15This one's for you, Gem! Also a huge thanks to Kim :)
"Go away, Anna."
Those words were becoming increasingly more difficult to say. Elsa's heart broke each time her little sister's voice came from outside the door, only to be told to leave her alone. Anna would walk away every time with sad acceptance, and Elsa wanted nothing more than to open the door and run after her sister. She let herself slide to the floor.
"Yes, Anna, I'd love to build a snowman..." She whispered.
But she couldn't. She might hurt Anna again, and she wasn't willing to take that risk.
Elsa sniffed, and turned back towards her window. It was snowing again, and the corners of her mouth trembled. The snow was once her safe haven - the one place she had control.
Now it was her prison.
As Anna's footsteps receded, Elsa felt the cold spread out from her. She quickly jumped up and ran to the other end of her room, to the window. A few weeks ago, one of the servants had found the entire bedroom corridor covered in a layer of frost, and it had taken the King a long time to smooth over. Elsa was pretty sure they'd used the excuse of a broken window.
It had been the first snow of the year, after all. The lie had been swallowed, the windows replaced, and Elsa now knew to stay away from her door if she was sad.
Her hands pressed against the glass as she strained to see the courtyard below. As predicted, Anna was already out there, enthusiastically dragging yet another new maid by the hand. The painful ache in her chest grew. Could she risk it? Just this once? Maybe if she didn't face Anna…?
Strangely, the window seemed to warm under her touch. She brought her hand back sharply as a giant snowflake pattern spread across the glass.
"Who's there?"
It was a silly question, really. She could see that the window was empty. Elsa sighed, and tried to wipe away the frost so she could see better. But a second after her hand left the glass again, the snowflake was back. This time it was even more prominent, and Elsa looked down at her gloved hands.
"It wasn't me..." She murmured. "Please show yourself. We're the same. Please, who are you?"
When nobody replied, Elsa's cheeks reddened. She'd truly gone mad if she was accusing an invisible creature of making the picture.
Elsa stiffened. That meant her powers were getting stronger. There was no way she could go outside with Anna now. If the gloves weren't helping her control her curse, what could? She pulled her sleeves over her fists as best she could, and stuffed them into her pockets.
Conceal, don't feel.
Panic threatened to break out and she pressed them into her stomach, curling her body over them as best she could. She would have to ask Daddy for thicker gloves. This could not be allowed to keep happening!
Tap tap tap
Elsa's head flew back up in surprise. There was no denying that the tap had come from her window this time, but she still couldn't work out what was doing it. Icicles?
Tap-tap-tap-tap
Not icicles.
"Hello?" Elsa tried again.
Again there was no reply, but Elsa's confidence had grown. She gently traced her finger across the glass, spelling out words with ice. When she'd finished, she held her breath.
I am Princess Elsa, who are you?
The words faded, and new ones started to appear from nowhere. Elsa's mouth grew into a tiny smile as she read.
Hello Elsa, my name is Jack Frost.
"Jack Frost..."
The moment the words faded, a figure suddenly popped into view floating outside her window. With a startled squeal, Elsa fell backwards onto her bedroom floor. Jack waved his fingers cheekily, and Elsa's smile returned.
"Are you flying?" She asked, amazed.
Jack tilted his head. Elsa realised he couldn't hear her through the glass and went slightly pink. With the stick he was holding, Jack gestured to the latch on the window.
Oh. He wanted to come in.
Elsa hesitated. Could she trust him? Mummy and Daddy had always warned her about talking to strangers. Nonetheless, even though a little voice at the back of her mind told her not to, she climbed back to her feet and felt for the window latch. It was frozen over, so it took a moment to open. When it finally gave way, Elsa opened it with a light push. An icy draft raced into her room, but she barely noticed it; she was too preoccupied staring at the floating boy.
"Hello, Jack Frost." She said politely. "What are you doing outside my window?"
Jack grinned. "Funny story, that. But my story isn't important. The real question is, why are you shut up inside when you have such beautiful powers?"
Elsa was torn between a smiling and sadness.
"I hurt Anna with them once. It can't happen again."
Jack looked sympathetic. Gently pulling the window open a little wider, he held his hand out to the young princess.
"Everyone deserves to have fun in the snow, especially someone as troubled as you, Princess. Would you like to build a snowman?"
A/N I have a chapter two in the works, and if I get enough reviews as incentive, I'll post it :)
~Me out, ladies and gents!