Queen Elsa entered the palace of Corona and the Captain of the Guard announced her arrival to the council. Elsa mentally prepared herself before she entered. This had been an awful day, one of the worst, but I'd never show weakness, she thought. Elsa walked into the council room, head held high.

Rapunzel and the other delegates sat at a long circular table, every seat filled, except for one. Elsa glanced towards Rapunzel and toward the rest of the delegates and took her seat, like nothing was amiss.

"Your Majesty where were you? You're an hour late." Rapunzel asked.

"Sorry, I ran into trouble along the way."

"What happened?"

"Long story short, I got lost on my way here, lost my horse and got chased by wolves."

"How did you get away?"

Elsa hesitated. Would they believe me? Should I tell them? she thought. After a long moment she decided she should. "A winter spirit named Jack Frost saved me and flew me here." She could see the entire table trying to stop themselves from laughing. I knew it they didn't believe me.

One of the men at the table, a delegate from some princedom, spoke up. "Are you sure you were not hallucinating, stressed as you were from the attack? A far more plausible story than being saved by a spirit as you call it."

Elsa seethed with anger inside, and she channeled that into her powers. She held out her hand and conjured a swirling sphere of snow and wind. "Anything is possible, after all I can do this, and more." She fed more magic into the sphere, expanding it and whipping flurries of snow across the room.

"Please your Majesty stop, I believe you!" Rapunzel cried.

Elsa allowed the sphere to abate, but didn't dismiss all together.

"Thank you," Rapunzel said. "I'm sure the others agree with me too."

Many nodded their head or grunted an agreement. It was funny how moments ago everyone was against me. A little magic can go a long way I guess, Elsa thought, and let the sphere dissipate. She never intended to hurt them, her anger simply got the better of her.

After she dismissed her magic she felt a sharp shooting pain and clutched at her wrist.

"What's wrong?" Rapunzel asked. "Did you use too much magic?"

"No, it must have been from when I fell off my horse. I'm only now really feeling it."

"Do you need medical attention?"

Elsa hated to say so but she did, her wrist hurt something awful. "I think that might be for the best."

Rapunzel called in her royal nurse who splinted and bandaged Elsa's wrist as the rest of the conference took a break. With her wrist wrapped up and wedged between two pieces of wood, the conference rejoined. It was time to get down to business.

The entire conference was a formality, most came to renew trade agreements with the Kingdom of Corona upon the ascension of Queen Rapunzel and King Eugene. Most of the others had already established trade agreements before Elsa arrived, so it was now her turn. Rapunzel's advisor brought out the previous trade agreement between their countries. A small document that detailed the tariffs on goods between their countries.

"Would you like to change our agreement, or renew it," Rapunzel asked.

Elsa looked the document over several times, she didn't quite understand the implications but it seemed simple enough. "I have nothing to change, I trust the terms my parents established."

"Good, sign here please."

Elsa signed and with that her short part in the conference was over. Rapunzel moved onto another person, a man from the east who wanted to negotiate better terms. Elsa tried to listen to the discussion between the man and Rapunzel's advisors but she knew next to nothing about trade. Elsa learned very little during her childhood locked up in her room, she would have to have someone tutor her when she got back.

Hours and much discussion, debate and price negotiations later the conference was finally over. The delegates dispersed and parted but Elsa stayed behind. She was watching the crowd of delegates leave when Rapunzel appeared.

"Sorry the others acted like that."

"It doesn't matter." Elsa replied.

"It does, I would hate to lose a good trade partner to insensitive people."

"I appreciate your concern, but I'm fine. Now if you'll excuse me I have to be getting back to my kingdom now."

"There's no way I will allow you to make the trip back as you are. Please stay the night in the royal guest room, you can use the rest."

"Thank you but, I must decline. I have to be going back now."

"Please I insist, you need your rest. No offense but look at you, you're in no condition to return to Arendelle right now. Your wrist is broken, you're battered and bruised and who knows where your horse is right now."

"You'll stop at nothing won't you?" Elsa asked.

"I'm about as stubborn as you are," Rapunzel smiled.

"Okay, I'll stay for the night. Perhaps you can do me a favor, I need a messenger to go to Arendelle and let my subjects know I won't be back right away."

"Of course." Rapunzel turned and walked away.

Later that evening, Elsa retired to the royal guest room in the west wing of the palace. She was writing a letter to her sister, Anna when Rapunzel walked in to check on her. Elsa glanced toward her as Rapunzel gently pressed the door closed.

"Do you feel okay, your Majesty?" Rapunzel asked.

"Please, call me Elsa."

Rapunzel smiled "In that case, you can call me Rapunzel."

"Well Rapunzel, you came at the perfect time, I need to talk with you about something."

"What is it Elsa?"

"I wanted to apologize, I let my anger get the best of me earlier."

Rapunzel shook her head. "There's no need, I understand." They shared a long moment of silence.

"Rapunzel, I have a personal story to tell, if you'll listen to me. Do you know anything about the magical winter that consumed Arendelle?"

"I was there actually. Eugene and I attended your coronation ceremony. Why?"

"When I was a kid, my sister Anna was the only one who knew about my powers and I used to use them when playing with her. But, I hurt her with my powers by accident one day. My parents isolated me from everyone including my sister. They hoped I would learn to control my powers before letting me out of isolation."

"Despite my efforts to hide my powers, my fears of the outside world got the best of me, like they did today. After my sister got engaged to Prince Hans of the Southern Isles, who she just met that day, I argued with her. That's when I got in trouble; my powers went out of control. I even accidentally struck my sister in the heart with my powers and almost lost her. It wasn't until after she saved me from Hans that the magic winter lifted along with the ice in her heart. It goes to show that only an act of true love can thaw a frozen heart."

Rapunzel came and put her hand on Elsa's shoulder. Your story reminded me of my own story, would you like to hear it?

"Of course."

"When I was a baby I was kidnapped by an old woman who locked me up in her tower. For all those years I grew up thinking she was my mother when she wasn't. She only wanted to use my hair as her source of eternal youth and life. My once golden hair could heal the sick and injured but lost its power when cut."

"How did you ever escape?"

"I managed to leave my tower for the first time with Eugene, a former thief. We went to the kingdom, and I found a stone artwork of a baby that looked like me being held by the King and Queen. Before I could contact them though, my false mother Gothel captured me. Eugene tried to save me but Gothel wounded him. I offered her my freedom in exchange for saving him, But he couldn't bear the thought of me being enslaved. When he couldn't talk me out of healing him he cut off my hair with a glass shard. When he did my hair lost its healing powers and Gothel's age caught up with her, once and for all."

"I'm sorry about Eugene."

"Don't be. When it seemed I had lost him it turned out remnants of my healing powers were in one of my tears. When it hit him he awoke, and that's when we shared our first kiss."

"That's good."

"You know what? When I first left my remote tower I was scared and guilty at first," Rapunzel said. "But after a while I learned that there really isn't anything dark and cruel about the world, well most of it. The only things dark and cruel about it are people like Gothel or in your case Prince Hans."

Elsa felt she saw herself in Rapunzel. "You know what Rapunzel, you're all right," Elsa said.

Rapunzel smiled, "You want me to be your friend?"

"You took the words out of my mouth."

"When do you want me to send the messenger to Arendelle?"

"I'm almost done with the letter I want to send. I'll be done in a couple minutes." Elsa replied as she picked up her letter to resume writing again.

"Very well," Rapunzel left the room. Elsa resumed writing the last of her letter to Princess Anna. Elsa wrote missing no small detail. The letter said:

Dear Anna,

I'm afraid I will not be returning to Arendelle right away. After getting lost on my way to Corona wolf howls scared my horse. She threw me off and ran away. I broke my wrist falling from my horse and wolves soon chased me. When I say how I escaped, please do not mention this to anyone. A winter spirit by the name of Jack Frost saved me. Although we only met for five minutes, he went out of his way to fly me to Corona. It was a rather awkward first meeting, but he seemed nice. Although he struck me as cocky.

I ran late to the conference and when asked about my predicament the delegates laughed at me when I told them about it. Rapunzel was very compassionate about it though. She offered me shelter for the night in her royal guest room. I'm injured and exhausted but I'm okay. I hope to start on my way back home tomorrow.

Sincerely,

Queen Elsa I of Arendelle

By the time Elsa finished her letter, the royal messenger walked into the room.

"Her Highness Rapunzel sent me up here to relay a letter to Arendelle for you," The messenger said.

"Yes, thank you," Elsa gave her letter to the messenger. In the minutes that followed, she heard a horse whinny that sounded like Agnes' outside the palace window. Elsa got up from the guest bed and started down the stairs. Rapunzel approached her when Elsa reached the bottom of the staircase.

"What are you doing up Elsa," Rapunzel said.

"My horse just turned up outside the palace gate. I'm just going to tie her to a post outside the gate."

"What a relief, I honestly thought you really lost your horse."

"Believe me, so did I," Elsa replied. When Elsa walked toward Agnes outside the palace gate, Agnes stopped whinnying. Elsa stroked her horse's forehead. "I'm glad to see you too," Elsa whispered to her horse, "and don't worry I'm okay." After securing Agnes to a nearby post, Rapunzel followed Elsa back up to the guest room where Elsa prepared to turn in for the night. Elsa stopped in front of the door and shook Rapunzel's hand.

"Good night Rapunzel," Elsa said.

"Good night Elsa," Rapunzel smiled as she turned and left.

As Elsa lie awake in the guest bed her thoughts drifted to how nice Rapunzel was to her and how they discovered they share unique yet similar stories. Then she thought of her first meeting with Jack Frost and then of her kingdom back home in Arendelle. She wondered if her message ever reached her sister and how she took it. After much contemplation Elsa drifted off to sleep.