Conceal it, Don't feel it

        she sighs. fingers intertwine & she tilts her head to the side. it is far too obvious         this child, THE CROWN PRINCESS NONETHELESS, was not informed         of the visit. did they intend to hide her like some dark secret only meant for the         shadow realm? probably, yes. her heart breaks. 

“I-.” Elsa didn’t like to lie, but she couldn’t tell that she hadn’t been allowed to go. That would seem...odd, definitely. So, she nodded instead.

   Instinctively he SHRUNK back from her hand, pushing himself further against the wall of snow behind him. Small flakes fell into his hair, flecking his cheeks like freckles before quickly dissolving. CRYING. The snowflakes were melting, but he WASN’T crying; he swiped at his face furiously.

She didn’t know what to do at first, she just studied his face for a moment. It was hard to tell if he was or wasn’t crying due to all the snow falling on their faces as well as the snow left over from the snowball fight. Even if he was crying, Elsa wouldn’t tell him she noticed. He was obviously trying very hard to be strong.

      ❝ how STRANGE … ❞ 

      she tilts her head to the side. from the way the royal couple & servants act,       one would think the child before her is some DEMON born from the abyss       itself. 

“I’m sorry, Your Highness.” Elsa curtsied quickly. They hadn’t even told her anyone would be visiting, obviously not counting on them running into each other.

“Mama and-.” She paused to correct herself. Even though she was young, Elsa had always been polite, and, even though she was a bit out of practice talking to other Royals, she was still determined to keep it that way.

   Late winter… early Tuesday morning… he didn’t know the time, but by the way the sun had not yet begun break through night’s heady darkness, he would GUESS that it had to be somewhere around five in the morning. The child SHIVERED, his thin jacket and polished boots certainly not equipped for trudging through the snow that was up to his waist…

   He stumbled, and suddenly the harsh voice that haunted his nightmares was SCREAMING at him. “ Get up! Get up, soldier! Get on your feet? Are you a man? Are you going to be an Emperor someday? Men don’t cry, EMPERORS do not cry! Stop crying! ”

   He couldn’t stop, and he felt meaty fingers close HARD around his arm, jerking him up with a cry of pain –

Elsa watching him tumble over with a laugh, and she took a few moments to catch her breath and make some more snowballs before she ran over to where he’d fallen behind the snow bank.

“You can’t hide from me, R-!” She froze as she approached him, tilting her head a little as she studied him for a moment. Something was obviously wrong. Maybe it had to do with him not liking snow. Elsa dropped the snowballs she was holding onto the ground. She knelt down beside him, watching him with genuine concern.

Hyup!                  Ho!                             Watch your step!                                          

Elsa let out a triumphant laugh as she ducked behind a snowbank to make more snowballs. She peaked over her snowbank as he called out to her. Obviously this was supposed to be a battle, but Elsa couldn’t wipe the smile off of her face. It was way too much fun.

“Well, how dare you-!” She paused, thinking for just a moment. Queen Elsa didn’t have the same ring to it as the great Emperor Rudolf. She had to come up with something good, something different. Her grin widened as she came up with the perfect name.

   As the snow began to gather on the ground, he eagerly packed it in his hands – it was perfect packing snow, ideal for building and for playing – and as soon as Elsa’s attention was diverted, he lobbed it at her shoulder.

Elsa took a long sigh of relief, glad that, after so much time, she was able to use her magic again. She was distracted, and her defenses were lowered, which is why she was so surprised when the snowball hit her right in the shoulder. She turned around to face him quickly, grinning despite the fact that she’d just been hit with a snowball.

The voice startled Elsa slightly, and she turned around to look at the older girl in surprise. She tilted her head a little, keeping her hands close. “You did?” She didn’t want to sound rude, but she was awfully curious as to who the girl in front of her was. 

Elsa followed close behind. Though she didn’t know where she was going, she could act as another pair of eyes to make sure that no one saw or followed them. Running through the halls like this reminded her of sneaking out of her room with Anna at night to play. When they got to the ballroom, Elsa could no longer hide her grin. This was perfect!

She giggled quietly at his question and explanation before she nodded, waving her hands around until a tightly packed snowball hovered in between her hands. “I guess...I can kinda make my own cloud then.” She nodded to the snowball before she tossed it in the air, where it burst into tiny snowflakes that came falling down on them, creating a bright snowfall.