Elana woke to find ever fibre of her being was still frozen. Upon gaining consciousness she began shivering uncontrollably and it took her several minutes until she adjusted to the harsh temperature so that she could take in her surroundings. The first thing she noticed as she eased herself into an upright position was that her ankle was encased in an iron clasp that in turn was attached by a heavy metal chain to the floor. She was in a cell, held hostage by both iron bars and the ice that had formed between them. Elana could see her own breath come out as white mist in fron of her eyes and for the first time in her life she felt truly frightened.

It didn't take long for this feeling to fade, however, and Elana quickly set about trying to find a way to free herself. The first thing she discovered as that the iron clasp was several sizes to big for her ankle. So, gritting her teeth, Elana removed her shoe and after a very brief struggle, she had freed herself from the clasp. She quickly replaced her shoe before her foot turned blue from the cold. After an extensive examination of her cell, Elana realised the key was in the door on the other side, which made sense enough. There was no way one could get there hand to the other side as ice barred the way and she doubted your average prisoner would have been able to escape the clasp and chain in the first place.

This didn't faze Elana in the slightest. She had already made it half way there, why give up now? She turned on the cup of frozen water her captors had so generously provided and decided it would have to do as a battering device. Elana wasn't sure how long she stood in her freezing cell, smashing the cup into the ice on her door in the hopes of making a hole big enough to fit her hand through. She never lost hope and bit by bit, tiny crack by tiny crack a hole appeared.

Elana could not even describe the feeling that came with finally being able to slip her hand through and turn the key in the door, freeing herself from her imprisonment. She slipped through her door an began following endless white halls. She saw nobody but remained as quiet as she possibly could. All the while she cursed Kato to oblivion. After all, if he had not been so mean to her, she would not have run off and been captured in the first place. She went on to curse Marie and Pierre and had just started on her parents when she found herself in a large room, next to a throne.

Not just any throne.

A beautiful, sculptured ice throne that sparkled in the light that was streaming in through several windows. The throne itself was swathed with white fur. Elana couldn't resist the temptation. She simply had to sit in it.

And for a moment there, as she sat amongst the fur and looked out over the sweeping room, something burned into life into her chest. A longing, an ache, a thirst. For this moment to be real, all the time. For authority.

For power.

"Enjoying the view?"

Elana almost fell out of the throne. She knew that voice. That was the last voice she had heard before she'd blacked out. That was the voice that had scared her and captivated her at the same time. Now that she could see who the voice belonged to, she understood why.

Standing at one of the entrances was the tallest lady she had ever seen. She had pale white skin but her lips were painted blood red. Her long hair was piled on top of her head and she wore a floor length white dress and carried a silver sword or knife of some sorts. There was something about her that just took the breath out of you. She commanded the room and made you feel quite inferior. Elana decided that apart from feeling quite awed, there was nothing to truly be frightened of. In fact, she instantly liked this woman who demanded so much attention. Elana thought she could learn a few valuable lessons from her.

"Well?"

"I – I –" Elana stuttered, remembering she was supposed to be a prisoner.

Suddenly, a large wolf came running into the room. And then – Elana's mouth dropped open – it spoke.

"Your Majesty, the prisoner!" The wolf growled, then noticed Elana for the first time. "Oh! Your Majesty, we apologise, she broke free from her cell."

"It wasn't that hard," Elana muttered.

The wolf fixed Elana with a dangerous glare. "Come with me if you value your life."

Elana tossed her head. "You don't scare me."

The wolf's eyes flashed. "Then it is time you –"

"Denzer! Enough! Leave us."

"Yes, Your Highness," the wolf, Denzer, growled. He threw Elana one last sinister look before he left.

"You – human, what is your name?"

"Elana. What is yours?"

The white lady laughed. "Such courage. My name is Jadis and I am Queen of Narnia."

"Narnia?"

"The and which you are in. Tell me child, how did you come across Narnia?"

"I don't know – You Majesty."

"Are there more of you?"

"Yes, my brother Kato and my cousins, Marie and Pierre."

The Queen drew in a sharp breath. "There are four of you?"

"Yes, but I ran away. I hate Kato. He thinks he can tell me what to do. I wish I was Queen like you. The nobody could tell me what to do."

A strange emotion passed across the Queen's face, but it was gone as soon as it had come.

"My dear child," she said suddenly. "You look frightfully cold. Won't you walk with me?"

Elana didn't hesitate for a moment. There was no doubt that this lady was kind, despite having originally locked Elana up. Once beside the Queen, she presented Elana with a shawl to wrap around her shoulders and began guiding her through what Elana now realised was obviously a castle.

"Through there is the front hall. Over there is the kitchens. My private chambers are up ahead."

Elana could barely begin to take it all in. "I'd love to live in a palace."

"Why don't you?"

"Well, I'm not royalty."

"Oh but you could be. You see, I have no children of my own and I would so dearly love a daughter to be Princess and one day Queen of Narnia."

"You mean it?"

"Of course."

"I don't think I could be as powerful as you."

"Power is fear. You must make people fear you. You must feel no pain and show no emotion. You must let nothing stand between you and a goal."

Elana's eyes shone as she digested this pearl of wisdom. A normal child would have shied away from this cold-hearted approach to power but Elana lapped it up like a puppy dying of thirst. The fire that had started in her chest was growing stronger and dark thoughts began appearing in her mind and she did nothing to cease them forming.

They had reached the Queen's chambers and the great lady set about finding Elana warmer clothes. She decided to dress the girl in black rather than white, for she did not feel like sharing her signature colour with anyone. All the while, Jadis continued filling Elana's mind with sinister ideas and unpleasant thoughts about her brother and cousins.

"We shall have to find them, you know, and bring them here."

"Why? There's nothing special about them?"

"Don't you believe it's time you showed your brother who is really in charge?"

Elana nodded. "Oh yes, that would be excellent. If he saw me as a princess – well, that would show him."

Elana wondered over to a small table where there sat a felt lined box. She opened it to find small pieces of golden toffee and she melted with delight. "May I have one?"

"Of course," said the Queen and Elana barely noticed the change in the Lady's tone. She seemed to almost be laughing. "Take as many as you want."

Jadis smiled as she watched the girl bite into the toffee. She had her now. The girl was not at all what the usurper Queen had been expecting. Here was a girl who was just like Jadis herself and that in itself was the perfect revenge.

Jadis had no doubt Aslan himself had sent the children from their world to here to fulfil the prophecy. Killing the child was nowhere near as satisfactory as enchanting her and turning her against her sibling and cousins. Aslan had chosen the wrong child to save Narnia but it was too late now.

Jadis still planned to make sure the prophecy never came to pass. She still planned to kill the other three children.

Only now, Elana would help her do it.