Elsa, the newly crowned Queen of Arendelle, ran. She ran so far. Across the fjord, freezing all in her path. Everything was going so well, nothing had frozen and she'd been through the coronation without a hitch, she'd even spoken to her sister. Anna. What would she do now; the entire kingdom of Arendelle had been left to her, the poor little girl who had spent all her life alone, the girl who didn't even know what her sister was capable of.
The Queen was still dressed in her finest, her long blue dress snagging on branches and thorns as she raced through the forest, her footprints leaving a trail of ice and snow in her stead. Her long purple cloak, a signal of royalty billowing in the wind behind her.
She was finally alone, the way she had wanted to be, but not where she had planned to be. Elsa had planned on running to the north mountain, to hide away where no where could find her, the one place where no memories were trapped. Instead she ended up in the last place she wanted to be.
The snow glows white in the forest tonight
Not a footprint, to be seen.
Even with the deep blanket of white snow covering every inch of land, Elsa knew exactly where she was. Everything was different after the two years she'd been away, yet it was all the same. The tree's all stood tall, towering above her like great spires, icicles hanging from the frozen branches, jingling lightly in the freezing breeze. The ground was covered in snow, yet to be trodden on by human feet, yet to be tainted by the monster that created it.
A kingdom of isolation
And it looks like I'm the Queen
So long she'd been hidden away, no one to listen to her when she spoke, no one to hear her when she cried, no one to save her from herself. She remembered her room, the bedroom encased in ice, a permanent winter locked inside the castle walls, the same winter that was locked inside her. But there was one person who heard her, one person who listened, one person who saved her, but she failed to save them.
The wind is howling like this raging storm inside
Couldn't keep it in
Heaven knows I tried
She saw the flowers, frozen in full bloom; the summer was locked in an icy prison, everything living encased in a veil of glass like ice. She could see the clearing, the clearing she knew so well as a child. She could see where the snow was yet to reach, the sun had long since set but the moon shone so brightly through the gap in the tree's that Elsa saw everything in a beautiful cloak of silver.
Don't let them in
Don't let them see
Be the good girl you always have to be
She stepped forward cautiously, towards the clearing that could only of been made by human hands. The branches were broken, bent out of shape by hands too fair and delicate to be man, they were broken by a child. She gently ran her fingertips across the splintered twigs, a touch lighter than a feather, but the wood still froze. She wrenched her hand away, clutching it to her chest with her one gloved hand.
Conceal don't feel don't let them know
Well now they know
Pushing the frozen branches away, she got a better look at the clearing. The lake was as it was all her childhood. The water looked black, the reflection of the moon shining against it like a giant silver coin. The grass was still green, the leaves rustling in the icy wind.
Pulling off her remaining glove, Elsa stepped through the gap in the bushes, her dress snagging, her cloak getting caught on every thorn, but she made it through. She gazed upon her childhood sanctuary, hoping to feel some kind of comfort, some warmth in the nostalgia, but she felt nothing but the chill of her frozen heart.
Let it go, let it go
Can't hold it back anymore
Let it go, let it go
Turn away and slam the door
She flung her hand up behind her, the clearing in the branches closing up with jagged icicles, beautiful yet dangerous as they twinkled blue in the moonlight.
Her eyes travelled across the flowers, watching how they were still blooming their natural colours, pinks and purples, whites and yellows shining like jewels in the silver moon light. She remembered her summer down here when she was a child. She wasn't alone then. She didn't have a sister, but she did have someone else.
A boy, a skinny, tall boy for his young age, with dark brown hair and chocolate brown eyes, flecked delicately with spots of gold. She remembered how they would sit in the grass, him braiding flowers of pinks, purples and yellows through her platinum white braid, her giggling when the pollen made him sneeze. He always did get hay fever.
I won't care, what they're going to say
Let the storm rage on
The cold never bothered me anyway
She slowly undid the clasp of her cloak, letting the purple material fall to the floor like a puddle of rich grape wine. She saw more of that year with the boy, the autumn leaves falling around them like giant oranges snowflakes. They would make them into piles and jump in them, the boy with the brown hair hid in them sometimes, jumping out to scare the young princess. He always loved making her jump.
Its funny how some distance, makes everything look small
And the fears that once controlled me can't get to me at all.
Looking around she saw the rest of the forest was frozen, the infectious ice waiting to reach the clearing. The grass was frozen beneath her feet; she could hear it crunching beneath her feet with every tentative step she took.
Its time to see what I can do
To test the limits and break through
No right, no wrong, no rules for me, I'm free
They why didn't she feel free? This was a place of freedom and sanctuary, it always had been. A place where Elsa could be herself, where she didn't have to feel scared, or hide. She remembered the days where she would throw snowballs at the boy, turning his brown hair to speckled white, the ice reflecting the summer's sunlight back at him. He would laugh and claim she wasn't playing fair, that he couldn't fight back without snow. And so she would make the clearing a winter wonderland for the two of them to play in completely secluded. He never was afraid of her powers.
Let it go, let it go
I am one with the wind and sky
Let it go, let it go
You'll never see me cry
But the Queen was crying now, each droplet of salty tears freezing on her cheek, falling like crystals into the snow. She had no one, no one but the wind and sky beside her. All the power of winter at her fingertips, yet she wanted nothing more than to feel a summers sun beating down on her ice cold skin. She opened her hands, letting her powers shine through, hoping for some relief for some comfort. But the swirling patterns of ice that flew from her hands did nothing but make the ache worse. The ache she'd been feeling for the last two years. He always hated to see her cry.
Here is stand and here I'll stay
Let the storm rage on
She could feel it around her now, the blizzard that never touched the ground; it continued to swirl around her, blinding her to the rest of her surroundings with a thick cloud of white.
My power flurries through the air into the ground
My soul is spiralling in frozen fractals all around
She threw her arms out wide and the blizzard fell to the ground around her, dusting the ground with a blanket of fresh snow. She saw another memory, the girl with the white hair and the boy with the brown hair were there again, older this time, no longer children. He was taller still, but not as skinny, the work on the farms had made him stronger, made him man. He was smiling down at her, a full head taller than she was. He had one arm around her waist, the other cupping her cheek, rubbing tears away from her cheek as they froze there. I'm right out here for you. He said. Just let me in.
and she did, she told him everything, all about her parents and her sister, every tiny detail, all the while he held her, afraid to let her go. Her head pressed against his chest, listening to the steady beating of his heart, feeling the warmth of his skin seeping into her cheek.
He kissed her then, not a lingering kiss, and not a passionate one, just a peck. A silent peck that spoke volumes. It told her what his words couldn't, that he'd always be there for her, even when she was shut in her room. It told her what he truly thought; it told her of how beautiful she was, it told her that this power was a gift not a curse. He always thought she was beautiful.
And one thought crystallizes like and icy blast
She covered her teary blue eyes with her hands, pushing the heels of her hands deeper into her eyes to block out the memories, but it didn't work. She saw him as he approached her, saw herself push him away. He reached for her but she flinched away, wrapping her arms around herself as if to hold the storm inside.
She saw as she put her hands out to keep him away, saw the ice as it blasted through her skin, and saw his scared brown eyes as it reflected the shimmering blue ice. Then she saw how it hit his chest, slicing through him like a knife but leaving no mark. He never did cry out.
He fell over then, clutching his chest with his hand, his brown cloak falling across his body as he sat, hunched over in the snow she'd made in the middle of summer. More images attacked her then, ambushing her thoughts, blinding her to the world around her as more snow formed.
She saw him again, his brown hair streaked with white as he stood on her balcony, begging to be let in. She saw him when she looked out of her window, his hair white, streaked with brown. And she saw him on last time, in their sanctuary, his hair white, his brown eyes dimmed as he stumbled towards her. He never did admit defeat.
She remembered how she ran onto the lake to escape, and she remembered how he followed her there, his bare feet freezing along with his finger tips, patterns of frost slowly engulfing his brown cloak. He reached for her, one last time, his dimming brown eyes pleading with her for one last touch, on last feeling of warmth from her freezing skin, and she reached back. That's when the ice gave way. He never did come back up.
I'm never going back
The past is in the past.
She didn't know she was standing on the lake when she ripped her crown from her head and threw it into the forest, never to be seen again. She was still crying, even more so as she looked down at the ice, watching how it sparkled and shone in the moonlight beneath her feet. The monster that took her only friend away staring back at her. The moon always shone the brightest here.
Let it go, let it go
She continued to sing; pulling her hair from it's sophisticated up-do, letting the platinum blonde braid fall over her shoulder. She ran her fingers through its softness, feeling her fingers freezing it in place, dotting the braid with shimmering blue snowflakes, similar to the summer flowers he used to braid into her hair.
And I'll rise like the break of dawn
She gave her wrist a flick upwards and the bottom of her dress began to shine, the moonlight refracting off the shimmering ice, creating a swirling pattern of silver light splashing against the white canvas of the clearing. Her dress transformed. The dark blues and greens of her coronation dress were fully transformed, leaving her wearing a shimmering blue gown that hugged her slim figure closely. She could feel the ice spreading down her arms in a comforting chill to make the glistening sleeves of her dress.
Let it go, let it go
That perfect girl is gone.
Elsa threw her arms back, and icy cloak forming behind her from her own power. She could feel her hands tingling; the relief of letting it go spreading through her body. But it should have comforted her, it chilled her more. Relief never was enough to clear the guilt for Elsa.
Here I stand in the light of day
Let the storm rage on
The cold never bothered me anyway
She dropped her hands and looked around, the clearing had transformed. Every flower was frozen; icicles shone like lights from every tree, the blue lights winking at her from the moons reflection. The lake beneath her feet was frozen perfectly with the image of a snowflake spanning the length of the frozen water, the monster hidden from view.
The grass was frozen to make delicate silver blades that crunched under foot. Everything was frozen, the way Elsa used to like it. Now she craved for the warmth, to feel the sun on her skin, to feel his heart beating against her cheek. Now the cold and snow reminded her of him, of the ice hitting his heart, his hair turning white, making him look strangely beautiful, even at the brink of death.
She heard a crack behind her and turned instantly, her hands outstretched ready to blast whoever entered her sanctuary. Her fingers were tingling, her frozen heart beating rapidly in her chest as the tears continued to fall and crystallize. Someone moved in the shadows, a figure Elsa couldn't define. They stepped into the moonlight, the silver glow shinning off their white hair making it shine like fresh snow.
She knew who it was before they looked up, the body was something Elsa had dreamed of for years, the snow white hairs making him look more beautiful than he used to in an extraordinary way. When he looked at her, his crystal blue eyes meeting her, she couldn't help but gasp. It was him, the him she remembered. His skin was still pale, his eyes and hair changed, but he was the same boy. The way he held his body, leaning against a large curved stick that was almost as tall as he was. She remembered that stick, he would pretend it was a staff and that was a noble night, taking her to the ball when they were mere children, now it was covered in swirling patterns of frost. Had she done that? He always loved that staff.
"Jack" she breathed, her hands over her mouth. He cracked her a grin, the smile he reserved only for her.
"Elsa" he replied. She couldn't believe her eyes, it wasn't possible, he had died, she saw him die she was there, she caused it. She went to move towards him, to embrace him the way she always wanted to, but the images held her back. Jack with white hair, Jack with wide, scared eyes, Jack falling through the ice. She recoiled and his face fell.
"I can't" she said, her voice barely a whisper as the memories bombarded her mind with startling precision, like arrows hitting the bulls eye. She couldn't hurt him again. Too long she'd lived in guilt, too long she'd locked herself away, she was foolish too think everything would be solved just by letting go.
"You can't hurt me Elsa" he said, but she didn't look up, scared of what she might see in those blue eyes, scared she might give in. Instead she kept her hands cradled to her chest, desperately trying to hold the storm inside of her, she couldn't kill him again. She felt something tickle her nose, then again. She looked up to see Jack in the same place, a kind smile on his face. He twirled his hand in the air and blew gently across his fingertips. A snowflake, nothing dangerous, just a snowflake, wafted towards her, landing on her nose before drifting the floor.
He held a hand out towards her, silencing any words she had thought of saying. She ignored his out stretched hand, much to his surprise, and threw herself at him, her arms wrapped around his neck, her face buried in his chest. It took a moment before Jack wrapped his arms around her too, embracing the girl as she sobbed into his chest. she couldn't believe it, they were the same.
She looked up at him with wet eyes, the tears still falling, but he wiped them away before they froze, the way he did all those years ago. It was strange, how this boy looked so different, with his white hair, cerulean eyes and freezing skin, yet he still fit against her body perfectly. His chin could rest on her head, his arms the perfect length to wrap around her waist.
He cupped her cheek with a freezing hand, sending a burst of warmth through her cheek. He lent forwards, his forehead touching hers. Elsa closed her eyes, trying to savour this moment, terrified that it was all just a dream, that Anna would knock on her door any second and ask to build a snowman, but he never left.
"Let it go, Elsa" he whispered to her, his chilling breath washing over her face, filling her with the scent of peppermint and snow, everything that was Jack. Everything that reminded her of the winters spent with this boy when she was a young princess. He always loved pepper mint
She didn't reply, just moved towards him, letting his lips touch hers with a chilling spark. Their lips moved against each other with the perfect rhythm, each second as memorable and new as the last. Elsa's hands held Jacks face, willing him to never disappear again, praying that he was there to stay so she didn't have to be alone any more. Jack's fingers entangled themselves in Elsa's icy blonde hair. His other hand held onto her back, pulling her closer to him.
And they stayed that way, the Spirit of Winter and the Snow Queen, locked in their frozen paradise with no one but each other, and for the first time in forever, Queen Elsa of Arendelle was warm.