Mama was crying.

The sound of her sobbing echoed throughout the Ice Palace, following Marshmallow wherever he went.

"I'm killing everybody."

He had protected Mama, hadn't he? Thrown out the mean girl and bad man and disloyal brother, right?

"I'm so sorry Anna. I couldn't – can't control it."

So why was Mama crying?

"I can't control it. I can't. I can't. Anna – I can't."

Was…was he the reason she was sad?

"Control – conceal, don't feel, don't feel…"

Unsure of what to do, Marshmallow climbed the stairs and entered her room. Mama was hunched over on the floor, her face streaked with tears. Around her were spikes of ice. As she wept, slow drops ran down her face, fell, and solidified into stalagmites of tears.

Marshmallow rushed forward.

"Mama!"

Elsa lifted her face. It was a mess.

"Yes?"

His worried frown took up his entire face.

"Don't cry Mama, don't cry. Just…just tell me how to protect you."

Her smile did not reach her bloodshot eyes.

"All I need is some water."

Even Marshmallow could tell that was a lie.

Nevertheless, he nodded, and Elsa conjured ice water. Tried conjuring at least. It took several failed attempts, and the final product was like slush, more ice than water. Marshmallow noticed how each failed attempt sent tremors through her entire body.

Nonetheless, he was now holding a cup of slush. Without a word he handed it to his mother, who drank gratefully. Upon finishing, she rose to her feet.

"See? I'm already feeling better."

Marshmallow nodded. He was always happy to help Mama, but upon reflection his contribution seemed small, nothing much to be proud of. And Mama was still sad, he could tell. She was smiling, but her arms told a different story.

"Mama, can I...?"

At this point, he pulled his mother into a hug. She instinctively resisted at first, but relented. Enveloped in arms of snow, her first hug in over a decade caused her to start tearing up again.

Unsure of what to do, Marshmallow tightened his embrace. When he released her, her eyes were redder than before, but her smile was brighter too.

"Marshmallow, I-"

Then Elsa noticed the spikes on the ground.

"…please, leave."

She was no longer smiling.

"Mama…?"

Her eyes were now filled with a familiar distress.

"Leave."

He wanted to blink, to turn away, but found he couldn't.

"Mama... am I... am I making you sad?"

She turned and seemed to crumble.

"Marshmallow, what I mean is-"

But the spikes wouldn't let her.

"This is something that I have to handle by myself."

When she turned back, it was like he had never hugged her. The moment was over.

"You might distract me."

When his mother stood her ground like that, Marshmallow knew the discussion was over. With reluctance, he turned to leave, trudging through the doors.

"Marshmallow?"

He looked back. She was reaching out to him from across the room.

"You know that I love you, right?"

He nodded. He knew it as certainly as his own love for Mama.

"Well then… please, keep that in mind."

Once more he nodded, although it was a silly request. He could feel her love straight from his heart, no mental storage required.

Her hands drifted back to her side, and Elsa smiled one last time.

"Good boy."

Then the doors swung shut. Elsa turned away, and tried to concentrate.

"Get it together now. Conceal, don't feel. Conceal, don't feel. Don't feel. Don't feel. Don't feel…"

Around her the spikes sprouted, starting with the ones by her feet.

Marshmallow trudged out of the Ice Palace and gingerly made his way down the stairs, concern etched on his face. He felt awful for abandoning his mother in her hour of need, despite Mama ordering him to. There she was, miserable and alone, and here he was, doing nothing to help her. It didn't matter that nothing was all he could do; he was still a bad man and a bad son for deserting her. In fact, his heart told him he was the worst son in the whole world.

He sat down and tried to think with his head. He had failed to protect her from sadness, abandoned her as a son, and now she was shutting him out.

Confused, unable to understand the source of Mama's sadness or what he could do about it, Marshmallow lapsed into silence.