Elsa crept through the long-deserted hallways of the mansion that bore no semblance of a home, her feet silently tapping against the cold marble with every step. When she reached her sister's door, she sat down, leaned against it, and wrapped the blanket that she brought around herself. The mansion was dark and the only light came from the midnight moon through the skylights.

When Anna was younger, they would sleep in the same bed, because Anna had an overactive imagination, causing night terrors that didn't wake her but left her shuddering and crying. Elsa found that the only way to calm down her terrified sister was just to hold her hand and whisper sweet things in her ear about candy and chocolate and snow.

She smiled at the memory of how she used to sing to Anna when the latter couldn't sleep.

But they couldn't be like that anymore. The guilt from their recent argument (not even, just Elsa being an ass) still fresh in her mind, Elsa sighed and closed her eyes, hugging her knees under the blanket.

Her secret trips to her sister's room in the night were always fueled by the guilt and responsibility that always resulted when she vehemently ignored her sister's pleas.

The pain was especially bad tonight.

It wasn't long until she heard whimpering from the other side of the door. With her usual care and caution, Elsa slowly creaked open Anna's door. Her sister was tossing and turning about again, tears pooling in the crook of her nose and staining her auburn hair.

The nightmare was especially bad tonight too, it seemed.

Catching one of Anna's hands as the younger girl flailed about, Elsa trailed her other hand gently down the side of Anna's face with practiced ease. "Shh… Anna. It's okay. I'm here." Almost immediately, Anna's tossing died down.

Elsa leaned down toward her sister's ear. "You're safe. I will always protect you." Slowly, the whimpering stopped too.

Tentatively brushing her lips against her baby sister's forehead, she murmured, "I love you, sis."

The fear on Anna's sleeping face was replaced with a lazy smile. Her job was done, for tonight, but she decided to let herself stay a few minutes longer. Nights were liberating; under the guise of darkness, she could be finally be honest with herself. And since her sister slept like a rock for most of the night, she could be honest with Anna, too.

"Sorry about earlier," she murmured, pulling the comforter over Anna's shoulders. "You'd think since I'm supposed to be the older one, I'd be more responsible about not letting you misunderstand my words. You're not stupid, you're not dumb, and anyone who says otherwise can fight me and lose. It can't be easy being my sister since people always seem to be comparing you to me, but to me, you're perfect."

Elsa felt herself smile before letting go of Anna's hand and silently stepping outside the door in the same manner she had entered.

Time had passed all too fast, Elsa thought, as she watched her mother and sister drive away, once again leaving her alone in this empty, desolate 'home'. Anna's elementary graduation was today, and as much as she wanted to go, this was one of the easier things to refuse.

In September, Anna would be attending the same high school as Elsa. Dread pooled in her stomach as she thought about the consequences of allowing anyone to know of their familial relationship. Luckily, she and Anna looked nothing alike, save for the marginal difference in the shade of blue in their eyes, so, she prayed, as long as she kept her distance, no one would even begin suspect that they were siblings.

She knew, however, that Anna had different goals in mind. She knew Anna desperately wanted to connect with her again, to laugh about teachers and make fun of stupid homework assignments, as they had before.

She couldn't tell Anna how she was being treated at school either. How could she tell of such horrible ordeals to a girl who cried over other people's pain like it was her own?

How many times she had wished she was born into a normal family, one with a loving mother and father, a house that was radiated comfort, and with no bloodline responsibilities. One that wasn't so conceited that it needed a mansion with sixteen bedrooms for three people. One that didn't require perfection and a fitting heir. But she had to be born into the house of Arendelle, to be the heir to Arendelle Corporation, the company that her father left her for when she came of age.

Her father. The thought of him brought a scornful scowl to her features. The one that insisted that she fill any and all of her free time bettering herself, in order to become an heir fit for the seat of CEO one day. The one who taught her emotions only got in the way of business deals, to conceal, and don't feel. To not let her weakness show.

The one who showed her that pain meant weakness, and feelings meant pain.

How she hated him.

September

The bell rang as Elsa packed up her notes and textbook, preparing to leave the classroom of her AP English class. She could already feel the insults coming on.

"Hey! Blondie! Don't think you can be so conceited as to think you're as good as us seniors!"

"Who does she think she is? No wonder everyone hates her! She's socially inept!"

"She probably slept with the teachers for good grades!"

"What a slut!"

Maybe she should have reconsidered her mother's offer for homeschooling. But that meant more time spent shut inside the mansion, and to be here was at least the better alternative. At least her father's study wasn't in the same building, gnawing at her like an itch that couldn't be scratched.

Elsa calmly walked out of the classroom, shutting out all the other voices like always. She's heard the jibes and insults so many times that they hardly bothered her anymore. The less she replied, the less they knew about her, the less they could insult. That was a harsh truth that she learned from her first year at this school. If you didn't belong to a clique, you were automatically ostracized. An outsider.

The fact that this was a private school designed for heirs of wealthy families only exasperated the situation. Children of powerful families often did not fear repercussions from teachers or other authority figures. If only they knew, Elsa thought darkly, how much ruin her family could bring to them, at the drop of a hat. She wouldn't do that, she told herself. Because that was what her father would have done. She'd even secretly requested to be registered under an anonymous last name. She sensed her classmates would have scrambled to leave her alone if they'd known who she really was.

One thing she was concerned about, though, was how Anna was getting along. Did anyone suspect that they were related? Did she make any new friends? What clubs did she join?

The questions were annoying her so she decided to take a peek inside the arts room. Months of shutting Anna out had not stopped the younger from having conversations with herself outside Elsa's door, telling her sister about random things, things she learned, things she did. To be honest, Elsa enjoyed listening to them.

And so she knew that Anna spent lunch inside the arts room. Peeking inside, she caught a glance of her sister's amber hair amidst a group of junior girls that she didn't recognize. Breathing out a sigh of relief, Elsa turned to leave, when she heard, "Elsa?!"

Shit. She cursed herself for her curiosity.

Walking as fast as she could down the hall, she hoped to reach the corner before her sister made it out of the arts room. Of course that didn't happen. Anna was athletic, a star soccer player since childhood. She caught up with the older girl in seconds.

"Elsa, wait!" Anna grabbed her arm.

Alarmed, Elsa turned and self-consciously looked around. Already they were starting to attract an audience. Meeting Anna's curious gaze, Elsa pleaded with her eyes. Please, she was tempted to say. Just let me go. Don't say anything.

But if Anna was Anna, there was no way she wouldn't grab hold of this chance to talk with her older sister.

"What's this? It's so rare to see you out and about, slut. Looking for someone to fuck?" someone she recognized from her AP Calc class jeered from across the hall.

Anna, who also heard the insulting jibe about her sister, whirled to face the threat. Her retort, however, was interrupted by Elsa violently, albeit unwillingly, wrenching her arm out of her grasp.

Elsa's mind was racing in anger and panic as she frantically considered all the potential consequences of her next actions. No one could know they were related.

No one could know.

She could only see one way out.

Before Anna could respond, Elsa glared down at her.

Her jaw clenched. It took all of Elsa's self-control to not choke on her next words. "Who are you? Don't touch me with your dirty hands."

She walked away, not looking over her shoulder, knowing that if she let herself see the utterly crushed expression she imagined Anna had, she wouldn't be able to tear herself away.

The crowd was already dissipating. Just another poor freshman that the Ice Queen alienated, they thought. So she hoped.

Elsa heard the sound of breaking. Squeezing her eyes shut as she escaped, she tried to convince herself that it only came from her own heart, not Anna's.