"Elsa!"

Anna trembled, clutching the ice covering her sister's face as Kristoff repeatedly slammed his pick into her back.

"Elsa, can you hear me? We're getting you out, just wait a little longer!"

Kristoff pushed her aside before attacking Elsa's front. Anna looked on and noticed small cracks crisscrossing her sister's prison.

But Elsa had gone silent.

"Kristoff..."

She looked around.

There!

She grabbed a rock nestled beside the base of a tree and hurried over. She raised it, aiming for her sister's head...

But she couldn't bring it down.

She couldn't hurt her sister.

"Kristoff... hurry!"

"I am!"

She watched. The outside world faded away. The cracks were widening until...

A strange sound.

From Elsa.

Anna grabbed Kristoff and pulled him away just as spears of ice erupted from the cold shell, before it all shattered completely. There was Elsa, head bowed, dressed in rags. She wobbled and Anna rushed forward and caught her just as she fell.

So cold.

Kristoff came closer, bringing the world with him. Anna heard guards barking orders at each other. She felt Elsa press against her arms as she tried to rise.

"Anna..."

Her voice was too quiet.

"Elsa, please, we'll get you somewhere safe."

"No..."

Elsa struggled again and Anna realized she was looking at the small battalion.

"The fjord!"

"Don't let him get to the fjord!"

"Stop him!"

Elsa pushed away from Anna and took a half-step, before the world darkened and the ruined, grassy plain rushed to meet her.

"No..."

There was light.

Elsa's eyes opened of their own accord. The first thing they saw was Anna, sitting beside her on her bed, the curtains of her window open.

Of course.

She waited a moment for Anna to notice. When she did, the redhead beamed and crushed her with a hug before turning to the open door.

"She's awake! Kristoff, come back!"

"Anna!"

"What? Oh! Too loud? Elsa, I'm so so sorry!"

Elsa smiled and shook her head, before turning to greet Kristoff and...

"Captain?"

"I'm pleased to see you're awake Your Majesty."

A tall man, in the familiar green uniform of Arendelle's guards and a saber at his waist.

"How long have I been unconscious?"

"Not too long," interjected Anna, "you're just in time for lunch!"

Elsa smiled at her again before returning to the Captain. "What happened?"

"We lost the culprit Queen Elsa. He crossed the fjord and lost us in the woods beyond."

Elsa noticed he and Kristoff weren't looking at her directly. It took her another moment to realize she was still wearing the rags of her coronation attire, leaving her quite exposed. She raised her quilt to her neck, then pinched her nose, but withdrew her hand quickly. She still had trouble breathing. "He can climb trees Captain. He was probably above you."

The Captain looked at her now. "And you did not see fit to tell us this before?"

Elsa cringed. She hadn't been thinking straight since reading the letter. Devising a signal for the Captain and his reinforcements had taken all her mental capacity at the time. Anna noticed the gesture.

"Don't blame her for that! Just let her rest and she'll be fine and if she's better than fine she'll thaw the fjord for you." She looked down at her. Elsa avoided her gaze. "Isn't that right Elsa?"

"The fjord isn't frozen Anna."

"What? How can you tell?"

"Because he's better than me." She looked up and the Captain nodded.

"He thawed it as he crossed Princess Anna. Poor Henrik fell in, but we got him out. Lad's always been a bit hasty, but the incident wasn't without precedent."

His tone was perfectly neutral, but they all heard the accusation.

"Don't bully her!"

"I was merely making an observation Princess Anna. To your health, Queen Elsa."

He bowed to his Queen and Princess and nodded to Kristoff, then turned and marched from the room, closing the door gently behind him. As soon as the door shut, Elsa groaned and held her head in her hands. Anna immediately sat down beside her and draped her arm around her shoulders. Elsa felt her mattress shift as Kristoff sat down on her right.

"Don't listen to a word he says Elsa."

"But he's right Anna."

"Look, you were in a bad way back then - "

"And so was he!"

This he being Áno.

"Elsa." This was Kristoff's low voice. "Don't think about that. Right now all you need is rest. Let the guards deal with tracking him down. Anna's already told them everything she knows about him. They have enough to be getting on with, alright?"

It wasn't alright, but Elsa nodded.

"Alright."

She snuggled into Anna's side and lay down to rest, but felt Anna's hand encircling her arm.

"Did you hurt yourself Elsa?"

"I - I'm sorry?"

"There are marks on your arms..." Anna raised the quilt to check but Elsa immediately pulled it back down.

"It's nothing Anna. Goodnight."

"...Alright."

She missed lunch. Gerda instead brought a bowl of soup to her room (and Anna made sure she drank it). She slipped in and out of sleep, thinking. What happened? What happened to Áno, to her? She tossed and turned and felt numb. There was an emptiness inside her. Not just in her mind, but in her body.

That night, determined to attend dinner and take the worry from her sister's face, she flung the quilt from her body.

The effort made her arm ache.

She pivoted and pressed her feet to the floor.

She felt dizzy.

She pushed off and stood.

She felt dizzy. Again.

She wobbled for a moment, then took a tentative step forward.

She almost lost her balance. She gasped and she braced herself against the wall.

Focus Elsa! Come on, just... focus. Do it for her.

She thought of Anna.

She took another step.

She wobbled again, but this time did not need a wall to steady herself.

Okay, I just need a few more of those. Enough to get me out of here, downstairs and into the dining hall.

That's... actually a lot.

She shook her head.

Don't think like that. Not anymore. Stay positive. Little steps. Just make yourself a dress. That'll be step one. And you won't even have to move!

She held a hand over her torso and concentrated.

Nothing.

She frowned and tried again.

A wisp of magic left her palm. It didn't settle.

At least the wardrobe isn't that far...

She recovered over the next week, able to give a "witness statement" (as Anna called it) about Áno to the Captain of the Guards and attend to her duties as Queen. She had no illusions as to the rumors that had no doubt spread among her subjects, despite the Captain's promise to contain the situation, but they let her be - whether they avoided asking through respect, fear or care she wasn't sure.

Every day she would ask whether any breakthroughs had occurred in the case, and every day she would receive the same response: no. There was no sign of Áno. She didn't know what she was feeling. Anger? Yes - he was a murderer and had gotten away, so she was angry. But there was also confusion. The same as before: what happened to him?

"Elsa?"

She jumped and looked up. Anna was right in front of her and she hadn't noticed.

"I've been looking all over for you! Were have you been?"

I don't have the faintest clue.

"Uh, back there." Elsa pointed her thumb behind her down the corridor.

"You've been down all week. You okay?"

"I don't know. I just feel a bit..." She searched around and chose the first word that entered her mind, "empty, I guess."

"How about we do something fun?"

How Anna could smile so suddenly she would never understand, but it was contagious.

"Sure. What do you have in mind?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Do you really have to ask?" She frowned. "Unless you don't want to use your powers anymore!"

"Why - why would you think that?"

Anna said nothing, instead pointing at her. Elsa looked down.

"Oh."

She was wearing a dark green dress. It strongly resembled her favorite blue, but it just wasn't the same.

She hadn't worn ice all week.

"No, that's not an issue. You wanna start right now?" She held out her palm.

Nothing.

Anna tilted her head. "I don't get it."

"Wait..."

Elsa flexed her fingers again. Nothing. She tried a third time. A wisp of snowflakes escaped, curled in the air and disappeared.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes!"

She shook her hand and opened it again. Another small flurry of snowflakes. These lasted longer, but faded just the same. She growled.

"Come on!"

Another flurry. It failed. Another. Failed. Another. Failed.

What's going on?

"Elsa, maybe you should stop. You're probably still recovering."

"No, I'm fine I swear just - "

She clenched her fist and grit her teeth, pulling all her strength to her hand. She could almost feel her essence moving around the gaping hole in her chest.

"I've got it this time."

She opened her palm. A thin flurry appeared. Like a wispy, growing snake it spun circles above her hand.

She heard something. As though someone were calling her from underwater.

The snake collapsed on itself, forming a snowball no bigger than her eye.

Another call.

She looked at it. You're just a pebble! And wait, isn't that the ceiling?

A face appeared above her. Freckled, framed by red hair... who was it again? They would be easier to recognize if things weren't going dark...

"Hey, why are you hanging off the earth like a bat?"

As the world turned fully black, she heard another gurgled cry.

"Elsa!"

She felt empty.

There was light.

Elsa's eyes opened of their own accord. The first thing they saw was Anna, sitting beside her on her bed, the curtains of her window open.

Of course.

This time Anna noticed immediately. Elsa looked around. Kristoff was there too. Neither of them seemed happy. Anna started.

"Elsa, what happened?"

"I don't know."

"Elsa, Anna told me what happened. Is there something you're not telling us?"

"No, I - I'm fine, I promise."

"Elsa..." Anna held her upper arm loosely as she peered into her eyes, "you can tell us anything. You know that right? And if not, I'm sure Kristoff wouldn't mind waiting outside. You can tell me anything, definitely."

Elsa bit her lip. "I guess I'm still recovering."

"Maybe," this was Kristoff, to the point as usual. She liked that about him, "but we're not blind. You haven't worn your ice dress all week. You haven't used any of your powers all week, full stop." He jabbed the air.

"Maybe I don't want to use them?" She didn't mean to be abrasive and she felt awful for being so, but the alternative...

"Not only did you say otherwise to Anna earlier, you usually wear your gloves if you're trying to avoid using them. You haven't been doing that either." Kristoff sighed, and when he continued his shoulders were hunched. "Anna's right; you can talk to us Elsa."

Elsa said nothing. Anna tapped her shoulder and she turned. Anna bit her lip before looking her in the eye.

"Are you having trouble with your powers? Are you... losing them?"

No one moved for a few, precious moments.

Elsa nodded.

Kristoff clapped his hands. "That's settled then. Don't worry about a thing Elsa. We'll just see Grand Pabbie later today or tomorrow, or if you can't make it I'll go. You'll keep an eye on her, won't you Anna?"

"Yep! See Elsa, we've already got it all planned out. You just sit back, relax and we'll have you back to normal in no time. Like Kristoff said;: don't worry!"

"I'm not worrying Anna. I'm absolutely fine."

"See? That's a great start. Trusting in us is a great start! Isn't it Kristoff?"

But Kristoff was looking down at Elsa with a frown. Elsa closed her eyes and chuckled gently.

"That's not it Anna. I'm happy my powers are gone."

"Wait, what?"

Elsa looked at her younger sister.

"Life would have been so much better without my powers. I wouldn't have hurt you as a child, I wouldn't have... killed all those people after my coronation, I wouldn't have almost killed you a second time, I wouldn't have... No, I don't want my powers back."

"But, what about letting people skate every week? And - an, playing with me? And - oh yeah! - you told me no one dared attack Arendelle because they were scared of you! How about that?"

"My powers also encouraged a lot more people to join our navy and army Anna. We'll be fine if someone declared war on us. Besides, I'm not going to advertise my loss. As for the skating and playing with you... you'll just have to get used to waiting for natural winter again."

"But, El - "

"But nothing, Anna!" The words she'd bottled up for years were spilling out of her. "I hate my powers! I hate being different! I hate that I lost everything I loved and cost so many people so much! I've always hated my powers Anna! There are times I've made something pretty, yes, but on the grand scale of things? They're horrible! I haven't made anything I actually, truly care for so - "

The words were outdated. Her face was pale to begin with but blanched further.

Right on cue, the trio heard a humming from outside. A tray laden with chocolates floated in. There was no bowl, and the chocolates were haphazardly positioned atop it. Some fell off as it approached.

"I've got your favorite chocolates Elsa! I picked them all myself!"

The tray was covered in a light dusting of snow and wasn't floating at all. It was held up by short twig hands. The hands were attached to a small white figure.

It took Elsa a while to find her voice. From the corners of her eyes she saw Anna and Kristoff looking at her.

"Olaf!"