Disclaimer: I don't own Frozen.

This just came to me and wouldn't go away till I wrote it. This is AU.

Prologue

The autumn breeze swirled through the trees, rustling the leaves in the forrest. A cabin was nestled in a small clearing, and in front of the cabin was a young girl raking together a pile of leaves. Her platinum blonde hair had red and brown flecks from her previous jumps in the piles of leaves. She finished raking, and her crystal blue eyes scanned the pile before she dropped the rake with a whoop and jumped in. It wasn't exactly comfortable jumping in, but it was worth watching the leaves scatter everywhere. Laughing, she hopped out of the pile and jumped until the leaves once again needed to be raked in to a pile. As she was raking the leaves for her next joyful bouts in the leaves, a figure approached her from behind.

"Gotcha!" yelled a cheerful male voice as to arms reached forward and tickled the little girl.

"Henrik! Stop!" cried the young girl as she squirmed and tried to pull away from the tickle attack.

"Or what? You'll cover me with leaves?" joked Henrik as he stopped tickling the young girl.

"Yes! I will cover you in leaves!" said the child as she grabbed handfuls of leaves and proceeded to let go of them over Henrik's head. Amused, the young boy sat still as his younger sister attempted to completely bury him in leaves, teasing her all the while. By the time she had covered him up to his shoulders, a woman walked out of the cabin. The woman was tall, and thin, with graying brown hair and weary hazel eyes.

"Henrik! Elsa! Time to come inside!" called the woman. The two children raced towards their mother. Elsa arrived before her older brother, and teased him for being 'a slow old reindeer'. The mother smiled knowingly, as it was obvious that Henrik had let his sister win, although Elsa needn't know that. As they trooped inside and took off their coats, she felt a twinge of despair. Her children's coats were frayed and worn, but it was all they had. Her and her husband were simple mountain folk in the kingdom of Arendelle, and they couldn't afford to buy their children coats every year. She ushered her children towards the table, where a brothy meat soup steamed in three bowls.

"Where's daddy's bowl?" questioned Elsa, looking at her mother with her large blue eyes.

"He's working late, it's almost winter, and wood is in high demand" She replied calmly as she sat down to eat. "He'll be home soon, so don't you worry Elsa," she stated before she began to eat.

After a pause, Elsa quietly said, "okay," and dug in to her soup. The small family ate in silence. After the dinner, the mother washed the dishes, Henrik got more wood from the pile on the side of the house, and young Elsa sat in front of the fire mending holes in clothes. She had been taught at a young age how to mend clothes, and once she had become proficient at it, Elsa had been tasked with repairing all the torn clothes in the house. It was also easier for her to sew than it was for her mother, as she was young and her eyesight was good, while her mother found it harder and harder to see the stitches that she made in the clothing as time went on. Once she finished, Elsa couldn't help but doze in front of the warm fire until the sound of a door banging open woke her from her rest.

"Daddy!" she cried as she launched herself at the burly lumberjack.

"Hey snow princess! How's my favorite little girl?" asked her father with a grin on his face as he held her in his arms.

"But I'm your only little girl Daddy!" Elsa said giggling.

"So you are!" boomed her father. Spotting Henrik, he called, "Henrik! My strong lad! How goes your apprenticeship to Magnus?" as he walked towards his son.

"It's going well," replied Henrik.

"Ivan, I have soup for you," stated the mother.

"Thank you Eva," said Ivan as he put Elsa down and reached for the bowl, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

"Henrik, Elsa, get ready for bed," commanded Eva as she tidied the kitchen area of the cabin.

"Come on Elsa," said Henrik as he grabbed Elsa by the hand and took her outside, grabbing a wide bowl and a bucket as he walked out. They walked until they reached the well behind the house. Using the bucket to draw up water, Henrik poured some water in to the bowl and gestured for Elsa to go first. Elsa washed her face with the cold water. Once she finished, she slyly looked at Henrik before using her powers and freezing the water in the bowl. Glaring at her in mock anger, he cried,

"Elsa! Now how am I supposed to wash my face?"

Giggling, she replied, "You aren't!"

Sighing, he broke the thin layer of ice on top of the water and dumped it out. He then proceeded to wash his face. Once he finished, they walked back into the cabin.

After spending an hour or so as a family, the two children went upstairs and went to sleep.

Elsa tossed and turned under her covers. She couldn't sleep. Henrik was snoring softly on the bed next to her. Seeing the glow from the dying fire downstairs, she quietly got out of bed and walked towards the stairs. She could hear the faint voices of her parents talking. She crept down until she could make out what they were saying.

"-we move Ivan? We are close to the border of Weselton. If war breaks out, our family will be in danger!"

"I don't think an actual war will break out Eva, I think this is just rumors and Weselton trying to intimidate Arendelle."

"But Ivan, tensions between the two kingdoms have never been this high! War is an actual possibility! We need to move away from the border!"

"I already told you we can't Eva. And that's final."

"But Ivan-"

"We can't! If we could, I would have us move closer to the capitol of Arendelle in a heartbeat, but we can't! Winter will be upon us soon, and we don't have the money to move. We're barely scraping by as it is! We can't afford to move, not now at least… If we can hold out till spring, maybe we can move then. Winter is the time when people buy the most wood, so we might have enough after winter…. Just please hold on Eva, I'm trying my best."

"… I'm sorry Ivan. I'm just worried. I know we don't have much, but I would feel safer if we moved now."

"I know. But we don't have a choice."

Elsa sat quietly on the stairs, absorbing what she had learned. Henrik probably knew about the potential war because he was able to go in to town. She couldn't, because of her powers. She was safer here, in the woods, and she was free to use her powers as much as she wanted around her family. If she went in to town, she would have to hide them, and she wasn't very good at controlling her power… yet. Elsa was determined to have complete control over her powers so she could go to town and make some friends. It was a bit lonely out here, in the forrest with just her family. Hearing her parents douse the fire, she scampered up the rest of the stairs and quickly slid under the covers and pretended to be asleep. Her parents walked up the stairs and into their room.

After they were gone, Elsa sat up and continued to ponder what she had heard. She wasn't sure if she wanted to move or not. She liked the house they lived in now; she didn't have to hide her powers here. But if they moved somewhere else, maybe there would be children here age there! But she wouldn't be able to use her powers as much… Elsa didn't know what war was, but with the way her parents talked about it, it must be bad, very bad, if her parents were afraid of it. It was probably scarier than the dark shadows that sometimes haunted her at night, or the monster that lived under her bed. Sighing, she laid back down, and slowly drifted off to sleep.

A few months passed, and Elsa noticed that her parents were worried, even though they tried to hide it. Henrik had started to seem nervous too. It must be that scary thing, war, which her parents had talked about that was making them all scared. Elsa tried to be cheerful, and to make her parents and brother smile and laugh, and when they did, it didn't look right. When they laughed or smiled, it never reached their eyes, and it seemed forced. One day, her father came home early, looking grim. He said that war had broken out between Arendelle and Weselton. Elsa's mom cried, and her brother's face turned pale. Not knowing what to do, Elsa asked her dad what war was. He replied,

"War is when people fight each other. Many people die Elsa, many. And not just soldiers die, citizens do too." Turning to address the rest of the family, Ivan stated, "We've been offered a place to stay in town until this…. Conflict blows over. We're safer in town. Other families like us that live on the outskirts of the town are also being relocated to the town. We have tonight and tomorrow to pack everything and move in to two of Oaken's spare rooms."

Packing was a somber affair. Eva cried as she packed what they could on to Ivan's sleigh that was normally used for wood. They left what they couldn't take in the cabin, and make the trek to Oaken's house. Before they arrived, Eva pulled Elsa aside and gave her a pair of gloves that were a bit large.

"There are for you Elsa. I know they're probably a little big, and I know that you don't feel the cold, but they might help you control and conceal your powers while we stay with Oaken and his family."

"But aren't they yours?"

They are yours now, my little snowflake," said Eva, and she kissed Elsa on the forehead. "Now, let's go meet Oaken and his family and get settled in, okay?"

"Okay."

"That's my brave girl."

In order to create the two rooms for the family of four, some of Oaken's kids had to vacate their rooms and bunk with their siblings. This caused much complaining, and although Oaken and his wife were very friendly and understanding, his children were not. They made Elsa's family feel unwelcome and a burden, but they had nowhere else to go. The news from the front lines was never good, as it seemed that Weselton was winning the war, and was slowly invading Arendelle. The mood in the town was somber, as the front lines of the war drew closer and closer to their town.

Three weeks after the move, Elsa was woken one night by Henrik roughly shaking her awake.

"Henrik? Wha-"

"Elsa! Get up! Weselton soldiers are invading the town!"

Elsa was awake instantly, and she quickly grabbed her shoes and her coat. Henrik grabbed a few times and then ran out the door, with Elsa at his heels. Most of the town was in flames as Weselton soldiers burnt down houses and slaughtered those that stood in their way. Screams filled the air as townsfolk were cut down with swords and shot with arrows. The blood and soot stained the pure white snow on the ground as the soldier destroyed the town. The soldiers were slowly advancing through town, and would soon be focused on Oaken's house .Henrik pulled Elsa away from the grisly sight and dragged her towards the back of the house.

"Henrik, what about Oaken and his family?"

"They have already left Elsa; they were the ones who woke mom and dad up. I just hope that the soldiers don't find them."

Behind the house, Eva and Ivan were waiting for their children. Putting Henrik and Elsa on the family horse, they sent their children to safety in to the forrest as they escaped the burning town behind them on foot. As Elsa looked back, she saw the soldiers make their way towards her fleeing parents. One soldier lifted his crossbow and aimed. With a cry of pain, her father fell to the ground. The soldier aimed again, and her mother crumpled to the ground. Tears began to well in Elsa's eyes, as she realized she would never see her parents again. Henrik urged the old work horse faster. It was only after they were deep in to the forrest did Henrik allow the horse to slow. Henrik jumped down from the horse, two clean streaks on his face from his tears.

"Come on Elsa," he said, his voice wavering, "we need to find shelter and food."

They made their way to a nearby stream. Henrik caught some fish. He then led a shaken Elsa to their family's cabin. Once they got inside, they sat down and huddled together. Henrik didn't dare start the fire, for fear of the soldiers seeing the smoke and coming to investigate. The siblings eventually fell asleep.

Henrik awoke with a start. He sat still and listened. He could hear shouts coming from the forrest. Peaking out the window of the cabin, he saw Weselton soldiers. Feeling his heart sink with dread, he realized the soldiers must have followed their tracks in the snow. He silently woke Elsa. After telling her what was going on, he instructed her to stay behind him. The soldiers were at the edge of the clearing, and had yet to investigate the cabin. Mustering up his courage, and drawing his dagger, Henrik crouched and left the cabin, with Elsa trailing behind him. As long as the soldiers didn't turn to look at the cabin, they might have a chance to escape on foot. They were almost behind the cabin when they were spotted.

"Elsa, run!" shouted Henrik and he too began to run.

But two children on foot are no match for grown men. Seeing the soldiers beginning to catch up, he knew what he had to do.

"Elsa, keep running, don't look back!"

Elsa pumped her small legs, running and running. Henrik turned to face the soldiers and raised his dagger, tears pricking at the corners of his eyes. He had to give Elsa time to escape.

Elsa ran and ran. She didn't know how far she ran. When she finally tired, she stopped and turned to look for Henrik.

He wasn't there.

Henrik wasn't with her.

She heard the last words he said to her ring in her head

"Elsa, keep running, don't look back!"

She saw her parents falling at the hands of the Weselton soldiers.

Elsa fell to the ground and began to sob. She wailed. She raged.

In response to her grief, her magic reacted.

A deadly winter blizzard raged around her, and spread. It spread for miles, drowning both Weselton and Arendelle in snow. In Elsa's grief.

When she finally calmed down, Elsa found herself surrounded by fresh, pure snow. No longer caring what happened to her, she began to wander back toward her village. When she got there, the soldiers were gone, and the misfortune that had occurred hours before was buried under snow. The blood and soot was gone.

Elsa continued to walk.

After walking for a few hours, she heard a faint voice.

"Mommy? Daddy?"

Walking towards the voice, she came across a small, red headed girl with green eyes. The young girl was covered in a light dusting of snow, and was shivering uncontrollably.

"Hello?"

The red haired girl jumped at the sound, and looked at Elsa inquisitively.

"Who are you?" she said.

"I'm Elsa, who are you?"

"I'm Anna. Have you seen my mommy and daddy? I can't find them. They hid me in a tree in the woods after the soldiers came, and then they ran away. The soldiers chased after them, but they didn't see me. My mom is pretty; she has red hair like me! And Daddy has green eyes and lots of freckles. Have you seen them?"

"Um, no. I'm sorry."

"Oh. Okay. Mommy and Daddy said to head to Stavanger, that's a city, if I get lost. Do you want to come with me?"

"… Uh, sure?"

"Okay! What's your favorite color? Do you like green? Green is my favorite color!"

The two girls made their slow trek towards Stavanger. Anna talked most of the way, with Elsa speaking only when Anna asked a question. The two girls grew close, and looked out for each other. The walk towards the city took them three and a half weeks. Once they got to Stavanger, the girls considered themselves sisters, and they were inseparable. However, Elsa never told Anna about her ability to cause snow and ice. The girls were put together in an orphanage.

Due to the catastrophic blizzard, Weselton suffered heavy losses due to illness and death and a loss of supplies. A truce was called, and peace returned to the land. The King of Arendelle remarked to one of his troll advisors how lucky Arendelle was that the blizzard had appeared when it did. The troll mysteriously replied that it was not luck, simply the Queen of Winter attempting to stop the war and share her opinions on it. The story soon spread throughout the land, the myth that the Queen of Winter had stopped the carnage and destruction of war, and that the Queen of Winter was on Arendelle's side. She was their protector.