Elsa was worried. Not only was her sister off with some man she had just met -so she had sent the Royal Handler to check on her little sister; sue her- but her curse was worsening. Elsa was sure that if she had any more emotional stimuli, she'd have to end the party early. It would be suspicious to just leave so the party was still on, despite her unease, and she was holding out hope that nothing would happen.

Elsa smiled slightly, relieved to see her sister return happy, despite how their latest interaction ended. Absently a part of her mind dipped back into her memory, her mask and smile firmly in place.

"Me too," Elsa remembers saying. It was so easy and natural for Elsa to smile and laugh so close to her sister, Anna. Elsa's posture wasn't perfect like it usually was. Instead of tall and regal, her posture was warm and loving, from her slightly crooked smile to the fond tilt of her head.

Unfortunately, Elsa couldn't stay caught up in the moment. Her focus was too intense on Anna. She was too distracted -happy- to keep control and Elsa's deep eyes began to see more and more. Too much. Edges of a shape started to form across Anna's right eye. Elsa evaded her eyes up subtly. Mistake. Now all she saw was that pale strand, darkened with time. Elsa's sight wouldn't return back to normal though, so to her it was a cold, cold white . Her eyes shifted again. Worse. On Anna's iris, where a young Elsa's powers had stuck, was a fully revealed shape. Elsa's expression hardened, dark brown brows pulling together. A snowflake. She turned away. Elsa's snowflake. "But it can't."

"Marriage?" She blinked rapidly, her smile falling in shock. "I'm sorry," Elsa said. "I'm confused," her lips pulled up once more, sure that she had heard wrong.

"Well we haven't worked out all the details ourselves. We'll need a few days to plan the ceremony..." Elsa could barely hear her, the wind howling in her ears as ice pricked in her veins.

"Here?" She was sure her stomach had dropped along with her temperature. "Anna," she started, her hands moving instinctively. Her head shook as they continued on and her hands moved more. "What? No. No, no, no, no." Anna glanced at her for a moment before continuing in her ramblings to Prince Hans. "Just wait," Elsa said sharply, as sharp as the jagged icicles just screaming to be released. "Slow down." Elsa wasn't quite sure if she was talking to the two red-ish haired individuals, or the storm howling within. She needed control.

"No one's brothers are staying here," she breathed in, willing it all to still. "No one is getting married."

"Wait, what?" Surely Elsa could talk some sense to Anna, gently.

"May I talk to you, please?" But she had to get away from all these people. These vulnerable people making her veins cold with nerves. "Alone?"

"No." And just like that her hands fell. Don't lose sight of who you are, don't let it show...

"Fine." Conceal. "You can't marry a man you've just met." Don't feel.

"You can if it's true love," Anna insisted. The storm slowed, as if wanting to hear what she'd say.

"Anna, what do you know about true love?"

"More than you," she answered immediately. "All you know how to do is shut people out."

Elsa was wrong. The storm had only granted her a slight reprieve so she could feel the full force of Anna's words as it effortlessly broke through her mask, tearing ruthlessly at her heart.

She was mad. At the storm. At Anna. At herself. At the pain she always felt. "You ask for my blessing but my answer is no. Now," Her eyes dropped. She had no right to be angry. As far as Anna knows, her words were nothing but the truth. And it has to stay that way. Like it had for the past 13 years.

Elsa was already pushing her restraint, "Excuse me." The Prince with Anna on his arm interjected. In the glances Elsa's still-too-sharp eyes had taken of Prince Hans, there was something that just made her feel uneasy, threatened. And just by speaking her powers tried to escape and protect her, the storm raging once more.

It was too much. "No, you may not," she cut him off, needing to get away. "And I-" she was doing it again, shutting people out. "I think you should go." She couldn't keep it in for much longer.

"The party is over," she told the royal handler. "Close the gates."

She walked away calmly, the epitome of royal etiquette. Conceal, don't fe- Her glove slipped off. With a gasp she turned towards Anna, looking at her bare hand in shock before hiding it behind her, seeing the cold it was bathed in.

"Give me my glove!" Before it shows. Anna backed out of her reach, pleading.

"I can't live like this anymore!" Elsa never understood the saying "a bucket of cold water"; the cold never bothered her. Elsa was sure that it was similar to what she was feeling now, though. Combined with a dagger to the gut.

Elsa failed. She couldn't convince her sister, couldn't protect her from the years of loneliness, the loss and grief. "Then leave." But she could still protect Anna from herself. Anna's pained eyes didn't make Elsa feel like she was protecting her, though. But it's the only way. The pain is worth it. With a defeated sigh she turned away. Doubts and fears nipped at her slipping, practically nonexistent, control.

"What did I ever do to you?"

"Enough, Anna." Make it stop.

"No! Why?" Her breaths turned to strained gasps. The storm was a blizzard. Conceal. "Why do you shut me out?" There's so much ice. Don't feel. "Why do you shut the world out?" Don't let them know. "What are you so afraid of?"

Elsa snapped. "I said enough!"

The relief from letting it go was overshadowed by the terror she felt as she looked into their stunned, fearful eyes.

Now they know.

2/7/14 A/N: I edited the first paragraph. It didn't fit with what I've now written.

1/16/14 A/N: Added flashback scene. Answers the question: "How come no one saw the blue stuff creeping up the scepter and orb during the ceremony in the chapel?" In my headcanon, one of Elsa's powers is the ability to see heat. She conceals it of course, unless she's too nervous (chapel) or too distracted (ball) to keep blocking it. Another thing I expounded was what I initially wrote this for and that's the fact that Elsa was really high-strung after speaking with Anna. Of course, that can be written off as her concern and panic for her sister but I like my idea better because, like I said, it's kind of a crossover (/s/10047381/1). And it's my fic so I can do whatever I want.

You guys are welcome to leave questions or doubts you had and I'll see what I can do. No promises though :P

1/10/14 A/N: This is kinda part of my headcanon and set in the same universe as a crossover I'm not sure if I should post. But it shows Elsa's side of things. And yeah it's been done a lot but it was already written so whatever.