Mask of Shame

Chapter 1

Elsa was born a beautiful baby during the winter solstice. The kingdom praised her, excited for the future heir, but no one could be as happy as her parents. She was always in the spotlight and showered with adoration and gifts. She didn't understand it, but loved the attention her parents gave her. 

While she's their firstborn, most of their parenting wasn't exactly fantastic, but she loved them. Every minute she hung out with them, laughing, playing, and having a great time. Well, mostly her mother. 

Her father, being the king, couldn't be around much. He tried to fit in as much time to be with Elsa as he could, but it was only at night where he'd tuck her into bed. She didn't understand the whole concept of being king, but her mother reassured her he loved her as considerable as she begged to differ. 

Elsa believed this would last. Just her, her mother, and father. The three of them as happy as can be. Of course, that's not what transpired. Soon she got a little sister. Elsa stared at the baby wrapped in a blanket held by her mother. Her eyes were wide with questions. She never thought about having a sibling. Then she hated having one. 

The attention she first had dwindled. Some nights she'd stay awake for hours, hoping her mother would come to tuck her in, tell her a story, sing a lullaby. 

Nothing. 

She got a goodnight from her father, and that's where it ended. A resentment bubbled inside for her new sister, Anna, and it only became worse from there. While she was more comfortable in silence, Anna was loud. She had so much energy and wanted to play with Elsa nonstop. 

The blonde told her no She found one thing they could agree upon though. Winter. Playing in the snow and building snowmen. That's when they got along. Growing up, she became more lenient and enjoyed her sisters’ company from time to time. But she realized she was always going to be in Anna’s shadow.

Her bright attitude, extroverted kindness, and looking to talk to someone. That resentment grew into fear. A fear of being compared to her and being nothing alike, that people would choose Anna over herself. It ate her up.

As this rationalizing went on, Elsa knew her place to be the next queen of Arendelle. So at a young age, she put away her childish demeanor and locked herself in her room, studying to become queen. If she is going to be compared to Anna, then she’ll be the better queen. Proper everything. 

Anna didn't understand, and it broke her heart once they separated, once Elsa shut her out. She came every winter, pleading to build a snowman with no reply. Popping by to ask to play, also receiving no response. Her parents were becoming concerned about Elsa’s behavior, asking what was wrong. They never got a full response and accepted that they never would. 

Then tragedy struck that changed both Anna and Elsa. Their parents left for another country to check on trading. Their ship never returned. Anna attended the funeral. Elsa didn’t even show. She never even answered Anna when she asked why. Anna promised to not bother her again.

Elsa clenched her fists and stood from her bed, walking to the door. She waited before leaving, making her way towards the library. As a child remembered seeing a book, one from the restricted area that her father forbid her from entering. Ignoring his warnings, she enters the secluded part of the room, finding the locked door.

 She reaches up and grabs the key on the doorframe. Elsa looked at the key, then unlocked said door. The room smelt of old parchment and was covered in dust. Blue eyes scan the bookshelves, looking for any that caught her eye. One specifically did. A dark brown book, the cover tearing and contained within a small glass jar. Besides it, a black mask of sorts. From the looks of it, only for the mouth.