Chapter 1: Ashes

"It turned black?" Anna asked in disbelief, slightly raising and eyebrow. Her sister nodded slowly in response, the look in her face one of deep concern. It was late at night and they were in Elsa's room, both siting on the bed right next to each other, close enough but without actually touching. Elsa had wanted to talk to her sister as soon as possible since the forest incident. However, it had been an extremely busy day and yet they had found no answers to what caused the fire. The queen seemed nervous and her sister took notice of it the minute she entered the bedroom. It was extremely cold.

"It wasn't really black I mean… It was dark but also kind of…" she held her hands tightly together and lowered her gaze "It looked just like mother's" Elsa said finally. There was something in her voice that made the redheaded girl feel sad. It was not only the memory of her mother, which never failed to bring melancholy, but also the way in which her sister's complete body language seemed to change. The queen pushed up her shoulders, burying her head between them, and pulled her hands towards herself as she rubbed her arms. It reminded her of the times when Elsa had concealed her true self.

"But it went back to normal, right?" she asked "Well, of course it did, I mean I can see it but…" Anna took a deep breath "What do you think it meant?"

"I… I don't really know, Anna. But I think it was because I overused my powers. Without them I was… I was so normal. I just couldn't believe that they were gone…"

"Gone?" Anna replied, amazed at what the other one had said. She had a hard time imagining Elsa without her powers. The sister she had come to know and love was bonded with that ability.

"I have come to accept this power as a part of me. I… I love it. It is what I am" she smiled shyly "But for a second I felt… Normal… Even now that I know how to control it it's still a burden…"

"Elsa… You know we all love and care for you. With or without your powers you are still my beloved sister and the queen of Arendelle" the redhead held her sister's hands in her own. She was ice cold.

"Thank you, Anna" said the queen with a genuine smile "I know it is not an ideal moment for me to feel uneasy. We still have to determine what caused the fire and…"

"Hey" the youngest interrupted "Don't be afraid to feel anymore, okay? Remember… No more closed doors" the ice queen looked into the eyes of her sibling and smiled, a little tear at the corner of her eye.

"No more closed doors"

….

"Still no clue then?" Kristoff asked as he an Anna strolled close to the forest. The trees were black, naked and broken, the floor burnt and the smell of smoke remained in the atmosphere. They wouldn't go in, of course, the fire had done quite a number in the woods and Elsa had made it clear no one was to enter them until the situation was fully controlled.

"Not at all" answered the girl "And it bothers me a lot. It has Elsa on the edge as well and I really hate seeing her that tense"

"I understand she is nervous about the whole thing I mean that weird silhouette the other day sure was creepy" the blonde added.

"Yeah… It was" and then, as they quietly walked, they heard a groan coming from the woods "What was that?" Anna asked, her body morphing into battle position.

"It came from over there," the iceman answered, pointing to the edge of the forest. "Should we check it out?" he asked as he turned around to face Anna. She was not there.

"Kristoff get over here!" Anna yelled and the alluded one ran to her side.

"You shouldn't just rush to dangerous situations like that," he said as he approached the princess "Who knows what could be… Wow…" he cut his own sentence, too astonished at what he had seen.

It was a girl, lying on her chest over the ashes of the forest. She had short scruffy black hair and her skin was pale. Her clothes looked worn out and at some spots they were burnt. Without saying anything Kristoff had gotten on his knees and was trying to get a pulse.

"Is she…?" Anna asked nervously, lightly leaning over the blonde's shoulder.

"She is alive but her pulse is really weak" he answered.

"We should take her to the palace, we'll have the doctor look at her" the girl said as she walked away from her boyfriend. She looked around and whistled "Sven!" she called. Soon the reindeer, which had been following them on their walk, ran to her. The iceman skillfully placed the unconscious body of the girl over the animal "You go, Kristoff" she said as the man sat on top of his animal friend "I'll catch up with you later"

"But…" he tried to interrupt.

"Just hurry" Anna said with a serious tone and the man nodded in response. Soon they disappeared into the distance and the princess began running back to the castle. She couldn't stop thinking where had that girl come from. She couldn't recognize her as a citizen of Arendelle and, even if she didn't know every single one of the inhabitants of her reign, she was sure she could at least tell them out by their faces.

That girl she had never seen.

….

Kristoff was outside of the room pacing back and forth. Anna held her hands together nervously and bit her bottom lip lightly. The doctor was sure taking a long time. As soon as the blonde had arrived at the castle he had requested the servants take the girl to a bedroom and notify the palace medic. He was quick to arrive but the diagnosis, for which he asked a couple of assistants and privacy, was taking quite some time.

Elsa was not at the palace at the moment but at the pier having a meeting with the fishermen guild, and both Anna and Kristoff wondered how she would feel about a foreigner being brought straight to the castle. Even if she had grown out of her shell in the past year and a half there were some limits that she had yet to break.

And then the door opened. The doctor had a smile on his face and they sighted, relived and such a sight.

"She is okay then?" Anna asked and the doctor gently nodded.

"Yes, she is stable now" the man replied. He was an older fellow, with a deep grey moustache that matched his hairdo, combed to hide the still notorious bald spots on his forehead "However" he continued with a changed expression on his face. The blonde and the redhead both shifted the looks on theirs as well "She was severely dehydrated and has likely not had a bite in several days. If she were a foreigner then I would guess she has been on the road for quite some time and without any real source of nourishment. She will be extremely weak when she wakes up. Please notify me if anything happens. I will leave one of my assistants here either way"

"Thank you doctor we are really grateful that you…"

"Anna! Kristoff!" the voice itself seemed to freeze the environment a little bit and they both turned around to place their eyes on a very angry queen.

"Oh! Hello, Elsa!" Anna said "Such a beautiful coincidence to have you here! We have something to tell you"

"Kai has already informed me, sister. And I would like to know why have you brought someone into the castle without notifying me first" Elsa asked. She didn't really know why, but having strangers in the palace was still nerve wrecking for her. Even when they would have balls or meetings inside the castle she would still get a little anxious. She thought is was something about it being her home, her sanctuary and the place she grew up in. She felt so vulnerable among the walls that were once her prison. On top of that, it was a foreigner. Ever since the incident with Hans and the Duke of Wiselton, she had taken international relations with caution. She was not to be fooled again.

"Elsa, we didn't know what else to do. The hospital has its hands full with the people that were injured during the fire so the castle was our best shot" Kristoff answered and something in the alluded one's expression changed. The fire, she remembered, could this person have something to do with it?

"I know there is a lot you three should discuss, your highness, but maybe do it elsewhere. Our patient needs rest" the doctor said and brought Elsa back to the actual situation. She peeked behind the man and saw the girl on the bed. She was probably her age, maybe a bit younger, and had the most beautiful sleeping face. Strands of black hair brushed the tip of her nose and there was a small scar under her left eye. And yet she did not look well at all: her skin was dead pale. Suddenly, Elsa felt remorse for getting angry with Anna and Kristoff. That girl was surely in need of help and had she been there, she would have probably done the same. She could ask all the questions she wanted when the girl was awake.

"I… I am sorry" Elsa said, lowering her gaze "I am overthinking things. You were right to bring her here" she smiled and so did the others "I'm just…"

"We know" Anna said, placing a hand on her sister's shoulder. She knew the other one would understand and, even if it took her a while, she was able to see why their actions had been necessary.

After the doctor left Elsa made her way into the bedroom and had a closer look at her new guest. Even with such a peaceful expression upon her face, the queen couldn't avoid feeling there was something more to the girl than what met the eye. Why was she alone in the forest after the fire? Why was she in such a condition? Why couldn't she stop looking at her? There was something about her but she couldn't place her finger on what yet. She walked around the room, trying to get her thoughts straight. It was not often that people stayed the night in the castle and it was making her anxious sharing her personal space with someone new. And yet she couldn't stop staring. There was something…

Elsa looked at the scar under the girl's eye and noticed it was not great in size, but it was pretty obvious the wound that gave it birth had been a deep one. Without noticing, the platinum blonde had approached the other one's face more than she probably should as she tried to guess what had caused it. And then, out of the blue, the black haired girl opened her eyes.

She had bright red eyes.