Here, have some angst. Just a little bit of what I thought might’ve been going through the King’s head. I just want to clarify that I don’t think it was completely his fault. But I’m certain that at some point, he blamed himself.
He never meant for it to go this far, he honestly didn’t. The separation was supposed to be temporary, only until she learned to control her powers.
But that was four years ago.
It had only gotten worse and worse. Elsa’s fear spiraled out of control, and as a result, so did her powers. It broke his heart to see her so terrified, so broken. No child should live like that. And it wasn’t just Elsa that was hurting. Anna was confused and hurt, she just didn’t understand why her sister couldn’t come out and play. And his wife, the mother of his two precious girls, spent many nights crying herself to sleep. And there was nothing he could do to fix it.
He was a king. He could fix the kingdom’s problems, protect the citizens. But he couldn’t protect his own daughter or fix her problems.
Now he was starting to doubt his choices. The damage that had been caused may not be able to be reversed. Elsa had shied away from him and Idun. The little girl who had so loved warm hugs told them not to touch her. It was obvious from the look in her eyes that she wanted it, but fear overtook desire.
And it was in that moment a fear of his own overrode him. He feared that he may have lost her. The little girl who used to sit on his lap and ask questions as he worked, who called him ‘Papa’ and would sneak down to the kitchen at night with her sister to steal chocolate...she was gone. In her place was this almost-teenager, with a haunted look in those once-bright blue eyes that he had seen in those who knew war, knew suffering. Every trace of innocence and childlike wonder was gone. She only called him ‘Father’ now, and would no longer let him touch her.
When he and Idun walked out of the room, they looked at each other. No words were needed. He could tell by the pain in her eyes (the same color as Elsa’s), the tears that finally ran down her cheeks, that she knew. He held his arm out and she collapsed into him, burying her face in his jacket as she began to sob. Though he made not a sound, his own silent tears trailed down his cheeks.
Because they were grieving. Princess Elsa was alive, but their little Elsa, their sweet little girl who believed in magic and love, who was a dreamer...she was gone. It felt as if she’d died.
And deep in his heart, he blamed himself. He wished with all his heart to go back in time, to fix this. But he couldn’t, so now he suffered the consequences.
Though she was alive, he killed his daughter.
