(This chapter has been revised on 7/23/2024)

A Family Secret

February 21st, 1836

The following morning at the castle was a slow one for Anna. She was drained. Yesterday was just so exhausting for her. She couldn't even fall asleep the previous night, as her mind was plagued with many questions. It didn't even help when neither Kai nor Gerda could answer them. Anna was sitting in the dining hall, alone. The feeling of deja vu swept through as she ate her breakfast.

Once she had finished, Anna left the dining room and wandered the halls aimlessly, contemplating how to keep her distracted. Should she hide in her room, talk to the paintings, or even go to the library? All those she quickly brushed aside. Anna then remembered her horse and decided to check on him. She entered the courtyard and the stables, where she found Kjekk. She noticed the claw marks on him which to be healing.

"Hey, boy. You miss me?" Kjekk nuzzled her face. Anna couldn't help but giggle and petted his snout in response. "Don't blame yourself. I'm okay now. I'm glad you got away from those wolves."

"Didn't expect to see you here."

Turning her head, Anna saw Kristoff, who was feeding Sven carrots.

"Oh, Kristoff! Am I happy to see you."

"I'm gonna guess things didn't go well with your folks."

"You could say that…"

"That bad, huh? How long did you get grounded? Two? Three weeks? A month?"

"Actually...I don't know if I am grounded."

Anna explained the events after she parted from Kristoff, including her intense argument with her father. She mentioned how her father seemed to be finally understanding, but then he backtracked to his overprotective paranoia and the argument that followed.

"...Every time I think he's gotten past this stupid phase, he always proves me wrong! With one step forward, he takes three steps back!" Anna exclaimed while waving her arms. "It's like he thinks I'm incapable of caring for myself. Like I'm still a helpless baby that needs to be constantly watched over. He always has a say on what I should and should not do. Sometimes I feel he doesn't like me for who I am."

"I'm sure it's not like that," Kristoff tried to assure her.

Anna scoffed at that statement.

"Really? 'Cause whenever I tried to get him to understand, he never listens. And when he does, he always has this annoyed scowl, like the chefs made him the wrong meal." Anna took one of her braids and placed the bottom tip of it on her upper lip, imitating a mustache. "Excuse me, cook, I'm afraid you brought me the wrong offspring." Anna mimicked her father's voice and posture sarcastically. "I wanted an extra quiet heir with sophisticated grace. Extra obedience and regalness on the side. This here? This is a yapping chicken bone!"

Anna lets go of her braid and plumps down onto a pile of hay. Kristoff and Sven went over to her side. The former sat next to her and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Look, Anna...My family structure differs from yours, but I know your dad doesn't think of you that way."

"How could you be so sure of that?"

"He's your father. He loves you no matter what," Sven affirmed.

"Sven's right," Kristoff agreed. "It might not seem like it but I can see how much your dad loves you."

"Well, papa sure has a weird way of showing that love," Anna retorted.

The group fell silent. Wanting to break the silence, Kristoff continued discussing what happened last night.

"So...What happened after that?"

"That's when things got...weird. Mama stopped the argument, and Papa attempted to walk out. I stood my ground, finally telling him how I felt about his methods. But that didn't work, and he still attempted to walk away from the conversation. I just flat out asked what he was so afraid of…" Anna stopped herself, but Kristoff could tell she had more to say.

"And then…what?"

"He said that he wouldn't lose me too. After that, he looked like he said something I wasn't supposed to hear and ran off. Mama soon followed him, but not before saying my questions would be answered tomorrow. Haven't seen both of them since."

"That's...interesting."

"Why do you say that?"

"It's just that I overheard some guards in the group I was in searching for you mention something about a loss that had struck your family long ago."

Anna's eyes widened slightly as she looked at her friend. Never had she heard of something like that occurring in her family.

"What kind of loss?"

"I don't know. I tuned them out because I thought it was pointless gossip. But now that I think about it, it could explain why your dad is the way he is."

Anna reflected on her friend's words. Did some sort of tragedy happen in her family long ago? If so, why didn't her parents tell her? More importantly, could it also explain why her father is the way he is? It would certainly explain some things. The question is whether it's true or not.

"Princess Anna?" Kai stood at the entrance of the stalls.

"Kai." Anna got to her feet. "What brings you here?"

"Your parents wish to see you. Immediately," Kai answered with the utmost importance.

The previous night…

"You and I need to talk." Idun slammed the door in her husband's study.

"Idun, please, just leave me alone," Agdar implored.

"Oh no. You are not going to hide away from your problems again."

"I can certainly try."

"Because that worked out so well for you before, didn't it?!" Idun added that statement with sarcasm, but Agdar could sense the truth in her voice. "Now I can clearly see Anna gets her stubbornness from your side of the family."

Agdar didn't bother responding to that. Instead, he sat on the sofa, hands on his head.

"What am I doing wrong, Idun? I give freedom, and I lose Elsa. I gave some restrictions, and I almost lost Anna. I honestly don't know what to do."

Idun walked over and sat next to her husband. She placed her hand on his shoulder and another on his arm.

"There's one thing you can do."

"What?"

"We tell Anna the truth."

Agdar's eyes widen as if she had said something crazy. Like she had confessed to wanting to commit regicide.

"No..." Agdar broke the silence.

"And why not?" Idun argued. "It's been 15 years, Agdar. We should've told her this by now. After what happened the past few days, Anna deserves to know."

"It's not whether or not Anna will be able to handle it…"

"Then what is it?"

"I-I can't...I can't tell her."

"You can't, or you won't?"

"I-I don't know."

"Yes, you do. Please tell me why. Please don't shut me out again."

Agdar looked at his wife. It was clear that she did not intend to stop until he answered. And she called him the stubborn, feisty pants.

"You want to know the truth?" Agdar said with some somberness. Idun nodded in response. "It hurts. Every time I even think about what happened, it hurts. When my mother and my father died, it hurt, but it faded away after a while. This kind of hurt is different. Never fades away. It always feels as fresh as the first day I felt it. I hate feeling like this."

Idun watched her husband close his eyes and turn his head in the opposite direction. She could tell he was trying not to cry, but that did not stop the tears from escaping his closed eyes. She placed her hand on his cheek, wiping the tear away with her thumb. Idun gently coaxed Agdar's head towards her face.

"Dear…" Idun felt Agdar nuzzle his head into her palm. "I understand how much it hurts you. It hurts me, too. But hiding it from Anna won't help. You know how much she wonders why you do this. She should at least understand why. You and I both know this day will come."

"I...I know. Whenever I consider telling her, I keep telling myself she isn't ready yet. In truth, I wasn't ready." Agdar let out a breif pause. "You're right. I have been holding it off for so long. She needs to know. "

"Does that mean...?"

"Yes...Tomorrow, we tell Anna everything."

In front of Anna was the closed door of her father's study. Once again, deja vu went through her. The last time she was summoned had led to all of the events of the past several days. And like before, she had felt nervous. Summoning all her courage, she knocked on the door.

"It's open."

Sucking in a breath, Anna opened the door. Like last time, both of her parents were in. Unlike last time, they weren't at her father's desk with their appearance of monarchs. They both were sitting on the sofa across from the fireplace without their professional royal appearance. Only the appearance of her parents.

"Hey guys," Anna greeted as she walked over to them.

"Hello, sweetheart," Agdar greeted. "Why don't you pull up a chair?"

Anna compiled as she moved one of the lone chairs in the room closer to the couch. Once she did that, she sat down. After this, no one said anything to each other.

"Sooooooo….How are you both doing?" Anna attempted to break the awkward silence.

"We're doing fine, thank you," Idun responded. "Did you sleep well last night?"

"Somewhat."

Silence had once again entered the room. No one was sure who to speak first.

"Kai said you both wanted to speak to me?" Anna broke the silence.

"Yes. We do," Agdar confirmed.

"Is this about last night?"

"Somewhat related, but not entirely," Idun answered.

"This is something...we should've told you long ago," Agdar confessed.

"Okay, what is it?" Anna inquired.

Before they answered her question, Anna noticed a change in her parent's expressions. They looked as if they were heartbroken, her father especially.

"Anna," Agdar started. "Have you ever heard of any...rumors of some sort?"

"Didn't you always tell me to never listen to them because they tend to be nothing but big piles of bullshit?"

"Anna! Language!" Idun scolded.

"Those were papa's words, not mine!" Anna lifted her arms up in defense.

"They were, were they?" Idun glared at her husband, who shifted awkwardly in his spot.

Agdar let out a slight cough before continuing on the subject. "Um, anyways. My point is that have you heard anything like that? Specifically, ones related to our family?"

"Not really…" Anna paused before she remembered her small conversation with Kristoff. "Aside from that earlier, Kristoff told me he had overheard some of the troops talking about a loss that had happened while they were searching for me. I'm not sure if it's true or not."

"That may as well be."

"It is…?"

Neither of her parents said anything. They both looked at each other for a moment. Each one gave a slight nod to one another.

"It happened a few years after your cousin Rapunzel was kidnapped and before you were born," Agdar started.

"What happened?"

"There was another member of this family," Idun revealed. "Her name was Elsa."

"Elsa…? Huh, that's sure a coincidence." Anna thought to herself.

"Who was she?" Anna asked.

"She…"

Agdar stopped as he was hesitant to finish that sentence. He felt Idun place her hand on his back and slowly rubbed it comfortably. From the corner of his eye, he saw the pleading look in his wife's own eyes. In other situations, she would speak up for him, but this was something he needed to do. Agdar knew this. He fought with the voice of doubt in his head.

"No. You can't hold it back anymore. Turn away and slam that door. Let it go."

"Papa?" Agdar heard Anna speak up. "Who was she?"

"...She was our first daughter. Your older sister."

15 years ago…(February 16th, 1821)

Agdar had been walking down the hallway. It was the middle of the night, and his pregnant wife was craving chocolate again. Being the good husband he is, he volunteered to go get them himself so she could still rest.

As he walked, he passed Elsa's bedroom door and decided to check on her. He peeked into her room to find the little girl sleeping peacefully in her bed. Cuddled in her arm was her stuffed puffin, Sir Jorgenbjorgen. The cute sight brought a smile to Agdar's face. Remembering his task, he closed the door, returned to the hallway, and made his way.

Unaware that in the next few minutes, his entire world would change forever.

After getting a small box of chocolates from the kitchen, Agdar made his way back. He had returned to the same hallway where Elsa's bedroom lay. As he approached, he heard some shuffling coming from her bedroom. For the moment, he figured that Elsa had decided to have one of her 'late night play times' again.

That is until he heard the loud bang. The sound was loud enough to have echoed off the walls. There was a silence that quickly followed, which made Agdar more concerned. Fearing that Elsa might've hurt herself, Agdar quickly rushed to her bedroom and opened her door. What he saw was a horrifying scene.

The bed Agdar saw Elsa sleeping on mere moments ago was now empty. The bed sheets were hastily rolled back, the window was wide open, with the wind from the outside blowing on the curtains. On the floor, not too far from the bed, was the stuffed puffin Elsa had been cuddling.

The only thing that Agdar could do was scream out his daughter's name.

Agdar finished the story. He and Idun stared at Anna, waiting for a reaction. Anna had no words. In fact, she didn't know how she should respond, especially to a revelation such as this. Was this all real?

"I really had a sister…?"

"Yes," her father replied.

It was real. Anna had a sister! A sister who was taken just months before she was born. This revelation was truly shocking. And for all these years, her parents spoke nothing of her.

"Why didn't you two tell me? Why would you keep this from me?" Anna demanded her parents, who did not answer. "Did you see me as some sort of a replacement for her? A spare?! Is that why you never told me to begin with?!"

"It was nothing like that!" Agdar said in defense.

"Still, didn't you two think I should have known this before? Did I not deserve to know this?"

"Of course you did," Idun said.

"Then why? Why did you hide this from me?!"

Neither of her parents answered. All sorts of emotions were just running too high for Anna. Her parents' silence didn't help, either. This information was a lot to take in at once. Finally, Anna decided she couldn't sort them out in the study.

Anna didn't hear what her parents said as she dashed out of the study and into the hallway. Servants and guards walking by gave concerned looks, but she ignored them. As she ran, the same questions kept repeating in her head.

"Mama. Papa...Why didn't you tell me?"

Probably not my best chapter, but I figure most of you guys could use one, especially after this site wasn't working the other day. I kinda feel bad for ending it off like this, but hey I can't help but be a little evil sometimes *evil laugh*.

So...Anna now knows about her lost sister (who by coincidence is named Elsa...hmm) and is understandably shocked and a little angry. I probably made her a bit OOC, but hey its an AU. Not everything's the same in AU's. Plus, she's 14 at this point so a mix of teenage emotions probably doesn't help. They'll hopefully be more insight on the next chapter.

Speaking of which, if you guys have been paying attention, you might've noticed I mentioned something as 'The Incident' several times through the fic. Well you'll find what's that about in the next chapter...(Hint: It may kinda explore a darker side of certain king that we know. That's all I'm saying).

And I hope you guys like that *notsosubtle* How To Train Your Dragon reference.

Quick hypothetical question: If I write a fic that solely stars Agdar & Idun (be it cannon, or AU) would you guys definitely read it, even if it doesn't have Anna & Elsa? Not saying I am writing something like that, but I'm curious.

Thanks for the favs, follows, and reviews. Happy Reading.