A/N: I was slackin' off. Sorry for the long wait, I haven't been productive these past two weeks. Here's a chapter for you. If I promised anything in the last chapter that is supposed to happen on this one and doesn't, then I'm sorry.

Chapter 11:Healing the Wounds

Years have passed and Elsa's condition stayed the same. She stayed in her room and came out only in extreme necessity. The words she kept affirming to herself, hoping that one day, she wouldn't lose it to the Snow Queen, "Conceal it, don't feel it". It was her father who taught her that and although she disagreed at first, she was somehow convinced that that was their only salvation. She noticed since the very beginning how tensed he became when the Snow Queen came into subject. She silently wondered what the Snow Queen had done to him to make him so traumatized. Then there was Jack, the moment she accidentally hurt him made her change her mind. Gods, her father had to remind her of that. He knew Jack was her weakness, aside from her lack of control over her powers. She instantly felt weak, like she was slowly slipping away. But then her determination to protect those around her kicked in, and then she felt fine.

Not once did she ever think of giving in to the alluring voice in her head. She resented it.

Her father had announced to the whole country that Elsa's curse has been lifted, and that she is one-hundred percent magic-free. Some of the townsfolk felt slightly relieved, some a bit worried, and the rest just didn't care all that much. And when they asked their king if they could see their princess, he'd just say with a very intimidating voice, "she is not well" or "she is busy with her tutors". The former only half true whilst the latter a total lie. Elsa didn't let anyone in her room except her parents and Eunice, her personal maid.

It absolutely broke her heart when her best friend would knock on her door every winter, asking to build a snowman. Her father probably convinced Anna that her powers were gone, so she would only ask when it was snowing.

Anna's requests would only remind her of her powers and how she hurt her and Jack just because she lost control. She never answered to her songs.

Anna had finally stopped going to her door since Elsa's fifteenth birthday several months ago. It pained her to realize that her own sister gave up on her. And it pained her even more knowing it was her own fault. She's thought of suicide, but she couldn't get Eunice to leave the room. Besides, everything in her room was baby-proof. She could use her powers, but then she would think she could hurt someone else in the process.

Truth be told, it was actually her father who convinced her to stay in her room. She longed to see her friends, her people and the townsfolk of Burgess. She would almost give anything in her power just to see them again. But alas, the chains of guilt and fear held her back. Until one day, Eunice came scurrying into the room with an envelope in hand. What was written in that letter instantly gave her a spark of hope.

"What's that?" She asked with eyebrows furrowed.

"Your majesty- Elsa, it's an invitation to a ball." Her maid replied, her eyes brimming with glee.

"Eunice, you know my answer is no. My parents won't allow it and neither will I. To endanger lives of innocent people- my people! What kind of ruler would I be when the crown is bequeathed to me?!" She shouted in anger. Frost already covered the walls and floor. Spikes of ice protruded from the corners of her room, slowly growing larger. She silently gasped in fear.

"I'm sorry, Eunice. I couldn't control it. I couldn't control- conceal, don't feel." She began to repeat to herself. Her paranoia was driving her crazy, and so was her loneliness. She really needed human contact other than her maid and her parents and Eunice had a brilliant idea.

"Your majesty, will you just listen to yourself? You need to go out there and see your people. How else are you going to rule if you don't even know what's going on in your kingdom? Besides, at least in my opinion, you are in dire need of company- not only me nor your parents but also your friends!" When she realized her sudden outburst, she quickly drew back.

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty. That was…out of line." She apologetically explained.

"It's alright, and your right, I do want to see my friends again, but I'm afraid I'll hurt them. You saw what I did to Jack, and your mother probably told you what I did to Anna. I can't go out there, knowing I'll just hurt people." She said.

"Elsa…" Eunice said in a motherly tone and sat beside Elsa on her bed.

"If that's what worries you a lot then it's bound to happen. You have to let it go sometimes. Let go of the regret that's imprisoned you from thinking happy thoughts. Let go of responsibility, your parents are still ruling the kingdom. Then think of your family, your friends, everyone you love and think of the happy times you had together…" she advised.

Elsa did everything Eunice said, and started thinking happy thoughts. However, no matter how hard she tried all that was in her mind were memories that made her tears flow.

Eunice didn't try to make her stop. This was what she needed, she thought.

"No…no! Anna! Mama, Papa"

The spikes that already formed in the corner of her room seemed to grow larger. Eunice then decided to make her move.

Eunice started tapping the bridge of Elsa's nose, then the sides of her eyes, then below her eyes, and then below her collarbone and repeated the process. Once the idea came to her mind, she decided that this was a better solution.

"Elsa, keep that up."

They stayed like that for a whole ten minutes, Elsa crying her heart out and Eunice tapping on her face.

When Elsa opened her eyes, there was a ghost of a sign of relief. Eunice barely noticed and sighed deeply.

"Feel better?" she asked her master.

"I don't know."

"Try to think of those memories again."

Elsa did and, thankfully even though she could still remember what happened, she didn't feel any emotions tied to them. They were just memories in her head, no vibrations.

"What happened? How did you-?" Elsa asked in awe. Frankly, she felt much better.

"It's a technique I learned from my father. Although he passed away before he had the chance to explain how it works. All I know is that it's similar to acupuncture.

Elsa jumped and hugged her maid. The action made the ice in her room thaw, the spikes melted away into thin air. There wasn't a trace of uncontrollable ice powers.

"Thank you, thank you Eunice. I feel better now."

"Just doing my job."

"Now, about that letter…" Elsa reminded.

"Oh, right. It's your sister's ball."

Elsa froze. Part of it was because she was jealous, and the other part because it was HER SISTER'S BALL.

"May I?" She reached her hand out for the letter.

Once she got her hands on the envelope, she read the front.

"Wait, it's for me?" she asked, puzzled.

Eunice leaned in to whisper in her ear.

"The Queen told me to give it to you."

"Mama?"

She leaned back out to give Elsa a nod.

"Wait, I can't go to this ball, I'd easily get caught."

"That's why it's a masquerade ball!" She announced.

"Yeah…it's not going to work out anyway. Hello? Snow powers."

"That's why I got you this." The Queen suddenly came into the room wheeling in a food cart. Eunice walked over and lifted the cover of the "main dish", revealing a neatly folded purple cloth. Beside it laid a pair of elbow long gloves in a light magenta color. On another plate sat a mask. It had a long, white stick to hold it up to your face. It was pale violet in color, with touches of white and magenta, and the color purple traced the edges. Light purple feathers protruded towards the sides.

"It's so beautiful…" Elsa picked up the mask.

"But?" Her mother continued for her.

"But I'm not going. What would father say if he finds out?" She asked with worry in her eyes.

"He won't. Elsa, just trust me." The Queen looked her daughter seriously in the eyes, reassurance prevalent as she spoke.

Elsa was suddenly mesmerized by her mother's stare. It seemed as if the room glowed green. She unconsciously nodded her head slowly.

"Great! Now here's the agenda for tomorrow's ball." Gerda said with excitement which snapped Elsa out of her trance.

She reached out for the piece of paper the Queen handed to her. She immediately left the room after that. Elsa read the list carefully and mentally planned her secret rendezvous with her friends. Speaking of friends, which reminded her…

"Eunice! My friends! Are you sure they're coming?!" She asked in anxiety.

"Yes. We already received their replies, they're all coming." Eunice replied.

"Splendid!" There was a small pause before Elsa cleared her throat and continued.

"I want to try on the dress."

"Of course! Here" Eunice handed the purple dress to Elsa who, on the other hand, went straight to the dressing room. She came out a few minutes later with a frown.

"Eunice, I think the dressmaker forgot to add a few things to this dress." she said, complaining about the dress' lack of decency.

It was a light purple to be exact, a tube top that formed a semi-heart shape at her chest, allowing a small part of her cleavage to be visible. At her waist was a belt of a more reddish-purple to hold the dress in place. The upper half of the bottom part was the same color of purple as the upper piece. The bottom half was an alternating arrangement of plates between a darker purple and a blue-violet. The two parts were separated by a zigzag with an outline of the same reddish-purple seen on the belt.

Elsa twirled to let Eunice see the whole of it and furrowed her eyebrows. Eunice understood and checked the cart if there were any missing pieces. She found a light magenta shawl on the bottom shelf and walked over to assist Elsa.

"Here we go." Eunice wrapped it around Elsa's shoulders and secured it together with a pin. Elsa walked over to the mirror and smiled.

"That's better." She twirled again and headed back to the closet to change.

A/N: I think this should be called Chapter 11.5 because it's so short.

To the readers,

I would like to say thank you for reading my story. I hope I'm not just wasting your time. I really appreciate your reviews.

*_PrincessBTB_*