"Grand Pabbie, if I weren't worried about damaging my hands or feet-considering you are literally made out of rock-I would punt or deck you into the next century if I could!"

Despite himself, Grand Pabbie winced.

He could only thank the Fates that Anna wasn't the one born with powers.

The tension in the air was so thick, you could cut it with a knife. Grand Pabbie should have known it would be bad when Anna insisted that no one disturb them. Kristoff tried to intervene, but Anna insisted on total privacy when she led Grand Pabbie to one of the smaller, more intimate courtyards of the Arendellian palace.

FLASHBACK

Grand Pabbie was caught off guard by Anna's unexpected summons to the palace.

But he didn't think anything of it.

Kristoff's birthday was coming up and he assumed that Anna wanted to arrange a special party for her fiancé. There was no reason to think that anything was wrong. Everything was going swimmingly. Elsa fulfilled her destiny and became the Fifth Spirit.

From all accounts, Anna was an excellent queen of Arendelle.

Kristoff would visit the trolls once a week with Sven and Olaf in tow.

He would wax on poetically about their wedding plans. It was clear that he was excited about marrying the woman of his dreams. Grand Pabbie couldn't be happier for his charge.

Kristoff and Sven were alone for far too long.

Ever since the former's parents died when he was very young.

Grand Pabbie made it to the palace in record time. For a being that could become a literal rolling rock, speed wasn't a problem. When he reached the palace, Grand Pabbie received his first inkling that something was wrong. He first heard increasingly loud voices.

Anna and Kristoff were arguing.

Olaf and Sven were trying to intervene.

But Anna and Kristoff wouldn't hear of it. Grand Pabbie couldn't make out what they were saying. But judging from their animated hand gestures and scowling expressions, they were clearly angry about something.

His brow furrowing, Grand Pabbie approached.

When Anna and Kristoff noticed him, their argument petered away into nothing.

"Your Majesty." Grand Pabbie bowed respectfully.

"Grand Pabbie." Anna said coldly.

This was his second inkling that something was wrong.

Anna was NEVER this cold and distant. Never.

It was almost as if she were channeling her older sister. Never had Grand Pabbie seen Anna so icy yet regal at the same time. Cool and commanding. There wasn't a single emotion on her face as she stared impassively at the leader of the rock trolls. Her blue eyes were colder than a thousand glaciers. Grand Pabbie felt a chill go up and down his nonexistent spine. He also felt the sudden urge to rub at his arms and update his will.

Which was odd.

What need did a troll have for a will?

Before Grand Pabbie could inquire why she'd summoned him, Anna gestured towards the courtyards at the rear of the palace. "Please follow me, Grand Pabbie. There is much we need to discuss." She hissed out the last word in a way that sent more chills throughout his body.

"Anna." Kristoff tried.

"Not now, Kristoff." Anna said. "Please leave us alone. I require total privacy."

"Anna." Kristoff said.

"NOW!" Anna commanded, making it clear that she wasn't here as Kristoff's loving fiancée, but as his queen. Kristoff stiffened. He straightened his body and inclined his head. There was a growing coolness between the couple that worried the troll elder.

"As you command...Your Majesty." Kristoff bowed again and left the area.

Even more alarming was the fact that Anna didn't look worried or bother to apologize.

She didn't even look Kristoff's way as she continued to head for the rear of the palace. Grand Pabbie inwardly shook his head. He should have known that finding that ugly mushroom growing out of his wife's back was a bad omen!

Finally, after what seemed like eternity, but in reality was only five minutes, they reached a small courtyard. There wasn't much to the area.

There was a small pond, a giant oak tree and a marble bench.

"You wished to see me, Your Majesty?" Grand Pabbie said after a lengthy silence.

"I have one question and one question alone, Grand Pabbie." Anna said.

She still had her back turned to him. There was a tension about her, a regal, commanding air that Grand Pabbie had never seen on her before. There was also a hint of growing anger in her voice. Grand Pabbie had a BAD feeling about this...

"What would you like to know, my queen?" Grand Pabbie said.

"Why?" was all Anna would say.

"Your Majesty?" Grand Pabbie said.

"Elsa told me what happened after the accident." Anna said.

"Accident?" Grand Pabbie frowned.

"Don't play stupid with me." Without warning, Anna whirled around, her eyes flashing with cold rage. "She told me that you erased my memories of her magic after you 'cured' me."

Ooh.

Grand Pabbie winced.

Anna was quick to note his guilty reaction. "Kristoff also told me stories about your abilities, what powers you wield. Tell me, could you have fixed me WITHOUT erasing my memories of my sister's powers?"

"I'm waiting, Grand Pabbie." Anna's eyes narrowed dangerously when he didn't say anything for several minutes.

"Yes, I could." Grand Pabbie admitted.

"Show me what happened after Elsa accidentally struck me." Anna commanded.

"My queen?" Grand Pabbie asked, alarmed.

"You were able to show us images of the past after the Elemental Spirits drove us out of Arendelle." Anna said. "I want you to show me what happened the night of the accident."

"Very well." Grand Pabbie gestured with his hands.

"Anna!" Elsa shouted, rushing to her sister's side. Anna was out cold by a large pile of snow. Her expression was slackened. When Elsa gathered her close, she could only watch in horror as a white streak formed in Anna's red locks. She could feel her panic rising. "Mama! Papa!" Elsa cried out for help. At her slippers, a giant pile of ice started to grow. It enveloped the ballroom floor and the nearby windows.

The snowman they created, Olaf, fell and collapsed into a pile of snow.

"You're okay, Anna. I've got you." Elsa said tearfully, hugging her close.

The ballroom doors opened.

"Elsa, what have you done?" Agnarr demanded. Iduna gasped in horror, bringing her hands to her lips. "This is getting out of hand!"

"It was an accident." Elsa protested. "I'm sorry, Anna."

Iduna gathered her second daughter into her arms.

"Huh. She's ice-cold." Iduna realized.

"I know where we have to go." Agnarr said.

He rushed to his feet and raced out of the ballroom. He panted as he raced to his study. He pawed through his books, trying to find the right one.

Finally, he found the right book.

He frantically flipped through the pages, until he found one in particular.

Unnoticed, a piece of paper slid out and fell by his feet. Agnarr gazed at the picture. A troll was holding out his hands, working a spell over a knight. He was carefully gathering magic out his head. The piece of paper on the floor turned out to be a map.

The royal family raced fast out of Arendelle as fast as they could.

Iduna had little Anna wrapped in a blanket.

Elsa was with Agnarr. She was so panicked and frightened over Anna's state, she left a trail of ice in her wake. Agnarr and Iduna urged their horses onward, desperate to rescue their daughter before it was too late for her.

They never noticed as they passed by a small boy with blond hair.

He was transporting a small block of ice on his sled with a baby reindeer.

"Ice?" The little boy gasped in realization. "Faster, Sven!" He urged the reindeer on, riding the small animal as they followed the trail of ice. Eventually, they reached a clearing with a bunch of rocks. "Sven." He called the reindeer to his side.

The little boy snuck around the rocks so that he could see what was happening.

"Please, help." Agnarr called. "It's my daughter."

The boy and Sven watched as a bunch of rocks started rolling in the direction of the royal family. "Huh!" The boy gasped, instinctively ducking further behind the rock he was peering over.

The rocks revealed themselves to be trolls as they unfurled themselves.

"It's the king!" Many of them muttered at the same time.

"Trolls?" The boy said in wonder. He stepped back instinctively in shock as the "rock" he was behind behind turned out to be a female troll.

"Shush!" She urged, holding them close to her. "I'm trying to listen!" Sven affectionately kicked her cheek. She smiled. "Cuties, I'm gonna keep you!" She hugged them even closer to her rocky cheeks and they smiled back at her.

"Your Majesty." Grand Pabbie nodded respectfully to the king and approached a younger Elsa. He clutched her hand. "Born with the powers or cursed?"

"Born." Agnarr said. "And they're getting stronger."

Grand Pabbie motioned for Iduna to bring Anna close to him. She did so and Grand Pabbie pressed a hand to the child's forehead. "You are lucky it wasn't her heart. The heart is not so heavily changed. But the head can be persuaded."

"Do what you must." Agnarr urged.

"I recommend we remove all magic." Grand Pabbie said. He waved his hand and images formed above Anna's head. He started replacing memories of the children playing together with the help of Elsa's magic. Instead, they did more mundane activities, such as playing outside, building a snowman or ice skating on a lake, rather than with Elsa's powers. "Even memories of magic, just to be safe. But don't worry, I leave the fun." With a sigh, Grand Pabbie returned his hand to Anna's head. This time, she had a peaceful smile on her face. "She'll be okay."

"But she won't remember I have powers?" Elsa asked.

"It's for the best." Agnarr said.

"Listen to me, Elsa." Grand Pabbie urged her to follow him. "Your power will only grow." He waved his hands and images appeared in the night sky. It showed an adult Elsa performing magic for an admiring crowd. "There is beauty in it, but also great danger." The adult Elsa sent an image of a giant snowflake into the sky, which turned red due to Grand Pabbie's ominous words.
Elsa gasped in fear. "You must learn to control it. Or fear, will be your enemy." The previously admiring crowd turned angry and fearful. Adult Elsa cowered in the middle.

Until the angry mob attacked her.

The image dissipated.

Elsa gasped again in horror and cringed against her father's side.

"No, we'll protect her." Agnarr said, hugging his daughter close to him. "She can learn to control it, I'm sure. Till then, we lock the gates. We'll reduce the staff. We'll limit her contact with people and keep her powers hidden from everyone...including Anna."

Agnarr's words induced images of people locking gates, doors and windows.

Little Anna could only watch as Elsa's furniture disappeared from their shared bedroom. Anna raced outside into the hall, just in time to see her older sister give her a sad, mournful look. Then, Elsa closed the door to her new bedroom after her.

It would be the last time Anna would see her for thirteen years.

Grimly, Grand Pabbie dismissed the images.

For a long time, Anna didn't speak. For a while, all one could hear were the chirping of crickets. Finally, Anna asked to see more images of the past. She wanted to understand what it was like for Elsa growing up. She wanted to understand her sister.

Grand Pabbie obeyed.

Albeit reluctantly.

Just after telling Anna to go away, Elsa could be seen kneeling on a cushioned bench near her new window. There was a hopeful, tentative smile on her face as she placed her hands on the window sill to glance outside.

Then her smile became a fearful gasp as she let out a burst of ice magic.

The same day, her father would give her a pair of gloves.

"The gloves will help, see?" Carefully, Agnarr put the gloves on Elsa's hands and clasped one of them with his own. "Conceal it."

"Don't feel it." Elsa said.

"Don't let it show." They chorused.

Another scene showed an older Elsa, who looked about eleven or twelve. "I'm scared. It's only getting stronger!" One could hear the anxiety and panic in her voice as she gazed fearfully at the patch of ice on the wall behind her.

"Getting upset only makes it stronger. Calm down." Agnarr urged, trying to hug her.

"Don't touch me, please!" Elsa cowered away. "I don't want to hurt you."

More images appeared. There were different times and places. Elsa was older or younger, depending on where and when it happened. But her powers grew alongside her fear. Elsa was evidently traumatized by what happened to Anna when they were children.

During their reunion at Elsa's ice palace, her sister got a flashback to when she struck Anna in the head. It was why she was so reluctant to let Anna close.

So reluctant to return to Arendelle.

There was another image.

Shortly after Elsa chased Anna, Kristoff, Olaf and Sven away with Marshmallow, she could be seen in her palace. She restlessly paced the corridors of her new home, visibly wringing her hands. All around her there were bursts of ice magic. New blocks of ice would form in the walls and the floors as she tried desperately to control her powers.

"Control it." She would mutter. "Conceal it, don't feel it."

The images kept coming like a relentless avalanche.

Anna could even see the reasoning behind Elsa's decision to send her and Olaf away in that canoe. Her sister was motivated by fear. Fear for Anna's safety after the incident with Bruni. "Enough!" Anna commanded. Grimly, Grand Pabbie dismissed the images of the past.

END FLASHBACK

For a while, Anna didn't speak again.

"Tell me Grand Pabbie, you warned Elsa that fear would be her biggest enemy, correct?"

"Yes, Your Majesty." Grand Pabbie said.

"Then let me ask you this." Anna said. "You knew that Elsa was only eight years old. She was traumatized from hurting me. You said that she shouldn't let her fear overwhelm her. But then why did you scare her with images of the future, showing that a crowd would attack her? Since when is it smart to frighten a traumatized child even more with those images."

"She had to be warned-"

"No, I think there's more to this than you're letting on." Anna cut in.

"My queen?"

"Before we left for the Enchanted Forest, I remember what you told me."

"So do I."

"Anna, I'm worried for her." Anna recited. "We have always feared that Elsa's powers were too much for this world. Now, we must pray they are enough."

"I remember." Grand Pabbie said.

"You also just admitted that you didn't need to remove my memories of her." Anna said. "You took five years away from our lives. You also put the fear of God into an eight year old child. She grew up alone and isolated in her chambers, scared of herself, of what she could do, of what she might to do to others. I grew up alone with no one able or willing to spend time with me. Mother and Father ignored me, Elsa kept pushing me away and we were all locked up in that palace like we were under quarantine. Did you plan this?"

"My queen?" Grand Pabbie said.

"You told me you feared her powers." Anna said. "You also did nothing to interfere when Father locked the gates and separated me from Elsa. Was this part of your plan?"

"Yes." Grand Pabbie admitted.

"Explain." Anna commanded.

"Your Majesty, you must understand." Grand Pabbie said. "There is always grave danger when a person is either born or cursed with powers. We knew that her powers would only grow. We feared the danger, the damage she might do to the world. So, we sought to limit her influence. We knew that your parents would keep her hidden in her chambers in a bid to help her control her powers. As long as she was locked in the palace, she wasn't a danger."

"Is that why you never told her the key to controlling her powers?" Anna said.

"Yes." Grand Pabbie said after a lengthy silence.

"Once again, I feel this mighty urge to hurt you." Anna hissed. "You are so focused on the so-called Greater Good, you can't see the forest for the trees. You have no idea how much your plan made us all suffer. It was only when it was time for the curse of the Enchanted Forest to be lifted that you realized that Elsa's powers were needed."

"My queen." Grand Pabbie tried.

"You know what the worst part is?" Anna asked.

"What?" Grand Pabbie said.

"I still don't know what my purpose is." Anna started pacing. "During our adventures, it was all about either bringing Elsa home, helping her to control her powers or to discover her destiny. My entire life, before she struck me, I was Elsa's support system. Then, when everything settled down, I performed the same role. I had to keep propping her up whenever her old insecurities threatened to overwhelm her. Now, Elsa has made a new home in the Enchanted Forest. She discovered her destiny as the Fifth Spirit. But what about me? Why was I born? What is my purpose?"

"Your purpose is to be Elsa's emotional anchor." Grand Pabbie said.

"What?" Anna asked.

"Whenever Elsa started doubting herself, you would cheer her up, give her the courage to find her purpose and achieve what is necessary." Grand Pabbie said. "You also serve as a fellow bridge to humanity between Man and Magic. You will remind Elsa that she is human as well. You will serve as her emotional rock while she navigates her place among the elements."

"So...I'm just a powerless extension of my sister?" Anna asked angrily.

"No!" Grand Pabbie was horrified.

"Do you realize how depressing that sounds!?" Anna yelled. "My whole life, events have centered around Elsa. Like I said, it was either to bring her home or to help her control her powers. Mother and Father spent the bulk of their time trying to help her when they didn't have their duties to Arendelle. Now you tell me I don't have my own identity? A purpose separate from Elsa? Will I forever be known merely as Elsa's younger sister!?"

"My queen." Grand Pabbie said. He needed to make amends.

This wasn't how he pictured her reaction at all!

"Get. Out." Anna gritted her teeth, enunciating each word with enough resentful venom to make a snake seem like a warm, tame and cuddly animal by comparison.

Then she turned around and refused to say another word.

With a mournful sigh, Grand Pabbie uttered another "Your Majesty" and turned around. He turned into a rock and headed home. As he rolled back to the valley of the trolls, all he could do was think about one thing.

"What have I done?"