the magic of ice

the other child

The other child did in fact live far away from England. She lived on a tiny island, not big enough to be placed on a map, but it was densely populated for its size. Seven-year old Elsa was sleeping peacefully in her and her sister's room. She'd been having a wonderful dream about lush green fields and tall majestic horses when she was shaken awake by her four-year old little sister Anna.

"Elsa," Anna whispered, unable to contain her excitement. She shook her older sister's shoulders impatiently. "Wake up, wake up, wake up."

Elsa groaned sleepily and pulled the covers over her head. "Go back to sleep, Anna."

Anna sighed and flopped down on top of Elsa. "I just can't. The sky's awake, so I'm awake, so we have to play."

"Go play by yourself," Elsa grumbled, pushing Anna off her bed. She settled back down into a comfortable position.

Anna, however, would not give up so easily. She tried to think of a way to persuade her older sister to play with her. Jumping on her wouldn't work. Elsa would just get mad. She'd already tried pleading. She racked her brain to try and think of another idea. Suddenly her eyes lit up and she clambered back onto Elsa's bed eagerly.

"Do you wanna build a snowman?" Anna grinned, knowing for a fact it will work. Elsa could never resist these things.

Elsa's eyes opened and a smile slowly crept onto her face. Giggling, Anna jumped off the bed and ran to the door. She was hopping from what foot to the other excitedly. She was still not tall enough to reach the door handle and she waited impatiently for her sister to get out of bed. But she didn't have to wait long because Elsa sprung out of bed, just as excited as her little sister. She opened the door and Anna bolted out, heading straight for the ballroom. Elsa glanced towards their parents' room anxiously. She didn't want to wake them up at this hour. She crept past the room quietly, but then ran again as soon as she passed it.

Anna was already there, jumping up desperately to try and reach the handle. Elsa laughed at the sight and opened the door for her. As soon as they were in, Elsa quickly closed the door so that any noise they made wouldn't be too loud for those still sleeping.

"Do the magic, Elsa! Do the magic!" Anna jumped up and down excitedly.

Elsa grinned and rubbed her fingers together. Blue glittery sparkles swirled around her hands and formed a snowball. Anna watched, mesmerized. Elsa threw the snowball into the air and it exploded in a shower of sparks. Anna squealed in delight and danced around.

"Do more! Do more!"

At her request, Elsa opened her palm to create a snowflake. But instead, red sparks flew out in all different directions. Her eyes opened wide with astonishment and she laughed delightedly. She'd never been able to do anything un-related to snow before. But her happiness was short-lived. She gasped in horror when she saw the state her little sister was in. Anna was on the ground. Her eyes were closed but her whole body was convulsing, like she had a seizure. She must've got struck by the red sparks. Elsa didn't know what to do. She didn't dare touch her sister, fearing that she might make things worse.

"Mum! Dad!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. She was sobbing uncontrollably, tears running freely down her face. She didn't know what else to do and she was scared.

No longer than a minute later, the door opened and the king and queen ran in. The first thing they saw was their youngest daughter sprawled across the floor, jerking about. They ran forward to their daughters. The queen scooped Anna into her arms.

"I'm sorry," Elsa wept. "I don't know what happened. I only meant to make a snowflake."

The king looked at his eldest daughter. There was no anger in his eyes, only worry. He stepped forward to comfort her, but Elsa backed away. She didn't want to touch anyone. She didn't trust herself to. What if she did something so terrible that there was nothing anyone could do about it?