The next day, the news was released. The citizens of Arendelle mourned the loss of their king and queen. Anna and I, however, mourned the loss of our parents.

I continued living in hiding, as if to respect the wishes of my late parents. Or perhaps it was to punish myself. Whichever the case, the fact remained that I spent my existence miserably confined in my room, isolated from the world. As the customary, week-long period of mourning passed, I made no attempt to control my powers. The hope that I would be able to control them (as well as the hope that I would be able to live a normal life) died along with my parents. I spent most of my time sitting alone in my room in a sort of trancelike state, detached from reality. I barely ate (much to the servants' worry) and spent my nights tossing and turning restlessly in bed.

Meanwhile, my sister was completely and utterly devastated by the news. She stopped visiting my room; in fact, for the next seven days, she never spoke to me. I figured she was shutting herself in her room, spending hours miserably crying in her bed. I know I was doing as much. The poor girl was barely managing to keep herself together; occasionally I would hear her walking down the hallway, barely managing to hold in sobs as she briskly passed by my room. I wanted, more than anything else, to go out and comfort her, to be the loving, caring sister I once was. But Papa's instructions rung ever so clearly in my mind: Don't be alone with Anna. Although I couldn't stand any of it, I stayed in my room, listening helplessly as Anna would break into tears, with no one to comfort her.

And then came the day of the funeral.

It was a cloudy morning. I was sitting on my bed, staring blankly at the layer of ice that permanently coated the walls, when a knock came at the door.

"Elsa?" came a shaky, broken voice on the other side. A voice I hadn't heard in a week. I slowly stood up and walked towards the door, if not just to hear the long overdue sound of my sister's voice. She continued, "Elsa, it's me, Anna. Listen, I honestly don't know what I did to hurt you. But whatever it was, could you please just put it behind you, at least for today? I need you to come out. It's our parents' funeral, Elsa. You loved them just as much as I did. Please, I can't do this without you. I need you, Elsa."

I stared at the door, wringing my hands uneasily. Of course I wanted to go; how could I miss out on my parents' funeral? They helped me through so much. I at least owed it to them to attend. But at the same time, it was simply unthinkable that I should leave the castle gates. I had been staying within the confines of my room for the past ten years. Could I really just ignore my parents' instructions, at least for today, and leave?

I stayed silent as I stood in front of the door, while Anna waited for me on the other side with open arms. My heart wanted me to go out and join my sister, but my mind was preventing me from doing so. I simply couldn't go out there, could I?

No, I thought, drawing my hand back from the doorknob, I can't. I could practically see the scenario playing in my head. The citizens of Arendelle gathering around my parents' headstones, their heads bowed down in mourning. Anna eulogizing the king and queen, her voice broken, her eyes glazed with tears. Me on the sidelines, listening silently, struggling to hold everything - my emotions, my powers - inside myself. With the depressingly gloomy atmosphere, as well as the massive company of mournful citizens, it would only be a matter of time before I lose control of my powers in front of them. My darkest secret - the one my parents had worked so hard to hide - would be revealed. What would the people of Arendelle think? Even worse, what would Anna think? I simply couldn't risk ruining my life any more than I already had.

I was about to walk away from the door when something in me stirred. I stopped in my tracks and looked back at the door. My ticket to freedom. Yes, it was true that going to the ceremony meant I would be taking a huge risk - probably the biggest risk I had ever taken. But at the same time, I thought, wouldn't it be worth it, if it meant being with my sister again? Anna needed me, and although I didn't realize it at the time, I needed her as well. We were the only family left for each other. I simply couldn't leave her out there to fend for herself. Especially not now, when she needed me the most. No, I had to be to Anna what Mama and Papa were to me: a source of strength, a shoulder to lean on during times like this. Why did I have to keep hiding from her? I was all she had left. She needed me now, more than ever. I had to rise to the challenge. I had to be there for her.

Yes, I thought, determined, we'll pull through this tragedy together. I'm coming, Anna.

As I walked back to the door and put my hand on the doorknob, I took a deep breath, feeling my fears slowly flow out of me. As I slowly turned the doorknob, I felt a sense of freedom gradually rise in my chest. I felt like I was about to release a great burden - one I had carried for the past ten years. A grin spread across my face. It was time to let it all go.

"Anna!" I called out as I threw the door open.

But there was no one to respond. Where Anna had been just a few minutes earlier, there was nobody. Just me and the empty hall. I looked around. Where had she gone?

Just then, Gerda, one of the servants, rounded the corner, a broomstick in hand. "Princess Elsa?" she asked as soon as she caught sight of me. She looked surprised to see me, perhaps because I was outside my room. "Is something wrong, your Highness?"

"Um...where did Anna go?" I asked.

"Oh, she already left," Gerda replied as she started sweeping the floors.

"She...left?"

"For the funeral, your Highness. She said you didn't want to go, so she went without you."

"Oh," was all I managed to say before all my old misery started flowing back into me. I had spent too much time hesitating on my decision. Anna had mistaken my deliberation for refusal, and thought I didn't want to go. The poor girl was probably heartbroken, thinking she had no family left. My short-lived hopes were violently dashed before they could even be realized.

"Is something wrong, your Highness?" Gerda asked, after taking a few seconds to take in my expression.

"No," I replied quickly, "no, it's...it's all right." I slipped back into my room without saying another word, and there I stayed for the next few hours, deep in thought. Why did these things keep happening to me? Every time I tried to get back together with Anna, circumstances always prevented me from doing anything. Was it meant to be this way? Were we meant to be separated forever? Perhaps. And maybe it was for the best. That way, I wouldn't be able to hurt her again. I would never be able to forgive myself if that happened. For me to be the best sister I could, I had to protect Anna from the greatest danger in her life: myself. And to do that, I would have to keep my distance from her. I wouldn't like it one bit - and neither would she. And she would inevitably end up resenting me in the future. But it would be worth it, knowing I had protected my sister from myself and the dangerous force I had become.

Later that day, I sat against the door, silently weeping into the sleeves of my dress. Without warning, a knock came at the door. I didn't bother getting up to answer it. I knew who was on the other side.

"Elsa?" came my sister's voice on the other side, "Please, I know you're in there. Why didn't you come? Everyone was asking where you were, and..." I heard her voice crack. The poor girl was on the verge of tears. She cleared her throat and steadily continued, "Everybody's telling me to be strong. To get up and keep walking. But...but it's too hard, Elsa. I just...I can't pull through anymore. Especially when you're shutting me out like this. Please, let me in. Let me be a part of your life again. With our parents gone, and you shutting me out like this, I feel like...like there's nothing left for me anymore. We only have each other now. What are we going to do, Elsa?" I heard her slide to the floor and sit against the door opposite me. She sniffled a few times as I wiped tears from my own eyes.

Then, as her voice wilted into sobs, she whispered, more to herself than anyone, "Do you wanna build a snowman?"

And at that moment, more clearly than ever, I remembered everything - the childhood Anna and I spent together. When she and I would play in the sunlit ballroom, build snowmen, go sledding, and skate on the ice. When we were the best of friends, running around the castle and into the loving arms of our dear parents. We were so happy back then. What happened? What went wrong along the way? I slowly looked up at the frozen mess that was my room. Ice covered everything - the walls, ceiling, windows, and floor - while snowflakes hung completely still in the air, suspended solely by my own grief. How could things possibly get this awful? Overwhelmed by the disastrous mess my life had become, I hugged my knees, bowed my head, and wept silently.

"Of course, Anna," I whispered inaudibly through my tears, "of course I want to build a snowman."