Dinner was especially bland tonight. Elsa had picked at the poached fish, her appetite nowhere to be found. It seemed like the days were getting longer and harder to endure. And it was mind-numbing to stay in her room all day, never venturing out for even the smallest things, but it was for the best. It was safe, for everyone, that she stayed.

The dinner tray was left by her door. A servant would take it back to the kitchens and doubtlessly inform the prince regent that she wasn't eating again. Then she'd have to endure another visit from Hans about how she needed to take of herself, it was her duty to Arendelle and her people and she had to honor her sister's memory and for God's sake, at least stay alive. It would be tedious, but she would put up with it. She doubted it would be the last.

The next day, Hans knocked on her door as expected. She considered not answering it, but he would get insistent and start talking in that irritatingly placating and disappointed tone that she disliked even more.

"Your majesty, it's me. If I may come in?" Like she had anything else to do, but she didn't say that out loud.

"You may." She was sitting at her desk, book facedown on her lap, her body turning to face Hans. "Good morning. How does your day fare?"

Hans bowed. "Thank you, your majesty, for your concern. I'm finding the day agreeable." He looked at her covered breakfast, knowing she hadn't eaten, but his manners still made him ask. "Was breakfast not to your liking?"

She had no idea what breakfast was since she hadn't even bothered to remove the cover. "My appetite isn't there, I'm afraid. I'll try once again during lunch," she lied, presenting a dismissive smile and hoping he would go away.

Of course, he didn't. Hans lifted the cover and frowned down at it in faint disapproval. "Your majesty, your health is of the utmost importance. You must eat. The kingdom-"

She stifled a sigh, but defiance only made Hans even more persistent. All she wanted was to be left alone, not be lectured to. So instead of ordering him out of her room, she picked up a piece of toast and bit off a piece. It was cold and soggy, but she forced it down. Hans looked pleased.

"Happy?" She said, her demure smile not quite hiding the sarcasm.

Hans didn't notice it and was already eyeing the door for his escape. "Promise me you'll eat at least something every meal? I want to see you well, your majesty."

"Of course," Elsa lied again.

"Wonderful," he said, giving her an absent smile. "Was there anything else you needed?"

A muscle under her eye twitched. As though she had needed him to come into her room uninvited to talk to her like some recalcitrant child to be disciplined. She realized the track her thoughts were following and took a deep breath.

"A few more books from the library would be lovely," she said with the same sedate smile. Without looking down she already knew the book on her lap was half frozen despite the gloves. She hoped it was just the early chapters. She was only halfway through.

"Of course, I'll have a maid fetch a few. Remember to eat." Hans bowed and left.

Elsa looked down. The later half was frozen solid. She sighed.

An hour later, there was another knock on her door. Still irritated from the loss of the book, Elsa snapped out permission.

A young girl came through the door with a bundle in her arms. She walked in confidently, not cautiously like the others, as though they were being led into a dungeon. Which wasn't all that inaccurate, to be perfectly truthful.

"Your majesty," she said in a country girl's accent, and bobbed a curtsy. "His highness bid you a fine morn and asked that I bring these from the library."

Hans never ordered the servants to deliver pleasantries-the man only thought of those when he was before someone, so Elsa narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"Where should I place these, your majesty?" The girl asked, her eyes lowered respectfully.

"Here." Elsa tapped her finger on the empty space of her desk.

The maid deposited the books and bent to pick up the food tray beside the desk. Elsa studied her. A cap covered her dark hair, but she could see that it was braided into a neat bun. Her complexion was pale and and unblemished. The girl's eyes were blue, but that was a common enough feature in Arendelle. Her features were unremarkable, ordinary even, until Elsa realized the maid was staring right back at her.

For some reason, she felt a flicker of embarrassment for being caught looking so openly. Which was ridiculous because she was the queen, for god's sake, and granted she wasn't normally so rude if Hans hadn't ruined her morning and her book so thoroughly-

"You haven't finished your breakfast," the maid murmured. Her blue eyes blinked innocently back at Elsa, as though she knew exactly what Elsa was doing. Elsa flushed faintly. "It's gone dreadfully cold. Shall I have the cook warm up another plate for you?"

Unnerved, Elsa jerked her head in a parody of a shake. "No. That won't be necessary." Her fingers tensed in her lap, the leather of the gloves straining. The room got colder, but the maid didn't seem to notice.

"My name is Anna," the maid said.

Elsa looked at her sharply, a scowl forming. "What did you say?"

"My name," Anna-the-maid said blandly. She had the audacity to raise her brows. "His highness has assigned me to attend to you, your majesty. I hope to serve you to your satisfaction." Elsa thought she heard the briefest hint of suggestion on the last word, but she couldn't tell. How could she? She'd spent the past thirteen years in a single room.

Tactlessly, she changed the subject and looked at the tray. "Are you going to tell him?"

Anna gave her a small smile. Of course she would know what she meant. "Would you like me to?"

"Do I have a choice?" She sounded more bitter than she'd meant to, but at that moment she didn't care what the girl reported back to Hans.

"You always have a choice," Anna said softly. Elsa picked up a book and began to read.

The maid at least knew what a dismissal was. The door had just closed quietly after her when Elsa realized the blasted thing was upside down.


Hans never appeared to harass her at dinner, so the maid apparently decided not to say anything. Elsa wasn't sure how to feel about that, so she picked at her food again, then stared out the window.

Winter was coming. She could feel it in her bones, see it in the shorter days, the dryer air. There was a fire banked high in the fireplace, but she didn't know why the servants bothered. She'd told them before not to waste the firewood, but someone always came in to tend to it, then quietly slip out.

She hoped the winter would end quickly. It always made her itch to be outside, to open her hands and feel the snow and wind on her palms and cheeks. Winter beckoned to her seductively with its howls and storms and sheer beauty. It was getting harder every year to resist it.

Anna appeared the next morning with breakfast.

"Good morning, your majesty," she said. She placed the tray down and lifted the cover. Elsa looked down and saw French toast and an arrangement of sliced apples. She hadn't had French toast in years.

She shot a questioning look at Anna and was met with another innocent look. She hadn't thought Hans's cook even knew how to make French toast. The first bite was heavenly and she barely stifled a soft groan of happiness.

By the time she was done, the entire plate had been cleaned.

"Was that to your satisfaction?" Anna asked with a hint of impishness. She'd stood by watching and Elsa couldn't have cared if the entire kingdom were present.

The queen eyed the girl for a long time. Most would have quailed, but Anna looked back at her and Elsa finally smiled. "Yes. Thank you. My compliments to the cook."

Anna grinned back. "That would be my dear mama. I'll tell her she's pleased the queen."

"Your mother works in the castle?"

"No, but this is her recipe." Anna gathered up the tray. "Would you like anything else, your majesty?"

Yes, she wanted to say. She wanted to tell her to stay, to talk to her about anything. It didn't matter. But as soon as the desire welled up inside her, Elsa stifled it. Ridiculous. A good meal did not constitute a friendship and the girl was a maid. She was hired to make sure Elsa didn't starve to death and did what the Hans wanted her to and Elsa was clearly losing her mind if she was arguing with herself.

"No."

Anna curtsied and left and Elsa stared out the window and wondered when winter had arrived.


The next few days passed much like the same. Anna appeared in her room at every meal and Elsa ate when she could. The French toast didn't appear again and she was sorry for it. It was the first decent meal she'd had in a long time.

One day, Anna asked if she could braid her hair.

"What?" Elsa was taken aback. She always braided her own hair because the servants were terrified of getting too close to her. Anna didn't seem to share their opinions for some reason and Elsa thought maybe she ought to disabuse her of this notion.

"Your hair," Anna repeated. "It's very thick. I imagine it takes a long time to brush. Would you like me to?"

Elsa could only gape.

"Most maids do brush and style hair for their mistresses," Anna added, her expression faintly amused. "I'm told I'm quite skilled."

"You're… you're not afraid?" Her voice was tentative. "You surely know…"

"I've heard the rumors, yes." Anna's eyes watched Elsa intently, a hint of challenge in the set of her jaw, the angle of her head. "Are you going to freeze me to death as well?"

"And if I do?" Elsa said, finally finding her voice. "What of your family? The wages you bring in for them?"

She shrugged. "They'll be all right. My parents are taken care of and I've a brother who's done well for himself. You don't have to worry about them, your majesty." She looked expectantly at chair in front of the mirror and dresser.

Before she knew what she was doing, Elsa was seated and Anna's warm hands were pulling out the hairpins. She had nowhere to look but the mirror. The maid was focused on freeing her blonde tresses, but she knew that she was watching her. Occasionally, Anna's hand would brush ever so slightly against her nape or her ear and Elsa would have to suppress shivers and twitches. The entire experience was nerve-wracking.

"You're tense, your majesty," Anna murmured. Their eyes met in the mirror. Elsa's hair spilled over her shoulders and down her back. It felt warm, but she wasn't sure if that was because Anna had been touching it or because her own skin was warm. "Relax."

Elsa could not relax, not on order. As Anna began to brush her hair in long, easy strokes, her belly began to feel even more jumpy and her clasped hands became more like fists. Anna's breath began to fog.

"I have an older brother," Anna said suddenly.

"Oh?" Elsa was inexplicably riveted. "You said… he was doing well for himself?"

"That's right, your majesty." Anna's hands were gentle. "He's a head groomsman. Lovely with horses and the like. He works for a good lord who pays and treats him well."

"That sounds good," Elsa said. She had no idea what else to say. A lifetime of solitude had not endowed her the gift of small talk and she didn't know how to act around this girl who didn't fear or revile her. Hans must be paying her well, she thought, then immediately quashed that thought. What did it matter if the girl was a spy? She had nothing to hide and Hans could hire an entire battalion of mysterious maids to watch her if he was so inclined.

"Do you have any other siblings?"

Anna hummed and shook her head. "Just my brother. I have a lot of cousins, though."

"Would you tell me about them?" Elsa heard herself ask. Anna paused. "Please," she added.

The maid obliged her. Elsa wasn't sure what happened, but time seemed to slow as Anna brushed and talked about her numerous cousins, their ages and names, exploits and mistakes. And for the first time in years, her heart ached with longing. This was what having a family was like. She was nothing but Queen Elsa, the last of the Arendelle line. And it was by her own hand.

She looked up at the mirror when she saw Anna's hand cross her vision to place the brush on the dresser.

"How do you like it?"

Shocked, Elsa touched a hand to the single braid upon her shoulder. Locks of pale blonde draped down to frame her face. It didn't look neat and ordered like her bun had, but almost sensual, wild, even. She looked…

"Beautiful," Anna said with a triumphant little smirk. "I think you look very beautiful, your majesty."

Elsa managed a weak smile. "Thank you, Anna. You were right. You are very talented." She returned her gaze to the mirror, still amazed at the woman who looked back. It wasn't just the way her hair was styled. Every morning when she tied her hair it was always a grim and haunted face who she saw. Someone who didn't sleep enough, didn't eat enough, who was only surviving. She looked… almost happy now. Comfortable, even, with her hands loose on her lap. And she knew the source of that was this maid who wasn't afraid of her.

"I hope you'll wear your hair like this in the future, your majesty," Anna said.

"Elsa." She turned to face Anna, smiling slightly. Butterflies in her stomach, but she hid that well. "You may address me as Elsa, Anna."

The maid's lips parted, but she smiled back. "Of course… Elsa."


Winter was tugging at her harder. Sometimes she looked at her window and wondered how hard she'd have to hit it to break the glass. Would her bare fist do it? Perhaps a hurled book? Her jewellery box? The glass did look sturdy. Perhaps the little chair by the dresser.

Her thoughts were getting more dangerous and she knew better than to say such things out loud. Not even to Anna. Their conversations, while usually easy, never veered into things that were best left unmentioned.

"Why did you decide to work in the palace, Anna?" Elsa asked. It'd been two days since Anna had first brushed her hair. It was dinner and Anna had brought up Elsa's tray and only a bread roll for herself.

"Who doesn't want to work in the royal palace?" Anna replied with a quick smile. Elsa smiled back, but knew an evasion when she saw one.

"It's just that I've never had a maid dedicated to me before," Elsa pressed. "Nor have I ever mentioned to Hans that I wanted one. I was wondering why the sudden change."

The brunette shrugged. "I could not say why his highness assigned me the way he did. I came here to ask for work, the housekeeper looked over my references, and told me what my station was. I did not know I'd be waiting on the queen herself," she added, her lips quirking into a charming smile.

Elsa returned the smile, feeling warmth spread over her body. But she also felt that something was missing. Something that Anna was not telling her, but how could she? Hans was the only who had the last say over who was allowed in the castle, barring Elsa actually emerging from her room to order everybody about. She doubted anybody would listen to her anyway; only a select few servants were actually in regular contact with her.

She realized she'd almost finished her dinner. Her appetite must be improving, but talking to Anna while eating seemed to at least trick herself into eating, regardless of whether she was hungry or not. Talking to Anna had a way of making the time pass. Or maybe it was just social contact in general. Regardless, she didn't want the evening to end so soon, so she offered to do something she hadn't done in a very long time.

"Would you like me to read you a story?"

Anna's bread roll froze in mid-bite. She looked just as shocked as Elsa.

Elsa's cheeks felt shamefully warm. She could hardly believe what just came out of her mouth. But it'd come out and she had to finish the job. Clearing her throat, she gestured to the pile of books in the corner. "I have a few you may like." She wasn't sure if Anna could read, but she suspected not since few common-born women were literate.

Anna was quiet, her face unreadable.

"I understand if you have other duties to attend to," Elsa began, rejection forming a hard lump in her throat. "I'm sorry for the presumption."

"Your majesty-Elsa," Anna corrected. "I was-I mean, I would love to-I would to hear you read a story." Neither of them could seem to meet eyes, but Elsa was too relieved and happy to dwell on it. She quickly began rummaging through the growing collection, tossing out titles and names in offering.

"I'm sure you'd enjoy fiction so how about a play? Shakespeare, perhaps? Oh, I'm not sure how familiar you are with that, what about, ah, let's see…"

"Fairy tales would suit," Anna said, sounding amused from her position somewhere behind Elsa. Her cheeks burned hotter, but she kept her back to Anna. She found a copy of Grimm's Fairy Tales. She flipped open the leather-bound volume, trying to delay having to look up at Anna.

"Was there a specific tale you wanted to hear?"

"Hansel and Gretel." There was something in her voice that made Elsa look up. Anna was seated on the bed, hands folded sedately in her lap. Her expression was neutral except for a faint light of interest. Shaking her head, Elsa returned to the book and found the right chapter.

"Is this a story you've heard before?"

"Only once. What about you?"

"I'm afraid I'm not very fond of fairy tales," Elsa confessed. "I know the general plot of them. Many of these are quite dark. Are you sure this is what you want?"

Anna nodded.

Elsa sat as close as she dared on the bed and began to read.

"I've always wondered why the witch had to eat children," Anna said after Elsa was done. "If she could make a gingerbread house, she could have gotten food in other ways."

"The villains in tales often have unexplained reasons." Elsa stole a glance at Anna. The maid's fingers were laced together a slim ankle, heel resting on the bedding, her cheek pressed to her raised knee. The fire was throwing a warm light from behind Anna, casting her face in shifting shadows, but her eyes looked soft. Her eyes fell on Anna's lips. She wasn't smiling, but she looked... content.

A tongue flicked out to wet her lips. Entranced, the queen could only stare in mute fascination.

"Thank you for the story," Anna whispered. With great regret, Elsa tore her eyes away and nodded stiffly.

"You're welcome." There was an uncomfortable silence. Something had shifted during the reading, changed into something new and terrifying and maybe even wonderful, but Elsa was never good at discerning what she felt because emotions always led to violent endings. She couldn't bear such a thing for Anna. So best to say nothing, pretend it was nothing and to keep the girl safe.

Then why had she read to her? Why had she invited her to stay far longer than necessary?

Because she was an idiot, Elsa decided. She was lonely and a fool and if Anna got much closer, well, she knew what would happen just like before-

"Elsa," Anna whispered, touching her hand and interrupting every thought in its mind went completely blank, like fresh fallen snow. Anna laid her hand over hers. She could feel the heat of it through the leather and up her arm and all over her body. She'd never felt so warm before. "Are you happy here?"

Her brows scrunched in confusion. "I'm not sure what you mean." But she could say that at this very moment was the closest she'd ever felt to feeling happy in spite of her internal conflict.

"Are you happy here in the castle? Spending the days reading?" The question was innocuous enough, she supposed, especially the nonchalant way Anna asked it. But she sensed the question matter a great deal to her, so she took her time in answering it.

"I think I am not… unhappy," she started. "Staying here, reading books from the library, is not unpleasant. I admit that it does get boring at times, but it is what it is. I could not leave even if I wanted."

"That's not true. You always have a choice, Elsa."

"If you're referring to my leaving my chambers to explore the rest of the palace-"

"No," Anna interrupted, her expression serious. "That's not what I meant."

And they both knew what she meant. All the warmth left her like it'd never been there and suddenly, Elsa was so very angry at her for making them speak of this.

She smiled bitterly. "No, I don't have a choice, Anna. Not if I want to keep from hurting people. Haven't you heard? I'm the reason why I'm the last of the royal line of Arendelle." She met Anna's eyes with her own, unflinching. "I killed my entire family."

To her credit she didn't look shocked, so she'd known. Still, the warmth that had filled her was gone and replaced with jagged ice. "Then why are you here?"

"As opposed to being hanged for my crimes?" Elsa sneered faintly, her disgust evident. "Because I'm the queen. Because There are none left who can sit the throne and I am needed. Even when I don't deserve to. I'm not allowed to be punished, but nor am I allowed freedom or else I may kill more. Ice," she hissed, "can kill in more ways than the cold."

Rising, she wrapped her hands around her elbows and turned her back on Anna. The room was getting cold and the fire would be snuffed out no matter how much wood was fed. "You should go."

Anna got to her feet and looked at Elsa's back. The queen could feel her gaze. "My master," she said slowly, "is his highness, the prince regent."

Elsa whirled, temper flaring. It was like nothing she'd ever felt, such a flash of emotion that filled her throat with vicious oaths, made her heart pound a quick tempo in time with the pulsing fury that filled her mind and colored her vision red. The room dropped to dangerously low temperatures as the queen glared coldly at the impertinence of this maid that dared defied her.

"How dare you," Elsa hissed. "I could kill you where you stand after all that I told you-"

"You're not the first highborn to get away with murder," Anna said, her chin tilting in defiance. "You may be the queen, but it's the prince regent who holds the real power in Arendelle. It's been months since you came of age, since your coronation, but he's still here. Why's that? Too afraid to show your face to your own people?"

Elsa did something she'd never done before. She crossed the short distance to Anna, her hand grabbing the collar of her dress and yanked the shorter girl up to nearly her toes until they were face to face. Her other hand was raised, palm up and glowing faint blue, ready to strike.

The maid's face was impassive. "Go ahead," she said, angling her head back to bare her throat. "Kill me. You're right, you'd get away with it. The prince regent would probably clean this little mess up, then hire another maid just like me. Maybe you'll kill that one, too, if your majesty is so inclined." There was the faintest inflection of derision at the royal address. "You'll feel guilty about it, but you have no idea how much blood you have on your hands already."

Through the red haze clouding her mind, she latched onto the words Anna was saying. Her hands lowered. "What are you talking about?" She said harshly.

Anna straightened her collar, her movements unhurried and smooth like her life had never been in danger. "How many people have died, you think, since the prince regent came to power?" Her expression was placid.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"I'll be clearer, then. How many people do you think Prince Hans has killed to consolidate his power? How many do you think have perished because he's shipped Arendelle's supplies to support one of his brothers in the Southern Isles civil war?" Anna ignored Elsa's shocked look.

"When he raises taxes to pay for his luxuries and fund the wars of his allies, how many children starve because their fathers couldn't afford to bring home enough food? How many die in the winter when there isn't enough to repair their homes or to pay for medicine and a doctor when they're sick? When their farm animals get sick and die? When the crops they farm are taken and they're paid a pittance?"

Elsa was shocked speechless. No. This could not… no, it could not be possible. Hans made no mentions of this, nobody ever told her…

That was right. Nobody ever told her because she was a danger. She had to stay in this room, where nobody could come to any harm. But that reason sounded flimsy now, an excuse for a child to hide away.

Anna wasn't looking at her in disgust, but the indifference of her smooth face, the lack of any sort of empathy or feeling, made it all the worse.

"I…" Elsa licked dry lips, feeling so numb and cold. "Is this… is this true? What you've told me?"

She jerked her chin towards the door. "Why don't you go and see for yourself?'

"I-I can't, I'll hurt someone-"

"You didn't hurt me," Anna said tonelessly. "And I fair goaded you into it."

Elsa buried her head in her hands. "That doesn't give me the right to-to hurt you."

"The prince regent would have thought different."

Elsa stared at Anna, her jaw slack with horror. "You can't mean… No. Hans might be an overbearing idiot, but he's no murderer."

Anna lifted her brows. "I'm not going to beg for your pardon," she said. "But you really are a fool. The prince regent might not dirty his own hands if he can help it, but he has plenty of lackeys to do it for him." She leaned forward, her gaze focused intently on Elsa. "Think. There were originally thirteen legitimate male heirs. You think the other twelve would sit quietly to allow the crown prince to ascend? Why do you think there's a civil war in the Southern Isles now?"

"But he's no longer in line for the throne-"

"He doesn't need to be, not if he stands to gain from supporting the winner."

She felt rising hysteria. No. She could not accept this. If what Anna said was true, all of this was going on right under her nose. And that would mean she'd been willfully ignorant to it, allowing Hans to go about as he pleased, believing that he was doing what a ruler was supposed to do.

"No," she said slowly. "Hans would have told me. I am the queen of Arendelle. He has a duty to guide the kingdom in its best interests."

"When was the last time he told you about what's going on in Arendelle, then?"

Elsa bit her lip. She couldn't even remember.

"And when was the last time you showed an interest in Arendelle?" Anna gestured. "Or has this room become the entirety of your world?"

Anna was right. She really was a fool.

"Do you want to get out?" Anna asked, her voice gentle. There might have been sympathy in there, but Elsa couldn't tell from the crush of horror and guilt bearing down on her.

"Yes," she finally said, after sinking into a chair. Her knees felt like rubber. "But I doubt the guards will let me leave." She looked at Anna, feeling hopeless and lost. "You must hate me."

"I have every reason to," Anna agreed. "But I don't. I don't hate you."

The confession eased the weight that Elsa hadn't known was on her chest. She didn't hate her. She didn't hate her. Out of all the people who ought to, one didn't. Maybe they were both fools.

"I can get you out of the palace. If that's what you want," Anna said gently, maybe even with some sympathy.

"How? You're only a maid," Elsa said tiredly, feeling utterly drained. "And I'm a figurehead queen being kept in my own seat. The palace is crawling with guards. Hans is… very paranoid. For good reason, apparently."

Anna's lips quirked into a small smile. "But I can get you out. I promise."


A/N: Some small changes to dialogue since the original posting.