Hi everyone, BatteriezNotIncluded here! This is my first Fanfic ever, so please go easy on me. Hope you enjoy, I if you have constructive criticism, feel free to PM me, but please don't flame or spam me :-) FYI: I do not own Frozen or the Cover image for this fic. All rights go to Disney and respective owners.

Enjoy!

Prologue

The door was still closed. Anna had tried virtually everything to get it to open, but it remained stubbornly shut, with her beloved sister telling her to go away. Not that she was getting discouraged, if anything she saw it as a game, a challenge; find the right thing to open the door. So far, chocolate, begging, yelling, and even riding her bike into the door hadn't worked, and she had only succeeded in getting a scolding from her parents, and a concussion. But that didn't mean she was any closer to giving up. Oh no, she was going to get that door open if it was the last thing she ever did. Well, okay not the last thing, the last thing would probably the snowman the built together after the door opened.

Currently, Anna was recovering from a particularly harsh scolding, after an attempt to get the door open involving a suit of armor, bed sheets, cooking oil, and one of the smaller rose bushes from the palace garden. Her ears were still ringing from the yelling, she had received. Of course none of this would have happened if the door had just opened, but it had resulted her getting grounded, which was why the seven year old princess was currently laying on her bed, bored out of her skull.

It was the middle of the night, and nearly everyone in the palace was fast asleep. Anna's stomach rumbled and she decided to sneak into the kitchens to get something to eat. Slowly, she grabbed her bag, snuck out the door, and made her way into the kitchens. She was about half way there when she heard footsteps. Quickly, Anna quietly ducked into the nearest room and shut the door. She slowly backed away from the door and waited for the steps to fade away, and slowly looked around the room.

It was a guest room, with a bed, vanity, nightstand with a candle, and other normal things. What wasn't normal was the large portrait on one of the walls. Anna slowly approached it, her curiosity overruling her hunger. The portrait was of one of the first kings of Arendelle, the painting was surrounded by a large golden frame; the whole thing was just a large as the door. Slowly, Anna touched the painting, and began to feel around the frame. Suddenly she felt a small latch on the underside of the frame. Exited at her discovery, Anna grabbed the chair from the vanity and began to feel around the rest of the edges, and soon found another latch. Carefully, Anna unlatched the painting and it began to swing forward… there was suddenly a loud creak, and Anna quickly shut the painting again. Footsteps suddenly began approaching and Anna quickly hid the first place she could find; under the bed. The footsteps suddenly stopped in front of the door and Anna covered her mouth to keep from getting caught. Slowly the footsteps faded away again and Anna dared to breathe.

Anna carefully got out from under the bed and opened her bag, secretly thankful that she had not emptied it since her attempt to get past the door. She quickly opened her bag and began to empty it out; lock picks… small dagger (taken from one of the suits of armor)… hairbrush… a book about Joan of Arc… matches… and… aha! Anna grinned triumphantly as she pulled out the small bottle of cooking oil leftover from her latest break-in attempt. Stuffing everything back into her bag, she quickly went over to the door and oiled the hinges, before carefully reopening the portrait-door. On the other side was…a door. She oiled these hinges as well before trying to open it… locked. Anna quickly went through her bag again and got out her makeshift lock picks. She quickly began to pick the lock on the door, her tongue jutting out slightly as she concentrated. Anna had made the lock-picks herself after reading a locksmithing book in the library when she was bored, and had used her first pair to try to open the door. Needless to say it didn't work and the picks had been confiscated, but not before she had managed to make a few backups.

The lock on the door clicked and the door soundlessly swung outward, revealing a small, dark staircase. Anna broke into an earsplitting grin. She had known that the Arendelle palace was bound to have secret passages; she had already found three of them on one of her exploring moods. Barely able to contain her excitement, she grabbed the candle off the nightstand and lit it with her matches, carefully closed the portrait/door behind her, and went down the stairs.

One spiral staircase downward, long winding damp hallway, and straight staircase upward later, Anna stopped, having very nearly hit her head on what appeared to be a cellar door. Slowly she opened it and gasped. From where she was, Anna was in some kind of forest, from where she was she could see the mountains, the fjord and… wait what? Anna wondered frowning, because she was looking at a particular mountain but seeing it at the wrong angle. She had not seen it from this angle before, but she had seen it from the castle windows. She slowly turned her head and let out a yelp, because she was staring at a castle; Arendelle castle… from outside its massive gates. Anna's mind went blank, as a slow brilliant smile spread across her face. She was out, she was free! Oooohhhh! She realized suddenly, that's why that tunnel was so damp, it must have been under the fjord. Looking around, she spotted Arendelle, and she grinned even wider. She carefully took out her dagger and marked the tree next to the hidden door in the ground and carefully closed it, before going toward Arendelle, marking trees as she went.

Gawain smiled to himself as he brought his hammer down on the strip of hot metal. He was anxious to finish his newest project. Losing himself in his work his mind drifted to his dream. He knew that it would be a long time before he could live his dream, and new that it would only get harder when he started, but his thirst for adventure and freedom was just as powerful if not more so than his hesitation. He dunked the strip of metal, which would be a barrel ring into the water with a hiss. He nearly dropped it into the barrel and realized that it was probably past time to go home and get some sleep. Judging by the moon, it was about one in the morning. He shook his head and carefully closed the blacksmith forge.

Old Man Jackson as he was called had taken in Gawain when he had been nine and offered him a position as his apprentice. Gawain needing money to start his adventure had accepted. It had been hard work, especially to gain respect from the best armor, sword, and blacksmith in Arendelle. But he had eventually done it and was allowed to work the forge without Old Man Jackson's constant watchful eye, which had taken two years of hard work and showing he could forge just as good as Jackson himself. Gawain, closed and locked the door, carefully taking his sword (which he had made himself), and carefully went "home". He was crossing the street toward the old building when he heard shouting. He stopped and frowned. Who in their right mind is out at this time of night, Gawain thought to himself. He shook his head and started again, before he heard another voice, a girl's voice. Gawain grinned to himself, a damsel in distress! I'll take it, and carefully drew his sword. As he continued, he saw another shadow; it was his friend, Kaleb. Actually Kaleb was more like a brother to a Gawain. Kay grinned at Gawain and pulled out his large makeshift polearm.

Gawain and Kaleb silently hid behind some barrels and looked around. Two large drunks had cornered a girl, who was holding a dagger of some sort. She was wearing a casual dress, though much better quality than anyone else in the city, and from the torch light from one of the men he could see she had dark strawberry blond hair, with a strange white streak in it. Her blue eyes were strangely fierce, like a cornered animal and she was angrily talking to the men.

"You had better walk away, or I'll make both of you regret it" she said her voice strangely calm but with a soft growl, "and I mean really regret it! Not like regretting eating a bad piece of fruit regret, but the bad kind of regret like 'I really shouldn't have messed with that kid the other day' and-"

The girl's voice trailed off as the men laughed and raised their fists. Gawain met Kay's eyes and gave a nod and together they charged. Gawain went for the one without the torch, swinging his sword low, hitting the guy in the knee. He howled in pain and swung his fist. Gawain ducked and swung again aiming for the guy's arm, and sliced his elbow open. The man stumbled back and Gawain repositioned his sword to strike. Suddenly the guy Kaleb was fighting backed up and nearly crashed into Gawain, forcing him to jump out of the way. Kaleb swung his Polearm and smashed it against the man's groin, causing a high pitch squeal to explode from the man's mouth. The man who Gawain had been fighting suddenly grabbed the dropped torch and swung it at Gawain, he tried to dodge but couldn't get out of the way until a flash of red came out of nowhere and stabbed the man in the arm with a dagger. The man howled and dropped the torch, and Kaleb quickly hit their heads with his Polearm, knocking them unconscious.

Gawain eyed the girl, "Nice shot," he commented, sheathing his sword. The girl grinned

"Thanks, not bad yourself," she said, "no really thank you both, I probably would have been in real trouble if you two hadn't come along and helped me, well actually you more like saved me and I helped you but-"

Gawain grinned and held up his hand, "no problem, though I have to ask, what were you thinking wandering the streets at a time like this? It's one in the morning!"

The girl shuffled her feet and mumbled something. Kaleb grunted and thrust the butt of his makeshift polearm in the ground, causing the girl to jump.

"My friend asked you a question, are you going to answer or not?" he towered over the girl menacingly.

"Calm down Kaleb," said Gawain shaking his head, then he turned to the girl, "sorry about him, he's like that to everyone. I'm Gawain, and this is Kaleb, and seriously, why are you out here?"

The girl looked at them and then smiled shyly "I'm Anna, and I'm exploring the town. I know it's bad to explore at night but it's the only time I can do it without my parents finding out 'cause I'm technically not supposed to leave home, and I've always wanted to see everything and I was really bored and I found a way out and…" the girl trailed off, and shuffled her feet when Kaleb and Gawain looked at each other.

"What," scoffed Kaleb, "are you under house arrest or something?"

Anna shuffled her feet "yeah" she said finally, "you could say that."

Gawain felt a small amount of pity for the girl, and he had to admit she was pretty cute for a damsel in distress. He thought about what to do, and then he turned to Kay and whispered so the girl couldn't hear them.

"I think she might make a good member," Gawain whispered to Kaleb, "She didn't back down against those guy's and it sounds like she has a reason to join up."

Kaleb frowned and then shrugged, "you're the Captain, so in the end it's your choice."

"I think we should take her to the base," Gawain told him carefully. Kaleb arched an eyebrow, but slowly nodded.

"Come with us," Gawain said, turning out of the alley, "It looks like you need a place to stay, and I think your story is a good one, so how about we take you to our safe house, and you tell us your story and we'll tell you ours."

Anna thought for a moment and then grinned, "Okay then, deal. Lead the way."

Anna was exited, to say the least. She had met two townspeople, who looked like they knew their way around, and had offered her a place to stay. She knew that she wouldn't have lessons for a few days, and her parents wouldn't really look for her due to meetings, and the servants would only look for her if something went missing, because she was supposed to be grounded.

The two boys who had found her were taking her through a series of side streets. The place they had spoke of, their safe house, sounded exiting, almost as if she were in one of the adventure stories she had read in the castle library. As they turned a corner, Anna took a closer look at her new friends. The one named Gawain, who looked about fifteen, was tall and muscular, and war a leather jerkin and pants, with thick boots, he had shoulder length black hair, and brown eyes. His skin was tanned slightly and he had several scars on his arms.

The other boy could hardly be called a boy at all. He was the biggest guy Anna had ever seen, even bigger than the palace guards. He was brawny and incredibly tall, nearly six foot if Anna had to guess, and carried his staff-thing (she thought it looked like a polearm) with ease, although it looked just as heavy as a jousting lance. He wore a cotton shirt and, pants that looked like they had been cut and sown back together to make room for his growth. He had black eyes, and incredibly short black hair. His skin though, was very strange, at least to Anna, for it was the color of chocolate. Anna had never before seen someone with that color skin before, at least in Arendelle.

Finally Gawain and Kaleb stopped at a rundown looking building. Gawain knocked on the door rhythmically (like a secret knock Anna thought with excitement), and the door opened to reveal a scrawny brown haired boy, who looked like he hadn't eaten in a few days.

"Hi Gawain, hi Kaleb" he said looking stoically, then he turned to Anna, "who's she?"

"Chatterbox, this is Anna. Anna this is Chatterbox" Said Gawain, grinning as the three of them entered the "safe house".

Anna grinned some more and sat down in a chair around a three legged table, along with the rest of the boys. Gawain let out a whistle and two other boys came out. Both boys had blond hair and looked as though they were twins. Gawain gestured to the table and the boys sat down next to each other.

"This is Pike and Smoke" Gawain told her, "Pike is the one on the left."

Kaleb shifted and looked at Anna, "you tell your story and we'll tell ours. Okay?"

Anna thought about it, well, they did save me and offer me a place to stay. I guess I kind of owe them an explanation, but I won't tell them I'm a princess.

Anna cleared her throat and began. She told the boys how she was the daughter of a lord, and how Elsa shut her out and how Anna had been trying to get her to come out. She told them how the tutors told her she was terrible at everything and she needed to stop having her head in the clouds and to grow up. She also told them how Mama and Papa were always busy, and never told her why Elsa hated her, or shut her out, but how they were kind nonetheless, just very, very busy.

"So I just found a way out while trying to get a snack and ran into some mean men, who Gawain and Kaleb saved me from and here I am." Anna finished, and sighed.

The boys were quiet before one of them spoke up… Smoke was it? "We have it bad too, although in a different way. Captain, or Gawain as you know him, looks out for us. We're one big family here." Suddenly the other boy, Pike's face lit up.

"How about you join our crew!" He said excitedly, "We could use another member, once Gawain makes enough money for the ship and-"

"PIKE!" all of the boys shouted at once glaring at him, and Pike quickly shut up.

"What ship?" asked Anna excitedly, looking around at the boys.

There was silence, then Gawain slowly spoke up.

"Okay," he said, "you told your story so now we'll tell ours. I was born on a ship, and was a cabin boy all my life. I learned everything I could about ships, how to steer, about the different knots and mast types, and even sail material. I decided early on that I wanted to be a pi… privateer. On one of my voyages, I met Kaleb. He was on a slave ship I was on, on course for the Southern Isles when our when the ship docked here in Arendelle. I had had to go down into the brig often and he and I often spoke. When we arrived here to get supplies, I stole the keys to his cell and snuck him out, the night before we were scheduled to leave for the southern isles.

"We were on the streets for a while, until the smithy, Old Man Jackson offered me a job his shop. I've been trying to get enough money for a ship of my own for a while now. We met Chatterbox at the market. His name is a bit of a joke actually, he doesn't speak unless he has something really important to say. But he was on the streets to, and knew how to handle himself. Plus he doesn't get seasick. Then later on, we met up with Pike and Smoke, they were farmers but their father kicked them out because they didn't want to get married, which was really stupid considered they were eleven at the time, and that was about a year ago. We all agreed to become crewmates once we get our ship. It seems Pike here thinks you'd make a good one and we take that kind of thing seriously considering that crewmembers are like family, especially on a ship."

Anna thought hard about it, I learned from Papa that 'privateer' is just a fancy way of saying pirate. But all the stories I've read has pirates having a lot of adventures and I've been trapped in the castle for a long time. It would be nice to be able to see the world, and have all the adventures I want, and they said crewmates are like family, and it would be nice not to be shut out anymore. But at the same time I can't leave Elsa, momma, and papa, and they would be disappointed if I left the castle to become a pirate. Plus I don't know these guys well enough. They did say that they didn't have enough money for a ship yet, so I should have plenty of time to get to know them, and it would be nice to have friends who weren't servants and thought I was just a spare.

"I don't know how to fight, or anything about ships and being a crewmember, but I'm willing to learn." Anna said with a determined gaze. "I'll do it, but I need to be able to go back home, so I'll only be able to visit at night. So the servants or my parents know about me leaving home. But, being a pirate sure sounds better than being a Lady."

Some of the boys shifted uncomfortably, but Gawain smiled, "Good, you know what you're getting into. You'll need to swear an oath first though."

Anna nodded, and repeated after Gawain; "I pledge myself, to the captain, the crew and the ship that will be my home. I swear to protect those on board and to never betray the loyalty of the crew. I promise to treat the ship and its crew as my family and treat them with respect and share all loot gained equally. I swear to obey my Captain and serve the ship faithfully from now on and forevermore."

Gawain smiled as, the rest of the boys cheered, and said "welcome to the family, Anna."

The next year passed both quickly and slowly for Anna. Gawain and the others taught her how to fight with swords, and her dagger properly. As the time passed she learned that although the gang had their quirks, they all were loyal and trustworthy. Several times she spoke to them about problems with her lessons (telling them it was part of her 'how to be a lady' training), and they even offered her advice on how to get past the door. Eventually, she and Gawain became close friends, and the others began to see her as a second-in-command of sorts. At first Kaleb was a little upset about this, but he eventually warmed up to her after she offered to teach him to read.

Gawain and the crew were in the safe house, one day, called there for an important meeting.

"If we're going to be pirates we need to do this properly, and that means we need a flag. I know a lot of pirates have weird symbols like skulls and swords, but I'm hoping that our flag is going to be a little more… unique. I want all of us to think of what we hate or fear most and we'll put it on the flag. I'll go first; I hate being chained down in one place and not be able to do what I want with my life."

Anna took a deep breath and said, "I hate the fact that everyone in my family is shutting me out. So I guess… doors?"

They continued around, until Pike, who was the best artist, came up with some designs. The first few were terrible and everyone hated them. But the fifth design all of them agreed on. The flag was Black (of course) with a white door, with a red snowflake on it (Pike was afraid of freezing to death), and with a skeleton chained in front of it (both Gawain and Kaleb contributed to this design, as Kaleb didn't want to be a slave again). The skeleton was kneeling in front of the door, it's back arched and its hands up, scratching at the door as if trying to get in or out (Smoke was afraid of being abandoned again). The design was given to Anna, who had sewing among her other lessons back at the palace.

More time passed, and Anna eventually began trying to sneak out during the daytime to see the crew. Gawain made money at the smithy, and even made Anna her own sword, as well as proper weapons for the others. Eventually they were met with another crewmember dubbed Smarts, Smarts had been a bastard son of a smaller noble in the kingdom of Corona, and knew virtually everything there was to know about maps, navigation, and flags. Smarts had fairly wiry figure with dirty blond hair and blue eyes, and when he concentrated on things really hard, he didn't notice anything going on around him (Pike, Smoke and Anna often played pranks on him when he did this). When they were bored, one day, they chose ranks for themselves, and Anna drafted out a pirates code for the ship. One day while bored they had played a game of guess the truth, where one had to guess the truth out of the three total statements was. It was during one of these games while alone with Gawain, that she told him the truth about her being the princess. He had asked if she could gain the money to buy their ship, but she had declined saying it would be too hard to do it without her parents finding out.

On one of these boring days, Anna and the others were talking about Elsa, and ideas for how to either get her out of her room, or get past the door. They had been discussing this for quite some time when suddenly Chatterbox spoke up.

"Every time you, knock on the door, she tells you to 'go away' right? Does she use those exact words? Do your parents say this as well? How long have they been doing this?"

Anna frowned, "yeah, Elsa uses those exact words, momma and papa don't though, they just say their busy, and they've been doing this since oh… since I was five so… five years. Why do you ask?"

Chatterbox frowned, "I may have this wrong, but have you ever thought that by 'go away' she meant, 'get out' as in run away? Don't misunderstand me, but it sounds like they really don't want you around at all. I know you love your family, but even Smart's parents were able to make time for him, and your sister and your parents sound like they don't want to. No offence."

Anna stared at Chatterbox horrified, it had crossed her mind that she might be unwanted in the palace, but she had usually had pushed the thought away almost immediately after she thought such things. Yeah, my parents are always busy, and yes Elsa's always telling me go away faster than she used to but… could it really mean I'm unwanted. Normally she would think someone who said something like that was crazy, but Chatterbox has always been very smart for his age, and even though he doesn't say much, what he does say is right, or the best opinion, depending on the situation. Chatterbox looked at her sympathetically.

"If you need to know for certain you can always test your parents, you said they always avoid talking about why your sister shut herself away. However, don't drop the subject, press on and fight back, make them tell you. You don't have to do it today or even tomorrow, but if ever feel like you need to find out… you have a right to know Anna, you are a member of their family, and real families don't keep each other in the dark, especially about something as important as this."

Anna thought for a moment and then nodded. Chatterbox is right, she decided. If they really love me, they'll tell me, because family helps each other out. For some reason, however, Anna couldn't shake a feeling of foreboding, at what was about to come.

Anna had returned to the castle very early a few days after her eleventh birthday, and had been once again pondering what Chatterbox had said about her family. Elsa had now refused to even acknowledge her whenever she knocked at the door, and simply waited for Anna to give up. Anna was not one to give up easily, but even she was beginning to feel defeat as each one of her knocks went unanswered. Anna had, for a while talked to Elsa about her days and her lessons, though she left out her escapades into the town. A few times she could have sworn she heard giggles, and one time she was certain she had heard Elsa suppress a snort of laughter. But vocal signs of her sister listening became less and less as time went on until she was faced with the crushing silence as usual.

Anna was suddenly pulled out of her thoughts by a knock on her bedroom door.

"Princess Anna," it was Kai. "Your parents would like to speak to you in the library."

Anna blinked. This is a first, she thought, as she followed Kai out of her room and into the library. Momma and papa never ask to talk to me. Suddenly a thought struck her like lightning, what if they're finally going to tell me why Elsa won't talk to me! I must have shown them that I'm responsible enough to know, since I'm great at taking care of Pharis. Even the stable boy says I am really responsible when it comes to taking care of my horse. A small smile graced her lips as she approached her parents. However it quickly vanished when she saw the looks on their faces. Both her mother and father looked sternly at her, almost as if she was in trouble, which she couldn't be because she hadn't done anything wrong… unless they found out I know about the passage! Anna was now a little worried.

"So," she started, trying to sound lighthearted, "you guy's wanted to see me?"

Her parents exchanged looks. "We have spoken to your tutors, and are very disappointed in you Anna." Her father began, "as princess of Arendelle, you have a duty to this kingdom, and that means you have to take your studies seriously. You have done nothing but fail several of your tests, and have skipped several of your lessons."

Anna couldn't believe her ears, "but you two have been pushing me take lessons all the time, I don't have any free time anymore and the time I do have I'm stuck doing homework or hanging out with…Joan."

"Joan?" her mother asked raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah," said Anna, trying to cover up that she nearly had revealed her escapes, "the portrait of Joan of Arc in the portrait room. Considering you two are always busy and Elsa won't talk to me, there isn't really anyone else to hang out with-"

"You talk to paintings?" her father said incredulously, "Anna, you are to stop immediately, such behavior is not fitting for a princess. And you are to now spend your free time under supervision to make sure you are behaving accordingly when not in your room."

Anna was horrified. If she was under constant watch she wouldn't be able to visit Arendelle anymore. She would be truly trapped in the palace, and without the freedom that she had slowly become accustom to she was certain she would go crazy.

"No!" She cried before she could stop herself, "I am a part of this family, I deserve to have time to myself without being treated like a prisoner, and this is my home! I don't know what I or Elsa did to be stuck in her room, but I cannot live like that!"

King Adgar's frown deepened, "your sister is not under house arrest! Elsa is dealing with problems that she must solve on her own-"

Queen Idun suddenly hissed at him, but Anna hardly noticed, her temper was now flaring more than it had in a long time. Suddenly years of being shut out suddenly became too much, and with a new threat of being shut in as well as out, Anna snapped.

"What is wrong with Elsa? There is nothing wrong with my sister! If she is having a problem than as we should be helping her, I should be helping her! And if she isn't under house arrest than why is she always in her room? Why won't she come out, why won't she at least talk to me even through the door? Why won't-"

"That is none of your concern!" Her father began sharply, but Anna cut him off.

"NONE OF MY CONCERN?! I'm her sister; of course it's my concern! If Elsa needs help we should all be willing to give it, we're all part of her family, and family shouldn't keep secrets from each other!" Anna was shouting now, her mother, who had been sitting down was now on her feet. Both of her parents looked murderous, but Anna didn't care.

"I have tried so hard to be what you want, but never have you given me what I want; I want Elsa! I want to see my sister, I want her to be able to leave her room, and not be alone, because no one wants to be alone! I don't care how bad this 'problem' is, I want to help, I need to help! And do try to focus on my lessons, but I can't because aside from being boring, I am constantly worried about my sister! I am a part of this family right? Then tell me what is happening, tell me how I can help her, tell me the truth! Don't shut me out anymore!"

"NO!" her parents shouted together, and the queen stared at Anna, she almost looked scared, but she mostly looked furious.

"Do not talk back to your father," She began angrily, "you are the princess of Arendelle and a princess never raises her voice, especially to her father! And as for your sister, you cannot know, what is happening with Elsa! That is none of your concern even if you are her sister! If you truly are a part of this family you would not address us so!"

King Adgar's voice was now steel "If you truly want to be a part of this family you have to show us that you do! Start by focusing on your lessons, and not concerning yourself with matters out of your control, such as Elsa!"

"What?!" Anna cried, "Elsa is my sister and that makes it my concern! And I do focus on my lessons, at least I try to, but even after I ask the tutors I don't get it! Don't you see? I'm trying, but I need more time! I will get it, I will be good enough, I am more than just the spare! Let me prove it, let me help with Elsa! Give me a chance! I can-"

"No! We have already made up our minds on the matter! You will not approach Elsa! And if you truly are not doing well at your best, as you seem to think, than perhaps your best is not good enough! You have to try harder, and stop complaining about your sister, end of discussion!"

Anna stared at her father, matching his gaze and didn't flinch, she remembered what her friend had told her and now she knew; she needed to know, was she wanted? She took a deep breath and spoke.

"No." Her voice was almost a deadly quiet, "NOT end of discussion. I will help my sister, as her sister it is my job and-"

"Get out."

Anna's words died in her throat. Her mind suddenly blank, she barely was able to keep enough train of thought to start "But-"

"ANNA!" Her father roared, "GET OUT!"

Anna's mind reeled; she barely registered charging out the door of the library. No, it can't be, but he just said… he's throwing me out! I really am just the spare to them; he didn't even deny it when I brought it up! I can't be unwanted, I just can't! There was only one thing left to do, one way to be certain if this terrible truth was real. She shot up the stairs and banged on the door.

"Elsa, please!" Anna practically sobbed, "Help me! Don't let mama and papa do this to me! I'm your sister! Please Elsa; just this once let me in!"

Anna reached for the doorknob and began turned it, and began to push the door open, before her sister's shrill yell penetrated her mind:

"Get out Anna! GET OUT!"

She heard footsteps, she saw guards, and without another thought, Anna ran. Down the hall, up the next flight of stairs and through a false wall, that she had discovered a few years ago. Anna's mind was still reeling, but slowly the truth of her situation. She was unwanted, the guards chasing her were there to throw her out of the palace, because she wasn't good enough, because she was just the spare, and the spare was no longer needed… or wanted, by anyone. Anna felt tears begin to escape her eyes, but she quickly tried to hold them in. She now knew what she had to do.

When the footsteps faded she followed the passage to one of the storage rooms. Quickly, she grabbed a nearby bag and began rifling through the shelves and drawers looking for anything of value. Gold, gems, old heirlooms, were quickly put in the bag, before she snuck, out of the room and after several close calls, made it to the secret tunnel that led to the treasury room and began to fill the rest of the bag with gold. When it was filled, she snuck back to her room, and grabbed her bag, sword, and the Flag that she had secretly made for their ship, before sneaking to the portrait/tunnel, and running to the safe house.

When she finally arrived was when she lost the battle to control her tears. As Gawain, Kaleb, Smoke, Pike, and Smarts held and comforted her she eventually got enough control to say that she had been as good as banished. She handed the bag filled with treasure to Gawain, and looked at him.

"I hope that is enough for a ship" said Anna through sobs, "because I want to leave and never come back here."

Gawain looked in the bag and nearly dropped it. He nodded numbly, and left, barely choking out that he was going to a place to sell the treasure without having too many questions asked, before practically sprinting out the door. The boys looked at one another, and silently they began to pack their things, while one of them stayed to comfort Anna. It was early morning the next day when Gawain came back, and the crew left together for the Harbor, with Anna wearing a cloak and hood to conceal her face. Though it took much haggling, yelling, and even some threatening, the crew walked down the harbor at their new ship. It was well worn, with too many barnacles on the hull. The two masts were well worn and the sails had definitely seen better days. But at that moment none of them cared. Gawain and his crew got on the ship and he handed a bag of new maps to Smarts telling him where they needed to go, and they immediately set off on their new adventure.

Elsa was sitting on her bed, silently cursing herself, and worried out of her mind. Never had Anna sounded so… desperate, so terrified. Elsa had know the moment her sister had started talking that something was terribly wrong, she knew she had heard yelling down stairs, though it was far enough away that Elsa hadn't know what anyone was saying but from the sound of it, whatever it was had been incredibly serious. She had recognized her parents and Anna's voices, but it didn't make since because Anna never argued, much less shouted at anyone. Needless to say, Elsa was worried, as if it wasn't made obvious by the ice which had since made its way halfway up the walls of her room.

When Anna had first banged on her door, Elsa had been reading at her desk. When her sister had slammed her fist on her door, she had been so surprised that she accidently froze most of her floor. Then Anna had started talking… no begging Elsa to let her in, with a desperation she had never heard from her sister before. It had sounded as if her life had depended on it. Elsa had been frozen there trying desperately to think of something to say, until Anna tried to open the door. Elsa had panicked, with half her room frozen; she had lashed out without thinking, yelling those unforgivable words. Then she had heard her sister run away, but… it had also sounded like she had been followed by several others. For a moment Elsa wondered if the castle was under attack, and slowly peeked out the door. No, they were palace guards, not enemy soldiers, and by the sound of it, they were after… Anna?

Elsa's mind continued to spin in circles, trying desperately to make sense of what had happened, what her sister and parents had been yelling about, why Anna had sounded so terrified when she banged on her door, and most puzzling (at least to Elsa) was why had her sister tried to open her door? All through the years, Anna had never once tried to open it, by the doorknob at least. Usually Anna had simply done either crazy stunts, or simply talked to Elsa through the door, but she had never once tried to actually open it. That was what had Elsa worried now. Because Elsa knew that Anna never would have done that unless something was very wrong.

Elsa did not get any answers to her questions. Even when she had asked Kai and Gerda, when she came out to breakfast. Or that one guard she had seen when her sister had made her mad dash from Elsa's room. No one told her anything, for two days, then three, until it was the end of the week, and Elsa was equal parts annoyed and worried especially since Anna hadn't once knocked on her door. Her parent's hadn't come to her room either, which wasn't unusual, but when she had caught a glimpse of them on her way to the library one evening, both of her parents had looked almost frantic; arguing with each other in hushed whispers, and had stopped when they had spotted Elsa.

After the second week passed, Elsa was fully prepared to confront both her parents, about whatever had happened. Everyone was refusing to tell her anything, and Elsa was actually beginning to consider knocking on Anna's door, when she was pulled out of her thoughts by a knock at her own.

Elsa took a deep breath, and opened the door, revealing her parents standing in the hallway. Her father opened his mouth to speak, but Elsa beat him to it.

"Where's Anna? Why was half the palace guard running after her, and why won't anyone tell me anything?" she demanded trying desperately to make her voice sound as though there was no room for excuses.

Her father sighed, and slowly began to speak, "Anna is not in the palace anymore. Please let me finish." He added hastily when Elsa opened her mouth to continue.

"Anna has been sent out of the palace to a boarding school in another kingdom. She has been having trouble with her lessons and we thought it best to send her somewhere where she could learn where she wouldn't have… distractions. She wasn't very happy about it at first, from one of the guards, she tried to asking you to get her out of it, but when we finally found her, she agreed to leave. She left several hours ago for Corona, I'm afraid. She says that she sends her love though. She would have come herself but her ship left very early, and she didn't want to wake you."

Elsa kept her face neutral, although she felt uncertain. Didn't want to wake me? Elsa wondered to herself. That certainly hasn't stopped her before. And why wouldn't she tell me sooner? Or is she finally mad at me enough that she's stopped trying to talk to me?

Her mother stepped forward, "I know you must feel sad that Anna didn't tell you herself, but, she was upset with all of us when she left. Your isolation, though… necessary has taken its toll on her."

Elsa thought about this for a moment, and finally nodded, "Very well, I hope she enjoys herself in Corona, I hear it's nice this time of year."

Her parents nodded and bid Elsa farewell. But even as the door closed, Elsa felt a nagging sensation in the back of her mind, telling her that she should not have dropped the subject.

The king and queen slowly made their way back to their room. Both of them were exhausted from the strain the past two weeks. When the door had shut Idun slowly turned to her husband a troubled expression on her face.

"Are you sure that not telling Elsa is a good idea? Anna is her sister; she deserves to know that she is missing, doesn't she?"

King Adgar sighed, "Elsa has enough to worry about right now, especially with her powers, getting more and more out of control. Something like this would only send her over the edge. Until Anna is found, Elsa cannot know that her sister is missing. If anyone asks she is at finishing school, or accompanying us on diplomatic missions when we are away. There can be no room for error. For Elsa's sake, we cannot have her know about this, or she will lose whatever control she has gained."

The queen sighed and nodded, and the king turned to Kai, who had been standing in the corner, and gave a nod. The butler sighed and gave a nod in return. No one could know about the missing princess. Especially not her sister.