The entire castle was cold that night.

Staff put on extra layers, clothing removed from drawers not meant to be opened for a few more months when winter came. The kitchens changed the menu from cold fish and accompaniments to a hearty and warm stew.

News of the impromptu meeting earlier had spread, and all those experiencing the chill assumed that the frigid air was a result of the Queen's disappointment in her staff. Only three knew the truth- that a heart-wrenching, soul-shattering argument with her sister had stirred up a storm within the Queen that she could not completely keep inside.

Elsa was grateful that her meetings for the day were over so that she could remain in solitude as she struggled to grapple with her emotions, and, consequently, her volatile powers.

Her tears from the past full hour of muffling her cries that wracked her body had dried, leaving her cheeks tight and smarting from where they had frozen against her skin. The misery still clung to her, however, and she had great difficulty feeling or thinking of anything beyond the empty dread growing in her stomach and chest.

She tried to pace, hoping that the movement would distract her from the torment in her mind, but she found herself frozen in place at times, suddenly having stopped without noticing, or stumbling as she strained to make her feet obey her wishes. The despair was wrapped around her, clinging and stiff like icicles on a roof, barring her in with her own prison of dangerous emotions.

Anna. It was…it was Anna. Her face crumpled yet again. How? Why?! On one hand, her sister's revelation had brought relief- eternally anxious about other's perceptions of her, it could almost be seen as divine deliverance that her people had not thought her stupid, incompetent, deceitful enough to leave her in the dark regarding such important matters. Maybe I can still have a chance with the people. Show them I can do better, am better.

Yet on the other hand, the knowledge that her own sister of all people had deceived her…Elsa had to sit down on her bed at the thought, her legs shaking as if affected by her coursing winds from earlier. Anna- she trusted Anna more than anyone in the world. Anna was her rock. As much as it chilled Elsa to think such a lonely, despondent thought…well, Anna was quite literally her everything- Anna was all that she had. The only one she truly cared about and loved, the only one who returned those sentiments for her. Because the people cared for their Queen, of course, but that favor was distant, no one else knew or loved her. She knew that as fact, miserable and lonely as the knowledge was. That love the people had was the love a dog has for its master- the provider, no matter the treatment. Whether she was a good Queen or a terrible one, she could be replaced.

She felt so…so worthless. She could only manage to take gasping breaths feeling such an emotion- such an emotion yet again. She wasn't doing well enough. Hadn't done enough for her people, for her sister. After all, how many times a week did she catch someone, be it staff, councilman or dignitary, take a surreptitious glance at her hands or pull a face when she spoke (what had she said wrong?)? How many times had Anna pleaded with her to stop working and spend more time with her? How many times had she broken contact with her sister after mere seconds of a hug or holding hands, seeing Anna's face fall in disappointment but then hasten to mask the expression? How often had she declined going out beyond castle walls, or even having dinner with Anna and Kristoff, because she had felt overwhelmed by all of her required social engagements throughout the day and just needed time to breathe normally?

If she didn't have Anna's faith, Anna's trust and her confidence- then she had nothing. She was nothing. But who was she to have thought otherwise? You know what you are. So you learned a few tricks in controlling it. But you're still you- that hasn't changed, never will.

She knew that truth all too well, as demonstrated by her breakdown in front of the councilmen at the meeting earlier. As if her sister's betrayal couldn't get any worse, Anna's decision surely shrunk everyone's opinion of herself as Queen even more than the little they must already think of her. They already see me as a freak of nature- but now I'm an unreliable failure as well. And of course, she just had to reveal to the entire castle staff that she had been uninformed, when they wouldn't have known otherwise had she not said anything. Idiot.

Her breakdown at the council meeting was humiliating, looking back on it now. She had taken the news as a child would. Her emotional turmoil upon hearing the news had shaken her so badly that she lost control of her powers in front of some of the most powerful men in the kingdom. And not only that, but upon hearing of the concealed events, she had not been able to carry on and had dismissed them. As a self-centered juvenile with absolutely no control over anything.

Elsa bit down on her lip, hard, trying to bite back tears. She let her head fall to her chest, sniffling, her arms resting on her legs. She swiped at her nose with her wrist as she felt the tears gather and fall there, and felt a brush of metal against her face as she did so.

She looked down, seeing the bracelet that Anna had gifted to her a few weeks ago. Anna had bought one for each of them, identical in every way except for the color of the stone. Elsa had forgotten that she had put it on this morning when getting ready- the morning, when she lived in blissful ignorance, seemed days ago, not merely hours.

Looking down at the cuff, she saw that it hung loosely and had turned so that the clasp was at the top of her wrist rather than the bottom. She was confused at first, remembering that when Anna first gifted it to her it fit perfectly.

Suddenly, Anna's words from earlier replayed in her mind, echoing: "And you're always working so hard, and not letting yourself eat enough or sleep enough, and… that is, because I know you're going through so much already- why I had the truth about the riot hidden from you."

Realization bloomed in Elsa's chest, though it did little to calm her nerves. She had been particularly busy and stressed the past two weeks, what with the new tax season starting and negotiations to be made with a brand new trade partner. She had skipped a few meals, she supposed, in order to make more time to finish some work. More than a few. And more than a few hours of sleep as well. But she barely noticed the lack- how would Anna?

Because she cares about you- and she knows you, Elsa thought. You lost control when you found out about the riot from the council- how would you have reacted if you were in the middle of something when the guard captain suddenly came to break the news to you?

She tried to imagine it- to imagine her response to discovering such troubling, sensitive news. News that had ended up being overshadowed by feelings of betrayal from being left in the dark.

What would she have done? She thought about it, hard. And she realized that she would have panicked, feeling attacked and unwanted and dangerous. Yes, dangerous, once more. Because if her people thought she was cursing them…well, that was her worst nightmare, hurting people. She didn't want that, but most of all, she wouldn't be able to face the fact that not even her people wanted her, thought so poorly of her as though she were an accursed witch eager to send scourges across the land, an affliction of the kingdom.

She could see it now: She froze upon hearing the words from the captain. Her eyes widened, eyebrows shooting up, lips parted in shock. Her fingers would begin to tremble, clasping against her chest as she began to back away. "That I did what? Me?" She realized, seconds later, that she wasn't getting in any air and struggled to take a breath. Gasping, sputtering- where was the air? The guard appeared concerned, his face compassionate and startled, his arm reaching out to her, but everything appeared hazy, wavering, as if from some dream at a great distance. Elsa didn't know if she was standing or swimming or swaying. But whatever was happening physically, she now knew the truth- what she had suspected would happen all along. Her people had turned against her, hated her, knew her to be cursed and inherently a monster despite her attempts to good. Why must it be this way? Why can't I be good and wanted? Just once. Just once. Her head still swimming and legs still shaking, she turned from the guard and ran. From the news, from the kingdom, from their hatred. From Anna.

Coming back to the present, Elsa narrowed her eyes as she thought about the alternative to finding out that terrible news. Was Anna right to hide the riot from her, then? Did she know how Elsa would have reacted? That she would have panicked? Or regressed, Elsa had to admit. If I didn't know as I do now that the riot was controlled and taken care of…I don't know how I would have responded.

It wasn't the riot itself that bothered her- it was what the people were rioting- her. Just the thought of it made her feel nauseated and shaky, weak. She hated feeling this way; had felt this way for much of her life in her secluded self-hatred. She wouldn't be able to do any work in this state for the kingdom, let alone have an appetite to eat or be able to even consider falling asleep. Is this what Anna wanted to protect her from?

Maybe she needed to get some more answers. Maybe Anna had helped her in her own way, though her actions had also hurt. Maybe this time she would listen to what her sister had to say.


"Anna? What happened?!"

Kristoff jumped off of Anna's bed where he had been waiting for her with his head in his hands.

Upon entering through the doorway to her bedroom, Anna's arms immediately went back to hold herself tightly, though from an internal chill or out of emotional turmoil Kristoff wasn't sure. Anna's hair was frazzled, looking as though harsh winds had been blowing it around. And was that…ice encrusting her skirts!? But he had to admit to himself that he hadn't ruled out the possibility of this happening. He of all people knew that Elsa didn't react well to confrontation.

Anna looked miserable. She refused to meet Kristoff's eyes as she walked past him to sit on the corner of her bed. Her arms remained wrapped around herself, and she moved her hands up and down across her upper arms as if to warm herself. She sniffled every few seconds and simply shook her head in response.

"Anna?" Kristoff came to meet Anna on the bed, sitting down next to her and placing his large, warm palms on her arms. Okay, yes, that was ice on her clothing.

"Please," he said. "Tell me what happened. Are you okay?" He lifted her chin up with a hand so that her face was level with his own.

Anna seemed to struggle for a breath, her words shaky. "She said that I don't realize what I've done. That it was stupid. That it made her look bad." Her voice cracked as she continued to speak. "She won't even try to see that I did it to help her. Like she won't even consider what would have happened and what she would have done if someone else told her first when it happened!"

She started to cry- heavy, wet sobs that shook her body. Kristoff's heart sank- he hated seeing Anna so upset. Especially over Elsa. The two of them had had a lifetime of crying over each other. Wasn't that enough?

"So how did it end? What now?" He asked.

"I don't know!" Anna exclaimed. "I made her mad. I- I brought up the past, how she hid things from me and how it was the same as what I did- to protect her." She sighed, the tears now slowing but dripping down her cheeks. "She told me to leave, then. That it wasn't the same. And it's not. I know it's not. But I was mad. She won't even try to see why I did what I did!"

"I'm sorry," Kristoff said, at a loss for words. He was shocked to see that Anna clammed up after so short of an explanation as to what happened. He had expected a long rant based on her appearance. "What can I do?" He grasped her hand tightly to show his support.

"Nothing," she responded, continuing to sniff and hang her head. She squeezed his hand in return. Her next words were nearly a whisper, spoken with the shameful lilt of a young child admitting to fault. "Well…maybe to tell me that this didn't all happen because I was being stupid and selfish?"

"Selfish?" Kristoff was confused. He drew back to look at her but kept his hand around hers. "How is what you did selfish? You did it to help her!"

"Anna," he began, seriously, once again moving her head to meet his gaze. "We both know how she would have reacted. How she may still react. It would've been too much for her to face." He cupped her cheek tenderly. "Babe, you know that. You were trying to help. And probably did. You know how she gets when she feels judged or overwhelmed with her powers, and this would've been too much. You were just trying to help her. And if she can't see that…well then she's going to have to realize it eventually."

There was a moment of silence. Kristoff could see the gears turning in Anna's head, thinking some through and wondering if she should say anything about it. "Anna?" He asked again, prompting her.

"But…" Anna's voice trembled, hesitant. "What if what I did…what I decided…to hide it from her…what if it wasn't for her, but for me?"

"What?" Kristoff was confused once more. "How could that be for you? What do you mean?"

Anna was silent for a long minute, for once, Kristoff realized, thinking before she spoke. It seemed as though she had tired of giving thoughtless outbursts for the night. She twined her fingers together constantly, beginning to form words then falling silent once more.

Finally, she seemed to settle on her words and looked at him to answer.

"I care about her feelings, of course. I can't stand seeing her upset or nervous, and I just want to help and protect her. But…" Anna sighed, looking down again. "But there it is again- that's all about me, how I feel about her." Her shoulders sagged as she met Kristoff's eyes with a steady, honest gaze.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is that I chose to hide the riot from her not because I didn't want her to feel like she had to run and hide again, but because I didn't want her to run and hide again. Because…because…" Anna's voiced cracked suddenly, and she hunched forward, her face in her hands as she struggled to speak between sobs.

"I can't take that again. I can't. I just can't." Anna's breaths were ragged, her eyes and nose now running freely with her tears. Kristoff's eyes widened in surprise and he rushed to put his arms around her, making shushing noises in her ear to calm her.

"It's okay. It's okay," Kristoff soothed, rubbing her back. "You did what you felt you had to."

Anna nodded, wiping her nose. "After all these years…I finally have her back. I feel like I finally have my life back!" She exclaimed, tears drying. "Growing up, I was always alone. Deep down I guess…I guess I knew that something was going on with her, even though no one would tell me what. But I saw it more as her having a problem with me, of not wanting to have anything to do with me. And I had no one, Kristoff- no one. No one was there for me because they wanted to be- my parents, when they were alive, the staff- they were there because they had to. I felt useless, worthless, like I was just getting on day by day instead of actually living!"

Her hands clung to his arms, squeezing tightly as she recounted what she had gone through. Her words were rushed, trying to get all the pain and anguish from the past out in quick breaths.

"Getting her back was the best thing that ever happened to me- I needed that to actually live." She stopped suddenly, realizing what she was leaving out. "I mean, of course having you would have helped me to feel like I was living again," she hastily tried to explain. "I mean, my life wouldn't mean much now without you either! But-"

"Anna," Kristoff chuckled. "Don't worry about me. I know what you mean. Even if we had each other, but Elsa wasn't there…you wouldn't be the same. You need each other."

"Yes." Anna sighed at Kristoff's understanding of her explanation. "So that's really why I did it. Because I couldn't take it if I lost her again."

Kristoff nodded. "And that seemed like a distinct possibility. I know. Your sister…Elsa is incredibly strong in some ways, but incredibly weak in others. I don't know if she would've taken to the challenge of being judged so harshly or if she would have hid herself away for a time. But I don't blame you- after what you've been through, I wouldn't be willing to find out just in case."

He cupped a hand around her cheek, bringing her to look at him once more. "But maybe this is something you need to be telling her, and not me. Maybe that will help her to understand where you're coming from- that you did it not because you don't trust her decision-making, but because you're afraid of losing her again."

Anna frowned, wriggling a bit on the bed as she struggled with the thought. "Telling her that might make it even worse," she pointed out. "Telling her that I think she'll run away from me again? That she can't handle life outside her door?" She snorted. "Psh, yeah that'll go over real well."

Kristoff thought. "Maybe," he said, "but it's the honest truth. And since hiding the truth is what you both have done…well, maybe it's time to be honest with each other." He gave her hand a squeeze. "I know you can do it."

Anna closed her eyes, breathing slowly in and out while considering what Kristoff had just suggested. "Maybe you're right," she finally responded. "After all, how could the truth make this worse than an entirely-frozen kingdom?" She cocked a wry smile. "After that, what's the worst that could happen?" She sobered, nodding at her decision. "Maybe it is time for some truth between us."