Disclaimer: Don't own and never will. But Disney HAVE agreed to let me have it for Christmas. (And if you believe that, I have a bridge to sell you.)

AN: This was inspired by the Broadway song Monster from the Broadway version of Frozen. And no, I haven't seen Frozen 2, so if this contradicts anything there, I plead ignorance.

AN2: Set sometime after Elsa throws Anna out of her ice palace and before Prince Hans and co arrive.

Everywhere.

Elsa looked out over the edge of her balcony at the mountains below. They, of course, remained unchanged as ever. She almost envied them in a way. They just were, no feelings, no powers, no worries. Simply an unchanging surface that had nothing to worry about.

She gripped the railing as Anna's words echoed through her mind. Eternal winter everywhere. Crops would fail, people would starve and freeze and life itself would slowly reduce to a fraction of what it once was.

And it was all because of her. She allowed herself to feel, to lose control. She was the one who panicked and ran and had no idea how to undo the damage she had caused.

Well, she had one idea.

It was the most expedient solution if she thought about it. Simple, efficient and it would probably work.

With a wave of her hands, the railing vanished.

"A good ruler must do what is necessary to protect their kingdom."

Her father's words echoed in her mind. However she tried to approach the situation, she couldn't escape the fact that she was queen. She was responsible. And a queen protected her people, even if that person was her.

She slowly raised her foot, tears streaming down her face. She didn't want to die. Not really. But...what choice did she have? If her death meant that everyone else would live, who was she to stay? Her worst fears had come true. Intentionally or not, she was the one that ice miners sang about.

She had to die.

Anna would be upset of course. Anna cared more about her than anyone else. Anna was probably the only person who cared though. Anna who believed that Elsa could somehow fix this mess.

Elsa gave out a grim chuckle. Well, in that Anna was right. Elsa WAS fixing this mess. Just not in a way that she would approve of.

Well, in these mountains, it could take years for her body to be found. The snows would melt and carry it away in the flow. Anna and her new husband Hans or whoever that new man was could rule in her stead. She had no doubt that Anna would step up to the challenge.

What if she made it worse?

Memories of an old story flooded her mind. A story in which the death of the monster poisoned the ground and began to destroy the very town the hero sought to save. Could that happen here?

With a wave of her hands, she restored the balcony. She had to stay alive to fix what she'd done. Turning around, she walked back into the castle of ice.