A/N

Hello there! Welcome (back) to this fic! This is a rewrite of an older fic of mine, Frozen Hearts. It has already improved, and this is only chapter one.
This has always been the type of fics that's like 'I couldn't find it, so I decided to write it myself'. So any inspiration, ideas, well-meant commentary and constructive criticism are always welcome, but if you just mean to degrade me and what I write, I'd rather you hold your tongue.
If you came here from Frozen Hearts (or went back to read the changes), be sure to let me know what you think.
And this work will contain somme heavy and dark themes. Most things are in the tags (and if I missed any, let me know) and trigger warnings will be in the notes at the beginning of the chapter.
With that out of the way, enjoy!

Trigger warnings:

Minor character death
Self-blame
Suppressing emotions

Unanticipated weather buried the city of Arendelle with crystals of ice on the winter solstice. This also happened to be the birthday of Elsa, daughter of King Agnarr and Queen Iduna and crown princess to the kingdom of Arendelle. The kingdom was filled with laughter that day, and for good reason, for the King and Queen had wanted a child for many years now. With her blond, almost white hair and sparkling blue eyes she was an absolute vision to behold and she was dearly beloved by her parents and kingdom.

Life was great, right until exactly 3 and half years later. That day, on the summer solstice, life became even better. Anna, Elsa's sister was born and once more, the kingdom rejoiced. Where Elsa's hair was a platinum blonde, Anna had beautiful, auburn hair and although they couldn't be more different in appearance, the sisters became as close as possible and life truly could not be more perfect.

—

Elsa was woken up by the yelling and screaming of her five year old sister. "Elsa, wake up! Look, it has snowed tonight! Do you want to play?" She groaned sleepily, but she opened her eyes and saw Anna, packed in warm clothes, jumping up and down while yelling. It snowed? It snowed!

The eight year old got up instantly, threw her blanket away and looked out of the window. And yes, she could see the palace yard with a big blanket of white snow. She jumped out of bed, and found a pile of warm clothes next to her bed. Of course, her servant girl must have put them there. Without further ado, she quickly put on the clothes and was almost pulled off her feet when Anna grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the room, into the hallway. Together, they ran as fast as they could.

Once in the yard, her five-year-old sister dropped in the snow, pumping her arms and legs up and down,laughing and giggling in open joy. She looked at Elsa and smiled mischievously at the sight. She rose from the ground, grabbed a handful of snow and threw it toward Elsa. Elsa was all this time just standing, enjoying the winter air. With closed eyes, she never saw the snowball coming. As the wet projectile hit her face, she yelped and stumbled back as she let out a soft groan.

After wiping the snow off her face, she kneeled, grabbed some snow herself and threw it in Anna's direction. Her sister dropped to the ground and it flew over her head. In the snowball fight that followed, both girls took more than a few hits. Elsa didn't care. For some reason, the cold never bothered her much, and for a while, nothing but laughter sounded from the open field.

About half an hour later, the two girls walked back into the palace, completely soaked and with smiles on their faces. After they changed their wet clothes, they hurried to have breakfast with their parents, quietly giggling among themselves.

"I'm sorry we are late, Dad." Anna and Elsa walked in the dining room -one of their smaller ones- and found their parents waiting for them. "Anna said it snowed so we went out to play," she explained with a guilty expression. They were the King and Queen, their time was valuable. Father was teaching her about responsibility, and how he had a lot of it. Her mom and dad just looked at each other and smiled with an amused expression. "Don't worry, darling. Just eat quickly so you can get out there again." Elsa smiled in relief and dug in her breakfast. Within twenty minutes they stood in the snow again, in dry clothes and ready to do whatever they wanted. Anna looked at her sister with almost sparkling eyes. "Elsa, do you wanna build a snowman?"

Elsa frowned as she pushed a branch to the side. She just couldn't find the right one. She has been looking for over fifteen minutes and couldn't find the perfect arm for their snowman. She watched Anna, who was also looking, ten meters away. Her sister had insisted that they needed the perfect arm for Olaf. She smiled Anna's mind was set, nothing could stop her. Well, maybe the promise of chocolate, but that was it. Right as she was about to resume her search, something in the trees caught her eye. She didn't know exactly what it was that caught her attention, but as she turned, a branch, heavy with snow, snapped under its own weight, threatening to crush Anna.

"Anna!" In surprise, her sister turned, unaware of the danger. She barely had time to stretch out her hand before the branch would surely hit her. NO! In her panic, she hardly noticed what she did, but its results were clear. A pale burst of ice, conjured from her outstretched hand, flew forth, blasting the danger to bits. Elsa sucked in a breath. She felt it, now. Something new. A liquid fire rushing through her veins, her every nerve and cell. Pale blue lights shimmered around her, little drops from a place of power. A well of power, with no idea where the bottom was. But it felt right. Like a piece of a puzzle she never knew she missed. Then, rationality caught and she screamed.

"This. Is. Amazing." Anna was pacing before Elsa, who was sitting on a bare stump, half in shock. "It's just like all the fairy tales Mom told us! Like the Enchanted Forest!" Elsa only heard half of it. Magic. That is what this had to be. Magic. "But, I thought all magic didn't work like that. Not anymore,at least."

Anna pouted with a frown. "Maybe you're right, but now it's like this and we can play in the snow all the time! Do it again!" Elsa sighed. This was the third time Anna asked her. She closed her eyes and went deep inside herself. There it was, that well. Barely dipping into it, power rushed through her. Even after trying twice, she still didn't know what to do with it. So she simply pushed out. The blue flakes of light burst out, dancing in the air before they shimmered out of existence. Anna's eyes were wide in wonder as she danced between the lights, but worry plagued her own thoughts. But she couldn't shake that sense of rightness.

"We have to tell Mom and Dad. This is important." What they would do if they found out unexpectedly… she'd rather not think about it. "I know we have to tell them," Anna exclaimed," but can we play just a little bit longer? This is so much fun!" Elsa smiled about her sister's was worrying too much. Wasn't she?

A few hours later, Elsa sat in a room, with her knees to her chest.. She'd come straight here after she'd made Anna reluctantly promise not to tell anyone after they'd played to their heart's content.. She sat with her back against the wall and stared at her hands. Magic. Besides the fairy tales about Spirits and Enchanted Forests, her history teachers had told her about magic. Real magic. This kind of magic. And the reason why it hadn't been seen in centuries. Magic was dangerous. Those who knew how to control it were usually corrupted

by it, making some of the worst criminals Arendelle had ever seen. Maniacs who threw around lightning or who could not control it… they usually ended up hurting everyone around them. Some went into self-imposed exile. Others weren't so lucky. Elsa took a few deep, calming breaths. "You can do this," she whispered to herself. "You can control this and remain normal. All you have to do is bring it easy to Mom and Dad. You've got this."

During dinner Elsa said as little as she could, trying not to focus attention on herself. Anna, on the other hand, was basically jumping up and down in her seat, looking not so subtle to Elsa and waiting for it to happen. Elsa shook her head ever so lightly to Anna, trying to tell her 'not now'. She looked disappointed, but kept her promise and remained silent. After dinner, Elsa thought to herself. After dinner I will tell them. Neither of them noticed how their parents caught on to their strange behaviour, nor how Iduna and Agnarr shared a worried look between them.

Elsa stood in front of the door. Behind it were her mom, dad and Anna waiting for her because she said she had some big announcement to make. She took a deep breath, straightened her back and walked reluctantly in the room. It was a cosy room. Two comfortable chairs and a couch. A warm fire crackled in the fireplace, warming the chamber. All eyes were on her. "So honey," her father said, a slight smile on his face. "What is this important thing that you wanted to tell us about? I have to say, I am very curious."

"Yes," her mom added, mirroring her husband's kind tone. "Don't worry, dear. You know you can tell us everything, right?"

"Well," Elsa started. "I… ehm…" She felt the eyes of her family on her. Her breathing sped up, how it riled up that well inside her, creating waves, threatening to spill over…

"Elsa has magic!" Anna blurted, interrupting Elsa and the rising flood of her anxiety. Her parents looked at Anna, but changed their attention to her.

"Is this true, Elsa?" her father asked, a serious look on his face. Elsa looked at the floor. "Yes it is," she whispered. She closed her eyes, created a ball of light and threw it up, where it exploded in a thousand snowflakes. Unbelieving, her parents watched as they fluttered down all around them.

Iduna recovered first. "How is this possible?" Elsa heard her mutter before she slightly looked up, just in time to see her mother shoot a glance in her father's direction. She clenched her hands behind her back. This is it.

"Hey, sweetie, can you tell us when this happened?" Her dad spoke in that voice where he tried to be nice, but was pretty scary. She opened her mouth to tell the story, but Anna was faster.

"Just this afternoon! She saved me from a falling branch! Isn't it fantastic? It's so beautiful."

The King and Queen exchanged a look and started softly speaking in a language she didn't understand. Now, Elsa got really worried. She just hoped they wouldn't lock her up in her room for years, without being allowed to see anyone. They turned towards her. "Elsa, listen to us. You need to know that magic is very dangerous," her dad started softly, but he smiled.

Her mom continued, "you should keep it hidden as much as you can." Elsa's heart sank. Oh no. Not this. Anything but this!

Suddenly, she felt a pair of large hands cover hers. She looked up and saw her father kneeling before her, looking in her eyes. "We trust you, Elsa. If you promise to not show strangers and try to keep it under control, any problems that we encounter we can deal with.

Elsa sighed in relief. They were not going to lock her up! Her mom joined her dad and took one of her hands in hers. "We are very glad that you came to us. And you must always remember that we love you, no matter what." Her parents looked at Anna. "Both of you."

Elsa's eyes watered and she sniffed , she hugged her parents with everything she had. Anna joined not a second later. At that moment, Elsa realised that as long as they stayed together, she could handle this. It would be okay.

A year and a half later

Elsa hesitated. She knew that what she was doing was wrong, but if this was what she thought it would be, she had to hear it. She snuck in the next hallway. Only five doors away now. She walked as quietly as she could toward the doors to her father's office. Once there, she listened, dropping to her knees, ear at the keyhole. Elsa had overheard two guards talking, saying that the King and Queen more and more frequently talked about the crown princess'... 'condition'. They had thought she had some sort of disease, but Elsa was ten now. She had a right to know what this was about.

"Agnarr, stop pacing. You're making me nervous." A woman's voice. Her mother. "You should be nervous. I mean, at first it was okay, but this is getting out of hand. Her 'accidents' happen more and more often now. I've had three separate accounts of my councilmen slipping on ice and sustaining injuries, guards catching colds whenever they're posted near her room. And I haven't even started about all the times she is scared, mad, worried or stressed. It's a miracle we've kept it a secret for this long, but we cannot hide it forever if this goes on. And it's getting worse. We need to find a cure."

A cure. Her father thought she had to be cured. Was he right? No way, right? But… all the things he said, about the councilmen, the guards, when her emotions got the better of her? She was hurting them. Not on purpose maybe, but she was. "What if they play and she loses control, Iduna. Then what? She could hurt Anna." Elsa swallowed. Hurt her sister? Never! But then again, she did not have that much control over her powers. If she was not careful, she just might. And it scared her. Her powers scared her.

A scoff sounded from beyond the doors. "Stop treating our daughter like she is sick, Agnarr. She's not sick, she's special. Special in ways we can't even comprehend. She doesn't need a cure; she needs a teacher. All these accidents are just that: accidents. If she can control her power, we don't need to resort to drastic measures."

Elsa's heart thundered against her ribcage, threatening to leap out of her chest. They were fighting… over her? It conflicted her. Was she dangerous, or was she special? And what did that even mean?! She heard her father's footsteps stop. She peeked through the keyhole and saw her father standing before her mom, who was seated in a chair.

"Who could possibly teach her? Be realistic. This isn't the Forest. Magic hasn't been seen in ages. All people remember is the danger it poses. Do you really want to subject her to that fear?!"

"Of course not, but-"

"Then what? Do you plan to keep her locked in the castle for her entire life if her outbursts don't stop? Apart from everyone but a select few? That's no way to live for anyone and I certainly don't wish it upon Elsa."

The mention of her name jarred the young princess. This wasn't about some abstract theory or hypothetical scenario. This was her life they were discussing. A shiver ran down her back, one that had nothing to do with the nightly chill. A thin layer of frost escaped from her feet, spreading around her slowly. She closed her eyes and tried to calm her racing mind. This was exactly what they were talking about. She heard her father continue in the adjacent room, interrupting her.

"I know she's special, 'duna, and I don't want her to lose that. But not if it's at the cost of her being ostracised and feared for her entire life.

A sigh sounded from behind the doors. "You're right. We can try it your way. But just… if the opportunity arises, we should look for alternatives. We owe it to try, at least."

Elsa numbly tiptoed back to her own room after that, leaving little snowflakes in her wake. Her parents' words were whirling about in her mind. Dangerous. Special. Forever locked in the castle. Her accidents. A cure. Maybe they were right. Maybe she was dangerous and she needed a cure. If that was the truth, she'd rather be cured than hurt anyone else. Until then, she just had to stay away from people as much as she could.

In the months that followed, Elsa came more often to that door. And every time, she could hear her parents getting more and more desperate. They brought in healers, 'magicians'; they even took her to see the trolls in the mountains. But nothing helped. Nothing could cure her from her powers. So instead, she stayed in her room, away from anyone she could hurt. Of course, she would still play with Anna, who was now seven, but those moments became rarer and rarer. Her powers were growing stronger and ever since she realised how much she could hurt people with them, they seemed harder to control. More eager to be used.

One night, Elsa would hear her parents talk about foreign countries, medicine and folklore from far-off lands. But nothing they came up with seemed any more promising than what they had already tried. However, on one fateful night, she sneaked to the door once more and overheard something different than the usual ideas. Her mother had found an old book; a book with legends, and one of these legends described a magical flower that was said to heal almost everything. The story was from a neighbouring country called Corona and her mother was already packing for the journey ahead. The odds this flower actually existed were very low, but Elsa could see her parents were running out of options. More importantly, they were running out of time. Last night, when her dreams turned to nightmares, she woke up covered in snow. To say everyone was spooked was an understatement. So her mother had insisted on leaving as fast as possible .She couldn't travel in her official duties as Queen, so she had to go undercover. They had acquired a place on a trading ship, with whom she could sail. The following day, her father said to her and Anna that their mother would be away some time, to go look for something that could help Elsa.

Some time later

It is so quiet, Elsa thought. These days, it is always quiet. It has been a month since her mother left, and they had not heard a single word from her. Yet, Elsa could somehow feel that there was something seriously wrong.

It was almost time for bed when their father entered the room. Elsa was playing with Anna, feeling in control for once. Heaps of snow and dolls of ice formed the kingdom of their imagination. Despite the immersion, both girls looked up when Agnarr closed the door softly behind him. A paper sheet crumbled in his clenched fist as his whole demeanour radiated a furious anger. He motioned for them to sit with him as he sat down on a chair near the hearth. He rubbed his eyes and sighed before he started talking.

"Elsa, Anna, I have something very important to tell you," he started and Elsa could immediately tell something was very wrong. He sounded… defeated. Empty. It was how he sounded when he and her mom recently discussed her situation. "You know your mother has been away for some time now. She went to look for a way to help you, Elsa," he told her, not knowing she already knew. "She was supposed to send word a week ago, but she did not." He took a shaky breath, making Elsa even more worried. She did not like where this was going.

"I instructed my intelligence service to ask around, find out where she was. Retrace her steps and bring her home." Glancing at her little sister, she saw Anna listening intently to their dad, not suspecting anything yet. She could feel the ice creeping up from its well, trying to break out. "As they did, one of them heard tell of a ship that left Arendelle around the same time your mom left. On my orders, he looked into it and sent me what he found." He held up the sheet of paper -a letter, clearly now- before dropping his hand again.

"Apparently, it was a ship that was used for smuggling weapons to the Separatists of Saporia, an organisation bent on destroying Corona, the land it was bound for." On the mention of the foreign country, his voice trembled with barely withheld rage. Elsa trembled too, she could feel it. Only half of her attention was on her father. The other half was desperately trying to suppress the floor icing over.

"Turns out, the King of Corona had a spy, working on the inside and giving him information. He knew about the weapons, and the ship that was carrying it. He'd send ships to have it destroyed while flying under a pirate flag. They had orders to-" he choked up, silver lining his eyes. "Orders to sink it under any circumstances. It would be flying an Arendellian trading flag."

Any hold Elsa had on her magic slipped when she heard the last sentence. No. Hadn't her parents arranged for her mother to travel on a trading ship? The temperature dropped rapidly around her, ice spreading from under her. The only thing that held the cold at bay was the fire flickering in the hearth. This is my fault. Anna looked over, worry etched on her face. She doesn't know yet. Elsa tried to smile, waving her concerns away. Her father took Anna's hands in his own, but locked eyes with Elsa. He knew she realised. She clasped her hands over her mouth as tears started to trickle down her cheeks, freezing halfway on her ice-cold skin.

Agnarr turned to Anna now, who looked scared and confused. "The smugglers took hostages, any innocent soul they could find, anything to get away. The Coranan captain, however, made the decision to sink the ship anyway, trading lives for some steel. There were no survivors." He lightly squeezed Anna's hands. "Your mom was on the ship. She didn't make it either."

Dead. Her mom was dead. The ice around her continued to spread, creeping over the floor and up the walls. She felt as empty as her dad had sounded. All of this was her fault, wasn't it? If she hadn't been born cursed, none of this would've happened. Elsa looked around in a haze. Anna was silently sobbing, hugging their father as tight as she could. But Father… While holding Anna, he watched as her ice climbed the chair, the walls, everything. He looked over at her, eyes burning with a strange light. Something that had filled the emptiness inside him.

"Elsa, you do realise whose fault this is, right?" She froze, going as unmoving as her ice. He couldn't mean her. It was not her fault… was it? She squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the imminent tirade that was surely coming. Maybe I deserve… "Corona is to blame for all of this. Frederic has always been too extreme; always using excessive force. Especially since his daughter's disappearance."

She looked up, opening her eyes. This wasn't what she had been expecting. Agnarr had gently let go of Anna, who was listening through her choked sobbing. He sat, facing her, eyes blazing intently. And now she recognised what it was that filled the emptiness. Rage. A blazing inferno of anger. She let go a breath she didn't realise she had been holding in. Even if the guilt was still there, at least she wouldn't be the target of all that hate.

Her dad raged on, rising from his seat. "One shipment of weapons wouldn't have been the end of the world. It wouldn't even begin a civil war. Hell, he could have even captured the ship. No, the bastard chose to be this final in his decision. A dozen lives lost just to send some steel to the bottom of the sea." He focused again on her, eyes flicking down.

"Tell me, Elsa. Do you think King Frederic is a good man, when he does things like this?" Not knowing where he could be going with this, Elsa just shook her head. None of those things were things good people did. Her dad nodded in agreement. "He's not, is he? And what do subjects do when their ruler is a bad person?"

Elsa knew this one from her lessons. There had been tyrants and bad rulers in the past. "They revolt and rise up against him." Maybe the people of Corona should do that too.

"Then why don't his subjects do that? Why would they allow their King to get away with murder?!" At this question, she didn't say anything. She didn't know. Why wouldn't they? Tears started blurring her vision again, slowly dripping down her face. Her mom was just trying to help her find a cure! That would be in everyone's best interest.

She felt big hands take hers. She looked up and saw her father, kneeling in front of her. "It's because they are afraid, Elsa. They are too afraid to do anything. If he does this to your mother, there is nothing stopping him from using even crueler means on them."

How dare he? HOW DARE HE!

Elsa trembled, but not from the cold. It was in anger that she clenched her fists. That man had murdered her mother and who knows what else, and his own people are too afraid of him to put an end to it! That anger only continued to grow and she understood that this is what had filled her father. But where his was a blazing inferno, hers was a raging blizzard, an icy storm that put everything in perspective.

Deep inside her, her magic rose up and for once, she let it. She gave herself over to the ice within her. And in her anger and focused fury, she realised nothing happened. She felt the magic surging through her veins, but it didn't force itself out. Tentatively, she reached out and felt her ice covering the floor. Carefully, she tugged on it, calling it home, and ever so slowly, it receded. The temperature rose back up again, and her father looked her over, a spark in his eyes.

She looked at her hands, wonder briefly trumping her fury. She had been trying to control her magic, make it submit to her will. But there was no taming a raging river. She could only give herself over to it, allow the river to guide her and try not to drown. And it was her icy wrath that gave her buoyancy.

Her dad, still looking at her, drew her attention to himself once more. "But together, Elsa," he said, "together we can avenge her. And we can help the Coronans, stuck on his heel. Your mother was right; you are so very special. Your magic is powerful and useful. You lacked control, but now something has changed, hasn't it? Together, we can use this to bring justice to your mother, and for all the things Frederic has done."

His eyes darkened, but the fire only grew. "But in order to do so, you need to be willing to do whatever it takes. You need to be willing to make hard decisions. Do you think you can do that? For her? For everyone who needs you?"

Elsa heard it all, but something in her wavered. Wouldn't this make her just as bad as the King who took her mom? Would she be a bad person as well? But in the end, her fury won out. And something in her frosted over, covering her doubts, her fears and her grief. If it takes a bad person to stop a bad person, then that's what I need to become. Hard decisions, right? I'll be the monster who kills monsters.

She looked at her father, mirroring his fire with her ice. No burning blaze for her. If she wanted to do this, she needed to be as cold and sharp as ice. A grim smile crossed her features at the thought. "I can do that. For Mom, and for everyone else." She raised her hand, and a small flurry of snow shot in the air at her command. Give yourself over to this feeling. "I will do whatever it takes to bring him to justice." And as she said it, she felt nothing. There was nothing but the raging blizzard, and the unforgiving ice that came with it. The same grim smile bloomed on her father's face. "Then let's do this."

Anna

Dead. Her mom was dead. She started sobbing, uncontrollably. So much, she nearly missed her father talking to Elsa. Nearly. But she almost wished that she had. She heard what he said, and fear struck in her heart when she realised what he wanted Elsa to do. But, Elsa would never do that. Her big sister, with whom she could play and have fun, would never do something that horrible. But Elsa nodded and smiled, and Anna knew that the girl who smiled, was not the sister she knew. For the first time in forever, Anna feared what her sister's magic could do.