Thaw (Jelsa Fanfic)

Abyss

Darkness.

Pressing.

Suffocating.

She was lost. Drowning in the shadows, fighting to reach a surface that didn't exist. There was no sense of direction in this place, no sight and no sound...even time seemed out of reach in the vast nothingness that surrounded her.

And then, fear closed in on her like the cruel teeth of a sprung bear trap.

She felt herself fall, and it felt like she was tumbling through the abyss for ages. Her knees and palms collided with a hard, stony surface...there might have been pain, but in the throes of panic, Elsa did not feel it. She was scrambling, trying to push her feet steady beneath her.

And then, the floor gave away once more, and she was tumbling further. She could feel the scream building inside of her, trying to tear free...but her vocal cords seemed paralyzed. All that came out was a dry hiss of air...and still, she fell.

Her landing should have hurt. Should have even broken her, in fact. But Elsa was no worse off than if she'd fallen upon a mass of pillows. She blinked, suddenly disoriented by the presence of a queer and sickly yellow light. It had no real origin that she could tell...it was as of the darkness itself was bleeding it, as little sense as that made to her reeling mind.

"Ah...the Snow Queen. Frost's little gem." The smooth tones of Pitch's voice seemed to come at her from every direction. Elsa scrambled to her feet, bet breaths coming in quick gasps.

"Let me go. I've got nothing to say to you." She hated the fear in her voice, the weakness in it as she struggled to gain a sense of her whereabouts.

"Oh, but I have plenty to say to you." The light grew brighter as his chuckle resonated around her, casting across the cobblestone floor and creviced walls.

"I don't want to hear it. Nothing you say is of any importance to me." Elsa steadied herself, displaying a bravery that she didn't feel.

He stepped from the darkness, the shadows dancing wildly across his ashen features. His cold, calculating amber gaze slipped over her, taking her in from the top of her head to the tip of her toes. "Ah, but you will. You're mine, at least for a little while. And by the end, I think you'll change your mind about what you find to be important."

Elsa shrank back, intimidated by the sheer size of him. He seemed somehow taller, standing in his own pit of shadows. It was as if he'd gained something vital in the hours since she'd last seen him...as if he were somehow stronger. "What do you want?" She narrowed her blue eyes at his own illuminated ones. "There's nothing I'm willing to share with you, so you're wasting your time."

His hands were clasped behind his back as he walked, slow and confident as he began to circle her. "Will can be bent with the right tools, dear Queen." He said thoughtfully, looking up at the vaulted ceiling of stone above. "What I want is simple. I want you."

Elsa blinked, not sure if she'd heard him correctly at first. The sheer audacity of the mere suggestion was atrocious. "You can't be serious."

He held up a long finger as if to silence her, his mere presence commanding. "Oh, but I am. You see, Snow Queen...you are a package I find to be quite valuable. You hold great power...and as a mortal, it can be wielded without belief. You are exempt from the Man in the Moon, from the Guardians, from my own restrictions. Nothing could stop you, with the right enticement."

"I would rather die than help you." Elsa saw no point in being anything but blunt.

"You will. But your life is not the bargaining chip I intend to play. I know you're far too noble to save your own life." He began to pace again, his stride sure and strong. "But what of your sister? What of the precious people in your Kingdom? I can save them, you know. I can take it all away...as if it had never happened at all."

Elsa glared at him. "Leave Anna out of this. Leave my people out of this!" She was suddenly furious at him...furious for that damned smugness, furious for the implications behind his words. "I'll never join you. Never."

"It wouldn't be forever, of course. Just long enough to put the Guardians down once and for all." He continued as if he hadn't heard her at all. "Unless of course you find the darkness to your liking. You'd be quite welcome to extend your...contract...in that event."

"You say you're so powerful... That you and Grim are unstoppable. Why then would you seek the aid of a mortal woman?" Elsa nearly spat at him.

"We are." He said simply. "I don't need you to defeat the guardians. I need you to sweeten the pot."

"You want to use me to destroy Jack." She finally understood, the mere notion of the idea enough to twist her insides into a knot.

"Precisely. Unfortunately his life is not part of the deal. But if you agree, I will spare your sister and your people what are sure to be horrific deaths. And maybe...just maybe you'll come to find you can use me too." There was a suggestive nature in those last words that made Elsa's skin crawl. "After seeing the Snow Queen for myself, I can see the appeal. Some minor...adjustments...and you would be the perfect addition at my side." He raised his hand, snapping his fingers...before casting a long and appreciative glance down the length of her body.

Elsa, suddenly conscious of herself, looked down. A high pitched gasp escaped her at the sight she was greeted with...gone was her white nightgown. Instead, she was not dressed it black...a startling contrast to the milky tones of her flesh.

"Much better." Pitch commented, sneering at her. "You were made for darkness."

Elsa struck out, expecting her powers to blast forth...but her effort was empty. No ice, no snow...not even a flake. It was the first time she'd ever been without the familiar cold, and its absence terrified her.

He threw his head back, laughing at her effort. "You're not awake, Snow Queen. This nightmare is my creation. Do you really think I'd craft your abilities into it when I so desperately needed your full attention?"

"I was made to help defeat you. At Jack's side. You can dress me in black and tell me pretty lies, but I'll never accept what you're offering." Elsa hissed at him vehemently.

Pitchs face was blank for a brief moment my before hardening into the hatred she knew so well. "Have it your way then. Watch your kingdom burn and your sister perish. And then you will die at his side."

"We'll be rid of you long before that." Elsa retorted.

Pitch looked positively evil as an amused grin captured his lips. "Have you ever see the future, Queen Elsa?" He pointed past her, toward the darkest part of the room. "It's fascinating to watch death before it comes. "My friend can show you. He can show you everything."

Dark, unabated horror claimed her as she turned to look in the direction he was pointing.

And then, she began to scream.