Agnar

Elsa?
Do you wanna build a snowman?
Come on, let's go and play

It was the hardest decision he ever had to make. As king, he had to make a lot of tough choices for the good of his people. But this one was much harder, because it was personal.

Iduna had gone along with it. He knew that she had her doubts. But she never voiced them to him or anyone else. She deferred to his judgment, believing that he was doing what was best for their daughters and for the safety of Arendelle.

Neither of them particularly missed the pointless state functions that they had been required to host before. But they did miss ringing the bell for the people every Christmas. They missed the atmosphere of joy and community they had tried to create in their kingdom. And most of all, they missed Elsa and Anna playing together in the castle, both of them delighting in the beauty and wonder of Elsa's powers.

Before the accident, they had been talking about having another child. Now, that talk had ceased. They didn't want to bring another child into this situation. Agnar had always wanted a son, and Anna would have loved the playmate now that Elsa was gone. But it would have been one more person that Elsa could have hurt, that she could have been afraid of hurting. They had an heir and a spare (though they hated to think of their daughters like that), and that would have to do. So now, not only were their daughters distant from each other, but the king and queen were distant from each other as well, at least in terms of their marital relations.

He was just trying to do what his father would have done. He often looked up at the portrait of his father, King Runeard, the tall, broad-shouldered, warrior who had given his life to protect Arendelle from the Northuldra savages, leaving Agnar to rule at the tender age of fourteen. He had never known his mother, Queen Rita, who died giving birth to him. His father had often said he was too much like her, too weak. Well, he would prove that he was not too weak. He would protect his family and his kingdom, and be a great king like his father before him.

Most of his spare time was spent with Elsa. He had to prepare her for becoming queen one day, which was doubly difficult due to her powers, and even more so now. She was a natural intellect, with a talent for learning languages, geography, politics, and trade. But those things were all theoretical. When it came to the prospect of actually meeting foreign dignitaries, and the risk of exposing her powers, she began to panic, and ice crept up the walls of her room despite her gloves. Conceal, don't feel, don't let it show.

He tried to spend time with Anna. He really did. But although he loved his younger daughter, he had never really understood her. He never understood how such a tiny body could contain so much energy. He never understood her obsession with fairy tales, her relentless determination even in the face of Elsa shutting her out. He thought about discouraging it, but he didn't have the heart to do so. He saw the girl who had inherited his father's red hair, now sporting a streak of white like Elsa's - the girl that all of this was supposed to protect - and he didn't know what to do. He saw Elsa's fear and Anna's loneliness, and wondered if it was all his fault. As king, he had to act like he knew what he was doing. But privately, he wondered if there was another way.

Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown. As well it should be.

Iduna

Do you wanna build a snowman?
Or ride our bikes around the halls?

Iduna trusted her husband. Of course she did. He had lived in Arendelle his entire life, and had been its prince before becoming king. She knew how much he loved his home and how everything he did was for the good of his subjects. She also trusted the trolls, who had as deep an understanding of magic as her own people did. But she couldn't help feeling that separating Elsa and Anna, and teaching Elsa to conceal her powers, was wrong.

What hurt the most was seeing how Elsa shrank away from her and Agnar. The formerly affectionate girl was now terrified of hurting her parents as she had hurt her sister. Thus, when Iduna spent time with her, she had to do things which didn't involve physical contact. Reading, painting, embroidery, and music all fell into this category. Elsa felt a little better when she did these things. But Iduna could see how she often glanced over at the door, wondering if Anna was just outside, wanting to let her in. It was somehow worse when she stopped looking.

Anna was another challenge. She had so much love inside of her, and now had nowhere to direct it except at a closed door. Iduna had to find activities for Anna which were safe and which didn't remind her of Elsa. They often went walking around the palace grounds, and Iduna read stories and sang to her every night until Anna decided she was too old for such things. She tried to be the sister to both her daughters that they could no longer be to each other, and that she wished she had had growing up. But she knew it wasn't the same.

Her heart broke for both of them. But even as it broke, it swelled with pride. Elsa never once complained about all the things she wasn't allowed to do anymore, knowing that it was all for others' safety, especially Anna's. And Anna never once got angry with Elsa or gave up on her, but kept reaching out to her, year after year, asking her to come out and build a snowman.

Iduna felt like she had some idea of what they were going through. Like Elsa, she knew what it was like to hide a part of herself from someone she loved. And like Anna, she knew what it was like to be suddenly separated from her family, not knowing if she was ever going to see them again.

She didn't know how the idea first came into her head. But she kept thinking about Ahtohallan, the "river full of memory" her mother had always told her about. Elsa was nearly grown, and was no closer to gaining control over her powers. Clearly their strategy wasn't working. If Ahtohallan had all the answers about the past, maybe it had answers about the future too. But before she could tell Agnar about this idea, she had to tell him that she was Northuldra.

He took it better than she had expected. But he had his doubts about going to Ahtohallan. It was the farthest north anyone could go, even farther than the Enchanted Forest where the Northuldra lived. And he worried about the warning, "not too far or you'll be drowned." But he agreed. If Ahtohallan could show them how to help Elsa, they owed it to her to try.

They told no one where they were going. They didn't want Elsa and Anna to worry. Their ship was the finest one Arendelle's fleet had ever made; if any ship could withstand the Dark Sea, this one could. They brought food, winter clothing, maps, supplies, and a skeleton crew, and set out on their perilous journey.

Agnar and Iduna embraced each other as the waves crashed around them. They knew they weren't going to make it. But they did not regret trying to cross the Dark Sea, nor did they regret not turning back. They had faith that Anna would find a way to help Elsa, and that someday, the door would open and they would build a snowman again.

Kai & Gerda

Elsa?
Please, I know you're in there...

They were shocked when they heard the news. King Agnar and Queen Iduna were far too young to die like that. They were not only benevolent rulers and employers, they were also Kai and Gerda's friends. And now it was up to them to tell their daughters that their parents were dead. They agreed that Kai would tell Elsa (through the door, of course) and Gerda would tell Anna. Neither envied the other.

Kai and Gerda had been among the few palace servants who remained after the accident. They were the only people outside the royal family (now the only people alive, besides Elsa herself) who knew about Elsa's powers. They considered themselves a second set of parents to Elsa and Anna, as they had never been able to have any children of their own.

The funeral was attended by practically everyone in Arendelle, with the notable exception of Elsa. Anna stood alone between her parents' graves, her head cast down, dressed in mourning black. She had only Kai and Gerda's shoulders to cry on. After the ceremony, Kai and Gerda draped a black shroud over the king and queen's portrait, and held back their own tears, trying to remain strong for the princess and the new queen.

Elsa was technically queen now. But it would be three years before she came of age and had her coronation, and she still had to remain inside, as she had not learned to control her powers. So Kai often had to fulfill her duties as unofficial regent, making excuses for why Elsa could not come out and do them herself.

As the days and weeks and months passed, the pain of losing Agnar and Iduna faded, and a new normal set in. Anna stopped wearing her mourning clothes and gradually transitioned to the brighter greens and yellows she had always preferred. She also began spending more time outside, though she never left the palace grounds. Elsa became even more withdrawn, poring over books, practicing rituals, occasionally confiding in Kai and Gerda but no one else.

Elsa's 21st birthday came and went, but as it fell on the winter solstice, her coronation was pushed to the next summer so it would be easier for foreign diplomats to travel - Arendelle winters could be quite harsh. That meant another seven months of seclusion and preparation.

Kai and Gerda did everything in their power to get the palace ready for the coronation. Elsa didn't seem ready, but at this rate, she would never be ready. If she didn't get crowned this summer, people would start asking questions - even more than usual. Better to just do it now and get it over with. Elsa knew this, but their reassurances did nothing to calm her nerves.

The evening before the coronation, Kai and Gerda said good night to Elsa and then to Anna, and then went home. They didn't know if tomorrow everything would get better or worse. But they knew for sure that it wouldn't stay the same.