(Author's Note: It is short because I wanted to end this chapter where I ended it. I have more, I just have to touch it up before posting it as a new chapter. Enjoy!)

Elsa didn't know where she was going. She knew where she wasn't going. Back to Arendelle. Back to all those startled faces, back to Anna's accusations that stung like the frigid wind that suddenly swirled around her. It was summer. Why was everything so cold? Not that it bothered her. She could hardly feel it. All she felt was panic.

She rushed through the trees, going so quickly that she didn't notice the snow piling in her wake, falling from somewhere high up in the clouds. She didn't notice the blue sparking from her feet. She had to get away.

She didn't know how far she'd gone before she chose a destination. Somewhere no one would think to go. Somewhere hard to get to. Somewhere it was always cold.

The North Mountain.

Elsa hadn't meant to hurt Anna's feelings. She didn't want to ruin the party or to end it early. She'd been enjoying herself, if only faintly. For once she had put her fear to one side of her mind, certain that because she had gotten through the ceremony, she could get through a few hours in Anna's close company. But everything had gone wrong, faster than she'd ever imagined. And now…

Now she was running away. She was Queen, and she was fleeing her own kingdom. As her feet hit snow, trudging up the North Mountain, Elsa found she suddenly didn't care about that. The people down there were so much better off without her. They were safe. Anna was safe. She didn't have to live with a sister who couldn't be her friend anymore. She could keep the gates open. She'd live a marvelous life. All I have to do, Elsa told herself shakily, stepping widely through the white, powdery drifts, is find out how I want to live mine now.

What an absolutely freeing thought!

And she knew just where to start.

Reaching for one of the gloves, Elsa's hand trembled violently. Was she really doing this? Everything in her mind screamed against it. Everything about the way she held herself as she raised that encased palm up to her eyeline read panic. How could she abandon everything she'd been taught for so long?

"Don't let them in, don't let them see," she reminded herself, whispering it, then raising her voice because who would hear her anyway? She was finally out, out from prying eyes. "Be the good girl you always had to be. Conceal, don't feel, don't let them know…"

The rhyme brought back her most painful memories. The accident with Anna, the first time Papa taught it to her, the last time he spoke to them, the news of the shipwreck, the argument with Jack Frost—how could that still mean anything to her?—the look on her sister's face when she'd shut her down on the dais, the horrified gasps of the people in the courtyard, the shriek of "Monster!" from the Duke of Weselton.

Let them be horrified. I am a monster. And it was a good thing, the right thing, coming all the way up here to be apart. To be away, to be far. She was protecting them from herself. And now that no one was watching? She didn't have to hide anymore. She stared at the glove remaining, the glove Anna hadn't taken. Recalling her imaginary friend's disgust with the mitts, Elsa found contempt rising within her. It was finally time. The kingdom could do what they liked. They'd learned her secret; they saw her powers. She didn't care a single jot what they thought of her. It was all in the open now.

"Well, now they know!"

With a single sweep, she ripped the glove off and flung it into the wind. The storm raged inside her, reacting excitedly to the change in temperature on that one, formerly imprisoned hand. Elsa welcomed it, for the first time in forever. She wasn't concealing anything this time.

Elsa, at last, let it go. Completely and without restraint. Without fear.

Sparks dashed into the air, almost gleefully. She didn't care what they'd say about her. She didn't care who ran the kingdom. She didn't care what her parents would think of her if they could see her now. She didn't care if her nightmares told her this was a curse and not a gift. She didn't careif the whole world forgot she existed!

Elsa was free.

She shot magic into the snow. The blue swirled into patterns and the flurries bent with the flashes and the glitter. The drifts danced with her abilities and swayed to her song of exhaling and relief.

Her parents' death was lifted into the wind. Her accident with Anna melted into the snow. Her years and years of hiding in her bedroom disappeared as the latest flakes broke against the ground. Her days standing regent became clouds high up above her, an endless vacuum of snow-spouting silver. And her longing for the white-haired boy with the crooked staff…

It curled from her fingers with her own ice and wind. The magic made frost patterns where it flickered into the air, studying her thoughts and emotions and putting them into view.

But it didn't leave her. Somewhere, next to the endless hours of building snowmen with Anna, Jack Frost was fresh in her mind, and she almost unconsciously made the decision to keep him there.

Snowmen. Twirling her hands around one another, as easily as breathing, her old friend Olaf appeared lifeless to one side, collecting stones and branches to add detail—all except a carrot for the nose, of course. The sight of Anna's favorite playmate made her grin, and it felt so good…she couldn't stop now!

Elsa kept moving, footsteps growing faster, leaving loving dents in the snow as she went, as if it had been waiting for her, these 12 years. She wanted to cry but she chose to laugh. Arendelle was a toy village at the foot of the fjords, no more real to her now than any of those old nightmares.

Energy surging through her at the thought of the blank space before her, Elsa threw her arms to one side, a kaleidoscope of winter buffeting the glowing white hills to her left, doing the same to her right.

"I don't care what they're going to say!" Smirking, Elsa undid her cloak. "Let the storm rage on!" The cloak flew out behind her and she left it there. "The cold never bothered me anyway."

The storm was engulfing her, and it didn't feel frightening at all. It felt utterly correct. Everything inside her was in perfect working order, everything she felt, everything she thought of, everything she wanted and dreamt of and imagined—it all came bobbing from her fingertips. She twirled as the snowflakes kissed her face, delighted with the scenery around her. And she was only getting started.

Happiness charged her legs, and she began to run a bit, turning to see, with even more joy, that Arendelle had completely disappeared from view. "It's funny how some distance makes everything seem small…" It was gone. And she was gone. She never had to worry again. "And the fears that once controlled me can't get to me at all!"

Turning, she out-and-out bolted in the most ungraceful, un-lady-like fashion further up a hill, toward the edge of…

Oh look. A cliff. How cute.

"It's time to see what I can do—to test the limits and break through. No right, no wrong, no rules for me…" Elsa took a deep breath. Concentrating on how she felt at that moment, she held out her hands.

Out of nowhere, a crystal, frost-painted bridge appeared. Elsa took hold of the railing, not cautiously, but curiously. She put a shoe on the first step. Responding, her creation gladly cleared away some of the frost to reveal flawless ice.

Tickled, Elsa climbed the stairs two at a time, her every step pushing the frost backward in the same manner.

"I'm free!"

And it was so good.

She had reached the very top of the North Mountain. Not even close to breathless, Elsa pulled back a bit of her skirt, just enough to stomp firmly on the ground, the way she had when she was little, asking Anna if she was ready for some fun. Instantly a floor shaped like the perfect snowflake, also made of ice, stretched out around her.

"Here I stand, and here I'll stay! Let the storm rage on…"

She was far from finished.

Jack had followed her the entire way. Sometimes he ran alongside her, but it was easiest just to let the wind carry him. He hadn't tried to reason with her, lack of belief in him or no. How could he? As soon as he realized where she was headed, he kept his mouth shut. The North Mountain. He'd been up here a couple times, only when he needed a place that was super quiet—so he could nap or play around with his staff when he didn't want it to cause trouble to anyone. It was always sort of brisk up here—obviously—and usually there were patches of snow.

Now, though, it was covered in the stuff. And in summer. He knew it was Elsa's doing, but he didn't care. Why should he stop her? She was going to the North Mountain to finally escape. And when he saw how she could be, how she was without the weight and the fear…he couldn't keep the smile off his face. He'd seen this Elsa before, in pieces, in fragments when they'd played or talked together. Now she was out completely, and clearly this Elsa was sticking around.

Her magic, when it was really being used, without wariness or hesitation, was way beyond him. Jack had been using his winter for centuries, and where was his bridge? He hadn't had anyone to tell him how to do things, of course, but this all seemed to come naturally to Elsa. That made him feel even more inferior.

But that was okay. He didn't mind being inferior. She was crazy amazing. He laughed when she made the snowman—he was so animated. For something that didn't move, of course. And the bridge was genius. He could tell she was determined to reach the peak, and not even a big drop like that was gonna keep her down. Where had all her confidence sprung from? Had it always been there? Waiting to step forward as soon as her cares had gone?

But the best part was yet to come.

Jack spread his arms, jolting, when the ground began to elevate. Elsa turned and stepped, almost dancing, her gown swishing. The biggest grin graced her face, and without the worry in her eyes, Jack felt his heart skip a beat at the sparkle replacing the fright. Big, blue eyes, full of ecstasy at the wonders she was preforming.

"My power flurries through the air into the ground…"

Frost wished he wasn't the only one to see this. Pillars formed, staircases, a fountain, several different floors—walls, double doors, perfect detail in every direction, blue enchantment blinding him each time he glanced around.

"My soul is spiraling in frozen fractals all around!" The roof's triangular panes connected, sealing off the snow that had been pouring in.

"Don't forget windows," Jack teased, backflipping to perch on the crook of his staff. He needed a higher view, and he didn't want the wind to support him this time. Might get stabbed by that pointy, glittering chandelier. Pretty girly of her, but hey, she was having fun.

"And one thought crystalizes like an icy blast…" As Elsa finished the main floor, Jack heard the determination in her tone. She stopped, taking off her little crown. The former Queen glared at it, and Jack felt a little sad. Think of how happy she could be—in Arendelle—if she'd forgotten her fears earlier. She could still care for the people. She could have Anna and her home and not be afraid to show everyone how special she was. But she'd chosen to run. And if that made her happy, Jack knew there was nothing he would do to change it, even if she could see him.

"I'm never going back." Elsa tossed the crown aside, and it skittered across the floor, slamming against an ice wall. Jack watched it, then turned to look back at his friend. The grin had returned. "The past is in the past!"

Jack grinned with her.

In one swift movement, Elsa undid the ribbon that had been holding her updo in place. It was the ribbon Anna had made her for her 17th birthday. Jack saw it flutter to the ground, and he sprang from his staff to pick it up. He wasn't going to let her get rid of this. He tucked it into his pocket, backing up as Elsa let her braid down and pushed her bangs out of her face.

Jack caught his breath. Elsa only raised her hands, just a little, and her dress became glittering blue. The magic spread across her entire outfit, changing it completely. It was sparkling and smooth and flowing. It converted her entire image. She looked absolutely at home.

"That perfect girl is gone!" Elsa sauntered toward the open double doors, stepping onto a balcony.

Jack watched her, roughing up the left side of his feathery hair in stunned silence. That was the same girl he had to coax into making a single snowball? The smile was the same. That made him feel good, somehow. When she smiled, she looked like she was his again. His confidant, his student, his only friend. But man, he did not miss the updo.

"Let the storm rage on!" Elsa laughed, and Jack laughed too. She gazed out at the land below her palace with eyes that told you she was on top of the world. "The cold never bothered me anyway."

With a swish of her crystal cape, the double doors closed. Her new home was complete.