Chapter 1: A Cold Dream
Monster...
Under a moonless night, eleven year old Princess Elsa tried to sleep. But she could not; despite the bed being made of the finest materials and clothed in the best silk one could find in the kingdom of Arendelle, the girl found herself in extreme discomfort. The drowsiness that was supposed to add weight to her eyelids - supposed to pull her into that cloud of fantasies and dreams - seemed so far away.
...Monster…
It had been three years since that incident with her younger sister. Elsa hurt Princess Anna that night. The two of them were playing - building a snowman - when Elsa inadvertently set her ice powers on Anna.
...I'm sorry, but I think you may be a monster…
Since then, nightmares sometimes interrupted Elsa's sleep. In them, she found herself standing in an empty room, surrounded by humanoid shadows. The shadows whispered among each other, and Elsa always had the feeling they were talking about her. But, every time she tried to say something to them, they would all turn their heads to stare at her, their eyes completely white, with no irises.
And she would wake up, covered with beads of frozen sweat and surrounded by floating ice particles.
In the pitch-black bedroom, Elsa mulled over her past nightmares for what seemed like hours until, finally, she fell asleep. Again, she found herself in that empty room. The dim lighting revealed shadowy figures that moved silently around her, whispering. She clamped her hands over her mouth; she feared that they would notice her and turn their head to stare at her. With those blank, white eyes…
"Monster," said a voice.
Elsa frantically searched for the source. Then she saw them. Among the shadows, a pair of scarlet eyes gazed at her. They seemed to emit light, as though fires burned inside them.
With her hands clutching tighter around her mouth, Elsa backed away from the sight. But with each of her steps, the eyes moved closer. Elsa struggled to keep a whimper from escaping her lips. What should she do? There was nowhere to run; she saw no doors nor windows in the room. Should she scream for help?
Around the eyes, a human form materialized - tall, with long hair that was the same pale color as hers. Maybe even paler.
A voice came from the figure: "I'm sorry, but I think…"
The figure frowned. "...I think you may be a monster," it said. "I have no choice but to…"
Elsa could contain herself no longer. Tears streaming down her face, she unclasped her hands from her mouth and yelled at the figure, "I'm NOT A MONSTER! WHY?! Why-"
The figure shrugged slightly and tilted its head. "It's not for me to decide, really." It suddenly strode to Elsa and knelt down in front of her. "That's why I said I'm sorry." It reached out with a pale-skinned hand and gently wiped away a teardrop from her cheek.
At this point, Elsa could see the figure's face more clearly. Yet she could not tell whether it was demon or angel, man or woman. But, to her, the expression the figure wore was clearly one of sorrow.
The figure raised a hand. To Elsa's utter disbelief, a pocket of golden-yellow flame grew inside the palm of the hand. The flame then moulded itself into the shape of a bird and started floating up. Elsa felt wonder replace her fear. Could it be that the figure is similar to her? She glanced at her own hands. Might she make such things with her own powers?
"And I am sorry," said the figure, its head tilted toward the ceiling.
What could it mean by that? Elsa followed the figure's eyes. Horror seared through her when she saw the little firebird touch the ceiling and explode in tongues of blistering heat and flame. In mere seconds, the entire room ignited. All the shadows disappeared, and Elsa was alone in the room as it fell apart.
"No!" she screamed, "Help! Don't leave me!"
"I have no choice but to kill your kind," came the figure's voice.
Elsa squatted down, her hands over her head. She was sobbing now. What do I do? How do I get out-
A thought struck her: ICE!
She had forgotten her own abilities! With a yell of effort, Elsa planted her hands on the floor and turned everything around her into ice. A storm of hail and snow raged and raged around her until-
"Elsa!"
"Elsa! Help us open the door! Please!"
Elsa awoke. She sat up in her bed and turned to her bedroom door, now illuminated by the light of dawn. She heard her parents' shouts from behind the door; they sounded desperate and scared.
She realized that the door had been frozen over, and her entire room encased in a thick layer of ice.