Alight

by AkwardChiit

First person narrative of Prince Erik of Fordane, set in the world of Frozen. As Elsa has the power of ice, he has the power of fire, though his powers manifest themselves in very different ways. How Elsa and Erik interact, whether or not they are separated or are aware of their effects on each other, will hopefully be as much of an adventure for you as it was for me.

11. Part 2, Chapter 11

XI.

After a long nap, I decided to head back to Arendelle. There was nothing for me on that god-forsaken mountain, not even food, and I had only woken up because the ice castle, along with the thick layer of snow, had mysteriously vanished from underneath me. The mountain was now just an inhospitable rock, so I had go to the only place I knew had a path leading up to it. What ever would happen would happen. I'd probably get thrown back into jail, but it would be better than starving to death.

For the next several hours, I trekked through the forest at the base of the mountain in the reverse direction Mikael and I had taken days ago to get there. I was feeling a lot better; I hadn't found any food, but the sun was shining warm and bright, and my clothes were dry by the time I thought to check on them. I finally made it to a dirt road, which I decided to take. Mikael and I had come from the forest on the far side of the path, but there was no point in going back the outer walls of the prison towers. I couldn't enter the city as a prince, but that didn't have to mean I would enter as a savage.

I walked on that path with a brisk pace until the sun began to wane and turn the sky red. When I finally entered the city, I was overwhelmed with a sense of safety. There were merchants with metal things and bakers with food carts down the streets, which were lined with houses and stores. People stared at me as I walked past, and I didn't find out why until I had made it to the central square of the city. It was iced over, and the people were busy ice-skating on it. I got down on my knees and looked at a reflective part of the ice, and saw myself for the first time in three years.

It was a ghastly sight. My face was hollow, and my skin clung tightly to my bones. My hair was matted and clumped together with ash and dirt; my chin had clusters of beard that were just as filthy. And in the center of it all were two sunken eyes surrounded by purple bags, two yellowed, bloodshot eyes which, upon closer inspection, were not a swirling brown, but a strikingly bright red.

I thanked Elsa for letting me see the mess I had become, and lied down on the ice in a sudden rush of exhaustion, directly in the path of a woman not very skilled with ice skates.