All my life, Anna, I have struggled to find peace.

At first, I mistook peace for a sense of calm, then mistook calm for a lack of feeling. I was so scared, as a child, of the icy power that stirred within me, that tremored beneath my skin. And the more scared I became, the more fiercely the ice impressed itself upon my life… spreading across the walls of my room… creating jagged white-blue spikes on the ceiling and floor… I tried to control my fear, but how could I when my very attempts to do so were born of fear? So, I finally settled for what I thought was the next best thing.

Don't feel it, Papa had told me. I tried not to feel at all. It was folly from the first, only making my inner storm more turbulent as it strove to break free from the confines of my rigid, poised body. I felt no peace, I didn't even feel security – no matter how many times I lied to myself and said I did.

Folly.

Then, on the North Mountain, I thought I had at last found the peace I sought. I could do as I pleased. For the first time, I saw the splendor of what I could do with my powers. It felt exhilarating. It felt liberating.

Still, something was missing. The same thing that had been missing all the times before.

You, Anna. You.

Now, as I hold you in my arms… press you close to me… feel you near me, warm and whole… Only now to I clearly understand what it means to have true peace in my soul.