The storm emerged without any warning - without any sign.
She never saw it coming - a whirlwind of darkness, uprooting her present and cascading shadows over her future.
A true collision of disruption and despair, she found herself consumed by chaos; her faith unravelled as it disappeared into the cries of the sky.
And in the midst of her heartache, she decided to either dwell in her disasters or learn to weather them.
She could let the storm break her or she could let it build her.
Princess Elsa looked away ( but not with a tender expression) from Iris who held beautiful ornamentals in her hands.
Preparations for the wedding went about vigorously.
Other palace maids walked around the entire place for too long that she began to feel sick.
Irene had a beautiful, white, sleeveless gown made for the wedding.
She had her sparkling amber hair styled in an exquisite manner.
" You look absolutely ravishing. I doubt this prince will recognize you," Irene rattled on.
She moved her hands towards Elsa's neck to place the diamond necklace firmly, but Elsa held her with her quivering hands.
" Do you think this is right?
" Do you think Oliver isn't hurting? I'm getting married to someone else."
" It doesn't matter what anyone thinks. You saved sir Oliver's life and I'm sure he'll be totally grateful to you. I bet your father has the best plans for you, my princess. And, you'll only need to put in your best in...."
The ringing bells outside the palace disrupted their conversation.
" The groom has arrived," Iris announced in a voice wistful in its bliss and rushed towards the window to take a glance.
Her smile was so large ( one could barely see her tiny eyes.)
Elsa twitched and inched backwards on the bed she sat on.
Her doomsday was here already!
It came quickly.
Iris gave off a deep sigh of contentment and wiped her forehead that glistened with sweat.
" He's charming and good-looking, your highness."
A knock on the door arrived sooner than expected.
Irene hastily applied the last touch-up on the jewelry and led Elsa to get dressed.
Irene patted her cheeks in admiration and smiled softly.
" Don't slouch, your highness.
" Go out and show them that you can handle whatever comes your way."
Elsa blinked back tears and embraced Irene.
Apart from her brother and mother, Irene had been the next sensible person she could fall back on when things appeared rough and tough.
Irene was beyond what anyone would wish in a sister or a friend.
Elsa gurgled emotionally and broke free from the emotional embrace.
She needed to rush to the wedding hall before the guards would come to knock again.
******
Elsa flinched and curled her lips in utter disdain.
Her father had thrown a large feast in her name because he was marrying her away.
" Eat. Drink."
She could hear her greedy and gluttonous father acclaim.
She watched her father chuckle roughly and share a toast with the king of Albalon.
There she stood - thinking about all she could have said when the priest had asked her if she would take prince Ivan as her lawfully wedded husband.
She should have disagreed - to obtain sheer contentment from her father's disappoinment and instill chaos in the crowd that had come to witness the wedding of the royal family.
But, it simply was too late. There wasn't any need to cry over spilled milk.
At the moment, Elsa felt a different emotion twirl up in her heart.
She felt blank all of a sudden and her thudding heartbeat came to an abrupt stop.
Prince Ivan glanced at her from across the dinning table where he sat.
His stare was long and quite endearing.
His eyes gave off a different emotion too - somewhat confused or dazzled.
This was too quick for Elsa to take in and she shifted her gaze almost immediately from the distraction.
" I can tell the prince likes you," Irene whispered softly and chuckled while looking over her long lashes.
Elsa dropped the cup of red wine violently.
This spilled on her gown and she hissed.
Her father glared at her but she ignored his contemptuous glare.
She politely excused herself and galloped to her room to get herself cleaned.
________
The rattling movement in the darkness of her room caught her off guard.
Elsa stopped on her track and made a backward movement.
This caused her to almost stumble upon the boxes laid behind.
" Mother?"
" Come in."
The lights came on and neither Elsa nor her mother made a sound.
Queen Bethany stared at her in silence - with plenty thoughts in her head.
" I see so much of myself in you," her mother said quietly.
" It frightens me.
" Sometimes when I was young, I used to sit and wonder where the stars went when each night ended. When I learned that they never truly go away, I realized the answer I had really been searching for all along."
As the queen stared back at her reflection from the mirror, she could only think of the words her mother had said to her so many years before.
" The scars and rage never left me. I had been afraid of what I truly was. I was afraid of my guts and willpower, and I let my mother take control of everything - including my marriage to your father.
" I regret that I had the chance to make a change but I didn't - because I was afraid of what they would think."
Elsa raised her furrowed brows.
She seemed to understand what her mother tried to convey in this conversation.
She could have saved her from this lifelong damnation, but she didn't.
.... because of fear?
A pained whimper escaped her lips.
" But, mother, Oliver has been banished. He's never coming back for me...."
Queen Bethany touched her daughter's face passionately and wiped out the tears on her face.
She smiled softly while raging silently within herself.
Her daughter looked so beautiful today and it wouldn't be nice to waste tears.
It would be better if she spared Elsa the pain that came with not giving situations an open trial.
She breathed in and exhaled deeply.
" Elsa, all I ask is that you give this marriage a chance.
" You won't have to be like me. You won't have to hide your true self. You won't have to hide the fact that you admire freedom."
Elsa gasped and gazed at her mother as if she had suggested something outrageous.
" Make it work even if you didn't start on the right foot.
" And who knows, you might be lucky and find love and fulfillment in this."
Elsa glanced coldly at her mother.
She felt indifferent about the whole situation.
Why did it have to be her?
Why did she have to be the one enduring everything thrown towards her direction?
Why did she have to be the one taking it all upon herself?
Why did she have to be the considerate one?
No one ever considered her emotions and it simply was unfair.