A work inspired by Frozen (2013) and Rise of the Guardians (2012)
May contain spoilers if you haven't watched both movies
She ran out of the door which remained locked for more than half of her life. A crowd of onlookers was outside, and they immediately recognized her the moment she stepped out of the moonlighted patio which bordered the castle. Who wouldn’t have? She was dazzling that night – dressed like an empress, but modest and humble enough to renounce that sense of intimidation people usually have with the noble. Her hair was tucked at the back of her head, willfully emphasizing her glowing cheeks and eyes of sapphire. But behind her royal visage was something else. Fear. It haunted her ever since that unforgettable accident. And tonight, amid the cheers and festivity, it loomed spitefully than it ever was, forcing herself to scamper away from the only place she called home.
She would have easily killed a hundred men that night, or at least injured them badly. And even if she would have done it reflexively, it doesn’t make the thought less malevolent. But fate had other plans. Despite her royal blood, she ran hastily by foot, and in a few minutes, she was already on the bottom of the mountain. She paused for a moment to catch her breath and took one last look beyond the idle ships and sea…
“Arandelle,” she whispered.
---
Arandelle – a kingdom which bathed in the liveliness of spring during that day turned to a frozen wilderness almost overnight. And though the cause seemed largely apparent, the people did not want to comprehend why. “Sorcery,” perhaps many of them thought after the Duke of Weselton blurted the word, but deep inside they knew it was something else – something more. Rumors and tales were in every household, and when they heard the fugitive’s sister was leaving and some unknown young prince was in charge, confusion only turned to anxiety.
But not for him.
He understood. Perhaps not entirely, but he did. After thirteen years of going to and fro Arandelle, he would finally see her again. Thirteen years to him could have been a mere blink, but when it came to her sudden disappearance from the only world they had in common, every day was a struggle. He moved on, but deep inside, the thought of her absence glared like wildfire, burning through the literal coldness which emanated from his soul.
His memories of her were few, and possibly the only one he could consider significant was her and her sister, Anna, playing with him during one of the countless winters he had experienced. But that was it. The rest were mere glances and stolen moments, each of which one-sided and suppressed by those castle walls which even the strongest blizzard could not scratch.
That day, he waited outside. He knew the gates would be opened. He knew she would be there. From a distance, he settled and thought of the 8-year old girl who once played with him with the snow. But enough of the nostalgia, he said to himself. Tonight, his only desire was to see her again – this time as a young lady.
And there she was – her face flushed as she ran away from the Kingdom which hid her from him. But all these were of no essence, for in that moment, he only looked at her with unparalleled awe. It was his only chance, and while the crowd stood there in fear and bewilderment, he followed the trail of ice and snow which she left in her way to the mountains.
---
“Who’s there?” She gasped, sensing a change in the air surrounding the hall where she was.
Normally, he wouldn’t respond. The thought that everyone can feel but never see or hear him is something he never fully understood. It made him uneasy, and to some extent, caused him to question his existence as a person if ever he was considered as one.
“I said who’s there?”
Her words echoed, both in the hallway and in his mind. “’Who’s there?’ ‘No one. It’s just the wind.’” He kept on saying this to himself. “At least I finally saw her again, right?” Beyond seeing her again, he didn’t know what to do next. “Why did I even follow her here in the first place?”
Since he laid eyes on her again, he kept on talking to himself the entire time. Deep inside, he knew it was hopeless. The thought of leaving her seemed to be the only option. He stepped out of the pillar from where he was eyeing her and paced towards the window. What he heard next was unexpected.
At first, he didn’t seem to get what she was trying to say. He paused. His mind was trying to make sense of it. She only looked at him with a threatened gesture and asked again.
“Who are you?”
“You could see me?” His tone partly confused.
“I’m not in the mood for your nonsense. Who are you? And why did you follow me?”
“She could see me,” he whispered. “You could see me! I knew it!”
His face quickly lightened up with excitement and disbelief. She looked at him oddly, almost forgetting that the man in front of him was a complete stranger equipped with a wooden staff that seemed solid enough to strike her unconscious any moment.
He moved around playfully as they exchanged glances. “I didn’t know you could sing,” he teased.“…or build an ice castle like this one.” He was trying to contain his excitement. “Of all people, you could see me.”
But she had other thoughts. She remembered Anna. She remembered what happened during the coronation dinner. Just as he was about to approach her, she held her hand out in defense. Spears of ice swiftly protruded out of the castle floor, missing the trespasser by an inch.
“Please… Just leave.” She fretted. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
He only looked at her, his words complementing her wintriness like frost.
“Elsa, it’s okay. It’s just me.”
