I stood by myself in the dark, quiet hall. Nothing around me. No one in sight. Just me and my thoughts.

"H-hello?" I timidly called out, my empty words echoing into the vast darkness that surrounded me. But there was no reply. The air was completely still as my words reverberated further into the blackness, growing fainter with every repetition.

And then, without warning, a piercing, white light came from above, resting on an adult-size bed that I hadn't realized was there. It was covered in opulent linens and fine silk, just like the rich fabrics that were all too common back home in Arendelle. It took me a while to recognize the lone figure laying on the bed.

It was Anna. My dear sister, lying perfectly motionless, save for the imperceptible rise and fall of her breath. She laid miserably on the bed, just like she was several years ago, when I first saw her dying of an unknown disease. I stared at her, frozen in fear and shock. Her face was deathly pale, her lips chapped. Her eyes were half-open, and had a glazed look about them. But they were pointed right at me.

For a while, a tense silence hung in the air. Then, after mustering my courage, I spoke up. "Anna? Are you okay?"

Anna weakly shook her head, struggling with the task. "Why'd you do it, Elsa?"

I felt my heart lurch in my chest. "Wh...what do you mean?"

Anna coughed, her breath frail and shallow. "You know what I mean..."

I fought a losing battle against freshly formed tears. "Anna...you know I didn't mean to..."

"You could have stopped it," she feebly replied. "You just...had to lose control, didn't you, Elsa?"

With difficulty, I swallowed my sadness and forced a comforting smile, trying to be strong. Then I went to Anna's bedside, intending to tell her that everything was an accident, and that I was sorry for everything. But before I could reach out to her, she knocked my hand aside with a sudden burst of strength.

"Don't touch me," she snapped, the malice clearly showing in her blue eyes.

I held my hand as if she had just burned it. I didn't know what to say. "Anna, I-"

"You're a monster, Elsa," she continued, her every word piercing deeper into my heart. "What you did was unforgivable." Her words like a punch to the gut. I was left speechless. It was then when I noticed a slow, crackling sound reverberating throughout the empty air. My eyes went wide as I tried to search for the source of the noise.

"Anna," I said, hearing the panic in my own voice, "what's happening?"

Anna grinned, seeming to get some sort of sick satisfaction from watching my angst. She then threw aside her covers and revealed the lower half of her body, which was coated in a glossy, blue layer of ice. I gasped and staggered backwards, barely hanging on to consciousness.

"Anna..." I began weakly, "what-"

"You did this, Elsa," she interrupted me, the hatred in her voice growing. "You did this to me." The ice crept further up her body, working its way towards her head.

"Anna, please!" I screamed as the ice made its way up her torso. "I'm sorry, Anna...I'm so sorry..."

My sister scoffed as the ice crept up her shoulders. "Do you really think that'll make it all better, Elsa? You've murdered me, and all you can do is say sorry?"

I fell to my knees at my sister's bedside and sobbed. "What do you want me to do, Anna? I'll do anything...anything..."

"Nothing," Anna replied, showing no hint of sadness. The layer ice moved up to her face, slowly spreading up her chin. "You can do nothing. You've already done your worst, Elsa. I just want you to look at what you've done...and realize who you really are." Her lower lip was frozen over. "A monster, Elsa...you're a monster..." The ice enveloped her lower face, preventing her from saying anything more. But her eyes remained fixed on mine. So full of hatred, piercing me silently. As the ice slowly spread up her face, her spiteful glare remained focused on me, not yielding to my pleas. And then it was finished. The ice enveloped her eyes, then the top of her head, and then all was silent.

I knelt at my sister's bedside, crying to myself, immersed in a sea of guilt and self-hatred. My sister, now a statue of ice, lay completely still. She was dead, and it was all my fault. I thought about the loving, playful girl I once knew, and stared helplessly at the lifeless statue that lay in front of me.

All of a sudden, a sick, cracking sound reverberated throughout the air. I watched with wide eyes as a thick fracture tore its way down my sister's frozen leg, then abruptly shot up her torso. Tiny shards of ice fell from her body as I watched helplessly, frozen in fear. The thick crack in her body branched outwards, traveled up her head until it nearly divided her body in two. I shot up and shook my head, feeling my heart beat faster and faster.

This can't be happening, I thought, my voice having given up on me. Please, no, no, no...

And then, without warning, the statue of ice loudly shattered into a thousand tiny pieces. Frozen shards of Anna fell to my feet with a series of clinks that resonated grimly throughout the cold, dark room.

But before I could scream, I was abruptly woken up.

I quickly sat up screaming, momentarily forgetting who and where I was.

Looking around, I tried to regain my breath as I took in the scene around me. I was in my palace, alone as always. The sun was just barely beginning to rise over the horizon, adding a slight pink hue to the castle's blue walls. If I weren't so badly shaken, I would have taken a few seconds to appreciate the beauty of it all.

I tried to recall what had happened the previous night. After pacing around the main hall helplessly, I had collapsed on my throne, exhausted and scared. It was about then when I uneasily fell asleep, and was afflicted by the same nightmare that had visited me over and over again during my years of isolation. Actually, no, scratch that. It wasn't the same dream. The dream I had last night was a thousand times worse than anything I'd ever experienced. In my previous dreams, Anna would forgive me for what I had done. But last night, my sister looked at me with a hatred I had never seen in her eyes before. It all felt so real, like she was really present, and the words were coming from her own mouth, rather than my own overactive imagination. I took a deep breath and silently thanked God that it was all just a dream.

It was then when I noticed the sound of commotion taking place outside.

I sat perfectly still on my throne, trying to decipher the mess of sounds that came from outside the castle. There were heavy thuds, the sound of steel swords being unsheathed, and a chaotic muddle of men shouting. Some were panicking, others seemed to be giving orders. And then, unexpectedly, a thunderous roar rose above the cacophony, shaking the ground beneath me. Immediately, my eyes went wide.

"Oh no," I whispered, staring at the door.

Without wasting a second, I pushed myself out of my throne and dashed across the main hall, heading towards the double doors that served as the castle's only line of defense. At this point, the most I could do was freeze the doors shut, preventing anyone outside from entering. But as soon as I reached the doors, a strange sense of curiosity came over me. Knowing full well what I was risking, I decided to take a peek at the battle that was taking place. Even though I knew what to expect, what I saw outside scared me beyond belief.

On a battlefield of white, a regiment of around twenty men had their swords and crossbows drawn. They ran around chaotically, all semblance of order having been broken by the colossal snow golem that stood in their midst. The soldiers fired a volley of arrows at the monster, but their attacks only seemed to make it angrier. It easily swatted the soldiers aside, knocking some unconscious. It was a fearsome sight to see - and to think it was me who had created the hulking monster. Nonetheless, it looked like the beast - my own personal guardian - wasn't going to hold out for much longer. I wasn't sure who I should have feared more: the snow golem, who was attacking innocent people on my behalf, or the soldiers, who were undoubtedly out to kill me.

Looking out among the mess of people that hysterically scattered around the battlefield, I noticed two soldiers who were staying out of the action. They carried crossbows, but they weren't joining the others in the fierce battle against the golem. Upon closer inspection, I noticed something else about their uniforms, seeing how oddly familiar they looked. With wide eyes, I realized that they were wearing black, red, and gold - the colors of Weselton. That was why they looked so familiar; they had accompanied the Duke during the coronation party. They were simply his bodyguards, following his every order. Now here they were, out to kill me. The Duke must have ordered them to come up here and execute me. It broke my heart, knowing that even those who had known me were dead set on seeing me eliminated.

As I continued scanning the battlefield, I saw, of all people, Prince Hans, fighting the monster with nothing but a short sword. He seemed to be alright, though I didn't think he would last much longer against the colossal behemoth that towered above him. At that moment, I felt my heart sink. I may have not liked him very much, but he was still my sister's fiancé. The fact that he was out to kill me either meant that his relationship with my sister was about to end, or that my sister herself had told him what I had done, and he was out for revenge. Neither prospect sounded more appealing than the other.

Unfortunately, I didn't have any more time to think about my situation. At that moment, one of the Weselton soldiers just happened to glance in my direction, directing his sharp gaze right at me. Though he was hundreds of feet away, I could clearly see the malice in his eyes as he pointed me out to his comrade. Immediately, my heart jumped, and I quickly slipped back into the castle, slamming the double doors shut. I hastily attempted to freeze them together before backing away fearfully, wondering how long they would be able to hold up. Not wanting to find out, I whipped around and dashed up the stairs, already hearing the soldiers bang angrily at the door behind me. I knew they'd break it down eventually, so I ran as fast as I could towards my living quarters, the safest place I could think of. It wasn't until I was on the second story flight when the two soldiers succeeded in breaking the door down. I heard the crash of the double doors as they fell harshly to the ground, followed by the angry shouts of the soldiers as they ran into the castle. One of them caught sight of me dashing up the stairs, and readied his weapon.

"Up there!" he shouted to his comrade, his gruff voice echoing throughout the hall. I ran faster up the stairs, skipping two at a time, with the soldiers in hot pursuit. Luckily, there were only two of them at the moment, but I knew it would only be a matter of time before the others would make their way into the castle. Not wanting to wait for that to happen, I reached the top of the stairs and entered my living quarters, intending to freeze the doors shut and put up a wall of ice to protect myself. But before I could do anything, I heard the soldiers' voices behind me.

"We got her," one of them said. I whipped around to see both soldiers blocking the exit. I was cornered - there was nowhere left to run.

I felt my legs melt beneath me. "No, please," I pleaded desperately, despite knowing that my words wouldn't have much effect.

The soldier, ignoring me, lifted his crossbow, aiming it straight for my head. Then, without showing a shred of remorse, he let the arrow fly.

Suddenly, the world around me slowed down to a near halt. The steel arrow, suspended in midair, slowly inched towards my face. At that moment, my life vividly flashed before my eyes. In that split second, I saw Mama and Papa, holding hands and smiling at me. I saw Anna, playing with me in the snow, ice skating, sledding, and building snowmen. I saw my sister, the innocent glow in her eyes as she asked me to build a snowman one night. Anna, unconscious on the ground, a streak of her strawberry-red hair turning white. My family at the trolls' valley, the troll chief erasing Anna's memories and warning me about my powers. Me spending countless years in my room, Anna visiting me day after day, always asking the same question. Hundreds of people watching me in the cathedral, the bishop placing the crown on my head, the loud party taking place afterwards. Me and Anna talking, arguing, fighting. Me revealing my deepest, darkest secret in a split second of blind anger. Me running away, letting everything go. The creation of my palace, my argument with Anna, me freezing her heart, and then...nothing. There was simply nothing. My muscles relaxed, and a strange feeling of peace came over me.

This is it, I thought, abandoning my fear in a sudden moment of clarity. I'm going to die. I shut my eyes and braced myself for the feeling of steel piercing my skull.

Minutes seemed to pass. That split second seemed to be the longest moment in my life. But instead of feeling an arrow lodge itself into my head, I felt nothing. Absolutely nothing. For a while, I wondered if I was already dead. Though I was hesitant to do it, I slowly opened my eyes...only to see the steel arrowhead, inches from my face.

I drew back, releasing a breath that I hadn't realized I was holding in. The arrow was suspended in midair by a wall of ice that had unwittingly materialized in front of me.

Did my powers just act up on their own...? I realized, with a strange mixture of hope and fear, that I had something the soldiers didn't: magic. I could still defend myself. But how far could I go with this advantage?

There wasn't any more time to think. I was abruptly brought back to the present as the soldiers issued orders to each other. One soldier threw his arrow to the other, who loaded it into his crossbow and aimed it at me.

"Stay away!" I said, trying in vain to sound strong. At the same time, I hesitantly extended my hands towards the soldiers, launching blasts of ice at them. I tried to hold back, to simply fire a few warning shots, but my stress caused my magic to come out stronger than I had intended. The soldiers barely managed to avoid my attack, and a giant icicle rose from the ground where my magic had hit. Immediately afterward, an overwhelming sense of guilt washed over me as a glimmer of fear briefly registered in the eyes of the two men.

I looked down at my hands, afraid to see how far my powers would take me. Can I really do it? Can I use my powers to fight these men? I had never gotten in a fight before. How could I possibly stand a chance against these trained soldiers?

"Fire, fire!" one of the guards yelled to the other. I took a deep breath and, as I had done so many times before, stored my fear into a remote corner of my heart. Then, before any one of the soldiers could do anything, I launched three more blasts of magic at them. They barely managed to dodge my attacks as I continued my onslaught.

Yes, I thought, trying to steel myself. I can fight. I will fight. And these men will pay for everything they've done.

"Get her!" one of the guards yelled, scrambling to his feet. Taking another deep breath, I allowed my powers to spread into my limbs, ready to fire out of my hands at any moment. I spread my feet, positioning them at shoulder length, and pointed my hands towards each of the guards.

Maybe I stand a chance after all...

The guards took position on either side of me, readying their weapons. They had me surrounded. But it was no problem. As one of the soldiers raised his crossbow, about to fire it, I immediately detected a moment of vulnerability and extended my arm towards him, my magic hitting the ground in front of him. Without warning, eight sharp icicles shot forth from the ground and towards the guard, catching him by his shirt and pinning him against the wall. As he struggled helplessly, a ninth icicle rose from the ground and extended itself near his neck, ready to puncture it at any moment. The man stopped struggling and held his breath.

Meanwhile, the other guard behind me, thinking I was distracted, aimed his weapon at my head. I whipped around and thrust my hand towards him, firing a bright wave of magic that hit his weapon and froze it, rendering it useless. The crossbow clattered on the icy floor as the guard staggered backwards, having been caught by surprise. He tried to run away, but with an upward flick of my arm, a wall of icy spikes materialized in front of him, preventing him from escaping. He tried going the other way, but another wall of ice formed behind him. There was nowhere else to go but towards me. But I sealed off that possibility, too - with a simple flick in his direction, a third wall formed and slid towards him, pushing against him. The man silently beckoned for me to stop, the fear in his eyes evident, but I didn't care; the idea of mercy had already left me long ago. The moving wall forced him against the balcony doors, nearly crushing him with the force. Then, with a loud clang, it forced him onto the balcony, breaking down the doors in the process. But I didn't stop there. Keeping my hand extended, I relentlessly kept pushing on the wall, forcing the guard to the very edge of the balcony, where a thousand-foot abyss was eagerly waiting to swallow him up. The man struggled to grab on to the spikes on the wall, hanging on for dear life.

And there I was. The great and terrible Snow Queen, showing just how powerful she really was. The Snow Queen, holding the lives of two men in her hands. All it would have taken was a simple flick of the wrist, and just like that, the lives of these men would have abruptly ended. I was so close. So close to doing something that would have haunted me for the rest of my life.

Luckily, I didn't go through with my actions. For at that very moment, I heard several sets of footsteps behind me. I realized that the other soldiers had gotten past the guard and were infiltrating the castle. I groaned to myself and made a mental note to kill them all as soon as I was finished with the Weselton soldiers. Taking a moment to glance backwards, I saw Prince Hans leading the squadron, his face creased in worry.

Good, I thought, feeling the sick, addictive rush of power coursing through my body. They're all here to watch their comrades die. Maybe then they'll leave me alone. I focused my attention back on the two men in front of me, and pushed my powers further, ready to deal the finishing blow.

"Queen Elsa!" Prince Hans yelled in a controlled, yet frantic tone. "Don't be the monster they fear you are!"

I angrily looked back at Hans, fully intent on killing him next. But, though I didn't realize it, his words tore down my emotional barriers, snapping me out of my rage. Before I knew it, I was immersed in an overwhelming sense of remorse. My knees became weak, and I was suddenly brought back to reality. A tense silence filled the air as my powers slowly died away, as if they somehow realized what I was about to do. I stood in place, my voice slowly giving up on me, as the full gravity of my actions hit me like a speeding train. The soldiers behind Hans whispered to each other, all of them staring at me dumbfoundedly. But despite the stillness that hung in the air, my mind was racing frantically, a multitude of blurry thoughts making its way to the front of my attention.

What was I doing?! I had left Arendelle to protect people from my magic! It was the entire reason I had exiled myself and built a palace in this secluded mountain. But now here I was, fully intent on killing two men! This wasn't right. This went against everything my father had taught me. But instead of taking further action, I could only stand completely still, frozen in fear of what I had done - and what I was about to do. In the mess of thoughts that swirled around in my head, one thing became unmistakably, devastatingly clear.

I really am a monster.

I stared at Hans in desperation, unsure of what to do. But he seemed to be looking past me, scowling at something behind me. Before I could do anything, Hans' frown quickly turned into an expression of panic as he broke out into a sprint, dashing past me and towards the guard I had pinned across the wall - who, at that moment, was weakly pointing his crossbow right at my head. He was a split second away from firing his arrow, from killing me right there and then. But before I could react, Hans grabbed the man's arm and pointed it sharply upwards, right as the guard fired his crossbow. The steel arrow sailed upwards and out of sight, followed by a dreadful silence, and the soft sound of something small and delicate breaking somewhere above me. With a gasp, I quickly looked upward at the colossal, glowing chandelier that hung directly above. It seemed to be growing in size, tiny shards of ice falling to the ground around me. I then realized, my heart nearly skipping a beat, that it was slowly falling, threatening to crush me underneath.

Without wasting another second, I picked up my skirts and scrambled madly towards safety. The air was suddenly filled with a deafening, shattering sound as the massive structure crashed to the ground, sending shards of ice all over the room. Many of them caught me in the back as I ran, sending several tiny jolts of pain throughout my body. As I desperately tried to escape the wreckage, I lost my balance and fell to the ground in a crumpled heap.

The earpiercing roar of the shattering chandelier was the last thing I could remember before everything went black.