The day she found out, Elsa was incredibly overjoyed, her eyes misted with blissful tears.

"Anna!" Elsa had barged into her younger sister's bedroom that day after she'd just had her monthly check up. "Anna… I'm pregnant!"

The castle buzzed with excitement for those next few weeks, as secrets are not easily kept in a castle with servants who hear almost everything. The Queen was to finally have a baby, an heir to the throne. Everyone made sure to congratulate Elsa; "I'm sure the baby will be beautiful, your highness." They had complimented. Anna rambled on to everyone in the kingdom she'd bumped into about her future niece or nephew, and how much fun they were going to have together. Elsa had made sure to eat plenty of chocolate, with some help from Anna, of course. For those few months, Elsa had been the happiest she'd ever been.

It was only three months after she discovered her pregnancy when things began to go downhill for the snow queen.

Elsa's belly had rounded since she'd found out about the baby. Elsa sat at her seat at the end of the dinner table, Anna and Kristoff on either side of the table, eating a nice family meal with her. Elsa didn't eat, though. She couldn't help but look happily down at her stomach, imagining her little daughter or son.

"Only six more months, Elsa!" Anna had commented excitedly when she noticed her elder sister smiling down at her stomach.

Elsa chuckled, shaking her head, amused, "Anna," She began, "Eight months is a rather long time, don't you think?"

"You'd be surprised," Kristoff joined in between bites of his food, "Eight months can go by pretty fast, your highness."

Elsa rolled her eyes and swatted her sister's boyfriend playfully. The ice harvester- or Arendelle's official ice master and deliverer, as Anna liked to call him, knew well that Elsa hated when he played the royalty card. Kristoff was basically part of the family now.

"I can't wait to meet the baby." Anna continued, "I bet she- or he- will be just like you, Elsa!"

Elsa's eyes widened at the thought. Just like her? Could babies inherit ice powers? Would her baby inherit her powers? Her thoughts ran deeper and deeper, darker and darker. Memories from Elsa's childhood came flooding back into her mind, memories of the pain that her powers had caused her; would the baby lead the same life that Elsa had once lead? Would her child live in constant fear and seclusion from the rest of the world, just as she had? Question after question ran through her mind, but she didn't have the answer to any of them.

It was then that someone had finally spoken up. "Elsa, what's wrong? You look worried." Anna asked worriedly.

Elsa tried to smile, but nothing came of it. She looked sad and worried. "Nothing, Anna. Nothing is wrong. I need to leave, I have a lot of work to do." With that, Elsa stood, leaving half of her plate still full, Anna and Kristoff looking in her direction, concerned expressions on both of their faces.

Five months.

Exactly five months from that day, July 27th, Elsa was expected to have her first baby. Not that the Queen planned on having anymore children; she'd discovered that pregnancy could get rather irritating. She'd get cramping in her lower abdomen every now and then, but her cramps just so happened to come during the worst times, say, when she was in a trade meeting, or when she was attending a royal ball. Her stomach had rounded significantly more, and her baby bump would always get in the way of things. She was having constant mood swings and constant cravings; pickles and ice cream, ice, spicy food, coffee, but most of all, chocolate. The servants would always get her the food immediately, of course, but she was constantly hungry, and she hated it. However, worse than anything, there was still constant fear that her baby would inherit her powers, which she now, once again, believed was a curse. She didn't want her baby to live the same way she had.

Elsa had not yet told anyone of her fears, though everyone suspected something was off about the queen. Elsa had always had a way with keeping secrets; in fact, she managed to keep it up until it was only three months from the baby's expected arrival. Of course, the first one to see how bad it really was was Anna.

Anna had been walking down the halls, looking for something to solve her boredom. Kristoff had gone to the stables to take care of Sven and possibly take him for a ride. She didn't expect Elsa to have time to do anything, since she was the queen and she was very busy ruling Arendelle. However, as Anna walked past Elsa's room, she felt a chill of cold air, which made her stop. Summer had ended, of course, and it was getting colder, but this was different. The air was as cold as… ice.

Before Anna could think anything else, her sister walked out of her room, looking at her feet. When she noticed her younger sister, Elsa looked up from the ground and put on a smile, but Anna could tell it was fake and sad. Anna bowed and without a word, Elsa walked down the hall, probably off to the library.

When she knew Elsa was gone, she tip toed over to the door, putting her hand on the door handle hesitantly. She knew well that she wasn't supposed to go into Elsa's room when Elsa wasn't in there herself. Anna looked both ways down the hall, making sure no servants were around. It was for the good of her sister that she went inside… right? With that, Anna finally turned the handle and opened the door carefully and quietly.

The entire room, the walls, the floor, everything, was covered in a thin sheet of ice, snowflakes suspended in midair.

"I'll talk to her tomorrow morning," Anna insisted to Kristoff later that evening, after he returned as they were getting ready to go to bed.

Anna lay on the bed, in Kristoff's strong arms, and sighed. She had been upset ever since she'd gone into Elsa's room earlier that day. Kristoff kissed her head, understanding of the great worry she had for her sister.

"Hey. Don't worry about it, Princess." He laughed shortly, attempting to lighten the mood. "You are the only person who can get through to Elsa- I'm sure she'll be fine once you talk to her tomorrow morning, okay?" He smiled, poking her side and making Anna giggle.

After tickling each other until Anna's face had turned red and Kristoff's stomach was aching, they fell asleep, Anna dreaming of a young blonde girl shutting herself in her room.

The next morning, Anna almost hadn't remembered to go to Elsa's room and speak to her. She got dressed and ready, leaving her boyfriend fast asleep, deciding to let him sleep in today. She bumped into Gerda in the hallway, Gerda smiling apologetically.

"Good morning, Gerda," Anna grinned, "Have you seen Elsa this morning at all?"

Gerda nodded, motioning to Elsa's room. "I believe Queen Elsa is still in her room."

Anna nodded, "Thank you, Gerda."

Gerda made her way down the hall. Once she was gone, Anna ran quickly down the hall to Elsa's room, desperately wanting to find out what had been bothering and upsetting her sister so much lately.

Anna turned the door handle, and-

The door was locked.

One week later, Elsa heard a knock at her door. She hadn't been out of her room in a week, she'd had the servants bring food to her room, and she only went out to bathe and use the restroom when she knew no one was around.

"Go away, Anna." She said, her voice wavering. She wanted to be alone.

She heard the door handle wiggle violently. Elsa huffed loudly, storming to the door and opening it.

"Anna! I said..." Elsa trailed off when she realized the person standing before her wasn't Anna, but it was Kristoff. "Oh. Hello, Kristoff. Did you need something?" She asked seriously, composing herself.

"Yes, actually, I do." Kristoff huffed, walking right into Elsa's room, looking rather angry.

Elsa's eyes widened; Kristoff had usually been so polite. She'd never seen him angry with her, but he was behaving ridiculously. "Excuse me?" Elsa asked after her moment of shock, folding her arms over her chest and storming over to Kristoff. He might have been much bigger than Elsa was, but Elsa was in no way afraid of her little sister's boyfriend, and she certainly wasn't afraid of kicking him out.

Kristoff sat in a chair, and Elsa hesitantly pulled another one across from him. "Elsa, you can't just shut yourself out forever. You're pregnant, it's not good for the baby, and it's not good for you. Anna hasn't been taking it lightly, either."

"Anna needs to mind her business. She has other things to worry about then me, it is no big deal and I will come out whenever I please." Elsa argued, not wanting to let her fear show through.

"Anna has been hurt ever since you started shutting her out again. Sister or not, I don't like it when people hurt her. I thought you two were past this, you could trust Anna with anything, you know."

Once again, Kristoff had managed to surprise her. "I am NOT shutting Anna out!" Elsa raised her voice, but afterwords, she looked down, a frown forming on her face. "I'm just… shutting myself out…"

"Why is that?" Kristoff asked.

Elsa had never expected to spill her secrets to Kristoff before Anna, but that was exactly what she was going to do. She couldn't possibly hold this back anymore, she had to let it out to someone instead of bottling it up.

"I'm scared, can't you tell?" Elsa looked up to meet his eyes; her blue eyes were filled with sadness and fear. "The baby… What if the baby inherits my powers?" She asked slowly, hoping the question didn't sound ridiculous.

Kristoff looked puzzled, not quite understanding what Elsa had meant. "What do you mean? Everyone loves your powers, Elsa. They'd accept and care for the baby just the same."

Elsa shook her head quickly, gathering her words to try and explain. "I don't care what anyone thinks, I care about the baby. For most of my life, I had to live alone and in constant fear of hurting people, specifically Anna. What if the baby can't control its powers? What if my baby has to live like I did?"

Kristoff sighed and nodded, trying to think of something to say to her. Finally, after moments of silence, he stood, grabbing Elsa's arm and pulling her towards the door without a word. Elsa struggled in the ice harvester's grip, but he was much stronger than he was. She thought about freezing his arm as a distraction to slip away, but she decided against it, knowing that was going too far. "Kristoff, what on earth? Are you mad? What are you doing?" Elsa asked, walking alongside him, deciding not to fight against his pull anymore.

"Taking you to Anna." Kristoff replied simply, dragging Elsa towards her younger sister's door. "She's the only one who can help you."

Elsa's eyes bulged once again. "What? No! Kristoff, you stay out of this, you can't just force me to..." before she could finish, Kristoff had opened the door and shoved Elsa inside, blocking the exit. Anna looked up from a book she was reading, looking angry and bewildered when she saw her sister before her.

"What are you doing here?" Anna asked bluntly, looking back down to her book.

Before the two could start arguing, Kristoff intervened. He explained everything to Anna; going into Elsa's room to get an answer, defending Anna, and the fact that Elsa was afraid of having the child, since she didn't want it to inherit her powers. Throughout the story, Anna's face had gone from stern to full of sympathy. After hearing everything, Anna patted the spot next to her on the bed. Elsa let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding, walking to the bed and sitting beside Anna. There were tears running down her cheeks, which had become red and puffy. Elsa looked down, putting her hands in her lap.

"Elsa…" Anna said, trying to get her sister to look at her. After a few attempts at getting her sister to look at her, she finally put Elsa's face in her hands, cupping her cheeks and lifting her head, forcing Elsa to meet Anna's gaze. "Elsa!" She snapped, but softened again immediately. "Your baby will be fine."

"How do you know?" Elsa sniffed, rubbing her eyes and pouting like an upset child, which just made Anna giggle.

"Because," Anna began, squeezing her big sister's hand gently, "You're fine, aren't you? You've gone through a lot, sure, but here you are, the Queen of Arendelle, healthy and happy. You also have a sister, her boyfriend, and a kingdom full of people who adore you and care about you, Elsa. Don't think for a second that it won't be the same for the baby, too."

Elsa nodded slowly, starting to get more and more assured that everything would be fine. She smiled for a short moment before her face fell again. "What if the baby can't control its powers?"

Anna shook her head, putting both hands on either one of Elsa's shoulders. "Elsa, the only reason you couldn't control it is because," Anna paused and squeezed her eyes shut before she continued, "Mama and Papa didn't know how to handle your powers. You, on the other hand, have ice powers. You could teach the baby, and you could help it." She smiled reassuringly, and Elsa smiled back a genuine smile, which she hadn't done in months. "Plus, who knows? Maybe the baby won't even have powers. You never know."

Elsa nodded, drying her face with a handkerchief that she'd kept in her pocket. "Thank you, Anna… I feel much better. I'm sorry I didn't just speak to you about this earlier," she said seriously.

Before Anna could reply, there was a knock at the door. One of the servants peeked her head in, her eyes instantly widening when she realized that the Queen was present. She gave a quick bow before speaking up, "Your majesty, Princess Anna, Mr. Bjorgman, I came up to inform you that supper is ready downstairs." She smiled, closing the door and leaving the three to get ready.

Anna and Elsa latched arms, walking down to the dining room, Kristoff ahead of them, and for the first time in quite a while, it felt like everything was finally back to normal.

Nine months. Elsa was nine months pregnant.

The baby was constantly kicking, and every time it did, Anna would put her hand to Elsa's stomach, amazed that she could actually feel it.

That day, Anna and Elsa had been spending time together, just talking. Anna had left the room for a minute when it happened.

A warm puddle was around Elsa on the ground as soon as she stood up.

Oh no.

Anna skipped into the room jovially, carrying a bag of chocolates. "I went to the kitchen and got some cho- Elsa? What's wrong?" She asked, quickly, coming to her sister's side.

"Anna… It's time." Elsa gasped, clutching her stomach. At least it didn't hurt yet.

Anna cocked her head, puzzled. "Time for what?" She looked down to the floor, seeing the puddle around her sister when it hit her. Elsa's water had just broke. The baby was coming. "Oh my God!" Anna squeaked, terrified and overjoyed at the same time. She ran to the door, shouting into the hall. "Someone, get a doctor! The baby is coming!"

Within seconds, half of the staff, and Kristoff, of course, had rushed to the room. They were talking excitedly amongst themselves, curious as to what the baby's gender was and what it would look like. Meanwhile, Elsa was breathing in and out heavily, terrified for the pain that was to come. Minutes later, Elsa's doctor rushed into the room, kneeling beside the bed she'd been laid on.

It wasn't long after that that the contractions began.

Anna held her hand tightly as Elsa would complain and cry about the immense amounts of pain she was feeling. The doctor repeatedly told her to push out and to try to keep her breathing at a steady pace. It felt like forever until the doctor announced that the baby was finally crowning, to which Elsa sighed in relief, before going back to screaming in pain. Just a few short pushes later, the baby was out, the doctor checking it frantically for any problems. Afterwards, he cleaned Elsa's child up.

Elsa waited anxiously, desperately wanting to see the baby. She hadn't even gotten so much as a glance yet, and it was killing her.

Finally, after what felt like hours, the doctor returned, a bundle of blue blankets in his arms. He leaned forward to hand the baby over, but Elsa just recoiled, looking at the palms of her hands fearfully. She looked over to Anna and Kristoff, sat side by side at the edge of her bed, and they both nodded encouragingly. Elsa looked back to the doctor, opening her arms, ready to take the baby. He placed the small bundle in Elsa's arms, and she looked down, instantly falling in love with her beautiful new child.

"It's a girl, your majesty." He smiled at her, walking off to leave the new family alone.

Elsa carefully opened up the blankets so that she could see her daughter's face clearer. She was beautiful; she had Elsa's bright blue eyes, and she had white hair. White hair. Elsa gasped, touching the baby's palms. They were as cold as ice.

"I was right," Elsa spoke slowly, "She inherited my powers…"

Anna put a hand on Elsa's shoulder, grinning down at her. "It will be okay, Elsa."

Elsa nodded, beaming from ear to ear. "My little snow princess… She's absolutely beautiful, Anna, look at her." Elsa passed the baby over to her sister.

Anna cradled her new niece in her arms, looking down at her with the same loving look in her eyes that she had when she looked at Elsa. "She looks just like you…" She whispered, holding one of the baby's fingers between her thumb and her index finger. "Hello, little princess! I'm your Auntie Anna… Oh, we're going to have so much fun together! Elsa, what are you going to name her? Have you thought of a name yet?"

Elsa nodded, looking at her gorgeous daughter in her sister's arms. "Yes, I have. I want to name her after

you."

"After me?" Anna raised an eyebrow. "Won't that get kind of confusing?"

"No!" Elsa giggled, shaking her head in amusement, "I mean indirectly after you. I want to name her Anneliese" She explained, taking the young one back from her sister. "Princess Anneliese."

"I love it." Anna put a hand on her sister's shoulder.

Elsa held Anneliese's small icy cold hand in her own. "Me too, Anna. Me too."