ROTBFTD : Broken & Beautiful

19

 Elsa pov 

'Huh? Where am I?' I mumbled, my voice raspy and unfamiliar. I was wearing a dress, my long hair cascading down my back. I felt... different. Confused. I opened the door, revealing a group of nurses huddled together, whispering in low tones. I tried to get their attention, but they ignored me. My heart sank.

I stumbled up the stairs, my legs feeling weak. I saw myself lying in a hospital bed, tubes snaking through my arms, bandages covering my wounds. Jack was sitting beside me, his hand holding mine tightly. He was staring out the window, his face etched with worry. My chest ached with a pang of guilt. I reached out to him, my hand resting on his shoulder. It felt real, familiar.

I retreated to the bathroom, splashing water on my face, hoping it would jolt me back to reality. But it didn't. I was still here, in this hazy world. I walked out, my footsteps echoing in the strange house. It wasn't mine. It was Jack's.

The sound of muffled sobs came from the next room. I crept closer, my breath catching in my throat. Anna, my sister, was huddled on the sofa, tears streaming down her face. Everyone – Jack, Lucy– were gathered around her, offering comfort, their faces heavy with sadness.

A wave of love and guilt washed over me. They were all so worried about me. So sad about my absence. I felt it so deeply, this love, this connection, it was a feeling I had never truly experienced. It made my heart ache, especially knowing I had chosen to turn my back on it. I wanted to go back, to see Anna, Jack, everyone...

Suddenly, a voice cut through the darkness, familiar yet strange. 'Elsa?'

I spun around, my eyes meeting Fae's. My breath caught. 'You can see me?' I whispered, my voice choked with emotion.

Fae's face was expressionless, her eyes holding an icy emptiness. 'Yes, so you do,' she replied, her voice devoid of warmth.

'I feel so guilty,' I choked out, tears blurring my vision. 'I want to meet my friends. I don't want to see them go through this.'

Fae shook her head, her expression unyielding. 'You chose this path, Elsa. I can't change that.'

I fell to my knees, my plea laced with desperation. 'Please, Fae, you have to. I can't live with this.' Tears streamed down my face, my body wracked with sobs. The darkness started to pull me away, its cold grip tightening around my heart.

Fae's face softened, a flicker of empathy crossing her features. 'Okay,' she said, her voice edged with regret. 'I'll make the exchange.'

But before I could even register her words, before I could hear her final thoughts, the darkness swallowed me whole. I was slipping away, fading into the nothingness, leaving behind a world I desperately wanted to return to, a world filled with love, and a future I had so foolishly abandoned.