A/N: Hello. :) Here is another chapter for my Frozen story. As one can assume, it's about here years after the Great Thaw. And, like I said before, the music will be assisted by David Pemberton's own score. For those who are more interested in the story, you're free to skip over the bold and italicized tracks for his music. For now, this chapter will start off like the movie did, but it'll show more background on Kai and a special friend of Elsa's (for the record, they're not a pairing as of yet. Otherwise, I'd have made it clear in story management). Also, you can expect the appearance of a certain witch in this story. That's all I'm willing to say for now.

Chapter 1: An Unwelcome Guest

Many years later since that night, Elsa is now Queen of Arendelle. The people have grown more tolerant of her powers. In fact, they even admired her potential. To think that back then, they used to fear her powers. Not that Elsa would blame them; she was afraid of what she'd do with them herself.

Before the Great Thaw, Elsa inadvertently set off an eternal winter when she ran away, hoping to keep the people and Anna safe. Alas, she realized her attempts were in vain once she heard of Arendelle's condition from Anna. From there, her fear drove her to something worse: freezing her own sister's heart. It wasn't Elsa's intention to hurt her sister, but that's what she'd feared all along, the very reason she chose to run from her home.

Seeing her own sister freeze in front of her to save her life, Elsa didn't see any way to forgive herself. The image of her cold, icy statue was practically burned into her mind. It still gave her chills to this day. Then, when it seemed there was no way to make amends, Anna was restored just as quickly. As it turned out, the answer to that was the same answer to Elsa's own curse: Love.

It was love that showed Elsa how to bring Summer back and to control her powers. This was something she couldn't thank Anna enough for. It's thanks to her that she was staring out the window as the autumn breeze flew by, the queen gazing upon Arendelle's people as they walked in through the open gates that she promised would never close again. In her gaze of astonishment, however, Elsa was caught off-guard by her and Anna's personal caretaker, Kai, going to her as he spoke to her.

"Your majesty. They're ready."

Elsa jumped back in surprise as her hands that clutched on the wooden handles suddenly generated ice that kept her in place. It was a bit embarrassing for Elsa to be in this predicament as she chuckled with embarrassment before she turned to her caretaker and went by his side.

"Excuse me. I'm coming."

Elsa was about to get started on her daily grind, but then, she heard a strange voice, turning quickly the instant she began to hear it.

Ah-ah-ah-ah

It wasn't like anything she'd heard before. Could someone be calling her? Or would that just be the wind? Either way, it made her quite curious.

"Do you hear that?"

"What?"

It might be safe for Elsa to say that Kai didn't hear that voice. Perhaps it was just the wind after all. There's be no use keeping the others waiting from dwelling on it.

"Never mind."

Elsa then proceeded to go inside the castle and go on with her day. She knew the drill that came with being the queen; she'd gotten rather used to it for these three years since the Great Thaw. First, the people would come to her and address some issues in their town, problems of which can be fixed within the week. Second is the meeting with Arendelle's trade partners to discuss where the goods must and mustn't be exported due to situational changes in one's own territory. Thirdly, and lastly, she would get to know the locals and interact with them. There was never a dull moment for Elsa, she can say that much.

But as Elsa left to do her duties, a wind was blowing by the patio where she stood and down past the castle's entrance where the people came in crowds to see their queen. Among the people who flocked over to the castle was an elderly woman with a black cloak over her long, silver hair, her wrinkled, thin face, and her emerald eyes. Her sour countenance was all the evidence the people needed to see how angry she was, though they never knew why. Those that had an idea only assumed that there must be a problem even the Snow Queen's power wouldn't fix. Little did they know how right they'd be...

The woman was in such apoplexy towards everything in Arendelle. To list an example, one look at a cobbler's workshop was only enough to earn a spiteful "Bah!" from her. Practically, everything she looked at from the cobbler to the flower store only received nothing less than disapproval. And as if that weren't enough, the castle itself was practically mocking her as she gazed upon it. Of all the things she saw in Arendelle, this infuriated her the most. Nevertheless, she continued onwards, to meet the one they call Queen Elsa.

Inside the castle, Elsa was getting ready to mingle with the people. If she still feared her powers then, this would've been unnerving all the time. But now that she'd learned how to control them, there was no need for worry to flood her mind. Although, it didn't mean that her mingling with the people was always pleasant.

In one instance, people bombarded Elsa with questions about who her suitor would be. Even Anna wanted to know. More often than not, she told them that she's not interested in finding one anytime soon. Of course, they'd still wonder, because, well, who can say? Thank goodness they picked up on the decency to leave it be afterwards. Besides, there was a silver lining to that fiasco. And it was none other than Countess Alicia.

She had cool, blue eyes with tan skin and dark brown hair at medium length behind her blue dress with the lighter shade of the color on her sleeves. It happened when Elsa was unable to take the wave of questions her first day and tried to find someplace in the castle to relax from the barrage. This was right on that time when Alicia came to her rescue, though it came as quite a surprise.

Alicia was born into a family who served her family and was only a child when they started to close the gates and doors to keep Elsa's powers hidden. She had been told not to interact with her until she had her powers under control, and even then, she was still nervous after the Coronation fiasco, but with Elsa under the pressure from her duties after the Great Thaw, Alicia had to step in and offer her her room. It wasn't quite as beautiful as her room, but the normality of it was enough for her to be able to relax. From then on, they began their beautiful friendship. It was partly what made her mingling much easier. And it was what Elsa was hoping for as Kai introduced her to the people who bowed as he did so, as is the custom.

"Queen Elsa of Arendelle."

Elsa walked across the room before turning to the people and looking around. Sure enough, she could see the person she was looking for among the crowd, smiling back to her with a small wave as she returned the smile to her. Alicia quickly went back to bowing her head down, though her smile still remained as Kai spoke out to the people again.

"Now, remember not to overwhelm the Queen. We've seen what can happen before."

Elsa was the first to acknowledge this, having accidentally caused the world to freeze before, but all the same, didn't quite feel the need to be babysat.

"Kai, I'll be alright, really."

Kai took a bow in response as he gave a smile to her. He felt it was better safe than sorry since her first day overwhelmed her, but beyond that, he knew Elsa could handle it.

"Of course, your majesty."

Elsa then walked down the steps as the people began interacting with each other as Alicia stood up and looked to her queen.

"Hey, Elsa. Oh, I mean, Your Majesty."

"Alicia, you know it's okay to call me 'Elsa'."

"Right. Well, uh, thanks for the dress."

"You're welcome."

As the mingling began, the woman who entered the castle with a sour mood looked around the square with people headed inside the castle or looking around the square or at the fountains with... frozen water? It was an unexpected thing to see in the Fall, let alone unnatural, but the people seemed content with it anyway. Perhaps too content...

"Hmph. Not much has changed..."

The woman turned her gaze to the castle doors, open wide for all to enter. Somehow, this made her feel even worse than the outside of the castle ever did.

"Not even those open doors..."

Getting more stifled by the second, the elderly woman walked to the castle with walking haste.

Back in the castle, Elsa and Alicia were grouped together, though she knew the girl wasn't the only person to talk to. In a sense, that was the whole point. Alicia needed help overcoming her shyness, and Elsa was there to help her as she did her duties, truly a win-win situation. With each experience they had with other people, by now, the people wouldn't even recall how shy she was anymore. Although, she couldn't help but be curious about Anna's lack of presence thereof as she spoke inquisitively to her.

"So, Elsa."

"Yeah?"

"I know Anna doesn't have the same duties as you, but... do you know where she is?"

As luck would have it, Elsa had a good idea about where Anna was. Her own duties include directly going to help people in their own business. And with how close the winter is coming, Elsa can easily make a guess.

"Well, she's helping Kristoff with his ice business."

Alicia had concerns about that, knowing how likely the ice would melt.

"Oh. That's a rough business to be in during the summer, isn't it?"

"Yes, Alicia, I know. But there's not much Anna can't do for everyone. I should know."

Alicia was aware of that herself. She knew how hard Anna worked to bring her back to Arendelle. It was very brave of her to do that, even if it gave her a frozen heart in the process. If only the King and Queen could see them now.

"Yeah. She helped make the Great Thaw happen, after all. Your parents would've been so proud of the both of you."

Elsa's face couldn't help but be saddened upon hearing them. No one has brought them up to her for so long a time. To think that she'd almost forgotten them... Alicia took notice of her dismal face and began to regret bringing them up the way she had.

"Elsa, are you okay?"

Elsa tried the hardest she could not to cry as she took a deep breath before replying back.

"Just— just fine."

"I'm so sorry if I hurt you, Elsa. I didn't mean to—"

"No, Alicia. It's okay. It's just... I guess it's been so long that I've almost forgotten about them. Almost."

This made Alicia wonder about their destination. She wasn't told about where they were going when they left. Maybe Elsa would know.

"You know... I never did find out where they were going before they... you know. Would you know?"

Sadly, Elsa could only shake her head.

"No. I wish I did."

Just then, they heard the doors slamming open, catching everyone's attention as they were all taken by surprise, and they turned to the source of the racket. Sure enough, it was the elderly woman in a black cloak.

"I demand to speak to Queen Elsa!"

Elsa didn't know what to make of this demand, nor did anyone else. They could only assume that she must've had a rotten day that needed her undivided attention. Either way, none knew what to say before she shouted again.

"Well?! Where is your queen?!"

Elsa didn't quite see the need to let her foul mood escalate any further. So, she stepped up and revealed herself to the woman, however heavy the pressure was starting to be.

"I-I'm right here, ma'am. I'm Queen Elsa."

The woman turned to the direction of her voice and saw Elsa walking to her. She didn't look like any traditional king or queen. It must be hard to tell because of the outfit, but she didn't come here to judge her fashion sense.

"You're Queen Elsa?"

"Uh, yes. Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Ah, yes. I want to know if what I've heard about you is true."

Elsa was caught off-guard by that question. But she rebounded on that, asking for more details.

"Well, that depends. What exactly did you hear?"

Play David Pemberton Music: "The Crystal Chamber"

The woman made no hesitation to speak the news she'd heard from her.

"I've heard that three years ago, you yourself froze the entire fjord and the whole world with it. True or false?"

The crowd all knew what happened, so they felt the pressure as much as Elsa did in this very moment. Their faces of unease wasn't lost on the woman, but hers was still trained on Elsa's, trying to decide whether or not to answer. Unfortunately, the woman didn't have that kind of patience.

"Answer the question."

After a short moment of silence, Elsa answered her as she was told.

"It's true, but—"

"Stop! I'm not finished."

The situation's intensity began to rise with unnerved faces all glancing to the woman and Elsa as the stranger told her of another rumor, much to Alicia's dismay.

"I've also heard that when your sister tried to bring you back home, you repaid her by freezing her heart. True... or false?"

"Leave Elsa alone! She didn't mean to—!"

"Quiet! They all need to know."

Elsa was beginning to get nervous. Only she, Anna, and the castle's staff were the only ones who knew about that. How did she hear about that at all? And as if that moment wasn't enough, Elsa was beginning to relive everything she'd done since they all found out what she could do. It was all starting to be too much for her to take.

"I-It's true..."

All the while, Kai began to notice how frightened Elsa was becoming. He saw it before when everyone was against her. And t seemed to be worse with the woman torturing her with another question.

"And finally, I've heard that you planned to stay away from Arendelle after freezing it! True or false?!"

Elsa couldn't deny that she wanted to stay away from Arendelle. But back then, it was when she couldn't control her powers. Was she trying to make her lose control on purpose? To set off another Big Freeze? The only thing she can be certain of is that this woman has no mercy. All the same, she tried to answer her without letting fear consume her like before. But with how much she apparently knew about Elsa, it was getting very difficult.

"It's true..."

This made the whole crowd gasp and murmur in surprise to hear it from Elsa, along with the fact that the ground is turning white and the air started to chill, as if the atmosphere became just as cold as the woman's words.

"Then what made you queen in the first place?"

Alicia only began to glare at the woman, hurt that a stranger would openly prosecute her friend in front of the whole kingdom. Unable to let it go, Alicia began to tense her right hand into a fist, aiming to shut her up to spare Elsa the pain of awful remembrance that's causing her to turn the ground to frost beneath her as the woman went on.

"What made these people trust you so much that they could just put everything you did behind them?! How do they know you won't attack them?! How do they know if they can ever count on you?!"

Alicia was about to retaliate, only to be stopped by Elsa's hand. Alicia didn't see why she did, considering all that she'd suffered through before.

"No, Alicia. We can't make it worse than it already is..."

"The ground is turning to frost! How can this be worse, Elsa?!"

The woman overheard the squabble between them and added to it.

"Hmph. Sometimes, I wonder."

Her comment didn't go unnoticed, nor did the rest of the conversation as Kai shouted at the woman.

"That is enough! I made it very clear not to overwhelm her majesty with such questions. You will leave the premises immediately!"

The woman was not threatened by his order. She only scoffed at it as she replied callously.

"Make me, fatso."

This earned a growl from Kai before the woman further prosecuted Elsa, further angering Alicia in the process.

"That's the problem with you Arendellians! You're too trusting! So much so that you left the gates wide open for anyone to waltz in! One day or another, it will get you all killed!"

Alicia was way past her boiling point at this juncture. Every word she said was enough to make her angry. Clearly, she knew how much it'd hurt Elsa. And she's not going to let it go on any longer. Finally, she'd snapped, barking at the very prosecutor before her.

"SHUT UP!"

This earned several gasps of surprise and shock to hear it from her. Even when she was getting over her shyness, she'd never raised her voice even once. The stranger, however, was not impressed.

"You better learn to respect your elders, child."

"And you better learn to check your facts! Elsa may have done all the things she said were true, but she made each and every one of them right! So you have absolutely no right to come in here and prosecute her for everything she and Princess Anna already fixed years ago! That's pathetic of you to even try!"

The crowd seemed to agree with Alicia as they all nodded and murmured in favor of her. Elsa was in awe over this. After everything they'd been through because of her, they still chose to stand by her side. Giving his own nod and a smile with it to Elsa, Kai knew it wouldn't come as a surprise. They all knew how much of an effort Elsa made to make things right since then. What did she expect? However, this did not deter the woman, even as she admitted the folly of her accusations.

"Perhaps so. But my word on your trust still stands. The only thing it's good for is a stab in the back just waiting to happen."

Elsa took her turn to glare at the woman next, standing by Alicia and Kai as she spoke sternly to her, regaining her composure as the frosty ground began turning back to normal.

"I don't know who you are, or what you've been through to make you think that way, but if you think I'm going to let you terrorize me or anyone else in this kingdom, you're sadly mistaken. It's time for you to go."

The woman only narrowed her glare in a moment of silence before she spoke bitterly.

"Alright. I'll leave. But mark my words, just so you can't say I didn't warn you. If you don't close those gates when I leave... you will wish you've never opened them again. I guarantee you that it's a promise I intend to keep."

The woman turned away quickly and headed out of the door she burst in through, her footsteps fading off in the hall as the people looked on. They all heard her cryptic threat. And given how close Elsa was to being on her knees in grief, it will not be a threat to take lightly. All at once, the people looked to her as several murmured among themselves.

"Are we really going to close the gates again?"

"We can't close them, not while the Princess is outside of the castle."

"We shouldn't close them at all! That hag must be bluffing."

"But what if she's not?"

At this juncture, Elsa didn't know what to do. On one hand, it'd be best to take precautionary measures. On the other hand, Elsa would be worried about how Anna would take it.

I like the open gates.

After all that time in forced isolation, subjecting her to it would be the last thing she deserved. Especially when it came to her promise...

We are never closing them again.

When Alicia saw how Elsa was trembling, she tried to check up on her and make sure she wasn't too rattled.

"Are you alright, Elsa?"

"I... I don't know."

Alicia could see how worried Elsa was becoming from the dilemma. After what the old crone was doing to her, why wouldn't she be? After three years of open gates, now she has to choose whether to keep them open or shut them closed again. This time, all of Arendelle depended on it. Alicia wouldn't be sure how to make that call herself. She wasn't sure if Elsa would be up for it today after what just happened. Frankly, neither did Kai as he tried to usher her out.

"You must be frazzled. Let's get you someplace to clear your head for a while."

Elsa didn't hesitate to take her caretaker's hand as she walked with him. After the confrontation that took place, a rest would be something she needed, especially when it comes to such a stressful decision.

"Yes, I think that would be best. Thank you."

Elsa and Kai began to exit the room as Alicia went with them, hoping to comfort the queen any way she could. What happened to her today was not fair, she thought. Why should people persecute her for what happened in the past when she made up for it? It didn't make any sense to her. However, Elsa was more worried about the obvious one, almost as much as her current predicament: how did she even know what happened?

End David Pemberton Music: "The Crystal Chamber"

A/N: Whoa. Boy, did those people show her what's what. But she's not done yet. She does intend to keep her promise, one way or another… Also, Alicia's voice would be portrayed by Ashley Johnson while that woman's voice would be portrayed by Donna Kimball. I won't spoil anything else for the story beyond that. Let's just hope that Anna doesn't cross her path…