Chapter 4- Monster

Alright, here we go. This chapter will only be about Elsa and her past, because there's a lot to unpack there. Fair warning, it gets pretty dark and gruesome.

Hope you enjoy!

"We can't keep going on like this. She's ill, Agnarr." A pleading voice surfaced, muffled by the patterned wallpaper and white wood doors.

"You think I don't know that?!" Another voice, this time louder. Angrier. "I have searched every tomb in this castle, scoured the land for answers, and yet no one knows how to help."

"Maybe we need to look deeper…"

"Deeper?" The voice scoffed. "We're running out of options here, Iduna."

She rolled onto her back, facing a stark white ceiling and trying to drown out the voices.

"Please, just listen-"

"No!" A loud bang surfaced. A few long moments of silence, before the voice returned, somber and defeated. "I just...I don't know what to do."

The sound of a door closing was the last thing she heard before she turned to face the opposite wall.

It was all her fault. She was the reason for their pain, their suffering.

There was a knock at her door.

If only she could make it all go away…

"Elsa, honey?" She felt her mother's presence before she had even spoken, but remained silent. A weight shifted the mattress on her right. "How are you feeling?"

Elsa shrugged noncommittally, burying her face into the nearest pillow.

Her mother sighed wearily, gently brushing the bangs from her forehead. "Would you like to try eating something?"

The blonde cringed, remembering the last few attempts that ended in failure. She shook her head, even though a deep hunger twisted her stomach into knots.

An...unnatural hunger.

"I heard you and father talking about me." She rolled onto her back to face her mother, eyes of ruby penetrating orbs of ocean blue. "I know I'm just a burden."

A few moments passed before the queen sighed once more and made to stand, reaching for the shawl draped over her shoulders. A familiar, comforting warmth surrounded her arms as the fabric was draped over her prone form. "You have never been a burden, understood? You are my daughter, and my love will not stop because you've been..."

"Cursed?"

"I was going to say...changed."

A sudden cramp rippled through her stomach, and she found herself curling inward, grabbing the ends of the shawl and trying desperately to retain its heat as a pulse of frost rolled in her veins.

A hand came behind and brushed off a dusting of snow on the bed she hadn't known had fallen, the other gently rubbing her arm in a soothing motion. "Oh, my darling...I wish I knew how to help you."

"I…" Elsa began, gasping through another wave of agony. "I do too."

The quiet stillness of night used to unsettle her. Now, however, she sought solace in the absence of sound.

She just wished she could feel its comfort tonight.

Tossing and turning, she gripped the pristine sheets below with trembling fists. Lungs burning, she heaved each breath and tried in vain to hold back the storm that threatened to release. Her stomach churned violently with hunger, clenching against the emptiness within.

As if pushed by an invisible force, she flung herself out of the bed, clenching her stomach with a cry. Tears found their way down her flushed skin, falling to crystallize against her cheek. "H...help…"

Another cramp.

Gods, she was starving.

Limping through the dark, she gripped the edges of furniture in order to support her weight until she reached the door. Thrusting it open, scarlet eyes scanned the corridor for any sign of life.

"Your Highness? Are you alright?" A maid down at the end of the hall noticed her haggard state and rushed to her side, hands once full of linen now empty and supporting her arms.

Elsa clutched her stomach and groaned, stumbling forward and catching herself on a banister. "I need…" Overcome with the throbbing pain, her knees met the ground, hands never leaving their tight grip on her midsection.

"Your Highness!" The maid cried, kneeling before the princess and steadying her with a hand to her shoulder. "Stay here, I'll fetch the physician!"

Just as she was about to move, a hand latched onto her wrist, keeping her in place. Fingers curled inward, sharp nails digging into porcelain flesh. The maid yelped, struggling to remove her wrist from the startlingly strong grip. "Y-Your Highness?!"

Head still bowed, the blonde moved her tongue from side to side in her mouth, as though tasting the air. The claws dug deeper, and the maid began screaming, pulling in every direction in a failed attempt to free herself.

Beads of crimson formed atop crescent shaped cuts, and Elsa finally pulled her gaze to meet them. A stab of pain shot through her stomach, and she reached forward almost by instinct.

In a flash, she had the woman pinned against the floor, hands gripping her shoulders and forcing a cry from her prey. Grabbing the woman's neck, she plunged her teeth into the smooth surface and began to drink.

The maid's eyes rolled back into her head, falling limp under the weight of her attacker. Several moments passed as Elsa fervently drank the rich substance below, hands latching onto the woman's shoulders and drawing blood once more.

It was...delicious. The horrifying realization didn't scare her as much as it should have.

"E-Elsa?"

Reluctantly, she pulled away, rivulets of crimson dripping down her chin, to find her mother a few doors down, standing impossibly still. Hands flew to her mouth in horror at the gruesome scene.

"What...what have you done?!"

Peering hazily down at her bloodied hands, Elsa's primal instincts faded, adrenaline pumping with the thoughts of her murderous deeds. "N-No…" Falling back, she stumbled and fell on her hands and knees, eyes wide. "What...have I done?"

Footsteps echoed through the corridor, followed by several armed guards. "Your Majesty! We heard a commotion, is everything alr-"

The air was sucked from their lungs as each man took in the sight before them.

"She killed her!" A cry from the back ripped her from her numb state.

"What has this creature done with our princess?!" Another bellowed, reaching for the sword at his side.

"No, please!"

"Don't touch my daughter!" Came the hurried response of the queen herself. The hands once covering her mouth rushed forward to intercept.

It was no use.

There was but a moment before a flash of steel met her vision and stuck its target.

"NO!"

Elsa gasped, blinking down at the blade now embedded in her chest.

She thought her death would be painful, brutally so, but instead she felt no pain. There was no blood, no evidence of the sword ever entering her body.

The man on the other end of the blade stood stunned, hands leaving the weapon as he clambered backwards. "What is this sorcery?!"

"It cannot be killed!" Came the shrill voice of a guard behind her. "The creature does not bleed!"

The men gathered around each took a cautious step backwards, blades outstretched.

"No!" Her mother cried, pushing to reach her daughter. "How dare you strike your own princess?!"

"Stand back, Your Majesty! This creature is dangerous!"

There was a clattering from behind them as a door flung open. "What is happening out here?" The second her father, still dressed in a night robe, spotted her still form and the body beneath, his eyes hardened. He said nothing, but opted to study the bleeding woman at her feet. "Is...Is she dead?"

No one said a word.

"Please, I can explain-" Elsa pleaded, hands raised in surrender.

"Silence!" She peered from behind her mother's trembling shoulders, straight to the lifeless, merciless gaze of the king. "You...you are not my daughter! Where is my daughter?!"

"No! Father, it's...it's me, Elsa…" She made to stand, the man's sword still embedded in her chest.

"No!" He cried, jolting back as though burned. "You're a...you're a monster!"

Monster.

Is that what she was?

"Agnarr-"

"No! She's a monster!"

Monster. There it was again.

"We must lock the gates, keep her away from everyone. She is a...a murderer."

Murderer. That's a new one.

Hands coated in the shine of blood, Elsa studied each crevice in the ghostly pale skin. She had known this woman, a mother of two boys and a dutiful wife and maid.

An innocent woman.

"You are never to speak of this. If you disobey my order, you shall be executed, understood?" The king ordered, hands gripping the banister as he addressed the numerous guards, each lowering their swords in grim realization.

The gates had closed that day.

She was truly alone.