The king and queen were lost at sea, leaving Elsa alone. Well, she had Anna… they had each other, but not really. Anna tried to reach out for her, to be there for her… perhaps looking to Elsa for support as well. But they couldn't be that for each other. Elsa couldn't be anywhere near Anna, especially now when she was so devastated; her magic was out of control.

She wept into her hands and shivered, not from the cold but from shock. The loss was difficult enough to bear, but people would look to her to rule now. If only she could run away from everything. The magician had been right—Elsa was born to be the queen whether she liked it or not.

A sour taste filled her mouth. The magician… what else had he been right about?

She hugged her knees close to her chest and rested her head back against her door. The room was frozen shut and dim from the ice and snow she'd let accumulate everywhere as she grieved. Her father would have begged her to control herself. But he wasn't here anymore.

I saw so much potential in you years ago…

The voice echoed distantly in her head, but she looked around as if the magician were in the room with her.

Now I come back to find you've devolved into this frigid little frightened thing.

Elsa looked all around the room, her sniffles quieting. The voice seemed louder.

That's a shame. I guess I spent my time on the wrong sister.

"Stop it!" she shrieked, covering her ears as she stood. She paced around the room. The voice… was just in her head, wasn't it?

You don't deserve your power…

The queen-to-be looked about wildly, searching for red hair, green eyes or even just that devilish smile.

Your power will bring down both you and Arendelle. And I'll be there to see it happen.

But as far as Elsa's weary eyes could tell, she was alone.


Three years later, Princess Elsa was crowned Queen Elsa. She'd gotten through the coronation without magical incident even though she'd had the jitters. There was just the party to survive and then she could close the castle gates once more.

She had to give herself credit. Politics were not her favorite, particularly since they involved being social. Fortunately, no one questioned the queen's reclusive nature or the fact that she never removed her gloves. She just had to get through another hour or so and then she could excuse herself. The dignitaries would want to speak with her before they headed home, but that could wait until the morning.

"Queen Elsa of Arendelle!"

Elsa walked out upon the dais after Kai's introduction, gazing out upon her guests. She inhaled deeply and held her breath as she kept smiling during Anna's introduction. This was the moment she'd been waiting for all night, the moment she and Anna would finally meet face-to-face again. She was simultaneously thrilled and terrified.

Everything has gone well so far… conceal, don't feel.

From the way Anna fidgeted beside her, Elsa could tell her little sister was just as nervous as she was.

Might as well be the one to break the ice.

"Hi."

"Hi-hi me? Oh! Um… hi?"

Elsa held in a giggle. Her sister was as adorable as she remembered.

"You look beautiful!"

And it was true. Anna had grown up. Elsa kept smiling, but suddenly felt sad over all that she missed out on with her sister.

"Thank you! You look beautifuller. I mean, not fuller, you don't look fuller, but more beautiful."

"Thank you," she said.

For a moment, the sisters were at ease. They remarked on the party. Anna said it felt warmer than she expected. Elsa pointed out the aroma of the chocolate fondue. She had to sacrifice Anna to avoid a hilarious dance with the spry Duke of Weselton. But she knew Anna would forgive her when she came back, smiling in spite of her sore feet.

Overall, everything was going really well… up until Anna got wistful.

"I wish it could be like this all the time," Anna said, beaming.

"Me too," the queen agreed before she could catch herself. "But it can't…"

"But why not?" Anna reached for her. Elsa quickly turned away before Anna could accidentally knock her gloves off or something equally disastrous.

"It just can't."

She winced as she watched Anna reel away from her with a mumbled apology. The princess turned her fallen face back toward the dancing and quickly left Elsa staring after her.

I'm sorry, Anna


There were only two possible explanations. One, she was crazy. Two, her sister was determined to marry the magician.

She'd managed not to faint when Anna introduced the prince with the auburn hair and green eyes. Elsa thought perhaps it was just an uncanny resemblance. But no… as soon as 'Prince Hans of the Southern Isles' greeted her, she knew it was him. There was no mistaking the smooth voice or the effect it had on her.

Engaged? What was Anna thinking?!

But none of it mattered now. Elsa fled across the fjord, not even needing to think for her magic to freeze it beneath her feet so that she could safely make the crossing. If Anna wanted to throw herself into the arms of a dangerous man, so be it. They could rule Arendelle together for all she cared. She was free now, free to hide from the world.

She headed to the North Mountain. No one went there, so no one would look for her there. She was frightened out of her wits, but she had the strangest feeling that everything would be okay if she just let go.

She had power to protect herself. For the first time in forever, she felt… free.


It all went wrong, of course. She'd been naïve to think she could escape everything.

Elsa gazed fearfully at the frozen wasteland that was once Arendelle just outside of her cell window. "What have I done?" She should have listened to Anna.

The door creaked open. She turned around. Her eyes widened when she saw Prince Hans enter. Emotions whirled within her, though the shackles at least kept her magic at in check. She looked for any hint of malice as the prince drew closer. But there was no quiet laugh, no wicked smile, not even an amused glint in his eyes. Apart from that, he really was a doppelganger for the magician. Was it pure coincidence?

"Why did you bring me here?" she asked, fearing her presence would only make the snow storm worse.

"I couldn't just let them kill you," he answered, rubbing his arms for warmth.

While she appreciated the thought, it was a stupid move on his part. "But I'm a danger to Arendelle… get Anna!"

His breath clouded up in front of him. "Anna has not returned."

Elsa panicked. Her sister was still out there somewhere?

"If you would just stop the winter… bring back summer." Hans moved closer. "Please." His voice was so soft, it reminded her…

No.

"I can't," she said, helpless. She turned toward him again, pleading. "You have to tell them to let me go."

His face changed. There was nothing particularly sinister about it, but the concern suddenly fell away.

"I'll do what I can," he said as he turned to leave.

Elsa stared after him, bewildered. Why had he saved her? Could this really be called salvation? She looked down at the cold shackles.

They started to ice over.


"We tried to save her, but it was too late."

Hans's words over Elsa's howling winds shook and gutted her. Too late?

"Her skin was ice, her hair turned white… your sister is dead because of you."

No. No, no, no. Anna, dead?

"No…"

The storm receded as she collapsed upon the ice and sobbed. All the years of pushing Anna away for her own safety seemed such a waste now. Her baby sister was lost to her forever, and it was her fault that harm came to Anna again. There was a scraping of metal and voices as she wept, but she ignored them until a piercing shatter made her look back.

There was Anna, frozen solid and standing protectively over her.

"Anna?"

Elsa jumped up and examined the ice statue, her vision blurring as more tears overwhelmed her. Hadn't Prince Hans said Anna was dead? How did she just suddenly appear…? She threw her arms around her sister and cried even harder in her confusion.

But then, a miracle happened. Anna began to thaw in her embrace…


Elsa never ended up telling Anna about her ex-fiance's uncanny resemblance to the magician. She decided that he'd been a manifestation of her own fear. The sudden proposal combined with all the stress of being crowned had done a number on her. It was as simple as that.

Months passed after the coronation. The castle gates remained open. Little by little, Elsa grew accustomed to the warmth and love of her people. Ruling Arendelle didn't turn out to be all that terrible. After all, she had her sister, friends and advisors to support her.

But there were times she was melancholy. At first, she was far too busy to notice. Running a kingdom kept her on her toes. Anna tried to help, but she oftentimes just ended up creating more work for Elsa. She meant well. But those moments where Kristoff would step in to whisk Anna off on some romantic rendezvous were a relief.

The queen would find herself staring after them with a slight pang in her chest. She was truly happy for the two. But when she thought of companionship for herself, her fate depressed her somewhat. As the monarch, she would be expected to make a political match. If she were lucky, she'd learn to love her future partner the way her own parents had come to care for one another over the years. But she wouldn't kid herself. Her parents hadn't been star-struck lovers or even adorably sweet on each other like Anna and her ice harvester.

On lonely nights by herself, she would stand out on her balcony and just stare out upon the kingdom.

She had the love of her people. What more did she need?

Why did it feel like something was missing?


"You want to go where?"

The queen stared dumbly back and forth between Anna and Kristoff. They had just requested Elsa's permission to journey north beyond the mountains in search of Kristoff's people. This was after Anna rambled on a good deal about Kristoff searching for his roots. That was all very fine and well, but…

"It wouldn't exactly be proper for the two of you to go traveling together…alone," Elsa said as her brow furrowed. She didn't want to let Anna down. God knew she had done that too many times in one lifetime already.

Anna's face brightened unexpectedly. "That's why Gerda's offered to come with us! As my escort!" She stretched her arms out in her enthusiasm over having planned for the one hitch she'd known Elsa would mention.

The queen felt herself relax. She hadn't noticed she'd been sitting on the edge of her chair during the conversation up until that point. When she glanced over at their servant, Gerda nodded.

"I'm happy to accompany Her Highness on such a trip. I have distant relatives up north myself, Your Majesty. It's been years since I've seen them, so I would love to go…"

Elsa sat back in her seat and considered the request. Kristoff knew the forest and the mountain well. With Gerda there to chaperon, it shouldn't really be a problem for Anna to travel… she knew Anna had been itching for another adventure for some time now.

"All right. But I want Olaf to go with you too."

The queen thought she heard the ice harvester's groan, but she ignored it.

"Olaf?" Anna asked.

"Well, I'm sure Gerda will want to spend some time with her relatives… Olaf can supervise so she's able to."

Anna seemed content with this even though Kristoff muttered something about the little snowman ruining the mood for them. Elsa was just glad she could do something to make her sister happy.

"When would you be leaving?" Elsa asked.

"The day after tomorrow," Anna and Kristoff said in unison. Then, glancing to one another, they giggled over having spoken at once.

Elsa smiled for them even as her loneliness already started creeping back up on her.


The queen yawned as she buttered her toast. She'd taken breakfast in bed that morning since Anna and Kristoff departed the day before with Gerda and Olaf. It was a bit much to eat by herself at the huge dining table. Besides, she'd been sleeping poorly and wanted some extra time to wake up before having to face her queenly duties of the day.

Kai had sneakily stuck some morning work for her on the dining tray, part of which was a letter from the Southern Isles. Elsa picked it up curiously. They hadn't heard anything from the Isles since sending Hans back home with a detailed letter about his crimes against Arendelle. Perhaps the monarchs were just following up to report how he'd been punished on home soil?

She unfolded the letter and began to read. Immediately, her forehead wrinkled in confusion. She turned the parchment over and then skipped to the second page, but she didn't find what she was looking for.

There was no mention of Prince Hans in the letter. In fact, the queen had written mostly to announce the engagement of her youngest son to an eligible young woman he'd met at Elsa's coronation, and how thankful she was that they could meet on Elsa's special day, and of course both the queen and princess must attend the wedding which would be held the following spring…

Elsa set the letter down. The prince named in the letter was a Prince Edgar. Didn't Anna say Hans was the youngest of the Southern Isles princes?

She tapped her forehead. She knew all the names of ruling monarchs in other kingdoms, but when it came to spares and extras… could Anna have been mistaken about Hans being the thirteenth prince? Her head swam in the confusion. A mistake about the order of princes in line to the throne would be one thing. But it was extremely strange that the Southern Isles had never written to her about Hans's crimes against her and Anna. The suitable thing to do would have been to send a formal apology.

She had to lift her breakfast tray and set it aside as her appetite plummeted, replaced with unease and suspicion. She tried to think back to the day of the coronation. Had Prince Hans been introduced to anyone else as a member of the Southern Isles royal family? Wouldn't her guests have noticed an imposter?

It didn't make sense… they'd sent Hans back to the Isles in chains. But what actually happened to him? And who was he?


A/N: I'm not practiced in the art of short stories, so all the jumping around probably seems pretty jarring. Sorry!

Thanks for the reviews! But yes, oho, what a surprise when that letter turns up… who the heck is Hans, eh?! We'll see!