Elsa reached out, then gasped, drawing her hand back just in time. It couldn't be. In front of her, sitting on their thrones, identical looks of horror on their faces, were her parents.

Frozen solid.

The Queen's hands gripped the arms of her throne permanently; the King's eyebrows lowered in an unimaginably hurt expression. Glass tears rested on the Queen's cheeks, glittering and transparently blue. Her eyes were riddled with an expectant terror. Her husband's right arm was outstretched, reaching for Elsa pleadingly. His left hand was on his sword hilt.

Elsa's lower lip trembled. She tried to fight it, but a flash colder than anything she'd ever felt went through her. This couldn't be happening. They'd just got back. They'd called a family meeting. They were so cheery moments before. She'd felt the storm hovering over her, and suddenly, terribly, she'd let it go. Just for a second. She couldn't control it. The throne room was covered in shards and stalactites of her magical ice. The pillars were blue and glistening. The dais was frosted. The ground was covered in snow.

"Mama…" Elsa covered her mouth with her hands, only to feel those gloves there instead of her own skin. "Papa…" He looked so scared. So pained.

"Elsa, what did you do?"

Elsa whirled around, faded, dark blue frock swishing, bangs getting in her eyes. She didn't bother shaking them away. Anna stood facing her, trembling, hatred and fear making her face gray.

Elsa's tongue hardly worked. She was shaking worse than her sister. "Please…" She took a step toward Anna, but the white streak in that red hair seemed to glue her to the spot.

"You killed them." Anna's eyes filled. "How could you do this? How could you not tell me?"

"Anna—I…"

"No! No, stay away from me!" Anna yelled, as if raising her voice could make Elsa dissolve into snow and blow away. "You're a monster!"

Elsa knew it was true. But she felt her feet moving forward, crunching on the snow. "Please! I just couldn't—"

"No! Don't!" Anna's shoes slipped on the ice as she shuffled backward.

"Let me explain!"

Elsa felt a choking sensation. Frigidity took hold of her hands and they raised in surrender. In one solid surge, magic shot from her open palms.

It hit Anna right in the chest.

Elsa felt her legs grow weak. She lifted her hand to her face, mouth stinging, face tingling with shock. Her heart seemed to grow numb. Her little sister collapsed, skin pale, lips blue, the streak expanding until red became white.

"No…no no no no no." The gloves were gone. Sparks, wild, danced around all ten fingers.

"Catch me!"

"Slow down!"

"Ow!"

"Anna!"

Elsa flinched. Turning slowly, she felt a lump in her throat at what she saw. Her younger self, six years old, clutching toddler Anna, crying for her mother and father in the corner of the room. From her slippers darkness stretched across the floor, covering the walls, concealing the present Anna's body and Elsa's frozen parents on the dais. Nothing but black all around her, the past version of herself and her sister disappearing.

She was utterly alone.

Elsa sank to her knees, sobbing. Snowflakes erupted from her body, freezing midair as if time had stopped. Her hands on the unseen floor could barley hold her up.

"Please…" It was all she could say, gasping. "Please…"

"Elsa."

Elsa didn't want to look. The last two times she'd turned to respond hadn't gone very well. But the voice was so gentle and familiar. The tiniest quarter of a spark of hope flared in her broken heart.

"Jack?" Elsa glanced over her shoulder, tears still streaming down her cheeks.

Jack held out a hand, a few feet away from her.

Elsa stood, staggering toward him. The distance seemed to get further and further with every step she took. She had to get to him. He was the only one left. He didn't look angry. He looked sad for her. She saw her devastation reflected in his eyes, and she wanted to share her burden. She couldn't hold it on her own. It had grown heavier now, so much so that she couldn't stand fully erect anymore.

"It's okay, it's okay," Jack was saying, voice echoing around her. "A few more steps. You're okay."

Elsa finally reached him. She threw her arms around him; a fresh avalanche of sobs forming in her chest. She cried into his shawl, grateful for her friend, shattered for her family.

"They're gone," she gasped. "They're all gone, Jack!"

He didn't respond. He hardly moved. After a moment Elsa stopped, wondering vaguely why he didn't hug her back like he always did. She straightened, hands on his shoulders.

He had been turned to frost. A perfect sculpture of frost. His eyes were still warm, but it didn't melt him. Elsa felt a scream well up inside her.

"Jack!"

The Princess sat bolt upright in her bed, hair undone, short of breath. Another nightmare. She glanced down, eyebrows knitting as she saw snowflakes resting on her pillow and mattress. Her powers had reacted weakly to her bad dream. They must've known it wasn't reality she was afraid of.

Elsa felt her heart pounding hard. She drew her knees up and buried her head on them. Who needed sleep? She was going to stay awake for life.

"If I may, my lady, you don't look so good," said the maid as she poured hot chocolate into Elsa's chalice.

"I'm fine, thank you." Elsa kept her gloved hands in her lap, afraid to even move them. That made it hard to eat breakfast.

"You haven't touched your food, Your Highness," added the chamberlain, Geoffrey. He looked kindly concerned for her. "Is something the matter?"

Elsa glanced down the long table, where Anna sat, blowing on her smoked salmon omelet. Her cup had been drained; Elsa could tell by the lack of steam rising from the top and the chocolate mustache charmingly decorated her sister's upper lip.

"No," Elsa remembered to answer Geoffrey at just the right time for things not to grow awkward. "Everything's all right. Thank you, Berna—that's enough."

The maid curtsied with a sweet smile and left the dining hall.

Jack, sitting in the chair next to Elsa, leaned over to look into her chalice. "That's it?" He raised his eyebrows at her. "I thought you liked chocolate."

"I do." Elsa assured him. Secretly she did want more hot cocoa, but she found it undignified, as regent, to take more than necessary of anything sugary.

"You do what?" Anna called from the far end. "Who're you talking to? Your imaginary friend?"

When Elsa stammered and settled for not responding at all, Anna smiled almost uncomfortably and turned to Geoffrey.

"I bet she was. I have loads of those." She paused, clearing her throat in embarrassment. "I-I mean, I used to have loads. When I was little. I'm not a kid anymore." Hiding her blustering, Anna brought her empty chalice to her lips and pretended to take a drink of nothing. She kept glancing at Elsa for a reaction, disappointed every time.

Anna's eyes still sparkled with excitement, as they had every meal since five days ago, when their parents had left for the wedding. She seemed genuinely pleased to be in Elsa's company, even if her older sibling had hardly said anything to her all morning. Elsa didn't understand it. She was closed off to Anna for a reason—why did her sister insist on ignoring it? Couldn't she tell Elsa didn't want to be—no—she couldn't be Anna's friend? Looking at her plate, the elder Princess feigned obliviousness to the redhead's attempt at conversation.

Jack, on the other hand, was grinning from ear to her as he watched Anna try and fail to cut her omelet, fork scratching loudly against her dish.

"Almost…got it…whoof, salmon's tough, huh? Lemme just…" Screetchhh! "Ooh. Oops. This is Mom's favorite plate. Geoffrey, could you…?"

Jack chuckled. "Favorite plate. Nice job, Freckles."

Elsa raised an eyebrow and fought a twinge of something bitter. Envy? Surely not. Jack was her friend. Anna couldn't even see him.

Imaginary friend. Elsa was born with magic. Anna even had a piece of it, ever since the accident. The proof was, as we all know, in her hair. So why didn't she see and hear Jack too? It was in her blood somewhere. Why was it only Elsa? Maybe…

She glanced to her right. Gasping, Elsa saw Jack's chair empty. Even his staff had disappeared. Where had he gone? She didn't even hear him get up. What had happened?

"Princess Elsa?" Geoffrey cleared his throat.

"Berna was right. You do look kind of rough." Anna bit her lip. "Not rough! I don't mean rough, I mean…just…tired. Not that there's anything noticeable about it—well, except those bags under your eyes. No—forget I said that. B-But I have some cream in my room if you…"

Elsa wasn't listening. Where did he go?

He wouldn't just leave. Sure, he ducked out of the castle sometimes to go make mischief if something boring was happening, but he was never that fast. He had just been there, laughing at Anna! And he always told her he was going and that he'd be back. Elsa hadn't gotten much sleep, and panic started to tickle her, just a little bit. It was strange, how quickly he'd vanished. Her dream came back to her. Even after she'd frozen out everyone else, Jack had been there, when blackness was everywhere. He wouldn't ever leave. She believed in him.

Elsa blinked, and suddenly he was back, sitting in the same position, watching her with confusion.

"Where did you go?" she whispered, glancing nervously down the table at Anna as she prattled on to the chamberlain, who still cast anxious looks at Elsa.

She saw what was left of the color in his face drain away. "What do you mean?"

"You were gone. You…you were sitting right there, and then you—"

"I never left." Jack's eyebrows knit. "What happened?"

"I'm not sure. I thought about what—"

"Princess Elsa," Geoffrey called, standing. "When you have finished your meal, Your Highness, it would be good of you to join us in the throne room. We need your signature for a heavy matter involving the merchants near the docks, if it's all right with you."

Elsa glanced sharply his way. "Oh. Yes. O-Of course. I'll be there…shortly. Just…I need a moment."

Anna waved her knife. "I'll be here. This omelet's fighting back."

Elsa didn't even look at her. She rose to her feet, making her way out of the dining hall, keeping her hands tucked under her arms. Jack followed, scooting his chair back with a gust of snowy wind.

"You don't look well, Your Highness," said one of a pair of maids in passing as they walked down the hall.

"Yes, you seem sort of…distracted," added the other.

"I'm fine," Elsa repeated with gritted teeth.

"Besides those bags," Jack teased, gesturing to her eyes.

"Don't start, Jack," Elsa huffed to him with a smirk.

"Jack?" The maids exchanged a glance.

"Who are you talking to, my lady?" asked the first, carrying a pile of folded garments.

Jack glowered at them, tempted to blow their bonnets off their heads. A look from Elsa warned him not to. She knew him pretty well by now.

"No one," Elsa mumbled.

"Hey!" Jack grunted.

Elsa rolled her eyes at him. "Just let me handle this, please." She put a hand over her mouth, realizing too late she was still doing it.

"Do you need a healer, Princess?" the second maid offered. "We can fetch him."

"No!" Elsa put up her hands, then quickly jammed them back under her arms, stomach tightening. "It's nothing. I'm just…a little fatigued, that's all."

She took the steps two at a time, feeling the servants' eyes on her all the way up to the balcony. She pushed open the double glass doors, closing them too hard.

Jack blew them open again to join her, and then shut them the same way. He was a bit miffed. She rarely did that; close the door before he could get in—or in this case out. He was basically the only person she didn't slam doors at. Best try to cheer her up, even if he didn't appreciate being partially ignored since breakfast.

"A little fatigued?" Jack chortled. "When was the last time you tried talking like us normal people?"

She didn't laugh.

Jack's smile fell. "And what was all that in the dining room? You looked pretty freaked out."

"I was." Elsa didn't turn around, gripping the balcony railing, looking down at the empty courtyard and the closed gates. "Am I going crazy, Jack? My nightmares are getting worse, I can't even speak to Anna, and just now I couldn't see you at all!"

Jack stiffened. His silence made her glanced backward. He looked ill again. "What are you talking about, Princess?"

"At the table. You disappeared. Where did you go? How did you do it?"

"I didn't do anything. I barely even blinked."

"Then why couldn't I see you?"

Jack ran a hand from his bangs past his sideburns. Did she think he was lying? He couldn't lose her. "I dunno. But whatever it was, don't do it again."

"I'm not sure if you've noticed," Elsa began, lack of sleep making her prickly, "but I can hardly control anything I do. I'm the least together Princess in the entire kingdom."

"Which is really something, cuz there's only two."

"Can't you ever be serious?" Elsa groaned. It would be nice to have him sympathize for a second.

Jack leaned with his back against the railing, patient. "I tried that one time. Not a lot of fun."

"Well, there's more to life than fun, but if that's all you care about—"

Jack straightened off the rail. "Hey, how would you know? You're stuck inside your room all day. Is there more to your life than fear?" He regretted his words, but she was being unfair. "Sorry. I didn't mean—" He tried to backtrack.

Elsa turned. "How dare you criticize me! You know why I'm stuck in my room, Jack. You've seen what a disaster I am when I'm outside!"

Jack's voice was losing its calm lining. "I know you're scared, and that's fine, but you gotta think about other people for once! You think your sister likes being cooped up in this place all day? You're so busy worrying; you don't see what's right in front of you. Yeah, you're not together—you don't even try!"

"Jack!"

"And what was that in the hallway, huh? No one? I was standing right next to you!"

"Well, they couldn't see that."

"Yeah! I've already got the whole world acting like I'm no one. The least you could do is tell them they're wrong!"

"And how does that look?" Elsa huffed. "If I'm the only one, how does that look? I'd be a laughingstock. I'd shame my parents—more than I already have! I can't stand regent—or become queen one day—and spend my life talking to someone who isn't really there!"

There was a moment of silence as Jack's face fell. Elsa wished she could melt into the floor. That was cold. Even for her. She didn't know what had come over her—she was just so tired. Not only because of her nightmare record, but because of the way she'd lived for so long. Afraid. Alone. Hating herself. Wallowing in pity and despair. She was so tired of it all. Of everything. Even a little overbearing concern from Anna and the staff that morning had set her over the edge. Why couldn't they just let her be? Why did everything have to weigh so much? And now she was arguing with her best friend in the world. Her only friend.

Well, why shouldn't she? She had a point. She'd meant it—she couldn't have a friend only she could see. The staff members were already whispering to each other. Her parents had been stressed enough as it was, and Anna didn't need another reason to despise her. Elsa looked as though she had lost her mind, or was slowly losing it, anyway. She could see how it must seem. If she were the chamberlain or those maids, she would start to get suspicious too. And then what would she do? They couldn't have a regent Princess or a future queen who wasn't all there. And Jack didn't make it easier. He knew how hard it was for her! How hard everything was.

Jack's eyebrows sunk low over his blue eyes, and some of the warmth had left them.

"I'm sorr—"

"Save it for someone real, Princess."

And he flew from the balcony.