"Elsa, Elsa!" cried little Anna as she clambered over her sister's bed. "Wake up!"
Behind her, the sky was bright with fire. There was a strange sound on the wind, like men and women and children and horses all screaming together.
"The sky's awake, so I'm awake," whined Anna, her voice tiny against the heavy baritone of a cannon being fired, "so we have to play!"
Elsa wiped her tears against her pillow, breathed in and out, and counted out three seconds before turning to face Anna.
"Aren't you afraid?"
This, she knew, was the only proper way for the Crown Princess to say "I'm afraid."
"No, silly!" Anna huffed. "The sky wakes up all the time. Why would I be afraid?"
"Because it's not the same," whispered Elsa. "This time the sky's a different kind of awake..."
Two doors down the hall, the Queen of Arendelle sat in darkness on a simple wooden chair opposite the King, and wept.
She had debated her husband with reason and logic. She had appealed to the love and compassion in his heart. She had cursed him; she had threatened to divorce him, take the children, and leave the kingdom to rot. She had pleaded with him, voice breaking with sobs. And now she had no strength left for anything but a quiet, stately weeping.
"She's our daughter," she was whispering. "She's just a little girl. She's going to be the queen..."
"There are thousands of little girls in Arendelle." The King's voice was stone. "Thousands of little girls come to hide behind these very gates, clinging to their mothers and crying as they wait for Weselton to break through. Can you imagine what the soldiers will do to them? No, stop crying, I really want you to imagine. The little girls who will be dead by morning will be the lucky ones."
"We can't save everybody. You know that. Frank, we can still get out, there's still time. We'll go into the mountains and wait for a ship that will take us to the Southern Isles. Please, Frank, let's take the girls and get out..."
"I will not leave my people." This time, the Queen could hear tears in the King's voice. "If nobody else will pay the price, then who can pay it but us? Solveig, what is the happiness of one little girl against the lives of a thousand?"
"Everything," said the Queen.
The silence hung thick and heavy in the air for a moment. Then the King scraped his chair back and closed the door behind him.
"Do the magic, do the magic!" shrieked Anna, bare feet scrabbling against the smooth wooden floor of the nursery. Elsa closed her eyes, counted out three seconds, and let it all out - a flurry of snowflakes exploded from the ceiling, dancing in swirls of bruise-blue and red light and gouts of that cold black wind which beats against the North Mountain even in summer. Anna started against the wind and began to slip back, and for a moment Elsa was afraid, and the wind howled and ice crystallised chaotically on the floor, but then Anna gave a shriek of delight and put her tongue out to taste the fresh snow, and Elsa felt cleansed. The fear and desperation and anger were gone, leaving behind only that faint sorrow of being so happy and then suddenly remembering one's mortality, and Elsa wanted to cry; to catch Anna and the world in frozen tears and keep them safe and shiny forever.
When the King opened the doors to the nursery, he found two little girls building a snowman to the song of crossbows.
"Hi, I'm Olaf, and I like warm hugs!" mumbled Elsa, waving the snowman's stick arms about and making Anna giggle hysterically, "And fear not, my sweet princess Anna!" she added as an afterthought, "I'm so big and strong that I'll protect you from anyone!"
"Silly Olaf!" giggled Anna, gathering both Elsa and the snowman in her arms and almost succeeding in dislodging his head, "You know no-one will hurt us, right? Stupid old Weasel Town will go back home tomorrow like they always do. Right, Olaf?"
"Yes, Anna." Elsa realised too late that she had forgotten to mumble.
"Elsa! Anna!" the King's voice came dancing around the nursery in the clutches of the wind. Elsa wormed out of Anna's grip - the Crown Princess always came when called. Anna let the snowman go, more tentatively, leaving his head jutting out at an odd angle.
"Yes, Papa?" Elsa called through the wind.
The King was making his way towards her, boots sliding apart on the ice in a way that was decidedly un-royal. "Elsa, Anna," he repeated, "come here this instant! I need you for something very important."
Elsa took Anna's hand, who pulled back only slightly in protest, and slid across the ice towards her father, who caught both girls in a fierce embrace. Head pressed against his chest, Elsa could feel him breathing too deeply and too slowly, as though he had been running for miles and was now trying to hide his exhaustion.
"Is Weasel Town going away yet?" Anna wanted to know. "Mind you, I'm not scared. I know they will."
"It's Weselton, Anna," said the King as he shepherded the girls down the corridor. "Elsa, there's something special I need you to help me with. Anna, listen to me. I'm taking you to the library. Mama's there. You must promise me that no matter what happens, you'll stay with her. Promise me that you won't leave your room unless Mama tells you to. And if Mama tells you to go, promise me you'll do as she says, no matter what..."
"Go?" Anna stared with wide eyes at the King as he pushed her back through the doors of the library. "Why would we need to go?"
"Just in case. Anna, get off." She was clinging to his legs now, and clutching Elsa's hand. "Please get off. I have to go do something very important. Come, Elsa, we need to go."
"Elsa..." Anna's eyes were wide as saucers. "You mean Elsa won't be with me?"
The King knelt and kissed Anna on the top of her head. "No, Anna. I already told you, Elsa has also got something very important to do. We'll only be gone for a little while. You'll see us in the morning."
"Elsa!" The little girl's lip began to tremble. "I'm not staying here without Elsa!"
"Please, Anna..."
"Papa, I won't! I won't, I won't, I WON'T!"
"Anna, stop it this instant! Solveig, help me!"
Footsteps sounded from the corner of the room, and gentle arms closed around the hysterical little girl, pulling her through the door, holding her close, stroking her hair. Through a flood of tears, Anna screamed Elsa's name once more, but Elsa was already walking away with the King. As she turned to look back, Anna saw that terrible cold queenly resolve on her face, and a little bead of ice glinting in the corner of each blue eye. Then the Queen kicked the door shut, and in the darkness there was nothing left for Anna to do but to bury her head in her mother's chest and sob quietly.