Update:
Yes, I am like so super late. My explanation for not updating since my birthday? I switched gears to finish up high school (finals, prom, graduation, college preparations, etc.) and then went on a Lord of the Rings binge. Do I have any Legomance lovers in the house?
No? Just me?
Okay then.
But my reading the entire trilogy and then watching the uber-long movies took up quite a bit of time, and then of course I had to explore the fanfiction for that. You can imagine exactly how much I have to read through.
The result being I lost my muses for any other stories I have running. Legolas and Aragorn and the cute little Hobbits kicked them all out and took up residence in my brain. The inspiration for this and another one of my fanfics, Partners, just recently came back, so here this is. Again, appologies for getting sidetracked.
Now, on to the story!
Disclaimer: زه د ساتونکو کنګل يا زياتوالی لري نه (no phonetic translation available in Google Translate for some reason...) (Pashto)
You only know you love her when you let her go, oh
The cold never bothered me anyway.
"'Cause for the first time in forever….nothing's in my way!"
Elsa watched from the balcony as her sister frolicked through the town and the folk that inhabited it and the warm summer air. Dimly she thought that her sister should not be outside the palace walls without an escort a dozen strong at least. Actually, to hell with that, she shouldn't have left the palace in the first place. She should be safe, holding her head high in elegance, displaying her high birth with dignity and pride, elegance and grace; not swinging around a lamp-post on the edge of the bridge, a mere inch away from knocking over a crate of food or toppling over a couple minding their own day. She should have the life of a princess, one where she was the apple of every man's eye and the envy of every female's. She-
Was having more fun than Elsa had had in years.
How she envied her sister.
But no, the queen was not allowed to show envy, especially when it was directed at the last of her bloodline. It was unbecoming of a queen and of a family member. The last thing she wanted was to give anyone a reason to question her control. So Elsa tamed those feelings down and locked them in an iron hold in the darkest recesses of her heart, in the blackest corners of her mind, and forbid them to come forth ever again.
If she was to rule a kingdom, she should first start by ruling herself.
And her powers.
Elsa resigned herself to watching her sister live her life in what happiness she could have and composing herself to her role. Turning, she went down to the coronation hall.
"Elsa, wait, please, I can't live like this anymore!"
(She's–begging)
"Then leave."
(She–shouldn't–have–to–beg–she–shouldn't–have–to)
"What have I ever done to you?"
(nothing–Anna–you've–done–nothing–wrong–it's–me–I'm–the–problem–here)
"Stop, Anna."
(please–before–something–terrible–happens–I–don't–want–to–hurt–you)
"No, why? Why do you shut me out? Why do you shut the world out? What are you so afraid of?!"
(please–please–please–please-please-pleasepleaseplease-)
"I said that's enough!"
Silver-blue-white erupted from her fingertips, spears stabbing out at anyone who came near, forming a barrier and cutting her off from her sister (damnit–no–not–now–the–night–was–going–so–well–how–did–it–all–turn–out–so–bad–so–quickly). She recoiled her hand, almost clutching it against her as voices murmured witch and sorcery at the cursed magic she had. But the look of terror on Anna's face did it – she turned and fled from the ballroom.
Princess – no, Queen Elsa, gasped for air as she ran through the frost-bitten castle in the dead of night, ducking and weaving frantically as she ran away from all she had ever known in a desperate tilt, racing away from the words said and the hurt expression on her little sister's face. Her frantic eyes swept the courtyard left and right, only to be met with the same accusatory stares of fathers and the judging stares of mothers and the fearful stares of children (conceal–don't–feel–don't–let–them–know–oh–mama–papa–I–miss–you–I–need–you). She felt cornered, like a small cat trapped in an ally, and then the slightest slip of her ungloved hand turned the fountain into another horrid ice-sculpture-monster. The villagers backed away, having their first taste of her powers and not liking it at all, and Elsa wanted to scream again. It wasn't fair, damnit! Why was she the only one who had to hide behind closed doors? (don't–let–them–in–don't–let–them–see)
An opening between the wary townspeople caught her eye, and without a second thought or a glance back she darted through them and out the palace gates, tearing through the streets much like Anna did earlier that very same day. Her breath came out in short cream-puffs, billowing white and floating away like a cloud on the wind. All around her the world was a blur – whether from her tears or from her speed she didn't know.
Finally the fjord came into view, making her halt in her flight. The voice of her sister calling out to her barely registered in her clouded mind, but it did all the same, and the forefront thought on her mind was to keep her little sister safe, far away from her. So she ran across the fjord, more of those horrid dagger-fractals spewing out underneath her feet wherever they touched the water. For better or for worse, her powers were helping her get away now, and she could stand them this one time (don't–let–them–in–don't–let–them–in–don't–don't–don't).
Elsa reached the far shores of the fjord and kept running, not caring what else took place behind her. Trees whizzed past her in a blur of brown and green and white. She didn't really care, all she did was run, dodging trees that got in her way and jumping over fallen logs and rocks and roots. Maybe she crossed another body of water, maybe not. Everything was white, making it impossible to tell the difference. It was only a patch of hidden ice that slowed her down against her will, causing her to slip. The fall knocked the wind out of her tired lungs, and she lay dazed on the ground for a minute. She turned her head and saw a frost covered pine, its trunk covered in swirling curlicues and floral curls.
'How odd…' Her own frost was nothing like this. And lord knew, she had seen enough of it to know that she had not made this. Her own was always jagged, as sharp cut as a diamond, and looked harsh enough to prick a finger. This frost, however, was gentle, slowly sweeping up the trunk of the tree like ivy. Her hand touched the crystalline water softly and –
Elsa was slammed with such sadness that it made what she had been feeling before seem almost pale in comparison. Yet something triggered another thought from the darker recesses of her mind. It felt…almost familiar. She had felt this grief before. Knew it intimately well. Back when she had lost her parents. Someone was lost. They were gone, and they were never coming back. God, if only she hadn't gone out on the lake that day, if only she was a bit more careful, if only she had been quicker, if only she had died and stayed dead! Show, snow everywhere, ice all around, covering her, smothering her, crushing her consuming her killing her…
Elsa's eyes flew open and she sat up quick and glanced at her clothes. No snow clung to it, no wetness from where she had been lying down, no stiffness from water that had refrozen in the fibers. It was as if she were in front a hearth back in the castle, everything but her warm.
Damned powers.
Elsa dragged her tired body off the forest floor and finally stopped to look at her surroundings. She was standing on the edge of a lake, trees surrounding her. More of the ivy-frost was everywhere, and it intrigued her more than she would have liked to admit. What had created this? If not her, then who? Or was this just a rare beautiful product of nature's random acts? And how had it stayed so intact while in the middle of the summer? Surely the heat would have melted this long ago. She glanced to the sky, and caught a glimpse of the North Mountain. Well, that might explain it. If she was high enough, the temperature of the mountain would preserve this for a good long while.
A cold gust of wind pulled at her clothes, and Elsa suddenly got the distinct feeling of being watched. Ice blue eyes scanned the surrounding trees for movement, but all she saw was the wind knocking bits of snow off the branches. No one was here, yet she still felt unsettled. The feeling never went away, just receded as she picked up her skirts and walked away from the small lake, up the incline of the North Mountain. She knew no one was there, especially as she passed the tree line and continued up the barren icy slope, and still she looked over her shoulder every once in a while. Whoever or whatever was following her kept their distance, just watching her continue on.
Elsa huffed a bit and resigned herself to letting the person continue to follow. So long as they stayed back, she couldn't hurt them. It would be a blessing if they remained hidden for however long they planned to follow her. She wanted to be alone right now, and she could pretend that to be the truth so long as they stayed hidden. Still, a small part of her wondered who would want to follow her out of Arendelle so far north. She wanted to know who this person was.
Patience, dear readers, patience. All will come together in time.
To be honest, these chapters fall short of my normal 2,500 word minimum by quite a bit. But, considering how the first few chapters were short, I figured what the hell, for consistency's sake keep all the chapters the same length. If you look at any of my other stories, especially the multi-chapter ones, you'll see that I can average anywhere between 2,000 to 5,000 words a chapter, but within each story there's about the same number of words a chapter. Figured that I would keep the trend going with this story too.
And that will be all for now, dear readers. Favorite, follow, review, and as always, stay safe!