Chapter 7.

"… and after years of asking, and asking, and asking… I finally said yes." Prince consort Eugene finishes the story of how he met his wife with a smug smile. I can't help bursting out in laughter at this, because I thought he would be saying that Rapunzel had been the one to say yes. But then again, he's probably lying. I mean, the tale he just told me is too fantastic to be true (and no, I'm not talking about Rapunzel's healing powers, that I can easily believe. I'm talking about the bunch of thugs spontaneously making a musical number about their dreams, or the horse that wanted to chased him halfway across the country simply to arrest him). But I have to admit it was entertaining, even if it did take more than an hour to narrate. Not that I had something better to do.

"Eugene." Princess Rapunzel chastises him as she enters the living room. And Anna is with her! I can't help a happy smile appearing on my face as my heart does a little jump in my chest.

"Alright. I asked her." Eugene chuckles as he puts up his hands in surrender, his wife shaking her head in feigned exasperation before going to sit on his lap as she gives him a quick kiss on the lips.

"You always have to end the story like that, don't you?" She glares playfully at him.

"It's more fun." He simply shrugs. "Sounds less like a fairy tale."

"I hope you didn't get bored hearing all of his crazy stories." Anna says as she sits on my side in the sofa, in front of the foreign royals.

The Queen spent most of the day with her cousin, going over some treaties and accords that concern both kingdoms, and probably talking about me and trying to discern what I was doing in Rapunzel's kingdom. So, of course I was not allowed to be with them. Well, that and the fact that yesterday I almost fainted from exhaustion, though thankfully I feel much better now.

Today I woke up late, had some breakfast, and then spent the rest of the day reading in the library, until hunger managed to pry me away from my unfinished books. That's when I had dinner with Gerda before going to the living room, only to find Prince Eugene already there. I tried to excuse myself, but apparently he had also met me in Corona, so he recognized me instantly and made me stay and listen to the story of how he met Rapunzel (apparently he really loves narrating it), which turned out to be a good thing, because it relaxed me and made me laugh quite a lot. As farfetched as some parts were.

"Not really. It was quite interesting." I say politely.

"You mean crazy." Anna smirks, obviously trying to upset Eugene. "I mean, come on! A ninety-foot-tall tower? Yeah, right. Like someone's going to believe that."

"Hey! That part was entirely true!" Rapunzel protests.

"And what about the singing thugs? Or the horse?" I ask, curious as to what she'll say.

"Huh. Funny you'd ask that." She muses over my question. "When I told you my story you were more skeptical about the 'magic hair' thing."

"Really?" I raise an eyebrow surprised. After all, having ice magic myself, it isn't hard to believe in other kinds of magic.

"Yep. You thought I was just some crazy woman pretending to be the lost princess of Corona, and using magic that I no longer possessed as proof." She nods with an amused expression, like she finds my previous skepticism funny, even though I'm sure she was probably offended and exasperated when I didn't believe her. I'd apologize, but I get the feeling she'd say there's nothing to apologize for.

"Wait… then that means Elsa's not from Corona!" Anna suddenly shouts, startling us all. Her eyes are wide and she has a big smile, like she just made the most shocking discovery ever, but when we all turn to look at her she smiles sheepishly and clears her throat before explaining herself. "Everyone in your kingdom knows and accepts the story of the lost princess. And they also know they made you demonstrate your powers and go through a series interrogations, not to mention all the witnesses that testified in your favor, before you were allowed to finally see your parents."

"Well, that's true. But there are still a few that doubt my story. More so in the border provinces." Rapunzel clarifies. "Though I doubt anyone from Corona would openly question me and call me crazy." She adds as an afterthought.

"So you're saying… I'm from the Northern Lands." I sigh. I can't say that's not what I expected her to conclude since the very beginning, but a part of me was hoping that they wouldn't point me out as a Northerner so soon. I just hope Anna doesn't decide to exile me in the near future.

"Maybe." She shrugs. "But it's hard to know. You could simply be from another kingdom."

"But it's highly unlikely." I protest, despite my better judgement.

"It's okay, we don't need to rush in the search of your true identity." Anna interferes. "We should do something fun instead! And forget about all of this for now." She exclaims cheerfully, looking at her cousin with mischievous eyes.

"Ooh, I like the sound of that!" Rapunzel perks up. "What do you say, Elsa?"

"Uhm… I'm not sure. My head's hurting a bit." I try to back off, not because I don't want to spend time with them (specially Anna), but because I don't know how to act with the other royals most of the time. I mean, they seem friendly enough, and they weren't raised as royals, but maybe proper behavior is still expected from me when being in their presence.

"I can cure you, if you want." The brunette offers kindly.

"Are you sure? I wouldn't want to impose." I answer shyly, feeling weird that the Crown Princess of Corona, no less, just offered to cure my headache. However, I guess I could use a bit of magical healing. My head's been hurting for far too long.

"Nonsense! I like helping people." Rapunzel replies, smiling widely as she gets up and goes to sit beside me, a little too close to my comfort. I gulp and look nervously at Anna, who only gives me a reassuring smile that fails to calm my nerves.

I think I'm just not good at being close to humans. Except Anna. And Gerda. I guess I'm somewhat comfortable with those two.

But before I can protest or move a bit farther away from the princess, she starts to sing a beautiful song. It's very tender, and sweet, but there's also something powerful on it. Maybe it's because I possess magic of my own, but I can somehow feel the power growing inside Rapunzel as she sings about curing sickness and bring back what's no more. It's quite impressive actually, even if her hair no longer shines when she sings.

And then a single tear falls from her eyes, landing on my arm. I look at it for a moment, before it's absorbed into my skin, the spot glowing with a golden light. Then, for a few seconds nothing happens, but soon enough there's an even brighter light than before, apparently coming out of my head. It must be quite comical, since both Eugene and Anna burst into laughter.

Then it stops, and the moment it does, all hell breaks lose in my head.

It's like suddenly someone decided to insert my head into a cauldron of boiling water. Everything hurts. It's too hot in here. It's too bright. There's too much noise. I can barely breathe, much less think, or do anything except clutching my head and hoping it'll stop.

I'm barely aware of the fact that the three royals came to see what's happening but found themselves unable to do anything except stay there, panicking and wondering if they should call a doctor.

It's too much agony. I want to die. Death would be blessing at this point.

And then, as suddenly as it started, the pain recedes.

I breathe in deeply, realizing my throat is now sore, probably because I was screaming. My muscles slowly relax too, and my head stops hurting as much as before, but there's still a faint throbbing, only a little bit less intense than the one I'm used to. So the magical tear didn't serve much after all.

"Elsa? Are you okay?!" Anna's panicked voice startles me, and I look up to meet her concerned eyes as she gently places her hands on my head and starts caressing it in such a way I can't help blushing… and wishing she won't stop.

"I-I… I'm fine now." I say, though I notice all my body is trembling, probably a side effect of the pain I was subjected to.

"What happened?" She turns to question her cousin, who looks terribly confused and ashamed.

"I don't know!" She answers, equally panicked. "It's never happened before."

"Did it at least cure your headache?" The redhead now asks me.

"… No." I admit defeated.

"What? But… that's impossible!" Rapunzel exclaims. "I've cured headaches before, and there have never been side effects."

I'm going to protest, tell her that calling 'a side effect' a massive pain in my head that made me wish I was dead, would be underestimating it, when Eugene speaks up.

"But maybe your power can only cure physical injuries." He says, and the three of us look at him (Anna letting go of my head, unfortunately), silently urging him to explain himself. "I mean, I know most injuries are physical, but some others aren't, like depression, or a heartbreak… or magical injuries."

"Magical?" I repeat, trying to understand what he's saying.

"Yes, magical." He nods. "I know magic can produce physical injuries, but it can also alter other things… Manipulate people's minds." He looks pointedly at me, and Anna is the first one to understand what he means.

"Alter their memories." She finishes, the realization slowly sinking in all of us.

"But… magic isn't all that common." I protest, not wanting to believe that my headache and memory lost weren't caused by natural circumstances, like traumatism. "I mean, the only kinds I know are ice-magic and healing-magic."

"Yes, but there are still witches and wizards living between us." Anna says. "People sometimes still go to them searching for a spell, or a potion. I know most of them are cheaters and liars, but who knows?" She shrugs, making a very good point.

"Plus, even if the only magic that exists is that of Rapunzel and the ice-wielders, which is highly unlikely…" Eugene continues. "There's still a possibility that Northerners have hidden abilities still unknown, like wiping memories."

Well, he has a point. I mean, after all Rapunzel didn't know she had magic tears until she cured Eugene, so it's not so farfetched to think that ice-wielders could maybe have more powers aside from manipulating ice and snow, or that more magical creatures exist.

"But if that's true, if my memories were wiped out by a spell… then what I felt was the clash of two magical energies!" I say, finally understanding. "Rapunzel's and the one of whoever cursed me."

"Probably." Anna nods and then casts me a sympathetic expression. "It must have hurt quite a lot."

"It did." I grimace, remembering the pain in felt just minutes ago.

"I'm sorry." Rapunzel says with an apologetic tone of voice. "If only I had known."

"It's okay. None of us knew what would happen." I reassure her, not wanting her to feel bad over something she had no control over.

"So…" Anna says, trying to distract her cousin, who is still obviously feeling guilty about what happened. "About doing something fun…"

"I can think of a few fun things to do." Eugene intervenes, casting his wife a suggestive glance that I try to ignore. My face still heats up though, since I know what he meant.

"Eugene!" Rapunzel screams, flustered and embarrassed at his proposal. "I think Anna meant that we should all do something fun. Like, the four of us."

"They can join us. I don't mind." He smirks, but it's obvious he's joking (at least I hope so). Still, a glare from his wife makes him put up his hands up in surrender. "Alright, alright. Why don't you suggest something?"

"Well…" She starts, before turning to look at me. "I was thinking… now that I've shown you my powers, why don't you show me yours?"

"W-what?" I stutter nervously, not expecting such a request. "You want me to show you my powers?" I cast an unsure glance at Anna. "Wouldn't that be… dangerous?"

"Only if you suddenly decide to attack us. But I doubt you'd do that." Anna says, apparently agreeing with Rapunzel.

"But… people will panic!" I argue. "They'll think I'm trying to kill you or something."

"We could lock ourselves up in the ball room, and order the guards to keep everyone out." The redhead suggests, her face now beaming with excitement, making it hard for me to refuse. I wouldn't want to make her sad.

"Are you sure?" I ask once more, trying to make her reflect on what she's actually requesting me.

"Only if you're feeling well enough." She says after a pause, clearly worried that she's asking something I can't do right now, due to what happened with Rapunzel's tear.

"I am." I admit reluctantly. It's not like I don't want to show them my magic, after all. It's just that… I fear Anna would treat me differently after seeing what I can do. Like a Northerner, someone dangerous she should be afraid off.

However, I shake those thoughts off as both girls lead me enthusiastically to the ballroom, hoping I made the right decision by agreeing with them… and that my powers are a little more stable than before. After all, they did get a little out of control after the assassination attempt the other day. Well, I guess I'll have to do my best to control them.

And so, the four of us went to the ballroom, and Anna ordered all the guards to stay outside and keep anyone else from entering. Except Kristoff. He insisted on coming along because, apparently, he still doesn't trust me completely.

Fortunately, the ballroom is wide enough and there aren't many things that could get damaged with my ice, so I won't have to worry about that. Only about the other people in the room. So I ask them to stay near the entrance and get out immediately if anything goes wrong (just a precaution), before going to stand at the center of the room and looking at them, unsure of what they want me to do.

"So… what do you want me to show you?" I ask awkwardly.

"Perhaps a bit of snow?" Anna suggests.

"What's the least you can do?" Rapunzel asks instead.

"The least?" I repeat before getting out a small portion of my powers and lowering the temperature just a couple of degrees… or at least I thought it was only a couple. Apparently not though.

"T-that's the least?" Eugene asks in disbelief as he hugs himself.

"And the most?" Anna questions, apparently having no common sense whatsoever.

"I really don't think you want me to show you that." I reply, knowing full well I could freeze the entire castle… maybe even the entire town, if I were to release all my magic.

"Why? Do you think you could freeze the entire kingdom?" Kristoff asks, and though it's a legitimate question, he said it with a somewhat accusatory tone of voice, like he was accusing me of being the Ice Queen (which I'm not, I think), and so I decide to scare him a little to shut him up.

"No. I think you would shit your pants." I reply, before shooting blast of magic towards his feet, where the magic transforms into an explosion of snow that covers him in white powder. Kristoff, as predicted, jumps away startled and comically falls on his butt. I can't help laughing discreetly behind my hand, though the others aren't as discreet as I am.

"Hey!" He glares at me.

"Sorry, I couldn't resist it." I say, not feeling even a little apologetic. At this, Anna laughs even louder, further annoying her friend.

"Oh, come on Kristoff, it was funny." Anna says, still giggling a bit.

"Right." He rolls his eyes as he gets up and shakes the snow off his clothes.

"Now… what else can you do?" The queen addresses me once the royals from Corona stop laughing.

"Whatever you ask me to do with ice and snow." I answer, appearing more confident than I really feel. It's not like I don't trust in my power though; I'm just afraid I can't control it well enough.

"Can you make it snow in here?" Just as she finishes her sentence, I raise my hand and let out a blast of magic, which explodes into millions of snowflakes before touching the ceiling, making a little snowfall inside the room and effectively answering her question.

"Wow!" Anna exclaims mesmerized as she reaches out to catch a snowflake with her hand (which makes her look impossibly cute), and I smile proudly as I see the other three people in the room also look around in wonder.

"Amazing!" Rapunzel says as she notices the fine layer of snow has now been settled on the floor.

"If you want, I can make more." I say, way more confident than before, now that I see they are not afraid of my magic, and my powers are obeying me quite well.

"Yes, please! I'd like to make snow angels!" Anna perks in, making Eugene chuckle at her enthusiasm and her childish request. I, however, don't mind as I press my left foot into the ground, letting a wave of power be released from the spot, thickening the existent layer of snow and creating a few mounds of the cold powder in the periphery of the ballroom.

Eugene whistles at the sight.

"I have to admit it's very impressive." He says.

"Please don't freak out." Rapunzel says, and he chuckles at her request.

"Oh, come on, this is a lot less bizarre than magical glowing hair with healing powers." He answers, which earns him a punch on his shoulder.

"Well? What are we waiting for?" Anna says before jumping into one of the piles of snow, only to emerge a second later screaming and laughing happily as she takes some snow in her hands and throws it above her, watching it fall.

The other royals exchange a look before shrugging, taking some snow and starting to make snowballs, probably to throw them to each other. Kristoff, however, just stands still, next to the door, obviously still angry and embarrassed about what I did to him earlier.

I guess I'll have to apologize later. For now though, I think I will join Anna and maybe make some snow angels.

"Hey Elsa, look at this!" She says when I get close, and starts moving her arms and legs as she lays on the snow, effectively creating a snow angel. Then she stands up, smiling happily, and looks at her creation with pride. "Isn't it beautiful? Your snow is perfect for creating snow angels." She compliments.

"I'm glad you like it." I smile at her. "It's good to know my powers finally serve some purpose."

"Aside from helping you out of a life or death situation two times?" She asks jokingly, though what she says is very true.

"Yeah, aside from that." I say, trying not to remember the assassination attempts I just recently suffered, but failing. It was quite terrifying, especially the last time, since I was chained and shackled. Just remembering the men's angry faces looking down at me with contempt and anger makes my stomach turn.

"Elsa?" Anna asks concerned, obviously noticing my thoughts are wandering into dangerous territory.

"I'm sorry." I say.

"No need to apologize. It's too soon to start joking about such a thing. My fault." She says, giving me an apologetic smile. "But forget about it, why don't you make a snow angel now?"

"Okay." I agree, and I'm going to let myself fall on the snow, when I decide to play a little with my powers first.

I hold up my hand and watch it intently, as I concentrate to let out my power slowly, concentering it in my palm and creating a very recognizable figure; a human with wings. An angel. Not a very detailed one, but still.

"Like this?" I ask, showing it to Anna, whose eyes widen in wonder and surprise.

"Whoa!" She exclaims as she reaches out to touch it, but stops an inch away from it. "It's so perfect!" She giggles. "Though not exactly what I meant."

"I know." I chuckle before letting it fall and merge with the rest of the snow. Then, I turn around and let myself fall too, my landing being cushioned by the white powder. It's quite comfy actually, and not at all hot and uncomfortable as a regular bed, for example. I think I could sleep in it if I wanted… But not right now. Right now I'm playing in the snow with the adorably gorgeous queen of Arendelle (I mean, Anna), and so I move my arms and legs, easily creating a snow angel. However, before I can get up and appreciate my work of art, a snowball lands on my face.

I yelp and blink a few times, before wiping off the snow and searching for who attacked me. And I find no other than Princess Rapunzel of Corona looking guiltily at me.

"You started a snowball fight with my special guest who also happens to be an ice-wielder?" Anna tsks. "Too bad." And like that, she picks up a bit of snow, shapes it into a ball and then throws it at her cousin, who screams and tries to get out of the way, but instead gets hit on the shoulder.

As I get up from the snow, however, I see as Eugene comes to her rescue, throwing a snowball at Anna and hitting her on the arm she used to protect her head. And soon, the couple is burying the redhead into a pile of snow as I stand there, unsure if I should join or not. I mean, don't get me wrong, it looks like a lot of fun, and it'd probably help me practice controlling my powers, but I don't think it'd be proper to just throw snowballs at two royals from a neighboring kingdom, even if it's a game.

But Anna doesn't seem to notice my dilemma, because she's soon asking me to help her as she tries to defend herself from the attacks.

"Elsa! Don't just stand there! Give me hand, will you?"

Well, now that was direct order from the queen. I can't disobey, can I? Not that I want to.

And so I promptly create a huge pile of snowballs in front of me and start throwing them to the foreign royals, first hitting Rapunzel, who yelps and tries to back off, only to fall down in the snow, and then hitting her husband, who stops attacking Anna and instead tries to cover himself with his arms. When that doesn't work, because now both Anna and I are attacking them, he runs away to try and hide behind one of the piles of snow, and I resort to just make a giant snowball appear over my head and throw it at him before he can hide, effectively burying him under snow for a while.

Dusting off my hands with a satisfied smile, I then turn to look at Anna, who was trying to make a snowball when she got hit by one of Rapunzel's projectiles. The redhead lets out an indignant huff and goes to try and tackle her, but the princess evades her easily, which makes Anna fall on the snow before being mercilessly attacked by her cousin.

Deciding I can't let Rapunzel get away with that, I make another snowball and throw it at her, effectively hitting her back, and once she turns to see who did it, I quickly materialize another snowball and hit her in the face, making her fall. I can't help giggling at her bewildered expression.

"Thanks, Elsa!" Anna says once she gets up and bounces all the way to me. "It's good to have an ice-wielder on my side." She grins widely and I do so too, a part of me thinking that maybe, just maybe, she's not saying that just as part of our little game. Maybe she will eventually think about letting me stay with her for good. Maybe she'll make me an ambassador to the Northern Lands? Or perhaps some kind of bodyguard.

But I'm probably getting ahead of myself.

"That was cheating!" Eugene protests as he gets up and tries to shake the snow off his clothes. Unsuccessfully.

"Yeah, it's not fair to use magic." Rapunzel joins him, shaking her head to get rid of the snow on her hair.

"You're just sore losers." Anna says, rolling her eyes.

"We could… play some more, if you want." I say, realizing it may have been mean to use my magic in such a way, despite what Anna thinks. "No powers this time." I assure them.

"And stay in this freezing chamber even longer?" Rapunzel asks in disbelief. "No, thank you." At this, her husband nods, completely agreeing with her.

I try to see if I feel cold, but to my surprise, I'm completely comfortable. Which, now that I think about it, is quite logical. Must be a side effect of my ice powers. However… Anna doesn't seem to be uncomfortable either, and she isn't an ice wielder, nor is she wearing heavy clothes, like the princess and her husband.

"Uhm… Anna? Aren't you cold?" I ask, eying at her sleeveless dress.

"A little." She shrugs it off as she starts walking towards the entrance, the rest of us following her. "The cold doesn't really bother me as it does other people."

"Really?" My eyes widen at her answer, wondering how that's possible… and then I notice the strand of white hair she has on her head.

"Yes, it has something to do with that." She says, touching her stripe.

As we all step outside, I make the snow disappear with a single wave of my hand (though I have to admit it's quite more difficult than to produce it), and then Kristoff closes the door as we keep walking to… wherever Anna wants to go.

"At least I think so." Anna continues her explanation. "My parents never really explained me how I got it, or why I had a higher tolerance to cold."

"You should be thankful of it though." Kristoff speaks for the first time since I scared him with my powers, and we all turn to look at him. "If you weren't immune to cold, you would be dead."

"What do you mean?" I ask, confused, when I notice everyone else already seems to know what he's talking about. Anna bits her lip and seems to be considering what to respond, when the blond man speaks for her.

"I wasn't there when it happened, but the captain of the guard told me that one night, many years ago, an ice-wielder sneaked into the palace." His eyes harden in an accusatory way, and I flinch involuntarily, feeling bad even if I know it wasn't me. But still, it was someone like me. Someone who probably did something that made the normal people hate us even more.

"He, or she, I don't really know, wanted to kill the royal family." He continues. "But was discovered and captured after they heard the princess scream."

I look at Anna worriedly, wondering if she's relieving this horrid event, but she seems to just be listening to it like it was something that happened to someone else, not her. Which is weird. Maybe she was just too young to remember it?

"W-what happened to the attacker?" I ask, fearing the answer.

"Some say the king executed them on the spot." Kristoff shrugs, and I feel a chill run down my spine as I imagine such a thing. "Others say they were exiled, but no one knows for sure. The monarchs refused to talk about it, even with Anna." I turn to look at her and she nods in confirmation.

"It must have been horrible." I look at her with a sympathetic look.

"I don't really know." She says, sighing. "I don't remember a thing of that night, or anything before that night, for that matter."

"The doctors said it was a coping mechanism." Rapunzel explains, and I nod thoughtfully.

"And no one knows what the ice-wielder did to you?" I ask.

"No." Anna shakes her head, clearly upset about the fact.

"But they say she was unconscious for days." Kristoff speaks up again. "The doctors actually thought she wouldn't wake up." He looks very sad just thinking about the possibility. I guess he does care a lot about Anna. I bet they're really close… maybe even closer than they should be?

For some reason, the thought makes my insides burn with anger, but I force myself to focus on what he's saying.

"However, they all agreed that, if she was saved, it was solely due to her natural resistance to cold." He concludes.

"That's… fortunate." I say, not really knowing how to respond to that.

"It is." She agrees, her gaze lost like she's deep in thought. "I just wish my parents had told me the truth before dying." She sighs, and then we fall in uncomfortable silence, the sober topic having ruined our playful mood from before. Also, it made me think… how did she gain her immunity to cold? Perhaps she was to be born an ice-wielder but her parents prevented it somehow? Could that even be possible? Or is it something more? Something like… destiny, as silly as it sounds. The Queen of Arendelle herself being resistant to the powers of the Ice Queen of the Northern Lands. To the powers of the enemy. Seems almost too convenient, doesn't it? Too convenient to be just a coincidence.

Suddenly, however, Rapunzel's cheerful voice breaks the silence, and interrupts my speculation.

"Hey! How about we drink a mug of hot chocolate? It'll help us warm up." She thankfully doesn't mention the fact that two of us don't really need to warm up.

"Sounds good." Anna agrees, as well as Eugene and I, while Kristoff joins us with a shy nod.

And in no time, we're hurrying up to the dining room, having momentarily forgotten about Anna's immunity to cold and the incident that happened years ago. Though I'm sure that's all I will be able to think about tonight when I'm trying to sleep.

A/N: So… I know I took more than a month to finish this, and I'm sorry for that. In my defense, however, I have to say that I had writer's block, and I didn't want to write something crappy because of it, just to get a chapter ready soon. Plus, this is a long chapter, so… forgive me?

Anyways, thanks for reading and, as always, please leave a review, fav, or follow, if you haven't. Thanks for reading, and thanks for taking the time to let me know your opinions and thoughts about the story. See you soon :)

Thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13.