Thanks for being patient guys! I know it's a day late but hopefully it was worth the wait :D

King Hans ordered his men to seize every looking glass throughout the kingdom and have them destroyed so that they may never be used again. The mirrors were shattered and ground into dust, and thrown in the deepest dungeon of the castle. Secretly, Hans entrusted the safety of his daughter to the three fae who had witnessed Elsa invoke her curse, in the hopes that their magic would somehow protect the princess. They would take little Anna away into hiding for 18 years and a day.

Hans locked himself away behind the walls of his castle while he sent his soldiers to search far and wide to find Elsa and cut her down. But she built walls of her own, so that the Enchanted Wood could never again suffer the touch of humans.

Far away, the pixies began their charge, to raise princess Anna in a snug cottage in the woods. To avoid suspicion from the local laborers, and in order to properly blend in, they disguised themselves as three peasant women caring for their orphan child. Though it was soon clear that the fairies were unequal to their task.

Unbeknownst to the undercover fae, Elsa had been lurking nearby. She scowled yet again as she watched the dimwitted pixies attempt to feed the wailing baby vegetables for the third time that day, and when night fell with Anna still crying of an empty stomach Elsa decided to intervene. As appealing as it was, it would simply not do to have the little beast die of starvation before her curse could come to pass. And so, the child finally fell silent when a blue, spotted housecat jumped into the cradle, carrying a flower bud filled with goat's milk in its teeth.

Back at the castle King Hans descended further into darkness, consumed by paranoia and a thirst for vengeance. When his men told him of the hundred-foot wall of thorns Elsa had created with her magic, and how it now protected the Wood, he commanded them to demolish it. The barrier was only made of ice after all, and ice could be melted.

The next day his guard captain rode back to the castle injured and empty-handed after the catapults and fire had failed. He claimed that the wall had fought back, that it was indestructible. Hans had been beside himself with fury, striking the captain and knocking things to the floor when he stabbed his hunting knife into his desk. As Hans stared down at the knife, wild-eyed and panting, he recalled the first time he had tried to kiss the back of Elsa's hand. Remembering how she had flinched away when his ring had touched her flesh.

"Bring me the iron-workers."

As the years passed princess Anna did grow, in grace and in beauty, just as Elsa had said she would. She could often be found dancing through the trees of the forest behind her aunts' cottage, or singing in the garden, or playing chase with the oddly coloured 'little kitten' that liked to sit on her window frame and purr contentedly when she scratched behind its cold ears. And throughout all those years Elsa always remained close by, watching, waiting… and occasionally rescuing the girl whenever her caregivers' stupidity turned potentially fatal.

Anna lived a happy life with her three aunts away from the castle she remembered nothing about, but secretly she longed for more. Anna dreamed of adventure, of meeting new people, and of love.

As the seasons changed and the flowers grew, Anna matured into a lovely young woman. She wondered at the world about her, and at what lay beyond the icy wall of thorns that glittered menacingly at her whenever she walked the path at its edge. And on a cold winter's day that found her once again gazing up at the wall in wonder, she got her answer.

Anna wasn't really sure how she'd made it through the ice, only that she had been startled by some palace soldiers who had been working on the path before blacking out. When she awoke, Anna was amazed to find herself lying in a clearing the likes of which she could only have imagined in her dreams, and yet it was so much more than that. For there was no way even her wandering mind could ever have come up with something this wonderful.

Despite it being the middle of the night Anna had no trouble seeing the landscape around her. Every inch of this strange new world seemed to glow with its own supernatural aura, and Anna could feel the thrum of magic all around her. Every colour imaginable and even a few Anna couldn't name, illuminated the clearing; it was as if the northern lights had fallen from the sky to dance along the forest floor. A large pool of water sprawled out in front of her, the surface of which was littered with twinkling lights that further revealed themselves to be little creatures that looked just like what she'd pictured the mermaids from her storybooks to look like, only much smaller.

Anna laughed as five of the tiny mermaids flew around her, chirping excitedly and tickling her ears with their fish-like tails. One of the fae stopped its circling to hover a few inches from Anna's face, studying the girl curiously. She reached towards it just as it reached for her, and right before their hands could meet the creature seemed to catch sight of something in the bushes because it quickly darted away, its sisters close behind.

The princess peered into the shadows, looking for whatever had frightened her new friends. Just as she thought that maybe there hadn't actually been anything there at all, Anna caught a glimpse of movement and a flash of two brilliantly blue eyes.

"I know you're there," Anna called to the eyes. "Don't be afraid."

A distinctly feminine voice chuckled from its hiding place. "I'm not afraid."

"Then come out," Anna challenged.

The eye's widened a little at the girl's boldness. "Then you will be afraid," the voice replied, but it was stated more as a fact rather than a threat.

Anna quickly shook her head and stood up a little taller. "No I won't." The redhead watched as the eyes considered her for a moment, starring at her unblinking. Their owner seemed to make a decision and slowly she stepped into the light.

Anna watched in fascination as a beautiful woman who looked to be in her late twenties emerged from the bushes. She had hair the colour of newly fallen snow, which was pulled back and woven into an intricate knot at the base of her skull. Her skin was so pale it seemed to reflect the moonlight, or at least the skin that Anna could see. Most of it was covered up, and even the woman's neatly folded hands were concealed by gloves. When the woman turned her head slightly Anna saw that her ears were pointed and her neck as well as the lower half of her jaw was covered in what Anna first thought to be scars, but instead were raised patterns of swirling snowflakes.

She wore a shimmering blue dress trimmed in fur as white as her hair, as a well as a long cloak that appeared to be made from the same pelt, draped around her shoulders. The hood of the cloak sat upright behind her head, giving the dress the appearance of having a very high collar and Anna wondered how the snowflake pendant that held it in place could support something that looked so heavy. Anna also wondered why someone would be wearing an outfit like that in the middle of summer, wasn't she hot?

Anna released the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding and swallowed. "I know who you are."

The strange woman raised a single perfect eyebrow. "Do you?" she asked sounding amused.

"You're my fairy godmother!" Anna gushed, giggling excitedly and bringing her hands together, twin red plaits bouncing on her shoulders.

Her godmother looked mildly scandalized. "What?"

If Anna hadn't been so enthralled with the person she'd dreamed of meeting her entire life, she would have noticed the slight dip in temperature.

Anna rolled her eyes a little at the fairy's obviously pretend disbelief. "Godmother," she said pointedly. "All my books say that fairy godmothers are always with you and take care of you even if you cant see them. You've been watching over me my whole life. I've always known you were close by."

Elsa began to move closer, eyeing the girl with a renewed sense of curiosity, her cape trailing behind her. "How?"

"Your shadow," Anna said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "It's been following me ever since I was small. Wherever I go, your shadow is always with me."

They studied one another for a time, Anna smiling gleefully and Elsa looking somewhat impressed.

Anna was the first to break their staring match when the sudden rustle of leaves behind her godmother caught the girl's attention. Her grin grew wider as she recognized the feral cat that lived near her home as it trotted into the clearing and leaped up onto a nearby tree branch. It sat down watching her with eyes that shone with intelligence.

"I remember you… little kitten," she teased. The cat meowed at her in response.

"This is Beskytter," Elsa said nodding toward the feline who began to purr loudly. The winter fairy then waved her hand, releasing a flash of white that erupted into a small cloud of snow, which spiraled gently through her fingers. Suddenly the 'little kitten' wasn't so little anymore.

Anna had to take a step back when the cat, in a flurry of yet more snow – Anna was starting to see this was a theme with her godmother – transformed into an impressive snow leopard. She might have been frightened if Beskytter wasn't still purring happily, though the pitch was decidedly much lower than before.

Hello, Anna.

The princess started and gave a little gasp of surprise when the voice filled her head. She couldn't say why, but somehow Anna knew it had come from the big cat even though its muzzle hadn't so much as twitched. "Oh – um – hello," she said timidly. "I guess I can't call you little kitten anymore."

The cat made a rumbling noise that resonated from deep within her chest and it sounded almost like a laugh. Could cats laugh? Though Anna supposed the notion that cats could laugh was pretty low on her list of strange things that had happened today.

I've known you since you were just a cub. You may call me whatever you wish.

Beskytter padded up to Anna and bumped her head against the girl's hand. Anna beamed as she scratched the leopard in that special spot behind her ear before looking back up at Elsa who was watching the pair with an expression that could almost be mistaken for affection.

Anna couldn't hold it back anymore and she began to pace around the clearing, practically buzzing with excitement. "Oh it's everything I imagined it would be!" she exclaimed before turning and skipping back to her fairy godmother. Elsa jerked back in alarm at the girl's enthusiasm. "It's just so beautiful! Can we-"

It was suddenly too much for Elsa and she blew a handful of magic into the girl's face, effectively silencing her as the redhead fell into unconsciousness. "High-strung little beast isn't she?" Elsa said to Beskytter. "And rather noisy too."

The servant made her low sound of amusement again.

Anna couldn't stay away after that. Every evening she would tell her aunts that she was going for a walk and every evening she would meet Elsa at the place in the wall where they had first met, to be escorted into the Wood.

Elsa taught her all about the fae and their laws. She taught Anna how properly greet a tree spirit and how gain the respect of the water nymphs so that she would be permitted to drink from their pools. Anna learned to tell which berries were safe to eat and which would make her sick. She had mud fights with the toad fae and rode Beskytter through the meadows, racing the other fae. Her laughter filled the Wood and all the fae grew to love her… and much to her dismay so did Elsa.

The young girl had woken the part of Elsa that she'd locked away ever since Hans' betrayal. She actually enjoyed sharing her magic with others again; conjuring snow for Anna to make angels in, allowing herself to be dragged onto a frozen pond so that she could teach the human girl to skate, and taking Anna to her ice palace. When she was with Anna it felt like the fog had lifted and Elsa was seeing the sun for the first time in forever. She found herself laughing again, it had been so long Elsa had worried she'd forgotten how, but Anna had coaxed it out of her regardless.

The two of them were sitting under a tree when Anna presented her godmother with a special gift.

"What is it?" Elsa asked eyeing the box apprehensively.

"It's chocolate," Anna announced, lifting the lid in a flourish to reveal rows of neat little brown squares.

Elsa tilted her head to one side; an action that Anna decided was absolutely adorable. "It's what?"

Anna looked at the winter fairy in complete shock, her mouth hanging open slightly.

"What? Have I offended you?"

Anna snapped her mouth shut with an audible click and shook her head. "No no, it's just, you've really never had chocolate before?"

Elsa shrugged. "No, nothing like that grows here in the Wood and we fae do not trade with humans for such things."

Anna flushed a little with embarrassment. Of course her fairy godmother wouldn't have ever seen chocolates before. It was a man-made sweet and humans weren't permitted to enter the Wood, well except for her, a realization that made Anna warm inside. It had just surprised her so much because it was chocolate and how could anyone survive without it.

"Oh right, sorry," she said bashfully. But her embarrassment faded into excitement at they idea of seeing her godmother's reaction to her first taste of the delectable treat. "Here, try one," she said thrusting the box out in front of her. "You'll love it."

Tentatively Elsa reached out and picked up one of the strange foods that Anna seemed so keen on sharing with her. She held it up close to her face, its surface was smooth and when she sniffed it, it smelled sweet with a hint of cream. Still not seeing what all the fuss was about, Elsa popped the thing into her mouth.

Anna held her breath as she watched her godmother chew watching her expression carefully for any hint of enjoyment. "Well?" Anna prompted. The fairy chewed once, twice, three more times before she finally swallowed, smacking her lips together thoughtfully.

A wide grin split the older woman's face and a faint blush painted her cheeks. "Oh these are lovely," she exclaimed happily, eyeing the remaining chocolates sitting in the box Anna still held in her hands. "May I try another?"

The next thing Anna knew her entire stash had been decimated, but it been completely worth it just to see joy on the winter fairy's face as she ate. The only evidence the chocolates had existed at all were the dark smudges on her godmother's gloves.

"Godmother?" Anna said sounding shy.

"Mhmm," Elsa hummed, running her fingers through the grass to clean off any residual chocolate stains.

"Can I ask you something?"

Something in the girl's voice made Elsa stop what she was doing and look up. "Of course, Anna. What is it?"

"Why do you wear gloves all the time?" Anna expelled in a rush.

Elsa went absolutely still.

Anna could see about fifty different emotions flash across her face and the patterns along her jaw and throat seemed to be glowing a little.

She squirmed a little under her godmother's intense gaze. "It's just, I've never seen you take them off. Not that that's a bad thing. I guess I always figured you had a thing about dirt or something. You don't have to take them off, I was just wondering. You know what don't worry about it, forget I asked."

Elsa continued to stare at the girl for a few moments, desperately trying to think of how to respond. Unable to come up with the right words, Elsa decided that sometimes it made more sense to let your actions speak for you.

The winter fairy raised one of her hands between them, palm facing in and slowly released the spell that held her ice in place. Starting at her forearm the ice began to climb up towards her hand, revealing the skin of her arm, then her wrist, then… the rest dissolved away.

Anna couldn't tear her gaze away, blue eyes gawking at the stump in disbelief.

"Both?" she breathed.

Elsa nodded, her expression pained.

"Were they always…"

"No," Elsa said, knowing what she was trying to ask. "I had hands once… they were strong."

"How?"

The marks on her neck glowed a little brighter. "I placed my trust in the wrong people, and they were stolen from me," she explained, voice tight. "That is all I wish to say on the matter," Elsa said in a tone that forbade argument as she re-conjured her phantom limb, flexing her fingers experimentally.

Before she had time to process what was happening, Elsa felt a warm pair of arms wrap around her and attempt to crush her ribcage. Eyes wide with surprise and arms held up and to the side, Elsa looked down to find Anna clinging to her waist.

"I'm sorry," the girl whispered against her chest, and Elsa felt all her anger, regret, and despair melt away. Elsa gratefully returned the embrace as a warmth the likes of which she had never felt before fill her entire body from the tips of her toes, to the top of her head.

Elsa couldn't remember a time when she had been this happy and was all because of her sweet Anna. The ice Elsa had painstakingly placed around her heart to protect herself from being hurt again was slowly melting away, and it scared her. And with each passing day they spent together Elsa became more aware of the girl's fast approaching 18th birthday.