The sun rose the next day like always and yet Elsa felt as if the entire world had shifted beneath her feet.
There are others like me, im not alone.
Thoughts like this were all that filled her mind that morning. Although Elsa hated strangers living in the castle with them, she had felt obligated to offer housing to the princess and her crew after Emily had offered to teach her about her gift. She got up and dressed as per usual and everything seemed normal until she entered the dining hall for breakfast where three figures sat instead of the usual one. As she approached the table she caught the end of one of her sister's favorite stories being enthusiastically retold to their guests who were laughing right along with her.
"And then Elsa caught me before I feel right down the stairs!" Anna laughed.
Well at least Anna loves having guests.
"Elsa! Join us" Anna beckoned to her sister. The guests, noticing the queen's arrival, stood and dropped to one knee just like there crew had done the previous day. Elsa shifted uncomfortably.
"That's really not necessary." Elsa assured them as they stood. The princess and her dark haired friend smiled at the uncomfortable queen.
"Im apologise my queen, it is a custom in Torandale to bow to someone of a higher status." Emily explained. "And now look at me being rude, this is Nickolia, my adviser." She gestured to the tall boy beside her. He seemed to be a little older than Emily and much taller, but he had a kind face and the way his dark curls fell in his eyes made him seem harmless, so the queen decided to trust him. They all took their seats at the table before Emily started up the conversation.
"So Elsa, I was hoping we could start up those lessons today." Emily began. "The sooner the better right?"
"Yes we can use the library that's upstairs if you like" Elsa offered.
"Umm actually we might want to be outside. Im going to push your powers so that I can get a feel of how strong a control you have on them and…well outside would be best." She explained as Anna and Nickolia laughed at whatever they were talking about.
"Okay outside it is. Shall we say noon in the main garden?"
"I will be there." Emily smiled at the queen. The queen couldn't help but notice how the girl's eyes would light up when she smiled. Realizing she was staring, Elsa shifted her gaze to the untouched food on her plate. Both girls flushed bright red and stayed silent for a while, letting the conversation carry on around them.
She spotted Emily sitting on a bench in the garden making a ball of fire grow and shrink at her will in front of her. It was amazing to watch, captivating really, and Elsa found herself standing a little bit away and staring at the girl for the second time that day. The girl's features were scrunched in concentration as her hands flowed gracefully around the flame. Her shoulder length hair fell down around her face loose now in curls that framed her face perfectly.
"Does everyone from this "Torandale" have dark curly hair?" The queen wondered
She wore the same style of clothes as she had arrived to Arendelle in and, for a reason Elsa couldn't really put her finger on, they suited her. Elsa started to feel slightly creepy watching from afar so she began to walk towards the girl. Emily looked up from her flame and a wave of her hand made it flicker out. She smiled at the blonde as she dipped to one knee. "You really need to stop that." Elsa stated as she approached.
"Sorry queen Elsa" Emily smiled
"Please just call me Elsa, and I will call you Emily."
"Agreed." Emily nodded and gestured for Elsa to follow her as she turned to walk towards the bench she had been sitting on and sat down together. "So Elsa, when did your powers start to develop?"
"I have had them as long as I can remember but they really started to develop when I was around 6. I accidentally froze my mother's feet to the ground once and that's when my parents realized that this…gift wasn't much of a gift after all."
Emily shifted uncomfortably, surprised that Elsa had started to open up a bit. The ice queen seemed like someone who would be hesitant to tell you the time of day let alone a story from her childhood.
"Let's not talk about powers for a minute okay?" Emily said turning on her seat to look at the girl. "Tell me something about you, as a person."
"About me?"
"Ya, like what do you do when you have a day off, what's your favorite food, favorite color?" Emily explained.
"Okay well, I usually spend my days off with my sister. We didn't…we didn't get to spend much time together as children so now that were grown we like to spend as much time together as possible. Do you have any siblings?"
"Yes an older brother. His name is Bradley and he is next in line to take the throne from my father." Emily smiled thinking of her brother, so far away in Torandale. "Okay, favorite food?"
"Chocolate." Elsa answered with a smile; she wondered why she felt so comfortable around this girl even though she hardly knew her. Emily smiled as the queen childish answer.
"Mines pasta. And last but not least, favorite color?"
"Blue, a lighter shade though, like…"
"Ice" Emily finished with a smile. "Mines orange, like the color of a really beautiful sun rise." They sat in silence for a while, taking in each other's answers. "Well we should probable start."
"Okay." Elsa agreed with a nod.
"Did you see what I was doing before you walked up?"
"Yes I did." Elsa's eyes widened slightly realizing she had admitted to watching the girl from afar. "I mean I think so, you were doing something with your powers."
Emily laughed at the queens flushed face.
"Okay, do you think you can copy it?" She asked. Elsa raised her hands in front of her and formed a ball of ice that hovered in front of her. After a few second Elsa looked up from the ice to wait for instructions but got only a nod from the girl. In one smooth motion Emily raised her hands to surround the ice, suddenly the ice melted to a puddle on the ground.
"Why did…?" Elsa protested.
"You need to learn to hold your ground. Your ice was there first so my fire shouldn't be able to budge it." Emily explained. "Try again"
The afternoon went on like this, with Emily showing Elsa a skill and Elsa trying to copy it. It wasn't until the sun started to dip behind the mountains did the girls realize how late it had gotten and decide to call it a day. The walk back indoors was silent; both girls being exhausted from using their powers all afternoon.
"You know I have never met anyone else who has powers." Emily said as they walked
"Me neither" Elsa confessed
"It's weird to think that someone could actually understand." The brunette went on. "That might sound weird seeing as we met yesterday"
"No, no I understand what you mean." Elsa said stopping and turning towards the girl. "I hurt my sister when we were young. We were playing and I accidentally hit her with the ice. Luckily my father knew what to do and she was fine but after that…I stayed away from people. I didn't leave my room for 13 years."
"That's…" Emily didn't know what to say and was shocked at the sudden confession, so she reached out to take Elsa hand. The moment the two girl's hands touched it was electric, as if a current ran through their hands. Both girls yanked their hands away instantly and stared at the other in shock.
"What the…?" Emily wondered out loud. "Should we try it again?"
"Su...Sure" Elsa agreed, reaching out for the girl. Their hands hovered next to each other's for a second before Emily grabbed her hand and intertwined their fingers. A wave of bliss coursed through the girls bodies. To Elsa, Emily was impossible warm. She felt is if she was feeling the sun on her skin for the first time. Her brain was clouded like she had too much to drink and she couldn't help but squeeze the girls hand. Emily's body temperature had always been higher than the average persons and the only way Emily could describe the feeling of Elsa's skin is to think of the time she had touched the fire in the kitchen when she was young and the cook had stuck her hand in cold water to cool her burnt skin. The relief that it provided was something that Emily didn't know she craved until this moment. Both girls felt as if they had been drowning for a very long time and now the touch of the others skin was like breaking the surface and breathing fresh clean air for the first time.
Realizing that they had been standing there holding hands for far too long considering they were basically strangers, the two girls broke apart. A very red Emily stared at the grass but Elsa's eyes were fixed on the girl, she concentrated as if to memorize every detail of Emily's face.
"Where have you been?" Elsa wondered. "All those years I thought I was alone, and she was out there all along."