Impossible. No other word could describe what I saw in front of me. My Mother was dead. Yet there I was, sure beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was her in the middle of that horrid room.
I killed her was the thought that had pushed me to control my powers every single day since that terrible incident. The same thought that kept me awake for hundreds of nights. The same thought that pushed me to the edge of my own life so many times. All for nothing.
I cried. I let years of penance for my crimes pass my lips as sobs and my eyes as tears. The bruises, cuts, lashes and even the bullet embedded in my shoulder could never come close to the pain I felt in that moment. It was something deep inside that ruptured. It felt as though my stomach was falling an infinite distance and the rest of my organs were following suit. I felt as though I were sinking through the solid floor and into my own oblivion.
After an eternity, I looked up at Hans. My vision was blurred and my eyes struggled to stay open, but I knew it was him. Everyone else was terrified of me. Rightfully so.
"Why?" I stammered, forcing the single syllable past my shaking lips.
"Why?" I heard the Admiral respond, in a mocking tone before letting himself give into the sick laughter that followed.
"Well, it becomes a lot more difficult to take over the world if you don't have a weapon of mass destruction" He continued, in an unsettlingly calm voice. He knelt down to where I lay, placing a hand on my chin and forcing me to look into his horrible, sick, twisted, psychotic eyes. "Unfortunately, I wasn't getting anywhere with you" he whispered before standing back up.
My head dropped back down to stare at the floor. How could I let myself be betrayed? Deep down, I knew the answer to that question. I was vulnerable, weak, alone and he was there for me. Hans knew that and took advantage of me. He used me. The thought made me sick.
The Admiral continued: "I thought you would be the first Ice Queen, but you were just the prototype. Who would have thought that the one thing standing between me and victory would have been just a stubborn personality?"
"You see, many years ago a violent war waged between the Southern Isles and Arendelle. Something about trade routes and ancient territory, blah blah blah, history was never my strength. However, there are a few details that I do know quite well. The general who led the charge was named Markus Westerguard. He was my father. Near the end of the war, my Father had Arendelle pinned down with limited resources and victory was at his doorstep."
"Then, one cold winter's night, my Father awoke from his peaceful sleep to an intruder in the house. Before he could even draw the pistol at his bedside he was murdered in cold blood. Arendelle had sent an assassin to kill my father and win the war. The assassin returned to his kingdom as a hero, but he did not leave that bloodied bedside without a prize. The newborn son of Arendelle's greatest enemy."
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Admiral Westerguard was a war hero in Arendelle. This was impossible.
"You can't imagine what it's like to live your entire life surrounded by your enemies." He sneered.
I looked at the Admiral through my blurred vision and worked up all of my courage to reply.
"I can now" I said coolly as I raised my hand and fired an ice blast at-
The sound of Hans' laughter broke through my concentration. Nothing was happening. There was no ice flowing from my hand, no drop in temperature and certainly no frozen Admiral.
"That brings me to my next point" he continued, breathless from laughter. I bowed my head to the ground and listened to his footsteps coming closer. A swift kick to the ribs flipped me onto my back so that I was now glaring up at my attacker.
"You are weak. You are much too weak to possess the power that you do. Your body is an amazing weapon; however you have the mind of a pawn. But that doesn't matter to me anymore. It's amazing how far research in genetics has come in the last few years. Your powers belong to me now."
After another kick to the ribs, I heard a violent CRACK. I clutched at my side and screamed as loud as I could muster. Another CRACK followed. Then another. Another. Another. Another...
The cracks continued even after Hans had stopped kicking me and I realized that the sound had not originated from the pain shooting through my body.
"Admiral!" Shouted a voice from far away. "She's awake!"
"Secure her!" Hans replied with a thick layer of venom in his voice, refusing to look away from me.
"We can't! She-" CRACK.
Chaos erupted around me in the form of screaming scientists, military personnel and one very angry Admiral. I struggled to reposition myself and survey the scene as my vision began to clear. There were massive icicles protruding from the cylinder in the centre of the room, travelling far enough to be buried deep into the computer systems and monitors that lined the wall. A large portion of the roof had fallen, leaving a hole in the ceiling that opened into indistinguishable blackness. Concrete rubble layered the ground, and yet more debris fell from the roof as the occupants of the room ran for cover. Icicles flew from the room's centerpiece in every direction, flying by some and terribly wounding most. From my vantage point I could see a uniformed arm searching for purchase from under the solid concrete block before falling limp and unsuccessful.
As I watched, an icicle shot towards Violet and I, narrowly missing the guard standing behind us. In his moment of self-preservation, Violet was freed from the blue glow that had surrounded her and she dropped to the ground.
As soon as she hit the ground, she rolled over to me and tugged on my arm but I couldn't move. It may have been the pain, the fear or the thousands of emotions that weighed me down, but I was stuck in that moment. Fury and sorrow battled inside, matching the chaos that encircled me. This was the end.
"ELSA!" Violet screamed, snapping me back to reality.
"There's an emergency exit on the far wall, but we need to move NOW!"
Her urgency stirred something in me and for a split second I felt hope. Hope that I hadn't felt in what seemed like months. Then I was crossing the floor behind Violet, dodging guards and obstacles alike to make it to this exit.
The door was closing when it finally came into view, but Violet and I were quick enough to slip inside before it closed.
It was a mistake. Violet and I were now trapped in a crowded elevator, surrounded by armed guards and frazzled scientists. The door shut behind us with a hiss and locked away all thoughts of escape.
Violet's force field was up before the guards could raise their guns but it did nothing to quell my fear. We were going to die here, surely.
Then the floor shifted. I spun around to take in the surroundings, in the brief moment of reprieve. We were in a freight elevator by the looks of it, with enough room to fit 30 or more individuals or some very large machinery. For a tense eternity we stood at a stalemate. Nobody moved, breathed, spoke or even blinked until the doors opened behind us. Slowly, Violet walked backwards, through the doors and across the threshold to our freedom.
Clearly Violet was stalling, her force field covering the entirety of the small entrance. With the two of us standing in the way, there was no way for the elevator's occupants to exit. A thousand years seemed to pass as her and I stood in the doorway, side by side looking into eyes terrified, angry and guarded.
fzzt "Get back down here now!" a voice screamed over a PA system. It was Hans. The elevator guards looked at the two of us, then glanced upwards at the source of the PA. The door began to close and we quickly stepped backwards out of the way. That was the end of it.
We were free.