I spent a good deal of the night talking with various politicians, my spirits slowly lifting as the night carried on. Surprisingly, I found that I was getting rather adept at the art of political discussion. For the most part, I was able to make a somewhat favorable impression of myself. As I spoke with the dignitaries, I discovered that Mama and Papa hadn't procured many allies for Arendelle, due to their sudden reclusiveness after my birth. After they discovered that their daughter had magic powers, they shut themselves (and by extension, the entire kingdom of Arendelle) away from the world. They had the best of intentions, but their actions apparently caused the whole kingdom to suffer. That was probably why Mama told me to gain as many allies for Arendelle as possible; the kingdom, as it turned out, was in a bit of a rut at the moment. It was in need of foreign aid. Now that I was able to conceal my own secret, I could help Arendelle get back on its feet, and make up for Mama and Papa's losses.
But even as I discussed these matters with the dignitaries, I found my thoughts wandering back towards another important issue: Anna. After she left me underneath the canopy, she had disappeared into the crowd, and hadn't turned up since. Where had she gone? She couldn't have just disappeared like that. She must have been somewhere. I had even sent out a guard to search the castle for my sister, but he turned up empty-handed. It wasn't until about an hour later when I really started to worry about her.
Luckily, she turned up soon afterward. "Elsa!" I heard her call out from behind me. She reappeared from the crowd, followed by a rather handsome young man in royal attire. She stopped in her tracks as soon as she saw the Prince of Cordoba in front of me, and adjusted her posture. "Er, I mean, Queen," she corrected herself, curtsying politely. I nodded, dismissing the Prince of Cordoba, and turned around to face my sister and the strange man who stood behind her. She took the man's hand in hers and brought him forward, introducing him. "Um, may I present...Prince Hans of the Southern Isles!"
I couldn't help but notice how Prince Hans linked arms with my sister as he bowed and respectfully addressed me. I nodded politely in response, hesitant as to where this was heading.
They then proceeded to stumble on each other's words. "We would like..." they began in unison.
"...uh, your blessing," Prince Hans continued.
"...of..." Anna carried on excitedly.
"...our marriage!" they finished together, excitement plastered on both their faces.
As soon as they said the word marriage, my heart skipped a beat. For a full second, I completely forgot how to speak. "Marriage?" was all I could utter as I regathered my scattered thoughts.
"Yes!" Anna squealed enthusiastically, oblivious to my stunned reaction.
I tried in vain to wrap my head around the idea of it all - my sister, marrying this complete stranger? "I'm sorry, I'm confused," I replied with a fake smile, expecting her to come out and tell me that the whole thing was a joke, and that she wasn't actually going to get married...
But she said no such thing. Instead, she started prattling on and on about her wedding, as if it were a definite event in the future. "Well, we haven't worked out all the details ourselves. We'll need a few days to plan out the ceremony. Of course, we'll have soup roast, and ice cream, and-" I was just about to jump in and tell her what a foolish idea that was when a thought suddenly dawned on her. She turned to Hans. "Wait. Will we live here?"
I could feel my breath being knocked out of me. "Here?!" I asked incredulously, though she didn't seem to hear me.
"Absolutely!" Prince Hans replied, much to my surprise. Why was he going along with this?
"Anna-" I began, but she cut me off before I could say another word.
"Oh, we can invite all twelve of your older brothers to stay with us!" she said eagerly, her face filled with naïve joy.
Twelve? No, that wouldn't work for a variety of reasons. "What?" I tried saying to her, though she was way too caught up in her excitement to hear me, "No, no, no, no-"
"Of course, we have the room," she continued, mentally planning things in that one-track mind of hers, "I don't know. Some of them must-"
"Wait," I said firmly, finally getting her to stop chattering, "Slow down. No one's brothers are staying here, no one is getting married."
Though it felt satisfying to finally get through to her, the pained reaction on my sister's face broke my heart. "Wait, what?" she asked, her eyes narrowing in disbelief.
My heart leaped in my chest. I have to tell her, I thought, It has to be now. She needs to know the reason behind everything - why I've shut her out, why no one else can live here, and why she can't marry this man.
I wrung my gloved hands as my eyes darted around the room nervously. "May I talk to you, please? Alone?" I asked, my voice suddenly taking a more urgent tone.
Anna backed away from me, still shocked by my response. She linked arms with Hans, obstinately refusing to leave his side. "No," she said, a hint of bitterness in her voice, "Whatever you have to say, you...you can say to both of us."
I groaned; she wasn't making this easy. But if I couldn't tell her my secret, I could at least tell her the next most important thing on my mind. "Fine," I said, regaining my emotionless façade of formality, "you can't marry a man you just met."
"You can if it's true love," Anna replied stubbornly, clinging onto Hans' arm as if her marriage depended on it.
Was that what she thought this was? True love? I had never been in love my entire life, but I was certainly able to recognize a faker when I saw one. "Anna, what do you know about true love?" I asked, exasperated.
"Well, more than you," she shot back, the hostility in her voice slowly growing, "All you know is how to shut people out!"
Her words cut me deeply. She may as well have thrust a knife into my chest. So that's what she thinks of me, I thought as my heart shattered into a million pieces. The magic in my chest suddenly rose to a dangerous level, spurred on by the various emotions that had started swirling violently within me.
After a few seconds, I was able to regain my composure, but the magic in my heart was still threatening to externalize itself. I had to leave the room before it was too late. But first, I had to finish things with Anna. "You asked for my blessing, but my answer is no," I told her firmly, hearing the sadness in my own voice, "Now, excuse me." I walked past Anna, towards the exit. I needed to find some place to calm down and suppress my powers before talking to my sister again.
But I couldn't even have that. "Your Majesty," said Prince Hans, who up to this point had been watching uncomfortably, "if I may ease your-"
"No, you may not," I interrupted him, a little more harshly than I had intended, "and I...I think you should go." In fact, I thought, everyone should probably leave. The longer I stayed in the room, the more likely my powers were going to be revealed to everybody present. "The party is over. Close the gates," I said to the royal handler, who responded with a dutiful "Yes, your Majesty" and proceeded to distribute the order amongst his fellow guards.
"What?" I heard Anna whisper behind me, clearly hurt, as I started to walk away. "Elsa, no. No, wait!" she called out as she ran up behind me. But I didn't want to stop and listen to her. My powers were already in great danger of showing themselves, and I didn't want to take the risk of staying in the room any longer. But as my sister approached me from behind, I felt her warm hand wrap around my arm. And just like that, my left glove was gone. I gasped as my eyes went wide, my heart nearly leaping out of my chest. Whipping around frantically, I saw it hanging limp in Anna's hand.
"Give me my glove!" I demanded, desperately reaching out to grab it from her. But she held it away from me, oblivious to how important it really was.
"Elsa, please!" she begged, her voice growing more critical, "Please! I can't live like this anymore!"
Neither can I, I wanted to say to her as my eyes started welling up with tears. But my emotions got the best of me. "Then leave," I found myself saying, my voice weak and broken. The expression Anna gave in response was one of pure heartbreak, like I had completely shattered her entire world. Seeing the hurt on her face was too overwhelming for me. I turned around and headed back for the exit, the magic in my chest rising to a dangerously high level. I needed to get out, and as quickly as possible. I held my exposed left hand close to my body, keeping it hidden from view. Conceal, don't feel...conceal, don't feel...
"What did I ever do to you?!" Anna demanded, shouting angrily some distance behind me. At last, after thirteen years, the girl had finally reached her tipping point. I expected it to happen sooner or later. But this was the worst possible time for her to snap.
"Enough, Anna," I ordered weakly, looking nervously around the room. The guests had fallen silent, and were staring at me and Anna. Apparently, we were making quite a scene.
"No, why?" Anna insisted, not bothered in the slightest by the anxious whispers of the crowd, "Why do you shut me out?! Why do you shut the world out?! WHAT ARE YOU SO AFRAID OF?!"
At this point, my hand was already on the doorknob. I was almost home free. I should have taken the opportunity. I should have gone out and calmed myself down. If I had only left the room and calmed myself down, my life today would be so different. But as always, my emotions won over my mind. The chaotic storm of sadness, fear, and anger suddenly came bubbling to the top.
"I said enough!" I exclaimed as I whipped around to confront Anna.
The next few moments played themselves out in slow motion. As I turned around to face my sister, I let my guard down just the tiniest bit - just a mere fraction of a second, mind you. But it was enough for the pent-up magic in my chest to rapidly make its way up my left arm...and into my exposed hand. I desperately tried to direct the magic back into my heart, but it was too late. I watched helplessly as glowing, blue waves of magic coursed through my body and formed in the air. The magic shot in an outwards arc, causing large icicles to spring up from the ground and nearly injure the party guests.
No. Please, no. A dreadful silence ensued. It seemed to last for hours. I wished, with every fiber of my being, that I could somehow take it all back. I couldn't hear anything but the sound of my own heartbeat as I nervously scanned over the faces of the crowd. Some of them were scared, and some were hostile. And every single one of them had just witnessed me unleashing my powers. The Duke of Weselton mumbled something to his bodyguards, though I couldn't quite make out what he was saying. My vision started blurring as my legs grew weaker. And then I saw her. Anna. In the midst of the shocked crowd, she stood by herself, an expression of horror on her face as she stared right at me. Not at the jagged mass of icicles that had captured everyone's attention, but directly at me.
"Elsa..." she seemed to whisper, finally realizing why I had acted the way I did for the past thirteen years. And then one thought became clearer than anything else.
I can't stay here any longer.
Next thing I knew, I was running down the castle's dark halls. The shadows seemed to close in on me as I desperately scrambled for the exit, leaving a white trail of ice behind me. But as I burst through the castle doors and into the courtyard, I encountered a vast crowd standing outside, clapping and cheering for me. They were completely oblivious to what had happened inside. But even so, I knew it would only be a matter of time before they figured out. I looked back and saw some of the Duke of Weselton's bodyguards chasing after me. There was no choice but to press forward. Covering my exposed hand, I reluctantly fled into the courtyard, weaving my way between the mass of people who had come to see me. As I ran, I was surrounded on all sides by a sea of citizens, all of them shouting undeserved praises.
"Your Majesty," said a woman holding a baby, "are you all right?"
No, I silently mouthed as I backed away. There was no escape route in sight, as the crowd was blocking my way out. As I inched backwards, I accidentally bumped against one of the fountains. To steady myself, I gripped the edge of the fountain uneasily. But my heart leaped as I realized that I had gripped it with my exposed hand. Looking back reluctantly, I watched through wide eyes as the fountain's elegant streams of water froze over, transforming into a spiked, intimidating ice structure. Suddenly, the night fell silent, and the entire crowd gasped collectively. No, please! I wanted to say to them, but I couldn't seem to speak. My voice had given up on me.
"There she is!" I heard someone yell. My eyes darted towards the castle doors to see the Duke of Weselton, his bodyguards at his side. "Stop her!" he ordered, pointing at me threateningly.
I raised my hands in defense. I was not a criminal! "Please, just stay away from me!" I pleaded, "Just stay away-"
But before I could finish my sentence, the chaotic, swirling mass of magic in my heart traveled up my arms and into my hands, causing a wave of ice to shoot out towards the Duke. It narrowly missed him, but it froze the floor he stood on, causing him and his bodyguards to slip and fall, hitting their heads on the wooden floor. The crowd gasped as the Duke straightened his glasses, looking at me as if I had just killed someone.
"Monster," he called me, pointing at me, "Monster!" I looked at my hands, cursing my rotten luck. Why, oh why did I have to lose control at the worst of times? I watched helplessly as the crowd started backing away from me, protecting their children. The woman from before held her baby close to her, as if it my very presence was endangering his life. I was on the verge of tears as the people of Arendelle drew back from their queen. Throughout the mess of thoughts swirling around in my frayed head, one fact became clear: I can't stay in Arendelle any longer.
With a strange mixture of fear and determination, I rushed forward through the crowd, making my way towards the castle gates. The people backed away from me fearfully, providing a path through which I could escape. But even as I ran out the castle gates, I knew I was being chased.
"Elsa!" I heard Anna call out from behind me. But the mere sound of her voice only increased my stress tenfold. Small sheets of ice started blossoming on the ground with every step I took. "Elsa!" she called out again, exiting the castle gates. Forcing myself not to look back, I kept running. But after some time, I stopped dead in my tracks. But it wasn't the sound of Anna's voice that had stopped me. It was the fjord that enclosed Arendelle. The entire castle was surrounded by water, and I had no way around that.
I looked down at the water uneasily. How would I ever get across? There was no way for me to escape. But at that moment, Anna came into sight. "Wait, please!" she called out. I turned around, only to see that she was quickly gaining on me. I had to find a way out.
As I backed away from my sister, small sheets of ice formed under my footsteps. Some of the ice extended past the ground, and onto the water. I gasped in alarm, looking at the small piece of ice that was floating steadily on the fjord. Could I really...? I carefully set my foot on the water...and gasped as a small pad of ice formed, providing a surface on which I could run. Without wasting a second thought, I made my way onto the fjord, the water under my feet freezing into solid ice with every step I took. And I ran. I didn't think about what I was doing, I didn't allow myself to form any regrets. I just kept my eyes forward, and ran as fast as I possibly could.
I sprinted across the fjord and made my way into the wilderness on the other side. I didn't look back. I couldn't look back. I only knew that I would have to leave Arendelle forever. I didn't know where I was heading, or how long I would keep running. As I made my way into the snowy mountains beyond, all I could think was that I had to get as far away from Arendelle as possible.
And that's that. Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Drop a review, and don't forget to spread this story to everyone: friends, family, pets, you get the idea. Thank y'all for everything!