would have to be careful with her siblings meeting in the library.
With a wave of her hand, warm air wafted through the room and nudged the door open enough for Carmen to pass. As she walked through a bucket of water stationed outside her door evaporated, and she bit her lip, trying to focus more. She couldn't afford to lose control, especially in a room full of priceless, and yet very flammable, books.
She knocked quickly on the door once, removing her hand quickly as she saw scorch marks appear. From inside the door there was a sudden flurry of activity, before the doors were pulled open. Carmen could see her eldest brother, Keri, pulling a leather sheet over something that looked like a book. Her sister, Yasmin, sat in front of the empty, yet still smoking, fireplace, and Jeri, the youngest brother, only a year older than her, was holding the door. All three wore expressions of innocence. All three had the atmosphere of guilt.
Carmen crossed her arms in front of her chest, burying any way her powers could possibly escape from her hands at the sight of the three.
"What?" she asked, crossly. Her siblings exchanged looks.
"Carm, darling" started Yasmin. "No doubt you will have by now received your invitation to the wedding of the Queen of Arandelle and Prince Eirik."
"Yes, I have sister. What of it? Surely we are not attending, we have no associations with the Kingdom of Arandelle, trading or otherwise."
"However, we do have trading connections with the Southern Isles," joined in Jeri, shutting the doors quietly, and guiding Carmen towards a seat. "And we would quite like to make a link between Arandelle and the Eastern Isles. Their main export is ice, something which would bring much wealth to us in our war against the Western Isles, should we make the deal."
"Why are you concerning me with this?" asked Carmen, still defensive. "You've never seen fit to inform me of developments in trading before, what's changed?"
"Carmen, you need to be married," said Keri, staring down at his sister, dark eyebrows growing closer together as he glared. "You have been a burden on this kingdom for too long. You have nothing to contribute to the running or the organising or to anything. Your only asset now is to secure a connection, and maybe then you can be a burden somewhere else." Keri held up his hand to stop Carmen's indignant protests as she stood, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. "Tomorrow, you will set off with Jeri to Arandelle. You will find a suitable partner, and you will not return here. Pack your belongings."
Carmen stared around the room at the siblings she had always thought she could trust. Two faces stared coldly back at her, whilst the third looked apologetic. She swept out the room with a burst of warm air, and her siblings were left with a fire that burst into life as she left.
Back in her room, Carmen paced back and forth through her bedroom which was now filled with steam. Her desk with the infernal letter was burning as she sent hateful thoughts towards Elsa and Eirik for daring to marry. She was sure their love was all encompassing, and great, and the stuff of legends, but Carmen felt sick when she thought of it.
Dragging out a little used trunk from under her bed, Carmen surveyed the room around her, the steam fading from her room as her head slowly cleared to make room for the task at hand. She slowly began to pack up her few belongings, voicing her feelings at having to be removed from her home.
"Tomorrow I'll be far from here
Far beyond the kingdoms care
Somewhere out to sea
Although my heart will never ever leave
There must be a way to say
The pain I feel inside
When I think of all the things
I shall have to hide
A heart filled with hate
Fuelled by man with mean desire
A heart filled with all the things
They called me through the years
No hope of my own
And a life of suppression
When will I be free
To love again?
Next year I'll be gone
Beyond anyone's reach
Somewhere, god knows where
Although my form will stay
I can find a way to dull
The pain I feel inside
I'll do my duty to the East
And then my soul can hide
A hear filled with hate
Fuelled by man with mean desire
A heart filled with all the things
They called me through all the years
No hope of my own
And a future of suppression
Will I ever be free
To love again?
I can remember a time
Far before I knew of hate
A time when I was loved
Love was all I knew
And now all I know
Is how the hate has grown
I will free myself
To love again!
My heart is fuelled with hate
It's fuelled by the mean desire
My heart's full of all the things
I've been called
And no hope of my own
And no future that's worth living
If I free my heart
I can love again!"