~~ELSA~~

Elsa almost broke that night, when she heard her sister crying against the door. And she almost broke every night after that.

The icy blonde had long since forgotten how to cry, forgotten what most emotions felt like. Every once in awhile she'd feel a stab of fear or anxiety, but even those spikes were few and far between. Nothing really penetrated the cloud around her anymore.

She thought maybe she should feel something at the news of her parents, but there was nothing. Maybe a bit of relief, as her last real tie to this world had gone. Maybe now it would be ok, to just stop. There was no one to compel her to keep going anymore, without the outside driving force, what would be the point?

But she...well she almost felt something, when the girl slumped against her door; all she wanted was for the eldest to let her in. But no, as soon as the spark made itself known she silenced it with a string of "conceal, don't feel"

Not feeling hadn't been a problem for years now, but concealing still escaped her. She could feel the storm inside, but it was in a place she could no longer touch. It was shielded from her psyche; she could sense it, but there was no control. The frost that escaped her fingertips was evidence of emotions she could no longer deal with. That first night, she iced over the door, muffling her sisters cries and pacing the remainder of the night, as a storm brewed above her head.

She didn't stop though. Not the next day or the day after. She knew there wasn't a point in going, but she didn't really know how to break the routine. Everyday she would get up, read, train, and study to be the monarch she was destined to be. This had been her life since she was shut up in that room. She got up that morning just like every other, though now her routine was a bit different. Now that her parents were gone she had to step up and use her training. She couldn't make any real binding decisions for the kingdom without the approval of the counsel. At least until she came of age and was crowned Queen, but that didn't stop her from becoming intimately involved in the affairs of the kingdom. She had a knack for it, something she took no pride in, it was merely due to long hours of isolation and boredom. Plus the fact that her father's study was basically the only other room in which she was allowed to be unsupervised.

"Your Majesty? Miss Elsa?"

She was abruptly brought back to the present; it was coronation week, and she was being fitted for the big day.

"Yes, I am sorry for my inattention," her voice apologetic to the seamstress, as she shifted her body in the direction she was told.

She had enjoyed the last three years, as much as she could enjoy anything with the ever-oppressive cloud hanging around her. She found she liked the way no one told her what to do anymore; it was almost like real freedom. Almost. But the years in isolation had left her damaged, she knew that. Despite wandering around the castle for the last three years, doing her duty to her kingdom, she had still managed to avoid ever seeing her sister. Well, more like managed to avoid being seen by the red head. She sensed that seeing the girl might finally make the storm break inside of her. As appealing as that was, she'd grown too comfortable with her nothingness to want to poke at the chaos hiding inside her again.

She remembered the last time she poked at the raging storm inside. It was her sisters sixteenth birthday. There was to be a large party in the castle in celebration. Father had decided to break his one rule about the closed gates, just to make his little girl happy. Elsa found she desperately wanted to attend. She wanted to celebrate the life her younger sister gave to the castle. She knew her parents only source of real happiness came from Anna in those days. She was growing colder within her soul and wanted a piece of joy to hold on to, she just wanted to know she could still feel happiness. But father forbade her from attending, she just knew he was ashamed of her, that he wished that Anna could be the first and maybe only in line for the throne. That was the last nail in her proverbial coffin. After that night of sitting in her room listening to the sounds of merriment in the surrounding halls, she cut off the remaining access to her emotions. With that she cut off any semblance of control of her power. Bursts of magic came and went without her interference, but the less she felt, the less often they came around. Father would be proud, she thought bitterly, before she sank again into apathy.

Later that day Elsa found herself in her room with the traditional regalia of being crowned. She went through the ceremony in her head for the fiftieth time that day. The priest would say this and she would respond with this, and so on. Then she would take off her gloves, receive the symbols of Monarchy, be declared Queen, and move on with her life.

As she picked up the scepter a thought struck her, what if her powers manifested in front of the whole crowd? Everyone in attendance would be horrified. They would call her a witch and a sorceress. She could be run out of the kingdom.

"I could be run out of the kingdom." She tasted the words on her tongue and let the idea seep into her mind. "Maybe I'd be caught," she murmured," or even burned at the stake," I could be done. She ended the thought in her mind, unwilling to say it out loud.

But no, she willed the ludicrous thoughts away, "Conceal, don't feel. Don't let them in, don't let them know," she repeated over and over again.

The day of the coronation flew by in rush, with Elsa being thrown here and there. Her maidservants frantically trying to help her get ready, while she continually fought off their helpful hands; she was extremely uncomfortable at the prospect of touching other humans, and being touched, she had no trust in her ability to control the power. The young blonde thanked the gods that she didn't have to receive the guests until the reception following the actual coronation. Eventually she just shoed everyone out of the room and grabbed on the chance to clear her head in quiet. It was funny how all those years she hated the isolation, but being faced with people was very disconcerting.

"It's only for today," she said firmly, comforting herself. After today she could go back to concealment and running the kingdom without being a part of it.

Then suddenly, she was in front of the priest. Thank goodness she had gone over the ceremony until she could do it in her sleep, the crowd and bustle of the day were really getting to her, she wasn't sure how much longer she could keep up the façade. I have to put on a good face, my people must have confidence in me, so I can go back to never seeing them again. He handed her the scepter and orb, pronouncing her Queen of Arendelle. For a moment, as she stood in front of the audience, she recalled her earlier thoughts. She looked down at her bare hands holding the regalia, she willed frost to come from her fingertips, but to her disappointment nothing happened. Oh well, looks like I'm going through with this, Arendelle has a new ruler. She forced a benevolent smile onto her face, this was a terrible idea, what was her father thinking? He was hoping this would never happen, that's what he was thinking, one of her inner tormenter said, he always hoped you would finish the job yourself, before it ever came to this.

~~ANNA~~

Anna loved the hustle and bustle of the day. She couldn't believe that this morning she had actually forgotten it was coronation day! She was currently in front of the mirror, fixing her hair again for the umpteenth time that day. Apparently frolicking around the castle was not conducive to keeping wild hair in a nice and behaved style.

She finally abandoned the fruitless endeavor when she heard a flurry a movement outside her door.

"They're opening the gates Miss Anna!" A young maidservant popped in the door, knowing the princess would be beyond excited at this news.

Anna gasped and flew out of the room, practically hurtling for the gates, she giggled at a fond memory of when she was younger and doing the very same. Her mother would frown and ask why she was in such a hurry. Anna would always answer with, " Because the space between where I was and where I want to be is a waste of my time." Her father would only grin at her and shake his head, announcing it was impossible to argue with that logic.

She slowed down as she exited the castle and whirled around, trying to see all the sights at once. Arrendele was even busier than usual, what with all of the visitors for the coronation. She soaked in the sounds and the colors of the beautiful spring day. Maybe she'll meet a prince! Oh wait, what if I actually do meet a prince? What if he's THE prince? The one?! We could get married and he would take me away. Or maybe we'll stay here and the gates would be open forever and always! For first the time in forever, I wouldn't have to be alone. The thoughts swirling around in her head made her shriek with joy, which earned her a few odd looks from the people in the immediate area.

And, BAM, she suddenly knocked off her feet and landed in a boat. A boat, what? Oh good gods, that guy is looking at me. No wait, his mouth is moving, HE'S TALKING TO ME. "hmm? Yes, I'm fine, are you fine? Of course you are. Fine I mean. Yes. Fine." She stopped and stared for a second, she thought his mouth was moving again, but she was way too distracted by the way his bangs were trying to escape his slicked back hair.

Oh my gods, he IS a prince! Oh what's my name…? Anna, yes it's Anna. Now he's bowing, should I curtsy? Anna had to try hard to remember all the lessons she hadn't paid attention to. I think it's too late to curtsy now. Somewhere in the back of her mind she heard bells ringing in the tower, the coronation. I'm going to be late! I just gotta stare at him another second, look at the way his mouth moves when he smiles! Wait, staring is rude. Aaaaand I'm gonna be late!

Anna gave Hans a hurried goodbye and dashed back to the castle. She made it to the ceremony just in time to stand witness to her sister. Her sister. She did a double take as she realized that for the first time in years she was standing right next to her sister. She fought the urge to gawk at the form next to her, not wanting to look foolish in front of all these people. Despite wanting to desperately look, Anna also found that for some reason, she wasn't sure she had the courage to actually look her sister in the face. She kept her eyes downcast, or on the priest, or even on the crowd, anywhere but Elsa.

She shouldn't have been worried, because Elsa ran off to god knows where as soon as the ceremony was over.

Anna looked around, checking for Hans, Maybe I'll see him at the reception tonight, oh wait, there's a reception tonight! I've got to get ready! She disappeared back to her own room to fix her hair, again. Maybe she could track down some help this time, goodness know she and her mane could certainly use it.

Anna didn't know why, but it never crossed her mind once that her sister would be at the reception. She kicked herself in the head, where else would the newly crowned monarch be? She had to greet the guests and accept all of the congratulations. No matter how logical it seemed in hindsight, Anna was still shocked when she looked out across the room, to meet those ice blue eyes. Time stood still. Hans, who she had originally been looking for, was entirely forgotten; the red head only had eyes for her sister, the most beautiful girl in the room. Somehow she was being escorted to the dais to stand beside the Queen. When her feet refused to start working again, she was practically shoved into her sister by that silly announcer guy, (she really should have paid more attention in classes when they were going over roles and titles). They hadn't broken eye contact until she tripped her way up the stairs. She vaguely heard their names and titles being announced, but she was too busy concentrating on the floor and trying to figure out how to look up again, to really pay attention.

She felt movement beside her, as someone leaned down to her and whispered "Hi."

Had she imagined it? No, there they were, those icy blue eyes again. "Hi…Hi Me?" She saw the eyes nod and Anna's world exploded in happiness.

A/N: So I've decided to keep going with this story, as such I'm changing the title because the original is a better one-shot title and I want something that better encompasses the whole story. Let me know what you guys think of this chapter!