"F-fire?!" She exclaimed, huddling her arms to her chest, "That's wonderful…"
"Not really." Tomas quickly put his gloves back on and sighed, "All fire can do is destroy and hurt."
"Fire is the essence of life. It warms people. It melts away the coolness of winter. It cooks food. It keeps people alive. All that the ice and snow does is scare people; makes them sick, and makes them complain." Elsa countered.
"Ice can MAKE life, and ice can be controlled. Fire has never truly been tamed by man; though it can be influenced for the god of warmth and the evil of war. It has a mind of its own. Sometimes, nothing can stop it from destroying the life it once preserved."
"Ice can take that life away slowly and painfully. It makes people miserable and it makes them suffer. It destroys harvests and livestock. No one likes either of us!" She cried, voice rising in anguish.
"Wrong!" He yelled back, "Everyone in your kingdom loves you, Queen Elsa! You know how to control your powers and how to use them to improve your citizens' lives."
"NO! A few days ago, they all wanted to kill me! Many of them still believe that I'm a monster! I can't-..." Elsa's voice cracked, and she clutched at her head, sinking down to the ground as snow began to swirl around her. "I'll freeze someone again...they'll die…"
"I'm sure that's not true! It was my brother and the ambassador of Weaselton who wanted to hurt you. They convinced the others that you were someone else. If you weren't 'safe', the people would have revolted against your leadership once you came back. You know how to control your powers, Elsa." He comforted, taking a step towards her. "We've all seen it. You just have to trust yourself." He gripped her wrists to pull her hands away from her sobbing face. Icy tears fell down from her face, and she choked on her own sobs.
"I'm s-scared...h-hug me…?" She looked down at her feet.
"Uh…" Tomas pulled her into a gentle hug against his chest and wrapped his arms around her. He tried to keep his breathing slowed down, keeping his temperature from spiking. "You don't need to be scared…" He murmured.
"You don't have to be scared either…" Elsa rested her blonde head on his shoulder. "Fire is a beautiful thing...I-I'm a little jealous." She giggled through sniffling.
"Well, sometimes it is. It's like my core is fire itself, because I'm always too warm for other people. I literally give off steam if I get too excited." He loosened his grip on Elsa, looking over her head at the mountains.
"That's silly," she laughed, "I create a small snow flurry around me if I get excited or nervous…"
"Now if I need to hide my powers, it's not so funny. But, I suppose it is kindof funny to witness…" He mumbled sheepishly with a faint smile.
"So...if I were to tickle you?" Elsa brushed her fingers under his arms.
"Gah!" He leaped away. "Yes, I suppose so…" He jerked back as she tickled his stomach. "Nopenopenopenope!" His face flushed as he scooted back against the balcony edge, steam rising off his red face. Elsa laughed and reached to tickle behind his ear and down his neck.
"You can't escape the queen!~" She teased.
"Ack!" He scrunched his neck down as more steam floated upwards. She tickled more and continued laughing.
"Whatcha gonna do?" She laughed harder. Tomas growled playfully and picked her up by her waist, lifting her up and away onto the balcony edge and took a large step back. "Hey!" She stuck her tongue out and created a small ice bridge around the balcony; just in case she were to fall.
"What do you mean, hey?!" He snapped, but was quickly quieted with a snowball to the face. He wiped his face clean, raising an eyebrow at her. "That's hardly fair, Elsa. I can't do anything back!" He gulped as she created a giant pile of snow and hovered it over his head. "Wh-Wha? What am I supposed to do? GAH!" He raised his arms above his head as the snow fell, creating an instantaneous wave that soaked him to the bone. Elsa fell back laughing her fool head off.
"Queen Elsa…" Tomas pouted, shaking out his dripping arms.
"Oh…" Elsa's eyes widened, jumping down off the balcony. "Did I hurt you?" Tomas laughed and shook his arms at Elsa, getting her wet as well.
"I'm fine, just soaked." He chuckled.
"Oh, I know!" She waved her hands over his body, pulling out the water from his clothes that formed into small ice spheres. He shivered from the sudden cold, and smoothed out his jacket.
"Thank you...now then," He blew a gust of hot air at her, sending her wintery hair all over the place into a white afro.
"Hey!" She brushed it down and pulled it back into a braid. "See? Useful." Tomas laughed again.
"That was a nuisance, not useful. It was payback. If I did much more than that…" His voice lowered to a grave tone, "I'd burn you." Elsa stepped towards him and touched his hand, causing him to twitch slightly.
"It's okay. You won't hurt me, and I won't hurt you." The setting sunlight covered the pair in a hazy magenta light, and Tomas frowned.
"I've heard that before from someone I hurt…" He squeezed her hand softly, "But, we just met, after all. It's almost dinnertime, isn't it? What is Anna doing?"
"Anna? Oh, right! Dinner!" She straightened out her dress, creating an icy blue dinner gown under her fingers." Tomas watched with an open mouth.
"If I did that, I'd light my pants on fire." He smirked, "Care to lead me to the dining room?" He offered his hand, bowing gracefully. Elsa curtsied and placed her hand in his palm.
"It would be my pleasure!" She led them down the stairs with a goofy smile upon her face.