Prologue

"Enough," Anna stops right outside the throne room. Elsa does not usually sound quite so annoyed during her meetings, well, the ones that Anna has attended, at least, and so she pauses, hangs back a little to wait and see and eavesdrop.

She does not remember where this contingent is from. Some faraway land. Not that this helps because they are all faraway lands. Arendelle is pretty far North and really quite remote.

"I will not-"

The other voice is low and Anna cannot quite hear it but Elsa's voice whips through the air and to be honest, Anna's spent more than half her life listening to Elsa through a door so it's not difficult. It's particularly easy right now because Elsa is furious and Anna does not need to be in the room to know that.

She can feel the temperature of the room falling, subconsciously rubs at her own forearms.

Then she hears it.

"You are a monster, aren't you," the low male voice says, "no matter what anyone else says, you're just a monster who's barely in control."

Anna slams the doors open so hard that they bounce off the wall.

"How dare you," she hisses, the red sheen of rage behind her eyes not giving her time to pause to greet as is customary, "how dare you say that to my- the Queen."

The owner of the voice chuckles and it raises Anna's hackles just as it sends a shiver down her spine. He leans back in his chair, tilts an unfamiliar head and strikingly piercing eyes at her, drawls, "Oh look, it's the spare."

"Enough," says Elsa from across the room, and though the room does not warm up, her voice is tight but even, "it is clear that you had no intention to negotiate-"

"Negotiate? No, I do not negotiate with monsters."

"I'm gonna-"

"Anna," Elsa cautions, then turns back, "very well then, if we are not negotiating I will have someone show you out."

"Are you a coward," the man says, "or are you not saying anything because I'm right?"

Anna is going to stab this man through the heart. Or cut off his tongue. Anything to make him stop. She takes a step forward but a steely hand raises from across the room and it takes almost everything she has to hold herself back from at least punching him in the face. Almost everything and her love and respect for Elsa.

"I have no desire to explain myself to you nor do your opinions matter to me. This meeting is over."

"I'm right," he smirks.

Anna moves to punch him in the face but a dagger is up against her neck before she realizes it. This is a different kind of cold is all she has time to think before the temperature of the entire room plunges.

"Unhand my sister," Elsa hisses, hands outstretched, "and I might just let you leave alive."

"How am I supposed to trust the word of a monster?"

Anna wonders if she'd be able to duck away from the dagger, wrap a leg around his ankle and tackle him to the ground, but the edge presses harder against her skin and she realizes the answer is no. It is also clear that Elsa realizes the answer is no. Anna can see the beginning of a flurry.

"Let her go," Elsa says, eyes flitting rapidly from Anna to the man as ice starts to spread from her feet, "you're not here for her."

"Clever girl," he says, "now stop your ice right there. I'm not stupid."

Elsa's jaw clenches. She lowers her hands. The ice stops spreading.

"Good. Now, you and I, are going to have a little chat. Alone."

"No," Anna chokes out.

"Wasn't talking to you, spare," he smirks, "be quiet and let the adults talk."

"Anna," Elsa says, "it's going to be ok."

He sneers, "listen to your sister. She's got a brain even if she doesn't have a heart."

Anna struggles but Elsa shakes her head fractionally and she stops. The man shuffles them over to the door.

"It's going to be okay," Elsa says and the last thing Anna sees before her vision goes black are the doors swinging shut.

"Your Highness!"

Anna groans, "Kai?"

An eye opens. Wait. Why is the floor so close-

She leaps to her feet, ignores the way the room sways around her and ignores the pounding of her head, "ELSA!"

She shoves the doors to the throne room open with a bang.

Blonde hair in a loose braid - a body curled up on the ground in the middle of a fierce starbust of pure clear ice and Anna's heart stops. No. No. It cannot be.

She runs, slips, catches herself amidst the dizziness.

"Stay away!"

The cry is heart-rending, choked out through trembling lips as the head turns to face her.

Anna freezes.

"S-Stay away from me," Elsa shakes as she pushes herself up from the floor and gathers the too-large clothes of her dress around her, "Mama, y-you need to s-stay away from me."

Anna stares back at her last memory of Elsa as a child.

Eight year old Elsa takes this opportunity to dash out of the room and Anna sees just what happened to the man who had threatened to kill her.

A shiver runs down her spine and for a moment, for a single moment, Anna is afraid.