"Princess Anna." A man called out from outside the door as he continued to knock.

*Snort* "Huh, ye… yeah?" Anna got up from her bed, exhaustingly.

"Princess Anna!"

"Yeah?" Anna answered with her eyes still closed. She wiped the strands of hair out of her mouth. Her hair was in an absolute mess. She was still in a drowsy, dreamlike state.

"Sorry to wake you, ma'am."

"No, no, no, no you didn't." Anna tried to reassure the butler. "I've been up for hours." A yawn could be heard in her voice. She leant her head against her arm. She let out a snort as she drifted off to sleep. Her head slid down her hand the further she drifted off. Her head finally lost support from her hand, startling her awake. "Who is it?!" Her head shot up again.

"Well… uh… it's still me, ma'am." He answered. It was clear this was a common occurrence. "The gates will open soon, time to get ready." He said a bit excitingly.

"Of course… Ready for what?" the sleepy princess asked, turning her head to the sound and smacking her lips. She had yet to open her eyes.

"Your… sister's coronation… ma'am…" the butler answered.

"My sister's… corneration…" she mumbled to herself, trying to figure out the words he was saying. Her eyelids opened slightly to see the stunning spring green dress that was displayed on the mannequin in front of the folding screen. She stared at the dress for a few seconds. Her eyes were wide open. She gasped and lifted her hands to her lips. "It's coronation day!" The princess was filled with energy, now.

Anna launched out of her bed, tossing her blanket to the ground. She rushed to her mirror and makeup table. A grin had filled her face as she started brushing her out-of-control hair. Her sister filled her mind. No matter how long she had been apart from Elsa, she still loved her deeply. The day of her sister's coronation meant much more to Anna than simply a new queen. This was her only moment to be with her beloved sister in such a long time. This was also a time where she could be with people for a whole day. It had been so long since she got to speak with anyone. The last time she had the chance to enjoy someone's company was a few years ago.

Her movements became sluggish. Her vision was clouded. Anna was shaking. She started to wallow in her memories. She was recalling the hardest moment of her life, the day of her parent's funeral. A tear dripped from her eye. Her mom's smile, her dad's voice, they have all but faded from her memories but the pain felt the same.

She started recalling snow. Anna was now remembering the winter spirit that swept her off her feet and away from the dark place, away from the unbearable pain. Then, she remembered the night when Elsa was announced to be queen. It was another painful moment in her life. It was the day she lost another person she cared about.

"He's only a stupid imaginary friend. Why am I still hung up on him?" Anna straightened her posture. She continued to brush her hair. She tried to forget her imaginary friend that abandoned her three years ago. She couldn't forget it of even ignore it. It was the day she confessed her love and her world came crashing down.

However, to her, he wasn't real, he never existed. She didn't do this out of anger. It hurt less if he wasn't real. She couldn't handle losing another person she deeply cared about. With so little people by her side, it would be impossible to cope with if she lost anyone else. She subconsciously told herself Jack wasn't real to protect her from the pain. She glanced at herself in the mirror, slapping both sides of her face.

"Anna! Stop thinking about him, he's imaginary! Today is a day where you can make real friends!" she assured herself, rubbing her cheeks that were now red. Today was her day to finally be free of her loneliness. People from all around the world were coming. Who knows who she would meet? She didn't need Jack. What she needed were real people in her life!

Anna bolted out of her room, still tying her hair in a bun. "It's coronation day!" she cheered, dancing around the maid walking by her room. She stopped short of the second maid opening the windows. Her thoughts were filled with possibilities of what today would be like. She was giddy with excitement. She sang to herself as she watched all the windows and doors of the castle open. She skipped and slid throughout the castle, taking in the magnificent moment that was today.

She stood in front of a window and watched a large ship sail beyond the walls of the castle. She jumped to the wooden plank strapped to a pulley system on the roof. As she hoisted herself higher and higher, she could clearly see all the ships over the ocean, sailing towards the docks of Arendelle. Hope filled her eyes, hope for a new life.

"For the first time in foreveeeeer, I won't be alone! I can't wait to meet everyone." Anna knelt in the garden, holding little ducklings in her hands. Her eyes grew wide as she gasped. A new thought popped into her mind. "What if I meet 'the one'?"

She charged towards the castle and ran through the halls. Something caught her attention. The trays of food that lined the walls of the dining hall were calling her name. One particular tray had colorful chocolate treats layering the plate. Next to it was a bust of a man's head. As she munched on the treats, she imagined what her life might be with the love of her life. How would they act together? How would he treat her? She wanted to know! She started dancing around the room, scurrying around the halls of the castle. Excitement radiated from the princess. She couldn't wait any longer! She left the castle and towards the gates.

"Open the gates!" one of the maids called out to the guards. Anna was filled to the brim with anticipation as to what could possibly happen on the other side. As the gates opened up to the bridge leading to the castle, the light of the sun enveloped her. The princess's eyes were glistening. It was the other side of her lonely world. Her kingdom and the people around it were sparkling in the bright light. It was like a dream come true. She looked at the people passing her and smiled as she made her way through the people entering the walls of the castle.

"Hi there." A young girl smiled at Anna. The princess took a quick glance at her and smiled. She was in a beautiful pink corset gown. Next to her stood a tall, brunette man with a violet vest and a golden sash. They looked like a couple. Anna grinned wildly at the thought. She waved back at them and carried on through the crowd. She could only imagine what she would look like with her prince charming.

She skipped around the cobble ground that lined the streets of Arendelle. This was a new scenery she was experiencing. It was a beautiful sight with amazing buildings and stalls, flowers and trees, and so many people around her smiling. Her life of solitude behind the same walls and corridors had suddenly become a huge and magnificent kingdom filled with happy people. All her troubles simply disappeared as she skipped her way through the docks. It was a new life, a new world, and nothing would stop her.

*Smack*

Anna was bumped by a large, golden horse as she was running past the corner. She was knocked into a boat at the edge of the dock. Before the boat fell into the water, the horse's leg stamped down on the vessel, preventing her from falling to the water.

"Hey!" she growled, staring furiously at the cause of her tumble. She lifted the seaweed leaf from her eyes to get a better look. What she saw almost left her speechless.

"I'm so sorry! Are… are you hurt?" the man dressed in a white jacket asked in concern. He had ginger hair with long sideburns. Under his white jacket were a light blue shirt and a large, magenta tie tucked under a navy blue vest. She looked at the stunning gentleman in front of her.

"Hey… heh… uh, ye… n… no, no! I'm okay." Anna reassured, she chuckled in embarrassment.

"Are you sure?" The tall man asked, getting off his horse to assist the lady in the boat.

"Yeah, I… I… I just wasn't looking where I was going, but I'm great! Actually…" she forced a smile while looking to the man standing in front of her. She was incredibly nervous now. She wasn't the most elegant looking thing around at the moment.

"Oh, thank goodness." He reached his hands to princess lying in the boat. As she took his hand, all her anxieties went away. She thought to herself that it was love at first sight.

"You can't marry a man you just met." Elsa explained to her sister. The new queen was shocked that her sister could even consider it. Anna looked displeased with the response.

"You can if it's true love." Anna stood firm by her words. She gripped the ginger man's arm even tighter. He looked to Anna then back to Elsa. The princess couldn't understand why her older sister would deny her of the person she was destined for.

"Anna, what do you know about true love?"

"More than you, all you know is how to shut people out." Anna retorted. This struck a chord in Elsa's heart. The reply devastated her. She spent her whole life behind the locked door to protect her little sister. To hear her say something so harsh was like a spear through the heart.

How could she say that? Elsa thought to herself. She grew more irritated.

"You ask for my blessing, but my answer is no. Now… excuse me." Elsa started to make her way around her sister and her supposed 'love'. The man decorated in white reached out to Elsa. Anna looked to him, hoping he could do anything.

"You're majesty, if I may ease your—" he was abruptly interrupted.

"No, you may not. And I… I think you should go." Elsa continued her way towards the main door of the ballroom. "The party is over, close the gates." She announced to one of the guards. The guard affirmed and left to report to the men standing watch at the entrance.

"What? Elsa, no… no, wait—" Anna reached to Elsa's arms to stop her from walking away. She could only catch the glove of her sister's left hand. Elsa gasped, immediately turned to face her.

"Give me my glove!" the queen commanded, trying to reach for the glove in Anna's hand. Fear and frustration could be heard in her voice.

"Elsa, please, please! I can't live like this anymore!" her little sister begged and pleaded in hopes that Elsa would reconsider. She didn't want to return to her desperate life, alone behind the walls of Arendelle castle. Elsa recognized the feeling. She understood the pain. However, the queen was still incapable of controlling her powers and she wouldn't be able to give her sister the ideal life she wanted.

"Then leave…" Elsa whimpered. Her younger sister would never find true happiness if she were to remain behind the walls. However, Anna was heartbroken by the response and it clearly showed in her expression. Her hands dropped to her side. There was nothing more Elsa could say to her. She turned her head and made her way to the doors once more. Anna couldn't handle it. She couldn't take another cold shoulder, another unexplained response.

"What did I ever do to you?!" The princess shouted, angrily.

"Enough, Anna…" Elsa wanted to leave the room, leave the people, and hide in her room again. It was the only place where she was safe from everyone, where everyone was safe from her. She noticed a very subtle shadow forming around her. She tried to ignore it, closing her eyes as she got closer to the exit.

"What did she ever do to you, queen?" a deep voice asked her from behind. Elsa knew the voice but she brushed it off as only an imagination.

"No, why? Why do you shut me out? Wh… why do you shut the world out? What are you so afraid of?!" Anna yelled again. She was furious.

"Go on, Elsa, show them what you are afraid of!" the voice demanded. Elsa was angry. How dare he use his sister again to twist her reality?

"I said, enough!" Elsa roared, waving her hand and summoning large shards of ice in the direction of the voice that haunted her. As the ice spread through the floor of the room, she saw his face smile wickedly as he faded into thin air, revealing her sister's shocked expression as Anna backed away from the spear-like shards. The whole room backed away from the ice. All eyes were fixated on the event.

Oh, god, no… Elsa thought to herself. This wasn't a dream and she just unleashed her powers in front of everyone in the ballroom. This can't be happening! Her mind was going crazy, she was going numb. Everyone turned their attention from the ice to the source of it all. Everyone was now looking at the queen.

"Sorcery…" the Duke of Wesleton spoke in utter disbelief. As Elsa looked around the room, she saw the fear, disgust, and shock in their eyes. She looked to her sister who looked more concerned than anything. Elsa was panicking. She reached for the doorknob and ran from the room. Elsa ignored all the guests and servants in the hall. She had to get away from everyone before she did any more harm. As she burst open the front doors of the castle, she saw an enormous crowd of people gathered in the courtyard.

"There she is!" a female voice cheered. Everyone looked to their new queen and started clapping. Elsa grew more afraid, she was scared of what may happen if she lost total control of her powers here. She ran faster, shoving her way through the crowd in hopes of getting away from it all.

"Elsa! Wait, please!" Anna cried to her sister. The queen had nowhere to run. She stood at the shores of Arendelle, with a river blocking her path. Everyone knew of her powers now. It was only a matter of time before they would condemn her.

As she looked to her little sister, she turned to the water of the fjord. She noticed it had frozen beneath her feet. She took another step; the water froze solid, again. In an act of desperation, she started running over the water and to the other side of the fjord. She needed to get away from her sister, away from her people. It was the only way to keep everyone from the danger that was herself. Little did she know, her footsteps would cause a wretched winter that would overtake the lands.

She ran further and further into the forest. Arendelle was far behind her but she didn't feel far enough. She had to keep running until Arendelle was but a distant memory.

"My, my, what a mess you've made here, queen." A voice whispered. Elsa's eyes shot up to the air to see the man dressed in black that terrified her nightmares. A fury raged inside of her as she launched a storm of icicles in his direction. He draped a layer of black sand around himself.

"You! This is because of you! You did this!" Elsa shouted, firing wildly at the figure. He faded into the darkness before the second shot could reach him.

"No, it wasn't. You know all too well that this was your doing. Are you so naive that, even now, you refuse to accept the truth? Look at you… I warned you countless times of your curse, your fears, your weakness!" The man sneered. He stood next to the queen.

"Get back!" Elsa was about to swipe her hand to unleash another wave of ice at her demon. However, he caught her wrist before she could do anything. "Let me go!"

"Look at yourself! You call yourself Arendelle's strength but you are nothing more than a frightened child!" The man in black pulled her arm, he glared into her eyes. She was terrified. He finally let go of her arm. "I've been watching you for many years and you still don't understand what you truly need." He slowly walked away from her. She rubbed her wrist where he grabbed her. She looked even more confused.

"What do you mean? All you did was haunt my dreams. All you've done is cause me…"

"What I did is show what your world is!" He shouted. Elsa backed away. "Don't you get it? You don't need a world that will reject you. I showed you the pain that world would cause you. What you need is someone who accepts your curse. You don't need to hide it, Elsa. Take my hand, join me and abandon this world that so desperately tried to lock you away." The man reached out to Elsa, showing a comforting grin. "I know what it means to be lonely, to be an outcast. I still live it day by day. The pain, the suffering… I know it all too well. Take my hand and, I assure you, nothing will be able to hurt you. This isn't the world you need." He took a few more steps.

"You're right… what I need isn't a world that doesn't want me…" She looked at her gloveless hand and then to his. She extended her hand slowly, hesitant to proceed further. Just before she could grip his palm, she glared at the figure, infuriated. "But, what I definitely don't need is you!" Elsa shouted, opening her palm towards his chest, summoning a powerful gale of frost. A torrent of wind flowed past her, focused on the man in black.

He was launched through the forest, soaring through the air and into the chilling ground. As he crouched in pain, he looked around to find where the queen was located. He disappeared into the shadows in search of where she may be. He heard a voice in the distance on the snow covered mountain. He noticed something flying through the air and away from the figure at the side of the mountain. He shot into the sky and caught the magenta cape that had once wrapped the queen. Around the collar, he ripped the blue pendant from the cape and returned the fabric into the wind.

"Fine then, Queen of Arendelle… I've got all I need." The dark man smirked. He tilted the gem in the light of the moon and watched it glitter and glow in the night.