a.n. I finally managed to finish this chapter and get it posted sort of on time (it's a little late, oh well). I don't know if I'm totally satisfied with this and there were a few comments from reviewers I was hoping to cover here that I didn't get a chance to. Don't forget to read, review, and enjoy! I look forward to reading your opinions/reviews on this chapter!

Chapter 7: Confessions

After leaving the sitting room, Kristoff called for one of the servants to take their "guests" to their room. With that done, he let out a huge sigh of relief. As much as he wanted to doubt their story, and Elsa's words, he knew he couldn't. He believed them, he believed their words. They really were back: the king and queen had returned. He didn't know how to process this information. The beloved monarchs, who had been loved and adored by all of Arendelle, could resume their place, could rule once again. But what would that mean for Anna and Elsa now? Arendelle had a new queen, one who was just as loved and revered as the previous one. The nasty business of last year, and her perseverance through all of it, made her even more beloved in the eyes of her people. Together, the queen and the townspeople made Arendelle stronger and more prosperous than ever before. This new upheaval could prove detrimental to all of the progress that had been made. He didn't know what he would do, but he trusted that Elsa would. He had learned long ago that the queen, while slightly misguided in her actions of a year ago, had proven quite adept at making wise decisions, not only for Arendelle but for herself as well. He could only hope that that would hold true now.

He debated his next action: if Anna and Elsa were still hidden away, it would be unlikely either of them would reappear before dinner, and even then it wasn't guaranteed either of them would show up. He really wanted to know the story behind Elsa's unexpected reaction, but, knowing the sisters as well as he did, it was unlikely he would hear the story right away. Anna would come to him after she spent some time with her sister processing what all of this meant, whatever that was. He wouldn't force the issue.

Deciding what to do next, he made his way through the castle to the stables. If anything, he could at least see that Sven had been taken care of. Besides, despite being a reindeer, he often had wise words he could possibly lend to situations like this.

"We always had so much fun at our late night snow parties. You never could get enough of my 'magic', as you called it and I love obliging you. I never saw any harm in doing so; you're my little sister and I would do anything to make you happy." Elsa paused, her voice taking on a more somber tone as she reminisced with her sister. Though she knew Anna didn't remember the events of that fateful night that changed everything, she could see the sympathetic look in the younger girl's eyes. A gentle hand placed on her arm was all she needed to continue. "It was a night just like all the others we had spent together. You pestered me until I had no chance but to give in to those big blue eyes." Anna smiled guiltily at her sister's smirk. "We went down to the ballroom, like always, and everything started out just fine. We played in the snow, built a snowman named Olaf, and even ice skated. It was just as much fun as it always was, like every other night we snuck out to have fun. Then you decided to start playing in snow drifts. You were enjoying it so much, jumping from one to another, just laughing. I tried to keep up with you; I really did. But you got faster and faster and the drifts just kept getting higher and higher and then…I slipped. You didn't notice, of course; you were having too much fun. I saw you jump and I panicked. I reached out to you and you got struck by one of my icy blasts, right here." Elsa tapped her right temple. "The snow broke your fall and there you were, lying motionless on the ground. I didn't know what to do and rushed over to you. Your hair turned white and I called out to momma and papa. I was so scared, Anna. I thought I killed you."

Anna's grip on her sister's arm lessened as she gasped. Did that really happen? Why didn't she remember it? She opened her mouth to ask but was cut off by Elsa.

"You're probably wondering why you don't remember any of this." A nod. "Well, I don't really know how he did it, but your memories of that night and everything that happened were altered somehow. You remembered the feelings and the enjoyment, but the actual circumstances were changed in your mind. Your knowledge of my powers was removed from your mind too. They felt that you would be safer if you never even knew what I could do."

"You're telling me that I knew about your powers years ago, when we were little and that I just don't remember anything?" Elsa nodded this time as Anna looked at her wide-eyed. "How could I just forget something like that?"

"After it happened, papa said that he knew where we had to go to get you better. We took off from the palace into the woods and found the trolls." Elsa missed the shock in her sister's eyes as she spoke. "One of them, he was the one that altered your memories and made you forget about my powers. He told me that my powers would continue to get stronger and more dangerous and that I had to learn to control them. After that…well, I thought it would be safer if I stayed away from you…"

"Wait…trolls? The trolls altered my memories?" The snow queen looked at her sister, a questioning look on her face.

"Yes. Why?" In the last year, though they had grown significantly closer, there were certain things that neither girl shared with the other about what had happened to them during Elsa's exile. Elsa had refused to go into great detail or reveal everything, especially the parts she knew would scare her sister, about what had occurred during the conflict at her ice palace (although, what she had revealed was still shocking to both Anna and Kristoff) while Anna had glossed over her and Kristoff's visit to the trolls, though with the wedding being planned, she knew that Elsa would have to know sooner or later.

"Well, I met them last year. Remember when I told you about Kristoff's family and how they were the ones that told us what would thaw my frozen heart?" Elsa nodded guiltily, the tears threatening to fall again as she remembered the pain she had accidentally inflicted on her sister. Anna reached up to brush the tears away and smiled gently to show her sister that she had forgiven her long ago. The blonde returned her smile as Anna continued. "I kind of left something out of the story. You see, Kristoff's family…they're not what you might call, typical. They're…trolls."

"Trolls?"

"Yeah. From the time he was around eight, Kristoff was raised by them. They took him and Sven in and raised him as one of their own. They're his family."

"And these are the same trolls as the ones that momma and papa took you to?"

"They have to be, I'm sure of it. I just can't believe that Grand Pabbie wouldn't even tell me about altering my memories." The redhead's voice got more emotional and this time is was Elsa's turn to comfort her sister.

"You had other things going on, more important things. He probably didn't want to overwhelm you too much."

"You're probably right. Kristoff and I need to go visit them sometime soon anyway to tell them about our engagement. Maybe I'll ask Grand Pabbie for some answers."

"If you do go, do you think I can go with you? I would like some answers too." Anna looked at her sister, the happy grin once again on her face.

"That would be great! It's about time we get you out of the castle! Besides, they are family or soon will be." The two girls smiled at each other before Anna remembered something. "Elsa, why did you tell me this story? What does this have to do with momma and papa?"

"Not long after you were hurt, papa though that it would be best if my social interactions were limited, if I was able to interact at all. Being so young and scared, I agreed. After all, I had nearly killed you. Who knew what else I was capable of? As you know, I preferred to remain locked in my room, not knowing when my next outburst could accidentally hurt someone. Momma and papa visited often and I came out for my lessons and meals, but that was about it. I didn't trust myself outside of my room; I could barely trust myself inside. And when my powers grew stronger, papa tried to help me. He's the one that gave me the gloves and told me they would help. He taught me to conceal it, not feel it. He tried to help me, I know he did, but, after seeing him again…" She trailed off, emotion once again overcoming her. "All of those emotions that I felt back then resurfaced: how scared I was of hurting someone, how fearful I was of myself, how alone I felt; it all came rushing back and I just couldn't be there anymore." Anna patted her sister's back.

"I understand. You were just overwhelmed with all of that emotion and those memories of the past. It's understandable you would be so upset…"

"But that's not it." Elsa interrupted, a bit forcefully. She sighed. "For the past year, I've worked on coming to terms with who I am and what I can do. Yes, I do need to control my emotions so I can control powers. I have learned that they will always be a part of me and that I should embrace them. I can be a part of the world; I shouldn't have to shut myself out. As long as I have love, as long as I show love, I have nothing to fear. Fear is my enemy; love is the true power.

"When momma and papa died, I was scared that I would fail. It was now up to me to be queen, to lead the people. How could I do that when I was hiding such a terrible secret? How could I be the ruler that Arendelle deserved when I couldn't even come out of my room? I got mad. I was mad at them for dying, for leaving me alone like this. I had you, sure, but how could I tell you about me when I nearly killed you? I wanted so much to scream at momma and papa, to yell at them for leaving me when I needed them here. There was so much more I knew I had to learn, so much that I was scared of. And they just left me, left us! How could they do that?" Snow started to fall at the snow queen's outburst. A calming breath and a quick flick of her wrist dissipated the little that had accumulated.

"After I finally got over what happened after my coronation, I had time to think and I started thinking about everything. I was shut away, with practically no contact with any one, taught to control my powers and my emotions. Then I started to blame them, especially papa. He always told me that I had to conceal, not feel. I couldn't let it show, couldn't let anyone know. At the time, I thought everything he did was to keep me safe, to help me. But I started to realize that while I know he loved me, he was the one that was scared. He was the one that wanted to keep me away from everyone. He feared me and what I could do and he thought that the people would fear me too if they knew. While he tried to help me learn to control my powers, he was trying to get me to ignore them, to ignore that part of me. Conceal that part and hoped that it would never show. I realized that he couldn't accept that part of me, that he would always be scared of me and that he taught me to be afraid of myself.

"These last few months, I worked hard to show the people that I am nothing to be feared, that I only have their best interests at heart. They have accepted me, all of me, and I couldn't be more grateful for that. They trust me and I can finally trust myself. Now that momma and papa are back, I don't know if I can trust myself anymore. I am afraid of what will happen. I know that they were only concerned about me but they also taught me to fear myself. I don't want that to happen; I can't let that happen again. I can't be around them…at least not right now. I just need some time."

Anna stifled her own tears as she patted her sister's arm. She had never known that her sister felt that way. She had never known everything her sister had gone through all those years. She had imagined so many things that had gone on behind the closed doors, but nothing her imagination conjured up had ever come close to what her sister was confessing to her now. She couldn't even fathom the feelings Elsa had felt as she came to this realization. She didn't want to believe it herself, but she couldn't doubt her sister's words. She scooted closer to Elsa and pulled her into a tight hug, hoping to convey all of the love and support she could through that embrace.

They held each other like that and only broke apart when a servant knocked on the door to inform them that dinner would be served soon. The two royals thanked them and Anna disentangled herself from her sister to give the older girl some time alone. As she walked out the door she turned for one last look at the queen and her heart broke for the sadness she saw. It took everything in her power to walk out that door and not go rushing back to comfort her. She closed the door quietly behind her and strutted determinedly down the hall to her room. She wasn't sure what to make of the situation now. She had desperately missed her parents and she had been excited that they had returned. But now, after what she had learned from Elsa, she didn't know if she could face them. She plopped down on her bed as conflicting thoughts and emotions waged war within her.

What was she going to do?