Elsa sat at her desk in her study, looking over the document of surrender she had just finished but had yet to sign. She was disgusted. Not that the document wasn't well written. Elsa was an excellent writer. But, as she read the words she had just written, they sickened her, and as she reminded herself that they were her own words, she felt dirty. The thought of simply handing over Arendelle over to the invaders was abhorrent. But then she thought of Anna, and Elsa knew she had to save her sister. There was nothing more important.
There was a part of Elsa that wanted to fight, to channel all her rage and frustration into her powers and unleash an icy fury upon the forces of the Southern Isles. But, deep down, Elsa knew that she didn't want to hurt anyone, and she doubted that she could bring herself to it if she had to. Elsa's greatest fear, however, was that something might happen to Anna. The ultimatum from the Southern Isles carried the implied threat that they might kill Anna if Elsa refused to surrender, but Elsa was far more worried that in the heat of battle, she might accidently hurt Anna herself. After all, she had done so twice before, under less stressful circumstances, and those memories still haunted her. If she lost Anna because she chose to fight back, Elsa knew she would never be able to forgive herself, leaving her in such despair that she might never be able to thaw Arendelle. That was a risk Elsa wasn't willing to take, and that left her no choice.
Elsa hadn't told anyone what she was planning to do. How could she? What could she say that would make them understand? How would she tell her soldiers, who would be gathered in the courtyard in the morning to hear her plans, that she was giving up without a fight? Elsa didn't have any of those answers yet, so she had to suffer through the agony of her decision alone. Only Sir Lars of Weselton had any idea what she was going to do, and that was only because he had been perceptive enough to figure it out from the look on her face.
There was one thing Lars had said that stuck with Elsa. He had told her that she couldn't trust the Southern Isles to keep their word. Elsa knew that was true. A guarantee of Anna's safety could mean nothing after she had surrendered. Elsa had no idea what would follow. She didn't know if they would still be allowed to live in the castle. She wondered if she would have to tell Anna that they could never come back to the only home they had ever known. They might even be exiled and forced to leave Arendelle. Elsa knew she could build herself another ice palace just about anywhere, but it would be no place for Anna to live. Elsa didn't know if Anna would truly be happy living a humble life in a strange land. Elsa wasn't even certain that she herself would live to see another sunset. If the Southern Isles demanded her execution, that was a price Elsa was willing to pay to save her sister.
Elsa knew that Anna would try to change her mind if she were there. Anna wouldn't want her to do this. Anna would never give up without a fight. Elsa looked up at her father's coronation portrait, still hanging in the study where it had always been because Elsa didn't feel comfortable changing any of the decor; to her, it was still her father's study, not hers. She knew he wouldn't have given up either. Elsa remembered that Lars told her that she was powerful enough to rescue Anna herself without giving in to the demands of the Southern Isles. She considered whether he might be right. She wanted to believe that he was. But then her thoughts drifted back to Anna, and she found herself reminded of all the ways it could all go horribly wrong.
Elsa looked around the room and noticed that snowflakes had formed and were hanging suspended in the air. Her heart sank as she realized she couldn't even consider using her powers to fight if she couldn't even keep them under control in the safety of the castle. With a twist of her wrist, Elsa tried to make the snowflakes evaporate, but nothing happened. She tried to focus on her love for her sister, but her fear for Anna's safety was overwhelming and she only succeeded in producing even more snowflakes. Elsa let out a frustrated sigh as she folder her arms on the desk in front of her and buried her face in them, trying to keep from breaking down in tears she wasn't sure she'd be able to stop.
After a moment, Elsa sat up and looked around again at the snowflakes floating above her. She got up from the desk and walked over to the bay window that looked out over the courtyard and the city beyond. She opened the window to the cool night air and, with a wave of her hand, created a brisk breeze that blew the hovering snowflakes out through the window. Momentarily satisfied, Elsa sat down in front of the open window and looked out over Arendelle, which was quiet in the cold darkness. She had always liked the view from this window. It struck her that this might be the last time she ever sat there. She didn't want to leave.
Elsa looked up at the night sky. The northern lights shimmered overhead. As she looked up at the dancing aurora, Elsa's thoughts drifted back to her childhood and the innocent times before she accidentally hurt Anna when the two sisters still played together. Elsa recalled the way they used to climb out of bed in the middle of the night to have the common areas of the castle all to themselves, with no parents or palace servants to interfere with their fun. Anna had always been fascinated by the mysterious lights in the sky.
"Look, Anna," Elsa whispered softly, remembering. "The sky's awake!"