I was given some prompts on Tumblr a very long time ago and forgot about them. I recently remembered them, and this story was born of the first one that came up. There are, currently, four chapters. Two are written, and I'll finish the others tonight and post them... likely tomorrow. I will try to resolve the story by the end of the fourth. This is not romantic Elsanna. I hope you enjoy nonetheless.

Inspired by Wordmangler's There Sleeps A Living Flower, and Ultranos' "Widdershins" prompts and AUs on Tumblr. Name credited to Olofa (who has written the best Elsanna+OC work out there. JS)

Unedited, March 3, 2016

Elsa didn't like snow. She didn't like the winter months or the cold. It didn't affect her, as such, but her fingers still clenched in her thick leather gloves. She should be home by now. Needed to be. The sun was setting, and she knew exactly the kinds of people that hung around after dark. Those who cared not for women, or nobility. Ones who would take and take from her with nary a thought.

They were almost home, she was sure of it. Kai, her manservant, was driving the small carriage, returning from Elsa's annual visit to her parent's grave. It wasn't safe enough to come more frequently. Her gaze never left her fingers as she mused on that. It was sad, she supposed, but years spent with ice as her only companion, she wondered if she hadn't turned into the harsh material herself.

She was drawn from her thoughts at the sound of a crack and a yelp, and a sudden jolt that had her tipping forward in her seat. Poking her head out the window, she saw Kai on the ground next to the carriage, groaning. She had two guards travelling on foot, and they rushed to help him to his feet.

Elsa wished she could have helped, but… Touching people never ended well. He thanked her anyway, along with the men, even though she hadn't done anything.

And then they noticed the wheel.

The snow had hidden a deep pothole; as the wheel had come over it, it had become stuck. Time and pressure had rendered it weak, and without fuss it had split cleanly down the middle.

"Oh dear," Kai said, and Elsa could only nod in agreement.

They were much too far away to walk to the castle – not in this weather. The sky was darkening ever-faster, and soon there would be no light nor heat. Glancing around, she realised there was little hope of getting a message to the castle, and even less of a chance of procuring a new carriage. They must have been in one of the poorer districts – only the nobles would have a carriage. She turned to the two guards.

"Go at once to every house on a property," she said. "Ask to borrow a horse, in the name of the Crown." She paused, before taking off her necklace and her earrings. She gave the necklace to one guard, and the earrings to the other. "Give them these as a sign of good faith. When we return the horse, we shall provide some gold and take back the jewellery."

The gave a sharp nod at her words and moved off in opposite directions. Elsa looked at Luna, the old grey steed. She was tall and hulking, and perhaps the guards could ride her, but not Elsa. Not without a saddle, at any rate. She should have asked them to get a lead line, too, but it was too late now.

A chill breeze soon picked up, and so they moved into the carriage. Kai lit the small hanging candle, and though it wasn't warm, it shielded them from the worst of the weather. It was only snowing lightly, thank goodness, but a storm was definitely brewing.

It always stormed when Elsa saw her parents.

They'd been sitting in the carriage for some time, neither feeling the need to break the soft silence, when it was broken for them. Elsa noticed far earlier than Kai, but brushed it off as the wind.

It was hard to ignore the crunching of footsteps on snow. It was even harder to ignore the light knock that sounded against the door.

Despite the fact that no brigand would bother to knock, Elsa was still made to sit as close to the opposite side as possible while Kai, drawing his small dagger hidden in his shoe, opened the door.

They almost didn't see the girl – she barely came up to the floor of the carriage in height. Bright red hair, dulled by uncleanliness and the poor light, was tied back in small pigtails. Her clothing was threadbare, showing patches of freckled skin in places. Kai put his dagger away as surreptitiously as possible as Elsa moved closer.

Gods above, the girl wasn't even wearing shoes. She was only a child, barely five years old, in all likelihood – and out in this weather?

No one spoke for a second. Neither Kai nor Elsa knew what to say.

And then the girl looked at Elsa, green eyes wide and imploring, telling not the facts of the girl, unlike her clothing, but her history. She held out her hand, a small box resting in her palm, and spoke in such a soft, quiet voice that even in the silence of the evening, Elsa struggled to hear;

"Please, would you buy a matchstick?"