The person who had the most trouble understanding Elsa's decision to leave was Anna. Anna knew her too well, she knew when Elsa was shutting her out, holding something back. But how could Elsa possibly have told her the truth? Telling her the truth could have destroyed their family, it could have destroyed their kingdom.

Or it could have gotten you everything you've ever wanted.

Elsa tried not to think that way. She sometimes caught herself wondering if Anna might understand, or maybe even reciprocate her feelings. But even more than she suppressed her illicit desires, she suppressed these thoughts. Hope was too dangerous. The more hope she had, the more her heart would break with each step Anna took down the aisle. For as long as she thought there could be some possibility of romance between them, her desires would continue to cloud her mind. Hope might lead her to do something truly rash...

No, Elsa never allowed herself to daydream of such things, lest her good judgement be overwhelmed by fantasy. So, she resolved to keep this hope in check. She believed if she ignored it and pushed in into some small compartment in her mind, she could starve it. She could kill it. She could purge herself of it, and then, she could finally start to move on.

As Anna walked down the aisle her eyes remained fixed on her fiancé Kristoff as if they were the only two people in the room. She did not look at the crowd, or her wedding party, or the elaborate decorations that lined the interior of the church. Not once did she glance in Elsa's direction. Every step she took Elsa felt that part of her that still clung to the faint hope of being the one Anna looked at like that die a little more. Elsa's eyes began to tear up. A reasonable person might have mistaken these as tears of joy, her practiced expression hiding her inner turmoil. Though she had tried her hardest to extinguish her feelings for her sister Anna, even now, they were still there, lodged deep in her psyche, burning like smoldering embers.

Anna finally made it to the alter, still staring intently at Kristoff as she prepared to take her vows and spend the rest of her life with the man she loved. As the priest commenced the ceremony Elsa blinked away the tears so she could see her sister. Beautiful as ever Anna stood there smiling brightly as the words "death do us part" left the priest's mouth.

"Should anyone present know of any reason that this couple should not be joined in holy matrimony, speak now or forever hold your peace".

That was it. Elsa's last chance to stop this nightmare from going any further. But what could she say? Kristoff was a good man. A commoner sure, but that didn't really bother Elsa, it certainly didn't seem to bother Anna. The laws and customs of Arendelle provided no reason for an objection based on this. Kristoff, unlike her previous ill-fated romance, was not someone Anna had just met. Over the years he had become a close friend to the royal family and was beloved throughout the kingdom. No, there was only one reason she could think of to object, and it was not one she could bring herself to speak out loud...

Elsa wiped the tears from her eyes, as a small whimper escaped her throat. And that is when she saw it. At least she thought she saw it. Elsa swore she caught Anna's beaming expression drop for a moment, just a moment, as she glanced at the entrance to the church. Was she expecting someone to show up? To object? Did she want them to? Was she having any doubts about the marriage? It was just a moment and then Anna was back to looking at Kristoff, smiling like a young girl in love. But that was all it took. All the effort and pain Elsa put herself through to bury her hope under a mountain of fear and sense of obligation, and all it took for the embers of hope to erupt into an inferno in her heart was a wayward glance by her sister.

And that is Elsa's elaborate mental defenses began to break down, and her emotions bubbled to the surface. She could no longer ignore the truth. The truth of how much her hope meant to her, how much it defined her. The brief moments when Elsa allowed herself to let go of her guilt and indulge in her fantasies were the only moments she felt inner peace, she felt true joy. And now she was about to bear witness to that hope being extinguished forever, and she wasn't sure how she was going to live without it.

Tears flowed freely down her face now. She felt her whole-body tremble, struggling to suppress the storm inside of her.

No, no, no… Control yourself…

Elsa opened and closed her hands which tingled with her magic. Snowflakes began to form in the air around her.

Conceal, don't feel. Conceal don't feel.

Elsa didn't even notice she was muttering her old mantra to herself. Her thoughts were busy trying to figure out how to stop what she felt was coming. The love she shared with her sister had been the key to controlling her powers before. But what could she do now that thinking about it brought her nothing but pain? Her heart rate quickened, and her breath became ragged as she tried desperately to clear her mind and regain control.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride!"

"I… I object." Elsa said timidly. But no one heard her. "I object!" She exclaimed, louder this time. But still no one seemed to hear her, and the ceremony continued. "STOP!" Elsa cried out as a strong gust of wind blew open the church doors and snow began to flurry in. "Please… Anna, you can't do this!" She pleaded, making her way towards her sister. But Anna and Kristoff paid her no mind. Instead, Kristoff moved forward and took Anna into his arms. He ran his hands over her hips and waist, leaning in for a passionate kiss.

"NOO!" Elsa screamed in a voice that was somehow both high-pitched and guttural. But it was no use. Anna swooned in Kristoff's embrace and a faint moan of pleasure escaped her lips as she pressed them against his. "I said STOP!" Elsa said angrily as a blast of ice escaped her hands, hitting the new groom in the head, removing it clean off his shoulders.

Elsa was completely lost now. The wind from the storm ripped the roof off the church. "STOP IT! STOP IT! STOP IT!" she shouted as she blasted ice in every direction. After she had completely spent her magical and emotional energy she collapsed on the ground. Her heart breaking into a million pieces, she broke down into uncontrollable tears.

As the snow queen kneeled on the floor and wept the still standing body of Kristoff disintegrated into snow. Then the crowd around her did the same. Finally, the church broke down as well. And then the whole scene around her crumbled into the ground, revealing the cold and lonely snow projection room Elsa had found in Ahtohallan. "I should have been there. I should have been there…" Elsa whimpered to herself, as she rocked back and forth on the ground clutching her knees to her chest.

But she hadn't been there. She had at the last minute made some flimsy excuse about her duties as the reason she could not attend. Elsa chose instead to watch the wedding this way because she knew the pain of seeing it in person would be too great. But now that she had seen it, she understood that worse than the pain of being at her sister wedding, was the pain of not having been there. There was nothing she could do now, it was over. Anna was married to Kristoff.

Worse yet, Elsa knew her sudden absence had hurt her sister greatly. Anna probably hated her by now, and probably thought that Elsa hated her. How else could she be so cruel as to abandon her on the biggest day of her life?

This last thought made Elsa cry even harder. All she had done, she had done to protect her sister, to guard her happiness, and she wasn't sure if she had. Alone in the caverns she let all her emotions free, and her wails echoed on the icy walls. All hope had finally left her now, and she lay there feeling as cold and empty as the room she found herself in, hidden deep within Ahtohallan's frozen core.