Show Yourself (An Elsa Fanfiction)

Chapter Eight: Alice

It's getting dark out, noted Alice as she bent her head over today's page in her diary. She liked journaling, because written words were easier than spoken ones. It was like an equation; this word plus that word equalled this sentence. With spoken words, there were too many other things to think about; intonation, expression, and Alice's worst nightmare, eye contact.

She lifted up her head and turned on the lamp that stood on the side of her desk. It was winter, and it was 8pm, so of course it was dark, but she didn't want to close her curtains just yet. She liked the dark. It drove her mum crazy, as she said that people could see in if it was dark with the lights on and the curtains open, but to Alice, darkness meant stars, and stars were always beautiful.

She finished her diary entry, thinking as she did. She knew she was weird, and there was no way to sugarcoat that fact. On the outside, she knew her shy demeanour and disinterest in clothes and shoes made her seem like a little girl as opposed to someone in their twenties, but it wasn't like she could pretend to have an interest in something, was it?

Besides, she did a lot of pretending. To the outside world she seemed to have it all put together, despite her disinterest in fashion; she was bright, with a qualification record to match. But recently, there had been a storm brewing inside her, one that was gradually becoming increasingly difficult to quell. She had tried to silence it, but it refused to be silenced; what it had demanded was an outlet.

So she had used her gifts, the ones that had been hers since before she could remember. She had written, painting with a palette of words and punctuation. She wasn't magical, not in the way a witch or fairy might be, but she could create things using her imagination and vision, and that had to be a power in itself. Certainly, those who had read her work had often told her that she employed her talents beautifully.

But recently, ever since the arrival of the storm, her stories, so often full of hope and magic of the most fantastical kind, had turned dark and foreboding. Deep down however, she knew what had lead to the arrival of the storm; her frustration and anger at herself and the society that branded her uniqueness as a curse. Nevertheless, she kept it hidden; if she let it out, it would be impossible to contain, and the thought of losing control filled her with fear. She just needed somebody, anybody, to help her.

Internally, in her mind, she screamed.

It really was time to close the curtains now, she decided with a sigh. She went over to the window.

Suddenly, she glanced at the panes, which were covered in a deep frost, similar to what might form on a car windshield overnight. That was odd. It definitely hadn't been there five minutes ago.

Then the first snowflake fell.

It wasn't a regular snowflake; she could tell that just by the way it looked. While regular snowflakes just looked like indistinguishable white puffs, this one had a faint blue hue, and was exquisitely crafted, as if it were made from glass.

Almost on impulse, Alice looked down at the back garden beneath her bedroom window, and the woods behind it.

And there, in the back garden, was a woman.

She was beautiful, there was no doubt about it. Her skin was as pale as arctic ice, and her eyes were the blue of a frozen sea. Her platinum blonde hair fell just a little past her shoulders, and her face was painted with heavy makeup. She wore an elegant white ensemble which almost looked to be one with her skin, and was decorated with purple, pink, blue and green crystals. Behind her, two flowing trains flew away from her shoulders, giving the impression of wings. But - and this was the most important part - those delicate, intricate snowflakes were swirling from her hands, as if the woman were creating them by mere thought alone.

Alice stared at her, this graceful, strange woman who was standing in her back garden making snow flurries, and felt no fear.

Until the woman turned her head, caught Alice's eye, and, with mirth playing on her lips, winked.

Before Alice could react however, the woman heard a noise and, eyes wide with alarm, bolted towards the woods, the snowflakes vanishing into thin air behind her.

Alice grabbed a nearby jacket and slipped it on, before sneaking downstairs and quietly opening the front door. She could almost hear destiny calling her as she did.