"Wait! Come back!" Elsa called out. Deep inside the night forest of Arendelle. She was chasing after a mysterious male figure wearing what seemed like a dark cloak, covered in bush and tree leaves.
The figure said nothing as he clutched onto his bleeding arm, running away from his pursuer and the barrage of arrows inside the kingdom of Arendelle.
The figure thus summons a dozen tree vines to arise from the ground soil, growing into a massive wall behind him. Hoping, the wall he'd placed would be enough to deter Elsa's pursuit or at least give him a chance to put more distance between her and the apparent soldiers, no doubt, following after them. He needed to stop the bleeding, meet up with the others and get as far away from this place.
Elsa quickly shot out a blast of solid ice from her palm, shattering a large gaping hole in the vines, creating a path, but then halted in her pursuit. Slowly realizing, she now lost sight of the figure inside the night forest, with the full moon as her only source of light.
" I'm not going to hurt you. I only want to help you." Elsa said. Trying to catch her breath as she began to glance around the night forest, looking for any signs of where he might be hiding.
"Leave me be. Snow Queen of the Enchanted forest."
Elsa jumped in, surprised. Her eyes darted up the trees upon hearing what sounded like many tiny voices echoing in unison across the dozens of trees in the forest.
"You can hear the voices of the forest?" The voices asked. All the while, the man in cloak remained hidden behind a tall oak tree, twenty feet away. He was quietly wrapping up his wounded arm in a makeshift bandage with a small vine and a few green leaves.
"They all started to speak after a Daisy flower Sprayed me with some kind of dust cloud," Elsa explained.
"I know." The voice said. "You killed one of my Daisies."
I didn't." Elsa announced. "It just approached me, and I just picked it up, and well-"
" You should go home. The effects will wear off soon,"
"Please, come out. Your bleeding and I liked to help you." Elsa pleaded once more, walking ever so slowly around the trees.
"I didn't mean to scare those people!" The voices shouted desperately. Just as she walked near the trees, The cloaked figure hid behind. "I just wanted to make things right. Without anyone knowing."
"Knowing what?" Elsa asked. Even though she was pretty sure of the revelation, the figure sighed; his consciences slowly got the better of him.
"I'm the reason behind this whole 'nightmare,' Snow Queen."
"You mean. You're the reason behind the blight?" Elsa asked slowly. A chill ran down her spine as she recalled moments of seeing all those withered trees and plants throughout the forest and fearing the possible loss of Innocents and animal lives within the kingdom. Her eyes soon spotted a blood trail near one of the oak trees.
"Yes." a soft voice admitted. Slowly revealing himself behind the trees, standing a few feet away from Elsa, and concealing his face within the hood of his cloak and grasping onto his wounded arm as he began to whisper.
" I almost harmed your people and your sister's husband with my mistake." The figure lowered his head. "You have every right to despise me for my actions, Snow Queen."
"He looked scared." Elsa thought as she observed how he tried to avert his eyes from her, like a child wanting to avoid their parent's gaze. If Diego weren't hurt, would he have tried to hide inside one of the trees? If he could?
" No. I don't." Elsa spoke gently. "I know what you're going through, and I'd like to help you, Diego."
Hearing his name spoken out loud seemed to surprise him. As he slowly withdrew his hood, earning a small smile from Elsa. The two of them now find themselves meeting each other for the first time.
"Why take that risk, Snow Queen?" He asked tentatively. "What I did was unforgivable to your people and to those who care about you. I'm nothing more than a bad omen."
Elsa only lifted her palm as solid white snow began to burst up, moving briskly all around the two of them. Almost as if the snow itself was dancing all around them. Diego looked up in amazement, as he had never seen anything like this before. Let alone meet anyone else that was magical like him.
" My name is Elsa, and just like you. I, too, used to fear my magic. Elsa admitted. "I thought if I isolated myself. I'd be protecting everyone. I was wrong, of course. My sister, friends, and even the spirits helped me realize that." Diego sighed.
"If you're asking me to stay, Your wasting-"
"I know what it's like to feel alone." Elsa persisted. "To feel like no one else in this world could ever understand you. Spending years of your life left wondering if someone else is out there. Someone else. Who is like me?"
Diego only stares at her for a moment. He was startled by her confident yet gentle posture. Almost as if he was looking at his mother, once again. He shook his head at the thought.
"You and I are nothing alike. I don't want, nor do I need, your help," Diego said. He tried to sound stern as he quickly pulled up his cloak once again, letting his wounded arm drop on his side, which caused his now weathered bandage to fall apart, revealing a fully restored arm. As if nothing happened.
"Ar-Are you some kind of Forest Spirit?" Elsa stammered, stunned by what she had just seen.
"No. I am just a man and not a very good one. You've seen that yourself." He answered. Which only appeared to confuse Elsa even more.
" You should go home, Snow Queen. Live your life, as you do now, and forget about what you've seen throughout this night."
"How could I ever forget a night like this?" Elsa asked.
"I could make it so," Diego muttered. After all, Everything was fine before I showed up."
Before Elsa could say anymore, they both began to hear a faint sound of galloping horses coming toward them off in the distance.
"Don't follow me." Diego urged. He was sprinting off further inside the forest.
Elsa wanted to reassure him of no harm, however, before she could act upon her decision. She felt something wrap itself around her ankles. To suddenly jerked off her feet and dragged across the forest soil. Only to blackout once she collided with one of the many oak trees.