AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is my very first foray into Frozen fan fiction, as well as the Helsa pairing...I would love some feedback if you don't mind taking a moment and leaving a review! Thank you, and I hope you're enjoying my writing so far. To 'Jenn', secretcastle, and Sittol77, as well as the several anonymus guests, thank you for your kind feedback!

And 'Jenn', to reply to your comment, I always thought Elsa's birthday was in the summer, because she 'came of age' and had her coronation in the summer time. Just my thought process. The only timelines I'm following are the ones I'm deducing from the film and the book 'Frozen Heart,' which I am reading for inspiration. I do not watch OUAT and I don't consider that show canon, nor do I consider any books canon aside from the one mentioned above.

I do wish powers came with what day we were born, because I was born on Summer Solstice and I would love to shoot fire and margaritas out of my hands! :)

For some reason, Anna wasn't very thrilled with the idea of going outside for the final day of the Ice Faire. For the past month, every day had seen the city filled with grand dances, games, plays, masques, and songs in honor of Queen Elsa and herself, as well as their defeat of the sinister villain, Hans of the Southern Isles. The day acknowledged the Great Freeze and the Great Thaw that saved Arendelle from being frozen forever in time. Anna had lived each moment of the day as if the celebration would go on for all time.

But today was different. Anna was ill.

"I don't understand, Gerda," she mentioned to her maid as the woman laid out her green dress for the day's ceremony. "I am never sick. Today's the most important day of the Ice Faire! And Kristoff will be waiting for me!"

"Your Highness, don't fret. Just take a bit of tea and toast before you go outside," Gerda replied.

But even tea and toast was enough to make Anna want to retch.

She looked in the mirror across from her bed. Her strawberry hair was tangled in a hideous mass about her face. She had a zit forming on the side of her nose (of course). Her eyes has dark bags underneath. She didn't look suitable to meet Kristoff or Elsa...let alone all of Arendelle!

"Your Highness, it's already past ten o'clock," Gerda reminded her. "If you would like to bathe before going outside, I will send word to your sister that you will arrive in time for the open-air luncheon."

Anna nodded silently and oozed out of bed, barely able to stand. Her head roared.

"May I ask, My Lady, if you imbibed a little too much wine last night? If that's the cause of your illness, perhaps I can bring-"

"-goodness, no," Anna chimed, shaking her head a little too quickly. "I think I may have a cold is all."

"You don't sound congested, My Lady," Gerda reasoned. Anna smiled nervously, trying her best to look in good health for her maid.

"I would like a hot bath, please," Anna said, the silly grin still on her face."And I think I'll wear the pink dress and black stay instead of the green one." Gerda nodded and went to draw the bath. Meanwhile, Anna slowly crawled to the window and peered cautiously below into the square.

The sight of happy people already dancing, laughing, and running about did make her feel a little better. A year ago, the gates were perpetually shut, and she was still in her own little world of isolation and misery. Now, it was as if the sun always shone. There were people to talk to, to enjoy music with, and to get to know! Life for the past year had been wonderful. She had life, love, and friends for the first time, not to mention a huge party outside just waiting for her. Nothing was in her way.

So why was she so violently ill all of a sudden?

Elsa didn't expect to be out in the square before her sister. It was the first time that ever happened. Anna would always be one of the first people down below, greeting guests as they came to enjoy the festivities. But alas, Anna was taking her time this morning.

She stood next to Kristoff on the steps, overlooking the crowd. Sven, Kristoff's trusted reindeer companion, was on Kristoff's other side. All three watched in silence for a moment.

"So, um, Your Majesty," Kristoff said after a moment. "Is Anna feeling all right?"

"As far as I know she should be," Elsa confirmed. "But it is peculiar of her to be running late to an event like this."

"I couldn't help but notice that for the last two weeks or so, she's been looking a little off," Kristoff added. "I was hoping she wasn't catching ill or anything."

"I'm sure we would know if she was," Elsa replied.

Kristoff shrugged and looked up at the castle above with worry. Elsa sighed. Anna was a lucky girl. Kristoff may not have been a dashing prince, but he was loyal, and, as Anna put it "easy to cuddle."

"Kristoff, I was wondering if you were...planning on asking Anna any questions today?" Elsa added coily. He looked at her a moment, then turned a deep red.

"I'm...I don't...I mean...not if she...it's very uh…"

Elsa shrugged. "I was just wondering! Go at your own pace, Kristoff. Wait until you both know you're ready. It isn't like you're….me."

Kristoff relaxed a moment then let his gaze fall away from the Queen for a moment. Elsa stood straight and looked ahead again.

For the past six months or so, offers of marriage had been pouring in from all over the Northern Kingdoms beyond Arendelle. Elsa was a young woman with a beautiful face as well as her own kingdom. She should have seen the mass influx of suitors coming from miles away. Elsa refused to even look. True love, she felt, could not be found in a letter or a photograph. She was also too hesitant to open herself up to a man or woman in that way. After seeing how close Anna had come to demise for being wound up in the forgeries of love and lust, Elsa had no intention to ever marry, which was why she was planning to declare before the Court in the future her intention to name Anna and her offspring as her successor...which was a political move only done if a ruler knew for whatever reason they would bear no children. Elsa was confident that there was no mate in her future, and she didn't see this as a bad thing to consider. She was better off being a superior ruler working on her legacy. After all, children grew old too, but the legacy of a Queen could live in history for all of humanity.

But try telling that to kingdoms full of young (and some not-so-young) bachelors longing to seek her hand. It was too much for Elsa to take right now, especially as she was still a novice sovereign.

"Elsa! Elsa! I'm...here…"

Elsa could hear Anna's shouts from just inside the palace. Sure enough, Anna appeared, looking gaunt and pale, after a moment. She had to lean on Kristoff once she came over, out of breath, nearly toppling over.

"Anna! You're in no condition to be here right now," Kristoff mumbled gently.

Elsa looked on with concern. She was about to make the announcement regarding the trial of Prince Hans as well...was Anna really going to stick it out today? The poor girl looked like she'd just emerged out of a frozen lake.

"Anna," Elsa took her sister's hands in hers...not ice cold...but rather incredibly warm, even for Anna's naturally bright complexion. "Anna, do you need to rest? It's more important you need to be at supper than here right now-"

"-no, no, no, I don't want to miss a thing!" Anna assured her sister. "I'm...fine."

Elsa stood straight. "Someone bring a chair for Princess Anna!" she commanded. Someone quickly obeyed, and Anna reluctantly sat. Elsa look up to Kristoff, who was hovering above them, naturally concerned. Elsa made a decision then and there to not make the announcement to the public yet. Perhaps Anna should have been told first...and now was the time.

"Kristoff, I need to say something to Anna alone. Do you mind giving us two minutes?"

Kristoff actually gave a silly little bow and nodded. "Sure..I mean...as you wish...wait, what?"

Elsa rolled her eyes and smiled. "Kristoff, you've been in a courtship with my little sister for a year. The formalities at this point are a little silly. You're like a brother to me."

Kristoff nodded and kindly backed away. Anna took a deep breath and relaxed. "It's a little embarrassing him seeing me like this," she admitted.

Elsa shrugged. "He loves you. He doesn't mind."

Elsa felt only the smallest twinge of envy for Anna as she looked off lovingly towards where Kristoff was now sharing a carrot with Sven.

"Anna, I need to tell you something before I announce it to the people in a moment. I think you have a right to know first," Elsa said hastingly. Anna stood up from her chair with a degree of instability. Anna seemed to be leading Elsa towards a 'safe' space behind a nearby column.

"What is it?" Anna asked curiously.

Elsa bit her lip and looked at the ground. "It's about...Hans."

Anna's pallid face began going red with anger. "Wait, Hans? What about him? He hasn't been freed from jail, has he?"

"No, Anna."

"He hasn't sworn revenge on us and Arendelle, has he?"

"Goodness no, Anna!"

"Then what's going on? Please, just tell me." Anna, for as ill as she might have been, certainly didn't lose her spark completely, even if it was a spark of fear and anger.

"There's this law in the Southern Isles that requires him to be sent here for a trial," Elsa said. "He will be here along with the King and a small entourage in three days."

Anna didn't speak. The blood drained from her face again. It was remarkable how quickly Anna seemed to be capable of doing that.

"Anna, I will preside over the trial myself. You don't even have to be in the room to testify if you don't want to be," Elsa assured. "And I already know that sentencing him to death wouldn't be an option-"

"-why not?" Anna asked suddenly. Elsa stopped mid-thought.

"What?" She asked. Anna's nose went up in the air.

"Why shouldn't Hans be sentenced to death?" She asked. "He tried to kill US, Elsa. He tried to take your throne and murder us...and who knows what he would have done to Arendelle if he'd succeeded? I...I think you should think about it. The death sentence."

Elsa couldn't believe what she was hearing! Anna, her sweet little sister, so full of bright optimism and always assuming the best about people...she'd even assumed the best in Elsa after Elsa struck her heart with ice! Now she was calling for the hanging of Prince Hans?

"Anna...really? Do you think that?" Elsa knew Anna could hold grudges, and that she was very stubborn when push came to shove. But calling for the...the ending of a life...any life...didn't seem within her capacity. Throwing a good right hook, sure. But...execution?

Elsa felt like she was seeing Anna in a strange new light. And not a happy one.

"Well, maybe I don't know. But after all that happened, I don't want to lose you again," Anna answered. Elsa sighed.

"I...oh…" was all the normally-articulate Queen said in reply.

"I don't want to see his face," Anna admitted. "I feel like even now he'd try to fool me into letting him go or something. He's a liar with a frozen heart. You can't overlook something that dangerous...even I can't."

"That...that won't happen. That's why his brother the King will be with him," Elsa said quietly. "And again, you don't have to testify in the same room."

Anna nodded. "Well...thanks for telling me. I appreciate it, although it may put a damper on the festivities."

Elsa nodded in silence, taking a moment to look up into the clear blue sky. Something about it wasn't as assuring as it used to be...not now. It felt like the winds were changing, and not in the way they did when Elsa's powers activated. The winds were light but sinister and ever present...like a whispered warning that something was coming. Whether it was something bad or good was yet to be determined.

"I would like to sit down again, I'm still a bit nauseous," Anna admitted. Elsa nodded.

"I'll be out to open the ceremonies in a moment...I need a second," she said, waving her sister away. Anna hesitated a moment, as if she knew she'd said something surprising, but continued on her way after a moment.

And Anna! Sweet, naive Anna, still not twenty years old, and just learning that some people might not be trusted. But Elsa had never seen this kind of attitude in her before, someone skeptical and vindictive, as well as afraid. This was the girl who trekked through snowy forests with strangers to collect her magic-wielding sister. How could one bad experience put her into such an uncharacteristic state of mind?

Elsa couldn't help but keep her eye on the skies. A new storm was coming...a different kind of storm. The kind Elsa still had to survive...but not a storm of her own choosing.

She felt ominous chills for the second time that morning.