CHAPTER 1

Nicknames (I'm giving them to you now to avoid confusion)

Anna: Annie

Kristoff: Kristy, Kris, Krissy

Olaf: Offie

Hans: Hansel

Elsa gazed out the frosted window, a hand placed tentatively against the icy cold glass. She could just barely make out her own reflection; flawless, snow-white skin, pale blonde hair tied into a braid and left to hang over her shoulder, and crystal blue eyes that stared sadly back at her. Elsa looked past her reflection; the only thing peeking out from the fields of white in front of her home was the upper half of a marble fountain, sticking up from the snowy mounds in what seemed to be inanimate abject refusal to be buried and forgotten. The water that once spouted from the top was frozen against the stone, giving it a brilliant gleam.

She sighed. It was a rather special day; not only was it her birthday but it was also one of those days where the snow fell on its own rather than from her will. The girl's mother and father, were, of course, not present. But with nearly eighteen years of missed birthdays behind them, she was neither surprised nor hurt.

They had left her in an old stone mansion a few miles away from the dense population of the nearby city. Of course, they may have had a good reason; Elsa's powers were dangerous, even she could admit. She still believed, however, that it did not necessarily give her parents leave to abandon her as a daughter. It was not something within her control. Though the mansion, essentially her prison, was beautiful, it was empty save for a few timid maids, butlers and cooks, all of which were terrified of her. All save for Kai and Gerda. Poor Elsa had no friends with the exception of the butler Kai and his wife Gerda and still she felt that they didn't exactly count, as much as she loved them.

Even when the girl went to her classes at the college, she felt alone though she was surrounded by people. Due to years of seclusion, Elsa's social skills were admittedly horrible and when she tried to speak to new people, her speech skills quickly declined as well. She stuttered and mumbled and slurred and tripped over her words, and so fell to keeping her mouth shut the majority of the time.

In that moment contemplating the world outside the window, Elsa thought about how she wanted nothing more than to be able to look others in the eye, to tell them what was on her mind without sounding like a bumbling fool. If she had the courage, maybe then life would be easier, happier.

Yeah, right. It'd take a lot more than that.

Elsa was jarred from her thoughts by a knock on the door.

"Elsa? May I come in, dear?" Gerda requested from behind the giant mahogany double doors that seemed to separate the girl and her room from the entirety world.

"Of course," she answered. As the door opened, she rose from the bench beside the frosty window and made her way over to the woman.

"Good Lord, Elsa, you can hardly see a thing in here," the maid said as she fumbled for the light switch. The glaring bulbs switched on and the bedroom was bathed in an ugly yellow glow.

"I'm having a bit of a migraine," Elsa admitted, pinching the bridge of her nose and squeezing her eyes shut.

"Oh, I'm so sorry dear," Gerda apologized as she quickly shut the lights off again before continuing with a huge, genuine smile. "I just thought you could better see the gift Kai and I bought for you. Happy Birthday, Elsa."

"You're too kind," the blond mumbled with a grin of her own as Gerda pushed the rectangular wrapped box into her hands.

Elsa sat at the foot of her bed and Gerda took a seat beside her, gripping the girl's shoulders with her hands as she tore off the wrapping paper. Elsa grinned broadly at the gift before her; her favorite chocolates and a new book. With a thankful glance at her maid Elsa unboxed the chocolates and placed one into her mouth. It was filled with some strawberry cream and she savored it slowly.

"Thank you so much, Gerda, you and Kai both. This means a lot to me," the blonde girl said genuinely, grinning and reaching for another treat.

The woman pulled Elsa into a hug, gripping her firmly.

"Oh, Elsa. I long for the day when the rest of the world sees you for who you truly are. You're a sweet, kindhearted young woman and don't let anyone, be it your mother, father or classmates let you believe otherwise," Gerda said with tears in her eyes and a smile on her face.

Elsa felt tears prickling behind her own eyes. She knew the aging woman meant well but nothing could shake what had been furnished into her very bones her entire life— she was dangerous, unsuitable for normal life, unfit to be around normal people, undeserving of affection from anyone, including her own parents. She was a nobody, nothing but a heavy burden on those who had to make day-to-day contact with her. As much as Elsa didn't want to believe it, the course of her life, hidden away in a secluded mansion, only leaving for school, unworthy of attention from even her own parents, had her thinking it was true.

"You don't deserve this, Elsa. You've a heart of gold and you deserve to be happy and carefree and loved, even more so than your peers," Gerda whispered, taking Elsa's hand in hers and regarding Elsa as she would her own daughter.

She wanted to believe the old woman but couldn't. It filled the young woman with stubborn refusal to listen and Elsa sputtered an apology before bolting out the doors, sprinting down the grand staircase and wrenching the front doors open, standing strong even in the face of the howling wind and snow. Ignoring Gerda's calls, she slipped on shoes and a sweater before rushing out the doors, pulling them shut and beginning a trek into the beautiful snowy wonderland before her. Walking in the frost and snow always helped clear her mind and make her feel better about the ludicrous wind tunnel that was her life. With a determined glare, Elsa trudged forward through the powdery snow.

"Here, Olaf, hold my hands!" Anna shouted and watched as her younger brother leapt forward and latched his small, gloved palms around her wrists. She began spinning him in circles, her skates carving patterns into the ice.

Olaf's feet lifted clear off the ground and he cried out with a giggle, "Faster, Anna!"

Anna obliged, grinning at her brother's glee. His black hair, which normally stuck straight up, was blown to the side as she increased their speed, reveling in his ecstatic giggles.

"Kristoff, catch!" she called to her older brother. When he turned to them with his arms wide open, Anna tossed Olaf in Kristoff's direction. With a small "oof!" her older brother caught their younger brother, grinning and giving him a meek noogie.

They were all laughing and having a wonderful time, having found a frozen pond to skate on without sharing. The pond was hidden a bit in a secluded part of a forest, surrounded almost entirely by leafless trees with drops of water frozen mid-drip from the branches. The snow had calmed to mere flurries but left a huge three-foot deep expanse of the fluffy white stuff. The sky was white and the sun was hidden from view. It was quiet and calming, Anna thought. Peaceful.

"It's too bad Hans isn't here," Kristoff remarked as he gently placed Olaf down, watching as the boy's dark hair whipped around his face as he glided away.

"You know him; he got our dad's super shitty immune system. But I'm sure that he'll be better before everything thaws out," Anna said, pulling her hood tighter around her earmuffs. "This has been a really cold snow-over."

"He makes me pretty fucking glad that 'my' dad's Canadian. It makes the cold so much easier to bear, eh," Kristoff muttered, throwing his sister a dorky grin.

"Shut up, you big goof," the red headed girl laughed as she nudged his arm.

"Mom said to be back before noon, something about Olaf's dad coming to visit," Kristoff muttered, abhorrence dripping from his words as he dusted the snow off his gloves.

"What's with the attitude? I like Richard," Anna inquired with a sniffle.

"I dunno. He just comes off as really fake. And I don't think he treats Olaf as nicely as he should."

"What a caring big brother you are," Anna teased, smiling cheekily.

"Shut it."

"Anna, Kristy!" Olaf called as he skated towards his older siblings.

"What's up, little man?" Kristoff beamed, kneeling to look the child in the eye.

"I know we have to go soon, but can we build a snowman first? Pleeeeaaase?"

"Yeah, come on, Kris! Please?" Anna whined, standing behind Olaf.

Kristoff rolled his eyes before muttering an exasperated, "Alright, alright."

The three siblings worked together to build a small snowman in Olaf's likeness at the request of the seven year old boy. It was uneven but still bore a small resemblance to the child– the kids had even managed to give the snowy sculpture slightly bucked incisors similar to Olaf's.

"He looks just like me! I'm gonna give him a warm hug," Olaf cried as he rushed to embrace the snowman. Anna caught him before he could.

"Just a sec, kiddo," she murmured as she pulled a few twigs off the tree branches and stuck them on the top of the snowman's head for hair. "There. Now it looks just like you. You may hug it."

As Olaf charged the snowman, Kristoff laughed at the edition and its near identical resemblance to Olaf's own wily hair.

"That's almost mean, Annie," the blonde boy chuckled.

"Oh, come on. He loves it twice as much now," Anna said, sticking her tongue out.

"Let's build another, just one more! Olaf Jr. needs a friend," the dark-haired brother said, still hugging their sloppy creation.

"Alright, just one more. After that we have to go, Offie," Anna answered for Kristoff.

As Kristoff moved to build the base, Anna went to make the torso when something caught her eye. To her left, she saw a small flash of blonde so pale it nearly blended in with the snow that had resumed falling. She squinted to better see and realized that it was hair that crowned a figure dressed scantily considering the below freezing temperatures– wearing merely a thin dark blue sweater and black skinny jeans- and dawning skin so pale Anna could've sworn she was looking at a ghost.

No, an angel, the redhead thought as the figure came nearer, allowing her to trace out heartbreakingly beautiful features. The girl Anna was gazing at seemed unaware that she was approaching a group of people; this blonde girl was staring intently at the snow, completely lost in thought as she trudged forward with her arms wrapped tightly around her middle. Was it Anna's imagination or did the snow falling immediately around the girl seem to swirl wildly as if in a frantic caper?

My mind must be playing tricks. Probably because she's so pretty, Anna thought, smirking and rolling her eyes at herself. With a sudden burst of courage, the redhead decided to invite the new girl over.

"Hey, you!" Anna called out, waving to grab the girl's attention. The blonde froze about ten feet away, her head turning slowly to meet Anna's gaze. The girl's eyes widened with something Anna couldn't quiet place. Fear? Shock, maybe?

"Hey, uh, you look lonely," Anna said, dropping her left arm to her side and jerking her right thumb back over her shoulder to point at her brothers. "Do you... wanna help us build a snowman?"

The blonde girl shook her head frantically, eyes still wide, and took a few quick steps back in alarm. She ended up tripping over her own feet and falling back on her rear.

"Oh, God, I'm so sorry! Here, let me help–" Anna moved to help the girl back up but stopped when the stranger uttered a near desperate cry.

"D-Don't!" she shouted as she scrambled to her feet. She dusted off her pants and glanced at Anna once more before bolting in the opposite direction.

"Wait!" Anna called out, starting to trail after the girl before someone caught hold of her arm.

"Anna, what's wrong with you? You have no clue who that was but you're willing to go chasing after her? That's dangerous, sis!" Kristoff berated her, his eyebrows pulled together angrily.

"Oh, come on, Kris! Stop treating me like a baby!" Anna glared back, wrenching her arm free of his grip. She vaguely processed that the snow had stopped falling.

"I wouldn't have to if you'd gather some goddamned common sense!"

"Oh, you'd know a lot about 'common sense,' Mr. Impregnates-A-Chick-To-Prove-He-Isn't-Gay-Even-Though-He-Is," Anna retaliated.

"Guys?" Olaf murmured. His siblings were too busy arguing to notice.

"We can't all be the one who's loved no matter what she does, Anna! Some of our dads are homophobic assholes rather than imprisoned crackheads!"

"You... you—!" Anna shouted, red faced as she weakly pounded her fists against Kristoff's chest. She pushed him away and grabbed Olaf's hand.

"Anna, it's okay," Olaf said, smiling and extending his arms towards her. "You just need a warm hug!"

Anna smiled sadly as she embraced her younger brother before Olaf jumped from her arms and headed to Kristoff.

"You need a warm hug too, Kristy," the boy said as he jumped into his brother's arms. As he climbed out of Kristoff's arms, the dark-haired boy grabbed his brother's hand, ran towards Anna to grab her hand, and continued walking toward their home.

"Now apologize," Olaf commanded, grinning.

"I'm sorry Anna, I didn't mean it," Kristoff sighed. The air felt awkwardly thick.

"I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have brought up... what I brought up," the red head murmured with an apologetic smile.

Olaf giggled happily and forced his siblings to skip down the street. His happiness was infectious and soon the awkward air dissipated and the siblings were laughing and joking again, the earlier argument forgotten.

A/N: This is a bit of an experiment. I'd be willing to continue if it is received well, but I'm not expecting much considering it was hastily thrown together and relatively poorly written. Love me anyways.

But just let me know what you think. It doesn't have a solid plot yet or even a straight direction so I'm open to ideas and suggestions that you can leave as a review or PM me about. Anyone who leaves a suggestion that I choose to build upon will get a shoutout! Thanks for reading!