I was starting to grow impatient as I paced around the courtroom. It was very early, the Sun was halfway out and no one was up yet except for the guards. The Duke and his family had been staying with us for a few days now, and though they still mourned their late son, they were making themselves useful by becoming a part of my council. Teodor turned out to be a really good friend for Anna and I, specially for me. The other day we went for a walk around the gardens, and for the first time since they got here, I found out who the red haired girl was.

"You mean Karina?" he answered.

I gave him a confused look. "Is that her name?"

"Yes" he replied quickly. "She's my sister. I thought you already knew her."

Something about his tone made me believe that his answer was just an excuse. "Well, I don't. And it doesn't help that she hasn't come out of her room."

He sighed. "I'm sorry about her. She was really close to Kai, it must be specially hard for her to deal with his death."

I couldn't blame her then. If Anna had died last summer I wouldn't have been able to keep going, so I decided to cut her some slack and simply wait until she was ready to come out.

But I saw her last night. As I was getting ready for bed, I glanced out the window and saw her walking out of the castle. I didn't know what to do, which is a bit frustrating when you're the Queen. Having the gates open meant anyone could walk in and out of the castle freely, so she wasn't doing anything wrong. But it was the first time she came out of her room, late at night, and she was leaving the castle. She returned a few hours later, right before dawn, and went back to her room.

I asked Mathias, the head of the guards, to meet me in the courtroom immediately. It had been five minutes and I was still alone. I paced around, sat down, tapped my foot on the floor, stood up and started pacing again. I was about to go look for him myself when he came into the room slightly out of breath.

"Took you long enough," I said, more relaxed now that he was here.

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty," he said, getting down on one knee. "I had some important errands to do first."

"Rise. I know how seriously you take your duties and I appreciate it." Mathias was the only guard in my castle I could consider a friend. He had gained my trust back when my father was still King and I named him Head of the guards right after my coronation. "I have something important to discuss with you, but I need my sister to be here too…"

As if on cue, Anna came running through the door. "I'm here! I'm here." She stopped right by my side. "What are we talking about?"

I decided to go straight to the point and leave the explanations for later. "We're closing the gates at night."

Anna turned to me, obviously upset. "What? Why?"

"I saw Lady Karina going out of the castle last night."

"So?"

"She hasn't left her room since she got here and suddenly she walks out and goes off into the city. Am I the only one who thinks that's a little bit suspicious?" I was starting to get irritated.

"You're absolutely right, Your Majesty" Mathias responded. "I will notify the other guards about this." He turned around to leave but Anna grabbed his shoulder.

"No! Just wait a second." She turned to me and took both of my hands. "Elsa, please. You promised you wouldn't close the gates."

"They will only be closed at night" I said calmly, trying to persuade her. "No one comes in at night, anyway." Anna arched her eyebrows, as if she was trying to tell me something she couldn't say out loud. I sighed, understanding her silent message. "Fine. The gates will remain open." I turned to Mathias. "I need to know who comes in and out of the castle. And if Lady Karina goes out again, I want you to follow her and find out where she is going."

Mathias bowed down. "Of course, Your Majesty."

I nodded and watched as he walked out of the courtroom. Then, Anna squeezed my hands. "Elsa, why is this bothering you so much?"

I sighed. I didn't want to talk about it, but I learned the hard way not to hide my feelings from Anna. "She reminds me of… me."

She frowned. "You?"

"Yes." I let go of her hands and started pacing again. "She never leaves her room, she wears gloves all the time and she doesn't seem to be bothered by the cold."

Anna gasped softly. "Do you think she has powers too?"

"Could she?" I asked, turning to her. "I mean, if I was born with them, is it possible that someone else might have them too?"

"We could ask the Trolls! They should know." Anna looked so excited about this, I couldn't help but smile.

"We could, but I'd rather find out on my own." I turned away and stared out the window, watching the snow fall and pile up on the ground. "She must be feeling so alone…"