A/N Alright, so to clear up some confusion that seems to be happening, let me just make this clear. Elsa is eighteen and Anna is fourteen-and-a-half. Yes, I know they are three years apart, but Elsa's birthday is in the winter and Anna's is in the summer, which makes them exactly three-and-half years apart. At the time of the story, it's the middle of January, so Elsa has just recently had her birthday the month before, whereas Anna hasn't had hers yet, since her birthday is in the summer. Yes, I know the two girls were twenty-one and eighteen in Frozen, but this is a AU. I have made them a bit younger for this story. And yes, I know what 'whereas' means.

I'm sorry for the confusion; I thought I made it clear how old they are. And to help a bit more, in the first chapter of the story Elsa is three, in the second chapter Anna's five, then it jumps a year to the day before Elsa's ninth birthday. When she runs away she's fourteen-and-a-half, then the chapter goes until after her fifteenth birthday. After that chapter, the timeline jumps back a couple of years to when Anna's ten. Then we eventually get to the present, where Elsa's eighteen and Anna's fourteen. Hope that helps.

Later that night, Elsa trudged wearily to the room she was sleeping in until the old one could be fixed up. The day had been exciting, but now she was exhausted. Eugene had barely started his story before the family realized that they had to prepare for church, so they all had to put the tale on hold, much to Eugene's annoyance. After the service, King Agnarr made an announcement about Elsa's return, and her welcome back celebration was set to coincide with Iduna's birthday party, at the queen's insistence. Then the two royal families and Kristoff had a large, lavish dinner, after which they were all able to hear the rest of Rapunzel's and Eugene's story. Later, after supper, the royals had gone out to the town for a stroll, and the citizens were delighted to see their new-found princess.

Now though, Elsa just hoped to have a good night's rest. She changed into her nightgown and crawled into bed. She closed her eyes, and soon she was fast asleep.

0o0o0o0o

Fear. Rough hands grabbing her. A bottle of water shoved into her mouth that had a sleeping pill concealed in it. Desperation.

Elsa tossed and turned, drowning in the midst of a nightmare about that night fifteen years ago when she had been taken from her true family. It all seemed so real, even though it had happened long ago.

Elsa's eyes shot open when she felt cloth and rough hands. Her heart nearly stopped when she saw the cold, menacing eyes staring at her. "Hush now, this'll all be over soon," her captor told her as he tied the gag behind her head.

Elsa's blood ran cold as she recognized the voice. Papa. The eighteen-year-old desperately reached up her hand and grabbed the man's arm, digging her fingernails into his skin.

However, Will didn't react. Instead her gave her a toothy smile that terrorized her to the bone. "Nice try, princess," he spat. "You're not going to get away so easily this time. In fact, you won't get away at all." Elsa's eyes widened in fear as Will stood up and glowered down at her while he pulled something from his pocket. She instantly recognized the object as the knife he had used to cut her cheek with several years ago.

Help! Elsa thought desperately. Someone help me, please! She tried to scream, but nothing came out. It was as if her voice had left her, and it had nothing to do with the gag in her mouth. She tried to kick him, but her legs wouldn't move, she tried to blast him with her powers, but her arms were held down by something that she couldn't see.

Then, Will plunged the dagger down toward her heart.

With a scream, Elsa bolted upright in her bed, panting in fear. Her terrified eyes darted around the dark room, only to discover nothing. Still shaking with fright, Elsa placed a hand on her chest to calm her racing heartbeat and wiped her sweaty forehead with the other hand.

After reassuring herself that everything was fine, Elsa closed her eyes and lay back down, only to be startled by several crackling sounds. She felt around in the dark, and discovered that her sheets were covered with frost. She groaned and laid an arm over her eyes. She hated it when she froze her blankets. After all, this wasn't the only time she had done such a thing because of a nightmare.

The princess sat up, reached over, and turned on the oil lamp beside her bed. With a grimace, she saw that the floor was covered in ice and several icicles were scattered all over the room. All the ice glowed red to express her fear. If Will were here, he would be so mad she didn't even want to think about what he'd do to her. The last time he discovered that she'd accidentally iced over her room, he had beat her and made her go without lunch and supper.

Elsa closed her eyes and tried to will the ice away, but nothing happened, as usual. Will had taught her to never be afraid of using her powers to defend herself, along with the fact that people would probably hate her for them, but he and Elsa had never figured out the key to properly controlling them. Elsa lay down and closed her eyes again, figuring the ice would melt eventually; it always did.

A few minutes later, the door slowly eased open and Elsa froze in fear. She opened her eyes, sat up once more, and pointed a hand toward the doorway, ready to blast whoever the intruder was. "Wh-who's there?" she asked shakily.

Anna's shy face poked around the door a moment later. Her eyes widened when she saw Elsa's hand aimed at her, and she slowly stepped into the room, her arms raised in surrender. "It's just me, Elsa, calm down."

Elsa relaxed and breathed a sigh of relief as she lowered her hand. "Anna," she began, "I'm sorry, I just-"

Anna shook her head. "No, it's alright." She stepped toward the bed, but then slipped on the ice and fell on her backside. The surprised look on the fourteen-year-old's face was so priceless that Elsa couldn't help giggling, which led to a chuckle from Anna, which led to several snorts from both girls, until the two princesses were in the depths of outright laughter.

"I probably should have warned you about the ice, Anna, sorry about that," Elsa apologized when she had finally stopped laughing.

"Yeah, that would have been helpful," Anna muttered as she slid over to the bed, pulled herself into a standing position, and rubbed her sore backside. "Anyway, are you okay?" She asked as she sat down on the edge of the bed. "I heard you screaming and came to investigate."

Elsa nodded and shivered as she recalled the events of her nightmare. "Yes, I'm fine. Just a nightmare."

Anna raised an incredulous eyebrow as she glanced around the room. "From the state of your bedroom, I really don't think it was 'just a nightmare'. There's at least two inches of ice covering the floor. Not to mention that creepy, red glow."

Elsa dropped her gaze down to her lap and nervously wrung her fingers. "I know, and I'm sorry. I've never really figured out how to control my magic, so it bursts out whenever I'm extremely sad or terrified."

"I can see that," Anna quipped as she cautiously tapped the tip of a nearby icicle. "I think we need to go to the trolls sometime soon. From what Kristoff has told me the past several days, they sound like they'd be able to help."

"I guess it wouldn't hurt to do that," Elsa replied with a shrug. She shivered again as she thought of Will's heartless eyes and the knife in his hand.

Anna noticed and gave her sister a concerned look. "Are you sure you're alright? Why don't you tell me about your nightmare, sis? It might help."

Elsa sighed and nodded. "First I dreamed about the night I was taken, then Will-the guy I thought was my adoptive father for years-came back and tried to kill me, and that's basically it."

Anna smiled sympathetically. "That really sounds terrifying. D-do you want me to sleep with you? Would that make you feel better?"

Elsa hesitated for a moment, but then shyly nodded. "Sure, that'd be great."

Anna grinned from ear to ear. "Awesome! Our first sisterly sleepover!" With a happy squeal, she threw her arms around Elsa. Elsa chuckled and hugged her sister back. Anna then crawled around to the empty side of the bed and slipped under the covers. "Goodnight, Elsa," she said with a smile as she yawned and closed her eyes. "I love you."

Elsa smiled down at her sister. "I love you too, sis." A warmth filled her then, so comforting that Elsa forgot all about her nightmare. All she could think about now was the fact that she now had a family who loved her. She glanced around the room one last time and, to her surprise, found that all the ice had vanished. Elsa was puzzled at that, but she shrugged it off and lay down beside her sister, falling asleep in seconds.

0o0o0o0o

Some time later, Elsa was stirred from her sleep when she felt someone urgently shaking her side. She opened her eyes and they widened when she saw Anna's frightened gaze staring back at her. What caught her attention next was the white cloth gag on Anna's mouth. Elsa instantly tried to scream for help, but found a gag on her own mouth, too.

Anna turned her head toward the middle of the room, and Elsa followed her gaze. With a horrified gasp, Elsa recognized the figure standing at the end of the bed and sneering. It was Uncle Ben. Before Anna or Elsa could try to call for help again, Uncle Ben lifted a crossbow into the air. "Here's what you get for leaving, princess," he snarled as he aimed the weapon at Anna.

"NO!" Elsa screamed, suddenly able to be heard. Somehow the gag had left her mouth. Elsa tried to shoot Uncle Ben with ice, but her magic was unresponsive. The eighteen-year-old could only watch in horror as the evil man pulled the trigger.

Time seemed to slow as the arrow flew through the air, then struck Anna square in the chest. The younger princess gave a cry of pain as the metal tip bore into her flesh. She turned to Elsa, her eyes full of tears and signs of pure agony. "Elsa," she whispered, before going still.

Elsa screamed as she took in the sight of her dead sister. She noticed a flash out of the corner of her eye and turned to see Uncle Ben now aiming at her. She thought she heard her name being called again, but before she could fully register who it was, the arrow left the crossbow and barreled straight toward her chest. With a sickening squish sound, the bolt embedded itself into her heart. Elsa was a bit surprised at how she felt no pain, but all that couldn't compare to everything else. Uncle Ben had just shot her. He was in her room, alive. Who knew what had happened to her parents. And most of all, Anna was dead.

Elsa wanted to scream again, but she couldn't. All she could was watch Uncle Ben's wicked face as everything around her turned to black. "Elsa!" The princess glanced around in confusion when she heard the voice again. It had sounded like Anna, but Anna was dead, right?

"Elsa!" There it was again.

"Elsa, wake up!"

"Wake up?" Elsa repeated in confusion, glancing around hopefully in the darkness for her sister. Someone was shaking her.

"Yeah, it's just a nightmare!"

With that, Elsa's eyes flew open, and she found herself staring straight into Anna's worried face. "Wha-?" Elsa asked.

Anna's expression turned to a relieved smile and she hugged Elsa tightly. "I was so worried about you!" she exclaimed. "I woke up and saw you tossing and turning, and there was more ice everywhere, and you were mumbling to yourself, and then you started screaming, so I tried to wake you up, but you wouldn't listen, and-" She stopped and grinned sheepishly. "I'm rambling, aren't I?"

Elsa only smiled and hugged her sister just as tightly. "I'm sorry for scaring you," she mumbled.

Anna shook her head and pulled back. "It's fine. I'm more worried about you at the moment. What was your nightmare about this time?"

Elsa sighed and looked down at the blankets. "My uncle Ben was in the room. He had a crossbow and shot the both of us. He-he killed you." The older princess dissolved into tears, and Anna drew her in for another hug.

"It's alright, sis," Anna soothed, "I'm here, and I promise I'm not dead."

Before either girl could say anything more, the door burst open and Agnarr and Iduna rushed into the room. "Is everyone all right?" Iduna asked worriedly.

"We heard screaming," Agnarr added. He glanced around the room-which was not as dark since the sun was beginning to rise-as if to make sure there was no one there who would hurt his daughters.

"Elsa just had a nightmare," Anna explained, "But I think she'll be okay."

It was then that the king and queen noticed the ice covering the floor. "What on earth?" Iduna asked as she skirted nervously around a very sharp-looking icicle.

"I'm sorry, Mama and Papa," Elsa apologized, hanging her head in shame. "I can't control it when I have nightmares like this."

"That's fine, Elsa," Agnarr reassured her with a smile as he and Iduna sat down on the edge of the bed. "I think it's understandable."

"What happened in your nightmare?" Iduna as in concern.

Elsa looked away, still shaken up from what she'd seen, so Anna decided to answer the question instead. "She actually had two nightmares, Mom. The first was about her adoptive father trying to kill her, and the second was about her adoptive uncle shooting both of us with a crossbow."

Agnarr scowled and clenched his hands into fists. "Those villains will pay for what they've done to my daughter."

"Yes, I think it is time we brought them to justice," Iduna agreed, looking equally as angry.

"Elsa, would you like us to find those people and punish them?" Anna asked.

Elsa hesitated for a moment, but then nodded. "I think it'd make me feel better if I knew they were behind bars."

"Excellent," Agnarr replied with a nod. "We shall seek them out in the morning."

"You only need to tell us where they are," Iduna added.

"Alright, I will," Elsa responded, yawning. "But first, I wanna get some more sleep. I haven't exactly had the easiest night."

Iduna chuckled softly. "I understand. I'm so sorry you've had a rough night."

"Group hug!" Anna exclaimed randomly. When she received blank stares and raised eyebrows, she shrugged sheepishly and replied, "What? Warm hugs make everything better." Everyone else nodded in agreement, and then the family of four embraced each other tightly.

"I love you all," Elsa whispered. "I'm so glad to have you back." As she said those words, all the ice melted away.