Anna, beloved princess of Arendelle and second in line to the throne, stood at her sister's door for the last time.
Ever since Anna had hurt herself playing in the snow several winters ago, her sister Elsa had never been the same. Elsa blamed herself for the accident and continually pulled away from Anna, using her books and royal training as an excuse to keep the two apart. Anna, in turn, had made every attempt to restore their relationship: when she studied, she asked for Elsa's help; when she wanted to play, she invited Elsa to join in; and when she got tired of wandering around the gardens and chose to sneak outside the castle instead, she pretended she needed Elsa to make her plans work. It was no use. Elsa's only response was, "Go away, Anna."
So Anna would go away. Tonight, she would go down to the docks and finally meet her pen pal, Prince Hans of the Southern Isles, for the first time. Hans, the youngest out of 13 brothers, knew what it was like to be invisible. They had exchanged letters for months, and when Hans had learned of an opportunity to sail to a faraway land and become part of an expedition, he had immediately invited Anna to come with him. "I cannot wait to leave this cage any longer," he had said in his latest letter. "And I'm sure you cannot wait either."
Anna stared at the door, suddenly second-guessing her decision. The small bag of necessities on her back weighed as heavily as her thoughts. Could she really leave her sister behind, now that their parents were gone? She raised her hand to knock on the door, then lowered it again.
Yes, she could. Why should she chain herself to Elsa, when her sister didn't care about her? Why should she put Elsa's needs before her own? Anna hardly ever saw her anyway. The regent said Elsa had depression, but the thought only made Anna angrier. Anna had depression too! Why wouldn't Elsa see that she wasn't the only one hurting?
Anna shook her head and sat down. No, no. It was selfish of her to leave. She had to stay strong for Elsa. She had to act happy so Elsa might be happy too. She reached out and tapped on the door.
"Hey, Elsa?" She tried to sound as positive as she could. "It's a really nice night tonight. Do you want to...build a snowman?"
It was her silly way of trying to get Elsa to play with her. Building a snowman had caused her to get hurt; maybe building a snowman would also heal that pain.
Like usual, it took time for Elsa to respond. Anna filled the silence with talk about happy memories they had created together before the accident. "The treehouse was pretty great, right? Remember when Dad made that treehouse? Oh, and the tea set we kept there! Remember how you always tried to get Mr. Bear to eat his cookies before the squirrels did? Yeah, that was always funny to watch." She shifted into a more comfortable position and kept talking. "The library was nice too. It's all dusty and icky now, but the chair Mom used to sit in is still there. Too bad they closed it off after books kept disappearing. They haven't caught the thief yet, you know. I'd love to sit on the pillows and read with you again. What was your favorite series? Um...let's see..."
"Go away, Anna."
Elsa's quiet yet firm voice drifted through the closed door. There was a rustling on the other side and Anna leaned forward to peek in through the keyhole.
"Hey, Elsa. I see you're still alive."
"I said go away," Elsa repeated. She paused, then added, "I need to sleep."
A quiet realization swept over Anna. She had done everything in her power to reconcile with her sister. She had exhausted every option for supporting the one she cared most about. She had stayed strong for Elsa long enough; it was time for her to go and heal her own wounds, because Elsa would never take her back.
"Fine," she said, getting up and putting her hand on the closed door. "I'll go. But I want you to know this: no matter what, I love you."
She got up, picked up her bag, and walked down the long hall, forcing herself not to look back.
It was easy slipping out of the castle. Stewart, captain of the guard, knew of Anna's intentions but didn't stop her from going over the garden wall. He handed her a letter as she climbed up the ladder one last time.
"Read this when you feel lonely, my lady."
"Thank you, Stewart." Anna reached out and grabbed his hand in a gesture of gratitude, then let go and hurriedly made her way to the top of the wall. She scrambled over the top and used the stack of boxes on the other side to climb down, before running to the docks where two figures were waiting.
A red-haired man stepped forward, smiled, and bowed. "Princess Anna, I'm Prince Hans." He straightened up and added, "And this is Captain Anderson. He'll be taking us to the port where the expedition is meeting."
Anna curtsied to both before stepping up the gangplank. "This is going to be quite the adventure, isn't it, Hans?"
Hans laughed. "It sure is! Perhaps we'll even find a kingdom of our own along the way!" He took Anna's bag from her and set it amongst the other luggage.
"A kingdom of our own," Anna repeated. She stood at the railing and watched Arendelle grow smaller as they left the docks. She turned to Hans, who stood beside her, enjoying the midnight breeze. "I'd like that."
"But first, I'd like to get to know you," Hans said. "After all, we can't have a proper adventure if we're strangers. So...what's your favorite color?"
"To be honest," Anna admitted, "I don't have one. But I think if I did, it'd be anything but white."
Hans looked surprised. "Why?"
"I don't like the snow very much, that's all."
She looked away, pushing the rising bitterness to the furthest corner of her mind. Hans, realizing she was probably thinking of her history with Elsa, respected her silence and began talking to the captain instead. Anna decided to speak one more thought out loud before asking Hans about his favorite color. She took a deep breath.
"Elsa, I don't know what you're so afraid of, or why. But I hope you find a way to overcome whatever is holding you back. In the meantime..." She sighed and continued, "In the meantime, I'll be having my own adventures. I hope you don't mind."
The weight finally off her shoulders, Anna spun around and cheerily walked over to Hans, who had finished discussing the details of the journey with the captain. "Sorry about that! It's been a long week. So, what your favorite color, Hans?"
Hans grinned. "I like blue. Especially the kind of blue that reminds me of the ocean."
"That's a good reason to like blue."
At one in the morning on the open ocean, far away from her sister's door, Princess Anna of Arendelle had finally found the freedom - and friendship - she had been seeking for so long. It was the start of a new life. And she was never going back.