Chess Piece

For We Meant to Follow Fates

At night she dreamt of a girl with strawberry blonde hair.

Clad in her nightgown, shrill laughter coming from her lips as she jumped around the bed across the room, the twin pigtails her hair had been braided into bouncing with her excitement. She was no older than five or six, with freckled cheeks flushed pink, and a big grin as she looked at her with her pair of turquoise eyes. "Do the magic, do the magic!"

She knew of her magic, and yet she did not feel surprised for it, as if this girl was supposed to know, had known from the very beginning. Still there was doubt in her heart, a sliver of fear though it was easily brushed off with her own excitement, and her fingertips started to grow cold. It was not her who had the control over her body, nor of her magic, and her hands were raised to do what she was requested.

A burst of white exploded in her eyes after the coldness had shot through the palms of her hands, and when she had regained her vision back, the girl had stopped jumping all together, had not even been standing on the bed, instead she had fallen onto the mattress, unmoving.

"Elsa, what have you done?!"

Her heart hurt at the sound of her father, booming against the quiet room and suddenly she wanted to fall onto her knees, to curl into herself and to cover her ears as not to hear him, but she remained unmoving. "I didn't mean it."

Yet no one had listened to her, no one had even think of her, as her parents went to the girl with the strawberry blonde hair, wrapping their arms around her even when she had woken up, had her eyes opened and staring at her so coldly that she shivered, and when she looked around others had stood siding with the girl, all eyes were the same ice cold as they stared down at her.

There was no one at her side, no one who would come close and to comfort her, no one to hold her and told her that they believed her, that they knew that she would never do it on purpose. There were only people looking at her in fright, as if jagged ice had grown around her, terror in their eyes.

"Anna, please." Her lips had moved on their own, pleading at the girl, hand reaching out for her to take, because she needed someone, she needed her sister who had not been afraid with her powers the way their parents had been, no matter how much they had tried to conceal it from her. "I'm sorry."

"No, you're not." Anna's voice was as cold as her eyes, and it had her retracting her hand back, to curl her fingers as she pressed it against her chest as she stared at her sister, disbelief of what she had just heard coming from her as she was now faced with the eighteen years old Anna that she knew. "You're a monster, Elsa."

Her body jerked awake as her eyes shot opened, finding herself in the darkened bedroom with nothing to serve as her source of light but the faint moonlight coming through the window behind her. Blue eyes searched for the one who slept by her side, finding his face had turned to the side away from her as he laid on his back, and she breathed.

It had been nothing but a dream.

Moving with caution, she scooted just a little closer to him, her gloved fingers curling around his biceps as she slowly dipped her head and pressed her forehead where his shoulder met his arm, eyes fluttering closed as she used the warmth of his body and his presence to bring herself back to sleep.

As for now, all she wished was for someone to hold on.

--

"You're pale."

Blue eyes flickered up over the rim of the china she had used to drink her morning tea toward him, brow raised as she lowered her cup as he dabbed his napkin against his lips. "If you have not noticed, my dear, it's how my skin is colored under normal circumstances." Surely he would have taken notice of it, after months of marriage; an observing man like Hans would not have missed the apparent details of his wife.

There was a slight smile that grew on his face, smug almost, and it had made her furrowed her brows in confusion instead, for it seemed that he had expected her answer and had a respond prepared beforehand already. "I can tell the difference between fair and pale, darling, your skin is fair in color." He had pointed out as he took another bite of the toast they were served with. "Pale is a term used if one looked rather unhealthy. Are you feeling quite alright?"

Her dream had still ghosted at the back of her mind, as it usually would until she had find a great amount of distraction that would take her mind off the thing that could manage to find it's way to haunt her nights. Her gesture against Hans, to find comfort in his presence, had been something she had never done before, and now in the morning to see him awake, to sit and convers with him, for him to actually check on her wellbeing, had prompted a light blush to climb up her cheeks as she lifted her cup back up against her lips as her way to dismiss the reddening of her cheeks before she answered him.

"Yes, there is nothing to worry about."

In return for her dismissive reply, he had only nodded and returned his attention back to the breakfast that had been prepared for them, green eyes did not even flickered back up to see her face, as he had grown used in handling her often detached persona, it seemed.

"Would you mind if we go for a ride, Hans?" She would have asked if he had nothing in mind to spend the day, yet she figured it would be foolish since other than the servants there were truly no one else with them, nor that there was any of their usual activity, and they were supposed to be spending the entire week together nonetheless. "I personally had Sitron to be brought with us since it seemed you are quite fond with your horse."

His eyebrow had quirked in interest from the moment she had voiced her request, and a smile had formed on his lips when she had mentioned the stallion he seemed to have his whole trust in. "Why of course I wouldn't mind, Elsa. We could leave as soon as you're ready."

Nodding her head in agreement, she had set her cup down, empty now that she has finished her tea, before she rose from her seat, motioning for Gerda to follow her as she made her way out of the dining room, as she had to prepare herself by putting on proper clothing for riding.

For two was required in this dance of fate, should they wished to fulfill what was written for them.