Queen Elsa faced down the intruders, Prince Hans and the Royal Guardsmen of Arendelle behind him staring at her with horrified looks. Her magic felt like a caged beast, the storm of her rage billowing just beneath, yearning to be unleashed. Her piercing gaze fell upon each of them, fixing the look in their eyes in her memory, as whitish-blue light swelled in the corner of her vision.
Until she arrived at the last man.
Unfeeling blue locked on transparent brown, examining his youthful face.
No… Not a man; he was just a kid, in a teal uniform a size too big.
He was trembling.
His legs wobbled as his upper body shook, the sound of his sword and shield shivering in his hands audible even to her.
He was trembling.
Elsa felt something crawling up her spine, seeping through her flesh and skin. A foreign feeling.
She felt cold.
The light disappeared and her magic dispersed instantly, her still red-soaked hands appearing in front of her as she stared at them in shock. What was she doing? What the fuck was she-
She shook her head, casting aside the swarm of violent thoughts as unwanted luggage.
She'd been about to attack her own men.
This was… Beyond unacceptable.
He'd called her Queen…
She looked back up to the group staring at her. Mouths agape, it was clear she was going to have to be the first one to speak.
(What does one say…?)
"...I'm sorry if I scared you."
She waved a hand, gesturing to the bodies. She didn't miss how they all flinched the moment she spoke.
"These men attacked me, unprovoked, and I defended myself."
Her voice, composed and authoritative, was completely antithetical to the raw, blistering feelings within. But the present was no time for such things.
Conceal.
At her calm demeanor, they all seemed to regain their breath, though fear still clung to them like an odorous stench. Unfortunate, but it was well that they should be afraid of her powers.
(She also was)
Hans, who seemed to have mostly regained his composure, gave a slight bow, his tone tinged with regret.
"I apologize; those men were volunteers, supplied by the Duke of Weaselton. I will see that he is dealt with accordingly."
That was for the best, she supposed.
"Your Majesty, have you seen Princess Anna?" Hans questioned.
Her chin instinctively raised, causing her to appear to look down at him. "Yes. She was here yesterday, but she… Left."
"I see. I'm afraid she has yet to return to the castle." He waved an arm behind himself. "I organized this party to look for her, as I was concerned for her safety in this storm."
"She is… Lost?"
No.
"Apparently so. Do you have any idea where she might be?"
"I… Do not."
(What a great sister she was)
Elsa's eyes wandered to the side, staring off into nothing. There was a temporary lull in the conversation, before one of the Guardsmen took a step forward, posing a question she hadn't even considered.
"Are you injured, Your Majesty?" A sergeant asked, judging from his uniform, though to her shame she was unable to ascribe a name to his weathered face.
Already tired of hearing her own voice, she shook her head in response.
Hans spoke up again. "My Lady, could you change the weather back? The people of Arendelle are coping, but they were unprepared for this sudden winter. Things will not go well if it continues."
Sharp, knife-like pain stabbed in her heart, though she did her best to not to show it.
"I… I would if I knew how."
She couldn't help the pleading look seeping into her eyes, or the note of desperation creeping into her voice. They would never be able to understand it, but she was almost as powerless over her magic as they were.
"I didn't intend for any of this. I just wanted to keep them safe from me. Keep my sister safe…"
Elsa trailed off, a few snowflakes beginning to float down from the ceiling.
"...I understand. I will do what I can to make sure the Princess, and your people, are safe." There was visible resolve in Han's posture, his flaming red hair nearly blending in with the rest of the room. His eyes darted from the bodies, back to her, a momentarily calculating look passing over his face, before it was gone as soon as it had appeared.
"Is it alright if we take the bodies back to Arendelle?"
Better than burying them in the snow…
"That is acceptable."
He inclined his head, waving the Guardsmen to… Clean up her mess.
Intruders.
She turned away, facing the open balcony as they came to move the corpses. She couldn't bear to look at them again.
Victims.
No. It was her or them.
But… Should it have been th-
She forced her gaze outside. It was dark, nearly black in the depth of night. There was light being produced from somewhere in the palace; she didn't care to look for its origin. Someone approached her out of the corner of her vision, stopping a few feet away from her side. It was the sergeant from earlier, his head bowed in deference, his voice quiet, but gruff.
"Your Majesty, the bodies are… Stuck in the ice."
She sighed morbidly; with a mere thought the ice dissolved away into nothing, eliciting a few gasps of surprise from the Guardsmen. Perhaps she didn't need to wave her hands.
More snowflakes began to drift down from the ceiling.
The minutes dragged on, the men whispering to each other as they worked as quickly as they could. They had finished gathering up the remains, judging by the sound of things.
She looked down at her hands; they were shaking again. There was a silent pressure in her chest.
"I-I think you should leave now."
Right now.
"As you wish, Your Majesty." A distant voice called out: and then they were gone.
She didn't know how long she stood there, staring into the abyss, focusing on her breathing as her heart gradually slowed down from its unbearable pace.
Elsa was surprised they hadn't asked her to return to the throne. But that was undoubtedly for the best. At least they closed the doors when they left, she thought dryly.
The platinum-haired Queen slowly turned, looking at the wreck of a room. The Weaselton bodies were gone, but the ocean of blood and the stench of death remained.
That was a sight she would never forget.
It was fortunate that Hans and the Guard left before she accidentally could hurt them. Just one of the many things she could barely keep a handle on. Her magic was dangerous before; that she could change the weather itself was rather terrifying. But after what she'd done in this room…
At least it seemed like there was still a limit, if the exhaustion screaming in her bones, and the barely tenable thread of her normally iron-like grip on her magic, were any indication.
Elsa felt a wave of dizziness, her eyelids blinked rapidly, sleep slipping into her mind like a thief in the night. All the weariness of the previous days fell up upon her, her mind turning into a mush of barely discernible thoughts.
She fell on her knees, her hands braced against the floor as her vision swam before her. The ice was hard and uncomfortable, but not unbearably so. Her sleep-addled mind fantasized about various snow-beds she could make, as she laid down on her side, resting on her right arm. The second she laid her head down, Elsa passed out.
Sleeping was a mistake.
Elsa's dreams were a deluge of overflowing nightmares, a multitude of disturbing visions so numerous they merged into one another, her subconscious nearly desensitized by the end of it. They were filled with sights and sounds she never wanted to remember, and yet would probably never forget. Teal and red blended together, images of scattered freckles and strawberry-blonde hair, screams and the unmistakable cracking of ice.
She awoke with a start, jerking herself awake after the latest nightmare or bout of sleep paralysis. Adrenaline was pumping vigorously through her veins, negating any chance of going back to sleep. A couple hours was all she was going to get, it seemed. Not that sleeping was an ideal choice; it was only marginally better than being awake.
Groggily rubbing her eyes, her stomach growled, its intense displeasure evident. Her jaw was sore, and it almost felt like her teeth were hurting, were it possible. She looked down at her arms, one of which had fallen asleep and was still numb, finding some of the fabric torn away to reveal narrow, reddish marks.
It didn't happen often, but she was accustomed to waking up with scratches in the morning. They weren't usually that bad though.
It was still dark outside, the unnatural storm continuing its steady hum. Who knew how many were lost in it…
Anna is missing. Out there, in the vast of night.
Elsa suddenly shivered, a feeling of intense discomfort overcoming her.
More intense than the usual, anyway.
Her palace was still a mess. With a concentrated thought and a wave of her hand, her magic froze and swept up the blood, dissipating it into nothing.
The smell lingered.
There were some things no amount of magic could dispel.
Things like emotions.
Intrusive thoughts pervaded her mind; ice piercing through soft flesh, the distraught cry of a young girl, and a smile that shone like the sun. Her sight fluttered, seeking a distraction to the sudden wave of emotions that were beginning to stir within her. The ice was still distinctly red, ambient light from the chandelier glowing almost eerily with her infused magic. It was still beautiful, in its own way, but even after the stains had been removed…
Her actions were irrevocable. She had killed two people. An uncomfortable sensation, needle-like, grasped the tips of her fingers. Snowflakes fell from the ceiling.
Don't feel.
She shoved the negativity in her mind out, only for it to return under a new guise.
Anna…
Even as she refuted them, thoughts of her innocent sister persisted, rampaging through her mind as if they owned the place. Distance was supposed to be the greatest assurance that her sister would be safe from her, but now…
The storm was affecting everyone. Her sister could be…
Snow streamed down from the ceiling; the ice around her started cracking and snapping. Elsa's hands tightened into fists as she forced her mind to think of the path ahead, instead of the present. The battle finally subsided, the emotional whiplash fading into a sense of clarity.
This blighted palace was the last place on earth she wanted to be. Well, the second to last.
There was an idea; a place that she'd never visited, and her reluctance to do so had weighed heavily on her mind over the years.
It was but one mistake amongst the countless many. If she could only do one useful thing; one good deed for her people, and her precious sister, in her entire miserable life…
She shook her head again, wiping away the increasingly darkening thoughts. It was time for her to leave.
Maybe some closure would sate the raging storm.
